Hip, Hip, hoopoe

One of the birds I've seen a lot of abroad but not in the UK is the hoopoe. I've been for one about 3 times but dipped. Not only is that annoying but it is also a cracking bird, so exotic looking compared to many of our British birds.
One has been cropping on bird guides in North Kent for a few weeks, and apparently has been there since November. Had to be done. Destination was a small town called Snodland and the bird was showing either on the golf course or in a field near a vets. I got on site about 7.45 and met two other birders. One was pleased as he had just seen it, although in doing so he flushed it away from the putting green near the car-park!!! Well, at least it's not left. The next hour was spent in the company of two or three other birders combing the area and its two or three favourite areas. One of these was a large area of lawn behind a very large house. A comprehensive scouring of this from the scrub nearby did result though in a very posh lady coming out and giving myself and another birder a good bollocking - i think she was getting a bit fed up of birders either going into her garden (which we weren't) or peering onto her property. We retreated.
Eventually after another 6 birders turned up and we all scoured the birds apparent favourite place behind the vets house it finally gave itself up. Only for about 5 minutes though, when it popped out from cover and behaved in a very hoopoe-like manner, probing the grass for worms. Then it retreated back from whence it came leaving more arriving birders to scour the countryside for it.

This still left me a good part of the day though, so next stop was about 45 minutes away in Ramsgate Cemetery! A Hume's leaf warbler has been resident there since Xmas or so, just inside the gate. He weather wasn't brilliant by the time i got there - cold, overcast, windy. No other birders around but only a few large trees for it to lurk in. After about 10 minutes it started calling, a very precise and clear two-note call. It took a bit longer for it to show itself though, and it was never great views but you could make out the eye-stripe.

Last stop was down to Sandwich Bay, only a short hop along the coast. There had been 2 shore larks reported as well as firecrests, neither of which i have seen yet this year. What i didn't realise though was that it is a private estate and it costs £7 to get in!!! Never mind eh...
With no clear maps it took a bit of finding to locate the pub by which time rain had set in. A 20 minute wait though and it cleared over so i walked across the gold course to the beach. A short search got me onto 2 quite flighty birds in the wind along with a pair of ringed plovers. As i was leaving i got a brucie bonus of a pair of grey partridge in the nearby fields. I spent 45 minutes or so in a wood where i was told the firecrests were but with no luck, so as another rain storm was approaching i called it a day.
All round, not bad.One lifer, the hoopoe and 3 year ticks. Life list now up to 330 and year-list up to 167 (or 170 if you count the cackling goose, ruddy shelduck and sibe cc).

Well worth the wait

Spring has sprung but I've not finished mopping up a last few of the remaining Winter migrants still around. One that took my fancy on Saturday was the long-staying two-barred crossbill at Farnham. This is a slightly controversial bird. Although showing clearly defined wings bars and having a structure more reminiscent of its smaller cousin rather than our normal crossbill it has also been consorting with a female common. Most consensus is that it is a 2-bar.
Anyway, the morning was clear and bright if slightly chilly and i got to the rural life centre about 7.45. The heath is directly behind the centre which was where the crossbill has been reported.
The bird song was stunning as i  arrived. At least 3 pairs of woodlarks were in full song, both from the wing and perched. Dartford Warblers were singing in the heather, although i only managed to get 2 or 3 brief views, as the wind got up through the morning keeping them below scrub height. Occasional small groups of common crossbills flittered around, including one very smart male bird.
After about 10.30 small groups of other birders started to appear on site and with a bit of local knowledge we tied the best area down to the line of trees directly behind the centre. With about 8-12 'scopes now trained on the trees, they quickly gave up a flock of siskins, a female brambling and a few lesser redpolls. We got good views of a lone female crossbill as well but no 2-bar.
Then someone got onto a male - "its only a common, wait no, is it, bloody hell its got wing bars" followed by some rapid but confusing "in the trees, that one in the middle, about half-way up, behind a branch". Then it flew, or at least a group of about 3 birds flew out before i got onto them. They appeared to settle in another group of pines about 200 yards away. Bad decision #1. I left the rest of the group to try and 'scope the other trees. I stood by a lone pine, next to a pond. After about 10 minutes of  nothing i turned round to join the rest of the group only to be met by one of them coming towards me. The bird had only been perched above my bloody head for a minute waiting to come into the pool to drink. Well, at least it was around.
So, back to the group and we spent the next hour grilling the trees where it appeared to have gone into. We kept hearing crossbills calling but none gave themselves up.
Bad decision #2. Our view was obscured and by going back to my lone tree i could see round a corner deeper into the wood. So, off i went again. Guess what. I'd gone about 40 yards when i saw everyone elses 'scopes swing round to a tree in the opposite direction. Did a Usain Bolt like run back to them just in time to see a bird fly off the top. Luckily, it only circled and came back to the next door tree. Got onto it straight away-  beautiful male bird, lovely wing-bars. took a few distant digiscope images (uploading later) of it before it flew off. Was that the bird - -yes. Is it a 2-bar, who knows. One clearly knowledgeable birder on site was totally convinced, talking about tertials and primaries. LGRE seeks to differ, but for the moment , i'm having it and it was a bloody good looking bird and well worth a 5 hour wait!!!!

Cirling gold

One of the birds still on my to-get list for lifers is the cirl bunting. A previously common(er) breeder in the UK they are now limited to a number of small populations, mainly in the south west. This means a long old trek though into darkest Devon. Still, had to be done and seeing as Judith was away for the whole weekend it meant i had the time.
Research on the interweb suggested Broadsands as the best area now. It used to be Prawle point, but a bloke has been feeding the birds in the car park there. Directions seemed a bit vague - park in the first car-park, walk through the second car-park and view by the beach huts. On site though it was dead easy. Parked up by a barrier into an overflow car park and whilst i was getting my gear out one flew over and sat in a tree nearby. In the corner were a loads of beach huts (albeit 200 yards from the beach and in a car park!) and a skip. That was where the birds were. There was already grain on the ground, but i added another pack of Waitrose finest seed and almost immediately 10-15 birds were on the floor tucking in. They are all really tame. Without trying to be too stealthy i got to within 20 or 30 feet quite easily. Not the most picturesque of locations but lovely birds nonetheless.

This was all done and dusted by about 9.15 (yes i left really early) so i had the rest of the day free as i had agreed to go and visits Judith's mum in Weymouth and stay overnight.

Next stop was about 30 minutes away - Dawlish Warren. My main target was a Siberian chiffchaff. This is a sub-species of our common chiffchaff but is tickable on some lists. The main difference is that they are much duller, almost grey, in plumage. This one was reported in the bushes by the entrance track and after about 5 minutes it tracked it down. It was in a territorial dispute with, i presume, a resident common chiffchaff and was showing well. As for most of its type it was pretty mobile but i did get a few decent views.

As well as this there were two long-tailed ducks offshore, at least two velvet scoters, a red-necked grebe and probably a Slavonian grebe, all on a flat clam sea.

My last visit was to Lyme Regis. This can be a reliable spot for dippers. Park in Anning road and there is a path alongside a small river/ stream flowing out into the bay. If you keep your eyes peeled there is a good chance of spotting one on the rocks in the stream. This time it was upstream of the bridge meaning views were not great but they are always a lovely bird to see.

Elsewhere over the weekend i also went to Lodmoor, portland Bill and Durlston but everywhere was pretty quiet. I did find a pair of ravens at Durlston but nothing much else of note. This yellowhammer was quite obliging on the road over the ranges.

Spring has sprung

There is a real feel of spring in the air today. The birds, well the ones who are here, are getting into song, the trees and shrubs are showing a haze of green and the first butterflies and bees are on the wing.
Down at Maple Lodge the Cetti's warbler and wager rail were on good form from rotunda hide. There are two male Cetti's in song but so far no definite sightings of a female/ pair. Fingers crossed hoping they might breed.

Rail-tastic

A beautiful day, almost a feel of spring in the air. Got down to Maple Lodge just after 7.15 with bird song all around and the trees just starting to show green.
The floods of the last few weeks seem to have subsided somewhat and the path down to Teal hide is now a path not a stream....
Not too much around on Lynster's field this week, even without the wildfowlers but I did pick up 3 grey wagtails, or possibly 4, coming off our lake and flying over towards Lynsters. I've been after grey wagtails for the last couple of weeks as i needed them for my year list, which is now up to 152!!
I then hot-footed round to Rotunda, as the sun was shining bright and water rails and Cetti's warblers are being seen regularly from there. I only had to wait about a minute for the Cetti's to burst into song, and about 5 minutes for a water rail to come out onto the marshy area and start feeding. Over the next 30 minutes or so both were regularly in view (and song/call) together with a reed bunting on the bird table and a green woodpecker on the grassy area.
I managed to get a quite nice sequence of shots of the water rail despite it being a bit skulky and mainly staying in the shady area.

Photos of the Cetti's were, as ever, more problematical as it rarely showed well or for very long, but i think patience and a slightly longer lens than 300mm could get something worth keeping.

 Finally, later i the morning the geese popped back to Lynsters' along with the mini-goose, the lesser Canada or cackling goose. This shot shows the marked size difference between the two species...

Norwegian blue?

Blimey! A day without rain or gale force winds predicted. Not even a "is your journey really necessary" message from big brother. So, with a couple of days leave still to use up by end of the month I set off before dawn for Norfolk. Two targets - Richards pipit and parrot crossbill. I've already dipped on the pipit, which would be a lifer, and it always has the phrase of "elusive" added to sightings which is never good.
I was in Norfolk as dawn was breaking, and when I was near Welney I spotted about a hundred swans in a field. Location and time of year caused a sudden braking and turning off into a field. Even with the bins I could see they had yellow not red bills so the 'scope came out. This means they are not our normal mute swans but the birds who migrate every winter from northern climes. Welney acts as a magnet for them. They were mainly whoopers but I got at least 2 pairs of Bewicks in with them as well.
Carrying on with the good start I saw two barn owls hunting the verges. Their population has really suffered over the last few years and whereas I would normally almost guarantee seeing them, even in Norfolk they are good birds to see. I also picked up a small covey of red-legged partridge in a field near Fakenham.
So, first main stop was Kelling for the Richards pipit. It has been there for a couple of months but ranges widely. Over about 90 minutes I got meadow pipits but nothing else. No other birders on site to help so I gave up. Annoyingly it was seen later on, but about half a mile away from where I was looking anyway!
Next stop was at Holt, or more precisely Edgefield, for the parrot crossbills. This is one of the flocks which, along with their 2-barred cousins, have invaded this winter. Crossbills as a family do what they say on the tin - their bill is crossed allowing them to pick seeds out of pine cones. The parrot crossbills are told mainly by their enormous, thick bills compared to our residents. This was much easier than the pipit. About 8 birders were already on site with 'scopes all pointing at the same tree. The flock numbered about 15 and were mainly at great range (500 yards??). Even at this range you could see the size of their conks!!  Eventually they did fly down to a nearby pond to have drink, which they did on average every hour, allowing me to grab a few digiscoped shots.

 You should be able to see the large beak.On reviewing the photos I also picked out a common crossbill.
Last stop was Holme dunes. A short walk along the beach delivered a nice, if mobile, flock of about 35 or 40 snow buntings.
Other than that, pretty quiet. Usual waders and gulls, brent and pink-footed geese, marsh harriers. Moves me up to 148 for the year  (or 150 if you count ruddy shelduck, which 400club does, and the slightly dodgy cackling goose at maple Lodge!!) and back up to 17th place.

Bluetail bonanza

Lifers take precedence over all others and I've learnt from bitter experience (green heron among others) that waiting for weather/ a more convenient day means the bird clears off. So, the report of a red-flanked bluetail in Gloucestershire meant a day-off at the earliest possible opportunity. Wednesday was dreadful weather but today had a window in the morning when it was at least not chucking it down.
A not too bad start of 6am got me to the Gloucestershire countryside near Marshfield by about 8. Although you always worry about finding the right spot from the instructions, about 15 cars parked on a small country lane gives the game away. Only about 10 minutes walk down a very muddy field led me to a herd (gaggle?) of birders all studying a bush. I got straight on to the bird.
RFBT's, as it will now be known, are normally in Finland in the Summer and migrate to Asia in the Winter, so this is the wrong side of the country and the wrong time of year. Most records are autumnal on the East coast. We normally get a couple or so sightings a year in the UK. This had led to speculation that this may have been either around here or at least in the UK since it tried to migrate and got lost in the Autumn. Also, it may stay around till the urge to migrate in the Spring.
Anyway, this is a bird that really does what it says on the tin. The size and habit of a robin, it has red flanks rather than a red-breast and a very attractive blue tail which it shows off by flicking incessantly. The photos, which were all at range and in very poor light, show off the main features.

They also show what it was doing most of the time - flitting from hawthorn bushes to the ground to get worms and then taking them back to the tree to eat them. Generally it was pretty confiding and came as close as 6 feet at one point giving great views if not ones that were easy to capture. 

I stayed with the bird for about 30 minutes before moving off. The weather was closing on so the only other bird i managed to get was a pair of ruddy shelducks, which are not tickable on BOU rules, only on 400 club, but are great birds to see.

Takes me up to 141 on the year-list and 327 (400club)/ 319 (bou) on my UK life-lists.