What is pretty much an annual event for me is a trip to Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire for a weekends birding with members of the Bucks Bird Club and also with my daughter Katherine. So thirteen of us attended this year, staying in the Crown Hotel, which is a short drive from the reserve.
Some of the group met at Frampton Marsh on route to Gibraltar Point and enjoyed a mornings birding. Highlights were Little Stint (c8), Curlew Sandpiper (c6), Ruff, Spotted Redshank (1), Dunlin, Avocet, Scaup (1), Wigeon (1000s!), Whooper Swan (2), Marsh harrier and good views of Brent Geese. By mid-afternoon Dave Ferguson, Katherine and myself decided to move on to Gibraltar Point NNR.
We arrived late afternoon and wandered up to the Wash Viewpoint. Nothing of note to see until a Marsh Harrier flew overhead. It was getting dark and a short while later Katherine spotted a Barn Owl on it's way to hunt. It was soon joined by another and we watched them until it was almost dark. A great start to the weekend.
Early Saturday morning five of us (Dave Ferguson, Andrew Noel, Hester Plumridge, Katherine and myself) decided to go out before breakfast and visit Mill Hill to see what birds were moving and to see the high tide wader roost. It did not disappoint! However the sea watch was disappointing.
Knot at Sunrise
Clouds of Knot and other waders making their way to the high tide roost.
Knot performing over the high tide roost
A short video of Knot on the beach and also in flight.
After breakfast we explored the rest of the reserve, taking in the freshwater marshes and the "Plantation". High winds made birding on the beach/dunes a bit of a challenge!
A Curlew attempting to eat a Crab! Unusual diet item?
Success after several attempts.
A brief video of the Curlew
Snipe - Seen from the hide at Tennyson Sands
Avocet - Seen from the hide at Tennyson Sands
Kestrel - A very tame bird seen apparently looking for worms on the ground
Spotted Redshanks - Very busy feeding on the freshwater marshes.
Whooper Swans - About 20 birds flew low over the hide at Jackson Marsh on the Sunday morning.
We got lunch in the cafe on the reserve. A great asset to the reserve and very popular.
Lunchtime - Jim, Katherine, Dave and Andrew
Sunday was a similar routine, although we did get closer to the wader roost which was amazing! Birding was difficult in fairly strong winds but we were alerted of the presence of three Ring Ouzels by Chris Young and we made our way to where they had been seen. Katherine was on her own when she found a female which eluded the rest of us. However Hester and myself had the briefest of views of a male as it flew across the pool near the Pines car park.
All in all an enjoyable weekend with some good birds seen, even though there were no real rarities around (that we could find!).
It has been a while since I twitched a rare bird, so when a Rock Thrush turned up in South Wales, I teamed up with Dave Parmenter and Dave Cleal to see it. The bird was in it's fifth day since being discovered by an 80+ year old birder high in the mountains at Pwll-Du. It was a pleasant walk with great views across the valleys. The weather was a bit breezy but with some pleasant sunshine.
It was a straightforwards journey and we arrived on site about 11:00am. We walked about a mile along a mountain top track, passing a steady stream of birders leaving the site, all looking happy having seen the bird. Once we arrived we soon saw the bird perched higher up on the rocks and managed a few photos. Over the next hour of so the bird moved around a fair bit, dropping down to the level we were on. Never really close but good enough to get reasonable photos.
There are 36 prior records of this species in the UK.
The bird was initially found and photographed by photographer Adrian Roche on Friday 6th but news did not break until that evening after Adrian contacted Mike Wallen. The bird could not be found on Saturday 7th in poor weather conditions. Then early on the morning of 8th, Dave Bilcock relocated the bird, put the news out and this allowed a good number of birders to see the bird throughout the day.
I was busy Sunday morning so could not get over to Pitstone Hill until after 4pm. Several birders were on site, including Mike and Rose Collard, Dave Parmenter, Robert Norris and Paul Moon. The bird did not show for about an hour but eventually flew to some nearby stems and eventually it moved along the line of bushes along the fence. I managed a few photos before deciding to leave it in peace and go home to watch the second half of the England match (That was not a great idea!). This was the fifth Wryneck I have been fortunate enough to see in the county.
The first photo I took was not that sharp (rather rushing to get a shot!) but it at least shows the dark plumage down the centre of it's back.
The only half decent photos I managed to get was when it perched on this post for a a minute or so.
