Red Crested Pochard at Burrator

Thursday 11th January and a bright and sunny but cold morning saw us heading out for a walk around Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor, something we have been trying to do for a few weeks now but have constantly been thwarted from doing because of the bad weather.

It was surprisingly quiet despite the good weather with very few people about and there were no photographers in the top car park so I failed to see any marsh tits but there were good numbers of coal tits around including a group of around 10 feeding together on the ground beneath some pine trees. Siskins were vocal and mobile and flighty in the tree tops and redwings were feeding in the leaf litter but the highlight were a pair of crossbills flying over, giving themselves away with their glipping calls.

The water level in the reservoir was high but it wasn't flowing over the dam and on the water were a male and 4 redhead goosanders, 2 white farmyard geese, a cormorant and a female red crested pochard with mallards, presumably the bird that has been eluding me on the River Plym for the past few months and which has also presumably been the bird that has been occassionally reported at Portworthy Dam near Lee Moor on Dartmoor.

 Red Crested Pochard, Burrator Reservoir

Red Crested Pochard

Red Crested Pochard

Plans for a long overdue walk at Wembury on Saturday 13th January were shelved due to yet more bad weather but Monday 15th was mostly bright and breezey and so I headed out on the bus for a quick walk. As expected the footpath was a treacherous quagmire and I spent a lot of time and energy watching my footing and not the birdlife but I managed to keep upright for a change and didn't get too muddy.

Highlights on the walk were 10+ cirl buntings in the sewage farm hedgerow which were very skulky and flighty, 3 chiffchaffs together feeding in the dead reeds at the base of the cliffs near the sewage pipe, a pair of kestrels, a 1st winter common gull feeding in the wheatfield stubble with black headed gulls, 2 adult lesser black backed gulls roosting on the rocks amongst the herring gulls and great black backed gulls, fulmars wheeling around the Mewstone cliffs and 2 male bullfinch feeding on bramble seeds.

Bullfinch, Wembury

Along the beach there were rock pipits, meadow pipits and pied wagtails feeding on the seaweed masses and I had a very brief view of a water pipit flying down to the rocks before then flying off out of sight, most frustrating but I will just have to visit again soon for another look.

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

Red Crested Pochard at Slapton Ley

With 3 days off together I had big plans to make the most of it including a birdwatching boat trip on the River Exe with my mates Mavis and Mike - however the boat trip has had to be rescheduled to March as Mike is unwell and I have had a stinking cold which has scuppered my energy levels and original plans.

Thursday 21st and I needed some fresh air and so I had a quick bus trip out to Laira Bridge over the River Plym to have a look for the black necked grebe I saw last week. The tide was high and it was a grey and gloomy day but I found the grebe quickly enough although it was further out from the bridge than last week and the views were not so good in the poor light. A grey wagtail and a curlew also flew over the bridge and I found a pair of blackcaps feeding in the ivy bushes on the wasteground at Friary Mill on the walk home.

Friday 22nd was bright and sunny but windy and despite the heavy overnight rain and recent wet weather we decided to head off to Stoke Point for a walk, a bit of a mistake as the path was a complete quagmire and we spent most of the time looking downwards to keep ourselves upright and as mud free as possible. Despite feeling shitty I managed the whole walk which I was pleased about and we had a nice lunch at The Ship Inn at Noss Mayo.

New for the year was a raven flying over looking very tatty with worn tail and wing feathering but a kestrel, a female sparrowhawk and a buzzard flying over looked much smarter. I checked out all the stonechats feeding in the gorse bushes but couldn't find any Dartford warblers. A flock of around 50 linnets feeding in a stubble field were the first for the year along with meadow pipits feeding on the grassy cliff tops and I also saw a goldcrest, chaffinches and bullfinches in the woods near the caravan park.

Despite the recent freezing weather a bumble bee, a bloody nose beetle and dung flies on the cow pats were also seen in the mild but blustery conditions.

Saturday 23rd and with rain forecast for the afternoon we headed off to Slapton Ley in the morning for a quick walk. As we arrived at Torcross I could see a male and female goldeneye and 2 male red crested pochard from the car quite close to the road and I managed to get some nice views of them amongst the tufted duck and coot. Scanning through the duck flock and I found 2 pairs of pochard along with the strange looking male tufted duck x red crested pochard hybrid that has been around for a few years now.

2 Male Red Crested Pochard with Mallard

Male Tufted Duck x Red Crested Pochard Hybrid (top left)

Tufted Duck/Red Crested Pochard Hybrid

Tufted Duck/Red Crested Pochard Hybrid

Walking along the Ley towards the bridge and a flock of 4 female and 3 male goldeneye were displaying together before dispersing across the Ley (the goldeneye were very mobile and flighty around the Ley and this was the highest number of birds I saw together).

Pair of Goldeneye

Pair of Goldeneye

From the bridge a chiffchaff with a silver leg ring showed well while 2 Cettis warblers and a water rail were heard calling. 2 guys with massive camera lenses made me chuckle as they were getting excited about a bird feeding in the reeds, thinking it was a kingfisher, but it turned out to be a blue tit, neither of them having any binoculars with them.

Heading back to Torcross and a scan of a large flock of ducks at the back of Ireland Bay and I found 2 black necked grebes amongst the tufted duck, coot and gadwall along with 3 little grebes - distant views as the grebes constantly dived in the increasingly gloomy conditions.

Black Headed Gull in almost Summer Plumage

Lunch at the Seabreeze café was delicious and just as we left the café it started to rain and so we headed off home but my year list is now on a very respectable 112.

South Devon Coast Day and a Trip to Dawlish Warren

A sunny but breezey day on October 28th and despite it being half term holiday hell we headed off to Prawle Point for a walk.

I have only been to Prawle Point once before, many years ago, and was struck at how isolated and unexplored it felt. The drive down to the car park at the Point followed an increasingly overgrown and narrowing pot-holed lane but we finally got there and I was rewarded with a firecrest feeding in the trees as soon as I got out of the car.The isolated location meant it wasn't too busy with people but a large walking group appeared on the footpath as we were leaving.

A male kestrel and a male stonechat along with a red admiral butterfly were seen on the walk to the Coastguards lookout and scanning the sea from the lookout there were a few gannets circling around. Closer inspection revealed at least 3 harbour porpoise beneath them and despite the choppy sea they showed very well as they surfaced at the top of a swell and then surfed just under the water as the swell rolled, the bright sunlight helping to highlight them very well under the water.

We had lunch at The Pigs Nose pub in Prawle village before heading off to Beesands. It was much busier here than at Prawle Point but we found a car parking space and walked off along the beach towards Slapton Ley, seeing a swallow around the houses and a large peregrine overhead. A quick look at the hedgerow near the hide at Beesands Ley revealed just 1 goldcrest but at least 4 chiffchaff feeding in with grest, blue and long tailed tits along with another red admiral.

At Slapton Ley a surprise were 2 male red crested pochard in front of the hide at Torcross, my first sighting here. They were found earlier in the autumn when they were in eclipse plumage but haven't been reported for a while. I have always thought of them as dabbling ducks despite their pochard name and so was surprised to see them both diving underwater for brief periods.

Record shot of the 2 male Red Crested Pochard

There were lots of variously plumaged and aged gulls bathing on the Ley and amongst the herring, black headed, lesser black backed and greater black backed gulls were a 1st winter Mediterranean gull and a first winter common gull. I also saw what I think was a 1st winter yellow legged gull but it was too distant in the fading light for me to be sure - why do I torture myself?

Saturday October 31st and another sunny but breezey day and I headed off to Dawlish Warren on the train, a bargain at £7.30 for a return. It was quiet on arrival at 9 o'clock but got busier with half term holiday makers as the day went on although it was nice and peaceful on the nature reserve itself.

A quick look off the seawall for a reported black redstart drew a blank and there was little offshore apart from gulls, shags and cormorants. I headed off to the hide as it was a very high tide and settled down to watch the wader roost. A surprise was the reported purple sandpiper, a first here for me, with the dunlin, knot, ringed plover, turnstone, curlew, oystercatcher, sanderling and grey plover but the birds were all very flighty and eventually the purple sandpiper was lost from sight. It was strange to see some of the waders roosting on the posts in front of the hide and even weirder to see a dunlin resting on the back of a knot on a post! In the estuary were a male and 2 female red breasted merganser and in The Bight were wigeon, 2 female teal, shelduck and (dark bellied) brent geese along with a very black brant looking pale bellied brent goose.

Turnstone on the Seawall

 Roosting Grey Plover, Dunlin and Knot from the hide

 Pale Bellied Brent Goose (left) with Dark Bellied Brent Geese and a Shelduck

 Pale Bellied (left) and Dark Bellied Brent Geese

Left to Right - Shelduck, 2 Dark Bellied Brent geese and a Pale Bellied Brent Goose

I headed off to Warren Point for a look around and had some nice views of a female Dartford warbler feeding in the gorse, a first for me here, but I dipped on the 2 short eared owls reported earlier.

A walk around the meadow and woods on the way back to the train station to look for the reported firecrest and yellow browed warbler also drew a blank and I didn't find the Pallas's warbler seen yesterday either. I did find a male great spotted woodpecker, 2 male and a female bullfinch, a singing chiffchaff and at least 5 goldcrests. A red admiral, a small tortoiseshell and a few common darter were also seen on the wing in the warm sunshine.

Common Darter

With the mild weather I decided to have the (repaired) moth box out in the back yard for probably the last time this year. I wasn't expecting much but this morning I had a large yellow underwing, a light brown apple moth, a rusty dot pearl and a Tachystola acroxantha, a nice end to my mothing year.

Plastic Year Ticking in London

A sunny but breezey walk at Bellever on Dartmoor on Sunday 9th November was relatively bird free with a flyover siskin, redpoll and great spotted woodpecker being the highlights. I thought I heard a crossbill flying over twice but couldn't be sure over the noise of the breeze and David yapping.

I did find some yellow stagshorn amongst the conifer tree plantation,  a very pretty fungus that grows on coniferous wood.

 Yellow Stagshorn

Yellow Stagshorn

On the way back to Plymouth we stopped off for a very tasty cream tea at the Two Bridges Hotel. In the car park were a few feral geese with one bird having angelwing. I had never heard of this condition until I began following an excellent blog about the birds of Kensington Gardens in London, written by Ralph Hancock. I have never knowingly seen it before but may have just not noticed it before, it occurs in young birds fed on a very rich diet and is common in wildfowl, especially those fed on bread in parks. The condition occurs at a certain point in their growth, causing the wing joint to turn outwards and rendering the bird flightless.

Feral Goose with Angelwing

With a trip to Suffolk to see family on November 12th I decided to stop off in London on the train journey to Ipswich to have a wander around Kensington Gardens, having been inspired by Ralphs blog.The journey up was very pleasent and I managed to see a kingfisher and 2 greenshank along the River Exe, 2 roe deer and around 20 red kites in the sunny conditions. Most of the kites were distant but a few were very close to the train as we sped by and were my first "plastic" birds of the day, having been reintoduced to England through a captive breeding programme. I also saw plenty of pheasents in the countryside, another introduced bird.

Arriving at The Serpentine in the Park I quickly found my first target birds - 4 male red crested pochards roosting under branches with pochards and only occasionally waking up to have a squabble with each other before going back to sleep.

Red Crested Pochard with Pochard on The Serpentine

Also seen were tufted duck, 2 pairs of shoveler, great crested grebe, common gull and grey heron, all giving amazing close views due to being quite used to the disturbance from people using the Park.

I could hear my second target bird squawking in a tree nearby and eventually found it hidden amongst the leaves - a smart ring necked parakeet looking a little out of place in London in November. I saw and heard quite a few more birds as I walked around the Park as they investigated holes in trees and chased each other around calling noisely.

 Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

I saw a pair of birders intently watching the top of a tree and wandered over to find they were looking at target bird number 3, a male little owl, hidden amongst the leaves. I probably would have struggled to find it on my own so was very glad that I met them and they very kindly walked me to another nearby tree to show me a female tawny owl, target bird 4, roosting in the tree top. I have never seen tawny owl so well, I have only seen them flying amongst the leaves of trees and never perched. I have only heard them this year so it was nice to see one for my year list and again I probably would have struggled to find it without the help of the 2 birders.

 Little Owl

 Little Owl

 Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

A quick walk around the Round Pond and I found target bird 5, a pair of Egyptian geese with 5 goslings. There had been 8 goslings but I only saw 5, I assumed the missing 3 had been predated but a few days later all 8 were seen together so I don't know where the missing 3 were hiding on my visit.

 Egyptian Goose

 Egyptian Goose with 3 Goslings

Egyptian Goose

And so within 1 hour I had seen 4 (or 4 and a half) year ticks, but the 4 year ticks were all "plastic" (introduced) birds ( little owl was introduced to the UK in the 1800's). However they gave some fantastic views in the bright sunshine and calm conditions and seemed quite at home and appeared to be thriving in the centre of London.