Saturday December 26th was the chosen date for the Flagstaff CBC, and the long morning was spent with temperatures in the 20s F and windchills around zero. It felt as cold as it did on the 17-below morning in 2010!
We spent the morning driving the usual route around the golf course, lightly covered in snow from Friday morning's storm. We saw no wigeon on the golf course (and just a few on the lakes) although Canada Geese were present in good numbers. There were no special geese among them. We had a good diversity of ducks, including a male Common Goldeneye. We also saw at least two Bald Eagles. We saw all the expected small birds and also a single "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler and three Red-naped Sapsuckers.
We then drove the back road out to Walnut Canyon, finding over 100 Dark-eyed Juncos along the road and then 100 Common Raven standing in the trees as we reached the road to the monument. A single Lewis's Woodpecker was the highlight of the drive.
The monument itself, often dull, delivered a number for birds for the count including an unexpected flock of Clark's Nutcrackers (at least 8 individuals), a Hermit Thrush and a Peregrine. We also saw the expected Western Bluebirds and a Townsend's Solitaire.
On the road back into town we finally saw a Red-tailed Hawk, and a stop by the Purina plant gave us at least 200 Feral (Rock) Pigeons and at least 500 European Starlings swirling around, making their exact number uncountable.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Bird Tour in Chongqing
On Sunday December, my guide Philip took me to a couple of spots in Chongqing, where we got around by light rail, metro, bus and uber taxi!
We began the day at 8am at the Zhaomu Mountain Forest Park with 4 lifers, all species of tit, in our first half an hour! Japanese Tit and Green-backed Tit were reminiscent of Great Tit, and the Chinese endemic Yellow-bellied Tit very similar to a Blue Tit. But the nicest were the Black-throated Bushtits. These birds were soon followed by Himalayan Bluetail, Oriental (Grey-headed) Greenfinch and both Striated and Black-chinned Yuhina. But the best bird of the early morning was a Chinese Hwamei. This bird has a beautiful song and is collected for sale as a cage bird making it quite hard to find in the wild.
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| Japanese Tit |
As the morning went on we found a couple of Oriental Magpie-robins, a quick fly-by Red-billed Blue Magpie and a Long-tailed Shrike. Close to the ground we had flocks of Vinous-throated Parrotbills, Collared Finchbills, Yellow-billed Grosbeaks, Light-vented Bulbuls, Mountain Bulbuls and White-browed Laughingthrush. A Buff-barred Warbler, a couple of Rufous-capped Babblers and some Pacific (Fork-tailed) Swifts flying around the pagoda meant that I ended the morning with a number of lifers although the birding had slowed as the morning wore on.
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| Oriental Magpie Robin |
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| Mountain Bulbul |
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| Yellow-billed Grosbeak |
We then took the metro into the heart of the city, where the Jailing River meets the Yangtse, stopped at a noodle shop for lunch and then took a taxi to the South Botanical Gardens. The afternoon spent here was very slow, and despite walking several miles we only added Daurian Redstart to the day's list.
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| Daurian Redstart |
Chongqing, China
On Wednesday December 16th I arrived in Chongqing for a few days on NAU business. That afternoon I only found European Tree-Sparrow and White Wagtail, but I had more luck on Thursday morning with Brown Shrike and White-browed Laughingthrush.
I then took a detour on way to my office on Friday afternoon and found flocks of Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul and White-rumped Munia. I also saw a couple of blackbirds, which did not excite me much. But entering data into eBird I found that Chinese Blackbird had been split from Eurasian Blackbird, and so this was a life bird!
On Saturday December 19th, two graduate students - Amy 'Little Fish' and Ching-ting - took me to see the UNESCO World Heritage site at Dazu. This place, with a museum and a series of buddhist cave sculptures was fantastic and was situated high up in the clouds about an hour from Chongqing, but it was not very birdy. However a stop for lunch near some pools yielded Daurian Redstart, Little Egret and Common Kingfisher.
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| White Wagtail |
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| White-browed Laughingthrush |
I then took a detour on way to my office on Friday afternoon and found flocks of Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul and White-rumped Munia. I also saw a couple of blackbirds, which did not excite me much. But entering data into eBird I found that Chinese Blackbird had been split from Eurasian Blackbird, and so this was a life bird!
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| Light-vented Bulbul |
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| White-rumped Munia |
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Little Egret |
Chasing birds in early December
With the year running out I chased some birds in order to reach some of my yearly targets. On Saturday December 5th I headed to a private home in Lake Montezuma and easily added White-throated Sparrow to my year's list. I then hit spots in Cornville and Page Springs hoping for Wood Duck, but had no luck. There had been many records of this species around Flagstaff this fall, but I had no luck finding them anywhere in Arizona this year. (I did get the species in Chicago.)
On Saturday December 12th after picking up my son from the airport we stopped twice on the way home. First at the Tempe Marketplace where I immediately found a Brown Pelican, and then in Avondale where a group of five white geese, including one Ross's Goose, were also easy to find. This got me to my target of 250 species in Arizona for the year.
On Saturday December 12th after picking up my son from the airport we stopped twice on the way home. First at the Tempe Marketplace where I immediately found a Brown Pelican, and then in Avondale where a group of five white geese, including one Ross's Goose, were also easy to find. This got me to my target of 250 species in Arizona for the year.
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| Brown Pelican with egrets and cormorants |
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| Ross's Goose with two Snow Geese |
Thanksgiving in Vancouver
On Thursday November 26th I flew from Phoenix to Bellingham to spend the Thanksgiving weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia. Heading on to the Western Washington University campus I immediately had Northwestern Crow, Glaucous-winged Gull and a couple of dark Song Sparrows.
We drove across the border to BC and headed for Boundary Bay where I had hoped to find the Hudsonian Godwit that had been around for a few days. I had no luck with this but among the thousands of ducks found a few Mew Gulls; this species had eluded me in the UK earlier in the year.We reached Vancouver in late afternoon and had time to walk along the waterfront, finding a couple of Pelagic Cormorants among the many Double-crested Cormorants.
On Friday morning, November 27th I took a walk along the waterfront in the morning and found a dingle male Long-tailed Duck in with a group of about a thousand Surf Scoters. This bird was in near breeding plumage, certainly the nicest looking individual I had ever seen! After spending the rest of the morning playing tourist in the city, we took a drive around Stanley Park in the afternoon. Highlights included several Red-breasted Mergansers, a single Red-necked Grebe and two Black Oystercatchers.
On Saturday we headed back to Bellingham again via Boundary Bay where I again dipped on the godwit. This time however we came across a small flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees. In Bellingham itself a walk around the harbor yielded a Northern Shrike atop one of the masts.
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| Glaucous-winged Gull |
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| Glaucous-winged Gulls |
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| Northwestern Crow |
We drove across the border to BC and headed for Boundary Bay where I had hoped to find the Hudsonian Godwit that had been around for a few days. I had no luck with this but among the thousands of ducks found a few Mew Gulls; this species had eluded me in the UK earlier in the year.We reached Vancouver in late afternoon and had time to walk along the waterfront, finding a couple of Pelagic Cormorants among the many Double-crested Cormorants.
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| Northern Harrier |
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| Northern Shoveler |
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| Mew Gull |
On Friday morning, November 27th I took a walk along the waterfront in the morning and found a dingle male Long-tailed Duck in with a group of about a thousand Surf Scoters. This bird was in near breeding plumage, certainly the nicest looking individual I had ever seen! After spending the rest of the morning playing tourist in the city, we took a drive around Stanley Park in the afternoon. Highlights included several Red-breasted Mergansers, a single Red-necked Grebe and two Black Oystercatchers.
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| Surf Scoters |
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| Black Oystercatcher |
On Saturday we headed back to Bellingham again via Boundary Bay where I again dipped on the godwit. This time however we came across a small flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees. In Bellingham itself a walk around the harbor yielded a Northern Shrike atop one of the masts.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Mid-November Birding
On the Veteran's Day Holiday (November 11th) I took the opportunity to go to Cave Springs after an American Dipper that had been seen at the weekend. On arrival I found two people fishing at the prime spot but contiued into the campground and located a bird a little further down.
On Saturday November 14th my wife and I spent an hour at the East Rio in search of a White-throated Sparrow that had been seen a few days earlier. Alas we failed to find the bird among many Song, Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrows along the rio up stream from the crossing.
On Sunday November 15th Anne and I went out to Buffalo Range Road hoping to some birds mentioned by Jason on his trip out here to weeks earlier. But our day was much quieter than his, and the Eastern versus Western Meadowlark 'clinic' did not materialize. Prior to two distant fly-bys at the end of our visit, our only meadowlark had been a head only shot of a non-vocal bird! The only activity at the tanks came from Horned Larks, the day's commonest birds. Our bird of the day was Sagebrush Sparrow, for which we had double-digit numbers. A last minute Loggerhead Shrike was a nice surprise after such a quiet morning.
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| American Dipper |
On Saturday November 14th my wife and I spent an hour at the East Rio in search of a White-throated Sparrow that had been seen a few days earlier. Alas we failed to find the bird among many Song, Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrows along the rio up stream from the crossing.
On Sunday November 15th Anne and I went out to Buffalo Range Road hoping to some birds mentioned by Jason on his trip out here to weeks earlier. But our day was much quieter than his, and the Eastern versus Western Meadowlark 'clinic' did not materialize. Prior to two distant fly-bys at the end of our visit, our only meadowlark had been a head only shot of a non-vocal bird! The only activity at the tanks came from Horned Larks, the day's commonest birds. Our bird of the day was Sagebrush Sparrow, for which we had double-digit numbers. A last minute Loggerhead Shrike was a nice surprise after such a quiet morning.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
NAAS Trip down Lake Mary Road.
On Friday November 6th I headed out to the Kachina Wetlands in hopes of finding a pair of Hooded Mergansers that had been seen the week before. In between we had a 10 inch snow storm, but I was able to find a female among many ducks and coot.
On Saturday November 7th I joined a NAAS field trip for a trip down Lake Mary Road, with stops at both Lakes Mary, at Ashurst Lake and the Mormon Lake overlook.
The trip went pretty much as planned with lots of waterfowl and a few raptors, and we did find a couple of hoped-for surprises, but we found no loons - almost a surprise at this time of year. The Lakes Mary had lots of ducks and a few coot, while Ashurst had lots of both. We had two Bald Eagles at Lower Lake Mary, a Ferruginous Hawk at Mormon Lake and a few Red-tailed Hawks scattered here and there.
The stop of the day was at Osprey Overlook where first a group heading down to the lake shore flushed a Northern Pygmy Owl, first seen by Trevor, who flew into a pine. Then as we were about to leave Jason spotted a diving duck across the lake - a Black Scoter.
On Saturday November 7th I joined a NAAS field trip for a trip down Lake Mary Road, with stops at both Lakes Mary, at Ashurst Lake and the Mormon Lake overlook.
The trip went pretty much as planned with lots of waterfowl and a few raptors, and we did find a couple of hoped-for surprises, but we found no loons - almost a surprise at this time of year. The Lakes Mary had lots of ducks and a few coot, while Ashurst had lots of both. We had two Bald Eagles at Lower Lake Mary, a Ferruginous Hawk at Mormon Lake and a few Red-tailed Hawks scattered here and there.
The stop of the day was at Osprey Overlook where first a group heading down to the lake shore flushed a Northern Pygmy Owl, first seen by Trevor, who flew into a pine. Then as we were about to leave Jason spotted a diving duck across the lake - a Black Scoter.
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| Northern Pygmy Owl |
NAAS Trip to Picture Canyon
I joined a small group for a NAAS field trip to Picture Canyon on October 3rd. The day began brightly having us sort through many sparrows along the creek yielding Savannah, Lincoln's, Chipping and White-crowned but also an Orange-crowned warbler and my first Cassin's Finch for a while. As expected we ran into many Acorn Woodpeckers at the top of the waterfall and enjoyed a flock of 40 Pinyon Jays and 3 Lewis's Woodpeckers at the far end of the canyon. With the usual suspects on top of these we ended with 27 species.
The following weekend - on Saturday October 10th - I chased and found two Greater White-fronted Geese that Eric had seen at the far end of Walnut Canyon Ponds. (These birds were still around the golf course a month later. So my after tea dash wasn't all that necessary!)
The following weekend - on Saturday October 10th - I chased and found two Greater White-fronted Geese that Eric had seen at the far end of Walnut Canyon Ponds. (These birds were still around the golf course a month later. So my after tea dash wasn't all that necessary!)
NAAS trip to Holbrook
On September 13th I joined a small group for a visit to Holbrook where Anita greeted us at the Golf Course. The Water Treatment Plant is not what it used to be and there were very few birds along the road into the golf course.
We spent a few minutes at the golf course with Rock Wren, Wilson's Warbler and both Black and Say's Phoebes making themselves known to us. We then drove along the road finding the expected Killdeer as well as a large group of Brewer's Sparrows. The Tree Farm area was very productive with Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak, Hermit Thrush, Green-tailed Towhees and a Crissal Thrasher all of note.
We had a big surprise on reaching the reservoir where a couple of Black-crowned Night-herons were floating on the water like ducks. They soon flushed on our arrival and joined several others on the tree tops. We walked around the reservoir watching an assortment of ducks on the water but finding a Western Wood-pewee, Nashville and MacGillivray Warblers, and our bird of the day, a Black-and-White Warbler on our loop. A Spotted Sandpiper ont he way out took us to 47 species for the day.
We spent a few minutes at the golf course with Rock Wren, Wilson's Warbler and both Black and Say's Phoebes making themselves known to us. We then drove along the road finding the expected Killdeer as well as a large group of Brewer's Sparrows. The Tree Farm area was very productive with Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak, Hermit Thrush, Green-tailed Towhees and a Crissal Thrasher all of note.
We had a big surprise on reaching the reservoir where a couple of Black-crowned Night-herons were floating on the water like ducks. They soon flushed on our arrival and joined several others on the tree tops. We walked around the reservoir watching an assortment of ducks on the water but finding a Western Wood-pewee, Nashville and MacGillivray Warblers, and our bird of the day, a Black-and-White Warbler on our loop. A Spotted Sandpiper ont he way out took us to 47 species for the day.
Willcox, Sierra Vista and the Nogales Loop
Over the Labor Day weekend my wife and I headed to SE Arizona with a potential lifer in store. We drove down as far as Casa Grande after work on Friday September 4th, but any idea of a quick start to the day ended with heavy rain on Saturday morning. So we changed plans and headed to Lake Cochise in Willcox where we had 14 species of wader in an hour's stay. The highlight being my first Black-bellied Plover in Arizona. We then went to St. David's where we first enjoyed a Vermillion Flycatcher and then were lucky to find a Mississippi Kite. We also had a Gray Hawk while at the monastery and had a Swainson's Hawk en route through. We reached our planned spot for the day - the Ramsey Canyon Preserve at 4pm too late to chase the rarity so after familiarizing ourselves we headed to Mary Jo's for a late in the day hummingbird show: 7 species in all including several Lucifer's!
On Sunday September 6th we went directly to Ramsey Canyon and hiked the 2.25 miles from the visitor center to a spot that had been identified for us the day before. On arrival at the spot we found a few people - including Christina - already enjoying the two Tufted Flycatchers. A Mexican species that had tried to breed here earlier in the summer but which had stayed around over 3 months. I lifer for me, but not one that had been chased at the first chance I had. We then drove to Patagonia for a short stay at Paton's to get Violet-crowned Hummingbird, and then to Amado to add Black-bellied Whistling Duck to my year list. We ended the day in Madera Canyon in hopes of getting Plain-capped Starthroat (which had been making one short stop per day at Santa Rita for a while) or Arizona Woodpecker (which had eluded me back in January). I dipped on both. We headed back to Flagstaff on Sunday.
On Sunday September 6th we went directly to Ramsey Canyon and hiked the 2.25 miles from the visitor center to a spot that had been identified for us the day before. On arrival at the spot we found a few people - including Christina - already enjoying the two Tufted Flycatchers. A Mexican species that had tried to breed here earlier in the summer but which had stayed around over 3 months. I lifer for me, but not one that had been chased at the first chance I had. We then drove to Patagonia for a short stay at Paton's to get Violet-crowned Hummingbird, and then to Amado to add Black-bellied Whistling Duck to my year list. We ended the day in Madera Canyon in hopes of getting Plain-capped Starthroat (which had been making one short stop per day at Santa Rita for a while) or Arizona Woodpecker (which had eluded me back in January). I dipped on both. We headed back to Flagstaff on Sunday.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
August Yardbirds
As usual it didn't take long to add a new year bird on return from my travels with the Rufous Hummingbirds in, although the males seemed to have all moved on before August 1st. The females remained through the month.
In the second half of August I had young Western Tanagers and young Black-headed Grosbeaks at my feeders. Otherwise Lesser Goldfinches and House Sparrows were my main yard birds.
On Saturday August 29th a MacGillivray's Warbler took a bath at my water feature.
In the second half of August I had young Western Tanagers and young Black-headed Grosbeaks at my feeders. Otherwise Lesser Goldfinches and House Sparrows were my main yard birds.
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| Rufous Hummingbird |
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| Black-headed Grosbeak |
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| Western Tanager |
On Saturday August 29th a MacGillivray's Warbler took a bath at my water feature.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Chicago
I spent a long weekend, August 14-17, visiting my son in Chicago. He had just moved into a flat and I needed to help him get some supplies in and organize his space. I hadn't been to Chicago in the summer since his university orientation in 2010 and I didn't do any birding at that time. I was hopeful of seeing some good birds, possibly even a lifer or two, but ended up rather disappointed. Most of the breeding birds had headed south and the warblers were not yet in.
I spent some time along the lake shore around Buckingham Fountain and Millenium Park on Friday August 14th but it was very hot - near 32C (90F) - and except for the expected Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants only one Herring Gull was of interest on the water. There were lots of young American Robins, many Barn Swallows and A trip to the IIT campus later in the day yielded a flock of migrant Cedar Waxwings and my first Chimney Swifts of the year.
The following day, Saturday August 15th, Pat picked up and we headed out for Wooded Island. But much of the usual route was closed off and we only had access to Bobolink Meadow. A single Wood Duck, a couple of Spotted Sandpipers, a Baltimore Oriole, some more waxwings and three Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were the only things of much note.
My son and I walked from Bridgeport to the beach at 31st Street on Sunday August 16th and then into the city along the lake shore. A couple of Black-capped Chickadees and another waxwing flock were the only things we saw in the trees, and the lake itself yielded only the usual suspects.
On Monday August 17th I went to Lincoln Park, walked around North Pond and then down past the zoo to the southern end. This provided the best birding if the trip with a Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and several Wood Ducks around North Pond, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a feeder by the Nature Museum, a Gray Catbird that I saw from inside the museum and then my best bird of the trip - an Eastern Kingbird - as I headed south. I also saw many Black-capped Chickadees, a coupe at a time on my walk.
I spent some time along the lake shore around Buckingham Fountain and Millenium Park on Friday August 14th but it was very hot - near 32C (90F) - and except for the expected Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants only one Herring Gull was of interest on the water. There were lots of young American Robins, many Barn Swallows and A trip to the IIT campus later in the day yielded a flock of migrant Cedar Waxwings and my first Chimney Swifts of the year.
The following day, Saturday August 15th, Pat picked up and we headed out for Wooded Island. But much of the usual route was closed off and we only had access to Bobolink Meadow. A single Wood Duck, a couple of Spotted Sandpipers, a Baltimore Oriole, some more waxwings and three Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were the only things of much note.
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| Wood Duck |
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| American Goldfinch |
My son and I walked from Bridgeport to the beach at 31st Street on Sunday August 16th and then into the city along the lake shore. A couple of Black-capped Chickadees and another waxwing flock were the only things we saw in the trees, and the lake itself yielded only the usual suspects.
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| Black-capped Chickadee |
On Monday August 17th I went to Lincoln Park, walked around North Pond and then down past the zoo to the southern end. This provided the best birding if the trip with a Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and several Wood Ducks around North Pond, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a feeder by the Nature Museum, a Gray Catbird that I saw from inside the museum and then my best bird of the trip - an Eastern Kingbird - as I headed south. I also saw many Black-capped Chickadees, a coupe at a time on my walk.
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| Black-crowned Night Heron |
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| Eastern Kingbird |
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Devon
On Wednesday July 22nd David and I birded at a woodland in East Dartmoor and then went looking for seabirds at Berry Head.
We started the day in a woodland area at the eastern edge of Dartmoor hoping for Pied Flycatcher and Mandarin Duck, but dipping on both these birds. The nest boxes for the flycatchers, many occupied just a few weeks ago were now empty with the bids having moved on. But the reserve's feeders were well stocked and I was able to add European Siskin, Bullfinch and Treecreeper to my 2015 bird list. I also had my best views for the year for Great-spotted Woodpecker and Marsh Tit.
We then drove to Berry Head, just outside Brixham hoping for Guillemot, but these birds had already bred and the birds had returned to the sea. We also failed to find the hoped for Rock Pipit, but enjoyed seeing Fulmars again along with several Great Black-backed Gulls. Our day's final stop was at Labrador Bay where our target eluded us for some time, before we eventually found a good spot for them and I finally added Cirl Bunting to my UK list.
On Thursday July 23rd we hit a couple of spots for target birds before I headed back to Kantara. I took the bus from Exeter to Aylesbeare Common to repeat the loop from Tuesday evening, but this time seeing several individuals of the target species - Dartford Warbler. We then drove to the Otter Estuary and hiked along the river and up to the clifftops, finding several Shags but dipping for the second time on Rock Pipit.
We started the day in a woodland area at the eastern edge of Dartmoor hoping for Pied Flycatcher and Mandarin Duck, but dipping on both these birds. The nest boxes for the flycatchers, many occupied just a few weeks ago were now empty with the bids having moved on. But the reserve's feeders were well stocked and I was able to add European Siskin, Bullfinch and Treecreeper to my 2015 bird list. I also had my best views for the year for Great-spotted Woodpecker and Marsh Tit.
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| Bullfinch |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Eurasian Siskin |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Great-spotted Woodpecker |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Marsh Tit |
We then drove to Berry Head, just outside Brixham hoping for Guillemot, but these birds had already bred and the birds had returned to the sea. We also failed to find the hoped for Rock Pipit, but enjoyed seeing Fulmars again along with several Great Black-backed Gulls. Our day's final stop was at Labrador Bay where our target eluded us for some time, before we eventually found a good spot for them and I finally added Cirl Bunting to my UK list.
On Thursday July 23rd we hit a couple of spots for target birds before I headed back to Kantara. I took the bus from Exeter to Aylesbeare Common to repeat the loop from Tuesday evening, but this time seeing several individuals of the target species - Dartford Warbler. We then drove to the Otter Estuary and hiked along the river and up to the clifftops, finding several Shags but dipping for the second time on Rock Pipit.
Aylesbeare RSPB Reserve
On Tuesday June 21st I traveled to Exeter by MegaBus and after checking into my hotel met David at Aylesbeare RSPB reserve at 6:15 for some late in the day birding. A short wander around part of the reserve threw up three of the reserve's common heathland birds - Stonechat, Yellowhammer and Linnet - but it was the stop at the snake sheets that was the highlight if the day, with Slow Worm, Grass Snake and my lifer Adder all present as we inspected these spots.
After stopping for a cuppa at David's place we headed out to a spot where David had recently seen a Tawny Owl, a bird I had not seen for 30 years. We had no luck, but as we drove away I saw a bird fly from the road into a tree and this Tawny owl flew over our car as we drove past! We returned to the common to finish the day and were treated to the trilling of Nightjars and some clear views of these birds flying around just after sunset.
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| Slow Worm |
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| Grass Snake |
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| Adder |
After stopping for a cuppa at David's place we headed out to a spot where David had recently seen a Tawny Owl, a bird I had not seen for 30 years. We had no luck, but as we drove away I saw a bird fly from the road into a tree and this Tawny owl flew over our car as we drove past! We returned to the common to finish the day and were treated to the trilling of Nightjars and some clear views of these birds flying around just after sunset.
Oare Marshes, Sevenoaks and Rainham Marshes
On Sunday July 19th my brother and I spent a day in Kent with a walk around Oare Marshes followed by quick stops to get target species at Sevenoaks and at a park near Welling.
There were lots of birders at Oare Marshes many attracted by the return of the Bonaparte's Gull. We had tried for this bird without luck in 2014, but this time found it easily enough on a sand spit with Black-headed Gulls on either side. The walk around the marsh yielded many waders - Lapwing, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Curlew, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Dunlin and over 400 Black-tailed Godwits. The surprise for the day was a Garganey, clearly smaller than the rest of the ducks, seen as we neared the final hide on our loop.
The park in Sevenoaks yielded by two year birds. First Tufted Ducks and then after quite some effort Egyptian Geese. The final stop yielded a Ring-necked Parakeet some 30 seconds after we got out of the car.
On Monday July 20th we went to Rainham Marshes with a couple of targets in mind, but the weather wasn't great. Reed Warblers seemed to be everywhere but we did not see or hear Bearded Tits as we walked around the reserve. However we did see both Common and Green Sandpipers in close proximity, and had a cooperative Common Kingfisher at the education hide.
There were lots of birders at Oare Marshes many attracted by the return of the Bonaparte's Gull. We had tried for this bird without luck in 2014, but this time found it easily enough on a sand spit with Black-headed Gulls on either side. The walk around the marsh yielded many waders - Lapwing, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Curlew, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Dunlin and over 400 Black-tailed Godwits. The surprise for the day was a Garganey, clearly smaller than the rest of the ducks, seen as we neared the final hide on our loop.
The park in Sevenoaks yielded by two year birds. First Tufted Ducks and then after quite some effort Egyptian Geese. The final stop yielded a Ring-necked Parakeet some 30 seconds after we got out of the car.
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| Herring Gull |
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| Reed Warbler |
On Monday July 20th we went to Rainham Marshes with a couple of targets in mind, but the weather wasn't great. Reed Warblers seemed to be everywhere but we did not see or hear Bearded Tits as we walked around the reserve. However we did see both Common and Green Sandpipers in close proximity, and had a cooperative Common Kingfisher at the education hide.
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Marsh frog |
Cley and Minsmere
On Monday July 13th David and I wrapped up our two day trip with two hours at Cley, a quick stop in Lowestoft and a short stay at Minsmere.
The Cley stop wasn't our decision as we had to wait for the reserve to open and then saw very similar birds to the ones seen along the coast at Titchwell. We did have good views of a cooperative Sedge Warbler, but a group of 6 Little Gulls picking insects off the mud was the highlight of this stop.
The drive from Cley past Yarmouth into Suffolk seemed to take forever, and after a two minute stop to see the Black-legged Kittiwakes at Lowestoft we arrived at Minsmere with only an hour and a half available for our visit. We didn't have time for much exploration, for a walk through the woods and short stops at a couple of hides. Three Brent Geese and a single Barnacle Geese on top of Greylags and Canadas gave us a 4 goose visit.
The Cley stop wasn't our decision as we had to wait for the reserve to open and then saw very similar birds to the ones seen along the coast at Titchwell. We did have good views of a cooperative Sedge Warbler, but a group of 6 Little Gulls picking insects off the mud was the highlight of this stop.
The drive from Cley past Yarmouth into Suffolk seemed to take forever, and after a two minute stop to see the Black-legged Kittiwakes at Lowestoft we arrived at Minsmere with only an hour and a half available for our visit. We didn't have time for much exploration, for a walk through the woods and short stops at a couple of hides. Three Brent Geese and a single Barnacle Geese on top of Greylags and Canadas gave us a 4 goose visit.
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| Greylag |
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| Grey Heron |
Hunstanton and Titchwell
On Sunday July 12th David and I made two quick stops - at Ouse Washes and Hunstanton - before spending several hours at Titchwell. The Ouse Washes stop, out of season for the reserve's main purpose, was a poor one in part because of the weather, and the stop at Hunstanton was mainly to give us a break. After tea and cake we went to the cliffs for the Northern Fulmars before continuing on our way.
We had three excellent hours at Titchwell with a dozen waders - including Rudd, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank - on the main lagoon and Northern Gannets the beach. As we began to head back to the reserve David spotted a couple of sea ducks. Closer inspection showed that these consisted of a female Common Eider and a Common Scoter!
But the highlight of the day, and a life bird, was a Spotted Crake. We were told about the bird as soon as we arrived, and the bird had emerged from the reeds twice in the day. We finished our visit with a 45 minute stay in the hide before the bird came out and headed around the corner. A stampede of birders from the hide may have pushed the bird deeper into the reeds, but after a short while it emerged giving good views.
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| Eurasian Robin |
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| Lapwing |
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Spain - Wrap up
On Sunday June 28th we headed back to Valencia more or less the way we came, and again seeing White Storks as we headed into Zaragoza
Our one stop on the way back was at Laguna de Gallocanta, a place famous for its wintering cranes - with 80,000 recorded in Februrary. Pau had been feeling bad about the lack of bustards on our second day and the area gave us one last chance of these birds. We drove around the fields for a while in considerable heat, and remarkable seeing three Quail, before we climbed a viewing tower. It took a while but eventually Pau found what had to be a Great Bustard, but a distant bird and seen through heat haze. We tried to get closer but the landscape did not allow this and so this bird gets penciled in as a lifer but one I will need to chase again.
I ended my trip with 161 species including 56 lifers. More species than I had anticipated. Pau was a true black-belt birder and knew every sound of every bird in Spain and had eyes so sharp to see a bird with the slightest movement. Not surprisingly I missed out on a few that Pau had seen - for example, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Blue Rock-thrush, Mistle Thrush and Lesser Kestrel. We had no rain, and too much hot sun. The trip was an undeniable success but I need to return someday in the winter months for Ferruginous Duck, Penduline Tit, Bluethroat and Balearic Shearwater. And I also need to find the two species of bustard that had been high on my wish list.
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| White Stork |
Our one stop on the way back was at Laguna de Gallocanta, a place famous for its wintering cranes - with 80,000 recorded in Februrary. Pau had been feeling bad about the lack of bustards on our second day and the area gave us one last chance of these birds. We drove around the fields for a while in considerable heat, and remarkable seeing three Quail, before we climbed a viewing tower. It took a while but eventually Pau found what had to be a Great Bustard, but a distant bird and seen through heat haze. We tried to get closer but the landscape did not allow this and so this bird gets penciled in as a lifer but one I will need to chase again.
I ended my trip with 161 species including 56 lifers. More species than I had anticipated. Pau was a true black-belt birder and knew every sound of every bird in Spain and had eyes so sharp to see a bird with the slightest movement. Not surprisingly I missed out on a few that Pau had seen - for example, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Blue Rock-thrush, Mistle Thrush and Lesser Kestrel. We had no rain, and too much hot sun. The trip was an undeniable success but I need to return someday in the winter months for Ferruginous Duck, Penduline Tit, Bluethroat and Balearic Shearwater. And I also need to find the two species of bustard that had been high on my wish list.
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