A Few Siskins

So far this winter Siskins have been rather few and far between.  However with the sudden cold snap there seems to have a been an increase in numbers with about 30 feeding in Alders along the N bank of the lake at Little Marlow.  Picked up by their calls, it would have been quite easy to have walked right under them and not noticed them.

Not too much of note on this visit but plenty of wildfowl and a good number (30-40) to be seen.

Male Siskin

Female Siskin in Alders

Dusky Thrush Twitch

When Graham Smith contacted me ask if I fancied a trip to Beeley in Derbyshire to see the recently discovered Dusky Thrush, I thought why not.  So Graham, Martin Dear and myself set off early morning.  We arrived about 10am to find dozens of birders present with many saying they had seen the bird during the morning.  Encouraging!  It was not long before I had a glimpse of the bird as it landed in a tree but it did not say long but went to feed in the orchard, which I could not quite see from where I was.  A little later we moved to the orchard area and managed views of the bird as it fed on the ground, but it was only partly visible from where I was. A little later we moved to a better viewpoint for the orchard, waited there an hour or so but the bird did not appear.  Then we got word that the bird had been found in bushes on the edge of a field near the village, so we relocated there.

About two hundred birders were present and everyone focused on the bird as it sat in the bush for about ten minutes.  Then the bird took off and flew fairly high across the village.

We had seen the bird really well, albeit somewhat further away than at the orchard,so we decided to head home.

The species breeds in open woodland and forests in central and eastern Siberia.  So rather rare in the UK !

Dusky Thrush 

Birders dispersing after the Thrush flew off.

Brent Goose at LMGP

I had already seen the Brent Goose a couple of times during it's six day stay (so far). However the views were distant and the photos very poor.  After seeing that the bird was again frequenting the arable field just to the north of the lake, I thought it worth a go at getting a better view.  When I arrived I could not see the Goose with the naked eye and even with binoculars is was not that easy to see as it was right down the far (NE) end of the field.  Walking along the footpath I reduced the distance considerably and manged the photos below.

Brent Goose

Continuing on I walked down the E side of the lake checking on the wildfowl but not finding anything out of the ordinary.  Then as I walked under the "Sisken trees" (none present) I heard the distinctive call of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!  With very few records in recent years at this site I was certainly surprised.  It called again a minute or two later but I could not really pinpoint were it was. I walked into the field to the east of the lake and scanned the trees along the lake and in the car park in Coldmoorholm Lane.  Unfortunately there was no sign and as the light was fading I had to move on.

Fox - Looking for a meal on the back of the sand spit. 

Jackdaws - A small portion of the Jackdaws gathering before going to roost. 

Fieldfare - One of about 50 seen around the Brent Goose field.

The Gull roost turned up a 1st winter Caspian Gull again, plus a Great Black-backed Gull, plus the usual species.  Three colour rings birds were seen  Black-headed Gulls "White AJ66" and "White 507",plus Common Gull "Red AW22".
29 Snipe were feeding on the sand spit which is the most I have seen for a long time.

Kingfisher Again

The same Kingfisher in the same place as two days ago, again at very close range!  Light very poor.

One of four colour ringed birds seen today.  This Common Gull (Red AW22) was probably ringed in Germany.  Details awaited.

Little Marlow - Kingfisher at Close Quarters

I decided to visit to Little Marlow GP mid afternoon to check out the wildfowl and gulls.  As I drove down the concrete road a mass of birds were milling over the lake.  I later found out from Jackie Newcombe that I had just missed a Peregrine!  Unfortunately it was not to reappear but it did spook the birds for the rest of the afternoon.

Numbers of ducks and gulls have recently increased as the weather gets colder.  In particular Common Gull numbers now increasing significantly.  The four regular gull species were present in numbers, plus five Greater Black-backed Gulls and one Caspian Gull (I think!  See below).

I saw one colour ringed adult Black-headed Gull  "Green JY60".  This individual was ringed in Oslo, Norway on 10th April 2015 and is the first sighting away from Oslo.  A distance of 1172 Km!

I was stood with Kevin Holt on the end of the point on the west side when a Kingfisher landed in the bushes overhanging the water just 20 feet away!  It stayed there for perhaps five minutes or so.  We stood as still as possible while getting cameras ready.  Probably the closest I have ever been to a Kingfisher while it was fishing!  Incredible.

As I left large numbers of Jackdaws were arriving to roost, probably well over 1000 and two Snipe were still trying to hide along the edge of the sand spit.

Kingfisher - This digiscoped image filled the camera frame.

Caspian Gull (Hopefully!)- Possibly the same bird seen by Paul Watts yesterday.  Rather distant and in  fading light.

Dorney Lake

Another visit to try and see the long staying Velvet Scoter and hopefully to see the recently found Jack Snipe.  I arrived in bright sunlight which made viewing the return lake a little difficult.  An initial scan from the start end failed to find the target bird so I walked along the causeway.  There were a few workmen in a boat at the start of the return lake, so a search for the Jack Snipe seen yesterday by Adam Basset was fruitless.  A probable Stonechat at the start end was elusive but I did come across another two along the edge of the return lake.  Then a duck in flight, flashing white in the wings caught my eye and sure enough, it was the Velvet Scoter.  It landed and remained around the 250 metres mark on the return lake for a time before flying virtually the whole length of the 2km lake!  I came across it again at the 1250 metre mark while checking out the Wigeon and Teal and managed a few photos.  It was almost constantly on the move which made digiscoping difficult.  On walking back past the start of the return lake, I scanned for the Jack Snipe, not holding out a lot of hope, as it could have been anywhere along the 8km of vegetation covered lake edges!  However, there it was between the two groups of orange buoys where Adam had described.  No other birds of note but very happy with the two main target birds.

Velvet Scoter showing a foot which is not obviously webbed..

Jack Snipe Seen near the start end of the return lake.

Bucks MEGA - Velvet Scoters

A message about 10:20 that two Velvet Scoters were present on Willen Lake, Milton Keynes was certainly of interest!  There have only been four prior records in the county (plus one at Old Slade NR which is now part of Berks).  The last one was in 2006 which did not stay very long and I did not see it.  So I teamed up with Mike and Rose Collard for the one hour drive to the lake.
We arrived about 13:45 and soon found the Scoters feeding about 100 metres away.  For the first 30 minutes or so they were both actively diving but then this stopped and one went to sleep.
Thanks to Paul Moon for finding the birds and to Sion Nichols for getting the news out.

Immature male Velvet Scoters

Hesketh Out Marsh and Marshside RSPB Reserves

A few hours birding with my daughter Katherine.  First of all we headed to Hesketh Out Marsh which is a relatively new RSPB reserve.  Situated where the river Ribble joins the sea, just to the north of Southport. it is a large area of saltmarsh.  Access is to the sea wall where a hide provides very little shelter from the elements!

Apart the Wigeon and Whooper Swans pictured below the birds seen included Pink-footed Geese, Teal, Shelduck, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Little Egret, Curlew, Redshank, Snipe and a group of Tree Sparrows.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB Reserve

Hesketh Out Marsh - A small part of the thousands of Wigeon present.

Whooper Swans - These six flew in while we were there.

We left Hesketh Out Marsh and made the short journey to Marshside RSPB reserve.  Marshside is situated just to the north of Southport and is freshwater marsh next to salt water marsh.  One or two hides are available, The Sandgrounder hide is comfortable with good views across the marsh.

A Cattle Egret turned up at Marshside in July and up to five have been seen.  Three were present while we were on site, albeit rather distant.  We were fortunate to see a Peregrine fly across the reserve, flushing thousands of birds.  Later a Sparrowhawk also caused some disturbance, as did a Buzzard and a Kestrel.  Also present were Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Redshank, Snipe, Ruff, Snipe, Grey Plover, Pink-footed Geese, Teal and lots of Wigeon.

Marshside RSPB - View from the hide.

Not a great photo but one of the rarest bird present!  A Cattle Egret doing what it does best!

Tree Sparrows

While Tree Sparrows are all but extinct in Buckinghamshire, they are apparently not so scarce in Lancashire.  Today we walked with the grandchildren along a track close to their home.  The track runs across farmland between Leyland and Bretherton.  I found Tree Sparrows here last year and was pleased to find a flock of about 20 in the same area, feeding on the track and in a hedgerow.

Tree Sparrows

Also seen were Yellowhammers, Bullfinches, Redwing and a single Fieldfare.

A Three Egret Day!

We happened to be passing Marshfield RSPB reserve near Southport, Lancashire during the late afternoon and we stopped off for 20 minutes just before dark.  The hide was just closing but I could still see seven Little Egrets fly off from one of the meres, to go to roost.  Scanning to where there were a few cows, there were three Cattle Egrets busily feeding.  I thought that was the end of the Egret watching, but as I got back to the car a large white bird flew over.  A Great White Egret flying to roost!  One had been seen on the marshes along the banks of the River Ribble, so not too surprising.  But who would have predicted seeing three Egret species in a day in the UK, twenty years ago!

Sorry no photos.  Too dark.

A few (Thousand) Pink-feet

A visit to my daughters in Lancashire allowed me to visit Martin Mere WWT reserve.  It happened to be late evening opening so that the Pink-footed Geese could be seen flying in to roost.  I arrived about 16:30 on a dull afternoon and had a quick look from the hides near the entrance so see what was around.  The answer was hundreds of wildfowl including Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Shelduck and several hundred Whooper Swans recently arrived from Iceland.
The light was very poor so the quality of the photos was affected,

Whooper Swans - Presumably a family party.

Then onto the "United Dairies" hide which offers a good view of the meadows were a large number of Pink-feet were already present, with some also on the main lake.

Pink-footed Geese - Just a small part of the flock present.  What I did not know that lots more were about to arrive!

As I was scanning the Pink-feet I heard a huge flock flying in and past the hide I was in.  I managed to video the geese on the ground and those coming in.  The numbers involved were anybodies guess but the Wildfowl and Wetlands numbers suggest that over 30,000 are currently using the reserve.  I can well believe it!  They streamed past me, past the birds on the ground, did a U-turn and came into land, joining those already on the ground, or on the lake.  An amazing spectacle.

These birds winter here after breeding in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland.

The video above is not the best quality I have to admit.  It does go out of focus a few times but I could not change the settings while the action was going on and I only had one shot at it.  The other large flock that came in were much larger and in semi-darkness.  I feel it gives an impression of the overall spectacle.

Grey Heron - Watching the geese arrive.

Apart from the geese I did see a single Barn Owl, a Marsh Harrier and two Hares.  Well worth the visit.

Surprise Scaup

I was out shopping when Dave Cleal called to say that he had found a juvenile male Scaup at Little Marlow GP, my local patch.  I had not seen a Scaup on the lake for quite a long time, so I was reasonably keen to see this bird. I could not get down there until about 16:45 and the bird was still in the same area, not far from the cottages, regularly diving for food and preening.

While the bird was preening it raised it's legs out of the water and I noticed that the bird was un-ringed, which is encouraging as it suggests the bird is not an escape from captivity. The bird was in a transitional plumage with areas of the barred back showing through what was a juvenile plumage.  The head was very rounded with no sign whatever of a tuft.  The bill was fairly large, greyish with a black nail and no sign of any white behind the nail.

Greater Scaup (click on photos to enlarge)

Jackdaws - The roost has increased over recent weeks to about a 1000 birds.  Just a small part shown here.
Photographed about 17:45 with birds still arriving.