The last two days at my local patch, Staunton Harold Reservoir, have produced a few good birds. Monday 21st October I had 3 Whooper Swans fly over the reservoir heading SW and then 30 minutes or so later a Red Kite flew over the dam wall. Then today, 22nd October, I found a pair of Brambling near the Yacht club. So 3 patch year ticks.
Then I get a phone call to say 3 Bearded Tits at Willington GP, so I made my way there but after nearly 3 hours searching, nothing more came of them. There was a female Brambling and a Willow Tit coming to the busy feeders, so it wasn’t a wasted journey.
Brambling – female – Willington GP – 22/10/19Willow Tit – Willington GP – 22/10/19Great Spotted Woodpecker – male – Willington GP – 22/10/19 Goldfinch – Willington GP – 22/10/19Reed Bunting – male – Willington GP – 22/10/19Reed Bunting – male – 22/10/19
The Long-billed Dowitcher returned to Willington Gravel Pits on the morning of Saturday 19th October. So I decided to have another attempt at photographing it. This time it seemed settled as it was roosting on a tiny island just from the main hide. It showed for a good 45 minutes before a Sparrowhawk flew through and flushed it and the accompanying Lapwings.
It flew off towards High Bridge Gravel Pits, where it was re-located briefly in the afternoon.
In the following 2 photographs you can clearly see the plain grey centred tertials which help to identify it from the rarer Short-billed Dowitcher.
The last thing I expected to see this morning was a first record for Derbyshire in the form of a 1st winter Long-billed Dowitcher. Found by Steve Porter first thing this morning, it disappeared for nearly 2 hours, before returning to Willington GP around 10:30am.
I managed a rush from work arriving on site around 11:15 and got to see the bird just before it flew out again around 11:25am. I managed a record shot, just as the wind blew the reeds apart once or twice. It flew off with Lapwings and 2 Ruff heading NE.
Long-billed Dowitcher – Willington GP – 18.10.2019 – 11:20amLong-billed Dowitcher – Willington GP – 18.10.19 – 11:20am
A North American Common Nighthawk was discovered by local anglers hunting along the River Maine at Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in late September, rumour has it.
It didn’t take long before birders had been to check it out and sure enough, it was a superb adult male Common Nighthawk. It was then discovered roosting on a log of a fallen tree in a nearby horse field, giving amazing views of a very difficult bird to view in the British Isles.
As the bird was remaining very site faithfull and obviously settled, I made the journey across to Northern Ireland, my very first visit, on Sunday (13th October) on the early morning Stena Line Ferry from Cairnryan, Stranraer. It is only a two hour crossing and a half hour drive to the site from Belfast harbour. So by 9;15 am we were watching this amazing bird, giving crippling views as it roosted on its favoured log.
The only issue we had was from the small group of over friendly horses that kept coming up to us and almost demanding attention. They would then make their way over to the fallen tree, eventually flushing off the Nighthawk that would then make a stunning fly pass, before entering another favoured roosting spot in a nearby tree. It would then spend the rest of the day in the tree until dark, before putting on its aerial display along the river.
A superb twitch, organised by Rob and accompanied by Mike & Chris. A great but tiring day out, well worth the effort.
During the 21st – 28th September 2019 I made my annual birding trip north to the Shetland Isles, staying on the remote island of Unst. Our party of three had a reasonable week searching for migrants and hoping for the odd rarity to turn up.
We managed to see a total of 86 species on Unst which included highlights of 13 Barnacle Geese; 6 Whooper Swan; 1 Grey Plover; 1 American GoldenPlover; 1 2ndw Iceland Gull; 1 Short-toed Lark; 9 Yellow-browed Warbler; 1 Blyth’s Reed Warbler; 6 Siberian Lesser Whitethroat; 2 Red-breasted Flycatcher; 7 Lapland Bunting; 2 Snow Bunting; 1 Little Bunting.
We found a Rush Veneer (a migrant moth from southern Europe) at Skaw and had several Red Admiral butterflies were on the wing.
On our way back to the ferry terminal at Lerwick on 28th September, we stopped off at Levenwick on mainland to see an Isabelline Shrike which looked good for the sub-species Turkestan Shrike, showing all the features that are described in numerous publications, including Birding Frontiers – Challenge Series – Autumn and The Helm Guide to Bird Identification.
Currently this bird has been muted to be a Daurian Shrike based on a few features shown in photographs. The two species can be notoriously difficult to identify as there seems to be lots of overlaps in their identification features. If I had to stick my neck out, I would go for Turkestan Shrike as it shows far more features than Daurian, according to what I have read so far.
It will be interesting to see what happens with this bird when submitted to the British Birds Rarities Committee.
As I left Lerwick on the ferry in the early evening of 28th I managed to see a small pod of 4 Orca, my first British Orca and a most fitting and exciting way to end the trip.
Eastern Black-eared and Pied Wheatear identification is notoriously difficult, even more so when a female type arrives in early September. About the right time for Black-eared Wheatear but a little out of season for Pied. The majority of Pied Wheatears seem to be found in late autumn (Oct-Nov).
A female, reported as an Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, was discovered at Fluke Hall, near Pilling in Lancashire on 1st September. It was favouring the sea defence boulders along side a public footpath and showing well.
As there have been fewer records accepted of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, this female bird was rather special and would undoubtedly attract a lot of attention and an ID challenge.
It didn’t take long before the rumours of it being a Pied Wheatear crept out onto the networks and grapevines. The bird showed grey plumage tones and pale fringes to the mantle feathers, features supposedly unique to Pied Wheatear. However it did show a solid black loral line from the eye to the bill and also a slight hint of dark ear coverts, both features of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.
I went to see the wheatear on the 8th September and managed to take some decent images of the bird. By this time the bird was continually being reported on networks and social media as a female Eastern Black-eared or Pied Wheatear. There was a great deal of doubt and even some of the birds poo had been collected and sent away for DNA analysisI showed my images to several experienced European birders who commented on the fact that the plumage colour and the obvious pale fringes on the mantle were all good features of Pied Wheatear, however the length of the primaries appeared short and they should be longer in Pied.
The bird also shows an obvious pale throat, plain grey nape and very buff/orange colouration to the underparts, especially the breast. Along with darker brownish/orange at the edges near the wings. All these features are typical of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and either very rare or even stated as “never” for Pied.
Then on the 11th September, some photos were posted onto the various social medias and birding networks and a sharp eyed individual noticed one or two of the mantle feathers showed white spotting and feather shaft streaking as the bird was preening. Not noticeable in the field. This is apparently a conclusive ID feature of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.
So there it is, an amazing ID process and a thorough learning curve. It does make me wonder though how on earth this bird would have been identified without modern day DSLR cameras and other high-tech imaging equipment. The modern day bird identification processes have certainly moved on. The following are a selection of images I took of this delightful bird.
An unprecedented event took place in Cornwall during the past week. A Brown Booby was discovered, a new bird to Britain, and spent several days in the Carbis Bay, St.Ives area. It proved elusive and was difficult to connect with. It wasn’t seen on Friday 30th August and so was presumed to have gone by the majority of the birding fraternity.
That all changed on Saturday 31st August, when it was relocated in the picturesque St.Ives Harbour area and to a select few, it pitched up on rocks in full view, allowing for some stunning photographs to be taken.
I decided I would go on Sunday 1st September and was fortunate enough to be offered a lift. We arrived at Gwithian Towans near the Hayle, which is opposite St.Ives and offers wide ranging views of the huge bay, in the early hours of Sunday morning and by dawn, along with 250 other birders, we spent the morning searching the bay for the bird with no luck. It had been seen the previous afternoon, flying past Pendeen Watch, and so was presumed to have departed. I arrived back home on Sunday late afternoon some what disappointed.
Then Monday 2nd September a different bird was discovered in Kynance Cove on the Lizard, Cornwall. In the first instance it was presumed to be the St.Ives bird but photographs proved otherwise. This bird was a first summer and in wing moult. The bird roosted and so gave an opportunity for another twitch and we departed 10pm on Monday evening arriving at Kynance at 0400hrs Tuesday morning. After a few hours wait, the Brown Booby appeared and began flying around the bay and settling on one of the huge rocks offshore, much to the delight of the assembled 300 or so birders. Phew, what a relief and a stressful few days, travelling some 1300 miles in total. Well worth it though.
The following images are not the best and not what I was hoping for, but are a memory of a fantastic bird to see in Britain.
Kynance Cove, the Lizard. Early dawn 3rd September 2019
The little pyramidal rock on the extreme left side was the Brown Booby’s favourite roosting cliff.
Brown Booby – 1st summer – on the cliff – taken with my mobile phone
Brown Booby – 1st summerBrown Booby – 1st summerBrown Booby – 1st summer – Kynance Cove, The Lizard, CornwallBrown Booby – 1st Summer – Kynance Cove, The Lizard, CornwallKynance Cover, The Lizard, Cornwall – taken around 10am
We spent a few days away on the Island of Mull from 17th to 22nd August. The weather was a mixed bag of rain, wind and some sunshine. Fortunately the weather didn’t disrupt our trip to Iona and the boat trip for White-tailed Eagle that I had pre-booked before we left. This was the highlight of our trip without doubt, so a big thank you to Martin Kievers of Mull Charters.
Half a dozen Golden Eagle, several Otter, small numbers of Common Seal, a single Manx Shearwater, Black Guillemot and 7 White-tailed Eagle were the main highlights. The heavy rain certainly hampered our search for the islands wildlife.
Here are a few photos of our memorable trip to Mull.
Tobermory – Our apartment was located in the bright red house
Old boats at Salen Bay, Salen
Old boats at Salen Bay, Salen
The beautiful island of Iona
Iona
A view from Iona looking back to Mull
The Red Boat, Iona
The Post Office, Iona
Ben More from Ulva Ferry
Golden Eagle – one of 6 individuals we saw during our trip
Golden Rod – Tobermory
Eorsa, Loch na Keal from Ulva Ferry
Loch na Keal – Mull’s fisherman have a hard life
Common Seal – Lock Tuath
Common Seal – Loch Tuath
Common Buzzard
Immature Shag and Cormorant – Salen Bay, Salen
White-tailed Eagle – I spent a stunning morning with these beauties
White-tailed Eagle
White-tailed Eagle – one of 3 females we saw during our mornings trip
A recent visit to Wales for Bog Orchid was a bit of a disaster as we struggled to find any at two reliable sites. Managed a few other plants though, including Round-leaved Sundew, Bog Asphodel and Marsh St.John’s-wort.
A family of Whinchat, a year tick, and a few Red Kites, Common Buzzard and Raven. A few Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, a Black Darter and a Small Heath.
Round-leaved Sundew
Bog Asphodel
Marsh (Bog) St.John’s-wort
A few trips to my local patch at Staunton Harold Reservoir recently has produced two good Gull year ticks. An adult Caspian Gull on the 18th July and a moulting adult Yellow-legged Gull on 22nd July. Also Common Tern numbers building up with 15 on 22nd July along with 4 Little Egret, a Little Ringed Plover and an Oystercatcher.
A Black-winged Pratincole was discovered at RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire on Tuesday 18th June 2019. However the bird disappeared late afternoon and there was no further sight by dusk. It turned up again during the morning of 19th so I decided to go for it. Arrive at around 1pm and the bird was on view and showed well on and off in flight and on the ground.
Always a bit distant for the camera, along with heat haze so only record shots, but managed to get a few that show all the subtle field ID features.
This was a first record for Frampton reserve and my 3rd Black-winged Pratincole for Britain. A superb bird that appeared like a huge swallow and very raptor like as it swooped over the marshes hunting insects. The main ID features are grey-brown upper parts, black underwings, no white trailing edge to wings, limited amount of red on the bill, extensive black lores and the tail is shorter than the wing tips.
Note the tail is shorter than wing tipsNote black underwingsA typical fly-by of a pratincole
