Bempton Cliffs RSPB Reserve - 20th July

On 20th July I finally succumbed to the draw of the Black-browed Albatross that has been summering at Bempton RSPB - a site that I had never visited before. First seen as an immature bird in Norfolk and Yorkshire in 2016 and seen annually at various locations on the east coast of the UK and on the near continent, particularly Germany, since. This year the bird had been present at Bempton since 28th June coming into cliffs for a few days before disappearing for a day or two then to return. 

I set off from home early and arrived on site at 09:15. Initially the bird was distant and sat on the water with Gannets but after a while it flew towards the cliffs and was watched circling Bartlett Nab. However, the bird was always a little distant and i didn't obtain the crippling eye-level views that many other birders had during the summer. My eBird checklist for the morning can be seen here

Langford Lake, Wiltshire - 11th July

My blog has been very much neglected this year due to a number of reasons, mainly as I have been working to get my eBird fully up to date with all of my lifetime observations - I now think I am more or less there and hope to start blogging once more.

I am going to start with working through some of my best birds of the summer. On 11th July I visited a site that I had driven past many times but had never visited, Langford Lake in Wiltshire. A female Red-footed Falcon had been present for a number of days, the bird did not disappoint as it showed well in Great Meadow and was actively catching Emperor Dragonfly and Black-tailed Skimmer. My eBird checklist for the morning can be seen here.

Frampton on Severn and Crabtree Hill - 5th April

With a free day in the Cotswold's I decided to head out for the day to visit various local sites. First stop was Frampton on Severn sailing club lake where a 1st winter Bonaparte's Gull had been present since 31st March. I found the bird fairly quickly roosting on pontoon but unfortunately I was viewing directly into ths sun and so my views were rather poor - I later found out that I could have viewed the pontoon from the north which would have been much better. This was a lovely little spot with my first Willow Warbler of the year singing as well as large numbers of Sand Martin and Swallow present. It felt very spring like. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Bonaparte's Gull - 1st winter, Frampton on Severn Sailing Club Lake

Bonaparte's Gull - 1st winter, Frampton on Severn Sailing Club Lake

I then headed to Crabtree Hill in the Forest of Dean for the wintering Great Grey Shrike and after a short search was soon enjoying good views of this bird. As I watched the bird dropped to the ground and took a Common Lizard before flying to its larder. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Great Grey Shrike - Crabtree Hill, Forest of Dean

Great Grey Shrike - Crabtree Hill, Forest of Dean

Finally, I headed to Cleeve Hill Common to look for Ring Ouzel but other than my first Wheatear of the spring I saw little. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Walrus, Tenby - 3rd April

We had a week at our cottage in Cowley, Cheltenham and I could'nt resist a naughty twitch to Tenby to see the Walrus that had taken up residence on the lifeboat slipway. First seen on Valentia Island, County Kerry, Southern Ireland on 14th March,  it then appeared at Tenby on 27th March after being seen at various locations in SW Wales including St. Govan's Head, Saundersfoot and Monkstone Point. The animal regular hauls out onto the ramp of the lifeboat station but today I spent a pleasant couple of hours watching this beast of an animal feeding close in shore just off the lifeboat station. The animal was diving frequently for periods of approximately five minutes before spending a minute or two on the surface before diving once more - apparently there is a high abundance of Razorclams in the bay and presumably the animal is feeding on these.

Odds and Ends from the 1st Quarter of 2021

Through this horrendous Covid-19 pandemic I have been fortunate in being able to continue to work and to travel for my work. During this time I have managed to make a few short detours to see a few birds. However, during this time I decided to cease posting on this blog, now that April is here and the Country is slowly easing out of lock-down I am planning to revive my posts. Here are some images from the very end of 2020 and into 2021.

Northern Mockingbird - I headed down to Exmouth for this bird at the end of March, not the best of twitches having to stand on a ladder and peer into someones garden.

Cirl Bunting - After the Mockingbird I headed to Labrador Bay RSPB Reserve where around 15 Cirl Bunting showed well

Baikal Teal - A short diversion during the school run got me this very wary bird at Sopley in Hampshire.

Garganey - Some time at Pennington Marsh either side of school drop off produced this fine male at the end of March

Dusky Warbler - I had great views of this bird at Siddington, Gloucestershire in early March

Grey Phalarope - School drop off also produced this bird at Pennington Marsh at the end of February

Bufflehead - I made a short visit for this bird at Lee Marston Lakes at the end of February

Dipper - A nesting pair showed well in Stroud at the end of February

Great Bustard - I dropped into see this bird in Oxfordshire from the Salisbury release programme 

in early March

Little Bunting - Showed well at Thursley Common in December

Rustic Bunting - A visit to Thursley Common in December produced good views after a long wait

Crag Martin - Undercliff Road, Kingsdown, Deal

First seen on 21st November, a 1st year Crag Martin settled at Kingsdown, Deal, Kent proved too much of a temptation come the weekend of 29th November. The bird has been commuting between Kingsdown and Samphire Hoe a distance of some 7.6 miles. Generally speaking, it has settled into a routine of roosting at Kingsdown before heading to Samphire Hoe and although there is variation to this pattern the bird appeared to be fairly reliable in its daily pattern.  I was up at 03:15 and by 07:15 was on site waiting for the light to increase on the chalk cliffs at Kingsdown. At around 07:45 the Crag Martin appeared flying around the cliff face and soon settled on a flint projecting from the chalk. I watched the bird with the small group of gathered birders while it stretched, preened and watched for passing insects, its long scythe-like wings the most noticeable feature of this rather plain looking Martin. After around 10 minutes it gave a few calls, took flight and disappeared over the cliff top. Satisfied, I decided to head for home where early season Christmas tree decorating was on the cards. 

To the end of 2018 there had been 11 accepted British records of Crag Martin the first being as recently as 1988. Of these, only three have stayed for more than one day and the previous longest staying bird was at Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 2015 which stayed for 12 days from 8th to 19th November. Still present on 1st December the current bird has a fair chance of breaking the previous long staying record. A second bird seen on 19th November 2020 in Kirkwall, Orkney appears to be a different bird to the current bird.

1st year Crag Martin - Kingsdown, Deal, Kent

Warblington and Portsmouth - 17th & 18th November

With winter upon us I have been busy completing the first tranche of winter bird surveys at work. A visit to Warblington to the east of Portsmouth on 17th November produced a nice flock of four Cattle Egret feeding in coastal grassland with 17 Little Egret. The Cattle Egret consisted of two adult birds and two juveniles and I suspected that they were a family unit. My eBird list for the morning can be viewed here.

Cattle Egret - Warblington, Hampshire

Cattle Egret - Warblington, Hampshire

Cattle Egret - Warblington, Hampshire

Cattle Egret - Warblington, Hampshire

After a bird survey in Dorset on 18th November I popped to nearby Portland for a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling at Easton. The bird has been present since 3rd September when it was seen in the south of Portland but has since settled with the large Common Starling flock at Channel View Road, Easton. My eBird list for the site can be viewed here.

Rose-coloured Starling with Common Starling - Channel View Road, Easton, Portland

I then made a brief stop at Ferrybridge where a scan of the harbour produced two Great Northern Diver.  At Ferrybridge the small flock of Dark-bellied Brent Goose held the long staying Pale-bellied Brent Goose and Black Brant. But most remarkable was the large flock of 1,600 Mediterranean Gull loafing on the mudflats as the tide fell, a large proportion of these birds were adult. My eBird list for the harbour and ferry bridge are here and here.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Ferrybridge, Weymouth, Dorset

Black Brant - Ferrybridge, Weymouth, Dorset

Dark-bellied and Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Ferrybridge, Weymouth, Dorset

Part of flock fo 1,600 Mediterranean Gull - Ferrybridge, Weymouth, Dorset