weymouth photos - 22nd

I took the camera down to Radipole. I arrived just in time to learn I'd missed Peregrine, Merlin, and 3 Little Stints at Lodmoor. Oh well.

I took a few pics of the gull roost. Here they are unclipped.

I found a Little Grebe close in to the Marina wall, and watched it diving. They may be serene on the surface, but under water they scrabble round rocks like birds possessed, and if they find a suitable fish just tear after it until they get it. Amazing. What photoshop can do ...

22 Oct Lodmoor

I snuck out at 7:30 am for an hour and a half. It was frustrating, as there were birds going over and some of the hedgerows were rammed, but I felt at the limits of my abilities here. Did I eke a good list out of a poor day? Or blunder round in blissful ignorance of the jewels on offer?

Highlights:

Blackbird C50!
Wigeon; 6 & 3
Black Tailed Godwit 3
Dunlin 2
Snipe 1
Lapwing c20
Sparrowhawk 1
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Stonechat 3
Bearded Reedling. Lots of pinging in two places, and scuttling through the reeds. 1 seen. Cetti’s Warbler 3.
Goldcrest 2.

21 Oct – StourHead

We detoured from our normal route to Weymouth to fulfil a long held ambition to visit Stourhead. We thought we were clever chosing a sunny day at half-term, but several thousand other people seemed to have had the same idea.

It was very nice. Almost, but not quite, as good as Fountains Abbey. Although Mrs D did comment, as we trooped in our conga slowly round the lake, that it was like exercise-time in some super-posh middle-class prison. But nice trees, and a nice farm shop too.

Sawbo - Old Harlow

Well nearly as far as Old Harlow. I walked down the Stort until I could see The Palace. It was clearly quieter than visits last month; flitting birds were no longer warblers but Dunnocks instead, and there were a few other absences; mainly Blackbirds - where are they?.

SLRS was full after recent rains,

A Grey Heron at the top of a tall tree - why? Cormorant 3 imm in the Cormorant Tree, appropriately. Mute Swan 3 adults flew over - again why 3? Mallard 10 in total inc 2 at the flash. Snipe 8. 4 at the S end, and 4 on the grass at the top. Lapwing 25 over, 2 on the flash. BH Gull c30 on the flash. GSW at least 3. Skylark a few singles over calling. Meadow Pipit 3 by the flash then later flying round. Chaffinch c20, Goldfinch 15, Greenfinch c10, Siskin 1 over calling, Bullfinch 2, Grey Wagtail 1, Redwing a few flying around but unsatisfactory views. Mistle Thrush 2, Carrion Crow a few, Jay 1, Yellowhammer 1 over.

And in the afternoon, Shaggy Ink Cap in the Garden. My guide says its edible. After you!

Ferrybridge 6th

A morning stroll from Ferrybridge down to Small Mouth, then across the road and up the Rodwell trail as far as the Castle Cove Yacht club. Proof, once more, that the more time you take the more you see.

Brent Goose – 2 dark bellied went E out of the harbour
Little Egret 1
Dunlin
Ringed Plover
Turnstone.
Sandwich Tern 1 juv
BH Gull, GBB Gull, Herring Gull,
Hobby 1 slow N over with something in its claws. A couple of Gulls mad a half-hearted attempt to mob it
Kestrel 1
Swallow – low tens. I didn't see any other hirundines this trip apart form lots of swallows
Wheatear 1 across the road by the centre.

Finally, the obligatory Med Gull sighting. A 2nd year flying around the harbour by Perry’s Restaurant.

Portland 5th Oct

The schools had an Inset day on Friday. Someone in Herts Council Education department is obviously a twitcher. Taking the hint I took D1 and D2 to Weymouth for a couple of days.

Portland was, we were told, a bird-free zone. So, free from the need to wait ages for a glimpse of a Sibe, we took a leisurely walk up the top fields, left to the west cliffs, back to the point, then back to the obs.

And there was action all the way. Firstly we had a fantastic female Merlin that did a couple of hunting sorties for us. Picked up dashing across a field, it twisted and turned after a starling, and then cruised around looking for prey. It was great to have the opportunity to take a good look at the flying style and hunting habits of Merlin at close quarters.

Then at the West Cliffs we had a few Stonechats, a Sparrowhawk, and a Wheatear.Down towards the Bill ours, and everyone else’s attention was turned by the Costguard helicopter hovering by the point. A stretcher went down, and then came up with a person clinging to the basket. Maybe a training exercise? Hope so.

Then from the Bill back to the obs we had a terrific Clouded-Yellow Butterfly, showing off the deep orange of the upper surface contrasting with the lemon-yellow undersurfaces. A couple of well marked Wheatears, a Grey Seal, and 4 Rock Pipits (do they migrate through here?). Finally at the obs a Brown Rat by the bird table.

All the time a trickle of Swallows going through, Meadow Pipits “tseep”ing around, and flocks of Starlings, Linnets, and House Sparrows. The obs recently got a few extra fields I think and the large passerine flocks may be a result of this.

In the evening we went into town. 100+ Pied Wagtails flew down the harbour, and an auk, probably a Razorbill, fished out in the middle. Then a first. Whilst we are used to being one of a few groups in a cinema for a Tuesday afternoon cartoon, for the duration of the 4:30 showing of “Run, Fat Boy Run” we were the only ones in the theatre.

The chopper in action, taken by D2

lost weekend

A late September weekend, easterly winds, its time to get up early and go off to the coast.

So on Sunday I got up early and went ... to work. No point in complaining. Deadlines are deadlines ...

Bizarre Birding in Sawbridgeworth

The strangeness started as soon as I got out of the car. I thought someone had their radio on – unsociable at 8:30 on a Sunday morning – but as I entered the fields south of Sawbridgeworth it became obvious the noise was on a different scale – possibly Harlow town Park about 5 miles away across the Stort Valley, or possibly here.

So as Marvin Gaye “What’s Going on?” echoed round the fields I picked up a small flock of Long-Tailed Tits. I searched for Sylvia warblers but apart from one in the bottom of a bush drew a blank. A couple of Bullfinches skulked in a bush and a Kestrel flew through as Dusty Springfield sang “Son of a Preacher Man”, and then I struggled for birds and songs – possibly a Kingfisher calling, and was that Sly and the Family Stone?

Stevie Wonder was singing Superstition as I crossed the river, and then the mood changed to Jazz as I went up the hill to view SLRS. I bumped into Kevin on his bike, and as Miles Davis’ trumpet rang out round the fields a Meadow Pipit flew south, and we saw family parties of Yellowhammers, more Bullfinches, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, brownish Willow-Chiff and a GS and Green Woodpecker. SLRS had 4 Snipe, 2 Lapwing, and a couple of Teal, and Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”.

Another mood change. The small birds were kicking up a commotion, and as the ground shook to Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” a dark shape slipped out of the hedgerow with a bird in its claws – my instinct was Hobby.

As I headed for home someone turned the sound off at this time, and a total of four Chiffs were in the willows by the river. One singing, one skulking, and two “hoeet”ing.

I thought the bizarreness would stop there, but mid afternoon Mrs Dipper called for an emergency chocolate run to Waitrose in Bishop’s Stortford. On the way back I stopped at the large recently ploughed field at Trimm/s Green/Allen’s Green, a local highpoint with views over Stansted Airport . Mike had been earlier and seen good numbers of Lapwing, Carrion Crows, and various other birds. I saw most of that through the heat haze, and then a wader flying around; notions of Golden Plover were dispelled by the enormous white wing bars. It didn’t settle, was chased by Lapwings, and eventually flew up towards me to confirm as a Black-Tailed Godwit, then flew off north. Bizarre.

** evening update ** Kevin informs me that the music was from an all-nighter takin place in an overgrown bomb-hole slightly south of the birding site. Kevin's source, an unwashed crusty emerging from under a bush, says this happens every September.

Stintless

To no-one’s surprise, yesterday’s Little Stint had gone. On the migration highway our tiny puddle is a service station, not a hotel.

So Steve, Mike and myself stood in the middle of a set-aside type field chewing the fat and watching the surrounding hedges and skyline. We had plenty to watch too. Very similar to the last trip but Grey Wagtail, a family party of 4 Bullfinches, and lots of Robins were notable.

Took the camera this time, and got lucky with a Lesser Whitethroat preening itself. All pics the original size today.

Glorious Day

It was one of those days when everything went right. A day that was so much fun you just want to wind back to the start and do it all over again.

First up was Rainham RSPB. This is the first Autumn for the new reserve, and already it’s delivering the goods. Leaving my camera at home paid off immediately with a Sparrowhawk right over my head. At the Aveley lagoons there was a Spotted Crake giving infrequent but reasonably close views – a long time since I saw one of these. Around were small numbers of Green Sandpiper and Ruff, with a Wood Sandpiper, a couple of Greenshank, a couple of Dunlin, and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper which showed well close up, then flew around and sat preening a distance away. There were a few Wigeon amongst the Shoveller and Teal, and plenty of Little Egrets and Herons, and a few Hobbies giving a hunting exhibition in the background.

Then attention shifted to the gulls. Amongst the BH, LBB, and GBB gulls there was a number of Herring Gulls. I found one gull that was a definitive juv Yellow-Legged Gull; tertials had pale cream tips only forming a chocolate band, and the rest of the plumage at rest and in flight was a text book YL Gull. I think there were others, but it was nice to nail one of them.

I wandered round the rest of the reserve in the company of another Herts birder. The sun shone, we exchanged gossip, birding stories and jokes, and saw Wheatear, close-up Heron, and a Hobby posed on the fence for extended viewing.

Just when I thought birding doesn’t get much better than that, it did. On the way home I called in at our local puddle SLRS. Its small, its miles from the sea, but its ours (there's a picture from last week at the bottom to illustrate). There were 3 Lapwing, 5 Snipe, and oh-my-god-knock-me-down-with-a-feather a juvenile Little Stint. I shot home, made a few calls, and was shortly set up on the bank of the Stort with local birder Steve admiring the Stint out in the open. Perfect light, perfect vision, and a good distance, we spent an hour or so just admiring a text-book Stint and Snipe.

The strange thing is that the bird that really left an impression was the Snipe. A bird hidden in reedy corners on dull November days, today they were feeding out in the open with sun on their backs. The fine barring, rich buff and brown markings and unique shape were perfect today.

South of Sawbo

South of Sawbridgeworth again today. The recently discovered flash just south of the town provides some habitat variety and a focus of the birding circuit, and everything I see goes on my “Birds I’ve seen whilst walking from the house” list too.

Still a healthy number of warblers through the bulging hedgerows; 5 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, plus a few Willow Warblers and a calling Chiffchaff. Also around were plenty of Goldfinches and Greenfinches, with a few Chaffinches and Bullfinches scattered around. Also Green WoodPecker, Jay, and Song Thrush. The flash had 3 Snipe, 12 Teal, 1 Common Sandpiper, a few Pied Wagtails, Moorhen, Mallard, BH Gull, Wood Pigeon, and a Stock Dove.

Finally a Common Buzzard drifted over. Given the direction from where it came this was possibly one with its own letter in the Times.

All pics Canon 30D + 100-400mm zoom + 1.4x converter manual focus.