BirdForum - Blogs http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php Free bird watcher discussion forum and photo, galleries. View photographs of birds in the wild, discuss bird topics, read reviews on all kinds of equipment and post your bird photographs in the gallery en Sat, 17 May 2008 18:45:57 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.birdforum.net/images/misc/rss.jpg BirdForum - Blogs http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php Crossbills at close quarters http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=598 Sat, 17 May 2008 18:08:44 GMT As I've mentioned previously in my blog, I was starting to wonder where my next ticks were going to come from. Fortunately this doesn't seem to have stopped my seeing some great passage birds to keep things "ticking over" but I felt that I was going to have to be a bit more pro-active in seeking out new stuff. A reader (thanks go to Robin Dryden) had recommended going south to Berks to explore some of the heathland habitat and had been kind enough to supply me with details. Today I had an opportunity to take advantage of this information when my two daughters were off to guide camp and my wife was going to look at some art with her sister leaving me with my son L with six hours on our hands. I decided to go down to Swinley Forest (aka Crowthorne Wood) which is a mixture of heathland and coniferous and deciduous forest. My target birds there were: tree pipit, wood lark, redstart, spotted flycatcher and wood warbler with dartford warbler and crossbill as possible bonus birds. I'd been recommended the site Birds of Berkshire which has excellent write-ups of the various localities and I studied it well before the trip.

The journey from Oxford down to the site took about an hour and a quarter which would leave me with three and a half hours of birding time before I would have to set off again to pick up my daughters from the camp. I used the journey time to swot up on my target birds using a CD that I'd made the night before of their calls and songs. By the time I reached the location I reckon that I had a pretty good idea of most of them.

I put L in his all-terrain push chair and we went through the entrance gate to the forest. It was a very interesting mix of coniferous and deciduous trees with some open scrubby areas all growing on a sandy heathland soil. As I started walking through it, initially there didn't seem to be much showing at all, it all seemed very quiet. I found though that it was a matter of "tuning in": the birds were well hidden and at that time of day weren't singing openly so one had to be alert to quiet contact calls and also to keep one's eye's peeled for the slightest movement. I'd been given some instructions on where some firecrests had been seen the week before so I started off trying to find that location. I think I got it right but there were no calling birds there at all. Further on I heard loads of goldcrests and treecreepers but alas no firecrests (which I would have been most pleased to see).

I soon found Caesar's Camp which is the central location of this area but there was a problem in that the push chair wouldn't fit through the gate. I debated unpacking it all and lifting it over but decided instead to press on elsewhere and possibly to come back later. I therefore chose to start wandering down the various paths keeping alert all the time. Up till this point all I'd seen were a treecreeper and a coal tit and a few chaffinches. I came to an area where I heard the high-pitched call of what I was pretty sure was a goldcrest. As I'd not seen much so far I thought that I would see if I could see it and I started peering up into the branches, looking for movement. At that point I did see movement and I put my bins to my eyes, expecting to see a goldcrest but instead there was a large greeny-brown finch hopping around. As I tried to make it out I saw a second of a lovely reddy/scarlet colour and I started to get excited as there's only one finch of that size and colour that I knew of. I looked to see if I could see the bill to clinch it and yes, there it was, a fantastic male and female crossbill from only about 5m away. The pair fed quietly and confidently just above us for several minutes, nearly dropping half eaten pine cones on our head. I'd been very lucky as they weren't calling at all and if I hadn't been looking for the goldcrest I would never have found it. At this point L was starting to get restless so I took him out of his pushchair and we decided to have our picnic lunch by the side of the path as I continued to watch the birds until they moved on.

Now that I'd seen such a great sight I was more relaxed about whether I was going to see anything else: even if I saw nothing further I would be well satisfied. So I decided to let L walk for a while. This would mean slower progress but it was unfair for him to be either cooped up in the car or stuck in his pushchair all day, he needed to stretch his legs. We therefore ambled along, L stopping to pick up interesting things and to wade through muddy puddles whilst I listened intently for birds. There were willow warblers, chiff chaffs and blackcaps/garden warblers singing, and we heard a distant cuckoo and both green and greater spotted woodpeckers. There were also lots of tits all around us and I realised that I am not that good on distinguishing them. Blue and great tits have so many calls that I more or less just lump them all together and leave it at that. I also discovered that chaffinches can make a wide variety of different calls: many times I traced a strange call back to a chaffinch doing something a bit different!

We reached a natural turning point and I started to consider going back when at that point I heard a call that I recognised from my CD this morning. I looked around and there above the trees was a fluttering spiralling bird in its song flight, unmistakable a wood lark and a most excellent find. Most pleased with this I was just starting to head home when I met a fellow birder coming the other way. We got chatting and he turned out to be the author of the Birds of Berkshire web-site! I told him how useful I'd found his site. He then asked whether I'd like to see either a redstart or a wood warbler, both of which were located close by and of course it would have been rude to refuse his kind offer! He showed me the location and sure enough we almost immediately heard the trill of a wood warbler. It was rather elusive and we spent some time trying to see it. I caught a couple of brief glimpses of it flying around but decided that I need to start heading back as I couldn't afford to be late for the pick-up. I thanked my companion for his help and left him waiting patiently for a decent sighting so he could take a photo.

By this time L was back in his push chair as he was starting to feel rather tired. This meant that I could walk at a fast past and I soon got back to Caesar's camp. I debated making a quick dash round there but this would have meant being rather rushed and in the end I decided to head back at a leisurely pace, keeping an ear out for calling firecrests (which I didn't find). The journey back was uneventful and in fact I managed to arrive 20 minutes early for the pick-up.

So I'd managed two of my target birds with a bonus crossbill as well. I was very pleased with this effort but resolved to return to see if I could find more of these species in this interesting habitat. I might even contemplate an evening session with the possibility of nightjars or woodcocks though the logistics would mean getting back to Oxford very late. Interestingly enough the first two year ticks were also lifers for me (I wasn't sure about whether I'd seen the wood lark as a boy so had erred on the side of caution) and so continued the recent run of Lifers. At this rate I'll soon have my life list up to a more respectable total as befits someone of my age rather than its current boyishly low figure.

There was also a pair of sanderlings to add to the list which had arrived at my local patch on Port Meadow the previous day. Given that there were so many birders there looking at the Temminck's stint they were soon picked up and I managed to get down to see them within an hour of their first being spotted.

167: sanderling
168: crossbill (LIFER)
169: wood lark (LIFER)
170: wood warbler ]]> gnome http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=598 Tales of a Botanical Birder http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=597 Fri, 16 May 2008 18:06:30 GMT 14th May. The sun shone across the UK, well that is apart from the north east coastal area where cloud cover had come in from the North Sea and there was a definite chill in the air, a big enough chill to ensure the planned trip up Cheviot to look for Dotterel was called off. A trip was still... 14th May. The sun shone across the UK, well that is apart from the north east coastal area where cloud cover had come in from the North Sea and there was a definite chill in the air, a big enough chill to ensure the planned trip up Cheviot to look for Dotterel was called off. A trip was still made to Durham however, Tunstall reservoir in particular in the hopes of finding Redstart and Wood Warbler, the latter having been heard, but not seen by me at this site last year. There’s a rather splendid piece of woodland here and the walk across the dam to the wood brought us the song of Song Thrush and sightings of Moorhen, Redshank, Grey Wagtail, Swallow and Swift and a rather nice meadow full of Meadow Buttercups Ranunculus acris.

Once into the woods the initial impression was of quiet. A few good species of plant about however, which included carpets of Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana (not enough time to check for possible Wood Dog Violet), Garlic Mustard Allium ursinum, Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris, Bugle Ajuga reptans, Lesser Stitchwort Stallaria graminea, Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella, Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scriptus, Primrose Primula vulgaris and Cowslip Primula veris. A Tawny Owl called from the other side of the reservoir, there was the brief call of a Cuckoo and a calling Curlew appeared to fly across the water, which in the main was hidden by the trees. Every flash of red turned out to be that of a Robin rather than the sought after Redstart and there was no hint of a sound from Wood Warblers. After a time bird song did become more apparent and Willow Warblers were about in number and we had good sightings of Pied Flycatcher and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Other birds included Wren, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit and Treecreeper. I got my eye on a Roe Deer up on the hill and well hidden. I’m sure that there were more deer around as I heard the rustling from time to time.

We had practically given up on the Redstarts when I got my eye on movement at the back of the woods. Keeping my bins pointed on that particular spot I picked up the unmistakeable markings of male Redstart perched on a dead tree trunk lying across the floor of the wood. I saw more than one bird and assume the female was there too, but neither bird stayed still for long. This could well have been the nesting area. I picked the male up three or four time so whilst the sighting was a distant one I am still more than happy with it. I do know that I must get to grips with the song of the Redstart!

We moved on to Weardale to an area were we had heard that there was a Ring Ouzel nesting. On the short journey we picked up Red Grouse and Lapwing and on arrival soon found Skylark, Meadow Pipits, Pied and Grey Wagtail and had a wonderful sighting of a male Wheatear. Whilst having lunch we spotted two large men with ginormous cameras, always a good sign if you’re looking for something interesting. Anyway a short walk did bring us Ring Ouzel, if only for a fleeting second or two. As we walked past a fissure in the rock a bird flew out and called what was unmistakably a Ring Ouzel call. I’ll have to accept that sighting until my return to Teesdale next week where I hope to have better and longer sightings.

The day’s list came to 39 (we called it a day early on) and I added Tawny Owl, Redstart and Ring Ouzel to the year list. The sun came out as I arrived home!

1) Garlic Mustard 2) Lesser Stitchwort
3) Common Dog Violet 4) Bugle 5) Meadow Buttercup
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]]> brianfm http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=597 Bird news from Hungary, early May http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=596 Fri, 16 May 2008 15:29:16 GMT By the middle of May most bird species breeding in Hungary have arrived. Red-footed Falcons are busy occupying nest boxes and old rook nests. Rollers do the same, while Bee-eaters started excavating their nest holes. Lesser Grey Shrikes pose on telegraph poles and Red-backed Shrikes occupy every... By the middle of May most bird species breeding in Hungary have arrived. Red-footed Falcons are busy occupying nest boxes and old rook nests. Rollers do the same, while Bee-eaters started excavating their nest holes. Lesser Grey Shrikes pose on telegraph poles and Red-backed Shrikes occupy every bush. River, Marsh and Icterine Warbler are all back.

Pallid Harriers were still on the move early May and there were several Booted Eagles reported. Of the uncommon waders there was a Terek Sandpiper in the East of Hungary.

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A rare breeding bird the Black-winged Pratincole was seen; 2 specimens at a site where they have been seen last year too. ]]> ecotours http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=596 Nacunda Nighthawks. http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=595 Fri, 16 May 2008 11:53:59 GMT Hello !

In the past weeks, I had seen Nacunda Nighthawks, in town, flying around utility poles, until late in the night.

They extended their "feeding hours" due the city lights...In the Field you can only see them late in the day & very early in the morning (sometimes).

My most incredible, expererience, with them, happened near the International Airport in Sao Paulo, where they can be seen at the parking lot of the INTERNATIONAL SHOPPING CENTER.

Me and my guests almost had a "brain shock" when we realized that we were watching birds sorrounded by about 21.000.000 people - The population of Greater Sao Paulo.

Cheerio!

Paulo Boute.

www.boute-expeditions.com ]]> Paulo Boute http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=595 My Dream came true!!! http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=594 Thu, 15 May 2008 14:42:02 GMT Hello! I just had a dream coming true , this week! I had a Red-shouldered Macaw, perching on a palm tree in my yard. I planted this palm tree, 10 years ago, with the hope that someday the macaws would find it... The palm tree is not big enough for having them for roosting there , yet, but, just... Hello!
I just had a dream coming true , this week!
I had a Red-shouldered Macaw, perching on a palm tree in my yard.
I planted this palm tree, 10 years ago, with the hope that someday the macaws would find it...
The palm tree is not big enough for having them for roosting there , yet, but, just knowing the macaws are keeping an eye on it , it's very promissing!!!
I planted this palm tree when it was just a foot tall ( if, not less than that...). Today it is about
100 foot tall.
May Everyone have a great weekend!

Paulo Boute.
www.boute-expeditions.com ]]> Paulo Boute http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=594 <![CDATA[Temminck's Stint on the Meadow]]> http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=593 Thu, 15 May 2008 11:58:39 GMT It's been a fantastic week for birding. I was so excited to find the wood sandpiper earlier on in the week, then yesterday I managed to twitch the red-footed falcon (not a particularly great achievement I know but I enjoyed it) and then to cap it all this morning there's a Temminck's Stint on the Meadow.

I went down to the Meadow to see if the wood sandpiper was still there. The weather was lousy and it soon started to rain quite hard. The Meadow though was looking great from a bird point of view with plenty of water still from the floods and some really great mud being exposed. On the floods I soon spotted a couple of ringed plover on the far bank but when I looked closely there was a third smaller bird next to it. It looked stint-like and yet had a rather plain back. It was standing right next to the plovers and one could see it's tiny size in comparison. At that moment the three birds were spooked and flew up suddenly so that I caught a glimpse of it's tail: it had the white edges going all the way down to the end of the tail. At this point I started to get excited as I knew that this was significant but couldn't remember whether than meant Temminck's or Little Stint. I thought that I might have lost it at this point so scanned the rest of the shore-line. I soon came across the wood sandpiper which was still happily wading and bobbing away but no sign of the other birds.

I was getting increasingly wet in the rain but thought I'd give the end of the shore another scan. I quickly picked up the ringed plover again though now there appeared to be three of them. Next to them I then find a dunlin. Could I have been confusing my stint with a dunlin? I had been sure of the size differential compared to the plovers and the dunlin was more or less comparable in size. I was starting to have doubts but then I find the stint again and it's obviously smaller than the other birds. I get a good look at the back which is rather plain and I'm becoming more certain all the time that it's a Temminck's. However I look at my watch and realise that I need to get back to take my daughter to school so I give a quick call to a local fellow birder telling him what I found. Fortunately he's in and can come down to the Meadow so I leave him instructions as to where it is and head back home. About half an hour later he calls me back to confirm the ID - he is much more experienced than I am and has a much better scope and manages to see the leg colour so with this endorsement I'm confident that it is in fact a Temminck's Stint.

There have been quite a few Temminck's Stint around over the last few days: Rainham Marshes have had three and at Little Marlow GP's in Bucks there's been one for the last couple of days so they are definitely on the move at present. In fact I had been contemplating a twitch over to Little Marlow but this find had saved me the trip. It's strange because the same thing had happened with the wood sandpiper: I'd been contemplating going down to the Greenham Common area where there'd been a couple of wood sandpiper and had even asked a local birder down there for directions when one turned up on the Meadow. I suppose that what's happening is that there's been a movement of these birds so I see the postings on Bird Guides and start thinking about trying to find one and then they turn up on the Meadow but it does seem rather spooky that when I contemplate trying to find a bird lo and behold it turns up on the Meadow. Perhaps I should contemplate trying to find some mega rarity to see if I can manifest it!


Anyway, yet another year and life tick. It's been four Lifers in a row now so it's a really exciting birding time at present.

166: Temminck's Stint (LIFER) ]]> gnome http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=593 Stewartby Red-footed Falcon http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=592 Wed, 14 May 2008 15:26:37 GMT I was about due for another of my fortnightly mornings off for birding but what with the excitement of the wood sandpiper yesterday evening (which was still present this morning when I went down to check) and the propsect of a day's birding while looking after my son L on Saturday I thought that I would go for a simple little twitch which shouldn't take up too much time. A red-footed falcon had been at Stewartby in Beds for the last 4 days so it was a good candidate for a "quicky". I waited until about 11am to see if it was going to be posted on Bird Guides as having been seen again but although nothing had appeared I had become quite taken with the idea of the trip and had decided to go anyway. At least there should be plenty of hobbies to look at.

The journey was 48 miles mostly along single carriage-way A roads and took about 70 minutes, which just shows how slow one's average speed is on such roads. When I arrived there were at least half a dozen cars parked up by the entrance to track across the fields so there was a good chance I felt that the bird was still there - if it had gone people would have been less likely to hang around for it. A 5 minute tramp along a farm track lead to a group of birders with scopes all set up scanning the skies. I asked whether the bird was around and was told that it had been seen several times that morning but that it was coming and going and that right now it wasn't present. It seemed to be a matter of scanning the plentiful hobbies that were flying everywhere for that tell-tale dark grey underbelly of a first summer male. I soon discovered that this wasn't as easy as it appeared: the light wasn't that helpful and often one only had a near-silhouette in the distance. I started watching the hobbies anyway, delightful birds with which I am only starting to become fully acquainted: although I know I saw one as a boy it was a distant blob which someone else told me was a hobby.

All of a sudden one of the more experienced birders picked it out and started a commentary of what it was doing so that we could pick it up. I thought that I had it but it was still no more than a blob for me before it disappeared suddenly rather close in the bushes to the left. It didn't seem to fly out the other side and we were left somewhat mystified as to where it had gone. It had not been a very satisfying viewing and I was even debating whether I'd actually definitely seen the bird.

After a while there was the distant cry of a raptor and two birds came flying rapidly across the sky towards us. Someone else ID'd them as peregrines and we all got a good chance to view them. It was a good opportunity for me to compare them to the hobbies to see how much more powerfully built they were and to get a sense of their different jizz. I am a great believer in jizz, that nebulous feel for a bird which can often be the fastest way to ID something. After they had gone I went back to acquiring more hobby jizz.

Suddenly a bird flew out of the bushes from the left not to far from us. With my newly acquired jizz radar I could sense that it wasn't a hobby and it even looked different so I called it out to the group as the red-foot which was fortunately immediately confirmed by someone else. We then watched it for about 5 minutes as it hunted insects over the pit before becoming just another blob on the distant horizon. It mush have been perched in the bushes not to far from where we were.

At that point I felt that I'd got my money's worth and as time was drawing on I decided to head back to Oxford. When I got back on Bird Guides it was posted as being seen a couple of times though the last entry mysteriously said "...until 14:15 only". I'd left there at 14:00 and was wondering what could have happened to make the poster so sure that it had gone after 14:15 as it had been coming and going all morning often not being seen for some time before re-appearing again. If that was indeed the last sighting then that would have made for a very lucky twitch on my part, seeing it not 15 minutes before it departed. Incidentally the same thing happened with the dotterel that I saw on Bury Down which apparently flew off some 15 minutes after I left.

Another one for the year list and yet another lifer too. Despite my wondering where my next ticks were going to come from I seem to be picking up some nice birds at present.

165: Red-footed Falcon (LIFER) ]]> gnome http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=592 Red-footed Falcons on the fly http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=591 Wed, 14 May 2008 11:35:59 GMT On Sunday afternoon, the wife and I headed out to our local birding "patch": its a lovely little pond, frnged with reeds and rushes, surrounded by fields, and with a spectacular gallery of overlooking mountains. I only "discovered" the spot a few weeks ago after a friend asked if I had been there. Needless to say, I am now hooked.Sunday was a lovely day. Just as we got to the pond, I saw another birder there (one could tell by the cumbersome piles of optical equipment hanging off of various limbs and "tripodded" at the ready). Now this is not a common sight in Tirol. Spinning around I got my second unusual sight. A little falcon sitting on the line. At first I took it for a kestrel. But one look at her light wannabe hood dispelled that misconception.

Seven years not having seen a red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus, Rotfußfalke) and it seems I had gotten a little rusty. I took me a good minute to be sure what she was. As I looked about, we found at least 7 red-footed falcons about (only two adult males). They would glide over the field, pick up a flying "May beetle" and, in typical red-footed falcon style, eat it with both feet in the air (incidentally, the Milvus kites also like to do this). Between these short feeding forays, they would head back to a power line and sit for a bit. Tangentially, it occurs to me that maybe the life of a red-footed falcon was a little less interesting before power/telephone lines.

It seems we only really get these little falcons here at migration time when they move up from the dryer savannas and grasslands of southern Africa in to the Palaearctic steppes to breed. They make little stops on their journey to fill up on insects in the spring-touched fields (basically birdy road-side service stations)

To identify the females and youngsters, keep a look out for the indistinct face mask, buff underparts with varying degrees of streaking (most adult females tend to have only a very little bit of streaking on the side of the belly and chest). She is barred grey on the back and wings. Adult males are easy: dark slate grey everywhere, except for the red of feet, undertail, and face.

Red-footed falcons breed in loose colonies, but roost colonially during the non-breeding season. Nests are often "adopted" from various species of corvids and individuals can live at least 13 years.

Their horizontal flying speed is about 46 km/h, about the same as for most other raptors (Bruderer B 2001 Ibis 143). Evidently (and not unexpectedly), 46 km/h is just too quick for a couple of little bugs.

The German wikipedia entry for the red-footed falcon is pretty good: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotfu%C3%9Ffalke so if you can read German and are interested, it is really worth checking out.
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]]> Dale Forbes http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=591 Harpy Eagle - Nest Status - Up Dated. http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=590 Wed, 14 May 2008 10:43:00 GMT Hello!

Well, after a good number of days away from Internet connection. I'm back, ready to inform the status of the Harpy Eagle Nest at Serra das Araras at the State of Mato Grosso - Brazil.

Well, the nest is well built, giving great evidence the Harpy Eagles are having serious plans to start a new family.

But, despite of going to the nest tree twice: Morning and afternoon, we could not find any of the parents.

I didn't use the play back either.

Making a short story: "Close but, no cigar..." :-(

I'm returning there , next week, with the hope to bring you some more news...hopefully, better ones!

Yours,

Paulo Boute.

www.boute-expeditions.com ]]> Paulo Boute http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=590 A wood sandpiper on the Meadow http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=589 Tue, 13 May 2008 19:39:52 GMT Things have been rather quiet on my local patch, Port Meadow in Oxford but over the last few days things had picked up somewhat with my finding greenshank on the floods at around lunch time several days in a row. I arrived back mid afternoon from a morning's meeting up in London and didn't really feel like doing any work so I suggested to my VLW (very lovely wife) that I take our son L out for a little stroll on the Meadow. I'd noticed that a pair of little ringed plover had been posted as being seen there that day so I thought I'd have a look round to see if they were still there.

When I arrived on the Meadow it was looking absolutely gorgeous in its May colours: the hawthorn was all out and the buttercups were all coming out amongst the grass. The sky was a lovely blue and only a rather stiff northerly breeze kept it from being a perfect day. I went to my usual vantage point by the gate to the entrance to Burgess Field NR and scanned the flood shoreline through my bins for anything interesting to see if it was worth getting my scope out. After a few moments I managed to find a small wader that warranted a closer look. As usual it was as far away as possible from where I was and the sun was also more or less behind it now so even with the scope out it was difficult to make out. In shape it was closest to a redshank but it seemed too small. I'd recently been getting my head round all the waders by drawing a chart of them ranked according to size. I use dunlin, redshank, godwit and curlew as my four key size markers as I am reasonably familiar with their sizes by now. I then rank a prospective wader according to where it fits in this scheme. For example a greenshank is bigger than a redshank but not as big as a godwit. In this case the bird in question was between a dunlin and a redshank but it was difficult at that range and with the sun against me to tell any more.

I was going to call it a stunted redshank and leave it at that but I had a bit of time before I had to be back home so I thought that I would stroll over to the other side of the floods to take a closer look. The ground by the river is riddled with hardened cattle prints and is therefore very bumpy. Even with the new all-terrain pushchair it was hard going getting L round to the right side of the floods. Fortunately the bird was still there - I'd noticed that it had stayed put when some people had walked quite close by so it wasn't particularly flighty. I positioned myself so the sun was more or less behind me and got down to less than 50m from it and had a good look in my scope. I was soon able to determine to my delight that it was in fact a wood sandpiper. I carefully checked all the diagnostic features: white spangles on a green/brown back, a white supercilium, greenish legs and it even helpfully flapped its wings to reveal a white rump ending square against it's back (ie not a wedge shape like a greenshank) with small dark bars on the tail end (as opposed to the heavier dark bars of a green sandpiper) and a light underwing. I tried to take a photo which would have come out quite well at that range only to discover that my camera battery had gone flat. Nevertheless a great find and one I was most pleased about, even more so for having found it myself rather than twitching someone else's find.

I had a quick scan around to see if there was anything else that I'd missed and managed to find three little ringed plover along the northern shoreline. They were rather well hidden amongst the churned up mud from the cattle which explained why I'd not seen them from Burgess Field. There was also a single common tern hunting over the water briefly.

Another one to add to the year list and indeed another lifer.

164: wood sandpiper (LIFER) ]]> gnome http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=589 5/10/08 - Honomalino http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=588 Mon, 12 May 2008 20:38:06 GMT Nature Conservancy volunteer day, planting native understory in former pasture lands. I planted 'a'ali'i, mamane, kolea, kopiko, pilo, mamaki, ho'awa, 'oha wai, and phyllostegia florabunda. Only the last one is fairly rare.

The western slope of Mauna Kea is often referred to as the greatest concentration of 'amakihi on the island, but at this moment the 'amakihi seem far more densely concentrated about 4500 feet elevation in Honomalino than I've ever seen on the western slope of Mauna Kea. ]]> bkrownd http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=588 Tales of a Botanical Birder http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=587 Sun, 11 May 2008 17:33:13 GMT 10th May. A repeat of last weeks walk in the Cheviot area, this time with the group, was done in sunshine and heat. On the whole a repeat of last weeks walk as far as birds seen went, but on this occasion I had wonderfully close up sightings of a pair of *Whinchat *and pair of *Wheatear* along... 10th May. A repeat of last weeks walk in the Cheviot area, this time with the group, was done in sunshine and heat. On the whole a repeat of last weeks walk as far as birds seen went, but on this occasion I had wonderfully close up sightings of a pair of Whinchat and pair of Wheatear along with the sight of a Kestrel mobbing a Common Buzzard just over our heads.

The Primroses still carpeted the fellsides but were definately fading somewhat. Glad I seem to have caught them at their peak a week earlier. ]]> brianfm http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=587 <![CDATA[I can't believe it - I FINALLY saw an owl!!!]]> http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=586 Sun, 11 May 2008 17:02:14 GMT I've been trying to tick an owl (any owl - I didn't care if it was a Snowy Owl or a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl) since I began birding way, way, way back in 2005.

I was beginning to think that maybe owls didn't exist. That everyone in the world except me was in on some sort of cosmic-scale private joke. Maybe the "WHOOO WHOOO WHO COOOKS FOR YOOOUUAAaaaahhh" I heard in the woods from time to time was being generated by a snickering trickster in a deer stand with an MP3 player.
click here for Barred Owl "song"

But then today..... today the world changed for me.

I was exploring a new birding site - Hugg-Thomas Wildlife Management Area. A nice tract of land in NW Howard county, Maryland (about 27 miles from where I live). It is managed for hunting and has a great mixture of habitats. Everything from open fields to rivers to hills.

I spent about 30 minutes skirting a large open area but not much was happening (I arrived there at 7:00 AM) so I headed into the woods and began following the trail.

It was a fantastic day for Wood Thrushes! You could hear them everywhere. The sounds of multiple Wood Thrushes singing has to be one of nature's most sublime of symphonies. And they were quite bold - they gave me showings that I normally associate with American Robins. They saw me, they ignored me. It was a really special feeling watching a Wood Thrush sing on an exposed branch right over the trail less than 20 yards away.
click here for Wood Thrush song

Following the trail further led me down alongside a tributary of the Patuxent River. I kept hearing this unfamiliar birdsong. It was very clear and sounded a bit strident. I thought I was listening to an Empidonax flycatcher of unknown species (which for me is anything other than an Acadian). The call had that sort of explosive quality to it. I kept looking and finally the singer made himself visible. Turns out it was a Hooded Warbler! A great find and it really made my day (up to that point).
click for Hooded Warbler song

Eastern Wood Peewees were singing everywhere and after about 90 minutes of walking I was finally able to see one. Nice - that's 2 year ticks so far today. For an overcast day this was going very well.
click for Eastern Wood Peewee song

And then it happened.

I saw a large bird through 100 feet of trees rise up from the ground and perch near the top of a tall tree. I could sort of see him from where I was and I brought my bins up and expected to be trying to figure out if it was a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Red-tailed Hawk. Imagine my surprise and joy when I found myself staring eye to eye with a Barred Owl (first photo shows the view of the owl when I first found it in my bins after landing in the tree - I use a 300mm lens so I couldn't tell what it was without glass). It was such an eerie feeling! The eyes were so large and so dark and were so obviously staring right at me. With a hawk, they look at you sideways. Remember - this was my first owl and the momentary shock of realizing what I was looking at was almost electric.

I moved around the tree I was standing behind to get a better view and he flew to a nearby tree. I walked a little further down the trail and was able to get closer and get some better shots.

What a day! 2 year ticks plus a lifer. Life is good......


Oh, take a look at the last picture....
That is the sign guarding the entrance to the place. Since when do trespassers need trespassing permits? And where would one go to obtain a trespassing permit???

Links for this birding site:
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]]> http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=586 Tales of a Botanical Birder http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=585 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:07:42 GMT Some wildflowers seen on walk in Teesdale 7th May. 1 Wood Anemone 2) Wild Garlic 3) Butterbur 4) Wood Sorrel 5) Wood Forgetmenots Some wildflowers seen on walk in Teesdale 7th May.
1 Wood Anemone 2) Wild Garlic 3) Butterbur 4) Wood Sorrel 5) Wood Forgetmenots
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]]> brianfm http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=585 Tales of a Botanical Birder http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=584 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:01:56 GMT 7th May. The day was sunny and warm as we left for Teesdale, Cotherstone, where the River Balder flows from the Pennines to meet the Tees, to be precise as this was the starting point of a seven mile walk of which a good part and I mean good in every sense, was to be through woodland on the banks... 7th May. The day was sunny and warm as we left for Teesdale, Cotherstone, where the River Balder flows from the Pennines to meet the Tees, to be precise as this was the starting point of a seven mile walk of which a good part and I mean good in every sense, was to be through woodland on the banks of the River Tees. Teesdale is an area I have come to appreciate greatly over very recent years and I have yet to be disappointed with a visit there and today was to be no exception. During the outward drive the fields of Oil Seed Rape Brassica napus were lit beautifully by the sun and Swifts flew over Barnard Castle and certainly grew in numbers as the day went on.

As soon as we began the walk it was obvious that the flora was going to be good, but I wasn’t prepared for just how good. The woods were carpeted throughout with Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa, Wild Garlic Allium ursinum (a wonderful sight, but I can’t say that I enjoyed the pungent scent!), Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scriptus, Red Campion Silene dioica and Wood Forgetmenot Myosotis sylvatica. Other wild flowers seen today included Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris, Common Chickweed Stellaria media, Violet (species), Primrose Primula vulgaris, Cowslip Primula veris, Cuckoo Flower Cardamine pratensis, White Dead Nettle, Lamium album Green Field Speedwell Veronica agrestis, Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata, Lady’s Bedstraw Galium verum, Gorse Ulex europaeus, Butterbur Petasites hybridus Dog’s Mercury Mercurialis perennis, Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris Daisies Bellis perennis and a multitude of Dandelions Taraxucum officinale everywhere making some areas look like a yellow carpet had been rolled out. Certainly one of my favourites was the delicate Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella often shooting up from the damp moss which made a wonderful background and showed them off to their best.

The early part of the walk through the woods was especially good for birds. Dipper was soon found. Pied Flycatcher, which had been hoped for, but I certainly wasn’t expecting such good sightings of four pairs, with the males actively singing in defence of the nesting sites. Blackcap was soon heard although I have to admit I only had sightings of this bird as it flew through the now increasingly leaved trees. Willow Warblers were well out numbered by the Chiffchaffs, or so the calls suggested, and we had excellent views of a pair of Spotted Flycatchers which we assumed had only very recently arrived, being one of our later arriving summer migrant visitors. In one small area of the wood we stood and watched at least two pairs and probably more Nuthatch, as Goldcrest fed in the trees. Another Nuthatch was seen further into the walk so I guess they are doing well in this area.

Views of the Tees could be glimpsed through the trees and other birds in this area included Wood Pigeon, Swallow, Wren, Robin, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Once out into the open fields I had a glimpse of Green Woodpecker which vanished into the trees and then managed to fly off behind the hillock in the surrounding field. We stopped for lunch at this point, surrounded by Cowslips and the day was becoming hotter as House Martins had now joined the hunting Swallows and Swifts. Just as well that my flask had been filled with water rather than coffee. I just about made it last out the walk. We were soon off again and it wasn’t long before we were crossing the bridge over the Tees at our half way point and onward to a rather long drawn out upward stretch of the walk which in the heat was at times tiring especially where the steps had been put in obviously for the use of giants! All part of the enjoyment of a walk of course and the views made any effort put in well worthwhile. We stopped at a view point for about ten minutes until I began to fry in the heat. We had fantastic views both up and down the River Tees and a Jay added to the enjoyment. Curlews were seen in this area and an over flying Grey Heron also. The difficulties that our wildlife and farm animals face was brought home to us when we found a ewe, with a badly injured leg, caring for two lambs, and a very distressed corvid with broken wing trying vainly to take flight and collapsing in a heap each time.

Butterflies were around in numbers today especially Peacocks. Small Whites were numerous and several Small Tortoiseshells were seen. More than one Orange Tip were seen, but not by me.:-( I’m not sure if anyone is experienced in finding small butterflies on on the other side of rivers when the direction of ‘there it is’, is given. It ain’t easy! ;-)

As we approached the river we had sightings of Grey and Pied Wagtails. As we reached the end of the walk I felt as though I could have carried on but perhaps that was just relief. As we walked through the yellow gorse growing high above our heads the smell of coconut was strong and I caught sight of a Greenfinch. I mustn’t forget the Grey Partridge seen as we took a wrong turning. The wrong turning was meant to be I guess as I have been looking for the local Grey Partridges without success since the beginning of the year. A male Goosander flew down river and Dipper was seen again. We took some time to enjoy the views form the bridge in the area where the Balder joins the Tees.

Once back in the village I did ‘narf’ enjoy my can of orange from the post office, incidentally staffed by a couple who originated from my home area. They have chosen their move well. Swifts continued to fly overhead. Bird list for the day totalled 44 with 4 added to the year list, Grey Partridge, Green Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher. I think I shall probably return to Teesdale!
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]]> brianfm http://www.birdforum.net/blog.php?b=584