The Crazy Cuckoo

the actual last post (I have a new blog now!)

2011-04-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://theveryamateurnaturalist.blogspot.com/ is my new blog. Like Graham mentioned (and Rob over facebook) the pull of nature is just a bit too strong. But this blog will probably be slightly different, more about general wildlife than birds, and with a lot more stuff from the garden and stuff, since I have become far too lazy to go anywhere very often! if people would like to have a look at it and possibly try and critique it I'd be very grateful

all the best, and thanks for reading this blog for so long

possibly my last post

2011-04-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

yes, I'm afraid so.

This blog has shown a year of my life, but I've found it too time-consuming with exams, friendships, and all the regular teenage shit to keep it updated, plus, I've lost a lot of interest in the sort of birding I was into as I first posted on the net. I still love birds, but this blog had become a lot less fun to keep updated the last few months and I've given up largely on hardcore birding or wanting to be a big part of the scene. maybe the easy path for me ya know, counting the toads in the garden, maybe getting on my bike occasionally to visit the patch, but the laidback life seems a nice route to take. Teenagers do sadly have to have a social life which comes first before any bird!

I might be making another blog which reflects a change in interests, in which case my actual last post will be a link to that blog. But for now, thanks to everyone who has read this, and commented on it, and to all the local birders who have told me how much they enjoyed reading it when I've been out and about. It's been a pretty awesome year...

I went birding!

2011-03-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, men, women, hermaphrodite and asexual readers of this blog. I have actually gone birding! As in but a pair of binoculars round my neck and gone for a walk somewhere! As only the third time this has happened this year, I felt it deserved some extra notice.

I took a visit to Seaford Head, taking a look at Cuckmere Haven at the same time. On the migrant front, I didn't see all that much. However, in Hope Gap was a singing Chiffchaff, a flitting Goldcrest giving a typical 'migrant's view' and 2-3 singing Redwings; their odd, warbler like songs contrasting markedly with the almost deafening chorus of Song Thrushes. And overhead I heard two Mediterranean Gulls. 20 or so Meadow Pipits hanging around, and a few heading north were probably migrants too. Other resident birds seen were several Yellowhammers, a pair of Ravens, and a few parachuting Rock Pipits and patrolling Fulmars along the cliffs. Is their a bird with a more beautiful flight than the Fulmar? I always just think of them as a local bird, but those wings may have carried that bird out into the atlantic in the winter. A Little Egret on the rockpools at Hope Gap was truly beautiful in it's serene and peaceful backdrop, but was sadly too distant for a photograph. And 150+ Wigeon could be seen distantly on the west side of the Cuckmere.

These Mallard on the pond at South Hill Barn were a nice surprise

also on these ponds was more frogspawn. As you can see
they are very well developed, looking like tadpoles rather than little
black dots. By the time I have the chance to visit again they may
well have hatched

photographically, this gorgeous male Yellowhammer was the highlight. The first
time I have photographed this species.

some of the 150+ Wigeon still in the Cuckmere

and how could I not photograph that sunset across the sea?

going amphibious, plus a garden tick and two legless lizards

2011-03-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

Our pond is now littered with Toadspawn, and with Toads mating in it still there's likely to be even more. However there is only one little dollop of Frogspawn left. The Smooth Newts snack on it like there's no tomorrow. They only leave Toadspawn alone because, like their parents, toadspawn and the tadpoles that come from it secrete a poison that makes them taste disgusting to even the hungriest newt.

don't eat this stuff

the Eggs of a Snail, probably a Ramshorn. I was hoping to find Newt eggs under some of the water-lily leaves but no joy.

However, the highlight was found under some tiles Dad had the hindsight to put by the pond several years ago. If you are lucky you may well find some cold-blooded creature trying to warm itself up, as these act like a microwave for the sunlight. Today was no exception, with two Slow Worms basking under them in all their glory. One was skittish enough to move away quickly, but the other was quite happy to sit there and be photographed for a while...

Slow Worm

Legless Lizard

Lazy Bastard

And what about birds, I hear you ask? Well, I got a garden tick today, a Mediterranean Gull circled over the house a few times, calling. A few Meadow Pipits were also heading north. And as a final note to end this post, I saw two Small Tortoiseshells. My first spring butterflies of the year!

moving mipits, returning Redwings and a fantastic Firecrest

2011-03-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

spring looks well on the way now. Today was one of those misty days I longed to be on the patch, scouring it for a Wheatear. The fact I can see my patch by looking out the window at school really doesn't help that temptation to skip school! But I'd only do that if something rare turned up...

In the end though, it turned out I didn't miss a Wheatear, Matt and Bob Eade were up there and, as you can see on the SOS, saw 2 White Wagtails, a small stream of Meadow Pipits heading north and a summer plumaged Black-necked Grebe offshore. In retrospect that would be a lot better than a Wheatear!

But I saw a few of my own migrants. I counted around 30 Meadow Pipits moving overhead, and since I was indoors most of the day there were probably quite a lot more. I also got a brief view of a Firecrest in fir trees just outside my school. I was rather pleased that I ID'd it on call first before getting a view that was enough to confirm it. Last night, a few Redwing were moving over the house calling, I counted atleast 15 of them piercing the night with their eerie and beautiful calls.

Heron on a house

2011-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mum spotted a Grey Heron perched on a rooftop opposite our house at 18:30 today. Nothing much I know, but birds are thin on the ground at the moment. Despite what looked like perfect conditions today no migrants in Seaford, no singing Chiffchaffs, no overflying Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. I heard a chucking Redwing walking to school today, perhaps a migrant as the winter visitors disappeared several weeks ago. However, with Wheatear, Chiffchaff and various other migrants starting to appear in decent numbers in Sussex now, I'm fairly hopeful an excursion over the weekend may be rewarding for migration.

I'm making a habit of using these old pictures simply to illustrate
my blog now it seems. This Grey Heron isn't the one I saw on the rooftop
(it was 6.30 pm and the light was appalling for photography), it was one
that played Peek-a-boo in a ditch in the Cuckmere last April.

rarity watch

2011-03-13T04:49:00.000-07:00

nothing of my own to report, but a HOOPOE turned up at Portland Bill yesterday, showing what can be found in early march. Also rather intriguing is a (to my mind) fairly reliable report of a possible RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL at Arundel, West Sussex. (click here then here). From the description, (Robin-sized, steel blue tail that was constantly flicked, brownish grey back, yellowy-ornage flanks and whitish belly) Nothing else really fits the bill does it? Am I right in believing this would be the first record of a Bluetail overwintering, if it was confirmed? It certainly seems possible, at least to me, Yellow-browed Warblers do this tolerably frequently (there was a March Yellow-browed in sussex only a few years ago). And what about the european Blackcaps that have colonised our country as a winter visitor in the last 30 years? Surely these started the same way as many of the sibes we get each autumn, migrating in the wrong direction. But they managed to inadvertently find a better wintering ground that allowed them to have a small ecological advantage over their african-bound cousins. Why couldn't a Bluetail do this too? Is it possible that in 30 years time they will be a garden bird in this country in the winter?

anyway, sorry for my tangent. But I hope any Sussex birders living nearby (I'd be tempted to go myself but Dad's car is out of action) might be able to confirm this sighting, it's been eight days since it was reported and so far no news from Arundel, not even of the negative kind.

first migrants/a year of photography

2011-03-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

I saw my first real migrants of the year this morning, with a steady stream of Meadow Pipits moving over between 9.00 and 10.00 AM. I counted 10 in that hour, and since I was largely distracted by playing football there were undoubtedly more passing overhead. I also heard one Skylark moving North. Also today there were several Goldcrests singing in Seaford, one of which gave fairly good views in a small Conifer stand near my house, flashing his bright orange crest as he flicked through the twigs searching for a meal. A Carrion Crow building a nest near Newlands was another sign of spring arriving, and on Blatchington Pond both Mallard and Moorhen have been getting territorial. At School, the past few days have been slightly enlivened by the brilliant, scratchy little tune of a Pied Wagtail holding territory on the roof of the English block.

Also today, on the way into Brighton by bus, there were several rafts of Great Crested Grebes offshore between Peacehaven and Brighton Marina, totalling 100 birds or more. Probably another sign of migration, with birds gathering here before moving north.

on a final note, it is just over a year since I acuired the camera, whose awful photos so often litter my blog. I tend to take very poor photos with it, but I thought to mark my Pentax's anniversary I might post some of it's finer achievements in the last twelve months...

taken less than a month after I got my camera, this Jackdaw
on Seaford Head is still a favourite photo for me

There can't be that many people with photographs of a pair
of Nightingale on their breeding site. The male is hard enough
to see, but to be accompanied by a female is astounding luck

at the same location as the Nightingale shot (Abbot's Wood, Hailsham), is
one of only two sussex colonies of the very rare Pearl-bordered Fritilary

avocet and chick, taken at Rye Harbour in June

Rock Pipit carrying food at Splash Point, Seaford in July

Black Bear was one of the many highlights of visiting Canada in August!...

As was photographing a Sora in the hand at
Long Point Bird Observatory!...

and holding this Wilson's Warbler. Volunteering at Long Point,
I got to ring a few american Warblers and Thrushes, and practice
scribing and extracting birds. After this experience I decided I want to
learn how to ring as soon as I can here in the UK

autumn is great for all kinds of Fungi, especially in Abbot's Wood

despite spending a lot of time birding in the autumn, I got very few
good phots of the migrants I saw. But this Wheatear on Firle Beacon
makes up for all the rest of them!

Turnstones in a fairly classic pose at Longniddry, Midlothian in October.
A Benefit of having family in Edinburgh

In the snowfall of early December the garden birds must have been very grateful
for the food put out, they're never usually tame enough to get a photo like this

another garden bird in Snow, but this time in Worcestershire,
where we visited family over Christmas.

and finally, the infamous 'sun sets over an out-of-focus car' shot with
a small saving grace in artistic merit ; )

all in all, a pretty good 12 months has been had! These are just a handful of the thousands of photos I have taken in that time, of many bird, plant and animal species. Photography is such a fun pursuit and I'd urge anyone who hasn't already to go out and buy a camera. This pentax x70 only cost £250, and with a bit of patience and practice yields some brilliant results. I'd love to get a DSLR when I can afford one but for now mine is a brilliant camera that I will continue to use, continue to learn about and continue to take many awful and a few good photos with!

spring's beginnings

2011-03-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

spring is well and truly on the way now.

following on from the Bar-tailed Godwits moving over the house for several days, on 27 February, at about midnight, I heard a flock of Brent Geese move over. Another pretty impressive garden tick, and definitely migrating birds, although they tend to move along the sea.

Along with that, Common Frogs, Common Toads and Smooth Newts are out in force in the pond in our back garden. Daffodils have sprung up everywhere the past fortnight or so, and other flowers have included Violets along the end of our road. In town, birdsong is everywhere, and Herring Gulls are displaying on many of the rooftops.

On 5 March I went to Pett Pools with a friend, although due to their mobility issues it was mostly car-birding for us. We got great views of Turnstone(some feeding within 10 feet of the car), Snipe, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Teal, Curlew, Lapwing, Dunlin, Redshank and Shoveler on the roadside pools, and offshore were several hundred Great Crested Grebes, and 7 Common Scoter flew east then west again. Driving back to Seaford, we got a truly brilliant view of a Sparrowhawk, as it zipped accross the road in pursuit of a clearly injured Song Thrush, that had seconds previously half-ran falf-flew in front of our car in a desperate bid to escape. Sadly for the thrush to no avail, we watched the sprawk lift off from the roadside with the bird's limp body clasped in it's talons.

the following day I took a walk over the downs to Denton. The highlights were a Merlin, giving as good as it got with a far larger accompanying Buzzard, and a Grey Partridge, flushed from some set-aside on one of the smaller and more unobtrusive paths I explored. Along this path I also found the breast feathers of another Grey Partridge, taken by some predator. Maybe a Fox, or a Peregrine, or perhaps even the Merlin.

However, despite the wonderful weather, migrants have been hard to come by. But Sussex recorded it's first Wheatear and Little Ringed Plover of the spring today, so maybe, if I pray hard enough, this weekend will deliver the goods?

sorry for the lack of photos today, but my Dad nicked my camera to hopefully go photograph STELLER'S EIDER in Estonia over the past few days. But I'll leave you with an old image, one of the toads in our garden pond last March.

aside from my parents, the wartiest inhabitant of our property

adios!

Barwit bonanza and other stuff

2011-02-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

on 23 Feb I recorded a pretty impressive number of Bar-tailed Godwits, atleast for the local area. But there was something slightly odd about it. For starters, it was in fog so thick you could barely see 20 metres. secondly, I recorded them all from my bedroom window, in very suburban Seaford. Thirdly, they were all between 22:00 and mignight...

Two flocks moved over the house in an eastwards direction, their beautiful, somewhat haunting calls reverbarating through town, giving it a somewhat more wild feel than the usual fornicating Foxes do. One of these flocks was accompanied by atleast one Dunlin, it's shrill call piercing through the calls of the Barwits. Two Curlew also flew over calling during the night, as did three Redwing.

On the 24th, I was doing volunteer work for the Sussex Wildlife Trust in Stanmer Park, Brighton. Very little to report there though, a Mistle Thrush, a Green Woodpecker and a Kestrel were the best birds, I saw a few Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests, Common Frogs and Smooth Newts were in the ponds and I heard that very high-pitched little squeak of Voles/Shrews/Mice from the long grass. Probably Bank Voles, which are apparently the commonest of those species in Stanmer. Insects included a few Buff-tailed Bumble Bee and an early Honey-bee. On the train into Brighton I saw 15 Dunlin on the Mill Creek at Newhaven Tide Mills, along with 25+ Redshank, while on the train out (around 4pm) I saw a flock of 30 Fieldfare on the downs near Falmer. Probably my last of the winter and I'm sure they'll be my last sizeable flock. That night another flock of Bar-tailed Godwits flew over, as did a Golden Plover. Both birds have been garden ticks for me in the past few days, as has Curlew.

On the 25th, I've been treated to fly-overs from the resident Peregrines (1 adult) and Ravens (2 juveniles) in Seaford, and a Blackcap briefly sang from near Blatchington Pond. Their are also Common Frogs out in our garden pond, but no Toads or Newts yet.

Splash Point-the one that got away

2011-02-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

With the wind coming from the SE, I thought I might try a scouting trip down to Splash Point this afternoon to see what was about. in 50 minutes between 13.30 and 14.20, 51 Brent Geese moved East, in groups of 6, 41 and 4. 13 Gannets went the same way in twos and threes, and six Red-breasted Merganser going east pretty close in (they were 2 males and 4 females) was a nice surprise that made for a pretty worthwhile excursion. In the opposite direction, a Great Crested Grebe passed fairly distantly, I was secretly hoping for a Red-necked but it was too long-necked and slender looking. Residents included 3 Cormorants, 10+ Fulmar and 300+ Kittiwake offshore, a flyby Peregrine and a singing Rock Pipit, with two others nearby. However, the would-be highlight was a probable Skua species. A dark bird, chasing a Kittiwake, with long wings, a slender body and a very agile flight. It looked pretty good for an Arctic Skua, but I don't see skua's all that often, and this bird was only on view for a few seconds before it disappeared behind a wave. Slightly hypocratically, I'd probably count it in April, but they're far more unusual (though not unheard of) at this time of year, so that brief glimpse wasn't quite enough to nail it.

very bad photo of Splash Point's kittiwakes, taken today

marginally better photo of Splash Point's Kittiwakes,
taken in July

edit: I have also updated the Gazeteer now to include Hope Gap/Seaford Head

february so far

2011-02-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

very little birding has been happening so far this month for me. But Crocuses and Snowdrops are in full bloom, and by now (16th) the first Daffodils are appearing. Not long before Meadow Pipits start moving overhead, Wheatears are at Tide Mills and the first singing Chiffchaff appears somewhere arund Seaford. Two Blackcaps have already made themselves heard, but these were both wintering birds. The Birdsong includes all the usual suspects at the moment, including a few Goldcrests (how a bird so petite survives in -10 temperatures like December I have no idea), three species of finch, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Great Tit. Foxes are still keeping me awake most nights, and I have so far seen a Bumblebee (I'm guessing Buff-tailed?) emerging from hibernation, and a rather confused Comma that came out about a month early and started fluttering around my school! Wintering birds include a few Grey Wagtails, but Redwings have all but vanished from Seaford (they've been very sparsely present this year anyway). I haven't seen any more Waxwings since New Year's day. In fact, my best birding has come about as a result of work experience, which allowed me to see a flock of White-fronted Geese and a Heronry. A tale for another day.

a few recent pictures, a Woodpigeon dozing off as the sun sets over an out-of focus
car. I'm sure there is some kind of artisitic merit in that somewhere

what happened in January

2011-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

well, January was by and large a quiet month for me birds wise. The only time I really got out was on New Year's Day, and after reaching 200 last year, I haven't bothered with a yearlist this year. Too much effort, and I found myself focusing on my list more than the actual birds on occasions. Personally, I think birding is a far happier thing to do if you are appreciating the bird for being a bird. For being unusual, fr being commonplace, for being an ID challenge, for being drop-dead gorgeus, for having a nice song, or simply being charismatic. But I don't think a true birder should appreciate birds solely for a tick.

2011 started with an expedition to Pett Levels. A RED-BREASTED GOOSE had turned up here, along with 300+ White-fronts and a few Barnacle and Brent Geese. I thought that was all the geese we would see, but birding can be full of surprises...

Joining me and dad on this New Year's Day trip were Dave, Katie and James Beadle (our company on the canadian trip), Rick Munday and Nick Pope. As our cars drove up to Pett Level, a 300+ strong skein of geese circled over the marshes. Setting up the scope, we quicky found the RED-BREASTED GOOSE, along with 300+ White-fronted Geese, 70+ Barnacle Geese and c30 Brent Geese. Looking at the Brent's closer, we found 11 of them were PALE-BELLIED, a very high count of a very scarce species in Sussex. I then checked the see, which held 50+ Great Crested Grebes and a handful of Red-throated Divers, but not a lot else. The pools and fields had plenty of waders, Lapwing in the thousands, three figure numbers of Curlew and smaller numbers of Dunlin, Golden Plover and Redshank. A few more Dunlin were roosting on the beach with 40+ Turnstone and a few Bar-tailed Godwit. Ducks were also in plentiful supply, with thousands of Wigeon, hundreds of Teal and Mallard and two-figure counts of Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Shoveler. A Stonechat flitting around a ditch and fenceposts by the road was a nice find, especially given the December we had had.

What happened next all happened so quickly I can't quite recall exactly what happened. But Rick put up a shout of two BEAN GEESE. No sooner had he put everyone on them than we noticed there were actually six. But they were very distant and difficult to identify. Their short necks and stubby bills immediately excluded Taiga Bean, but they were too distant to see the bill or leg colour on reliably. However, two had silvery-coloured backs, and four where browner coloured, so we concluded they were 4 TUNDRA BEAN GEESE and 2 PINK-FOOTED GEESE. Both rare birds in Sussex, and the Pink-feet a new sussex bird for me.
We walked to get closer, but a Peregrine put everything up. After about 15 minutes the geese came back, and we wanted to try and see they grey geese again. But now there were eight of them! After quite a lengthy debate between Dad, Nick, Rick and myself (the Beadles had departed by now) we eventually decided there were now six PINK-FEET and two TUNDRA BEAN GEESE! However, considering the possibility some of the geese may have been out of sight before they were spooked, and sme mya have come into view, I'd say there were at least six Pink-feet and four Tundra Bean Geese, as we had been confident of our ID's the first time around, there were only two that looked like Pink-feet that time. Oh, and while we were sorting out this great debate, we were having to avoid being distracted by the Red-breasted Goose, which literally seemed to glow amongst its duller companions. And the Black Brant was nice too. And I don't exactly see White-fronts, Barnacle Geese or Pale-bellied Brents every day either! By the end f the day we had ammased the following total from Pett Level

c300 White-fronted Goose
c70 Barnacle Goose
19 Dark-bellied Brent Goose (branta bernicla bernicla)
11 Pale-bellied Brent Goose (branta bernicla hrota), if I'm not mistaken this is the largest group of this race in sussex for many years
1 BLACK BRANT (branta bernicla nigricans)
6 PINK-FOOTED GEESE
4 TUNDRA BEAN GEESE (anser fabilis rossicus)
1 RED-BREASTED GOOSE

c2000 Lapwing
c100 Curlew
c100 Dunlin
c50 Golden Plover
c40 Redshank
c40 Turnstone
c20 Bar-tailed Godwit

c3000 Wigeon
c200 Teal
c200 Mallard
c40 Gadwall
c20 Shoveler
c20 Pochard
c10 Tufted Duck

plus a Stonechat. I feel I should mention that Stonechat.

click on these photos to enlarge them and (hopefully) see where the rarer geese
are amongst the hordes of White-fronts, Barnacles and Brents!

To round off a brilliant day, we saw three WAXWING as we drove through Winchelsea, as they perched on telegraph wires above the road.

After this day, I did very little birding in January. On the 10th I saw 3 Purple Sandpipers at Newhaven East Pier, getting great views of one very confiding bird. But other than that, the only birds were a Stonechat that has wintered in a small little reserve along Seaford seafront, known as the Old Brickfield, a Blackcap seen in a garden walking to school on the 31st and regular singing utbursts from Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Great Tit, Dunnock, Wren, Greenfinch and Goldfinch

gazeteer

2011-02-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

just to say, I have put up a side-page on where to bird locally. I know I have done this in the past and taken it down time and time again but I'm gonna attempt to make it more readable and interesting this time around. So far I have just detailed what birds may be seen in my town, but I will expand and add more sites as time goes on.
atb
Liam...

...in the procees of writing another post, detailing the most sensational flock of geese sussex is probably ever likely to see plus some other stuff...

Back Blogging

2011-02-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

Apologies to my (very, very, very few) readers (in fact I think I'm the only person who ever reads this) but with schoolwork, GCSE's and general laziness I have largely given up on this blog in recent times. The last time I posted, I was covering birds I had seen on the third of December! Since then, I haven't got out birding all that much but I'll attempt to round up what I have seen recently.

The first few weeks of December where pretty dull. I dipped on a WHITE-TAILED EAGLE by five minutes on the 12th (!), having seen two WAXWINGS in a tree just outside my school two days previously. On the 6th I had gone to Arlington Reservoir with my dad, seeing 40+ Pochard but not a lot else. In Seaford, atleast three Grey Wagtails were wintering, but Redwing numbers were low and Fieldfares were practically non-existent.

At the beginning of December, my british yearlist was ay 194, with the most recent additions being in Scotland at the end of October. I was hoping to reach 200 species by the end of the year, but by December 22nd this was looking very unrealistic, I was still on 194. However, I thought the snow might warrant a walk along the Cuckmere. An Unusual find was six Egyptian Geese on the riverbank! Two adults and Four Juveniles by my assumptions. Maybe the cold weather brought them down from the Arun, or Norfolk, or maybe even from the growing Dutch population. Or maybe they just jumped the net from Drusillas, less than two miles away.... Anyone's guess, and they could easily have been 'wild' (as wild as an Egyptian Goose can be at any rate), but I didn't count them as anything more than an intriguing novelty this time.
However, I did also see a Merlin at Charleston Reedbed, being mobbed by several crows, and outmanouvering them all. And down at Cuckmere Haven were 40+ Barnacle Geese, almost certainly wild given the weather at the time. These two yearticks took me to 196, while I also saw a Water Rail near Charleston Reedbed, 9 Gadwall north of Exceat, and at Cuckmere Haven a Shoveler, a Pintail, 4000+ Wigeon and 200+ Teal. The Wigeon were a very notable count.
The following day (23 Dec)at Cuckmere Haven I saw no yearticks, but I did see 4000+ Wigeon and 200+ Teal again, alng with 3 Pintail (2m 1f), 9 Gadwall, 4 Goldeneye (2m 2f), 40 Pochard, 30 Tufted Duck,
57 Barnacle Geese, 3 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 4 Snipe, a few Rock Pipits, 10 Ringed Plover, 5 Dunlin, 2 Golden Plover and the highlight, 35 WAXWING in the hawthorns along the side of the A259, present for about five minutes before moving on towards Friston Forest.

these Egyptian Geese protested against Mubarak several months early, by refusing
to go back to their Pen in Drusillas -22/12

I spent Christmas in Worcestershire with family. At my aunt's house I passed some of the hours staring out the window, from which I saw all the common garden stuff. Long-tailed Tits were regular, as was a male Blackcap that often took complete control of one of the peanut feeders. I also saw a Coal Tit (common for most but very rare in my local area). Redpolls and Siskins were regular fly-overs, and we found a small flock of both in the Alders further along their road. My aunt's five-acre orchard also held a lot of thrushes, mainly Fieldfares, with smaller numbers of Redwing, quite a lot of Song Thrushes and atleast three Mistle Thrushes.
On Boxing day, after a night where it reached -25 C, the River Severn five miles away froze over. This was the onyl the third time in the last hundred years that had happened, following the winters of 1947/48 and 1962/63. It was spectacular, althugh not quite ice-skatingly thick as I tried to convince everyone it was! A Mandarin on an unfrozen part of the river was yeartick 197, a Kingfisher flew around, wondering what the hell it was going to eat, and Tufted Ducks and Mallards were waddling about on the Ice. On Dec 27th we drove back to Seaford, seeing a few Red Kites as we went.

Blackcap that terrorized a peanut feeder

well if you don't know what this is why read a birding blog? ;)

taken, fittingly, on December 25th

blue baby-feeing device

Black-coloured baseball hat

the River Severn, after the coldest of weather spell since 1962- 26/12

shaky shot of a Mandarin- 26/12

On the 29th, Dad and I went down to Cuckmere Haven again, seeing 74 White-fronted Geese (yeartick 198)
and 51 Barnacle Geese, along with a drake Goldeneye and 15 Dunlin. In Seaford, we saw 13 Waxwings in a crabapple tree in Vale Close, about five minutes walk from our house. The following day, with a day to spare, I got to 200, with the addition of Knot and Purple Sandpiper at Newhaven Tide Mills. Here, I also saw 50+ Dunlin, 25+ Redshank and a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose, while at Piddinghoe Pond I saw a redhead Goosander, a Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper.

The last day of December, I spent out with my Dad and some friends. Dave, Katie and James Beadle (who we stayed with much of the time on our Canada vacation), Brian Cox and Rick Munday. We started out at Arlington Reservoir, where we saw 2 Goldeneye (1m 1f), 70+ Pochard, 100+ Wigeon and another redhead Goosander. Following that, we visited a site near Alfriston, hoping to see Jack Snipe. There were none here, but we did flush up abut 20 Common Snipe, sparking one memorable chase between a Snipe and a pursuing Peregrine. We also all got one hell of a fright flushing up a Pheasant from the middle of the watermeadow! We then saw my Drusillas-origined Egyptian Geese near Litlington, and at Cuckmere Haven, a Common Seal was hauled up on the bank, a few Dunlin were along the river, and the meanders still held around 20 Pochard.

Goosander at Piddinhoe- 29/12

Brent Goose at Tide Mills- 29/12

Very blurry Knot at Tide Mills- 29/12

Common Seal-phocas lethargicus 31/12

blurry photo of Pochards, Little Grebes and Wigeon - 31/12

slightly less blurry photo of some Pochard -31/12

Atleast my next post will be concerning 2011! Ever-optimistic, signing out and unsure when I'll be back...

my 2010 yearlist ended on 201 birds, with six added in the last nine days of the year, as follows;

195. Merlin- 22/12
196. Barnacle Goose- 22/12
197. Mandarin -26/12
198. White-fronted Goose-29/12
199. Knot-30/12
200. Purple Sandpiper-30/12

Snow birds

2010-12-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

on 31st November, Seaford got nine inches of snow. This is an amount virtually unheard of in November this far south. And the following day, a few birds were seen locally.

In the garden, we had two firsts. A REED BUNTING was at the feeders and a WOODCOCK flew over. Other birds in the garden were a Common Gull, a Pied Wagtail, lots of Redwings and larger than usual numbers of the regular stuff. 15 Black-headed Gulls in the neighbourhood were also unusual.

I saw a few other birds on a walk in Seaford too. A second WOODCOCK, lots of Fieldfares and Redwings, a few Meadow Pipits in the gardens and, the undoubted highlight, a gorgeous FIRECREST in one St. Peters Churchyard, on Belgrave Road. Dad also had a third WOODCOCK on Seaford Golf Course, the fourth successive time one has been seen up there after snowfall! He also saw a drake GOOSANDER on the River Ouse at Southease.

all photos taken from the garden on 1st Dec

November 2010

2010-12-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

It took me all of November to get up to date with a week of birding in October! Luckily (depending on your outlook) I have done very little birding since then, so catching up is a tad easier.

By the time we got back to Seaford (31 Oct) visible migration was all but over. A few Meadow Pipits moved over in the first week of November, and overnight Redwings moved over in very good numbers, up until mid-month. November 7th was particularly good. I took a sample count of 23 in 10 minutes, which works out to approximately 120/150 per hour. I'm assumig they would have been moving from approximately 20:00 to 05:00, about first light at this time. This would have meant that approximately 1080-1350 Redwings moved over during that night!

I also saw Siskins in Seaford on 16 and 18 November. I have never seen then actually in town before now, only flying over, so this was unusual. I haven't seen any since though, so I don't think they are wintering.

On 20 Nov, in a mixed flock of Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit and Blue Tit, I saw a Chiffchaff of eastern origin, either abientus or tristis, but most likely the former. It was browner above and without any yellowish tone on it's underside, looking strikingly similar to the bird here (scroll down to 15 Nov). two Ravens also flew over today, and I saw my first wintering Redwings in Seaford.

After that, I saw very few birds until the snow arrived. On 28 November, a flock of 25 Lapwing and 30 Skylarks flew high over my house, all heading SW. I'll sign off with some photos from the garden taken recently...

ending scotland trip

2010-12-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

well, it's been a whle bloody mnth since I was up there, but school, social life and general teen lethargy have prevented me from doing much on this blog since then. October 29th was my last day in Scotland, and on the 30th we took the ten-hour drive back down to East Sussex.

We spent the late morning birding on the 29th. At Longniddry, a Sparrowhawk came in/off, disappearing inland. A female Long-tailed Duck flew west, and other ducks were 3 Velvet Scoter, 20+ scoter sp (probably all Velvet), 1 drake Eider and 1 female Goldeneye. A Slavonian Grebe (yeartick 193) and a Guillemot were also offshore. Waders on the shore were c10 Sanderling (yeartick 194), c10 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, c40 Lapwing, 2 Grey Plover, c250 Golden Plover and c100 Bar-tailed Godwit.

Golden Plover on the shore east f Longniddry. and No, they aren't Starlings!

At Mussleburgh Lagoons, I didn't bother with a camera. A mistake in retrospect, as Razorbill, Shag, Goldeneye, Slavonian Grebe and Velvet Scoter all showed well within photographic range. The totals were c20 Velvet Scoter, 3 Slavonian Grebes (together, and very close inshore), 1 Guillemot, 1 Razorbill (also very, very close), and 3 Shags. On the lagoons were c100 of Golden Plover and Lapwing, and c20 Curlew.

In the same field (off the A27) where we had seen 2 Roe Deer on the 24th, there were 13 today!

On the 30th, we stopped in Kieltner Forest, Northumberland. On a beautiful morning walk in the stunning scenery, a flock of 40 Crossbills were brilliant and my best ever views of this normally elusive species. Also seen were 60 Siskin, a sole Mistle Thrush and several Goldcrests. Dad also saw another Dipper.

two Red Kites were seen over the A4, and several flcks of Golden Plover and Lapwing were seen from the A68 (Pennines), A1 (the NE) and A14 (E Midlands). Totalling 600 Golden Plover and several thousand Lapwings.

28 Oct-The highlands, the lowlands and the wetlands

2010-11-27T04:55:00.000-08:00

we had stayed the night with my Uncle, Aunt and two kid Cousins in Kirriemuir, Angus, and today Uncle Danny, Dad and Me went out around some of the spectacular areas of Angus. The first birds we saw were 12 Pink-footed Geese, flying low over the house in Kirriemuir and honking all the time.

The first stop was Loch of Kinnordy RSPB. Out on the Loch we saw loads of Teal and Shoveler, quite a few Gadwall and a handful of Wigeon and Goldeneye, but not the Goosanders or redhead Smew put out on RBA the previous day. We also saw a few Fieldfares, while in the alders between Swamp Hide and Gullery Hide were a lot of Siskins and a few Redpolls. However, the absolute highlight was a flock of 40 WAXWINGS. They flew into one of the pine trees visible from Swamp Hide, and showed gorgeously in the early morning sun.

male Shoveler

two female Shovelers and a lady Teal (on the island at the back)

a few Mallard and two female-type Goldeneye

and a shitload of Waxwing!!

With Kinnordy done, we headed up into the mountains of Glen Isla. We stopped to eat luch on a small road through a mountain wood, with Siskin and Redpoll above our heads. A walk through the valley of Glen Isla had no birds, bar a few Buzzards, Crows and a flock of 15 Linnets. But no matter how Dipper-less were the streams, no matter how obviously Golden Eagles lacked from the mountain tops, it was a beautiful, scenic walk in some of the remotest country left in Britain.

October snow on the mountains

you see? not bad is it! kinda makes up for the avian dearth

Driving back to Kirriemuir, we were going through along a road through a mountain-side wood, when a RED SQUIRREL ran accross the road in front of the car! we saw it for about 30 seconds as it scampered away through the wood. This was the undoubted highlight of our two days around Kirriemuir.

following that, we headed back to Kirriemuir for a drink with Danny, in a deathly quiet pub. The only other humans were a couple of subdued alchholics, the only sub-human was an angry, sulky barmaid, and the only music was the morose, monotone noise that my generation seem to love for some unfathomable reason...

We bid farewell to Danny after this, and began the drive back to Edinburgh. With one stop along the way...

A Slavonian Grebe and a Greenland White-fronted Goose had been seen at Burleigh Sands, and we stopped along the way to keep a look. We saw 200+ Greylag Geese, a few Pink-footed Geese, 100+ Whooper Swans, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Wigeon and Gadwall and the highlight, 15 GOOSANDER and 3 Red-breasted Merganser (all redheads), but neither of our target birds. The Goosanders were a yeartick (no. 192)

After this it was back down to Edinburgh. We had one more day left before it was time to go home, and we saw a few mre good birds, as I shall write in the next post n the trip...

27 Oct 2010-up into real Scotland!

2010-11-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

On October 27th, we drove up to Kirriemuir, where we stayed the night with my Uncle Danny, having a day in the Highlands (next post, prbably to be put on tomorra) before heading back down to Edinburgh the following afternoon...

We stopped off first at Fannyside Lochs, near Falkirk. Here were 160 TAIGA BEAN GEESE, in a faraway field with sheep onLuckenburn Farm. This, aside from being great birds, was the first time we've ever parked the car in one county (Clackmannanshire) and seen a bird in another (Falkirk)! The nearest place to the Bean Geese where we could park the car was in fact 20 yards over the border! A few flyover Redpoll and Siskin were also seen/heard. This was only the second time I've seen geese of this race, the previous time being in Feb 2008 in Suffolk.

Taiga Bean Geese, 27 Oct 2010, very distant photo!

The geese were my 190th birds of the year.

We later stopped off at Vane Farm RSPB. Here I had great views of 30 Whooper Swans, my 191st bird of the year. There were also about 300 each of Wigeon and Teal, several Tufted Duck, a few Pochard, 8 Goldeneye and a single male Pintail showing well on the water, and a flock of 80 Pink-footed Geese flying over the Loch fairly distantly, though still showing well until they dropped down on a marsh.

try and find the two Goldeneye and two Pochard in this photo!
The Whooper is a bit more obvious...

a lonely little Black-headed Gull

Whooper Swans, Mallards and a Tufted Duck

Grey Heron in the marsh

Driving along the small B-Roads to Kirriemuir, Fieldfares were in all the fields in brilliant numbers, and a few more flocks of Pink-footed Goose flew over, probably abut 300 overall.

around Edinburgh, 25-26 Oct

2010-11-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

After a day out birding on the coast east of Edinburgh on the 24th, the nest few days were somewhat quieter, though with a great bird thrown in...

on 25 Oct, we spent part of the day in the Pentland Hills. First stop, with all the family, was Threpmuir Reservoir, where I can list all the species of note on one hand. 50+ Siskin, 4 Bullfinch and a few Goldcrest. The reservoir held only four species of bird, two of which were gulls.

Next stop was Leith Water. Here we had one particular bird in mind. We almost had a false alarm when a Grey Wagtail was seen on the stream, and then, we picked it up by its song, a scratchy tune oddly reminiscent of a Reed Warbler. This DIPPER stayed on show for 10 minutes, perched on rocks and doing the 'dipping' it is so famed for. Luckily, my camera has a video function, so I caught it 'in the action'

We also saw a few Redwings and Goldcrests along here, and a single juvenile Grey Heron

P.S unless you want my annoying voice ruining the peaceful tranquility of this video, I suggest turning your volume down right this instant... Or sometime before you play the video. You know. Whatever...

26 Oct was a wet and drizzly day. We visited Straition Pond, a little reserve on the outskirts of Edinbugh. The fact we saw more pieces of litter than birds tells you what kind of 'reserve' this is. A few Redwing was as good as it got. Sometimes, you just gotta love the city birding...

24 Oct-Midlothian birding

2010-11-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

In the interests of my sanity, I'm using as little thought in writing this post as possible. Just a list of birds and pics for a change...

Longniddry

Several big skeins of Pink-footed Goose flew over, 1000+ overall
waders on the rocky shore were approx. 15 Redshank and the same number of Curlew, 40 Oystercatcher, 40 Bar-tailed Godwit and 40 Turnstone (unbelievably, a yeartick!!)
offshore were 20 Eider, 40 Common Scoter and a handful of Velvetines, and 2 redhead Red-breasted Mergansers

Oystercatchers and Curlew

a skein of Pink-footed Geese

Redshank

Curlew

Black-headed Gulls

and a few of my picks from the many Turnstone's I photographed

Next up was Aberlady Bay. Waders were the main feature here, with approx 300 Lapwing, 100 Golden Plover and Dunlin, 20 Redshank, Oystercatcherand Curlew and a single Grey Plover(yeartick 187 for Britain). The only wildfowl were 200 Pink-footed Geese, 100 Wigeon a few Shelduck and a single Common Scoter, picked out well flying well offshore...

Grey Plover and Redshank

scenic shots of Aberlady

The final stop was Mussleburgh Lagoons. Here, I had barely got out of the car when I saw a flock of 20 starlingesque birds, making a trilling call it took me a few seconds to recognise. The WAXWINGS gave us a flyby before landing by the lagoons. Out here were 400 Golden Plover, 50 Dunlin and a few Lapwing. As we went to check offshore, we saw a loose flock of 30 Velvet scoter in the distance, 5 Eider scattered accross the sea 3 female-type Goldeneye fairly close in, and 2 female LONG-TAILED DUCK flying west. Walking back, two more female Goldeneye were on the pond by the car park, along with 10 Tufted Duck.

As we drove back to Edinburgh, we saw 2 Roe Deer, in a field off the A720 near Tranent.

some of the Waxwings

various Golden Plover photos

Road to Nowhere (22-23 Oct)

2010-11-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

click on the title! :)

I do now know what The Talking Heads were headily talking about...

This post contains insights into a journey that can only be described as long. So long it took two whole days!

Friday 22 Oct was an inset day from school, so it was today that completed the first leg of a journey from Sussex-Edinburgh. We stopped off in Lincoln overnight, to stay with my dad's cousin, wife and kids.

Before we left Seaford, I heard saw of my last migrants of the year going over. A House Martin was lazily going over the house, a Redpoll gave it's call a few times and two Meadow Pipits went over together calling. The Grey Wagtail from Blatchington pond also flew over in a high circuit, looking to drop down by the pond again. I also took a few photos of the Starlings on the rooftops. All looking rather resplendent.

The rest of the journey was dominated by nothing. I read a book, listened to my MP3 and occasionally took the headphones out if anything good was on Radio 4. The single animal worth noting was a Roe Deer seen by the roadside somewhere along the M11 near Cambridge. Somewhere near here, we also stopped at Drayton Fen RSPB, for a walk. The birdlife was tedious, with a small hint of boredom. Apart from a flock of 80 Fieldfare, actually quite a good record for October, birdlife consisted of 40+ Tufted Duck, 3 Great Crested Grebes, a few Cormorant, 4 Meadow Pipits and 2 Green Woodpeckers. Cue distant and crappy shots of Mute Swans, with a few Wigeon if you look hard enough...

I also saw a Peregrine from the A1 neat Peterborough. But that was all...

Stopping off for the night with family in Lincoln, I swapped camera stories with Dad's cousin, a profeesional photographer. I left with a lot more knowledge, which I decided to apply in the future with my camera. Whether the results are really any different, I'll have to wait and see.

Saturday 23 Oct- we went from Lincoln to Edinburgh. Can't describe it much more interestingly than that! However, the further north, the more avain interest, it seems. a scraggy looking Raven flew over the A1 near York, and on the A68 through the Pennines, I saw a few Golden Plovers in the fields, alongside countless Lapwings.

At Derwent Water, we stopped for a half hour. In the wood by the reservoir were Goldcrests, Siskins and Coal Tits, and a flock of Pink-footed Geese flew over calling. My second yeartick of the day (along with, ridiculously, Golden Plover!!)
Following that, we stopped for another walk, in Kieltner Forest, in Northumberland. we saw 4 Crossbills, and a few of all the commoner pine woodland birds.

And then, at about 19:00, we arrived in Edinburgh. At long, long last!

back to town. turning 15 and dipping a pec!

2010-10-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

With my exciting weekend gone, it was back down to earth for me now, as I returned to school for four more days. Still, I've got half term up in Edinburgh, from where I hope I'll get a few good birds! My school week wasn't totally devoid of birds though...

Mon 18 Oct
A few Siskins going over, and two Chiffchaffs seen. However, the large numbers of thrushes of the past few weeks have tailed off. The only migrant passing over was a single Meadow Pipit, though a Grey Wagtail going low over school might have been a migrant or wintering bird. I found out about a Shore Lark in the Cuckmere, and hoped I might just be able to sneak it in after school one day...

Tues 19 Oct
Once again, a few Siskins moving overhead, and a single Chiffchaff. No other migrants seen though. I've been seeing Jays regularly in Seaford since I returned from Canada, and today one greeted me to a nice flight view, during the most unspeakably crap english essay I have ever had to sit through. A Grey Wagtail was also seen, at South Downs Leisure Centre, walking back from school. This bird has been around for a few weeks now, and look like he's gonna winter here...

Wed 20 Oct
My 15th birthday today! In school a single Chiffchaff, with three Goldcrest around town, the Grey Wagtail seen at The Downs and not a lot else. When I got home, the Shorelark was apparently not showing, but a PECTORAL SANDPIPER had been seen at Arlington Reservoir! Neither are sussex ticks for me, having seen larks at Pett (2004) and Rye (2008), and a pec at Pulborough Brooks (2007). However, both would be local ticks, year ticks and just great birds to see in general! The odds seemed better for Arlington producing, so it was there we headed...
We saw Jake Everitt and Roger and Liz Charlwood on the dam, who greeted us with the dreaded news. The bird, which was acoompanied by two Ruff, had flown off to the other side of the damn! Jake had seen it for literally a few seconds as he arrived, Roger and Liz hadn't seen it at all. It wasn't looking good...
Before long, Bob Edgar arrived, nd we greeted him with the same unhappy news. One of the Ruff came back, but his brother and yankee cousin had both stayed put. A Green Sandpiper was on the other side of the reservoir, just ID'able. But in an hour we never saw the Pec Sand. The only consolation is that we almost certainly wouldn't have seen the Shore Lark either...

Thurs 21 Oct
from what I can remember, a dull day. The only bird of note was a Grey Wagtail on Blatchington Pond (probably the same bird that's been hanging around at The Downs, it's not that far away).

While I would love to tell of Friday, it is a tale of the beginning of a long, two-day drive, which really belongs in another post. So, I bid you farewell with these crappy pictures of the bird that wasn't a Pectoral Sandpiper...

however, it was a yeartick, no. 184 for Britain and 170 for Sussex I think...

Not a Pec Sand, Arlington Res, 20 Oct 2010

Oop Noorf

2010-10-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I am writing this biref message from Edinburgh. I've come up here to see family for half term, and hopefully get a bit of birding in too! I should be visiting Aberlady, Longniddry and Mussleburgh Lagoons, and on Thursday-Friday, Dad and I are heading up to Kirriemuir, Angus, to stay with my uncle overnight. We might be able to squeeze in a visit to Kinnordy, Vane Farm RSPB or Montrose Basin while we're up there!

I haven't updated since last sunday, when i went ringing at Whitbread Hollow. Since then, I've turned 15, and dipped a sussex rarity on the same day! All part of the rite of passage I guess. I've also seen three yearticks on my way up here, and one on the 20th in Sussex. This brings me to god-knows-what, but probably something around 185 for Britain and 175 for Sussex. Of course, i could have checked the sidebar, and come back to edit this again, but where's the fun in that?

I'll have some proper posts when I'm back home, and can put photos with my posts

Hasta Luego!