Goring and journey to Wigan

Ahead of a journey to Wigan with Ingrid for the Catfish Study Group Convention, I headed out to Goring early but was met with poor visibility and dreadful weather so returned home. It became nicer later, and with some mouldy bread in need of disposal, we departed via the Gap to donate to the local gulls. I was amazed to spot the 2CY Iceland Gull in flight before we'd crossed driven through the Plantation and into the Gap and we tracked it into the northern fields, meeting up with Nick B. Hear it showed very well and enjoyed our stale loaf before we made tracks. En route we encountered over 20 Red Kites, mainly along the M40 but included a singleton over the M25 in line with Staines Moor.

2CY Iceland Gull

Alvecote Pools, 7th June, and Watlington Hill, 8th June 2017

Away for work again, David D-L and I took a couple of chances for some birding. A fleeting visit to Alvecote Pools in a hopeful listen for the recent Corncrake drew a blank on Wednesday but scanning from the gate revealed a Little Egret, a couple of Reed Buntings and a congregation of Swifts and House Martins. A pit stop on the way home yesterday at Watlington Hill in Oxfordshire led to some spectacular views of Red Kites, plus three singing Willow Warblers and some 'other wildlife' highlights, including a Dingy Skippers and a couple of Small Heaths.

Red Kite at Watlington Hill

Small Heath at Watlington Hill

Rolling on up

Today a trip up north was a great success with the ROLLER showing very well (although looking very wet) - nice views flying, feeding and resting so cheers all round. Also called in on was the Marsh Warbler at Blacktoft Sands RSPB which gave itself up far more easily than the bird at Rainham that I tried to see yesterday - sadly this bird flew out of view just as I had my finger on the shutter! Two lifers in a day... cool!

Roller

The patch has, as expected, been slow. Loads of ruddy Red Kites, great birds but when's my Honey-buzzard coming? Got another view of the Legal & General Tawny Owl juv on Thursday, a lot more mature and very adult-like now.

Tawny Owl

Also last Saturday (26th), Ian and I popped down to Northward Hill RSPB for the Greenish Warbler, we heard it but didn't see it. This bumped my heard-but-not-seen British list to two, giving Bee-eater some company. We did, however, score with the two White-winged Black Terns at Stodmarsh later in the day, where a Bittern boomed, a Cuckoo called and Hobbies hawked around us while a Little Stint and a couple of Wood Sandpipers were nice in the wader department.

White-winged Black Tern(s) - can't remember whether these two pics are of the same or diff birds, doesn't matter...

Also very very late but I never got round to mentioning a little trip to Oxfordshire involving my mate Liam back on April 28th, where the Dotterel at Balscote and the flock of six White Storks at Standridge were successfully twitched.

White Storks, Standbridge, April

Dotterel, Balscote, April (little did I know...)

This got the pulse racing momentarily at Staines Res back at the end of April - beware!!!

Lovely dovey

Johnny Allan picked me up this morning and we headed for Chipping Norton, with the intent of catching the dove early in the morning. First news was offputting, with the bird having appeared briefly then flown off, but just after a fairly major navigational cock-up on our part it was said to be showing in the garden and access had been arranged at number 41.

On arrival the situation was unclear, people were saying that the bird was still in the garden but everyone was just casually floating around and no queue was forming. The word then got out that it was viewable from a garden not far away, where access had also been allowed, and I got a quick look at the RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE through someone's scope, however it was an anxious wait for better views. Johnny then picked it up and, after a long time looking in the wrong direction and a bit of pushing and shoving, I got much better and longer views of the bird sat right out in the open. Top stuff. We then made our way back and I'm now enjoying a lazy afternoon in.

Good bird in a bad week

I've had an absolutely awful week, in quite a serious way. Today a SLATY-BACKED GULL took my mind off things for a while, until I reached for my phone to give Roy an update and found it must have fallen out of my pocket when I was running in blind panic when the pager bleeped (I had started to walk towards the reserve for Penduline Tit). After the week's ordeals I was getting hysterical, half laughing and half crying but after searching high and low I realised the best thing to do would be to savour the only good thing that had happened to me all week. Then went with Kojak to have a go at the Rufous Turtle Dove, he was excellent company but the bird was nowhere to be found.

last minute ticks

My fortune has changed somewhat since last week. Yesterday I went up for the LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Port Meadow. I met James Grundy at Oxford train station and he kindly showed me to the site where the bird, my 288th species in Britain, performed wonderfully alongside two Ruff and good numbers of Golden Plover. It was nice to get this under the belt and to continue the recent theme of American waders.


This morning I had a quick check of the patch, and I'm very glad I did because I found my 91st patch tick in the form of a very overdue Reed Bunting, a female that showed rather well. This also represents the 96th species recorded at Canons Farm & Banstead Woods this year. I am writing this literally just before I leave for Scilly; tonight I'm staying in Cornwall before getting the Scillonian tomorrow morning . . . let's hope it provides a handful of lifers!