Gull Watch at Little Marlow

A late afternoon visit to Little Marlow was certainly interesting.  Large numbers of Gulls from the five most common species came into roost along with an adult and a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull and an adult and a 1st winter Caspian Gull (although the latter only seen by Adam B).  Things livened up a bit when a juvenile female Peregrine flew above the gathered Gulls and scattered them everywhere!  It made a couple of half hearted attempts to catch something but did not appear to be successful.  Just before leaving Adan B picked up the long staying Pintail close to the main island.  Five Snipe and a Kingfisher were also seen.

Mediterranean Gull - In the centre of the photo facing right.

Black-headed Gull - Colour ringed Yellow "2TSX" is presumed to be a bird from the North Thames Gull Group.

Caspian Gull - A smart adult on the sand spit.

Costa Rica Trip Report

Completed (almost) at last.  The report of a fantastic birding trip to Costa Rica in February 2018.  Lots of photos including......

White-crested Coquette - One of our target Hummers.

You can find the report at https://hawfinches-costa-rica.blogspot.com/

Garden Muntjac

A change from the usual birds.

This Munjac appeared in our garden while I was on the phone to my sister.  It walked in front of the window only about 10 feet away.  It wandered around the garden for about 10 minutes nibbling on various plants and presumably looking for a means of escape, as the fences are most 5 feet tall.

I opened the back gate but it chose to leave by the way it came in, back into next doors garden.  At it walked back past the window the dog was looking out of the window and I thought she would bark like mad.  However she was looking at a Squirrel high in a tree and completely missed the Muntjac!  So it left without any hassle.

Munching on a few plants!  This photo taken through glass.

White-fronted Geese at Dorney

I was about to visit Little Marlow GP when news came through of three White-fronted Geese at Dorney.  These had been found by Berkshire birder Dave Carter.  So a change in plan to see these scarce county birds.

I arrived to see Graham Smith about to leave.  The birds were in with a flock of about 220 Canada Geese, a couple of Greylags, which a group of Egyptian Geese nearby.

White-fronted Geese is a scarce bird in Buckinghamshire with the last record in Feb/Mar 2017 and they were in the north of the county.  The last record in the south of the county was way back in Feb/Mar 2013 when there were two at Dorney Common.

White-fronted Goose - An adult bird.

White-fronted Goose - A second adult bird.

White-fronted Goose - A juvenile bird. Unfortunately a bit out of focus.

Lodmoor

An unsettled day with showers and some thunder but at least the cold wind had dropped.  So a walk along to Lodmoor to see the long staying Lesser Yellowlegs and anything else that might be around.

Walking along the prom towards Lodmoor I came across about ten Turnstones at close range in what is a favoured feeding place, as I have photographed them here before, even though much of the beach looks to be equally suitable.

Ruff - This rather smart white headed bird was showing well but sadly it had become overcast so the light was poor.

Lesser Yellowlegs - Present since 23rd September, this juvenile seems unafraid of people so does come close to the path at times. I previously saw a Lesser Yellowlegs here almost exactly a year ago.  Both birds were long stayers and both juveniles/1st winter birds, so not the same individual.

Black-tailed Godwit and Lesser Yellowlegs  - A size comparison.   Plenty of Godwits on display but most much further away.

Teal - Very close so worth a photo.  Unfortunately the male flew off.

Lots of Brent Geese

This was a second attempt to see the Black Brant on the Fleet near Ferrybridge, Weymouth.  I arrived at Ferrybridge about 7:30am and watched as many groups of Brent Geese flew in and landed on the salt marsh at Ferrybridge.  Sadly the Black Brant was not among them but two Pale-bellied Brent Geese were, which gave a good opportunity to compare to the c1000 Dark-bellied types.  The two Pale-bellied and at least two Dark-bellied were wearing colour rings (see below) and I await details of where these were ringed and where else they have been seen.
Three local birders were also present and one accidentally flushed the bulk of the group.  It was then about 9:30 and not many new birds were coming in (apparently there are c4000 wintering on the huge expanse of the Fleet).  So I decided to try further along the Fleet at Littlesea, where several birders has seen the Brant/s recently.
I parked at the end of Camp Lane and walked along the coastal path to where I could get a view of wide part of the Fleet at this point.  There were several thousand Brent Geese either just below me or almost out of sight much further along the Fleet.  I scanned the closest birds and came across a couple of Pale-bellied Brent Geese,which were probably the two I had seen earlier.  Also present was a Goose with very obvious white flanks and a neck collar that joined at the front.  A Black Brant!  I managed a few photos but all a bit distant, in poor light and looking down on the birds, so not great.
Also seen  from this vantage point were a Long-tailed Duck, c50 Red-breasted Mergansers, several Great-crested Grebes, a few Little Grebes, c4 Knot, Grey Plover, Redshank, Dunlin and Curlew. 
A good mornings birding.

Brent Geese arriving at Ferrybridge for low tide.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese - Two on the left.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Dark-bellied Brent Goose - Colour ringed  bird "C4"

Dark-bellied Brent Goose - Colour ringed  bird "X5"

The Fleet at Littlesea.  Looking down of the flock below.

Black Brant - Striking white flanks and a neck collar that meets at the front.  Overall more black and white contrast than with the Geese present.

The Fleet and Chesil Beach

A quick visit to Ferrybridge to try and see the Black Brant was unsuccessful.  About 20 Brent Geese were present but the large flock containing the Brant had moved further along the Fleet and out of sight.  Still there was quite a bit to see even if it was too dull for any decent photos.  Plenty of Ringed Plover, a group of Dunlin a Turnstone and several Little Egrets.  On the water were c30 Red-breasted Mergansers and a single drake Goosander, plus lots of Cormorants and a single Shag.

A single Shag in with the Cormorants at Ferrybridge.

c20 Red-breasted Mergansers and a single Goosander (far left), joined by Black-headed Gulls.

Great Black-backed Gull "Green S40" on Chesil Beach at Abbotsbury.  This bird was ringed at Iles Saint-Marcouf, Manche, Normandie, France on 28 June 2016 and since then there have been thirteen sightings from Axmouth in Devon to Abbotsbury.

The distance travelled by Green S40.

Radipole Lake

The third day of our break in Weymouth started with a morning visit to Radipole Lake RSPB reserve.  Apart from a few Gulls flying around the first bird I saw was a Great White Egret, so a pretty decent start.  The odd Cetti's Warbler was in song as I headed towards the Buddlia walk, where a Ring-necked Duck had been seen the previous day.  It did not take too long to find it but it was rather distant.  However, it did appear to be feeding fairly close to the far bank close to Radipole Park Drive, so I planned to try there later.
I carried on to the North hide where I saw another two Great White Egrets but nothing else of note.  So heading back I checked the Gulls that were resting in the car park (see below) before parking up by the tennis courts and checking out the Ring-necked Duck at much closer range.

Great White Egret - One of three on the reserve.

Ring-necked Duck - A 1st winter male. 

Mediterranean Gull - Radipole is a reliable place for this species.  Two of about 20 in the car park.

Mediterranean Gulls - Note the colour ringed bird Green "R84J"  (see map below).  Also seen was  White "3JPL" which was ringed in May 2015 in Antwerp, Belguim.

The distance travelled by Green R84J.  It was ringed in Berendrecht, Antwerpen, BELGIUM on 30th May 2015 Since then it has been seen 19 times at Radipole Lake but has also visited Northern France in late summer 2017 and 2018.

Herring Gull - Seen in the car park at Radipole Lake and wearing colour ring Black "744".  A locally ringed individual which was ringed on 22nd July 2018 and seen at Radipole six times since..

Brown Rat - Taking advantage of food being put down for the ducks!

Pallid Swift

Having arrived in Weymouth for a short break mid afternoon, I noticed that the Pallid Swift,that was found the previous day, was still present in Chesil Cove.  Having unloaded the car, I made my apologies and headed out across the causeway to Chesil Cove which is just to the west of Fortuneswell on the Isle of Portland.

I arrived about 4:00 pm and managed to find the Quiddles Cafe, which is where the bird had been seen.  There was no obvious sign but two people high on the cliff caught my eye, one of whom was taking flash photos!  I then saw the Swift flying back and forth fairly close to this person.  I moved closer but never got a good view due to the distance and the failing light.  Undoubtedly the Pallid Swift though.  I can only hope I can get a better view tomorrow, if it hangs around.

Pallid Swift  - Yes you can hardly see the bird but it is in the photo a bit above the pointed rock!  
4:15 pm on a dull day!

Crossens Outmarsh

A visit to my daughters in Lancashire enabled a visit to nearby Crossens Outmarsh, a large area of saltmarsh in the Ribble Estuary.  In the winter home to thousands of wildfowl such as Wigeon, Teal, Pink-footed Geese, Lapwing and Golden Plover.  Plus the odd Merlin, Marsh Harrier and Hen Harrier.
My visit was fairly brief as we had to drive home later that day but the shear numbers of wildfowl was impressive.  Hopefully next time I can manage to spend a bit more time here.

Just a flavour of the site.  Lots of Wigeon in this photo plus some Lapwing and Go;den Plover.

Pink-footed Goose- A poor quality photo but they do keep their distance.

A few Pink-footed Geese in Flight.

Pied Wheatear - Meols

I happened to be visiting my daughter in Lancashire when a Pied Wheatear was reported at Meols on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire (apparently first seen there on 5th Nov).  I was busy on 6th and 7th but managed to find a clear spot on 8th.  So a drive on an hour and a half through the outskirts of Liverpool and through one of the tunnels under the Mersey and I was almost there.

The bird was easy to find as a group of birders were stood around on the sea front.  I thought that the bird had disappeared but they were grouped around the bird on the sea wall.  I joined the group and the bird just sat on the wall ignoring the birders and occasionally taking a mealworm that someone had put in place.  At one time the bird flew over the sea wall and sat in the end of some sort of drainage pipe.  It was suggested that the bird might have roosted here.  While I was there the bird was unable to go onto the beach as it was high tide.

This was both a UK and a Worldwide tick for me, so well worth the trip.

The Pied Wheatear twitch.About 20 birders were there much of the time I was there.  The bird can just be seen on the wall.

Pied Wheatear - A first winter male.

The Pied Wheatear sat in this drainage pipe for about five minutes.  A possible roost site.

A brief video of the Pied Wheatear

Good numbers of waders were present, initially fairly close in but soon flying further away as the tide went out.  These included good numbers of Oystercatcher, Redshank, Dunlin, plus those below.

Black-tailed Godwit - Several present.

Knot - Small groups present but fairly distant.

Shelduck - Large numbers present.