Brandon Bittern

In yesterday's post I mentioned the 'Secretive Bittern' which I had located within the reeds at Brandon Marsh but failed to give any decent views. Well it appears that after I'd left the hide said Bittern decided to make an appearance and I was sent these excellent pictures by Monica Shooter who's husband Tony took these superb images!

Out and About

Recent numbers paint a grim picture

I've been very concerned over the past few months regarding the lack of Barn Owl sightings both locally and at Brandon Marsh, particularly with regard to the recent cold snap. Therefore I wasn't surprised when I read the latest BTO bulletin which painted a very grim picture with increased numbers of reported dead ringed birds (recoveries).

In recent winters they have typically received 30-40 dead Barn Owl reports in December, but in 2010 the December total topped 100. Reports of dead ringed Barn Owls are continuing to arrive at BTO HQ and this January’s total may reach the record of 81 birds that was set last January during another unusually severe winter.

On a brighter note I've managed several visits both locally and at Brandon Marsh, where I also ended up this morning, managing to connect with a very secretive Bittern at Big Hide, found skulking in the reeds. Also on the pool was a single male Shelduck and a Barnacle Goose was also seen on Swallow Pool. Worth mentioning too that I heard 4 Cettis Warbler during my visit, these birds suddenly deciding to let us know that they did OK during the recent cold snap and a Fox, my first this year, was also seen briefly on Wigeon Bank. 6 Snipe were also resting on Willow Island.

On Thursday while working over on Phase 3 of Newlands reed bed I flushed 2 Woodcock and am delighted to say that both Ken and Mike, members of the Brandon team, managed good views of one of them, a first for them both.

My Saturday early morning visit produced Short-Eared Owl which I located perched on a small dead tree at the far side of Newlands reed bed near the golf course. Still some small mixed flocks to be found of Lesser Redpoll/Siskin but personally I haven't managed to connect with the recent Mealy Redpoll. I also discovered a wintering male Blackcap near the saga sign, the bird was with a mixed group of Tits.



Little Owl

Locally our resident Tawny Owls have began calling once more and just prior to updating this blog I managed to catch 2 Little Owl which were silhouetted against the darkening sky in an adjacent field. Today when I dropped in on my roosting Long Eared Owl I discovered to my delight that there were 2, although very very hard to pick out!

Finally, a trip to Heathrow Airport yesterday on business produced no less than 12 Red Kite, which if you know the M40 motorway can always be seen in good numbers when passing close by to High Wycombe, where they were re-introduced some years ago. Plenty therefore to add to my new year list, if only I actually kept one!

Mixed Fortunes

Smew (Library picture)

Today was a day of mixed fortune for my regular trawl around the local countryside and my usual visit to Brandon Marsh.

Starting off at Brandon I arrived shortly after a heavy downpour, just after first light. Meeting up with Mike Lee at the volunteers car park we made our way (eventually) taking our regular route past Sheep Field where we normally stop over in search of Owls. This is where my day got off to a poor start!

Meeting up with Derek Bennett another Brandon regular we found to our dismay that we'd unfortunately just missed both Barn Owl and Short Eared Owl which had been quartering the field just minutes earlier. How long did you take getting ready Mike :)

Arriving at Wright Hide it was good to see East Marsh Pool finally ice free with a good selection of wildfowl on offer which included Pochard, Gadwall, Shoveler, a welcome return of a single Great Crested Grebe and Goldeneye (2 male + 2 female). On route to the Big Hide the other usual supects were also present Bullfinch, Siskin, Redwing and Fieldfare, but Lesser Redpoll was another species that eluded me today.

Coffee in the Big Hide produced Snipe to add to the days sightings and some excellent views of Bittern as the bird first flew from the reeds directly in front of the hide across to Newlands, and then returning a short while later. More views of the same bird later while having lunch. Having chosen to remain in Big Hide while some of the other guys moved on to Carlton Pool I also missed a Little Egret in flight which was seen moving West across the rear of the reserve. Not the best day I've ever had at Brandon but the Bittern is enough to cheer anyone up, Mike was also forgiven!

Next stop Napton Reservoir and I see that the 'slasher' brigade have been hard at it once more. Managed by British Waterway's I simply can't understand why they feel the need to cut down anything that has the audacity to grow here. The place looks almost baron and whoever drew up the management plan for this site wants lynching!

A walk around the windswept site and up to the top of the reed bed produced a half dozen Wigeon, 8 Pochard, 6 Gadwall and the usual 150 or so Coot.

However, I was somewhat cheered, albeit briefly, as I made my way back to the car when a very pristine looking male Smew dropped in, only to leave a short time later, probably in total disgust at the state of the place.

Interesting Start

Bewick Swan @ Bretford today!

Having recently returned from France and with the festivities finally at an end it was time to get down to what I like doing best, a good old trek around the county and a good catch-up with the chaps!

Setting off just before dawn in the hope of catching at least a glimpse of this mornings solar eclipse sadly I arrived at Brandon Marsh to an overcast sky. Making my way to the regular lookout in search of Owls it wasn't long before the Brandon regulars began to appear in the morning gloom, unfortunately our Owls didn't and we ended up drawing a complete blank, and so onto the hides.

The pools of course are still completely frozen but nevertheless a few brave Lapwing, 2 Snipe and small numbers of Teal, Gadwall and Mallard were there to make up the numbers. Siskin appeared to be in good supply with at least 100 counted overall, mainly feeding on the remaining Alder seeds. The only other highlights were Redwing, Fieldfare, Buzzard and Kestrel until we decided to have a look down near the River Avon, here we discovered 5 Tufted Duck and 3 Pochard. The walk back to the car park across Farm Field came up with the best of the day for Brandon when 13 Golden Plover over-flew heading South.

Pink-Footed Goose

It was time to go twitching, something that only happens when times are hard at Brandon, and so we made our way over to Bretford in search of the reported Bewick Swan. On arrival we immediately made contact with said bird which was fast asleep within a group of around ninety Mute Swan, also present on the field were a number of Skylark and circa 150 Wigeon, which were on the opposite side of the river. Thanks to Dennis Woodward, who arrived shortly after, we were also able to catch sight of a lone Pink-footed Goose which was amongst a small flock of Greylag on a nearby field.

Happy with our lot at Bretford we then decided to make our way over to Rugby and in particular Essex Street where a number of Waxwings were reported yesterday. Thanks to Peter's GPS we duly arrived and instantly made contact with around twenty or so birds. Unfortunately, as quickly as we'd made contact the birds departed in the general direction of the railway. A twenty minute vigil over lunch failed to make any further contact.

Finally, after heading off home I stopped briefly for a quick tour of Napton Reservoir which produced of note 4 Goosander, several Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Pochard and my final bird of the day which was a Woodcock which I inadvertently flushed as I reached the top end of the reed bed. Not a bad start to the year and as a sub-note I also dropped in on my roosting Long-Eared Owl, which incredibly has now been roosting in exactly the same spot for nearly 6-weeks!

Above pictures are courtesy of Kevin Groocock - http://diaryofabirdingmedic.blogspot.com/ Many thanks Kevin.

Happy New Year

Hen Harrier

Despite saying in my previous post that I'd probably not blog again until the New Year I felt that yesterdays outing here in France was worth an entry.

Over the past few years when visiting Dee's parents we've been keeping a close eye on one of the new local nature reserves at St Cyr, which seems to have taken forever to complete. Well I'm delighted to say that finally we were able to take our first tour of this impressive site yesterday afternoon.

Unfortunately, impressive though it is with it's six large and spacious hides, I feel that like most reserves I've visited in Spain and France the finer details are lacking. For example it appeared that no thought had gone into the approach to each hide, which were completely open to the elements, affording no protection to the birds as the intrepid birder approached! In fact most birds were spooked as we tentatively made our way to each one. There was also a definite shortage of reed planting throughout which I feel will be detremental to the site in later years. 

Having said the above a good number of birds were on display and these included good numbers of Pochard, a single Red-crested amongst them, two Great White Egret also flew in during our tour and Goosander, Wigeon and Tufted Duck were also on the pools. Within the surrounding area I was also lucky enough to locate Stonechat, Cirl Bunting and Kingfisher.

The bird of the day however was a stunning Hen Harrier (ringtail), which was trawling the fields close to Dee's parents, a species which I'm always lucky enough to come across every time we visit.

To finally log off on this years diary, I wish my reader a very prosperous and Happy New Year. Whatever your plans are for 2011 here’s to more excellent birding adventures.

Merry Christmas

Having been without transport of my own since the beginning of December, and due to my search for new transport taking longer than expected, my birding has been limited to my locality with no visits to my beloved Brandon Marsh.

Having said that I've still managed another local first when walking the towpath last week I came across my first Water Pipit, which amazingly was seen walking on the frozen canal at the junction of the Oxford and Grand Union. Still lots of reports of Waxwing in the locality too and thanks to those of you who have texed me with sightings, it's very much appreciated.

Being an emergency contact for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust I've received several calls over the past fortnight from people requiring advice on injured birds and in particular Raptors, which appear to be suffering more in the current climate. I'm pleased to say that I was able to help in all instances of injury, especially both inquiries concerning Peregrine, and I'm pleased to report that both birds are doing well thanks to the help of Raptor Rescue. Some great feed back too from the finders of both birds!

With the above in mind I've now placed a direct link to the site on the side-bar of my blog for anyone who requires assistance.

Well that's probably it for blogging until next year, hopefully I'm flying out to France on Wednesday to celebrate the New Year with family and friends and so it only remains for me to wish everyone of my followers a very pleasant Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Roger Porter

Having thought about it I don't feel that I should end this years diaries without a mention for Roger, who sadly passed away last Thursday December 16th.
For those who didn't know Roger but who are regular visitors to Brandon Marsh, Rogers work was all around you while you were sitting in the hides enjoying Brandon's beauty! It's thanks to Roger, who gave endless hours of his time, that the hides are so very well maintained.
However, it wasn't just Rogers excellent joinery that I'll remember him for, it was also his pleasant nature and someone who had a great sense of humour. The cake sales at the Nature Centre will also suffer from our sad loss!
Rest in peace Roger, I'll miss you!

Winter Wonderland

Female Brambling

It seems to me that every blog I log onto at the moment has great reports of Waxwings showing up in every corner of the county. But what do we know of this fantastic visitor, folk lore has it that the Waxwing is a harbinger of doom! Do they really foretell a harsh winter to come, looking out the window at the moment you might have to agree, as winter has returned to Wigram's with a vengeance!

The last major influx of waxwings to the UK was in 2004-2005 although there was a reasonable number recorded during the winter of 2008. With so many reports now coming in from around the country the signs are that this will be an exceptionally good year for Waxwings, possibly even the best ever? The real reason is probably down to the fact that there has been a bad crop of berries this year in Scandinavia which is driving the birds across the North Sea to the UK, plus unusually prolonged periods of north and north-easterly winds may also have a bearing. Who cares anyway, you can simply never get fed up of seeing this cracking winter visitor.

In fact today whilst taking my usual Friday walk around the locality I've come across another 5 Waxwing which graced the marina this afternoon feeding on the few remaining Hawthorn berries. Two female Brambling were also on the feeders and my first wintering Blackcap was also spotted in amongst several Tree Sparrow. Two Yellowhammer and plenty of Fieldfare, which I always think look stunning against a snowy background were also on site. Redwing, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Pied Wagtail were also noted along with a very distant fly past of a single Little Egret.

However, the bird of the day for me was a surprise visitor to an adjacent field and popped in when I was looking for a small flock of Golden Plover I'd spotted this morning coming in. My first Short Eared Owl on the patch spent a good 15-minutes quartering before actually finding prey and then heading off in the direction of Napton Reservoir!

This has ended another good birding week as my Tuesday visit to Brandon Marsh produced yet another look at two Bittern on West Marsh and views of Short Eared Owl over Newlands. My roosting Long Eared Owl, still on a very delicate area of land I'm not yet going to reveal is still present but I promise that if I get permission to divulge it's whereabouts I certainly will. My apologies for the secrecy to those who've emailed but I'm sure you understand.

'Bitternfest'

Hybrid Tufted/Pochard (by Alban Wincott)

A frosty start at -5C this morning after yesterdays balmy +10C but it was good to step off the boat to a crystal clear sky with no sign of fog for a change (and the water is finally back on at the marina!!!)

Both Saturn and Venus were showing well to the east and the first bird of the day was a Skylark which called briefly as it passed overhead in the dark. As I  made my way down the path to the parking area, not for the first time in the last week I heard the unmistakable call of a Curlew in one of the nearby fields, obviously in search of some unfrozen ground.

Having checked out my Long Eared Owl, which amazingly has been in the exact same roosting spot for every visit over the previous week, I eventually arrived at a fog free Brandon Marsh around 30-minutes before sunrise. This morning I decided to take a different route from my normal one and was fortunate enough to come across a Tawny Owl which flew through Horsetail Glade as I made my way through.

The pools at Brandon still remain frozen, with the exception of East Marsh Pool which has a very small open water area close to the Wright Hide. On arrival a good number of Greylag were present and within the group I singled out lone White Fronted and Barnacle Goose. The small area also had a single female Goosander which took flight shortly after my arrival.

After watching the sunrise over Newlands Reedbed scanning for Short Eared Owl with some of the other Sunday crew, the Owl remained elusive by the way, the plan was to take a trip across to West Marsh but this was interrupted by a telephone call alerting us to a possible Lesser Scaup (pictured above) which had dropped into the open water area. A quick detour to Baldwin Hide and then back to the Wright Hide for better views ended up with yet another enjoyable debate! The outcome of which appears to be unanimous on hybrid Tufted/Pochard, still a good debate and worth mentioning too that the recent escapee New Zealand Scaup was also on the pool at the same time.

Shortly after reaching a frozen West Marsh for coffee with Paul Norman and Derek Bennett a Bittern flew out from the River Avon area across the reed bed and in the general direction of Teal Pool, probably my best view thus far this winter. Having said that, things were to get even better shortly after!

Upon leaving main hide around 11am it's always worth taking a final look across to the back of River Pool where quite often a Bittern can be found lurking. Bingo, as we quickly moved into Teal Pool hide for better views a second Bittern flew in and for around 4/5 minutes we were treated to both birds on the ice before the latter flew back out towards the Avon. Two Snipe on East Marsh, at least 4 Coal Tit and the usual Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Fieldfare and Redwing are also worth a mention on a classic Brandon mornings birding!!

Not So Mundane

Amazing Waxwings

This is our 10th day of being iced in at the marina and with my water and fuel running desperately low I'd put aside the best part of today to replenish my supplies. Fortunately through good planning we're able to maintain a single unfrozen water hose, but it does mean making several treks across and back with my containers to the designated area. 

With the early freezing fog I'd felt that today would be a mundane one but it wasn't long before I was cheered by the sight of a lone Woodcock which darted in front of me from the general direction of the Oxford Canal as I took an early morning stroll. The day was to get even better when I then had the good fortune to come across 6 pristine looking male Brambling taking advantage of one of the many feeders. This along with several members of the local Tree Sparrow population, plus Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting and the usual Tit's.

Brrrrrr....

With a good cheer I began my many visits to the water station, but of course once a birder, always a birder, and each visit took even longer as I stopped every time I heard the call of Fieldfare or Redwing, in their hundreds today, along with 5 Buzzard, 3 Kestrel and Sparrowhawk which was being harassed by several Jackdaw and a very vocal Raven! Slowly and after around 3 hours I was in business once more, fuelled and watered and settled for a well earned cuppa.

Having now completed my chores a sudden rap on the door alerted me to one of the neighbours, breathless and in need of calming down! However, it wasn't long before I realised what the excitement was all about when to my utter amazement no less than 26 Waxwing had arrived and had the good manners to stay for around 15 minutes before heading off towards Napton Hill.

A further walk around the marina just prior to sunset and the plummeting temperature produced around 1000 Starling, heading for Napton Reservoir, and around 100 local Pied Wagtail. I thought that was the end to a terrific unscheduled birding day until the local Tawny Owls fired up and several Snipe flew west towards the reservoir, I just love living on the water!!

Not a Good Day!



Oops!!!

Out and about this week locally but as you can see from the picture I didn't quite make it to Brandon Marsh for my Tuesday visit thanks to severe black ice!

My normal early morning route to Brandon from the marina is to take the back roads in search of Owls up towards Birdingbury, then on to Marton before rejoining the A roads. Why I decided to take this route in such treacherous conditions on Tuesday morning I'll never know!! Normally I stick to the main roads when the weather is so bad.

Fortunately the car is resting on a huge tree stump, below is another 3 feet and but for the stump I'm certain I would have ended up on my roof.

Anyway, back to the birds and it's good to see so many feeders dotted around the marina at present. We've been completely iced in for over a week now and the overnight temperatures have been as low as -11C. A walk around the grounds on Tuesday afternoon produced many Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Tree Sparrow and two Male Brambling on or near the feeders.

The Tawny Owls have been calling too and I've managed a few brief glimpses of the local Little Owls in the late afternoons. The local duck population has managed to maintain an open water space where they can be easily fed. Interestingly several Waxwing have been seen once more on the wires but they always seem to manage a visit when I'm not on site, I'm sure my time will soon come.

After a tip off regarding 3 Long Eared Owls on my patch on Monday I finally got the opportunity to have a look myself today and am delighted to say that I managed to make contact with one. What a fantastic bird to have in the area and such a pleasure to see. Due to the sensitivity of the location I'm currently not prepared to divulge their whereabouts, having said that, if at any time they move off and onto a public area I'd be delighted to pass on the information.

On to a snow covered Brandon Marsh after making contact with the amazing Owl but as I expected all pools are still frozen over and no sign of Bittern or Short Eared Owl either. A number of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were hunting constantly over the reserve and lots of Redwing, Fieldfare and large flocks of Lesser Redpoll/Siskin on site as well. A report of a single Waxwing on Gelder Rose near the Nature Centre from yesterday too.