Friday, 26 August 2011
Friday 26th August 2011 - Westport Lake, Staffs
Today CJW finally found a twitchable Black-tailed Godwit for the masses instead of all these dodgy fly over ones I have. It was successfully twitched by at least five of the regulars. It appeared quite knackered and would allow walkers and joggers to go past without flying off. BTG's are becoming more regular now at Westport, and this is the fourth consecutive year it's been recorded. Furthermore, this is the second bird this year.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Pictures from my garden
A few butterflies have been visiting my garden this week. Here's a few pictures of them.
and then this one turned up
and then this one turned up
Saturday 20th August
A shorter day trip today due to family commitments, so I headed to Branston GPs and Blithfield with CJW. It appears that Branston has been visited quite frequently during the week, and to my complete shock today as we entered, two birdwatchers were walking out. These are the 3rd and 4th birders I've met here this year. Certainly things appear to be picking up in Staffs at the moment, and even more surprising, the field has finally been cut, and so access now is a lot easier glad you took my advice Mr Farmer).
Highlight of the visit was a site tick for me, found by old sharp-eyes himself, CJW
Two Collared Doves - a Branston GP tick!
We managed to eventually found the juv Spotted Redshank again, plus a large count of 15 Green Sands.
It was then off to Blithfield, and we just sat in Tad Bay and never moved, seeing the juv Black-necked Grebe again
...a Peregrine...
...and the two Garganey
Highlight of the visit was a site tick for me, found by old sharp-eyes himself, CJW
Two Collared Doves - a Branston GP tick!
We managed to eventually found the juv Spotted Redshank again, plus a large count of 15 Green Sands.
It was then off to Blithfield, and we just sat in Tad Bay and never moved, seeing the juv Black-necked Grebe again
...a Peregrine...
...and the two Garganey
Thursday, 18 August 2011
17th August 2011 - Gailey
A quick trip to Gailey after work eventually saw the s/pl Red-necked Grebe showing well from the causeway. This is my first RNG in Staffs since the Alrewas 2006 birds. Its also amazingly my 5th summer plumage bird. We have been blessed with these recently. Below are the other four s/pl birds that I've seen.
1987 Staffordshire Blithfield Reservoir A s/pl on 23rd April.
1989 Staffordshire Belvide Reservoir A s/pl on 28th May.
2000 Staffordshire Chasewater A s/pl on 29th April.
2003 Staffordshire Blithfield Reservoir A s/pl was seen on 7th & 22nd June.
I also managed to visit Pops in hospital after tea. He was in good spirits following his successful operation to mend his ankle. They even made precautions so that they stuck his leg back on the right way round.
1987 Staffordshire Blithfield Reservoir A s/pl on 23rd April.
1989 Staffordshire Belvide Reservoir A s/pl on 28th May.
2000 Staffordshire Chasewater A s/pl on 29th April.
2003 Staffordshire Blithfield Reservoir A s/pl was seen on 7th & 22nd June.
I also managed to visit Pops in hospital after tea. He was in good spirits following his successful operation to mend his ankle. They even made precautions so that they stuck his leg back on the right way round.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
13th August 2011 - Blithfield, Branston & dancing at the Bloodstock Festival
Well for the fourth weekend running we stayed in Staffordshire and plodded the same old familiar route. We weren't expecting much today, although there had been a little bit at Blithfield recently. Westport was quiet today, and so we were down at Blithfield before 0900hrs. The sun was out so we headed over to Blithe Bay first where the light would be better. It was not a bad start to the days birding with five Dunlin, fifteen Ringed Plover, a Green Sand and two Black-tailed Godwits.
Black-tailed Godwit in Blithe Bay
We walked round Beech Tree Point and saw the ever faithful "Bird of the Day" - the Osprey perched in his usual tree, surveying the world and thinking what was for dinner today.
Osprey in Tad Bay
From the hide in Tad, where we met up with Graham, Roger & Steve, we had a Black-necked Grebe, two fem-type Garganey and seven Ringed Plovers flew in. It turned into rather a good visit this week.
Two Garganey (above) and the Black-necked Grebe
And so it was onto Branston for our next stop. The field still hasn't been cut yet, but I now know where the tracks are that run through it, so it wasn't so much of a slog this week. (If you are reading this Mr Farmer at Branston, the field on the way to Stansley Wood with the same crop in it as yours was cut a fortnight ago! Have you forgotten about it this yr?). There were six Little Egrets on the first pit but that was about all. I walked round to the Sandy Pit, had my usual chat with the nice security guard (bit serious this week - warned me about the moving vehicles on the track. I told him that they don't work on a Saturday afternoon. He laughed then promptly told me he'd just seen four Buzzards! Bless him). There was a Greenshank, but it walked beneath the reeds in front of me and out of view. A quick scan revealed two Green Sands, but that was all, as per usual. Then, I presumed the Greenshank had come back into view. When I lifted my bins, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a juv Spotted Redshank. At last, a semi-decent wader at Branston. I managed to take a few shots, but it was flushed by two Greenshank and flew off.
Spotted Redshank at BGP
I decided to walk back towards the bridge just in case any waders were down the bottom corner. To my complete surprise, there was a whole flock sitting roosting on a bank. It was just like Minsmere, except it was a gravel pit in Staffs. A scan thru revealed the two Greenshank, ten Green Sands and a Wood Sand all roosting on the bank. It had turned out to be rather a good visit for a change.
So we headed off to another pit nearby to see what was there. Pops joined me after his nap. There was another reason for him joining me - it was the Bloodstock festival again, and the stage is clearly visible from where we were going to. Pops is a thrash metal fan, and his favourite heavy metal group, The Evil Slashers were playing. We could bird, and listen to thrash metal at the same time. As I set my scope up to scan the lagoon, The Evil Slashers belted out their iconic hit, "Slash, acid and death". Pops was in heaven, dancing away. Now, being 77, he's not the dancer he used to be. I tried to warn him, but he slipped, and ended up in a heap at the bottom of a slope. Now, those of you who know the area, realise its about a one mile walk back to the car. Pop's ankle was at a different angle to what it should be and minor panic set in. I'm not sure how, but we managed to get back to the car after an hours struggle, and Pops was clearly in a lot of pain. I drove home, got changed and we were up the accident unit for five hours. Pops had managed to break his ankle!
Black-tailed Godwit in Blithe Bay
We walked round Beech Tree Point and saw the ever faithful "Bird of the Day" - the Osprey perched in his usual tree, surveying the world and thinking what was for dinner today.
Osprey in Tad Bay
From the hide in Tad, where we met up with Graham, Roger & Steve, we had a Black-necked Grebe, two fem-type Garganey and seven Ringed Plovers flew in. It turned into rather a good visit this week.
Two Garganey (above) and the Black-necked Grebe
And so it was onto Branston for our next stop. The field still hasn't been cut yet, but I now know where the tracks are that run through it, so it wasn't so much of a slog this week. (If you are reading this Mr Farmer at Branston, the field on the way to Stansley Wood with the same crop in it as yours was cut a fortnight ago! Have you forgotten about it this yr?). There were six Little Egrets on the first pit but that was about all. I walked round to the Sandy Pit, had my usual chat with the nice security guard (bit serious this week - warned me about the moving vehicles on the track. I told him that they don't work on a Saturday afternoon. He laughed then promptly told me he'd just seen four Buzzards! Bless him). There was a Greenshank, but it walked beneath the reeds in front of me and out of view. A quick scan revealed two Green Sands, but that was all, as per usual. Then, I presumed the Greenshank had come back into view. When I lifted my bins, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a juv Spotted Redshank. At last, a semi-decent wader at Branston. I managed to take a few shots, but it was flushed by two Greenshank and flew off.
Spotted Redshank at BGP
I decided to walk back towards the bridge just in case any waders were down the bottom corner. To my complete surprise, there was a whole flock sitting roosting on a bank. It was just like Minsmere, except it was a gravel pit in Staffs. A scan thru revealed the two Greenshank, ten Green Sands and a Wood Sand all roosting on the bank. It had turned out to be rather a good visit for a change.
So we headed off to another pit nearby to see what was there. Pops joined me after his nap. There was another reason for him joining me - it was the Bloodstock festival again, and the stage is clearly visible from where we were going to. Pops is a thrash metal fan, and his favourite heavy metal group, The Evil Slashers were playing. We could bird, and listen to thrash metal at the same time. As I set my scope up to scan the lagoon, The Evil Slashers belted out their iconic hit, "Slash, acid and death". Pops was in heaven, dancing away. Now, being 77, he's not the dancer he used to be. I tried to warn him, but he slipped, and ended up in a heap at the bottom of a slope. Now, those of you who know the area, realise its about a one mile walk back to the car. Pop's ankle was at a different angle to what it should be and minor panic set in. I'm not sure how, but we managed to get back to the car after an hours struggle, and Pops was clearly in a lot of pain. I drove home, got changed and we were up the accident unit for five hours. Pops had managed to break his ankle!
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Saturday 23rd July - A quiet day in Staffordshire
Not much around locally at the monent so we visited the usual haunts on a Saturday. After a very quiet visit to Westport, we were down at Blithfield for about 0830am. As we walked down to Tad Bay, Martyn, Kay and Richard Powell were already walking back up - not a good sign! But we soon found out the answer - we were looking straight into the sunlight (is easy to forget that when you arrive early at Blithers, you go to Blithe Bay first!). We had 8 Common Snipe and a Redshank in Tad, but Blithe Bay was fairly quiet, with just a Greenshank on show, and as we walked back round Beech Tree, a Kingfisher flew past. From the point, we could see an adult Yellow-legged Gull on the causeway. By the time we returned to Tad Bay, the light had improved. The Osprey was perched up, and Richard managed to find a Dunlin.
And this was about as good as it got. I headed off to the pits, and in 4hrs, all we managed were two Green Sands, a couple of Little Egrets and another Kingfisher.
Especially for you Martyn - hybrid geese!
Butterfly pics for all those who give up birding in the summer and wait for those who are still birding to find something for you
One or two Cormorants
An almost in focus Yellow Wag - at least the pebbles in the background are in focus
And this was about as good as it got. I headed off to the pits, and in 4hrs, all we managed were two Green Sands, a couple of Little Egrets and another Kingfisher.
Especially for you Martyn - hybrid geese!
Butterfly pics for all those who give up birding in the summer and wait for those who are still birding to find something for you
One or two Cormorants
An almost in focus Yellow Wag - at least the pebbles in the background are in focus
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Saturday 16th July 2011 - Arnfield Resv & Blacktoft Sands
No, don't worry. I'm still here and I haven't resorted to chasing round after butterflies, worms and dragonflies yet (nor racehorses!) . The previous two weekends I spent at my usual haunts in Staffs, seeing a few bits and bobs but I didn't manage to take any pics. This Saturday, the Clayheads (this week - myself, GAS & CJW) decided to hit the road. First stop was for the summering WESTERN BONELLI'S WARBLER in North Derbyshire. This bird turned up on a Sunday, and so I decided to wait until the following Saturday to go for it (bit too far for an after work trip and it seemed to be a morning bird). Last Saturday however, I couldn't make it until mid morning and so I left it. Fortunately for me, there was only one sighting all day, but then on the Sunday, it was reported three or four times. The bird was starting to bug me. So we made plans to go this Saturday. However, as has happened quite frequently this summer, the forecast was bad. I thought there was a possibility that it would be dryish from 0700 - 0900hrs, so I knew we had to be early. We arrived at Westport at 0530hrs, did a quick walk round, picked CJW up and headed up to Tintwhistle.
There was a small crowd when we arrived, but there had been no sign of the BONELLI'S so far. We walked around, got a feel for the area and even found a warbler flock. Then, following a few showers, more persistent rain came, and by 0900hrs, we were soaked and headed back to the car. We knew there was no chance of seeing it in this weather. We sat in the car, dried out and waited.
Our idea was to pop up to Blacktoft to see the MARSH SAND, but even that hadn't appeared on the pager yet. So we just sat and waited. CJW even tried to ring Blacktoft, but they couldn't answer the phone as they were "out on the reserve". Eventually, positive news came thru and we set off for East Yorkshire/North Humberside, arriving on site at 11-30hrs. And it was pouring down.
We walked towards the Ousefleet Hide but no one appeared to know where the MARSH SAND was. We found the screen from where the last sighting had been, but all three seats were taken. Then a birder from the hide came out and said he'd just seen it. We went into the hide and waited. Eventually, the birders moved out, and we managed to get a front row seat. (The hide faced forward overlooking a field. It was only a side window that overlooked the scrape, and together with the three seats at the screen, viewing the area was limited!) And so we waited. We must have sat there for an hour, seeing several Little Egrets, Ruff, Dunlin, two Green Sands, and an almost black Spotted Redshank. Then we spotted what we initially thought to be a Greenshank. We sat and watched it, and slowly we realised several things weren't quite right with it. Its beak was very fine, its legs were spindly, and although it was feeding away from the other waders, I realised it was actually smaller than a Redshank. We realised we were watching the Marsh Sand! (it was our own version of the Daventry Greatershank). But no one else in the hide said anything, no one else spotted it, they were quite happy to scan the empty field in front of them.
The Marsh Sandpiper at Blacktoft.
We had a quick walk round the other hides, and we had quite a good session, despite the appalling weather. We saw two Spoonbills, several Marsh Harriers with young, an Avocet, more Spotted Redshanks, two Wood Sandpipers and a Black-tailed Godwit.
Images from Blacktoft
So despite the weather, we had seen one of our targets for the day. We decided to head back to Derbyshire. As we drove back, it did stop raining, and in parts, there was a bit of blue sky. We parked up by Arnfield Resv at 15-30hrs in beautiful sunshine. As we walked back along the path, we saw loads of warblers feeding. Things were looking good. Then, five minutes later, it poured down again. Even after it stopped it took ages for the warblers to come out again. There were five of us wandering up and down, but there was just no sign of the BONELLI's again. We stood on the bridge, and despite the fact it had been dry for nearly an hour now, we were facing defeat. I walked up towards the barbed wire gate and immediately heard a short burst of song. I picked up some bark, a few strands of grass and managed to imitate exactly the call I had heard. Amazingly, it responded. CJW heard it and pin pointed it to a lone hawthorn bush in the field.
The lone hawthorn where the Bonelli's Warbler was skulking.
CJW managed to get everyone together (all 5 of us) but there was a small bit of disbelief that we had heard it sing from an isolated bush. We all agreed that we would imitate the song once more (this time CJW whistled the song). It sang again, and soon we were watching the Western Bonelli's Warbler sitting in the tree. It was an incredibly skulking bird, and so inactive for a phyllosc warbler. It came out again but then it disappeared again and it was time to head for home.
Two modern day birdwatchers!
Look at these two. They don't even know a rare bird is watching them from a bush. One is even looking at his phone. And no bins in sight at all.
Then the one suddenly spots the rare bird. But what does he do? Get his notebook out? No, because modern birders don't carry notebooks! He tries to take a picture with his phone! Modern birders hey
There was a small crowd when we arrived, but there had been no sign of the BONELLI'S so far. We walked around, got a feel for the area and even found a warbler flock. Then, following a few showers, more persistent rain came, and by 0900hrs, we were soaked and headed back to the car. We knew there was no chance of seeing it in this weather. We sat in the car, dried out and waited.
Our idea was to pop up to Blacktoft to see the MARSH SAND, but even that hadn't appeared on the pager yet. So we just sat and waited. CJW even tried to ring Blacktoft, but they couldn't answer the phone as they were "out on the reserve". Eventually, positive news came thru and we set off for East Yorkshire/North Humberside, arriving on site at 11-30hrs. And it was pouring down.
We walked towards the Ousefleet Hide but no one appeared to know where the MARSH SAND was. We found the screen from where the last sighting had been, but all three seats were taken. Then a birder from the hide came out and said he'd just seen it. We went into the hide and waited. Eventually, the birders moved out, and we managed to get a front row seat. (The hide faced forward overlooking a field. It was only a side window that overlooked the scrape, and together with the three seats at the screen, viewing the area was limited!) And so we waited. We must have sat there for an hour, seeing several Little Egrets, Ruff, Dunlin, two Green Sands, and an almost black Spotted Redshank. Then we spotted what we initially thought to be a Greenshank. We sat and watched it, and slowly we realised several things weren't quite right with it. Its beak was very fine, its legs were spindly, and although it was feeding away from the other waders, I realised it was actually smaller than a Redshank. We realised we were watching the Marsh Sand! (it was our own version of the Daventry Greatershank). But no one else in the hide said anything, no one else spotted it, they were quite happy to scan the empty field in front of them.
The Marsh Sandpiper at Blacktoft.
We had a quick walk round the other hides, and we had quite a good session, despite the appalling weather. We saw two Spoonbills, several Marsh Harriers with young, an Avocet, more Spotted Redshanks, two Wood Sandpipers and a Black-tailed Godwit.
Images from Blacktoft
So despite the weather, we had seen one of our targets for the day. We decided to head back to Derbyshire. As we drove back, it did stop raining, and in parts, there was a bit of blue sky. We parked up by Arnfield Resv at 15-30hrs in beautiful sunshine. As we walked back along the path, we saw loads of warblers feeding. Things were looking good. Then, five minutes later, it poured down again. Even after it stopped it took ages for the warblers to come out again. There were five of us wandering up and down, but there was just no sign of the BONELLI's again. We stood on the bridge, and despite the fact it had been dry for nearly an hour now, we were facing defeat. I walked up towards the barbed wire gate and immediately heard a short burst of song. I picked up some bark, a few strands of grass and managed to imitate exactly the call I had heard. Amazingly, it responded. CJW heard it and pin pointed it to a lone hawthorn bush in the field.
The lone hawthorn where the Bonelli's Warbler was skulking.
CJW managed to get everyone together (all 5 of us) but there was a small bit of disbelief that we had heard it sing from an isolated bush. We all agreed that we would imitate the song once more (this time CJW whistled the song). It sang again, and soon we were watching the Western Bonelli's Warbler sitting in the tree. It was an incredibly skulking bird, and so inactive for a phyllosc warbler. It came out again but then it disappeared again and it was time to head for home.
Two modern day birdwatchers!
Look at these two. They don't even know a rare bird is watching them from a bush. One is even looking at his phone. And no bins in sight at all.
Then the one suddenly spots the rare bird. But what does he do? Get his notebook out? No, because modern birders don't carry notebooks! He tries to take a picture with his phone! Modern birders hey
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