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!

17 Oct-Ringing in the Hollow

2010-10-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today, at long, long last, almost two months after returning from Long Point and vowing to try it out again, I went up to the ringing at Whitbread Hollow, Beachy Head!

Dad and I left the house at about 7.30 AM, arriving at 8.00. Driving the 15 miles, I counted 31 Magpies along the roads! Not exactly the most exciting thing in the world, I know, but I was wondering if the rhyme could be extended that far!... ;)

The sun was just rising above the sea as we arrived, making a spectacular backdrop. However, I couldn't be faffed to take any photos.

As we walked the short distance from where we were parked to the Hollow, several Stock Doves passed overhead, among a few hundred Woodpigeon. Two Bramblings also passed over, one dropping down into the hollow, and we saw a single Wheatear, probably my last of the year.

Wheatear, Whitbread Hollow, 17 Oct 2010

In the Hollow itself, the first bird we saw was not what we expected. On the football fields, being harassed by several Magpies, was a single juvenile BRENT GOOSE! It had clearly become separated from its family, and had dropped into the fields to graze. No sooner had we seen the bird than we met up with Bob Edgar and Jacob Everitt, just back from a net round. With four people now here, they had a novel, if a tad optimistic, plan, involving the branta. It was feeding very near some football nets. If the four of us could drive it in to them, we would have a rather good bird to ring!

Sadly, the plan, as with all hastily set out plans, went awry. The bird was faster on the mark than us, and flew off about 50 yards, away from any football nets. Worse still, the coldappeared to have mucked up my cameras batteries! Though after about half an hour in the relative warmth of the ringing hut, they were working again.

We stayed for a few hours to watch the ringing. I didn't get to help out, unfortunately, but it was still good fun watching the ringing and holding the birds, and Bob and Jake, far more used to the early start than us, remained in upbeat moods! They banded about 40 birds, not a great tally, and nothing particularly rare either. However, seeing Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit in the hand was new for me. They are both truly adorable little birds when you see them up so close! We also caught a few continental Song Thrushes, which Bob very well pointed out the ID features on. Other birds trapped were a male Blackcap, several Chiffchaffs and a little flock of Blue Tits, all of presumed dispersive origin.

male Goldcrest, Whitebread Hollow. sexed by the orange feathers on the crown

Whitbread Hollow, Beachy Head

Whitbread Hollow is a great place to see visible migration too, which was very visible. loads of Siskin were passing over, with smaller numbers of Goldfinch, and a handful of Redpoll and Brambling. A few of the latter were also in some of the bushs in the hollow. 1500+ Woodpigeon also went east, with 30+ Stock Doves among them. One leucistic Woodpigeon was also seen, it was with one flock that flew over and dropped into the hollow, and all four of us got a good look at it, agreeing we hadn't seen anything quite like it before! About 50 Swallows and a few House Martins went over, and thrushes included one Song Thrush, three Mistle Thrushes and four FIELDFARE, my first of the winter. Meadow Pipit and Skylark were ubuquitiuos as always.

We left at about 11:30 AM. It had really quietened down, with the last two net runs having returned about five birds!

After the Hollow, we had a brief stop at Belle Tout. I was hoping for third time lucky with the gorgeous Phyllosc, but it had had other ideas, and was believed to have cleared out overnight! There were a few Chiffchaffs around, and a group of Siskin passed overhead, while a Kestrel and several dragonflies kept the camera busy!

This Kestrel posed brilliantly

and while photographing it, I took the opportuity to photograph this male Ruddy Darter (?), who landed on my shoe!

another presumed male Ruddy Darter

while I believe these to both be females of the same species. If Jake, or anyone else, could confirm/correct me again I'd be grateful. Just a hint (:

16 Oct-Arlington waders and Beachy warblers

2010-10-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a day spent out going after two good birds, with a 50% success rate...

A Curlew Sandpiper had been seen at Arlington for a few days now, so today Dad and I made a quick visit early morning. After walking along to where the Buff-breast was seen, we found two waders along the water's edge. Looking through the scope, it was obvious they were a Dunlin and our target bird. But we were quite a way off, so we walked closer for a better view. And that was when it happened...

A Peregrine swooped down low over the reservoir. I felt sure it would have scared off the two waders. An initial scan seemed to confirm this, but after about two minutes we somehow found them again, in exactly yhe same spot! I can only assume We were so sure ther had gone we totally overlooked them! But anyway, we got fairly close, having some great views through the scope. The Dunlin looked odd, almost Broad-billed Sand-esque, but I'm fairly happy it was just the commonest calidris. I got some record shots of the two feeding together, but they were even more distant than the Buff-breast two weeks ago, so good quality photos were beyond me and my pentax. it is probably worth clicking to

Curlew Sand (left) and Dunlin (right)

Curlew Sandpiper

and finally, one showing the odd-looking Dunlin

After this success, it was off to Beachy, to look for that goddamn PALLAS'S WARBLER!

Around Belle Tout wood were 30+ observers. All scouring the bushes for this Sibe. Among them was Robin Stokes, who it was good to finally meet after 'knowing' him on the web for several months. Hopefully you saw the bird Rob, but sadly I failed miserably!

In the wood were about 20 Chiffchaff, and a handful of Goldcrests. Blue Tits were also pretty numerous, and I think they might have been atleast partly made up of migrants. 20+ House Martins and a few Swallows passed overhead, and two Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk were showing well, and there were a few dragoflies, Migrant Hawkers and Ruddy Darters. But this all got a bit boring, so I headed off to The Hangar, a bit of scrub on the clifftop, to see what I could find. I was hoping for Ring Ouzel and Dartford Warbler, but all I got was a few Stonechats.Walking unceremoniously back, dad greeted me with the horrific news that the bird had been seen while I was gone!

We waited around for another 20 minutes. In this time, the Pallas's was called a few tims, but if they were genuine, the bird moved back into the thick foliage before anyone bar the first obsever got a look at it. Dad said it had only been on view for about three seconds. And this was the first time it had been seen in over two hours!

Here are a few photographs from a pretty disheartening day

Migrant Hawker, Belle Tout

Kestrel, Belle Tout

Stonechat, The Hangar

15 Oct-Beachy Head

2010-10-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

On thursday, 14 Oct, a PALLAS'S WARBLER was reported at Belle Tout Wood, Beachy Head. The following day Dad and I went for a look, but we arrived a few hours too late. No Pallas's Warbler, just a few Goldcrests and 15+ Chiffchaff. A huge flock of hirundines were overhead, including about 100 House Martin and 50 Swallow. In Belle Tout were loads of Blue Tits, a Kestrel and a Green Woodpecker. But no sign of the formerly regular Tawny Owls. I suspect there is now so much Ivy on the trees they can hide away undetected.

House Martins and Swallows passing over Beachy Head

photos of Belle Tout Wood, the last with my Dad in the foreground

14 Oct

2010-10-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

a few birds around today. flyovers included two Meadow Pipits, a Grey Wagtail and my first real movement of Siskins this autumn, with about 20 going over in the morning. Also a handful of Swallows, two Goldcrests and a single Chiffchaff, but autumn seems to be coming to a close now...

there is also a video (and photos) of the Rose-coloured Starling here for anyone who is interested. The author of this blog seems to be doing particularly well this year, he is the finder of this bird, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and the april Bonaparte's Gull!

second time lucky with the pink one...

2010-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Dad and I saw the ROSE-COLOURED STARLING at Castle Hill, Newhaven, today. It showed four times between 16:00 and 16:30, but not after that up until 17:00. It is very, very conspicuous if you see it well, impossible to mistake for a Starling! As well as the obvios colouration differences, the RSC had a more undulating, woodpecker style of flight, to my eyes at least. I had my camera, but didn't get any photographs of the bird. It was my 168th sussex tick for 2010, 181st british yeartick, and lifetick 652 or thereabouts.

Other birds seen where good numbers of Robin, Song Thrush, Dunnock and Blackbird, two Chiffchaffs, nine Swallows and a few Meadow Pipits moving east. There was no sign of the male Ring Ouzel we saw yesterday.

In Seaford today, just three each of Meadow Pipit and Swallow moving over. No Chiffies, no Goldcrests and no large numbers of thrushes or robins at all. However, dad had 2+calling Firecrest and a Redwing at Blatchington GC today, along with a few Chiffchaff and Goldcrest to boot!

No Rosy, but another Rouzel and a yeartick finch.

2010-10-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

News broke through yesterday of a ROSE-COLOURED STARLING, in the scrub at the foot of Castle Hill, Newhaven. Dad wasn't home from work til late evening, and I couldn't face cycling through the human-infested sewage canal that is Newhaven, so I just hoped the bird would still be around today.

Thankfully it was, and, despite Dad having to drive his car through 'the town that God forgot', we arrived fairly opstimistic.

However, the bird hadn't been seen for a few hours, and, according to the whispered wisdom of the birders, it had last been seen disappearing over the clifftop. I took this as the cue to for a healthy scramble up the cliff. (for those who don't live nearby, Newhaven Cliffs are mercifully easy to climb, with a gradient barely steeper than any of the hills nearby and loads of footholds)...

This proved fruitless for the Starling, but there were plenty of Song Thrushes and a few Robins and Dunnocks in the limited scrub. Among the Song Thrushes was one all-dark thrush, giving an all-too familiar 'chack' as it flew away. I was already fairly confdent of it's identity, but it took another five minutes before I saw it again. It was a very nice male RING OUZEL, looking resplendent with his white breastband and scaly wings.
With no sign of the RCS up here, Dad and I hastily scrambled down the cliff and joined the other birders down at the bottom. We waited for another half-hour, but saw no sign of the bird, eventually giving up and heading home just before the sunset. However, the wait hadn't been totally fruitless. A BRAMBLING flew over calling (sussex yeartick 167 and brit yeartick 180), 20+ Swallows passed east along the cliffs, there were 2-3 Rock Pipits entertaining all. 45+ Curlew flew east, presumably going to roost somewhere on the undercliff between Newhaven and Brighton, and the Common Starlings were all flocking together in small groups as we left, though their rare relative was nowhere to be seen.

After a while, i got fed up looking for this non-existent bird, and went to photograph the well-posing gulls in the evening light. Cold fingers and tired eyes made using Manual Focus a bit of an arse, but I did my best. The shots are a bit out of focus, but still better than AF in my opinion.

in the end, two very good birds, even If I missed the best one. Driving back, two Cormorants roosting next to the enormous one at Newhaven (I really need a photo to describe this to non-locals!)

as a final note, very few birds in Seaford today. single figure numbers of Swallows passing over, but not a single mipit or chiffchaff.

a few days of autumn

2010-10-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

on Saturday (9th October) I was around Seaford all day, mostly in the house (one of those lazy teenage days, ya know!) Over the garden I recorded good numbers of Meadow Pipit, Swallow, Golfinch and House Martin. A few Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were around, as I am now accustomed too. Robins, Dunnocks, Great Tits and Wrens are all starting to sing, marking out their winter territories...

On the night of the 9th, three Redwings and A Song Thrush were heard flying over.

The 10th began with a sussex year tick (no. 165), literally five minutes after I had woken up, when I heard the distinctive call of a Redpoll, flying over the house at about 10:30. During the morning I had plenty of Swallow and House Martin passing over, with small numbers of Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Goldfinch. Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were both in good numbers around Seaford, with larger than usual totals of Song Thrush, Blackbird and Robin. Interestingly, I have seen far more Goldcrest this autumn than I did last time round. It seems that this cold winter didn't affect them as badly as that of 2008/09, I hardly saw any the following autumn, and neither did anyone else on the South Coast to my knowledge...

At about 1.00, I headed off for Seaford Head, wondering what i might see. The answer was;
-a minimum of 70 each of Swallow and House Martin
-20+ Skylark, in the clifftop grazing fields
-30+ Meadow Pipits
-1 Siskin flew south, sussex year tick no. 166
-a small eastward movement of Woodpigeons, numbering about 50 birds
-20+ Chiffchaffs, 20+ Goldcrest, 2 Firecrest, 2-3 RING OUZEL and a single Blackcap in Hope Gap.

That night, three more Redwings and a single Song Thrush flew over the house calling.

these unidentified red dragonflies were everywhere

edit: ID'd as a Ruddy Darter

view out to ea from the top of Seaford Head

view out to sea from the top of Hope Gap

I'm fairly sure this dragonfly is a Broad-bodied Chaser

edit: Ruddy Darter again!

view of the Seven Sisters from Seaford Head Holf Course

today (Oct 11th) was quiet around Seaford, with a few Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Meadow Pipit and Swallow, but nothing like the numbers of the last week or so. However, a bird 'chacking' away in a bush near school sounded suspiciously like another RING OUZEL, sadly I never saw it, as I was in a bit of a rush to get to school. One that got away I guess!

Thrushes Galore!

2010-10-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last night, I heard several Song Thrushes flying over, but not a lot else, despite the clear conditions...

Today, they were the most conspicuous bird by far. I counted about 15 in my corner of Seaford, a fairly good count. Other migrants were just a handful of Meadow Pipits, Swallows, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests. There was also a small movement of Goldfinch and Chaffinch overhead, but nothing substantial and no other finches...

Tonight, I heard my first REDWING of the autumn, always a fairly pivotal moment I feel. I also got a great view of one of the cub foxes raised locally, as I was walking my dog.

It's 21:47 now, and I've decided to keep my windows open tonight, and see how many more Redwings I count before I drift off.

Til then, hasta manana!

Seaford on 07 Oct. Good vis-migging day!

2010-10-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

from the title, you can gather what the theme of today was. I only had time to be looking up at the sky for about 1 1/2 hours today, walking to and from school, and keeping one eye/ear trained at the sky during lunch and break. My approximate totals were;

100 Meadow Pipits
70 Swallows
20 House Martins
2 Skylarks
1 Grey Wagtail
1 plover sp. by the laws of probability it was almost certainly a Euro Goldie but I didn't get a good enough view to rule out Grey Plover (or American/Pacific GP for that matter!) I presume it came from Cuckmere, as it flew over school, heading SW towards Splash Point. Interestingly, I saw a flock of 70 Golden Plover at Splash Point on 1 Sep last year, that followed almost exactly the same flight route, before flying out over the beach and east along the shore.

Dad saw a few Siskins and a Brambling flying over today too, but I didn't see any finches. An interesting observation though was that about 30 Meadow Pipits appeared to have been feeding on an allotment I walk past on the way to school. Not altogether unusual but I had never considered that it happened before.

AUTUMN IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

: )

seaford stuff: 06-Oct

2010-10-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

in the appalling weather this morning, 12 Meadow Pipits and 32 Swallows flew over. Just a single Chiffchaff and 3 Goldcrests on the ground.

Birds o' the day

2010-10-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

the most obvious avian presence today was Meadow Pipits, with 30+ S over school. The only other bird of note overhead was a single Swallow. Other migrants were 5 Chiffchaff and a single Blackcap. A Grey Wagtail was around school, and a few Goldcrests were calling. a few Great Tits were once again singing, as was a single Blackbird.

Surrisingly, I have yet to hear any typical October migrants going over, such as Skylark and Siskin. I'm waiting with baited breath until for the first of each, though a good clear day seems a long way off right now!

my school crest

2010-10-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

follwing my first of the autumn, at Preston Park yesterday, there was another Firecrest calling from conifers around school today. Other birds in seaford were 3-4 Goldcrests, 3 Chiffchaffs, and 10+ Meadow Pipits moving overhead. On the singing front, small numbers of Robin, Great Tit and Dunnock continue to pipe out their tunes again.

untitled

2010-10-03T13:59:00.001-07:00

http://reservoircatz.blogspot.com/2010/09/maltese-hunters-target-vicious.html read... ; )

Preston Park, Brighton

2010-10-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

went to visit grandparents today in Brighton, and had a brief escape out into the rain, walking around Preston Park. Birds seen/heard were

2 Treecreeper
6-7 Chiffchaff (one singing)
singing Robins and Great Tits again
the tit flocks included a few Long-tailed Tit and one Coal Tit
one group of regulus including four Goldcrest and one Firecrest!

for a suburban brighton park, in heavy drizzle, this was an absolutely brilliant walk. The Firecrest was the first definite bird I've seen this autumn too.

spring coming round again?

2010-10-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

It seems rather bizarre, I know, but I think the breeding season must be upon us again! The last few days have seen regular singing bouts from Robin, Dunnock and Great Tit! The most likely explanation, to my mind, is that I have a few local migrants. Robin and Dunnock could well have hopped over the channel (last autumn there were a few days I counted 70+ of each at Hope Gap, around this time of year), but I'm not entirely sure where Great Tits would arrive from. Local dispersal or from further afield? Or just a resident bird getting his territory staked out early? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts...

and another thing
I can't remember seeing a Blackbird in seaford since early July! I've seen Ring Ouzel more recently!

taken from this post, on 30 Sep. However, on Friday 01 October, within a day of that, I had broken my duct! It was a brief view in seaford, but I was just relieved to have finally seen one again. I only realized this when a friend came over from New Zealand, and commented on the notable lack of Blackbirds! It just goes to show, how easy it is to underlook common birds...

Oh, and just cos I'm in a random mood right now, here are some more facts on Buff-breasted Sandpiper;

there have been four in Sussex this year, the best year on record for them in the county.
they are, I believe only the 11-14th seen in Sussex. We get very few due to our south-easterly location

And, for the record, I predict a Wilson's Phalarope in sussex this year before the end of October!

untitled

2010-10-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

for those interested, the Buff-breasted Sandpipe was the 650th bird on my life list. Number 550 was Red-tailed Hawk, the first bird I saw in Canada, and number 600 was Semipalmated Plover, on 21 Aug.

and attached is my attempt to paint the Buff-breasted Sand. The wing details on such a bird are a nightmare for me, so I just attempted a head profile. If people think these are any good these may become a more regular part of the blog.

also looking at the counter, I only need another 14 hits to reach 5000! thank you everybody who has visited this site!

Buffy-ruffy-breasted duffy

2010-10-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

the title is in honur of mi madre's attempts to remember the name of the bird Dad and I went to see this morning.

I got a call from Matt Eade yesterday at about 18:00. Saying there was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Arlington Reservoir! However, I had walked home in much the same weather prevailing at the time, and had no intention whatsoever of seeting foot out there again!

Thnakfully, the weather had cleared up by this morning, so Dad, Nick Pope and Me all headed off for Arlington about 08:30. A soon as we arrived, a group of about 25 birders could be seen on the dam about 100 metres away. The BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was showing stunningly well, although a brown bird walking about on mud can be elusive if you take your eye off it! It showd down to about 20 metres most of the time, in the company of two Dunlin, a Ringed Plover and a not-so-healthy looking Avocet, while a Pochard was on the water with 20+ Tufted Duck. All the birds in red were site ticks for me, with Avocet and Pochard being great local birds. Both, Pochard especially, are very hard to pin down in the local area, with my only previous record beinng two on 17 Jan this year at Cuckmere Haven. At Arlington were a few Swallows, (but no House Martins), with about 150 of them counted between Arlington and Seaford from the car.

The twitch was a light-hearted affair, even by sussex's genial standards. However, one unlucky birder dropped a lens cap. And it bounced down the dam, flushing the Buff-breast from a rather convenient spot it was feeding on! Without much doubt the best accidental flush I have ever witnessed!!

However, apart from attacks my stray lens caps, the bird showed in full glory. BB Sand is a lifer, and quite possibly the most gorgeous looking wader in the world in autumn attire! The creamy plumage, streaky head, mustard yellow legs and delightful looking wing-patterning all make this one good-lookin' bird. We never saw any in Canada, but they are rare on migration here. In fact, I'd be prepared to wager the Atlantic coast of Ireland or The Scillies are the most reliable sites in the world for autumn Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The majority, like American Golden Plover, have a migration route that swngs out ovr the atlantic and back down to South America, hene these two birds are highly likely to be blown off course.

But enough of the education, here are some classic Pentax X70 style photos!

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper

The not very healthy looking Avocet. It was either moulting or had lost feathers some other way

and one more of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Quiz

2010-10-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

anyone fancy having a go at these birds, photos taken in Canada

these were all taken the first few days of the holiday. one should be quite easy, so should two, three should be fairly easy if you have experience with american birds, four is a bit more tricky, and five is pipsqueak.

I'll give the answers in the comments box, in five days.

Enjoy!

Birds round town

2010-09-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

24 Sep
A large westerly movement of birds today, with 230 House Martins, 120 Swallows, 4 Grey Wagtails, 2 HOBBIES and 20 Meadow Pipits. A few Chiffchaffs around too.

25 Sep
A few Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests present

27 Sep
A Grey Wagtail over the house, a few Chiffchaffs and some Swallows passing over. three our four Robins, singing subsongs in very close proximit to one another, were all continental migrants I believe.

28 Sep
Grey Wagtails near house and school today, I believe these are the returning wintering birds. A few Chiffchaffs and Swallows too. Meadow Pipits moving over in good numbers. A few presumed continental Robins too.

29 Sep
20+ Meadow Pipits going south today. Also a few Chiffchaffs, a Goldcrest and the Grey Wagtail near the house again. 50+ Jackdaws flew over the house this evening. a few presumed continental Robins too.

30 Sep
A YELLOW WAGTAIL flew over calling today, very late, as did 20+ Meadow Pipits. 7+ Chiffchaffs and two Goldcrests in town. A few presumed continental Robins too.

As well as these birds, Long-tailed Tits are getting ever more obvious, and I'm hearing their calls far more regularly from the garden and school. Blue Tit is becoming more obvious, although, as I noticed recently, I can't remember seeing a Blackbird in seaford since early July! I've seen Ring Ouzel more recently!

Canada Trip: Epilogue

2010-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, 24 days after I left the country, i have at last finished writing up a fairly comprehensive account of my trip to Canada. I saw 124 species of bird, 98 of which were new for me. But lists mean nothing. There are a million sight, sounds, and birds full of character I will never forget from that trip.

of the sights, warblers take some beating. Even in the autumn, when males have lost many of their gorgeous hues, these birds are simply stunning. Of those we saw, Canada Warbler was just beautiful. Black and White was rather good-looking. That one male Redstart I saw, on Aug 21, takes some beating. It is just pipped my Blackburnian though, even though I only saw a female and a moulting male. However, the winner, without a doubt, is the resplendent, gorgeous, iradescent BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER.

It would be unfair to only include warblers in this beauty contest though. Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Cedar Waxwing, Red-winged Blackbird and Baltimore Oriole were all just breathaingly gorgeous too.

Of course, beauty is not the only aspect of fine sight. There are few birds more spectacular than a Turkey Vulture, twisting effortlessly through a prefect blue sky. Or a Nighthawk, powering accross an industrial city backdrop, like a Metro-Pterodactyl. Seeing an American Bittern at stoen's throw distance certainly wasn't half bad. And what bird can possibly be more elegant than a Sandhill Crane?

There are so many wonderful sounds to here in Canada too. The haunting, beautiful, yodelling song of a Loon, bouncing over a sunbathed boreal lake. The fluty, Blackcap-like notes of a Vireo. The thick, rich, piping call of a Hermit Thrush, resonating through the forest floor. The harsh scolding of Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the narky chirps of both Nuthatches, the unmistakeable, onamotopaeic Pewee. The undescribable racket of a family of Blue Jays. And the rasping croaks of a Grey Catbird.

And there were some memories too. When the American Bittern flew right in front of me. When we trapped a Hummingbird in a butterfly net, to release it from a games room. Those first days, when everything was new, and brilliant, and exciting, even Great Blue Herons and Mourning Doves. And Long Point, where I banded my first birds. I've now vowed myself, and to my dad, that I will keep up my enthusiasm for this. Hopefully we'll be at Whitbred Hollow in a few weeks time.

Lots of the other wildlife was great too. Black Bear, Raccoon and Chipmunk were all just amazing little things, and the Eastern Red Squirrels were nice too.

And best of all, wre the people. David Curson, Kate Mcelderry, and their kids Seamus and Mary were fantastic company in Quebec. Dave, katie and James Beadle put p with us for nearly two whole weeks, despite Dave's hectic schedule. At Long Point, Jon McCracken and Ron and Anne Ridout were fantastic. Ross and Mike, the two wardens, were great at helping me learn the ropes of banding, and the other people we met, Brendan, Julian, Kris, Nelson, Hugh and all the rest, were great company, knowledgeable beyog belief on their birds, and all, especially Julian, gave me loads of encouragement and advice as I banded my first few birds.

Canada was a great country, with great birds, and great people. I've been to Australia, Cyrpus and America and it beats them all. And I've made myself one promise, to Long Point, to the Beadles, and to my uncle, aunt and cousins.

I'll be back.

Canada trip-part six!!

2010-09-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

this has dragged on too, too long now, and now, this post will end the bloody holiday write-up once and for all! So, I bid you all to salute your farewells, and shed a tear for Canada, for she is no longer!

31 Aug
I made the rather foolish mistake of spending too long out in the sun on the tip. As a result, I was feeling sick, hot, dizzy and nauseous a lot on this morning. I missed out on a few birds- Black-billed Cuckoo and Tufted Titmouse the best of them. But I saw a Black-billed Cuckoo earler in the trip, so no harm done there.

However, when MOURNING WARBLER and Sharp-shinned Hawk were being banded, I did make it out of the room! And staring out the window, into the woodlot, revealed 2 Blackpoll Warblers, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, several Cedar Waxwings, 2 Grey catbirds and 2 Cardinals.

I don't envy the guy who banded this one!

We then visited LPBO headquarters, near the town of Port Rowan. Highlights were a flyover Osprey, two Ruby-throated Hummginbirds, two Song Sparrows, three Turkey Vultures, three Wood Duck and 40+ Red-winged Blackbirds. We also saw this...

The nest of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, brought into HQ

We spent the evening walking around Long Point provincial park, and relaxing on the beach. The only birds of note were three singing Warbling Vireos a few Northern Flickers, and two Caspian Terns, but the beaches of Lake Erie are pretty spectacular.

We visited another one of Dad's old friends in the evening. She had a property in the middle of Norfolk county (that part of Ontario, named for its flat, largely agricultural landscape) and on here she had dedicated her time to making it as fantastic for wildlife as possible. She had several hectares of land that were about as good an insect habitat as it is possible to find. This made it great for sparrows, though the Grasshopper or LeConte's Sparrows that had bred here were either gone or hiding. However, she did have 14 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on her feeders, and Nighthawks flew overhead, with a single CLIFF SWALLOW. There was also a single Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, gnatcatching from wires, and in the woodland were singing Wood Thrush and House Wren, both lifers. I also found the feather of a Turkey, but sadly that particular bird can't count on my list!

01 Sep
A good morning at Old Cut, with the following seen;

2 American Woodcock
1 Northern Harrier
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Eastern Wood-pewee
1 Trail's Flycatcher
1 Least Flycatcher
10 Tree Swallow
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Swainson's Thrush
3 Gray catbird
20+ Cedar Waxwing
3 Magnolia warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Black and White Warbler
3 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Ovenbird
1 Mourning Warbler
3 Cardinal
20 Bobolink
100+ Red-winged Blackbird

The highlight was also the only lifer, two American Woodcocks that flew over around 06:30, heading from the marshes opposite into the woodland. I also visited the Bobolink net, which had 20 birds hanging around it, some of which I saw get banded. I myself banded a Cedar Waxwing and a Gray Catbird.

We spent the afternoon of 1 Sep at Niagara Falls. The scenery was spectacular, and I got a great many photos, while birds seen were;

300+ Ring-billed Gulls
50+ Bonaparte's Gull
100+ Double-crested Cormorant
1 Red-winged Blackbird
a few Chipping Sparrows
1 Least Sandpiper

ad Ring-billed Gull, with Niagara Falls as a backdrop!

juv Ring-billed Gull in Niagara

The falls themselves

record shots of Bonaparte's Gull and Double-crested Cormorant

and one more of Niagara

On the way back, we stopped at Big Creek Marsh, a few miles from Old Cut. The highlight was 3000+ Red-winged Blackbirds (!) and 100+ Common Grackles. two Night Herons flew into the marsh to roost, as did 12 Sandhill Cranes, probably the same birds I'd seen on Aug 29th. I also saw three lifers. three Blue-winged Teal flew over, and in the marsh were six Swamp Sparrow and a Marsh Wren. i thought two Great Egrets were lifers too, but sadly remembered they are the same species I've seen in Britain, France and Cyprus.

Back at Old Cut, at dusk, i saw a fantastic SEVEN AMERICAN WOODCOCK! They were all flying from the wood and fields out onto the shore of Lake Erie, were they feb on the mud at night. Most of the views i got were brief, but a few showed really well, flying right overhead. They are very small birds, about halfway between a Snipe and a Jack Snipe in bulkiness.

By the end of today, I had seen 119 species in Canada, including 93 lifers.

2 Sep

my last morning at Old Cut, and I went out with a bang! I banded a Canada Warbler, a Gray Catbird and a Veery. I now had 10 birds with my initials in the Long Point database. two Blackpoll Warblers, 2 Black-throated Blue Warblers, 2 Gray Catbirds, and single Wilson's Warbler, Cedar waxwing, Canada Warbler and Veery.

My day totals for this morning were;

1 American Woodcock (in hand!)
2 Chimney Swifts
6 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Northern Flicker
2 Eastern Wood-pewee
4 Traill's Flycatcher
3 Least Flycatcher
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 Red-eyed Vireo
3 Warbling Vireo
10+ Tree Swallow
1 poss Northern Rough-winged Swallow
6 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren
1 Marsh Wren
3 Swainson's thrush
1 Veery
4 Gray Catbird
50+ Cedar Waxwing
1 YELLOW WARBLER*
3 Magnolia Warbler
5 Cape May Warbler
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
8 Blackpoll Warbler
3 Black and White Warbler
6 American Redstart
2 Wilson's warbler
1 Canada warbler
3 Northern Cardinal
1 Swamp Sparrow
4 Song Sparrow
30+ Bobolink
1 Brown-headed Cowbird*
2 Baltimore Oriole

the highlights of this morning were my two lifers, Cowbird and Yellow Warbler. However, the Canada Warbler was great, as was seeing Woodcock in the hand, getting another view of a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, loads of Cape May warblers and holding a Bobolink in the hand.

American Woodcock

Those two lifers took me to 95, annoyingly close to the hundred mark! Driving back to Toronto, we had one last stop, to try and rack a few more birds up. We had seen almost no wader habitat anywhere on the trip, but we were hoping Townsend Sewage Lagoons might have a few birds.

Here, we saw Green-winged*and Blue-winged Teal, Baird's*, Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Solitary and Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope*, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bank Swallow, and Yellow Warbler. I had three lifers, taking me up to 98. I wouldn't see any more on the trip. But that only gives me more incentive to go back again!

Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers

Following this, it was a drive back to Toronto, to spend our last night in Canada with the Beadles.

I saw a few Nighthawks, and a Killdeer flew over. I was hoping Hurricane Earl would delay our flight for the following day, but it just fizzled out. However, to say goodbye on behalf of Canada, were some wonderful, joyous and charismatic city dwellers...

Surprisingly, my first Raccoons of the trip. They showed brilliantly in the trees around the beadle's house, and James and I got a few decent photos, with the help of torches. But, all too soon, our last full day in Canada had come and gone. The following day, we would leave for the airport at 17:00 hrs, and I would be bidding fairwell to Canada for at least the next few years...

3 Sep
A day spent in Toronto, without much birding to be done. We went up the CN Tower, for many years the tallest building in the world, and then again for few years between 9/11 and when oil-rich arabians started shooting up for the sky. We spent all day hanging around in Toronto, with House Finch and Cardinal the only birds of note to be seen. But it ws a nice final day, saying goodbye to the Beadles, who had been so kind and welcoming for the past two weeks.

As we drove to the airport, a Common Nighthawk came out, hawking insects in the afternoon sunshine, with its flappy, primeval way of flight. It was wishing me goodbye, and at the same time telling me to come back over, soon. I made a vow to myself, that I would make a visit to this place again, as soon as I can. Maybe if I go back soon enough I might see that same Nighthawk, flapping around as dusk closes in.

Due to a delay in our flight, we left Toronto at about 21:30. I got to see the sun set in the Canada sky one last time, and eat one last Tim Horton's donut. : )

My first bird back on british soil was a Kestrel, scanning a field for mice on the Gatwick Runway

that thing on Blakeney

2010-09-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

http://randombirding.blogspot.com/2010/09/non-empirical-approach-to-empid.html

says a lot of sense...

Canada Trip part 5: 29-30 Aug

2010-09-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

Long Point Bird Oservatory is the oldest of its kind in North America, having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010. Long Point itself is the largest freshwater sand due in the world, stretching halfway accross Lake Erie (40 km). The Observatory was formed in thr 1960's, and over the following years hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers have come and go, helping collect one of the largest bird migration databases in the world. Over 750,000 birds have been banded at Long Point. It is one of the best rarity hotspots in Canada, and 389 bird species have been recorded. In spring and autumn, Half the world population on Tundra Swans migrate through, and up to 8% of the worlds Canvasback may be present on any day during spring. It is a provincial park and world biosphere reserve, as well as a Bird Observatory. Many of the most well-respected in Canadian Ornithology have volunteered in this spectacular area.

29 Aug

A day that started off in Toronto, with a trip tick in the form of some stunning Cardinals, along with a few House Finch and a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

The Drive we took down to Long Point Bird Observatory provided a few intersting birds. Turkey Vultures were now absolutely everywhere, and I suspect it was their time for migrating. If anyone from across the pind would care to comment on this theory, I'd be most grateful.

other birds on the drive included at least five Red-tailed Hawks, two American Kestrels (side-by-side on a wire) and two Killdeer, near Port Rowan, a town near Long Point

We arrived at Long Point at about 16:30. There are three field stations on Long Point, where volunteers and visitors alike can join in with the banding, and walk around, seeing some brilliant birds. We were staying at Old Cut, the closest in of the three field stations, being at the bottom of the peninsula. There are two other field staions, Breakwater, halfway out, and The Tip, which as you would expect is at the very tip of the Long Point Peninsula

the field station at Old Cut, LPBO(copyright Carole Henderson)

'LPBO wishlist'

As soon as we arrived, it became clear this was a great spot. In half an hour, I saw four lifers. The Baltimore Oriole was a fairly brief fly-over and the Least Flycatcher was fairly dull. But the other two, a Northern Parula and a Canada Warbler, were both in perfect plumage, and looked absolutely immaculate. Two of the most beautiful birds I saw on the entire trip! A back-up in this brief look round was provided by; two Grey Catbirds, two Trail's Flycatchers-two Black and White Warblers, and five American Redstarts.

Black and White warbler, Canada warbler and American Redstart. All pictures sourced from Wikimedia

The Canada Warbler did look just like the bird in the illustration, they are stunning birds.

We spent the evening in Port Rowan, where we met up with the beadles again, and saw Ron and Anne Ridout and Jon McCracken. These guys have all been at Long Point since my parents last visited, in 1990! It was great to see them, andlearn loads about Long Point from a residents point of view.

And, as a final touch, we had seen twelve Sandhill Cranes from the road to Port Rowan!

30 Aug 2010

I was up bright and early this morning, and man did I see some birds! As with most brilliant bird days, I'm just gonna list what I saw...

1 Northern Harrier*

1 SORA*

1 Greater Yellowlegs*

5 Ruby-throated Hummingbird

1 Belted Kingfisher

1 Downy Woodpecker

1 Eatsern Wood-pewee

2 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher*

7 Least Flycatcher

4 Trail's Flycatcher

5 Eastern Kingbird

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Warbling Vireo*

4 Tree Swallow

2 Red-breasted Nuthatch

4 Swainson's Thrush*

1 Veery

50+ Cedar Waxwing

1 Tenesse Warbler

1 Nashville Warbler

5 Magnolia Warbler

5 Cape May Warbler*

3 Black-throated Blue Warler

8 Blackpoll Warbler*

3 Black and White Warbler

6 American Redstart

1 Ovenbird*

1 Common Yellowthroat

2 Wilson's Warbler

2 Northern cardinal

4 Bobolink*

Lifers among these have a * next to them.

Trying to pick a highlight from all those is difficult, but I think the photograph below depicts a pretty good choice!

how to see a lifer!

This SORA was found by the roadside, by Ron Ridout, and taken into the observatory to be banded. I believe it was the 23rd banded at Long Point, in 50 years!

I also got the chance to do some bird ringing, or 'banding'. That morning I ringed 2 Blackpoll Warblers, 2 Black-throated Blue Warblers and a Wilson's Warbler. I got to see and hold countless others in the hand too, with probably half of all birds in the above list seen in the hand.

Red-eyed Vireo

Garter Snake

Black-throated Blue warbler. winner of all known beauty contests.

The afternoon of Aug 30 was spent on the tip. It was a two-hour, very bumpy boat ride out! I left my camera at Old Cut, for fear of having it smashed/soaked. The boat ride out produced a Bald Eagle, a Sanderling, a Least/Semi P Sand, 100+ each of Common and Forster's Terns (the latter a lifer) and, last but not least...

2000+ DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, all roosting on one Sandbank!

It wasn't the best area for birds, but we did see 10 Caspian Terns, 6 Wilson's warbler, 2 Magnolia Warbler, 1 Bay-breasted Warbler, 3 American Redstart and a Cooper's Hawk, a lifer.

Today, I saw 61 species of bird, including 14 trip ticks and 11 lifers.

I had now seen 110 species overall, and 84 Lifers!

For the sake of keeping posts vaguely short, this is as far as this post goes. My next post on this brilliant trip ties it all up, I promise, with just four days left to do now!

25 Sep, double score!

2010-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Late September is my favourite time of year. My first ever local comittee rarity, a Goshawk, was seen exactly one year and 364 days previously to today, in exactly the same area I was walking today. 362 days ago, I saw a Glossy Ibis in the Lower Cuckmere (although I wasn't the original finder that time). And today, I bagged two local rarities, and nice additions to my Self-found list too!

Having noted an execptional movement of birds throughout yesterday around Seaford (two Hobbies, four Grey Wagtails, 350+ Hirundines and 20+ Meadow Pipits) I thought today would be a good day to get out. With clear skies in the morning, it looked to be a good raptor day, although I wasn't too sure about grounded migrants. I opted to walk out to Firle Beacon, where there would be a good chance of seeing any raptors moving.

Along, Firle Road, Seaford, I heard my first migrants, a few Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests calling away in the gardens. There were also a handful of Swallows and House Martins overhead.

On Seaford Golf Course, I recorded a total of 14 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps and 4 Goldcrests. Single Yellow Wagtail and Meadow Pipit both flew south, and I got a brief view of a Redstart in flight. A flock of Long-tailed Tits, 15+ strong, passed along the pathside. There were also loads and loads of Speckled Woods, some posing very well for shots

A tatty Speckled Wood

While this one was almost pristine!

Hobbs Hawth and Five Lord's Burgh, the areas between the Golf Course and Firle Beacon, where almost devoid of migrants in the windswept weather. about 60 each of Swallow and House Martin were whizzing around, as were 20 Linnets and 30 Meadow Pipits. A Bullfinch called, but just 5 Chiffchaff and 2 Blackcap were recorded, the wind being at least partly to blame here.

The view from Firle Beacon was spectacular...

The birds were pretty good too.

They included 80 Meadow Pipit, 25 Chiffchaff, 15 Swallow, 5 House Martin, 2 Buzzard and single Yellow Wagtail, Sparrowhawk, Wheatear (shown below) and what I thought was a Redpoll, flying south calling. Suffice to say, I was to discover I was wrong, eventually...

a rather lovely Wheatear at Firle Beacon

However, by far and away the best bird I managed to see was over the wood at Bo-peep. A raptor was being blown in the wind. It flew over the wood, at treetop height, in view at a range of 30 metres for about 10 seconds. It wasn't a Marsh Harrier. It wasn't a Common Buzzard. It was a damn fine looking, dark-phase, fairtrade chocolate HONEY BUZZARD! Regrettably, I never got a good view of the tail, so I'm still weighing up whether it is worth a description. But even if not, it is my first self-found HB and I'm rather happy with it!

As I walked the 31/2 mile walk back to Seaford, still on cloud nine, I didn't see too many more birds. Greenway Bottom held a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets, and two Buzzards, a nice comparison with the Honey Buzz. Goig back through Seaford GC, I found this (very!) recently deceased Red Admiral.

R.I.P, the one that didn't make it to hibernate again.

Back Home, about 6.00 PM

what I thought was a Redpoll, flying south calling. Suffice to say, I was to discover I was wrong, eventually...

I had heard a mysterious bird flying south calling earlier today. It bore some resemblance to a Linnet call, but was at the same time distinctive, and having heard plenty of Linnets, I knew this sounded different. Stuck for ideas, I took my next fallback, a Redpoll.

But, being nosy, I decided to check Redpoll calls on Xeno-canto when I got home. And it became apparent I was wrong in my ID. It wasn't a Redpoll. Or a Siskin. Or a Linnet, or any other finch. However, when I came accross this page, my queries were happily resolved!

That's right, a second brilliant self-found bird, a LAPLAND BUNTING! With so many around at the moment, it isn't too surprising. I saw one less than two weeks ago, in fact. But as a self-found bird, they don't come much better.

As I said before, I love late September!

My totals for today were
Meadow Pipit-120+
Linnet-100+
Swallow-90+
House Martin-70+
Chiffchaff-55
Long-tailed Tit-30+
Blackcap-9
Goldcrest-6
Buzzard-4
Yellow Wagtail-2
Bullfinch-1
Sparrowhawk-1
Wheatear-1
Redstart-1
HONEY BUZZARD-1
LAPLAND BUNTING-1

Canada Trip part 4, 25-28 August

2010-09-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

25 August

Waking up at the unremarkable time of 08:00, the 10 of us gradually entered the land of the living for the next hour. Mum, Dad, dave, katie and pretty much else saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird before we left the motel forever. I didn't, but I was happy to claw back with a Broad-winged Hawk flying over, literally seconds before we drove off. That Mr Beadle was the one who ID'd it is an unimportant matter!

Today, we were heading into the oldest, and one of the most beautiful of all Canada's provincial parks, Algonquin PP. We were only in a tiny area of this huge expanse of wilderness, but it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived just as the leaves were starting to change from the emerald hues of summer into the rusty tones of fall. The species we were hoping to see were Gray Jay, (a smaller, cuter and greyer version of Blue Jays) and Boreal Chickadees (really very similar to Black-capped Chickadee but this is the furthest south you get them). Did we see either? No, sadly, but I saw some great birds anyway.

First stop was Lake Openogo, where Dave assured us he had seen them every single time he had visited. He however forgot to mention that Gray Jays are a figment of the imagination of Canadians and Canadian Residents! I saw one small-looking Jay, but since nobody else saw it, and it was a fairly bad view, it goes in the one-that-got-away box. However, there were enough birds to keep me entertained anyway. two Eastern Kingbirds were lifers, as was a Bay-breasted warbler, while there were plenty of Cedar waxwings, a Broad-winged Hawk circled overhead and a Great Blue Heron was on the swampy river mire we walked alongside. None of the moose we had hoped for though.

We then had a look at the visitor centre, where I saw Grey Wolf, Moose, Black Bear, Least Flycatcher, Myrtle Warbler, Beaver, Black and White Warbler, Gray Jay, Raven and Golden Eagle. However, even my conscience was a bit uneasy with counting stuffed animals in displays.

The next walk we took was around a spruce-bog trail. The only noteworthy bird I saw was a Yellowthroat, but thanks to half an hour of patiently checking chickadees, Dad and Dave came to this conclusion. Telling a Boreal from a Black-capped flitting through the treetops, never giving good views whatsoever, is beyond them. They were both sure Boreal Chickadees were among the flock they were looking at, but were unable to confirm it. In the five minutes it took for me to lose interest, I did hear one odd-sounding Chickadee too, but never saw it through Binoculars, except when it flew off through the wood.

Followjng this disheartening experience, Dad, Katie, Dad and I went along one final trail, through coniferous woodland, looking for the Boreal Chickadees and Gray Jays. It took us half an hour to see a Black-capped Chickadee!

However, once we saw one, we saw plenty. Sadly, there was no storybook ending, Boreal Chickadees and Gray Jays stayed well out of sight, ut there was quite a wide variety of birds in this tit flock. I saw Brown creeper, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Redstart and Bay-breasted, Magnolia, Nashville, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated green, Yellow-rumped, Chestnut-sided and Black and White warblers, plus I missed a Wilson's Warbler. That was six lifers in one tit flock!

I was rather happy as we travelled to our home for the next three nights. Katie's parents cottage, on the shore of Lake Portage, about 150km west of Algonquin. We arrived in the evening, so we couldn't enjoy the scenery too much, but a few of us went for a midnight swim, in the surprisingly warm lake. And Dave showed us a frog called Gerald...

This particular little guy was a Grey-tree Frog, and he lived by Dave's moth trap, growing morbidly obese on an easy food-supply. I've seen frogs in some unusual places before (including a dog's water bowl and a shower in Australia!) but Gerald may take the biscuit. Don't give it too him, he's fat enough already.

By the end of the day I had seen eight lifers, (the others being Eastern Kingbird and Bay-breasted warbler), and my total for the trip was about 82 species and 62 lifers.

26 August
I woke at 08:30 that morning, but it felt a lot earlier, mainly because everyone else was still asleep. It was also the first time i saw much of the scenery round here. It was absolutely gorgeous. The lake was
deep blue, and seemed to stretch out into the heavens of the cloudless sky. The trees had leaves in all sorts of colours; crimson, amber, scarlet, and shades of green I can't even name. And it was all dappled by the early morning sunshine, like throwing a rainbow into a kaleidascope.

It was all stunning, but on this first day I saw no lifers. However, Pileated Woodpecker was great to actually see, rather than hear. As I was standing in clearing, one of these enormous birds flew right over my head, givng great but brief views.Other birds included two Brown Creepers, three Black and White warblers, an Eastern Phoebe and a Northern Flicker. Two or more Ruby-throated Hummers were seen at their feeders all day long, and for the first time ever I heard the beautiful, mournful calls of Common Loons. The fluty warblings of Red-eyed Vireos weren't bad either.

27 August
A better day around the cabin. The sunlight went through my window, directly into my face, at about 06:30. I took this as a sign from the gods to get outside! Most birds were seen in the morning, including

Common Loons, they were heard calling throughout the day, with an adult and chick coming to within about 50 metres to check us out. We also saw a separate juvenile on its own.
a Spotted Sandpiper. This lifer was on the lakeshore, and at oen point gave very close views on the dock by the cabin.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, coming back to the feeders all day long. There were atleast three of them but probably more.
two each of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Northern Flicker.
the distinctive, onamatopaeic song of an Eastern Wood-pewee.
Three Red-eyed Vireos, sounding like Song Thrushes.
Three Red-breasted Nuthatches, two of which were doing their quite brilliant call.
Two Hermit Thrushes calling to each other, their rich, thick calls bouncing through the woods.
Tons of Cedar waxwings, literally everywhere you went.
two Scarlet Tanagers, another lifer. They were both in their greeny-yellow autumn plumes though, so not the prettiest bird I saw!
Finally, a mixed warbler/chickadee flock, which included three Tenessee Warbler (lifer), four Nashville Warbler, one gorgeous Blackburnian Warbler, five Black and White Warbler, one Wilson's Warbler(lifer) and one Northern Waterthrush(lifer). I also got a brief view of a potential lifer. If it was a Veery or Hermit Thrush it wasn't, if it was a Swainson's Thrush it was. Still, it was only a few days before I did see all three of these thrushes...

On a boat ride out over Lake Portage, we also saw a Caspian Tern, a Loon and a Red-shouldered Hawk.

By the end of the day, I had seen five lifers, taking my total to about 67. I had also chased after a Loon, in a kayak, with James B balancing on the back beam. And I had wandered through the forest barefoot, trying to see a Hermit Thrush and causing my feet untold pain.

28 Aug
A fairly quiet day. We left the cabin at about midday, me having racked up a close in adult Common Loon, a Northern Flicker, a Hairy Woodpecker, a Red-shouldered Hawk, loads of Cedar Waxwing, a Black and White Warbler, three Red-eyed Vireos and an icterid that initially looked like a Brewer's Blackbird. Closer inspection revealed it to be just a Red-wing. I saw all this without a huge amount of effort. We had a lot of fun staying at the cabin for four and a bit days, and I'd like to thank Katie's parents for allowing us all to stay, and Katie, Dave, James, John, Patrick, Michael and Elden for all making us welcome up their and insuring we had a fantastic time. Annoyingly I committe a cardinal sin, I left my camera out of battery. And my charger back in Toronto. As a result, a lot of the photos I could have taken, I didn't. But here is one of the scenery, from my mum's holiay snaps, just to show you how beautiful it was up here. I plan to add more photos once I've finished writing the whole thing up.

the view out across Lake Portage (copyright Carole Henderson)

But, before I forget, ther was one final highlight before we left the cabin. But before I tell that story, it is important to understand there was a Games Room here...

In a separate Cabin on the property, was a room with a Dartboard, Pool Table, Ping-pong, Table Football, Air Hockey and Pinball. We wound down many happy hours in their during the night, and when it was too hot to be outside. Before we left, Dad and I went in for one last game.

Now what I am about to say may surprise, shock or scintillate you. There was a frickin' HUMMINGNIRD flying around above the pool table!

Now Dave, being Dave, had brought some butterfly nets along. So, with the help of James, we found them, got the best one and went back to the pool room.

Now, I have seen many things in my time. But a Hummingbird being swished up in a butterfly net was one of the more surprising! As my dad groped around in the depths of the net, trying to extract the poor bird, it made a squeaky, helpless, heart-throbbing call. It almost wrenched at your insides with grief. But fairly quickly, Dad had caught the bird, and held it in the ringers grip in his hand. He then placed it in he palm of my hands, where it sat for a few seconds, before taking off with a supersonic whir of its tiny little wings. I have heard all the stories of them flying over the Gulf of Mexico, but, until you have seen one in your own hand, you have no idea just how miracuous that idea seems.

Before long, we were off on the road, for the 200km drive back to Toronto. I saw two Red-tailed Hawks and countless Turkey Vultures along the way, with a Nighthawk seen as we approached Toronto. I also saw my only lifer of the day, my 88th, in the suburbs of Toronto. A species I never ticked in britain, despite it being seen first in March, and still being in Devon now. a House Finch.

We now had just five days left in Canada. The following day (Aug 29) we left Toronto again, heading down to Long Point. We stayed here until Sep 2, when we went back to Toronto, staying with Dave, katie and James again overnight, and leaving the continent the following evening. That is where the next post on this Canada trip will go, but despite it now being three weeks since I arrived in England, I doubt that post will be my last on an awesome trip!

Abbot's Wood, Hailsham

2010-09-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Walking through Abbot's Wood with Mum, Dad, Nick Pope and his daughter and Martin Tickner was better than I expected. Mainly just te old men getting together but we did see a few good birds.

We saw a tit flock near the Old Oak that held several Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests, a Nuthatch, plenty of Coal and Long tailed Tits, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and almost certainly a Firecrest calling. Checking the call against Goldcrest on Xeno-canto only made me more certain. Along this path, we also found a young Grass Snake, the second I've seen here. A HOBBY was the highlight of the walk, briefly circling over the lake. And Martin, the mushroom man, seemed to find them everywhere!

young Grass Snake, being held by Dad

Arlington Reservoir

2010-09-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Amongst plenty of Pied Wagtail at Arlington today, at least two White Wag's, an adult and a juvenile. The only other birds of note were 100+ House Martin, 20+ Great crested Grebes, 21 Cormorants, a few Wigeon (my first of the winter), a Wheatear* and a Muscovy! No Little Stint, nor a wader of any description!

Muscovy Duck

An adult White Wagtail

Pied or White?? I think Pied but not entirely sure.

The water level was incredibly low!!

At High and Over, just a few Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap, though a Reed Warbler and four Spotted Flycatchers were reported here on the SOS. The Crane my dad and a few others saw in the Cuckmere early morning was nowhere around.

On a sadder note, yesterdays White Stork was found moribund and taken into care by the RSPCA.Hopefully it will recover but its not looking too good for it.

* edit-The Wheatear I saw at Arlington looked kind of odd at the time. It was a female type bird, and had a very rich peachy breast, with the colour extending down more than usual. It also had an unusually brown back, and pretty obvious Supercilium. I didn't take in much detail of its posture, and there were no other Wheatears for size comparison, but I am now fairly confident it was a Leucorrhoa, or Greenland Wheatear. I've seen them in the spring, but this was my first autumn record. I'm not sure if it is good enough to record as such, but morally I feel happy enough about this birds identity.

Clawing one back!

2010-09-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

16 Sep 2010

Unpertubed by previous failure in any attempt at connecting with Lapland Bunting, White Stork or Pied Flycatcher this afternoon, me and Dad tried again in the early evening. We got one, and missed the other two, but who really cares about a Pied Flycatcher when you can see a Lapland Bunting?

Our first stop was at High and Over, for a scan of the Cuckmere, and one last attmpt to see the White Stork. we peered over the entire valley from Exceat to Litlington, but saw just a handful of Little Egrets. However, a constant stream of Meadow Pipits was going south. Due to our elevated position most were going either level with or below us, while Swallows and House Martins were flowing down the river in good numbers. The bushes of High and Over held a few Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap, doing a canny little subsong, while a Redstart/Willow warbler was heard.

We then drove down to Seaford Head again. Matt Eade, Jake Everitt and Marc Read were all looking for the Lapland Bunting in the little muddy field west of South Hill Barn. Dad and I were just going over to ask if they'd seen it when the Bunting appeared from nowhere, disappearing into some long grass on the edge of the field.

All five of us then slowly snuck up on it, and after about a minute it showed brilliantly, allowing us to see every single little detail of that adorable little bird. It flew off after about 30 seconds, into a tussock of grass about 50 yards away. Here, it remained invisible for not much more than a minute, til inevitably a dog-walker strolled by, flushing it into the muddy field, where the restless little longspur stayed for about 10 seconds before going off again into the tussocky grass, now slightly more safe from accidental flushing.

Having seen this brilliantly, Dad and I opted to give the Pied Flycatcher another go. But Harry's Bush was deathly quiet, and the grand total of 15 minutes searching every single bush, tree and shrub in the area was one little Chiffchaff. It was a very nice Chiffchaff indeed. But it was still just one measly Chiffchaff.

We then did the sensible thing, and traipsed back to admire the Lappie, in he company of two Wheatears. Together with Jake and a few other birders, we got even better views of this fantastic bird, through the scope for about 15 minutes, before we left the rest of them to it and answered the calls of our stomachs.

Success? I think so!

the best photo I could get of a great bird, click here for a better photo, or here, here and here for what we dipped

A tale of three dips

2010-09-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Being ill off school was, in different ways, a blessing and a curse today. I dipped on a life tick, a british tick and a sussex tick, saw one brit yeartick and one sussex yeartick, met most of the East Sussex birding fraternity on my way, took a few paracetamol but didn't do my throat infection too many favours.

It all started at about 12:30, when Dad said he had heard about a Lapland Bunting at Seaford Head. I'd half-hoped one might find its way to our patch with the current invasion, and with birds already seen in Sussex it was no great surprise. But a Lappie would be a lifer, and the first recorded the local area since I started birding, so I was interested to say the least.

I decided to check up with Matt Eade first to see if he'd found it. He was working, so it would have been quite some feat, but he still provided me with an exact location, on the dungheap west of South Hill Barn. Then I scrolled down the text, and thought I had a halucination. 'White Stork in the Cuckmere too'. What the bliddy hell was that doing!

Re-checking Birdguides, I was relieved to see I hadn't missed it out first time, there was no mention of the bird! Having said that, I only get the freebie version.

At precisely 13:00, Me, Dad and his friend Martin, who was staying over, headed off to Seaford Head. Due to the creature needing excersise we took the dog, but kept him in the car when we looked for the Lapland. We ran into Paul James, John King, Bob Self, Pete Wilson and Neil Greenaway, and Dad and Martin may have heard a Lap Bunt calling, but otherwise all that could be seen from the area was two Wheatear and a flyover Yellow wagtail. We arrived at 13:20. The dog walkers woul have been here non-stop from 08:00. Joys of birding eh! However we did pick up some information. The White Stork had been visible from Harry's Bush, but now it wasn't. However, harry's Bush did have a 'showy' Pied Flycatcher.

Walking down to Harry's Bush, we were stuck behind a group of kids on a school trip. The looks I got from the dog-walkers were nothing compared to some of this lot and their teachers, but seeing as I was a forteen-year old, outside of school, with binoculars, walking around with three men, I don't blame them particularly! Once we escaped the crowd and were at Harry's Bush, the four of us (Dad, Martin, Neil and me) scoured the area for the Pied Fly. But he seemed to have stagefright. A Spotted Flycatcher, a Tree Pipit and a Redstart (sussex yeartick) were some consolation. The White Stork wasn't visible either, but while scanning for it, dad picked up a thrush, flying out to sea from the scrape. At first he though it was a Stormcock, but it soon became apparent (to him at least!) that it was a dark thrush with pale scapulars. Ring Ouzel! Martin and I eventually picked it up flying over the sea, before it turned back and dropped into the bushes around the Coastguard Cottages. My only ever September Rouzel record!

Fairly typical Curson birding really, we dip all the good stuff, and find our own bird no-one even knew was there! I'd have liked the Lapland Bunt though, but I'll be scouring the entire area very carefully on saturday!

We did have one final check for the White Stork from the Golden galleon. It was nowhere to be seen. and we met Chris Brown, who had scoured further up the cuckmere for the bird, but to no avail. Slightly disappointed at my first ever triple dip, I went back home to try and get my health up to a 10-hour trek of the patch at the weekend!

Redstart and Ring Ouzel took my Sussex Year List to 164. I've had four other sussex yearticks since I got back from canada. On 8 Sep I saw a fantastic 6 Spotted Flycatchers and a gorgeous Short-eared Owl at Seaford Head, along with a few Willow warblers and Wheatears, one Lesser Whitethroat and a single Whinchat. On 12 Sep, Beachy Head yielded the Ortolan Bunting, which showed pretty well, along with nine Whinchat, two Tree Pipits, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Spotted Flycatcher and a few Willow warblers. However we dipped on Icterine warbler and Wryneck. The other yeartick on 12 Sep was a Yellow wagtail, flying over Denton Hill.

Canada Trip part 3; 22-24 August. BEARS!!

2010-09-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

22 Aug
we left Mt Owl's Head mid-morning, heading out of Quebec and into Ontario. Before we left I mustered up two Blue jays, an American Robin and one last look at one of those gorgeous Hummingbirds. The Drive back to Toronto was fairly uneventful. One possible trip tick went over the car, a group of three ducks I tentatively ID'd as Common Mergansers (or Goosander to brits). seeing as we were near plenty of lakes it was a possibility, and they looked the part of sawbills, but I wouldn't like to say they were without a doubt.

However, an easier to ID bird was seen as we reached the urban sprawl of Toronto. From about 17:00 strange, bat-like birds were out in force, I counted 30 or more on the drive. They had a primeval style of flight, looking halfway between a Tern and a Swift. They were Common Nighthawks, and in Toronto they really are like Swifts over a British city. A far-cry from the tales I've heard of twitching a half-dead specimen of this fine bird in a field on the Scillies! Despite my relatively blissful ignorance of most birding culture, I've been accustomed to Nighthawks being practically mythical in Britain, so this was a bit of a culture shock!

After my happy Toronto greeting by the birds, we got an even warmer reception from our hosts for the next week and a half, Dave and Katie Beadle and their son James. My dad first met Dave and Katie in the mid 80's, volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory (more on that later). If his name rings a bell, take a look at some of your bird guides, he's probably illustrated a few, and the New World Warblers book he illustrated was also written by my Dad! But enough of family history, the present is far more interesting. (to me at least!) We were staying in Toronto with them for the next day, and heading North into Ontario's Shield Country the following day, staying til the 28th, when we would head back to Toronto.

So we spent 23 Aug as tourists, not birders. Of course, Dad and I are useless at keeping up these pretences. No lifers were seen, but I did see some Double-crested Cormorants, on the shore of lake Ontario. I did also manage a trip tick, a fly-over Peregrine, but the highlight was two Common Grackles in the city centre, the only time I saw these birds well enough to appreciate them, with their soulful but sharp blue eyes, slightly scowling expression and the ultramarine sheen of their plumage. Grey Squirrels were everywhere, but outnumbered by their Black cousins, (or maybe the same species, squirrel biology is well beyond me!)

24 Aug 2010
This day was spent driving. and stopping. and driving again. and stopping again at about 5pm, having a bonfire and staying up til about 11 pm!

We were driving from Toronto to Dwight, a small village about 350km North of Toronto. We were staying here overnight, before moving onto our final destination for the next thee days. We were also joined just now by Katie's brother-in-law John and his two kids. None of them were remotely interested in birds, but they managed to put up with us, and kept me from being totally obsessed with the birds over the following days. This was a good thing indeed, as it meant I could apprciate the breathtaking Canadian scenery, refreshing Canadian lakes, and the expert Canadian craftsmanship put into the Kayaks.

But before I get totally carried away reminiscing, I'll have to, err ... reminisce about the 350 km drive up to Dwight. It was broken up by a few Turkey Vultures, but these got decidedly scarce as we got further north. A few swanky Common Loons in their pyjama plumage made up for it though. The stop at a rubbish dump 2/3 of the way was worth it too. The great photo opportunities of Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls on humungous piles of human waste were pretty special. But, if I am absolutely forced to admit the truth, the four BLACK BEARS we saw kinda stole the show a bit. I'll reveal more in a minute.

Staying at Dwight Motel, we saw quite literally nothing of interest, despite what looked like decent habitat for birds. But come nightfall, I was treated to one of the undoubted highlights of the trip. It started with an innocent little 'chip' coming out of the sky at about 9pm. It was enough to set the three birders up out of our comfortable bonfire seats. And over the next two hours, without trying, I heard several hundred of these little squeaks, serenading the sky. Some dropped down and started calling from the trees nearby. And each and every one of them was a migrating warbler or thrush. Think Redwing migration in Britain, but on a much bigger scale, and going on from August to Early November.

All very good, I hear you cry, but what about these damn bears? Well, that is a great story.

We arrived at Kenniskis rubbish dump, all of us hopeful, even those who are(or claim to be) totally disintested by wildlife. We had a scan, and saw Gulls. heaploads of stinking Gulls. There were Blue Jays in all the trees, and Ravens calling out of sight. Add in Turkey Vultures circling overhead, the primeval cacophony of the crows, and gulls fighting beak-and-wing for any last morsel of food, and you have a pretty good metaphor for hell-on-earth.

And, of course, after a few minutes, Satan himself appeared. Dressed in black, he swaggered through this hellhole, king of it all, scattering gulls as he went. The Blue jays upped the ante as he strutted out from the trees. And Dave, the one who actually knows Canadian Wildlife, kindly pointed out that this was a female. Cos She had Cubs.

This wasn't Satan. This was Satan's moody, maternal, mistreated spouse.

And then there were the cubs, all cute and innocent, cowering behind the trees, reminding me of Bambi. If Bambi was a secret arsonist/heroin taker. These cubs looked cute, but, like a puppy, they would grow up. Into a vicious, man-eating puppy.

OK, I might be taking it a little too far. I did really enjoy seeing the malignant little terrors. And the mother wan't so much nasty as narcoleptic. But what happened next was slightly scary.

There was one humungous pile of waste, with loads of gulls on it. Dave and I, the two with good cameras, were trying to photograph them. For about five minutes we kept a fairly respectable range. Then Dave wanted to go round the other side of the pile, probably to see if the light was better or something. We should have realised that all the gulls had just flown up. Thankfully the others did, as within a minute a whopping huge male Black Bear swaggered along. Luckily we wouldn't have been in his path, but I was still about 20 metres from a bear which could probably run me down if it felt like it. And what was I doing? Taking bl00dy pictures of it.

Thankfully, the Bear never did much harm. Satan just swaggered past, and in this bear the muscles in its shoulder really were rippling with every stride. However, When he got to close to the female, I noticed he wasn't that big a specimen. He was a young male, quite small compared to her. And she wasn't happy that this stroppy teenager was getting anywhere near her cubs (the bear, not me!) After watcing him chased to a respectae distance, we did the same, heading off to Dwight, and listening to the warblers at night, and then, on the 25th, enjoying four more days in the Shield Country.

As you'll find out in the next part...

Swaggering Satanically.

Mont Owl's Head area, Southern Quebec, 17-21 August

2010-09-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

17 August

I started birding today ridiculously early (08:30). Me, my parents, my dad's brother David, his wife Kate and their two kids were all staying in this one condo (canadian word for a cabin), on the side of Mt Owl's Head. This mountain was named after an indigenous chief who controlled the mountain, and despite it being a ski resort it still felt like a wilderness much of the the time. A beach on the shore of the lake was five minutes walk away through plenty of northern mountainous forest. Walking through some of this I saw a Trail's Flycatcher (the american name for Willow/Alders they can't ID, the ones listed as Alder in my previous post I should really have assigned to this fallback) and a Pileated Woodpecker's chilling call echoed through the woods. The rest of the birds were fairly normal, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, American Crow and Raven. We spent most of the rest of the day in the town of Magog, about forty miles to the North of MOH, and at the northern tip of the lake below Owl's Head. As a Town, unsurprisingly I didn't see much apart from the by now boring Ring-billed Gulls, but I did hear a possible Eastern Kingbird, and on the lake were a few Double-crested Cormorants.

After several hours in Magog, Me, Dad and my Uncle (David), went for a spot of birdwatching on a reserve on the outskirts of Magog, Cherry River Marsh. This is where the Cherry River flows into the lake, with a few hundred hectares of marshland and some nice coniferous woodland to boot.

We started off by wandering through the coniferous woodland. Chickadees were common as ever, while I saw one lifer, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and heard another, Northern Flicker. Some adorable little Chipmunks were my first mammalian highlight of the trip. The Woodland eventually leads into a huge Alder carr, in which we saw a Chestnut-side Warbler, a Gray Catbird (lifer) and a White-throated Sparrow (lifer). From Once you're out of that you look out over a huge marsh from a viewing platform. Here a Common Yellowthroat called vigorously, and eight Turkey Vulture's were up in the air. The two highlights were also birds of prey, a Red-shouldered Hawk circling overhead was a lifer and a Merlin was a reminder of home. Most odd though was its tendency to hawk for dragonflies, rather successfully, reminding me of a slightly more dashing homegrown falcon at the same time.

Back at Owl's Head in the evening and I saw an Eastern Wood-Pewee while on my way down to the lake, my 34th species of the day, the sixth one to be a lifer and ninth that was new for the trip. Over the three days I had been present in Canada I had now seen 48 species, 31 of which were lifers.

18 August
Today was a very quiet day overall as I spent pretty much all the time with my two toddler cousinsr. I did see some Clouded Sulphur butterflies around the condo and Chickadees and Cedar Waxwingswere ever-present. The only lifers I saw were a Black and White Warbler, singing around the area, and some American Black Ducks on the lake, bringing my total to 50 species, and 33 lifers. But I was well rested for the following day, which was rather more active.

19 August
around Owl's Head in the morning, the Pileated Woodpecker called again, and I saw Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Black and White Warbler, Raven and my most wanted lifer from the trip, two iradescent Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, one of which was a marvellous, majestic male.
We spent most of the day in a nearby Provincial Park, Mt Orford. This area is a fantastic mixture of mountainous broadleaved and coniferous woodland, with the cherry river (which later forms cherry river marsh) running through it, and there are several large lakes in the area. The list of birds is so numerous, to save time, I have to write it in semi-note form;

we saw a Veery, and several different Hermit Thrushes were heard giving their rather peculiar, far-carrying call.
woodpeckers consisted of 6 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (all this years juveniles), single adult Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, and some tree-cavity nest holes that would have been recently occupied by Pileated Woodpeckers (note to all british visitors, Hairy and Downy are their equivalent of Great-Spot and Lesser-Spot sizewise)
We heard loads of Ravens and American Crows. The Ravens are the same species as ours while yankie crow is very similar to carrion crow, the but both american versions have far girlier, more pathetic voices than their gruff, rugged brit relations)
A few BOPs were overhead. an Osprey and a three Turkey Vultures, the latter having a rather primeval quality to them as they glided overhead, scouring for death.
One more Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen, but it was no where near as good a view as the ones at the cottage.
We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch, a prettier version of the Red-breasted and just as weird sounding.
One of the highlights was a beautiful Black-billed Cuckoo, one of my favourite lifers of the trip.
Eastern Wood Pewee and Red-eyed Vireo were both common.
We saw several different warblers. A gorgeous male Black-throated Blue did a display flight similar to Wood Warbler. I got poor views of a few Black-throated Green Warblers. One impossibly dull female type American Redstart almost passed as a vireo till its tail was seen. A juvenile Blackburnian Warbler's orange breast was glaringly obvious in the sunlit treetops.And a Common Yellowthroat tacked away unseen in phragmites in the woodland.
A Song Sparrow was seen. thats all I can say about that, I forgot about it long ago
There was a distant Common Loon on one of the lakes
we saw a few mammals. a great close view of a young buck White-tailed Deer, and a couple of Chipmunks and the american Red Squirrel, totally different to our Red Squirrel.
A Garter Snake slithered across the track, being unwillingly picked up by my uncle as it went
In one of the pathside ponds there were 40+ Green Frogs
Butterflies seen, and ID'd by the other two cursons, were American Painted Lady, White Admiral, Northern Crescent and Common Ringlet.

Back at Mt Owl's Head in the evening, Cedar Waxwings were all over, two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Turkey Vulture and a Broad-winged Hawk were seen, and two Red-eyed Vireos, a Black and White Warbler and a Hermit Thrush were heard.

We saw 32 species of bird today, including 15 birds new for the trip, 13 of which were lifers.

20 August

A touristy day spent around southern Quebec yielded a few birds besides;

Stopping off at an Art/Maple Syrup/Local Goods sort of shop by the side of the road, Me and dad got bored after a while and went outside, seeing a Turkey Vulture and a Common Yellowthroat
In Magog, all the town birds were seen, along with a few Chipping Sparrows.
Driving back to Mt Owl's I saw my only lifer of the day, a Belted Kingfisher perched on wires by a roadside lake.

In the evening at Mt Owl's Head I saw another Belted Kingfisher and seven Black Ducks on the lake, and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and an Eastern Wood-pewee by the condo.

21 August

Getting up early for once, I went birding round Owl's Head in the morning with Dad and my Uncle David. We found one flock of birds containing 10 Red-eyed Vireos, 2 Black and White Warblers, 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and 3 White-breasted Nuthatches, which clambered up and down the trees together, like one ever twisting body, emitting their rather distinctive calls as they went. The only birds that we saw otherwise were a Song Sparrow and all the common stuff (American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Cedar Waxwing etc)

We spent most of today going round the nearby areas towns and seeing what was there. However, once the touristy stuff got boring I snuck off a few times to see what birds were about. The first stop was the town of Mansonville. By far nd away the highlight here was a gorgeous, splendid, fabulous, bedazzling male American Redstart. Even extreme hyberbole such as that cannot do justice to this beautiful bird. Other birds on a walk alongside a river included two Common Yellowthroats, the same number of Song Sparrows and a few of the ubuquitous Chipping Sparrows. A whole family party(or perhaps several) of Blue Jay's moved through the treetops and a few Chipmunks were heard.

Next stop was the town of Knowlton. Here we found Etang Mill Pond, a lagoon with a fairly low waterlevel. We first walked up to it with binoculars left in the car, not expecting much. However, a few Solitary Sandpipers made it worth going back to get them. As dad trudged back to the car, I spotted a heron stalking through reeds about 50 metres away. My first instinct was American Bittern. And rather happily, as it walked out into the open, I was proved right! It showed gorgeously, in full view along with three Green Herons, while on the lagoon we also enjoyed good views of 10+ Solitary Sandpipers, 20+ Least Sand's and one Semipalmated Sandpiper, one Semipalmated Plover and a Wilson's Snipe. Belted Kingfisher flew through, perching out in the open for a few minutes. And the hihglight was the Bittern taking flight, flying round the lagoon and eventually coming down on the shore about 30 metres away. Using a bit of patience and fieldcraft, I snuck up to within 15 metres of this incredibly beautiful bird, which stayed in full view for 10 minutes, frozen on the spot, right out in the open. An extra highlight was a Green Heron foraging along the shore which came to within five metres! Annoyingly, I didn't have my camera on me!

It was gonna be tough to top that, but a stop by the roadside to check directions almost did. In the grassy field opposite I saw a bird, then two, then about ten as I picked more up. Looking through binoculars, these looked like large Little Ringed Plovers with big beady eyes, except they had bright rufous tails and scurried accross the ground like clockwork toys. Killdeer! I counted 27 in this one tiny field in the end, an incredible sight that capped off a fantstic day.

In the next installment, A week's birding round Toronto and in the wilderness to the North.

Canada Trip: instalment no.1

2010-08-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Due to being without a computer, I haven't managed to update on a so far fantastic trip to Canada. My highlights so far have been American Bittern (showed to 20 metres right out in the open), Green Heron (showed to five metres!), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-billed Cuckoo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green and Blackburnian Warblers and American Redstart. However, this first instalment deals with the humble beginnings of the trip, travelling from Toronto to Mont Owl's Head (in Quebec) over the 15-16 of August.

Things began on 15 August, with an 06:00 wake-up-call, and an 07:00 train to Gatwick. We left for America at 12:30 pm, with two Carrion Crows on Gatwick runway the last british birds I would see for three weeks. After an eight-hour flight, we arrived in Toronto at 15:00. The first bird I saw on american soil, having got away from Britain, was a Peregrine! though since it was probably one of the airport's birds I can't count it on my trip list. However, a Red-tailed Hawk, also on the runway, was far more likely to be wild, so makes it on as trip tick no.1 and lifer no. 556 (I think!). Around the airport, I felt right at home again with House Sparrows trip tick no.2, and, having hired a car from some slightly mad jamaican ladies at the airport, we headed off out of toronto.

Our plan as to drive to Quebec in two days, doing about a quarter of the journey on the 15th and getting some rest before going the rest of the 400-mile journey on the 16th. By the time we had stopped off at a motel in, of all places, Brighton(!), I had added Rat-bird no.1 (feral pigeon), rat-bird no.2 (starling), and Purple Martin, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Great Blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbird, American Kestrel and Barn Swallow, with six of those lifers no. 557-563. At Brighton, we had dinner at a fantastic restaurant on the shores of Lake Ontario. 20 or so Caspian Terns and numerous Ring-billed Gulls were offshore, a Wood Duck was on the water, and Purple Martins, Tree Swallows and Chimney Swifts circled above. a Night Heron gave us a brief fly-by and large groups of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles flew overhead, going to roost in the marshes nearby. Walking through the town, we added Black-capped Chickadee, Eastern Phoebe, American Robin and Chipping Sparrow, and by the time we were home I was so jet lagged I slept through the massive thunderstorm that came in the night. By the end of the day I had seen 25 species of bird in Canada, 15 of those lifers.

On 16 August, I woke up to a scene of destruction. by destruction, I mean the thunderstorm had scattered a few twiggy branches around the motel grounds from the trees above. And I didn't notice this until it was pointed out to me. However, I partly blame this on the fact I was admiring the birds in the sweetcorn field opposite our motel (there are lots of these in Canada, I have found). There were a few Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. some Barn Swallows zipped overhead, an American Goldfinch was singing away, and American Crows and Blue Jays were calling from the woods behind the field. The highlight was a beautiful male Indigo Bunting, singing from a telegraph wire, which I got a few suitably crap photos of, to appear once I get home. However, slightly more photogenic was a dazzling Monarch butterfly, which I got some goodish photos of. However, by mid-morning we were on the road heading off on a six-hour trip to Quebec.

en route, we made a brief stop at Presquile provincial park, about 10 minutes drive from the motel. Among many birds seen here were a Cliff Swallow, 4 Barn Swallows and 5 Purple Martins, a Chimney Swift, 6 Song Sparrows, 2 Wood Ducks, 2 Eastern Phoebes and 2 Cedar Waxwings. On the road to Quebec thee were a few distractions, including an Osprey perched by a roadside lake, a Bonaparte's Gull that flew over the car, a Caspian Tern that did the same, several each of Turkey Vulture and Red-tailed Hawk, and, crossing over the St-Lawrence River (a huge river that feeds into the Great Lakes), 200+ Bonaparte's Gulls and a few Double-crested Cormorants. non-bird sightings were of a White-tailed Deer, in one of the seemingly endless fields in lowland Ontario.

Eventually, we reached a town called Mansonville, and from here navigated our way through the mountain's to Mont Owl's Head, a mountain (named after a native american chief), where we were meeting up with my aunt, uncle and two cousins in a condos (fancy word for rustic wooden house) on the mountainside, surrounded by woodland with a large lake that stretched into the U.S within three minutes walk. Around the house on 16 August I saw 3 Cedar Waxwings, 3 Chestnut-sided Warblers, 2 Alder Flycatchers, a Downy Woodpecker, lots of Black-capped Chickadees and 5 Chipping Sparrows.

That is the first instalment, in the next one I will write about my five days in the Mont-Owl's head area from 17-21 August.

Tide Mills 14 August

2010-08-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

a late morning dog-walk at Newhaven Tide Mills was fairly dull, a few Whitethroats, one Lesser W, one Will Warb (sorry for dodgy abbreviations) and three Sandwich terns flying out so sea from the fields, where they had presumbaly been among the Black-headed Gull roost. My last birdwatching foray in britain for three weeks, as tomorrow morning I'll be off to Canada for the rest of the summer holidays!! computer access might not be brilliant all the time but I'll try and keep updated with fairly regular posts, and photos if I can manage it. For now though, it is au revoir to you all, enjoy the rest of August, and don't find anything good until I get back!! :)

6 hour stint at Seaford Head

2010-08-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

woke up at 05:00, tiptoed around the house getting ready, left at about 05:30 by bike and I was at South Hill Barn by 06:00.

The first migrants I saw were 3 Whitethroats, a Willow warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat from the lower half of the small copse by the car park. in the top half were single Willow and singing Reed Warbler. Walking down the path from the car park to Hope Gap there were a few more Whitethroats, with a female Blackcap and a Lesser Whitethroat mixed in.

Walking down through Hope Gap was good first time round, with the sun breaking onto the bushes a sudden flurry of activity came and went, with 13 Willow Warblers, 19 Whitethroats, 9 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Reed Warblers, a Garden warbler and a Chiffchaff noted. The highlight were seeing the Chiffchaff posing well with two Willow Warblers, a nice comprison between the two, showing how different they can really look in autumn. Down one the rockpools was a single Whimbrel, 2 Gannets were loafing offshore with some Kittiwakes and another one passed east. Walking along the west side of Hope Gap revealed a few Whitethroats, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, and 2 each of Willow and Reed Warbler, while the highlights were a croaking, but invisible, Nightingale, and a fly-over Tree Pipit, my first of the autumn.

Somewhere along here I saw Matt Eade and Bob Self ahead of me, and caught up with them at the top of the path through Hope Gap. I walked back down with them, hoping a tape recorder might lure out some more birds, but in the end saw mostly the same birds as before, along with another Nightingale croaking away.

after this followed a virtually birdless walk along to the Coastguard Cottages. a few Whitethroats, 2 Lessers and a Willow warbler the 'highlights'. However, there was a nice Silver-spotted Skipper, which Matt got some brilliant photos of, and which are probably on his blog by now. Once we reached the Cuckmere, with 3 Wheatear, a Ringed plover and a Dunlin(looking for all the world like a Broad-billed Sandpiper!) there to greet us, we went our separate ways, Matt and Bob back to the car park and me along the Cuckmere. 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler, in bushes running down one of the drainage ditches, broke the monotomy, but it started getting interesting again along the west side of the valley. In the bushes along here were a handful of Whitethroats, 7 Lesser Whitethroats, 9 Willow warblers and 3 Reed warblers, while on the walk I could hear at least 2 Sandwich Terns distantly over the sea. One of the Lesser Whitethroats was incredibly close, I was eye-to-eye with it, at almost touching distance, for a few seconds, although they dragged out into eternity. I could see the bright white eyering and the beady black eye in minute detail.

Here I realised that, almost without trying, I had racked up a total of 21 Lesser Whitethroats!! i was tempted to narrow it down a little and take a few off to make my total more 'realisitic' but that 21 was a bare minimum, on the walk I had 10 or so other quick views of possible birds and brief tacking from bushes that I couldn't confirm, so perhaps as many as 30 Lesser's were in the area!

Harry's Bush was dead other than a Willow warbler and a female Blackcap, but up on the mast were 7 Willow warblers, 3 Whitethroats, another Reed Warbler and the star bird of the day, a juvenile Whinchat. At first I could clearly see it was a chat, but equally, that it didn't look like a stonechat. If I could have remembered to look at the tail when it flew, I could have saved a bit of time (20 minutes scouring the bushes for the damn elusive creature!), but the short tail, plumpness, obvious supercilium, buffish breast and that much cuter expression than a Stonechat left me happy to have found Seaford Head's first Whinchat of the autumn.

the totals were
46 Whitethroat
33 Willow Warbler
21 Lesser Whitethroat (a record count for me)
11 Reed Warbler (also a record count)
6 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
1 Garden Warbler
1 Tree Pipit(sussex yeartick 157)
2 Nightingales
3 Wheatears
1 Whinchat(sussex yeartick 158)
1 Whimbrel
1 Ringed Plover
1 Dunlin
3 Gannets

Seaford Head and Cuckmere Haven-7 August 2010

2010-08-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

55 Whitethroat, 41 Willow Warbler, 4 Garden warbler, 14 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Reed warblers, 1 Blackcap, 2 Wheatears, 1 Whimbrel, 21 Curlew and 30 Meadow Pipits. For four hours in the field I'd have liked bit more but as soon as it kicks off properly it should be good up here. Just hope autumn gets going bfore I get going across the atlantic!

6 August-Hope Gap undercliff

2010-08-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

walking along the undercliff from Hope Gap 1/2 a mile west and back, a pair of Fulmars were feeding a chick on the cliff, six Rock Pipits, some recently fledged juveniles, were along the undercliff. three Little Egrets and a Grey Heron were on the rockpools, along with 8 Oystercatchers, a Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper. a few Cormorants flew past offshore, and about 100 yards out a stream of Kittiwakes, mostly adults, were moving west. Also seen 2 Ravens 6 Whitethroats, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff, all of this mid-afternoon. 3 Jays and 20+ Magpies were on Seaford Head Golf Course, including one gang of 10 maggies. a few Swifts and House Martins were overhead.

In Seaford, a Goldcrest in the garden, while a few days ago were 15 Long-tailed Tits, mostly juveniles, and the same number of Swifts still screaming overhead. A Whimbrel flew over two nights ago.

little to be seen

2010-08-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

updates from 30th and 31st July

walking the eastern edge of Seaford Head Golf Course on 30 July revealed one fly-over Sand Martin, and there were 3 Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler. There were plenty of Kittiwakes at the viewpoint, and also 1 summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull offshore here, this bird also being present on 27 and 28 July. Further long Seaford Beach were greater numbers of Black-headed Gull and a single juv Kittiwake, while just opposite the Salts was a large gathering of gulls, in excess of 200, mainly Herring and Black-headed but with one or two young Lesser and Greater Blackbacks identified. it looks like a good potential spot for Yellow-leggd Gulls if the group remains there. There was also a Gannet flying around several hundred metres offshore, and over Seaford plenty of screaming Swifts.

on 31st July, on my first visit to Seaford Head, round 10am with Dad, dog and some family friends, there was very little around, bar 5 Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler and 40 or so Meadow Pipits in the heavy mist. All these were in the wild-land between Hope Gap and the Coastguard Cottages. On a later visit (around 7pm), with just Dad and the dog, walking through Hope Gap was even quieter, just 1 Willow Warbler was there to show for out efforts, although a Great Green-Bush Cricket was a nice surprise anyway.

careful on the web

2010-07-30T03:03:00.000-07:00

not a birdy post I'm sorry but I have just recieved info that the site behind the 'banners' form FatBirder currently has a virus of some kind, and that following a link on any of them puts your computer in danger. There is a thread on Birdforum about this, the software apprently can scan your computer in an attempt to obtain passwords and bank details, and renders your computer unusable. There has already been an attempted theft of £21,000 from one person and many people have reported their computers crashing. I've removed the FatBirder widget from my website and please, if anyone out there still has a FatBirder widget on their blog/website REMOVE IT NOW!!

thanks and hopefully most people have got the message already

atb

Liam

edit: according to Birdforum thread (see HERE) the problem has largely been dealt with but it still is probably a good idea to remove all links to FatBirder for a short while just to be safe

photographing 28/7/10

2010-07-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

a Rock Pipit at Splash Point, Seaford, 28/7/2010

p.s thankyou everyone who has visited and got me back in the top 600 on FatBirder!! :) :) alright, no.599 and I won't stay there for long but it's nice to be back there still :o

Hope gap again.

2010-07-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

I took a different route round the patch today, arriving by bike at 05:30 I went down to Chyngton Farm, where I walked down along the west side of the cuckmere, before going back up past the Coastguard Cottages, to Hope Gap, down the middle path and up the west side of the gap. I skipped out quite large areas (the mast, golf course and harry's bush) from my ususal route but still found lots of good birds around;

The first bird I saw was in the long, overgrown fields below South Hill Barn car park as you take the road towards Chyngton Farm. A Whitethroat was in a bush here. The long grass and thistles by the roadside never really have any birds other than sparrows and starlings, but today I was rather surprised to see two Sedge Warblers in them, posing well and giving excellent views. In the patch of trees by Chyngton Farm I eventually saw a Garden Warbler, after about 10 minutes looking (I had tentatively ID'd it as this species by song already). There were also 2 Lesser Whitethroats and another Whitethroat here. Along the westernmost path along the Cuckmere valley, heading Northwards, I encountered several more Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, a Reed Warbler (singing), 4 more Lesser Whitethroats and another Garden Warbler, turning to the pat along the river at the horse paddocks.

Here there were 10 or so Pied Wagtails in the saltmarsh, three or four adults and the rest juveniles. One of these was exceptionally pale, almost Citrine Wagtail coloured. Indeed, at first glance, and with a bit of panic, thi was my first rather nervous assumption, but within few seconds sense returned and I decided it was a leucistic juv Pied Wagtail. however, having got home and described it to my dad, he said it sounded far more likely it was an ordinary juvenile White Wagtail, a good record for the area.

I had hoped for a few waders walking along the river bank, however all I got was a couple of Whitethroats in the bushes and a juv Curlew on the river. as I was walking along Cuckmere Beach, with meadow pipits all around me, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a Greenshank passing overhead. my first sussex year tick in over a month!!

In the bushes around the Coastguard Cottages, I saw a few more good birds. There were plenty of Whitethroats, a Reed Warbler showed well, as did two Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Grasshopper Warbler, a bried flight view and perched for half a second but I saw it well enough through binoculars. I saw many more Whitethroats in the bramble patches and scattered bushes going up to Hope Gap, and a Sedge Warbler chattered away in one large clump of hawthorn. I could also hear distantly two Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.

Walking down the middle path through Hope Gap, I saw 7 Willow warblers and 3 Lesser Whitethroats among their commoner relative. 2 Reed Warblers were singing and seen well, and about 3/4 of the way to the sea a Nightingale croaked in one of the bushes, albeit very briefly, and was not seen. It is a remarkable call and one of my favourite to hear! I also saw another Sandwich tern passing west along the sea, about 100 metres offshore. along the western path round Hope Gap several groups of Whitethroat kept me company, numbering about 20 in all. 4 Willow Warblers, in two groups of two, were also seen, and I could hear one of the same Reed warblers that had been singing previously as I reached the top. From here, I walked down the eastern path round Hope Gap, for about five minutes, seeing one Willow warbler and a few more Whitethroats, and hearing two more Sandwich Terns moving west offshore.

My final stop was the patch of bushes adjacent to South Hill Barn. from here another Reed warbler was singing, a Lesser Whitethroat flitted through the bushes and there were 5 Whitethroats and 3 Willow warblers. the final bird seen was a single Willow Warbler, in one of the bushes of the farmyard at Chyngton farm, as I cycled back.

My totals for the day were as follows;
1 Nightingale
66 Whitethroats
19 Willow warblers
11 Lesser Whitethroats
5 Reed Warblers
3 Sedge warblers
2 Garden Warblers
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 White Wagtail
1 Greenshank
1 Curlew
5 Sandwich terns
24 Swifts
18 Swallows
10 Sand Martins

Bits and Bobs

2010-07-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

alas, no real birding was achieved today, but a few migrants still seen nontheless.

A Willow Warbler heard calling late morning, and probably the same mid-afternoon, (and I have justherd it as I write too!) from somewhere behind the garden
Walking along the lower reaches of Seaford Head Golf Course early afternoon a Lesser Whitethroat was tacking away unseen.
at the Ouse Estuary this evenin dad and I accomplished the notable achievement of seeing jock-s**t. a few herring gulls and singing skylarks being the highlight of a fantastic walk.
At Splash Point mid-afternoon Kittiwakes out in force, including many young birds wheeling about the cliffs. Also a Rock Pipit
finally, on the night of the 25th a Dunlin was heard flying over the house at about 23:00.

there are about as many birds in these two photos as there were in half an hour at the Ouse 'Estuary' (a.k.a big dry reedbed) Project tonight.

first visit to the patch

2010-07-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

today was my first autumn visit to the local patch at Cuckmere Haven and Seaford Head. July is a time when the first few warblers are moving through, and waders are in full swing, and I saw a few of both today.

The first presumed migrant I saw was a Whitethroat on the Golf Course. walking along the east side of the course I saw a few more, and got a brief glimpse of a Lesser Whitethroat, while walking up through the wood on the south side of the Golf Course, there were 2 Willow Warblers. Around the mast, I saw my first few Swifts passing overhead to the west. There were a few more warblers, 2 singing chiffchaffs (presumably territorial and not migrating yet), a few Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, and a singing Reed Warbler. resident birds included a calling Bullfinch and several family parties of Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Blue Tits.
There were singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits around the Golf Course, and along the clifftop a few family parties of both were feeding in the short grass. The only migrant along here was a Wheatear, a fairly early record for autumn. the pair of Ravens were very showy, approchable down to a couple of metres, the best and most prolonged views I've yet had of them. most fantastic was as one then the other bundled accross the path, dropping off the cliff-face before swooping back up again. At the same time, five Swifts flew past, barely at head height and practically touching distance.
A few minutes later a group of 40 Swifts flew over. I only picked them up (mostly so high up I needed binoculars to see them) by their calls, so many others probably passed high overhead during the morning undetected. On the western path along Hope Gap I saw a few Willow Warblers, including one singing male. I also saw a few Whitethroats, 2 Lessers and a Reed Warbler. down the middle path through Hope Gap was quiet, there was a Chiffchaff, a few Willow Warblers, 10 or so Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Reed Warblers.
A few more Lesser Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were along the east side, with one Reed Warbler, while more Swifts went overhead and 3 Sandwich Terns were heard off Hope Gap.
In the area around the Coastguard Cottages it was deathy quiet, a few Whitethroats being as good as it got!
In the Cuckmere Valley were decent numbers of hirundines, 50 Swallows, 10 Sand Martins and a handful of House Martins passing through. 2 Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper were in the ditches on the west side of the valley, there were 2 Curlew on the river and a Whimbrel circled the valley several times before dropping into the pastures with a group of 3 Curlew. In the bushes along the west side of the valley were several more Lesser and Common Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler, with 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler around Harry's Bush, and at least one more Lesser Whitethroat noted on Seaford Head Golf Course (I heard two in the area where I had seen one five hours earlier).
By the end of the day, totals stood as follows;
Common Whitethroat-32 (most likely the majority were breeding birds or has dispersed from very nearby)
Lesser Whitethroat-17 (a very good count, especially for July, and a personal record for the patch)
Willow Warbler-15
Reed Warbler-7
Chiffchaff-4 (singing males, probably still on territory)
Wheatear-1 (the first of the autumn and quite early, though possibly dispersed from the breeding pair at Cuckmere Haven)
Swift-122 west overhead, but probablyt many more I didn't pick up
Swallow-50+ passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sand Martin-10 passed through Cuckmere Haven
Sandwich Tern-3 off Hope Gap
Curlew-5 in lower Cuckmere
Whimbrel-1 in lower Cuckmere
Redshank-1 in lower Cuckmere
Green Sandpiper-2 in lower Cuckmere

White-tailed bastard!

2010-07-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

cut a long story shot, I got fairly crap views of a White-tailed Plover in a crowded hide in Slimbridge WWT, 300 or so miles from home, then the damned thing turned up about an hour's drive away at Dunge. God I hate birding sometimes! autumn continues to trickle along, a calling Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff at Slimbridge (I half-heard it but probably a Willow) on the same dae might have been a migrant, as would the definite Willow calling from somewhere near my house yesterday and today. a Great Spotted Woodpecker has been fairly vocal around the house too (presumably a dispersing juvenile) with perhaps the same bird beinng seen distantly in flight this afternoon from my bedroom window. Also my first Goldcrest for a while was also probably dispersing. Starlings and Woodpigeons are starting to flock together now, and at school I saw two adults and a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull. This is lmost certainly the same pair I saw in April/May on a roof near school, and is the first record of breeding for seaford to my knowledge.

back for the season!

2010-07-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

regrettably, with exams, school, and the fact I am a lazy, stroppy teenager have meant this little project hs somewhat taken a backseat while I wreaked havoc accross various branches of the bird-related internet, had many, many teenage strops and passed the exams I care about with flying colours while failing the rest in spectacular fashion.

However, autumn is tantalizingly close, my favourite time of the year, and I and reviving this blog, and putting the fox back among the chickens! The main difference now is that I am less a birdwatcher and more an angry adolescent. This means I may, through no fault of my own, spew untold quantities of faecal matter accross this previously well-meaning blog.

My first autumn migrant came on 8th July, a Common Sandpiper that flew over the house at 11:30 PM. I couldn't get to sleep alright! In fact I was so awake I managed to recognise the call from the last time I heard it, last autumn!

In the last couple of months, I have seen a few good birds, most notably a Red-footed Falcon at Cuckmere Haven. the point-and-clicker of course took a few photos, but compared to the excellent photos that can be found on the Cuckmere Ouse Bird-blog and Sussex Nature (see links down the side), Birdguides and Surfbirds, to name a few, these are poor photos to say the least.

I'm also hoping to go for this plover thingy that has so delighted many folks at Rainham and Slimbridge, if the damnn thing hangs around tomorrow! fingers crossed! although actually by the time this is posted it will be tomorrow, I may have already gone and seen it and have a long-overdue proper report for the people wondering what has happened to this blog!

But, getting back on track, autumn is here. I will spend as much time as I can t my local patch (Hope Gap) hoping against hope for some decent find. Last year the other regular patchers, one of which writes Sussex
Birding, managed to find two different Icterine Warblers and a Barred Warbler, while my dad found a Red-breasted Flycatcher. I checked whenever I could, but Icky no.1 was when we were on holiday in Mull and Icky 2 and Barred warbler on a school day. I still looked for the Barred Warbler twice later in the week, as it stuck around, but failed to connect with it both times. The only positive thing is that I saw the Flycatcher, but despite many hours of effort my self-found tally came up to a Ring Ouzel, some Grasshopper Warblers and not a lot else! that will change now! and I will document the trials of patching for all to see.

I'm also taken a three-week holiday in the summer to Canada with my parents. This will include a five-day stay at Long Point Bird Observatory in early September. It was here my Dad spent several years researching for the Helm Guide to New World warblers, in which he was author, nd he has spent the last few months regaling me with all sorts of incredible tales! The whole trip should be fantastic, and I hope to get loads of lifers, but Long Point in particular sounds absolutely incredible!

Right, thats me done for now, I may have news on a Plover when you next here from me, goodbye until then!

buyt