Crossbilled Blackcap

Had a bit of time to put a net up in the garden this morning. I caught one bird, which was yet another Blackcap!

This one was a quite different from all the others though, because it had a deformed bill, and had been eating something which had made its face go very yellow....

A right weirdo!

It was light compared with my recent Blackcaps (weighing 16.4 grams - the previous five birds coming in at 18.7, 18.7, 23.0, 18.8 and 18.5), but it had a fat score of 25 and a bit of body muscle. If it was summer, and this was a Phyllosc, I would have said the yellow on its face was pollen - but it isn't - so I haven't a clue what it has been feeding on!

Had a couple of looks along the Estuary today, the mid afternoon look revealed 12 adult Med Gulls. One was well on its way to summer plumage - yummy! None of them were today, I think the white colour ringed bird the other day has already moved in.

This bird was white 31A7, and it turns out it was ringed as a third calendar year bird on 24/06/09 at Harlingen Haven, Friesland, Holland. There was an interesting re-sighting of it on 13/05/10 on the Island of Griend (also Holland), where it was seen eating a Black-headed Gull egg! Since then it has been seen only once before I spied it, this was on 20/06/11 at The Wetland Centre for Wales, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

Still No Time...

...for birding or blogging!

But I have just seen this on the net. Click on this link and scroll half way down to the Robin in Cumbria...

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/about/background/projects/plumage/gallery?dm_i=IG4,NMDQ,3CXANV,1WQEQ,1

Especially in the right hand photo - doesn't that look rare! Imagine if you glimpsed that skulking about in the bushes at your local migration hotspot!!!

Early afternoon update: I lied in the post title! I did have enough time for a sweep of the Estuary, which was nice.

The highlight was two Golden Plovers that flew in from Colyford Marsh direction and landed with Lapwing north of Coronation Corner.

Amongst the gulls were seven adult Med Gulls (including one white ringed bird, I have sent the ring details off for it), and a very dark mantled Herring Gull. It had lots of black in the primaries, was clean headed and average sized, so I think it was just a darker than average argenteus.

A Grey Chiff...

I can only apologies for how quiet this blog has been of late. I have had such little time for birding, and even less time for blogging!

Anyway, I thought it was about time I did pull my finger out, so....

Here's a few pictures I took of the grey Chiffchaff I saw in Mike Tyler's hand on Saturday morning at Colyford WTW. There is green in the mantle, which I guess alone would rule out pure/classic tristis? As you can see though, it is a very pale grey bird - the top two photos showing it alongside a collybita shows this well. Also note the lack of any yellow tones on the birds underparts.

What do you think...

All Quiet

I'm sure many of you are wondering why the Axe Estuary has been so quiet lately? No news of any decent gulls, or anything else for that matter! Well that's because it has been quiet! I've been out for at least a couple of hours every day, but I've seen almost nothing worthy of note.

Yesterday I trekked out to Weston again, and finally had good views of the Scoter flock. There were just under 200 birds, but unfortunately all were Commons.

Weston Cliffs; the furthest point is Beer Head

The gulls have been relentlessly crap. Whilst Radipole have had up to three Ring-billeds, an Iceland and a Caspian within the last few days - not to mention 350+ Med Gull - the Axe yesterday had six Med Gulls (4 unringed adults, 1st winter and 2nd winter) and that dark mantled hybrid third-winter large Gull that I photographed the other day. And that was it! Today was even worse, with just three Meds.

With some cold weather predicted, let's hope it shakes something up!

Where's Our White Winger?

An hour at Branscombe this morning revealed virtually nothing on the sea. A few Razorbills and Guillemots were as good as it got for things 'floating'. Luckily there was a little bit of interest over it, with a single Great Northern and six Red-throated Divers west.

Had a good sift through the gulls today, with two trips along the Estuary, a look over the pig fields and a visit to Beer beach (as well as scoping the gulls on the rocks at Weston). Nothing but three adult Med Gulls. We are blatantly going to get an Iceland Gull though within the next week - coffee coloured first winters are always nice, but I've never seen a second or third winter on the Axe, so one of those please....

A Few Days In One

Just a few snippets of interest to mention from the past few days on patch.

On Wednesday a check of the Estuary mid afternoon revealed three adult Med Gulls and this weirdo large Gull. It could just be a Lesser Black-backed Gull at the pale end of the scale, if not it's certainly got Lesser Black-backed in it somewhere...

Sorry for the grainy photos - full digital zoom used!

At home, I netted yet another female Blackcap! My ninth of the winter so far.

Yesterday all I had time for was another Estuary sweep, nothing but a couple of adult Med Gulls.

Today, mid afternoon the Estuary showed three Med Gulls (two adults and a first winter) and a surprise Ringed Plover! They are a regular spring and autumn migrant here, but actually quite rare in the winter months...

If only it was a Killdeer...

Lastly, just a note to please be vigilant - or keep your ears open at least.

On Thursday evening two wildfowlers were shooting ON Seaton Marshes. This is a Nature Reserve and I think is disgusting behaviour - not to mention totally illegal. The Police were called but the shooters had gone before the Police arrived. If anyone sees them return then please phone the Police immediately. Shooting is obviously permitted on Colyford Marsh and other areas of the valley that are not owned/managed by EDDC.

Suppressor???...

I thought I better put the birding world at ease...

Has Steve Waite suddenly become part Cornish*? Has his listing streak got the better of him and his interests are now entirely selfish....

.... No!

I understand some slightly disgruntled birders were hunting down the pale Wigeon this morning, with the question 'why did we not hear about this yesterday' nagging them. Likewise, a local blogger was clearly rather bemused as to why his afternoon coffee was not interrupted yesterday.

So I thought it best I explained myself...

Wandering down to Seaton Marshes bird hide, and there's about eight Wigeon feeding not far from the path to the hide. I put my bins up and notice a paler female amongst them, with a bit of an eye mask. I thought it best I took a snap as the birds had their heads up like they were about to fly, and I knew a pale female Wigeon had been seen on the Otter the end of last year, so I took a photo (I thought I took two or three at the time, but the day before I had changed my camera setting from 'burst' to 'single shot'). Seconds after I took the photo, every Wigeon on marsh took flight (no I'm not a flusher either - it wasn't me!) and headed towards the Estuary.

I had bin views of this Wigeon for maybe 5-8 seconds. It turned out my reasons for why I should take a rapid photo were right, as it did indeed bugger off!

I only had three female Wigeon to directly compare this bird to in the few seconds I had of looking at it (though there were many more Wigeon on other parts of the marsh), and the only things I noted were that it seemed to be much paler with a fairly distinct dark eye patch. In a larger flock with a greater variety of female Wigeon I wondered if it would have stood out as much? Would other female Wigeon look paler and more like this bird? Could it just have been a first winter female and the other three were adult females? All these were quite possible I thought - so I thought no more of it.

I thought I should also point out that at the time it was pissing down with rain, I was soaked through and my bins were full of rain and partially steamed up.

Ok, usually when I go out birding, I come home soon after and immediately get the photos off my camera and onto my laptop. But today I was out a lot longer than usual, and didn't return home until pretty much dusk. I had a bite to eat, a much needed shower, got into a change of clothes (I was soaking wet!) and then fired the laptop up and began downloading the day's pics.

The Wigeon pic came up on the laptop, and my immediate first instinct was to text the local birders and send them a copy of the photo. Only now could I see the structural differences on the bird (head shape) and the apparent (partial?) black gape line. Obviously if I had noticed these features in the field (i.e. if I got it in my scope if it had stayed put for more than ten seconds) then I would have sent texts out there and then.

Basically I did not get a decent enough view of the bird at all to convince myself it warranted a text.

Most who know me know my nanosecond texting ability (and whilst not looking at my phone too!). And all know how rapid I usually am at getting the news out when I find a goodie - often before I am personally 100% happy with the identification, maybe because I've not seen all the clinching features (i.e. the White-rumped Sand this Nov, Solitary Sandpiper, my 'Iberian sounding Chiffchaff on Beer Head', and even the Audouin's Gull; I'd only seen that red bill for a few seconds before I made the first phonecall).

So why this blog post? Life is too short. I hate people thinking I've done wrong - because I always do try to do my best for everyone. If you are still genuinely peed off after reading this account as to why I didn't send a text out, then I can only apologies. I will endeavour to text any time I see something that looks even the teeniest bit 'odd'...

Right, I must go, I've just got to check and see if that Dark-eyed Junco is still in my neighbours back garden**....

*please take this as a joke! I (and I'm sure all) are well aware the Cornish controversies stem from only one or two individuals.

**there isn't one really!