Great Knot Titchwell RSPB July 2016

Following my initial flight views of the Titchwell Great Knot, I decided to head back down on the 2nd July for some better views. CJW was working, and everyone else was in Aberdeen twitching the WHITE-WINGED SCOTER so I made the trip alone again. The Great Knot had been showing well during the week at Holme and it was now following a pattern of roosting for most of the day. 

I arrived at Titchwell at 10:25hrs and went straight to the bank and had obscured views of the Great Knot as it roosted at the back of the main Knot flock. And this is how it stayed for the next four hours. I became an expert at watching a slightly taller and darker bird moving about in the flock. I was determine to get a photo and eventually I did: by which time as I'd sat in the hide for all of the time, my bum was numb and my legs were stiff. 

Below is my video taken over four hours. I know where the Great Knot is.

    

and these are photo's when it briefly showed in full view - the only time it did in four hours of constant watching.

Visible at the rear of the flock....just

Finally it showed

and it stayed on show..

but it went to sleep again...building up its strength as it flew off three days later

Ullapool and the Applecross Pass 25/26 July 2016

It was CJW's long weekend off and following a difficult week, we decided we'd go on a jolly. Following a post by LGRE, I suggested we went to Applecross, a place neither of us had visited before. The main target bird was PTARMIGAN, a bird I had not seen since 1988. It had been longer for CJW, and during the long journey north, he showed me a photograph when he last saw PTARMIGAN all those years ago.

We set off at just after 20:00hrs on Friday night and I drove up to the services at Stirling. CJW then took over and gallantly battled through torrential rain on the A9. At about 04:00hrs we stopped somewhere in the early morning light. We got out of the car, stretched our legs and smelt the early morning damp Scottish air. It was a truly wonderful experience. One which we'll never forget. Because we then realised the air was full of little biting midges. We jumped back into the car and discovered the car was now full of the little biting b**tards. We spent the next five hours battling against them - squashing as many as we could before the next stop where we filled the car up again. Oh what joy.

En route, we changed our plans and headed up towards Ullapool. Along the road we stopped at the first loch we came to and there was a Black-throated Diver with two juveniles. It was 04:30hrs in the morning. 

We arrived at Ullapool Harbour at 05:00hrs and CJW soon located our first target bird - a juvenile Glaucous Gull. It showed very well, feeding on the shore line. It was now 05:00hrs and time was getting on.

Ullapool Harbour. We didn't see another sole here

Black-throated Diver with chick

 

Juv Glaucous Gull in Ullapool Harbour. A June tick for me

We then started the drive down to the Applecross peninsular along the A832, passing through some absolutely awesome scenery.

The route we followed

We continued to stop along the way, and spent quite a bit of time in Gruinard Bay looking for White-tailed Eagle. Eventually CJW picked one up flying across the bay at Gairloch. Another target bird in the midge infested bag. 

We found another Black-throated Diver with young further down the road as well before we finally arrived at the start of the Applecross Pass. Unfortunately, our fears were confirmed; the pass was shrouded in low cloud

The road up the Applecross Pass. Truly scary hey!

We parked at what we thought was the top, put on our mountain gear and survival suits and headed off towards the weather station situated on the highest point of the pass. Well actually we saw a path heading off and climbing so we walked up it, and in the mist we saw an aerial.

We searched all over the area, slowly climbing higher and higher. We had virtually reached the top when I saw a bird run away from the path. Altitude sickness was taking its toll on me, and I simply pointed and shouted the word "grouse" for some reason.

Ptarmigan at Applecross

 As we walked back down, the clouds started to clear, again revealing some stunning scenery.

 

We headed down to the other side, and to the village of Applecross and started to drive to the north. We stopped at Kenmore at the top of the Applecross peninsular, watching several Black Guillemots, an Otter swimming past all with a back drop of blue sky and turquoise sea. Honestly, this is all totally true.

The bay at Kenmore

Following a well earned nap (by this stage we were struggling to stay awake!), we set off to Fort William and our hotel for the night. The only target bird that we missed was a GOLDEN EAGLE.

Eilean Donan Castle - a familar landmark when you head out to the Uists

It was our original intention to head back home in the morning from Fort William, but during the evening news broke from Aberdeen that the WHITE-WINGED SCOTER had returned again with the Scoter flock. It was a tick for CJW but I'd seen the 2011 bird. So I let him make the decision. Oh the agony as he ummed, and the arghs, went one way and then the next, until he decided we go for it. The alarm went off at 05:00hrs and we were soon on the road through the Scottish Highlands. It took us about three and a half hours to get to Aberdeen, and by the time we had arrived, the sun was out, the sky was blue and the crowd watching the Scoter flock was quite small now. Unfortunately, with the sun directly overhead now, the light wasn't very good. We were basically looking at silhouettes, and when you can't see the yellow beaks on the Common Scoter, you know you are in trouble. We waited an hour and there were still no clouds, and the flock had drifted out even further. We headed for home at 10:30hrs. I was driving, the tank was full and so I just carried on. Seven hours later we arrived in Stoke, the fuel light was on and we'd got about twenty miles of fuel left. But I'd driven from Aberdeen to Stoke non stop!

There's so much I've missed out. The Pine Marten that ran across the road, the Red Squirrel, the Osprey over the A9, the Great Skuas in Ullapool harbour, Seals galore, flocks of Eider and Red-breasted Mergansers, Whinchat, midges, a stringy Dipper....

Great

And so the next chapter begins.

On Wednesday 15th June, I arrived at Westport Lake at 05:45hrs. Nothing unusual about that as it was my 154th day I'd visited there so far this year. This June has been particularly crap down there, but then again its been a very poor year so far, with a low number of species seen so far and the possibility / probability that this will be the first year that I won't see 100 species down there. 

Its fairly well known that on my first scan of the main lake I always check for a drake SURF SCOTER. Its one bird I do believe will grace Westport in the next few years. Todays scan resulted in a large chocolate brown gull sat on the lake at the far end. Armed with only bins, I walked onto a jetty to reduce the distance between me and the bird. It still looked like a large brown gull. From the start I only had one bird on the tip of my tongue, but this was Westport. I wanted to eliminate a oiled LBBG but without a scope it would be tricky. 

I started to look round for CJW as I thought there was a chance he would be down today. I texted him to see if he was awake. No reply. Bearing in mind it was still before 6am and a work day I was in a bit of a predicament. I rang PJ as his mobile is always by the sideof his bed. Nothing. I rang them both several times. Nothing. The bird was being dive bombed. I managed a few "record" shots through my bins. Not Steve Seal standard but hopefully enough to prove what I was watching.

 

Would it be good enough?

Then at 05:58hrs, I gambled and rang PL. A tricky one because PL works shifts. He answered. I asked if he had been working late last night. Yes he said. Ouch I thought. I then told him I thought I had a skua sp at Westport. Ok he said and put the phone down. He was down quite sharply and set his scope up. Looks like a Bonxie he said. Thank you I said!

I then left Westport to go and knock on CJW's front door. It was quite amusing to see him lean out of his window and peer down at me. It only took three knocks as well. Great Skua I said. Mmm he replied! 

Mrs PJ answered the land line in PJ's house and he was soon on site as well. The panic of not being to contact anyone at before 6am was slowly subsiding. Westport's first ever Great Skua was sitting pretty on the main lake.

CJW

Steve Seal

Steve Seal

PJ

   

Video courtesy of CJW

I disappeared from Westport and headed off to work. Around early afternoon, information starting coming through that there was a GREAT KNOT at Titchwell. This bird had so far eluded me in Britain, having had two opportunities before with the Lancashire and Suffolk birds. I decided to risk it and head off. 

I escaped worked and eventually headed off to Norfolk. All this time, the GREAT KNOT was sat on the freshmarsh roosting. I was only about fifteen minutes away when it flew off. Gutted wasn't the word. I later discovered the flock had been hit by a flash of lightening! It was absolutely pouring down and the roads were starting to flood. I decided to head for Hunstanton and wait on news; the reason being there was internet connection and so I could keep up to date. I'd been sitting for nearly an hour when news came on that the GREAT KNOT was back on the beach. I was only fifteen minutes away and I hurtled off. The water was pouring down off the fields and the roads were almost unpassable. I parked up at Titchwell, walk to the beach, saw the crowd in the distance and headed towards them.

I'd almost reached them when a flock of Knot came flying toward me. I instinctively lifted my bins and latched on to a bigger bird at the top of the flock. I knew it was the Great Knot and watched it fly away towards Thornham Harbour. 

I hung around until 9pm but it never came back. Still, it had been a great day. 

Pops

4th May 1934 to 2nd June 2016

Despite fighting cancer for 16 months, nothing stopped him getting out and about. Here he is, 81 years old, on a boat to Stokholm last year for the Swainson's Thrush. An absolutely fantastic twitch and brilliant memories.

Thanks pops - You'll always be with us on every trip we do

Great Spotted Cuckoo in Dorset - May 14th 2016

A GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO was found on Portland on Friday 13th May and was present all day, feeding on newly emerged caterpillars. CJW was in charge of trip co-ordination this week as following his week at work, he could still think logically whereas I was frazzled. He decided to play safe with his decision, and we headed to Westport at 05:50hrs.  

We had only been walking around the lake for about half an hour when news came that it had stayed overnight and was still present. CJW hastily made the decision and we set off for Dorset, leaving Westport at 06:45hrs. The motorways were quiet and we made good progress. However the problem was the total lack of news coming from Portland. After this initial sighting, there was no news at all until 08:50hrs, by which time we were already in Somerset. 

We made it safely onto the Isle of Portland, reminiscing about our last visit here in 2013.  We parked up on a small housing estate and walked along the footpath to view the paddocks, along with c40 other birders. We were soon watching the Great Spotted Cuckoo as it perched in view on occasions before dropping out of view. But it wasn't until a bit of clever marshalling of those dastardly photographers that allowed the bird to fly to its favoured feeding area and we had excellent views.

We had been watching the Cuckoo for over an hour, and we decided to head off down to the Bill for a spot of sea watching. Apart from a few Razorbills, Guillemots, Gannets and Fulmars going past, it was extremely quiet. We did have very good views of a Whimbrel though as it fed just in front of us.

We made a quick visit to Lodmoor to see if the RED-RUMPED SWALLOW was still knocking around, but there had been no sign for well over an hour. We did enjoy seeing a full summer plumaged Grey Plover and a s/pl Knot that were on one of the pools. Amazingly, this is my first ever visit to Lodmoor without a tick!

And so completed another succesful day for CJW. In fact, he has now seen all the British Cuckoos. And for those hell bent on just seeing a bird once and then never ever seeing one again because its been ticked off, here are a few more photos for you to slobber over.

My first Great Spotted Cuckoo on Spurn in July 2003

My second in Norfolk in August 2009

And now my third in Dorset in 2016