Account opener at Salford Priors GP

Patch mapping

 Nuthatch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

An opportunity to head to Yorkshire for the Little Bustard was presented to me on the 1st January for the following day however the Father-in-law has been unwell and I didn't want to be three hours away and unable to get back in a hurry.I felt for all those who did go as the Bustard had departed.

I opted to stay local and visit the Gravel Pits for the first time in 2015. This year I'll will be entering the Pathwork Challenge as a bit of a measure of how good or bad the area is. The day started with a real positive when I stopped to chat to a local farmer who then offered to give me access to his 70 hectares of farm land to bird as and when I wanted. The area covered is shown in the map above. 

The main pit was relatively quiet and I did wonder if they was a local shoot that had flushed the main birds. The female Scaup was still present among the Tufties, Pochard, Gadwall and Little Grebe.  

The Goldcrest were calling in their usual spot on the edge of the plantation and I did think I heard a Firecrest but despite my best efforts I couldn't locate it.

At the top of the village there were good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing in the Christmas Tree field. Always a great site on a winters day.

Over the crossroads on the edge of Hillers I had an hour watching the woodland species including Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Wren, Blue/Great Tit, Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch.

Ferruginous Duck opens New Year account

First view for 2015

Bewick Swans

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

 Little Egret under Holden Tower

Ruddy Shelduck

 Black Redstart

Black Redstart

As per most years I headed down to Slimbridge for the 1st January. It rarely disappoints and a good quality coffee and cake always seals the deal.

A couple of sharp and frosty nights had improved weather conditions for migration so there was around 180 Bewick Swans in the reserve or just outside. A single Whooper Swan was also viewable from Sloane Tower, a Slimbridge first for me.

Looking out in to the Rushy Pen there was an array of birds to watch including a large flock of Pintail that were very close outside the hide allowing terrific viewing.

I quickly popped my head in the Willow Hide to see if there was anything on the feeders to find a Water Rail skulking among the reeds. Sadly the light was to poor to get any sort of image.

The Holden Tower was full of birders on an organised walk but I managed to sneak into a space. A lot of the wading bird flocks had dispersed with the recent cold snap but there was still plenty to note. The male Peregrine sat on the bank waiting to make his move. 

Sightings from the Holden Tower included 4 Cranes, 800 Wigeon, 100+ Dunlin, 2 Little Egret, Redshanks, Lapwing, Teal 300 Golden Plover and 2 Little Stints that were great entertainment - very busy individuals.

I then headed across the reserve to the Asia Pen where I registered for first lifer for 2015 as a female Ferruginous Duck was still present. It was a bit odd watching a rare bird with absolutely no one else present. I had a couple of sessions watching the bird and she was definitely the star of the show. 

The Kingfisher and Ziess Hide didn't have anything of note other than a few pass finches and 50+ Carrions.

On the South Lake a female Ruddy Shelduck was just in front of the hide. Exact origin no one can be sure. Other sightings included 7 Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwing, Cormorants, Shoveller, Pochard, Shelduck and Gadwall.

I hadn't been able to track the White-fronted Geese so Dave Painter one of wardens told be to look north from Sloane Tower as they were in a field there. There were around 140 White-fronts and a single Pink-footed Goose.

With it looking like it might stay dry for another hour or so I made the short journey south to Sharpness to see if I could catch up with the male Black Redstart. Literately as soon as I got out of the car I saw him take flight and then gave some great view for an hour before I headed back up the M5.

Christmas Birding at Salford Priors GP

 Pophills Field

Sunrise on 28th December 

Pophills Pit taken from hedgerow side

 Common Buzzard on Old Barn

 Scaup

 Kestrel

 Yellowhammer

Goldeneye

The Christmas break enabled me to head down to the Gravel Pits for a number of visits. Thankfully the weather was very good even though it was extremely cold. 

Chris & Jon had reported a pair of Shelduck, Caspian Gull whilst @babblingbirder spotted a Barn Owl on the 19th so I was keen to try and find this beauty.

On Christmas Eve I spent a good deal of time on the Pophills Pit side of the site where it was great to see the Yellowhammers at close quarters. There was a number of Sky Larks, Meadow Pipits, Fieldfare and Redwing.

On the main pit there was the second Scaup of the month. Other notable sightings included 5 Great Black-backed Gulls, 30 Gadwell, 2 Shoveller, Kestrel and a Grey Wagtail.

On the 27th I headed down for the last hour of day light and the hope of finding the Barn Owl. After scanning all the pits from the bridge I had a slow drive around the perimeter where I flushed the Owl and followed it down the lane before it went out of sight. Really pleasing to find this beauty. I will certainly be hoping to watch him hunting very soon.

An early start on the following morning was rewarded with beautiful sunshine and some new arrivals on the main pit. A female Goldeneye and 9 Wigeon had joined the Scaup who was with the normal Mallard, Teal, Tufted Ducks, Pochard, Little Grebe and the long staying Green Sandpiper.

The Little Owl was being hounded by a selection of birds so remained out of range of the camera. 7 Greylags flew over with 20 Lapwings.

Just above the road a Kestrel was hunting for an early breakfast whilst the Pophills Buzzard looked on with hope he might get the left overs. 

Sightings around the plantation included Green Woodpecker, Coal Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Great & Blue Tits, Mistle Thursh, Fielfare, Redwing and of course large number of Red-legged Partridges (which still give me a near heart attack every visit).

To the north of the pits I spotted my first site Jay which was a bonus and I also noted Jackdaws, House Sparrow and Collared Doves in the village.

(All images digiscoped as always)

Final Count of 2013

 Note the lack of recording at peak of cricket season

 UK Map

 North - Showing Highlands and Farne Islands

 North Waled and northern England

 Midlands and South

The areas visited closest to home

The above maps and graphs are taken from the BTO's bird track website, a great tool for recording populations of birds but also you own records. The Birdtrack app is a great tool that can be used anywhere.
As always with birding a few got away including many a Wryneck and even a Ferruginous Duck on the day I returned to work after Christmas !
My final total on the UK400 was 264 and 261 on Birdtrack.

My best birds of 2014

To round up my posts of 2014 I’ve been through the blog and picked out my ten favourite birds of the year. The ten selected are certainly not the rarest but those I enjoyed watching most of all and I’ve had to factor in how long I’d wanted to see a particular species.

As with any restricted list a couple just missed out including the rare American Buff-bellied Pipit in Cheshire, King Eider in Scotland, Black-winged Stilts at Summer Leys, Ross’s Gull at Topsham and the Bonapartes Gull at Marsh Lane.

I would like to thank in particular Vern Wright and Pete Walkden who have both kindly helped the blog out with photographs when I haven't been able to get a digiscoped image myself. 

10) The Hopwood Great Grey Shrike 

This long stayer was a superb bird to have located within a few miles from home.  It was a species I’d struggled to connect with so it was great to get some stunning views from the road side. Fingers crossed he fancies a return visit this winter.

9) Black Restart 

Remained a very much a bogey species throughout the year then suddenly they were dropping out the sky all around Worcestershire. The best views however were obtained at Sharpness, Gloucestershire just a few miles from Slimbridge. Great bird, great weather.

8) Sooty Shearwater – Perhaps a strange choice but I managed to get some amazing views of these sea birds when at Spurn. The rough sea had forced two birds to fly very close to the point and I picked them up through my scope and watched them closely are they headed north. Their silvery white underwing coverts really caught the eye in the autumn sunshine.

7) Grey Phalarope 

I had a wonderful couple of hours in Northamptonshire watch this beauty at very close quarters. I’d missed one in Birmingham when I away in Scotland however as luck would have it this bird was really confiding and didn’t take any notice of the attention it was receiving.

6) Great Reed Warbler 

Probably the most distinctive call I’d heard this year and a great deal of patience was needed staying at a reed bed. Patience was rewarded with a few minutes of superb viewing at one of my favourite locations, Slimbridge.

5) Red-flanked Bluetail 

Most definitely one bird that created a major twitch down in Somerset. The local lanes were jammed on arrival and a muddy walk down hill walk was rewarded with some stonking views as the bird fed on a selection of meal worms put down by the photographers. 

4) Masked Shrike 

I’d always wanted to go to Spurn and this little beauty gave me the perfect reason to. A cracking day out with Sauntering Phil and Vern resulted in some great views and in addition we also saw Red-breasted Flycatcher, Barred Warbler and a host of great sea birds.

3) Montagu Harrier – To watch a male Monty flying around in Norfolk was an amazing sight. Its flight was a scene of pure beauty and was almost tern like. With less than ten pairs in the UK I will deem myself very lucky to see this bird of prey.

2) Bridled Tern 

I simply adore Terns so you can only imagine my delight when I saw on RBA a Bridled Tern had returned to Inner Farne on the day I arrived in Northumbria! The next day couldn’t come quick enough as we headed out to Staple Island followed by Inner Farne.  By 2pm the Bridled Tern had not been seen however after a good search and many attacks by the Arctic Terns the bird was seen in flight and then landed fairly close to the jetty area.

 1) Golden Eagle 

This warrior of the sky was a bird I’ve wanted to see since I bought my first bird book as a youngster. To see Golden Eagle hunting through the valleys of the Findhorn Valley was a memorable experience that will always stay with me. Just amazing……………

Best birding locations of 2014

The main reason I enjoy birding so much is the great places and environments it takes you. This year I’ve shared some great experiences with friends and family. Some have been places on my life bucket list for a long time so I’m very grateful to have now visited a couple of them.

I thought I’d work through my top five bird experiences of the year and in selecting these I’ve had to leave out the returning Ospreys at Rutland, a day out sea watching the Shearwater & Common Dolphins and of course the Hawling Owls which has been wonderful this winter to date.

5) Day on Long Mynd

 I’ve had some super walks over the Long Mynd in recent years so it was a pleasure to return in April to catch up with a flock of Dotterel not far from Gliding Club. The female birds were very stunning and well worth the trip out. After the session on the moor we dropped down to a very nice spot which was full of migrants including Redstarts, Pied Flycatcher, Cuckoo whilst Dippers and Grey Wagtails were busy feeding young along the stream.

4) Evening with the Nightjars

An evening in the Forest of Dean to catch up the “Forest Ghosts” was a great experience. As the light faded Woodcock were roding over head calling their distinctive "tchik-ik rrrrrr-rrrrrr" sound. The stars of the evening then came out to play clapping their wings as part of their courtship. One of Nightjars landed just above us and then on the path as we headed back to the car. The bonus of the night was a number of Wild Boar that we observed at close quarters. Certainly some where I will be going back to year on year.

3) Black Grouse and North Wales

4am alarm calls are never the best way to start a Monday but this early morning was very much worth the trouble as I teamed up with Alan Davies of the Biggest Twitch to watch the Black Grouse lek in North Wales. Alan had us in a great position to see and hear  the birds. The fun never ended there as after a hearty breakfast we travelled around the beautiful area including stops at Betws y Coed (Grey Wagtail and Dippers) and Nant Ffrancon (Ring Ouzel, Garden Warbler and Wheatear).

2) Highland birding

A five night trip to Scotland with Alan and Ruth Davies was a brilliant experience. Staying at the awesome Grant Arms Hotel, Alan guided us around the Highlands and caught up with a number of hard to see species including Capercaille, Crested Tit, Surf & Velvet Scoter, King Eider, Golden Eagle, Scaup, Black Guillemots and Ptarmigan. To see 80+ Ptarmigan on top of Cairn Gorn was just stunning We also saw some fantastic mammals including Pine Marten  Red Stags and Red Squirrel ! Even if you have never been to the Highlands I’d urge you to look up Alan and Ruth’s trips. They take care of everything for you which gives you the time to enjoy the wildlife.

1) Farne Islands

My favourite experience of 2014 was the three days I spent with the wife in Northumbria. Its part of the coast I’d never visited previously but it was simply stunning in its pure ruggedness. We were blessed with stunning weather throughout the trip which even allowed for some bare foot birding along the beaches. 

We took in the local delicacy of kippers and brown bread at the Ship Inn at Long Newton where we watched the Little Terns feeding  in the bay. After lunch we a great beach walk where the Terns flew past us with eels in their beaks ready for their youngsters.

Our long awaited trip out to the islands was every bit as I’d hoped. Staple Island treated us to over 20,000 Puffins whilst Shags, Cormorants and Razorbills were sat within yards of your every move. Watching the Puffins return from sea was a sight to behold and one I will always remember.

It was clear before landing on Inner Farne who the island belonged to as you could see the visitors being bombed by the breeding Arctic Terns. They duly delivered a similar welcome to us and I received a particular rough attach when crossing the path to the toilet block.  Many of the terns were nesting within centimetres of path hence their possessive nature. The sighting of the Bridled Tern just topped the day off. As we came back into Seahouses Eider ducks were nursing their young offspring.

Not a bad year………………

A day Avon Birding

Brean Down Salt Marsh

Brean beach

Raven 

Stonechat

Great White Egret

Sunday took me down the M5 into Somerset to try and catch up with a couple of species I've been missing on year list. The destination was Brean Down which is a few miles south of Weston-Super-Mare. Parking was a very reasonable winter rate of £1 for the whole day.

Leaving the car park a couple of Stonechats watched me head down towards the farm and salt marsh. The farm is a regular haunt for a small flock of Twite however despite two prolonged searches I didn't have any luck. 

As a walked along the sea wall a Peregrine hunted for an early breakfast over the salt marsh whilst a Sparrowhawk flew past the fields behind. The tide was low so waders were  restricted to Curlews, Lapwings, Snipe and Redshanks. As I was observing a flock of Linnetts a Water Pipit landed by the stream behind the second gate ! A real bonus. 

There were a handful of birders on the site and I had a good chat with a local only for the Lapland Bunting to fly over with a handful of Sky Larks. As hard as I tried I could not locate the Bunting on the ground but I did get another flypast. The birds seems to rotate between the marsh and the field. Fair play to those who got an image.

As I headed back the car a Raven was hounding the local Jackdaws and there was another two Stonechats enjoying the late morning sunshine.

The temptation to head back via Hawling was obvious but instead I stopped in at Chew Valley Lake. Not knowing the area I just drove around the perimeter until I found a place to stop. By pure luck the place was Herons Green where I could see a Great White Egret in the channel. I quickly set up the scope and grabbed a few nice digiscoped images. Other sightings included a Great Northern Diver, flock of Goosander, 2 Egyptian Geese, Snipe,  60+ Cormarants, 10 Shelduck, 30+ Pintails, Wigeon, 3 Little Egret, Grey Heron, Great Black-backed Gull and many of the normal wildfowl. Chew Valley Lake is a place you really need a full day to make the most of it and I need to remember not to go back via Bristol on future visits. The Clifton Suspension bridge didn't compensate for the shocking traffic.

This area is an area that seems to getter better and better for birds unlike most counties and the new reserve at Steart Marshes should be another great place to visit. I will be visiting there in 2015 for sure.