All aboard with AK Wildlife

 The Lizard

 Manx Shearwaters

 Common Dolphin

 Common Dolphin

 Gannet

 Gannets

Manx Shearwaters

Shearwater flock

It was another early start from my Devon stopover down to Falmouth in Cornwall. Falmouth has the third deepest natural harbour in the world and is famed as the start and end point for the round the world cruises for stars such as Dame Ellen MacArthur. I met up for my day on the boat with the three crew who were all keen wildlife enthusiasts and were very eager to show us some of local wildlife in the harbour.

Once out of the harbour the Captain picked up a pod of Common Dolphins which we followed closely. You were able to stand right up on the bow of the boat and see the Dolphins diving all around us. 

The second pod was larger in size but contained many calves only days old which made amazing viewing. 

It had been fairly quiet birding wise up to this time other than a constant flow of Gannets in various plumage. This was until we started to find the Manx Shearwaters who were great to observe so closely. Suddenly the first of five Sooty Shearwater, another lifer for me. This was one of my target birds of the year so I was very pleased. 

The journey covered a beautiful part of the Cornwall coast down to the Lizard but there wasn't much variation in the birds in all honesty. I was really hoping for a Storm Petrel but sadly no luck on this occasion. Overall it was a good experience and I wasn't sea sick ! 

Ross's Gull is star attraction at Topsham

 Black Tailed Godwits

 Greenshanks

 Little Egret

 Estuary

 RSPB Bowling Green viewpoint

Ross's Gull

Ten days off work allowed me to grab a bit of birding time ahead of the youngest lads festival of cricket at Kings College, Taunton. I'd booked a pelagic sea cruise on the Sunday so I broke up the journey with a Devon stay over. This gave me chance to visit the excellent RSPB Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham.

I arrived a couple hours after high tide due to some serious M5 traffic but there were still large numbers of Black-Tailed Godwits and an endless number of Little Egrets. The reserves marsh was currently being replaced so viewing was limited so I headed down to the viewing platform that looked over the River Clyst. The estuary held good numbers of Greenshank, Whimbrel and Curlews.

I then headed round the strangely named "Goats path" to the mouth of the River Axe before scanning for the reported Ross's Gull. Without any luck I continued to work up river until I located the bird sat under the M5 bridge, a good 40 minute walk. This little gem was very similar to a Little Gull in size and was certainly well off course considering it should be in north America or the arctic. A lifer for me and a great start to the weekend. 

Pacific Golden-Plover at RSPB Middleton Hall Lakes

 RSPB Middleton Hall Lakes

 Vern's Flickr Page 

Pacific Golden-Plover (Vern Wright)

Map of Reserve

No blog update for a while as I've been busy with cricket and also birding at a new location which will feature in a future blog. I try not to check for updates when I'm on cricket duty as I'd rather not know if a good bird is local. On Sunday I went out locally for a few hours and it wasn't until the late afternoon I knew a Pacific Golden-Plover was just up the M42 at RSPB Middleton Hall Lakes.

I've been to this location many times before so I entered the reserve via the house drive rather than RSPB drive which is a danger to any car such is the amount of pot holes. Quickly parked up I headed down the track to the Wetland Trail and down to the Jubilee Wetlands area of the reserve.On previous visits the reserve needed wading boots to walk round however the recent warm weather made it very dry. There were many Common Terns feeding along the trail and it was hard not to notice the large number of dragon flies. 

The Plover took about 10 minutes to locate and was distant. To start with I had to settle for just views of it's head until it kindly came out of the undergrowth fully to reveal its stunning plumage. Frankly it wasn't the easiest to try and make out the relatively longer-legs than European Golden Plover however Vern Wright's photo is a nice image to use for comparison (taken Saturday).  Make sure you give Vern a follow on Flickr if you want to see some awesome photos. 

Night-Heron at Pittville Park

 My digiscoped image through the trees

Pittville Park's location in Cheltenham

Vern Wright's brilliant shot earlier in the day

During my lunch time check of local sightings I noticed a Night-Heron had returned to Pittville Park in Cheltenham so the temptation was to strong especially after I had spoken to Vern Wright who told me he had got some great images.

On arrival I was surprised how small the lake was where the Heron had been seen and it was playing hide and seek so it took me around 10 minutes to locate the bird who was feeding in the thick undergrowth. I managed to observe him catch and eat a huge fish before working his way along the bank before heading up a large tree.

The bird itself was a real looker and very handsome. I'd only seen one previously so it was a pleasure to catch up with one within 40 minutes from home. Fingers crossed the bird hangs around to give time for another visit. With a couple of birds around the country perhaps we might get one at Arrow Valley, then again…………...

Le Tour Yorkshire

With birding opportunities I headed off to Yorkshire to take in the stunning scenery and the Tour de France. We had an awesome time watching the racing and socialising. 

With stage 2 on the other side of the moor we opted to take the four mile walk over the top. As we headed through a wooded area at the bottom of the moor I found family of Wood Warblers which made the very steep climb easier to take. When on top of the moor Red Grouse could be heard all over along with breeding Curlews. As we cleared one of the gates a dozen or more Red Grouse poked their heads above the heather before taking off. 

Other birds observed was Lapwing, Carrian Crows, Chaffich and a Kestrel. 

Northumberland Day 2 - Inner Farne

 Me on right under attack on the toilet run

 Arctic Tern

  Arctic Tern

  Arctic Tern

  Arctic Tern

 Arctic Tern

Sandwich Tern

 Sandwich Tern

You shall not pass

 Arctic Tern

Close up Sea Clown

Digiscoped feeding time

Bridled Tern

Bridled Tern

Bridled Tern in flight

 The Bridled Tern excitement became to much

Seahouses at the close of play

Farne Island location

The journey from Staple Island to Inner Farne took about thirty minutes with landing. Brian Stretch kindly text me that the Bridled Tern had been relocated during the morning but there had been no sign for a number of hours. I scanned both sides of the landing jetty without luck so we made our way on to the boardwalk which was about 1/2 mile in length. Within yards you were under attack from the Arctic Terns who had young or eggs centimetres from the walkway. You would be very brave not to wear a hat as these demons of the sky certainly made their presence felt with noise and actions. 

The walk to the toilet block is particularly high risk due to the high density of nesting birds. As you can see from my top photograph once you avoid a tern nip there is another waiting for you. It was a real life experience for sure. 

As you headed up hill the Arctics were reduced in numbers giving way to a colony of Sandwich Terns and more Puffins. Black-Headed Gulls did try and mob the Puffins that returned with food but the Puffins dived into their burrows frustrating the Gulls. At the top of the island you could have chill out from being dived bombed and we had our lunch looking out over the Puffins and sea where there was a constant flow of Gannets flying along the shore line. 

The National Trust wardens were doing a great job welcoming and guiding all the visitors. They did have their work cut out as there was a couple of misinformed photographers clearly antagonising some the Arctic Terns for photographic purposes. There were plenty of  terns to be photographed.

In terms of numbers of breeding pairs on Inner Farne, the 2010 survey indicated 280 Shag, 313 Eider, 1,278 Kittiwakes, 761 Sandwich Tern, 110 Common Tern, 1,110 Arctic Tern, 9,813 Puffins, 128 Razorbills.

I then headed back down to the jetty area on the hope the Bridled Tern may have returned. There was about 4/5 of us having a serious look for the bird and among the scanned birds I found a single Roseate Tern which was pleasing. Just when I was going to take a digiscoped image another birder shouted "Bridled Tern" and I switched camera to grab an image of the bird flying away from us. The bird then landed when I managed to get some digiscoped images and some video. This rare tern has made it's way from the Caribibean so is a genuine MEGA. It's thought it is the same bird that visited the island last year, it is thought it's only the 25th record for Britain. 

Northumberland Day 2 - Staple Island

The Islands ready for our visit

Guillemots

Guillemots (Bridled Guillemot centre)

Kittiwake with chicks

Seal Colony

Puffins

Shag

Puffin

Puffin

Puffin

Razorbill

Ready for take off

In flight

Family of Shags

A leisurely breakfast prepared us well for our day out on the Islands. We had booked the all day trip with Billy Shields MBE which involved a tour of the islands and a two hour visit to both Staple Island and Inner Farne. 

The Farnes are 2-3 miles off Seahouses and are made up of 15-20 islands pending on the tide and is home to the most exciting sea bird colony in England. The tour cost was £28 per person which I thought was great value however if you are not a member of the National Trust you would be subject to a landing fee on each island of £6.80. 

Staple Island is one of only two islands where visitors are allowed to visit. The Guillemots  were first to catch the eye as they sat crowded on top of a group of rocks called the Pinnacles. Kittiwake nests sat precariously on ledges with young chicks. The Shags and Razorbills seemed to prefer the more rugged surfaces. The noise (and smell at first) took some getting used to, at times there was an increased cacophony when a bird landed or moved in the wrong place.

The Puffins paid no interest at all to the visitors, they just went about their daily business. The birds were flying over your head during the whole time and many had there beaks full of fish and eeals. Be warned if you are going there are no toilets on the island.

The nesting survey in 2010 recorded there was 10,672 pairs of Puffins, 11,279 Guillemots, 42 Razorbills and 1,160 Kittiwakes