Upton Warren (22 Viewers)

A nice read Dave, and well done on the record.

I'm well pleased with my first year, 122 is a pretty poor total but as I'm a newbie I'll take it with a grin. I did'nt start coming to UW in earnest until March so it's not too bad.

I am away until next Saturday so I won't be starting my list until the work party.
Until then have a good week and hope your lists are not too big before I make my first appearance of the year 8-P

Kicked off 2012 with 3.5 hours on the reserve this morning; sadly the Brent Goose was nowhere to be seen. The first sightings of the year were as follows:

1.Mute Swan (2@MP), 2.Greylag Geese (9 in fields by the Sailing Pool), 3.Canada Geese (approx 50 across the reserve), 4.Mallard, 5.Gadwall (pair@MP), 6.Teal (62@MP, 41@Fl), 7.Shoveler (11@MP), 8.Pochard (4@MP), 9.Tufted Duck (13@MP), 10.Goosander (female north over North Moors Pool), 11.Coot, 12 Moorhen, 13.Grey Heron (2@MP), 14.Cormorant (17@MP), 15.Little Grebe (1@MP), 16.GC Grebe (3@MP, 1@SP), 17.Lapwing, 18.Common Snipe (3@MP), 19.Curlew (14@MP), 20.Green Sand (1@Fl), 21.Sparrowhawk, 22.Peregrine, 23.Pheasant, 24.Green Woodpecker, 25.GS Woodpecker, 26.Wood Pigeon, 27.Blackbird, 28.Song Thrush, 29.Mistle Thrush, 30.Redwing, 31. Fieldfare, 32.Robin, 33.Dunnock, 34.Wren, 35.Grey Wagtail (1@SP), 36.Pied Wagtail, 37.Meadow Pipit, 38.Blue Tit, 39.Great Tit, 40.LT Tit, 41.Bullfinch, 42.Greenfinch, 43.Chaffinch, 44.Goldfinch, 45.Lesser Redpoll (6@ER), 46.Jackdaw, 47.Magpie, 48.Jay, 49.Carrion Crow, 50.Rook (6@Fl), 51.BH Gull, 52.LBB Gull, 53.Herring Gull (11 south over MP).

Species not encountered that might be later today or over the next few days include:-
Water Rail, Common Gull, Raven, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Starling, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Siskin, Buzzard, Kingfisher.

Upton Forever

Happy New Year to one and all! As the years, actually the decades, pass by, Upton seems to continually bring joy to many of us lucky enough to have discovered this little gem of a reserve. In a time of austerity, financial uncertainty and the everyday worries and stresses of life, it's extremely comforting to know there is a place we can immerse ourselves in, for as long as we care to, that can lift our spirits, provide wonderful intimacy with wildlife and where we can meet so many helpful and enthusiastic people. Obviously, there's also that unique pleasure of sitting in a hide, with tea and cake whilst talking nonsense for hours on end!
Being a former Upton-junkie, I am very familiar with the adrenalin rush of receiving news of a good bird at Upton and dashing up there like a madman to try and connect. The ultimate birding experience is finding something special on your own patch, especially after many fruitless hours. Reading Dave's (Woodchat's) personal summary of 2011, and people's favourite birds of the year, brought back my own highlights of the past 25 years - how lucky are we that such a simple experience of seeing a bird can give us such incredible joy?
Well done Dave on your record-breaking year, just my day-record to beat, plus another 15 Upton-ticks and we'll get a plaque put up for you!
Of course, it doesn't matter what you or I have seen or not seen, it's the place that's important, so here's to another fantastic year ahead and continued enthusiasm from all the volunteers who do a magnificent job every week/month - ROLL ON THE SPRING AND HAPPY BIRDING!!!

oriole boy said:

Obviously, there's also that unique pleasure of sitting in a hide, with tea and cake whilst talking nonsense for hours on end!

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Hi Paul - I take it you havent been to the Flashes recently? 8-P

A Great Black Backed Gull dropped onto the Moors pool 12.10 for barely 10 mins..Gerts pics probably better than mine

Phil's December 2011 review now online here.

Will update year and life lists asap and well done Dave on a superb achievement:t:

Brian
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Birding Today

Phil Andrews said:

Prior to today's sighting there have only been three accepted records of Brent Geese for Upton Warren, all relating to Dark-bellied birds:

28th October 1989 - one at the Moors Pool
6th April 1992 - one in the Broadmeadow at the Moors Pool
13th October 1996 - one on the Sailing Pool (presumably the same bird was also seen two days later at the Moors Pool although not submitted to the County Recorder)

There have been two further reports that were not submitted to the County Recorder, both from 2007 - two at the Flashes on the 15th October followed by two on the Sailing Pool on the 26th December.

As an aside, 2011 is the first year that has seen six species of geese recorded at Upton Warren.

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Hi Phil,

I did submit it to REH (who was recorder at the time) but it was some time after the event and it was never included as an addendum in the report. Didn't realise back then the significance of the record :smoke:.

Brian
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Birding Today

Brian Stretch said:

Hi Phil,

I did submit it to REH (who was recorder at the time) but it was some time after the event and it was never included as an addendum in the report. Didn't realise back then the significance of the record :smoke:.

Brian
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Birding Today

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Thanks for the update Brian - I assume it was accepted? Do you know if it was considered the same as Mike's record two days earlier or a different bird?

Phil Andrews said:

Thanks for the update Brian - I assume it was accepted? Do you know if it was considered the same as Mike's record two days earlier or a different bird?

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It was considered to be the same bird as it was also a Dark-bellied, but as it was never included in the WMBC report I guess it wasn't officially accepted.

I had it in front of the east hide but because I was doing most of my birding in places like Kent and Norfolk at that time, I just took it for granted.

Brian
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Birding Today

woodwolf said:

A Great Black Backed Gull dropped onto the Moors pool 12.10 for barely 10 mins..Gerts pics probably better than mine

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and pics attached, one comparing the size to the Black headed Gulls and a couple of cropped ones :t:

Phil Andrews said:

Kicked off 2012 with 3.5 hours on the reserve this morning; sadly the Brent Goose was nowhere to be seen. The first sightings of the year were as follows:

1.Mute Swan (2@MP), 2.Greylag Geese (9 in fields by the Sailing Pool), 3.Canada Geese (approx 50 across the reserve), 4.Mallard, 5.Gadwall (pair@MP), 6.Teal (62@MP, 41@Fl), 7.Shoveler (11@MP), 8.Pochard (4@MP), 9.Tufted Duck (13@MP), 10.Goosander (female north over North Moors Pool), 11.Coot, 12 Moorhen, 13.Grey Heron (2@MP), 14.Cormorant (17@MP), 15.Little Grebe (1@MP), 16.GC Grebe (3@MP, 1@SP), 17.Lapwing, 18.Common Snipe (3@MP), 19.Curlew (14@MP), 20.Green Sand (1@Fl), 21.Sparrowhawk, 22.Peregrine, 23.Pheasant, 24.Green Woodpecker, 25.GS Woodpecker, 26.Wood Pigeon, 27.Blackbird, 28.Song Thrush, 29.Mistle Thrush, 30.Redwing, 31. Fieldfare, 32.Robin, 33.Dunnock, 34.Wren, 35.Grey Wagtail (1@SP), 36.Pied Wagtail, 37.Meadow Pipit, 38.Blue Tit, 39.Great Tit, 40.LT Tit, 41.Bullfinch, 42.Greenfinch, 43.Chaffinch, 44.Goldfinch, 45.Lesser Redpoll (6@ER), 46.Jackdaw, 47.Magpie, 48.Jay, 49.Carrion Crow, 50.Rook (6@Fl), 51.BH Gull, 52.LBB Gull, 53.Herring Gull (11 south over MP).

Species not encountered that might be later today or over the next few days include:-
Water Rail, Common Gull, Raven, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Starling, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Siskin, Buzzard, Kingfisher.

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Dave Jackson also had a Chiffchaff in the Education Reserve this morning.

Brian
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Birding Today

To add to Phil's list
Water rail heard at the north moors,
Stock dove and collared dove this afternoon at the moors
Trecreeper heard in at least 3 places around the moors.
Several reed bunting roosted in reed bed in front of 1st flash hide.

Totals that differed were shoveler 16 at the moors.
450+ BHG roosted tonight at the Flashes along with the goose flock that only included 9 greylags amongst the 40 or so canada's.
B John

upstarts1979 said:

To add to Phil's list
Water rail heard at the north moors,
Stock dove and collared dove this afternoon at the moors
Trecreeper heard in at least 3 places around the moors.
Several reed bunting roosted in reed bed in front of 1st flash hide.

Totals that differed were shoveler 16 at the moors.
450+ BHG roosted tonight at the Flashes along with the goose flock that only included 9 greylags amongst the 40 or so canada's.
B John

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The Brent must has disappeared with the other 10 missing Greylags!

Phil Andrews said:

The Brent must has disappeared with the other 10 missing Greylags!

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Hopefully they will return with the Bean Goose, that is doing the 'rounds'

Nice review Dave - puts my 129 to shame, I clearly need to put in more effort Another attempt this year?

I'll be kicking off my 2012 list tomorrow, with the modest aim of beating my own personal year-list of 133. I'll freely admit that I don't have the time available for a shot at beating 145 :-C

Good birding to all for the coming 12 months - about time we added to the reserve list I think.

Spring Migrant Arrival Phenology

Now we've turned the corner, the evenings start drawing out and we can look forward to the arrival of those cherished summer migrants in the coming months. For me, the spring is the most exciting time of year, when the miracle of long-distance bird-migration becomes manifest and we can all indulge in the spectacle of these avian marvels, fresh from their wintering grounds in Africa. From a scientific viewpoint, however, there's one question that I'm fascinated by - are these summer migrants arriving earlier in the spring?

The answer, it appears, is that some are definitely being recorded earlier at Upton Warren compared to a generation ago. For others, it seems, there is no evidence for any shift in their arrival patterns:

In order to demonstrate this, I'll focus on two iconic summer visitors, both well-known as the 'harbingers of spring' - the Swallow and the Cuckoo. Available data for both of these species at Upton Warren goes back to the 1940's and I find it very interesting to compare them. As their arrival is likely to be readily detected with their obvious and distinctive appearance and vocalisation, respectively, the quality of even the most historic data is likely to be good and they make ideal 'benchmarks' for quantitative investigation.

In this analysis, I've compared the ten most historic dates of their first appearance in the spring against the ten most recent spring-arrival dates. The t-test is a well-established statistical method for quantifying the overlap between two data-sets and gives an objective measure of their 'probablistic equivalence'. In other words, it shows if there is any evidence of a shift in the distribution of arrival dates for each species and the probability (based on the data) that there has been no change in the arrival pattern (i.e. the null hypothesis).

The percentile plots attached are a graphic representations of the spring arrival data:

For Swallow, it can be seen that the distributions for the two sample periods (1946 - 1983 and 2002 - 2011) are widely separated and non-convergent. This is also shown in the t-statistic, which suggests that the probability of these two data samples coming from the same overall distribution is less than 300,000 to 1. Therefore it can be concluded that, in the last decade, Swallows are being recorded at Upton Warren significantly earlier and that this is most probably a systematic shift in their migratory behaviour. This result is extremely statistically significant (the null hypothesis can be rejected).

For Cuckoo, it can be seen that the sample distributions are not widely separated and converge with each other. The t-statistic suggests that there is about a 1 in 8 chance that these two samples come from the same overall distribution. This result has no statistical significance and the null hypothesis, that there is no change in arrival date, cannot be ruled out in this case. i.e. no significant change in arrival date has occurred.

I have carried out similar analyses of other obligate afrotropical-european migrants that regularly occur at UW, with the following inferences:

• Hirundines, Acrocephalus warblers, Little Ringed Plovers and Common Terns have shown highly significant shifts towards earlier spring arrival at UW.
  
• Swifts, Redstarts and Arctic Terns are being recorded earlier in the spring at UW, although the shifts are of borderline statistical significance. i.e. less compelling.
  
• There is no evidence to suggest that Willow Warblers, Sylvia warblers, Cuckoos, Grasshopper Warblers, Wagtails, Chats, Spotted Flycatchers, Black Terns or Hobbies are being recorded earlier (or later) in the spring at Upton Warren compared to earlier decades.
  
• Garganey is being recorded later in the spring compared to earlier sample periods. In fact it has ceased being a regular spring migrant in the recent couple of years.
  

The picture may be more complicated in partial migrants / facultative migrants / species with significant wintering populations, such as Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and it is more difficult to draw firm conclusions in these instances. However, the data would suggest that Blackcaps are arriving significantly earlier at UW, whereas the appearance of migrant Chiffchaffs appear to have shown little change over the years.

The usual caveats regarding the quality of the data apply in these analyses (especially wrt the older data-sets). The reasons behind any shifts in arrival patterns are open to speculation.

knotsbirder said:

What Hoopoe is this binus? Am off to Norfolk too soon and have never seen a Hoopoe!

Sam

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the hoopoe was reported on riverside road on waste ground go up to end were the road is shut, we went this morn but no sign but it was mentioned later by someone at strumshaw fen as having been seen again today although nothing mentioned on the suffolk birding link, we did however get a red breasted merganser and a black throated diver and a peregrin at the same spot, go across waste ground on right check round the dock area. have a good trip.

By the time I left late morning a further five species (in capitals) had been added the reserve's year list, bringing it to 66. A combination of the various sightings is as follows:

FLASHES
3 Lesser Redpoll, Treecreeper, 3 LINNET, Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Heron, 24 Teal, GOLDCREST by the steps.

SAILING POOL19 Greylag Geese (+ another 5 over), 25 Canada Geese, 1 Coot, 1 GC Grebe, 7 SISKIN on southern boundary.

EDUCATION RESERVE
Chiffchaff, 2 Siskin, 10 Lesser Redpoll, Green and GS Woodpecker, many tits (not just you Mike!).

MOORS POOL
1 Little Grebe, 2 GC Grebe, 17 Curlew, 200 Lapwing, 8 Snipe, no Gadwall or Pochard, 11 Shoveler, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Canada Goose, 30 Cormorant, 29 Teal, 93 Coot, 17 Tufted Duck, 3 Siskin, 2 Lesser Redpoll, BUZZARD, KINGFISHER.

Phil, I had a Coal Tit by the steps to the flashes and up to 20 siskins. Is Coal Tit a new one for the year?

Woodchat said:

Phil, I had a Coal Tit by the steps to the flashes and up to 20 siskins. Is Coal Tit a new one for the year?

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Yes - that's 67; keep them coming!