May 2012

We (Lee and I) had had the birdrace pencilled in for the 2nd for a while as time was running out before I went to Romania. Although weather conditions still looked better for the weekend at least it was dry. We started just after midnight and again made the same mistake as last year by not giving the Forest the attention it deserved before it got light. Our hit rate during the morning was good until we started seawatching which was a waste of time, at this point we knew no records were going to broken so pretty much gave up and only visited a couple of sites afterwards to get Lee some year ticks. We were back at home by 17:30 but none the less finished on a respectable 134 (I think).

Remarkably last months Flycatcher was still available at the South Landing at Flamborough Head, it had been trapped and ringed with feathers collected for DNA analysis, so one way or another this bird was going to get sorted out! Although it still didn't look totally right and it's extremely unlikely to be an Atlas from the recent weather conditions in my opinion, I cracked!! Many people had already been to see it and were bigging it up, so to cover my ass thought I had better go pay it a visit for insurance sakes encase it is ever accepted as a first for Britain. Leaving late morning on the 3rd (once I had recovered from the birdrace), I met up with Rich Bonser near Lincolnshire for an evening assault. On arrival the bird showed well for a short spell and we very quickly hopped back into the car to head south again. Time to wait and see what the DNA results say...(Image provided by Rich).

First thing the following day (4th) I flew out to Bucharest, where I met up with the lads (Paul Mitchell, Dan Sencier, Rob Brumfitt & Ryan Deal) who drove across Europe in the donated Land Rover. We then drove to Ojdula where we met Paul White of the Transylvania Wildlife Project as this was going to be our base for the next 2 weeks. We spent many long days in the field trying to find what we could; large mammal sightings were few and far between, but evidence of their existence in the near area was clear with tracks and scat from Deer, Boar, Fox, Badger, Wolves and Bear found fairly regularly.

It took 12 days before we got our first truly wild (in the sense it wasn't baited etc) Brown Bear sighting. An known young male seen running away from us through the trees where unfortunately only half the group managed to connect. A little frustrating to say the least!! Whilst trying to relocate this bear we stumbled across a very large male about 20 metres away, we were down wind but it still knew we were there and so ran off over the ridge. We tried following it to get some footage and caught up with it very quickly, this time it seemed more aggitated as it swayed its head from left to right. Within a flash it then decided to charge at us, thankfully this was just a bluff as it soon changed direction and ran off through the trees but was enough to make me go weak at the knees. We definitely wasn't going to persue it further!!

 Amongst a good number of woodland species recorded I also managed several lifers including: Lesser Spotted & Short-toed Eagles, Black, Syrian & Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Ural Owl, and Sombre Tit. Highlights such as Black-headed Wagtail, Scop's Owl, Nutcracker and migrating Honey Buzzards were all a joy to see/hear again, while Bee-eaters, Red-backed Shrikes, White Storks, Golden Orioles and Hoopoes were far more numerous. After months of stressful planning, it was great to finally be there, and what an enjoyable experience it was too, with a fantastic group of people! (Also, whilst in Romania I received the DNA results of the Flamborough Flycatcher; surprisingly revealing it to be 100% Pied. Just goes to show the variation of these 'black and white' flycatchers doesn't it?!).

No sooner had I got back through the front door, was I out again (20th). Alan Lewis had managed to find his second Woodchat Shrike in Hampshire in the space of two weeks - anybody in Hampshire would know that that is quite an achievement. The Woodchat Shrike showed well completing a regular circuit around bushes just a short walk from the car park at Martin Down. This was only the second Woodchat I have ever seen in Hants. Note in the video clip how the Shrike manages to keep its head perfectly still from time to time.

Tiredness was taking its toll after I had a sleepless night in the airport the previous night and so as a result I fell asleep infront of the TV. Eventually pulling myself together I made it up to bed where I was hoping for a 10+ hour nap. Within 10 minutes of dozing off I was rudely awoken by the pager's MEGA alert and a phonecall from Dan Pointon alerting me to the discovery of a Cream-coloured Courser that evening in Herefordshire. Well that was it, how could I sleep knowing that was there. I literally jumped straight out of bed, into the car and began driving - teaming up with Dan and Josh Jones enroute. We arrived at dawn where it didn't take Josh long to relocate it on the golf course at Bradnor Hill at 04:45!! There was only 12 people there for the first few hours of light as most had already gone to bed when the news was released and most were probably still in bed while we were watching it. The adult bird looked very unimpressed and abit bedraggled but still what an absolute stunner. Never did I envisage seeing a Cream-coloured Courser just 8 years after missing the Scilly bird, this has made my year already!

Very inconveniently I had an exam in Carlisle on the 25th which coincided with a singing male Baillon's Crake at Malltreath Marsh, Anglesey. The both mornings I couldn't make it the bird was seen briefly, but it didnt show once over the three days I was there despite singing regularly during the evenings and early mornings. None the less it was nice to listen to and spend some time at various seabird colonies on the island with Curlew Sandpiper and Black Guillemot as additional year ticks. Baillon's Crake is very quickly becoming my bogey bird after dipping one previously in Ireland earlier this year, and getting a very brief view of a dark Crake sp on Shetland in 2008 that was more than likely to be one, it looks like I am going to have to be patient and wait for a more obliging individual.

In the meantime I went back over to Sheffield to spend some time with Emma as originally planned, before popping back up to Carlisle again to do my final presentation on Romania (28th). On the way home I popped into Huggin Carr (South Yorkshire), I had been wanting to pay the Hatfield Moors area a visit ever since Emma started Uni at Sheffield but never got round to it, so as Emma has only 3 weeks left of Uni I thought I had better get in quick to see the adult summer plumaged Red-necked Grebe that returns there every year. It showed nicely in the late afternoon sun with 4 Black-necked Grebes and a number of breeding Avocets. Once back in Sheffield I promised Emma a nice day out on Tuesday (29th), this very quickly changed when news of an Orphean Warbler broke at Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland). Remarkably the same place as the White-throated Robin almost a year ago!! This was another extreme mega that got the pulses racing, being the first twitchable individual since the Scilly bird in 1981 so basically everybody needed it. When trapped and ringed the bird was raced as the Western form 'Hortensis' and given a fat score of zero, this was evident on arrival as the bird hadn't moved from the same branch it was released on for 3 hours with its eyes closed and 'catching invisible flies'. Eventually it perked up a little and began to move about foraging for food but I feel a negative outcome was inevitable! Undoubtedly an incredible month - surely June can't keep the momentum going?!

April 2012

The Easter break was predominently filled with Hampshire birding with visits around the county, mostly the coast where I hoped to find something of interest. However unlike last year where many migrants were in early, migrants were about 2-3 weeks later than usual so extra effort was required to find the likes of Whitethroat and Garden Warbler, let alone anything scarce. Migrants were eventually picked off one by one, and a few lingering winter birds provided some interest. I only left the county once during this time for a very good candidate for Thayer's Gull at Brigg, Lincolnshire (5th) with Dan Pointon. A very striking individual that was refound on arrival by Chris Batty, it was then surprisingly easy to pick up thanks to a couple of diagnostic features; an obvious notch missing out of the tail, combined with missing P5 in the right wing noticeable in flight. This bird looked the part (as far as my limited knowledge of the species can say), a nice dark velvety individual with darker outer webs to the outer primaries, contrasting with the pale inner primaries and secondaries. Classic Iceland Gull-like profile with all the subtle features to go with it.

Hampshire interest was provided by Willow Tits in the North of the county (3rd), Jack Snipe (2 on 7th, 1 on 8th) at Pennington Marshes where I also managed to dip 2 very mobile Glossy Ibises. Conveniently however, Lee Fuller and myself managed to bump into one of the birds the following day (8th) at Needs Ore Point constituting a county tick for ourselves, this bird soon did a disappearing act before it could be twitched, seemingly over to the Isle of Wight. A juv Spoonbill was also at Needs Ore that day, and a drake Garganey at Pennington. A Hoopoe visited Pig's Bush - New Forest for a couple of days (from 10th) and Ring Ouzels finally arrived at Beacon Hill (14th) with 3 males present after failing to find any a week previously. A few migrants trickled past the coast on the 15th with my first Arctic Skua and Osprey of the year, while the Spoonbill still lingered at Needs Ore. An additional highlight came in the form of 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls passing low over my house which was the first addition to the garden list this year!

On 16th, I headed down to Cornwall for a 2 week stint constructing Uni work and carrying out fieldwork for one of our modules. Mainly researching and photographing re-introduced Cirl Buntings in the county. Unlike last year at this time where there was plenty of scarcities about, this year was very quiet and the only rarities seen were enroute with an adult female Black-winged Stilt at Abbotsbury Swannery (Dorset) and female Blue-winged Teal and Cattle Egret at Walmesley Sanctuary (Cornwall). Elsewhere was quiet, no thanks to the poor weather: strong wind and heavy rain most days where only standard Cornish birds were seen. However 15+ Cirl Buntings were seen at the undisclosed site visited, up to 6 Adders at Godrevy and 3 Chough on The Lizard.

Once back in Hampshire for the last few days of the month, I began recceing a few sites in preperation for the Spring Bird Race, however with few migrants in, it was best delayed as long as possible before I head off to Romania on the 4th May. 2 Black Terns and 2CY Little Gull were at Ibsley Water (30th) with another summer plumaged Black Tern and adult Little Gull off Hill Head in the evening. A 2CY Ficedula Flycatcher species has also been found at Flamborough Head (East Yorkshire) in the last few days of the month; showing characteristics which may suggest Atlas Flycatcher, a potential first for Britiain. Personally I think its a hybrid Pied x Collared, but who knows I may end up heading North simply for insurance sakes...

March 2012

The month started off nicely with a cracking drake American Wigeon (3rd) amongst Wigeon at Anglers' Country Park (W. Yorks) whilst I was visiting Emma in Sheffield again, the same day also offered a drake Smew and Black-necked Grebe that both showed well at range. The long-staying 1st winter Glaucous Gull was still knocking around off the Blue Dial outflow pipe, just south of Allonby, Cumbria (8th) with another 1st winter bird showing very well at Hartlepool Fish Quay (10th). The Fish Quay also held a pale Kumlien's(-type) Gull that occasionally came to bread and a drake Green-winged Teal was viewable distantly on Dorman's Pool, at Saltholme RSPB.I then spent a few days doing my sponsored walk from Carlisle to Borrowdale to raise money for our Romania expedition for Uni in May. Typical moorland birds were noted with a ringtail Hen Harrier being one of the highlights and a redhead Smew (13th) was a pleasant surprise on Derwent Water with a handful of Goldeneye. Bird of the month was found by the Cumbrian County Recorder on the 17th at Standing Tarn near Dalton-in-Furness but news wasn't released till too late in the day. However, the next morning the 1st-winter Laughing Gull was relocated nice and early, slightly to the NE of where it was previously seen with a feeding flock of about 500-odd Gulls. This was only the second Laughing Gull I have seen in Britain following the 1st for Hampshire during the famous influx of 2005 so understandably I was pretty keen to see another! I managed to get some very poor footage at the highest magnification I could get. The afternoon was spent near Raby Cotes and Border in the north of the county where I scanned tens of thousands of Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese for at least 3 hours for the rather smart looking blue morph Lesser Snow Goose that has been seen sporadically at various places in the area since January. The scattered mixed flocks made it surprisingly difficult to pick out the white-headed blue morph, but 9 Eurasian White-fronts were picked out and a Merlin sat on a mound. Andy Holden and Vicky Turner joined in on the search from a different viewpoint and no sooner had I answered the phone to Andy when the Snow Goose miraculously appeared in the centre of my scope flying in with a dozen Pinks, Vicky also managed to get onto it from where she was before it went down into a channel and out of view! The image was provided by Craig Shaw - taken earlier in the year.

The undoubted biggie of the month concerned a stunning Baillon's Crake on Great Saltee Island, Co. Wexford (Ireland). It was twitched extensively from across Ireland on its first day where it was ridiculously confiding and those who managed to get onto the island on the first day were treated to brilliant views. I attempted to see it on the first possible day from mainland Britain on 25th but as soon as we arrived on the island our hearts sunk. Realising the lack of suitable of habitat, clear sky, and the fact the mainland was still insight we knew immediately there was no way in hell the Crake would have stayed another night! A thorough search revealed no sign but some early migrants were very scant consolation (Short-eared Owl, Swallow, Sand Martin, Chiffs, Willow Warblers, White Wagtail, Sandwich Tern and Black Redstarts) and you could clearly see the potential this island has for attracting early spring overshoots!! This was my first big dip in a while.

On the last day evening I was in Cumbria (28th) I went to an undisclosed site where at least 2 Long-eared Owls were displaying well. Once back in Hampshire on the last day of the month (31st) for Easter break I did the rounds at Needs Ore with Lee Fuller with nothing really out the ordinary, then onto the wintering Rose-coloured Starling at Hordle where this bird showed frustrating well but constantly deep inside a bush where photographic opportunities were limited somewhat.

February 2012

Personally, February is my least preferred month of the year - usually dark, wet and very little happening on the birding front. With this in mind, I decided to start the month off with a trip down to Norfolk from Carlisle with a few guys from Uni; Ryan Deal, Cain Scrimgeour and Steve Williams to satisfy my birding needs for the next couple of weeks. What was originally set as a photography weekend, quickly turned into a solid birding trip as the incoming cold weather was forcing many of our target species to show quicker than expected. We started the 4th at Wolferton Triangle, a few laps eventually got us rolling with a splendid male Golden Pheasant collecting grit on the side of the road. We promptly headed off to Buckenham Marshes which seemed desserted as it began to snow. Some good birding was had on our walk around the river bank which boosted the trip list, eventually we came to a large flock of geese comprising some 70-odd Taiga Beans and about 150 Eurasian White-fronts. Viewing was difficult as birds kept disappearing into dips etc but it wasn't long before I picked out the Lesser White-fronted Goose (the same individual I saw last January) before it completely disappeared. 30 or so minutes later I picked it out again in a slightly nearer group when it then settled, where the gathering crowd enjoyed good scope views. Wasting time till the Crane roost we spent an hour or so sifting through wildfowl at Wroxham Broad, where we were eventually rewarded with a female Ring-necked Duck, albeit distant and asleep. We got to Stubbs Mill around mid-afternoon, Marsh Harrier numbers gradually increased as time progressed, a single Merlin put in a brief appearance as did at least 4 pairs of Crane - including an impressive low overhead flyby of two whilst stood at the viewing platform. With frostbite settling in - it was time to leave!On the 5th, we woke to a 10cm carpet of snow. Once we had got the car out we headed in the direction of Holkham, stopping occasionally for Grey Partridge and Barn Owls. The latter was even more rewarding when a 1st winter Rough-legged Buzzard flew over with 2 Buzzards in the same vicinity just to the west of Holkham freshmarsh. Once at Holkham we (well, Cain) located 2 Shorelarks which showed very well on the 'white' beach. A good mixed flock of Skylarks and Snow Buntings also contained Twite, a ringtail Hen Harrier also passed overhead. We spent the remainder of the day at Titchwell where the Cous's Arctic Redpoll drove me insane as it took about 3 hours to find - eventually picking it out at the back of a clump of dense trees with Lesser Redpolls. Coincidentally my only previous Exillipes was at Titchwell too way back in 2004. Also of interest were 2 Hen Harriers (male and female), Mediterranean Gull, Long-tailed Ducks (4, inc. 1 drk) & Velvet Scoter (2, 1 drk). For the next 2 weeks I birded locally around Carlisle and Sheffield (whilst visiting Emma) with very little of note. I completed a few assignments early so that I could go home on the 16th for about 10 days. Heading south late afternoon I got caught in a stand-still for about 2 hours when I heard the long-awaited, yet dreaded sound of the mega alert. I was seriously praying it wasn't north of where I had just come from, so massively relieved when it read Gwent Common Yellowthroat!! The stand-still was a blessing in disguise and allowed me to phone around trying to find extra information and arrange things for the following day. Instead of driving to Southampton, I went to Bristol where I kipped around Dan Pointon's place - ready for a dawn assault on Rhiwderyn. It took till about 08:30 before the bird made its first appearance, brief but good views were had as the stampeding ground initially hassled it but once things had calmed down the bird fed in the open in the field fringes continually for about 15 minutes. Typically striking yank warbler - olive-green above, with its bright yellow throat and vent contrasting massively with a black mask stretching across the ear coverts! Fantastic surprise to the month!!

Once at home, a stinking cold prevented me from getting out everyday but I investigated a strikingly pale female Stonechat at Calshot Marshes (19th) that was unfortunately typically European, but 3 Black Redstarts and a single Black-necked Grebe were of note. Nothing at Farlington (22nd), no sign of the Paddyfield Warbler at Pagham Harbour (23rd), but Bittern and 7 Eurasian White-fronts, at Sandy Point there was 4 Snow Buntings and Farlington hosted a drake Green-winged Teal on the main lake. The Dark-eyed Junco was still in situ (25th) but appears to be getting more elusive, Needs Ore held a surprise (27th) when a 1w Red-breasted Goose jumped into view amongst the Brents at Needs Ore (permit only) - the same flock also held a single Pale-bellied Brent and a Black Brant. The Red-breast is probably the wintering Devon bird tracking East, and no doubt the same from Pennington Marshes. A fine way to end the month!! (images will come when I can get Lee Fuller to pull his finger out and send them to me).

January 2012

Most Hampshire birders started the New Year at Hawkshill Inclosure, New Forest for the reported Junco - I didn't, I ignored it as I didn't expect it to make an appearance in the adverse weather conditions. Instead, the year got off to a dreary start as myself and Lee Fuller attempted the NYD Bird Race, having taken it easy the previous night - no drinking - no sleep; for absolutely no reason at all as we didn't score any owls except Tawny at 7am. We were thoroughly impressed with our total of 116 considering the horrendous wet weather and strong winds. Bird of the day was an adult Caspian Gull that we found at last knockings roosting on Spinnaker Lake, Blashford.

As suspected, there was no sign of the Junco all day, but come the 2nd the weather was almost perfect, though still quite breezy. And so it was no surprise that the Junco was refound again in the clearfell area beyond the car park mid-morning. We had to wait a few hours before it's next showing but once pinned down it was quite easy to locate thanks to its continual 'tikking'. Crossbill were numerous here, a male Hen Harrier flew infront of my car enroute and a Short-eared Owl was accidentally flushed from the clearfell.

Other in county highlights at the beginning of the month included Cattle Egret at Warblington, Ring-billed Gull at Walpole Park, and Sandwich Tern in Gosport (all 4th), Dan Houghton's Siberian Chiff-chaff at Newlands Farm (7th), finished with another look at the Junco, with Great Grey Shrike and Hen Harrier down the road at Bishop's Dyke (8th).

Emma and I then spent an enjoyable 4 days in Marrakech, Morocco with a couple of excursions into the Atlas Mountains etc, for a short break together. Not many birds were seen but Moussier's Redstart, White-crowned Black Wheatear and Laughing Dove were particularly nice even if they aren't that unusual out there.

singing House Bunting - Marrakech from Ashley Howe on Vimeo.

However I was eager to return as the night before we flew out I was informed of an adult male Spanish Sparrow that had taken up residency at Calshot. Unbelievably, this was the second wintering mega to be found in Hampshire in as many weeks and so come the 13th, I was up well before the 'Sparrow's fart' waiting in anticipation of what would be a truly amazing county tick. An hour after dawn the bird showed briefly in the back garden before relocating to the hedgerow along the road where it showed ridiculously well. I managed one shot with my camera before the battery died. D'oh!! But enjoyed cracking views of this striking bird. No doubt he'll still be around when I return from Uni in the spring so I'll make sure my batteries are charged and will hopefully improve on my current effort: The rest of the day was spent birding with 1-2 female Black Redstarts in their traditional area around Fawley Power Station, 2 Black-necked Grebes were unusual for here just offshore. The Black-throated Diver was at Eling Tide Mill and a Whooper Swan joined the 6 Bewick's and 200+ Mute Swans at Harbridge. 2 hours in the hide at Ivy Lake eventually got me the Bittern as the light began to fade.

Making the most of my final weekend before heading back up to Uni in Cumbria, I managed to connect with the 2nd winter Iceland Gull in Old Portsmouth (14th) with 2 Purple Sandpipers down the road at Southsea Castle. And on the 15th I gave the Junco yet another visit as he will almost certainly have departed by the time I'm next at home. This time it showed much better, but I seemed to be the only person onsite able to pick the bird out as it occasionally 'tikked' and came down to seed on a near stump; allowing me to improve on the attrocious record shots I had previously obtained. Certainly a very enjoyable bird to watch!

Once again, it was time for me to head North again back to Uni (16th), leaving the good birding behind. Birding immediately took a back seat, with only 3 whole days birding managed by the end of the month. First of which was to Leighton Moss (22nd) where I failed to see the Glossy Ibis in very naff conditions, but 3 dodgy Lesser Snow Geese were of note amongst the resident Greylags. We (Tristan & Pete) then cut our losses and continued South to Luddenden Dean (West Yorkshire) and still managed not to see anything of note. Giving up early we dropped back into Leighton Moss to give the Ibis another chance - which didn't disappoint.

On the 28th I went to Caerlaverock WWT to test out a new uni camera but didn't really see anything of note except the more standard fair - mostly Wildfowl. However the following day was abit more interesting as yet again I headed South; with Colin Lister for my 2nd attempt at the Northern Long-tailed Tits at Luddenden Dean. The weather was alot calmer and it soon became apparent that we were looking in completely the wrong area and so needed to walk a further 2 miles to get to the right place...past the pub, past the cemetry, and past the woolly pigs...to the bridge. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long till I picked up the Tit flock moving through and both 'caudatus' birds were seen with relative ease - being considerably paler underneath, with the pink tinge limited to the flanks it was surprisingly easy to pick these white-headed 'Snowballs' up in the tree tops. Once lower you could really appreciate these stunners,and they even came close enough so I could grab a few pleasing shots. The shorter-tailed individual seemed slightly more reluctant to visit the feeders. All in all another eventful month!

December 2011

I knew way before the turn of the month that December was going to be a ridiculously busy month with a build up of orders at work leading up to Christmas, and uni deadlines that needed to be completed before I broke up. If anything was found that I 'needed', I probably would'nt have been able to find the time to go. I did however have one Saturday (11th) free, where I decided to hit the East coast again. A good day in all; starting with another look at the Greater Yellowlegs at Cresswell Pond before it departed to the North. Followed by a very obliging Desert Wheatear which in time, approached me to less than 10ft allowing fantastic photo opportunities - exactly what I wanted! Returning to the car park a self-found (1w) Glaucous Gull put in a very brief appearance before heading South, a Tundra Bean Goose was near Woodhorn and the remainder of the day was spent watching the regular Great Grey Shrike and 3-4 stunning Short-eared Owls hunt till dusk.Once home for Christmas (20th) I then had plenty of time on my hands so spent the rest of the month loyal to my home county (Hants) cleared up on a few decent local scarcities that had been knocking around a while. First of which was the Cattle Egret at Warblington (21st), Red-necked Grebe flying out of Chichester Harbour and Purple Sandpiper at Southsea Castle (both 24th). Between the 27th and 31st I visited the Pennington area, Blashford Lakes and Beaulieu Road Station multiple times recceing in preperation for the New Years Day bird race. Highlights included Marsh Harrier, Bewick's Swan, Egyptian Goose, Smew, Yellow-legged Gull, Hen Harrier, Goshawk, Dartford Warbler and Hawfinch. Undoubtedly the most unexpected bird was an adult drake Ferruginous Duck on Spinnaker Lake (Blashford) that showed well amongst Pochard on the last day of the year and was infact a county tick for myself.

Almost the last report of the 2011 was of a Dark-eyed Junco in the New Forest, photographed by a non-birder who had sent a photo to the county recorder to identify. It has been there for at least 7 days so fingers crossed this is relocated in the New Year!!