Brandon - 14/03/09

Back to my favourite place this morning with another 6.30 am start.
A quick post today as I'm going to have a couple of days birding rest and a definate sleep in tomorrow!

I met up with JR, (our official Brandon recorder), at the gate entrance and once parked we made our way to the Wright Hide through New Hare Covert, where a Great Spotted Woodpecker was happily drumming away. The usual stuff was showing and calling but as we approached the hide we heard the distinct call of a Curlew, a not so regular visitor to Brandon. Making a quick phone call to a fellow birder, who we knew to be already in the hide, we quickly confirmed a Curlew on Willow Island. As we tentatively approached the hide, scanning but trying not to spook our Curlew a Sand Martin flashed past my field of view, which JR immediately verified, thus confirming the first Martin arrival at Brandon for this year. Spring has officially begun! Remarkably though, as we reached the hide and opened the flap, the Curlew had flown, unusually quietly for a Curlew, which was a bummer as I was hoping for a second quick tick of the day for my Brandon year-list.

By the time I left the reserve after lunch at the cafe and a final scout around Horstail Glade for the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers I'd picked up a further 3 Sand Martin. Also of note today were :- Snipe (44), Kingfisher, Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher (2), Tree Creeper (2), Nuthatch, Siskin, Redpoll, Fieldfare, Water Rail, Sparrowhawk (2), Green Woodpecker and at least 4 Buzzard.
On arrival back at the marina I was also delighted to see that the 2 Tree Sparrows I'd spotted on March 9th were still visiting the bird feeder.
(Picture of Sand Martin from RSPB data)

Draycote - 13/03/09

Once again myself and Alun, another Brandon Team Member, took time out to visit the nearby Draycote Water. Since our last visit on March 4th nothing seems to have changed on the web listings other than the addition of 2 Sand Martins. That didn't make us feel good as we are still awaiting our first Martin at Brandon. We also failed miserably to locate the Red Necked Grebe on our previous visit, which we knew beyond doubt was here somewhere, so that was obviously one of our tasks for today!!

Shortly after arrival and with a feeling of de' sha vue, we again bumped into Bob Hazell, Bob obviously spends as much time at Draycote as I do at Brandon, we immediately got the lowdown of what and where. Whilst chatting away Bob received more intelligence via a telephone call from Lee Johnson, in relation to a Merlin which he'd just seen flying across from Toft Bay, Lee runs the blog for Shustoke Reservoir, we met up with him a little later in the day.

After having coffee in the hide our list had already grown with the usual hits, including Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, 30+ Wigeon, good numbers of Great Crested Grebe and a few Fieldfare, Redwing and Siskin still hanging around.

Walking along Toft Bank and still scanning for Merlin we picked up 4 male Goosander, always a pleasure to see. As we approached Farborough Spit, which is where Bob had earlier seen the Red Necked Grebe, we began our, what can only be described as, very determined search! Suffice to say that after much debate and several mirages we finally got a tick on the Red Necked Grebe, WooHoo!!

Shortly before lunch at Rainbow Corner we'd sighted several Meadow Pipit and a single Great Northern Diver (pictured), ending on up on the day with 3 in total. By the time we reached Lin Croft Point we'd had several more Goosander and for the second visit in succession a single Rock Pipit. The wind had picked up quite sharply by this time and so we completed the 5-mile round trip earlier than expected with the addition of Blackcap, Treecreeper and Reed Bunting. Our final species count for the day was 52, no Merlin or Sand Martin were on the list!

Napton Reservoir - On my way home I dropped in at Napton for a brief local sortie. The usual stuff was present but with only 1 Great Crested Grebe in sight. A walk down to the bottom reed bed came up with 2 Little Grebe calling, Sparrowhawk and I flushed what I'm listing as a Common Sandpiper, because it flew off so damn fast I had little chance of any further recognition! What was even more disappointing though is that a rather grand Oak, which normaly holds several Finches or Tits, had been brutally reduced to stumps by the ever thoughtful Environment Agency, who in my opinion continue to ruin this poorly managed site.

Still I'm cheered up by the call of our resident Tawny Owl who I can here through the boat hatch window as I write this post.

Brandon - 12/03/09

Thursday at Brandon is work party day and as always I arrived around 6 am to get some early birding in. Nothing unusual on arrival at Wright Hide, although I got some good views of a Kingfisher perched at Swallow Pool. The Cettis Warblers were calling well from Newlands, as they often do and I'm sure I caught a few brief notes of a Skylark in the distance.

Taking my normal route I arrived at the Carton Hide and picked up a couple of Little Grebes, now beginning to show their summer plumage and could clearly hear Water Rails deep within the reed bed to my right.

As mentioned in previous posts we still await the imminent arrival of Sand Martin and the first singing Chiffchaff, Redshank are also late to arrive this year with no sightings thus far!

En route to the work party meeting place several of the team members decided to take in Horsetail Glade in search of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which from several reports, we knew to be around. Having almost passed through the glade, picking up Treecreeper and Nuthatch on the way, we were suddenly aware of drumming from close by. Usually located by its call, and its drumming, which is somewhat faster than the Great Spotted, we knew immediately that we were in with a shout! After a frantic scan we were presented with some fantastic views of a pair, which were at tree top level. The male is distinguished from the female by his bright red crown and on this occasion it was clear to see that we'd located a pair. A quick phone call to another member of the team, who had been searching earlier alone, sent him scurrying to our location, the sighting was certainly the highlight of the day.
Having completed our tasks and had our de-brief over tea, myself and two other members of the team had another tour of the reserve in search of the imminent arrivals, but still no joy. We did however pick up a large flock, probably 100+, of Golden Plover a way off in the distance from the Main Hide plus several Buzzard, but having had the Lesser Spotted we left fully content with our days work, Dracote Water for me tomorrow!!

Brandon - 10/03/09

A wet and early start to the day for my usual Tuesday stint at Brandon Marsh, along with other members of the conservation team, Tuesday is our main birding day.

Comparing the recorded sitings from recent years we had a good feeling about today. The same week last year produced the first arrivals of Sand Martin and Chiffchaff and so today all ears were awaiting the melodious chiff, chaff, chiff, chaff of the first bird. As well as recording the usual suspects and listening for our Chiffchaff from the shelter of the main hide, all eyes were also scanning in anticipation of a Sand Martin arrival, one has already been seen at the nearby Draycote Water.

Excellent numbers of Snipe on Willow Island today with a count of 42. A single Pochard is still on site with no Wigeon sitings for a good 10 days and I only managed a count of 4 Gadwall, which were over on Teal Pool. However, there are still good numbers of Shoveler, Teal and Tufted, the later of which will remain all year round. Our regular wintering Bittern hasn't been recorded for several days and I'm beginning to wonder if that's the last we'll see until next winter. Before moving on to the Carlton hide we picked up a pair of Kingfisher, White Fronted Goose, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Goldeneye, Shelduck, Water Rail and as well as the usual hoard of Black Headed Gulls, also logged Lesser Black Back, Common and Herring.

Arriving at the Carlton Hide we were greeted by a Green Sandpiper, probably the same one I picked up last Saturday, 2 Little Grebe and yet another Sparrowhawk.

There have been reports over the previous two Sundays of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker activity over on the West Marsh and so moving across for a brief vigil in the designated area, which ended in a blank, we took lunch in the West Marsh Hide. Here we were treated to some excellent views of a 50+ flock of mixed Redpoll/Siskin foraging in the Alder. At one stage one tree contained Long Tailed Tit, Tree Creeper, Redpoll and Siskin! We also had 2 more Buzzard and yet another Sparrowhawk. A really good day for raptors!

We also had an amazing count of no less than 10 Great Crested Grebe across the reserve, they have an elaborate courtship display in which they rise out of the water and shake their heads, we were lucky enough to witness this on several occasions. My final birds of note, apart from the usual Tits and Finches, also included Willow Tit, Goldcrest, Cettis Warbler, Fieldfare, Redwing, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a single Muntjac Deer was seen over on the Farm Field. Oh! You guessed it, no Sand Martins or Chiffchaff were located but all in all a really good days birding.

Ufton - 09/03/09

A quick tour this morning of the marina bird feeders before leaving to complete my weekly shop came up trumps with a pair of Tree Sparrows happily feeding away. I was amazed and delighted when on close inspection the 2 visitors were revealed! The feeders also produced the usual Tits and Finches plus a Reed Bunting feeding off the overspill. The constant call of our resident Great Spotted Woodpecker left me in no doubt that he was around somewhere too.

On route to do my weekly shop at Asda I have, for the first time, paid a visit to Ufton Fields Nature Reserve, which in fact is only around 6 miles from the marina. The 31.8 hectare reserve is owned by Warwickshire County Council whose Countryside Ranger Service ensures that it can be enjoyed by anyone. The land is leased to Warwickshire Wildlife Trust who manage the reserve for wildlife and public access.

Having completed the 2.1 km trail I found the reserve reasonably quiet, mind you early afternoon isn't the best time for birding and it was quite windy too. I found the reserve well maintained however, the disappointing thing for me was that the local dog walking population appear to have complete disregard for the rules and regulations, which clearly state that dogs must be kept on a lead at all times. In fact at one stage of my walk I was accosted by a Boxer, dog that is, not a person.

I found the walk quite pleasant but revealed nothing out of the ordinary, with decent numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare still around. I also managed to pick up a couple of Buzzards, a small flock of Goldfinch and also noted Green and GS woodpeckers. The pools revealed nothing other than several Coots.

On my return to the marina, laden with the weeks shopping I got some good views of a large flock of around 50+ Redwing which had dropped in but by now my thoughts were only of Tree Sparrows!

Brandon - 07/03/09

After being rudely woken at 5am by several Mallard feeding off the boat hull, sounds like a woodpecker drumming on metal, I decided to pay an impromptu visit to Brandon. Once I'm awake I'm awake!

I arrived just after 6am to the usual chorus of Song Thrush and made my way to the Wright Hide, a GS Woodpecker was drumming away in New Hare Covert and I'm positive I saw a Hare dart across the golf course. If indeed it was, this would be a rare and unusual siting for Brandon.

The East Marsh Pool delivered it's usual selection which included a single White Fronted Goose, normally in among the other Greylags but today on it's lonesome. Assuming of course it was the same bird often seen here! My count of Snipe on Willow Island yielded 28 in total, 4 Shelduck were present, 3 male and a single female and 2 Oystercatchers arrived a short time later onto Lapwing Island. At this point I had no counts of Goldeneye, in the knowledge that 3 pairs are currently on site, there was also a single Barnacle Goose on view. Before leaving the hide 2 Kingfisher flashed across into the bank to my right, followed by a single bird a few minutes later. On my walk around to the Carlton Hide several Siskin were feeding in the treetops and popping into the Teal Hide briefly I picked up another pair of Shelduck, making a total of 6 for the visit.

The Carton hide count was 2 Little Grebe, Water Rail, Sparrowhawk, another Kingfisher, which seem to have suddenly reappeared from the estuaries and rivers, and a Willow Tit feeding within the bramble, in addition I also located 2 more Snipe on the Island making it 30 for the day.
Arriving at the main hide and meeting up with a couple of the other Brandon team members we picked up a Common Gull amongst the usual Black Headed and hearing a Green Sandpiper calling from behind, popped back into Teal Hide to find him on the bund, my first this year. A later scan of East Marsh Pool also located all 6 Goldeneye I'd missed earlier. How did I manage that!!
In addition, plenty more Reed Bunting are now starting to appear, a quite striking bird but with a rather bland call and I also heard 7 Cettis Warbler, 2 of which I caught site of during my visit.
On the way home I came across a decent flock of Golden Plover at Birdingbury and arriving back to the marina around 11.30am for my Full-English was greeted with a singing Skylark and our regular Buzzards calling from the distance.
Not a bad haul considering it was an unplanned visit.
(Green Sandpiper Library Picture)

Draycote - 04/03/09

My birding week continued with a visit to Draycote Water, although quite local to me a site I haven't visited for around two years. Our main targets today, having visited the Draycote website were, Red Necked Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Glaucous Gull and Smew.
I eventually met up with Alun Lunn, another member of the Brandon Team at around 10.20am, having found his directions to the meet up point somewhat spurious, (it's a left Alun not straight on!!).

Upon arrival we began our visit at Toft Shallows, encountering a Green Woodpecker and 20+ Wigeon feeding on the bank as we made our way east towards the hide. On first impression there appeared to be a real shortage of wildfowl on view, probably due to last nights rain and strong winds, the reservoir depth looked quite high too. After a good scan of the locality we discovered a good amount of Great Crested Grebe skulking beneath the over hanging trees, plus a good count of Goldeneye, eventually coming across a striking looking male Smew, always a pleasure.

After a quick coffee we continued south towards Toft Bank noting a good few Little Grebe, Gadwall and Tufted duck. Having had a quick chat with a fellow birder we were made aware that the Red Necked Grebe had been seen earlier at Farborough Bank. Unfortunately, as we approached the bank a number of boats had set out scattering the birds in the immediate vicinity, probably taking the Red Necked with them.

Heading on passed the sailing club our numbers had increased picking up Greylag, plenty of Pied Wagtail and the ever present Robin. Our vigil for the Red Necked Grebe continued until eventually deciding to have lunch at Saddle Bank. I have to say that today's weather was beautiful despite the bitter wind. With the protection of the trees and the sun, now getting ever higher and more powerful, lunch on the bank was idyllic and also quite lucrative with Buzzard, Skylark, 12 Goosander and a Great Northern Diver. During lunch we met up with a chap called Bob Hazell who we discovered practically visits Draycote daily and picked up on his perspective of the site. He also made the comment that he'd never seen it so quiet for this time of the year.
Reluctantly, as by now I had stripped off several layers in the warm sunshine, we moved on. With Bob's input we were left with a slight dilemma of backtracking, as Bob believed the Red Necked Grebe had probably cut back across to Toft Bay, or continuing on and taking our chances. We continued on!

As we walked to the west of the reservoir towards the Valve Tower we got good views of the Goosander, 2 Great Northern Diver and also picked up ChiffChaff, Kestrel and an unexpected Rock Pipit.
By the time we'd completed our full circle, unfortunately without the illusive Red Necked Grebe, we'd had the usual Tits, Finches, Crows and Rooks plus Redwing and a nice male Blackcap.
Finally it was time to check out the Gull roost which had been growing ever larger as we progressed around. Plenty of Black Headed as you would imagine, Lesser Black Backed, Common and Herring but nothing out of the ordinary and certainly no Iceland or Glaucous. On the way back to the cars we picked up a number of House Sparrow! I'd forgotten what they look like.
A slow start to the day and hard work to begin with but extremely enjoyable and we did get 50% of our targets, a total of 45 species, including a few unexpected hits as well, plus the weather was extremely kind.

Brandon - 03/03/09

Another early start for me today arriving at Brandon at 6.25am. With the weather looking threatening for the early afternoon I though I'd start early and finish early, no point in getting soaked! No sign of the Barn Owls today but with the mornings getting lighter earlier I suppose I'm just arriving slightly too late.

My morning progressed taking my normal route with the usual Cetti's Warbler, Water Rail and Little Grebe calling from Newlands reed bed. On arrival at the Wright Hide I picked up the usual stuff plus a single Oystercatcher and 4 Shelduck. Pochard are now beginning to dwindle on the reserve and I only picked up a single on the East Marsh Pool. The 2 Goldeneye pairs which have been with us for a while are still on site but no sign of Ringed Plover and you may have expected by now the odd Redshank but again no sign.

The walk around to the Carlton Hide was uneventful apart from a single Coal Tit but a great view of no less than 5 Bullfinch in one tree, 3 female and 2 male was a site to behold and certainly brightened up the day. A couple of Buzzards were also seen across towards the River Avon and just prior to leaving a pair of Little Grebe appeared, now beginning to show distinct signs of summer plumage.

Having had my mid-morning coffee in the Main Hide I was just about to leave and join up with another member of the team to complete some bird box maintenance when the Bittern suddenly appeared in the reeds in front and took flight across to Newlands. I'm not a great believer in gloating but what the hey! I've now seen the Bittern on no less than 22 out of 24 visits to the reserve this year. However, my gloating was short lived when I fell arse over tit while carrying a ladder across to one of the boxes we were maintaining a short while later!! That will teach me.

Having completed our maintenance and had lunch in the Main Hide we had a quick walk across to 'The Tip' area in search of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which was picked up on Sunday. No sign I'm affraid to say but we did pick up 14 Redwing and a small flock of around 12 Goldfinch.
With the rain setting in and the wind picking up we decided to venture back to the Nature Centre Cafe for a milky coffee. Over coffee and unbelievably the highlight of the day was watching at close range, through the cafe window, the site of a Sparrowhawk chomping away on a Feral Pigeon which we think had flown into the window.

At the days end I'd heard a total of 6 Cetti's Warbler and 2 more Oystercatchers had dropped in to the East Marsh Pool. Also of note but not mentioned in my post were, 2 Nuthatch, 1 Treecreeper, 10 Snipe, 1 White Fronted Goose and a brief glimpse of a Water Rail as it disappeared into the reeds in front of the Main Hide. 2 Collared Dove over the Main Hide are also worth a mention as they are very rare to the reserve.

Brandon - 02/03/09

Dropping my better half off @ Birmingham Airport this lunchtime gave me a perfect opportunity to drop into Brandon Marsh for a couple of hours birding on the way home.
Of note were 4 Shellduck, 2 Oystercatcher and 4 Goldeneye (2M + 2F) on the East Marsh Pool. Both Goldeneye pairs were displaying in front of the main hide.
Had a great view of the Bittern as it flew back across to Newlands from the reeds in front of the main hide at 15.15, much to the delight of several other visitors.

Brandon - 01/03/09

Pinch punch it's the 1st of the month! Due to attend a meeting today at Brandon Marsh I thought I'd rise early and get some more birding in beforehand.
After leaving my boat at around 6.15am I was greeted by a Tawny Owl calling from the field adjacent to my mooring, we regularly get Tawny's here at Wigram's. Walking down the path to the car park my first birds of the day were Reed Bunting and Wren foraging in the reeds and Chaffinch and Song Thrush singing from the Hawthorn.

I arrived at Brandon at around 6.50am, just slightly too late to catch a glimpse of the Barn Owls but was delighted to here and see several Song Thrush, once again singing in and around New Hare Covert. It was noticeably colder this morning and I knew straight away that I hadn't put enough layers on!
After continuing on my normal route past Newlands Reedbed I heard Cetti's Warbler, Little Grebe and a couple of Water Rail calling from deep within the reeds. Entering the Wright Hide and having my first scan of East Marsh Pool I picked up 2 Ringed Plover, 3 Oystercatcher as well as an excellent number of Lapwing, 124 were counted by another team member who was present. The usual ducks & geese were on view in addition to 4 Goldeneye (2M 2F) and a lone Barnacle Goose. A Kingfisher came flashing past at one stage but I only heard it as it went wizzing by! Also in my count were Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, 3 Shelduck and 9 Snipe. No sign of Wigeon today and our two recent Cape/Australian Shelduck hybrids appear to have vacated.

The Carlton Hide added to my numbers and produced Reed Bunting and a male and female Bullfinch, always a delight to see.
Once in the Main Hide I took a good scan of the many Black Headed Gulls and yielded Immature Lesser & Great Black Back, plus a single Common. On my way back to the visitor centre for my meeting I decided to take the route through Horsetail Glade in the hope of catching Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but the Glade was extremely quiet apart from a short burst of song from a Mistle Thrush. I arrived for my meeting a shivering wreck and no sign of the Bittern for me today, although other members of the team got a sighting shortly after I'd left the Main Hide! Typical!!

The highlight of the day was to come on my way back to the car around 12.20. As I was just about to drive up the main track to the gate several birders were definitely interested in something which on inspection turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon, a first for me at Brandon this year. Although I watched it for a good five minutes I never really got any good views as it remained extremely high for the duration.
Arriving back to Wigram's Marina at about 1.15 our 2 regular Buzzards were circling to the East.