After an enjoyable, but rather late night out, Ellie and I soon remembered why we hadn't been out for a drink for over five weeks! So despite it being a lovely day we couldn't get out and about due to our fragile states. Instead I enjoyed the birds in the garden.
For a small front garden we actually do pretty well for birds and our feeding station attracts quite a variety of species. Today, it somehow seemed right to look at what was on our doorstep as it was the RSPB Garden Birdwatch weekend.
We had at least six Goldfinches feeding on the nyjer seed and sunflower hearts. The constant chirping of the small flock of a dozen or so House Sparrows was a delightful sound. A pair of Blackbirds kept a Chaffinch and Dunnock company feeding below the feeders. A Coal Tit kept popping back and forth, collecting a sunflower seed and taking it off somewhere to enjoy at its leisure. I was also lucky enough to see a Song Thrush in the garden as well as the ever-present garden Robin. Finishing off the roll-call, a Woodpigeon and a couple of Starlings. So nothing rare, but an enjoyable time watching the garden birds.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Radipole RSPB and West Bexington - Sat 29 Jan
A bit of a lie-in today as I had the morning off work, so after a leisurely start to the day Ellie and I drove down to Weymouth for a walk around the RSPB reserve at Radipole before meeting a couple friends there for a coffee at midday.
We arrived shortly after 11.00am and walked out to North Hide. It was rather chilly and to be perfectly honest we saw little on the walk to the hide, only a few Black-tailed Godwits and several Teal from the hide, and nothing much on the way back to the car.
However, things changed slightly when we got back to the visitor centre. Meeting Laura and Paul we grabbed a coffee and sat outside on the picnic tables. As we talked a number of Mediterranean Gulls started dropping in and landing on the water, I took a quick count but gave up when I reached 150 individuals. A few more birds were gathered in the car park.
Also from the visitor center I saw at least twenty Snipe and a Water Rail was heard calling. Finishing our drinks we bid farewell to Laura and Paul and headed off west through Weymouth and on to the coast road towards Bridport, and then turning off to West Bexington where we sat and ate our lunch.
Whilst Ellie started tucking in to her sandwich I got out my 'scope and started scanning the sea, and within a minute had located four Velvet Scoters, and soon found a second group of four further west. Although they were not that distant, my record shots with my phone leave a lot to be desired, but at least you can see it's a black duck with a white wing panel!!
Also out to sea were three Great Crested Grebes and about a dozen Common Scoters. It was registering as zero degrees on the car thermometer, and standing outside with the wind blowing it felt much colder. We left the beach and drove back towards the main road, stopping halfway up and looking over the mere and I spent five minutes scanning the water with my scope. There were loads of duck on the water: Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, and Wigeon as well as smaller numbers of Tufted Duck and Pochard. Before long I could feel myself getting colder and colder, so decided to call it a day and off we headed towards home...but stopping off on the way to do the weekly grocery shop!!
We arrived shortly after 11.00am and walked out to North Hide. It was rather chilly and to be perfectly honest we saw little on the walk to the hide, only a few Black-tailed Godwits and several Teal from the hide, and nothing much on the way back to the car.
However, things changed slightly when we got back to the visitor centre. Meeting Laura and Paul we grabbed a coffee and sat outside on the picnic tables. As we talked a number of Mediterranean Gulls started dropping in and landing on the water, I took a quick count but gave up when I reached 150 individuals. A few more birds were gathered in the car park.
Also from the visitor center I saw at least twenty Snipe and a Water Rail was heard calling. Finishing our drinks we bid farewell to Laura and Paul and headed off west through Weymouth and on to the coast road towards Bridport, and then turning off to West Bexington where we sat and ate our lunch.
Whilst Ellie started tucking in to her sandwich I got out my 'scope and started scanning the sea, and within a minute had located four Velvet Scoters, and soon found a second group of four further west. Although they were not that distant, my record shots with my phone leave a lot to be desired, but at least you can see it's a black duck with a white wing panel!!
Also out to sea were three Great Crested Grebes and about a dozen Common Scoters. It was registering as zero degrees on the car thermometer, and standing outside with the wind blowing it felt much colder. We left the beach and drove back towards the main road, stopping halfway up and looking over the mere and I spent five minutes scanning the water with my scope. There were loads of duck on the water: Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, and Wigeon as well as smaller numbers of Tufted Duck and Pochard. Before long I could feel myself getting colder and colder, so decided to call it a day and off we headed towards home...but stopping off on the way to do the weekly grocery shop!!
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Sutton Bingham - Thu 27 Jan
I was fortunate enough to finish work slightly early today so took advantage of the slightly lighter evenings and made a visit to Sutton Bingham Reservoir, arriving at about 4.20pm.
I took a quick drive to the southern end to see if anything was about, but could see nothing from the car so decided against pulling over and taking a more thorough look, instead I returned to the northern causeway to scan over West Pool and the main reservoir.
A look over West Pool produced five Tufted Ducks, five Wigeon and two Little Grebes, all of which were tucked up in the vegetation roosting.
On the main reservoir, there were was a flock of another thirty-five Wigeon between the Sailing Club and the dam. A dozen Great Crested Grebes were also present.
Large numbers of gulls were coming in to bathe before heading off to roost, primarily Herring and Black-headed Gulls, but I did pick out single Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
An apparent Continental Cormorant of the Sinensis race flew over heading south.
I took a quick drive to the southern end to see if anything was about, but could see nothing from the car so decided against pulling over and taking a more thorough look, instead I returned to the northern causeway to scan over West Pool and the main reservoir.
A look over West Pool produced five Tufted Ducks, five Wigeon and two Little Grebes, all of which were tucked up in the vegetation roosting.
On the main reservoir, there were was a flock of another thirty-five Wigeon between the Sailing Club and the dam. A dozen Great Crested Grebes were also present.
Large numbers of gulls were coming in to bathe before heading off to roost, primarily Herring and Black-headed Gulls, but I did pick out single Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
An apparent Continental Cormorant of the Sinensis race flew over heading south.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Ham Wall RSPB and Shapwick Heath NNR - Sun 23 Jan
After getting the weekly grocery shop out of the way, Ellie and I had a quick lunch before heading up to the Somerset Levels. When we arrived at the Ashcott Corner car park we were surprised to find it full as people were already arriving to witness the daily Starling roost. Fortunately we found a safe place to park the car on the road and then took a walk around Ham Wall.
As we reached the first viewing platform a look over the exposed water produced lots of duck with good numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck and a fair few Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal. In the reeds to the south at least three Great White Egrets were seen.
We continued to walk east and got as far as the second viewing platform before deciding to return to the car. On our way back we bumped in to a good friend of mine from Yeovil who had seen the Shapwick Heath Great Grey Shrike earlier in the afternoon. So Ellie and I decided to give it a go and picked up the pace back to the car, a Cetti's Warbler was heard singing as we walked along.
A ten minute drive later and we were parked at the entrance to Shapwich Heath NNR and we walked along the drove until we reached the second of the owl boxes. A quick scan over the reedbed to the south produced the Great Grey Shrike! So a week after missing the bird in pouring rain, today we got lucky as it sat on the top of a small bush:
Having connected with our target bird we decided to call it a day and head on home.
UK list for 2011 now at 125 species.
As we reached the first viewing platform a look over the exposed water produced lots of duck with good numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck and a fair few Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal. In the reeds to the south at least three Great White Egrets were seen.
We continued to walk east and got as far as the second viewing platform before deciding to return to the car. On our way back we bumped in to a good friend of mine from Yeovil who had seen the Shapwick Heath Great Grey Shrike earlier in the afternoon. So Ellie and I decided to give it a go and picked up the pace back to the car, a Cetti's Warbler was heard singing as we walked along.
A ten minute drive later and we were parked at the entrance to Shapwich Heath NNR and we walked along the drove until we reached the second of the owl boxes. A quick scan over the reedbed to the south produced the Great Grey Shrike! So a week after missing the bird in pouring rain, today we got lucky as it sat on the top of a small bush:
Having connected with our target bird we decided to call it a day and head on home.
UK list for 2011 now at 125 species.
Sutton Bingham - Sun 23 Jan
My usual Sunday morning visit after dropping Ellie off at church and I decided to leave the car by the entrance to the car park (which is closed during the winter months). Walking through the car park there were severl small birds flitting around including a Treecreeper and about four Greenfinches.
I followed the path from the car park along the water's edge to the hide. I was surprised by the lack of birds on the water, in fact the only birds of note were three Tufted Ducks and two Pochard from the northern causeway and seven Wigeon off the dam.
A single Snipe flew up from the edge of the water as I walked along. A small flock of seven or eight Long-tailed Tits were feeding with a few Goldfinches and a single Goldcrest.
A steady passage of Black-headed Gulls flew north, with somewhere in the region of two hundred birds flying over.
As I returned to the car a large flock of Fieldfares and Redwings left the trees in the car park and flew east over the reservoir.
I followed the path from the car park along the water's edge to the hide. I was surprised by the lack of birds on the water, in fact the only birds of note were three Tufted Ducks and two Pochard from the northern causeway and seven Wigeon off the dam.
A single Snipe flew up from the edge of the water as I walked along. A small flock of seven or eight Long-tailed Tits were feeding with a few Goldfinches and a single Goldcrest.
A steady passage of Black-headed Gulls flew north, with somewhere in the region of two hundred birds flying over.
As I returned to the car a large flock of Fieldfares and Redwings left the trees in the car park and flew east over the reservoir.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Cary Moor and Cheddar Reservoir - Wed 19 Jan
Having been faced with terrible weather during my last two half days I feared the worst today as freezing fog enveloped the area. However, fortunately it cleared as I left work so I drove down to Cary Moor and walked out along the Macmillan Way. After a ten minute walk I reached the set-aside field and there were birds everywhere. Chaffinches were by far the most numerous but there were also lots of Reed Buntings and a few Yellowhammers. However, the pick of the crop were at least ten Tree Sparrows.
A testiment to the healthy bird population was the presence of a couple of Sparrowhawks, both of which had prey. As I returned to the car, the trees along the path were full of Redwings and Fieldfares.
At 3.00pm I left Cary Moor and undertook the drive to Cheddar Reservoir. A diversion due to roadworks cost me about twenty minutes travelling time, so it was gone 4.00pm by the time I parked at the reservoir. I walked round to the southern side ensuring the light was behind me and I scanned across the water at the mass of birds. There were at least twenty Goosander present and I eventually tracked down a female Red-crested Pochard.
A pair of Raven flew overhead and several Pied Wagtails were feeding on the water's edge. Other notable species on the water included hundreds (if not thousands) of Coot and several Common Gulls flew in, presumably to roost. As the light started to fade the temperature dropped quite noticeably, so at 4.45pm I headed on home.
A testiment to the healthy bird population was the presence of a couple of Sparrowhawks, both of which had prey. As I returned to the car, the trees along the path were full of Redwings and Fieldfares.
At 3.00pm I left Cary Moor and undertook the drive to Cheddar Reservoir. A diversion due to roadworks cost me about twenty minutes travelling time, so it was gone 4.00pm by the time I parked at the reservoir. I walked round to the southern side ensuring the light was behind me and I scanned across the water at the mass of birds. There were at least twenty Goosander present and I eventually tracked down a female Red-crested Pochard.
A pair of Raven flew overhead and several Pied Wagtails were feeding on the water's edge. Other notable species on the water included hundreds (if not thousands) of Coot and several Common Gulls flew in, presumably to roost. As the light started to fade the temperature dropped quite noticeably, so at 4.45pm I headed on home.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Shapwick Heath NNR and Burtle - Sun 16 Jan
After an early lunch Ellie and I decided to brave the weather and head up on to the Somerset Levels for an afternoon stroll. Rather than our usual walks starting at Ashcott Corner, we instead parked near the Peat Moors Centre and walked out to the Decoy Hide at Shapwick Heath. Due to the drizzle we did not see a lot in the way of birds, but a couple of Lesser Redpolls were feeding in an Alder and a Treecreeper was also seen.
We arrived at the hide and took a look out over the water. Very little in the way of birdlife could be seen, but six Tufted Duck were present and during the quarter of an hour that we were in the hide nearly two hundred Lapwings passed over head, in three flocks. It soon become evident that the rain was here to stay for the rest of the day, so we walked back to the car in what was now pretty heavy rain!
We then took a slight round-a-bout route back home, driving north and taking a look for the Great Grey Shrike that had been seen in the area earlier today, but we failed to see it. We then cut across to the village of Burtle and took the road towards Catcott, stopping on the edge of the village to check the swans. Almost immediately I found the family group of Whooper Swans, with six birds being present amongst Mute Swans.
We then drove on back home, stopping in Yeovil en route to grab a quick look at the small flock of Waxwings that I had seen yesterday, though only seven of the eight birds I saw the day before were present. But they typically showed well, much to Ellie's delight. A wonderful way to end a pleasant if somewhat damp afternoon.
UK list for 2011 now at 121 species.
We arrived at the hide and took a look out over the water. Very little in the way of birdlife could be seen, but six Tufted Duck were present and during the quarter of an hour that we were in the hide nearly two hundred Lapwings passed over head, in three flocks. It soon become evident that the rain was here to stay for the rest of the day, so we walked back to the car in what was now pretty heavy rain!
We then took a slight round-a-bout route back home, driving north and taking a look for the Great Grey Shrike that had been seen in the area earlier today, but we failed to see it. We then cut across to the village of Burtle and took the road towards Catcott, stopping on the edge of the village to check the swans. Almost immediately I found the family group of Whooper Swans, with six birds being present amongst Mute Swans.
We then drove on back home, stopping in Yeovil en route to grab a quick look at the small flock of Waxwings that I had seen yesterday, though only seven of the eight birds I saw the day before were present. But they typically showed well, much to Ellie's delight. A wonderful way to end a pleasant if somewhat damp afternoon.
UK list for 2011 now at 121 species.
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