Saturday 25 February 2017

The Forest........

24 Feb - A sunny morning, as forecast, and a short trip to the Forest of Dean..... lovely sun on the Great Grey Shrike perched up at Crabteee Hill, with good views of several Crossbills as a bonus, a flyover Goshawk, also Siskins and Redpolls over. Two more Goshawks, including a displaying bird, at New Fancy View. In CWP en route home, better weather for the Black-necked Grebe, though always distant for the camera.

Thursday 23 February 2017

CWP Trio

23 Feb - As the winds from Storm Doris abated, a quick visit to CWP and the sum plum Black-necked Grebe fairly close in on pit 65 in choppy water. Also distant views of the Great White Egret on pit 41, with the drake Scaup in the Doris-swell on 57.

Sunday 19 February 2017

Spring well...... springing a bit?

19 Feb - a passable dawn (well, fairly early morning) chorus at Waterhay this morning, with my first singing Blackbird of the year, together with Song Thrushes, 4 Reed Buntings, 4 Cetti's Warblers, a Chiffchaff (presumably an overwinterer), Wrens and Dunnocks. A pair of Great crested Grebes in full display at Cleveland Lakes, sadly about to be sold with a likely intrusion on the tranquility of this corner of CWP. The unseasonably mild temperatures may last a few days yet. A cycle around Southrop area north of Lechlade later produced several singing Yellowhammers, a male Stonechat, a calling Nuthatch, 100s of winter thrushes, and 2 Red Kites.

Saturday 18 February 2017

Red-flanked Bluetail........just

18 Feb - Over the Severn Bridge in murky weather to Wern Du, where a very elusive Bluetail is wintering...... I had 2 brief views of it in 4hrs of looking, the bird seeming to disappear amongst the dense trees and mossy forest floor. No photos !

Friday 17 February 2017

Slimbridge briefly

17 Feb - A brief Slimbridge visit in sunnier weather than forecast, and I caught up with the Whitefront flock before they leave the Severn. Superb light on the South Lake from Hogarth hide, especially on the nervous, but close, Golden Plovers - together with Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Ruff and the wintering Little Stint - with the bonus of the first 8 Avocets of the season, accompanied by noisy Oystercatchers.

Saturday 11 February 2017

Poole Harbour

11 Feb - Rather bracing weather, cloudy with a NE wind, but well worthwhile, and a look at the Holes Bay redhead Smew en route. The harbour waters held 2 Great Northern Divers and 10 Black-necked Grebes, as well as a Common Scoter and good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers. we cruised past the Brownsea lagoon which held impressive numbers of Avocets, Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits. The southern and western shores of the harbour are quieter and less developed, and highlights here included parties of Brent Geese, 14 Spoonbills and a flyby Med Gull. After the trip, and having thawed out, I crossed to Studland beach on the Sandbanks ferry and the reward was a large party of Sanderlings feeding on the tideline. Finally, as a highlight, I followed directions I'd been given for Lytchett Bay at low tide, and had superb close views of the wintering Lesser Yellowlegs at very close range. A stunning and elegant bird. A very successful day.

Friday 10 February 2017

Local Dipper !

10 Feb - Dipper is an extremely rare bird in Swindon, the last being at least 20 y ago, and this 1st-winter bird has adopted the somewhat incongruous location of a tiny stream under Coate Water roundabout! I timed my visit well, as it was bobbing and feeding when I arrived, and allowed some photos despite the low light levels. Earlier, a quick stop at Edgeworth revealed good numbers of Bramblings, at least 15, increased in the cold weather - including some smart males which should start moulting into summer plumage as we near early spring. A quick stop at Shorncote this evening was successful in terms of Barn Owls, with a bird hunting and perching on posts in the semi-darkness.

Wednesday 8 February 2017

UAE winter birding

20 Jan - 6 Feb - A very successful trip with Sunbird, guided by Nick Moran and James Lidster, although we managed to coincide with the first storm in UAE for nearly a year, which frustrated our efforts for some of the coastal birds. On arrival at Dubai we drove to Abu Dhabi and stayed in a slightly surreal hotel at the summit of Jebel Hafeet, 1000m metres above the surrounding desert, with extensive views, rocky mountain habitat and lots of specialities, especially Wheatears - Hume's. Red-rumped, Hooded and Eastern Mourning were all present the next morning, and Egyptian Vultures gave a close flyby, one wearing a satellite transmitter from a tagging programme. We did well in the park at the base of the mountain, with a smart female Black-throated Thrush, and the first afternoon we also visited a wetland, Zakher Lake, with good numbers of shorebirds, especially Little Stints, and a supporting cast of Slender-billed Gulls, Bluethroat, Citrine Wagtail and Purple Heron. The next couple of days involved desert areas with another wetland. The desert varied from classic sand dunes with palms, to a camel race track complete with pedigree camels being exercised..... also a superb wetland Ramsar site, Al Wathba, a highlight of any Abi Dhabi itinerary. The desert areas produced (not surprisingly) Desert Wheatear and Desert Warbler, and Desert Lark was already on our list. Introduced Arabian Oryx were nevertheless exciting to see and epitomised the Arabian desert in the dusk. A male Pallid Harrier flew by and a Lappet-faced Vulture soared overhead, and Al Wathba was incredible with thousands of Flamingoes, many waders including White-tailed Lapwings, Grey-headed Swamphen, Ferruginous Duck, Black-necked Grebe and Marsh Harriers in numbers, together with our first (distant) Spotted Eagle. Moving north into Dubai the desert here held Cream-coloured Courser and Hoopoe Lark, together with Sandgrouse - a highlight was excellent views of Bimaculated Lark. Together with Dibba dairy farm, we added Isabelline and Variable Wheatear to the list, also Buff-bellied, Long-billed, Tawny and Richard's Pipits - Indian Rollers were numerous - and Bonelli's Eagle and Eastern Imperial Eagle cruised overhead. The greenery of the farm fields is a great oasis for wintering birds, and Plovers and Shrikes also winter here. We also added Wire-tailed Swallow and a Great Spotted Cuckoo (both UAE rarities). Wadis in the desert nearby were very scenic, and the habitat for Warblers including Plain Leaf and Scrub, as well as more Wheatears. Dibba waterfront cafe gave close views of Crested (Swift) and Lesser Crested Tern, as well as Sooty and Slender-billed Gulls - all while having lunch in the shade. Finally, the inclement weather on the west coast of UAE meant that photographing the Pallas's Gulls in the gale was a challenge - however we had a great spectacle of coastal species including a vagrant Kittiwake - the hoped-for Crab Plovers were rather distant although seen well through the scope, and other waders here included Terek Sandpiper and Great Knot. Last but by no means least, the last morning en route to the airport we logged the spectacle of 15+ Spotted Eagles rising up from their roost in the mangroves Khor Dubai and giving close views on the thermals. A very rewarding week, pleasant temperatures, good infrastructure and a great selection of wintering waders and eastern wintering specialities.