Ten targets for 2017 (2 Viewers)

April 30th

Time for a target. Groppers can be tricksy devils to see, and I rather fancied our chances would be best shortly after they arrived and were still a bit more inclined to sit up when singing. Burton Marsh is an excellent site for these, always seem to be quite a few reelers, so off to Burton it was. On arrival I was somewhat disconcerted by the wind strength, thinking it may well keep any singing birds low, as well as disrupt our ability to pinpoint where they were singing from (not always easy at the best of times), but still, we’re here now, so let’s get to it. We could see another birder off ahead of us on the road out to Burton Point, and he seemed to be intently watching something. Sure enough, when we caught up with him he cheered us up with the news that he’d just had one perched up (we could here it reeling away) so as he headed off we settled down for a stake out. Didn’t last long, with the bird soon edging up an umbilifer, trilling its head off. Arch was on it first, and it sat up long enough for scope and pics. Cool, GRASSHOPPER WARBLER, fourth target down and high time we got one.

Further on the same birder had located a Whinchat above the sheep pens, which soon became two, and then three. Plenty of Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers singing away, a couple of Snipe and a small flock of Dunlin over, Stonechats sitting up, but down at the point itself it was rather too exposed and windswept for lingering so we started to head back, but not before bumping into Birdforum’s Peugeot, fresh from his morning circuit of the nearby Steelworks (very happy his Common Terns were back). On the walk back we discovered that the three Whinchats had become two again, with the male carried past us in the talons of a Sparrowhawk. Tough gig being a songbird.

Next up was a visit to World’s End hoping for Pied Flycatchers, but none were to be had, so we made do with year ticking Redstart, and even they were harder than usual, with many singing but nearly all distant and hidden. In the end I picked one up on a tree top so distant we couldn’t even hear it in the wind.

April 30th: part II

Seems to have been something of an arrival of Black Terns today, but rather than chase other people's we decided to head to the local gravel pit off Fagl Lane, just on the off chance. No luck (it was always a long shot), but Common Sandpiper for the year.

Grasshopper Warbler is one of my favourite and poignant UK birds.

It was the day I go t my less than spectacular degree result after four years at Durham. I moped off for a walk and sat in a field and stared into the distance feeling a combination of shocked and miserable when my first Grasshopper Warbler popped up on a fence in front of me and began reeling away in the late afternoon sunshine. The degree result has had no impact whatsoever on my career, but that Grasshopper Warbler elicits a smile every time I remember it!

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK said:

Grasshopper Warbler is one of my favourite and poignant UK birds.

It was the day I go t my less than spectacular degree result after four years at Durham. I moped off for a walk and sat in a field and stared into the distance feeling a combination of shocked and miserable when my first Grasshopper Warbler popped up on a fence in front of me and began reeling away in the late afternoon sunshine. The degree result has had no impact whatsoever on my career, but that Grasshopper Warbler elicits a smile every time I remember it!

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

That's what I call a sense of perspective!

Good show Mike.

John

MKinHK said:

Grasshopper Warbler is one of my favourite and poignant UK birds.

It was the day I go t my less than spectacular degree result after four years at Durham. I moped off for a walk and sat in a field and stared into the distance feeling a combination of shocked and miserable when my first Grasshopper Warbler popped up on a fence in front of me and began reeling away in the late afternoon sunshine. The degree result has had no impact whatsoever on my career, but that Grasshopper Warbler elicits a smile every time I remember it!

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

Outstanding, and entirely relatable!

A nice short break on Speyside - albeit not what was originally planned! I had chartered the Gemini Explorer for a group of us to see white-billed divers yesterday, but that was cancelled due to (correctly) forecast strong winds. However we had a couple of nights in Grantown-on-Spey and racked up a good set of year ticks.
On the drive up on Friday evening a red grouse beside the A9 was nice, though the boys missed the pair of red-legged partridges in the verge. Saturday began at Anagach woods with a flock of crossbills, which I have concluded were common (despite early indications that they might be Scottish). On to Lochindorb where black-throated diver was a year tick and red grouse were everywhere.
Strathdearn was next - cold and windy, but three of us saw a golden eagle being bothered by a raven (sadly Andrew couldn't get on it), also red-legged partridges for all, peregrine and wheatears plus a few wild goats.
We headed for Cairngorm with a single ring ouzel at Coire na Ciste and a further two incredibly obliging birds at Coire Cas where we also saw a rather flighty male snow bunting (and the reindeer herd). Loch Garten produced underwhelming osprey views but a superbly obliging crested tit and we finished the day at a black grouse lek with 8 males in attendance.
A slow start to Sunday, with Anagach, Forest Lodge and Loch Garten all quiet in windy conditions. We did manage to add common sandpiper to the year list at Loch Garten, however. Avielochan produced a pair of Slavonian grebes, with the male calling to the female, which was interesting. Another well known osprey site gave excellent value as we saw a changeover at the nest, plus the incoming bird divebombing a heron and the outgoing bird attacking a crow which had got too close.
We then headed for home via a stop at Killiecrankie where we all saw nuthatch and heard wood warbler, but only I saw the latter.

A very successful weekend.

Rob

Nice one Rob, doubt we'll make it to Scotland this year, perhaps we should set Crested Tit as a target next year to tempt us north of the border.

Had a pair of Mandarin go over the road in front of us near my parents' house just after picking the boys up this afternoon. No traffic around so I stopped and the ducks flew a complete circuit of the car before heading off. Most obliging.

Then headed down to Burton Mere Wetlands for Black Tern, a much wanted plumage tick, picking up a nice adult Spoonbill in front of the reserve centre before making it to Inner Marsh Farm just in time to have the half dozen smart Black Terns give us a fly by before departing. Perfect timing.

Ropey pics to follow, having IT issues at home so reduced to posting via mobile. Year list now on 169, surpassing 2015's by 1....

Pics from last night....

A quick sortie on Sunday afternoon with Daniel to Loch of Kinnordy gave him a British tick - glossy ibis. No sign of wood sandpiper but a male marsh harrier and plenty of shoveler added interest.

Rob

May 14th

Before we get to today, I should make mention of an unsuccessful dusk hunt for Woodcock at Dobshill on 5th. Can't win them all.

And so to today. I've been hearing the question "is the Pallid Harrier still there" daily for about the past ten days, so a preordained 04:00 rude awakening was followed by an efficient run up to Dunsop Bridge, arriving at around 06:20 with Ring Ouzel already under the belt courtesy of a roadside bird a couple of miles shy of our destination. The walk out was nice and birdy, with Oystercatchers, Grey wagtails, Common Sandpipers and a couple more Ring Ouzels, with a Roe Deer trotting away through the bluebells adding a touch of fur. Thanks to Wolfbirder's handy tips on the Harrier thread we were able to track our progress by the numbered telegraph poles, which we started checking at 11, 55 short of the bird's haunt. The bird arrived from a little further up the valley after a really quite indecently short wait, and proceeded to quarter the distant hillside across from us. Disappearing over the ridge briefly, it then popped up a good deal closer and started to skydance. Fast vertical ascension, accompanied by a trilling chirrup, followed by a swift precise plummet, quickly braking at low level to swoop up and repeat the process (often the trill was absent, other than on the opening move, although on one occasion later in the morning we picked the bird up on call when it had managed to rise up above us unseen). Over the next hour and a half it came and went, roller-coaster displaying from time to time, or hunting, settling just the once, briefly, on a dry stone wall, always captivating, I'm still smiling now. A truly first rate bird.

Outstanding!

John

Monumentally envious! Would love to come down for it, but cannot see how to manage it!
Daniel and I had a short excursion to Letham Pools on Saturday. Wood sandpiper was a British tick for him, and breeding male ruff a plumage (and year) tick. Among other year ticks a bathing water rail was nice.

Rob

May 19th

Burton Mere Wetlands has been the venue for some pretty handy post work dashes the past couple of years and chipped in with a blinder today in the shape of a lively little Buff-breasted Sandpiper, scampering through the Godwits, Dunlins and Redshanks on the mud bank by Marsh Covert Hide. A tree top Cattle Egret courtesy of an RSPB bod's handily set up scope was a year tick, and the first the boys have seen showing buff-orange tones. Baby Avocets rounded the evening off nicely.

May 28th

Dropped in to Loggerheads Country Park this morning on the hunt for Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler etc. Plenty of birdsong filling the valley, Blackcaps, Wrens, Goldcrests, but nothing out of the ordinary until a Wood Warbler gave us a quick burst in the middle distance but then shut up again and stayed shut up. After making our way up the valley side we finally heard a Pied Fly singing and slowly moved towards it. As luck would have it the path took us in nice and close, and as we were stood listening, figuring out the best strategy to find a line of sight onto the songster a neat little black and white bundle ploughed out through the beech leaves, pivoted with a loud bill-snap a couple of feet from my head and alighted just yards away in plain view! Excellent! We enjoyed watching him for the next five minutes or so as he worked his way around his patch, singing away and occasionally snaffling a passing bug. Further searches for Wood Warbler were unsuccessful, but we can try again for these later in the week.

June 1st

We were still cruising down the M27 when the google satnav on my phone confidently informed me that we had arrived at Acres Down car park. All this new-fangled technology is all very well but God forbid one should ever rely on it too heavily. Fortunately I had a pretty good idea where I should be turning off into the New Forest, so just after having done so, at Stoney Cross, I pulled over to the side of the road to double check further directions. While parked up I noticed a trio of streaky little numbers shuffling along the verge and hey presto! First tick down – Woodlark. I wound down the car windows and we spent a few minutes watching them picking through the roadside grit for tasty morsels (seeds by the look of it) before resuming our journey. Eventually we did find our way to Acres Down car park, but quite a bit earlier than our rendezvous time, so off we went for a look around, and were rewarded with good views of a young Roe Deer. Soon after this our host for our little jaunt, BF’s very own Farnboro John, also arriving early, rocked up and we were good to go. The rest of the morning was spent scanning the sky for raptors, but it was hard not to be distracted by a supporting cast of smaller heathland birds. We were surrounded by Tree Pipits & Stonechats (in fact we abandoned our original watchpoint because a Tree Pipit with a beakfull of bugs was flitting from bush to bush in an agitated fashion, indicating that we had placed ourselves a bit too nestside). Linnets, Green Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, more Woodlarks and best of all a couple of fly-by Hawfinches also featured, but unfortunately the boys had wandered off for a play for this last and so missed out on a potential year tick. Highlight of the morning for them was the highly desired HOBBY, at least two of which were toing & froing, and occasionally perching up (first spotted by a proud Sam), and we eventually located their nest in a pine tree off to the left. One Goshawk also put in an appearance in a dramatic, if distant, dogfight with a Buzzard, providing a very handy size comparison. However, no Honey Buzzards were ticked in the making of this day out. Bummer.

Eventually we decided we’d had enough of raptor scanning, feeling we’d had a relatively poor return given what felt like ideal conditions (warm sunny day with gentle breeze), hardly any Buzzards even. Skipping our plans to go looking for Wood warbler & Firecrest for the year list we headed straight up to Martin Down on the Wiltshire border, reckoned a good site for TURTLE DOVE, with several reported present over recent days. Sure enough, a few minutes after embarking on our search John picked up a distant purring and we headed off in that direction. While searching for it I spotted a Dove in flight further up the track, and by following it up we eventually located a bird sitting up and excellent scope views ensued. A nearby singing Lesser Whitethroat refused to give itself up to the boys (I got brief views), but Corn Buntings & Yellowhammers showed well enough.

So then it was back to John’s for a chill, a play, a beer and a curry before heading out again, down to Thursley Common NNR for a dusk walk. A mysterious winking light out on the bog turned out not to be a will-o-the-wisp but rather someone’s drone readying for take-off. John, very protective of his local patch and its denizens, had a few things to say about this particular practice at this particular place and the would-be pilot was soon heading back to the car park. Without the electric buzzing of the drone to distract us we were soon surrounded by the evocative night sounds of this wild place. Curlews bubbled and wailed, and as the Cuckoos wound down, the NIGHTJARS wound up. Soon we had one located right by the track, but try as we might we could not locate him perched up in the gloaming, and in the end were lucky to come away with brief flight views against a darkening sky, as barking Roe Deer and a yelping Fox added their voices to the inky night. A night inky enough, by now, to encourage us to switch on the bat detectors, and down by The Moat John’s torch picked out a couple of Exocet Daunbenton’s Bats working their beat just above the pond surface, so finishing the day with a mammal tick for the boys to add to their haul of no fewer than five bird ones.

June 2nd

We were back at Thursley the following morning (after a disappointing search for reptiles at a nearby patch of heath) with the prime target of seeing Hobbies hunting for dragonflies over Pudmore Pond. Nothing doing at first, in spite of a good turn out from the dragonflies, and the boys had great fun spotting Common Lizards on the boardwalk, so we headed off to the corner of a nearby field to have a go at Cuckoo. Although we’d seen a couple the day before the prospect of close views of one that had been coming to bait was very tempting. Alas it was not to be, although a Redstart coming down was fun to see. I was very pleased with the boys’ patience during our 40 minute wait, but in the end the lure of hunting Hobbies overtook us and we called time.

Back at Pudmore Pond (via another Redstart and a couple of Woodlarks) we didn’t have long to wait before we were joined by a hungry Hobby, snaffling dragons and scoffing them down on the wing in the approved fashion, very pleasing, and in amongst all the action I got a dragonfly tick (Downy Emerald) and a Four-spot Chaser tried to hide in my beard, which if you’ve seen it you’ll agree is, frankly, a poor strategy.

Time was getting on though, and we had to be getting home, so after much improved views of Downy Emerald on The Moat, and another fruitless search for any reptile that wasn’t a Common Lizard we reluctantly left the dry sandy lands of the south and set off for home.

A big thank you to John & Marion for hosting, a long overdue get together, we must do it again.

In other news, in the light of doubts cast on the provenance of the Shrewsbury Night Heron I have had to inform the boys that it needs to be unticked. Doesn't mean I think it's an escape, just that while the jury's out I'd rather it were off lists with the possibility of a future addition, than on them with the possibility of a future removal. Also it's not a bad lesson to learn early on. Au revoir Night Heron.

June 10th

A straightforward operation this afternoon, up to Gronant for Littler Terns, with a side order of Ringed Plover, bringing the yearlist to 180. There were scores, hundreds even, of Terns, we could see and hear them wheeling and peeping above the colony as we crossed the dunes towards the shore. Once there a brief scan sorted out Ringed plover and we were able to position ourselves half way down the beach and watch Terns commuting between the shingle and the water's edge. Also contributing was the usual cast of Skylarks, Meadow pipits, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, Linnets and Stonechats scattered across the dunes and slacks. Large numbers of toadlets crossing the path on the way back to the car elicited high levels of excitement what with Talacre and its Natterjacks just along the coast, but all those seen today were standard issue Commons.

Nice shot of the Reed Bunting.

FWIW night herons are extremely tame in the park I walk my dogs in. Last week I counted 17 - none of which were further than 30 yards away. There is not the slightest possibility they are escapes.

No doubt however that exposure to the loopiness of what's acceptable will not go unus s in the future.

Cheers
Mike

June 11th

Off out early this morning, for upgrade views of Nightjar. I did a recce up to Nercwys on my own on Thursday and heard one churring from the track at a little after ten. So back we went this morning, stupidly early, with the boys this time. Heard a Woodcock briefly as we made our way to the Nightjar, but in spite of waiting there was no further sound. In the end we decided to continue on to be in situ for the Nightjars before it got too light. Sure enough, as we approached, we heard one churring up the hill, as well as one croaking from the woods on the right. Here one briefly hovered before alighting on a branch for a few beats and then flying off. I am reporting this second hand, because all I managed to get was everso brief silhouette views of the bird perched before it bailed, but I was given a detailed account by the boys who it sounds like saw it quite well! A few seconds later it, a female, flew across the track and up the hill towards the churring male, and that was that. Churring desisited at around 04:20.

Before heading home we had another go for Wood Warblers at Loggerheads, with no more success than last time, but a Red Fox was a good grip-back for Sam.

Then it was home for a (relatively) civilised Sunday breakfast before heading off to Turley Hollow near Kelsall to try for the Iberian Chiffchaff, which we heard singing as we arrived on site, and it popped up in front of us a little after we'd settled to stake it out. It was working a circuit, never sitting up on show for long, and about 15 minutes after we arrived it went quiet (having been singing almost non stop from various points on its circuit, out of sight just down the slope). Over the next 40 minutes or so it was mostly quiet, but did pop up a couple of times into albeit fairly distant sapling tops for a short burst of song giving reasonable views. After a while it seemed to shut up completely, so we headed back home, well pleased. After losing the Night Heron it felt good to quickly replace it with something new.