BRITISH BIRDING DIARY 2008
1st January: Glos: The year started with a showy Cattle Egret at Fretherne in Gloucestershire, part of the large invasion of this increasingly common continental vagrant this winter. It fed with three Little Egrets. At Slimbridge, the Tack Piece held 119 Bewick's, 3 Ruff and a smart Spotted Redshank whilst at the Holden Tower the Tundra Bean Goose showed well amongst Eastern White-fronted Geese. At the Zeiss Hide, a Cetti's called unseen and a Peregrine gave a fantastic show hunting Lapwing and over a thousand Golden Plover in the sky.
Cattle Egret - Fretherne, Glos - 1.1.08
A common continental breeder which disperses in winter; formerly a great UK rarity, it has increased considerably and this winter has seen double figures arriving on the south coast.
16th January: West Wittering, Sussex: My resolution in 2008 is only twitch birds of quality. Today was a case in point, and very rewarding. After a smooth train and bus journey, I arrived at West Wittering and after minutes of scanning, picked up the absolutely stunning, ornate and in all ways wonderful Red-breasted Goose as it fed with Brents in coastal fields. It was a really captivating bird, one where you just couldn't look away, and certainly worth the four hours of travelling either side of it. It also came with flawless "credentials" having been suggested to be a returning winter bird that wandered the south coast last year, and its behaviour and flock association were also indicative of a true vargrant. On the sea I also picked up a pair of Slavonian Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser and Sanderling.
Red-breasted Goose - West Wittering, Sussex - 16.1.08
A localised and endangered goose wintering in Eastern Europe, with the principle wintering sites around the Black Sea Coast. This is presumably a bird displaced during its normal migration and this one toured the south coast the previous winter.
A cracking set of Barn Owls fluttered by as I moved to the reserve main. After failing to locate Black Brant, I worked the East Bank and shoreline where a flock of Snow Buntings flew past, at least one Red-throated Diver sat on the sea, a very brief Merlin hurtled along a ditch and out of view and at dusk, ten Marsh Harriers circled against a crimson sky. All in all, a great day out.
Spotted Sandpiper - Lisvane Reservoir, Glamorgan - 3.2.08
This is the American sister-species of the Common Sandpiper, breeding across North America. Without the spotting, a hint of which is now visible near the vents of this bird, a weaker wing-bar in flight and the distinctly yellowish colour of the legs are two good distinguishing features, but to me the pattern on the shoulder and the black vermiculations across the wing and back were particularly striking.
6th February: Gosport, Hampshire: A fast journey down to Portsmouth Harbour saw me jump on board a boat across to Gosport, where I soon arrived at the Boating Lake. An adult Mediterranean Gull, the first of 4 today, was soon picked out amongst Black-headed Gulls, but I simply couldn't transform any of the common gulls into the wintering ring-billed. Three hours later at 3:15, thoroughly-drenched after an extremely heavy squall had passed slowly overhead, I clocked the Ring-billed Gull which, once seen clearly, was a very striking and attractive species and a long overdue scarcity for me. I obtained some reasonable digiscoped shots through a misty lens before all the birds took flight, and this enigmatic species disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
Ring-billed Gull - Gosport, Hampshire - 6.2.08
11th January: Farmoor Reservoir, Oxon: An evening trip today saw the reservoir at its most beautiful. The gull roost failed to produce any species of interest but a pair of Smew on the far bank were completely unexpected. Many thanks to Nick Hallam for his gulling advice and the lift back to the village.
Farmoor Reservoir - Evening - 11.2.08
13th February: Tehidy Country Park, Cornwall: My last twitch of this Oxford term took me on a long, scenic ride to Cambourne, where in Mediterranean sunshine I arrived with a few hours of daylight to explore. I immediately located a Firecrest which showed briefly but only 2 hours later, on phoning Birdline, did I discover I was in the wrong car park. Relocating, I discovered another cracking male Firecrest adjacent to the cafe, before ramming into a showy Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler that appeared at close range. I was able to see the strikingly grey mantle, lack of second wing bar and dark culmen to the bill as well as hear the bird utter its diagnostic call, a "KI-wi", before it appeared to settle down for the night. A desperate effort for food in Cambourne saw me stranded at Exeter, which though inconvenient, meant a wader-fest to follow...
Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler - Tehidy, Cornwall - 13.2.08
An annual autumn vagrant to the UK, increasing in recent years, this is one of two wintering birds in Cornwall at the time of writing. 1-5 Hume's now winter in the UK each year, favouring areas of damp vegetation, seemingly with a preference for alder carr. A Siberian species, this has a more easterly breeding range than the much commoner Yellow-browed, though its range overlaps in the Sayan, Southern Siberia. Previously considered a sub-species of Yellow-browed Warbler, Hume’s Leaf Warbler is very similar to Yellow-browed Warbler but is more grey above, has less of a yellow supercilium which does not reach the bill, less yellow and fainter wing bars (particularly the second wing bar) and has a distinctive disyllabic call. This photo is sadly not mine, but kindly provided by Matt Sallis, who posted these excellent shots on RBA and was the only birder to capture this bird.
14th February; Exe Estuary, Devon: Awaking to a grey dawn, I decided for £2 extra train fare, I might as well go for the long-staying dowitcher at Bowling Green. On arrival, a huge throng of waders included Spotted Redshank, Knot, Avocet, both Godwits, Golden and Grey Plover and so on; a spectacular sight. After a few hours, there was no sign of the Dowitcher so, courtesy of Henry Lawrence, I was given a new lease as we birded land behind the old Exminster Hospital. Despite failing to locate Woodlark or Cirl, a flock of 50 Bramblings was a great sight. A further effort at Bowling Green was also fruitless so I reluctantly headed away from this great site and home.
Avocet - Exe Estuary, Devon - 14.2.08
9th March: Chasewater, Staffordshire: Arriving at Stubber's Green, Aldridge, I searched for the very regular Caspian Gull seen only yesterday, unaware that I was missing a crucial bit of info, for which I got ribbed by every Brummie birder I met that day: the nearby tip was shut. My lease of life was extended by Paul Jeynes who kindly took me to the Chasewater roost. Sadly, we were treated to the worst gulling he'd had this winter. A cracking Great Northern Diver entertained, as did an undistinctive 2nd w Yellow-legged Gull before, in zero light, I was shown a very distant 2nd w Caspian Gull. Despite my best efforts, I was only able to distuinguish its dark bill tip in the poor conditions. Cheers Paul for your time, and fair play to you Midlands guys for carring on in face of days like today!
15th March: Forest of Dean, Glos: A hard morning's work today with new-found local birder Richard Ford. After an initial very early Swallow at Farmer's Green being the earliest ever recorded in Glos, we were eventually rewarded with a brief Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flying over at the Cannop Ponds. A frustrating stint at Brierley eventually paid off, with several smart Bramblings and at least two Hawfinch, which gave excellent views. At Boy's Grave, a smart, flighty Great Grey Shrike perched up close-by in the rain and a few Mandarins graced Mallards Pike Lakes before rain closed in for good.
17th - 21st March: Speyside, Highland: And before anyone gets excited, this was a week of sub-zero daytime temperatures, strong winds and snow. Travelling with a non-birding friend, I enjoyed a week of mountain walking and biking, but sadly two overnight camps at a secret Caper lek were not enough to produce birds, with heavy snow making the Caledonian woods beautiful but inhospitable. Over the course of the week several Red Grouse, Icelandic Greylags and a Dipper at Nethybridge were virtually the sole birds of "note" during our stay. So yet again, what is possibly the most exciting UK resident of all remained wonderfully concealed. Here are some photos of glorious scenery and mountain hikes, to show that in Speyside at least, it's not all about the birds:
Fun & Games in the Cairngorms National Park. From top: Me on the Cairn Lochan ridge in -13; Joe attempts a Snowman and below: a double-edged sword - lovely snow, no Capers!
23rd March: Frampton-on-Severn, Glos: At last, a decent view of a decent bird, something sorely missing over the last month! After a hour and a half scanning the 100 Acre pool, I eventually located a smart drake Green-winged Teal at 17:15- another overdue scarcity that hadn't been showing since 10:00 in the morning. In addition close-by, a Tawny Owl gave memorable views at its nest box, popping out its head to see what all the fuss was about.
27th March: Northwick Warth, Glos: A local interlude to serious birding was fruitful today, with good flight views of a flushed Jack Snipe and, at dusk, a Short-eared Owl ghosting past. Thanks to Paul Bowerman for his info on these local scarcities.
30th March: Exe Estuary, Devon: Rich and I began to wonder if we weren't bringing each other bad luck today! At Bowling Green Marsh, a dearth of waders left us feeling the Dowitcher might be a dip. Avocet, Knot etc were noted before we moved to a birdless Deepway Lane, Exminster. At Dawlish Warren our fortunes improved when we located the 1st winter Surf Scoter on the sea: I was treated to crisp views of the head pattern before the bird was flushed by a speedboat. Excitement? Sadly not. To me, a Surf is a stunning bird with a pied head and colourful bill to be seen in the wilds of Scotland. In the hours that followed, a strong effort to locate the Dowitcher failed, leaving us in need of a really good trip and not a little disappointed.
1st April: Forest of Dean, Glos: A truly appalling morning's birding continued the downward slide of the year, with a flyover Crossbill and some joke Goshawks about five miles away the only new birds for the year.
26th - 27th April: The Capercaillie Saga: I went back. Drawn to this magical place again, I ignored all threats of dire weather, jumped on the train to Aviemore and after the usual train stresses, reached Mondhuie Guest House in one piece. After a welcome meal I hit bed and at 4am, met with another birder and we reached our tree-house hide in the gloomy forest before dawn. Within minutes, the amazing, bizarre sound of a Capercaillie was carrying through the woods, and very soon before even dawn, a vast male burst from the trees and flew ten feet overhead, like a barrel, and its sudden departure with us invisible suggested the lek may have moved. Despite waiting till 8am, no further birds called. My friend was elated but I was left wanting more. With bags of time to spare, we arrived at Tulloch where, from behind wickar screens, the day got better with stunning view of two Black Grouse in full lek, blowing out their lyre-shape tales and jumping up and down - a breath-taking sight and close enough to fully appreciate.
Visiting birder Tony wanted someone who knew the sites, so we headed first to Cairngorm Mountain, where fighting male Ring Ouzels were very evident, and others sang from fences around the ski centre. In the next three hours, despite a huge effort for Ptarmigan, we failed, with no other birds of note. At nearby Loch Vaa, a superb Slavonian Grebe showed well but a trip to Lochindorb was less successful, with no divers on show. We returned tired, and I was up the next day at 3am.
This time there was no wind and stars overhead and I felt lucky. I had to cycle to the forest balancing a torch on the handle-bars. I reached the hide again and watched the sun rise, waiting. An odd clucking noise drew my attention to a female Capercaillie who flew around the area, perching in a tree and calling continually until about 7am, presumably waiting for a male to fly in. Suddenly I looked down and saw a Crested Tit foraging feet away, oblivious to my presence, whilst a Coal Tit perched besides me and a Great-spotted Woodpecker drummed on the adjacent tree. Being part of the forest, unnoticed, at dawn was itself very special but this was my last chance, so I set off into the forest after 9am. At random points in the forest, at least three male Capercaillies were seen in flight, evidently having dispersed from any lek. Not wishing to disturb any further I was turning to leave, not a little depressed, when out of pure habit I put my bins on a dark shape under the trees, put them down again, then realised what I had seen. A male CAPERCAILLIE, tail-raised, dead-still, with its mouth open but the sound lost to my ears, standing in the shade of a tree, started gliding slowly in and out of sight behind branches, its neck glowing green in the sun, the whole bird looking just like I hoped - ancient, grumpy and mossy. The tail especially was better than I hoped, with fine white painting-like trails all over it and just outrageously big. All the time its huge beak was open, giving an unheard cork impression to the woods around. After a moment I realised it was time to leave, sneaking away as silently as I had come and, like with only the very best birds, wondering if what I had seen wasn't a hallucination caused by fatigue. Of all my birding to date, this was possibly the most awaited sight and the hardest-won. If I don't see anything else this year, I'm not too bothered - for sheer magic, nothing will match that moment.
