Upton Warren (1 Viewer)

[midlands birder]

do they enjoy coming out at dusk like they do in the winter(they tended to fly to the north section of reeds to roost),thats the only time i get there after the gardening job,but soon(a month or so) we pack that up for the winter so could get to upton earlier,whatever happens i will get them some time so i can keep my hopes up untill then.
MB
btw-john can you use your mystic powers to make the bittern show,you predicted the spotted crake and what shown a few weeks after:-O

 

[Sy V]

Sorry MB you had bad luck again at Upton but you have had some good times this year, keep trying mate.

Spent 12 hours at upton 7am till 7pm
Visible Migration
A lot of passerines on the move early am (8 till 9) several flocks of Redwing totalling 300 or so. Meadow Pipit c20, Grey Wags 3, Skylark 6, Yellowhammer, Greenfinch c50, Reed Bunting c25, Chiffchaff, Starling c150.
Waders - Green Sand 6, Dunlin, Jack Snipe 2, Snipe 35 and Curlew 20,
Lapwing 384
Ducks - Teal 120, Shoveler 40,
Other highlights were - Bittern, Cettis Warbler 5 singing, Raven 2, Stock Dove c70 and A Med Gull roosted tonight at the Flashes

cheers John

John

FYI, you might want to look at this thread, here.

Sy

 

[upstarts1979]

John

FYI, you might want to look at this thread, here.

Sy

Hi Sy
Thanks for that I have been on the www.trektellen.nl site previously and it gives a list and updates on all the Vis Mig sites around the country.

Upton is pretty insignificant on a national scale but if we start doing it on a regular basis who knows what patterns (if any) will evolve. But the whole concept of migration is fascinating and Vis Mig is just one facet of it.
Although I have only been doing it for a few weeks on a regular basis, it has become very apparent that half an hour after first light and for the follwing 2 hours is when things are on the move. The knock on effect is that other things fly over aswell. I just stand by the bench at the back of the hide and with a 360 degree view its a big sky out there and you would be surprised how many birds are on the move.

Thats where I'm going to see that Glossy Ibis fly over.
cheers John

 

[StarainBoy]

Bang on schedule, Redwings & Fieldfares are back. Last year I picked them up a day earlier; but what's a day between reuniting friends? The redwings are already numerous, the fieldfares less so. We saw only one small flock. Skylarks too were on the move.

 

[timmyjones]

Went to upton yesterday and had a skylark over also 3 wigeon on the moors but no sign of the bittern but it had been reported earlier in the day.

 

[wmtlynx]

Went to upton yesterday and had a skylark over also 3 wigeon on the moors but no sign of the bittern but it had been reported earlier in the day.

Was there today and can report the Bittern at 1545 flying over the Moors, landing in the reeds behind the bird feeders. Also got good sightings of the Water Rail on the Moors pool, and my first Cetti's Warbler on the first flashes pool.

Fantastic place and a credit to those who maintain it.

 

[upstarts1979]

Fantastic place and a credit to those who maintain it.

Thanks for your kind words

Had a bit of passage on the wader front at the Flashes today namely Dunlin and Snipe.
Dunlin started to arrive from 9am until mid day totalling 15 they flew off south at 5.30pm after 3 failed attempts to migrate. However they returned at 6pm obviously liked the place. On a serious point they probably flew for 15 minutes and realised that the drizzle and mist was not restricted to the Flashes but was county wide.
Snipe were also on the move ( a species not usually associated with diurnal migration) the morning flock of 28 had whittled down to 4 by the end of the day. With 2 other birds coming in from the north and just flying straight through all were heading south.
This evening a flock of approx 1200 Starling roosted in the reeds in front of the oak tree at the Flashes.

cheers John

 

[midlands birder]

so theres 15 dunlin at the flashes,nice.
thks for keeping us updated with the vis-mig,a fasinating subject

 

[upstarts1979]

I
Could someone (being cheeky here) trim the shrubs to the left of the left-hand channel from this hide? They obscure the view across to the opposite reedbed, and this section is where the bittern has been seen recently. TIA.

Had a word with Gordon today at the reserve.
He said that it would be sorted.
Would have done it myself but a bit wet to say the least.
He also mentioned the possibility of putting a channel in the reeds opposite the north moors hide, aswell as another channel off to the left from the hide.
cheers John

 

[Upland Birder]

10/10/2009

Went to Upton Waren today in search of Jack Snipe. Luckily and at long last I managed to see two of these and have added them to my northern hemisphere wader list. It took me all afternoon and all my concentration to find them and eventually one gradually emerged followed by a second. Amazing waders with their fascinating bobbing behaviour. Also saw two Water Rails.

Dean

 

[upstarts1979]

do they enjoy coming out at dusk like they do in the winter(they tended to fly to the north section of reeds to roost),thats the only time i get there after the gardening job,but soon(a month or so) we pack that up for the winter so could get to upton earlier,whatever happens i will get them some time so i can keep my hopes up untill then.
MB
btw-john can you use your mystic powers to make the bittern show,you predicted the spotted crake and what shown a few weeks after:-O

Hi MB
The Bittern has been seen at the North Moors on several occasions during the day. In the reeds opposite the hide
Regarding predictions I have been hoping and looking for American waders for the last 2 months times running out for this year 2 weeks left before I give up on that one
cheers John

 

[Duck_Pond]

Had a word with Gordon today at the reserve.
He said that it would be sorted.
Would have done it myself but a bit wet to say the least.
He also mentioned the possibility of putting a channel in the reeds opposite the north moors hide, aswell as another channel off to the left from the hide.
cheers John

Sounds promising, as that pool has a good population of water rails, the kingfisher likes using it, as do grey herons, and anything that may yield better views of the bittern(s) is a great idea!

B Cheers

 

[midlands birder]

very good ideas about the north moors,
on saturday i was in the norh moors,but no sign of the bittern,so moved to the west hide and again dipped on the bird,although had an interesting record of a reed warbler from the water rail hide,both seen and heard in sub song-maybe an immature practising for nxt year,4 water rail from this hide too
spent a lot of time vis-mig ing.16 meadow pipit 5 pied wag and 41 redwing were the highlights.not much else of note..

 

[upstarts1979]

We are in that transitional period between Autumn and winter now but still a chance of a late migrant.
This afternoons visit was a bit quiet and uneventful on the passage front although there is always something to see.
Lots of redwing feeding in the hedges rather than flying over. At the Moors the Bittern was seen but not set in to any pattern of appearance yet. At Amy's marsh the Jack snipe and 12 common snipe hid amongst the cut iris stems.
At the Flashes the BHGull roost was down to about 600 - this roost usually disappears by early November. Also roosting were single Green Sand, 12 Snipe and 24 Curlew and 600 Starling.

 

[upstarts1979]

very good ideas about the north moors,
on saturday i was in the norh moors,but no sign of the bittern,so moved to the west hide and again dipped on the bird,although had an interesting record of a reed warbler from the water rail hide,both seen and heard in sub song-maybe an immature practising for nxt year,4 water rail from this hide too
spent a lot of time vis-mig ing.16 meadow pipit 5 pied wag and 41 redwing were the highlights.not much else of note..

Hi MB
That is a good and late record for Reed warbler. (did you put your sightings in the log book - if not I will let PMA (upton recorder) know poss our latest record.

North Moors Trail
This is the first time I have walked it for 4 years or so - well impressed with the sheltered sun traps amongst the nothern blackthorn thickets. Looks ideal for passage passerines but might be worth a casual look throughout the year. If worked on a regular basis I'm sure it will turn up a goody.

Cheers John

 

[midlands birder]

no i didn get the record in the log book,somebody else had it and when i did get it there was no pen(that i could find),i ended up using my phones txt to keep track how many species numbers i saw..certainly the latist ive ever seen one
MB

 

[Emma]

Visited the Moors this morning and was quite surprised with the amount of Cormorants, Canada Geese and Black-Headed Gulls that were lazing on the islands in the hazy sunshine! A couple of Grey Herons were having a to-do in flight, makes a change from seeing static Herons! It was nice to see a good variety of birds out on the water with the highlights being Little Grebe, GC Grebe, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Teal and 3 Pochard, Water Rail also made a brief appearance in front of the spider hide! We also heard 2 Cetti's singing close to the hide...must have been encouraged by the Autumnal sunshine!!

Over at the Flashes it was very quiet with the majority of the birds all being at the rear of the Flash ~ mainly Lapwings and BH Gulls. 4 Green Sandpipers were noted together with 14 Common Snipe and several flocks of Redwings flew over but didn't land!

 

[StarainBoy]

North Moors Trail
This is the first time I have walked it for 4 years or so - well impressed with the sheltered sun traps amongst the nothern blackthorn thickets. Looks ideal for passage passerines but might be worth a casual look throughout the year. If worked on a regular basis I'm sure it will turn up a goody.

Cheers John

Has this just been made more obvious? I walked past the start of it last week and wondered if it had been there all the time. Only took me 10+ years to notice it!

 

[Duck_Pond]

Bittern put in a brief appearance at 4pm yesterday on the North Moors. Sat on the edge of the reeds, occasionally sticking its head out into view. Not great views, but better than nothing.

The North Moors trail can throw up some good birds, though it's often boggy around the back. I've seen a sprawk sat on the post back there and found a couple of redpolls feeding, one winter.

 

[upstarts1979]

Re North Moors
Its been in use for about 6 years now but very un-productive. However since then the habitat has matured and created 'wide' hedgerows (reminiscent of excellent passerine 'traps' on the Scillies where they are short at the front tapering to a high point at the back). It is also the only area on the reserve where a 'scrubby' and unkempt habitat occurs ideal for passerines to forage in.
The reed bed has now thickened up sufficiently to make the Bitterns less prone to disturbance - although this situation must be monitored as that species is the main winter attraction. However like Pete (Duck pond) said the path can get very wet during the winter, which is when there are less birds around anyway.
However in the spring and autumn when good migration conditions prevail, it might be worth a good 'grilling'.
In the past at passage times Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Short Eared Owl, Purple Heron and grasshopper Warbler have been seen there, mostly in the days when there was no official access. I noticed yesterday the redwings were flying in front of me and then doubling back, so it might be worth viewing from beneath the sheltered tree belt and looking back at the thickets from there.

cheers John