Birding Blunders

It's mid December and there's a storm blowing. A howling south westerly gale is battering the south coast of Devon, with frequent heavy downpours, but that doesn't put off the dedicated patch birder from skipping breakfast and heading down to the coast. He sets up his scope which he struggles to keep still in the wind, but for the first twenty minutes sees very little passing. 

All of a sudden a small white gull flies into view. It's flying into the wind but its clearly all white and small, no bigger than a Kittiwake. The bird remains distant as it flies west but it's clear the bird has some small black flecks along its wing, but otherwise it's really is pure white and is flying almost like a tern. Ivory Gull!!  Mega!  It turns more south and the observer watches it fly away... did that just happen!?  

Still shaking with excitement the birder grabs his phone, manages to send a text out to other birders, and quickly fires of a tweet "Distant 1w Ivory Gull off xxxxxxx, seems to have flown off out to sea!"

But as he puts his phone back in his pocket and continues to scan with his telescope, he picks it up again and it's flying back into the bay.  Fantastic! It keeps on coming, and coming, before dropping on the the sea where it joins a lone adult Kittiwake. Immediately something doesn't look right. It has an all yellow bill, it's the same shape as the Kittiwake, and the 'black flecks' are actually splodges of oil.... it's an albino Kittiwake.

Just as a sinking feeling tugs on the observers stomach, an adult Great Black-backed Gull knocks the albino Kittiwake on the head, and proceeds to swallow it.  It's at this point that cars begin to arrive and the first birders are running over...

Hypothetical Person A   

The birder immediately gets his phone back out of his pocket, begrudgingly sends the tweet 'sorry folks, the Ivory Gull was actually an albino Kittiwake' and sheepishly apologises to all the birders that have already arrived.  He then spends this next 24 hours with his phone turned off and consumes the advised maximum monthly intake of alcohol in one evening. 

Hypothetical Person B

As the first telescopes arrive the birder exclaims "sorry guys, no further sign". Alas there is no more sightings of the 'Ivory Gull', but then again it did fly back out to sea so that's not a surprise. To pull off his lie he needs to carry it all the way though, so submits a remarkably good description of a first-winter Ivory Gull to the BBRC, which sails through. The birder goes down in history as the finder of the first Devon Ivory Gull since 1853!

As an outsider not knowing the truth, who is the better birder?   Well it's clearly not the Muppet that is Person A who can't even tell the difference between a common seabird and one of the most obvious gulls in the world. What a complete stringer.  Person B however, what a star, a complete legend. Managed to nail a flyby Ivory Gull, which he deserved after spending so much time out and about....

Birders are humans. And humans make mistakes, in fact mistakes are what makes us human. When first learning about birds I think you kind of learn through mistakes, and you will probably make many of them, but however experienced and knowledgeable you become as a birder, blunders will still happen. 

It's the birders that never admit to making mistakes that concern me. Thankfully I am confident all the birders I know are like Person A, honest. But I'm sure there are some out there like Person B. Their egos so ballooned and with such (deluded) high standards to uphold, their pride would just not let them back down from their first call. They simply cannot be seen to make a mistake. So, who is the better birder?

Person A. All day long.

Even the most thorough and expert birders make mistakes. The best field birder I know and have ever birded with once spent the day counting an impressive Arctic Skua passage. He returned back to base only to find out all the sea watching locations both north and south of him recorded almost exactly the same numbers of Pomarine Skuas. He immediately knew he'd ballsed up. And admitted it. Everyone makes mistakes, it's how you deal with them that counts.  

It's important to learn from your mistakes (this does make you a better birder), and you have got to expect some flack, but move on. Deal with the error like my dog dealt with the cold water that had soaked into her fur after a swim in the River Coly this morning...

Writing this post got me thinking about my biggest birding faux pas, and three spring to mind...

"Osprey!"

It must have been about 2001 or 2002, before Colyford Common had a hide and was just a slope and a platform. The previous day I'd had an Osprey fly through south at dusk, and I was stood there with Phil A and Dave H. All the Estuary birds had taken flight, and I was frantically looking around through my binoculars for the reason. As I lowered my binoculars my eyes saw a bird flying very close to us, with a dark breast band, broad wings and a slow flap. My mouth said "Osprey" about half a second before my brain said 'Lapwing'.... there was no excuse!

A Redshank on Steroids.

On 16th August 2010 at Black Hole Marsh, although I was looking into the sun, I could see a long-billed, large and elegant looking Redshank-type. I didn't have to think twice about putting the news out that a Spotted Redshank was with a Greenshank on the marsh.  Here is the bird...

That evening Phil went down, and saw it again, closer and in flight. It was a Redshank. I still maintain it was a bloody weird looking Redshank (possibly of eastern origin?), but it was a Common Redshank.

But I'm good with Gulls.

At dusk on 25th January 2010 I was watching the gulls on the Estuary when a white-winged Gull dropped in north of Coronation Corner. It was so white I was worried it was an albino or leucistic thing, but when it was settled with Herring Gulls it looked smaller, cuter headed and longer winged. A second-winter Iceland Gull, nice. Here it is...

This bird stayed for months on the Estuary. And it was a Herring Gull. This one I took particularly hard as I do consider myself a 'guller'. I thought I had checked all the salient features, well I had, yet I concluded wrong.  Am pleased to say it never put me off gulls though :-)

So folks, I've been open and honest, now it's your turn. Let's have a birders amnesty, I'd love to read about your biggest gaffs and greatest embarrassments in the world of birding. Whether via a comment on this blog, a tweet, an email or a text.  Let's celebrate the fact we are human...

Red-backed Shrike Beer Head

At the beginning of every year, for as long as I can remember, there are three birds that we all always say "we must get this year!". Red-rumped Swallow, Black-winged Stilt and Red-backed Shrike.  Now at last, one of those species can be removed from that list...

Just as I was setting off to join Kevin (Bun) up Beer Head, he phoned with news he had a Red-backed Shrike on the Summit bushes. Excellent...

And about twenty minutes later the world was a better place...

A really beautifully coloured example of one too - such a gorgeous bird and so so overdue.  It looked very settled as it had found quite a sheltered spot and was finding plenty of food, so if you want to come up and see it hopefully this map will help...

And here's a tiny bit of video. Very tiny...

Not only am I delighted for Bun, and my patch list, but also for Beer Head.  There is a keen team of us that daily/weekly/yearly spend hours upon hours trudging over this place ever hoping for something like this. Although we have had some scarcities and a couple of rarities over the years (no one mention the Cuckoo), it never feels like we get quite what our effort deserves. So Bun, if you don't mind, this one is for us...

Seemed to be a heck of a lot up Beer Head this morning, I was only here for an hour and had 80+ Mipits, 2 Tree Pipits, 6 Wheatear, a few Chiffs and my first 'vis mig' Siskins (6+) of the autumn.  I wouldn't be surprised is something else decent is unearthed here later today.

Although all the local birders need Red-backed Shrike for their patch lists (or did!), it's not a new bird for the patch. I'm sure like many other south coast sites, this species formally bred here, with confirmed nesting in the mid 60's. There's been at least one other more recent record as well, but not recent enough for any of us to have seen!

Finding Your Own Birds

Seeing as it is still very 'samey' out there today, here's a post inspired by a comment left on my blog by Sue Murphy. Thanks Sue for the idea, I hope this helps you and others who are keen to find...

For me, I get no greater enjoyment when I'm out birding and finding my own birds.  Of course it is amazing when you bump into an unexpected rarity, but I am not just talking about rare and scarce birds, I'm talking the regular migrants too. 

There are two different tactics when it comes to bird finding. You either are mobile and head to where you have best chances of finding whatever birds it is you want to find, this is why Shetland becomes busy with rarity hunters in Sept/Oct - birders are maximising their chances by travelling there. Or the other option, and the one that is the backbone of patch birding, is you stick with your patch and you just work it as often and as thorough as you can.

I have had a good think over the past few days, and here are my top tips on how to find your own birds:

Know your stuff.

If you do want to find rare and scarce birds, it is so important to know the common species well, how they behave and all their different plumages. Calls are so important too and are often the first clue that something is lurking in the bushes or flying over. This is the part that can take time, but enjoy the learning and just stick at it. I found being around people who are experienced and knowledgeable a huge asset when learning. It's also important to know what habitat any target species like, as this will dictate where you go to look for them.

Chiffchaff,/Willow Warbler/Melodious Warbler?

Find your own place.

It's pretty simple I suppose, if you bird an area that is already heavily birded by others, then there is less chance of you finding something. Whereas if you find yourself your own little patch or area, then it's all yours!  Picking the right spot can be hard though and can take several blank visits, but I would look for geographically different areas - whether it is a headland (however small), or a high point (high ground can be as effective as a headland when it comes to migrants). Water is always good as this increases the potential of what could turn up, whether a lake, river or the sea, and seems to act as a magnet for most types of birds, even species we don't usually associate with water.

The nearest thing we have to a headland, and persistence has paid off.

The early bird catches the juiciest worm.

So many times up Beer Head, even if it has been a good morning for migrants, at about 09:00 it can dry right up and birds seemingly disappear. Sure it can be knackering, and this certainly isn't always the case, but in general get out early before the dog walkers and ramblers. A Stone Curlew on your local patch may only be there until the first person walks along the path and flushes it, make sure that person is you.

Don't be too focused.

So many times I have gone somewhere hoping to find a particular species, but found something completely different. It's important not to be too narrow minded out in the field (I am sometimes guilty of this). If you are hoping to find say a Yellow-browed Warbler, you would quite rightly be concentrating on Long-tailed Tit flocks, but be careful not to walk past that Wryneck hunkered down in the grass to your left, or the Common Crane that's flown silently over.

Wryneck is one of the species that can be easily overlooked.

Expect the unexpected.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare bird and can see what it is as plain as day, do not let the 'but it can't be it's rare' get in the way. Of course you should always appreciate that rare birds are rare, and if you have poor views of something don't let your mind get carried away prematurely, but having a mind set of expect the unexpected is not a bad thing at all.

No an Audouin's Gull shouldn't have been on Seaton Marshes on 14/08/07 but it was!

Surf before bird.

Keeping an eye on the internet, at blogs (like this one!), bird news websites and social media, can give you a good idea of when to look for what. Say for example you desperately want to find your first Yellow Wagtails, when you notice me blogging that there are flocks of them on Beer Head, head out to your nearest cattle covered hill or headland, and I'm sure you will score.

Know where to go.

This is kind of similar to the previous point, and only really counts if you have a few sites to choose from. You wouldn't find me walking around Beer Head in January, or looking for rare late autumn migrants in mid summer.  Go where the birds are likely to be. In winter this may be an estuary, the sea, or some sewage works. In spring and autumn it could well be a headland or a park. It's not just the time of year, it's weather conditions too. On a bright sunny April morning I will go up high to Beer Head to look for migrants, but on a damp foggy April morning I will go birding down in the river valley and the marshes. When it comes to sea watching then it is all about the weather, although I must say in my opinion the sea is always worth a scan whatever the conditions.

If you have a new patch it may take you a few years to work out which areas are best at which times of years and in which weather conditions, but this is the excitement of a new patch!

I found this Stone Curlew on 13/7/07 because I decided where to go given the date and weather,

 

Stay five minutes more.

How many times do you read "I was just about to give up when..." If you have another five minutes, use it and be patient if you have to. Yes it can sometimes be boring but staying that little longer may make all the difference. The simple rule is the more time out looking, the more chance you have of finding.  

Spotted Crake - a typical species that it pays to be patient for.

Take a few more paces.

Similar to the above point, if you have the time to have a look around the next hedge, or over that brow of the hill, make the extra effort and do it. I wonder how many birds aren't ever found because people have turned around just that little bit too soon.

Birds find birds.

It's surprising how often when out birding, especially in autumn, you can walk for ages and see very little, but then come across a small area that is full of birds. Birds attracts birds, so wherever there is a gathering of whatever species, it pays to spend a little extra time here looking.  Also under this heading must come the fact that gulls are ultra useful when it comes to finding raptors or other large birds (Storks, Cranes, etc), if you learn their alarm calls you will instantly be able to tell when a bird of prey is on its way.  Same applies to a certain extent to passerines too, a flock of Swallows will soon let you know when a Hobby is around.


Use your bins.

I rely heavily on my ears and naked eyes when walking around birding. But it pays to stop and have a scan with your binoculars every now and then, check fence posts and muddy edges, because by the time you have walked up to them, a bird may have slipped off when you weren't looking. This is also important if you want to find birds like raptors, which are often too far away to even see with just your eyes.

Be the first to spot that incoming Osprey over the far hillside.

Look around.

Don't just look in front of you, or down at the ground if you are not having a good day! Look left, right, behind you and up. 


Stray from paths.

If you are able to, in busy spots don't just walk along paths. These paths may have been walked along several times in the ten minutes prior to your visit, so any birds will have probably moved from here. Walk along the other side of the hedge to the path, or even just 10 feet to the side of a path.


Don't believe strangers.

So many times I have walked into a packed bird hide, been told "all is quiet" or "nothing here", and then found sometime decent.  If you don't know someone's ability, then presume they aren't that good however expensive their equipment is (good optics/cameras mean nothing). Equally, if you do go and see someone else's scarce/rare bird,  it's always good practice to challenge the ID in your head, and go through the points that you would look for if you had found it yourself.

Don't give up.

Well this one is pretty self explanatory, but it is harder than it sounds. If you are going through a quiet spell try and stay positive and just keep plugging away. Sometimes it helps to try something different or change tactics.


Well I hope you found this a good read.  This is how my brain works, and hopefully sharing it will help others to get enjoyment from finding their own birds...

What Inspired You?

I was asked the other day "what inspired you to become a birder?".  An interesting question, and one that unlike many others, I couldn't answer straight away. My answer is in fact quite a complex one I think, as there were several contributing factors. But out of interest I thought I would also ask this question, on Twitter, and I was delighted with the response I got - many thanks everyone.

I found it really interesting reading all the different reasons, so much so that I think I should post them on here too;

 

 

 

 

What was it that inspired you?  Please do leave a comment or drop me an email, it's fascinating to hear the different tales.

I haven't had the chance to go down the local reserves for well over a month, but Dad has kept me well informed. Yesterday there were eight Blackwits, six Dunlin and two Ringed Plover, and within the past couple of weeks we've had three single Little Ringed Plovers, a Greenshank and the expected early returning Green Sandpipers. The three Tufted Ducks are also still around after first being seen on the Estuary on Monday 13th June.  The only notable species I've seen on patch lately have been two single Crossbills in different parts of the Morganhayes Wood complex.  Crossbills have been scarce this winter and spring, so these are undoubtedly 'autumn' migrants.