Purple Heron at Coombe Hill

29 July - After a wait of 45 mins or so, excellent views of the immature Purple Heron as it flew in to feed fairly close to the hide at Coombe Hill - a smartly-plumaged bird with traces of the adult-type striping on the snake-like neck and a purplish-brown tinge to the wings. The bird was adept at moving and hiding in cover, and moved in a Bittern-like manner. Also 4 Little Egrets and 2 Curlews present, and a Hobby flew through. Photos JM.

Another Hobby

27 July - the fine weather continues, and a Hobby flew over Braydon Forest by the B4696 this afternoon.

Long-billed Dowitcher at Slimbridge

22 July - Excellent views of the adult Long-billed Dowitcher at Slimbridge, on South Lake from the observatory, with a flock of c150 Black-tailed Godwits. A smart bird, much smaller than the Godwits being Snipe-sized, and in finely barred rusty-red summer plumage. Also 30+ Redshank and a Common Sandpiper there. The 3rd record of LBD for Glos, and the first since 1984. Photos, 1-2 copyright Mark Dowie - record shots 3-4, JM.

Hobby and Red Kite

15 July - Today I actually saw some birds and it hasn't rained today yet....sunny in the morning and the evening, and I saw a Hobby fly over from the garden this morning, mobbed by Swallows, then at lunchtime a Red Kite soared overhead.....

White-winged Black Tern at CWP

27 June - good views this evening of the summer-plumaged White-winged Black Tern at pit 74 at the Water Park, found this morning by Kim Milsom. A very smart bird, and reminded me of the flocks I saw in Poland last month.

Washout / Red Kites

24 June - The awful summer weather continues, floods and saturated ground and incredibly cool and wet for June. The only birds of note I have seen recently are a total of 7 Red Kites on 2 railway journeys through the Didcot area, and a Hobby also over Didcot railway station on 22nd - and a Cuckoo flew over behind the house on the morning of 23rd.

Shetland 15-19 June 2012

An excellent 4-day trip with Shetland Wildlife (13,12,20) and guide Jon Dunn. The first day featured a boat trip to the seabird colony on Noss (17), very impressive with 600 ft cliffs teeming with Gannets (27,28) and large numbers of Auks, also Kittiwakes (32) which have crashed in numbers in Shetland in recent years. Plenty of Black Guillemots (5) and Fulmars (30,31) also seen, with attendant Bonxies (4,21) patrolling the colony. We then headed for Unst, and the northernmost tip of Britain, Muckle Flugga (19) via 2 ferries and a crossing of Yell, the northernmost of the islands. The bay at Baltasound held a summer plumaged Great Northern Diver, a Whimbrel (3), Red-throated Divers (37,38), and best of all, before breakfast the next day, a fantastic Otter (9,10) which fished then came up into the beach in front of us to eat, amazingly hard to spot in the kelp and seaweed. Arctic Skuas (33,34) hunted gracefully over the moorlands both on Unst (where we also saw a presumably breeding Fieldfare) and on our next port-of-call, Fetlar (18), famous for the breeding Red-necked Phalaropes at Loch of Funzie, where we saw a brightly marked female. Also on Fetlar - more Red-throated Divers, Skuas and waders breeding, including Whimbrel, Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew (1),Oystercatcher (2) and drumming Snipe. Our last day on mainland gave a superb sunny calm day (15,16), with further views of Divers, Skuas, breeding waders and then as a finale the seabird colony at Sumburgh Head (24), with confiding Puffins (6,25,26), and then breeding Whooper Swans on Loch Spiggie. Other mammals seen on the trip included Grey (7) and Common Seals (8), and other birds photographed included Great-black Backed Gulls (29), Common Gulls (39), Razorbills (23), and Guillemots including a high percentage of the more northern Bridled type (22). Perhaps one of the most memorable highlights was a late evening visit to the island of Mousa, with 1000s of Storm Petrels breeding, and hearing the birds calling from within the walls of the old Pictish broch while their mates returned from the sea in the twilight of the simmer dim - the midnight glow in June, when it never gets completely dark in Shetland (11,14). Photos JM.