Clayheads on Tour - South Australia 25th Jan – 14th Feb 2016

  

To put a trip like this into a short blog is very very difficult; most birds are new with daft names and it sounds like another world never mind the bottom of this one!

To give a brief insight, I was based in a small village called Mount Compass roughly in the middle of an area called the Fleurieu Peninsular around an hour’s drive from Adelaide, it’s roughly the size of Wales and appears on the Australian map as a small dot, as NJS likes to remind me “Australia is roughly the size of Western Europe” I’ve no idea where he got that fact from but he isn’t wrong!

Most places are less than two hour drive away and the area consist mainly of farms (mainly fruit and of course wine), scrub and forests with lots of coastline and estuaries. I had the use of my nephews Volkswagen Golf for the holiday which was great but I had to be careful where I drove it as a lot of the side roads are gravel roads of varying degree of rough wear, several times I couldn’t visit places as the car just wasn’t suitable for the road environment.

I have to say this is probably the hardest birding and most enjoyable I’ve ever done, for the first week I didn’t know what the hell had hit me, it’s hard, very hard, the bush is dense and I was amazed by how green everywhere was given the heat (usually between 26C & 36C during my visit), while the trees where all bare, the tops had dense green leaves which is of course were all the birds were, things like Parrots, Rosella’s and Lorikeets would just disappear into the tree never to be seen again.

I’ll just cover what new birds were seen on each birding day with a few photo highlights, apologies for some of the photos they are slightly blurred but it’s a very old camera, well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!

Day One – Goowla, Hindmarsh Island

Australian Pelican, Pied Cormorant, Black Swan, Cape Barren Goose, Pacific Black Duck, Purple Swamphen, White-faced Heron, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Masked Lapwing, Red-kneed Dotterel, Red-necked Avocet, Silver Gull, Crested Tern, Swamp Harrier, Nankeen Kestrel, Crested Pigeon, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-rumped Parrot, Superb Fairy-wren, New Holland Honeyeater, Willie Wagtail, Magpie-lark and Australian Magpie.

 Red-kneed Dotterel

Superb Fairy-wren 

Day Two – Mount Compass, Granite Island

Australasian Grebe, Australian Wood Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo, Adelaide Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Red Wattlebird, Welcome Swallow, Sooty Oystercatcher, Little Pied Cormorant & Pacific Gull

Adelaide Rosella

Pacific Gull

Day Three – Mount Compass, McLaren Vale

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Silvereye, Black Falcon, Black-shouldered Kite, Rainbow Lorikeet, Little Wattlebird, White-plumed Honeyeater & Mistletoebird

Rainbow Lorikeet

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Day Four – Mount Compass, Port Nourlunga

Black Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Spotted Turtle-Dove, Grey Teal, Australian Hobby, Common Bronzewing & Fairy Martin

Common Bronzewing

Day Five – Hallett Cove, Scott Creek CP

Collared Sparrowhawk, White-throated Treecreeper, Noisy Miner, Singing Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Grey Currawong, Little Raven & Weebill

Noisy Miner

White-throated Treecreeper

Day Six – Mount Compass, Kuipto Forest, Port Nourlunga

Red-browed Finch, Australian Reed Warbler, Golden-headed Cisticola, Eastern Spinebill, Nankeen Night-heron, Eastern Reef Egret, Long-billed Corella & Little Corella

 

 Little Corella’s

Day Seven – Belair, Mount Compass

Hardhead & White-browed Scrubwren

 Hardhead (White-eyed Duck)

Day Eight – Aldinga Scrub, Mount Magnificent

Dusky Woodswallow, Grey Shrike-thrush, Musk Duck, Peaceful Dove & Brown Falcon

Musk Duck

Day Nine – Hindmarsh Island, Goowla, Currency Creek CP, Scott CP

Pied Oystercatcher, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-capped Plover, Red-necked Stint, Latham’s Snipe, Australasian Shoveler, Australasian Pipit, Stubble Quail, Horsfield’s Bushlark, Elegant Parrot, Tree Martin, Brown Goshawk, Crescent Honeyeater & Striated Pardalote

 Elegant Parrot

Day Ten – Inman River, Hindmarsh River CP

Chestnut Teal, Hoary-headed Grebe, Crested-shrike Tit and Musk Lorikeet

Musk Lorikeet

Day Eleven – Greenfields Saltpans, St Kilda

White-fronted Chat, Banded Stilt, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Brown Thornbill

 Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

White-fronted Chat

Day Twelve – Newland Head, Talisker CP, Nixon Skinner CP

Scarlet Robin, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Painted-button Quail, Golden Whistler, White-naped Honeyeater

 Dusky Woodswallow

Golden Whistler

Day Thirteen – Hindmarsh Island, Scott CP

Australian Shelduck, Yellow Thornbill, Little Eagle

Australian Shelduck

Day Fifteen – Belair CP, Laratinga Wetlands

Little Grassbird, Jacky Winter, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Sacred Kingfisher, Black-fronted Dotterel, Whistling Kite, Blue-billed Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Freckled Duck

 Sacred Kingfisher

Day Seventeen – Morialta CP, Para Wirra RC

Brown Treecreeper, White-browed Babbler, Emu, Eastern Rosella, White-winged Chough, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Rainbow Bee-eater, Brush Bronzewing

 Rainbow Bee-eater

Emu

Day Eighteen – Ferris McDonald CP, Monarto CP

Purple-gaped Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote, Shy Heathwren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Australian Ringneck

Day Nineteen – Coorong NP

Beautiful Firetail

Day Twenty – Hindmarsh Island, Goowla

Fairy Tern

Day Twenty One – Dubai Airport

Common Myna

In total 157 species were seen of which 133 were new species for me.

Other ‘items’ of interest included:

Koala

Kangaroo

Shingleback Lizard

Chris Waring

A short video summary

The start of the year has seen a few bits turning up in Staffordshire plus a few trips to Norfolk, North Yorkshire and North Wales. Here's a quick video, ending with the Ferruginous Duck, Lapland Buntings and Pallid Harrier in Norfolk.

Green-winged Teal at Aqualate, 1w Caspian Gull at Chasewater, Ring-necked Duck at Uttoxeter, Kumlien's Gull at Barmston, Richard's Pipits on Flamborough, Surf Scoter off Filey (and I was nearly too), Ferruginous Duck at Holkham, Lapland Bunting at Blakeney FM, Pallid Harrier at Flitcham.

January 2016 - Staffs has a decent run at last

Following the new year rush, things just carried on happening. On Monday 4th January, I saw the 1w Red-necked Grebe at Trentham Gardens on my second attempt. The first attempt, although we snook in for free, ended empty handed, rushed, very wet and my car broke down. 

The following weekend I saw the wintering Pallas's Warbler in Cheshire, and in the following week, a male Black Redstart was found in Burslem of all places (my second for Burslem as I ticked the one in 1987 that sang on top of the town hall).

The county's decent start to the year continued with a brief Green-winged Teal at Aqualate Mere. I was in the hide with The Stalker and Richard Powell and we watched it fly off to the left and out of sight. Little did we know this would be its final showing.

The Aqualate Green-winged Teal

 

 The same day also produced a 1w Caspian Gull at Chasewater.

1w Caspian Gull found by Snapper Richards

Then, after deciding to pop into North Wales for Black Grouse and Hawfinch, we had to race back to Staffs and Uttoxeter Quarry where Richard Powell had found a female Ring-necked Duck.  

Ring-necked Duck at Uttoxeter Quarry

And so to the final weekend (an amazing five Saturdays this month - should happen every month and cut back on the Tuesdays in my opinion), we popped up to the East Yorkshire coast where the Kumlien's Gull had returned for its fourth winter. Having only seen one before (and I don't beyond to the One Only Club), it was nice to watch such a good example loafing about on the beach.  

Next stop was just up the coast at Flamborough. This time we visit the North Landing, a place I've only been to on the odd occasion before. The three wintering Richard's Pipits were showing quite nicely in the field by the car park.

North Landing

Richard's Pipit Flamborough Head

The final stop was on Filey Brigg for the 1w Surf Scoter. By this time, the wind had whipped up, and walking along the Brigg was quite hair raising to say the least (despite my lack of hair it was that windy it was still raised). I tried my best to find the duck, but holding the scope still was almost impossible. I couldn't understand why the birder I'd asked for directions was only carrying bins and had seen it. Then it dawn on me. The Surf Scoter was directly below me on the smoother water. It all clicked into place then.

Surf Scoter from a video grab

And then in a repeat of the previous week, we headed back to see the female Ring-necked Duck at its next venue on its tour of the county. This week it was at Tittesworth, making it my only site in Staffordshire where I've seen six Aythya species.
 

New Year 2016

It was a two day birding start to the new year. On Friday 1st, we toured Staffordshire in an attempt to see all the decent birds that remained from 2015. We started off at Westport at first light and managed a slightly below par 35 species. We headed off to Rudyard for the immature Shag which was showing again on the same blue boat.

 

Shag at Rudyard Lake - my first in North Staffs

Next was the long trip back down for the wintering Hoopoe at Wall Heath. The field is a bit muddier than last time but we didn't have to wait too long for it to show. The Whooper Swan at Whitemoor was next, along with Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow. Another pit was checked out before we ended the day at Branston GP.  

The following day, a full Clayhead trip out to Norfolk took place, where we also met up with the Clayheads No1 stalker and his crew and the annual New Year Norfolk day out bird race took place between the two teams (Sorry guys but we may have forgot to tell you about this). The Clayheads obviously won with 79 species, with the Stalkers team seeing only 34 species all day. 

First stop was at Wolfreton where eventually, the drake Golden Pheasant put on an excellent performance for us.

Golden Pheasant by PJ

It was then across to Flitcham for the PALLID HARRIER. The bird had already been seen just before we arrived, and as we parked up, they saw it again drop below the ridge. We stood and waited, seeing a large flock of Brambling in the field in front of us.

Brambling by PJ

A few numpties joined us, including one odd chap who set his scope up and immediately found a brown bird of prey sat in the field in front of us. We told him it was a Buzzard as it had been sat there all the time we'd been there. But he insisted on spotting these brown birds of prey for us. Then a ringtail Hen Harrier flew in and landed in front of us. It was called out as a Hen as it dropped in. But the Pallid observers from earlier then decided as it sat amongst the stubble that it looked like a Pallid. And as it flew off, it was called a Hen again. We decided at this point to leave due to the fact that there had probably been no confirmed sightings of the Pallid yet today.  

We popped into Chosely to see a very showy frame filling Rough-legged Buzzard before heading down to Thornham Harbour

Rough-legged Buzzard at Chosely

We saw the flock of Twite straight away, but following an assessment on the path to the SHORE LARK, we decided that it wasn't smooth enough for us to walk on, so we left it.

Twite by PJ

The day then slightly de-railed. It started drizzling frequently, and we couldn't find the Pink-foot flock at Kelling that contained the TUNDRA BEAN GEESE. The day finished at Titchwell, where a Merlin, Avocet etc were all added to the list. A Black-tailed Godwit was my 100 species - the quickest 100 I've done from the start of the year (39hrs 30mins)

One of the most memorable things about the day was the number of Barn Owls we saw. I ended up with a tally of seven birds (one en route, one Flitcham, one Docking, three at Holkham and one Titchwell for the record). The one at Flitcham was especially showy as it sat on the fence at the side of the road.  

Barn Owl by PJ

2015 - A review

A splash of colour to brighten up a dull Staffordshire winter

Staffordshire has suddenly sprung into life now its winter, and the last few weekends have been happily spent birding in the county. Its times like this when you realise the importance of having more than one list to concentrate on. I myself keep 48 different lists so I have plenty of opportunities to keep the ticks rolling in. 

It all started on 21st November when I popped into Chasewater to see the drake Red-crested Pochard. I only realised when I returned home that it was infact my first ever one at Chasewater. 

 

Red-crested Pochard at Chasewater

The following weekend following Storm Brenda, we returned to Chasewater for a Shag. CJW had never had one in Staffs before so he was over the moon when we finally had it on the dam. It was also my first at Chasewater, although I'd managed one at Blithfield and two at Gailey before.

Shag at Chasewater

On Saturday 28th November, the day was almost ruined again by another storm, this time Storm Colin. A wet day was forecast, but we decided to head down to deepest south west Staffordshire where a HOOPOE had been found. On the way down the M6, we received information that it had flown off strongly to the east. We hastily made up plan B and carried on down to Farmoor Resv. Of course the HOOPOE reappeared, but we were already well on our way to Oxfordshire. Despite the wind and rain, we managed excellent views of the Grey Phalarope as it swam just a few feet offshore. We also saw the Red-necked Grebe from the comfort of the hide on the causeway. This was a nice surprise as we assumed (incorrectly) that all the hides would be locked. 

We headed back north, driving through continuous heavy rain and arrived at Wall Heath at 14:45hrs. It was nearly dark, and we were told that the HOOPOE had just flown into a tree, possibly to roost. We grabbed just our bins and headed up the hill, not really expecting to see anything. We'd waited about half an hour when the Hoopoe suddenly reappeared, and showed very well on the grassy slope. No photos though of either bird today as it was raining most of the day, and I didn't want to get my optics wet.

And into December. I decided to return to the Hoopoe again on Saturday 5th to try and get some photos. I arrived at 11:00hrs only to find there had been no sign yet today. Hardly surprising as this week it was the turn of Storm Derek to ruin another Saturday. This time it was dry, but there were 80mph winds. My hair was a complete mess. I stuck it out for an hour, and then headed back to the car, passing Grizzly Adams on the way in. I gave him the low down, told him it was windy and off I headed.

We'd only travelled ten minutes down the road when Grizzly rang to say it had just flown back in. We screeched to a halt, slammed the car in reverse and just kept reversing all the way back to Wall Heath. I ran up the hill and there was the Hoopoe feeding away. The wind from Storm Douglas was too strong, so I had to lower the scope and (peter) crouch down. I did manage a few shots though.

And look what it's found to eat here

and another one. Wonder where that came from?

Then it was onto Chasewater and bird of the day. A RING-NECKED PARAKEET had been coming into roost for nearly two weeks now. There was a good turn out, with Messrs Jones and Richards, Chaz Mason and Clayheads No1 Stalker himself, stalking us as he always does. At just after c15:00hrs ish, I heard the call of the Ring-necked Parakeet, and like clockwork it had flown in to roost as per usual. Eventually, it settled down and sat in a bush along the main path, but it was still flying over the main lake at nearly 16:00hrs. A fine county tick, and my last easy tick has fallen. It's all down to waiting for the 90's rares to make a return visit to the county now.

PJ took this fine photo tonight.

 In the roost, "Caspo" Richards managed to find a quite perfect adult Caspian Gull, plus I saw a brief 2w Mediterranean Gull.  

Adult Caspian Gull with the 2w Mediterranean Gull to the right