Canvey in an Easterly.

After weeks of solid west, the wind swung round through south(ish) to a brisk easterly. so I went to Canvey in anticipation of a stream of seabirds.

One hour and one peregrine later I learnt:

if it's East

without north

then don't

set forth.

Sewage

It's been an absolutely sh*** week. Not for birds; visit with friend to Minsmere and Westleton; 10 Stone Curlews roosting, Dartford Warblers, Bittern, Raven, Woodlark calling, Bearded Tits erupting. That was great. No it was crap politically for people of my particular persuasion. I'm angry and feel like having a rant. 

Lets consider, briefly, sewage, and water extraction. Feargal Sharkey and others have done a great job on highlighting instances of raw sewage being pumped into rivers and lakes, and the sea. It's shocking, and to those of us who enjoy nature completely unacceptable. 

Why has this state of affairs arisen? Well, that's a good question. I would suggest a possible reason is that since 2007, 5 million Europeans have moved into the country. 

You may have views on that. You may, like many bird people I follow on twitter, think Freedom of Movement was a good thing and regret its passing. That's fine, we all have opinions. But it is, clearly, a thing. For scale, its the population of Yorkshire. Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Hull, and many glorious towns. All turned up in fifteen years, and they all drink water and use the toilet. 

Did you notice a water infrastructure the scale of Yorkshire being built? Did you notice the Derwent valley reservoirs, the Washburn Valley reservoirs, Gouthwaite, Scar House, Grimworth, Chelker, Tophill Low being constructed? No, me neither.

I don't think it is unreasonable to ask the question as to whether importing Yorkshire to do mainly minimum wage jobs generates sufficient tax revenue to build the necessary supportive infrastructure. I don't think it is unreasonable to ask where that leaves our food security, our energy provision.

But no. These questions never get asked. If they do get asked they get dismissed out of hand. 

I don't mind people having different opinions to mine. But I would like, at some point, people's political opinions to join up. To think that those who support for mass immigration might like to consider that importing a small European nation might have consequences. That it might put a strain on infrastructure. That there might be trade offs. And to be prepared to debate that, not to dismiss it. That's all. 

Building The List in North Norfolk.

Arrived 9am ish at Cley Coastguards. A light Northerly wind. We spent a couple of hours scanning and saw Arctic Skua, Gannets (year tick!), Wigeon, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Scoter. And a distant bird, large gull sized, brown above, white below, heavy persistent flight. Hard to avoid the conclusion this was an Osprey. Hard to admit there wasn't enough to put it down definitively in my notebook. I have a hard and fast rule that I only have records in my book I can positively ID. No exceptions. 

A walk along the shingle to East bank. Mike found a couple of Wheatears and a Whinchat, then at East Bank a Pintail, 100+ Curlew, 120+ Golden Plover in a distant flock, and a couple of Yellow Wagtails. Back along the beach and this time 3 Arctic Skuas reasonably close in. A lovely gingery juvenile, all subtle barring, and two dark phase birds. So often a distant silhouette, a real treat to get a proper view of these birds.

Back to the car and check Birdguides. A ringtail Hen Harrier at Holkham (how soon before that becomes a Pallid? I quip to Mike) and a Greenish Warbler at Weybourne Camp. We head east and I make my one and likely only visit to Weybourne. The Muckleburgh Military Collection has fenced off a large area of prime habitat (and mined it too according to signs!).  We add a couple of cracking Mediterranean Gulls (adult and 1st winter) and a Stonechat, but this is unbirdable. Make mental note to never chase a rarity reported here. 

Lunch then back west. We stop at North Point Pools, add 30 Ruff, a Greenshank and an overhead Hobby. Birdguides duly reports a Pallid Harrier gone west through Holkham.

We stop off at Wells Woods. It has been a relatively quiet day, bright sunshine not conducive to dropping migrants in, and we walk through a birdless Dell until we hit The Flock and have a pleasant hour getting 10+ Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, and a supporting cast of Treecreeper, Coal tit, Goldcrest, Long-Tailed tit.

Birdguides shows the Pallid Harrier has come back east of Lady Anne Drive! We scan from the Dell. Nothing. We stop off on the way. Buzzard, Marsh Harriers. Stoat. We are blocking a drive so move on to Lady Anne Drive drive itself and join a largeish crowd and wait for an hour and then there it is, quartering the reeds and banks, A vivid orange breasts and head, white rump, and classic harrier shape, then down into a field. Another half hour and it is up heading west at pace, just brief views as it rises over the bank. We head off to the lookout, get a nice Green Sandpiper and two close up Grey Partridges, but hear that as we were driving up it had flown high and west.

Clearly in the brief time I saw it I didn't get chance to tick off the key features. I guess it looked too small for a Hen and too big for a Monty's, but seriously who am I kidding? So what about that rule about hard and fast ID's? No Exceptions? Well, every rule has its exceptions. 

Zen and the Art of Dipping.

A trip to Canvey for sea birds on the Easterlies was rudely interrupted by Birdguides, and Mike and I instead found ourselves at Cliffe, joining a surprisingly small crowd looking for Lesser Sand Plover. In summary, it had been present for a short while and had gone, but there was some optimism it would return.

We saw some decent birds. The annual autumn arrival of juveniles Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint is one of the highlights of the birding calendar, and we saw plenty of those, plus a Pectoral Sandpiper, a Hobby, and some Pintail. 

We cut our losses and went for Canvey. We were way too late for the long-tailed skua, but had Common Scoter, distant Black Tern, and an Osprey that seemed to set off from the Kent coast and fly low towards Southend. Even at that distance, on 60x, I could make out the dark back, some white underneath, and that protruding head poking low from the body.

Then back to the car, and a quick check of Birdguides.

What do you want to see at that point? Do you want to see the Lesser Sand Plover has returned? Or it has not been seen again?

I think I've reached some kind of zen on the subject of missing rarities. I cannot be everywhere all the time. I make choices about where I'm going to be and when, and those choices mean I will miss some, or many rare birds. Ultimately I think most birders reach this point because it is pretty much impossible to do this activity on any reasonably regular way without consistently missing rare birds, so to preserve one's sanity and remain a reasonable person around the family, you have to reach a peace with that.

I'm sorry the Plover didn't return. Sorry that the birders we left on the mound didn't get the opportunity to see the bird and get it on their lists.

A lesson in being greedy

A chance, after some initial chores, to get down to Rainham for a Wryneck. It's been a while since I've seen one, and a long while since I had good views of one.

But first, my phone pings with a local Redstart. How lucky am I? I pop up to the patch and local birder Laurence has kindly hung on to show me the bird. Or, as it happens, the stretch of bushes where it was. Never mind, Laurence is a very knowledgeable and genial birder who works hard in the local area, and as always it is a pleasure to spend time with him.

And then Rainham. A forced march round to Numbers. Someone coming away tells us (I've found company on the way round the reserve) that it is showing really well. We get to the spot, and yes its been high in the bush and feeding on the path all morning. Birders are showing each other their frame-filling photos. It's just popped out of sight but no doubt will be back in a minute.

You can guess the rest. We are treated to a couple of hours of Classic Wryneck Behaviour before a phone call requesting my presence puts and end to this fiasco. I passed the time entertaining the crowd with my opinions and observations, something I suspect I enjoyed a lot more than they did. 

Birdguides reports the Wryneck seen again this morning. I suspect that what the bird is doing, as I think Shrikes and others do, is to feed up first thing, and when it has eaten for the day it sits up quietly out of sight. 

Some lessons are clearly in order here:

1. Don't go for others' passage migrants, particularly Redstarts in autumn. They appear briefly, then disappear. By the time I've heard, its too late.
2. If I intend to go for a particular bird, then go. Don't mess around. 

And there are clearly some more lesson on the nature of birding to be drawn, maybe for another day. 

 

Honey Buzzard Madness

Honey Buzzard. My UK record is two sightings back last century. A few in France of a similar vintage, and then nothing until a brief but clear view near Lisbon a couple of years ago. The fantastic news they had returned to Swanton Novers saw me getting up at 7am on the first available morning and driving the 100+ miles to see them.

A breakfast at the excellent Waitrose cafe in Swaffham - my new favourite place - and then it was quiet roads, then almost deserted country roads until I pull into a field rammed full of cars and old men with telescopes. Something told me I was in the right place.

You know when there's nothing happening at a twitch. People just stand around chatting. That's how it was. I spent my time scanning, and picked up distant raptors, mainly Buzzards, but a Sparrowhawk did throw me for a while. Someone called out a Hobby behind us, but other than that just chatting, as you do. Apparently from photos five different Honey Buzzards have been identified. 

An hour passed, I guess, then a shout and there it was. Despite the number of people present, it just seemed to appear high up and heading in our direction.

I'd taken the precaution of scouring You Tube the night previously, and found this fantastic video by Mark Mallalieu, hosted by the Sussex Ornithological Society. So when I had my first decent view of a Honey Buzzard in flight, I was reminded of the comment that (I paraphrase) whereas a Common Buzzard looks quite stocky and heavy, a Honey Buzzard is all wings and tail. And that's how it looked as it lolloped along in our general direction. Scope view showed some barring but the light didn't help, and someone said 'its the one with a notch in the wing' which it had.

Then it climbed up and clapped its wings behind its back. There was an audible purring from the crowd, a spontaneous collective appreciation of the display, as if we were watching some special section of an Attenborough documentary. In a way, we were, this display behaviour from a large raptor is special stuff, and it treated us to this for a while, circling its area, before gliding back towards the wood.

And that was it. Possibly five minutes at most. 

I left, as there didn't seem anything to be gained by waiting possibly another few hours. But that was a pulsating exciting display, something I'd not witnessed before, of a bird that has a special place in my list for no good reason other than it is spectacular and, on these islands at least, scarce.

Madness? I'm not sure what the maddest aspect of this is. Driving over 200 miles, standing an hour in a field, all for five minutes viewing at most, or thinking that it was absolutely worth it and I'll do it again soon.

Lizard Orchid at Newmarket Racecourse.

The second in an occasional series of orchids two weeks past their best.

I had been vaguely aware of Lizard Orchids on Devil's Dyke. A kind of 'I should go and see those someday' awareness. But browsing through Orchid Hunter's videos I found this clear and precise instruction of where to go. 

So on the way back from North Norfolk (more anon) I followed his instructions, parked on the corner of Heath Road near Burwell, walked about half a mile along a path, over the A14 on a footbridge, then bizarrely found myself on Newmarket Racecourse with the stands in the distance, the pristine white fencing and well watered turf in front of me, and across that the continuation of the Devil's Dyke.

Once back on top it was gloriously easy. After about 50 yards my 21st century fieldcraft skills kicked in, and I followed the well worn looping path off the main path to the frizzled remains of a Lizard Orchid. A walk of not more than 100 yards produced I would guess about fifteen more spikes, mostly well past their best. I did find one still with some flowers on, fortunately, and took a few photos.

Orchid Hunter went down into the ditch itself, and probably this is the best thing to do, but time was not my friend and I'd seen what I came for. Enough to make (another) mental note that next year I need to be a bit earlier in the year.

But how odd. That on a regular basis I've been driving back down the A14 from Brecks/Norfolk trips, and on the stretch between the two A11 turn offs, about a mile past the BP service station is a footbridge, and about 200 yards away at most across the adjacent racecourse is a stand of Lizard Orchids. All those trips, and I never knew. 

 

Burnt Burnt Orchids at Knocking Hoe.

Summer. Each year I compile a lits of target orchids, butterflies etc an places that I will definitely this time go and see, but days of heat and pollen seem to sap my enthusiasm and I never seem to find the opportunity.

But not today. Mike and I pitched up at a small car park just west of Hitchin and made our way to Knocking Hoe reserve. A piece of hillside grassland festooned with flowers. We spent an hour plus marvelling at many species we were unable to name.

Some we were, mainly the orchids. Common Spotted Orchid in a fine stand where we entered, then hundreds of Pyramidal Orchids scattered around, and amongst them many Fragrant Orchids. Apparently DNA analysis has shown there are three species of fragrant Orchid. Lacking my DNA testing kit I was unable to say which ones these were.

Our target was Burnt Orchid, or Burnt Tip Orchid. A lifer for the two of us. We eventually worked out that the tiny stems with dessicated seed heads next to Orange flags were Burnt Orchids two weeks or so beyond their flowering life. Fortunately a couple of examples were still making a fist of it. Next year, beginning of June ...

My prospect for more orchids has been significantly enhanced by discovering Orchid Hunter on YouTube. Clear explanations of where to go and what to look for, and a genuine feel for the ups and downs of the hunt that is familiar to birders as well as other naturalists. Recommended

Here's some photos. 

One of the few Burnt Orchids still standing.

Fragrant orchid.

A white/very pale pink Fragrant orchid. Just the one noticed.

Nice. A few of these. No idea what it is.

Quite a lot of these. Not conscious of having seen them before. No idea what it is.

Glorious Day in The Brecks

Mike and I had a few common gaps in our year list that could be filled at some sites in the Brecks. We started our treck at RSPB Lakenheath, and were soon getting decent birds. Two Knot on the Washlands, one just coming into summer plumage, a Hobby hunting back and forth; then a flyover Bittern, first of a few, that gave great views as it slowly flopped into the riverside and wandered through vegetation. At Joist Fen we had more hobbies, a hovering Kingfisher, and a few Marsh Harriers. Three cuckoos called, but we couldn't see any.

The board in the centre had mentioned Variable Damselfly, a species of Odonata of which I was only dimly aware. We wandered down a mowed path with small blue damselflies zipping everywhere. Mike had mentioned that close up they are a slightly different blue to Azure, so when I saw an electric blue one I said there that's it and Mike soon corrected me - no its Azure John. Then a slightly darker duller one landed and I said there that's definitely one, and much to my astonishment it actually was! A greyish tinge to the blue, darker terminal segments, and the clincher through Mike's monocolar was the wine-goblet shape S2.

Next up was Weeting, where after an anxious ten minutes from the hide with just Curlew and Shelduck, I located four Stone Curlew lounging around. (I mention that I found them because otherwise the casual reader may conclude that mine and Mike's days out simply consist of Mike finding birds and me going great thanks Mike nice one). The staff showed us a Pine Hawkmoth from the trap.

Two year ticks down and onto Santon Downham. A couple of singing Tree Pipits were the third year tick for me, and as we admired them two doves flew past and into trees; rufous, blue grey, with distinctive white tail edgings, a pair of Turtle Doves! Otherwise a Stonechat, and distantly a cuckoo called.

We'd cleaned up, so a last short trip to Lynford Arboretum for a coffee and a possible Firecrest. I heard plenty as I sipped my Cappuccino, but could see none. We had a short walk round and stopped at a rhododendron bush to admire the insect life. Suddenly Mike was onto a Hawkmoth, but not the standard orange-tinted Hummingbird kind either. I was way beyond my experience here, but registered a lime-green colour, with a russet-brown band, yellow tail with a couple of black blobs. I took some phone footage and photos, and googling indicated one of the Bee Hawkmoths, and yes we could now make out the red borders to the translucent wings. We must have stayed for an hour marvelling at this creature whizzing back and forth.

Eventually we headed off, just a few minutes eventually tracking down a Firecrest, heard a cuckoo calling distantly, then home.

On checking the literature we agreed on Broad-Bordered Bee Hawkmoth. Apparently well distributed in Norfolk! I've attached a video from my phone. I don't know where the sound comes from - the moth did not make the sound of a tractor.

A great day. Still buzzing. The target birds put you in a place, give you a purpose, but the things that make a good day great are the unexpected, the great views of birds you thought you might get just a peak at, the species that drop in unexpectedly, and today a couple of great insects too.

Tales of The Unexpected

My last post was the surprising addition of three new species for the patch list. Each in their own way not unexpected, but nevertheless quite an amazing run.

Today was the next patch visit. I was hoping for some summer visitors, a Willow Warbler, a Swallow, perhaps a Yellow Wagtail, maybe even a Wheatear or Redstart. Well, we can all dream.

I'd wandered down the Stort, got decent Blackcap views, Cetti's Warbler singing, and pairs of Mandarin and Grey Wagtail, and had walked up to and along next to the railway line when I heard the cackle of a goose, turned round and there were three geese flying in my general direction. The lower two were Canada Geese, but the third was smaller, grey, with a large white blaze round a pink bill. On continued inspection it had a few black feathers in the belly, and the forewings whilst paler were a discreet light grey rather than full off-white. Yes, here flying over a field in rural Essex, was a White Fronted Goose. 

It separated, Gained height, flew around as if looking for somewhere to land and gave a couple of dog-like yaps. Unsatisfied it turned west and flew into Herts airspace and off, thereby getting on two county patch lists.

This wasn't the end of it. Half an hour later I had walked up the side of the valley to a vantage point overlooking the town, and from there saw a grey goose flying over the far side off towards the high ground. I'd alerted the local birders on WhatsApp, and Laurence saw a distant goose silhouette leaving the area as he drove up. Close.

As you can guess, the rest of the walk failed to reach these heights. Six Fieldfare flying over then settled in a field were excellent, as was a Green Woodpecker perched in a bush and a Red Kite in a field. But honestly, not just a completely unexpected tick, but as happens on local patches a pretty decent flight view to boot.

Patch Work

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only birder who intends to spend less time on the patch this year. The previous two years of national house arrest saw me give the fields, hedgerows, damp corners and river that make up my favoured area a thorough going over. And to be realistic, after six years of thorough birding I'm not going to add new species to the patch list.

Or so I thought. I have so far this year added three species.

First was Brambling. An omission that stood out like a sore thumb has been corrected. There was an historic record of one before I started a regular walk, And Howard Vaughn of RSPB Rainham wandered onto my patch when his car was being fixed in nearby Harlow and scored a fly over. But for me, nothing. 

I knew just where one should appear. The farmer had put down some spare grain in an overgrown corner of a field and about 50 Yellowhammers and 30 Chaffinch were there, and as there seems to be an iron law that any gathering of over twenty Chaffinches must contain at least one Brambling I searched hard, but in vain. I was walking away frustrated and downcast when a flick in an elder bush and bingo, a bright female Brambling. Patch tick #1

I've seen loads of Brambling, but every time I see one its like I'm seeing them for the first time. Yes, still impossibly colourful. that bright white lower breast and orange breast band, and those jazzy upperparts. 

Subsequently I saw two there and another one at a larger finch flock elsewhere on the patch. And a couple of other birders got them too. I got the impression that whilst Chaffinches and Yellowhammers are continually flying down to feed and back, Brambling hang back in the bushes. 

Then a couple of weeks ago I was walking through a small wood when whirrrr and explosion of wings from under my feet. No sooner had the thought 'that's a strange place for a pheasant' formed in my mind than the deep russet plumage and location brought me to Woodcock. As it flew round I got a clear view of long bill and round wings. Patch tick #2.

How pleased was I?   It's a difficult one again because they do occur in all sorts of places, and its not a surprise, but when the farmer told me there was a patch that had held Woodcock on the other side of he railway line I incorporated that into my regular walk in the hope of finding one. And here it is, on the list.

As if that wasn't enough, I was taking the dogs out just now when I noticed way up in the clear blue a gull circling. I put the bins on for no other reason than I like looking at gulls in the sky, and hang on that's got some distinct non gull-like brown markings on the wing there, that's a bit too stocky for a gull, and so Osprey made it patch tick #3. I managed to get the word out and Mike saw it from his garden. Excellent. 

So that's a surprisingly good return from the patch and its only just into April. Who knows what else is going to appear?

Spring migrants at RSPB Lakenheath

1. Where to go? It's an odd spring, lots of some migrants, but very few of some others. Garganey are here in numbers particularly at the traditional site of RSPB Lakenheath and its Washlands, so that seemed like a good place to go.

I still remember my first Garganey at Fairburn Ings in May 1977. There is something wonderfully uplifting about the arrival of this fabulously patterned bird. No spring is complete without a decent sighting of this exotic fowl. How different to the autumn when the detection of the dull brown duck amongst so many other dull brown ducks is one for the enthusiast. 

2. The Washlands. Once the mist had lifted and the sun beat down out of a clear blue sky the splendour of this large pool was revealed. Birds everywhere. Still plenty of Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, with a smattering of Shelducks all resplendent, Black-Tailed Godwits everywhere (78 in total) with some in emerging brick red, and 53 Avocets. Small parties of Snipe and Redshank added to the mayhem. Careful scanning with the scope (and some helpful guidance from a regular here) added the hoped for Garganey; 4 males and at least 3 females, and finally a Little Ringed Plover, a Dunlin, and 5 Ruff. 

3. The walk to Joist Fen along the river was excellent. Highlight was a Water Pipit which kindly flew in. Now in fantastical summer plumage, all peach and slate with a bright yellow leg ring on the left leg. 20 Redwings and 13 Fieldfares moved through, a sky dancing Marsh Harrier, constant Stonechats (I think about 3 pairs along this stretch)  and then a flock of 100 Golden Plover high over the Norfolk side of the river.

4. Joist Fen. Over the years I must have spent many hours here gazing out over a vast red bed hoping for a glimpse of the breeding Cranes without any success at all. But today the two resident pairs put on a decent, if distant show, flying around at frequent intervals. Circling up like some lumbering cargo plane slowly gaining hight, then gliding down to some favoured spot to presumably feed. 

When the Cranes weren't in sight we had 9 more Marsh Harriers, an obliging Water Rail, a Bearded Tit, and lots of resplendent Reed Buntings. 

5. Great to have the full trio back with Mike and David. Always a top day out when we get together. An excellent start to spring.

late winter at Minsmere

It's that time of the year when the winter specialities are departing and nothing new has come in, so it gets a bit desperate. A couple of year ticks and more were up in Suffolk, so Friday saw me and David at Minsmere, Mike being unavailable.

David's foot injury has been taking a time to heal, so I promised I wouldn't thrash round the reserve, but ... we did the adder spot on the sand martin bank. Nothing. North Hide. Nothing. Adders again. Nothing. Island Mere. Nothing. Obviously there wasn't literally nothing, there was a year tick in the form of a Coal Tit, I missed a Bittern at Island Mere, and there were a lot of Marsh Harriers. We finally got the Adders around mid-day on the Sand Martin bank, two males slowly waking up before they slithered off.

If you go, walk round the north side of the dragonfly pool, and in the middle of the bank right by you is a grey pipe. They were about a metre above that, slightly right. Fantastic.

Then down the marsh side of the scrapes. It was nice in the sunshine, with plenty of Wigeon, Shoveler, Avocets, and handfuls of Black-Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, and Pintail. So very nice. But no Smew which was our target. I popped down to the Sluice to see if the Lesser Yellowlegs was around, and it was! Fantastic views, a grey washed out Wood Sandpiper-type bird. And those legs, so bright yellow. I went back to collect David who was resting his injured foot in a hide, and dragged him round just in time to see it flying off. Sorry David.

From there it was back along the seaward side. Stonechat flycatching in the sunshine, two female Common Scoter on the sea. And a long sit on the bench to enjoy the afternoon sunshine. And that was it.

Except not quite. As we were leaving we mentioned to the staff we hadn't seen the Smew, and they pointed us towards the pool by the viewpoint, about as close to the centre as you could get, and there was the pair. a male is a tricky bird these days, and this one was fantastic. Thanks you RSPB staff.

Then as we were leaving, a herd of Red Deer on the Heath. 32, all hinds from what I could see. Just huge beasts. Scope filling views. Fantastic. 

So in the end, a very decent list. And David got his adder photos. Fantastic they are too They are on his blog, and a bonus three from David below.

Ridiculous Abberton. Again.

Red Necked Grebe can be a difficult bird to get on the year list, but over the last couple of years Abberton has delivered. I saw one towards the end of last year but this year so far the resident bird has been a bit elusive, with just the occasional record from Abberton church. So this Saturday morning I dropped Mrs D off at her usual morning session at the library and went straight there. 

I thought it was going to be hard particularly when I saw the wind roughing up the surface, but I scanned across and there it was, nonchalantly bobbing around like butter wouldn't melt in its beak. Difficult? Moi? It was mid-distance, but in the scope clear enough for me to think the vertical stripe on the face near the ears made it a bird hatched last year. Fantastic. Hadn't expected it to be that straightforward or such decent views.

And with that I did a quick couple of stops at the causeways before heading back. I saw Long-Tailed Duck, Scaup, Goosander, Smew, White Fronted Goose (now down to 16) Pink Footed Goose, Black Tailed Godwit, Ruff, Golden Plover. And I wasn't even trying. Most of these birds were ridiculously close.

I was asked, when chatting with a fellow birder in Kent on Monday (Excellent. Couldn't miss, again. Shorelark, Hen Harrier, Merlin, Glossy Ibis, Black Throated Diver, Greenshank) whether I went much to Amwell given it is in my area, and the answer is no. Its hard to explain but I think if I'm going to get in my car and go out of my immediate area, it is hard to resist the pull of Abberton. It's like having a three-star Michelin restaurant in the neighbouring town. Why would you go anywhere else?

Year listing update

Lack of posts does not mean lack of birding. I've been reasonably busy year-listing.

I'm not a great one for listing for the sake of it, But for me it gives me a target, a place to go, a plan for the day, and as a well known non-birder might have said, good birding is what happens whilst you were busy making other birding plans.

Mike and I had an owl day. Long-Eared, Little, at you-know where, and then Short-Eared Owl at Eldernell with a couple of distant Cranes. We were drawing a blank with the Shorties until a local birder pointed us to the relevant field, and in particular a small bush in the middle with a distinctive set of logs and branches and a very distinctive roosting owl. Of course, of course, how could we not have noticed the giveaway trampled grass round the edge of the field. Doh. And if I had a pound for every photo of that stump and that owl that has been in my twitter feed, I could afford my next fuel bill.

Then Old Hall Marshes. The full version. Blimey that's a long way. I had a 'doesn't seem that far' moment, and then realised the bend was not the start of the way back, but half way along the way out. Anyway, we had a couple of Merlins perched up, the second looking quite small with, on full zoom, light feather edgings on all its back feathers, so an imm male for me. 

A young (in comparison) couple, looking like they had just stepped out of an outdoors clothing catalogue, came the other day, he with rubbish binoculars. We said hello and offered them a view of the Merlin down the scope. They were thrilled, in awe of this tiny falcon, and then excitedly telling us of the Bearded Tit they had seen. It is easy to get cynical about the quality of the birds we see on our trips, dryly exchanging lists of scarce birds with other equally laconic and weary old birders, but there, in that reaction, of those two young folk probably on one of their first wildlife expeditions, is the emotional truth of our pastime. The thrill and excitement of seeing a hoped-for bird doesn't diminish over the years, even if our reactions may. We added Ruff, then Great Northern Diver off the end, but the recently reported White Fronted Geese had given us the slip.

Then the annual visit, that 'will it be worth it?' trip to WWT Welney. We paid up, paused at the cafe view over Lady Fen where a lone lady asked if we were experts? Well, modesty forbids! But I'll have a go. That pipit over there? Scope up and yes, madam, you were right to point that one out, and thank you for adding Water Pipit to the year list.

Onwards to the Main Observatory and the day's target couldn't have been easier. Nine Tundra Bean Geese, asleep right in front. The darkish heads and give-away broad white edges to the flight feathers marked them out, and soon enough they got up and wandered round. Surely the best ever view of wild geese.

At the next hide a flock of distant Swans turned out to be Bewick's Swans. I find these hard to see on an annual basis, relying on Abberton bringing in a couple each winter, but this flock was thirty strong, with a couple of juveniles, and made excellent if somewhat distant viewing. I find a view of winter geese and swans isn't really complete unless you hear them call and see them in flight, and a small group obliged by calling loudly and flying off, their slightly faster wing-beats being clear in comparison to a pair of Whoopers passing.

Finally, the key Welney Species, the one all the birders come for. It took a while, but eventually there it was, on the feeders, Tree Sparrow.

Then yesterday a small window of opportunity and it was back to Abberton. firstly Layer-Breton causeway, and a ridiculously close flock of wildfowl-collection tame White Fronted Geese. 31, plus a Pink-footed Goose. They flapped a bit showing off their barred bellies - they seemed to be mainly adults - then obliged by flying off to feed on a field, and then flew back, calling, flying around. Surely the best ever view of wild geese. 

I got Smew here too. A redhead, sitting comfortably at close range in front of its usual reed bed. I watched the geese for a while, then mentioned to a couple of birders the really easy Smew on the other side of the road, we crossed back over, and of the Smew there was absolutely no sign.

Finally, Lodge Lane on the eastern side. This is a difficult access point due to lack of parking, but top Essex Birder Darryl had recently posted a request to park in Peldon Community Centre car park and walk up, so I did. It's a non-trivial walk, but easily doable, and the views were excellent. Lots of Wigeon, a few Goosander, about 30 Dunlin, nice views of a male Marsh Harrier, and then in the distance amongst the many Great Crested Grebe, something smaller. Clearly a Grebe, more black and white and without the distinctive silhouette of Red-Necked, probably one the Slavonian that has been seen on and off over the winter. The silhouette lacked the peaked-forehead of Black-Necked but could I be sure, at this range? It was one of those moments where I have to ask what kind of birder am I? Am I  birder of integrity, who's list only contains cast iron certainties? Or am I the kind of birder who will bump up their list on the flimsiest of view? Well, there's only one answer to that. 131. Slavonian Grebe.

Shifting baselines

B&B in the Cotswolds for a very pleasant stay over the New Year (2 Brambling in the garden and pair of Raven over, as you ask. And a Red-Legged Partridge getting on to my 'birds that have hit me in the dark' list, but that is a story for another time). Chatting to the owner/farmer he was lamenting the loss of songbirds over the decades.

It got me thinking. Obviously we all agree, but is it a straightforward loss? Is there more to it?

Perhaps the biggest change is flocking; we now have a situation that is normal for North America and rainforests, which is they are largely birdless apart from 'the flock' which contains everything. I saw a comment ages ago that the return of the Sparrowhawk meant birds behaved differently, as they flock to avoid predators. It stuck in my mind. Just now the excellent Steve Gale at North Downs and Beyond tweeted 'a spectacular gathering of finches - 550 Brambling, 450 Chaffinch, 125 Linnet.' That's a lot of finches. And that's a lot of finches in one place and not somewhere else.

Why do birds flock? I guess because it helps them find food, and helps when predators are around. If there were no predators, would birds flock less if when they find food they can have it all? Would there be 55 flocks of 10 Brambling scattered round Surrey rather than one of 550?

And the second point is that baseline we hear about, the records from the 19th century of masses of birds, right through to the 1970s and 1980s; those were years of busy keepering, of crows and hawks being shot on sight. So the 'natural' baseline is in fact an unnatural baseline; it was the numbers of songbirds you get when you take predators out. 

So there we have it; a couple of random ideas. With no data to support. And a happy new year to you both all.