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.

Staying Local

Red Crested Pochard

It's always a pleasure to be out and about on your local patch, particularly on such a beautiful crisp day like today, but even more rewarding when your showing somebody around for the first time.

Today I was accompanied by Ken Sherlock one of the Brandon regulars, who after meeting up at Napton Church this morning suddenly discovered that despite walking in the area on numerous occasions, had never actually visited Napton Hill or the nearby Reservoir!

Just prior to entering the church yard I'm 95% certain that the first bird of the day could possibly have been a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which flew across the church grounds. Unfortunately, as I was still in the process of sorting out my bins and winter clothing I wasn't fast enough to claim a definite ID. A more in depth tour of the church grounds produced many of the regular wintering species seen here such as Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Redwing, Fieldfare and the usual several Mistle Thrush, and although nothing out of the ordinary was on show it was still a pleasure to see so many birds feverishly feeding up on the vast variety of berries. Fortunately, unlike the cold snaps of January/February, when a cold snap arrives this early there's still plenty of berry stocks available to go around.

On the walk up to the windmill we met up with Bob and Pat who've been running the nearby farm for just short of 50 years and Ken and I were treated to a wonderful guided tour of their land, which produced stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Bob's knowledge of the area seems second to none and the several counties which can be seen from Napton Hill, including there landmarks, were pointed out to us in great detail. During our tour we managed Common Buzzard, Kestrel and the usual passage of Lesser Redpoll and Siskin overhead.

After a blank search of the quarry area, where earlier in the month a Great Grey Shrike had called home for several days, we moved off to Napton Reservoir to check out the waterfowl. Good numbers of Mallard, Tufted Duck and Pochard with the odd Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon and Shoveler on show, plus several Common Gull and three Snipe. The highlight of the day however was a gorgeous pair of Red Crested Pochard (photographed) which were showing exceptionally well in the brilliant sunshine. A Raven was also recorded overhead before we made our way to the marina and tea aboard 'Quidditch'. A final tour of the marina grounds produced Tree Sparrow, Kingfisher and Reed Bunting before a delighted Ken departed.

Birds I DID see!!

Short-Eared Owl ( Library Picture)

Birding, for those who are passionate about this fascinating and sometimes frustrating pass time, consists of various periods of ups and downs, and the past few weeks for me personally have been just that. My last post, aptly entitled 'Birds I didn't see' was basically in response to my recent dormant sightings period of which all birders are familiar, a period when everyone around seems to come up trumps while you seem to arrive too late for the event, or are just simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The last week however has seen a reversal in fortunes and one of those nice periods were everything in the garden is rosy. While working on Newlands Reed Bed at Brandon Marsh last Thursday for example I inadvertently flushed my first Woodcock of the Autumn, and today's usual Sunday visit also came up with the goods.

After a few attempts to make contact with the recent Short-Eared Owl, which has been reported on Sheep Field of late, I finally made contact this morning just after first light and had some excellent but brief views as the bird quartered the field before dropping out of sight, having probably found it's unsuspecting breakfast. Continuing on through New Hare Covert and just after rounding the path to overlook Newlands Reed Bed my first Autumnal Bittern was seen flying low over the reeds in the direction of the River Avon. Unfortunately not seen by all in the party, but thankfully by Jim Rushforth our official site recorder!!

After a stint in the Wright Hide which produced of note a male Muntjac on Wigeon Bank, 2 Little Grebe, 1 male and 2 female *Goldeneye (* a second male was seen later from big hide), plus over 40 Snipe, we made our way through the Central Marsh Path where a Little Egret flew south-east towards Teal Pool.

The best however was probably the last bird of the day and which also turned out to be a first for me at Brandon. Literally on my way out of the reserve at around midday word came through of a number of Waxwing reported in the main Car Park. As I said earlier, 'the right place at the right time' and within seconds I emerged into the car park along with Derek Bennett, immediately beginning our search along with several other enthusiastic souls. Scanning what was a large flock of Lesser Redpoll/Siskin which had congregated in the nearby Birch, Derek had spotted something a little larger near the top of the tree, and yes a single Waxwing, no sooner identified than gone, but a definite sighting nonetheless and a very welcome first for me at Brandon!

Birds I Didn't See!

A foggy day!

Decided to have a well earned break from blogging over the past 8 days and thanks to those who've emailed me seeking assurances that I've not popped me clogs!!

I have been out and about in the field during my blog absence but to be honest I'm going through one of those dormant periods that us birders seem to suffer from time to time. My book of 'Birds I didn't See' as dear old Ted Jury used to say has been getting a good dust off of late. The returning wintering Bitterns at Brandon have eluded me thus far too and several times I've entered hides to be told 'It's just flown off '. The most recent was on Saturday when the wife and I entered big hide just seconds after it's departure.

It all reminds me of last year when meeting George Wootton (a regular Brandon photographer) at the gate on my departure I informed him there wasn't much about, only for George to open the hatch at Baldwin Hide some time later to find a Great White Egret peering at him from point blank range!! The evidence can be found on the front cover of last years Brandon Annual Report.

This mornings visit to Brandon too was a complete blank. I left the marina about 7am on a beautiful clear and crisp morning, Venus shinning brightly to the East, full of beans and hoping to catch a glimpse of yesterdays reported Short-eared Owl on Sheep Field, only for Brandon to be totally fogged in for the day.

Notwithstanding, I've managed everything you'd expect to see in and around the area as we fast approach Winter, Redwing, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin and  Fieldfare a plenty and of course I should mention the recent Bearded Tit at Napton Reservoir and Great Grey Shrike on the hill. The marina too is providing some excellent spectacles currently with a major roost of Starlings dropping in each evening, this along with around 100 or so Pied Wagtail and I also noticed late this evening some 30+ Skylark coming into the adjacent field. The local Tawny Owls are quite vocal too at present and we still have regular visits from Little Owl and Barn Owl, so my cup is always half full.

Update

Just back from a weekend on the Trent & Mersey Canal with boaty friends, and various commitments over the past several days, have somewhat limited my birding activities but I did manage a visit to Brandon Marsh last Tuesday and a quick sortie locally. Mind you my local patch is still awash with visitors getting some good views of the current Great Grey Shrike, which for the most part doesn't seem to be too illusive, what a great bird to have on your doorstep!

My Brandon visit produced three separate visits from a Peregrine, which caused the usual havoc on East Marsh Pool, but the highlight of the day was when 32 Golden Plover dropped in around mid-morning. Unfortunately, I was over on West Marsh at the time searching for the returning Bittern and had to make a hasty return to big-hide, scurrying across the central path and passing a couple of very surprised visitors as I jogged passed muttering, "I'm not a twitcher honestly".

Speaking of which I must make comment on Monday nights programme on BBC4 'Twitching' A very British Obsession', which I found to be extremely annoying and frustrating! The one thing that was quite apparent to me was the fact that Twitching for these guys in particular was simply not about the birds! It's about a group of lunatics who are obsessed with wanting to get one up on their fellow lunatics, and in one instance this meant a couple dragging their young daughter from pillar to post in search of their illusive 'tick'!!

When the day comes that I have to confirm my sightings to some primadonna, No! not you Jim :), who wasn't even on site at the time, then I'll give up and start knitting for my hobby. These guys really need to get a life and enjoy birding for what it is, a relaxing and fascinating study of wild birds in their natural habitat, not sitting in a bar on the coast of Ireland pouting because you've not got a tick on a bird, when just outside the door is an array of magnificent species just waiting to be seen!

To finish I must say a quick thank you for the emails regarding my Chainsaw Course, and yes I passed both sections and am now as they say on the paperwork, competent!!! Many thanks too to Warwickshire Wildlife Trust for their financial support.