Pre-Christmas Birding

As the usual Christmas hyper-frenzy whips itself up into a spumey froth COVID continues to rear its ugly head with the new Omicron variant rampaging through the populace at a frightening pace and threatening a Christmas lock down again. At least I have my wildlife as a soothing antedote to all the current nonsense.

Despite the grey skies we had a quick walk around Plymouth Hoe on Tuesday 14th December to look for Purple Sandpiper and very luckily we found 2 feeding on the rocks below the Pier One Cafe along with 3 Turnstones. 

Purple Sandpiper, Plymouth Hoe

Purple Sandpiper

Thursday 16th December and I took a walk around Saltram and along the River Plym. It felt quite mild but I was still surprised to see a Red Admiral flying around. Less surprising was a male Winter Moth on the wall of the underpass at Marsh Mills. 

Winter Moth -  my first moth of 2021 and probably my last of 2021

I had a gentle saunter around and spent a bit of time looking for the reported Water Rail at the Wet Wood but without any luck. However the male Teal was still present on the duck pond with the Moorhens, Mallards and Mandarins and had now been joined by the wandering female Red-crested Pochard. 

Red-crested Pochard, Saltram

Male Teal, Saltram

Male Chaffinch with Fringilla papillomavirus on its feet

Chaffinch with Fringilla papillomavirus

Out on the Estuary a male and 4 female Goosander and 9 Wigeon were seen along with a Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret and 3 Grey Heron. 

With the tide heading in Blaxton Meadow was full of roosting birds and amongst the Dunlin, Redshank, Shelduck and Gulls were a Greenshank, a Black-tailed Godwit and a single adult Common Gull. 

That evening we headed out to the Plymouth Christmas Market for a look at the lights and decorations and very Christmassy it felt too, the first time I have felt festive this year although it may have been down to imbibing a little Christmas spirit. 

Christmas Drinkies in The Bread and Roses sat next to this beast of a tree! 

The plan had been to head off the next morning to Exmouth with Mavis for our usual Stuart Lines bird cruise on the River Exe but with COVID issues growing fast Mavis felt uncomfortable about going so unfortunately we decided to cancel. This resulted in me imbibing a little too much Christmas spirit the night before and so I had a bit of a thick head the next morning for my early start to catch the train to Torbay for a day's birding. 

My Birding Mojo is still flat but with the very real potential of another lock down coming I wanted to make the most of the current freedom and dragged myself out of bed, hangover headache or not. I arrived at Paignton at around 9:00 and decided to walk along the coast towards Broadsands and save myself the £5 bus fare and also to get rid of some of my Pre-Christmas blubber. The conditions weren't great as I had feared but also as I had expected, the recent calm weather and occasional sunny spells had gone and it was grey, dank and dull with a brisk Easterly breeze and swelly and choppy seas. 

I stopped off first at Saltern Cove and set up my scope from the beach and immediately picked up a probable Pomarine Skua distantly offshore hassling Kittiwakes but it quickly settled on the sea and was never seen again. I also found a smart Black-throated Diver closer in as it appeared and disappeared in the swell but it dived and then also wasn't refound. 

I carried on along the coast path towards Broadsands but stopped off at a bench on the cliff top before reaching there for a better scan about although it was quite exposed and quite chilly in the breeze. Gannets, Kittiwakes, Shag, Fulmar, Razorbill and Guillemots were all seen along with very brief views of 3 Great Northern Divers and more prolonged views of a Red-throated Diver. A flyover Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Raven along with 2 Brent Geese flying west added some variety and interest. 

Torbay not looking at its best from my clifftop bench - Brixham is in the distance

I headed back to Goodrington where offshore a Black-throated Diver and a dark looking Great Crested Grebe were seen and a look at the boating lake revealed 6 male and 3 female Tufted Duck and a Coot amongst the Mallards and Gulls.

Tufted Duck, Goodrington Boating Lake

Male Mallard with Angel Wing

I picked out a very white headed juvenile Gull, a 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull, resting on the side of the lake amongst the assorted Gulls present and noticed it had a yellow ring on its right leg with black letters just as it decided to drop down onto the water before I could read it properly. It sat around on the water for a while before flying off out to sea and I never did get a proper read on its ring.

Yellow-legged Gull hiding its right leg ring (Yellow with black letters) 

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

I carried on to nearby Clennon Lakes to play hide and seek with a Yellow-Browed Warbler but the Warbler won and I failed to see it although I think I did hear it calling a few times. I did however see up to 4 Chiffchaff, a Firecrest, Goldcrests, a male Bullfinch, a male Gadwall, a Little Grebe and a Little Egret and I heard a Water Rail squealing and a Great Spotted Woodpecker chipping away before I gave up and headed home. 

Male Gadwall, Clennon Lakes

My train to Plymouth from Newton Abbot was cancelled and so I sat on the platform for an hour waiting for the next one, not the best end to a so-so birding day but in keeping with my general mood at the moment. 

Saturday 18th December and back to work with another busy shift as it always is these days but it was brightened up by a female type Black Redstart flitting about the rooftops as viewed from the staff room window when I grabbed myself a quick cup of tea. 

After working two very busy long days over the weekend and with a night shift then looming large on Monday 20th December I had planned for a quiet day but with news of a male Pochard on the River Plym I headed out to Marsh Mills for a quick look. Needless to say I didn't see it but it was good to be out for a bit of exercise despite the cold and grey conditions. 

I did see a few good birds though on my hour and a half visit with the highlights being a Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Common Sandpiper, 8 Goosander (4 males), 8 Little Grebe, a Kingfisher, a Jay and a Greenshank.

A Kingfisher in the gloom, River Plym

 

I was very knackered after a busy night shift with no break following on from my 2 busy day shifts but I headed out for a repeat walk along the River Plym and around Saltram Park on Wednesday December 22nd. It was another cold and grey day but I did briefly see something rare - the sun! - and it was good to get out for some fresh air and exercise despite feeling so tired.

Little Egret - with reflection!

The usual birds were seen again - the Red-crested Pochard on the duck pond ( but no sign of the male Teal), 4 noisey Ring-necked Parakeets, a Greenshank, a Black-tailed Godwit, just 2 Common Sandpipers, a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, 4 Little Grebe and a male and 2 female Goosander.

Red-crested Pochard

Mandarin Ducks on the River Plym including the male with the unusual head pattern

A Peregrine was seen flying over and spooking all the Gulls out on the estuary including 3 adult Common Gull. Also seen were 3 male Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Goldcrest, at least 8 Redwing and 27 Wigeon (10 males). Unfortunately a stake out of the Wet Wood didn't provide a sighting of the Water Rail again.

It's unlikely I'll get any more birding in between now and New Year what with Christmas and work and stuff but I've enjoyed all the wildlife distractions on the lead up to the "Big Day" itself. And I'm getting excited to see what next year will bring on the wildlife front.

The 301st - Pallas's Warbler, Cornwall

Thursday 14th February and a beautifully sunny and bright and still morning saw us walking to Turnchapel via Laira Bridge before catching the ferry back to The Barbican from Mount Batten. It was mild but chilly out of the sun and despite forgetting both my binoculars and camera I did see a common sandpiper with a redshank roosting on a decaying barge in Pomphlett Creek on the high tide and a greenshank, redshank, common sandpiper and turnstones along the shore at Hooe Lake.

Friday 15th February was the first year anniversary of the death of my father-in-law and so we all assembled at the grave side in Ford Park Cemetery to lay flowers, plant bulbs and reflect before heading off for a meal at The Harbour restaurant on The Barbican.

It was bright and sunny and I had a quick wander off to look for a reported male black redstart and I quickly found it near the chapels, locating it more easily as it gave its anxiety call note. It stopped calling but showed very well in the bright sunshine and allowed very close views before moving off amongst the tombstones and out of sight.

 Black Redstart, Ford Park Cemetery

Black Redstart, Ford Park Cemetery

Black Redstart , Ford Park Cemetery

Sunday 17th February and we walked down to The Royal William Yard for coffee and cake on another bright and sunny day and on the walk back home I had a nice surprise with a calling yellow-browed warbler heard in trees along Cremyll Street near the Cremyll ferry slipway at Admirals Hard. It was very vocal and quite loud and at first I wasn't sure if it was a yellow-browed warbler or the squeaky swing in the children's playground nearby but as I approached the evergreen oak trees it quite clearly was a yellow-browed warbler. I couldn't find it amongst the leaves of the tree and it eventually fell silent but a very nice find indeed.

Monday 18th February and the last day of my week off work saw me heading off into the wilds of Cornwall again to look for a bird, this time a Pallas's warbler at a sewage farm at Coverack on The Lizard and somewhere I haven't visited before. After a bad night's sleep with weird dreams and thoughts and regular awakenings a 06:00hrs train to Redruth didn't feel like a good idea but once I was on my way it was ok and I managed to stay awake on the journey this time. While waiting for the bus to Helston from Redruth station a flyover peregrine was a nice surprise and while waiting for the bus to Coverack from Helston a grey wagtail feeding with 2 pied wagtails on a nearby bowling green was nice to watch.

I arrived at Coverack at around 9:45hrs and again it was a bright and sunny day and I headed off along the coast path to the sewage farm on the outskirts of the village. As expected the sewage farm was surrounded by a mass of overgrown vegetation and trees hampering viewing but there were plenty of birds flitting about and amongst the blue tits, wrens, robin's, great tits, chaffinches, long-tailed tits and blackbirds I did get a brief view of a firecrest and better views of a goldcrest and a chiffchaff.

There is a Pallas's Warbler in there somewhere! - Coverack Sewage Farm

I eventually found the Pallas's warbler feeding in the branches close to the footpath before it moved deeper into the trees and out of sight and as expected it did not stop moving for a second as it flitted through the branches. Good views were had though although it was mostly obscured by twigs and ivy leaves but I did get flashes of its yellow rump as if flew between branches. I watched it looking uphill and from below but did get a few brief views of its yellow central crown stripe at times and overall it was a very handsome and bright looking bird and my first lifer of the year.

I managed to get a few more brief views of the bird as it moved through the trees before just seeming to disappear and before I had to leave I managed my best views as it called for some time in the trees right above my head before moving off again - a very smart and characterful bird but no chance of any photographs by me so a few below from the CBWPS Website.

Pallas's Warbler - Courtesy of Linton Proctor, CBWPS Website 

Pallas's  Warbler - Courtesy of Dougy Wright, CBWPS Website 

Pallas's  Warbler - Courtesy of David Collins, CBWPS Website

I had a brief look offshore while waiting for the bus back to Helston and picked up a few gannets, shags and cormorants along with a female eider, a distant great northern diver and a very distant group of 5 probable black- throated divers snorkelling and diving together but too far out to call.

I had an hour in Helston before the bus back to Redruth so walked down to the boating lake for a quick look around. A ring-billed gull had been reported a few days previously but as I scanned through the herring and black-headed gulls I could only find an adult lesser black-backed gull and 8 Mediterranean gull amongst them (7 adults moulting into summer plumage and a 1st winter bird moulting into 1st summer plumage).

I also found the long-staying male ferruginous duck feeding out on the lake with tufted ducks, a presumed feral bird but nice to see and looking very smart in the sunshine.

 Ferruginous Duck, Helston

Ferruginous Duck, Helston

 Ferruginous  Duck, Helston

Tufted Duck, Helston

Back to Redruth by bus for the train back to Plymouth and it had been a very successful and enjoyable day and on arriving back home and checking my notes I realised that the Pallas's warbler was my 301st British bird - unbeknown to me I had finally hit the 300 mark with Pomarine skua at Penzance before Christmas!

Tree Sparrows in Suffolk and a London Stopover

November 2nd and again I thought I could hear a firecrest calling in the back yard as I was about to leave the house for the walk to the railway station and the train journey to Ipswich to visit family. A quick look in the bushes and sure enough there was a firecrest feeding in the still leafy lilac tree next door before it flew off towards the park, a garden tick for me in what has been a firecrest autumn this year.

The train journey was hassle free and very pleasant with mostly sunny skies but occassional foggy patches. We travelled via Bristol and Swindon to London and so had good views of the Uffington white horse as we sped past and I managed good views too of many red kites between Swindon and London as they soared overhead in the sunny and calm conditions.

November 3rd and another sunny and calm day and so we drove out to Ampton in the Suffolk countryside on the way to the antiques and garden centre at nearby Risby. I visited Ampton back in 2015 where a feeding station attracted many tree sparrows to it and I wasn't disappointed again this time with tree sparrows easily seen on the feeders as soon as we arrived at the site. They were a little skittish and flighty but I managed some great views as they fed alongside greenfinch and goldfinch and a lone redpoll while a brown rat fed on the dropped seed underneath them.

 Tree Sparrow

 Tree Sparrows and Greenfinch

Tree Sparrows

I checked out the nearby fields where pheasents and red legged partridges were feeding but a scan through the chaffinches didn't reveal any bramblings. A flock of around 40 fieldfares flew over before doubling back and dropping down into the tree tops, surprisingly my first of 2017, and amongst them was a single redwing before they all flew off and disappeared from view.

We continued onwards towards Risby but stopped off along the way at Lackford Lakes, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve that I have only briefly visited once before. We enjoyed hot chocolate and cake at the visitors centre, sitting outside on the benches and enjoying the warm sunshine while common darters flew around us before Mum and David headed off to Risby leaving me behind to explore the reserve.

Lackford Lakes

Lackford Lakes are like a rich mans Stover, a large site with a collection of lakes, reed beds, damp woodland and fields and numerous hides along the paths but without yummy mummies power walking their offspring in strollers and canine lovers emptying their dogs. There were however the ubiquitous photographers with massive camera lenses clogging up the hides with all their photographic equipment but I had a very enjoyable 90 minutes wandering around before Mum and David arrived to pick me up.

It was good to see numerous pochard out on the lakes, an increasingly rare sight here in Devon, along with tufted duck, teal, mallard, gadwall, shoveler, wigeon, a male goosander and 3 goldeneye (a male, a female and an immature male). Lapwing looked stunning in the sunshine and snipe showed very well feeding in the grassy and boggy areas, a marsh tit flew through the alders and a Cettis warbler belted out song in the wet undergrowth. A kingfisher was heard and greylag geese, Canada geese, coot, moorhen, a little egret, a grey heron, cormorant, a little grebe, lesser black backed gulls, 2 great crested grebes, a flyover buzzard and a yaffling green woodpecker were also noted before I had to leave but I was very impressed with the reserve and my sightings.

Immature Male Goldeneye

The next day was cold and grey and wet so no birding for me, instead we went Christmas shopping in Ipswich which was the joy it always is, and that evening we went to see Alison Moyet in concert at the Regent Theatre which was absolutely brilliant.

Sunday 5th November and it was time to head back to Plymouth by train but with a stopover in London for a few hours allowing me time to visit Hyde Park for some birding and David time to go shopping. It was another beautiful day with sunshine and blue skies but a biting cold breeze and I arrived at The Serpentine in Hyde Park at around 12:30. Unfortunately it was a sunny sunday and so the park was extra busy but I managed some good and close sightings despite the crowds and disturbance as the wildlife is quite used to us humans.

I quickly found 3 male and a female red crested pochard sleeping on the water underneath the overhanging tree branches on the opposite bank where I saw them back in 2014. They occassional woke up and looked around before going back to sleep as they floated around amongst pochard and tufted duck and a nice (plastic) year tick for me. Also on the water were mallard, shoveler, a pair of gadwall, a little grebe, 4 great crested grebe, cormorant, Canada geese, greylag geese, 4 Egyptian geese, a grey heron, coot, moorhen and gulls (herring, common, black headed and lesser black backed).

 Red Crested Pochard

 Red Crested Pochard

Red Crested Pochard

 Tufted Duck

 Tufted Duck

 Shoveler

Shoveler

 Egyptian Goose

  Egyptian Goose

 Grey Heron

 Grey Heron

Common Gull

Common Gull

 Common Gull

 Lesser Black Backed Gull

 Black Headed Gull

Black Headed Gull

Ring necked (or rather rose ringed) parakeets were very noisy and obvious as they flew around and fed from peoples hands and I joined in the fun when somebody gave me some sunflower seeds, getting some great views of the birds as they nibbled away in my palm - love them or loathe them, they are great looking birds and are doing very well but at what cost to our native wildlife? They were certainly popular with the assorted crowds and maybe can help spark an interest in wildlife in some of those present?

 Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeets

I had a look for the little owls in the chestnut trees but without any luck. I did meet Ralph who writes a very good daily blog with some good photos all about the varied wildlife in the park (www.kensingtonandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk) but he was not very friendly or open or forthcoming about the owls and quickly scurried off although his blog has 2 lovely photos of 2 of the little owls he saw that day - I guess he was having a bad day or maybe my scary countenance spooked him? (!).

Other birds seen were a nuthatch, a dunnock, robins, blackbirds, long tailed tits, great tits, blue tits, feral pigeons and jackdaws before I walked over to the Natural History museum to meet David and have a quick look around before walking back to Paddington to catch the train home to Plymouth - a busy few days away but a very enjoyable time with 3 year ticks to add to the list.

 Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum