JWN Andrewes
Poor Judge of Pasta.
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.
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.