Birds of 2018 – tonydavisonphotography.com

A Swallow Lost Its Way

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Dec 102018

A first winter Red-rumped Swallow was found hawking over the East Bank at Cley Marshes in Norfolk, on 6th December. An extremely late date for this species, but occasionally young birds do make late appearances.

We watched the bird from around 08:50 till around 09:15 when a clear and sunny weather front moved in and soon after the bird disappeared. What was presumably the same bird, was later seen at Gorleston-on-Sea, near Lowestoft early afternoon.

A walk along the East Bank produced Marsh Harrier and lots of Wigeon, but little else. We finished the day off at Titchwell, with lots of Brent Geese and Teal putting on a great show. A few Avocets and the usual ducks and waders.

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW – Walsey Hills, Cley, Norfolk – photo by Tony Davison©

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW – Walsey Hills, Cley, Norfolk – photo by Tony Davison©

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW – Walsey Hills, Cley, Norfolk – photo by Tony Davison©

BRENT GOOSE – dark bellied form – photo by Tony Davison©

BRENT GOOSE – dark bellied form – photo by Tony Davison©

TEAL – drake – photo by Tony Davison©

TEAL – drake – photo by Tony Davison©

GREY PLOVER – winter plumage – photo by Tony Davison©

GREY PLOVER – winter plumage – photo by Tony Davison©

GREY PLOVER – winter plumage – photo by Tony Davison©

GREY SEAL – Cley, Norfolk – photo by Tony Davison©

Local Photo Session

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Dec 032018

I’ve recently spent a few mornings with the cameras at one of my local patches. You don’t always have to travel vast distances to take your photographs. When wildlife is on your doorstep, take advantage of it. Light plays a major part at this particular site and one needs to get in the right position to take advantage of it.

Black-headed Gull– adults in winter plumage – Tony Davison©

Coot – Above 3 images – Tony Davison©

Shoveler – female – Tony Davison©

Great Crested Grebe – adult in winter plumage – Tony Davison©

Mallard – above 3 images – Tony Davison©

Mute Swan – adult – Looking after 6 juveniles from the recent breeding season – Tony Davison©

Mute Swan – above 2 images – 2 of the 5 juveniles – Tony Davison©

Tufted Duck – above 7 images – This inquisitive and very obliging drake kept checking me out and allowed for some close up pictures – Tony Davison©

Pied Wheatear Portfolio

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Nov 102018

A 1st winter male Pied Wheatear was found along the sea wall at Meols, on the Wirral on 4th November but news didn’t get out until 6th. The bird was very obliging giving stunning views and seemingly oblivious to close human presence. I managed to get to see the bird on the 9th November, which turned out to be a good move, as the bird was not seen on the 10th.

Pied Wheatear is a rare vagrant visitor to the British Isles from Far Eastern Europe and beyond. It can be tricky to identify as Black-eared Wheatear, especially the eastern race, can be a confusion species. The tail pattern is the clincher, along with the more scaly patterning on the back and crown and the greyer and colder colouration. Pied Wheatear also have a small head in comparison to the overall structure of the bird and a very “Pot-Belly” appearance, giving it a distinctive “Jizz”.

A superb little bird performing exceptionally well and wasn’t at all bothered by our presence or by local people passing by.

In duller light the colours became much colder and greyer. In brighter light the orange-buff tones became more prominent. – Tony Davison©

The above 3 images show the distinctive tail pattern of Pied Wheatear.

Pied Wheatear – 1st winter male – above 25 images – Tony Davison©

Pink Punks arrive

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Nov 052018

Sunday 4th November and another day spent in North Norfolk. A second winter drake King Eider, although showing distantly, was favouring the sea off the lifeboat station at Sheringham and the probable Stejneger’s Stonechat was still being faithful to it’s favoured field at Salthouse. Both birds giving good scope views, but not so good for the camera.

So an opportunity to see a King Eider, a rare species this far south of the Arctic Zone and Richard was able to see the Stejneger’s Stonechat. With a small flock of Waxwings, showing off their “Pink Punk” hair-does in Kelling, it was a very successful day.

Waxwing – first winter birds – Above 4 images – Tony Davison© – always good to see the first arrivals, it maybe a good winter for this species.

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – This first winter male, discovered on the 19th October, was still at Salthouse, Norfolk now in it’s third week. A few more of the subtle ID features can be seen here. The all black tail, except for the creamy edges to the side and fringes and the black underwing, which helps to exclude any European “morph” of Stonechat.

Robin – This young bird showed off quite well whilst watching the more distant rarity at Salthouse. Pity the Stejneger’s Stonechat wasn’t so obliging.. Tony Davison©

An Identification Challenge – Stejneger’s Stonechat

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Oct 272018

An “Eastern” Stonechat was discovered, a week or so ago, in fields at Salthouse in Norfolk. I decided to go and see this bird and managed to do that on Friday 26th October 2018.

The identification challenge – is it a Stejneger’s Stonechat (a potential third record for Britain) or the more regular and less rare, Siberian Stonechat? The complexities on the identification of “Eastern Stonechats” are well known, but not so well documented, as Stejneger’s Stonechat has only recently been split to a separate species. Since, there have been a number of papers published and an excellent account can be found in “Birding Frontiers Challenge Series” – Autumn, by the late Martin Garner. A pioneering article on the subject of identifying “Eastern” Stonechats.

Stejneger’s Stonechat breeds in north-east Asia and now seems to have an established pattern of vagrancy into Western Europe, with birds turning up from early October, peaking in late October, early November.

Currently it seems that confirmation to species can only be validated 100% by DNA analysis, but as more birds are discovered, surely there will be a reliable method of field identification criteria established?

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Note the small orange-chestnut rump patch – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Note the darker markings on upper parts – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Note the prominent isolated white throat – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – As with both “Eastern” Stonechat species, note the “Whinchat like” appearance – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Note the fresh plain flanks

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Plumage tones changed in varying degrees of light – Tony Davison©

Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat – Salthouse, Norfolk – Tony Davison©

A “Twitch” to Cornwall

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Oct 212018

My first BIG twitch of the year took place on Saturday 20th October, the target, a Grey Catbird, all the way from the US of A. This was the second record for Britain of this species, so a real MEGA and had been performing in small scrubby fields at Lands End for the past five days. I’d never seen Grey Catbird before, so a new bird for me, as well as being my 511th bird for Britain. Was it worth the effort, it sure was. A superb bird that was enjoyed by many birders from all over the country, in warm Cornish sunshine and in a stunning location. In my view you can’t beat seeing a North American bird in Britain, the ultimate rare.

Grey Catbird – 1st winter, Treeve Moor, Land’s End, Cornwall. This was my very first view of this bird as it skulked around in a small sallow – Tony Davison©

Grey Catbird – Renowned to be skulking in their habits and located by their “Mewing Call’ reminiscent of a cat, which is where they get their name. This was the view I expected – Tony Davison©

Grey Catbird – Above 2 – But with patience I had some extremely rewarding views, as the bird was hunting for food along the hedgerow – Tony Davison©

Shetland 2018

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Oct 152018

My trip to Shetland this year (2018) took place on 21st September 2018 till 29th September 2018. It turned out to be one, if not the, worst week we have had in the last 10 years of visiting Unst. The weather conditions were very grim, with a continuous strong wind blowing from the west or north west, with heavy rain on most days. There was simply very few migrant birds about and the conditions were very difficult for migrant birding. The conditions were the same across Shetland during our stay. The weather improved from the 1st October and several good birds were discovered, but alas too late for us.

We did manage to get over to Walsay Island on the 23rd September, to see a first winter Yellow-breasted Bunting, discovered the previous day, which these days is a mega rare bird. This was definitely the bird of the trip.

Other highlights were – 2 Common Rosefinch on 22nd Sept; Common Whitethroat on 22nd and 28th; Spotted Redshank on Walsay on 23rd Sept and 3 Arctic Tern; Wood Warbler on 25th Sept; Common Rosefinch on 26th Sept; Barred Warbler on 27th Sept and 28th Sept and White-winged Scoter at Musselburgh on 30th Sept.

1st winter male Yellow-breasted Bunting – Above 3 images – Walsay Island, Shetland – 23rd September 2018 – Tony Davison©

Ringed Plover – above 2 images – Norwick, Unst – Lying amongst the smelly, wet seaweed for several hours paid off with some good interaction with common waders – Tony Davison©

Storm action at Skaw, Unst – Skaw beach is one of the most dangerous beaches I’ve ever been on during a gale. It is easy to get caught out by the waves – Tony Davison©

A Lunchtime Arctic Wader

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Sep 102018

A juvenile Red-necked Phalarope was discovered at nearby Attenborough Nature Reserve this lunchtime, so a trip to see it was worthwhile. Red-necked Phalaropes are now on the move, migrating from their arctic breeding grounds, to winter in the Pacific Ocean, (see below) a truly remarkable journey. The bird was only at the Attenborough reserve for a few hours before flying off and lost to view.

I’ve been reliably informed that the majority of Red-necked Phalarope winter in the Arabian Gulf. However, I read an article about a Red-necked Phalarope, from the Scottish population, that was fitted with a Geo Location Tracker, that weighs less than a paperclip, helped scientists track this particular bird to the Pacific Ocean. This migration pathway had never been recorded before from a European breeding Red-necked Phalarope.

The bird was successfully recaptured when it returned to its Scottish breeding grounds the following spring. By reading the data from the Tracker, scientists discovered that the bird had made an incredible journey of some 16,000 mile round trip during its annual migration. It had flown from Shetland across the Atlantic via Iceland and Greenland, south down the eastern seaboard of the US, across the Caribbean and Mexico, ending up off the coast of Ecuador and Peru. This ties in nicely with the population of Red-necked Phalarope from Northern Canada and Alaska, which migrate south to the Humboldt Current off Peru and Ecuador. It may well be that the Western Palearctic population winters in the Arabian Gulf. Very little appears to be known about the migratory or wintering biology of this species. No doubt scientists will discover more facts over the forth coming years of research.

Local Birding

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Sep 092018

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Willington is getting to become a favoured place to see a Great White Egret. Another of these graceful birds arrived a few days ago and so I decide to take a look at it this morning. Although distant, it was showing well feeding out on one of the lagoons, before taking flight and disappearing into a reed bed.

Also present and of note were a Black-tailed Godwit, a Ruff, 2 Green Sandpiper and still a few Sand Martin and Swallow about.

Special Birds arrive at Willington GP, Derbyshire

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Sep 022018

A couple of special Derbyshire birds turned- up at the local reserve at Willington Gravel Pits this morning. A Spotted Redshank and a couple of Black Terns were discovered early morning. With a couple of Green Sandpiper, several Dunlin, a Kingfisher and plenty of Migrant Hawker dragonflies on the wing, it was a great place to be in my local area.

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