The Weekend

Haven't got much to report really.  We are all a bit gripped/puzzled by a pager report of a second-winter Ring-billed Gull on Black Hole Marsh yesterday afternoon. It would have been great to have seen this bird for sure! 

On Friday last week, after Jess finished work we had a wander around the lanes of Colyford and I was surprised just how many birds were there!! Must have seen at least seven Chiffchaffs amongst two different tit flocks, for the umpteenth time this autumn I was convinced I was about to find a Yellow-browed Warbler!  

The highlight though was really out of the blue.  We had almost got back to the car when amongst a few Pied Wags a male Yellow Wagtail was perched on a telephone wire over a back garden of a farm house!  I was looking into the sun, but it really did seem to have a darker head.  I honestly thought I was cracking up though. I would say 90% of mid to late autumn Yellow Wags I see, but for the vent area, are almost yellow-less, this was yellow through the whole breast and belly!  I had a small digital camera with me, so took some snaps - these don't show much but seem to show a white throat and white super, along with two distinctive wing bars.  Anyway, I grilled it for a bit longer with my binoculars but learnt no more about it, then it took off and flew east with a Pied Wag.  It did call a few times when it flew and I have to say sounded pretty bog standard, I suppose it may have been a little less 'pleasant-sounding', but there was certainly no buzzing or rasping qualities to it.  

So my conclusion is, it was a Yellow Wagtail of some sorts...

A distant and silhouetted Yellow Wagtail

On Saturday, we were feeling energetic and walked from home to Branscombe!  Luckily we dropped a car off at Branscombe village hall first so didn't have to walk both ways - four miles is ok, eight would have been way above my limit!  Yes I am that unhealthy!!!

It was a stunning day and some of the views were totally splendid, this one in particular...

Looking west from Beer Head

There was a fair bit of overhead passage with Mipits, Skylarks and Siskins most numerous.  Grounded migrants were few and far between, with a Redstart below the main Beer Head car park being the highlight.

From Beer Head we walked to Branscombe through the Under Hooken.  It really is scary how much cover is down here, all these photos taken show different sections of it...

 

 

 

Simply impossible to bird. Too much cover which you can't get into or see over

 Annoyingly, later that day a male Ring Ouzel was found here. Drat.

Sunday as ever I spent at work, and whilst out the back managed a work tick!  A lone Jay flew low west over town - not unexpected I have to say.  It was nice to see a couple of small flocks of Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws going over, but not many passerines.

Monday morning, I decided to give Axe Cliff a look about.  It was nice to see a Ring Ouzel, with a very vocal bird perched up for a couple of minutes in a small tree near to the start of the Undercliff (another massive area of impossible to bird premium habitat!).  Otherwise save for a few Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests, and a flock of c150 Skylark, the selection of grounded birds was limited.

I have to say, overhead was disappointing too.  I was expecting a lot lot more passerines, with just low numbers of Mipits and alba Wagtails seen along with a few Finches.  I did however see 290 Wood Pigeons and one Stock Dove fly west - and it was nice to take a few photos of migrating Pigeons again...

 

The only time Pigeons become interesting!

After Axe Cliff, the Axmouth FC scrape gave a Grey Plover amongst half a dozen Lapwing - a new bird for me on this field!  And that was really it for yesterday.

Today I have been in all morning, with a net open in the front garden.  Amongst the small number of birds I've caught and ringed were a Goldcrest and two Coal Tit - migrants?  I'm sure the Goldcrest was, weighing five grams with next to no fat.

Back To Basics

Well after a very enjoyable and exciting fall on Tuesday, and a excellent sea watch on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (so far) have been somewhat dire!

Yesterday, the best I mustered were my first White Wagtails of 2012 (late or what - I often see my first in March!). Two males were on Black Hole Marsh early morning, before flying off north.

This morning, the Beer Cemetery Fields produced just half a dozen Willow Warblers, two Swallows and a singing male Whitethoat. I was hoping for much MUCH more than this, because after a mostly clear night there was some decent clover this morning.

Today's blog post photos are going to have to come from some garden bird ringing. I've had the net up between showers today and yesterday as lots more birds are coming into the garden at the moment - especially finches. In fact about ten minutes ago I ringed the 150th Greenfinch for the garden (since June 2011).

Another small landmark was reached yesterday, with my 35th Bullfinch for the garden. It was a cracking second calendar year (aged 5) male, and below is a comparison shot of its open wing (above) with an adult male (below - taken on 27th Feb). Note the big red arrows pointing to the greater coverts and the key difference...

note the much broader whiter tips on the retained juvenile feathers on the younger bird. My fat thumbs are obscuring the carpal coverts on these birds, which is also a key ageing feature for Bullies.

Also this morning, I was rather surprised to catch this recently fledged juvenile Dunnock...

Don't worry, it was reunited with 'Mum' (or Dad?) upon release

A (Not Quite So) Quick Catch Up

Well this post is a little overdue!

I haven't really had any birding time over the past few days at all. Although after band practice on Thursday I had a quick look along the Estuary. Down by the tram sheds, there I was scanning over the Gull flock with my bins.... first-winter Caspian Gull!

They really do stand out, I knew what it was even before I had looked at it through my telescope. Obviously though, telescope views were needed to confirm it. What a looker...

Certainly the best photos I've ever taken of a Caspo!

For me, the main 'punch in the face' feature is not JUST the white head. This feature alone regularly produces a few red herrings (no pun intended!). For example just before I found this bird I had seen two first-winter Herring Gulls with remarkably white heads. Also of course, second winter Herring Gulls can appear very white headed too - especially at this time of year. But it is the COMBINATION of the white head AND fine brown streaking which extends up the back and around the sides of the neck. You can see it well in all the above photos.

My favourite photo by far is the upper photo as it really shows the 'head held high' jizz of a Casp well.

These next few crappy shots show a nice distinct black tail band (which I actually think is on the thick side for a 'classic' Caspo - but I do know almost nothing about them!), few black spots in the white tail band, and nice white underwings...

See - I said they were crappy!

I came back again mid afternoon, and it was still there. The light was truly awful, but I got a couple more photos with my Lumix (all the above photos were taken digiscoped with my Nikon). Here's a photo showing the under and upperwing well. Check out that distinct greater covert bar on the upperwing, along with the three of four paler inner primaries...

What a poser!

And this pic shows very well the size of its hooter...

Impressive!

When I found this bird I thought this was a new one, as it was a small bird. When I say small, I mean the same size, or maybe a teeny bit larger, than the surrounding argenteus Herring Gulls. I'm used to seeing bug hulky Caspian Gulls. I also felt this bird wasn't very 'leggy' compared with our previous Caspos, with only ever-so-slightly and subtly longer tibia, and overall marginally narrower legs. It turns out though this is the same bird that was present on the Axe in late Feb.

OK, that's enough about Gulls! I have currently got a net up in the front garden, and just 'netted' yet another new male Bullfinch! They keep on coming!

And now, to moths....

A week ago last night, I had a moth trap out and caught just ONE moth. Last night though I captured 12, which was a vast improvement! They were:

1 Early Moth
1 March Moth
3 Double-striped Pug
2 Hebrew Character
2 Common Quaker
1 Small Quaker
2 Early Grey

So nothing outstanding, all the regular fare. Which means no moth photos for you yet I'm afraid!