FROSTY MORNING

A hard frost last night made the drive into work today a joy, as the whiteness in the sun caused everything to sparkle. While queuing at the traffic lights at Lechlade I took a photo from the car window, and when I left the A361 I stopped to photograph the pheasants in the frost on the verge ahead of me. 

With snow forecast overnight, I expect it will be a different scene tomorrow. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to get my camera out again. 

CATTLE EGRET ... ENGLEFIED

Had a bird watching morning today... at school.... doing the RSPB garden bird count. Surprising how few children know the names of the common garden birds but by the end, one child said to me '' I never knew bird watching was so much fun!"   We did well, even getting a visit by three fieldfares. Not even had them in my garden yet this winter! 

Once home from school, I set off straight for Berkshire, where a cattle egret has been regularly reported in a field of horses. adjacent to the A4 but can be viewed from a convenient gateway on a minor road leading off it. With only room for one car, I was pleased that the gateway was vacant and I parked up. But despite the presence of over a dozen horses/ponies  no cattle egret could be seen!  Frustrating as my daughter had even been to check it out that morning!  Eventually I decided to give up, having to be content with good numbers of winter thrushes, instead!  But as I drove away I spotted a white shape through the hedge. The cattle egret had been there all the time, but hidden from view down a dip!  A closer view from the footpath alongside A4  would give a closer view  so after re- parking,  I walked round the corner where the hedge was low enough to view it, although at a bit of distance. #91. 

cattle egret

fieldfare

redwing and fieldfares

GARDEN BIRD WATCH 2019

The forecast was not great for today and, with visitors due for lunch, I had to start my count fairly early.  It was overcast with drizzle but the recently filled feeders were already attracting a number of garden birds and I quickly counted 2 crows, 2 blackbirds ( on the apples), 9 sparrows and a couple of woodpigeons up in the trees 

Five minutes later the crows left and were quickly replaced by two magpies, although these didn't come over to my main bird feeding station area. There was then a flurry of activity; several  blue tits  flying back and forth, visiting the sunflower heart and fat feeders, a great tit on the sunflower hearts and a robin and dunnock on the ground pecking the bits that were falling from the feeders above.

Then the rain started more steadily and most birds left to take shelter, although there was a fleeting visit from a single goldfinch and  just occasional visits from blue tits, a robin and dunnock.
 Half an hour into my count and it stopped raining; the crows came back,  also  three blackbirds reappeared,. A second robin made an appearance alongside the first which reminded me that I will have to soon put up my nestbox for them that I purchased recently. Just need to decide the best place! 

Birds came and went, but  no further new species or increase in numbers until  I  saw a third robin which was quickly chased off by one of the others! 

I noticed the breeze had started to pick up but this didn't deter a couple of starlings from vising the fat feeders,  and meanwhile the flock of sparrows had increased to 12. 

It was nearing the end of the hour  by now and it had started to rain once more, however just before I left my window seat, four goldfinches arrived together on the feeders while  a male chaffinch perched in the  bushes behind before dropping to the ground to feed. 

Total for the hour: 10 species totalling 39 birds as follows:

blue tit 5
great tit 1
dunnock 2
robin 3
wood pigeon 4
house sparrow 12
carrion crow 2
goldfinch 4
blackbird 3
magpie 2
chaffinch 1 

Time 9.25 a.m. - 10 25. am. 

N.B.An hour later a greenfinch arrived, but too late to include in my count!

garden feeding station

A few pictures taken from my window  but poor quality due to bad light and rain!!

COMMON OR NOT?

I've been looking at my birding year list and thought I'd try and fill in a few gaps where I can look for specific birds  locally. One bird that I  didn't record until  November was a common gull which admittedly had to be  pointed out to me by some other birders. So after  consulting a bird book to check out the features of a common gull, I  drove over to Liden Lagoon,  a short drive south down the A419, where  they have been recorded in the past. Although named 'common' , they are not, in fact ,the most common gull, therefore I knew  it would be necessary to look at  the gulls carefully in order to spot one. 

This relatively small lake was busy with a variety of gulls and ducks etc., and I quickly found mallards, gadwalls and shovelers, also moorhen, coot, Canada geese and mute swans. There were also a large number of gulls around; at a glance I  could see they were mostly black headed gulls with a  few herring gulls too but  I decided to scan each gull to see if any one looked slightly different, particularly having a speckled head, dark eye, and greenish yellow beak and legs. 

With the birds fairly still and evenly spread on the water it was not too onerous a task to try and look at individual birds, and eventually, I spotted what I thought could be the bird I was looking for. Unlike the other gulls, it was splashing and preening in the water but definitely had a speckled head, dark eye and no red on its beak. I decided to get my camera out so I could ID it when I got home, but when I looked back on the water it had gone!  I scanned the top of the water again with binoculars then realised that there was a pole  sticking out upright in the water with a bird on top.... the possible common gull!  I now had the advantage of seeing its leg colour and getting a good silhouette of the bird. Year tick number # 87!

DIP...DIP...DIPPERS

With a bit of weak winter sunshine at lunch time, I headed over to Frome Banks NR in search of a possible dipper to add to my year list.  After parking in the pay and display car park adjacent to Waitrose, I descended the steps to the road below, and after crossing it, made my way round under the viaduct to the canal path, then to the reserve entrance. 

I have seen dippers before, on rocks just beneath the viaduct, but after waiting hopefully for a while, none appeared so I decided to follow the path downstream.  A movement along the edge of the bank caught my eye; but it was just a wren  foraging for food amongst  the tree roots.  Continuing along the rather muddy path  I spied another bird, but  the grey and yellow told me that it was a grey wagtail. It was making its way downstream, on the opposite side of the stream and I followed it along, darting here and there  with its tail bobbing up and down as it went . I reached the end of the path which follows the edge of the water  without any dipper sightings, then turned round to retrace my steps. At least, if there were no dippers, I could still add grey wagtail to my list for 2019!

Then there was a whirr of wings and a brown bird flew past, upstream and landed on a stone. A dipper!  I watched it bob up and down, then  dive into the stream. I could just make its shape out swimming beneath the water. It re appeared and promptly flew over to the bank on my side but unfortunately hidden behind a tree. I then lost sight of it, not knowing which way it had gone. 

I walked back to my starting point, no dipper appeared but I had further views of  a second grey wagtail and a wren. Not keen to give up just yet, and with some time to spare, I decided to go back downstream again.   It was not long before I came across the dipper once more. I managed a few photos, then it suddenly started to flutter its wings, and I was suddenly aware of a second bird perched on the same 'island' in the stream.  I watched them for a while, made a short video then all of a sudden they were both off downstream.

Dipper above and below

looking downstream

grey wagtail 

looking upstream

OUT AND ABOUT

Yesterday I visited Buckland warren, looking  for crossbills, but sadly didn't find any, however there were some good flocks of siskins, and a greater spotted woodpecker was calling from the tops of the  trees. On the bridle way I had some nice views of a red kite. 

Whilst there I met a couple from South Cerney who described to me the best place to see Bramblings, under beech trees north of Cirencester. So I headed over there today, and found the place they spoke of. Flocks of finches were feeding on the country road and I parked up to try and get a better view. Amongst the chaffinches were good numbers of bramblings, often disguised amongst the beech leaves as they searched for beech masts. After a while I realised that they were often flying down to the ground on the other side of the hedge so I got out of the car and peered over the hedge. The birds had found a muddy puddle in the field which they were using to drink from. The light was poor as it was overcast but I eventually managed a few pictures below.

brambling drinking

how many bramblings can you find?

WHOOPER SWANS AT LECHLADE

It was a dismal day weather-wise today so I abandoned my original plans to go out in the morning,  and instead got down to some much needed housework and tidying up!  However, by two o'clock it had brightened up a little, so  before paying my parents their regular Saturday afternoon visit,  I decided to pop down to Lechlade where, earlier in the week, my cousin  Jon had  had found three whooper swans amongst a flock of mute swans feeding in one of the fields opposite Riverside park. Actually this is on my way to work each day, but on each occasion I'd looked so far, the swans had been distant and I had been unable to find a safe place to stop on the busy A361.  

But being Saturday I reckoned the road would be less busy and in fact I had already earmarked a gateway opposite the field which might prove a good viewing point.
After  I'd pulled up in the gateway, I got my binoculars ready to scan the small groups of swans, some of which were a lot nearer than on previous occasions. I focussed on the first groups, and there they were, yellow bills, brightening up the dullness;  the three Whoopers feeding amongst the mute swans, only a few miles from my home!   

  

DOWN IN THE WOODS

I had a couple of trips to local(ish) woods this week where the bare trees make it a lot easier to locate the species you are looking for. Earlier this week I took advantage of the sunshine for walk in Oakley Wood near Cirencester (known for Pearl fritillary butterflies in early summer) and although unsuccessful in  my search for bramblings, I did find a few siskins feeding along side goldfinches in the alder trees. 

Then today I took the opportunity to pay one of my regular visits to Stanton Country Park, where I clocked up a further five species for my year list; tree creeper, goldcrest ( lots of them about today but mostly high in the trees and still not enabling a decent  photo!), marsh tit, nuthatch and jay.

dunnock

blue tit

great tit

marsh tit

nuthatch

tree creeper

wood pigeon

robin

SLIMBRIDGE IN THE NEW YEAR

It was a lovely sunny afternoon at Slimbridge for my first visit of 2019 and I was able to add a number of winter migrants to my list so far this year before they return to breed in warmer climates. Two species I didn't see, however, were the brent goose, which had been feeding with the barnacle geese for the past few week, also a yellow browed warbler  which was  found in the grounds yesterday and seen this morning, but it reportedly flew into a window and its whereabouts was unknown by the afternoon.
However, a highlight of today's visit was not one but three water rails seen feeding  out in the open feeding from the willow hide. Also both a jack and common snipe on the same 'island' viewed from the Martin Smith hide. 

birds gathering for afternoon feed

pintails

Bewick swans

water rail

two of the three water rails

common snipe

house sparrows

shelduck

white fronted geese

wigeon

Canada and barnacle geese

greylags

Bewick swans

greylags