Salford Priors GP - Rain, Rain, Rain

A brief visit to Salford Priors GP this morning as it kept raining, getting wet doesn't bother me but trying to look through rain splattered binoculars and telescope is something my patience will only take for so long.....

I arrived on site about 08:00, parked in the usual spot on the corner and climbing over the earth mound, I could already hear gunshot but couldn't see anybody out shooting in the vicinity, Ragley is quite a large estate with a number of shooting areas from what I can see.

I didn't walk down the narrow path as the ground is covered in low brambles which I kept tripping on during my last visit, I decided to walk along the field margin for a change.  The field contained the usual Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Pheasant and Red-legged Partridge.  A medium size bird then shot up about 5 meters in front of me, flew low over the scrub and into the wood - gone.... My initial thought was female Merlin, certainly flew like one and was of brownish colouring but it was a fleeting glimpse at best.

I had a quick scan between the blind and hedgerow, always a lot of Pheasant and RL Partridge, there was a good handful of Blackbird and a single Redwing.  A small finch like bird was in the top of the oak tree but I couldn't make it out with the binos, as I got the scope onto it, off it went... a female Yellowhammer.

I had a quick scan of the woodland which contained a small number of Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit and a Green Woodpecker, I decided to put the possible Merlin down to this, about the right size and flew up of the floor...?

I scanned over the Main Pit, nothing out of the ordinary. I counted 67 Mallard, 47 Coot, 22 Tufted Duck, 10 Teal and 4 Little Grebe.  There was a single female Reed Bunting and a Dunnock in full song.  I walked up to the Little Owl tree but he wasn't there, hoping he's still around although the area looks more flattened that last weekend, I wonder if I'm going to be able to get a full year out of this site before it's all crops again...

The skies opened up so I headed back to the car, a Jack Snipe was flushed as I passed the Main Pit.

I stopped at Pophills and had a quick scan, it yielded 16 Coot, 24 Mallard, 3 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebe and 27 each of Canada Goose and Greylag Goose.  There were hundreds of Woodpigeon with a lot of Carrion Crow and Jackdaw in tow in the fields to the rear of Pophills, the small trees held 3 Buzzard between them.  I found the Common Sandpiper on the small island/spit again.

So nothing exciting although when I got home I was treated to some cracking views of a beefy male Greenfinch on the sunflower feeder, he looked nice and healthy and is the first in the garden this year and for some time.

The Greenfinch puts me on 101 for January/year list and 47sp for 48 points for PWC2015.

Time to take the wife out for a run now, training her to complete a half marathon, still early days but up to 6 miles today.

Patch Birding - Salford GP

I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to make it to the patch today as I was out till 05:30 for birthday celebrations.  However I somehow managed to get up at 07:30.....

I arrived on site with a strong cup of coffee and headed straight to the Main Pit where I was hoping to see the Pochard again however they had departed along with most of the other water fowl.  The Tufted Duck were still there but left shortly after I arrived as there was some shooting going on in the back ground.

While scanning the water I noticed another birder, it was @NeilDuggan who is also birding Salford Priors GP for Patchwork Challenge 2015, great to finally meet up.  As detailed in a previous blog post, we have separated the area so we can cover more ground in an attempt to understand what the area holds.

Neil has visited the site a lot more than I have so has greater knowledge of where to look.  We checked out the old tree but still no sign of the Little Owl.  Neil then showed me the area where he'd seen 15 Jack Snipe about a week ago, again there were about 15 Jack Snipe.  I've never known anything like it, they seemed to be everywhere.

We said our goodbyes as we'd parked at opposite ends of the site, I decided to head up past the flooded field and the small pit.  The flooded field held a small number of Skylark whilst the small pit held a small number of Mallard and Tufted Duck.

A lot less about today than yesterday but still managed to add 4 species to the Patch Birding list:

Herring Gull - fly over
Lesser Black-backed Gull - fly over
Skylark - Flooded Field
Goldcrest - Pophills.

The Goldcrest was a bonus as it was my 100th species for 2015 for my year list and means I reached my target of 100 species for January.

@Patchbirding - Salford Priors GP

I was determined to get a decent visit in at Salford Priors GP as part of the Patchwork Challenge. Today I arrived on site at 07:30, it was absolutely freezing and it wasn't long until my hands were completely numb, even with two pairs of gloves on!!

I went straight to the Main Pit, where I counted:

Mallard x 47
Tufted Duck x 41
Coot x 35
Teal x 10
Grey Heron x 2
Moorhen x 1
Pochard x 5
Lapwing x ~50
Little Grebe x 4

There was vast numbers of Woodpigeon flying over, I estimate 500 which contained 3 Stock Dove.  I also had a single fly over Fieldfare.  The fields to the rear of the Main Pit holds large numbers of Red-legged Partridge and Pheasant for the shooting fraternity, this in turn attracts large numbers of Carrion Crow and Jackdaw which roost in the small copse on site, this large flock contained a single Raven which flew over 'kronking', a sound I'll never tire of and one which I feel privileged to be able to hear in the heart of Warwickshire.

I carried on past the pit over to the area which was once a nice reed bed, no so now though, as part of returning the gravel pits to agricultural land they have been cut down.  I took a walk through so I could get to a viewing point for the flooded field opposite.  Walking through the old reed bed I flushed a Jack Snipe which for me is a great find, I don't record Jack Snipe generally most years so to have a local site hold them is great, even better that it's my chosen site for the Patchwork Challenge 2015.

I checked the old tree for the resident Little Owl but still no luck, not sure if it's decided to move on with all the activity in the area reshaping the landscape.

I had a quick check of Pophills Pit where I found:

Black-headed Gull x 58
Yellowhammer x 10
Tufted Duck x 4
Coot x 14
Red-legged Partridge x 2
Magpie x 3
Greylag Goose x 60 - fly overs
Common Sandpiper x 1
Pied Wagtail x 1

Other birds noted were Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Dunnock, Buzzard, Kestrel.  I then returned home where I added Song Thrush to the list from my garden.

I managed to add 12 species to my Patch Challenge list:

Pochard
Lapwing
Moorhen
Fieldfare
Jack Snipe
Common Sandpiper
Yellowhammer
Greylag Goose
Pied Wagtail
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Collared Dove
Song Thrush

Kensington Gardens

I didn't go into work today as not feeling too great, however I started to feel a little house bound and decided a touch of fresh air was required. I headed over to Kensington Gardens for an hour and managed to add a few species to the year list.

A guarantee was always going to be the Egyptian Goose, quite large numbers in the park now, the flock outnumbering the Canada Goose and Greylag Goose.

Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Geese (Squabble or Courtship?)

 

There were small flocks of both Canada and Greylag goose grazing by the Round Pond, Greylag were 'new for year' for me.

 

Greylag Goose

 

It was nice to see a couple of cheeky Jackdaw up close and the lovely colours of a Starling when they are caught in the right light.

 

Jackdaw

Starling

Starling (bathing)

Starling (bathing)

Starling (bathing)

 

I managed to find the Greater Scaup amongst the Tufted Duck although I was unable to get a decent photo as he was always into the Sun.

 

Scaup

 





I then took a walk over to the old Oak tree to search for the resident Tawny Owl which I've never managed to find despite the daily reporting of by Ralph on his amazing blog HERE, an inspirational example of true patch birding.  Needless to say I was unable to find the Tawny Owl...

 

I headed on over to the Leaf Garden in search of Coal Tit's as this was another bird I needed for this year, on route over I was treated to some great views of Jay and found a couple of Redwing and a Song Thrush.

 

Jay

Redwing

Song Thrush

 



I found a Coal Tit 'pitchoo-ing' in the Leaf Garden along with Great Tit, Blue Tit and Long-tailed Tit, I also had Pochard and Shovelar on the main lake by the Peter Pan statue.  On my way back I thought I'd chance one last look for the Tawny Owl, I decided to try other trees from the one I'd worked out it would be in according to Ralphs directions which, on revisiting I'd gotten wrong.  My perseverance was finally rewarded (about 8 visits) and there he was sat in the exact pose as in his daily appearance on Ralphs blog..  Thanks to Ralph for directions...

Shovelar

Tawny Owl

 

Having called it day and heading back to the tube I managed to add Great Spotted Woodpecker to the year list.  I grabbed a few photos of the Ring-necked Parakeets as they looked dazzling in the sunshine today.

 

Ring-necked Parakeet

 

I also couldn't resist this Grey Squirrel soaking up the sun, he looked like a hunters pelt...

 





All in all an hour well spent I think, I managed to get some well needed fresh air whilst adding 8 species to my 2015 Year List - Egyptian Goose, Greylag Goose, Greater Scaup, Shovelar, Pochard, Coal Tit, Tawny Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker

Patchwork Challenge 2015

One of my goals this year is to try and work a local patch, this will still be limited as I work and live in London during the week so am only home (most) weekends.  Every 2nd weekend my children stay over so I won't be able to visit every time they are visiting as it's not fair on them - they unfortunately do not share my passion for 'Geeking'.....

As I live in Bidford, the perfect local patch for me has to be Salford Priors Gravel Pits, I don't think they are watched a great deal although I believe a few local birders visit once a week.  Salford GP are still working pits, actually I believe the majority of the quarrying has been completed and unfortunately they're being returned to agricultural use.  Such a shame really as they site appeared not to have been touched for a good 5 years and already had the potential for a great reserve.

@NeilDuggan80 had also registered Salford GP for PWC2015 so we decided to cover as much ground between us to see what the area produces whilst maintaining our own PWC2015 lists.

Neil had already marked his territory and chose to cover the GP and the area to the West and North:

Neil's Patch - GP's bottom left.

 

So that left me with the South and East, which suited me fine as I live to the East and wanted to cover a few areas in this direction, obviously I've still included the GP's in my PWC2015. I included my garden as Tawny Owl pair visit in the evenings, the filed adjoining has 'stop-over' Turtle Dove most years so here's hoping:

 

My Patch - GP's centre left.

 

I believe Neil is off to a flying start however this was my first time home since Christmas so this was to be my inaugural visit.  This was a kids weekend so the wife kindly stayed at home with 2 of them whilst my daughter Rosie came along for the hell of it.

 

It was absolutely freezing at the GP's with a biting wind. Access was difficult as the path leading up to the main pit had been blocked by a huge mound of earth.  None the less we made our way round instantly being treated to some deer which we inadvertently spooked.

 

Our first species was a flock of Long-tailed Tit flitting around the small plantation, these were followed by a large number of Carrion Crow and Jackdaw feeding in the field to the right of the path.  Among them I found 1 Raven when they were flying between the tall trees of the plantation and the field.  Next was a Common Buzzard crying overhead, this then spooked a couple of hundred Woodpigeon also making use of the tall plantation trees.

 

We arrived at the Main Pit, I was hoping to see the Scaup Neil had reported the week before but I searched the water over and over and scrutinised the Tufted Duck time and again but I was unable to locate it.  The water held a small number of Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Coot and Little Grebe but not much else.

 

As we made our way to the Little Owl tree a few Meadow Pipits went up, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch and Wren were also seen.  We didn't find the Little Owl which didn't surprise me in that biting wind, must have been hunkered down in his nesting hole.

 

I didn't go any further as Rosie was feeling the cold so we headed back and added Mute Swan and Canada Goose to the list whilst having another futile search for the Scaup.  Our timing was spot on as a tractor and trailer were crossing the field across from the main pit, the trailer full of shooting folk. We got back to the car and drove up to Pophills Pit where we added Red-legged Partridge, Black-headed Gull, Reed Bunting and Bullfinch and a bonus Grey Wagtail.  We stayed for 5 minutes to watch the shot but Rosie wasn't comfortable with it, she didn't like seeing the birds falling out of the sky.  She asked me "how do they know what they are shooting" to which I replied "Exactly". Coincidentally a story running on Twitter was of a shooter boasting of his 'Bag' in which he had Snipe, only the photo was of a Jack Snipe, just about answers Rosie's question really.

 

We headed home them were I added Dunnock and Collard Dove to the list from my garden.  Then last night I added Tawny which was sat in the tree 'kewicking'

1st outing of 2015 - Dorset - Day 2

After yesterdays geeking around Studland we travelled to Portland for our first stay at the Portland Bird Observatory.  It was the wife, myself and a friend so we opted for the cottage.  Very basic accommodation but comfortable, reminded me of many places I stayed in the Army....  I've booked to return in May although this time I'm taking the kids and we are going to stay in the lighthouse bunk rooms, thought they'd find that more exciting.  All three of us spent the evening in the Pulpit Inn where we had a very tasty meal and some equally good wine.

The following morning I spent a few hours sea watching, this is something I am a complete novice at so could have missed anything.  What I did comfortably identify though were hundreds of Guillemots back and forth from the cliff face further along the coast.

I was hoping for a Great Skua as I have still not seen one, it was not meant to be though but I had some amazing views of a huge flock of Gannet in what I can only describe as a feeding frenzy, it was great to see them performing their synchronised plunge diving.  The only other birds I really saw were Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, some Cormorant and a couple of Shag.

After a few hours, which was all I could manage in the biting strong wind, I met the wife in the Lobster Pot for breakfast, a nice pot of tea and sausage sandwich always sorts me out.

I said goodbye to the wife who was walking the coastal path back to Weymouth where I would meet her later that day.  I'd heard there was an overwintering Black Redstart around the beach huts so thought I'd go hunt him down.

I didn't connect with the Black Redstart but did manage to find 4 Purple Sandpipers along with 5 Oystercatcher and 5 Turnstone plus the usual scattering of Rock Pipit.  The Purple Sandpipers were all taking baths in the rock pools which was fun to watch.  This time last year Purple Sandpiper was a lifer for me so it was great to connect with some I'd found myself.

Oystercatchers + Purple Sandpiper bathing

Turnstones + Purple Sandpipers bathing..



 

I was having no luck with the Black Redstart around the beach huts so I decided to try up at the horse paddocks before heading off (I had other targets to reach).  On my way there a gorgeous Raven drifting low over me 'cronking' as they do.  Still no Black Redstart but I was rewarded with this beautiful male Stonechat for my persistence.

 

Stonechat

Stonechat

 

Satisfied I took a brisk walk back to the car (still searching for the Black Redstart!) and made my way up to Grove Lane for the long staying Hooded Crow.

 

I was hoping this was going to be an easy find as this would be a UK tick for me, only seen them in Ireland and Europe.  How wrong was I... I arrived at the pig farm and there were plenty of corvids on the wing which I searched thoroughly but could only find Carrion Crow and Jackdaw, there was a few Magpies in the area too.  I scanned the hedgerows and field for 45 minutes as the crows floew back and forth but decided 45 minutes was enough.  I turned to walk back to the car only to noticed the Hooded Crow sat on a fence about 20m away!!! Probably been sat there for 45 minutes laughing at me.  I quickly reached for my camera but he had other ideas and flew to the furthest corner of the field hence this unbelievably poor record shot shows....

 

Hooded Crow - UK tick..

 

The Hooded Crow in the bag it was time to visit Portland Harbour.  I arrived to a nice adult Mediterranean Gull about 20m out.

 

Mediterranean Gull

 

I also reconnected with the Black Guillemot and Eider Duck, both I which I'd managed to get for the back end of 2013's year list a few weeks back.  The harbour also held a decent number of Red-breasted Merganser and a single Little Egret.

 

Red-breasted Merganser

 

After this I had to dash to Weymouth to pick the wife up, I convinced her to meet me at RSPB Radipole and had time to quickly view a flock of 8 Bearded Reedlings feeding relatively close to the path, I also added Reed Bunting to the year list.

 









1st Outing of 2015 - Dorset - Day 1

The wife and I were invited to a friends for New Year - in Dorset! I obviously started hatching plans for both my 2014 (end) and 2015 (start) year lists...... However....as we used to say in the Army (I'm sure they still say it), 'No plan survives first contact'  To start with the head gasket went on the car, so, I bought a second hand one the following day but the head gasket went on that one 24hrs later!!!!

 

Anyway, this weekend I returned to Dorset in a nice shiny hire car (to scrap the 2nd car) with 2 days geeking re-planned.

 

Day 1 was spent with the nice people from the Upton/Poole RSPB group on their monthly field trip, I stumbled across this event when checking out local sightings.  The weather was forecast to be treacherous with high winds and heavy rain. It was windy alright but fortunately the rain held off.

 

I rose nice and early and headed to Shell Bay on Studland where the group were meeting, I took the longer route and went via RSPB Arne as there had been some great reports from the day before, namely 8 Spotted Redshank, Avocets in their 100's and a few Spoonbill.  I had check the tide table, low tide was at 07:00 so I arrived at 08:00 with the hope it had started to make its way back in, it hadn't.  Being the first outing of the 2015, every species is new :)  Middlebere contained approx. 120 Eurasian Teal, 30 Eurasian Widgeon and a fair number of Curlew and Redshank, I was unable to find any Spotted Redshank though.  I only stayed for about 20 minutes as I had to get to Sandbanks.  On the way back to the car I added Green Woodpecker and Long-tailed Tit.

 

I arrived at Shell Bay to strong winds and rain, it didn't look promising.  Still, about 10 members of the group had turned up and were willing to brave the elements so the guided walk was on.

We headed for the beach which we planned to follow, the first birds were Shag, then somebody picked up some birds flying towards us - 5 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, that was me happy.  I couldn't believe it when I heard some Terns screeching, but there they were, 3 Sandwich Terns patrolling up and down the shoreline with a group of Black-headed Gulls, I'd seen reports of 1 overwintering but never thought we'd find it , never mind 3..!

Our walk along the beach also presented us with Pied Wagtail, Sparrowhawk, Meadow Pipit, Cormorant, Sanderling and a further ~20 Dark-bellied Brents, a good start I thought.

 

We took a walk over to Brands Bay next, I didn't know there was a hide there, this time last year I stood in the bitter cold and wind, eyes streaming, looking for a Surf Scoter... No need this time, 10 happy campers squashed snugly into the hide for a scan of the Bay.

 

There were quite a few Shelduck, a couple of Eurasian Teal, a Little Egret and what looked like 3 Red-necked Grebe although the view wasn't good enough for me to be content they weren't Great  Crested. One of the group (with Eagle eyed vision) then picked up a duck across the bay, I was the only one who'd brought a scope so was asked to have a look, it was a cracking male Pintail.

 

We all headed back to the cars to take a drive up to Middle Beach, we spent some time scanning the open water below us, the Black-necked Grebe never disappoint here at this time of year, we quickly got onto a group of 7, lovely little birds.  There were some great beasts of Great Black-backed Gulls on the water, we also had a Red-necked Grebe in with 3 Great Crested Grebe which I found bizarre seeing on salt water.  Somebody found a small raft of duck so I put the scope on and there were 8 female Long-tailed Duck with an extremely handsome male.

 

After way too much excitement (for me anyway), we went to look for the Ring-necked Parakeets, I wasn't overly bothered what with living in London during the week.  We didn't manage to locate the Parakeets but I did managed to find a female Common Scoter quite close in on the water, one of the group had Goldcrest too.

 

The group called it a day at that point and we all went to the Middle Beach café for a nice brew, I managed a sausage sandwich too :o)  When we returned to the cars, I could resist one last look at the Long-tailed Duck.  I failed to relocate them but did find a Great Northern Diver.

 

I'd like to thank the Upton/Poole branch of the RSPB for allowing me to join them for their walk, I had a great morning with some very friendly people and got to see some fantastic birds which would not have been possible without their local knowledge of the area.

A New Year - A New Challenge

I can't believe I haven't posted since April last year, however it has been a very busy year spent wedding planning, getting married, new job and house renovation....

I've also been posting on Twitter rather than here, I suppose it's quicker, easier and more interactive but that's no excuse and this year I aim to make more of an effort.

I've signed myself up for the 2015 Patchwork Challenge and selected Salford Priors Gravel Pits as my 'patch', I'm sharing this with another local birder, so it should be interesting what this under watched site produces between the both of us.  I fear Neil may be visiting a lot more than me as the patch is at home and I work away during the week so can only bird it the weekends I'm back.

I've also signed myself up for a home study level 3 Diploma in Environmental Sciences.

I'm going to make the effort to get out birding more this year and really need to connect with the fabled (in terms of my life list) Long-eared Owl..... plus I'm going to try to record my sightings on BirdTrack but we'll see how that goes as this can easily take over your life.

That said, I'm going to keep my 1st year list for moths which, all in all should keep the wife happy, she has zero interest in birds or moths and thinks I already spend too much time geeking...

Oh, the wife has decided we are going to run the Southampton Half Marathon in April and I'm her training partner.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to visit the Galapogos Islands and Ecuador a few months back (honeymoon) so I should attempt to write up my birding encounters too.

Happy New Year and here's hoping you have a bird (and moth - if that's your thing) filled year, and that I have something to write about......