White-winging it

On Sunday afternoon two firsts for Britain broke within half an hour of each other, I was trying to work out what to do (I had the time, lift offer and inclination to do both but money was the only issue) when the first, the Brown Booby, made the situation a lot more managable by turning back into a Gannet.

Badgeman picked me up at 8.00pm and after collecting Mike 'Posh' Spicer and Franko, the journey got underway at around 9.30pm. We made a couple of stops on the way up for a wee and some food and were in Scotland by 2.15am on Monday. At approx 6.30am we parked up and scanned the sea at Blackdog (near Aberdeen) from the comfort of the car. The only Scoters seen were one or two groups heading south. A Manx Shearwater and a controversial Skua were the highlights there. Bob Watts passed on the news that the large Scoter flock had been located of Murcar Links Golf Club so we parked up over there and joined the surprisingly small gathering. It was a little chilly and visibility was poor. A drake Surf Scoter showed well (British tick 305). I have tried on a couple of occasions for the female at Dawlish Warren but had no success so it was nice to get a drake while looking for something else. While we were moving to join birders at a better vantage point they waved to signal that they had found the bird. Our walking turned into a light run and after five or ten minutes of confusion I got onto the 1st-summer drake WHITE-WINGED SCOTER as it associated and fed with Eiders. It dived a few times and was consequently lost for a while. The next I saw of the bird it flew around several times before pitching down close in for a couple of minutes then taking off circling at close range again and finally landing once more. It gave good views there before getting lost in the throng of other seaducks. An Osprey finished the day off nicely. Other birds seen included five Arctic Skuas, several Velvet Scoters, a Bonxie and a few Red-throated Divers.

We left early in the afternoon and I got home after a near-perfect full rotation of the clock.

Northbound twitch

For several days in succession now I've been wanting to get on the patch but something has thwarted my plans each time. Yesterday was no different, news of a mega from the east broke in Cleveland. The only previous British record was twenty one years ago on a Welsh island when no access was being permitted due to breeding birds. It was about as mega as they come.

Johnny Allan picked me up and we headed to Wraysbury where we jumped into Franko Maroevic's car, getting from Sutton to Franko's was a nightmare and quite stressful. The rest of the journey, however, was reasonably quick and efficient mianly thanks to Franko's savvy driving.

We knew we were near when we became surrounded my grim industrial surroundings and housing estates. The news on the pager was a bit confusing at times, with John's (Birdnet) and mine (RBA) telling slightly different stories, but we got the idea that the bird kept returning to the bowling green.

Upon arrival, at something like 2.30pm, we anxiously waited for the bird to show. After a while, there was movement amongst the people on the other side. I saw an appropriate-looking bird drop down and people started seeing it there but I couldn't get onto it on the deck until I got a fleeting glimpse of a small brown thrush-sized bird as it flew up, apparently this was the bird but I hardly got anything on it so wasn't happy. A couple of hours passed and the bird didn't return. The ringer who trapped the bird had a look in the doctor's garden but couldn't find it. The atmosphere became tense and people were getting a little concerned.



Then, a stampede ensued. I got the idea that somebody was seeing it from atop a van in the garden. A queuing system came into operation for the van and several ladders that Franko organised the loan of. This caused a bit of mayhem and some very amusing sights. I may put a video up at some point. I got a good position in the queue for the van but it seemed to take an age before my turn came around. I clambered up, scanned the flowerbed and smacked eyes upon the female WHITE-THROATED ROBIN - yes yes yes yes!!! At this time it was approximately 6.00pm and I was elated to know it was all worth it and I had my first good tick in a fair time under the belt. She was just sitting there, front-on, sunning herself. I spent about a minute up there, using some of that time to attempt to digi-bin a record shot. I did this by pointing and hoping and remarkably got one recognisable shot - I couldn't have asked for more in the end (other than a side-on view perhaps).

Then, a long journey back and I've just arrived. I thought I'd knock this out now to save me doing it tomorrow night. Off to bed now - I will have to have a lie-in this morning, it being 3.00am now, but I do hope that nothing hinders a visit to the patch late morning tomorrow.

Wood Sandpiper

Phil and I found this beauty on an otherwise relatively uneventful (but enjoyable) outing today.

Broadly disappointing

I crashed out at Rob's place last night with Dan and Michael; after watching the films till midnight we went kip (well, I didn't actually get any sleep) before getting up at 4.30am and leaving shortly after 5.00am. Mission: bag that bleedin' sandpiper. No news on the pager by the time we got there at 8.30am wasn't promising and it soon became apparent that the poxy bird was not there. How bloody unlucky can you get - it's been there 90% of the time in the last two or three weeks and the two times I have a stab at it, the bird choses to change habits. My third Broad-billed Sandpiper dip involving two birds. My first BBS dip was the Mersea Island bird last year in which I naively forked out in excess of £60 in train fares and ended up having to spend an unexpected £20 on cabs to end up on some god-forsaken mudhole with the heavens emptying their load upon me.

Roseate Tern (right) with Common Tern

3cy Yellow-legged Gull

Anyway, we soon decided to cut our losses and get something out of the day by heading to Minsmere as Dan and Micheal needed Roseate Tern. After a couple of hours of scanning Rob and I left the pair to it while we caught some grub at the cafe. As we were walking back to the hides the pager told us the bird was still there so we discussed our relief that at least D&M had got something out of the day. It turned out they hadn't seen the bird or the message. We moved to the public viewpoint and Mike picked up a promising-looking bird. Moving one hide further on (where the light was much better) I picked the Roseate Tern up and all enjoyed views of the bird with Common Terns both at rest and in flight; it was quite superb. A pair of Little Terns and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull were also present. We were making our way back to the car when the pager bleeped telling us that a probable Black Kite was more or less above us one minute previous. We scanned and scanned, picking up a pair of Spoonbills and a couple of Bitterns in flight but no fork-tailed raptors.

1st-sum Common Tern

Cheers for the hospitality Rob and it was great to see you again Mike and Dan; hopefully our next twitch will be more successful!

Norfolk etc

Stone-curlew

I got back late yesterday from a weekend away in Norfolk. I was a little disorientated and distressed; it meant Sunday was the first day without a visit to the patch in over three months. But it was okay as it’s late May, which is basically June, and until early August I will only have one realistic target bird in mind: Crossbill. Red-backed Shrike, Honey-buzzard and Golden Oriole could happen, so I will keep an eye out for them too. Otherwise, it’s pretty safe to leave the place unwatched for a couple of days.

Despite begging to stop at Breydon Water upon arrival in Norfolk on Saturday afternoon, the family didn't want to and it probably wouldn't have worked anyway, especially as we were stuck in more traffic than we anticipated. I knew the Broad-billed Sandpiper wouldn't stick around to the next day meaning that my tick-thirst in this bone dry spring would not be quenced and was therefore became pretty irrate.

On Sunday morning dad took me over to Breydon Water; as feared the Broad-billed Sand didn't appear and hasn't done so since. Squished a crow, nearly squished a family of Mallards. Mood didn't lighten. Stopped at Cleyspy and got an early birthday present in the form of a brilliant new pair of bins (my old pair are completely knackered e.g. both ends of the right element are so scratched that it is constantly like looking through mist; looking through the new pair is like looking through divine crystals). Tested them out at Cley on a couple of Little Gulls and recieved a free biology lesson on Kingfisher's eyes from the guy who found the Great Snipe. Family pub dinner followed, with a Barn Owl as a nice scene-setter.


Monday - slept in, a few minutes. Spent time with the family until about 1.00pm BST then homeward bound via a pair of Stone-curlews, and Lakenheath, which failed.

Nail the Quail

In recent days I've had Quail in the back of my mind, remembering that happy yet stressful day when 'wet my lips' was repeatedly uttered from a linseed field at Canons Farm last August and how great it would be if it happened again.

I had checked most of the farm and, while scanning from Lunch Wood, Dodge rang to inform me of a flock of Crossbills that were heading in my general direction, I folded up my scope and headed for Banstead Woods in the hope that they might take a liking to the number of conifers there - I had barely taken a couple of steps when the Quail sensors on either side of my head stopped me in my tracks. As usual I had to hear it a couple more times to make sure I really was hearing what I thought I was and then I sent out a text. I didn't actually know where the bird was, it didn't sound too far away and I thought it may even be in the very bare Broadfield - I walked down to Reads Bottom to pin it down and it turned out the noise was coming from the adjacent grassy field known as Horse Pasture.

Whinchat

A steady stream of birders gave it a go, including Badgeman and his cousin Clifford, the Manville brothers, Posh, Factor, Pyro & Gripper. Almost everyone (myself included) had to make do with only hearing the bird (despite putting in many hours of searching) but jammy Phantom and a birder from Ripley enjoyed views of the bird's bust as it sang. A late Whinchat was a good supporting act.

I will visit early tomorrow and hope for some kind of view (a photo would be brilliant) but hearing it is good enough for a patch year tick for me so . . .

. . . Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Year List 2011: 94 (80 at this point last year)

A tern for the worse

Red Kite

I've had my fair share of 'ones that got away' this year (the most painful being a flock of low waders that I could so easily have bagged) and today I added another one to my list of birds that didn't quite get clinched.

I was standing near the derelict barn when I picked up an odd-looking shape fluttering away north, reasonably high up, 'what's that?' I asked myself - bins up 'it's a tern!'. I wasted no time in getting the scope on the bird but it was rapidly heading north and was into the light, and as it got further away the effect of the heat haze only worsened. While watching it I realised that I wasn't going to be able to ID it to species 'bugger, bugger, bugger' I muttered as it grew distant. I desperately tried to make out a wedge in the wing, the length of the streamers and the shape of the head but could not accurately discern any of these features. As I was leaving later in the day it clicked - I could have easily nailed it had I paid attention to the translucency of the wing, seeing as it was into the light. When you're faced with a situation where you have to make a quick identification you panic and these things often slip your mind; you tend to concentrate on one or two features and potential clinchers don't even cross occur to you until it's too late. The overwhelming likelihood is that it was a Common Tern (which certainly would have been good enough for me) but I guess you cannot rule out Arctic with a high-flying northbound tern at this time of year. Either way, I screwed up on a patch first today.

On the bright side I got some of my best views of Red Kite that I've ever had at Canons and had a couple of Greylags go over. I was joined for most of the day by Peter 'Polo' Grady who was great company and we succeeded in locating his target bird . . .

Rosey tern of fortunes

Roseate Tern

I have been getting to dread the breaking rarity or breaking mega tone on the pager more than ever lately. There have been plenty of top birds around and I've been completely free to go and see them, only everybody I know always either working or doesn't need the bird! Had I a car, I would, in theory, have bumped my British list up to around 310 in the last fortnight.

Colin Manville and I were contemplating the possibility of cramming ourselves into a hide at dusk in north Norfolk yesterday evening in the hope of seeing the Great Snipe. While we thought about it, we went and got this utterly splendid Roseate Tern near Eton. It is the same bird that I dipped at QM Res the other day only in a different place, just out of the London area but I wasn't overly bothered about that; it was great to catch up with a bird that I have tried for on multiple occasions in the past without any success and at such close range on a beautiful spring afternoon. We had almost talked ourselves into going for the Snipe when Colin realised he hadn't got his wallet - just as well, we would have dipped miserably.

female Cuckoo

Today at Canons, Roy and I enjoyed the sight of a pair of Cuckoos (see above). Could they be breeding? This now rare patch bird is certainly making itself available to all who look for them at the moment.

Now a plug. After months of work it's finally here (well almost) - the Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Bird Report 2010 will be available for £8 on 5th June. Very limited printun so let me know if you want one; canonsfarmbirds@hotmail.co.uk.

Cuckoo

By the time I arrived at Canons, later than usual, I was in a foul mood. I had only caught the bus by the skin of my teeth and one of the wheels fell off my now trademark trolley along Garratts Lane. I was removing my valuables and preparing the trolley for its wait in a hedge for a later pick-up when I heard a Cuckoo singing. Panic ensued - it didn't sound too far away but I've never found it at all easy to pin down one after hearing it - in fact I don't think I've ever done it, I've only seen them as they've flown across or just happened to be sitting in a bush. I tried to hurry over to get a better angle on Lambert's Shaw, where I suspected the noise was coming from, and had a quick scan of the tree tops. To my shock, amazement and relief, the beast was sitting there, plain as anything - I needn't have wasted time moving around!


I didn't get too long on the bird before it flew off, but enough to get a look and a couple of record shots. Cuckoo is a rare bird at Canons now, with only one record last year (which I missed). In the mid 20th century there were a dozen singing males at the site annually . . .

In the early afternoon my dad took me to Queen Mother Reservoir where the Roseate Tern was clearly no longer present and not a lot else was kicking about.

Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Life List: 105
Canons Farm & Banstead Woods Year List 2011: 93 (80 at this point last year)

Dungeness

Little Gulls

After consistent reports of productive seawatching from the south coast over the previous few days I asked Eagle last night if he fancied a trip to Dungeness this morning - he was keen on the idea as there were a lot of lifers down there for him. Nothing that I needed had been seen but it had been a while since I had seen some of the stuff that was getting reported regularly.

We arrived at about 6.15am and joined the throngs of birders with similar hopes, packed into the hide and around its exterior. We settled down infront of the hide, below the windows. While still settling down, four Pomarine Skuas flew east (my main target, so I was sorted for the day!) - another passed close-in later on. Six Black-throated Divers, four of them in gorgeous summer plumage flew past, often close-in, were sublime. A couple of Arctic Skuas were good to see, too. Hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and scores of Knot, Whimbrel, Sanderlings and Grey Plovers passed by along with a single Greenshank and other birds a bit out of context such as Tufted Duck and Shoveler.

Glaucous Gull

Among the sparkling flock of Common Terns, good views of at least three Little Terns, a couple of Black Terns, at least one Arctic Tern, the odd Sandwich Tern and two beautiful adult Little Gulls were obtained. A couple of Wheatears were kicking about. We checked out the fishing boats area and, after a bit of searching, located the immature Glaucous Gull.

Eagle had a tick fest with eight lifers!!! I expected none and got none but fulfilled my aim of having an enjoyable morning out seeing some good birds with good company and we both left beaming!