Forest of Dean

On the way to pick the kids up I decided to go via the Forest of Dean, in particular New Fancy viewing platform to see if I could see a Goshawk before they finish displaying.  I arrived at the viewing platform, saw a pair of Buzzard over the canopy and a few Siskin in a tree close by.  Then literally within a few minutes of arriving and as my luck would have it of late, the skies opened up and the deluge began, aargh!!!!

I then popped over to RSPB Nagshead in hope of Hawfinch and Marsh Tit but again to no avail, I did manage a photo of a Song Thrush for the race though.....

13. Song Thrush

 

Since it was dire birding here I headed over to Cannop Ponds for Mandarin Duck and Dipper.  My luck improved slightly as there were a great number of Mandarin Duck present with very close views of both male and female.  Whilst I was there I scoured the brook between the two ponds for Dipper but failed to locate any, a small consolation was a pair of Grey Wagtail though so not complaining.  Then just as I was about to leave a large crow  appeared, and with a big wedge of a tail was unmistakably a Raven, even better it landed in the tree I was standing by so afforded some great close up views of this often 'seen in the distance' bird.  A couple of photos were gathered of some commoner species to make the numbers up for the race.

 

 14. Blackbird

15. Moorhen

 

 16. Treecreeper

 

 17. Lesser Black Backed Gull

 

 

As I managed to get some close up views of the Mandarin Duck I thought I'd add some of my favourite shots..

 



 18. Mandarin Duck

 

 19. Grey Wagtail

 

 20. Mute Swan

 



21. Mallard

 

 22. Coot

 

 23. Robin

 

 24. Raven

 

25. Great Tit

 

Little bit gutted about the Goshawk, will have to try again but next time check the weather forecast, especially as this would be a lifer for me.....



Double Lifer!!!!!

Decided that I couldn't ignore the Pied Billed Grebe any longer so I took a trip to RSPB Ham Wall and what a great day, the sun was shining and the birds were all showing.

First notable bird of the day was a booming Bittern, this is the first time I've heard this weird call.  Next up was a Great White Egret feeding just off the first platform, never expected that today.  Whilst I was looking at it through the telescope someone called Bittern, I looked up and there was one flying across in front of us, unfortunately I wasn't quick enough with the camera but did manage a great view through the binoculars

7. Great White Egret

 

I then walked on up to the second platform which is where the Pied Billed Grebe has been reported from, on route I saw plenty of tit and finch activity in the trees and hedges lining the path and heard numerous Cetti's Warblers however was unable to locate any. I took a few shots of some Long Tailed Tits, one which I am quite happy with.

 8. Long Tailed Tit

 



I finally arrived at the second viewing platform but viewing was at a premium as it was very busy, this still didn't stop me getting some great views of the Pied Billed Grebe through my binoculars and some amazing views through the telescope; my first lifer of the day.  The pictures however are not as great, suppose I brought an entry level camera for a reason though so can't grumble.

 

9. Pied Billed Grebe

 

I'd heard there had been a Ring Necked Duck, Scaup, Smew, Black Necked Grebe and Ferruginous Duck present yesterday so I wandered on further along the track, on route I managed to snap a couple more birds for the list, Blue Tit and Chaffinch.

 

 10. Blue Tit

 

11. Chaffinch

 

I arrived at a group of people who it turned out where getting on/off glimpses of the Ring Necked Duck.  I managed to get onto my second lifer of the day - awesome!!  Again, not the greatest of shots as it was through trees and in a very narrow viewing window.

 

12. Ring Necked Duck

 

Whilst observing the Ring Necked Duck I happened to look up and notice 3 birds flying towards us, since I was having I lifer day my first hope was Crane - no chance.... however 3 Spoonbills were a nice addition to the year list.  I wandered further up as somebody informed us that the Ferruginous Duck had been located.  I arrived just it it disappeared behind some reedbeds, I waited for about 20 minutes but he wasn't coming out.  I decided to call it a day and head back to the car as I still had to go to work, on the way back I stopped for a quick look at the Pied Billed Grebe but he'd become elusive, a bonus though was that the 2 Black Necked Grebes had arrived back, great views but too far out for photos.  Lastly I found a Chiffchaff flitting about the tree tops by the carpark which was another nice addition to the year list.

 

All in all a great day; lovely weather, great birding, an awesome site and 2 lifers to boot.....Happy Days.

 



Let the race commence.........

In true gentleman like fashion, Will and I decided that we'd go for a quick spot of geeking together at the start of our race to see who can photograph the greatest number of birds within a 12 month period.  We opted for a quick look around the woods at Woburn for the elusive Lady Amherst Pheasant as you have to start somewhere and nobody that knows of their whereabouts is willing to divulge such information.  Why it's such a secret is beyond me as if what Mr Evans says about there only being 2 surviving males, then it's hardly a breeding bird which requires protection...... Anyway down from soapbox and on with the race.

As I said we started in Woburn woods which to our amatuer birding skills were deviod of birdlife.....

Then on to Caldecotte Lake to see if the Scaup were still hanging around, if they were then our great geeking genes failed us again as we were unable to locate them.  We did see a lovely pair of Siskin but I was unable to obtain a photograph of them, what I did manage is shown below, not the greatest of starts but it's only day 1.

 1. Magpie

 

 2. Grey Heron

 

 3. Canada Goose

 

 4. Black Headed Gull

 

 5. Pochard

 

6. Great Crested Grebe

 

Seems I need to sort the numbering out, will have to work on that....

Great Grey Shrike

Although the title is Great Grey Shrike, this was hopefully to be a bonus bird but would be my first UK bird having seen them in Iraq, Oman, Turkey and Cyprus etc, the target bird for today was Long Eared Owl representing a lifer for me. It's been mentioned as a side note to Great Grey Shrike reports on Therfield Heath that up to 4 Long Eared Owls have been present - oh and Short Eared Owl, Hen Harrier and Merlin, and that's in addition to Kestrel, Buzzard and Red Kite.......!

Anyway, I did some research on 'tinterweb' and established that the best place to start from was Briary Lane - which I did and the first bird I saw perched high in the tallest tree was the Great Grey Shrike - bonus, I took a whole raft of photos but my lack of experience and photography knowledge show as it was difficult shooting up into the grey light of the overcast sky.

Great Grey Shrike

 

I then walked up and then back down the Icknield Way in the company of a solitary Wren which insisted on following me up the path. I spent a while watch a flock of about 40 Linnet, Therfield Heath is apparently a Mecca for them with flocks up to 1000+ noted.  After a while I decided to head over to Grays Farm as the LEO's have often been reported in that region, however what other blogs/posts have failed to mention is that Grays Farm is private property and public access is not permitted, I had to graciously apologise to the farmer who was actually very understanding and obviously very patient as I can only assume this is a daily occurrence.  The farm is managed perfectly for wild birds for which area sightings are testament, the fields all have abundant wild margins for farmland birds.  I managed only my 2nd ever sighting of Grey Partridge, about 8 of them, my first and only sighting until today was way back in 1990 - 23 years ago!!!  My attention was drawn to their calls which was loud and boisterous, they seem very territorial.  There was also a lot of Red Legged Partridge about.  Around the farm there was a lot of feeders attracting a multitude of finches and a few Yellowhammer which were sometimes permitted a look in from the gangs of Reed Buntings..

 

Grey Partridge

 

I didn't managed to connect with a LEO today but it was still a fantastic day anyway with a 1st and 2nd for the UK.  It was also great to see the work that can be achieved by farmers if they are so inclined, I hope that Grays Farm continue the amazing work they do and fingers crossed that one day they will be willing to allow the public access, even if limited.



Farmoor

Was unsure where to go today so decided to head over to Farmoor as it's always been reasonably good to me, even though it is always freezing cold there....

Surprisingly it was quite devoid of wildfowl in comparison to my previous visits, a quick scan of F2 revealed a pair of Goldeneye and the odd Coot so took a walk along the causeway, had a quick scan of the Tufted Duck and notice 4 Scaup (2 pairs); it's taken me years to see my first Scaup, the first occasion being last year, now since then I have seen them on a regular basis at a number of sites as is typical with bird watching.

Scaup with the Tufted Duck

 

Next up was a male Goldeneye who obviously felt king drake in this pond with his hareem of 6 ducks in tow, not sure if the obvious benefits of 6 women outweigh 6 x nagging? (be in for it with the missus now!), also saw this Cormorant with an extremely white head.

 

 Goldeneye

 

Cormorant

 

Since there didn't appear to be too much on the Reservoir I thought I'd take a look in the Pinkhill Reserve but again not much to see as the whole area was flooded, there were however 4 Snipe skulking about, another bird which has seemed extremely abundant this winter.  Luckily I visited the hide as another birder came in and informed me that they'd just been watching a Barn Owl hunting so of course I headed over and got some fantastic views of it hunting in daylight.

 

 

Barn Owl

 

After watching the Barn Owl for about 10 minutes I walked back to the car via the causeway and managed to see, not a Rock or Water Pipit running up and down the water line but of course a Meadow Pipit, typical.. Then just as I was leaving I got to watch a Great Black Backed Gull fly in, still amazes me just how big they are.

 

Meadow Pipit