Picket Post and Sullington

It wasn't a birding day, but on the drive back a Lapwing flew over the main road at Picket Post and while Ingrid was working in Sullington I took my usual walk around the nearby fields, where there were a couple of singing Yellowhammers, a Nuthatch, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a couple of Swifts, a Skylark, a Mistle Thrush and a flyover Black-headed Gull.

Combe Wood and Acres Down, 12th February 2017

A convivial day out with David D-L, Lee B and Adrian W saw us first visit Combe Wood, on the edge of Berkshire, where we located at least four Willow Tits. This is the furthest south that I have seen this species and the first time I've had them alongside Marsh Tits. As the 'ray-gun' and 'sneezy' calls bounced against each other through the dank woods, I daydreamed that I had stumbled upon a wormhole to a Britain whose avifauna hadn't yet been ravaged by habitat and climate change. Nice flight views of a Tawny Owl was another highlight.

Acres Down was up next but the weather hadn't improved nearly as much as we had hoped. Still, we managed to track down a fabulous flock of 29 Hawfinches, an adult ♂ Goshawk (the others also saw a female when I strayed away for a while) and four Crossbills of note.

adult ♂ Goshawk at Acres Down

Hawfinches at Acres Down

This weekend

Should have pics to illustrate this post but some file issues with the NEF images, hopefully sort out soon (got pics of Quail!)

There's not been a lot happening in birding terms for me since the Little Swift. The highlight has probably been the Gannet at Walthamstow Reservoirs, my first for London and also a visit to Elmley Marshes RSPB last Sunday which involved finding a Quail (see later in this post for a re-visit).

I was looking forward to my friend Liam coming down from Manchester for the weekend for an excuse to go trucking about a bit, plus a bit of his great company. We started off with a visit to the patch yesterday, not really producing a lot but it was my last chance to bid farewell to and thank Fiona and Stella for their help on the patch over the last year; they're moving away this week.

After CFBW, we made a little trip to a site near Epsom for Red-legged Partridge but didn't find any... so poor Liam continues to need RLP :-). We did see a Peregrine and a Hobby there though, which was cool (latter being a yeartick for Liam, they don't get many up north). Next, Holmethorpe for a quick look at the drake Red-crested Pochard which was still there... not a bad local bird.

Final trip of the day was a local site for Nightjar which was successful with a very curious male bird singing and circling around us about half a dozen times in the short while we were there. This bird afforded both of us our best views of this fascinating and unique British bird.
Today was very productive. A trip to the New Forest was planned and we had an idea of what we wanted to get, and a bit less of an idea of how much the weather was going to hinder these expectations from being realised. I had told Liam that Goshawk were easy at the site we were visiting and I had seen them on each of my visits so was half-expecting a blank on that front but within half an hour of arriving we'd seen about three different Goshawks, including an adult and juvenile females. This was the first lifer of the weekend for Liam. A Gos is a really distinctive bird, even with the naked eye at an okay range you can be quite confident (and correct) that you're onto one. I always love seeing them, truly powerful and wild things.

The odd Crossbill and several Siskins flew over while a couple of Common Buzzards flew about; we also managed to locate a single Tree Pipit and were treated to a bit of a surprise when two Hawfinches passed us (tick for Liam). We perched ourselves up at the 'viewpoint proper' and enjoyed further views of Goshawks - it was then that the third lifer of the day for Liam flew over - a Woodlark... at last! Liam's approaching 300 for Britain and still needs a fair pile of common-ish stuff so is doing well.

We were watching a close Common Buzzard when I noticed a different-looking raptor way above it. Honey-buzzard wasn't my first thought so I let my guard down and had a closer look at the bird (I'd been saving Honey-buzzard as a joint British/patch tick at CFBW so planned to avoid looking at any elsewhere, having got beyond the point of being pig sick from dipping every time I've tried for them at various sites in the past) - as soon as I whacked it up to 60x it did the butterfly/wing-clapping display of a Honey-buzzard - happiness and disappointment at once, I'd done myself out of getting a British lifer at CFBW! I've seen H-b in France and Italy before but have always had awful luck with them in this country and it had got to the point where I had given up some time ago. Of course it was destined that the one time I didn't really want to see one I would. Never mind, it was done and dusted the moment it performed the display flight so I got on and enjoyed the sight as it drifted past us, in view for about ten minutes, rising, wing-clapping and then slightly descending 12-15 times in total. A really cool bird. Liam's fourth lifer of the day and my first (and only).

Ian texted that he was enjoying great views of the Quail that I'd found last weekend at Elmley Marshes so we decided we'd go. It was quite a smooth journey and we arrived to join a little gathering of birders, the Quail sang straight away and was in our scopes almost as quickly. Wonderful! These were my best ever views of this ruddy tricky bird that I've had. Love these cryptic, dinky, secretive little wet-my-lippers. Talking of wet, it suddenly became very much such in terms of weather so we went home. Liam had now seen five new birds today/this weekend and I'd had one plus many other nice birds - we make a good team! Cheers for the company, Liam, see you in Cornwall in a few weeks for lots of seabird specials!
Video best viewed by switching resolution to 1080p and putting it to full screen if you can

Spanish inquisition

Spanish Sparrow's rare so Phil and I twitched it today. First we went to see the DARK-EYED JUNCO - again - I'm not complaining, it's a really nice bird and I would go again to see it. This time was amazing; Phil seeded a stump about ten feet away from the path and eventually it plonked itself there to the crowd's delight! I digiscoped away, hoping for at least one good profile shot but when it was in profile it was behind a blade of grass and when it was in clear view it was a bit at an angle or doing something odd. A few Crossbills, Reed Buntings and Siskins again.

Dark-eyed Junco at Hawkhill Inclosure

in the kitchen...

 Happy, to Calshot we went. It felt like we were going inside to worship the thing, taking our shoes off and going inside to join the crowd of crouching and staring admirers. The SPANISH SPARROW was actually a very striking bird and showed well quite a bit. Its brown cap, white cheeks and strong breast and flank markings made it easily seperable from the House Sparrows with which it kept company.

Spanish Sparrow at Calshot

 We visited Blashford Lakes and dipped the Fudge Duck again (but the Siskins and Lesser Redpolls on the feeders were great to see) and dipped the Hume's Leaf Warbler at Wyke Regis - I've now only got a 33.3'% hit rate with this bird.

Siskin at Blashford Lakes

Junco junkee

I got a good flight view of the junco on Tuesday with Ian but really wanted to get a prolonged look at it on the deck, so I discussed the possibility of going today with Phil - he was up for it so it looked like it was on. Phil also needed the Hume's Leaf Warbler; seeing as this was the furthest site he was keen to do this first so we we followed the satnav there from 5.30am. A big yellow M at Weymouth drew us in to an assortment of breakfast delights as the sun rose. We had a look for the wafty Hooded Merganser from the car park but didn't have any luck, instead seeing groups of Black-tailed Godwits and Common Snipes which wasn't too bad a start.

Richard's Pipit at Wyke Regis

 Wyke Regis was very popular today with hopeful birders popping up around every corner. My friend the Richard's Pipit showed well in the bridging camp and we were amazed to see a good seven hundred or so strong flock of Brent Geese - one being a 'Pale-bellied' that I picked out. I pointed out a couple of Med Gulls and each time I looked I saw more and more. The last time I had a rough count it reached around or beyond ninety birds. But I didn't have time for precise counts. There was lots to do. Notwithstanding an hour or so of staring at bushes in the company of several other guys we did not hear nor see the warbler which was especially annoying as I had no problem seeing it in far more calamitous weather on Tuesday and it was reported both before and after our hunt.

Brent Geese, including 'Pale-bellied' (centre), Wyke Regis

 It was past ten and we needed to go. Discussion settled on heading for the junco. The car park was far more suitably packed than Tuesday morning (when Ian and I were one of two cars there for quite a while - and the other car was a dog walker). We joined the main line of tripod legs and enjoyed great views of the DARK-EYED JUNCO after about twenty or thirty minutes of trying to see through the hordes of kip-kippy Crossbills. We got a couple more looks before a little bit of a gap then we watched it foraging under a carpet of twigs before flying out and feeding right out in the open on a fallen pine - gorgeous! It shuffled over to the other side of the trunk and, realising that daylight was running out and that we planned to visit three more sites...we got out of there.

Dark-eyed Junco at Hawkill Inclosure

male Crossbill at Hawkhill Inclosure

 First: Blashford Lakes. Phil wanted the Ferruginous Duck. We looked and saw lots of Tufted Ducks and Pochards but not the quarry - as apparently lots of other people already had. A singing Siskin was nice.

Ok, it was decision time. We could either race over to Wyke Regis for another go at the Hume's for Phil, getting to the bird's roost spot just before dusk, or go a few miles to get Blue-winged Teal for me. Phil selflessly decided to go for the latter... both were probably doomed to failure. There were lots of birders at Longham Lakes but apparently no-one gave a rat's arse about the Blue-winged Teal, they were all after the pair of Smew that had been found. I couldn't quite understand this because there are several Smew knocking about the area and the Lakes would be doing well do have a patch crew that big. Anyway, we saw the said pair of Smew which were very nice, and I caught a redhead Goosander fly in just before dusk. A Kingfisher flew about, there was a good variety of common wildfowl, a lone Lapwing and that was all. Day over. Thanks Phil for a good day out!

Smew (drake above, redhead below), Longham Lakes

Junco for joy

Today was a mixed bag... Ian picked me up this morning and we headed to the New Forest for the Dark-eyed Junco. On arrival, around 8.00am, after driving through rivers and hurricanes and around fallen trees, we found that we were the only people present! We didn't know where exactly we were meant to be looking and after a falling pine missed us by a couple of dozen yards we cut our losses. Wyke Regis was our next venue. We thought it was pointless getting out and looking for anything because the weather was truly apocalyptic, but we soldiered on. After a few miles of battling the wind and rain we heard and eventually saw the HUME'S LEAF WARBLER! I couldn't believe that we'd actually seen a bird. It showed quite well at times and I got a few record shots.

Hume's Leaf Warbler

On the way back Ian located the Richard's Pipit - a lifer for him - at the bridging camp and it gave pretty good views. Even though some blue sky had moved over us it was still very windy and hence the scope tried to take off a few times. My umbrella looked like it had been dunked in acid. A couple of Ravens played in the gales.

Richard's Pipit

As we were approaching the car, news came through that the junco had been seen again. Off we went. People told us the bird hadn't been seen for an hour and a half but we staked it out and, at something like 3.40pm, a few people shouted that the bird had flown into a fallen pine. As everyone was in the middle of moving closer, several of us got onto the DARK-EYED JUNCO fly out, a good hundred metres across our view and into a stand of young pines and birches. I'm rather picky with flight views of passerines but I was pleased that I managed a clear and prolonged look at it as it fluttered past, getting the pale bill, white tail sides, white underparts, slate grey upperparts and darker head. I'd like to see it on the deck so might try to get down there again at the weekend. Also seen at the Hawkhill Inclosure were a few Crossbills and a couple of Woodcocks.

New sights around the New Forest

Sabine's Gull

As autumn is increasing the liklihood of a good bird at the patch, I am getting ever more reluctant to leave it but I couldn't resist an outing around the New Forest with Phil today. Ever since I bought my first field guides and continually flicked through the pages in awe of all the wonderful birds I was looking forward to seeing, Sabine's Gull is one of the species that caught my attention. That distinctive wing pattern, forked tail and (in the case of adults) wonderful head makes it the most attractive of the gulls for me. The soft-toned plumage of juveniles is very smart too. However, I haven't had much luck with Sabs - I was utterly gutted when I dipped the three birds at Beddington nearly four years ago on my first visit to the site and have failed on other attempts. The bird near Avon appeared to be hanging around so this was first on our iternery. The situation was daunting, probably over one to two thousand Black-headed Gulls (with a few Med Gulls mixed in) to scan through. So it was a relief to lock eyes on the first-summer Sabine's Gull within fifteen minutes. A smart bird indeed; best in flight. And my 21st British tick of the year.

Goshawk

Crossbill at Blackwater Arboretum

This was followed by a visit to Acres Down. A couple of Crossbills and a Firecrest were seen by the car and further on a pair of Common Redstarts showed. I scanned the dead tops of the rows of trees in the middle distance and lay sight on a majestic juvenile female Goshawk! We got distant but prolonged and clear views of this beast for about half an hour before it flew off when the cloud cleared and it warmed up. This is my first non-flying sighting of a Goshawk. After this there was almost always a Goshawk on view, there were probably at least two birds knocking about - at times mobbed by Sparrowhawks. Common Buzzards were everywhere but as usual none of them could be turned into a Honey-buzzard. A Grayling was my first of the year.

Our final venue was Blackwater Arboretum for a mosey around. Crossbills were everywhere, acquiring by far my best views of this bird. Another Firecrest showed.

Britain Life List: 313

New Forest

male Stonechat

A trip to the New Forest today with Phil Wallace went rather well. See Phil's blog soon for many more photos than are shown here, of much higher quality. The day started well with a Red Kite that flew low over the M3. Acres Down at mid morning was first on the iternery and after not too long a magnificent female Goshawk flew into my scope and performed for the other birders present; no Honey-buzzards as desired (apparently they haven't been seen there this year) but three or four Common Buzzards and lots of Siskins were noted. The edge of the wood at the bottom produced two of both Tree Pipit and Woodcock and some heard-only Woodlarks. Inside the wood itself we failed to find any Common Redstarts but did enjoy a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker as it materialised about ten metres in front of us and nearby I got a brief view of what I'm fairly sure was a juvenile Firecrest.


Just as we began to drive away from Acres Down we heard the loud and distinctive song of a Firecrest and immediately stopped. The bird showed incredibly well, singing away and flashing its glorious crest; Firecrests are top class birds, I can never get enough of them!

We spent the rest of the day at Bishop's Dyke which was also productive, a handful of Stonechats still persisted in perching obviously despite the strengthening wind whereas a calling Dartford Warbler was less tolerent of the chilly and gusty weather, only showing once in flight. We searched a sample of the wooded areas for Common Redstarts but failed. We got onto a tit flock which provided a Goldcrest and a couple of juvenile Chiffchaffs along with an adult. At least one Common Crossbill was heard flying over. We started making our way back and as we left the wooded area Phil got onto a family of Common Redstarts, including at least an adult male and at least two juveniles the latter of which showed well on and off while the male was seen only once, briefly.

Ravens

The walk back across the open heath to the car park yielded superb views of a pair of Ravens which gave us an excellent aerial display and even settled on the heath next to some iconic New Forest ponies. Nearing the car park we flushed three Woodlarks, two of which we managed to relocate, getting good views, and one turned out to be a juvenile that was regularly being fed by the adult.

Woodlark

A good day, with only two target species (Honey-buzzard and Wood Warbler) slipping through the net, thanks Phil!

A rare bird at last

After an anxious wait of a week, Phil Wallace kindly took me down to The Fleet near Langton Herring to see the drake Bufflehead.

We left at 7.00am at arrived on-site at something around 10.00am. We joined the gathering of people and after a bit of scanning I picked up the glorious adult drake BUFFLEHEAD amongst a group of Red-breasted Mergansers. My first BB rarity of the year, and the species still constitutes a mega, this being the 14th British record, and the first for nearly 3 years.The bird was tiny in comparison to the nearby Mergansers and dived very frequently, making it difficult to photograph. A Common Buzzard flew over and it stayed up, keeping an eye on it, this was the main opportunity for photography. Other birds in the area included a Chiffchaff, a male Pheasant and a couple of Skylarks.
Such a smart little duck - all handheld digiscoped

The Fleet - a lagoon sheltered by an impressive shingle bar

After watching this cracking bird for half about an hour we moved on to Burley, New Forest, where a wintering Great Grey Shrike had set up territory. The directions on the pager as 'behind the car park' were a bit vague, as this could be taken to mean the suitable habitat in just about any direction and, although implying its fairly close to the car park, it could mean it was a slightly greater distance away than thought. Alas, we failed to find the Shrike after a good go, but we did see 2 Peregrines harassing one of the pair of Common Buzzards that was in the area (we'd seen quite a few of the latter between sites, from the car). The only other raptor was a Sparrowhawk that came in low and fast. A Redpoll flew over, a Bullfinch or two was knocking around and a Meadow Pipit was displaying. A male Stonechat was present on some gourse south west of the car park.

Next on the iternary was Acres Down, a wonderful viewpoint with stunning views over the New Forest. We were hoping for Goshawk but it was getting late in the day and it was starting to cloud over a bit. I got onto a distant Common Crossbill atop a conifer and soon afterwards, another flew over. Siskins were all over the place and a Meadow Pipit and a pair of Stonechats were present. We failed to see any Goshawks, or any other raptors for that matter with the exception of 5 Common Buzzards, 2 of which were displaying.
On the way back to the car, a Chiffchaff called. We decided to head over to Blackwater Arboretum for Hawfinches. On arrival, under the huge pines and deciduous trees, we both bought a much needed flake 99 before walking through the gate to where the finches get. I was onto a Hawfinch before we were even through the gate, giving its familiar clicking and rasping noises before revealing itself as it flew off.

Hawfinch (phone-scoped)

We stayed for about an hour enjoying, at times, excellent views of at least 5 Hawfinches. They were pretty mobile, but stayed put long enough to get photos and show other people through the scope. The place was absolutely brimming with Siskins and there were also some Redpolls around, as well as a handful of Greenfinches. A female Sparrowhawk dashed through, disturbing everything for a short time.

We were about to leave when the Great Grey Shrike came through on the pager again. We couldn't not have another go before dark, so popped back to Burley. We had a thorough look all around the car park again as dusk grew nearer but the Shrike could not be found.

We left happy, Phil had got better photos of the Bufflehead than on his Monday trip and some good shots of the Hawfinches (which he only saw very briefly on Monday) as well as getting Bullfinch out of the way for the year. I was very happy with a good British tick, and a couple of enjoyable year ticks- Crossbill and Hawfinch - (though I'm not really year listing this year). Thanks Phil for the great day out!