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| Glaucous-winged Gull |
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| Osprey |
Friday, August 15, 2014
Mercer Slough Nature Park
We spent Monday night in Renton, a suburb of Seattle. A cell phone tower next to the hotel had nesting Ospreys. We spent an hour and a half on Tuesday morning, August 12th at Mercer Slough ahead of our flight back home. We wandered around the reserve in light drizzle, and the birds were quiet. But we did see both Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees in the trees and a Swainson's Thrush on the forest floor. We go to pick blueberries that had sprawled from a farm onto the reserve.
Whale Watching Pelagic
On Sunday August 10th we spent the day on a whale watching trip in Puget Sound that started in Bellingham and ended up as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia. As well seeing a small pond of orcas we had a reasonable day for pelagic birds - Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet - but alas no Tufted Puffin.
On Monday August 11th we visited the Seattle Aquarium where we got to see Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffin at close quarters!
On Monday August 11th we visited the Seattle Aquarium where we got to see Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffin at close quarters!
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| Orca |
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| Ring-billed Gull |
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| Tufted Puffin |
North Cascades National Park
We spent Thursday August 7th in North Cascades National Park. We had spent the night in Mount Vernon and so we were soon on the North Cascades Highway. Our first stop of the day was at a pick-your-own blueberry farm; an organic farm with its own shop featuring homemade ice cream. We stopped off for a treat both ways!
The National Park was beautiful but not very birdy. The bird of the day was a surprising group of 14 California Gulls on lake. But the days' highlight was a 4 mile hike through the forest to an alipine meadow where we sat for a while - plagued by mosquitoes - watching a Hoary Marmot and wtahcing and hearing Pika!
The National Park was beautiful but not very birdy. The bird of the day was a surprising group of 14 California Gulls on lake. But the days' highlight was a 4 mile hike through the forest to an alipine meadow where we sat for a while - plagued by mosquitoes - watching a Hoary Marmot and wtahcing and hearing Pika!
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| California Gull |
Anacortes, Washington
On Wednesday August 6th we spent some time in Anacortes, where my son was to spend two weeks in a summer program.On the drive there we had seen many Glaucous-winged Gulls flying around, not a bird I have seen very often but the common gull of the northwest.
We went to Washington Park in Anacortes where we saw Pigeon Guillemot and Marbled Murrelet in the sound, and a number of species of passerines in the wooded areas, including a Varied Thrush and a number of very dark Song Sparrows. As we were leaving the park a Black Oystercatcher flew onto a rock near the car park.
We stopped by the ferry terminal as we left Anacortes and found many Pelagic Cormorants nesting on the piers as I had researched earlier.
We went to Washington Park in Anacortes where we saw Pigeon Guillemot and Marbled Murrelet in the sound, and a number of species of passerines in the wooded areas, including a Varied Thrush and a number of very dark Song Sparrows. As we were leaving the park a Black Oystercatcher flew onto a rock near the car park.
We stopped by the ferry terminal as we left Anacortes and found many Pelagic Cormorants nesting on the piers as I had researched earlier.
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| Black-tailed Deer |
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| White-crowned Sparrow |
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| American Robin |
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Heading back
On Friday August 1st I headed back to Flagstaff having seen 121 species of bird in Europe - 120 in England and Rose-ringed Parakeets in Belgium.Of these 107 were new for the year and I ended July on 389 species for the year.
I added three life birds on my trip - Short-toed Eagle, Wood Sandpiper and Little Gull - and twitched and dipped on some others. The Black-winged Pratincole left the north Norfolk coast the evening before we tried for it (relocating to Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire where it was still being seen two weeks later); the Collared Pratincole was seen just minutes before our arrival at the Minsmere scrape but d was not visible while we were there. This bird was also around for at least another week. I am pretty sure I saw Wood Lark in the Ashdown Forest, but not certain enough for a lifer. I heard Cetti's Warbler and Stock Dove but did not see these birds.
I saw Common Frog, Red Fox, European Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Field Vole, Muntjac, Harbour Seal and Grey Seal on the trip, but despite looking for Adders in the Ashdown Forest, Suffolk heaths and then at two sites in Havering with David on July 29th this reptile continues to elude me.
I added three life birds on my trip - Short-toed Eagle, Wood Sandpiper and Little Gull - and twitched and dipped on some others. The Black-winged Pratincole left the north Norfolk coast the evening before we tried for it (relocating to Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire where it was still being seen two weeks later); the Collared Pratincole was seen just minutes before our arrival at the Minsmere scrape but d was not visible while we were there. This bird was also around for at least another week. I am pretty sure I saw Wood Lark in the Ashdown Forest, but not certain enough for a lifer. I heard Cetti's Warbler and Stock Dove but did not see these birds.
I saw Common Frog, Red Fox, European Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Field Vole, Muntjac, Harbour Seal and Grey Seal on the trip, but despite looking for Adders in the Ashdown Forest, Suffolk heaths and then at two sites in Havering with David on July 29th this reptile continues to elude me.
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| Six-spot Burnet Moth |
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| Carrion Crow |
Brussels surprise
I traveled overnight to Brussels on Monday July 23rd to visit my brother-in-law. On Tuesday morning, July 24th I did a number of tourist sites in Brussels including the royal palace. In the Parc du Bruxelles opposite I found a number of Rose-ringed Parakeets. I had trued for this bird in London but did not know there was a population in Belgium. I saw more of these birds in the grounds of the African Museam in Tervulen on Wednesday 25th.
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| Mute Swan |
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| Eurasian Coot |
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| Eurasian Blackbird |
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Oare Marshes and Cliffe Pools
On Saturday July 19th my brother and I headed to Kent to bird in a couple of spots - the lovely Oare Marshes and the RSPB Reserve at Cliffe Pools.
I was still missing a few possible waders and both Gray (Black-bellied) Plover and Golden Plover had been reported at Oare Marshes along with, what would be for some, a twitch bird - a Bonaparte's Gull. We spent an hour and a half at the reserve mostly in the drizzle and dipped on all these birds. But we saw lots of Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew and Redshank on the mudflats and Lapwing, Ruff and Common Sandpiper on the Flood.
Black-winged Stilts had bred at Cliffe Pools this year, although the young were predated, and I had some hope of adding this bird to my UK list. However local birders said that they did not know if the adults were still around. The pools were pretty disappointing although we had a close view of a Hobby chasing a Swift and a distant view of a Whimbrel on the mudflats of the Essex side of the Thames.
A long delay at the M25/A13 roundabout - we moved half a mile in one hour - forced us the long way home and we took back roads from Wennington to Langdon Hills. As luck would have it we found a couple of Red-legged Partridges on the road near Bulphan!
I was still missing a few possible waders and both Gray (Black-bellied) Plover and Golden Plover had been reported at Oare Marshes along with, what would be for some, a twitch bird - a Bonaparte's Gull. We spent an hour and a half at the reserve mostly in the drizzle and dipped on all these birds. But we saw lots of Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew and Redshank on the mudflats and Lapwing, Ruff and Common Sandpiper on the Flood.
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| Black-tailed Godwit |
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| Common Sandpiper |
Black-winged Stilts had bred at Cliffe Pools this year, although the young were predated, and I had some hope of adding this bird to my UK list. However local birders said that they did not know if the adults were still around. The pools were pretty disappointing although we had a close view of a Hobby chasing a Swift and a distant view of a Whimbrel on the mudflats of the Essex side of the Thames.
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| Black-headed Gull |
A long delay at the M25/A13 roundabout - we moved half a mile in one hour - forced us the long way home and we took back roads from Wennington to Langdon Hills. As luck would have it we found a couple of Red-legged Partridges on the road near Bulphan!
Norfolk Trip - day two
On Friday July 18th David and I started the day on the North Norfolk Coast before racing on a twitch to Minsmere en route home.
We left our YHA hostel accommodation at Sheringham in search of a twitch bird - Black-winged Pratincole - that had been at Stiffkey Fen. We soon learned that the bird had left the previous evening, flying high and to the west. Nevertheless Stiffkey was a nice place to bird, with the incoming tide pushing waders onto a lagoon. The best bird at this sight was Eurasian Spoonbill - although all ten birds were inactive.
Our next stop was Cley Marshes, one of the gems of the north Norfolk coast but one which held similar birds to Titchwell and Minsmere. I added Brent Goose (Brant) and Common (Mew) Gull for the trip but otherwise we saw the typical birds of the scrape - for example, Pied Avocet and Ruff. We stopped off at the beach area for a few minutes but the winds were cold and rain was in the air. Sea watching produced nothing, but we enjoyed a number of Sandwich Terns heading towards the roost site at Blakeney Point.
We had finished up at Cley much earlier than planned and spent some time wondering about our next step. We disregarded heading back through the RSPB Reserve at Ouse Washes for possible Garganey. It transpired that this was the new location for the Black-winged Pratincole, although the bird was nto seen until the following day! Instead we decided to head back to Minsmere on a twitch, this time for a Collared Pratincole which had been seen that morning.
Arriving at Minsmere we soon headed for the South Hide from which many birders had just left with tales of wonderful views of the rare bird. Alas we spent a long time in the hide, dehydrating by the second in the heat of the UK's hottest day of the year (low 30s C, near 90F) without luck. This bird was probably resting out of site and would, at some point, fly around for a while before settling again. We had dipped on two species of prantincole in one day!
Nevertheless Minsmere had some surprises for us - just four days after our first stop we had Ruddy Turnstone, Common Snipe, a fly-by Whimbrel and surprisingly Kittiwakes. We also had another close view of a Hobby.
We left our YHA hostel accommodation at Sheringham in search of a twitch bird - Black-winged Pratincole - that had been at Stiffkey Fen. We soon learned that the bird had left the previous evening, flying high and to the west. Nevertheless Stiffkey was a nice place to bird, with the incoming tide pushing waders onto a lagoon. The best bird at this sight was Eurasian Spoonbill - although all ten birds were inactive.
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| Common Terns |
Our next stop was Cley Marshes, one of the gems of the north Norfolk coast but one which held similar birds to Titchwell and Minsmere. I added Brent Goose (Brant) and Common (Mew) Gull for the trip but otherwise we saw the typical birds of the scrape - for example, Pied Avocet and Ruff. We stopped off at the beach area for a few minutes but the winds were cold and rain was in the air. Sea watching produced nothing, but we enjoyed a number of Sandwich Terns heading towards the roost site at Blakeney Point.
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| Dunlin (summer plumage) |
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| Dunlin (moulting into winter plumage) |
We had finished up at Cley much earlier than planned and spent some time wondering about our next step. We disregarded heading back through the RSPB Reserve at Ouse Washes for possible Garganey. It transpired that this was the new location for the Black-winged Pratincole, although the bird was nto seen until the following day! Instead we decided to head back to Minsmere on a twitch, this time for a Collared Pratincole which had been seen that morning.
Arriving at Minsmere we soon headed for the South Hide from which many birders had just left with tales of wonderful views of the rare bird. Alas we spent a long time in the hide, dehydrating by the second in the heat of the UK's hottest day of the year (low 30s C, near 90F) without luck. This bird was probably resting out of site and would, at some point, fly around for a while before settling again. We had dipped on two species of prantincole in one day!
Nevertheless Minsmere had some surprises for us - just four days after our first stop we had Ruddy Turnstone, Common Snipe, a fly-by Whimbrel and surprisingly Kittiwakes. We also had another close view of a Hobby.
Norfolk Trip - day one
On Thursday July 17th David and I headed to the North Norfolk Coast.We drove from Basildon to Thetford for stops at the Lynford Arboretum and Weeting Heath, reached the coast at Hunstanton and then drove to Titchwell and Holkham.
Our first stop at Lynford Arboretum was intended as a spot to stretch our legs after the long drive but several birds were very cooperative. I had good sightings of Goldcrest (which I missed at the Ashdown Forest), Eurasian Siskin and Treecreeper but unexpectedly also saw several Spotted Flycatchers. I had only seen this bird once or twice before but got to enjoy the bird here, first high in the trees and later at eye-level.
The second stop, just a short drive away was to Weeting Heath which delivered our target bird - Eurasian Stone Curlew (Thick-knee). Several of these birds were visible from the hide, all standing so a careful search was not needed, but all quite distant.
A lengthy drive took us to Hunstanton in search of another target - Northern Fulmar. We had short glimpses of this bird from the cliff top on either side of tea, but a walk along the beach gave us close views of both sitting and flying birds. The muddy shore also held Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew.
In late afternoon we drove past Snettisham (an RSPB reserve best in winter) and Holme to the RSPB Reserve at Titchwell. The scrapes and hides were reminiscent of Minsmere and held many of the birds seen earlier in the week, but we added Little Ringed Plover to our list for my trip. We again got to enjoy Ruff in many degrees of moult.
We ended the day driving some back roads (yes we got lost) but did not find any partridge.
Our first stop at Lynford Arboretum was intended as a spot to stretch our legs after the long drive but several birds were very cooperative. I had good sightings of Goldcrest (which I missed at the Ashdown Forest), Eurasian Siskin and Treecreeper but unexpectedly also saw several Spotted Flycatchers. I had only seen this bird once or twice before but got to enjoy the bird here, first high in the trees and later at eye-level.
The second stop, just a short drive away was to Weeting Heath which delivered our target bird - Eurasian Stone Curlew (Thick-knee). Several of these birds were visible from the hide, all standing so a careful search was not needed, but all quite distant.
A lengthy drive took us to Hunstanton in search of another target - Northern Fulmar. We had short glimpses of this bird from the cliff top on either side of tea, but a walk along the beach gave us close views of both sitting and flying birds. The muddy shore also held Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew.
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| Northern Fulmar |
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| Northern Fulmar |
In late afternoon we drove past Snettisham (an RSPB reserve best in winter) and Holme to the RSPB Reserve at Titchwell. The scrapes and hides were reminiscent of Minsmere and held many of the birds seen earlier in the week, but we added Little Ringed Plover to our list for my trip. We again got to enjoy Ruff in many degrees of moult.
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| Ruff |
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| Ruff |
We ended the day driving some back roads (yes we got lost) but did not find any partridge.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Suffolk Trip - day two
On Monday July 14th David and I spent the day at Minsmere and Dunwich Heath, an area which delivered many of the birds we had expected to see.
We arrived at Minsmere around 10am where we immediately enjoyed Sand Martins (Bank Swallows) at the famous sand bank just outside the visitor center. We then spent about 3 hours on the loop around the scrape, stopping to visit the hides on the way round. We saw a (Common) Greenshank at the first hide and at the main hide had Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Dunlin, Ringed Plover. Three tern species were also present - Common, Little and Sandwich Terns - but the bird of the day was my lifer Little Gull. There were a dozen of the birds, petite gulls with a tern-like flight. At the Public Vieweing Point we saw a Eurasian Spoonbill - a new UK bird for me - actively feeding and were then lucky enough to have a long look at a perching Bearded Reedling as we headed inshore past the sluice gate.
After tea we headed back to the beach, this time turning left and going up the hill to the lighthouse where we saw a raft of 70 Common Scoter offshore. The 3 hour loop through heath and woodland delivered the target Dartford Warbler but not the hoped for Adder.
We arrived at Minsmere around 10am where we immediately enjoyed Sand Martins (Bank Swallows) at the famous sand bank just outside the visitor center. We then spent about 3 hours on the loop around the scrape, stopping to visit the hides on the way round. We saw a (Common) Greenshank at the first hide and at the main hide had Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Dunlin, Ringed Plover. Three tern species were also present - Common, Little and Sandwich Terns - but the bird of the day was my lifer Little Gull. There were a dozen of the birds, petite gulls with a tern-like flight. At the Public Vieweing Point we saw a Eurasian Spoonbill - a new UK bird for me - actively feeding and were then lucky enough to have a long look at a perching Bearded Reedling as we headed inshore past the sluice gate.
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| Sand Martin bank at Minsmere |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill |
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| Little Gull |
After tea we headed back to the beach, this time turning left and going up the hill to the lighthouse where we saw a raft of 70 Common Scoter offshore. The 3 hour loop through heath and woodland delivered the target Dartford Warbler but not the hoped for Adder.
Suffolk Trip - day one
On Sunday July 13th David and covered areas of Suffolk near Oulton Broad and Lowestoft, the Blyth Estuary and near Snape.
The day began with some heavy rain but this had mostly subsided by the time we reached our first destination at the northern end of Suffolk. We stopped at Carlton Marsh near Oulton Broad and picked up one of our target birds, and life bird for me, Wood Sandpiper. Although another target, Garganey, was present these birds swam too close to the near shore of a distant pond and I did not feel confident in calling the ID for what would be a new bird for my UK list. Black skies and some rain meant we did not loiter hoping for better views.
Our next stop was Lowestoft Harbour where we easily found our target (Black-legged) Kittiwakes. These birds were also distant, but further away at a pier south of the harbour.
We then headed south for a stop at the Hen Reedbeds close to Blythborough. We did not have target birds in mind but we found a large group of Mediterranean Gulls on the mud, and scanning further we found a couple of Red Knot among the typical waders.
A stop at the farthest hide produced a (mostly sleeping) Green Sandpiper. The contrast with the Wood Sandpiper seen earlier that day was clear. Back at the car park we took tea and scones to a viewpoint around 7:30 where we were treated to a Barn Owl as well as several of the much more expected Marsh Harriers. As we were leaving we heard the purring of a Turtle Dove and found the bird close to the road.
Our final stop of the day was at Blaxhall Heath. After checking into our accommodation at the local YHA hostel we went out before dark and enjoyed the churring, and a brief view of a Nightjar.
The day began with some heavy rain but this had mostly subsided by the time we reached our first destination at the northern end of Suffolk. We stopped at Carlton Marsh near Oulton Broad and picked up one of our target birds, and life bird for me, Wood Sandpiper. Although another target, Garganey, was present these birds swam too close to the near shore of a distant pond and I did not feel confident in calling the ID for what would be a new bird for my UK list. Black skies and some rain meant we did not loiter hoping for better views.
Our next stop was Lowestoft Harbour where we easily found our target (Black-legged) Kittiwakes. These birds were also distant, but further away at a pier south of the harbour.
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| Black-legged Kittiwake |
We then headed south for a stop at the Hen Reedbeds close to Blythborough. We did not have target birds in mind but we found a large group of Mediterranean Gulls on the mud, and scanning further we found a couple of Red Knot among the typical waders.
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| Mediterranean Gulls |
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| Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls |
A stop at the farthest hide produced a (mostly sleeping) Green Sandpiper. The contrast with the Wood Sandpiper seen earlier that day was clear. Back at the car park we took tea and scones to a viewpoint around 7:30 where we were treated to a Barn Owl as well as several of the much more expected Marsh Harriers. As we were leaving we heard the purring of a Turtle Dove and found the bird close to the road.
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| Hen Reedbeds |
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| Green Sandpiper |
Our final stop of the day was at Blaxhall Heath. After checking into our accommodation at the local YHA hostel we went out before dark and enjoyed the churring, and a brief view of a Nightjar.
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