Belt and braces

 On the 8th of November last year a strange bird was seen on the River Ribble in Lancashire. A very poor photograph was widely laughed at as being of a great tit. The photographer swore it was a belted kingfisher. A bit of an exchange on twitter got nowhere till a week later when the bird was seen again and this time was positively identified as a very rare bird indeed. Cue a mad rush to go and see it. The only problem being that access to the river was down a "slope of hell" of almost vertical mud. Many tales were told of dislocated shoulders and the like but a lot of birders got to see it. It then disappeared from there only to reappear a bit further down the same river in a more accessible location. A combination of Xmas, bad weather, distance and bad timing meant I couldn't get to go and see it. It then disappeared again and I thought my chance had gone. 

About a week ago though it popped up again in the same place. It had probably not gone anywhere, just people had stopped looking. This time I was determined to see it as it is a full-fat lifer.  The best gen was that it was showing well first thing, then being more sporadic throughout the day. My plan was therefore to get to the site at first light. Only problem was that the site, at Roach Bridge, is 220 miles away. Even by my standards I had a very early start, with the car leaving the house at 2am! An easy drive got me to the village as dawn was breaking, around 6am. Andy, one of our casual twitchers group, pulled in behind me and we both set off for the short walk up a lane and across a field to get to the view over the river.

The river was a long way below us but looked really good kingfisher territory. The belted kingfisher we were after should be in the USA so is very lost. It had been in the area for 4 months at least now so it must be happy. As well as the river there is a lake nearby which it uses for fishing.

As the dawn broke and a weak sun started to lift the mist a bit we were joined by another 6 or 7 birders and we staked out the few viewing points to look down the river.

After a couple of false alarms with a common kingfisher flying around we heard a very distinctive rattling call at just after 7.30. It is a very vocal bird and this was a sure sign it hadn't departed overnight. For 5 minutes we could hear it but not see it. It was eventually spotted not by the river but high up in a tree back from the bank albeit at extreme range!

This is an uncropped image with a 500mm lens and a 1.4x converter. The mist dulled all the colours but it stood out well from the still naked trees.

It is much larger than our kingfishers. This is a male bird, told from females by the lack of any orange banding on the body. It sat in the tree for a few minutes, long enough to give all of our group time to get onto it.

Over the next hour it showed occasionally in the same area bur didn't seem to be very interested in fishing.

Finally it flew off again upstream and I took that as my cue to leave. A superb bird and one I was extremely lucky to get to see as it could have gone at any time over the last 4 months. It left a very happy crowd of birders to go about the rest of their day.

Near where I parked the car a dipper was showing distantly on the stream by the road - another year tick for me.

By only other target for the day was a snow goose near Southport on the coast. I've not seen one of these since I was a kid so the chance to get one now wasn't to be passed up. By the time I got through Preston it was close to 11 and the day was very unseasonably warm. The coast all along was full of pink-footed geese, probably thousands of them, and in amongst them was one white bird! Fortunately it was reported to an area  called Banks Marsh which I located and headed over to. Another birder was leaving the site and pointed me in the right direction. He said the snow goose was distant and he was not wrong.

This is only a small section of the massive goose flock I was scanning through. There is a lone white goose in the centre of the picture. I've checked on map and it's about 1.5km away! Good enough for a year tick but I don't think I'd have it for a lifer.

With a long drive home I called it a day and wended my way back. A very long but a very good day. Takes me to 398 on my life list and 176 on the year list. 

A driech day

It's now well into the year and the list is going pretty well. 158 before today, which is not a record but is pretty decent. I've also missed a lot of commoner ones in favour of focusing on higher tariff birds so overall I'm pretty pleased. With Spring just starting and the first sand martins arriving I decided to have a go at seeing some of the residents I've not caught up with yet this year.

First stop was an old favourite, the lesser-spotted woodpeckers at Santon Downham. They are one of the more reliable pairs of these rapidly declining birds and are also one of the most well-known. Many pairs are now suppressed to protect them but these are both well-known and accessible. A 10 minute walk along the river path from the car-park got me to the area where they are. Four other birders were already there but I quickly ascertained that they hadn't shown yet. The was when the problems started. First, they are only two small birds in a large area of woodland and even without leaves on the trees are pretty elusive. The best chance to find them is to locate them after they have called. The weather though was against us. You normally picture birds sitting up in there top of trees in a warming morning sun and declaring their territory. Today though was one of those days when it was never going to get light and the birds were essentially silent. Heavy cloud and a light occasional drizzle gave then morning a very flat feel. We waited by the bank for about an hour with only a pair of mandarin ducks flying around to keep us company.

One of the other birders commented that the light was so awful that even the mandarins looked black and white (the photo above is heavily messed-about-with!). Eventually we had a call from the wood behind us. The lesser spot has a sharp yikkering call, a bit reminiscent of a kestrel to my ears. It only did it once though and before we could get onto the bird in flew off across the river and into the trees where we watched it feeding for a minute before it flew again.

Another half-hour of no action followed before myself and the two others left decided that it was as good as it was going to get and packed up. I passed about a dozen people heading along the path towards out spot and gave them the bad news that they were probably in for a long wait!

My second stop was a Cockley Cley, only 15 minutes away, for the goshawks which have two nests nearby. I parked up in the lay-by and was joined in short-order by my new friends from the lesser-spot twitch. The weather hadn't improved. In fact for raptors it was about pretty useless. The light was bad and we were looking for birds at pretty long-distance. There was also no wind whatsoever which meant they were less likely to do their display flights. We stayed for just over an hour but there was no sign. I did add woodlark to the yearlist and was entertained by a few hares in the fields.

My last stop was again only a short drive away. Lynford arboretum is home to hawfinches and I had been there a couple of weeks ago for them. My target this time was the firecrests which inhabit the holly and ivy near the cafe. One of my new friends was already there with the same idea. First though he used a bit of local knowledge to put me onto a roosting tawny owl in a tree near the bridge. I knew they were there but had never before managed to find them. I realised why now as you to stand in exactly the right spot to get even a partial view of one of them high up in the tree.

I finished off by locating the firecrest just down from the cafe, which had just supplied me with a very tasty sausage roll! As with the theme of the day the light was truly awful and it was in thick shade but I did manage to grab a few shots before it disappeared.

By now the weather was closing in and there was rain on its way. I passed up on the opportunity to go for anything else, which would have been a stretch anyway. Four more ticks for the year, taking me to 162. Not too bad considering the weather and I only missed the goshawks which should be gettable later on anyway. Still a few common birds to go for and with migration  starting who knows what else might turn up!

Hiding in plain sight

 It feels like we are waiting for Spring to start. No new birds are dropping in and a lot of old friends are still hanging on. The American robin is carrying on munching its way through the cotoneaster and both the Pacific diver and the white-tailed lapwing are in place. With a day free I decided to head to Norfolk to try and connect with a species I've not seen for a few years now - red-breasted goose. These can be a bit controversial as there are many escapes and introductions around. You have to look at the credentials of those which arrive to see if they're really tickable. This Winter there has been 3 birds around the UK on the East coast. All look pretty wild and with the Norfolk one hanging out with brent geese its credentials look good. 

A very early start got me to Blakeney at just after dawn. The goose has got into a pattern of being in or around the fresh marsh first thing then moving the short distance to Cley to feed up. In a very breezy car park I scanned the freshmarsh and there were lots of brent geese flying in from their roost. 

Quite a few were bathing in the river but lots more were in the grass and out of sight. I couldn't make out the red-breasted goose amongst them so I headed off to Cley. Initially I tried for the Iceland gull which has been feeding on an old seal carcass on the beach. With the wind really strengthening a long walk along the shingle from the beach car park almost to Salthouse got me a nice flock of snow buntings but no white-winged gull!

As I was trudging along through the shingle back to the car the brent geese started flying in. They passed almost over my head

but didn't drop into the scrape or the "eye field" on the beach entrance track. Instead they kept flying towards Salthouses, an area where they had been feeding the previous day. I got back in the car and drove the short distance along the A149. I could see quite a few geese flying around but there was a smallish group in a field right next to a pull-in to a farmers field. I turned the car round and pulled off the road.

You can just about make out the geese in the photo here. They were all feeding vigorously, heads down in the grass. A quick scan through them and it looked like they were just more of the brents I'd seen earlier. I've had experience of red-breasted geese before. Despite looking very gaudy, in a group of brents they can almost disappear. I carried on looking and scanning the birds and after a couple of minutes I picked out a flash of colour amongst the monochrome of the flock.

Hiding in amongst all the brent geese was the one red-breasted goose.

It is a really handsome and striking bird. Their man population breeds in Siberia, where they are listed as vulnerable. In Winter they move to Bulgaria and Romania and this one has presumably got lost and joined up with its close cousins here in Norfolk.

By now I was standing on a small strip of grass on the verge of the A149. The geese flock were totally unconcerned and carried on feeding.

You can see how in morphology and habit they are very similar to the brent geese. As I mentioned before the "carrier" species for these wandering waifs is important in pointing to their origins and so the fact it was with its close cousins is a good thing. 

For those that know the area the A149 is the main coast road and is the one along which you get a lot of birders moving from one reserve to the next. Within only a few minutes three cars pulled up next to me and asked about the goose before pulling off just along the road to get out and admire the bird. 

I'd had a good view of there goose and the flock weren't get ig any closer so I took that as the cue to leave. My next two stops weren't quite as productive. 

At a very windy Holkham I got onto at least one of the overwintering shorelarks but they never settled for a photograph. Titchwell was very quiet as well, apart from the families enjoying half-term! Still, a very good day. The first red-breasted goose for a few years and a good blow along the coast to clear the cobwebs. Still got a few birds to get onto before the before Spring starts but that takes me to 155.

Bullseye

After my trip to the Watercress beds in St. Albans last week, I decided on another quick visit today. Last time I failed to connect with the bullfinches which visit the feeders. They are now getting very rare and difficult to see. Combining that with the fact they are stunningly attractive birds made it an easy decision.

After a short drive and a shorter walk I was the only person at the reserve. I quickly found the feeder was attracting the redpolls to come down for their breakfast.

I didn't have to wait long before the bullfinch pair put in an appearance this time. First the female

and then the male came in.

The male in particular was keen on feeding-up and in the low sun his colours really popped!

By now the crowd had grown to two of us as one of the locals joined me. We where then joined by a pair of water rails which apparently are getting quite tame. Early on they come to the nearby pool to wash and clean themselves then separate off to feed!

Quite how they always manage to get a reed or bit of grass between them and the camera I don't know!

They soon disappeared out of view so I took that as my cue to leave. Up to 152 on the year-list now.

When the red, red robin.........

That was a good day. The main focus of most birders is their life list and for me that is my UK list. How many different species you can see in the UK is the big one and I am on 396 so very close to the magic 400 number. "Lifers" get harder by definition once you have seen all the easy ones and this is a time of year when new birds tend to be thin on the ground. So, I was more than a little excited when news of an American robin in Sussex broke on Tuesday afternoon. This is a pretty rare bird, with about 30 or so accepted records and is one near the top on my wanted list, having seen many whilst in the USA. It was too late on Tuesday to do a quick dash down and on Wednesday I was committed to taking my cats to the vets (they are fine!). After a nervous sleep on Wednesday night I set out at 5 for the south coast.

The bird had been seen in a semi-urban setting, in fields at the end of a cul-de-sac on the edge of Eastbourne. From the many excited posts on my twitter-feed it seemed to be showing reasonably well but could go missing as well. Rumours were that it had been around for some time so it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I parked up just after 7 and headed off to join the crowd of 20 or already on site.

As you can see it was a strange site. We were surrounded by houses with families getting up and sorting themselves out for school and work.

The bird could be in the fields behind the houses or on the berry bushes at the end of the close.

Not the most attractive twitch I've ever been on but beggars can't be choosers so I settled down with the other (including a few familiar faces from Herts and some new friends from the Casual Twitchers group) to try and find the bird.

For half an hour or so there was no sign and a certain nervousness was setting in. A couple of false alarms from redwings keeps us on our toes but as the crowd swelled there was no sign despite it now being reported as having roosted here.

Suddenly a call went up! The bird had sneaked in and was feeding on the berries by the bush above - next to the bins and the car! There was one of those amusing scenes of birders reorienting lots of expensive optical equipment, bumping into each other, asking "which bush", "how high", "sorry i knocked over your scope" etc. I only managed a brief view before the bird flew off into the trees behind the houses.

It is a stunning bird. Although called a robin it is actually a member of the thrush-family (Turdus migratorius). It was supposedly called a robin by the early colonists in the USA as it resembles the familiar robin from our shores. It was quite vocal with a call reminiscent of our blackbird.

The crowd now visibly relaxed and there was much mutual congratulation, excited calls and texts sent out to various bird-services confirming its presence. Now we all wanted to get better views. 

For 20 minutes it gave us the run around by flying around the close but never settling for very long.

When it did stay still you could see how striking it was with a bold eye-ring, yellow dagger-like beak and charcoal-grey back setting off the red-breast. We finally realised that it was trying to get to the berries on the slope between the houses so we pulled back a bit to give it some space. This wasn't helped by the residents now starting to emerge to go to work or school but they were all really pleasant and interested in the assembled strangers in their normally quiet close, with their big cameras, large 'scopes and interesting camouflaged clothing!

Finally the robin started to give itself up and gorge on the berries for breakfast.

The noise of the cameras going off and birders shuffling to get better views didn't seem to worry it. In the USA they are pretty common and can be garden birds so this may or may not be usual for it. You never know how these birds get here or what type of habitat they are used to but this one was pretty tame. A local did come out and claimed it had been around the close for 3 weeks or so before it was realised what it was and the madness started.

It was clearly loving the cotoneaster berries which are such a common bush in suburban estates now and are a magnet for thrushes and, in good years, waxwings.

It finished its meal and flew off back to the fields. I realised I had seen a superb show from a brilliant bird and it was time to move off. A lot of the early arrivals had already wended their way off to find other birds so I packed up my gear and said goodbye to those left. The robin was still there and looked set to remain for the new arrivals parking up and excitedly asking "is it still showing". I suspect it will be there till the berries run out although it does need to keep a watchful eye out for the local cats which were patrolling the bushes a well!

I won't dwell too much on the rest of the day as it was a support-act to the robin. 

Carrying on the "twitches in unusual locations" theme my next stop was 4 miles at a service station where hooded crow has taken up a winter residency. 

I didn't stay long after finding it and headed off to Dungeness. I was hoping for white-winged gulls but the patch (the hot-water outflow from the nuclear reactor) was pretty quiet. Hundreds of divers (mostly red-throated but I couldn't pick out any black-throated) were passing by far-out so sea.

In the fields on the entrance road a group of 4 cattle-egrets were pottering about, taking advantage of the sheep to supply their food.

Finally at Walland marsh a herd of about 35 Bewick's swans were in a field. together with rook which seemed very interested in my cheese sandwich!

What a day! I headed back home a very happy bunny. The American robin takes me to 397 on my life list and with the hooded crow, a random blackcap and a couple of Caspian gulls my year list is now 151. Some twitches seem like a lot of hard work for very little reward. This was the opposite. A great bird, a great crowd at the twitch, lots of interest from the locals and even a good supporting cast. I'm so close to 400 now I'm wondering what the 400th bird would be. A nice Yankee-warbler in the Spring or something more mundane like a night-heron (still not seen one). Lets just hope it's a good-un!