Tuesday, 13 July 2010
White-tailed bastard!
cut a long story shot, I got fairly crap views of a White-tailed Plover in a crowded hide in Slimbridge WWT, 300 or so miles from home, then the damned thing turned up about an hour's drive away at Dunge. God I hate birding sometimes! autumn continues to trickle along, a calling Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff at Slimbridge (I half-heard it but probably a Willow) on the same dae might have been a migrant, as would the definite Willow calling from somewhere near my house yesterday and today. a Great Spotted Woodpecker has been fairly vocal around the house too (presumably a dispersing juvenile) with perhaps the same bird beinng seen distantly in flight this afternoon from my bedroom window. Also my first Goldcrest for a while was also probably dispersing. Starlings and Woodpigeons are starting to flock together now, and at school I saw two adults and a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull. This is lmost certainly the same pair I saw in April/May on a roof near school, and is the first record of breeding for seaford to my knowledge.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
back for the season!
regrettably, with exams, school, and the fact I am a lazy, stroppy teenager have meant this little project hs somewhat taken a backseat while I wreaked havoc accross various branches of the bird-related internet, had many, many teenage strops and passed the exams I care about with flying colours while failing the rest in spectacular fashion.
However, autumn is tantalizingly close, my favourite time of the year, and I and reviving this blog, and putting the fox back among the chickens! The main difference now is that I am less a birdwatcher and more an angry adolescent. This means I may, through no fault of my own, spew untold quantities of faecal matter accross this previously well-meaning blog.
My first autumn migrant came on 8th July, a Common Sandpiper that flew over the house at 11:30 PM. I couldn't get to sleep alright! In fact I was so awake I managed to recognise the call from the last time I heard it, last autumn!
In the last couple of months, I have seen a few good birds, most notably a Red-footed Falcon at Cuckmere Haven. the point-and-clicker of course took a few photos, but compared to the excellent photos that can be found on the Cuckmere Ouse Bird-blog and Sussex Nature (see links down the side), Birdguides and Surfbirds, to name a few, these are poor photos to say the least.
I'm also hoping to go for this plover thingy that has so delighted many folks at Rainham and Slimbridge, if the damnn thing hangs around tomorrow! fingers crossed! although actually by the time this is posted it will be tomorrow, I may have already gone and seen it and have a long-overdue proper report for the people wondering what has happened to this blog!
But, getting back on track, autumn is here. I will spend as much time as I can t my local patch (Hope Gap) hoping against hope for some decent find. Last year the other regular patchers, one of which writes Sussex
Birding, managed to find two different Icterine Warblers and a Barred Warbler, while my dad found a Red-breasted Flycatcher. I checked whenever I could, but Icky no.1 was when we were on holiday in Mull and Icky 2 and Barred warbler on a school day. I still looked for the Barred Warbler twice later in the week, as it stuck around, but failed to connect with it both times. The only positive thing is that I saw the Flycatcher, but despite many hours of effort my self-found tally came up to a Ring Ouzel, some Grasshopper Warblers and not a lot else! that will change now! and I will document the trials of patching for all to see.
I'm also taken a three-week holiday in the summer to Canada with my parents. This will include a five-day stay at Long Point Bird Observatory in early September. It was here my Dad spent several years researching for the Helm Guide to New World warblers, in which he was author, nd he has spent the last few months regaling me with all sorts of incredible tales! The whole trip should be fantastic, and I hope to get loads of lifers, but Long Point in particular sounds absolutely incredible!
Right, thats me done for now, I may have news on a Plover when you next here from me, goodbye until then!
buyt
However, autumn is tantalizingly close, my favourite time of the year, and I and reviving this blog, and putting the fox back among the chickens! The main difference now is that I am less a birdwatcher and more an angry adolescent. This means I may, through no fault of my own, spew untold quantities of faecal matter accross this previously well-meaning blog.
My first autumn migrant came on 8th July, a Common Sandpiper that flew over the house at 11:30 PM. I couldn't get to sleep alright! In fact I was so awake I managed to recognise the call from the last time I heard it, last autumn!
In the last couple of months, I have seen a few good birds, most notably a Red-footed Falcon at Cuckmere Haven. the point-and-clicker of course took a few photos, but compared to the excellent photos that can be found on the Cuckmere Ouse Bird-blog and Sussex Nature (see links down the side), Birdguides and Surfbirds, to name a few, these are poor photos to say the least.
I'm also hoping to go for this plover thingy that has so delighted many folks at Rainham and Slimbridge, if the damnn thing hangs around tomorrow! fingers crossed! although actually by the time this is posted it will be tomorrow, I may have already gone and seen it and have a long-overdue proper report for the people wondering what has happened to this blog!
But, getting back on track, autumn is here. I will spend as much time as I can t my local patch (Hope Gap) hoping against hope for some decent find. Last year the other regular patchers, one of which writes Sussex
Birding, managed to find two different Icterine Warblers and a Barred Warbler, while my dad found a Red-breasted Flycatcher. I checked whenever I could, but Icky no.1 was when we were on holiday in Mull and Icky 2 and Barred warbler on a school day. I still looked for the Barred Warbler twice later in the week, as it stuck around, but failed to connect with it both times. The only positive thing is that I saw the Flycatcher, but despite many hours of effort my self-found tally came up to a Ring Ouzel, some Grasshopper Warblers and not a lot else! that will change now! and I will document the trials of patching for all to see.
I'm also taken a three-week holiday in the summer to Canada with my parents. This will include a five-day stay at Long Point Bird Observatory in early September. It was here my Dad spent several years researching for the Helm Guide to New World warblers, in which he was author, nd he has spent the last few months regaling me with all sorts of incredible tales! The whole trip should be fantastic, and I hope to get loads of lifers, but Long Point in particular sounds absolutely incredible!
Right, thats me done for now, I may have news on a Plover when you next here from me, goodbye until then!
buyt
Thursday, 20 May 2010
recent pics
a Whitethroat, who has set up territory in urban Seaford
Dunlin at Arlington Reservoir, while in search of the Temminck's Stint (see below!)
Temminck's Stint at Arlington Reservoir-13 May 2010
some much better photos can be seen on Sussex Nature (see blog list), but since I only have a rather pathetic camera to be going on with I'm pretty chuffed at this photo of a fantastic bird.
what I believe is a Greater Spotted Orchid, at Arlington Res.
Monday, 17 May 2010
catch up
this blog has now gotten incredibly out of date, so here is what has been happening in the past few weeks of my life wildlife-wise.
Since 5 May, Swifts have been around Seaford daily, filling the skies with their wonderful calls.
at Newhaven Tide Mills on 9 May I saw 2 Sandwich Terns offshire, Common Sandpipers on the river mouth and a Hobby flying overhead.
A futile attempt to see the Red-rumped Swallows at Arlington Res on 10 May failed miserably, thanks to the freezing NE winds, the only creatures of note a Greater Spotted Orchid and a Common Sandpiper
on 12 May, a slightly better day at Arlington, with glorious weather, produced plenty of Swallows and House Martins, 3 Sand Martins, perhaps the same Common Sandpiper, a nice summer-plumed Dunlin and a fantastic Temminck's Stint.
will upload a few pics taken recently soon.
Since 5 May, Swifts have been around Seaford daily, filling the skies with their wonderful calls.
at Newhaven Tide Mills on 9 May I saw 2 Sandwich Terns offshire, Common Sandpipers on the river mouth and a Hobby flying overhead.
A futile attempt to see the Red-rumped Swallows at Arlington Res on 10 May failed miserably, thanks to the freezing NE winds, the only creatures of note a Greater Spotted Orchid and a Common Sandpiper
on 12 May, a slightly better day at Arlington, with glorious weather, produced plenty of Swallows and House Martins, 3 Sand Martins, perhaps the same Common Sandpiper, a nice summer-plumed Dunlin and a fantastic Temminck's Stint.
will upload a few pics taken recently soon.
Friday, 7 May 2010
1 May 2010
a trip into Abbot's Wood produced singing Cuckoo, 5 singing Nightingales, and plenty of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, with a few Lesser Whitethroats chiming in from time to time. Non-birdy sights were a Pearl-bordered Fritilary in their glade, and an Early Purple Orchid. Abbot's Wood is one of only two places in sussex where Pearl-bordered Fritilaries breed. Of the Nightingales, two males were seen, including one showing very well with his mate right by the path, they presumably have a nest nearby. It was the first time i have ever knowingly seen a female Nightingale, and a first for Dad too despite three decades of birding. And to show I'm not lying, here's the proof.
also some pictures of the PB Frit and Early Purple Orchid, the first proper carpet of bluebells and a Mallard on the lake.
Later on, we visited Arlington Reservoir, looking for hirundines and Ospreys. In the end we saw 100+ Swallow and House Martin and 1 Sand Martin, and Dad saw two swifts. Other birds were several singing Lesser Whitethroat, a few pairs of displaying Great Crested Grebe, a singing Sedge Warbler and a few Willow Warblers. A few poor House Martin shots are shown below
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Splash Point-24 April 2010
With SE winds from the off, and 25 birders keeping their eyes on the sea, this was always going to be a fantastic day. And so it proved to be.
The most constant feature of the 2.5 hours dad and I spent at Splash this morning were Terns. They were constantly streaming past, a never ending flow of dainty, persil white flying machines on loose, powerful wings. Commic terns were ab absolute constant, many coming very close. I would estimate we saw upwards of 400 during our stint. Most of the flocks went very close, allowing the short-billed, long-tailed Arctics to be picked out in good numbers, I identified at least 50, probably about 70 or 80 (it was a week ago, my memory has gone a bit fuzzy since then!), and there were almost certainly well over a hundred moving through. Sandwich Terns went through in three-figures too, and among the hundreds of these commoner terns were 8 Little Terns, which they really were among their big cousins, and 4 Black Terns, looking for all the world like huge swifts, plowing accross the sea in such a haphazard way I half-expected them to crash land into the water.
Skuas were a fairly big feature too. One Arctic Skua circled right over our heads before carrrying on east, and two went ENE towards Seaford Head Golf Course, being lost from sight as they vanished over the cliffs. Overall about 12 Arctic and 8 Great Skua went through, but sadly no Poms.
100 Little Gulls flew past, their very ability to actually fly without being blown about in the wind like a butterfly amazing me as much as anything else. Unsurpisingly though, a fairly strong SE wind did push a few inland. 40 went over our heads, including one spectacular flock of 30 birds, all heading towards Arlington Reservoir. No Bonaparte's were among them, though!
A fair few waders also went past. about 60 each of Whimbrela and Bar-tailed Godwit, the latter in tight compact flocks that zipped by so fast you could miss them if you blinked. Thankfully, one mixed flock did put down on the beach briefly, giving good views, but quickly flew off, passing us quite close in. Most bizarre of all, though, was a group of 4 Avocet. First picked up at a ridiculous distance of about 2 kilometres, they were sitting on the sea! After a few minutes, the unsure little group took off, flying past us in quite unsteady fashion (though that is normal for any Avocets). However, their nerves showed when they put down again, about 100 metres east of the groyne! They only stayed for a minute or two before finally finding their wings again, but I got a fairly good look at them, thanks to the birder who kindly let me use his scope.
Other than all that has been mentioned, their were a fair number of wildfowl. About 50 each of Common Scoter and Brent geese, including one Pale-bellied bird, and two Shoveler, two Pintail and 13 Shelduck.
A Brilliant day's seawatching!
The most constant feature of the 2.5 hours dad and I spent at Splash this morning were Terns. They were constantly streaming past, a never ending flow of dainty, persil white flying machines on loose, powerful wings. Commic terns were ab absolute constant, many coming very close. I would estimate we saw upwards of 400 during our stint. Most of the flocks went very close, allowing the short-billed, long-tailed Arctics to be picked out in good numbers, I identified at least 50, probably about 70 or 80 (it was a week ago, my memory has gone a bit fuzzy since then!), and there were almost certainly well over a hundred moving through. Sandwich Terns went through in three-figures too, and among the hundreds of these commoner terns were 8 Little Terns, which they really were among their big cousins, and 4 Black Terns, looking for all the world like huge swifts, plowing accross the sea in such a haphazard way I half-expected them to crash land into the water.
Skuas were a fairly big feature too. One Arctic Skua circled right over our heads before carrrying on east, and two went ENE towards Seaford Head Golf Course, being lost from sight as they vanished over the cliffs. Overall about 12 Arctic and 8 Great Skua went through, but sadly no Poms.
100 Little Gulls flew past, their very ability to actually fly without being blown about in the wind like a butterfly amazing me as much as anything else. Unsurpisingly though, a fairly strong SE wind did push a few inland. 40 went over our heads, including one spectacular flock of 30 birds, all heading towards Arlington Reservoir. No Bonaparte's were among them, though!
A fair few waders also went past. about 60 each of Whimbrela and Bar-tailed Godwit, the latter in tight compact flocks that zipped by so fast you could miss them if you blinked. Thankfully, one mixed flock did put down on the beach briefly, giving good views, but quickly flew off, passing us quite close in. Most bizarre of all, though, was a group of 4 Avocet. First picked up at a ridiculous distance of about 2 kilometres, they were sitting on the sea! After a few minutes, the unsure little group took off, flying past us in quite unsteady fashion (though that is normal for any Avocets). However, their nerves showed when they put down again, about 100 metres east of the groyne! They only stayed for a minute or two before finally finding their wings again, but I got a fairly good look at them, thanks to the birder who kindly let me use his scope.
Other than all that has been mentioned, their were a fair number of wildfowl. About 50 each of Common Scoter and Brent geese, including one Pale-bellied bird, and two Shoveler, two Pintail and 13 Shelduck.
A Brilliant day's seawatching!
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Birding from last couple of weels
With exam revision preventing any reasoable amount of time in which to get a blog post together, I am afraid you will all have to make do with this rather poor attempt at a post, no pictures for now, I will add them at a later date.
To start this post, on 17 April, the last day of the holidays, I was travelling to an undisclosed location (for no reason other than what I discovered there) in central sussex, on a camping trip with the rest of the sussex wildlife trust youth council. My sussex list was, at the time, 130, with my british list slightly better at 134. The first interesting bird of the trip was a House Martin flying over the road by The University of Sussex. It was the briefest of views, but there isn't really anything else sparrow sized with navy-blue colouration and a striking white rump that would fit the bill! That was sussex year tick 131, and british year tick 135. As soon as we arrived at the location, it became clear this was an excellent wood small wood. I could hear Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler chattering away in the treetops, the latter another year tick. A Lesser Whitethroat revealed itself in one of the hedgerows, and commoner birds comprised plenty of Great-spots and Green Woodpeckers, plenty of singing Goldcrests, and lots of Nuthatches and Treecreepers(the latter a sussex year tick, my 133rd). three Fallow Deer were sene very briefly in the early-afternoon, and on a walk around the rest of the area we saw over 200 of them, along with 3 Buzzards and a drumming Great-spot, while butterflies included 2 Orange-Tips and plenty of Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Cabbage Whites. In the evening we saw 3 Roe Deer, and a pair of Tawny Owls were too-wit-too-wooing. We had set up some mammal traps, one of which produced a mouse, either Yellow-necked or Field, while we left the others out overnight.
During the night, sleeping accomodations were basic to say the least. A Tarpaulin, tied up between two trees, is hardly a five-star hotel, but sleeping out in the open was a nice experience, even if I barely slept! The benefit of this, though, was that at five o'clock in the morning, I was awake when the first Blackbird started singing in the Dawn Chorus. within two minutes he was joined by two more. A Robin and a Song Thrush followed suite soon after, and before you knew it the air was alive with these three songsters. a cawing Carrion Crow joined the furore, and then several more did. Two Wrens began tacking in the undergrowth, and once they had rubbed the sleep out of their eyes they were positively bellowing at one another. A Green Woodpecker soon yaffled in the background, while the first Chiffchaff of the morning began piping out its tunes. The Tawny Owls mustn't have got to sleep, because soon their strange, haunting cries echoed through the woods, silencing all birdkind for a few seconds before the mini-orchestra recovered its instruments. And soon a charismatic Nuthatch began his peculiar song, if you can call it that. A shrill Treecreeper just about squeezed its call into the range of human ears, and this seemed to trigger a great deal of reaction from five or six Chiffies, who suddenly decided to temporarily drown out all the other birdsong. This in turn invoked Blue Tits and Chaffinches to join the madness, and then I was out of my bed and I had to help making breakfast for the happy campers. This was done in true caveman style, cooking our food over an open fire, and doing Ray Winstone proud by avoiding burning anything other than my fingers. Oh, and a few Sausages! During this time, Blackcaps, Great Tits, Greenfinches and Goldcrests all joined the competition of 'who can sing loudest and wake all the b*s***ds who decided to camp in our wood!' but eventually, the last happy tired camper had to be dragged out of his sleeping bag! I soon heard some mysterious drumming, like a Great Spot but slower and pronounced, you could hear every individual knock on the tree if you listened carefully. I decided I was imagining it, but in the back of my mind I had plenty of suspicions. After breakfast, and packing everything away, these wre confirmed int the most glorious of ways!
We had made several rounds from the campsite to the cars, and this was the last one, taking the last of the limited gear we had taken for camping back. I was walking along through one of the glades in the wood, with a sleeping bag and tonnes of my stuff on my back and my Binoculars and Camera firmly packed away. It was then that a small bird decided to fly accross the path. My immediate thought, based on the size, was a Nuthatch, but it was mainly bacl with some white spotty specklingy things faintly visible. Woodpecker, I thought, but it was absolutely tiny, Great Tit-sized and no bigger! However, Woodepcker turned out to be right, as it landed vertically on a tree about 20 metres away in the wood, before climbing round to the other side of the tree. However, before it went I saw the black and white colouration of its back, and a fairly obvious red crown. A basic view to the extreme, but I was delighted, I had seen a LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER! I didn't bother hanging around for it, having had a good enough view and knowing it would vanish when I unpacked my Bins/Camera. with this, treecreeper, lesser whitethoat, house martin, tawny owl and garden warbler, my sussex year list had suddenly become135, and my british 138.
Next stop, on the return journey back to Seaford, was Pulborough Brooks. Here, I got excellent views of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitehtroat and Blackcap almost immediately, laong with a singing Lesser Whitethroat. From the Hangar, there were plenty of wildfowl, with several Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler remaining, 2 Pintail and 2 escapee Snow Geese. at the Hangar dad and I heard a Nightingale, but it remianed elusive. However, the next one, over at Jupp's Viewpoint, was much more showy, rather happily we saw it very well, and thanks to the birder (Dave Smith) who let me borrow his scope to get good look at it. however, we repayed our debts in a small way slightly later on!
Having seen the Nightingales rather well, we set off for West Mead hide, along the path where we hoped to see Adder. It was at this point that Matt Eade aclled with some brilliant news, a Bonaparte's Gull ar Arlington Reservoir! Fantastic, a bird never before seen in the local area, drat, we are 60 miles away! No worries though, a frantic rush back to the car was in order, in which we ran into Dave Smith and the other birders he was with in the car park, and bestowed them the important news. I never saw them at Arlington, but I hope they did manage to get over to see what was a fantastic bird.
The Gods were with us that day, and as we drove madly along the roads back towards home, we encountered not a single line of traffic, a true miracle in sussex on a sunday! When we arrived, about 30 birders were enjoying the bird. It was at close quarters for now, but before long it had drifted way over to the other side of the reservoir, showing snowy-white underings, a chocolate-brown head and an all-black bill as it went. this, along with the Nightingale, not only made me very happy, but boosted year lists further, 137 for sussex, and 140 in britain. The Bonaparte's Gull was still visible, and those beautifully clean underwings stuck out like a sore thumb from the 30 or so Little Gulls keeping it company. During a brief stay before we left, a pair of Great Crested Grebes were displaying and two Lesser Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler were singing.
That is the first part of my round-up, for a small amount of birind in the week and a brilliant day at Splash Point today, you will all have to keep a look out for when I can next squeeze in the time!
To start this post, on 17 April, the last day of the holidays, I was travelling to an undisclosed location (for no reason other than what I discovered there) in central sussex, on a camping trip with the rest of the sussex wildlife trust youth council. My sussex list was, at the time, 130, with my british list slightly better at 134. The first interesting bird of the trip was a House Martin flying over the road by The University of Sussex. It was the briefest of views, but there isn't really anything else sparrow sized with navy-blue colouration and a striking white rump that would fit the bill! That was sussex year tick 131, and british year tick 135. As soon as we arrived at the location, it became clear this was an excellent wood small wood. I could hear Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler chattering away in the treetops, the latter another year tick. A Lesser Whitethroat revealed itself in one of the hedgerows, and commoner birds comprised plenty of Great-spots and Green Woodpeckers, plenty of singing Goldcrests, and lots of Nuthatches and Treecreepers(the latter a sussex year tick, my 133rd). three Fallow Deer were sene very briefly in the early-afternoon, and on a walk around the rest of the area we saw over 200 of them, along with 3 Buzzards and a drumming Great-spot, while butterflies included 2 Orange-Tips and plenty of Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Cabbage Whites. In the evening we saw 3 Roe Deer, and a pair of Tawny Owls were too-wit-too-wooing. We had set up some mammal traps, one of which produced a mouse, either Yellow-necked or Field, while we left the others out overnight.
During the night, sleeping accomodations were basic to say the least. A Tarpaulin, tied up between two trees, is hardly a five-star hotel, but sleeping out in the open was a nice experience, even if I barely slept! The benefit of this, though, was that at five o'clock in the morning, I was awake when the first Blackbird started singing in the Dawn Chorus. within two minutes he was joined by two more. A Robin and a Song Thrush followed suite soon after, and before you knew it the air was alive with these three songsters. a cawing Carrion Crow joined the furore, and then several more did. Two Wrens began tacking in the undergrowth, and once they had rubbed the sleep out of their eyes they were positively bellowing at one another. A Green Woodpecker soon yaffled in the background, while the first Chiffchaff of the morning began piping out its tunes. The Tawny Owls mustn't have got to sleep, because soon their strange, haunting cries echoed through the woods, silencing all birdkind for a few seconds before the mini-orchestra recovered its instruments. And soon a charismatic Nuthatch began his peculiar song, if you can call it that. A shrill Treecreeper just about squeezed its call into the range of human ears, and this seemed to trigger a great deal of reaction from five or six Chiffies, who suddenly decided to temporarily drown out all the other birdsong. This in turn invoked Blue Tits and Chaffinches to join the madness, and then I was out of my bed and I had to help making breakfast for the happy campers. This was done in true caveman style, cooking our food over an open fire, and doing Ray Winstone proud by avoiding burning anything other than my fingers. Oh, and a few Sausages! During this time, Blackcaps, Great Tits, Greenfinches and Goldcrests all joined the competition of 'who can sing loudest and wake all the b*s***ds who decided to camp in our wood!' but eventually, the last happy tired camper had to be dragged out of his sleeping bag! I soon heard some mysterious drumming, like a Great Spot but slower and pronounced, you could hear every individual knock on the tree if you listened carefully. I decided I was imagining it, but in the back of my mind I had plenty of suspicions. After breakfast, and packing everything away, these wre confirmed int the most glorious of ways!
We had made several rounds from the campsite to the cars, and this was the last one, taking the last of the limited gear we had taken for camping back. I was walking along through one of the glades in the wood, with a sleeping bag and tonnes of my stuff on my back and my Binoculars and Camera firmly packed away. It was then that a small bird decided to fly accross the path. My immediate thought, based on the size, was a Nuthatch, but it was mainly bacl with some white spotty specklingy things faintly visible. Woodpecker, I thought, but it was absolutely tiny, Great Tit-sized and no bigger! However, Woodepcker turned out to be right, as it landed vertically on a tree about 20 metres away in the wood, before climbing round to the other side of the tree. However, before it went I saw the black and white colouration of its back, and a fairly obvious red crown. A basic view to the extreme, but I was delighted, I had seen a LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER! I didn't bother hanging around for it, having had a good enough view and knowing it would vanish when I unpacked my Bins/Camera. with this, treecreeper, lesser whitethoat, house martin, tawny owl and garden warbler, my sussex year list had suddenly become135, and my british 138.
Next stop, on the return journey back to Seaford, was Pulborough Brooks. Here, I got excellent views of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitehtroat and Blackcap almost immediately, laong with a singing Lesser Whitethroat. From the Hangar, there were plenty of wildfowl, with several Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler remaining, 2 Pintail and 2 escapee Snow Geese. at the Hangar dad and I heard a Nightingale, but it remianed elusive. However, the next one, over at Jupp's Viewpoint, was much more showy, rather happily we saw it very well, and thanks to the birder (Dave Smith) who let me borrow his scope to get good look at it. however, we repayed our debts in a small way slightly later on!
Having seen the Nightingales rather well, we set off for West Mead hide, along the path where we hoped to see Adder. It was at this point that Matt Eade aclled with some brilliant news, a Bonaparte's Gull ar Arlington Reservoir! Fantastic, a bird never before seen in the local area, drat, we are 60 miles away! No worries though, a frantic rush back to the car was in order, in which we ran into Dave Smith and the other birders he was with in the car park, and bestowed them the important news. I never saw them at Arlington, but I hope they did manage to get over to see what was a fantastic bird.
The Gods were with us that day, and as we drove madly along the roads back towards home, we encountered not a single line of traffic, a true miracle in sussex on a sunday! When we arrived, about 30 birders were enjoying the bird. It was at close quarters for now, but before long it had drifted way over to the other side of the reservoir, showing snowy-white underings, a chocolate-brown head and an all-black bill as it went. this, along with the Nightingale, not only made me very happy, but boosted year lists further, 137 for sussex, and 140 in britain. The Bonaparte's Gull was still visible, and those beautifully clean underwings stuck out like a sore thumb from the 30 or so Little Gulls keeping it company. During a brief stay before we left, a pair of Great Crested Grebes were displaying and two Lesser Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler were singing.
That is the first part of my round-up, for a small amount of birind in the week and a brilliant day at Splash Point today, you will all have to keep a look out for when I can next squeeze in the time!
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
no more posting for a while
sadly, and due to some hectic revision desperately needed for my first round of exams, I will mosy likely be unable to post anything more for 2 weeks or so. Though hopefully I might manage a small amount of birding in between Periodic Tables and Algebra, so when I get back a gigantic post may be coming your way!
Friday, 16 April 2010
a question?
The last few nights, I have heard a strange, high-pitched, chuckling call coming from some of the surrounding gardens. It sounds quite a lot like the Kiwi calls you can hear on The Life Of Birds. Obviously this is somewhat preposterous, but would I be correct in assuming it is the calls of mating Hedgehogs?
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Birds from the bus
getting the bus into Brighton today, two fairly unexpected surprises
1) A Gannet circling over the water about 400 metres offshore from Brighton Pier
2) a Long-tailed Duck offshore from the beach between Brighton Marina and Brighton Pier, about 30-40 metres offshore, and seen for about three seconds before it dived, by the time it had resurfaced the bus must have carried on past it.
1) A Gannet circling over the water about 400 metres offshore from Brighton Pier
2) a Long-tailed Duck offshore from the beach between Brighton Marina and Brighton Pier, about 30-40 metres offshore, and seen for about three seconds before it dived, by the time it had resurfaced the bus must have carried on past it.
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