March to April Update - 10th April 2013

It has been a surprisingly busy month despite the ever present icy cold grip the winter has continued to hold. Easter 2013 turned out to be the coldest on record and it started to feel like we were never going to venture outside without thermals again.A few birds did trickle in though and after the Bittern from the last post a few birds have been added to the yearlist. A couple of fly over Curlews and a few Ringed Plover were the highlights until the 12th of March when I managed to find a Rock Pipit at Clifford Hill Gravel Pits which unfortunately flew up high and east within minutes if getting onto it, and the Willow Tit I finally managed to see at Salcey Forest despite walking almost all the way round before locating one just near the car park where I had parked. Then thing quietened down again before a really good bird appeared! I received a text early on the 24th of March to say Mike Alibone had just found a Green Winged Teal at Stanwick Lakes, I shot over and met a couple of other birders who had also heard the news and after a brief search we found it. The area it was on is very hard to watch as there are a lot of little inlets that you cannot see very well from our vantage point and it just becomes a case of watching the Teal (there were LOTS of Eurasions) swimming between tufts of grass until you saw the one you were after. After this I went home and was slightly dismayed  when an Avocet was discovered at nearby Irthlingborough but as I was now off work for a week I had opened a bottle of wine mid afternoon so was unable to go (it's never a good idea to drink alcohol in daylight hours when yearlisting - it's only asking for trouble ha ha). I got up very early the next day but despite being there at sunrise I missed the Avocet and after birding the whole area for hours I couldn't relocate it. The next day I received a call from another birder who was watching the Green Winged Teal to say 3 Ruff had arrived on site too. So once again I found myself back over to Stanwick where I managed to connect with 2 of them. Then things went quiet again so I spent the next couple of days patching but not coming up with anything of note. On the Thursday I spent most of the day wandering along the Grand Union Canal before receiving another text to say 2 Common Cranes had been reported at Thorpe Waterville earlier in the afternoon. I looked at the time thinking that Thorpe Waterville is quite a drive for a report at this stage in afternoon, and I had to pick up my step daughter from school but something told me to start heading back to the car. I sent a text back to say if there had been any more news and as I watched a Goldcrest flitting around in a bush I received a text to say that not only were the Cranes still there but they were being watched by the finder right now! Common Cranes are rare in Northants and would be not only a yeartick but a countytick aswell. My slow walk became a gallop as I rushed up the tow path to get to the car. I rushed over to the school to get my step daughter Jess and we headed straight for the site. Luckily Bob Bullock had got there before me and as we reached nearer and nearer we had confirmation they were still there. Then though the text that every birder dreads! The text to say they'd flown! My heart sank but as we'd come this far (we were nearly at the site) we soldiered on and arrived to see a couple of not so happy faces standing by the road. One of these was Chris Coe and after a brief chat I told him I was heading off to the local Nature Reserve to see if they'd come down there. Almost as soon as I'd parked up at the reserve and walked down the track I received a call from Chris to say he's seen them in flight and they looked like they'd headed in my direction. Me and Jess ran around the wood and looked up just in time to see the majestic sight of 2 Common Cranes drifting low overhead. What a privalege! We watched as they slowly flew back in the direction of the field in which they were found so we got back in the car and were treated to great views of them feeding on the ground in the sunshine. Unfortunately they were quite far away so this is the best pic I could manage disiscoping - certainly won't win any awards but it will do as a record I guess.

This was now Good Friday and the start of the Easter weekend so me and my mate John returned to the site again the following morning but despite getting there early (5.45am) we were just that little bit too late as they flew before we got there and despite a very thorough search of what felt like the whole of the north of the county we failed to find them again. We also failed to locate the Green Winged Teal at Stanwick despite looking everywhere but as all the bays had completely frozen over (it had got very cold again) we didn't hold much hope for it. By lunchtime John and I went to McDonalds to make ourselves feel better - getting up early is ok so long as you see the birds you're after but unfortunately birding isn't always like that and today was one of those days. We had been fruitlessly birding for 8 hours already and the cold was starting to seep into our bones. Then I remembered the field the Avocet was found in (the one I dipped earlier in the month) and realised this area had "Teal" written all over it! Surely if the Green Winged had left Stanwick this is where it would come? So we headed over and parked up at the bottom of Lime Street in Irthlingborough and it wasn't long before I found it. Thank heavens for that! John looked a bit happier (by now I think severe depression was setting in) and I'd forgotten how cold I was. We put the news out that the bird had been relocated and was thankfully a little easier to see than before and it wasn't long before people started to file in to have a look. Saturday was spent patching again for little of note and I spent Easter Sunday relaxing - until a text came through that a drake Garganey had been found at Ecton Sewage Farm. John was already out and offered to pick me up enroute and it wasn't long before we got there getting great views of it swimming around in the stream. Here's the video below.

A bit of a "comedy" moment ensued as we arrived at the Garganey site as we accidentally spooked a Mute Swan who had only one way to go to get airborne - and that was straight towards us which only just made it. I don't know who is more surprised to see who in the next pic as I managed to get a shot as it nearly flew into me. It certainly made me duck!!

 After this my holiday was over and I spent the next week at work until the Friday when I had been invited to head down the Kent with another mate if mine called Sam. We headed down on the Friday evening so we could be up nice and early on the Saturday but once again the weather was really having an effect with almost no migration at all. One thing that was there though was a Penduline Tit that had been reported as "showing well" at Stodmarsh. Now in my experience the name Penduline Tit and the phrase "showing well" don't really go together, in fact after dipping twice the phrase "showing at all" would have been a welcome one. The first dip was last year when me and John went to Marston Vale reserve and watched reed constantly for several hours not to see it and I have to admit the whole experience kind of put me off. As there wasn't much about in Kent though and the thought of finally life ticking this bird just proved too good an opportunity to miss so we headed over first thing, and I am so glad we did. When we arrived the only information we had was that the Penduline liked the area around the boardwalk, so first things first we had to find the said boardwalk. Luckily the map in the car park was quite informative and we headed for the area were a boardwalk was obviously present and hoped this was it. We stood on the board walk for a while still not sure if were in the right place before a couple of other birders arrived and confirmed this was where the bird was seen - but sometimes around the corner too. So after we'd spent what seemed like hours (but was in fact about 45 minutes) we headed around the corner and almost straight away Sam picked it up in a bush. At last a Penduline Tit and I can see it! Trying had to contain my excitement we enjoyed great views of it preening itself before it flew into the reeds. The other 2 birders we had met left when this happened but something was telling me to stay. I wanted a better view as although the view in the bush was good it was still slightly obscured and the pictures I had seen on the net were quite often of the bird feeding on the seed heads of the reeds. As me and Sam waited in the cold we talked and looked around before my eye caught something on one of the reeds infront of us. I couldn't believe my eyes and I think the video below speaks for itself.

I keep watching this video over and over as I still can' believe the view we got. To watch it pulling out clumps of seeds with it's foot like it does at the start was incredible. We watched it like this for quite a while before we left it in peace - what a little cracker! We spent the rest of the day birding Kent with a highlight of a self found Purple Sandpiper (which I was jumping through hoops about until I found out they aren't that unusual around here) and the impressive sights of large numbers of Dunlin and Black Tailed Godwits on the mudflats. It was a great day just ambling around and seeing what we could see. The Purple Sandpiper is below.

 The next day we headed back to Northants with the hope of  seeing a previously reported summer plumage Black Necked Grebe but we dipped, the first Sand Martins of the year though made up for it slightly. Unfortunately all this cold weather and early starts had taken it's toll and the cold I had for over a week turned into Bronchitis. I had to nip to the chemists to stock up on more painkillers (it was turning into serious man flu) and while I was on my way out Steve Fisher called to say he'd had a very good morning indeed. He'd managed to find not only another sum plum Black Necked Grebe but also a male Firecrest! I was in two minds whether to go or not as I did feel really ill at this point but I did have to leave the house anyway to get to the chemist and luckily both the birds were right by the road so I headed off. The Firecrest was just by the road entrance to the disused railway line under the A6 bridge near Stanwick Lakes, and when I got there other birders were already thumbing up to say it was still there. Steve Fisher and Big Jake got me onto it pretty much straight away and I was awarded with the sight of this amazing little gem flitting around in the Willow Trees. What a stunning bird and I don't believe you could ever tire of watching them. What they lack in size they certainly make up for in character and colour. I watched it for quite a long time and rattled off some passable shots like this one below.

From here I headed to the Stanwick Lakes car park to try and see the Black Necked Grebe. By now I was really flagging with the Bronchitis but Steve mentioned the bird had headed into the south east corner of the lake which as luck would have it was right next the car park. I headed up through the screen where I knew there was a bay and hey presto! Right under the trees infront of me a glorious looking Black Necked Grebe was almost sparkling in the sunlight. We normally only get these in the winter when they look fairly drab and the only other sum plum Black Necked I'd seen in the county was so distant at Pitsford Reservoir you couldn't appreciate it like you could this one. To add to it I even managed to get it to pose for the photo below.

Anyway things are now looking up. The weather is changing finally for the warmer and I'm finally starting to feel better too. I've seen my first butterflies of the year with 2 Peacocks and a Comma so it looks like spring is finally around the corner!

Bittern at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and the Great White Egret at Pitsford - Sunday 3rd March 2013

County yearlisting can sometimes be a frustrating business. Not seeing birds you should be able to see easily  (it took me a full 6 months last year to see Kingfisher) and also having to re-look for those hard to see species that can take a lot of time and effort to finally get a glimpse of. Chief among these is Bittern! Bitterns aren't that unusual in Northants during the winter but that doesn't make them any easier to see. I have been lucky enough in the past to have some good views in the county, in fact the best views of Bitterns I have ever had have all been "in county" with at least 3 on the deck but most of the views I have had elsewhere in the UK have been fly overs. So knowing this year I was going to have to see one to add it to the list I was very pleased when a bird appeared at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and seemed to stay in the same spot fro over a week. My mate John Friendship-Taylor had been texting me to say he'd seen it the previous day while I was on a twitch to see the Pied Billed Grebe so I got up early and arrived on site just after dawn. I had to wait a while, in fact and hour passed while I patiently scanned backwards and forward along the reed fringe, but eventually I spotted a movement behind the dead tree. The movement came closer and then a Bittern climbed up over a trunk and stood out in the open. Fantastic! What a view! It slowly moved it's head down to the water and tilted it's head to one side as it dipped the side of it's bill into the water and had a drink. I then had at least half an hour of incredible views as it crept around while snaking it's head around the cover to look for fish. I did manage to capture a video which I have included below, apologies for the shake but it's Iphone Digiscoped - it also comes more into view about halfway through and I recommend you set it to the highest picture quality you can too!

After this successful start to the morning I then went over to Pitsford Reservoir to see what was about. I wasn't after anything in particular but after yesterdays twitching I had to an urge to bird a site for the rest of the day. I had a slow walk round the whole of the nature reserve and then after meeting up with John we had a walk around Maidwell but there wasn't much about of note, wildlfowl numbers had really diminished at Pitsford as the recent cold snap had covered a lot of the water with ice. The Great White Egret that had spent  the winter here though did put on a real show as it flew up and down Walgrave Bay. It was a nice relaxing end to a manic weekends chasing rare birds. I'll leave this post with a pic of the Great White Egret giving one of it's many "fly by's" of the morning.

Pied Billed Grebe, Rose Coloured Starling and a Flock of Cirl Buntings - Saturday 2nd March 2013

Since returning from Scotland a bird has turned up in Britain that I have been very eager to see. As you may have read before I have a selection of what I call "childhood birds" that I have been wanting to see since I'd first seen them in the bird books I used to read as a kid. Pied Billed Grebe is one of them! The last close bird was the Manchester one a few years ago but a combination of an unreliable car and working full time meant that by the time I was able to go the bird had gone. So when a Pied Billed Grebe was seen at the Ham Wall Reserve in Somerset I was very keen to go. Only trouble is a touch of "deja vu" was reoccurring as my cars brakes had failed and were awaiting repair and the days at work were starting to mean that this may be another dip. Fortunately though a weekend was becoming free and luckily the bird was still there, also an email conversation a birding friend of mine who said he would like to see the Pied Billed too meant a trip was on the cards too. So on the Saturday of the 2nd of March Martyn Hopper picked me up from Northampton and we made our way to Somerset. We made good time to the reserve and after a few hours drive we were walking along the path towards the second viewing platform. Almost straight away we saw the Pied Billed Grebe on the far side of the lake and we had good but fairly distant views as it dived and swam backwards and forward along the opposite bank. Eventually it swam into the reeds and it looked like the show may have been over. Most of the birders left at this point but we decided to stay along with a handful of other guys just to enjoy what else was about. A Bittern was booming from the nearby reedbeds and as we were scanning through the wildfowl someone had noticed the Pied Billed Grebe had swam out of the reeds. As we all got onto the bird we watched it swim between the reed islands and then swim in our direction (there was an area of reeds infront of the watchpoint where we were standing) and as it did so it paused, threw it's head back and started to display! What a privilege to be able to witness this in Britain! It called a few times as it waved it's head back and forth displaying the black throat patch before swimming purposefully to the reeds in front of us and vanishing among them. Here's a couple of dodgy record shots IPhone scoped during the display.

After having the best views we could have asked for we decided to make a move and head down to Exminster to see the Rose Coloured Starling. Once again the traffic seemed to be on our side and it didn't take long to get to the site. We parked at the bottom of Millbury Lane and walked back up the hill. Fortunately a few birders had beaten us to it and pointed out the Rose Coloured Starling perching on a branch in it's favourite bush. It was nice to see that it was moulting out of it's 1st winter plumage and into adult with a slight hint of pink in the birds feathers. It was fairly mobile and after it first flew we hung around for it to return, and when it did it helpfully posed for a few photo's.

As we were in the area we decided to head even further south to try and find Cirl Bunting's. Luckily one of the birders at the Rose Coloured Starling was a local and he informed us of the nearest reliable site so this is where we headed. We arrived at Labrador Bay RSPB reserve and started to bird the area. A stubble field was next to the car park and we gave this most of our attention as we scanned the hedgrerows. The birds flock together in the winter so it was just a question of finding them but we saw very little as we walked along the south side of the field. As we were unfamiliar with the site it was a question of trying to find our way around and luckily we noticed a footpath heading north between the fields and it looked a little more sheltered from the cold wind coming in off the sea. As we walked along the path it became apparent we were heading in the right direction as the numbers of birds started to increase. A flock of Linnets were doing the rounds and while looking at these the sound of a singing Cirl Bunting came from the corner of the field. We walked further along to be greeted by the sight of a few female Cirls in the hedge and eventually a male could be seen. Martyn picked out at least 4 males Cirls feeding in the field before they all flew into the hedge and we got great scope views with a couple allowing a few pics before they crept into the cover. It looked like we had got here just in time as the birds were starting to roost. They all seemed to face into the hedge so their brown mottled backs camoflauged their brightly coloured faces making them very difficult to see once they'd settled down. In fact we saw a couple of walkers wander within feet of a few roosting Cirls without them moving a muscle such is their faith in their camo. I managed a couple of pics in the fading light.

As it was starting to get dark we started the drive home. It had been an incredible day with the added bonus of getting another of my "childhood birds" ticked off - in fact it's just Bee Eater now to complete the line of birds I had always wanted to see when I was a child and never thought I'd ever be able to see for myself. Of course many thanks go to Martyn for taking me down there in the first place and for driving all that way on his own - I think all the coffee's we had en route may have helped!

Northants Otter Sightings - 20th February 2013

Have you been lucky enough to see an Otter in Northants? If so then the Wildlife trusts BCN would like your sightings. After a discussion with a member who works there I have come up with the idea of using sightings from local people in order to help the Wildlife Trusts gain a better understanding of the populations of Otters in the county. To avoid disturbance abd the threat of persecution none of the sightings will be openly publicised but they will all be forwarded to the relevant people at the Wildlife Trusts who have requested the information.

All sightings would be useful (including any seen killed on the road as this is a big factor in Otter mortality). Also if possible please include as much of the following as you can -
1. How many Otters were there.
2. The time and date of the sighting.
3. The exact location (and grid reference if known).
4. What age and sex were they?
5. The name of the person who made the sighting and include a contact email address or phone number (all contact details will be treated with confidence and forwarded along with the sighting to the Trusts)

So if you are lucky enough to see an Otter in Northants please help out a very good cause and report the sighting to -

northantsotters@yahoo.co.uk 

I will be keeping a copy of this post in the column on the right for future reference.

An amazing trip to Scotland - 5th - 9th February 2013

I normally try and get up to Scotland every other year or so and as I am sure anyone who has been can confirm it is a stunning place with equally stunning wildlife. I also have a friend up there (Matt Whitelocke) who very conveniently lives in Fort William, right on the doorstep of the west coast! One of the last birds for me to see in Scotland is Ptarmigan (the other being Dotterel which I am hoping to pick up on passage down here if they stay still long enough for me to see them!) and I decided last year to head up to try and see them. My mate John Friendship-Taylor also offered to join me on the visit so the flights were booked and we headed on our way.The original plan was to get to Glen Shea as soon as we landed which is a well known site for Ptarmigan but the recent bad weather had meant that the roads were closed due to heavy snow. So we headed straight for Fort William with a stop in the evening to look around the local loch. Nothing much of note was here but we did have excellent views of an Otter fishing on the far side. As the previous weeks Scottish weather had been inclement to say the least we soon realised the forecast was going to play a major factor in the trips planning. As the following days weather looked the best for the week we decided to use this to our advantage and go looking for Eagles on the Isle of Mull, so up nice and early we headed over on the ferry (with a quick stop to look at a Dipper and search for the Black Duck at Strontian, I had it in flight in the distance but the view was rubbish) and after a quick breakfast roll in a cafe we soon found ourselves on the banks of Loch Don. Lots of birds were in front of us and while we were going through them John happened to look up at the right time to see an adult White Tailed Sea Eagle soaring over our heads. The weather now was superb with blue sky and bright sun so the views we got of the eagle were incredible as it soared over the loch. We left here to see a Golden Eagle high over a mountain and then another one much further down fly over the road. We then drove around to Loch Na Keal occasionally stopping along the way to look for birds on the water. It wasn't long before we stopped to scan for Divers and after me and Matt got back in the car John noticed another Golden Eagle right over the top of us. We jumped out of the car to take a look and then gt back into the car only for John to excitedly shout that a White tailed Eagle was now soaring in too. Matt and me jumped back out of the car in such a hurry with binocular and camera straps getting caught on indicator stalks and hand brake levers in a sort of comedy moment you only normally see in a Carry On film to see the White tailed Eagle coming in which was then closely followed by another one really low down. The second bird flew nicely in front of the cliff face allowing for some decent pics.

After this amazing show put on by the White Tailed Eagles we had a leisurely drive around the island taking in all the Rock Pipits, Great Northern Divers and Slav Grebes etc. along with an incredibly confiding Otter which not only came onto the rock in front of us but even stood there taking a look!

 We then got the ferry back to the mainland in an effort to try and refind the Black Duck for a better view but unfortunately despite there being lots of Mallard we couldn't find it. It was an fantastic day though, in fact one of those days where nearly everything just seems to go right. The Thursday was ear marked as a day to try and get to Glen Shea for the Ptarmigan but the roads were all still closed due to heavy snow so we decided on Plan B and have a look at Cairngorm. I tweeted a few people I found on Twitter for info and the response was a mixed blessing. A couple of people confirmed they were in the North Corries but that was closely followed by an avalanche warning! We decided to go over and have a look, perhaps giving the North Corries a miss and looking from the top of the railway instead. The drive there produced an unexpected surprise in the large dark shape of a Black Grouse flying up from the side of the road. It then flew up into the top of a tree closely followed by another one. We were luckily near a layby so we pulled over and had a good look through the scopes while they picked at the branches. It was certainly a surprise to see them and we have since found out that they come down to the roads at night to get the salt put down from the gritter lorries. We stopped at a shop in Aviemore and the front page of a local paper confirmed the danger of these mountains with a report of 3 people being rescued. We got to the ski centre and took a look round in the direction of the North Corries to see what we could see. Luckily the weather was once again pretty good and as quite a few people were walking around out there we headed off around the ridge so we can have a better look. We met a dog walker who mentioned he saw Ptarmigan regularly further north on the slopes so we headed off bumping into a few trekkers on the way keeping an ever present eye on the conditions after the warning we had. Quite a lot of Red Grouse were up here which really stuck out in the snow and as we walked further up the numbers started to grow smaller which hopefully meant we were no getting into Ptarmigan territory. Another couple of walkers passed us and one of them asked if we'd been higher up taking pictures as they'd seen a few photographers up there. This was very good news so we went further up and on the ridge in front of us we could see some long lenses all pointing in the same direction and following their line of sight in the scope I managed to pick up a small group of Ptarmigan on the rocks! They looked pretty amazing in the white plumage and while we was admiring these a Ptarmigan called to our left. John looked up just in time to see it land and managed to get it in the snow (it's harder than it sounds looking for a pure white bird in the snow!). This one was quite close but there was also one even closer which was calling but we just couldn't find it in the snow. Never mind we certainly had our fill of the one we could see.

We thenreturned to the ski centre to enjoy a pint of Guinness and watch the flock of Snow Buntings on the picnic tables.

We had a bit of time to kill now as we had booked into a Pine Martin watch in the nearby forest so we drove down the road and took in some of the beautiful landscape. An icy Loch Morlich was a nice peaceful place to stop for a while.

Unfortunately the Pine Martin watch didn't produce anything, and I do mean anything (unless you count a fleeting view of a mouse seen by Matt) but we were told we can come back and give it another go at a later date. The next day we decided to spend on the west coast so after a quick breakfast in Fort William and of course feed the local Gull and Hooded Crow population with sausage rolls we headed up to Mallaig in the hope of some white winged Gulls. Unfortunately we timed it completely wrong and there wasn't many Gulls there, certainly no white wings but it was still a great place to explore as the Gulls that were didn't mind being approached. A Black Backed Gull had obviously fed on something that hadn't long died and the blood was still on its face a bill.

A Herring Gull also almost refused to move no matter how close we got to it. I do enjoy taking good pics of common birds as taking a look at home can cast the birds in a different light and I think you can see them a bit differently. Take the Hooded Crow for example too, Matt doesn't give them a second glance as he sees them all the time but to us they're something special. I love Gulls anyway, in fact they are one of my favourite birds - not just because of the way they look but also because of the way they act! They're very charasmatic!

Another treat in the area was the raft of Eider feeding in the harbour. They were busy feeding by a boat and were quite comical in the way they were going about it. That fantastic noise they make and then they all dive in the same place together. I have no idea why they do this all at the same time but watch the vid below to see what I mean.

We then spent the rest of the day having a relaxing day birding this area of coastline. Lots of Great Northern and Red Throated Diver in the secluded Lochs with quite a lot of Slavonian Grebe too before heading back round to Strontian but yet again still no sign of the Black Duck but we did have a juvenile White Tailed Eagle fly across the Loch and perch up in a tree. Eventually (after about 40 minutes of sitting still) it flew down and went for a fish by the shore but prey saw predator in time and shot off with a splash before the Eagle had got to it. It then sat around on the rocks again before something else caught it's eye and it flew up and over the loch. A splash on the surface showed it was another unsuccessful hunt and this time it flew over the Loch and around the corner out of sight. The next day was to be our last unfortunately but luckily for us turned out to be a very good one. We were doing the east coast this time and headed straight for Dingwall to try and see the Ring Billed Gull. It had been reported on a boating lake so studying google maps on the iphone we found where we were meant to be looking, and after grabbing a few loaves from the local supermarket we were soon stood lobbing out bread and surrounded by Gulls. Only trouble is the Ring Billed Gull wasn't with them. We gave it a good hour but realised if we stayed much longer it would seriously limit what else we could do that day so we made a decision to carry on birding elsewhere and return back to Dingwall later in the day. We headed from here to Chanonry Point with a quick stop at Fortrose on the way. A few Long tailed Duck off Fortrose Harbour and some Slav Grebes were nice finds, with one of the Slav Grebes really close to the walkway.

Then we drove down to car park at the end of Chanonry Point to be greeted by the sight of 2 Dolphins a small way off shore with 2 more coming around the point. Great to see and especially so easily. More Long tailed Duck were off shore with a few Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver on the far side. I did manage to get this shot of one of the Dolphins as it came up for air.

From here we drove round to the Udale Bay area having a quick look at Cromarty Bay first. Huge rafts of Scaup were present here, in fact they were everywhere! My only previous experience with Scaup has been twitching the odd 1 or 2 on local reservoirs so to see so many was a great. As the tide was starting to go out (it was high tide when we got here) we quickly went round to Udale. Lots of Dunlin and Knot, Bar Wit, Curlew, Teal and Wigeon were present and not long after we sat down the Birdguides App on the phone beeped saying very coincidently "American Wigeon, Udale Bay, in front of hide at 10.30"!! This was an amazing piece of luck. I can't remember ever getting any rare bird news just as I sat down in the hide it was in front of! We all scanned methodically going through all the Wigeon before John managed to pick it out first. We watched the bird for a while and then our attention was drawn to the Ring Billed Gull once again. Arriving in Dingwall we first went to sample the well recommended Fish and Chips and then headed back to the boating pond. Just one bird was sat on it and as I got closer I put the bins on it to show it was a Common Gull, this was encouraging as there wasn't any Common Gulls there in the morning so perhaps a few more Gulls had come into the area. As we got closer though something told me to have another look at the Common Gull, I couldn't believe my eyes! Sitting on the water wasn't a Common Gull at all but the Ring Billed Gull. I can't express just how happy I was, I have chased a couple of Ring Billed Gulls in the past and dipped them all and now I had one sitting in the water right in front of me. The few feet or so I had got closer to it was enough to show the bill pattern more clearly. We lobbed a load of bread out which it seemed to appreciate before it did a few laps of the pond and after a heart stopping moment when we thought it was off landed on a pole just behind us. It did quite a few laps and we got some good flight shots including some shots of the underwing, and then it flew into the middle of the pond and landed on a small post in the water. This was perfect and as the bird felt safe we could get closer to take some good shots. Here's a pic of the Ring Billed Gull along with a short video, the last pic is of the underwing showing the primary mirror pattern.

After this we spent the evening back at the Pine Martin hide but once again no sign. Great views of Red Deer and Badgers but no Pine Martins! Never mind I guess it doesn't do to see it all in one go and it also of course gives me a good excuse to get back up here and see them. One thing I may add though as a foot note is regarding the Ptarmigan. You may notice that after the avalanche warning we were directly told about we did take a calculated risk when we went to see the bird. We kept an eye on the weather and the conditions while we were there and always knew the way back if conditions worsened. What I am saying is if you do get a warning like this please take them seriously, after we flew home we got to learn of the sad news that 48 hours after we were there a blizzard caused a white out in which they had to evacuate the mountain. During the blizzard a group of walkers got into trouble which lead to 1 fatality and the other 5 spending the night in treacherous conditions before being rescued the following day (the blizzard was so bad the rescue services couldn't reach them) - this was just around the corner from where we were looking at the Ptarmigan. Certainly made us think anyway as that could have been us. Anyway on a much lighter note it's time for the obligatory group shot, John Frienship-Taylor on the left, me in the middle and Matt Whitelocke with the camera on the right. Great landscape, great birds and of course great company! Good birding all and stay safe.

The 2013 Northants Yearlist Off To A Flying Start - 14th January 2013

Last year I started a yearlist for the first time, and to try and save a bit of money I kept it local and concentrated on my home county of Northants. The experience has been superb and I am now thoroughly addicted to county birding. Yearlisting can be very frustrating at times due to working full time which can often lead to a panicked dash to a reserve to see a bird after work before it gets dark, but the rewards can be great with an increased knowledge of the local area and a good sense of pride in seeing the bird in the home county. Sure anyone can drive a car around the country to see some of the birds I have got very excited about with relative ease but for some reason now that doesn't give quite the sense of achievement in seeing one out of place here in Northants. I finished 2012 on 169, I tried and tried to add Woodcock to hit the 170 but failed. Some good birds are on the list too with Bonaparte's Gull, Spotted Crake and Richard's Pipit being lifers and White Fronted Goose, Black Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Brent Goose, and Tree Pipit being county firsts for me. It just goes to show that with a bit of effort some really good birds can be seen. Memorable parts of the first year include being eaten alive by mosquito's while spending several nights in the reedbed at Stanwick lakes trying to see the Spotted Crake, waking up at 3am to make sure I got to Boddington Reservoir at first light to try and see the Bonaparte's Gull (luckily it was still there), charging over to Daventry to see Pied Flycatcher and Black Redstart after work and seeing both without much searching and luckily I was looking in the right place at the right time to see the Bittern fishing in the reeds at Summer Leys - in fact the list is endless. Downsides was the constant Woodcock dips, Hen Harriers dips and spending 6 hours trying to find a Firecrest in the freezing cold - but then of course it would be as much fun if it was easy. I did pop out of county to take a few pictures of Waxwings while having a break from last years xmas shopping in Milton Keynes which I shall post a few below. As I work in MK self finding Waxwings is pretty easy as I do spend all day driving around the areas they like to frequent and found some fairly large flocks over the December and Jan with a conservative count of 120 (there were easily more but only got to 120 when they all flew) at the Hilton Hotel at Kents Hill in MK being the largest. Here is a couple of pics of the Waxwings in Bletchley just before xmas at the Perry's Peugeot Garage along Bilton Road.

This year though I feel much better prepared and the yealist is already flying ahead of last year. In fact as of today, the 14th Jan, I am already on 102 for the year. Luckily a lot of the birds I have found it hard to see last year I have already got with Kingfisher seen on the first day (it took me 6 months for some reason last year to finally see one), Crossbill ( again took the best part of the year but I managed to see 11 on the first weekend of Jan this year) and finally last weekend I managed to see a Woodcock at Maidwell. I managed to get out on New Years Day and spent all day birding various sites with Great White Egret and Smew being the best birds of the day. A walk to work soon after produced a Barn Owl hunting along the path infront of me in the dark and the following weekend got Scaup at Ditchford, Slavonian Grebe at Pitsford, Crossbill at Wakerley Wood, Bearded Tit and Peregrine at Ecton Sewage farm, and later in the day Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin and both Iceland and Glaucous Gulls (Iceland Gull gave me the right run around last year too!) in the one evening. The Ecton Bearded Tits were showing very well along the edge of the reeds and I managed to grab this out of focus  record shot of the male (I really need to work on my photography skills).

Luckily Waxwings are still plentiful and we haven't found it too difficult to connect with them here in Northants with a scattering of them at Burton Latimer, a single bird at Fineshade Green and some very confiding ones along the A43 near Fineshade. The Sunday of the 13th saw me and my mate John head over to Blatherwyke churchyard to try and see the Hawfinch that had been reported the previous day. I am pleased to say we didn't have to wait too long before John managed to see one which then flew into a tree where another 4 had already landed. Hawfinch are a county first for me too so to see 5 birds sitting very nicely out in the open in a tree very close was a real treat - far better views than I have ever had at Lynford Arboretum in Norfolk. Here's a dodgy pic of one of the male Hawfinch, sorry the quality isn't very good but it's phone digiscoped and the light was appalling.

A pair of Mandarin took a lot more searching than was expected at the lake but it meant on this particular day we seemed to be on a roll. Hollowell reservoir got us male Stonechat and a very nice looking Caspian Gull first noticed by John and then we went off to dip yet another Hen Harrier at Harrington Airfield. In the late afternoon we ended up having a real surprise in the shape of a pair of Tawny Owls sitting right out in the open in almost broad daylight - I'm not going to say where as they were right next to a nest box. So that is the story so far, listing will be a real challenge though this year as a change around at work will mean I shall be finishing later so those mid week birds in spring will be a real challenge. Lets hope they will all hang around until the weekends! Good birding all and I know its a bit late but have a happy new year too.

Waxwings, A Great White Egret And A Short Eared Owl - Sunday 18th November 2012

News had been trickling out over the previous week that a small group of Waxwings had been frequenting the berry bushes near Homebase at Sixfields in Northampton. As mentioned in the previous post my birding is becoming limited to the weekends now as the nights rolling in means I cannot get out of work in daylight. I did manage to get to the area on the Wednesday night after work at dusk but to no avail. Also on the Saturday morning I had to pick up a parcel at the nearby post office and gave the site a look but didn't find any. I then received a text an hour later to say they were there but they had turned up in a different area of the estate but as once again I was at work I couldn't do much about it. I received a steady stream of texts and tweets from various people throughout the afternoon but as I was at work I couldn't do too much about. It did though give me an idea of their movements around the estate. As they had been there for a few days now I was feeling fairly confident that I would be able to catch up with them on the Sunday so a plan was made with John Friendship Taylor and he got to mine first thing in the morning. We headed to the car park next to Sixfields Lake and started to head east in the direction they were seen in late on the previous afternoon. The morning was absolutely gorgeous with beautiful clear blue sky, no wind, and generous layer of frost. This has to be one of my favourite times of year - I just love the crunch of frost under foot and the crisp bite of the air on morning like this.

Lots of birds were about too with lots of winter Thrushes and flocks of Finches flying about. As we started to wander along the side of the lake I had a scan with the binoculars and noticed a flock of birds flying quite high up but sticking close together. The largest number of Waxwings seen yesterday was 14 but with this flock there was over 20 and as they were flying so high I was starting to wonder they were in fact just Starlings. Then though a moment of luck! They stopped flying round and round and started to fly in a straight line, straight towards us! Luckily John had managed to get his scope on them by now and got  good view as they flew along the lake and passed us and he confirmed they were indeed the Waxwings we were after. We then watched them fly into a tree behind us so we raced back along the path to view them. We counted 25 in all and they looked fantastic in the morning sunshine. Unfortunately they were perched too far apart for a group shot of them all but I did manage to get a couple of record shots. Apologies for the not so good quality but the pics are cropped and taken on the phone.

After spending about 20 minutes enjoying the Waxwings they all took off and headed towards the Lift Tower so we headed back towards the car park. By now other birders had started to arrive in order to see these birds and it then turned into a Northants birdwathers social event with a lot of faces turning up with some I hadn't seen for a while. Mike Alibone, Bob Bullock, Douglas Macfarlane (who incidently writes a great blog which you should really check out!!), Jon and Kirsty Philpot and Keith Tinworth making up the numbers. After getting our fill of socialising and enjoying the very showy Redpoll on the opposite side of the river John and me headed over to Harrington Airfield. John quickly picked up on a couple of Crossbill calling over the pine trees near the memorial which was nice as they were very vocal if not showy. A quick yomp around the area though started to show that the Crossbill may have been the highlight of the area. Lots of Linnets near the sunflower area by the straw bales and some very nice looking Brambling (we counted 5 with 3 females and 2 males) feeding on the grain put out by the entrance along the concrete track was a nice addition. After this we decided to take a trip to Pitsford Reservoir to see the Great White Egret that had turned up. It is easy to get complacent about these birds in Northants as they seem to be remarkably regular visitors to the county. Luckily for us it didn't take much finding as standing in the trees directly opposite the causeway was a stonking great white bird, in fact you really didn't need to use the binoculars to see what it was. Great scope views were to be had but no pics unfortunately as they are a nightmare to get a decent photo of, especially when you're trying to digiscope them with an IPhone - the brightness of the bird along with the darkness of the background makes exposing one almost impossible. From here we nipped off for lunch and after a large Big Mac we headed over to Blueberry Farm near Maidwell to see if any Short Eared Owls were about. The area is brilliant for Owls as mentioned in previous posts, and it is a site I look forward to coming to for it's peace and quiet along with the fantastic birds the area has to offer. Unfortunately though this romantic ideal was shattered by the sound of a trials bike warming up on the Hanging Houghtin to Cottersbrooke Road. As we stood by the southern field the sound of this bike, which was then quickly joined by another one, became infuriating. Constant revving and speeding up and down the road were soon the only sound we could hear. A Barn Owl didn't seem to be paying too much attention to the racket and was hunting silently around the field but then the bikes got closer and therefore got louder. I would just like to point out that I am not a spoil sport and I appreciate that the countryside is there to be enjoyed by a variety of people but the behaviour of this pair was awful. They were basically trying to make as much noise as they could, which to be honest I could have put up with if they stuck to the road, but they didn't. The first part of the off roading consisted of riding up and down the neighbouring farmers fields, then going backwards and forwards along the road and then they decided to head onto the Blueberry farm complex. This area is set up as a refuge for raptors so to watch someone ride straight through the middle of it on a trials bike with mud flying everywhere is a sad sight indeed. With a complete disregard they road off the footpath and headed straight across one of the fields, road around the tree with an Owl Box and across the next field and then returned in pretty much the same way. Perhaps if they had stopped we could have explained to them the impact they could be having, but to honest and perhaps a little prejudgemental I doubt if they would have listened. Anyway we met the land owners daughter as we returned back up to the farm area and we related what we had seen. As she has received more and more witness statements regarding the disturbance these guys are causing the ball is starting to be rolled to get these guys stopped, i just hope it successful. I'm not against people trial biking at all - just not on important wintering grounds for birds! Anyway I have finished the rant now. As it got dark we kept scanning the fields in the area and as the light had almost completely faded we saw a bird flying along the hedge. I managed to get the binoculars on it just in time to see the distinctive face of a Short Eared Owl flying towards us before flying up and over the hedge into the dark. It had been a good day with some very nice birds, I will admit it was marred slightly by the incident with the bikes but hey I guess we can't have the whole of the countryside to ourselves.

Bonaparte's Gull at Boddington Reservoir - It's Been A Funny Weekend! Sunday the 4th November 2012

Due to me working full time, and the nights are now rolling in, my birding is limited to my days off. To be honest I hate it as birding after a hard day at work is one of my ways of winding down but as there isn't much i can do about it I guess I have to accept it. Accepting it is hard though when you receive a text to say a Bonaparte's Gull has been found mid week on a county reservoir. As I knew that being able to see it would be impossible until I had a day off I tried to put it to the back of my mind, and on the Friday a blank was drawn by the people searching the roost. So on the Saturday my mind was made up to head to completely the opposite end of the county to see what had arrived. I knew that due to social commitments I couldn't make the Boddington roost anyway (while days birding are rare in the winter months, time off with my wife are even rarer), but frustration was setting in early on as the predicted "prolonged spells of sunshine" had in fact turned into prolonged, heavy and relentless rain! I went to Fermyn Woods as it is one of my favourite places in the autumn. The berries around here provide a feast to the wintering thrushes as they move in, and the added bonus of the chance of a Hawfinch is also a draw. Despite the rain I put the waterproofs on and soldiered on regardless, and I am glad I did as the amount of Redwing was pretty incredible but despite scouring the flocks I couldn't find anything other than the odd Fieldfare. The Jays here were also putting on quite a good show too, perching often right out in the open in their quest for Acorns. All the normal Tit and Finch species were present along with quite a few Siskin (one individual showing very nicely at the top of a Birch Tree singing in the sunshine). In the evening as I was preparing to head to a house warming party I received a phone call to say the Bonaparte's Gull was back at the Gull roost. By then though I wouldn't have reached the site before nightfall anyway (as well as ruining the families plans for the evening) so I went out and started to think of a plan to get there very early in the morning instead as that was going to be my last day off for 5 days. I woke up very early and headed to Boddington reservoir reaching the site before daybreak. This posed another problem as I have never been here before in daylight let along in the dark. I found a car park and headed down a path all the time hearing the disconcerting noise of Gulls already leaving the roost above my head. My plan this morning was to be perfectly honest a bit of a shot in the dark as Gulls normally do leave roosts early on, and by the time there is any kind of light they are quite often all gone - but if you don't try then you won't succeed! The path went passed the yacht club and eventually I found a gate on the right, I have no idea if i was supposed to go through it but I did anyway, and soon found myself on the shoreline with a good view of the water. To my relief a lot of the Gulls were still on the water and a large raft of Gulls could be seen by the dam. I scanned from left the right, and then from right to left and back again before finally finding a bird in among all the Black Heads that was noticeably smaller than the others. It had it's back to me but zooming in on the scope also showed it to have a darker mantle than the others too! "Could this be it?" I asked myself and gradually the bird rotated round in the water showing a distinctive black ear spot and a small black bill. This was it! I couldn't quite believe my luck and I managed a few more  minutes of viewing before it before it flew up and over the dam with a lot of the other Black headed Gulls vacating the roost. As the weather wasn't too good and the early morning light was a little dull I couldn't grab any decent pics but luckily local birder Bob Bullock managed to get these images on the previous evening showing the Bonaparte's. You can see the smaller size, darker mantle, distinct black ear spot and small black bill not only clearly in these pics, but as an added bonus you can compare the features with the Black Headed Gulls surrounding it.

Bonaparte's Gull, Boddington Reservoir, Northants - c.Bob Bullock

Bonaparte's Gull, Boddington Reservoir, Northants - c.Bob Bullock

Bonaparte's Gull, Boddington Reservoir, Northants - c.Bob Bullock

The weather then proceeded to turn nasty again so I went home and watched the Grand Prix while the rain poured and poured. Eventually it eased of so I spent the final part of the day at one of my local patches Clifford Hill. I am pleased to say winter is starting to arrive here too with a large flock of Golden Whirling around. I did the check for anything more juicy but to no avail. Also the Lapwings are now forming larger flocks, with about a hundred or so doing constant laps of the gravel pit whenever anything disturbed them. Another nice surprise was a single drake Goosander having a preen on the central peninsular, this being the first one of the winter for me. Not a bad weekend despite the weather, with the added benefit of a lifer too! 

Spotted Crake, Merlin, and a Richards Pipit in Northants - another long awaited update.

Once again it has been a while since the last post. I have been very busy with "other things" and consequently  birding and blogging about it has had to take a bit of a back seat over the last couple of months. Things are getting back to a bit of normality now though so hopefully things will be back to normal. Still as always I have been able to grab the odd trip out to see some good birds despite the others things happening (my marriage and a house move!). I finally managed to see a Spotted Crake in the reedbed at Stanwick Lakes on the 13th September. Thus was a relief all round as I had spent several evenings in the this place in vain, getting a lot of mosquito bites on the way, after Stanwick Lakes patcher Steve Fisher had found one. In fact my back became the talking point of a few Northants birders due to it having 42 bites on it! Anyway most of the local birders gave up after a weeks or so of negative news so it was quite a surprise to receive a phone call saying a Spotted Crake was showing well a few weeks after the initial sighting. It's believed that this is a different bird to the previous one, and was a painful text to receive as I was at work at the time. I finished work as quickly as I could and managed to arrive on site just after 5pm to be rewarded with incredible views of the Spotted Crake walking about right out in the open in front of the reeds. After 45 minutes of very good viewing it crept back into the reeds again and then proceeded to show intermittently for the rest of the evening allowing a few more birders a look at it. The pics really not the best but you can just make out the bird in the lower left hand corner of the pic below.

The next major outing was a quick trip to Norfolk (27th September) with my usher (Matt Whitelocke) to pick up the best man (Kieran Nixon) for my rapidly approaching wedding. We had a good day with some good birds, nothing major but the seawatching was superb with Arctic Skuas, Bonxies and a Sabine's Gull drifting around. At this point I got married, had a few days away and then proceeded to move house. On the 6th of October while I was taking a break from lifting heavy boxes I received a text from the county recorder, Mike Alibone, to say a Richard's Pipit had been found at Borough Hill near Daventry. I knew that if I didn't go for it I would almost certainly miss the bird, so with a quick explanation to my new wife (and a lot of convincing) I shot over to the Hill to be greeted with a large area covered in long grass. It was clear from the outset that this was not going to be easy! Chris Coe, a local birder, was just returning to his car and pointed in the general direction to where he had last seen it fly. By now quite a few other birders had arrived so we decided to split up and search the area. We trudged around hoping to hear the distinctive call and after an hour of fruitless searching I decided to head over to a field just down the slope where it had been seen in the morning before relocating to the top of the hill. A pipit was showing nicely perched up on the top f one of the bushes but this turned out to be a Meadow. Pangs of guilt were now setting in as I should really be moving boxes into the new house, so I decided it just wasn't mean to be and started heading back towards the car. I crashed through a hole in the hedge and as I got back onto the hill I could see a load of birders running down a path shouting to another birder near to them that the Richards Pipit had flown into the field I had just come from - the little sod must have flown into it as I walked out! So getting back through the hole in the hedge I got back into the field and started walking along the path. Within a few minutes a bird flew up from next to the path on which I was standing and up it went calling with that distinctive call. Richard's Pipit in the bag, a county and a life first! Unfortunately when it flew up it didn't stop and went up higher and higher before heading over in the direction of the car park. A Meadow Pipit shot up and had a go at it and they both appeared to drop but a search of the general area did't re-find it. The next couple of weeks were spent moving yet more boxes and settling into the new area. As things are now getting slowly back to normal I spent a day out with birding pal John Friendship Taylor. A Merlin had been seen on the previous day at Harrington airfield so we headed there first. Visible migration was superb with Redwing and Mipits flying overhead. It wasn't long before a single Golden Plover rose up from the field and called as it circled, below it a sleek bird was shooting across the field - the Merlin was showing well! In fact it showed very well as after it had gone across the field it proceeded to sit on top of the wires next to the road and fanned it's tail out while preening. This area had lots of birds in nearly every bush, lots of Yellowhammer and Linnet with the odd Reed Buntings thrown in too. "Eagle eared" John picked out a Brambling calling from one bush and after a bit of searching we located a female Brambling with the Chaffinch. From here we headed to Stortons Gravel pits as a few Beerded Reddling had been found in the morning but unfortunately they had gone quiet by the time we got there and we had to give up as the wind was picking up. To add insult to injury Mike Alibone arrived on the site while me and John had gone to the local KFC for lunch and he had a Bittern fly in in front of him! Our next area was Summer Leys but we didn't see anything of note so we headed to Pitsford Reservoir. We spent quite a lot of time admiring the Black Necked Grebe that has been residing just off the yacht club, but other than that there wasn't much about again. Still a great day to be out and with the addition of the Merlin I am now on 165 for the county yearlist.

                                                                                                     Black Necked Grebe, Pitsford Reservoir


As I write this huge numbers of birds are landing in Norfolk and will hopefully be making their way inland. Fingers crossed we will have some juicy rarities gracing the county. Until then though I shall be birding my new area, that being Grange Park just outside Northampton. There looks to be a lot of suitable habitat to be looking at so I will need to do a bit of exploring. One last thing, I guess I can't leave without posting a picture of me and my new wife after the wedding, this is probably the one and only time you will see me in a suit so take a good look as you probably won't be seeing it again! Good birding all!

Roesel's Bush-Cricket in Northants - Tuesday 4th September 2012

I have already heard a Quail this year at Chelveston Airfield but as it was very close to the county border I have been a bit unsure whether to add it to the county yearlist. The comments by well regarded birders did reassure me it was in the county but according to my ordnance survey map the bird I heard was just slightly on the wrong side of the line. So with this in mind when I received a text so say that a Quail had been heard in Northants  recently I didn't take much convincing to go. Quail chasing in September is not something to be taken lightly as they should have stopped calling long ago, and to add to it I didn't get to the site until midday so I knew it was going to be a long shot as early morning or late evening is normally best. The bird had been heard the previous morning at Stanford Reservoir (again right on the Northants border but this one was definately in Northants) and despite the odds stacked against me I waited patiently by the field it was heard in. After just over an hour of listening a single "wet my lips" called out from the middle of the bean field - and that was it. I stayed for another half an hour or so but gave up on hearing it again. Normally I wouldn't post about this sort of experience as it is a little dull I admit but the thing I would like to share is the little lady I found on the way to the Bean field with the Quail in it. As I walked up the road towards the footpath an insect caught my eye so I had a closer look. A Bush-Cricket was hopping out into the road and after a little chasing I finally caught it. The colours were quite bright which is what originally made me look twice at it.

I certainly do not confess to be an expert as this sort of thing so after taking a couple of pics I went home to identify it. Turns out this is a female Roesel's Bush -Cricket, I have certainly never seen one before. According to the Wildlife Trusts website they were only found on the south coast up until the early c.20th and due to rapid expansion they are being seen further north now. Which is good as I would never have encountered it if it hadn't. The long curved ovipositor at the back show it to be a female and the green face, dark brown/orangey legs, and the green line along with the 3-4 greenspots behind the head are all distinguishing characteristics of the species.I know I sometimes seem to be mainly bird orientated in my wildlife watching but I enjoy seeing it all, including the bugs, after all a lot of the smaller things that we pass by  without noticing have incredible stories too!

Greenish Warbler, Blakeney Point - 26th August 2012

At 5am it was a bleary eyed start to the day as on the previous evening I had attended one of the Bat evenings put on by the local Wildlife Trust and didn't get back until late. I have to say it was a real eye opener. I have been out a few times in the dark after birding late and I always noticed the odd bat flying around here and there but until that night I hadn't realised how many there were. With the aid of bat detectors and infa red lamps we went around the fishing lodge section of Pitsford Reservoir and picked up the "clicks" of Soprano and Common Pippistrelle, Norctule and Long Eared Bats easily, and shining the lamp across the water showed lots of Daubentons Bats flying around over the surface. It impressed me so much I recon a bat detector is on the next shopping list so I can find a few for myself. So after waking at 5am John Friendship Taylor met me at my place and by 6am we were on the way to Norfolk on one of those spur of the moment trips we seem to be good at. We arrived at 8.30 and headed straight for Cley to do a bit of sea watching but unfortunately we were too late as the northerly winds had changed to westerlies and all the birds were flying well off shore. We persevered regardless though and picked up a Manx Shearwater and 2 Bonxies (with lots of other stuff that was too far away to i.d.) and then went over to have a quick look at the reserve. A couple of young Swallows sitting on the wire fences put on quite a show and really didn't seem to mind us being there as we took a few pics.

From the hide a few Little Stint could be seen, along with a Curlew Sandpiper and a Spotted Redshank being the highlights. Also a nice site was the spectacle of 7 Spoonbill flying overhead too, they looked very nice in the mornings sunshine! After this we met up with a couple of Norfolk birding buddies in the shape of Kieran Nixon and Dave Norgate. We birded their local patch (Stiffkey) before getting back to the car park and try and decide where to go next. There didn't seem to be too much about so we were a bit unsure what to do, Kieran and Dave were toying with the idea of looking for some rare Orchids and John and I were looking at heading back homewards and stopping at the Ouse Washes on the way. Luckily though Dave's pager went off to herald the arrival of a Greenish Warbler on Blakeney Point. As most birders would know, Blakeney Point isn't the easiest place to get to. It is a 3 mile long gravel bar that sticks out into the sea with a few areas of vegetation at the end and it seems like a very long walk to the end over the shingle. So we headed to Morston with the hope of getting one of the Seal cruise guys to give us a lift over. Unfortunately we drew a blank as none of them would drop us off on the point because of the tide making it difficult for them. Luckily though I did notice another company offering sail boat cruises just next to the entrance to the car park so I decided to try and work my charm with them. Luckily it worked and they agreed to get us over there in a small boat (very small!) so long as we didn't mind getting wet. We of course leapt at the chance and despite realising we were stranding ourselves a little bit we soon found ourselves on the water heading out to the point. We arrived in no time at all and after watching Kieran fall out of the boat (quite possibly one of the funniest things I think I have ever seen in my life) we made our way to the bush the bird was in. I am pleased to say the bird was showing incredibly well, the sun had really brought it out into the open and it busily fed around the top of the bushes for a long time affording superb views. We were a little apprehensive at the start as the initial report on the pager was that the bird was allusive by my word were we glad we made the effort to get over here. This gorgeous green warbler with light coloured wing bars and distinctive supercillium fed away and we took a few pics. The best one being this taken by John Friendship Taylor.

After enjoying the Greenish Warbler we started the long trudge back to Cley. Due to the tides we had to leave Morston in a hurry and we didn't have time to get a car to Cley so we could drive back to the other car in the harbour car park. This also meant that the boat company couldn't pick us up either so we knew we had a long walk ahead of us. We checked the plantation before we left and although we couldn't find the previously reported Pied Flycatcher we did find this rather dapper Whinchat there which posed very nicely indeed, in fact it just kept coming closer and closer.

We checked the vegetation as we made our way back to the land but with the exception of a fly over Tree Pipit we didn't find much other than Skylark, Meadow Pipit and a few Dunnock. By the time we nearly got back to Cley the sun was getting low and the scenery was quite spectacular with the dark clouds and the low sun meeting the beach so I took the opportunity to grab a pic before we reached the bank at Cley and followed the road into the village.

The first port of call was the pub and we sat in the garden until darkness having a laugh and a few beers to try and recover from the walk. As darkness fell our taxi arrived and we got back to the cars at Morston. It was a very good day, good birds, good laughs and probably most important of all good company!! Lets hope we can do it again soon.

Yearlist Update and a Sacred Ibis in Northants! - 22nd August 2012

The last month has been spent chasing around trying to build up the yearlist, and despite things still remaining a little quiet I have managed to see some good birds. Since finally seeing the Kingfisher last month I have heard Quail at Chelveston Airfield with a singing individual just on the county border, seen 3 eclipse Red Crested Pochard at Pitsford Reservoir on one day and then returned a few days later to see the Marsh Harrier. The good thing about yearlisting birds is the fact that you have to really keep at it and go for everything, so during the quiet times of the year you can concentrate on catching up with missed birds and trying of course to find you own. I have been birding Clifford Hill Gravel Pits just outside Northampton now pretty much every evening after work. It is a very frustrating place to bird at times mainly due to the disturbance by the public who show a blatant disregard to the signs put up asking people to stick to the perimeter bank and insist on walking their dogs along the shoreline scattering any waders in the process. Despite this though I have been plugging away and I have to say there has been some good stuff trickling through. The concentrations of Black Headed Gulls here in the evenings has been quite impressive with large flocks gathering in the evenings. They unfortunately don't roost here choosing the roofs of the warehouses and factories at the nearby Brackmills Industrial estate instead so they all fly off as it gets dark but if you are here early enough you can catch them. With this in mind I have been searching through them most evenings looking for Mediterranean Gull and on the evening of the 8th of August a rather unexpected surprise turned up. I wasn't the only one with Med Gulls on my mind that evening as I scanned the Gulls on the water from the south shore as I could see the Northants County Bird Recorder, Mike Alibone, scanning from the north. I scanned and scanned and scanned but to no avail so turned my attention to the opposite shoreline to look for waders. I noticed Mike was walking around the pit at this point  and as I scanned along the north shoreline I couldn't believe my eyes, quite out of nowhere as Sacred Ibis had flown in and was having a preen on the bank. It should be mentioned that Sacred Ibis aren't on the British List as none of them seen in Britain can be proven to be genuine wild birds, most of them are certainly escapees as is this. Earlier in the year 3 Sacred Ibis escaped from a Cheshire Zoo and have been roaming Britain ever since. 2 birds appeared in Northumbia and one in Norfolk. Both the Northumbian birds flew south with one joining the bird in Norfolk south east and the other flying due south (over a raptor watchpoint in Nottingham according to one of my Twitter Followers) and I am assuming this is that bird. Here is a pic I took, it's certainly not the best but you get the idea of what it looks like.

Mike and I watched it for a while as the sun went down and and I am pleased to say a flock of birds came over that I could add to the yearlist. As I walked around to the lake I noticed a flock of birds flying over.. I had somehow managed to miss every Northants Curlew so far this year and I was starting to get a bit worried about not seeing one so it was a nice surprise when I looked up and counting 13 flying overhead calling away. To add to the evenings entertainment a small flock of 4 Black Tailed Godwit came over in the dwindling sunlight and did a few laps around the north shore before heading off just as quickly as they arrived. The Sacred Ibis hung around for a few days despite being constantly disturbed by the dog walkers before eventually relocating itself to Stanwick Lakes where it seems quite happy. Steve Fisher found a Spotted Crake at Stanwick Lakes on the 14th August which got quite a few of us racing over there but unfortunately despite a lot of thorough searching (and getting eaten alive by mosquitos) it couldn't be relocated - not surprising really though as the reedbed is very dense and you need an awful lot of luck to be looking at the right place should it emerge. Another yearlist bird came on the 17th August again at Clifford Hill as the constant searching through Giulls finally paid off with a 1st summer (moulting into 2nd winter) Mediterranean Gull with all the Black Headed Gulls, and an adult Yellow Legged Gull thrown in too. A juvenile Northern Wheatear could also be seen in one of the field south of the pit which heralds for first returning Wheatears and as I walked back to the car I bumped into Mike Alibone again who had just picked up a Black Necked Grebe on the water - I was concentrating so much on the Gulls I had rather stupidly overlooked it when I had birded the area (in my defense it was feeding well and did spend a lot of time underwater). I attended the bird fair on Saturday the 18th of August and while sat in the events marquee I received a few texts from up and coming local bird photographer who had found a female (ringtail) Hen Harrier at Harrington Airfield. So leaving the birdfair rather rapidly Pete Bateup and me found ourselves standing by the first bunker scanning the field - but unfortunately we dipped. I arrived back at Harrington Airfield at 0630 the following morning but despite a 3 hour search we couldn't find it. Mike Alibone had joined me by this point and we decided to head out to Hollowell Reservoir to see what was there. Due to the amount of rain we have had this year the presence of any wader scrapes this autumn is rather few and far between and as Hollowell's water levels have dropped this seems to be the best shoreline around in this area of Northants. It wasn't before we had a couple of Common Sands in the feeder stream and as we walked further along I looked up and saw an Osprey heading in. It looked absolutely beautiful in the mornings sun as it soared around for a while giving amazing scope views, a real shame it didn't go for a fish but you can't have everything. The final yeartick occured last night as I returned to Stanwick Lakes to have another search of the reedbed - unfortunately the tick didn't come in the shape of a Spotted Crake but came in the shape of a very showy Water Rail instead. The current Northants County Yearlist now stands at 161. I have recently learned that the County Record is 201 but that was apparently an exceptional year, so I recon my 161 is fairly respectful considering I work full time and it's only August - the autumn migration has only just started and hasn't really got into full swing yet! Lets hope it does soon!!