16 Thursday May 2019
Little, Great white and Cattle egrets all made it on to our birding lists during our Kent adventure. We had just one Great white, at RSPB Dungeness, and four Cattle egrets, also at Dungeness.
The Little egrets were much more common and widespread, with birds being seen at Oare Marshes, Restharrow Scrape near Sandwich, Rye Harbour in East Sussex, Pegwell Bay and Cliffe Pools.
04 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside, winter
After the rain and low cloud cleared late morning, I headed to the seaside for the afternoon, to Barry, a short train ride west along the south Wales coast. Despite the chilly wind blowing in off the sea, the day was glorious and I walked around the Knap, the Old Harbour, the beach at Barry Island and then along the old docks to catch the train home. The tide was out so it was a good time to check the now-silted-up Old Harbour for birds and I was delighted to spot this Little egret puddling about in one of the channels, trying to stir up something for its lunch. Such an elegant bird.
14 Monday Jan 2019
Tags
birding, birtdwatching, Brent geese, British birds, Curlew, Dunlin, Glamorgan Bird Club, horses, Little egret, Llanrhidian Marsh, Oystercatchers, saltmarsh, Shelduck, Whiteford Point
Yesterday was our first Glamorgan Bird Club field trip for 2019, and what a magnificent day it was!
I hadn’t been to this part of the Gower peninsula before – our walk was through the National Trust property at Whiteford Point – and the scenery, like that all over the Gower, was stunning.
With forestry, saltmarsh and coast line, the environment is very diverse, which means there’s a wonderful variety of flora and fauna to be seen, not just birds – though the bird life certainly didn’t disappoint. And there were many handsome ponies nibbling on the saltmarsh.
As well as most of the smaller, more common birds – blackbirds, robins, singing Song thrushes, calling Bullfinches, a big mixed flock of Chaffinches, Linnets and Reed buntings – we also disturbed both Common snipe and Jack snipe that were lurking in the reed beds next to the path. The Jack snipe was a lifer for me, though views were brief as the birds shot up suddenly and unexpectedly, flew a short way, then disappeared back into the reeds.
Once we reached the beach, we saw a wide range of waders and sea birds. Here a flock of Dunlin flies past Brent geese grazing along the shoreline.
More skittish Dunlin flying along the shore, this time above the heads of feeding Shelducks.
It was wonderful to see such good numbers of Curlew, here with even larger numbers of the ubiquitous Oystercatchers. We also enjoyed sightings of some less common birds – a Great northern diver quite close to the shore; a Slavonian grebe further off and diving frequently so not easy to keep track of; a Red-breasted merganser a distant speck through the ’scopes.
My favourites were undoubtedly the Eider ducks. I fell in love with them when I first heard their call on our birding trip to Northumberland last year.
Eventually, we made the long trek back to the cars and moved on to nearby Llanrhidian Marsh, to await the dusk, hopeful of harriers and perhaps an owl or two. More ponies were running free on the marsh – they looked unloved and uncared for, their manes very long and tatty, but, as we waited, a man arrived and fed them some meal from a bucket. They were very handsome and quite inquisitive.
The marsh seemed alive with Little egrets, and we had good sightings of several Great whites – another year first for me. Some of our group saw a Hen harrier, and a couple of Red kites came in gliding low, hunting for their supper, but no owls appeared and the harrier did not return.
Still, as the sun went down, we were treated to this stunning sunset, and we returned home tired but happy after a most excellent day’s birding in a superb setting.
Here’s my trip list: Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Buzzard, Eider, Redshank, Snipe, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Curlew, Teal, Wigeon, Golden Plover, Stonechat, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great White Egret, Great Northern Diver, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Greenshank, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Pintail, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red Kite, Red-breasted Merganser, Reed Bunting, Robin, Sanderling, Shelduck, Slavonian Grebe, Song Thrush, Starling, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
My birding friend and I saw Greenshank at Penclawdd when we stopped for a quick scan on the way to Whiteford Point so my total for the day was 61 and, as other birders saw a few birds I didn’t, the club’s total was 70. Those extras were, most notably, that Hen harrier but also Common gull, Green sandpiper, Jay, Merlin, Redwing, Rook, Stock dove and Turnstone.
02 Friday Nov 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Green sandpiper, Little egret, RSPB Arne, RSPB Lytchett Fields, Spoonbill, trip list
Sunday at Portland Obs dawned cold and windy – again – so, at around 9am, we set off on a meandering route back to south Wales. First stop was a reserve new to all of us, RSPB Lytchett Fields. In fact, it’s just plain new, having only been open to the public since 2013. Sitting on the northern edge of Poole Harbour, the fields contain a series of large and small pools, reed beds, wet grassland and sacrificial crops that are ideal for waders and over-wintering finches.
Teal seemed to be the dominant species during our visit but we also saw two Green sandpipers, Dunlins, Redshanks, Black-tailed godwits and a Common gull, as well as both Peregrine and Sparrowhawk out hunting. This reserve will only get better and is well worth a visit.
From Lytchett Fields, it was a short drive to RSPB Arne, an enormous area of woodland and scrub on the western shores of Poole Harbour. Thanks to our knowledgeable team, at Arne I learnt to spot the difference between the holes made in trees by Great spotted and Lesser spotted woodpeckers – not surprisingly, the Great spotted’s hole (on the left) is, well, greater and the Lesser spotted’s (on the right) is smaller – but seeing them side by side was a really useful comparison.
Our target species at Arne was the Dartford warbler but we couldn’t find the little blighters anywhere. However, the flock of 42 Spoonbills more than made up for them, and we also spotted Brent geese, Avocets, Wigeon, Curlew, lots of Little egrets, and one Grey plover, amongst other things (be sure to check tomorrow’s blog post for those).
By mid afternoon we were back at the car park, a little footsore and weary, ready to start making our way homeward. Thanks to Alan, our organiser and team leader, and our wonderful group of birders/friends, and, of course, to all the fabulous birds we saw, it had been yet another excellent Glamorgan Bird Club trip – I do love them!
Here’s my list for the full 3 days, a total of 83 species: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Brent Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Lesser Yellowlegs, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Turnstone, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Short-eared Owl, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Cetti’s Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Wren, Nuthatch, Starling, Blackbird , Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Chaffinch, Brambling, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, Corn Bunting, and, on the way home but still east of the M5, a Grey partridge flew up in front of the car.
The team total was 99, as the following birds were also seen or heard by members of our group: Pintail, Common Scoter, Water Rail, Great Crested Grebe, Shag, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sandwich Tern, Little Owl, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Swallow, Rook, Raven, Coal Tit, Blackcap and Treecreeper.
31 Wednesday Oct 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Black-tailed godwit, British birds, Greenshank, Lapwing, Lesser yellowlegs, Little egret, Lodmoor, RSPB Lodmoor, Ruff, Snipe, Teal
Oh to have somewhere like RSPB Lodmoor as my local birding patch! Its 76 hectares of wetlands and grasslands, saltmarsh and reed beds are home to a huge variety of birds and often attract passing rarities, plus it’s a lovely place to walk and all within a mile of Weymouth town centre.
This was our second stop on the way to Portland last Friday. Our target bird was the Lesser yellowlegs – amazingly, a Lesser yellowlegs was also at Lodmoor when we went to Portland in 2017 – but there were many other lovely birds to be seen, and, as I was able to get reasonably good photos, some of these birds will be getting their own blog posts in the coming days. So, here are some tasters of what you can expect to see at this outstanding reserve.
Most of my photos of the Black-tailed godwits are like this first one – heads down, bottoms up – but I did manage to get some head shots.
Just a few years ago Little egrets would have been a rare sight in Britain but not any more. They’re now well settled, breeding and frequently seen.
I love the colours in the Lapwings’ plumage. They look plain black and white from a distance but are, in fact, adorned in rich sumptuous greens. Such elegant birds.
We saw several Snipe poking about in the mud for food.
After the Canada geese, probably the second most abundant species of bird we saw was Teal, many of which were sheltering from the freezing wind behind clumps of reeds. If you look carefully, you can just see a Ruff in the centre near the reeds.
The star of the Lodmoor show, the Lesser yellowlegs, seen here behind a Black-tailed godwit and to the left of 2 lovely Greenshanks. All three of these birds will be getting their own blog posts.
18 Tuesday Sep 2018
Tags
birding, Birding at Goldcliff, birdwatching, British birds, Curlew, Curlew sandpiper, Goldcliff lagoons, Hobby, Little egret, Pied wagtail, Yellow wagtail
On my way to Goldcliff, I told Tim and Alan, our leader for the day, that I wanted to see a Curlew sandpiper, a Little stint, a Hobby and a Marsh harrier, as they would all be year ticks for me to add to my 2018 birding list. Amazingly, I saw three of those four – only the Marsh harrier failed to appear – and I still managed to add four new birds to my list as we also had a fly-over of four Pintails.
Our small but enthusiastic group of eight started the day at Goldcliff, where the lagoon water levels are still very low after summer’s drought conditions – in fact, the fresh water pool is just a sea of cracked mud, awaiting some decent rainfall to refill it. It was a couple of hours before high tide and the birding started very slowly as small flocks of waders began to fly in from feeding out in the channel.
A Curlew probed the mud for small molluscs, and one of several Little egrets flitted from place to place.
Then the cattle started heading our way, shepherding along with them a veritable herd of Yellow and Pied wagtails.
How entertaining these little birds are as they flit lightly up and down, snapping up the insects stirred up by the cows’ feet.
The wagtails seem incredibly brave as they strut between the cattle’s relatively enormous legs and dice with death within an inch of a cow’s be-whiskered face, yet the cattle ignore them, probably happy to have their very own and very active insect catchers.
The high tide was crashing against the sea wall when we eventually made our way to the furthest hide and we sheltered there, checking out Wheatears, water birds and waders, while a couple of heavy rain showers blew through. By that time, more and more flocks were landing in the pool in front of the first hide so back we stomped to turn the ’scopes and bins on those birds.
Almost as soon as we returned, a friendly local birder put us on to some of the more special birds, and they were my year ticks, the Curlew sandpipers, the Little stint and that stunning bird of the prey, the Hobby.
No sooner had I said I’d like to see the Hobby fly that up in to the air it went, flew a swift circuit of the pool and landed back near where it had started. Magical!
Eventually, we left Goldcliff’s lovely lagoons and headed along the road to the RSPB’s Newport Wetlands reserve at Uskmouth. After a welcome drink, we had a wander down to the lighthouse at the sea wall, adding a few more birds to our day’s tally as we went. One of our Tims (we had two Tims on this trip) was very lucky to see a Bearded tit in flight and our other Tim spotted a couple of Porpoises just off the coast, which was a delightful way to round off a most excellent day.
My total list for the day was 59 species: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew, Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Long-tailed Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Starling, Robin, Northern Wheatear, House Sparrow, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting, and Wren. And there were 3 species I didn’t spot (Stock Dove, Sand Martin, Skylark) so the trip list was a whopping 62 for the day.
22 Thursday Feb 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cuckmere Haven, Egretta garzetta, Little egret, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Winchelsea Beach
It seems Little egrets (Egretta garzetta) are rather partial to southern England as I saw several during my holiday in East Sussex last week, at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and in the fields behind Winchelsea Beach.
We also get Little egrets in Wales, of course, and I’ve blogged about them before, when there were two visiting a Cardiff lake last July, but I was delighted to get much closer to one particular bird last Saturday at Cuckmere Haven. The weather was glorious, and people were out in droves to enjoy the almost-summery day, but this lovely little bird simply moved slightly further away as they passed, then returned to the well-trodden grassy path to continue probing for earthworms and miscellaneous insects.
21 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted in birds, coastal fauna, nature
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Brent geese, British birds, Chesil Beach, Dorset Wildlife Trust Centre, Little egret, Mediterranean gulls, Oystercatchers, Sandwich terns, The Fleet
After exploring RSPB Lodmoor, our birding road trip moved on to Chesil Beach, and what an amazing place it is!
To quote a brochure I picked up: ‘Chesil Beach is a natural wonder – a bank of 180 billion pebbles stretching for 18 miles along Dorset’s coast, linking Portland to the mainland. Trapped behind the beach is the Fleet, one of the largest saline lagoons in the country and a haven for bird and marine life’.
Here we staked ourselves out behind the Dorset Wildlife Trust Centre, trying, somewhat ineffectually, to shelter from the bracing winds. The wind chill was worth it though, as we had good views of a gaggle of Brent geese and a large flock of Mediterranean gulls.
Amongst the gulls were two Sandwich terns, and the beach was also hosting the ubiquitous Oystercatchers and more common gulls, a Bar-tailed godwit and a solitary Dunlin.
A Wheatear dotted about on the grass below the pebble bank and, when we briefly stopped here again on our way home on Sunday, a Little egret entertained with its fishing antics, paddling about very successfully in the waterways. Next time I need to climb that bank!
28 Monday Aug 2017
Tags
benefits of binoculars, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Goldfinch, Little egret, Rock pipit, Yellowhammer
I have always been a bird lover but my birding enjoyment has increased immeasurably since I finally bought myself a pair of binoculars. (I’d previously relied on using the 300mm lens on my camera to bring me closer to distant birds but I now realise how utterly inadequate that was.) From yesterday’s trip to Gileston and Aberthaw with my bird club, here’s why buying bins has been brilliant …
I could see these Goldfinches with the naked eye and the camera got a reasonable, though not crisp shot.
This was my first sighting of a Yellowhammer this year. You can perhaps just make out a yellow dot perched on top of the hedge.
You’ll have to take my word for this one – there’s a Sparrowhawk in this photo. It was well camouflaged but I could just see it with my bins.
There were lots of waders foraging on the beach: Turnstones, Dunlins and cute little Ringed plovers. Just specks through the camera, though.
This one’s a little easier. Spot the Rock pipit.
Their bright Persil whiteness makes these two Little egrets much easier to see but with the bins I could almost see what they were catching for lunch!
31 Monday Jul 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Burry Port, Glamorgan Bird Club, Kidwelly Quay, Little egret, Oystercatcher, Sandwich tern, Swallow, Whimbrel
Yesterday I joined my Glamorgan Bird Club buddies on a field trip to Kidwelly Quay and Burry Port, the furthest west I’ve been so far in Wales. The scenery was superb and, though the stiff westerlies were tear-inducing, we managed to dodge most of the fast-moving squalls. The birds were mostly too distant for my camera but, not yet having binoculars of my own, I was very grateful to have the loan of a Club pair so enjoyed excellent views of a great range of waders and shore birds. And I bagged a lifer!
Swallows on the wires
A whimbrel
A profusion of Little egrets
Oystercatchers at rest and, below, on the move.
The highlight of the day for me was seeing the marvellous aerial displays of my first-ever Sandwich terns.
Time to head for the cars before this arrived!
