I've been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time on Dartmoor over the last few weeks, and will be spending a heck of a lot more time up here over the next 11 weeks...
The weather really has been mixed, the above photos were taken on the nicest day, on other mornings we had to sit out snow and hail showers, and the first day saw a raw east wind whip up late morning.
As expected it's been nice to see plenty of the usual Dartmoor summer birds; Cuckoos daily, Curlews, Redstarts, Whinchat, Snipe, etc. A Fieldfare on the 28th was my biggest surprise, the latest I've ever seen one in the county, but considering the temperature at dawn was -1 it was probably feeling at home...
When we are out on the moor we don't have much time to hang around, none at all really. But when this Fox appeared in front of me I just had to stop and film it for a short while, and luckily for me it did a full on mouse-pounce...
Now back to the patch. I'm really pleased that the Hoopoe is still here today, and remained in view pretty much all day for the constant trickle of visitors, there's some stunning photos of it appearing online. It's clearly been quite a good day today, I've not gone out birding at all but two dog walks and an eye open from my back garden has given me some nice birds. Allhallows mid morning showed ten Wheatear, two Willow Warbler and a Whitethroat. A wander around Colyford late afternoon showed a female Whinchat,and from the house this evening a female Goosander flew up river and my first Swift of the year flew south.
Hoopoe's are pretty much annual on patch, with some years delivering maybe two or three - but most of them come and go with out being seen by a single birder. So an obliging individual is always much appreciated and after one was seen briefly last night near Lower Bruckland Ponds, gladly it was still present today and remained faithful to the same area from about 10:30...
The showers this morning did the trick in grounding some migrants around the Axe. I decided to concentrate on the river valley and it was soon evident there had been an arrival of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. It took a while until I found any quality, and when I did they were in the same hedgerow, the rare-looking hedgerow that runs north from Coronation Corner alongside the Estuary. One was a Grasshopper Warbler that reeled briefly before vanishing, but the other was far more obliging - my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year...
As ever with my videos, if you click on that small cog-like symbol near the bottom right hand corner of the picture, and change the quality setting to 1080pHD, it will look a whole lot better.
For my previous birding outing you will have to turn back to last Friday, which was a very very wet day indeed! The weather did the trick though as this proved our best wader day of this spring so far (which isn't hard as it has been dreadful!). I clocked up 27 Dunlin, one Ringed Plover, 6 Common Sands, one Barwit (a gorgeous summer plumaged bird) and 19 Whimbrel.
Best of all though were the four stunning Yellow Wagtails on Bridge Marsh. Spring Yellow Wags are a bit like Tree Pipits here, they are almost always just fly overs - so it was a real treat to see these.
Lastly, I just realised I never got round to thanking Mrs Bishop for finding the Montagu's Harrier the other day. A pity you got the ID a little wrong Brenda, but if it wasn't for you none of us would have seen it so many thanks from all of us here :-)
Had a wonderful day on Exmoor with the girls yesterday, but I won't lie when I got a text from Phil saying he had a 'very interesting ringtail harrier on Colyford Common' I became concerned...
I was clearly over thinking/worrying, but the addition of the word VERY got me panicking. Surely this is hinting that Pallid could be a possibility!!??.... I can't tell you how thankful I was when Phil soon texted again saying it was a Monties - phew! This is still a patch mega mind, only the third ever record, but as it was already safely tucked away on my patch list I was able to relax and we continued to enjoy our day.
I was amazed to hear it was still kicking about when we returned home (and had in fact been around since 2pm!), so as it hadn't been seen to leave the valley I was up at 6 today hoping for some Monties action. I didn't go to one of the usual spots, but hid myself in a hedge on the edge of the marsh hoping for some close up video opportunities One male Gadwall, three singing Sedge Warblers and two hours later I was completely freezing my t*ts off and no one had seen the Harrier.
Luckily for me Tim, Karen and Dave H (who had been there since 05:50!) stayed put and at 09:20 were rewarded when it appeared out of the exact spot it was seen to drop in to at 17:40 yesterday. I by this point was in Ottery St. Mary, so after a rather disappointing breakfast and a hurried (by me!) shopping trip, I was heading back for the Axe and got to Boshill Cross at about 10:45. And there it was...
What an absolute beaut! The above video clips were taken during the hour and 15 minutes that I enjoyed with it, and it showed so so well (annoyingly often circling around the hedge I was hidden in earlier in the day though!). My last snippet was the last we saw of it, it gained a bit of height and flew off purposely north east.
Sadly I came just as the Red Kite gave up chasing it, but thankfully (and very unusually) the Red Kite remained. This amazingly is the first Red Kite I've ever seen perched up on the patch, and I reckon I've seen at least 35 Kites here!
Back to the stunning Harrier - oh what a treat! I have to say I was shocked that it stayed in our little valley for so long, the previous two Monties were fly throughs, the valley doesn't even hold Hen Harriers for more than ten minutes! Date wise it's quite an early one really, which makes me think it could be an overshoot (what with the Hoopoes and Subalpine Warbler on Portland) as opposed to a returning UK breeder. Am surprised not to have seen more Devon birders up here today really, it's not often one is twitchable in this county (Devon tick for Dave H).
To finish off this post, a couple of snap shots taken from my video footage (which I'm dead pleased with, quality not great but they're clear enough) with a few comments as to what makes it a Monty and not a Hen...
Long and narrow winged appearance with the wing tip being made up of three distinctive long primaries, four or five in Hen Harrier.
Very narrow white rump band, much broader in Hen Harrier.
Distinctive black bar along the base of the secondaries, absent on Hen Harrier.
Obvious dark bands across bases of primaries, less obvious in Hen Harrier.
Obvious pale patch on scapulars, often present in Hen Harrier but not as striking.
Rich orange tones to the course underpart streaking, with the underwing streaking reminiscent almost of an adult male Monties.
Broad pale bar between dark bars on secondaries, on a Hen Harrier the pale and dark bars should be of similar widths.
Again wing tip clearly made up of three primaries.
Our first proper goodie of spring 2016 - hopefully there will be many more to come...
Dorchester was today's venue for a day out with my girls, and before we went into town we took Honey for a walk around Maiden Castle.
It was fairly windy, but what a great place for a wander and so many birds! I was really surprised at just how many Corn Buntings were around, 15+ being a conservative estimate. Also saw several Yellowhammer, really good numbers of Skylark, six Wheatear (which looked Greenlandy) and most surprisingly for me two Grey Partridge. These were the first Grey Part's I've seen for flipping ages so was dead chuffed. I really hope you enjoy this video - the only footage I managed of the Partridge is at the end...
I've not had any time for birding today, but a wet and windy dog walk along the beach first thing gave me the chance to video my first sea birds. I've been really excited about the potential of getting some of my sea bird sightings on video, so I was keen to see how my camcorder would perform with distant and constantly moving shapes.
I was stood down by the breaking waves getting completely and utterly soaked by the driving rain when I noticed two Common Terns slowly making their way east just offshore, perfect subjects! You will have to forgive the shakiness when I crank up the zoom but I wanted to see what the quality was like on full whack. Uploading to YouTube has affected this somewhat, but I'm still pleased with it. Just waiting for the summer plumaged White-winged Black Tern now!
Up to Beer Head again this morning with the nets, joined by Peter for the first time this year - sadly I couldn't offer him an exciting session though.
It was soon evident the bushes were quiet, with just the odd Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler filtering through. They could clearly see the nets as well which really didn't help - at one stage I watched a group of five Willow Warblers flitting along the bushes right towards one of my nets, but two went over it, two went around it and I caught just one!
Two nets in two and a half hours saw 14 birds of six species ringed;
1 Blackbird
1 Blackcap
4 Willow Warbler
5 Chiffchaff
2 Blue Tit
1 Long-tailed Tit
Chiffchaff (left) and Willow Warbler (right).
With the clear skies I guess I wasn't surprised how few birds were in the bushes, but I was really surprised about how few birds were passing over. I only noted five 'vis mig' birds overhead; two Swallows, two Meadow Pipits and.... well the and was a bit of a good one...a Short-eared Owl!
As can be seen from my video it was harassed by every Crow in Beer for a short while before it gained height and flew off south east across Lyme Bay. What a lovely surprise, and one of the bonuses of having Beer Head as a ringing site :-).
Despite then spending the rest of the day at work, I still managed another year tick today. Whilst walking the dog around my estate tonight (about 20:30) I could hear a Grasshopper Warbler reeling from the edge of the marshes. A few minutes later and I was stood right next to it - one of the best sounds of the bird world if you ask me.
For some reason I had low expectations for today, not sure why because it is getting on for mid April, but I just thought it was going to be duff. I spent half an hour on the beach looking out to sea from 8:30 and didn't see anything of note at all, which wasn't a great start. We never seem to do well here in easterlies, annoyingly the Chesil side of the bay do very well in this wind direction.
Home for a quick coffee and then it was down to Black Hole Marsh for a quick pre-recorded interview with BBC Radio Devon. It was during the drizzle here that suddenly the day felt better...
My first Sedge Warbler of the year was singing strongly just inside the entrance gate, with a few Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs in the bushes above. Overhead Swallows and a few Martins were streaming over NW, with two Ringed Plovers that circled over the marsh also my first of the year (it really has been a dreadful spring for wader passage so far).
A look along the Estuary then showed my first two Whimbrel of the year, but Seaton Marshes produced nothing new. I was out again later with Bun which revealed the continued presence of our lingering Marsh Harrier and a smart White Wag beside Colyford WTW.
And now to the post title. You will notice this has been a photo-free post, well that's because I've been videoing! I've always wanted to own a camcorder, and Sean Foote (@PortlandNature) and his fantastic monthly vlogs (video-blogs) tipped me over the edge. So I purchased one of what he has, a Panasonic HC-V250. It's cheap but seems to do the job well, and boasts a superb 90x zoom. I am not going to be vlogging, but I thought it would be good to film what I see as much as I can. You cannot beat a good photo, but being a realist, unless I spend several thousand pounds on a long lens, I'm not going to take good photos and be able to compete with the pros. Not to mention that everyone takes photos now, absolutely everyone, so I thought it would be refreshing to go off in a slightly different direction. Don't worry there will be some pics still, just expect (and hopefully enjoy!) some videos too.
To start the ball rolling, it just has to be our long staying rarity...
Yes I have got a lot to learn, but still, what a nice subject to start with. I also managed a quick vid of today's White Wag...
Looking forward to the rest of the week now - hopefully it won't disappoint.
Looking at the weather forecast for this week, I had to take my mist nets to Beer Head this morning because it looks as though I won't have another chance any time soon! With a gentle NW wind and plenty of high cloud the conditions couldn't really have been any better, but I was a bit concerned about a huge low that moved slowly east through Spain/France last night - right on the migration route. Thankfully though this didn't appear to be a problem...
Only set one 60 foot net, and in 4 hours caught 19 birds of 9 species. Two were retraps (a Dunnock and a Wren) with the other 17 being;
1 Robin
1 Wren
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
8 Willow Warbler
1 Redstart
1 Linnet
1 Goldfinch
It was shaping up to be a really excellent session, but the phylloscs quickly dried up. I caught eight within the first half hour, but from then on only had the odd one drop in (I'm sure not helped by the net moving in the breeze). The Redstart certainly brightened things up though :-)
First saw it in the field, but within 30 seconds it was in my very well placed net!
Just love the head pattern on a spring male Redstart
Classic spring Willow Warbler - so great to handle a few of these again
I saw an unringed male Redstart about an hour and a half after ringing the first one (think there were three on site), but other than that there were just a few more Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs in the bushes. Overhead passage was non-existent, the only notable bird I saw flying past remains unidentified! It was either a Goosander or a Red-breasted Merganser but I only saw it for a few seconds before it flew into the glare of the sun and then below the cliff.
Yesterday I saw my first House Martins of the year, with five over Lower Bruckland Ponds with Sand Martins and Swallows. There were plenty of gulls on the Estuary for most of the day, and among the 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were fourintermedius-types. Also saw the Marsh Harrier numerous times during the day, including from the house last thing at night...
It's definitely a 2cy bird, but unsure of which sex. I keep thinking I can see a grey wedge on its underwing but the upperparts look female.
It was was nice to see several of the regulars (and Alan) up Beer Head this morning, spring is well and truly in the air!
Beer Head yesterday morning wasn't heaving with birds, not by a long way, but there was a nice late March selection. All in nice weather too which is always a bonus!
Best of all was a smart male Firecrest in the Sheepwalk, with a back up cast of a female Black Redstart, a female Wheatear, a sub-singing Willow Warbler, two Goldcrest, five Chiffchaff and seven Stonechat.
I often find the first arriving Wheatears don't allow close approach - bring on the showy Greenland hulks!
I was so pleased with the haul that this morning I took my mist nets up there for the first time this year. Sadly though everything was the opposite to yesterday, especially the birds (none!) and the weather (bloody cold!). Nice views though as ever, here's my main net ride half way through setting the net...
I am so lucky to have these spectacular views at this ringing site.
Another day and another new spring migrant for me - a Willow Warbler at Lower Bruckland Ponds this morning. No photos I'm afraid as it was frantically feeding, uttering a few quiet bursts of subsong and the odd call as it went.
I always find the first Willow Warbler of the year a phylloscopus slap in the face. After spending the first three months of the year looking at scruffy Chiffchaffs ranging in colour from grey to dull olive green, when the first Willow Warbler head pops out in front of me it's like a breath of fresh air. That yellow and white throat and breast, long yellow supercilia and overall fresh and bright plumage makes them as obvious now as they ever are. I really can't wait to start ringing a few up Beer Head again - they are even better in the hand!
Aside from a few more new in Chiffchaffs I've not seen much else today, and no Iceland Gull.
One of the things I love about birding is how just one bird can make all the difference.
The first three months of this year have been some of my most frustrating for 'gulling' ever. Although we didn't have good numbers of gulls in January, much better numbers in February and March just wouldn't produce anything scarce. Many days seemed so promising, and each time I set my scope up to look through a gull flock I thought it was going to be. But no matter how many times a day I scanned through our Larid flocks they remained stubbornly rare-free zones.
At 13:38 today though this all changed, and all the unrewarding hours I've spent gull watching so far this year were instantly forgotten...
Yes an absolute beaut of a first-winter Iceland Gull. What a cracker.
Also today there seems to be more hirundines about, have seen many more Swallow and Sand Martins but still no House Martin for me.
Yesterday a lone Sandwich Tern off the sea front which gradually made its way west was my first of the year. Fresh spring Sarnies always look so sleek and smart compared with the scruffy individuals that over winter with us.
Yesterday gave me the opportunity to see more Wheatears - brilliant!! I had one on Bridge Marsh and eight on Beer Head, including my first two females of the year (which were in the more distant group that I didn't photograph)...
I just love Wheatears! Looking at these photos, particularly the lower one, fills me with so much happiness that it probably isn't 'normal'. Is there anything better at kicking the winter blues to touch than migrant Wheatears fresh in on the coast?
I haven't seen much else yesterday or today, except for a Mediterranean Gull on each day, an ad summer yesterday and a first-summer today.
Had a great hour at Branscombe this morning with Bun, looking for divers and hoping for something more. Well the something more never appeared (except for one Mute Swan, four Canada Geese and 18 Common Scoter) but the divers were absolutely fab!
We were surprised to say the least when we realised the group of three divers we spied soon after our arrival were all Black-throateds! I know, it sounds so stringy, the number of mis ID'd Black-throated Divers reported is frankly frightening, and even though I was looking at them, my County Recorder head just wasn't having it... but they were!! I knew I had to get some photos to prove we weren't having a funny five minutes, it's just a shame the birds were about a mile away...
And you thought my LRP photos were bad!!! They were always gradually drifting west but remained in a tight flock, at first just resting on the sea but later diving quite frequently.
Thankfully these weren't the only divers that we saw, there were also two Great Northerns and at least four Red-throats (including one in summer plumage).
The only other birdie highlight of the day was my first Swallow of the year that leisurely made its way north over Bridge Marsh late morning.
I'm pleased to say today has seen another pulse of spring migration. Although we've had plenty of sunny weather recently today was the first day it actually felt warm, Beer Head was lovely in the late morning sunshine.
The day started in brilliant fashion, with the main pool on Bridge Marsh heaving with birds early this morning. At first there was just one Little Ringed Plover, but a second bird joined it an hour later - both probably new birds which takes our spring total to three...
Slightly better than Saturday's photo!
Best of all on these pools were the Water Pipits. This is the first time I've seen them for about a month, and wow! There were at least six, one in winter plumage but the other five in summer plumage - real beauts. Summer plumaged Water Pipits always remind me of the close link between wagtails and pipits, their blue heads and completely unstreaked breasts make them look so wagtail-like. Wish I could have got closer views, but I was dead chuffed nonetheless.
A look over the sea showed it was quiet as usual (no flocks of Garganey here!) but a nice highlight came in the form of a Goosander that flew in high from the east and came into Seaton Hole, before heading off west.
Late morning Dad and I gave Beer Head a good stomp. I have already endured seven Wheatear-barren treks around this place in the last two weeks, and I was dammed if this was going to be the eighth. It really was not looking good, but thankfully this ploughed field did indeed produce my long-awaited first Wheatear of the year...
This field is just inland of the lookout
Not just one, but five, and all fine males. Sadly none came close enough to photograph but it was just so fantastic watching them hopping about and flycatching off the bare ground.
Finally, whilst up Beer Head, we were treated to a nice view of the Sea King flypast, their final day at work after 36 years with the RAF...
I won't lie, the birding last week (from Monday to Friday) wasn't great, in fact it was highly frustrating. Despite the dates, the mostly blue skies and apparent ideal weather for north bound migrants, it just didn't happen. This wasn't only the case on patch, but all across the UK there were Sand Martin-empty skies and millions of fence posts without Wheatears on. I did see a few bits of interest but I had to work hard to get these scraps.
On Tuesday there was a pretty decent northward passage of Meadow Pipits, especially on Beer Head, and on the Estuary two Greylag Geese were new in (at a very typical time of year for this species on the south coast).
Two Greylag with the local bullies
Wednesday and Thursday were pitiful, but Friday was better. We did actually have some migrants on Friday, two Wheatear on Bridge Marsh and three Sand Martins over Black Hole Marsh, but I didn't see either! I did though see my first Dunlin on the Estuary for about four months, and two Green Sands on Bridge Marsh, which although we haven't had any wintering with us this year, had the 'feel' of being wintering birds as opposed to true spring migrants. I also gave Seaton Marshes a visit and was pleased to see both the Glossy Ibis and the Green-winged Teal...
It was nice to see the Teal on the Estuary
All week there's been really good numbers of big gulls on the Estuary, and I was sure I'd eventually turn something up in with them. But not yet...
Then Saturday comes along, and probably because of the cloud cover it all happens. I only had about an hour out in the field today, but in that time I saw a Little Ringed Plover, four Dunlin, three Sand Martin and three Goldeneye! The Little Ringed Plover was on Bridge Marsh and found by Phil late morning, the Dunlin were on the Estuary, the Sand Martins flew north from the farm gate late this afternoon, and the three Goldeneye (including a stunning male) were found by Clive from the Tower Hide. Goldeneye is a pretty decent patch rare, you can normally see them in a given year, but only with a bit of jam as they are most often seen flying past at sea, or settled on it, but they are not a regular bird on the Estuary by a long way. The only photographic evidence I got of any of the above four species was this shocker...
There is a LRP in this photo!
As well as what I saw, three Ruff, numerous more Sand Martins, a Wheatear and a Yellow-legged Gull were also seen by various local birders here today, so today really was a pretty good day. What really gripped me off though was an Iceland Gull off Exmouth early this morning, this should have been mine in the week!
One of the least enjoyable aspects of being County Recorder is telling people they've made a mistake. To be honest 95% of people take it very well and just accept they've come to the wrong conclusion, but there is that 5% that aren't quite so accepting. They openly admit they are not experienced bird watchers, but will not accept they are wrong - I'm sure this says more about their personality than anything else, but please, Google is not always right!
Early spring is an exciting time of year, and optimism is in the air. Sadly though this seems to tip some over the edge, and I can categorically say that February and March are the two worst offending months for inaccurate bird records. As a bit of fun I thought I'd put together my top five of the most frequently wrongly reported species...
5/ Yellow Wagtail. To be honest this is an all winter problem, which I blame mostly on the fact that Grey Wagtail is a bit of a misnomer.
4/ Willow Warbler. From late Feb through to mid March way more Willow Warblers are reported than would be expected, and the ID features mentioned (if any) are 'looked really green' or 'had pale legs' and never the longer primary projection, whiter belly or longer bill.
3/ Tree Pipit. It's simply amazing how many Tree Pipits are on territory and displaying from mid February. I mean, what else would a parachuting Pipit launching itself off a small heathland tree be? This is a mistake made even by fairly experienced birders.
2/ Osprey. The difficult one with Ospreys is that they can arrive very early, as early as Sand Martins and Wheatears. But reports of Ospreys sitting in the middle of fields, or on road side telegraph poles does make sifting the 'iffy' ones out fairly easy.
1/ Cuckoo. This is always a non-birder's mistake, and no doubt mostly down to the fact that people just don't hear Cuckoos any more. It is surprising just how many February and March Cuckoos get reported, only ever heard and only ever by non-birders.
Now to help make this post more of a constructive and informative one, let's do 5-1 again...
5/ Yellow Wagtail. This species is very rare in the UK out of April-October, although the last few days of March could see the first few arrive. As you can see from the below photo they really are yellow (the males anyway) and are a bird of open marshes and open fields, they particularly love feeding around cattle. This is quite unlike Grey Wagtail, which are much longer-tailed and are most often found on fast flowing streams or around large ponds.
4/ Willow Warbler. Here's a pic I took in 2014 showing a Willow Warbler on the left and a Chiffchaff on the right. Chiffchaffs can look very yellow and show pale legs, but the face of a Willow Warbler is pretty striking, as are the paler underparts.
3/ Tree Pipit. First and foremost, Meadow Pipits do perch on trees, they sing from trees and even parachute off trees during song flights. You really have to hear a Tree Pipit's song to realise how much more varied it is than a Meadow Pipit's, but also listen out for the buzzing call of Tree Pipit. When perched up, note how little streaking the Tree Pipit below shows on its flanks...
2/ Osprey. To be honest there isn't much to say when it comes to pale Buzzard v Osprey, just take a look at the below photo. They are so much longer and overall bigger with a very distinctive head pattern...
1/ Cuckoo. Well this is an audible one so a picture won't help, but the 'Cuc' in the Cuckoo is on another level - so strong and gutsy and puts the 'koo' to shame. Also bear in mind that Collared Doves don't always sing three notes, sometimes it is just two, but they do always sound like a dove (soft and coo-ey).
Yes it may be true that I have become far more cynical now, but in reality you have to be if you are vetting bird records. But it is SO important to also keep in mind than anything can happen and nothing really is impossible. Thankfully it usually is pretty easy turfing out the inaccurate records, but I would challenge anyone who says they could get it 100% right.
I often find March a month of frustration when it comes to birding. You feel like you've turned the corner from winter to spring, but nothing actually happens... and that's exactly what is going on at the moment. Usually though there is an obvious reason why nothing is happening (snow, a blasting cold northerly wind, storms on the migration routes, etc) but at the moment there seems to be no apparent reason. Every day a check of BirdGuides shows an almost complete void of early spring migrants which just seems really odd, yes there's been the odd Sand Martin, LRP, Garganey, plus a bit of obvious spring stringing - but way short of what I have been expecting. Really hope things pick up soon.
Despite the lack of any spring migrants elsewhere, I did give Beer Head a wander late morning yesterday but came up with nothing more than five Stonechat...
I've included this photo more for the blue sky!
It's not just the summer migrants in short supply, with a new moon this week I've been expecting some wader passage on the Estuary (maybe an Avocet, Barwit, Ringo or Grey Plover?) but I've seen absolutely nothing new.
The sea has also been dire, mind you it has been dire all winter. We usually have double-figure counts of Great Crested Grebe here, but three has been my max count all winter, and there only seems to be one left now. These, along with Cormorants and Shags, are the only species of sea birds I've seen settled on the sea in Seaton Bay ALL winter! Dreadful. I did have another look this morning, but after seeing nothing except, surprise surprise, one Great Crested Grebe, I decided to give Branscombe a look...
Finally some birds! Although many were off to the west (with five being too far away to positively ID) there were divers. 12 Red-throated and three Great Northerns to be precise. The second closest of all of them was a stunning full summer plumage Red-throat - what a treat! Also 10+ distant auks on the sea but nothing else. There was nothing really moving over the sea at all, so two Common Scoter east and a flock of 15 west were notable indeed.
Once I had given the sea the attention I felt it required, I wandered up to the sewage works. Several Goldcrests, a green Chiffy and an absolute stunner of a tristis Siberian Chiffchaff - a real pallid grey bird - greeted me. Sadly it was never close enough for pics, but you should know by now that never stops me...
Awful pic, but not a hint of green or yellow anywhere!
I didn't need any convincing yesterday to go and see the Pallas's Warbler currently over wintering at Portesham in Dorset. Pallas's are my favourite of the 'regular' sibes, I saw several at Spurn and Dunge in the early 00's - some exceptionally well. But in the ten subsequent years of birding this patch I have seen just one, that was in 2007 and for about twenty seconds! So it was high time I saw another, even though seeing what in my head is a late autumn specialty, in March, could well play havoc with my inbuilt birding body clock!
It was actually dead easy. James Mc and I parked up in Portesham shortly before 10am, casually strolled up to where we thought we should go, and there it was...
Count the head stripes - that's a seven-striped sprite alright
Showing it's Wood Warbler-like white underparts
The yellow tones to the face also reminded me of Wood Warbler colours. Often looked bull-headed too.
In coming - I just love those stripes!
Check out it's arse! Surprised I managed this with my bridge camera.
What a stunning bird, and mind blowing views. No stiff necks looking at tree tops, it spent virtually the whole time feeding at eye level, and for the twenty minutes we were there it remained in view for about 17 of those. It was so easy to follow as all the trees and bushes were completely bare, and it shared the surrounding cover with only a couple of Robins, Dunnocks, one Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff (which looked huge compared to it!). It really seemed to love this bush, the first bush on the right...
It did move into the small copse to the west and across the track south of this bush. But it did seem to like this bush, there were plenty of small flies buzzing around it which may have explained why.
The rump really is amazing. It is virtually impossible to see when perched, but the moment it flies it's like a light bulb. It's even obvious when you just glimpse it flitting about with your naked eye at a distance.
My advice to anyone thinking of going for this bird, go.
Here's a few short videos that I'm sure will tempt even the most stubborn...
I can confirm to you all that without doubt seeing a Pallas's Warbler is an excellent cure for the winter birding blues - almost as much as a male Northern Wheatear (they can't come soon enough!).
As we were Portland way, I couldn't leave without some diver and grebe action, so we headed to Sandsfoot Castle for a quick scan over a nice calm Portland Harbour...
Looking south to Portland
This proved a very worthwhile stop, as a scan from the Sailing Academy, and through some builders fencing a little way back east along the road, showed a pretty decent selection. For us fairly loyal patch birders, Red-breasted Mergansers are exciting enough as they are scarce on our patches, it was great watching the males displaying.
My previous visits here have shown the Black-necked Grebes to be in one or two pretty tight flocks, but today the 12+ present were spread out everywhere; a four, a few pairs and singles. Most were in or coming into summer plumage which was nice, unlike the four Slavonian Grebes - three of these were in winter plumage with the fourth just starting to get dusky down the front. There were stacks of Great Crested Grebes too, all of these were in the far north east corner of the harbour (where one of the Slavs was, another was towards Ferrybridge with two together in the middle of the harbour).
Four Great Northern Divers were all spread out singletons, but the closest diver was a stunning Black-throated Diver. It was quite a hefty one to be honest, looked quite thick-necked and bulky, so am pretty sure it's the one that was showing well from the southern shore of the harbour over the last couple of days. Sadly my photos aren't quite as good as Pete's...
A blurry phone-scoped Black-throated Diver in awful light!
One fat bird!!
With work looming it was time to head back west. But on the way home we called in at Abbotsbury for a look over the Swannery...
The light wasn't too bad when I took this, but the sun soon came out which made viewing more difficult
We were really impressed with the amount of wildfowl here, heaps and heaps of Pintail in particular. All the Pochard were sat out on the bank probably wondering where their lunch was - no wonder they are so rare here now, they are clearly getting lazy! In contrast the Tufties were busy getting their own grub out on the water, and among these were the the two wintering Long-tailed Ducks and at least one and a half Scaup. I say one and a half because I know there's a hybrid ScaupxTuftie here, and I couldn't rule this out on one of the birds - probably because it was the hybrid.
As ever it's not just the birds that make a twitch, but the company. James M is an ace twitching partner as we are both as laid back and relaxed about it as each other - and neither of us actually like twitching! Especially the crowds. We really are bad twitchers, and will only twitch a bird if the chance of seeing it is up around the 100% mark, plus there has to be other birds around to see as well. In general we also have a similar taste in birds and what we think is worth going to see, well that's with the exception of big white things. James seems to think all egrets may as well be Little Egrets (just smaller or bigger versions), and all swans are Mute Swans just with different coloured bills...
