Thailand Trip Blog

It took a long time to produce but I eventually got around to finishing (well almost finishing) the blog about the birding trip to Thailand that Dave Parmenter, Jackie Newcombe and myself undertook in March.  There are a great many photos of birds, mammals and some of the surroundings.

The blog is at https://hawfinches-thailand.blogspot.co.uk/ 

It was a fantastic trip and I hope you enjoy the blog.

One of the star birds is shown below.  No prizes for guessing ID!

Yellow-browed Warbler at Little Marlow GP

On 27th September Adam Bassett found the 6th |Yellow-browed Warbler for Buckinghamshire, which was also the first record for Little Marlow.  He found the bird part of the way along the east bank in thick vegetation.  Adam soon put the news out and local birders were on site within a short time.  However the bird bird was very elusive and was constantly moving around and only calling very infrequently, so the bird went missing for long periods.

I was fortunate in that when I arrived the bird was in view but very high in a tall Willow and the views were very poor.  However about an hour later the bird did show itself quite well and I managed some decent views, along with several other birders.  Photography was all but impossible and I had to leave a short time later.

On the 28th September news came through very early, via Simon Ramm, that the bird was still in roughly the same area.  Several other birders also saw the bird and although still difficult to locate, it did show better that the previous day.  I could not get there until the afternoon.  When I arrived Dave Parmenter, Kevin Holt and Mike Mayall were watching the bird but it proved extremely difficult to photograph.

After an hour or two of following the bird around, hearing and occasional call, I did mange a few record photos before giving up!

It was hard to get a clear view of the bird!

It was acrobatic at times.

Many of the views were from beneath the bird.

I eventually managed to get a very that at least showed parts of the ID features.

This is the sixth record of this species in the county and my second.  A great find by Adam Bassett.

Two Large Gulls

A late evening visit to Little Marlow GP to if any migrants had dropped in was a bit of a failure.I was also hoping to see just how the Gulls numbers were building up prior to roosting and there were probably 1500-2000 present as the light faded.  Mostly Black-headed Gulls but also small numbers of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. There were no Common Gulls that I could see.  The only scarcer species was a adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull - A different bird to that seen in July, with shading around the face..

Lesser Black-backed Gull - "White WO" again present.
It was ringed as a 4cy+ male at Maasvlakte (Yangtzehaven), Zuid-Hollad, NL on 12/05/2012 and has been seen at Little Marow many times, usually between July and October.  

Otmoor Birding

By way of a change I decide to visit Otmoor this morning.  45 mins after leaving home I was there.  I arrived to find a few cars in the car park.

There were plenty of Swallows and Willow-Chiffs around but not much in the way as passage migrants.  Three Hobbys hunting over a large rough field in front of the large hide was the most rewarding sight.  Other raptors seen were two Marsh Harriers, two Buzzards, several Kestrels and the expected Red Kites.  A few dabbling ducks had arrived (or perhaps over summered) in the form of a Wigeon, c10 Teal and a Shoveler.  Six Snipe and a White Wagtail were the best birds on view from the first screen.  Also seen were Linnet, Bullfinch, Meadow Pipit, etc.  Unfortunately I had already missed the best two birds of the day, a Hen Harrier and a fly over Grey Plover.
Click on the photos to see full size.

Snipe in front of the first hide.  They were drumming here in the Spring, so possibly locally bred?

A lone White Wagtail was obviously on passage.

Nice to see two Brown Hares feeding in one of the large cultivated field.

On leaving the site I headed towards Forest Hill and soon came across a lot of blue flashing lights and several policemen, one of which waved me to the side of the road.  Then I saw perhaps 50 people stood on the grass verges.  I wondered just what was going on and soon found out the the Tour of Britain was about to pass through.  I like to watch cycling and had been watching "La Veulta" (Tour of Spain) the previous evening on TV!

So I waited at the side of the road with the other spectators and after about  15 minutes and perhaps 30 police motorcycles had passed by, the lead riders appeared.  The main group followed four minutes later to be followed by hordes of support cars all with spare cycles on top.  Impressive indeed!

The race leaders.

Four minutes later the main group passed by

Roe Deer at LMGP

The birding had not turned up anything special so when three Roe Deer appeared on the sand spit it was a good opportunity for a few photos.  It appeared to be a female with two well grown young.

Little Marlow Early Sept.

A few birds passing through and a few species more associated here as winter visitors were around.  A few Teal and Shoveler were present while a Snipe had only been present a few days.  In the meadows about ten Yellow Wagtails were feeding in among the cattle.  Still a Common Sandpiper on the sand spit but sadly nothing scarcer in wader form.

A pleasant evening at the lake.

Two young Great Crested Grebes on the back of Mum (probbaly).

Dad bringing in a small fish.

Eagerly accepted.

Yellow Wagtails - Two of about ten in the riverside meadow.
Very difficult to count let alone photograph!

Whooper Swan - First seen on 25th June and present most days since.
Origins unknown.

Snipe - Only just arrived.