A warm late March day saw me head to Rainham Marshes in search of some more summer visitors. I was greeted by the first of many Linnets as I headed out of the Station and onto Rainham North, and along the footpath I had six singing male Cetti's Warblers. Dunnocks, and both Blue and Great Tits, sat basking in the early morning sun and a Wren sang his little heart out from deep down in the undergrowth. Above: Linnet Below: Dunnock I headed out to Rainham West, and here I heard another 6 Singing Cetti's Warblers, and also managed to see 2 moving around the reeds in search of food. I had a quick scan of Rainham West and picked up Skylarks, and a female Pheasant, and then carried on my journey. I then continued into the Ferry Lane Industrial Estate. Here I picked up another 2 Singing Cetti's Warblers, and also 3 Dunnocks called from the same bushes. I then added both Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon to the day list and headed up onto the sea wall, where would you believe it I heard yet another Cetti's Warbler. Shelduck were about on the mud and 2 Oystercatcher were with a group of Gulls, and some Cormorants, on one of the jetties off in the distance. A pair of Gadwall was found a bit further round and also some Mallards too. Below: pair of Oystercatchers I then headed round to the Stone barges where a flock of 27 Redshank were feeding on the muddy banks. The first Teal of the day were sifting through the mud and so too were the first Canada Geese. Some Shelduck were also present as well as some Gulls one of which Dante says looks interesting, but without further photos it isn't worth looking into... Above: Male Teal Below: One of these Gulls Dante says is interesting!? Above: Male Teal Below: Canada Geese I continued along the sea wall listening to the happy, cheerful, uplifting song of the Skylark, and found another pair of Oystercatchers feeding on the muddy banks of the River Thames as well as some Shelduck sitting in amongst the Gulls on the open face of the land fill. Above: Skylark Above and Below: Oystercatcher Above: Shelduck Below: Mixed Gull Flock with Lesser Black Backed, Herring and Great Black Backed Gulls I then continued down past Coldharbour Point where another Cetti's Warbler was singing and then picked up another pair of Oystercatcher on the banks, some Robins, Goldfinch, and Linnets were all present in quite large numbers here and also another group of feeding Redshank emerged from the side of the sea wall. Above: Male Gadwall Below: Oystercatcher I then headed onto the path over the landfill and took my time to cross it listening out for Corn Bunting and looking to see if any Wheatear were still about, but unfortunately neither showed for me. What did show were tonnes of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, and a couple of Reed Buntings. A Kestrel also sat on one of the gas pipes from the landfill. Above: Male Kestrel Below: Meadow Pipit I then headed to the Serin mound. Here another Cetti's Warbler sang his heart out and Lapwing whizzed through the fields below. Tufted Ducks were on Crake pool alongside some Coot and a couple of Mallards. A Common Buzzard hunted along Wennington and eventually landed after being mobbed from all angles by Lapwing and Crows. I then headed off towards the sea wall and on the way I picked up a couple of Linnets and some Wrens and Blackbirds carrying nesting material into one of the Gorse Bushes. Above: Common Buzzard Below: Linnet Once on the Sea Wall I had a male Pheasant peeping out of the long grass and a female that shot from cover on the right across the path in front of me. In Averly Bay there was one Curlew and also quite a lot of Black Headed Gulls, Then on the reserve side of the path I picked up 3 Stonechat working their way along the sea wall and I followed them from Turnstile until they disappeared into the Southern Trail Reed Beds. No sign of the Sedge Warblers that Howard had early on and so therefore I headed inside to have lunch. Above: Male Pheasant Above: Male Stonechat Below: Female Stonechat During lunch a quick scan of the feeders brought up a Male Reed Bunting, Male Pheasant, and also the usual House Sparrows, Collared Doves, and Starlings. Below: Male Reed Bunting After Lunch I headed down and picked up a Male Pheasant on Purfleet Scrape. I decided to head the opposite way around to what I would normally do and this seemed to pay off. I got my first Marsh Frogs of the year in a bit of flooded reed bed. After some careful looking I managed to find 6 in that quite small pool. On Purfleet Scrape itself there weren't many ducks and those that were there were asleep. Above: Male Pheasant Below: Male House Sparrow Once in the hide I watched the Lapwing chasing off every Crow or Pigeon that even attempted to land near them. All the ducks were still asleep and so I set about looking for Common Snipe. In the end I managed to pick up 4 sitting in and amongst the reeds. I also found in the process of this some Pintail on the far bank and also more Shoveler. Above: Lapwing Above: Common Snipe Below: Black Headed Gull Above: Shoveler Below: Lapwing For those that haven't visited the Purfleet hide it is definitely worth a visit just to have a look at people's photographic displays, and trust me on this most of them will not leave you disappointed. This one is no exception and is definitely worth going and having a look at if you have time. I then continued along the board walk picking up only one other Marsh Frog in the flooded sections of the reeds. Some Greylags were in the field on the right hand side of the path and whilst I was talking to Alasdair a pair of Long-tailed Tits came through the reeds collecting nesting materials. Apparently a kid from my school also walked past when we were talking, but I haven't got a clue who it was, because I have to admit I didn't notice! Above: Marsh Frog Below: Greylag I then headed into the MDZ and picked up some Little Egret as well as some Little Grebe on the pools, no sign of the Kingfisher yet, however whilst I was scanning around I got my first Swallow of the year in my Binoculars. I then headed back out and on to the board walk. No sign of any Sedge Warblers still and so I continued on my journey. In the channels on the sides of the board walk I picked up some Little Grebe and Coots, otherwise nothing too exciting. Cetti's Warblers called from the Dragonfly pool area and the cows in the Ouzel field were right up against the fence as if to say, 'the Yellow Wagtail isn't here anymore leave us in peace'. I followed their command and picked up a few more Skylark, before heading to Shooting Butt's hide. Once in the hide I looked out onto Shooting Butt's scrape. Some Wigeon were around, but it was mainly Pochard and Tufted Ducks to talk about. A couple of Little Grebes were dotted around the pools and also a pair of Mute Swan were getting a bit to close for comfort, also Redshank were displaying rather unsuccessfully. An almost full summer plumage Water Pipit was seen twice whilst I was in the hide and a quick scan across the far bank produced 4 more Common Snipe. (I am wondering if I have photographed 5, with 2 in one picture?) A Great Crested Grebe was also picked up among a group of Canada Geese at the back of the pools. Above: Redshank Below: Female and Male Pochard Above: Male Tufted Duck with Male Pochard Below: Pair of Wigeon Above: Redshank Below: Common Snipes Below: Mute Swans Above and Below: Water Pipit I then headed to look out onto Target pools. This brought up 3 Grey Heron, including one in the nearest ditch to the hide, a pair of Marsh Harrier passing food to each other, only 59 Wigeon, 72 Shoveler, and 16 Pintail. Not too many Teal mixed in either showing a sign of the changing seasons. A few pair of Gadwall were also around, but not quite in the numbers they were 2 weeks ago. Above and Below: Grey Heron Below: Marsh Harrier I then left the hide and headed round to the viewing platforms, picking up a Kestrel and a Sand Martin over Target Pools as I did. There wasn't really much on offer from the reed beds and in a few weeks all that will change when more Sedge Warblers return and so too will Grasshopper, Reed and hopefully Marsh Warblers. Today only the calls of Cetti's Warblers rang out from the reeds. When I got to the first platform, the sun was blinding. I still did manage to pick out Pochard, Tufted Ducks, a Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebes, a Lesser Black Backed Gull, and some Shelduck and Canada Geese on the far bank. I then headed round to the second platform, and didn't pick much else up bar a male Reed Bunting that sat sunning himself on the fence next to me, not in the slightest way put off by my presence. Above: LBBG with Shoveler Below: Male Tufted Duck with Little Grebe either side Above and Below: Male Reed Bunting I then headed round to the Ken Barrets hide. Whilst in the hide I had only picked up Coot, Canada Geese, Greylag, and Mallard, until 3 Sand Martins came past trying to battle the head winds heading towards the Thames. I then left the hide because it was being locked up for the night and continued my journey round. Below: Coot Next I checked the Barn Owl box and sure enough he was sitting on the edge of the box wide awake. I then headed round to the woodland feeders and picked up Green, Chaff, and Gold finches, as well as a Male Pheasant, a Male Reed Bunting and some Collared Doves. I then headed to the Cordite Store and found a rather obliging Singing Chiffchaff, and a Long Tailed Tit collecting nesting material. Lastly I checked out Dent's Drop, in the hope of adding some reed dwellers to my list, but instead I added 30 Curlew roosting on the marsh due to the exceptionally high tide. Then I headed back to the Visitor centre. Above: Barn Owl Below: Goldfinch Above: Chiffchaff Below: Curlew, and this line kept going. (30 in total) Above: Curlew with Redshank in the background Below: Little Egret Once in the visitor centre I spotted a Stock Dove feeding amongst the Collared Doves and Starlings on the bird feeders and a Male Pheasant was also there. I then headed out and took some scenery photos and boy was it a monstrous tide. Above and Below: Stock Dove Above: Starling, Collared Dove, Stock Dove I then headed to the Station with the glorious sunshine on my back and the view of London in the background.
And so a day which saw 63 Species and my 1st Swallow and Sand Martins of the year had come to an end. My life list still stands at 161 for Britain and in the coming days and weeks and months I hope to expand it... Also on a separate note Thank you to all those who sent their kind responses to me after my last blog post!!!
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This morning I headed up to Brent Reservoir, where I met up with Magnus and Simon. First I headed off to the Main hides with Simon. Whilst in the hides we picked up a nice group of Pochard and our first set of Great Crested Grebes (7 pairs in total were seen throughout the morning). It was a lovely sunny morning and was made even better by the stunning views of Wembley stadium over the farm end of the Reservoir. Above: Male Pochards Below: Great Crested Grebe with Tufted Duck above. Lesser Black Backed Gulls sat on the platforms in front of the hide. We managed to tick off Shoveler, Teal, Mallard, Mute Swan, Austrailian Black Swan, Herring Gull, Tufted Duck and Coots as well, all in front of the hide. A female Sparrowhawk was spotted hunting over the builds at the back and one of the Cetti's Warblers that was singing from the side of the hide showed itself briefly in the Reeds in front. A Grey Heron sat in a tree way of in the distance on the other side of the reservoir. Then finally after scanning the Tufted Ducks rather hopefully, I re-found the Brent Drake Scaup after at least a day's absence. It was unfortunately distant, and once I had got my photo it completely disappeared. Whilst I was doing this a massive Carp jumped out of the water and flushed a flock of Tufted Duck to the other end of the Reservoir, it was an absolute beast. Above: Lesser Black Backed Gulls on rafts, with Pochard in front, Tufteds to the Left and Coot top right. Below: Tufted Ducks, with a Coot I think on the platform. Above: Grey Heron Below: Coot (Right Centre), Greater Scaup (Centre), and Gull (Right) After having another look to see if we could see the Scaup again we head to the Heron hide. Once in the hide the 2 Chiffchaffs that were singing above the hide flew into the reeds in front of the hide followed by a much bulkier paler individual which gave no song or call before flying off. A Stock Dove sat in one of the large trees opposite the hide and a Green Sandpiper was found along the edge of the muddy banks before disappearing out of sight. A a couple of Teal floated around otherwise not much else was picked up. Above: Stock Dove On the way back to the bridge a singing Blackcap was picked up as well as some more Great Crested Grebes, a Little Grebe and 22 Mute Swan. Above: Male Blackcap singing Below: Great Crested Grebe I then headed to the public hide were I met a group of local birders out for their weekly walk. I found them a terrapin and some Gadwall, as well as more Great Crested Grebes, Teal, and Shoveler before they headed on their way. I then headed out of the hide and to the viewing platform where I met Magnus. He had been to look for the Wheatears however a Dog walker with 14 dogs all off the lead diminished his chances of seeing them and so he had retreated to the viewing platform. From the platform we picked up another Little Grebe and a Grey Heron. Then a Common Snipe flew from a patch of reeds straight out to a gap in the Reeds. In this same gap Magnus had seen 2 Green Sandpipers, but only one appeared whilst we were there. A lovely Robin sat in the trees next to us and also 3 Male Blackbirds fought furiously behind us presumably over territory or a mate. Above: Terrapin Below: Pair of Gadwall Above: Canada Geese Below: Cormorant, with Carrion Crow Below: Grey Heron We then headed back to the main hide, and on the way picked up another 7 Terrapins in the Reservoir. When we got to the main hide the group of Pochards were still mainly asleep in front of the hide. We were then join by 3 of the Brent Birders. This is when the excitement happened. An Oystercatcher flew in calling and then fell asleep on the raft on front of the hide. This was the first record of the month at Brent and I believe only the second of the year, but I could be wrong there. Next I spotted a small wader flying in and once landed it was identified as a Little Ringed Plover, which was soon joined by a second. A Common Snipe was also then found asleep in the reeds at the back and the Black Swan took off heading to North Marsh. Then a Red Kite flew over in the distance heading North just before I had to leave. Above: Drake Pochards Below: Oystercatcher Above and Below: Oystercatcher (Mallard also in bottom photo) Above and Below: Little Ringed Plover Above: Canada Goose, Spot the Oystercatcher Below: Oystercatcher with female Pochard As I headed for home I remembered an event that had taken place in the hide. This was a great day out and I managed to get my British life list up to 161 by adding the lifer of Greater Scaup, on a day which saw 45 Species of birds. BullyingFor those of you who don't know, I was in the Monday Times on the 20th March talking about birding, and as I mentioned on there I do get mocked. I haven't got a clue where the stat that 32% of Londoners have been bird watching by the time they reach 25 years old came from, because I can tell you now that I am the only person in my school that has an interest in birds. My school happens to be as rural as you can get in London and therefore it is actually a surprise to me that there aren't more people into wildlife let alone birdlife.
A problem with being the only person is that I have been bullied and still do get bullied for Bird watching. Although as people have matured it has got better it is still there and will probably never go away. Unfortunately this is a feature I had hoped to keep to my school life and away from my birding life and the truth is that I had largely until today. I am not saying that everyone I met today took this 'bullying approach', and in all honesty out of the 20 bird watchers I met, 19 of them where happy and cheerful and generally nice people. I am not one to name names, and therefore I won't name any names in this section. We were all sitting in the hide watching the sky and one of the birders spotted something flying off in the distance. When I put my binoculars onto it I identified it a type of finch, but I wasn't sure which one. All hell then broke lose, because I was using binoculars and it was miles away and he thought it was a Meadow Pipit and that broke out. I have personally never witnessed such poor condescending behaviour from someone who got proven wrong by one of the other birders too. Next he sent us all on to a bird flying East. Which I unfortunately made a bloody big mistake by saying it wasn't a passerine. What I had meant to say and for some reason didn't say was that it wasn't a Hirundinidae. It was only because I didn't want a repeat performance of last time that I didn't tell him that it was in fact a Starling. Instead I unfortunately lit a fuse that lead to me leaving the hide out of pure frustration that someone could get so butt hurt about being proven wrong, and to make matters worse no one else in the hide said a word to get him to calm down or to tell him to back off or anything. I find it a disgrace that just because I am younger than this person is they use all their power to absolutely batter me down. I have felt rotten for the rest of the day because of this absolutely appalling behaviour. I won't go into precisely what was said, but this behaviour is something that you would expect a child at nursery to do. This was worse than any bullying I have ever received at school. I removed my self from the hide after this and I have to admit it that I was warned that there were people like this about, who believe that just because they are older they know better. I know that I have sometimes get things muddled up and also I am colour blind. But to be honest no one should be treated badly. I will now not be returning to the Brent Reservoir for the foreseeable future unless something Mega is reported. I am sorry to all those who have actually read what I have just written and have completely died of boredom. I hope that I am never stuck in this situation again and when I asked my friends from Rainham whether they had faced similar incidents in hides unfortunately one had, and the other had somehow managed to come up in the abuse I was given at the hide. On a brighter note I will continue to report on London Bird Wiki much to the utter dismay of the person who confronted me. On an even brighter note I will continue birding, and this is partially because bullying hasn't put me down before and will continue to be a thing that I don't let get a hold of me. I also thank everyone who has read my blog posts so far and I hope you will continue to read them in the future. Today has been an interesting day with the Egyptian Geese that are normally in the Valley being seen by me off the Ridgeway, and a brief period of interesting sightings over head with 2 Common Buzzard NE at 13:44 and a Lesser Black Backed Gull in the same direction at 13:46. Then when I got home I decided that the weather was perfect for another shot at Wheatear and also some photographic opportunities. I headed up to the Totteridge Valley via the Dollis Brook, but with little to note bar singing Robins and Wrens I moved on and headed to a footpath just off Partingdale lane and took my first Scenery shot of the day. As I walked down this path I immediately heard and found 4 Nuthatches moving through the branches above me with a few Blue Tit's for company. Long-tailed Tits made me aware of their presence and a few crows and pigeons were scattered around in the fields next to me. I then headed to towards the Nurseries and again a few scenery shots were taken. Ring-necked Parakeets made me aware of their presence and a flock of 12 Goldfinch, and a Greenfinch, appeared in the trees above where I was. A mixed flock of Blue tits and Great Tits were also present as well as a singing Robin. Below: Singing Robin I then headed to the end of the road and through the narrow footpath on the right hand side. I had a quick scan of the fields here and eventually picked up something that wasn't either Jackdaw or Carrion Crow, a pair of Mallard. Above: Female Left, Male Right, Mallards I then carried along the narrow path and when I got to the end of the wood section near Cow/ Gull Field, I was surprised to find no Common Gulls what so ever or any corvids in the adjoining fields. A predator must have been about however one never showed itself. I then headed up the footpath towards Totteridge lane in the hope of finding a Wheatear. 4 Stock Dove flew past, 2 Green Woodpeckers were found, a Chiffchaff was seen, and also a staling flock with about 50 birds in it was present, but was also low on the 300+ reported this morning. The Valley seemed to be in that dull in between faze and with no sign of the Wheatears Spring hasn't quite started to kick into gear here. Whilst I was watching the Starlings 5 Fieldfare flew in to feed up before heading off again. Scenery shots were taken and then I headed up to Long Pond. Above: Chaffinch Below: 2 Fieldfare of the 5 Fieldfare When I got up to long pond there were 5 Canada Geese, 4 Mallards, a Moorhen, and 2 Coots, but unfortunately not the Cormorant reported from earlier in the day. Above and Below: Coot On the way back some more scenery shots were taken and you will find out sooner or later why I have taken so many. On the bird front not much was noted, bar a pair of Dunnock and some Magpies in the field. The Mallards that I had seen earlier also took off and headed towards Darlands Lake. I unfortunately was pushed for time and headed back the way I had come. As I headed back I ran into more Parakeets with at one stage a flock of 12 over head calling nosily to one another. As I headed past the nurseries I had I funny feeling that I was being watched and I was right a Grey Squirrel sat there at the top of a tree watching my every move and seemingly fixed on my position. Above and Below: Grey Squirrel I then headed back down towards Partingdale lane with Robins and Wrens singing away in the bushes. 4 more Long-tailed Tits appeared and Goldcrest stopped me dead in my tracks, because for a second it gave a Yellow Browed Warbler call, before reverting to its normal one. A Pied Wagtail, my 5th of the day after 4 at my School, was busily feeding in one of the fields in front of the power station and 2 Song Thrush came shooting across the path in front of me. I then headed to the Dollis Brook on my way home and I found a Female Sparrowhawk hunting along side the Finchley Golf club. A really quite obliging bird. Above: Female Sparrowhawk Above and Below: Female Sparrowhawk I then headed for home wondering whether I had made a mistake at the weekend by identifying the Brent Scaup as a Pochard by mistake. I will have to go again before I add Greater Scaup to my British list though...
I Finally Gave In - Greenhill Gardens, Brent Reservior, Totteridge Valley - 18th-19th March 201719/3/2017 I was originally not going to do any birding this weekend, however this all changed on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday afternoon I found a female Black Redstart on a house that backs onto the Dollis Brook which was a nice surprise, and now confirms my maybe sighting of a female on a house near Moss Hall School earlier in the year. In the afternoon I headed out on my weekly bike ride which takes me along High road between Finchley central and High Barnet, and then back along the Brook on the way home. On the way out I originally wasn't going to stop, however I glimpsed from the road a mass of Tufted Ducks bobbing up and down in Greenhill Gardens so went to check them out. Sure enough once I had arrived I was surrounded by Tufted Ducks. There were 24 in total and a massive improvement on the last visit when there was only one. My theory as to why they are here is simple. In winter very few people come out to feed the ducks and therefor the ducks move on to find a more reliable place. As soon as the weather gets warmer and nicer more people turn up to feed the ducks and so they all decide to come back. I am sure there are other reasons too, but this I believe is the main one. As for other birds there weren't many. The ever fluctuating number of Canada Geese was at 29 this week and Mallard at 22, 11 Coot, 6 Moorhen, and 2 Herring Gulls were also present, and a Wren dived into the bushes in front of me just before I headed out back on the main road. Whilst I was waiting for a gap in the traffic a flock of 7 Starling landed in one of the trees next to me. Now onto today. My dad and I set out for the Brent Reservior at just before 8 this morning. When we arrived we were greeted by a truly magnificent Black Swan mixed in with a group of 28 Mute Swan near the bridge. Below: Australian Black Swan My dad and I then headed round to the public hide to try and spot one of the North American's, but with no luck. We did however pic up a pair of pintail, some Teal, 2 Greylags, 9 Gadwall, a pair of Shoveler, a large amount of Canada Geese, and a Great Crested Grebe. After checking through all the Tufted ducks present we retreated back along the path to the main road listening to Cetti's Warblers and Chiffchaffs singing away in the bushes. We then headed to the viewing platform across the road and checked through all the Tufted Ducks viewable from there to find only a Pochard to add to the day list. A cormorant also fished in the middle of the Reservior and Common Gulls, and Black Headed Gulls became quite numerous for a brief period. We then headed back towards the bridge and another quick scan only brought up a tail-less Grey Wagtail and some Mallards. Next we headed towards the keyholder hides and prayed that someone would be in there. On the way we saw a pair of Coal tit, as well as Blackbirds, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tit, and Goldfinch. As we arrived at the hide we were in luck the 2 Andrews were in there, and they put us straight onto the drake Ring-necked Duck although it was miles away. (The Scaup we found out had only been seen briefly in the morning and wasn't refound again till 3pm.) From the hide we also saw masses of Shoveler, Teal, Canada Geese, and Tufted Ducks. Just before we left the hide a Peregrine steamed through causing unrest about the birds and a pair of Great Crest Grebes became visible at the back of the 'bird Sanctuary' area. We then headed for home with one last check for the Scaup and an interview with the times. (fingers crossed that the interview will appear in tomorrows paper!) Above: Great Crested Grebes, with Tufted Duck Below: Male Shoveler Above: Tufted Ducks, 2nd bird from the right is the Ring-necked Duck! Below: Another Great Crested Grebe The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent volunteering at the farm again. Birding wise it was pretty quite. 2 Stock Dove, 3 Goldfinch, and 3 Pied Wagtail all came over when I was travelling between the valley and the farm quite a bit in the morning and a Grey Heron also came over very low. Then the rest of my day was spent on the back of the tractor which from my point of view is perfect. The first tractor ride I added Green Woodpecker, 3 Canada Geese, 2 Egyptian Geese, Robin, and 2 Herring Gulls to my day list, and yes don't worry this is all part of the job. Also the resident flock of 200+ Jackdaw and a similar amount of Crows kept the visitors entertained. In between the first and the second tractor ride 3 more Stock Dove came over. On the second tractor ride 3 Common Buzzard and a Pheasant were the only species of note to add. The Third brought up 2 Pied Wagtail and a Great Tit. The Fourth a Starling and the Fifth in a row 2 Mallards. After and hour and a half on the tractor it was time to start putting the animals on the farm back in their fields. When I was up getting the Alpacas I checked out the pond and a small bird zipped passed me. I though it might have been the local Firecrest, but since it gave no call and I couldn't relocate it I gave it a pass. On sheep wash pond there was 3 Mallards (all Drakes), 2 Canada Geese, and a pair of Coot. 4 Long-tailed Tits zipped through the trees as I headed down to the valley and once in the valley 5 Meadow Pipits came over heading NW. After talking to some members of the public and packing everything away all the Staff and Volunteers at Belmont Children's farm called it a day. Above: Common Buzzard Now after a jam packed few days of birding I sit here and hope that my interview about young birders in London will end up in the Times tomorrow. Although I missed one North London Mega, I ended up getting the more important one in my books taking me up to 159 for my British list. If the Scaup hangs around I may give it another go. As for my birding is concerned a school trip next week will limit my time birding, however I will try and bird on the trip. Bring on April and my trips that are planned...
Just a quick round up of the two weeks of exams. Two brief visits into the Totteridge Valley didn't produce the much hoped for Wheatear, however Kestrels, Rooks, Red Kites and Buzzards are always good to see. I also managed increase my life list to 158 whilst waiting for the bus on the way home from school on the 9th March 25 White-fronted Geese flew over heading E. A strange place to see a first sighting of them, but good none the less. Also to keep the interesting sightings theme going my mum on Tuesday told me that a 'peafowl' had just flown into the front near where she was gardening, but as she got close enough to take a photo it flew over the house and into the garden. I then re-found it and re-identified it as a Red-legged Partridge. This was only the second record in my garden and a first in 8 years and therefor is the equivalent of a Mega rarity for my garden. So after a busy week of exams, a day off and this is how I spent it; The day started off in the chilly sun and whilst walking to the station I listen to a now much improved dawn chorus, with Wrens, Robins, Blackbirds, Great Tits, and even a Song Thrush belting their songs out. When I arrived at Rainham station however, the songs had died down and the sun was now warming the day up. The scenary was stunning and glistened in the sun. Possibly as many as 20 Cetti's Warblers were calling from the section of reeds between the A13 and Rainham Station, however none of them decided to show themselves. Goldfinch called from above and a nice Wren perched sung away from the top of a bush. Below: Silhouetted Wren Singing Next i headed under the A13 to Rainham North. Here there was the chance for more scenery shots as well as picking up some Pheasant, Mallards, Goldfinch, Meadow Pipits and more singing Cetti's Warblers. A couple of Goldfinch flew into the bushes next to me and stayed for a couple of minutes without noticing me and providing decent photo opportunities. Below: Goldfinch Next i headed along Ferry Lane to the Sea Wall. Here i picked up 14 Shelduck and an Oystercatcher off in the distance on the expanses of mud, and Black Headed, Common, Herring, and Great Black Backed Gulls flew up and down river hurriedly in search of food. Some Black headed Gulls were on the mud in front of the wall and were still showing a variety of plumages, from pure winter, to full summer plumage, to a not quite there yet plumage. A Stock Dove shocked me as it shot past flying up river, and 6 Cormorant came in overhead and landed on the jetty type structure in front of me. For a change there were no Redshank to talk about, a real sign of Spring. One Teal lined the muddy shore and a pair of Mallards did too. House sparrows called from the bushes behind, as did another Cetti's Warbler. Great Tits moved through the bushes as well, and a pair of Dunnocks had a bit of a tussle in the bushes behind me too. Above: 5 of the 6 Cormorants that flew in over my head. It was like the Red Arrows As i approached the Stonebarges 4 Gadwall appeared on the Thames and so too did the first Redshank of the day. Feral Pigeons also had started to nest on the under side of the wooden jetty so there were less of them than of late about. Above: Male Gadwal Below: Redshank taking off As I approached the Stonebarges it seemed deserted with 2 Common Gulls, a Black Headed Gull, and 2 Juv GBBG all asleep on the pier. Then one false move and a group of 57 Redshank, 4 Dunlin, 2 Shelduck, and 9 Teal came from literally nowhere and started feeding on the waters edge. They had all come from the same place and had obviously missed the morning alarm clock. Above: Redshank Below: Right - Female Teal, Left- Male Teal As I moved further along it appeared that most the Gulls where now over the landfill with very little of anything on the shore. A noisy group of Canada Geese feed on the grassed over edges of the landfill as well as a flock of at least 100 Wood Pigeon. Above: Canada Geese Below: Mixture of Herring and Great Black Backed Gulls and a Crow Below: Mixture of Herring and Great Black Backed Gulls and Crows I moved further along the Sea wall and found a group of Goldfinch eating the buds of a nicely flowering tree. A Dog barking sent up 3 Common Snipe from the edge of the wall and a few Teal also were flushed. A few Mallard were on the river at this stage and Cormorants were busy fishing in the middle of the river. An Oystercatcher was catching the sun on the Sea Weed and provided a great photoshoot opportunity. Above and Below: Oystercatcher Moving along and not much it has to be said. A group of trees brought up another wren, a pair of Linnets and my first Robin of the day. I then noticed something sitting on the mud a Lesser Black Backed Gull. This was then joined by 4 Juv Great Black Backed Gulls. Look at the size difference between them; I then moved on to the sound of Skylarks singing their 'happy song'. Meadow pipits appeared to be everywhere and a flock of Teal were waddling about on the muddy shore. I then took the path over the top of the closed landfill and here I picked up the first Reed Buntings of the day and a hell of a lot of them. I thought that I heard the call of a Wheatear, however with no luck I decided to head to the visitor centre. On my way to the centre a Rock Pipit was seen along the Sea Wall and a Stonechat was seen in the reeds near the Coldharbour lane carpark. Above: Singing Skylark Below: Male Reed Bunting When I got to the centre Paul told me that there had been 2 Wheatear reported from the path over the landfill in the morning, and so i headed back out that way via the reserve. I headed out and counted 155 Wigeon on the Purfleet scrape, along with some Pintail, Shoveler, Teal and Shelduck. An Egyptian Goose grazed alongside the flock of Greylags that had gather near the woodland end of Purfleet scrape. A Grey Heron gracefully glided through in front of me and some Moorhen appeared on the left hand side of the scrape. As I walked along the lower path towards the gate on to the Sea Wall I picked up Coot, and Mute Swan's in the channels. As well as Little Grebe, Wigeon, Canada Geese, and Little Egret around the larger pools in the fields. Once on to the Sea Wall Tufted Ducks were picked up in the pool behind the numbers with around 20. Also there was now 3 Stonechats (2 Females and a Male) in the Reeds by the Coldharbour lane Carpark and a pair of Pheasants flew up from the reeds and headed round to Wennington. Above: Egyptian Goose with a Coot, and the but of a Shelduck Below: Greylag with a Coot Above: Common Snipe Below: Canada Goose Below: Curlew I then headed round to the Serin mound and picked up nothing but Shelduck and a Marsh Harrier hunting over the marsh. I then headed back on to the path over the landfill. This brought up only Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits, Skylark, and a Pair of Linnet. Then when I got up to the top of the path I met a fellow London Birder by the name of Nick. He told me that he was looking for corn bunting and so I told him about the Wheatear that had been reported this morning. We stood at the top chatting about our patches and looking out for the elusive Corn Buntings and Wheatear, but after 20 minutes with no luck we decided to head back down the other side. As we did you will never guess what appeared on the path, but an absolutely smashing Male Wheatear. We followed it for about five minutes until it ended up heading off into the long grass not to be seen again. This was both of our first sightings of the year and my first ever brightly coloured Male. Now all I can hope for is one to appear in the Totteridge Valley. After this we headed down the other side and parted ways. I headed for the visitor centre along the sea wall and picked up 2 more Oystercatchers in Averly bay and a Male Kestrel hovering just two feet away from the Sea Wall near the visitor centre. Then lunch was had and a meeting done and back onto the reserve after lunch. Above: Meadow Pipit Below: Male Wheatear Above and Below: Male Wheatear Above: Oystercatcher Below: Male Kestrel This is when the title comes into play. This is because as I stepped out to head round the reserve the sun decided that it had, had enough and so went in behind the clouds and at this stage the wind picked up and it turned rather chilly. Winter was back in full force. As i headed down the Ramp a lovely Dunnock sat singing as if to say that spring was still hear and a Singing Chiffchaff down by the adventure playground were all signs that spring had sprung, but these were the last signs. Above: Dunnock Below: Chiffchaff (it is almost impossible to photograph these as they are so quick) I then headed down to the Ken Barret hide. On the way I stopped off at the woodland feeders, however they hadn't been topped up. This however didn't stop Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Great Tits, and a Reed Bunting visiting the site. I also stopped of to check the Barn Owl box and sure enough after an absence of a couple of weeks he was back sighting in the entrance to the box (Sorry Nicola). Onto the ken Barret Hide and to be honest there wasn't much about. A Female Pochard Sat asleep on the island on the left hand side and 2 female Tufted Ducks dived at the back of the pool. A pair of Greylags and a pair of Canada's were in front of the hide too. So I decided to take the chance to photograph the Mallards. Above: Left - Male Mallard, Right - Female Mallard I then moved on to the 2 viewing points. Here a wren sang from the reeds. I didn't stay long because the wind was unbearable, however large amounts of tufted ducks and Pochard were out in the middle. Eventually from the second platform I managed to pick up the 2 Great Crest Grebes, and a little Egret wondered the far bank. Above: 2 Male Tufted ducks being blown about in the wind, with a Shelduck and Pochard in the background Below: Great Crested Grebes and Shelduck Next I moved onto Butts hide. Here i picked up a Water Pipit, a snipe, and large amounts of both Tufted Duck and Pochard, as well as around 50 Wigeon on the reserve side of the hide. A Pair of Pintail also sat preening themselves on the bank. A cormorant stood watch over everything and Lapwings kept scaring off the Starling flocks as they got too near to their nests. On the other side of the hide it was winter duck fest on Wennington. Only one pair of Gadwall was present, but 85 Shoveler, 198 Wigeon, a pair of Tufted Ducks, 45 Shelduck, 20ish Pintail, 20 Teal, and some Coot and Moorhen all feed together. A Grey Heron was about at the back of the pools and 2 Marsh harriers hunted over the reed beds. Some Redshank and Lapwing were also mixed into this flock and eventually another snipe was found. Above: Male Pochard with one Female left. Below: Cormorant Above and Below: Male Pintail After this I briskly walked the rest of the reserve realising that I could make the earlier train and be on time for my next appointment, and after missing the Swallows that were reported coming in off the Thames all day I got to the Station just as the barriers had gone down at the level crossing.
My life list still stands at 158, However a trip to the Totteridge Valley and Brent tomorrow should get me up to 160. The day started off by pulling up to the Stone Barges car parks with high hopes and the hope that the rain would stay away and It did for around 10 minutes. We headed from the Stone barges round to ferry lane, however the tide was in so nothing showed. A few Gadwall and Mallard were on the river and Black headed Gulls and Redshank were at the Stone Barges when we returned, however the rain and wind became quite unbearable. So we headed in land. For a long period of time we only had the occasional Magpie or Dunnock for company, however the channels along side the road eventually produced Mallard, Coot, and Mute Swan. Happy Skylarks could be heard and occasionally seen bug hunting in the fields either side of the road, but the meadow pipits stayed largely hidden. When we reached the Serin Mound. Here we stayed for a while in the shelter of a bush out of the wind and rain around us. A Marsh Harrier hunted near the Numbers and Pheasants were almost everywhere that the eye could see. Linnets called over head and so did the Skylarks. We then headed to Averly bay which was almost devoid of life except the rather large flock of Shelduck and some Redshank. We then continued round on the river wall heading back to the Stone Barges. On the way we added more Black Headed Gulls, Lesser and Greater Black Backed, Herring, and Common Gulls, however unusually there were very few large gulls around and to be honest, I don't blame them. Teal patrolled the muddy banks and more Skylarks were calling around us. 3 Oystercatchers also patrolled the section between Averly Bay and the Stone Barges, this was the first time I had seen them since I believe September showing signs that spring is nearly in full swing. Some Snipe appeared along the sea wall and a pair of Rock Pipits were also seen down by the Stone Barges before after 2 hours we retreated to the car and eventually headed up to the main reserve. Above: Skylark Below: Female Teal with a muddy beak Above: Oystercatcher Below: Male Teal Above: Skylark in flight (Nicola Goldsmith) Below: Female Teal (Nicola Goldsmith) Below: Oystercatcher in flight (Nicola Goldsmith) Next we headed to the Reserve where we had a nice warm drink and watched the birds on the feeders, including Reed Bunting and 4 Pheasants. Pintails sat on the pools infront of the visitor centre, however at this stage the Jack Snipes stayed hidden. We then headed down to the Woodland feeders annoyingly bypassing the Woodcock. Grey Squirrels, Rats, Reed Buntings, Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, and Chaffinch all fed happily here even with our presence. Above and Below: Brown Rat Above: Great Tit Above and Below: Male Reed Bunting Above: Robin (Nicola Goldsmith) Below: Male Chaffinch (Nicola Goldsmith) Below: Brown Rat (Nicola Goldsmith) We then moved along and rather disappointingly the Barn Owl wasn't sitting in his box. Canada Geese and Greylags were present underneath the box though. We moved on to the Ken Barret Hide. This produced very little until a Water Pipit turned up on one of the banks and 7 Snipe were flushed from underneath the pylons. Above: Water Pipit Below: Pied Wagtail We then moved briskly on and unfortunately weren't able to look for the viewing platforms for the second time in a row due to the persistent wind blowing into our faces and making my eyes water. By the time we could actually see the birds again we were at the Butts hide. More Snipe were picked up here and lots of Pintails were seen. Lapwings still number over 1000 and Wigeon appeared to be almost everywhere. A few Shoveler, Tufted Ducks, and Pochard were dotted around the pools as well. Above and Below: Male Pintail Above: Female Pintail Above: Group of Pintail Below: Shoveler and a Tufted Duck We then moved on picking up a double Rainbow, but frustratingly still no Short-eared Owls. We then moved round to the next hide overlooking the pools visible from the Visitor centre. Wigeon and snipe were seen as well as more Pintail and another stunning Little Grebe. Above: Wigeon, Coot, and Wood Pigeon Below: Common Snipe Above: Common Snipe Below: Wigeon Above: Little Grebe Below: Little Grebe (Nicola Goldsmith) Above and Below: Male Pintail We then headed back to the visitor centre listening to the House Sparrows happily chirping away in the nearby bushes. After lunch had been consumed we headed out in the hope of finding the reported Woodcock, but with no luck we decided to head to the woodland feeders and ended up having a photography session as well as adding Green Woodpecker to the day list. Above: Blue Tit Below: Reed Bunting and Great Tit Above: Collared Dove Below: Male Reed Bunting Above: Male Reed Bunting Below: Female Chaffinch Above: Brown Rat Below: Great Tit Above and Below: Female Reed Bunting (Nicola Goldsmith) Above: Male Reed Bunting (Nicola Goldsmith) Below: Male Chaffinch (Nicola Goldsmith) After this we headed back to the hide and met a group of birders trying to relocate the Jack Snipe. Seeing the storm clouds approaching we decided that this was a good time to dive back into the hide over looking the pools viewable from the visitor centre and just in time too. Whilst we were in the hide it pummeled it down with hail, however eventually we were rewarded with 3 Jack Snipe appearing in with the common Snipe. A Curlew flew over head loudly calling as a Peregrine came into view sending the Wigeon and Lapwing scrambling for their lives. This Peregrine didn't seem interested in actually hunting and sat on the ground eating in the distance for a long period of time. After all this drama and before the next band of rain came over we headed back to the visitor centre. Above and Below: Although It is virtually impossible to see from these photo's there is a Jack Snipe to the left of the Common Snipe and 2 on the Right of the Common Snipe... Above: Wigeon Flock, with a Coot When we got back to the visitor centre we were told that the Short-eared Owls had just been reported from the Serin mound so we very quickly got ourselves up there. As soon as we got out of the car we could see one hunting over the reserve near the Butt's hide, but the all of a sudden one appeared in the reeds infront of us presumably coming out the roost. This one gave us the performance we had been waiting. It then disappeared over a mound. When we got up to the Serin mound the only one that could be seen was the one terrorising the flocks of ducks on the main reserve. There were however well over 10 pheasant in the fields below us to keep us company. Then just before we legged it back to the car the second Short-eared Owl reappeared and gave us a nice display. Above: Short-eared Owl Below: Short-eared Owl Mobbing Buzzard on a post... And now unless anything exciting happens a two week beak will occur due to exams, and with my British list still at 157 I will go into the exam period knowing that this has been a great few weeks for me...
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March 2017
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