BACK TO FARMOOR

 After not having visited the Farmoor Reservoir for many months I was back again for the second time in a week. Last weekend I went to see a black redstart which departed soon afterwards then today I saw a report of two summer-plumaged Slavonian grebes. These grebes are a rare visitor to Farmoor and  I knew that it was likely that they would not stay long, so I managed to squeeze in a visit this afternoon. It was sunny but breezy and I knew I would be walking into a stiff westerly wind as I crossed the reservoir via the causeway so ensured I had some extra layers. 

Not knowing exactly where on F2 the birds had been seen, I asked a couple of photographers who were obviously returning.  It was right on the opposite side they told me, near a  shelter which I could see from where I was standing and there would  be some people there with tripods. The grebes had apparently been fairly close in but were mobile and dived often.

I headed over the causeway  and then turned left along the west bank when I reached the other side, aiming for the aforementioned spot where  I could see a two or three people in the distance. There were not many birds on the water apart from  a small flock of tufted ducks which I passed  as I walked. I noticed that the people I'd seen were coming towards me and when I asked about the grebes they said that they were now with the group of ducks I had just passed! The grebes must have been beneath the water and I didn't spot them! 

At first the two grebes were further out than the ducks but still with in photographing distance. I knelt down by the wall and prepared to wait to see if they came any closer or if they went further away.  As the minutes passed, I  realised that they were facing towards the shore line and were heading  nearer. Their golden 'ear tufts'  caught the sun's rays from time to time, making their summer plumage stand out. Occasionally they would dive and I would wait to see where they would reappear. 

After spending a while photographing and admiring these birds it was time to head for home, pleased that I made the effort to go and see them as it is unlikely they will stay around for long. 

N.B No sign of grebes the next day

FARMOOR BLACK REDSTART

 

    My original plan for today was to make another trip to the New Forest but after a rather busy week, and a weather forecast which kept on changing I decided to stay local. A report from Farmoor Reservoir yesterday of a black redstart also sounded a good alternative option. 

I've seen this species a couple times previously at this location, and knew exactly where to look. Black redstarts favour old buildings and roof tops and at the end of the Farmoor Causeway there is a rather derelect looking Thames Water building where I expected to find it. Almost as soon as I cast my eye on the roof,  I could make out a silhouette of a bird,  it had to be the black redstart..and it was!  That was easy! It was fairly distant but the bright orangey-red underside of its tail was clear to see as it hopped around looking for insects. it didn't get any closer so after a while I left and took a path down to the river where I walked along for a while. There was nothing particularly of note, though I did hear my first singing blackcap. 

Returning to the causeway I stopped again by the old  buildings and quickly re-found the black redstart. Surprisingly no one else had stopped to look. Occasionally it would dip down behind the roof edge but after a few minutes would reappear. It also made short flight to different parts of the roof and walls and once, when harrassed by a robin, it flew down to the ground and then suddenly to the hedge beside me, although at the other side. I just couldn't get my camera to focus on the small part of the bird I could see between the twigs but all of a sudden there was a fluttering of red ( both robin and black redstart) and it came round to the front. It remained there for only a few seconds so I hastily took a shot on my camera but it was far from good as a leaf partially obscured its head.

After a satisfying morning I headed back to the car and home, one more tick in my book. 

A TRIP TO THE MEDITERRANEAN(s)!

 I've known about the pre-breeding  gathering of Mediterranean gulls at Hayling Island for some years now, but until today I'd never actually been down to see them. So after finding out exactly where to go to see this gull spectacle, I got up early once again to make the trip down to Hampshire.

The journey took an additional ten minutes due to a weekend closure of the A419, the dual carriageway that would normally take me to the M4. So I had to take the country route as far as Newbury where I joined the A34 to drive southwards. It was a lovely drive over the downs and I saw my first barn owl of the year which flew across some rough grassland to perch on a fence post at the side of the road just ahead of me.  By the time I had stopped the car, the owl was too close for its comfort and it flew off before I had time to get out my camera. I had to settle for a distant shot at the back of the field. I also saw a small herd of roe deer and a munjac at the side of the road. 

The rest of the journey consisted of dual carriageways and motorways and I arrived at my desired location just after eight o'clock.  I took the last parking space and then made my way along a path and over some shingle to where the remains of an old oyster bed were providing some long 'islands' for the gulls to pair up and get ready for the breeding season. The Mediterranean gulls were almost in their full breeding plumage of black head  and red beak and feet. It would almost seem that the names had become mixed as the black headed gulls they share this site with, have brown not black heads! Of the two species, the mediterraneans  have my vote for the smartest gull and they looked very dapper as they stood on the gravel top of the islands. 

There was a lot of noise coming from both gulls, which had slightly different calls. There was a lot of coming and going as the gulls took off and landed. 

The shoreline hosted some brent geese, as well as redshank and oyster catchers although the tide was receding fast and most birds were distant. 

barn owl

interaction between the two gull species

view to Portsmouth

black headed gull ( yes, on the left!) and Mediterranean gull

After spending an hour and a half observing the gulls, I drove the short journey to another reserve , Farlington Marshes which I visited eighteen months ago in September 2023. On that occasion the tide was incoming and I saw around 40 species of bird including a number of waders. Today, though the tide was already quite far out and the birds on the mud flats were mostly distant. although a little egret and a redshank were the exception. There were hundreds of brent geese with a few Canada geese amongst them, a flock of avocets and on a scrape there were more black headed gulls and a few mediterraneans and various ducks  including wigeon and pintail.  I also heard and saw my first chiffchaff of the year.

This brent goose was close to the gate and away from the main flock.

 It appeared to have an injured leg. 

NEW FOREST BIRDING TRIP

 Today's trip required an early start to enable me to join the South Wiltshire local rspb group  for a morning's birding in the New Forest. I knew the car park at Acres Down  fills up quickly so  needed to ensure I was there in good time for the starting time of 8 o'clock.  Therefore by 6 am I was on the road and travelling the 1 hour 25 minute journey. It was dark when I left  with ice on the windscreen, but it soon  got light and became a beautiful sunny day for the last day of February. 

Last year I was in the area at the beginning of March and visited Acres Down because I had found out it was a favoured site for the lesser spotted woodpecker, the smallest and rarest of the woodpecker species in the UK. However, I failed to see it on that occasion so was hoping that it would be present this year. 

By 8 o'clock, the group had gathered 14 participants;  the leader never knows how many people to expect as you just need to turn up! The  first part of the visit was to walk a short distance down the forest track and stop for about half an hour opposite a particular dead tree which the lesser woodpecker likes to use to drumming. Some of the members said that they already tried and failed to see the lesser spotted woodpecker this year, whilst someone else  said they saw it last week!  I tried to remain optimistic!  

 A couple of birders were already  at the viewing spot, and told us the good news that they had seen both male and female within the last twenty minutes! 

Some members set up their 'scopes pointing at the bare tree which was bathed in sunlight at the top, After a while a pair of stock doves flew in and rested together on a branch then a smaller bird flew in and stopped on the side of the tree and began drumming - our lesser spotted woodpecker! It was a small bird, and  quite  hard to see in detail through binoculars but thankfully someone let me look through their 'scope.  Shortly afterwards a second bird joined it  and after a bit of flying about both woodpeckers flew  over  the top of us and for a few moments perched at the top of the tree where we were standing although it was difficult to crane our  necks to see them.  They flew off and later we heard drumming from a bit further along the track but could not spot either bird. We decided to walk on but then realised that one of the birds had returned to the original tree and was giving lovely views, sometimes drumming, sometimes preening. It remained in view for some time, before moving further up the tree and transferring to a smaller branch and drumming there,  which made a higher pitched sound compared to the  thicker part of the trunk! 

Eventually the bird flew off leaving us delighted to have seen it so well. 

We walked down the track again, noting some small birds such as great tit, blue tit and long tailed tit. We also spotted a treecreeper and saw a jay fly over head. 

The second part of our walk was to go up to the top of the down, and look for woodlarks and hopefully goshawks. We stopped briefly at the top of the hill for a snack and relaxation before  making our way to a popular viewing area. On the way I saw my first butterfly of the season, a red admiral on some gorse flowers. Woodlarks could be heard all around us and eventually we spotted several individuals at different times, flying overhead as they sang , their short tails and wing flapping reminding us of a bat in flight. Up on the down we saw mistle thrushes, stonechats and meadow pipits and after scanning the tree line for a while, a member of our group spotted two distant ravens which were then joined by a goshawk who saw them off and then was joined by another goshawk. To most of us they were just black dots in the sky though! 

By now it was past midday and we made our way back to the carpark before dispersing. I'd added a 'lifer' to my list along with five further year ticks.

  

                                                               pony at the top of the down

                                                             first butterfly of the season

                                   some of the group relaxing during the mid morning break 

SCARLET IBIS IN TTHE WATER PARK?

 I regularly look on the local birding blogs to see what's about and yesterday I saw someone had posted a photo of a scarlet ibis ( obviously an escapee) which he'd seen in the Cotswold water park! Intrigued, I looked further and found it  was in a flooded field  east of Pit 114  in the eastern section. The water park is divided into east and west sections, the eastern section being fairly close to home, so I decided that I'd try and locate the bird if it was still there.

 Now I know that most birders would not add it to their year lists, but I  thought I could always try to imagine I was in the Caribbean, with the sun shining in a bright blue sky ( although with somewhat lower temperatures!)  It would be a nice local visit, in advance of the longer trip to the New Forest which I have planned for tomorrow.

Having worked out where to go, I parked on a minor road at the end of a footpath but soon realised I was at the wrong spot, and with the help of google maps, turned and walked along the edge of the road  until I  reached another wide track which I followed. It led alongside a lake to a farm of some sort  from where I could see a gap in  the hedge where a field was flooded. This was obviously the spot but I wondered if I would be trespassing?  I could not see any birds from where I stood, so walked past a couple of empty vehicles and then spotted a footpath sign, -  a right of way obviously led across their land, and the place I wanted was only a few metres away from it!  

It was a bit boggy in the grass so I was glad of my wellies as I made my way through the gap and immediately spotted the ibis, not too far away, its scarlet colouring  making it easy to identify. The only trouble was, I was facing right towards the sun!  The bird seemed happily feeding in the floods so I had to hope that either a cloud would cover the sun or that the ibis would come closer and to my left so that the sun was shining more on it  rather than behind it. With the former unlikely, I had to wait and watch. Thankfully, with nothing in particular to disturb it, and as I was somewhat camouflaged against the bushes behind  me,  the scarlet ibis eventually started to head in my direction and eventually passed  about 30 metres in front of me where I was no longer looking right into the sun.  I did my best to get some shots of it although I struggled with the lighting a bit. After a while the ibis turned back towards the way it had come, and I decided to leave, it still seem quite undisturbed by my presence.

Satisfied to have seen a rather different bird, I set off back down the track;  on the way I saw and heard a raven overhead, and pausing  at a gate, spotted a raft of red crested pochards on the lake, both new for the year.