First proper outing for birding (1 Viewer)

This morning Trish and I set off for a new venture, two novice waterbird watchers went to Hengistbury head to see what we could or couldn't see, ID or whatever. We arrived bright eyed and hopeful, paid the car park fee, tried to get the buggy out of the boot then I realsised the key to it was still hanging up at home!! What a fool I felt! Rather than waste the journey we decided I would try and walk as far as I could, then take stops and rests, and hope to get some birding in, we got distracted by a hidden bird in a thicket of Gorse, brambles and bracken, I could only hear it and Trish caught a yellowish flash of a bird, but neither of us could ID, it wasn't a yellowhammer or greenfinch, but what else I couldn't hazard a guess, so one bird..... no ID. went a bit further and decided to take the harbour side of the head, scrambled up and saw the water, set up the scope to peruse the waters edge, and saw a couple,of swans, several juvenile gulls, but not able to say which ones, then spotted a raft of little black low in the water birds, but not close enough to say what they were, possible coots? Decided to toddle closer to the water, then yes, I reckon we saw three oystercatchers on the sand bar plus Canada goose and cormorants by the score and one heron, but we were constantly getting buzzed by the swallows that were flying very low. I struggled on a bit further until I came over dizzy and the legs went to jelly, had to sit down! we tried again but the legs were shot, so back to the car! How I wanted to kick myself but as we got packed up it started to rain, blessing in disguise?
Got back home to get the key, then it was still pouring down so we decided to head towards the brighter skies and off to the Cranborne Chase we pulled up near Knowlton CHurch and sat there eating our lunch and heard several birds, swallows, martins and skylarks, but not much to see other than the low flight of the hirundines jinking and swirling about. Not one Raptor!! I was very sorry to see no buzzard, kestrel or sparrowhawk that is a first too!
Having drawn a blank there we decided to try and find something better so went towards Wimborne St Giles hoping to find somewhere sheltered and found no place to park in the village so thenturned right towards Sixpenny Handly, this tiny lane led to a great discovery, two fields just been turned with a hedge separating them, but what a little gem! 30plus Grey partridge all trundling along the field side, darting in and out of the hedge then a flock of what I can only believe were Brambling sweeping around in a flock they landed in the hedge for just a few seconds then left as one, but the arial display by the swallows enchanted Trish, skimming the lane less than three inches above the tarmac, I was too enchanted by the grey partridge. we sat there with the scope set up to get "up close and personal" to verify they were grey not red legged. We sat there listening and watching for ages I was most upset as I had just broken my camera on getting back into the car after getting the buggy key, so pictures were out, it would have wonderful to have a photographic record of our eventual delight of low skimming swallows. I was stood in the lane with swallows jinking around me and over the car,hearing both grey and red legged partridges calling, but the day was drawing to a close and it was time we went home, but the day was yet to show more! I had pulled away and round the bend a fence covered in hirundines to the left and in front a bank of trees with lots of female pheasants with red legged partridges all over the road, I drove slowly through the large cluster and the Pheasants went left and the partridges went to the right, a pefect 10 in shedding (Dog handling speak) I was thrilled with the way the day had gone and the fact we never got a soaking was the icing, I just wish I could have had a better ID session, but as I'm a novice loads more to learn, look out next Saturday, no doubt no camera, but we can still watch, and pencil and paper will have to do!

Nina, glad to hear you enjoyed your day out so much. Your ID skills will come with practice, so just enjoy your birding, the more you see the better it gets, at least you dident get wet, good luck next week.
bert.

Smashing report Nina lets have some more, I love reading reports from people who are more on my level ID wise.

Mick

Nice to see you got out amongst the birds. I too love seeing Grey Partridge and that is not very often!

I reckon your bird with a yellow flash could have been a Goldfinch if you are sure it was not a Greenfinch.

Well done Nina.It sounds as though you had a really great ,but maybe tiring day.

I can tell you I really had a good nights sleep, and am rather sore today, left leg has swollen, but that is my own fault for pushing myself too far, and I'm really mad with myself over the camera, I have now to get someone to lift one file box down for me to reach the paperwork to get that sorted out, thats the reason I'm mad at myself! Oh well! I must remember to take the buggy's key next week, in fact I'll attatch it to the car keys now, all done, now that can't happen again, I hope!
Thanks for the support folks, I just wish I had got the full disability rights so I didn't have to pay the car parking now but I do get it from the end of October. The rules surrounding disability are a farse, you get disability but no concessions on licence until you are unable to walk 100 metres without severe pain. I try to do that but in agony before twenty steps taken but I still push myself so get penalised. One thing amazed Trish, the fact that parking still must be paid by non disabled licenced drivers and the meteres are the other side of the carpark from the bays, and if in a wheelchair you can't reach the meter payment slot so you have to wait for someone else to come over and do it for you!
No more moans, I hope to get the better birding next week, and practise makes perfect, I was afraid I would get taken the Mickey out of for my report, but glad that in so doing others may feel more inclined to tell their experiences too. We all know about the ID of little brown jobbies, but I have the problems of little black jobbies and big black jobbies, without the trying to distinguish gulls, that is my nightmare.
The yellow flashed little bird Trish saw I very much doubt it to be a Goldfinch, as she used to them in her garden so would have been able to shout it out, but I was wondering if it was either a firecrest or goldcrest, as they are quite common there, and this was singular not a flock. Hope we can nail it next week!

Hi Nina glad to hear you were up on two legs going after them.Keep going and better luck next time.
Sam

Yes good stuff Nina, and no you aren't the only one with problems id'ing things .... believe me !

I think it is always nice to add some humour with the report as it would perhaps make me too much of an anorak without, but skills on ID are not the most important, but it would be nice to know if you have got it right or wrong as learning is a two way enterprise, without failure you would never learn, without success you would never try, so somwhere in there is what I set out to achieve. The best part is the taking part and enjoying what you set out to do. The poor camera is now in to see if it can be repaired, so what happens..... Birds in range!! I have had some fantastic opportunities of picturing lots of birds at close quarters all this week, less than six feet away! NO CAMERA!! OH Woe! YOu can bet the last dollar that when the camera is back then the birds will vanish! Murphy's law!

Saturday 2nd October field report

This morning threatened to be a total washout, it was pouring with rain when we set off, traffic was heavy whichever way we went, but to Hengistbury Head was our target, to make up for last weeks poor effort. I remebered the buggy's key and Trish helped me lift the beast out of the car and get it put together, I managed to get a shooting stick, my tripod and scope, three reference books sarnies and flask, bins and purse onto the beast and off we went.
I think it was a goldcrest that we heard last week and yes it was still there this week, in the same shrubby clump.....hiding still! The wind was well gusty so we decided to take the harbour side again.... What a great call as we spotted an EGRET!!! I have no idea if it was a little or cattle one, as it was alone and playing peek-a-boo in the reeds, it also had a bit of a do with a corvid that seemed to be pestering it. there were plenty of gulls about mostly blackheaded ones that I could recognise in winter plumage, a few swans in a raft in the distance, and sesveral cormorants flying in and out of the harbour.
Following the road that leads to the sandspit covers many different types of habitat, from open harbour to dense gorse, open woodland, marsh, and beach. There is a lake where many different damselflies and dragonflies abound, and when we were on the return journey we had the distinct pleasure of seeing an emperor dragonfly sitting in the sunshine on a gorse bush right by the roadway (track) despite the ammount of people on this path, cars of beachhut owners going to empty their huts for the winter, and the little noddy train that is still running, and dog walkers galore.
It was getting rather chilly going into the wind and I was glad to get into the car to get warmed up! We then went around the Southborne side of the head and pulled up overlooking the sea to eat our lunch, there were many gulls (all blackheaded) and starlings in a huge flock,are they really in decline?
The weather seemed about to close in so we headed for the country, but wanted to try St Catherines hill for the herpetological look, but the disabled car space had been taken up by one person parking across the double area and letting out his four dogs, I wasn't going to remonstrate with that kind of rudeness but thought it wasn't to be so we persued the dream by heading out via Matchams lane and the big roadworks between the two places. Stopped in a pull in and had a little walk in Crossbill country, no luck there but the fungi were very interesting, but I hope Trish will write up about them, as she has the books to say what was there. Although we heard many birds most were possibly robins and tits, not seen but clear enough to say Great and Robin were there.
Next spot we chose was to see if we could see more in the way of raptors, so we headed out to where we were last week, Wimborne St Giles, brilliant! One Kestrel on the way, several Pheasants, that was before we got to the same spot as last week. Great the Grey Partridges were there again this time we saw over FIFTY!!!! The fields were full of them running up and down the edges, but we were hoping to see OWLS, but we knew it would be nearing dusk if we were to see them. but the terrain is perfect, hedge lined fields, with mature trees just beyond, so we sat there in expectation, we were buzzed by Hirundines, but in lesser numbers than last week, I was able to ID four Swallows and two Housemartins, but the rest have to remain Hirundines..
Then a tractor came past us trailing rollers....uh oh! The field next to the one we were looking over got trawled and suddenly grey partridge bolted into the field ahead of the tractor, who then trawled the field we had been watching. I was rather funny watching how stupid these birds were, they were running in front of the tractor ( why didn't they fly?) they ran around the field in front of the tractor for almost a full lap, I saw the funny side and had a giggle, but then I spotted a kestrel hovering in front of our car, until it dropped down over the hedge and out of sight, I got out of the car then saw a buzzard to point out to Trish. Finally we decided as there came another tractor that any chance of OWLS was now unlikely so decided to set off for home, next week is another time, so here's hoping! The best bit was the female Buzzard that flew from its telegraph pole almost in front of the car, but then I'm used to seeing her there but Trish loved the very close quarter sight on the journey home.

Hi Nina, yes Ill look up those fungi properly tomorrow and list them. Im really tired tonight, falling asleep while watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire! but It was a nice day, good company and good weather, and a few good birds. T.

Thanks Nina, another nice read.

Mick

Thanks to Bill Oddie today verified my Brambling flock of last week! They were my first ones, so the call put out today was a total verification and the Goldcrest call was also proved to me!! Horay! I knew I'd get there sometime! Goldcrest on HH and Bramblings at WSG! goodoh!

Nina whats this all about, I think I must have missed something. Sorry havnt done fungi, Im not that sure how they looked now, without photos, so will take camera next time.

Saturday 9th October

Great days birding today, but in slightly different places.....
Still in Christchurch Harbour but this time on the Mudeford side, what a good shout. We arrived about 11.20am and got set up but had difficulties as the council have decided to bar and lock a steel barrier across the disabled access path, so I had to obstruct the traffic until I could find a dropped curb to get back onto the path, very clever!!:clap: Well it took a fair time to get to the edge of the walled part of the harbour, but there were plenty of birds, mallards, (one must be hybrid with shellduck) Mute Swans, and huge numbers of Blackheaded Gulls in winter plumage, we were being buzzed by a small cluster of House Martins skimming the water, and they led my eye to a very large Egret, Yellow feet, and grey bill, paddling the water and snapping up small fish, I scanned the water and looked for a sand bar, which were just appearing and there were the cormorants, Oystercatchers then started to arrive, with their mournful calls, and I brought the bins down and looked at the birds close too, and what?.... a tiny little egret had joined the throng of birds at the harbour wall, mixing with the swans. I thought it was because the swans dwarfed it but it started to wade towards the place the large Egret had been, then I knew it was about half the size of the large one as it reached the same place that the large one had been, do we have two sizes of Egret? what is the difference other than size? both had yellow feet, both had grey pointed Bills, but they both looked identical in every other way!
As the tide went out more birds were arriving, I believed I saw a Ruff, pale buff underside. I was directed to see a couple of redshank and then spotted a Blackbacked gull that was struggling with a fish, it was fascinating to watch, and had several appreciative watchers too, as we ended up with about six bird watchers stood around my buggy. What a great bunch of people about, most with bins. I did think I saw six little grebes but no-one else saw them to verify my observations, but the wind was cold and I didn't realise how fast time went we had been there, in the open, for well over an hour, and the ticket we got was for one hour only........ ooohhh 'eeckkk.. Pack up and get gone quick!
The next stop was our little Fungi spot from last week, but this time we had the book, werwe able to ID Brown Rollrim Paxillus Involutis, Birch Mazegill Lenzites Betulinus (Trish help, I can't read my writing) Dyers Mazegill Phaeolus Schweintzii Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma Fasciculare, The Sickener Russula Emetica, Scaly Earthball Scleroderma Verrucosum and Common Earthball Scleroderma Citrinum, I spent too long on my feet and nearly came a cropper, but managed to get back to the car, just!!
Later we tried to find some Owls so went to the little spot near Wimborne St Giles as it should be Owl country but when we got there it was blowing rough, but we did see some interesting things, A peacock! mixed with eight male Pheasant running in the road, found our hedged field where there were plenty Red legged Partridge ( grey ones had switched fields) and I hear a late skylark, then a flock of Longtailed Tits flew along the hedge across the road, as I turned to show them to Trish I saw a Hare passing beside our car, less than eight feet away!Wow they are not very common and it was a first for Trish, it ambled past without fear and sat in Trish's view for some time, but hidden to me by the growth around the fields fringe. We waited for owls but no luck, after a couple of hours we gave up and headed home, along the little lanes in the dark was interesting and as I was driving I had only peripheral sights of birds, I thought they were Tawny Owls but too high out of driving vision to ID seriously. Home tired and hungry, but happy!:eat: B