Not much today

Thelma had a doctors appointment today so I was under strict orders not to go birdwatching. No one said the garden was off limits though. Therefore as I sucked on a slice of breakfast toast, a bit of messing about in the garden with a Heath-Robinson digiscope... it's amazing what one can do with a piece of plastic pipe and gaffer tape.... okay I agree, it's NOT amazing !!

Not everyone's favourites, but having Rooks (and Jackdaws) at the birdtable makes my day, I love them and could watch them for hours. Betty next door isn't convinced as she's scared of big birds, so when a dozen perch on the fence after feed, I'm not popular!

The other interesting thing was a Woodpigeon and Jackdaw on the bird table. The pigeon was refusing to give up food and very aggressive towards the Jackdaw, lunging at it constantly, while the Jackdaw clung to the edge. In the end both got fed up and left.

Year total so far is 56....need to get to water, get this up before I go back to work on Thursday, wonder if I can slip down to Portland before Thelma gets up tomorrow....

Dorset Bramblings

As the weather had turned fair, this morning was an hour or so birding in North Dorset. Recent reports of a fair sized Brambling flock (up to 100) sent me first to Bradbury Rings, between Wimborne and Blandford Forum. And yes I can confirm they're there, the flock flew over my head, then as I followed them, flew back in the opposite direction, repeating this process for half an hour. In the end I just stood there and watched them fly back and forth. And indeed a mixed Brambling and Chaffinch flock. Got some good views with the scope, but as I still haven't managed to set myself up for Digi-scoping, just pretend you can see them here.

Arty shot of Bradbury Rings

The fields around Bradbury rings were full of Fieldfare, mixed Corvids and a handfull of Black Headed Gulls, presumably the rain overnight had pushed worms and so on up to the surface. Also met a birder who said a Hooded Merganser (presumably an escapee) was on the River Stour. So popped along to see if that was there.... it wasn't.

But a very nice place to spend a few moments watching a river, 1 Little Egret, 2 Dabchick, Moorhen, Blackbirds, fair few Mallard/Hybrids and that was about it. So final birdwatch was at Bullbarrow Hill, which threw up a Nuthatch and between 15 and 20 Great Tit feeding on the beech mast, don't think I've ever seen that many before in one place.

A sign of the times :-)

Other hightlights of the morning, Songthrush on wall at Shillingstone, Redwings at Sturminster Newton, oh and yes in the garden, male Blackcap (so that's possibly a pair here) and the Collard Doves are at it...

Overhead Snipe

A wader paradise.... scene of Snipe flypast, too fast for me to photograph

Forecast today was dry turning wet, so just time for a brief look at Greylake RSPB reserve on the way down to Dorset. Very quiet, but 2, then 8 then 3 high flying Snipe were entertaining, a lone Songthrush but apart from that nothing much else about. On the Huntspill river 3 male and 2 female Goosander and a lone Great Crested Grebe. Quite a few Little Egrets about at the moment, including one in a field at the Venn, Milborne Port. Better day forecast for tomorrow, so may head over and see one of the Cattle Egrets.

Weird weather.... feels like spring

Nothing much to report today other than the great snowstorm never reached the South West, though Northumberland was hit badly, now why am I not there. So today has dawned mild and no wind as such, it feels like spring, and as I walked in Great Tits calling everywhere, plus nice Long Tail Tit flock flitting through large gardens of Clifton. So with a Goldcrest, my species list for the year hits 50.

Finally shots of the daffs taken this morning.

Species so far in 2008....48

Everyone seems to be doing it (a record of 103 in a day on the Somerset Ornithological Site), so I have been sorting out the species I've seen this year so far, 48. Also, which was a nice suprise this morning walking into work the daffodils are out at Bristol Cathedral, later than last year. No snow though, so a frosty picture of Herons Green Pool, Chew Valley just before Christmas.

Great Crested Grebe, Chew Lake
Goosander, Chew Lake
Pied Wagtail, Chew Lake
Coot, Chew Lake
Rock Pipit, Cobb Lyme Regis
Grey Wagtail, Compton Martin pond
Mallard, Dyke at Sand Bay
Little Egret, Dyke by Sand Bay
Kingfisher, Ebdon river
Moorhen, Ebdon river
Blackbird, Garden Dorset
Song Thrush, Garden Dorset
Little Grebe, Herons Pool, Chew
Snipe, Herons Pool, Chew
Tufted Duck, Herons Pool, Chew
Black Headed Gull, Herons Pool, Chew
Teal, Herons Pool, Chew
Pochard, Herons Pool, Chew
Lapwing, Herons Pool, Chew
Pheasant, Langford, N Somerset
Herring Gull, Lyme Regis
Robin, Lyme Regis
Mistle Thrush, Orchard, near Congresbury
Stonechat, Sand Bay
Shelduck, Sand Bay
Curlew, Sand Bay
Starling, Sand Bay
Magpie, Sand Bay
Carion Crow, Sand Bay
Kestrel, Sand Bay
Mute Swan, Sand Bay
Dunlin, Sand Bay
Oystercatcher, Sand Bay
Goldcrest, Garden Dorset
Rook, Garden Dorset
Jackdaw, Garden Dorset
House Sparrow, Garden Dorset
Chaffinch, Garden Dorset
Wren, Garden Dorset
Dunnock, Garden Dorset
Collard Dove, Garden Dorset
Wood Pigeon, Garden Dorset
Blue Tit, Garden Dorset
Great Tit, Garden Dorset
Greenfinch, Garden Dorset
Fieldfare, Sturminster Newton
Grey Heron, Sturminster Newton Mill

Carrion Crow, Garden North Somerset

91 species and snowdrop anyone?

Lyme Regis on New Years Day, the sun was setting and as we walked back, a snowdrop in a garden, spring is here.

Well I have to say, this week of bird watching in an attempt to raise the champagne fuelled foaming NHU bird cup to my lips, has been really tough. I’m either getting old, or getting infirm, or getting soft. My guess though is all four. Did someone mention Alzheimer’s too?

What on earth possessed me to try and do this in Northumbria? Okay it’s my old stamping ground, but that was 15 years ago, birds have come and gone, and my knowledge of what is out there is now decrepit, so much like the author. I’d also forgotten a golden rule related to any wildlife watching north of the River Tyne in mid December; it only is light enough to see anything at 9am and dark again at 3pm. In-between this 6 hour period of unbridled excitement there’s a dull overcast feel to the skies which enters the mind and plays hallucinogenic tricks on bird ID. And there's always a gale.

Still I persevered, wandering lonely as a cloud, across sodden open countryside, wild and windblown coast, local nature reserves which seemed to be just weedy fields with a damp patch, frequented by dog walkers; and a very pleasurable (I use the term advisedly) 2 hours squelching the riparian habitat of my home river, the Coquet, as rain trickled down my neck. The Dipper I was looking for sensibly, stayed indoors with its feet up, but I did get stunning views of 3 separate Nuthatch and 7 Goosander.

The Coquet at Pauperhaugh in full flow..as I ate my sandwich a Goosander swam into view.

Maybe I could have saved myself a length of hardship, and just gone to Slimbridge as I drove home on New Years Eve; 50 species without even trying? But then a 2 hour stop near Leeds to see a mate, was a much better use of time. Doing it the hard way, however chaotic, brought the unexpected highlights, which were fabulous and worth every penny.

Eider now patrol the coast between the rivers Tyne and Wear, along with huge flocks of Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Sanderling, Ring and Golden Plover are testament to decades of cleaning up the environment. 20 years ago, I remember being phoned up when a Redshank arrived and going specially to see it. A pintail, 5 yellowhammers and 100+ Greylag on Boldon Flats, scene of my very earliest birding memories and where as a child it was only ever just, spuggies, burnt out cars and fights with the local Council Estate boys. Now South Tyneside Council have turned it into a valuable flooded meadow in the middle of the Tyneside conurbation.

Greylags at Boldon Flats in South Tyneside, Christmas Day

Rock Doves which miraculously still cling onto a rock stack at Souter Point off the coast at South Shields. I watched those birds 20 years ago when working as a volunteer NT warden there. At that time estimates were that they would finally hybridise with feral pigeons on the mainland cliffs in 10 years. Both are there but maintain separate lives still, and I counted 40+ on that stack.

The 7 Tree Sparrows busy feeding, in a friend’s garden just outside Hartlepool, close enough to enjoy while indoors with a whisky chaser. “Oh I regularly get 10 on there” he said unconcerned in the fact that if one is found in Somerset, hoards of bobble hat twitchers descend to terrify the poor thing, possibly back to Hartlepool.

At the end of a depressing, fruitless and miserable hour gaining no new species in the hill region of Northumberland I decided to go home. As I drove off the hill I spotted a huge flock of birds rising from a farm silage clamp. Although rain was driving off the hills and nearly dark even though only 11 am, something told me to investigate. Turning the car around, I realised I was in a holy grail of habitats, a ramshacked farm in shooting country, tall hedges and muddy lanes. I stood there, and in front of me, 2 Red Leg Partridge under a trailer, a covey of Grey partridge in the field, 2 Yellowhammer, in grass not 20 feet away. A huge 200+ finch flock on spilt grain in the track yielded a bakers dozen or so of Brambling. The massive flock was 500+ Corvids and 200+ feral pigeons.

A wonderful lane, wet, muddy and teaming with finches at 11am

But above all it was the thrill of the chase and being back where my heart is. Even though the name I carved into the Thrum as a child was covered in floodwater, and the dipper wasn't to be seen, a day on the Coquet in whatever weather, takes me back to working at Cragside and surveying Otters in the 1980's, grand days, grand days indeed. But what have they done to Rothbury??

I like to find things on my own, it's good to have knowledge (like the kind couple at Chew on New Years Day who let me view a snipe in their scope for another tick) but there's nothing worse for me than arriving somewhere and someone points out all the species present in 30 seconds. Takes away the fun.

Oh well I've verified my species and it's 91, not good, but not bad. Stephen Moss, top birder and all round good bloke, had 81, and mate Rob 98. We'll see what else comes in over the week and who the eventual winner is. But until then...I'll leave you with bullfinches at Washington WWT

New Years Day - end of the NHU Bird Cup

Well as New Years Day ended, I found myself in Lyme Regis in Dorset. Since posting the blog on the 21st December, I've driven 1200 miles (I know not very environmentally friendly), but that did include a week at my parents, vising friends, plus birding. I'm still verifying my final score but I think it's 93 species. Less than I'd hoped for but I had forgotten how tough it is birding up't north.

Down in Somerset/Dorset, we have large National Nature Reserves and they're chock full of goodies. Up in Northumberland and Durham, there is teaming bird life, but it takes a bit of finding. Most of my time was spent in open countryside, wild and unspoilt coastal areas or Local Nature Reserves managed by councils with little information to work from. One day I did go to Washington WWT and had a fabulous view of 20-30 bullfinches their feeding station. Something I'll not forget. I've attached a video of this. Not the best quality, but a reminder of an unexpected pleasure.

I'll post a resume of the highlights and species seen, when and where in my next blog. Before then, happy birding in 2008.