Although this is a bit belated I thought I would write up my trip to Brownsea Island back at the beginning of August. It was a trip with much frustration! Waiting for the ferry is always a nervous occasion at Sandbanks especially if you know better things are on the horizon. My Granny and Grandpa were down with my dad and I on this trip. Surprisingly I even managed to get my brother to come with as well. Whilst waiting for the ferry, Black headed Gulls were around and so too were at least 17 Cormorants. The weather was much better than anticipated and therefore not wearing shorts was the worst decision of the day by far. Herring Gulls also made their presence aware. As I looked towards the mouth of the harbour I could see a flock of at least 50 small waders off towards Studland and my best guess as to what they could be is Dunlin. Above: Cormorant Above: Cormorants and Herring Gulls When we arrived on the island we could hear a mass of noise coming off the lagoon and I had a good idea of what was about. I did however decide to wait till I was in the hides to get a better view. Goldfinch were ever present around the visitor centre with quite a decently large flock around. Below: Goldfinch We then headed to the nature reserve and whilst on our way in we had 3 Whimbrel fly over along with a steady trickle of House Martins and Swallows. When we reached the wooded area just past the Visitor centre we reach a mixed Warbler flock. I have to admit that the 20 Chiffchaff and 20 Willow Warbler that I have put down as seeing is very conservative as there were probably more than 80 birds in the flock in total. There was also a Nuthatch seemingly a bit out of place in the flock alongside 2 Blue Tits. Next we went to the furthest hide. Here we looked for a while to see if we could find the Nightjar that we had here last year, but with no luck we had to settle for 4 Tufted Duck and a yaffling Green Woodpecker. By the time we had reached the visitor centre again the feeders had been filled up and therefore underneath there was a carpet of Chaffinches clearing up the mess that had been left behind by the Great Tits and Blue Tits using the feeders. We then headed up to where we had the Kingfisher last year, however again frustratingly it wasn't here. It took me a little while to actually find anything until out of nowhere a Chiffchaff appeared in the reed bed to the left of the viewing screen calling loudly. It carried on feeding as I had a scan of the rushes and reeds around me. Eventually I found a Grey Heron sitting behind some trees. The occasional duck did fly up from the undergrowth, but I wasn't quick enough to put an ID to them. Above: Well hidden Grey Heron. (Trust me it wasn't any easier to see in the field than online...!) We then headed to the main hide to see what we could see. As soon as we had sat down in the hide a calling flash of blue flew straight past the window very close in for all to see and then continued round in front of the other hide to my right. It was then joined by a second calling flash of blue and my brother believes there might have even been a third! Yep that's right they were Kingfishers! This was one of the best views I have ever had of these species and I can still remember it just zooming past the hide looking meaningfully ahead with so much elegance and poise. This probably doesn't beat the one that I had hovering outside the Butt's hide at Rainham last year, but it was still awesome to see none the less. Black Headed Gulls still had youngsters out on the rafts as did Common Terns. The Sandwich Terns were still around in decent numbers, but 'most' of the adults seemed to have moved on already with mainly juveniles remaining. Redshanks put on a performance in front of the hide with very decent views. Similarly the Pied Wagtails also gave us some nice views. Oystercatchers had gathered on the far bank with 337 roosting there alongside 70 Cormorant and 5 Little Egret! There was also a flock of around 300 Black-tailed Godwits to the right hand side of the hide along with some assorted goodies. I decided to wait and get a bit closer before sifting through the flock. Above: Pied Wagtail Below: Black Headed Gull Above: Juv Black Headed Gull Next 2: Juv Black Headed Gull and parent Above: Common Tern Below: Juv Sandwich Tern Above: Common Tern Above and Below: Cormorants and Oystercatchers, with the odd Shelduck, and also Black Headed Gulls Above and Below: the assorted wader flock Next 3: Redshank I probably should have mentioned at the start that this was going to be a rather photo heavy blog and this is why I can remember so much, I guess. What I also haven't mentioned so far is the fact that whilst in the hide my Granny, Grandpa, Dad, and Brother had all left the hide. I was left with some other birders as we were frantically searching for the Boneparte's Gull that was on the lagoon. As my luck would have it we couldn't find it and it would be the only day of that particular week that it wouldn't be seen, because bright and early the next morning the report was out that it was back. Another dip for this species in the UK and again pegging back my life list. Once I had given up, and rightly so, I moved onto the next hide to get a better view of the waders. I managed to pick up; 300 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Avocet, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 8 Spotted Redshank, a Knot, and 3 Dunlin. Not bad, but not the Little Stint I was after. Gadwall were also around in front of this hide. Above: I think one is a Black Headed Gull and one a Common Tern. Also a Pied Wagtail Below: Common Terns Above: Common Terns Below: Sandwich Tern Above: Common Tern Below: Greenshank and Oystercatchers Above and Below: Avocets, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshanks, Black Headed Gulls Above: Greenshank, Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, BHG Below: Pied Wagtail Above: Common Tern and Redshank Below: Greenshank and Redshank Above: Dunlin, Redshank and Spotted Redshank I think...? Below: Common Terns Above: Common Tern Below: Spot the Sandwich Tern Above and Below: Black-tailed Godwit Above Green and Red Shank Looking at small dots on a screen has started to get to me and I have to admit I am not too sure that I have labelled them appropriately. I then left the hide pretty satisfied for a change and as I did so I got the shock of my life as a Red Squirrel was sitting on the path ahead of me! This was the first one that I had ever seen and as I saw it my dad phoned me which was just great as by the time I managed to get my camera on it, it was half way up a tree! The rest of the visit went by with little reward and a lot of effort and at just after 2 we headed back onto the ferry to head for home and to avoid the storm. After this trip my life list hasn't changed however, since my last blog I have had a flock of 3 White Stork fly over my local patch the Totteridge Valley bringing my life list up to 182 species which is awesome and more than I could have expected. I hope to upload a few more blog posts before the end of this month (September), however with school now restarting my time out and about birding will unfortunately be limited. I will now leave you with a selection of photos from the rest of my visit! Above: Red Squirrel Next 2: Jackdaws Above: Common Tern
Below: Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (volucella zonaria)
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It is unusual that in my case dedication to something pays off! So this blog post comes as a bit of a surprise to me! I spent 4 days in a row trudging through different parts of the Totteridge Valley including some Volunteering. *Please don't read this all at once (you can if you want to!), I would recommend taking it day by day, due to the length* 25th August Arriving at Long Pond on a sunny afternoon. It was just after 4pm when I arrived and since I was a bit early (nearly a whole hour), I decided to spend a large amount of time near the pond! This proved effective at first, but then It slowly dried up. There were a total of 16 Mallard, a Canada Goose, 4 Moorhen, and 3 Coots, which is decent since it is right by a main road! Above: Adult Moorhen Below: Juv Moorhen Above: Almost fully grown Coot Below: Mallard Below: Ad + Juv Moorhen I decided that whilst I waited for Simon, I would go just inside the gate of the footpath down into the main part of the valley and perform a sky watch. With sweat starting to pour from my forehead the birding started to hot up. Immediately my attention was drawn out over the Folly Brook where a Grey Heron was tussling with a Common Buzzard, before being broken up by the ever present figure of a Red Kite that soared in and stole the item of the dispute and proceeded to land in a tree just next to me and eat it. As the Red Kite did this a second Buzzard joined the original Buzzard and proceed to get rid of the Grey Heron. It was some while before anything else happened however 2 Hobby then came flashing through. Also at this time a large flock of Gulls was moving through the valley which at the time I thought were nearly 200 Black Headed Gulls, but I am not too sure as they were far off in the distance. Above: Red Kite Once Simon arrived it unfortunately went quiet. 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers had a bit of a scrap in the tree next to us before we proceeded down the path. A Kestrel and a Swallow were new to the day list as we moved down the top part of the path. Chiffchaffs called from pretty much all over the place and so did the odd Willow Warbler. The Red Kite took off from the tree that it had landed in prior to Simon's arrival and gave us an awesome acrobatic display. After a while I realised that it wasn't alone and in came another stunning Hobby fighting hard to get the Red Kite off its territory! This was Simon's first for the patch which surprised me a little, but there were better things to have, so we moved on. A bit further down the path a tractor came past us on our left hand side, and I thank it for doing so. The reason for this is because it flushed 4 Whinchat up from the fence posts on the other side of the hedge and into the trees for everyone to see. The reason why this is special is because that is an all time record count for the valley, which normally only sees the odd one or two come through each year! Below: Whinchats Next we moved just further down the path to an area of hedges. This area is a sun trap and by the looks of things it is therefore a Warbler hot spot. Simon and I spent the next 10 minutes looking at lots of little birds flying in and out of the bushes and identified most of them as Chiffchaffs with the odd obvious Willow Warbler. 2 Wheatear were flushed from the field next to us and flew over our heads and then I noticed something in the bush at the end of the path. The target species for this trip was doing as its name suggests at the bottom of the path in a young tree. Not one, but 3 Spotted Flycatchers and we followed them to the dead trees that border 'Cow' field. Here we met up with Ian and we were treated to a spectacular display from these fly-catching experts! Below: 2 of the 3 Spotted Flycatchers The best surprise of the day was yet to come. The three of us proceeded to watch the edge of Cow field. John had sent us an email yesterday evening telling us that, he though he might have had a Redstart in the bushes on the Southern edge of 'cow' field and sure enough (I believe it was) Ian found an absolutely stunning Male full plumage Common Redstart and it fed actively whilst we watched on for several minutes. I have to admit that this is a Lifer for me, however I will admit another thing and that is my British List will not be getting any bigger after this one since I had accidently already added it to my list! We moved on to the far edge of 'Cow' field and this paid off again with a large mixed flock of Chiffchaff and Willow Warblers, and also another 3 fly-catching Spotted Flycatchers. Then out popped an interesting Warbler onto the same dead tree that the Flycatchers were on. It was very pale on the body with a Yellowy face, the sort of set up you would expect when looking at a Wood Warbler, however it never did call and it flew away into the nearby Corn field and hasn't been seen since. We did put it out as a possible Wood Warbler, however I refuse to add this to my British or even World Life list as there was just too much uncertainty about the bird from me and the others! Above (6): Male Common Redstart Below: Spotted Flycatcher 4 Rooks called from overhead as they flew over and we stopped to listen to the chorus of Little Owls that had begun. We put down a conservative 4 as being heard, however at one point I am pretty sure there were more than 7 calling from various parts of the field. A Hobby also flew over us and hunted over the valley, however it is hard to rule out the possibility of it being one of the ones that had been seen earlier After this we headed up to 'Owl' field for a brief look around and we managed to add another Flycatcher sitting at the tops of the trees at the top end of the field. A Bullfinch flew from the undergrowth beneath us and a Common Whitethroat could be heard calling. Then we called it a night and home we went! The First Totteridge Valley Birders Guided Walk! - 26th August It was clear sky and sunshine when Nicola and I turned up at the Adam and Eve for the first walk. It was going to be another scorcher! Whilst Nicola headed back to the car to get something a flock of at least 12 House Martins came through heading West. At bang on 9am everyone had arrived! In the birding community this is almost unheard of and so we headed out pretty much on time. An enthusiastic group of people from experienced to beginners. Although we were out here to bird watch our aim was also to teach and hopefully inspire the younger generations to pick this up as a hobby. Goldcrests were the first topic as at least 4 were calling from the trees above us as we walked down the road. A Grey Wagtail flew over head as we headed down past Finchley Nurseries. 2 Red Kites were hunting low over the fields when we arrived just behind Folly Farm and this gave our group stunning views of them. A total of 9 Common Buzzard were seen in total with at least 4 of them being overhead here. 5 Rooks came over calling loudly and one even sat up in a tree for all to see its pale coloured beak and to see the difference between its other corvid friends! Sparrowhawks and Kestrels were also present, but unfortunately we didn't have the same excitement as yesterday! After every bush being alive with Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers the day before today was some what disappointing with only a few, however a Chiffchaff did perform well for all when walking back up towards the Adam and Eve. When we were in the 'Cow' field a Male Pheasant was seen and a flyby Little Owl was noted. Also down in the far left hand corner 3 Spotted Flycatchers were still present and gave most decent scope views. We then moved on to the woodland between 'Cow' field and 'Owl' field. Here it was a chance to brush up on everybody's calls. This was partially because the mixed Tit flock stayed largely unseen in the treetops and also the calling Treecreeper was unusually not found. Into the 'Owl' field we went and it wasn't until near Darlands Lake that it started to get interesting. Common Whitethroat and Blackcaps were seen darting along the Southern edge of the field and as we were walking through magic happened. A Tree Pipit flew out of the undergrowth calling loudly and gave most a good glimpse of it in flight, before it disappeared over the tops of the trees! This was my best view of one since the only other one I have seen was one that we flushed on Bird Camp! After this we headed to a deserted Darlands Lake and so moved on. We stopped in next to some fields for us to get to grips with Stock Dove, Wood pigeon ID, since there was a large mixed flock in the fields. The 5 Rooks that flew over us before were also still in this field. We then had a look for the male Redstart that John had seen earlier on, but it didn't show. We then headed back up towards the cars, however we stopped near some of the Folly Farm buildings on Burtonhole Lane because up above there was a flock of at least 20 Swallows. A Goldfinch and a Robin sat up in trees near to where we were and Ben called out that he had 2 Raptors. We eventually identified these 2 raptors as a Juvenile Hobby and an adult Kestrel. Our attention was then drawn to a Starling sitting at the top of one of the dead trees and it surprised some that Starlings are in fact born without spots, and all brown rather than glossy black! An so this rounded off an excellent first walk which also somehow managed to finish at 12:15 right in between the predicted 12:00-12:30 finish time. We managed to clock up 51 species of birds and several Butterfly and Dragonfly species between us. I also would like to thank everyone who came on the walk and made it such an enjoyable occasion for all, I am already looking forward to the next one! Below: Pictures from the walk (taken by Nicola) Belmont Farm - 27th August Yet another hot sticky day in the Totteridge Valley! The Day started with a nice Male Grey Wagtail tail bobbing in the car park. Once inside I quickly spotted 2 Goldcrest and 2 Treecreepers in the trees above where the sheep were. Then I got to work! The usual flock of Swallows was still about and we have pairs attending their 3rd and even one pair on their 4th broods! I spent most of my day on the back of the Tractor Ride being the tour guide and also clearing ouy the Goat enclosure! When on the tractor ride I am the 'tour guide'. This basically gives me a 20 minute break from the hard labour of tidying enclosures and it allows me to bird watch whilst answering visitors questions and also telling them some facts about the wildlife and farm animals we see. The animals that always draw the most attention are the local Rabbits, Little Owls, and the farm's Reindeer! Every hour there is a tractor ride and on the first tractor ride of the day came the first bird to show the visitors. A nice Wheatear sitting on the fence of one of the fields and it proceeded to sit in the precise same location till the end of the day! Whilst waiting for one of the lunch time tractor rides there where 6 Common Buzzards up at the same time, and then out of nowhere 3 Hobbys came into view and fought off all of the Buzzards! What a sight this was and to be honest it was surprising to see such a small falcon scare off such a big Raptor. The best tractor ride though wildlife wise was the 15:30. A Red kite flew low over the tractor and gave stunning views as we entered the valley and most of the kids sat there and watched this fabulous air born hunter patrolling the fields looking for anything that it can get its talons on. The best was yet to come! We approached the Duck pond on the farm where a flock of 26 Canada Geese had been all day. 3 little black, fluffy Moorhen chicks were being guarded by their parents on the bank of the pool. Then I noticed something! It was bobbing up and down on the raft out in the middle - a Common Sandpiper! Yes, I know what you are thinking, but this is actually a big deal as this is only the second one to be found in the Totteridge Valley and the second one this year. Filled with excitement for when I got back to the centre I decided to look for other migrants and sure enough I found 2 female/ juv type Common Redstarts fly-catching on the 2 separate hedgerows. As soon as we got back I put the news out to the local birders and Ian who unfortunately missed the last one, at Darlands Lake that John found, responded within seconds that he was on his way. On the next tractor ride I made sure it was still there and sure enough it was feeding happily on the bank now! When we got back to the farm I managed to get Ian in and we got a lift in one of the farm cars to the duck pond. When we arrived there was nothing and I was nervous, because there was a small chance that it had gone. However not this time as it came bobbing round from behind the duck house and continued to feed in front of us. Pure Magic! 28th August You must be tired of me writing by now that it was yet another sunny day. Ultimately I haven't ever seen better weather over any Bank holiday weekend ever. However this time it was muggy and overcast and so bucks the trend. Long Pond was precisely the same as the 25th bar the fact that a female Tufted Duck had turned up, which is the first record outside of spring for this species in the valley! Above: Coot and Mallard Next 2: Female Tufted Duck I proceed down the path towards 'cow' field, but I was stopped half way down to have a quick scan. Chiffchaffs were calling from all around me and that is something that I am going to miss once Autumn is over. When I looked at the fence behind me a Whinchat was fly-catching. On one occasion it flew back and in my binoculars I got something different! A Male Common Redstart. I couldn't believe my luck after my first one on Friday, I was now staring into the eyes of my 4th individual in 4 days! What a treat and it showed off the different plumage of the Redstart, which I believe is stunning in itself. Above: Common Redstart Below: Whinchat Next onto 'Cow' field where 4 Rook immediately made themselves known to me calling loudly as they flew up into a nearby tree! I scanned the hedge at the bottom of the field which seemed deserted at first. Eventually 2 Spotted Flycatchers could be seen fly-catching from the dead branches! What a sight it is to watch them. The first one that I found scared me for a minute with its quite vibrant wing bar! I watched them sitting preening themselves waiting for a fly to stray to close, then they would pounce and fly back to the same perch with their reward! One even tried to gulp down a migrant hawker which it caught. Eventually after much abuse the Migrant hawker was released and it flew off with a slightly damaged wing! Next up was 'Owl' field however it was getting quite late, so there wasn't too much around. Having said that 3 Linnet flew over head calling loudly which was a surprise since they aren't recorded often in the valley and therefore perhaps suggest local breeding! Onto Darlands lake where I was surprised to find the first Teal of the 'Autumn' swimming around the far end of the lake! Onto the hill between the Folly Brook and Burtonhole Lane and here there wasn't much as the sun had nearly set however rather unusually Greenfinches sat at the tops of the bushes here suggesting a good year for them! When I got onto Burtonhole Lane, I was walking past the power station and so decided to look in the field that I have nicknamed Rabbit field! Sure enough there were 2 Rabbits sitting there munching on greenery and also a stunning Munjac giving me some of the best views I have ever had of this species! Just when I was nearing Partingdale Lane and I thought that my birding was done a flock of 25 Swallows came over doing what I would call some sort of panic/ alarm calling. I couldn't understand why because all I could see was a big swift floating in from the North. When I got my binoculars on it, it turned out to be a Hobby! It then proceed to hunt over my head for the next 10 minutes giving a wonderful display in the now glorious sunshine. And so this rounded off a jam packed and unforgettable long weekend in the valley! With many firsts for the patch and also for London it is going to be one that I don't forget for a long time. My life list still sits at 181 even despite a Lifer and an annoying possible! I will leave you now with some photos of my trip into the valley today (31st) that started with glorious sunshine and ended in a torrential Thunder Storm flooding the valley with rain and lightning! Above: Canada goose Below: Willow Warbler Above: 1 of 9 Rook today Below: Red Admiral Above: Common buzzard Below: Long-tailed Tit Above: Small White? Below: Speckled Wood Below: I have finally found something that Howard can't identify. A Parasitic Wasp of sorts! And by a long internet search I have narrowed it down to either Snyltehveps diphyus amatorius or Ichneumon wasp - Amblyteles armatorius! Trust me there were a lot of them!
I headed out to Rainham bright and early on Wednesday morning hoping that the day would hold something similar to yesterday's bunch of surprises. When I arrived at Rainham station the sun was out and the sky was clear however it felt muggy and steam was coming of the ground all around me. Rainham North was almost completely deserted bar a mixed Tit flock with a Chiffchaff, a singing Cetti's Warbler and also a few Goldfinch. Above and Below: Goldfinch I then continued under the A13 and into Rainham West, and here another Cetti's Warbler sang and Common Whitethroats and Reed Warblers called from either side of the path. A Kestrel was hovering in the distance over the fields and caught what appeared to be a Vole. Whilst I was watching this a male Pheasant flew out of the reed bed in front of me and called loudly as it landed on the grass verges of the A13. A Yellow Wagtail flew over heading meaningfully South and flocks of Linnets, Goldfinches and Starlings were around me at all times making their presence known. Above and Below: Hovering Kestrel I then moved round to the bend in Rainham West and stood on the bridge listening and watching for a bit. Common Whitethroats were happily playing in amongst the bushes on one side of the path and Reed Warblers darted from one reed to another. Pinging could also be heard coming from the reed beds here, however on this occasion no Bearded Tit did show before the reeds went quiet. Coots were also here and 3 adults watched over 3 quite big Cootlings and a flock of 18 Canada Geese rounded things off nicely. Above (3): Cootlings Next 3: Canada Geese in flight Above (2): Migrant Hawker - They are so hard to photograph - they won't stay still for long enough. Below: Adult Coot I then moved on and for the rest of my time in Rainham west I was surrounded by nothing more than Cabbage White Butterflies. (Pictured Below) Once I had left Rainham West I was just entering the path that takes you down to the Stone Barges when a large Tit and Warbler flock descended on the bushes in front of me. This included Great, Blue, and Long-tailed Tits, a Reed Warbler, and at least 23 Willow Warbler including one individual that decided to sing perched up high in the bush for the whole time I was there. It must have thought that spring had come early. Above: Willow Warbler Next 3: Long-tailed Tits Above: Reed Warbler Below: Willow Warbler Next I went down to the Stone Barges where all was quiet bar the usual large flock of Feral pigeons. A few gulls drifted up and down the Thames, and so too did a Sandwich Tern calling loudly as it headed downstream mid river. 2 Pied Wagtails sat on the roof of the Tilda Rice factory and Meadow Pipits called from the side of the Landfill occasionally showing themselves. Above: Pied Wagtail Above: Meadow Pipit After this I headed round the corner to find out that there was a large gull roost with a mix of mainly Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed, and Black Headed Gulls. I did however manage to photograph an adult Yellow-legged Gull which is good. Once I was finished looking through the flock I moved off to carry on my journey towards Coldharbour point, and at this moment they all took off and went up onto the tip. Above (3): Mainly Leser Black Backed Gulls and Herring Gulls with a few Black Headed Gulls. Below: Yellow-legged Gull is the one in the middle preening! I hadn't got very far before I noticed a small dot circling the tip. This small dot then closed its wings and then dived scaring up a murmaration of Starlings and also the Gulls on the tip. This small dot was of course a Peregrine! Above and Below: Starlings Moving on, the only interesting thing on the river was the masses of Cormorants about, and of course a few Mallards. A flock of Common Terns came past and so did a Sandwich Tern mixed in with them. The next section of shoreline had yet more gulls on it, but less jittery than the last lot. An Oystercatcher was also sat mixed in with them, however with no Yellow-legged Gulls I turned my attention to the Kestrel hovering over the tip on the other side of the path. Above (2): Oystercatcher Next 3: Kestrel Above (2): Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls Next 2: oystercatcher Next I went to Coldharbour Point. Once I had reached here I noticed a flock of at least 10 Common Tern feeding offshore with at least 2 Sandwich Terns. At the same time Andy was in Aveley bay and had yet another Sandwich Tern on the deck which I believe means there could have been at least 5 individuals in this part of the Thames. Next I went towards the path over the landfill. I wasn't originally going to go up it however when I arrived I noticed 5 Wheatear sitting on the fence posts. Once I was on the path over the tip a Whinchat appeared on the fence next to one of the Wheatears, however as my luck would have it a Black Labrador came bounding along the path from the other direction and scared everything off in to the undergrowth, just as I was mobilizing my camera. I did manage a record shot of the Wheatears as they kept their distance, but the Whinchat never returned. Above: Wheatear Next on to Aveley bay I went. It was rather disappointing with only a flock of 38 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Shelduck feeding in the bay. Below: Black-tailed Godwit I then met up with Andy to see if he could help me find the Hummingbird Hawk Moth that he had found on the Buddleia's near the carpark at Aveley Bay, but with no luck we just had to settle for a nice male Greenfinch and a few Linnet on the sea wall. Lunch was then had and a quick scan of the feeders didn't produce the hoped for Zebra Finch of recent days. Just down near the adventure play ground something over head called, and as I looked up there were 3 silhouetted Snipe flying in from the Thames and they proceed to land on the far right hand side of Purfleet scrape. On to the woodland I went with Gill, and a quick scan for the Spotted Flycatcher of recent days also drew a blank. On into the cordite store and here immediately I was put onto a Tit flock, with Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits, and Blue Tits. Mixed in where a few Chiffchaffs, 2 Male and a Female/Juv Blackcap. Whilst I was watching this flock Gills attention had been drawn to the Buddleia in front of her. A Hummingbird Hawk moth was patrolling it and after dipping the one earlier this one was much easier to see and stuck around for a good 5 minutes, but barely staying still I only managed one photo. Above: Hummingbird Hawk Moth They are really elegant Moths and having seen Ruby Throated Hummingbirds State side I know just how difficult they are to see let alone photograph. After this I moved on to look for Wasp spiders and eventually I was rewarded with one after a great deal of time spent searching. Below: Wasp Spider On to the Ken Barret hide next and the only thing here was a Grey Heron and also a Moorhen. A Pheasant also scared us all as it flew straight past the hide right in front of our faces. After this bit of excitement I moved on. Above (3): Grey Heron Next I went out and found some more spiders, but I am not entirely sure what they are. I also saw an RSPB volunteer out doing a survey and she showed me a 22 spot Ladybird that she had caught in her net. Above: unidentified Spider Below: 22 Spot Ladybird Next I went to the first viewing platform. As soon as I arrived the Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Greenshank were put up by a Sparrowhawk and this Hawk proceeded to see off a Hobby that was happily hunting and feeding on the wing over the back of the pools. Shoveler, Gadwall, Little Grebes, a few Teal, Coots, and a few Tufted Ducks were also present on the pools and I would think that with a scope the Wigeon were probably still around too, but with no such equipment they went unseen. Above: Sparrowhawk Below: Black-tailed Godwits with the occasional photobomber Above: Black-tailed Godwit with a Starling (top left) Below: Little Egret in flight Next onto the Butt's Hide and at first I have to admit that I thought Target pools was just a barren waste land waiting for winter to take hold but then I noticed something... a group of 15 Mallards and 2 Lapwings. It wasn't until this group had been disturbed that I noticed there were at least 2 other interesting things mixed in with them, with a Greenshank and 3 Avocet alarm calling, however the only bird of prey that I could see around was a pair of Kestrels hovering over the fields at the back so perhaps I missed something? Above: Avocet Below: Avocet leading the pack followed by Starlings, Greenshank and Lapwings Above: Avocet \next 2: Avocet and Lesser Black backed Gulls After this a look out on to the other side produced; Tufted Ducks, Pochards, Little Grebes, Coots, Moorhens and also some Little Egrets which performed reasonably well. After this I decided to head for Dragonfly Pools, however along the way I only had a Cormorant fly over quite low. Above (3): Little Egret Below: Coot Above (3): Moorhen Below: Cormorant Next onto the Dragonfly Pools where frustratingly the wind had picked up. This meant that I could only hear pinging, however the encouraging sign was the fact that it was coming from 3 different places in the reeds. However after a long wait the only thing I came away with seeing was a Reed Warbler, a Migrant Hawker and also a freshly emerged Damselfly! Above: Migrant Hawker Below: Freshly emerged Damselfly Next was the walk to Purfleet hide. Along the way a check in some of the ditches produced a few large Marsh Frogs, however with not much else the journey to the hide was quick. A few Whitethroats did however call from the bushes on the sea wall and Starlings made there presence known at all times Once in Purfleet hide all was quiet bar a few Moorhens, Coots, and also Mallards. The photographic and Art display at the back of the hide was nice and provided a bit of much needed compensation for the lack of bird activity in front of the hide. it is well worth a look if you haven't had the chance to already! Below: Mallards And so I headed for the station at the end of a long day. My British moth list has gone up by one, but my bird list is still 181 species just nine more to go until I reach my new target. And so I leave you with this picture of a Red Admiral Butterfly at Purfleet station on the Buddleia.
At just after 7am I left home this morning annoyed that I couldn't find a lift to see one of my annoying USA boggy birds, that I haven't managed to see even though I have been to the states. Thankfully I didn't miss much and I reckon I had a better day, just. I arrived at 'Cow' field with Simon and we did our usual perimeter scan checking for anything unusual that might be mixed in with the rather large Tit and Warbler flocks around at the moment. After a while and a few strange calls, which I can't quite put my finger on at the moment, Simon told me that he thought he could hear a Sedge Warbler and as I turned to face Simon in the bush sitting next to him calling was a stunning Sedge Warbler, which proceeded to give us a bit of a display as it caught insects somewhat acrobatically, before disappearing back into the Tit flock. This was the First record for the Totteridge Valley this autumn and the first time either of us had seen one here. This was the sign of things being on the move. A small passage of Swifts was the only other notable thing from the valley and so I headed home for lunch. Whilst I was having lunch I received a text from Simon to say that a Red Backed Shrike had been found on Hampstead Heath, and once I found out that it was still showing I wriggled my way out of a shopping trip to Boring (Boreham) Wood and legged it to the bus stop at just after 2:15pm. The nerves were getting to me as I got to the bus stop and I was shaking with excitement with the possibility of seeing a Shrike in London. The Bus ride couldn't have gone any slower, and we stopped at every stop. As soon as it was my turn to get of though at Highgate School I legged it down the hill and past the Highgate Ponds and up to the top of Parliament hill where a 'large' group of birders had gathered. Dante was there and showed me his photo's and being the last person to see it at 14:30 which was a whole hour before I managed to get there. Whilst we were waiting we were watching the Lesser Blacked Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Black Headed Gulls drifting over us. I then noticed 2 Falcons drifting slowly Northwards which turned out to be Hobby's which are the first I have seen on Hampstead Heath. In the hour that followed we had a few moments of panic, but this just produced Robins, a Male Blackcap, and a mixed Tit flock. Eventually at just after 16:30 it was re found low down in the dead trees, and I just managed to get a glimpse of it before it flew off behind some bushes. I was pleased that I had seen it although others hadn't. Eventually after I had just left it was re-found again and some careful hill climbing saw me miss it, but only just. After this 5 minutes went by and sure enough it reappeared and I managed to get some photo's of it and also get to see it sitting in the sun through a telescope. What a stonking bird. After this I headed back to the bus stop with Simon and had a brief Common Tern fly through calling when we were by the model boating pond and a few Mandarin Ducks too. An so this capped off an amazing day with a patch Mega and a London Mega. This Red Backed Shrike Was the first Juv of the year in the UK, and with plenty more months of migration who knows what might turn up next!? I will leave you with this Lifer for me and some of the others and my new target of 190 species by the end of the year! (I am now on 181!) Above: My shots
Below: Dante Shepherd's photo! I thought that I would take a break from writing up the distant past and now write about what has just happened. I left home at a bright and early 06:30am to head onto a lifeless Northern Line train. Kings Cross was the emptiest I have ever seen it, however it was only 7:15am. Once at Peterborough I had to change trains and as I was sitting in the sun a nice Male Kestrel flew overhead and hovered just a short distance along the track effortlessly watching its unfortunate target. The next train journey was easy too and saw me arriving into Oakham on time and heading straight onto the shuttle bus to Bird Fair. This was my first time at Bird Fair and the first time at Rutland for almost 7 years and so I couldn't really remember much about the reserve itself bar its ever growing population of Osprey. Walking through the doors of bird fair to the sound of Goldfinches up in the air above me and also Greenfinches too, I knew it was going to be a good day. I was on a mission today to not only experience Bird Fair, but also to catch up with as many people as possible and also to look for birding Guides for a cousin of mine which proved harder than I thought. One thing I noticed almost immediately was that the Chiffchaffs round here were still singing or at least they were in Sub Song which was a bit odd, however throughout the day it was obvious some were moving through as many a time their call could be heard coming from the nearby trees. I spent most of the day in tents chatting to people from all over the world and also looking at the opportunities there are if I started to plan a gap year. I even got to catch up with Javier from my trip to Menorca and it turns out that three days after I left they had a flock of up to 14 Greater Flamingos and also a White Stork! I also paid quite few visits to the BTO ringing stand where they were unfortunately mainly ringing Blue Tits and Great Tits with I think Blue Tits reaching a total of over 100. I was there to witness a Blue Tit ringed in London being re-trapped and processed before being released. I also got to see several other Blue Tits, Great Tits, and also a Female Blackcap and a Sedge Warbler. Above: Great Tit Below: Sedge Warbler Next 5: Blue Tit Above and Below: Great Tit Above and Below: Female Blackcap (or was it identified as a Juv... I can't quite remember) At midday Toby one of my friends who I met on Bird camp this year was running a young birders guided walk around the main reserve and so I decided to tag along. I met some people that I had only had conversations with over twitter before and others were from Bird Camp this year. We started off by heading to Dunlin hide. Sightings from here included Swallows flying over and also large amounts of Common Terns on the deck. Egyptian Geese were also present and so were both Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers. Also 2 Dunlin could be seen. Also off in the distance underneath the Osprey poles I managed to pick up a Greenshank through Paddy's Scope. There were also a total of 5 Yellow legged Gulls picked up by Ben, however when I got the chance to look through the scope I could only see one mixed in with the masses of Great Black Backed Gulls. There were also large amounts of Lapwing and Black Headed Gulls, but a quick scan through those only produced a Redshank. On the Duck, Divers and other wildfowl side it was reasonably interesting with Gadwall, Mallards, Shoveler, Wigeon, Great crested Grebes, Mute Swans, Greylags, and also some Canada Geese. Above: Egyptian Geese Below: Egyptian Goose with an identity crisis. (For those that don't know that is an Osprey nesting pole...!) Above: Redshank Below: Lapwing Above: Common Terns, Lapwing, and Black Headed Gulls Below: Lapwing Above: Lapwing Below: Lapwing with Wigeon and Shoveler We then headed off to a different hide over looking Lagoon 4. From here we saw more Dunlin, and a Black-tailed Godwit which I think might be quite a scarce occurrence for the sight. However with nothing much else a Group shot was to be had before moving onto Shoveler Hide and Lagoon 3. Above: Group shot taken by Luke Nash a Link to his blog is Below... Once in Shoveler hide it was the race to find something interesting! In front of the hide the were a couple of Shoveler and also a young Shelduck. Out near the Tern rafts there was a raft of Tufted Ducks and in front of that there was an equally large raft of Gadwall. The Tern rafts were where we had our first jackpot find of the day with an absolutely amazing midget of a Tern, a Black Tern! This was a lifer for me and also a couple of others in the hide. After this the first Grey Heron and I believe the only Grey Heron of the day was noted and also lots of Little Egrets. Whilst Toby and I were looking at the Little Egrets the others had picked up a Great White Egret and in the end both of us just managed to pick it up in flight before it disappeared into the thick vegetation on the far left hand side of the hide. After this I heard a kerfuffle above the hide and above me was an Osprey being mobbed by, if I remember correctly, a Common Tern. It proceed to head over the hide and while others rushed out to take a photo of it I managed to get a horrific record shot of it when it drifted back over at a distance. At least I know that if I hadn't seen one at Arne I would have seen one here to tick it off on my British list. This Osprey also sent up a few Cormorants that had been fishing in an amongst the Tufteds and also made the Great Crested Grebes more viewable. Just before we left the hide a small raptor was picked up and this turned out to be a Hobby and we watched it hunting over the woodland at the back of the lagoon for a few minutes before it moved on! Above: Shoveler Below: Juv Black Headed Gull Above: My poor shot of the Black Tern (the one on the back left of the Raft) with Common Tern and Tufted Duck behind it. Below: Toby Carter's much better picture of the Black Tern with the Common Terns, Tufted Ducks, and Coot Above: My Poor shot of the Osprey Below: Young Shelduck Next we moved round to Lapwing Hide over looking South Arm III. Here there must have been nearing 1000 Tufted Ducks out on the water with almost 100 Great Crested Grebes mixed in with them. Full credit to David Walsh for finding a stunning Female Greater Scaup out with them, but with nothing much else and the bad weather passing we left the hide and headed to Smew Hide overlooking the top of Lagoon 2. Along the way we spotted some Swifts were moving through and it looked as though there was probably a flock of at least 10, however there were probably more that we missed. Below: Female Greater Scaup phone scoped by Toby Carter Once in the Smew hide it was the hunt for the Red Crested Pochard, but with no luck we had to settle for Wigeons, Gadwalls, Mallards, Coots, and Canada Geese. We did however pick up another Osprey hovering over presumably either Lagoon 1 or one of the South Arms and eventually after a second time of asking it caught a fish and then flew off! Above: Gadwall Below: Coots, Gadwalls, Mallards, and a Mute Swan Below: Canada Geese After the first bit of disappointment of the day we headed out of the hide to find a newly emerged presumed Blue-tailed Damselfly. With still a few Swifts and now Swallows overhead we headed to Redshank hide overlooking the opposite end of Lagoon 2. Once in Redshank hide we could see that it was quiet and there weren't any noticeable waders, however there were Little Egrets, Canada Geese and a few more Wigeon around. There were also a lot of Coots and also Sand Martins were still quite busy using the artificial nesting banks and gave pretty decent views. Just before we left a Jackdaw flew over the hide which was my first for the day! Above (2): Little Egret Next 3: Coots And so this rounded off the walk and we headed back to the BTO Ringing demo and then said our goodbyes. It was great to meet so many like minded people of a similar age to me and I hope to be able to come on this walk next year! I went to have some lunch in the sun and then went to look for Binoculars and sure enough I have found a very good pair which I will hopefully be getting at some point in the near future. Camera hunting was slightly harder than I thought it was going to be and so I might have to go online for this... I then noticed that my throat was becoming quite sore and I was finding it hard to speak to people and so at just after 5 I headed for the Station. Along the way in Oakham town centre there was a large group of House Martins over the local church which I presume nest there. Also once at the Station I managed to tick off both Collared Dove and House Sparrow and also a lone Swift flew over which I think might just make it a local. The journey home was smooth and took only an hour and fifteen to Kings Cross because a train from Leeds had been delayed for just the right amount of time for me to run onto it. An so this rounded off my first trip to Bird Fair and I hope the first of many, and with my British Life List now sitting at a healthier 180 I have reached my year target. I wonder what my Life List will be by the end of the year? Also a big thank you must go out to all those who helped to organise this year's Bird Fair and to all those who made it such an enjoyable day. Here is a Link to Luke Nash's Blog: Here is a Link to Toby Carter's Blog:
A wet drizzly damp morning, but I was on holiday and so therefore I was determined to wear short sleeves. As we approached Arne we could get a sense of what was to come with the glorious colours of the heath all around me, just a shame that the sun wasn't out. Once at Arne I decided to head out onto Coombe Heath in the search of a bird that I hadn't yet managed to add to my British Life List and this was the Osprey and with a total of 4 seen on site yesterday I had quite high hopes. As I entered the heath land a Wren could be heard singing from a bush beside me and also a few Willow Warblers were calling from up in the trees above me. I then got out onto the open heath and all I could hear was the sound of what I presume was Coal Tits and also the occasional yaffling Green Woodpecker. The heather was a glorious colour and so the lack of bird life and also wildlife in general meant that I had time to relax and absorb the beautiful, but grey surroundings. I went up to the view point that overlooks the dead trees and the Osprey nesting pole and sure enough there was nothing there, bar the odd Wood Pigeon. I spoke to a very nice couple and their grandchildren and I had a scan and located a Spoonbill out on the edge of Middlebere channel. Just before the kids went off tree climbing I decided to show them its long spoon shaped beak through the scope and then they headed off to have fun. I had a quick scan around to see if there was anything else however only a couple of Little Egrets were to be had. Just before I left I could hear at least 3 Dartford Warblers calling from the heathland however with no movement they fell silent again and so I moved on. At the next viewpoint it was very obvious that Swifts had now started to move through since there were at least 100 in the sky above catching last minute fuel boosts before heading off South towards France. Next I scanned the channel and right there in the middle were 6 more Spoonbills. Common Tern fed out over the channel and Shelducks patrolled the muddy banks below them. A flock of Black headed Gulls and Black-tailed Godwits were roosting on the side of the channel, however the 6 Spoonbills decided that this particular place was best for them to feed and so the sleepy inhabitants were soon pushed aside. Linnets could be heard flying over head whilst I stood here and a few Oystercatchers were dotted around on the mud in with a few Redshank, Canada Geese and a Grey Heron, but still no sign of any Osprey. What happened next was a little surprising for me since I had only ever seen one of these in the UK before and that was driving along the M3 near Fleet. I was Scanning the group of what I assume where Sika Deer on the far bank when a large White bird came into my binocular view. It was a Great White Egret and it landed in the undergrowth next to the hide across the water and then it vanished. Above: presumed Sika Deer Below (2): Spoonbills Above: Little Egrets Next 3: Spoonbills + Black headed Gulls and a Redshank Above: Spoonbills invading the Black-tailed Godwits and Black headed Gulls I then moved swiftly on to the next hide with not much to see or hear, it was just another one of those quiet ghostly mornings. I then went into the hide to see what I could see, and at first it wasn't much but eventually things started to appear. The Black-tailed Godwits were still present and the flock numbered 153, however other counts suggested 187. All of a sudden when I was counting that flock a Marsh Harrier swopped down over the reed bed and then disappeared into the vegetation. This scared out some Sika Deer that looked as though they didn't have a clue what was going on and so they kept on eating. The call of a Curlew came from the mouth of the channel and about a minute later one appeared and landed in front of the hide in the main channel. A few Rooks were about in the field behind as well, however I couldn't see any Lapwings there which was a shame. Above (2): Sika Deer Next 2: Curlew Next 3: Sika Deer Next I moved to the view point that overlooks a small section of Poole Harbour. Here I had several Swallows come over heading south mixed in with the main flow of Swifts. A man next to me said that he could hear a Buzzard and sure enough when I turned round off in the distance was a stunning Common Buzzard circling the heath looking for its next victim. The first Mute Swan off the day was picked up off in the distance and also some Common Terns were about, however still no sign of any Ospreys. I then carried on along the main path towards the woodland. Once in the woodland I stumbled upon a large mixed flock of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, and Goldcrests. However this was just the start of it since once this part of the flock had moved through a mixed group of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs moved through the tree tops bug hunting as they went. Then a familiar call, but one that I had never seen or heard at Arne before, a Treecreeper appeared and gave some of the best views I had ever had of this species! Next 2: Treecreeper Next I headed back to the visitor center with nothing much to add to the day's list. A quick stop off at the Welcome Hut for lunch and a quick catch up with the guys on duty as well. It was also interesting to hear about the way that they had done Hen Harrier Day the day before and they managed to get around 1,000 people to attend the event which is an amazing amount and full credit must be given to the staff who helped to organise and make the day happen. I also uploaded my sightings from Coombe Heath to the board in the centre and then went back out and this time onto the Shipstal trail. Once out on the trail it was quite quiet after picking up Chaffinches, Siskin and Greenfinch from the reserve feeders. I then went to the view point over the heath and chatted with a very nice couple who I hope are reading this now. I ended up spending some time with them since after I moved on we were moving at a pretty similar place. As I moved along I could hear the sound of cronking Ravens and eventually I found 2 sitting at the top of a tree quite far off in the distance and I got them in my scope for all to see. Next up was the main field and here there were a few Starlings around the back, Mistle Thrushes and also a large flock of Goldfinches eating the seeds from the thistles. Next 3: Goldfinches Moving on to the next patch of woodland I stumbled upon another mass flock. This time it included around 20 Chiffchaffs, 20 Willow Warblers, 20 Long-tailed Tits, some Blue Tits and also a couple of Great Tits and boy was it a noisy one. 2 Sika Stags were then found hiding in and amongst the long grass however they were quite hard to pick out with the camera. Next we moved to the view point over Poole Harbour and in front of us in the reed beds were Curlew, Oystercatchers and Little Egrets. Then I spotted a Broad winged black dot having some trouble battling the head winds over the Island in front of it and when I got it in my binoculars and then telescope, it was an Osprey. Finally the wait for a British Osprey had ended. I watched it flying over the island, with the couple that I mentioned earlier, before it disappeared in the general direction of Middlebere channel. What a bird! Next I went up to the tallest place in Arne and this gives you an amazing view over the Harbour and also over Shipstal beach below. Out on a Spit in front there was a group of 32 Cormorant sitting preening themselves. A Sandwich Tern called as it flew past the end of the headland before making a bee-line straight for Middlebere channel and so I moved on, satisfied with what I had seen. Above and Below: Cormorants Above: Little Egret Below: Goldfinch I then decided to head to the hide and on the way I decided to turn my attention to the Damselflies and Dragonflies that were about. Here I managed to pick up; Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Southern Hawkers, Migrant Hawkers, and Blue-tailed Damselflies. Also on the butterfly front only Red Admirals and Gatekeepers were seen. Below: Common Darter Next onto the hide where I actually had to queue to get in since there was no room for me when I arrived. Once in the hide I used my scope to pick out a large flock of at least 63 Oystercatchers roosting on the furthest spit. 3 Sika Deer stags were also sitting lazily off to one side in the Reed Beds and also Little Egrets and Redshanks made us aware of their presence. Otherwise it was quite quiet which I would say is a little unusual. I scanned the channels to see if there were any early returning wintering Ducks or Divers, but none could be seen so off I went back to the Welcome hut. Above: Sika Deer Next 2: Little Egret Above: Cormorant + Great Black Backed Gull Below: Oystercatchers Above: Oystercatchers and I suspect there are more on the other side of the Island as well Below: Sika Deer Above: Black headed Gull I then headed back bumping into the couple that I had seen the Osprey with to hear that they had another 2 fly over them. A quick look at the Dragonfly pools produced nothing new. I hoped that walking back along the main road towards Arne church might reward me with a Yellow Wagtail or two, but with no such luck I had to settle with Woolly Pigs and a few local Swallows. Back to the Welcome hut I went to upload my sightings before heading off back to Bournemouth for some sea watching... Above (2): Siskin with Chaffinches Below: Chaffinches Sea Watch Summary:
August 6th: Med Gull on beach and 3 Cronking Ravens did a fly past along the East Cliff. August 8th: 11 Common Scoter off-shore seen from East Cliff, flushed by boat, 8 flew to Solent, 3 towards Poole Harbour! August 9th: 1ad+1juv Gannet flew E along East Cliff Bournemouth at 08:00 this morning! #Lifer. Also passage of Cormorants from Needles to Poole Harbour. Also Sea Watch from East Cliff Bournemouth: 28 Gannet W, 15 Common Scoter W, 4 Common Tern W. 09:55-10:25. August 10th: Sea Watch from Bournemouth East Cliff pm: 6 Gannet 3ad,3imm W, 3 Common Scoter E, F Peregrine E, 2 Kittiwake E. August 11th: 50+ Common Scoter off Bournemouth East Cliff at the moment. So at the end of part 1 of my trip to Dorset I had already clocked up 2 Lifers with Gannet and Osprey ticked off and my British List now up to 179 which is one away from my year target. What will the next one be!? Stay tuned to read about my visit to Brownsea Island in part 2! *Please ignore the mistake in the title it should say August not July, for some reason I can't change it* An important day lay ahead of me as my alarm went off at 5:30am. Breakfast was quickly had and then off to the station at just before 6 in the pouring rain. The Train journey went smoothly after that and I even managed to run onto the Central Line and end up standing next to one of my good birding friends. This made the train journey from Liverpool Street to Purfleet even better and more amusing than normal and was topped off by 2 Swallows heading South over Barking station at just gone 7. Simon got off at Rainham and headed the long way round, whilst I went one stop further to Purfleet. I had just enough time to do a bit of birding along the sea wall before I had to be at the reserve. I had a look out onto the Thames and out in the middle there were at least 10 Common Terns fishing. A large flock of at least 30 House Martins were feeding up above the housing estate behind me. An Oystercatcher called from the far bank and so too did a Common Sandpiper which flew across the river and landed under the pier type thing next to me. A Cormorant flew up river and a lonely Swallow headed South. By this time I was nearly at the reserve. The drawbridge came down at just before 8 and I headed into the reserve, and into the hustle and bustle of the day ahead. I then went out to Jamie who was on car park duty with Max to find out where I needed to be and I was sent up the access road to where Ryan would be waiting for me to help set up the event. On the way there I somehow managed to scare up a Kingfisher and It flew calling loudly into the Woodland and towards the Cordite Store. Cetti's Warblers sang around me, whilst Reed Warblers, and Common Whitethroats called from the shrubs and reeds. Once I had arrived at my destination we set to work setting up the event that was to take place. During this I spotted the 3 Avocet in Aveley Bay take flight calling just above the sea wall and also some Skylarks out and about. With plenty of time to spare we had set up and were ready to go; now all we needed were some guest speakers, and an audience. At just after 11 we were greeted to some songs from Peregrina EnChantica and this gave us some time to reflect. A large female Peregrine also drew our attention at this point as it got into a fight with several different Kestrels on its journey along the power lines towards Wennington. A Hobby was also seen in an amongst the flock of easily over 100 Swifts that were feeding over the reserve on their journey south. Next up was Rob Sheldon from Birders Against Wildlife Crime and he explained a bit about what the organisation does and how in this day and age it is unacceptable for raptor persecution to still exist and in ways that lead to some species being on the verge of extinction in England and in the UK. After this Mark Thomas from the RSPB came to talk about his role in trying to stop this illegal persecution of raptors from taking place. The reason why I have done these 2 speeches in one paragraph is because something one of them said stuck with me, however I can't remember who it was. I believe it was Mark and he said that one cold morning he was sitting in a grouse moor in Yorkshire in full camouflage and right in front of him he watched a Buzzard getting beaten to death. You may ask the question: Why didn't he stop the person from doing this and the simple answer is that without the video evidence that he got, no one would have believed him and it would have been his words against the game keepers. With this evidence in theory these people can be taken to court and potentially prosecuted. Next up was Chris Packham. Chris does many things including presenting one of my favourite TV shows Springwatch, Winterwatch, and Autumnwatch, and last year I was lucky enough to head to RSPB Arne to experience both Winterwatch and Autumnwatch for myself whilst volunteering on the site. Chris does many campaigns to try and end wildlife crime: including Hen Harrier Day and also every year he heads to Malta so that he can show people around the world the slaughtering of migrant birds that takes place every year and to ultimately try and end this. But now back to Hen Harrier Day at Rainham. Chris talked about how it is unacceptable in this day and age for people to still be using lead ammunition. This lead kills thousands of birds per year as it can easily contaminate waterways and therefor estuaries. He also mentioned that he had just got back from the USA and Canada and he had met a typical Texas hunter and whilst talking to him, the hunter found it absolutely appalling that lead was still being used in the UK, for they had sorted it out themselves in America rather than being told by the conservationists to do it. Chris also talked about the fact that there are in fact other reasons why raptors face difficulties and this is partially due to the sheer amount of concrete there is in Britain and specifically Southern Britain leading to a loss of habitat, and this therefore makes this illegal persecution even less sustainable. The fact of the matter is that even with this habitat loss England alone can still hold the potential to have around 300 pairs of Hen Harriers. However at the moment I believe that only 2 pairs have bred successfully this year showing you just how close to extinction they are in England. The number of breeding pairs has also dropped dramatically across both Scotland, and also Ireland. After this we all made the #stopkillinghenharriers trend on Twitter and Facebook showing our support to the Hen Harrier. I think that as I write this on the 12th August people today are entering Grouse moors to start the shooting season. The shooting of the Grouse in this case isn't the problem, here the problem is the fact they are entering a moor where illegal raptor persecution takes place so that unnaturally large amounts of Grouse can be raised on this particular piece of land. Today the #Inglorious12th was trending on twitter and Facebook and this is due to a thunder clap set up by Findlay Wilde so that the message could be spread to those that are unaware of the happenings on Grouse moors. I highly recommend reading his blog post on this occasion which I will leave a link to at the end of this post. Anyway more about the day. Whilst Chris Packham was speaking a flock of 19 Black-tailed Godwit flew behind him and I assumed they had landed at the back of Aveley Pools, however when I told a few people, It turned out that they were still flying, but out of sight to me and eventually they landed in front of the centre on Purfleet Scrape. One thing you may have noticed if you looked at the photos carefully is that the colour of the sky behind the speakers was turning from Blue to Grey and as we listened one more time to Peregrina EnChantica thunder and lightning could be heard and seen in the distance, however it was still at least 30 miles off at this stage. Once everybody had vacated the field we had to pack everything away before the storm arrived and we managed this with little fuss. Whilst we were packing up we found an interesting Weevil by the name of Larinus Planus which according to Ryan's insect guide book is quite a rare British Species...! Whilst we were heading back to drop all the equipment off we were given a nice display from the Marsh Harriers that were out and about quartering the marsh. Above and Below: This tiny little Weevil is Larinus Planus, I think! After dropping everything off Ryan and I headed back to the reserve centre for lunch however whilst we were doing this the heavens opened and made it virtually impossible to see. When we got to the centre we waited for the hail to stop before we made a dash for cover, and when I say we I really mean I because Ryan decided that he would walk from the truck to the centre and get a soaking. Once under shelter I got my note book signed by the man himself Chris Packham, and then lunch was had with the good company of many RSPB volunteers and also RSPB staff for company. After lunch there wasn't really too much to do. First I had a scan of the reserve from the centre and I picked up 4 really small bobby things next to a Lapwing out on the far right hand side of Purfleet Scrape. As soon as I alerted the local birders of this Max came running out to see if he could see any Common Sandpipers, however in the end we gave up looking for Common and Wood and settled that all 4 were Green Sandpipers. After this, careful scanning showed us that the flock of Black-tailed Godwits were still around. Above: Green Sandpiper: Next 3: Black-tailed Godwit I then went out with Max to join Howard and co for their raptor count for the day, although even though the sun was now out they hadn't had much luck with them on this particular occasion. Whilst I was standing there though a Chiffchaff called and was briefly seen in a bush just to the other side of the ramp up to the visitor centre and also 2 Yellow Wagtail flew over us and could be heard, but not seen. I then went down to the hide to see if anything was hiding from us, but unfortunately there were no added extras to my list from the hide. Above (4): Black-tailed Godwit Next 2: Lapwing I then made a slow wander back into the visitor centre and on the way I saw my first Little Grebe at Rainham for quite a while. What a beauty it was too! Above and Below: Little Grebe Next up was a trip to Aveley Bay along with Max and Tom and this produced some good wader action with the 3 Avocets still around and also a flock of 10 small waders which I believe was made up of 2 Ringed Plover and 8 Dunlin however the sunlight was against us and made it difficult to identify the 2 that weren't Ringed Plovers. Also 2 Whimbrel flew from Aveley Bay across the river to the banks over the other side upon our arrival. Above Red Admiral Above and Below: Small Waders and Herring Gulls Above: Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit (Photo by Tom Bell) Below: Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Ringed Plovers, and Dunlin (Photo by Tom Bell) Unfortunately due to the position of the sun we were forced to give up in our search and I decided to head to the station, but not before taking a picture of London as the haze lifted and also having a quick scan along the Thames to find Common Terns feeding there again. When I got to the station I found out that there was going to be a half an hour wait due to a train being cancelled and therefore I sat out in the sun and watched as a Yellow Wagtail flew over the station calling loudly marking a spectacular day at RSPB Rainham Marshes and signalling an end to proceedings. Here is a link to Findlay's Blog: Also Here is a Link to Tom's Photography page: Keep a look out in the next few days for my blog posts from RSPB Arne and also Brownsea Island NT!
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AuthorI have been a birder since i was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 17. ArchivesCategories |