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Upton Warren (1 Viewer)

midlands birder

Well-known member
Thanks for the feedback MB - I suspect I am being too cautious. The more I bird, the more questions I seem to have!

Ta

And tbh, the more you get into Gulls, you will have even more questions!!

It always a good skill to be cautious when it comes to birds, to make sure you know what your looking at before telling other people :t:
MB
 

upstarts1979

Well-known member
Attached photo of the second summer Med on the flashes yesterday afternoon

Having looked at the images last night I was struck by the extent of black in the primaries. I know it varies quite a lot in birds of this age but am now wondering if this is too much?

Nothing else about the bird strikes me as hybrid and it gave the usual Med Gull call when flying off.

Thoughts anyone?
Great pics Mike...as craig said defo not the bird seen in the spring.
Looks like it has a lot of black in the outer primaries. But I'm sure it will moult them out in a year. The extent of white in the outer primaries can vary but I think this bird is at the more extreme 'black' end of the range of 2nd summer birds.
B :)John
 

upstarts1979

Well-known member
For the Photographers at the reserve

Today I cut down the over grown vegetation in front of the Hen Pool. This now gives good views of the channels in the reeds.
Within minutes of doing the work at least 3 adult reed warblers and sedge warbler landed in front. I also heard a kingfisher calling close by.
3 pics 1. before 2, after work. and 3 a moth sp any ideas a clearwing type not sure
B :)John
 

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upstarts1979

Well-known member
Work at the Moors today

Paul and jonathon repaired the steps at the feeding station hide (put new mesh on). Dave H, Ray C, and Terry N removed Himalayan balsam from along the river salwarp. I cut a gap in the west hedge in front of the bench.
We also cleared some vegetation in front of the concrete (water rail hide).
This will hopefully give clearer views of the channels.

The 3 pics show views from the NE of the Moors pool through to the SE in Amy's marsh
In front of the hide were juv water rail and Little Grebe and a good number of reed warblers
B :)John
 

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discors

Old Timer
Hi John
Trying to tempt us back into the Hen brook hide, ready for the Cettis return or the Bluethroat on return journey.
Moth looks like a larger micromoth called White Plume moth.

Just looked at the Upton year lists with Dave still in front on 132 all the more incredible when there has only been 144 species seen overall. Which are the 12 youve missed?
 
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upstarts1979

Well-known member
Birding at the Moors during the work party
The common terns now have 3 broods of young, The most recent brood is of two chicks that are no more than 3 days old. They are on the main shingle island, where another brood (of at least 2 chicks) are 3 times the size. The earliest brood are still on the north (heavily vegetated) island but impossible to see. The adults are still taking in food and the chicks are at least 3 weeks old, so will be flying in less than a week. There is a minimum of 100 BHG's fledged juvs. The brood sizes this year are nearly all of 3 chicks, which at the last estimate of 65 pairs will give us nearly 200 juvs:eek!: This is in stark contrast to the Flashes where initially there were 37 pairs, but predation had brought this down to about 12 to 15 pairs. Here there are 24 to 26 fledged juvs with 2 broods of 2 and 1 chicks to come.
Also at the Moors today were:
GCG 12 ads, Little Grebe juv, Mallard 150, Tufted c20, Redshank, Lapwing 5, Water rail juv, Common Tern 8 ads plus min 5 chicks,

At the Flashes today were:
Teal male, Shoveler 5 (fem + eclipse males), Avocet 12 (8 juvs and 4 adults), LRP 19 (16 adults + 1 juv + 2 chicks 13 days old). The dry conditions of the 'central area are really enticing this species to stop off to refuel. In an area no bigger than 30 yards x15 yards there were 11 birds feeding along the shore line.
Black Tailed godwit, Lapwing 17, Curlew 14, Green Sand 7, A heavily wing moulted Peregrine,
B :)John
 
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Phil Andrews

It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Hi Trev,

The 12 that Dave has missed so far are:

Feral Pigeon (lets not start that debate again!), Osprey, Merlin, Golden Plover, Cetti's Warbler, Mandarin, Little Egret, Barn Owl, Black Redstart, Spot Fly, Common Rosefinch and another one I cant quite think of!
 

Phil Andrews

It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Attached photo of the second summer Med on the flashes yesterday afternoon

Having looked at the images last night I was struck by the extent of black in the primaries. I know it varies quite a lot in birds of this age but am now wondering if this is too much?

Nothing else about the bird strikes me as hybrid and it gave the usual Med Gull call when flying off.

Thoughts anyone?

It would be useful if we could gather and post as many photos / descriptions of the Med Gulls that occur over the next few months so we can try to get a handle on how many individuals do actually pass through Upton; Mike's photo is a good starting point with a very distinctive bird.
 

upstarts1979

Well-known member
A couple pics of the area containing 11 LRP's
the area surrounding the gulls. Not sure if there is more food here, than elsewhere on the Flashes but more likely they are gathered here because the breeding birds have forced them away from the breeding colony.
 

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Phil Andrews

It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
A couple pics of the area containing 11 LRP's
the area surrounding the gulls. Not sure if there is more food here, than elsewhere on the Flashes but more likely they are gathered here because the breeding birds have forced them away from the breeding colony.

John - do you think the juv LRP is one of the birds raised at UW returning or has it come in from another site? I take it this is still the same Blackwit that was present over the weekend?
 

upstarts1979

Well-known member
John - do you think the juv LRP is one of the birds raised at UW returning or has it come in from another site? I take it this is still the same Blackwit that was present over the weekend?

Our two fledged birds had gone on Sunday so this one is fresh in. Who knows if these 9 migrants (10 are breeding stock incl 2 chicks) are some of the same from Sunday. No reason to think that there isn't a constant stream of comings an goings on a daily basis. Only when we get juveniles can we be sure that there are different birds involved...well at the moment, as all the other birds are adults.
Same Blackwit as Sunday.
 

stu86

Member
Attached photo of the second summer Med on the flashes yesterday afternoon

Having looked at the images last night I was struck by the extent of black in the primaries. I know it varies quite a lot in birds of this age but am now wondering if this is too much?

Nothing else about the bird strikes me as hybrid and it gave the usual Med Gull call when flying off.

Thoughts anyone?

Great pics JMikeB of a very distinctive bird. As you say the extent of black in the primaries of second-years is highly variable. This one, as John says, is at the blacker end of the scale. Also worth saying that some third-years can show limited second-year-like primary pattern - I sent ring details of what I thought was a second-winter (based on primary pattern) back in Feb only to be told it was a third-winter! All part of the joy of gull watching!
 

Woodchat

Cogito ergo sum
Today I cut down the over grown vegetation in front of the Hen Pool. This now gives good views of the channels in the reeds.
Within minutes of doing the work at least 3 adult reed warblers and sedge warbler landed in front. I also heard a kingfisher calling close by.
3 pics 1. before 2, after work. and 3 a moth sp any ideas a clearwing type not sure
B :)John

Hi John,

Pretty Sure that moth is a White Plume Moth. They're pretty common - I remember seeing loads in our garden when I was a kid.
 
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Woodchat

Cogito ergo sum
Hi Trev,

The 12 that Dave has missed so far are:

Feral Pigeon (lets not start that debate again!), Osprey, Merlin, Golden Plover, Cetti's Warbler, Mandarin, Little Egret, Barn Owl, Black Redstart, Spot Fly, Common Rosefinch and another one I cant quite think of!

Not sure either - has anyone had a Pintail at Upton this year? Or Woodcock maybe?
 

beyonder

Well-known member
Today I cut down the over grown vegetation in front of the Hen Pool. This now gives good views of the channels in the reeds.
Within minutes of doing the work at least 3 adult reed warblers and sedge warbler landed in front. I also heard a kingfisher calling close by.
3 pics 1. before 2, after work. and 3 a moth sp any ideas a clearwing type not sure
B :)John

Thanks for the good work (again). Those channels are often very active and the views so close.

Have you considered pushing one of the channels right through to the pool to glimpse what's beyond and even putting up a kingfisher perch at the end?

Paul
 

Phil Andrews

It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
To assist Dave (and anyone else who is interested) the 144 species recorded so far this year are as follows:

1. Mute Swan, 2. Whooper Swan, 3. Canada G, 4. PF Goose, 5. Greylag G, 6. Barnacle G, 7. Mallard, 8. Gadwall, 9. Wigeon, 10. Shoveler, 11. Mandarin, 12. Teal, 13. Pochard, 14. Tufted D, 15. Little Grebe, 16. GC Grebe, 17. Cormorant, 18. Grey Heron, 19. Bittern, 20. Little Egret, 21. Spoonbill, 22. Coot, 23. Moorhen, 24. Water Rail, 25. Osprey, 26. Buzzard, 27. Marsh Harrier, 28. Sparrowhawk, 29. Hobby, 30. Merlin, 31. Kestrel, 32. Peregrine, 33. Pheasant, 34. Avocet, 35. Oystercatcher, 36. Ringed Plover, 37. Little Ringed Plover, 38. Lapwing, 39. Golden Plover, 40. Dunlin, 41. Sanderling, 42. Redshank, 43. Greenshank, 44. Bar-tailed Godwit, 45, Black-tailed Godwit, 46. Curlew, 47. Whimbrel, 48. Wood Sandpiper, 49. Common Sandpiper, 50. Green Sandpiper, 51. Red-necked Phalarope, 52. BH Gull, 53. Little Gull, 54. Common Gull, 55. Med Gull, 56. Herring Gull, 57. LBB Gull, 58. GBB Gull, 59. YL Gull, 60. Common Tern, 61. Arctic Tern, 62. Sandwich Tern, 63. Black Tern, 64. Cuckoo, 65. Barn Owl, 66. Little Owl, 67. Tawny Owl, 68. Stock Dove, 69. Wood Pigeon, 70. Feral Pigeon, 71. Collared Dove, 72. Hoopoe, 73. Green Woodpecker, 74. GS Woodpecker, 75. LS Woodpecker, 76. Kingfisher, 77. Swift, 78. Skylark, 79. Meadow Pipit, 80. Grey Wagtail, 81. Pied Wagtail, 82. Yellow Wagtail, 83. Swallow, 84. Sand Martin, 85. House Martin, 86. Waxwing, 87. Dunnock, 88. Wren, 89. Redstart, 90. Black Redstart, 91. Whinchat, 92. Wheatear, 93. Stonechat, 94. Bluethroat, 95. Blackbird, 96. Redwing, 97. Fieldfare, 98. Song Thrush, 99. Mistle Thrush, 100. Cetti’s Warbler, 101. Reed Warbler, 102. Sedge Warbler, 103. Grasshopper Warbler, 104. Whitethroat, 105. Lesser Whitethroat, 106. Blackcap, 107. Garden Warbler, 108. Willow Warbler, 109. Chiffchaff, 110. Goldcrest, 111. Blue Tit, 112. Great Tit, 113. LT Tit, 114. Coal Tit, 115. Treecreeper, 116. Nuthatch, 117. Rook, 118. Raven, 119. Carrion Crow, 120. Magpie, 121. Jackdaw, 122. Jay, 123. House Sparrow, 124. Chaffinch, 125. Goldfinch, 126. Linnet, 127. Greenfinch, 128. Bullfinch, 129. Brambling, 130. Siskin, 131. Lesser Redpoll, 132, Mealy Redpoll, 133. Reed Bunting, 134. Yellowhammer, 135. Red Kite, 136. Snipe, 137. Jack Snipe, 138. Spotted Flycatcher, 139, Starling, 140. Common Rosefinch, 141. Shelduck, 142. Goldeneye, 143. Goosander, 144. Robin.
 

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