Winter Gulling at Bartley Reservoir

A shocking day weather wise to start the weekend off so I took advantage of the situation to watch my eldest play in a storming Under 19 basketball match which they won by nice points.

As the rain cleared Terry Hinnet who watches Bartley Reservoir text me saying that they had seen a couple of nice gulls in recent days and it might be worth a drive up. If you have never been its best to head for Scotland Lane on the west side as that is generally where the larger gulls are. 

On arrival there was still sailing going so the Gulls were fairly close. I always find it amazing to see so many thousands of gulls just bobbing on the water. @midlandbirder was first to find a gem when he located the second winter Caspian Gull. I didn't see a Caspian at all last year so this was a great start to the year. A Common Gull was on the edge of a Herring Gull flock and I then picked up my first Great Crested Grebe of the year.

We then all moved further up Scotland Lane as soon as we had parked Terry shouted "Iceland" however the flock took off and moves slightly north. The good news was we all managed to locate the bird which was a real gem considering the lack of white wingers this winter.

Fair play to all the regular Bartley Gullers who stand up there night after night not like myself rocking up when there is a sniff of a big gun ! These 3 additions took me to 80 species for the year.

Targets for 2015

2014 brought many highlights and I am hoping for many more in 2015. I won't be pursuing my 264 year list total but will be maintaining a record out of interest. I'll continue my interest in an odd cheeky twitch but I will be spending more time at the Gravel Pits and trying for fine some hidden gems there. I will continue to visit good sites around the Midlands including the normal regular spots of Upton Warren and Arrow Valley Lake.

I've drawn up a list of target birds from the life list that remain outstanding :-

1) Wryneck
2) Wood Lark
3) White-Tailed Eagle
4) Storm Petrel
5) Short-toed Eagle
6) Pallid Harrier
7) Honey Buzzard
8) Corncrake
9) Cream-coloured Courser
10) Spotted Sandpiper
11) Red Phalarope
12) Wilson Phalarope
13) Ivory Gull
14) Franklins Gull
15) Caspian Tern
16) Great Spotted Cuckoo
17) Long-eared Owl
18) Bee-eater
19) Roller
20) Shore Lark

There are many more birds I could include but need to be realistic in terms of percentage chance that species will visit UK.  Cost and be able to go are also major factors.

Little Bustard creates MEGA twitch in Yorkshire

I often get non birding friends ask me how many people go and see a rare bird when one is found. To give those individuals a idea here's a video I saw on Twitter of those who went to Yorkshire to see the Little Bustard. It's amazing how many have got camera's and not telescopes. Might be worth buying a few shares in Cannon or Nikon as the interest in bird photography is massive.

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.