Sunny Days Out

With a sunny and calm day forecasted for Saturday 22nd February I decided to head out to look for Goshawks at my usual spot. However I read the bus timetables incorrectly and ended up having to catch a different numbered bus before walking about a mile to get to my usual starting point but never mind, the extra exercise will do me good.

There was very little breeze and it was a little bit misty and hazy but it felt mild and there were birds singing away as I began my walk up to my lookout point. The path wasn't too muddy either and the mist slowly began to dissipate as the breeze gently picked up.

I managed to find 4 Red-legged Partridges in the fields amongst copious Pheasants along with a male Stonechat, a Mistle Thrush and around 20 skittish Redwings. I had a look for Fieldfare too but with no luck and I drew a blank on Marsh Tit in the woodland as well.

I was hot and out of puff on negotiating the hills to get to my lookout spot but after catching my breath and setting my scope up I began to scan the skies only to find nothing was up on the air, not even a Buzzard. I figured that it may have been too early in the day as the breeze hadn't really gotten going and while it felt mild it wasn't that warm and thermals hadn't started to develop so I just had to wait. 

Goshawk Viewpoint

Eventually I picked up a few Buzzards displaying and soon after a distant Goshawk which showed briefly over the trees before disappearing, a large looking bird and with Colgate white underparts in the bright sunshine. I eventually refound it but it had flown further up the valley and then it disappeared from view again.

More Buzzards were taking to the air along with a female Sparrowhawk and a few Raven before I found another Goshawk circling with 2 Buzzards, this bird was darker underneath but it was large again and had a few feints at one of the Buzzards before drifting away.

I then found another Goshawk, large and very white looking underneath but with some secondary feathers missing on its right wing. At one point a male Sparrowhawk appeared and interacted with it before heading away and it looked really tiny compared to the Goshawk.

I then caught sight of possibly the first Goshawk I had seen earlier and I watched it for a while in display flight mode with its white under tail coverts all fluffed out. It was a joy to watch despite being high up in the sky and distant but the stylised wing flapping and swoops and stalls were great to see.

Very suddenly all the Woodpigeons and Corvids in the nearby wood noisely scattered out of the trees and as I watched I picked up an immature Goshawk powering through the branches causing complete panic. It disappeared over a ridge but I continued to see Woodpigeons and Crows taking to the air along its route, a close but all too brief view of a monster of a bird, large, fast and powerful looking and exciting to see.

It was soon time to head back home but not before my tripod snapped on me, I'm not sure what happened but as I turned the scope around to scan the sky it buckled towards me and as I looked down one of the legs had just snapped off! I wonder if there had been some stress damage to the leg when it fell off Langstone Rock and onto the beach below back in 2022 and today it finally gave up the ghost, it's never been the same since this incident anyway but hopefully David can work his magic on it and sort out some kind of a repair.

Velbon Tripod Woes

David very cleverly managed to fix the tripod using a glass fibre rod and epoxy, it seems to be OK but I'll have to see how it fares in the field. I did fish out my old Opticron tripod to use in the meantime, I bought it back in 2012 and I only used it a few times as I didn't get on with it so it was stored away and forgotten about but it's actually not a bad scope and has a Manfrotto head on it. 

With Tuesday 25th February being another fine and sunny day and wanting my repaired tripod to be rested for a bit longer I decided to take my old Opticron tripod out birding with me on a trip to Looe to see how I got on with it in case the Velbon tripod repair didn't hold.

The forecast was for a lovely day but no sooner had I stepped off the train at Looe than I was greeted with rain! I walked out to nearby Hannafore Point, somewhere I haven't visited before, and as I arrived the rain fortunately cleared through and the sun reappeared.

I set up my scope and scanned about, finding a male and an immature male Eider close in offshore along with Gulls, Shags and Cormorants. I also found a distant Great Northern Diver and then an even more distant group of 4 more before finally getting onto a Slavonian Grebe just as it dived underwater. Despite scanning about with my scope it took me a while to refind it but eventually it showed well if distantly in harsh light and swelly seas.

Eiders

Banjo Pier, Looe

Also of note were a Razorbill, 2 Curlew, a Kestrel, a Grey Seal and 9 Rabbits before I headed back to the train station in Looe for the journey home but not before picking up some lemon meringue pie from a cafe for our tea.

"Nelson", Looe

And so to the tripod, it's actually a pretty good one, much better than my Velbon tripod, stronger and sturdier but heavier and bulky and especially the head which seems overly complicated and has an unnecessarily long panning handle. It has twist leg locks too which I'm not keen on but overall it's not bad and better than I remember.

It was another lovely sunny day on Thursday 27th February as I headed down to Cornwall with my friend Sue to hopefully see the juvenile Spoonbill wintering on the Hayle estuary. On arriving at Copperhouse Creek we quickly found the Spoonbill feeding on the low tide before it promptly went to sleep as Spoonbills are prone to doing but it gave some nice views when it occassionally woke up. Other highlights here were a Snipe, a Chiffchaff, a Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Grey Plover and 2 Greenshank.

Spoonbill - a new bird for Sue

We carried onwards to nearby Godrevy but not before paying a brief visit to Sue's Uncle Pete in Carbis Bay and while it had been warm in the sunshine at the sheltered Copperhouse Creek it was cooler in the breeze at the more exposed cliffs of Godrevy. This didn't seem to bother the 100+ Grey Seals hauled out on the beach or swimming in the sea at Mutton Cove, an amazing sight and the most Grey Seals I've ever seen together.

Godrevy Lighthouse

Grey Seals, Mutton Cove

Grey Seals

Other highlights here were 2 Raven, a Kestrel, 2 Fulmars, 2 Guillemots, Gannets and Kittiwakes but the birds of the day were 2 Chough which flew high overhead calling before drifting off towards Hayle.

It was yet again a sunny day on Friday 28th February so we headed out to Hope Cove for a walk along the coast path to Thurlestone and back. The sea was flat calm and birdless but South Huish Marsh was flooded and packed out with birds and the highlights were 2 Water Rails feeding out in the open with a third bird heard, 10+ Snipe, 7 Oystercatcher, 3 Little Egret, 2 pairs of Stonechats, a Greylag Goose and 2 Cattle Egret.

Raven, Hope Cove

And so February comes to an end, a sixth of the year already gone, and the dry and sunny weather is looking set to continue for a few more days yet.

A 4 Grebe Day

It was back to being cold and cloudy again with a biting easterly wind on Thursday 13th February but I headed over to Torpoint for a look about off Marine Drive on the low tide. I didn't arrive until around 1pm just as the low tide was on the turn and there was a lot of mud on view in the dull and grey light.

On arriving I had a quick scan about with my binoculars and immediately picked up a Slavonian Grebe along the shoreline just as it dived underwater. I set my scope up for a better look but couldn't refind it although I did pick up a Little Grebe and then a Black-necked Grebe in the same area. I began to doubt myself before eventually refinding the Slavonian Grebe, I had a few more brief views of it between dives before it just disappeared as Slavonian (and Red-necked) Grebes often do here at St.Johns Lake and I never saw it again.

The Black-necked Grebe continued to give some nice views though but again spent very little time at the surface between dives as it covered quite a large area and was difficult to keep track of. The Little Grebe was eventually joined by another and a Great Northern Diver appeared briefly but I spent some time watching 3 Common Scoter which had been asleep out on the water before waking up to feed on Crabs. One bird was a female but the other two were immature males, one with black and brown plumage and an area of yellow developing on the top of its bill and the other with no yellow on the bill and more female type plumage but with darker feathering appearing on the face and back.

I then walked over to nearby Chapeldown Road where I found another Little Grebe and another Black-necked Grebe along with 5 Great Crested Grebes but there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe so I had to make do with a 4 Grebe day. I also picked up another small Grebe diving away over on the opposite shore, distant views only even with my scope and in choppy waters but either my 3rd Black-necked Grebe of the day (at least 4 have been present here this winter) or the elusive Slavonian Grebe. Needless to say I soon lost track of it and I never saw it again.

Across the mudflats the usual Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Teal, Grey Plover, Wigeon and Shelduck were noted along with a Little Egret and Common Gulls while Turnstones and 3 Ringed Plover were feeding on the seaweed covered shore in front of me. To round off my short visit I found another Great Northern Diver feeding by the Torpoint Ferry as I headed home, a nice end to a very cold birding visit.

Great Northern Diver

It was milder and there were occassional sunny spells on Sunday 16th February as I headed out to The Plym for a walk but it was still cold in the strong easterly breeze. I had hoped to be up and out early but after a family meal and drinks the previous day I had trouble getting started and I didn't arrive at Longbridge until around 9:30am where it was already busy with walkers and dogs.

Snowdrops at Saltram

High tide was at around 8:00am and with it being a spring tide Blaxton Meadow was a lake with no mud on show at all and so Curlews and 15 Oystercatchers were roosting on the islands in front of the hide and Redshanks were roosting along the embankment at the back with 8 Greenshank, at least 6 Dunlin and a Snipe. Also present amongst the usuals were 14 Common Gulls (12 adults, 2 1st winters) and 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls plus a female Teal was found feeding in amongst the Wigeon. A surprise sighting was of 2 Collared Doves feeding together along the waters edge at the back of the Meadow.

Wigeon

Redshank

Out on the river there were 2 pairs of Goosanders, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Mute Swan, a Little Grebe and 2 Shags but there was no sign of the recent Great Northern Divers.

The view from above The Amphitheatre

Around The Park the highlights were 2 Skylark, a pair of Stonechat, 2 Meadow Pipit, 3 Bullfinch (2 males), 2 Greenfinch and 4 Roe Deer. The female Red-crested Pochard was still present on the duck pond with the Mandarin Ducks and the 2 Stock Dove were still present eating grain on the pond side.

Red-crested Pochard 

Good to see some repair work being done to the fencing at the Wet Wood to keep the numerous dogs out

Mute Swan - maybe one of 2024's cygnets?

Corky Bark on Field Elm

River Plym x 2, Wembury and The Hoe

The wind had eased down on Saturday 8th February but it was grey and cold as I headed out to The Plym for a short walk from Longbridge to The Amphitheatre and back. With the Curlew Sandpiper being seen on the high tide on Blaxton Meadow earlier in the week I took my scope with me but sadly there was no sign of it amongst the Dunlin on the incoming tide. Indeed there were only 28 Dunlin present, I wonder where all the small waders go at times, presumably over to The Tamar complex

Also on Blaxton Meadow were 2 Greenshank, 29 Curlew, 16 Oystercatcher, Redshank, Wigeon, Shelduck and 2 Little Egret and amongst the roosting Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls present were 9 Common Gulls (8 adults and a first-winter) and a Great Black-backed Gull.

Along the river there were 2 Great Northern Divers, 4 pairs of Goosanders, a female Mandarin Duck, 3 Moorhen and a Grey Wagtail while in the park 3 Coal Tit, 3 Nuthatch and a Song Thrush were noted.

Nuthatch

On the walk back to the bus stop near Sainsbury's I had a look on the walls of the underpass to see if any moths had been lured in by the lights, I wasn't expecting anything considering the cold temperatures we've been having and especially at night but I found a very nice Angle Shades Moth, my first moth of the year.

Angle Shades

The Curlew Sandpiper was reported as being present on Blaxton Meadow the following day (Sunday) and so I decided against my better judgement to have another look for it on Monday 10th February. It was a grey and cold day and with high tide due at around 4:30pm I didn't head out until 1pm. Needless to say the Curlew Sandpiper was a no show and I didn't even find a single Dunlin but such is birding.

The usual birds were out on Blaxton Meadow again on the incoming tide and included 12 Common Gulls (9 adults, 3 1st winters), an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and 7 Greenshank.

I had a quick detour up to the duck pond this time and the female Red-crested Pochard was present there with at least 45 Mandarin Ducks. Families were feeding the Ducks and a Nuthtach was picking out peanuts from amongst the cobbles and 2 Stock Doves were eating the grain thrown onto the ground.

Red-crested Pochard and Mandarin

Red-crested Pochard 

Mandarin

Stock Dove

There was no sign of any Great Northern Divers out on the river and Goosander numbers were down to 1 male and 3 female birds but there were now 2 Little Grebes present. The only other bird of note was a male Kestrel seen briefly flying over before disappearing into a tree.

It was chilly and grey again on Tuesday 11th February as I headed out to Wembury on the 9:05am bus. There was very little breeze and the air felt very cold which may have been the reason it was quiet again with very few walkers and dogs about. The recent dry and cold weather also meant that the footpath was a lot more passable than on my last visit.

It was low tide so I was pleased to get a brief view of a Redshank feeding down amongst the rocks by the waters edge along with flight views of at least 9 Turnstones. The usual Oystercatchers were present too along with 2 Little Egrets, a Canada Goose, 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls and 6 Mallards (4 males, 2 females).

I walked up to the sunflower field at The Point and was pleased to find 2 Reed Buntings in amongst the Cirl Buntings, a female and an immature male so at least 3 birds have been present here. There was a large flock of flighty Woodpigeons present too and amongst them were at least 11 Stock Doves while a Red-legged Partridge was heard calling amongst all the dead vegetation. A flock of around 40 Linnet were still present along with a few Chaffinch and Skylark while overhead a Kestrel flew across the field along with a surprise Great Spotted Woodpecker. 

Wembury Point - A shame that not all dog walkers can read

Offshore I finally managed to find a few adult Gannets flying about, my first at Wembury this year, but even better was a distant Great Northern Diver powering through and heading east. A very foolish Buzzard decided to fly out to The Mewstone where it was given very short shrift by Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls while the Fulmars ignored all the fuss and just continued to wheel around their nesting cliffs.

Other birds of note on my walk were a chilly looking Chiffchaff feeding along the beach, a flyover Raven at the church and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Sparrows and 3 Collared Doves in the village.

It was a little warmer the following day (Wednesday 12th February) and with lovely sunny skies for a change so we took a walk around Plymouth Hoe. It was low tide and not the best time to look for Purple Sandpipers and as expected I didn't find any, in fact there hasn't been any reports of them being seen on The Hoe this winter as far as I'm aware. I did see a nice Great Northern Diver close offshore though but even better was a male Black Redstart near the RNLI building, the same place I saw one this time last year and possibly the same returning bird?

Stover and a Return to The Exe

We headed out to Stover for a visit on Thursday 6th February, it was cool and sunny and the walk was not too muddy underfoot. The highlight was a Marsh Tit at the feeders with Coal, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits although it took a bit of a wait to finally catch sight of it. Also present around the feeders were 2 Stock Doves, a male Pheasant, a Buzzard, 2 Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Robin and some very plump Grey Squirrels.

Out on the lake amongst the Mallard, Coot and Moorhen were 9 quite tame Tufted Ducks (6 males), 6 quite tame Goosanders (3 pairs), a twitchy pair of Wigeon, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Cormorants and 4 Mute Swans.

Tufted Duck

Goosanders

It was sunny but cold in a biting easterly wind as I headed off to Exminster Marsh on Friday 7th February. I caught the train to Starcross and on arriving I decided to ditch the bus and walk to the Marsh instead so saving me some money and shifting some of my post-Christmas lard in the process.

The walk was heavy going in the cold wind and eventually the clouds rolled in making it feel even colder especially along the seawall from Powderham to Turf. It was surprisingly sheltered though when I finally arrived at the lock gates and I quickly found the Long-billed Dowitcher here happily feeding out on the mud and quite close to the path.

Long-billed Dowitcher 

Long-billed Dowitcher 

Long-billed Dowitcher 

It was busily feeding away on its own along the shoreline and rarely stopped for more than a few seconds and at times it came very close. It seems to have settled here for the moment as it continues to overwinter in various spots around The Exe but the views today were by far the best I've ever had. It was an interesting bird to watch, like a cross between a Snipe and a Bar-tailed Godwit, and appearing to be quite plain too until a close up look revealed beautifully intricate plumage details.

I continued my walk up along the canal to the viewing platform, the wind was evil here so I didn't stay long but I did manage to see the wintering male Scaup out on the lagoon amongst Tufted Ducks and a pair of Pochard. It was now in adult plumage and looking much smarter than when I saw it at Bowling Green Marsh in December, sadly though it was fast asleep and only occassionally and very briefly woke up before returning to its slumbers.

I soon had enough of the cold wind so I returned to the sheltered lock gates for another look at the Long-billed Dowitcher. It was still happily feeding away out on the mud and was a little closer again as the tide headed in and this time it was keeping company with an equally confiding Greenshank.

Greenshank and Long-billed Dowitcher 

Greenshank and Long-billed Dowitcher 

Greenshank and Long-billed Dowitcher

All the usual birds were seen along my walk too including Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Avocet, Pintail, Shoveler, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank and Brent Geese. Also of note were a Rock Pipit at the lock gates, a Little Grebe on the lagoon, a Snipe, a Kestrel, a male Red-breasted Merganser and 3 Stonechat (2 males).

Brent Goose

The walk back to Starcross was just as windblown but this time I walked along the sheltered cycle path instead of the exposed footpath which was much more pleasant. Along the way the Fallow Deer were showing well in Powderham Park and the Grey Herons were back on their treetop nests despite the wind. Eventually I arrived back at Starcross and caught the train back to Plymouth, I had considered stopping off at Dawlish Warren for a quick look about but the wind and choppy seas put me off that idea and I headed straight home instead. A good day out though despite the conditions and all for the princely sum of £7.30 on the train (with my Devon and Cornwall Railcard).

Wembury and The Exe

After all the excitement of Slimbridge it was back to more usual local fare on Monday 3rd February as I caught the 9:05am bus out to Wembury for a walk. It was a sunny and fresh morning and surprisingly quiet at Wembury again with only a few people and dogs about (not that I'm complaining), it was also quiet on the birding front too but I managed a few interesting sightings.

It was high tide when I arrived and Oystercatchers were roosting out on the rocks while 17 Turnstone were feeding on the seaweed mass at the top of the beach. There were 9 Little Egrets roosting in the wheatfield with Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls and amongst them I picked out an adult Mediterranean Gull and an adult Common Gull. Later there were 3 adult and a 1st winter Common Gull feeding together offshore but again I couldn't find any Gannets passing by.

I had a look in the sunflower field at The Point following reports of Reed Bunting and Brambling being seen there amongst the finches and buntings. The field seemed empty at first except for a very smart male Reed Bunting perched up on a dead sunflower head, only my 3rd sighting of one at Wembury, but I could see small flocks of birds flying about at the back of the field before dropping out of view so I went to investigate. Eventually I found around 100 Linnet and 70 Chaffinch, the numbers being noticeably lower than on my last visit, and there were also Skylarks, Cirl Buntings and Goldfinch mixed in with them along with the/a male Reed Bunting. A Kestrel perched up on the telegraph wires was keeping an eye on their activities too.

Reed Bunting

Other sightings of note were a Firecrest and a Grey Squirrel in a village garden, a female Sparrowhawk hunting along the footpath at The Point, 2 Chiffchaff flycatching along the beach and a Blue Tit prospecting a nesting hole in a telegraph pole.

It was a cold and frosty but sunny start on Wednesday 5th February as I caught the bus out to Plympton to rendezvous with my mate Mavis for a birding day out at Topsham. After getting off the bus at St.Marys Bridge in Plympton I had a look along the stream as I walked up to our meeting point, there were no Dippers present but I did find 3 noisy Grey Wagtails and a female Goosander.

The drive up to Bowling Green Marsh was uneventful and we were ensconced in the quiet bird hide by 09:45am as the tide was heading in. There were lots of birds out on the Marsh and with the rising tide small flocks of waders began to appear to roost and we had a great time scanning through them.

Highlights were a Ruff, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 200+ Avocets, 5+ Snipe and 2 male Tufted Ducks amongst the usual Redshank, Lapwing, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Shelduck, Mallard and Shoveler. Amongst the Canada Geese were 7+ Greylag Geese and 2 Swan Geese and a few Brent Geese were seen flying over to the estuary.

Shovelers

Pintails

Canada Geese

Swan Geese 

Spotted Redshank amongst the Redshank

We headed over to the viewing platform as the tide began to drop and as we scanned across the slowly appearing mud the waders from the Marsh arrived and we had some great views of the Ruff, a Spotted Redshank, Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits and we also found a few Curlew, an Oystercatcher and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits. Out on the river we also found 5 Red-breasted Mergansers with the 3 males busily displaying away to the 2 females present with them. An all too brief view of a Marsh Harrier was had as it flew over the reedbeds and up The Clyst and a Chiffchaff was seen flitting about in the brambles.

Redshank and Spotted Redshank

Onwards to The Goat Walk where we had lovely views of feeding Avocets along with distant Grey and Golden Plovers and Brent Geese. A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers flew upriver with 5 Turnstones and in the nearby fields we had some nice views of Redwings and a male Kestrel. 

Avocet

Kestrel

A great day out as always with some good birds seen, helped by the mostly sunny and calm weather and the high tide, and it was good to catch up with Mavis and share Christmas Cake and a bit of a laugh.

A Brilliant Day Trip to Slimbridge

Whooper Swan, Slimbridge

It was an early start on Saturday 1st February as I headed off to Slimbridge for the day, a trip postponed from December last year. As I made myself a cup of tea in the kitchen at the back of the house I was delighted to finally hear my first garden Robin of this winter  quietly singing away in the darkness outside despite it being the ungodly hour of 5:30am. Even better was a Robin singing away on the next door neighbours roof as I left the house to walk to the train station, it was brighter at the front of the house with the streetlamps and pub lights blazing away and the Robin was absolutely belting it out in the darkness, a joy to see and hear at last.

Robin (seen at Slimbridge)

I caught the train from Plymouth to Cam & Dursley as usual and with the return fare costing £95.50 I used Split Ticketing again and got the price down to £47.45! I caught exactly the same trains at exactly the same times but it was cheaper because I purchased 4 separate return tickets instead of the one, ie, Plymouth to Tiverton, Tiverton to Taunton, Taunton to Yate and Yate to Cam & Dursley returns - a totally ridiculous situation!

The journey went smoothly and to time and instead of booking (expensive) taxis to and from the station to WWT Slimbridge I registered for The Robin service with Gloucester County Council and arranged for a community minibus to transport me instead. It only cost me the grand sum of £6.00 return so saving me a good £35.00, a fantastic bargain!

The Robin ran to time too and I arrived at Slimbridge at around 9:45am to find it packed with people. It's quite busy on a Saturday in December when I usually visit but this was much more so and with it being a cold and grey but dry and calm day there were lots of families present with lots of kids running around everywhere, all hopefully the birders of the future. However they mostly kept to the collection areas so there wasn't too much disturbance in the birding areas but there were a lot of birders present too and the space in the hides was a bit tight at times.

Ring-necked Duck from the collection

Despite all this I ended up having a brilliant visit and managed to see all of my target birds bar one (Green-winged Teal) with the highlights being as follows:- 

Estuary Tower - a Little Stint and a Ringed Plover showed very well feeding on one of the small islands out on The Dumbles scrape before flying off. A Ross's Goose was feeding amongst the Feral flock of Barnacle Geese but I didn't pay much attention to it although I did find a distant Barnacle Goose sporting a white neck ring with black characters that unfortunately I couldn't read. A distant Peregrine was perched up on a fence and a Kestrel hovered overhead. 

South Lake Discovery Hide - a Spoonbill was asleep here before being seen later very much awake on The Tack Piece. The Green-winged Teal was reported from here but I failed to find it although 11 Avocet and a Great Crested Grebe showed very nicely.

Spoonbill - feeding on The Tack Piece

Kingfisher Hide - a Treecreeper, a Coal Tit and a pair of Siskins were seen around the bird feeders along with Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits. There were 2 Little Grebe on the pool in front of the Kingfisher nesting bank with a few Gadwalls, Mallards and Shovelers. Around 30 European White-fronted Geese flew into the fields having been seen earlier as part of a larger flock on The Tack Piece.

Siskin

Willow Hide - a Water Rail showed very well beneath the bird feeders and a Grey Squirrel was trying to chew into the containers to steal the food.

Water Rail

The Tack Piece - it was quite the spectacle here with birds everywhere but the highlight for me were 2 Whooper Swans in amongst the Bewick's Swans, my first at Slimbridge. One had recently been captured and ringed with the unfortunate letters ASS and had then been joined by another unringed bird.

Whooper Swan ASS

Sleepy ASS

Whooper Swans

There were quite a few ringed Bewick's Swans present too but sadly there are no cygnets present this year and the number of wintering adults is down too.

Bewick's Swans with assorted leg bling

Whoopers and a Bewick's Swan

A Whooper and Bewick's Swans

Whooper (l) and Bewick's (r)

Whoopers and a Bewick's Swan 

A Whooper and Bewick's Swans 

A Buzzard was sat up in a bare tree at the back of The Tack Piece much to the consternation of the Golden Plover, Lapwing and Dunlin flock present which regularly took to the air in spectacular fashion. The Redshank, 4 Curlew, 5 Snipe and 20+ Ruff present weren't so fussed and stayed put as did the 6 Common Cranes, 2 of which were ringed.

Ruff, Redshank, Shelduck and Lapwing

A Red Kite flying over also caused mayhem but a more distant Marsh Harrier hunting over the fields to the north went unnoticed. A Little Egret flew over too but looked tiny in comparison to the 3 Great White Egrets which flew over together, one bird flew low and slowly in an almost territorial style flight as the 2 higher birds powered through above it.

Pochard, Shoveler and Pintail were all year ticks here too and 3 Roe Deer were seen feeding along the hedgerow amongst the European White-fronted Goose flock.

Pintail

Tufted Duck

Wigeon

All too soon it was time to catch The Robin minibus back to Cam & Dursley station to start the journey home to Plymouth but before being picked up I had a look for a reported Glossy Ibis in the fields outside of the main entrance and I very luckily caught a sight of it before it flew off into the reserve.

Glossy Ibis - a record shot before it flew off!

The journey home ran just as smoothly as the mornings did and I arrived home tired but very happy after a great day's birding. Slimbridge is probably the furthest I travel on public transport for a days birding, it's a shame it isn't closer to Plymouth as I would love to visit it more often despite it always having a whiff of plastic-ness about it.