Some Recent Sightings

  As so often happens these days, I'm playing catch up, with a summary of the last five or six weeks.

 My last post was entitled holiday part 1, with the expectation of a follow up. For some reason, in the last few years, my autumn break kicks off with something really good, followed by nothing much and this year was the same. Obviously there were still issues with fuel supplies at the time and there wasn't a great deal turning up to justify travelling. In fact the general consensus seems to be that it was a pretty poor year for the east coast, with migrants in short supply. The now normally abundant Yellow Browed Warblers were very scarce for example.

 Following the Long Toed Stint twitch, I had a car service booked, so it was a couple of days before I was able to get out. The 13th proved to be the highlight of the week. Indications were good on the Continent with masses of Thrushes building up on Monday and Tuesday and they duly arrived. Breakfast tweets were full of reports of large numbers of Redwings from first light, so I headed over to the Beane valley.      Unlike Amwell for example, where thrush movements have been spectacular as they are funnelled along the Ash valley and then over the pits, there is nothing here to concentrate movements so arrivals are over a broad front.

 I saw the first few birds east of Chells Manor, and over the mile south along the river I was encountering small parties regularly, with several flocks of 40-50 flying straight through. In total I counted around 245 over 40 minutes, which is likely to be a small percentage of the numbers locally-some south England migration spots were reporting tens of thousands. Unusually there weren't any Fieldfare at all (and I had to wait until early November before I found any), but there seemed to be rather more Blackbirds and Robins. No Mistle Thrush either, though I did encounter two later that week (they used to be seen regularly around Aston End but are now very scarce). Elsewhere, one of the sheep fields had a huge flock of Pied Wagtails with around 50 birds present for a couple of weeks.

There was a bit of a hiatus for a few weeks, with poor weather and one of the flu-like things keeping me out of action. 

The 13th November was one of those days, but a bit of a stunner. I was getting ready for the Saturday shopping trip when I heard a high pitched call. Looking around I saw a few Starlings go over and carried on then the call came again from a neighbour's garden and several Ring Necked Parakeets landed in my Rowan, then more arrived until there were twelve. It was a rather surreal sight as it isn't a big tree and apart from the occasional crow, the biggest birds are normally Blackbirds. The Parakeets are still around, I hear them most days that I am at home and I've seen them here, and also Chells Manor and Camps Hill School, though never more than 6-7. Based on Alan Ford's publication this is the biggest flock in Stevenage, and though they have been seen infrequently over the last few years, I get the feeling that they are now here to stay.

Fairlands Valley has been pretty much business as usual over the autumn. Three Egyptian Geese turned up for a few weeks, the Kingfisher may be back for the winter but has only been reported once or twice, and there is a nice sized flock of Siskins at the moment. The Redwing influx meant that for a week or so around 50 birds remained around the old farm house, with several Brambling that I never saw. Later in November, I started to see our regular Caspian/Herring Gull X307, and highlights were seeing the Tawny Owl in the nest box on the 20th, and a female Mandarin and two Goldeneye on the 20th. The Fairlands year list is getting close to 100, which I understand is unusual if not unprecedented and we are all hoping that a few good birds turn up in December. 

October Holiday pt 1. Long Toed Stint

 It's October again, and as usual I have some time off. With the recent fuel 'shortage' and Colin working most of the time, long distance traveling is not on the agenda unless something good justifies it.

That was the case on Sunday. I was expecting to travel to the east coast, as, although a bit quiet for the time of year there was enough interesting stuff to make it worthwhile. However, what had been a Least Sandpiper at RSPB St Aiden (and prior to that a Temminck's Stint) was finally identified as a Long Toed Stint. Apart from one in Cornwall in 1970 which was only seen by it's photographer, the only other record was way back in 1982 in Cleveland, and with the state of birding communications then, only a small number of birders saw it. So a tick for virtually everyone. 

Over 2000 birders had turned up on Saturday, so we made plans to leave early and headed up the A1 to Yorkshire (yet again) and got there at 0830. It was a bit cool, but clear and after a bit of a fast walk arrived at the reed-bed complex where the Stint was roosting on a spit among Lapwings and Black Headed Gulls. It was a fair way away but views were pretty good as was the lighting. Also on the pool were a few Ruff, Black Tailed Godwits and one or two Dunlin.  We could see that a small crowd on the reed-bed causeway was pretty close and some birders headed off to join them. Unfortunately the birds were spooked and the Stint flew off west. Rather surprised to be able to follow it in the bins until it dropped down on to the far lake.

Unlike most who headed straight there Colin and I took a slightly longer route around the West reed-bed in the hope of picking up one of the Black Necked Grebes. One was present but we couldn't find it. There were a lot of calling Cetti's Warblers, and we encountered a small flock of Bearded Tits, as well as the typical selection of wildfowl, Lapwing and Snipe. We eventually reached the crowd and could see the Stint on a small island with some Lapwing but viewing was restricted. I was able to kneel at the front, but this meant that I only had a small window through the reeds. I was able to get the camera connected to the scope and over the course of about 30 minutes managed to obtain a large number of blurred and poorly focussed images. However a few were passable.

After the long period kneeling I had a lot of trouble getting the legs going but fortunately I only had to walk a few yards to where a rather showy Bittern was feeding. Unfortunately the car park was still about a mile away so it took a while, and it was a relief to reach the car  and the coffee.

Green Warbler and White Tailed Lapwing

 A Green Warbler was trapped and ringed at Buckton just north west of RSPB Bempton on Thursday. There have been seven previous records, the first on the Scillies in 1983, and then a long wait until 2014 when the next was found in Shetland. It is now more or less annual but there has only been one brief mainland bird so this one was bound to attract a crowd, particularly as it was still present the following morning. Apparently it was mayhem as the warbler rarely showed for more than a few seconds and hid for long periods, and a lot of birders left unsatisfied or supposedly ticking a Willow Warbler by mistake.

Rather surprisingly considering the weather conditions it remained into the weekend, so Colin and I decided to go on Sunday morning, as there were a few other decent things around and the Albatross was still visiting Bempton cliffs.

We arrived just before 9.30am and headed along the cliff path to the trapping area where a large crowd was present. Tony Hukin and Mike Illett had staked out the ringing ride where they had been getting close but brief views, and suggested that it showed more frequently on the southern side. I found a spot where I could view into the bushes but the couple beside me suggested that the willows were problematic so I moved further right and higher up. Here I was able to look down into a small crab apple by the (hidden) pond and it didn't take long for the Green Warbler to pop up and it sat in the apple for many minutes preening. Views were incredibly good in the scope and while it spent most of the time facing us a couple of times it sat side on showing the faint wing bar. It eventually flew back into the bushes and there was a bit of a wait before it reappeared in one of the willows, this time well out in the open, but too distant and mobile to attempt photography. Colin was a bit further down and closer and seemed rather happy with the views so we decided to head back to the car.

I had to stop on the way to snap some of the Gannets.

Unfortunately the Albatross had departed early morning and didn't return until the afternoon so we missed our back up bird.

We called in at RSPB Blacktoft Sands in the afternoon to see the long staying White Tailed Lapwing. There have been six previous records and we made the long drive to Caerlaverock in 2007 for the third (and first twitchable) one. That one showed quite well but remained distant and my photos left a lot to be desired. 

The Blacktoft one was a bit more obliging and was the closest bird from the aptly named First Hide. There was a decent supporting cast ofmany  Ruff, Black Tailed Godwits, Snipe, three Marsh Harriers and lots of juvenile Bearded Tits. It has been a long time since we had visited the reserve so it was nice to get reacquainted with it.

RSPB Framton on Sunday.

 Following a bit of a break, Colin and I were back on the road on Sunday with Frampton Marsh the destination. It's always a good place, and at this time of year the build up of waders can be very impressive, with a good chance of something unusual. This time it was an adult Pacific Golden Plover, something we last saw on a fen one winter in the mid 90's hidden among a vast flock of Golden Plovers, and there was also a good chance of the Black Stork appearing, another bird not seen this century.

When we got there, it was a bit cool, breezy with light rain., something I hadn't really prepared for. I spent a while scanning the fields from the car park, but the stork was absent, and in fact wasn't seen anywhere that day. I did however find Barry Reed and Mike Illett who were on a similar mission to us.

The pools by the visitors centre held a wide variety of waders, though not in the numbers normally expected-Mike mentioned that it was a lot better a few weeks previously. We did find several Common Sandpipers, loads of Ruff, Avocet and Black tailed Godwits, plus a few Redshank, Knot and Dunlin. We carried on down to the road to the sea wall with a flyover Spotted Redshank the only bird of note (and surprisingly the only one seen that day). We got to the top, noticed a lot of scopes and cameras pointed at a muddy pool, and after a long and difficult search realised the Pacific Golden was sheltering from the wind behind a muddy ridge and only its head was visible. Fortunately it did eventually move around a bit and showed quite well, though a bit distant for the camera.

While we were there we were told that one or two Short Eared Owls were present on the salt marsh, and eventually four were seen, always very distant. They seem to be resident, possibly breeding but in the past we have not managed to see them. Also present was a rather nice female Merlin and a few flyover Yellow Wagtails.

We carried on along the bank, picking up a few Curlew and Whimbrel, a couple of Little Stints among the Dunlin and a Garganey, with a few more Yellow wagtails and two Wheatear. We ended up int eh east hide for a bit with the big flock of Spoonbills occupying the island opposite, a variety of duck and a rather nice adult Hobby.

Our casual stroll around the reserve ended with the news of a Dotterel among some Golden Plovers at the end of the road so lunch was delayed while we headed off back down the road again. Fortunately it stuck round long enough for most to see it but stayed less than an hour. While there news of an adult and juvenile Black Tern somewhere on the reserve came up-they could be seen by the visitor centre but remained distant and very mobile. Two rather good unexpected bonuses.

After lunch we headed back home with a couple of diversions. The first was Deeping Lakes where we spent half an hour in the rain by the eastern pit. Three Ruddy Shelduck were present, associating with Egyptian Geese. There has been a bit of an influx this year, presumably from the feral flocks that build up in the summer in Germany, and it seems likely that they may eventually be admitted to the British list. There haven't been any truly wild ones for well over a century, and being colourful and popular most are believed to be escapes, though it is assumed that the four we saw in the early 90's (part of a small influx) were migrants from the feral population.

We also stopped off at Graffham Water and had a short spell on the dam. There should have been a Black Necked Grebe but it had presumably moved to another section and we had to be content with a large flock of Pied and Yellow Wagtails feeding on the waters edge, a Common Sandpiper, and a few Chiffchaffs and tits feeding in the trees behind us, and at least two Willow warblers-one of which sang occasionally. Would have been nice if there had been more warbler species, or maybe a flycatcher-there were certainly plenty of flying insects for them.

Butterflies

 It's been a poor year for butterflies for me, though others seem to think it hasn't been too bad. Maybe because the decent warm sunny days in recent months have tended to occur while I am working has been a factor. Pottering in the garden after work has certainly boosted the numbers and variety seen.

I think the early warm spell in spring was a bit of a false promise. I was seeing good numbers of Orange Tips, Brimstones, Peacock and Tortoiseshells and a few Holly Blues back then, and of course Aprils freeze and Mays rain knocked everything back considerably. I really had to wait for June to get going before insects started to appear again, and it was mainly the white butterflies that I was encountering early on (unfortunately growing unprotected kale plants among my salad crops was not a good idea). Eventually by mid summer some Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Large Skippers started to arrive, along with large numbers of Peacocks and Red Admirals. A couple of walks around Aston End suggested that the summer grassland species were doing well, particularly Marbled Whites. What I wasn't seeing were any blues, Commas and Tortoiseshells. Even the few trips out and about failed to produce any. 

I had one local butterfly trip in early July. I had planned to visit Hertford Heath and search for dragonflies, but decided at the last minute to go to Danemead instead. The meadow was productive as expected with lots of browns, skippers and a few Silver Washed Fritillaries. Rather than leave and drive to Broxbourne Woods west car park I decided to remain in the Danemead area and explored a number of paths and forestry tracks eventually ending up on the path where the Parrot Crossbills were a few winters ago. On the way back a german couple, also butterflying stopped and retraced their steps. I thought they had found a White Admiral which had hoped to find, but it was something better-a Purple Emperor. This is the first i'd seen in any part of Broxbourne Woods for several years and was fantastic to see. It was rather approachable as they often are and some of my full frame photos were taken on the phone, but this one was with the Olympus 60mm macro.

As July merged into August, Gatekeepers arrived in force, and some Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns were still around in Aston End. After a long wait, one or two Commas finally appeared-the first was in the garden and my one and only Common Blue of the year turned up on my honeysuckle. Red Admirals and Peacocks remain frequent and a couple of Painted Ladies have also been seen. Still no late season Tortoiseshells locally-I'm wondering if the dreadful spring wiped out the eggs and caterpillars, but then again the others species managed to survive.

Black Browed Albatross at Bempton

 Albatrosses have been regularly in the UK for most of my lifetime but have always been very tricky to connect with. The most reliable, a Black Browed appeared most years in a Gannetry until the early 90's and it or another was seen intermittently thereafter for many years. Since 2017, when one appeared on the cliffs at RSPB Bempton for a month or so and subsequently around Heligoland and Sylt it has been easier for European birders to see, though not always relaible in it's appearances.

There were reports earlier this year that the regular bird had been attacked and presumably killed by White Tailed Eagles so it looked like it was game over for the foreseeable future. So it was a bit of a surprise when one (presumably the same bird) had reappeared at Bempton at the end of June.

Like last time it seemed to linger among the Gannets but wasn't seen every day. It seemed to spend a few days away from the cliffs, presumably feeding and then return for a while, and as a result a lot of people had to make several trips to see it. The best advice was to wait until it had returned, and if it was still present at sunset, to get there for first light the next day (mind you that was also the case with the Lizard Brown Booby two years ago, and we dipped). My problem of course was that I am only free on Sundays making it extra tricky, but Colin called as he had a couple of days free. As it returned Tuesday evening we went for it.

Colin arrived Wednesday morning (barely) and we left shortly before 1am and arrived at Bempton around 0430. There were already a lot of cars in the car park, it was starting to get light and it was also cold, windy and misty. It was only a short walk to the viewpoint accompanied by the noise of the Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks, and the small group had the Albatross in view in their scopes so it wasn't hard to get views ourselves. Unfortunately it was some way off on the cliff edge, and with the poor light difficult to photograph well, but it was always on view for the three hours I was there (Colin spent some time in the car resting). Most of the time it was shuffling around in its favoured spot, occasionally bickering with nearby Gannets, but for a few amazing minutes it was in flight dwarfing everything around it.

It was wonderful to see the large numbers of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Kittiwakes as well, and I did spend a lot of the three hours just scanning below and around me enjoying the experience. Shortly after 0730, I phoned work, told them I wouldn't be in and returned to the car for something to eat and drink.

We stopped off at Kilnsea near Spurn and spent some time at the wetlands, Beacon ponds and the village. There were a few decent year-ticks to be had-Spoonbill, Scaup and Little Terns being the most notable, but the Rose Coloured Starling was presumably hiding in one of the gardens out of view.

A final rest stop was around an hour at the south end of Rutland Water. Here it was warm and sunny, with plenty of butterflies and dragonflies flying. The female Osprey was sitting by the nest, the juveniles having fledged and I eventually located the male bird hunting over a more distant bay. Otherwise it was a bit quiet, I had hoped there would be a bit of mud around with some waders,though there were a few Curlew and Redshank-which the female Osprey took exception to, flying around. It would have been nice to have explored other parts of the reserve, but it had been a very long day and we were shattered.

June and some Dragonflies.

 Writing this in mid July, and it feels like it is still May, with Summer yet to start. I have seen very few butterflies in the last month or so, and many f summer birds are in short supply still. A lot of the plants in the garden haven't got going yet-one or two have only recently emerged, the tomatoes have only just started flowering (last year we were harvesting them by now) and some of the tropical plants are not looking brilliant.

I haven't travelled far, many weekends have been damp and dull again so all I have really done is the usual walks around Aston End and Fairlands Lakes, with little of note. I did manage to get and evening walk in along the Beane with my bat detector but only got a couple of Pipistrelle hits. I also heard Tawny and Little Owls in the usual spots.

I did get over to see Sarah and Ed one day , and she took me out in the afternoon on one of her regular walks. Last year she had found a Pyramidal orchid by the cricket pitch, and we saw several this time, including one monster in someone's drive, but but then again, one has also appeared in her garden. This year, there were also many Bee orchids in the village, which was nice to see.

I also paid a visit to Amwell on a warm sunny day and managed to see most of the dragonflies that I could expect to see (and having only seen one or two Azure Damsels in my pond, they were the very nice to see). Probably the best news regarding these is the large numbers of Norfolk Hawkers that are now present on site, and for that matter elsewhere in the Lea Valley. They really do seem to be expanding rapidly throughout the south east now. Here are a few images from the morning.