August 2013

This year has been non-stop from start to finish with no signs of slowing up yet; and again this month was no different. But there were two trips in particular this month that were worth sharing. The first followed on from my recent trip to Mexico when I got the opportunity to swim with Whale Sharks; I then jumped at the chance to go swim with Basking Sharks off Coll and Tiree in the Inner Hebrides a few weeks later. An exhaustive overnight drive to Oban to catch the Mull ferry allowed us (myself and Josh Jones) to get great views of fishing Harbour Porpoise, and a nesting White-tailed Eagle. Moments later we were aboard a small fishing boat heading out towards the Small Isles.

The previous weeks trip out was a total waste of time, but thankfully the seas were alot less choppy this weekend and the waters around the northern edge of Coll seemed surprisingly sheltered. This was where the first of numerous Basking Sharks and a single Minke Whale were seen surface feeding. There were a few false alarms to get into the water where the sharks promptly dived and disappeared but once we had discovered the knack of subtly getting into the water without scaring them, it got surprisingly easier to get close to them, but Christ was that water cold!! Even with a 7mm wetsuit on!! Note the Jellyfish just below my hand that stung me...

I had only been back from Scotland a few hours before I started to plan another trip up there. Now the story of the Swinhoe's Petrel is a confusing one. After a drought of almost twenty years since the three Tynemouth birds from 1989-1994, a similar scenario seemed to be unfolding on Fair Isle. A couple of weeks ago Fair Isle birds obs managed to trap and ring an individual on an overnight ringing session. Needless to say this bird was seen released and never seen again; so no need to panic I thought. That was until the observatory trapped a Swinhoe's Petrel again. Rather remarkably a different bird. This bird was then trapped the following night, and then the next. It took a few nights of successful trapping before we twigged that this bird was surely gettable, which set the wheels in motion in try and organize a charter to Fair Isle late afternoon to return the next morning.

A fair bit on planning ensued and I eventually formed a hardcore team to fly up from the East Midlands early evening, where we wasted time around the obs till it was dark enough to start the petrel ringing session.

Unlike the previous night, there was not-a-peep out of the Swinhoe's till gone 00:30, when it started to sing and fly above our heads at close range but we still couldn't see it! A Leach's Petrel joined in too, and a good 40-odd Storm Petrels had been trapped. It was tantalizing to be so close to such a rare bird without seeing it and it just felt as if it would be one of those nights where we simply weren't going to be lucky enough and the bird would avoid the nets. More and more time passed and I was giving up hope despite the fact we could still hear the bird singing. Once again it flew around us, without us seeing it, singing as it went when the song came to a sudden end. A slight kerfuffle around the nets and a very pleased warden began to walk towards the hut with a bag, with a singing petrel inside it.

Once in the hut; this is what he pulled out:

Within a few minutes, the bird was processed again (weighed), quickly photographed and released; not to be seen again that night. This unique experience was possible one of the best highlights of my birding career so far!

Highlights elsewhere this month included the Long-billed Dowitcher at Pennington Marshes (Hampshire - 2nd), Citrine Wagtail at Marazion Marshes (Cornwall - 24th) and Booted Warbler at Climping Beach (West Sussex - 27th). August was pretty bloody good actually.

Oh, and I was at Pendeen on that infamous morning when the Red-billed Tropicbird flew underneath us below the rocks. Although the seawatching was good that weekend with a number of large shears passing, sadly the guy down the bottom of the cliff never thought to share his sighting of the Tropicbird until 30 minutes later. Once the Tropicbird had been long gone.

May 2012

I started the month based in Cumbria with only a few days remaining before I planned to hand in my final media project and hence complete my three years at uni. Like the second half of last month my time was concentrated in the editing suites; only one bird briefly distracted me before I returned back home to Southampton and that was a Blue-headed Wagtail in Northumberland. I had been planning to meet up with Cain anyway, so this seemed like a good enough excuse to do it sooner rather than later. The bird itself performed very nicely and was almost entirely on view feeding on the line of seaweed with dozens of White and Pied Wagtails, Wheatears and the odd Yellow Wagtail. Rather embarrassingly this was the first of this race I had seen in Britain.

A few days later I submitted my final project, and wasted no time in packing my stuff up to head home! Migration had been particularly slow with no real notable passages till that point and it was clear most things had been delayed somewhat due to the weather and so for the first few days in Hampshire I visited several sites with very little reward besides the low numbers of common and expected migrants.

The first notable birding session was a seawatch after work on the 8th from Stokes Bay. Visibility was poor but I was convinced stuff would be moving. On occasions the sea mist did lift and I could see Gannets passing through The Solent which is always a good sign. In a slightly prolonged clear spell I picked up my first Little Gull and Arctic Skuas of the year heading East before the mist limited my view again. I knew the weather was meant to improve early evening so I stuck around till then. Within moments of clearing more Arctic Skuas passed through with a number of Commic Terns including two distant Roseates, a Whimbrel and strangely a Turtle Dove flew up the beach. But the creme de la creme came with a stunning adult Pomarine Skua with spoons East down the beach providing excellent views. Shortly after another did the same but without such an impressive tail.

Odds and sods elsewhere kept the interest going but it was generally slow going and by mid-month the only other highlights were a Cuckoo singing from my bedroom window at 4am, and... well.... that was it really. But despite how poor the general birding seemed to be, there was still the hope that a decent bird would be found somewhere else. Though I really didn't expect to be woken by various phone calls late on Friday 17th to find various photos of a Dusky Thrush in Kent circulating the regular birding sites.

In many ways it was a similar scenerio to the Cream-coloured Courser last year, and there was no way I could continue trying to sleep knowing that that was about. I hopped out of bed and wasted an hour or so fannying about with the car before I picked up the Fullers and began the journey to Kent, with the aim of getting there just before first light.

About 300 others had the same idea. But nobody knew the whereabouts of the bird within the grounds of Margate cemetery. There were thousands of headstones and all we had to go on were a few photos that provided some clues to where the Thrush may have been frequenting. The first showing a partially covered headstone with Ivy. The other, an Ash tree with the leaves still yet to emerge. A bit of team work was required. Dan Pointon rather impressively located the headstone (perhaps he's done this kind of thing before?), but there was still no sign of the bird.

An hour later I took a wander around the back to see if it was lurking beyond the trees directly infront of us. No sooner had I done so, when I noticed a small Thrush sat motionless in a tree. I knew immediately what it was, whistled to alert others, and the rest was history. It continued to show well on and off for the remainder of the morning till we left.

We stopped at Reculver on the way home to see a first-summer male Montagu's Harrier that performed nicely, albeit too distantly for photographs.

Following the appearance of the Dusky Thrush, a number of discussions have ensued relating to the amount of rufous in the flanks. It's difficult to find much information on these birds and the intergrades within them, but Chinese birders (who are in regular contact with the species') think it may carry Black-throated Thrush genes, whereas Lars Svensson deems it to be bang on.

The following weekend (25th) and there was a surprise within the county. An adult Roller; inland at Broxhead Common. A rarity like this has been a long time coming in Hampshire and attracted an impressive crowd in little time of news breaking. The bird itself was distant, so all I could get were severely cropped phonescoped images at the highest magnification I can. But regardless of how distant the bird was, Rollers never cease to impress.

On the way home I went in search of butterflies at Noar Hill with several each of Duke of Burgundy, Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper being the highlights. Not a good day for photography as I again had the wrong lens with me.

Towards the end of the month I visited Lakenheath RSPB with the Fullers where a showy Red-footed Falcon was on offer. Although I am disappointed with my photographic results (compared to Lee's anyway), I was very much impressed with the adult male hawking literally metres above our heads providing excellent views. A Golden Oriole and two Grasshopper Warblers sung throughout the morning, at least 5 Bitterns were active and a Common Crane flew through, making for a productive morning.