Lovely Slimbridge... Otters, Cranes, Eider and Snipe.... what a choice!

Monday 18^th February, not Tuesday because I’m on library duty on Tuesday. Chris and I leave early for our deferred trip to Slimbridge.   

I always find WWT sites a bit pricey, and you certainly want to have a full day there to justify the concessionary rate of £11.45.   ( I still cannot understand why it is £12.60 if you pay under Gift Aid…. Yet I must pay a bit MORE, to enable WWT to get some more – the tax. Surely my signing the tax claim document gets them some more, without increasing the cost to me.   Oh well, one day someone will explain it to me).

The car park at Slimbridge is choca, which being half term is perhaps not surprising. I start with a portable coffee, and we set off for Rushy Pen.  Not very evident on the sightings board, perhaps because they are expected and taken for granted, I’m pleased to see  plenty of handsome Pintails.

The Pen also has our first sightings of a small number of Bewick Swans.

Moving on to the Tack Piece, the area is awash with masses of birds including plenty more Bewicks.  I often find here in particular, that the birds are conspicuously grouped together by species. The obvious one is the most active of the species, Lapwings. As we all know, if one or two start the stampede, all the Lapwings follow. And on what was one of their nervous days,  we saw this repeatedly.  

Redshanks are sleeping together, and the Black tailed Godwits have their own private party!

Not straight away but later we saw the stampede of Lapwings being joined by a small flock of the lovely Golden Plover. Both Plovers land at the same time, and apart from the odd one or two, they settle in 2 distinctly separate group. As a golden rule, I always watch groups in flight quite carefully and as sure as eggs, Starlings have joined with the Lapwings. In flight, their relatively smaller shape is quite distinct compared with the Lapwings, and we also see another distinctive group in the Lapwing flock .. Dunlins have joined the gang!

Disappointingly, there were no raptors in evidence today and unfortunately no sign of the reported Jack Snipe.        But our due diligence did enable us to see a good number of White Fronted Geese. 

Out on the edge of the Severn and viewing from the Holden Tower, we managed to find up to 6 Cranes, although we were somewhat hampered by 6 artists  on a drawing course monopolising the viewing windows.

After lunch, we checked out the remaining hides down the Western Arm and at South Lake with more of the same, and nothing to add to the year list.

A couple of photos birds in pens, just to prove that we were there.

First, the lovely cooing Eiders.

No, no Jack Snipe in this lot.

However, at 3pm we just happened to be walking passed a pool and enclosure and gathered from the large gathering of predominantly children that it was feeding time for the Otters. So, we watched too!

An interesting commentary kept everyone interested, and the food was dropped in the water in the closest spot for the children to get good views.  We were told that the adult female (Flo) had come from a zoo/reserve and it was only afterwards that they discovered she was pregnant and subsequently gave birth to twins (Minnie and Ha-Ha.)

………… and that dear reader is all from a very quiet week bird-wise.   All the rest of the week has been devoted to writing  a lengthy legal report, only broken by running a public quiz for the Friends of Markeaton Park on Saturday night. (Included 4 questions about birds!!!)

I just hope I get out for some birding later this week, with Tuesday week at Frampton Marsh being something to really look forward to.

Happy Birding

Worm Charming as a hobby.

Tuesday 12^th February, motivated by a rather good bird in the area (more about that later!!), Chris, Gill and I are once again at Attenborough Gravel Pits.  Neither of the ladies are admitting to their year to date bird count so it’s probably only me that is a bit of an anorak. But I’m the sort of person who likes objectives or targets, which is why I am happy to admit to being on 98 species at the start of the day. 

The ladies are more prone towards enjoying the birds, the occasions and the sheer pleasure of seeing birds, especially when they are seen doing something out of the ordinary. As for example my account last week of the Herring Gulls doing worm charming!!

I was surprised when my son told me that he had never heard of worm charming not least because it IS a well-known recreation in the West Country. The rules are simple. Measure a one metre square plot of grass and see how many worms you can bring to the surface in 15 minutes.

There are professional worm charmers, and it is quite common to collect worms for/by fishermen by this method. Over 500 “wormers” attended the Blackawton worm convention last year

The story has it that the “sport” originated after a man found it necessary to water a field on the way home from the local and was amazed at the number of worms that emerged. Was it the alcohol, or what is more likely that the falling water sounded like the patter of rain, which as Gulls have found, entices worms to the surface?

 (Ed: Have we gone a bit astray from birding?)

OK   Attenborough!!

I first see Chris on the road to the gravel pits, hoping to find the Firecrest in the hedge. Not this morning sadly, although there does continue to be irregular sighting reports.

Up the walkway to the centre, and what comes round the edge of the reed bed?  a handsome male Red Crested Pochard.  Not that it was doing it right then, but I think it fascinating the way it compacts its red head feathers when it dives, thus avoiding being unduly waterlogged!!

Kingfisher hide is the next stop, and after only 5 minutes, a fellow birder nudges me, and asks if I have seen the green bird on the grass. NO, I HADN’T but I did!….. It was my 2018 bogey bird….. a Green Woodpecker!!!   SUPERB… No. 100 for 2018. (Ed:…Steady, watch your blood pressure!)

I told you a couple of weeks ago about my abortive visit to the Rifle Range Pits at Long Eaton to see a rare Grebe. Rod Key had told me how to find the site, so after lunch, Chris and I drove through Long Eaton to Cranfleet Lock, parked up and walked to the pits. Straight away we found the superb Black Necked Grebe, on the smaller pit continuously diving and fishing. Not much else on the water, but the Grebe was well worth the journey.

A good day…. 42 species, and 3 on the year list = 101 YTD…………………… and I won’t even mention the invisible Song Thrush near the path next to Wheatear field!!! 

I’m reading a book.                …eh Yes?   It’s called ”And Another Thing” , and when I’ve finished it (next Tuesday) I will start reading another book “How hard can it be?”

These books have an unusual format. Each issue contains a selection of some of the 1,000-word articles that the author has had published in the Times newspaper every Sunday over a 2-year period.

Because I admire the writing style of this well-known author his articles make very amusing bed-time reading and each night when I’m relaxed after reading 2/3 of the articles, it’s time for bye-byes.

I know that the author is not a most popular man, not because of his writing but because of his cavalier attitude to life.  When leading any walks at Carsington, I would invarisably point out a slipway on the starboard side of the Causeway, where the Hamster drove a Lotus car into and under the water, on the BBC’s Top Gear and the indifferent reaction of my audience showed me what some people felt about the programme….. and Jeremy Clarkson. Yes, he is the author of the articles.

Jeremy writes about issues or events that he feels strongly about, and in an idle conversation with my Managing Editor, we agreed that I should have a go at an article in a similar style.

Well, what can I whinge about next week?      Got it…. Bird hides.

Watch this space!!

Happy Birding   

Exmouth!! My annual coastal pilgrimage.. "And its all been worthwhile!!"

Well I don’t know what the weather has been like with you, but for our 6 days in Devon, it has been wind, sleet, rain and everything you don’t want beside the seaside. Yes, Mary and I were once again at our favourite coastal resort, Exmouth, which trip you will know is planned to include my annual bird watching trip on the River Exe.

It got off to a good start, arriving in pleasant weather, ticking Great Black Backed Gull and Brent Geese (dark bellied) en route, and greeted at the Imperial with the news that we had been upgraded to a superior room with a sea view. I guess that was either a reward for being a regular customer, or due to positive comments on my blog.

This is the view from our room, overlooking Dawlish Warren.

One of our regular entertainments was watching the Herring Gulls worm charming. Whatever the weather, a pair could be seen close to our window paddling away to try and get worms to surface. If they were supposed to be replicating rainfall to encourage worms to emerge, we though the heavy rain would do that anyway!!

Tuesday was the scheduled 3-hour trip from Exmouth to Topsham, but as we did not weigh anchor until 1.30, this gave me time for a pre-sailing snack   Coincidentally, on the same boat trip were Rob and Janet, a couple I know from the Carsington Bird Walks. They had come down from Derby just for the trip, so it was equally disappointing for them that the visibility was so poor restricted what we would see. They were fortified and consoled by the hot Cornish pasties that they had ordered, and I found the parsnip soup, both hot and tasty!!

We had a new commentator, and whilst most of us were used to David Smallshire, who I gather was leading a tour in warmer climates, sightings were called by Derek Carter. With the weather limitations he did a good job, but it took Rob and I to pick up the resident Slavonian Grebe at Cockwood!! 

Amongst the goodies and year-tick birds were plenty of Mergansers, Shags, Grey Plovers and of course the Avocets. 3 Eider in the river was out of the ordinary.

The beauty of a chartered boat is that the captain will go where the birds are, so we loitered around the sand bank to get close to the Eiders, and he took close to an area near Powderham castle where waders are often good**.     Both Godwits were spotted, and Curlew and Dunlin helped the wader list.

Purple Sandpipers were not in evidence, but the next day Mary and I spotted a good number on an outgoing tide near the Marina.

Thursday, we visited a favourite area, Seaton Marshes.   A tram on the tram preservation track, passing the tower hide windows was a nice surprise and we also had good sightings of Knot on the falling tide of the river Axe. The full rainbow was very clear

Friday was wet!! Armed with a take-away snack we sat in the RSPB car park at Labrador Bay, hoping to see Cirl Bunting. Clearly the Cirl Buntings did not want to be seen, no doubt tucked up in the dry.

But Friday was my good day for birding planning. We drove through some lightly flooded roads to Dawlish and Teignmouth to try and see the Powderham castle grounds water outfall into the Exe **, but the tide was still too high.  After dining alfresco at Labrador, we returned to Powderham, and having walked across the Plymouth main rail line, it was possible to see the exposed mud and two Greenshanks near the outfall. Worth the planning!!

Made up for it on Saturday when we went to a new site for me, Haldon forest, best known for its raptor viewpoint. My target was the feeding station, and in accordance with the web reports, I duly found a large range of bird feeders, absolutely teeming with Siskin, Even and as I watched a couple of Bramblings dropped it.

So as Janet Webb said on the Morecambe and Wise show, “It’s ALL been worthwhile!”

A good birding week..58 species, of which 19 were new for 2019, and I move on to 98 YTD.    How close to the 100 barrier......."If only……….",  but we all say that.

I’ll leave you with a birding thought for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Folk lore has it that a girl looking for a life-mate, will marry a millionaire if a Goldfinch flies over her on Valentine day,  a sparrow will signify marriage to someone who works on the land, and a Robin, a naval officer husband..

Happy Birding

A White Nun and a Barn Owl - what a combination.

Sorry there was little to report from Charante last week. I did have a news report from Napoleon Birdapart, but the news was not as exhilarating as previously.

Barney has not been seen and is rumoured to be in the hills looking for a mate. But a contra-suggestion that it may in fact not be Barney, but Betty confuses everyone.

Trouble at ‘ome suggests that Sparrows are campaigning to oust the Blue Tits from the birdhouse with a sheer show of numbers around the surrounding bushes. In turn the Sparrows are getting spooked by a large pecker that is carrying out recces on holes in the nearby Oak trees. Could this be a Middle-spotted Pecker?   More views needed + a photograph to help positive i.d.

As I write this, Wednesday 30^th January at 18.45, it is not unreasonable to say that the challenging 100 species by midnight tomorrow, is now very much a non-goer, alas. A combination of distinctly iffy weather and pressure on me to find a Tax adviser to clarify a difficult issue, has meant that Slimbridge is off the visiting list tomorrow.  I’m not letting Chris down, because she does want to be at home with John who developed a mobility problem whilst stumbling in Scotland. (Stumble? Scotland? Whisky?   Q.E.D.)

But the 100 is not the end of the world -  like the annual 200, a January 100 is just something to aim for. And of course, one can do one without the other.  I do still have high hopes for 100 by my next blog (10^th February)

I had my second Volunteer Librarian duty this morning; good job I made it through the snow and ice, because the other 2 volunteers did not make it. Baptism of fire as they say!

Saturday February 2^nd, as in 2018 I went on the DOS walk at Witches Oak. This is a working Derbyshire quarry site on the south of the A50. What is a DWT site, is only accessible to DWT and DOS authorised people, so 3 DOS members were escorted by Rod Key of the DOS and Vic from the DWT.

-1.5C was on my car thermometer at the start and it did feel like it. Wellies were the wrong decision the cold easily penetrating the rubber. However, we were all well rewarded for our endurance

with plenty of Goldeneyes, Shovellers and a pair of Goosanders.

Martin a volunteer from Willington gravel pits picked up a two Smew on one of the many lakes. A superb male with a red-head (female) and we added another redhead on the Trent later on. 

It was this tree that was the highlight  of the day………..The Witches Oak.

But it was not just the tree…… as all 5 of us neared the old tree, a Barn owl obligingly flew out of top branches and after a short circuit to decide where to go, set off South East. Rodney proclaimed it his first Barn Owl on this site, and it will no doubt be included in his DOS web site column.

… and the end of the week, Sunday 3^rd February, was to be announced that the previous night was the coldest in this spell, temperatures being well in the minuses!!

As a result, and with the road conditions being somewhat iffy, I sent Amanda my apologies that I would not be at the Carsington Bird walk, as did some 9 others of the 23 people booked. She did persevere with the stalwarts, seeing 34 species.

It did however mean that whilst pondering on life, in my study with a cup of coffee, I was able to wonder at and enjoy the sight of some c35/40 Fieldfares that decided to patronise 4/5 trees at the bottom of the garden. Very mobile, and a brilliant sight.   …and a lone Raven flying over quite high allowed me to end the week with a count currently of 78.

To-day was a special day to remember for Mary. 100 years ago, on 3^rd February 1919, her Grandparents married and started what we call the Ellis family dynasty!!

Happy Birding