Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (2 Viewers)

[rollingthunder]

Georgian sky dancer.....

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[rollingthunder]

Last for today......

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[rollingthunder]

A most curious bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.....

The same or another >N a coupla days later.

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[rollingthunder]

Same bird - 'landing lights' much further apart on this one.

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[rollingthunder]

More.

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[rollingthunder]

One bird has had half its tail shot off.....

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[rollingthunder]

And still they come.

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[rollingthunder]

More.

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[rollingthunder]

Pics.

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[rollingthunder]

Pics.

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[rollingthunder]

This is the final batch.

I hope that the selection has given a feel for active raptor migration and a bit of head scratching. This time I didn't take as many photos as I thought I would 22k vs 50k+. 90% will be discarded and maybe 10% of the remainder deemed suitable for archive but they don't cost anything so I just blast away. I spent time actually looking at the more interesting, scarcer and closer birds just enjoying them for what they are - free spirits. For anybody half-thinking about making the effort just do it you won't regret a single penny or minute - I hope to be back there again next year because there is nothing quite like it. Tarifa is closer and more convenient, the Bosphorous is more spread out and as for Israel.....

The sheer numbers and variety plus the setting takes some beating. The hospitality and friendliness of the Georgians is almost palpable, the food is great as is the craft beer and of course the wine. Accommodation and cost of living is relatively cheap what's not to like. Shop around for flights. You can fly to Batumi generally changing at Istanbul or go to Kutaisi or even Tbilisi and get a train.

The family depicted are trying to catch migrant Sparrowhawks. They have a 'blind' and they stand with a Red-backed Shrike on a stick which they let flutter in front of those 2 poles on which a mist-net is stretched. They hope that a passing Sprawk will attempt to catch it and become entangled. I don't know the success rate but I saw several Sprawks just pass over and look down - no fooling them.

The Jackdaws by Kars railway station showed neck markings of the Eastern subspecies. The previous evening there had been 8 Levantine Sprawks hawking but had gone by next morning. I will post some travel and costings next week and that will be it.

My pencilled-in plans for 2 weeks in Oman in December have been scrubbed as my mate doesn't have his November retirement dosh to hand and I am not banking on a return trip to Eilat next April/May so it's finger drumming time with possibly a week in Maroc December-ish with a night at each end in Marrakesh and 5 days at the usually productive coastal town of Essaouira - we shall see what flights are on offer.....

Good birding -

Laurie -

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[rollingthunder]

GWE found by Todd Chapter on Fens Middle Pool yesterday lunchtime. A 'first' for the pools afaik - possibly still there today unless the overnight freeze has seen it off - i shall find out one way or the other later on today.....

Laurie 👍

 

[Phil Andrews]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1730552002478764173

 

[Phil Andrews]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1730905833137897675

 

[rollingthunder]

Birding i.e. local patching has been both unproductive and hard work of late. Since my return from Turkey/Georgia late September, where we had 5 hours rain in just under 3 weeks and that in the early hours, it has been incessant rain and winds. Ok I don’t need to tell anybody that but The Samaritans just hang up now so I have to talk to somebody…..

I have been undertaking a regular circuit of about 10 miles which includes Withymoor, Netherton Reservoir and Fens Pools. Scattered Goosander have been a feature on all waters with 16 iirc on Withymoor being the largest gathering (22 the record). Despite increased scrutiny of any large Gull groups I haven’t managed to spin anything. I have to say that using my new Swarovski BTX c/w 65mm in conjunction with the NL Pure 12x42’s make looking at anything pure joy and I eagerly look forward to using them from the 6th - 13th of Jan when we fly from Brum to Seville. We spend 2 nights start and finish in Seville itself and 3 nights on the edge of the Coto Donana marshes at El Rocio a mere 1.5 hours on a coach away.

Fens Pools has been hard work anywhere off the hard paths and despite an electrified MTB I have struggled on the tracks so just stick to the high points with the above optical assemblage.

Best bird of late has undoubtably been the Big Egret found by Todd Chater. An excellent local record iirc he has found a Cattle Egret there as well - damn his eyes! I attach a humble photo offering of the beast.

Needless to say the local resident rarity finder from Russell’s Hall had to piss in the sink by saying that it ‘was probably the bird he saw at the Bell’s Mill fishing pools a week prior’. Of course it was (can’t find the eye-rolling emoji), after all - nobody else can find anything ;-) The only problem is when they do other people see it and it’s photographed….. He also added that he could almost walk up to it.

If that is the case then why was it not photographed on a mobile phone? His Twitter account now only contains endless images of Moths put up for ID so how was a bird that is one of the largest in Europe not photographed for us mere mortals to bear witness?

I regularly check those pools. They are steep sided and always have fishermen present. It is an unlikely species to land or hang around let alone be approached.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Seville / Donana: 6-13th Jan24

Just a selection of images taken on a short one week break early January.

At this time of year I do not expect much birdwise but working on the tried and trusted premise that anywhere is better than around here what’s not to like. We had opted for 2 nights at either end of the week in Seville with 3 in-between at El Rocio on the edge of the Donana marshes about 1.5 hours by coach.

We have been to Seville a couple of times before. Both Autumn trips in September prior to stopping at Tarifa for raptor migration. Seville is dotted with parks and the Rio Guadalquivir runs through it so there are generally a reasonable mix of passage passerines in the parks and additional Gulls/Egrets on the river.

At this time of year it will be thin gruel although what was about e.g. Serin and Spotless Starling etc were in full song. Seville is notable for its noisy and showy selection of escaped/alien species e.g. Ring-necked Parakeet, Common Waxbill etc. In addition there were plenty of overwintering Chiffchaffs to be seen and heard.

In common with parks in Portugal and Morocco they are generally laid out formally with little encouragement for a shrub or ground layer. Both the strimmer and the leaf-blower rule. The use of both these tools is not only noisily intrusive but routinely destroy any suitable insect habitat leaving areas devoid of vegetation except for bits of mown grass here and there - Hoopoes favour these but get there at first light before the dog-walkers and joggers…..

Having said all that i do like Seville. Excellent Tapas, wines and beers are to be found in abundance. There is also the site of the historic Tobacco factory featured in Bizet’s Carmen where the titular Gypsy cigarette roller falls in love with one of the guards - I always stand outside the entrance and play the ‘Habenara’ on my phone…..a few minutes of bliss amid the city bustle. The building is now a University iirc. Just down the road is the Plaza de Espana a sweeping crescent of buildings reminiscent of the famous Bristol Crezz. This building featured prominently in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia as the Cairo HQ and officers mess for the British military coordinating their attacks against the Ottomans. There is a classic scene when Peter O’Toole after launching his surprise attack burst into the mess hall interrupting the officers drinks completely dishevelled and with, heaven forbid, a young Arab in tow. He loudly announced, much to collective disbelief that ‘the Wogs have taken Aqaba’. A reference to Faisal and his ragtag Bedouin army had done the impossible - i wonder how that would be scripted these days…..

 

[rollingthunder]

Plaza de Espana then and now.

Seville cigarette lady.

The 2 Stone sentinels standing guard outside the science museum.

 

[rollingthunder]

Donana…..

Only my 2nd visit and I accessed a small area really. I walked from the lagoon at El Rocio to the other wetlands, woodland and heath at El Rocina where there is a staffed reserve building. At El Rocio there is an education/display centre with an upper terrace for birding the lagoon. It has been 5 years since my initial visit and I can see the negative changes to the area as far as habitat is concerned. The lagoons are seasonal indeed the last September visit they were completely dry following a dry Winter and Spring leaving no open water in the area at all. The freshwater mixes a few kilometres further out to form more brackish wetlands but these also are affected by the lack of fresh water. The main and ongoing issue is water abstraction for cheap salad products e.g. Peppers, Tomatoes etc in addition to the increasing human pressure and water requirements. As we approached it was evident that former wild areas are now under a sea of plasticultura much like areas in Almeria. This is just the commercial aspect there are also hundreds of individual enterprises nibbling away at the edge most if not all illegal.

The Coto Donana is dying the death of a thousand cuts slowly but surely it is drying up.

Lack of groundwater means the vegetation is changing and more shrub habitat means that fires are now a constant feature. A couple of years ago one destroyed a reserve building. It is believed to have been started away from the structure by disgruntled locals who had their pop-up Fincas confiscated and so with a prevailing breeze torched an area and watch it spread. Unfortunately the building concerned housed the Iberian Lynx Project c/w young cubs etc. Most were hastily moved by car and the older ones were let loose to fend for themselves…..

Unique Spanish wildlife heritage literally going up in smoke for cheap Peppers - go figure…..

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

More.....

 

[rollingthunder]

The Coto Donana, for me, has had a Holy Grail effect from the very start of my birding interest when I was about 12yo. My local library, Forest Hill in South London, had a good-sized natural history section. This, for me, contained an absolute gem which I used to read annually. It was Portrait of a Wilderness and covered the expeditions organised by Guy Mountfort into the area in the 50’s. At the time it was a Royal preserve for hunting and they stopped at the Lodge. All travel was undertaken by Horse, Mule and Shank’s Pony. I used to devour it cover to cover and musing that maybe one day…..

The book is one of a trilogy and includes River (Danube) and Desert (Jordan, Azraq. I recently bought all 3 from Abe Books indeed the Wilderness one is available as an autographed copy for less than 20 quid on Amazon!

Quite what the future holds is anybody’s guess. The area is protected under the EU and Ramsar but as usual laws are all about enforcement and when locals feel alienated then you get the situation that exists now. Numbers of wintering birds have declined dramatically year on year. Gone are the days of tens of thousands of wild Greylag and Greater Flamingos huge rafts of European Duck fleeing the hard weather and waders vying for feeding position along the saline shorelines. To a visiting birder from the West Midlands it’s still good birding with lots of Egret species, frequent Marsh Harriers (and a male Hen) and the most Glossy Ibis I have seen including a party of about 300. My last visit clicked with a pair of Spanish Imps but it was a no show this time. My next visit will be to a different part where I can explore without hides and boardwalks etc. For those visiting the latter extend for several miles and had I been there in the Spring I would have gone off-piste a bit more as there are lots of tracks etc to explore - obviously you are not supposed to…..

Laurie -