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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Eden Estuary News (1 Viewer)

Significantly more snow overnight (we hardly get any as a rule) led to 3 snipe visible this morning, a stonking male brambling on the feeders and 2 woodcocks as I went up the drive to check on the state of the road. (123 for the year).

Rob
 
Sue saw a second male brambling yesterday. At least one again this morning. Today began with a woodcock feeding outside the bedroom window! Unfortunately it ran off before Sue could get to the window. She did see it later down beside the fruit cage. The garden is full of woodcock prints (foot and beak!). This morning I finally broke the goose duoculture(?) with a single Greenland whitefront.

Rob
 
JWN Andrewes said:
Worth a spotlight tonight?
Click to expand...

Indeed, though they are probably feeding during the day at the moment. Since I am parking the car at the top of the drive and walking down to the house at the moment, the headtorch will come into play ...
Failed last night, but I had almost hit one in the car as I left St Andrews.
Got to be a chance of some photos at the w/e.

Rob
 
A fine weekend's birding with 55 spp on Saturday and 57 yesterday.
Brambling numbers are building at the feeders, with perhaps 10 birds around (6 males) which is a record. A single tree sparrow turned up on Friday and again yesterday when there was also a male siskin. A flock of thrushes (mostly fieldfares) has taken up residence in the hawthorn hedge that follows the old railway, though several fieldfares were eating apples in the tree outside our bedroom window this morning. Two goldcrests were in the same tree on Saturday morning and 1 was seen this morning. 3 mistle thrushes were very vocal on Saturday morning. A great spotted woodpecker was also eating the apples yesterday.
Down on the saltmarsh several rock pipits are visible whilst on the water there have been up to 8 tufted duck, 5 long-tailed ducks and a slavonian grebe. 54 grey plovers on Saturday was a decent count. Woodcock sightings have been regular - one was outside the bedroom window before dawn on Friday, Sue flushed 2 yesterday morning and several other sightings included some ropey flight shots obtained on Saturday afternoon.
Heavy snow again this morning was entirely unexpected (and not forecast!).

Rob
 
Later on Monday Sue had the mega sighting of 2 drake pochards (our first multiple record). She saw another woodcock on Wednesday and had our largest ever covey of 15 grey partridges on Thursday. We had a slight thaw on Thursday with much more significant thaw since.
Today was another excellent day with over 50 species. Not included in the tally was a white-cheeked pintail, doubtless a wanderer from a frozen Birnie/Gaddon! 15 tufted dcuks were also displaced birds, with a long-tailed duck the pcik of the wildfowl. The geese are making the most of feeding opportunities and leaving the roost before dawn. A golden plover on the saltmarsh was an unusual cold weather sighting.
Among the passerines were 2 rock pipits on the saltmarsh and a large flock of fieldfares with a few redwings. Brambling numbers have dropped with the the thaw but the highlight of the day was 4 twite on the saltmarsh, giving excellent views. Also with the finch flock I had a tantalising glimpse of a bird taking off which may have been a redpoll sp, but I nver recloated it.

Rob
 
Yesterday was another with 50+ spp., though the finch flock on the saltmarsh was largely absent. The day began with a pair of gadwall - very unusual in December and presumably wanderers from a frozen Angle Park. Fieldfares and a mistle thrush were around and there were still 4 bramblings on the feeders.
Pick of the day however was our first merlin of the year - a female (124). She flew through scattering the waders in the morning and reappeared in the afternoon and grabbed a dunlin before flying off on to the airbase to eat it. I can't remember the last time I saw a merlin kill - top stuff.

Rob
 
Managed a photo of your Merlin yesterday from the George Evans Hide. Most of the other stuff around was too far out for decent photos.
 

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Nice, I never saw it perched.
Another icy blast, with if anything more snow than last time. Saturday was bitterly cold but didn't produce that much of interest - a single long-tailed duck, 15 tufted ducks and plenty of ice floes in the river, plus an increaed number of bramblings at the feeders.
Yesterday brought frequent heavy snow showers obscuring the river at times. After one such shower I looked out and saw ... a coot! Mega! Only our second record (125 for the year). At least 9 brambling visited the feeders and a party of at least 4 long-tailed tits came to one of the fat balls (a belated addition to the year list, 126). It just goes to show that it's never too late!
I saw 2 woodcock whilst sledging with Andrew in the field by the drive and at dusk one flew low over the house. A peregrine perched on one of the posts in the saltmarsh usually favoured by other raptors (I have now seen buzzard, sparrowhawk, merlin, osprey and peregrine on these 2 posts!).

Rob
 
Rather quiet at the moment, though there are still bramblings at the feeders and there was a male yellowhammer in the garden this morning. There were 17 tufted ducks today and a party of 5 goosanders (1 drake). 2 peregrines were on the papermill and a covey of 10 or so grey partridges looked rather conspicuous in the middle of a snowy field.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Rob
 
Happy Christmas to you and the family Rob
 

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Happy New Year all. Away from the 27th to 31st so no further additions to the year list. Still, 126 is our 3rd best ever. Christmas Day produced an unprecedented event with the Eden's entire knot population in the inner estuary - around 1800 (our previous record was about 300!). They were there again on Boxing Day. Also on Christmas Day a single whooper swan was surprisingly our only one of the cold snap.
Today won't compete with our start to last year but the year list stands at 54 so far. Highlights have been 30 pale-bellied brents, a slavonian grebe, a dabchick, at least 3 long-tailed ducks, 4 greenshanks, a few knot, a turnstone (bit of a mega), fieldfare and a pair of brambling.

Rob
 
Cheers James. I'm always impressed by how much you see without a large water body.
We are now up to 60, with peregrine, great spotted woodpecker and tufted duck added yesterday and wren, pied wagtail and kestrel today.
Among the highlights have been the brent geese on both days (including a single bernicla with 24 hrota yesterday). Seeing brents 3 days in a row is very unusual for us, they are usually tucked away in Balgove Bay. The turnstone has also been seen on both days pottering about on the saltmarsh over high tide. Yesterday produced 2 slavonian grebes and a dabchick, 2 close long-tailed ducks (along with 4 offshore) and 2 greenshanks.
Today there were 4 long-tailed ducks upstream, 5 knot (a far cry from the Christmas flock), 81 grey plovers (an excellent winter count), a greenshank and 3 bramblings.
With the thaw the pinkfeet have reappeared in good numbers, though they are leaving the roost very . Calls heard on Saturday suggested something other than pinkfoot and greylag...

Rob
 
Rob , had a female hen harrier low over the estuary on Tuesday early afternoon seen from the Guardbridge hide .......... a first for me on the estuary.
 
Had a very brief view (a second or so) of a bird banking slightly then levelling off in amongst a load of Godwits, that may or may not (probably not) have been a female Hen Harrier this afternoon as the light was fading, from the Eden estuary Centre hide. It was over the saltmarsh tip spooking all the waders. Called it as a Sparrowhawk (but something seemed odd), but have never seen Sparrowhawk that far out, or 'playing' with the waders (mostly Godwits). Lost it when I took my eye off the scope to pick up the camera, and no-one else picked it up. Hen Harrier never even crossed my mind. Now I wonder.......(probably just wishful thinking, though be interesting to see if it is seen again).
 
Return of the snow! We had about an inch of snow on Friday evening before it turned to sleet. There was still a good covering by yesterday morning. Less expected was the heavy snow that fell yesterday evening, leaving us with another 4 inches or so.
Around 50 species yesterday, witha rock pipit easier to spot on the snow-covered saltmarsh (61). Then, early afternoon I looked up in time to see a ringtail hen harrier flying across the top of the saltmarsh towards us. It gave superb views as it flew by and then paraded in front of the Eden estuary centre. A belated addition to the garden list and very welcome (62 for the year, 161 total). Richard - you're forgiven! Other highlights of yesterday were the return of the full knot flock (c1800), 4 greenshanks, 5 pale-bellied brent geese and a slavonian grebe. A redwing also made it on to the year list (63) and 3 bramblings were on the feeders.
Today 11 grey partridges were visible across the river early morning (64) and bramblings were up to at least 5. The knot were back, though a peregrine reduced their number by 1! At least one mistle thrush as I was clearing the drive takes us to 65.

Rob
 
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