END OF YEAR TICK

 

A trip  into the Cotswolds brought me what will surely be my final bird species of the year. 

I'd been reading about a large flock of chaffinches and bramblings in a set aside field which often rested in the nearby hedges and having realised it was fairly easy to get to, decided to attempt to get my 150th species of the year; a smaller number than last year but that is probably unsurprising  due to this year's restrictions on travelling.  With some free days after Christmas due to not being able to make my usual visit to my sister in Cambridgeshire , I drove along exceptionally quiet roads for 35 minutes to the  site mentioned on the birding blog.  It was a pretty drive over the Cotswold hills, where there had been evidently more snow than at home.  I even noticed a snowman at at road junction! 

Turning off the main road I saw a group of 3 birders who had evidently had the same idea  as me and made it very easy to  locate the exact spot to look. I parked on the grass verge and crossed the road to view the set aside field, which had a  short line of trees and bushes  starting at the roadside and continuing a short way   jutting out into the field.  There was a lot of activity and I soon spotted my first brambling amongst the many chaffinches. It was, however, going to be hard to get any decent photo owing to the distance from me. The other three birders who were evidently together had just decided to venture into the  field itself when another car stopped. The occupant got out and informed us we would have a much better opportunity if we walked a few metres up the road which we all did, and found an entrance into the field which had obviously been trampled down by recent birders!!  This second part of the field was proving equally popular with the finch flocks, and it was possible to get slightly closer. Hence I managed a few record shots but nothing more.  After watching them for a while, my feet were becoming decidedly cold so I went back to the car to return home, 

OTMOOR RSPB

 

It was possibly the last bit of fine weather for a few days so I drove over the RSPB reserve at Otmoor.  There has been a lot of rain and the road down to the car park was flooded in a couple of places, as was the main track. 

 The car park was almost full when I arrived  just after  10 am. but I  found some room  at the side  rather than in the marked bays. The reserve, however, looked beautiful in the winter sunshine, and it   actually felt quite pleasant in the sun with little in the way of wind. 

Walking up the main track I looked across an area known as The Closes which has had some grey plover recently but there was a work party there so not many birds were brave enough to stay put. As I joined the main bridleway, a number of photographers were standing  socially distanced admiring a fantastic spectacle of birds which had formed vast flocks in the sky and were wheeling around, mainly lapwing and golden plover. It seemed as if  they had  been spooked by some sort of raptor. A red kite was sitting on a post in the distance, but I also overheard reports of a  marsh harrier. After staying to watch, I decided to separate myself from the groups of birders and continued along the bridle way. During the spring this area is busy with warblers but today it was quite quiet and peaceful;  Canada geese and white fronted geese were present but quite distant, 

I decided to stop off at the Wetland watch hide as I enjoy watching the various finches that are attracted to an area where seed scattered on the path below the hide windows.  You have to choose your seat carefully so as not to have the sun shining directly  towards you or your camera and I was pleased to see there was plenty of room. 

It was mainly reed buntings that I saw, with a few chaffinches and the occasional yellow hammer and linnet.  Bramblings occasionally make an appearance but not during my time there today. Although I walked the 500 metres or so to the first screen there was little close up to see, though a variety of ducks were at a distance, including teal,wigeon, mallard and shoveler. 

the best view I could get of a yellow hammer!

SLIMBRIDGE WINTER BIRDING

 

It's a little while since I last visited Slimbridge due to the recent lockdown and in the meantime Slimbridge has had an influx of winter visitors.  In particular Bewick Swans are now present and number over 50; there are also pintails and golden plover, white fronted geese and a few pink footed geese.

At the Rushy Pen, there were still a good number of birds present after their morning feed. The sun was low in the sky and the early morning light cast a yellow glow on the birds there. Fourteen Bewicks were still there, the rest having already relocated to other parts of the reserve. 

I followed the path along the Holden walkway as far as the Estuary Tower, stopping off at the hides on the way there, Two water rails were intermittently feeding at the Willow hide, and I stayed to watch them for a while. I made my way to the top of the Estuary tower which is open air and gives a great view of the reserve. Greylag and Canada geese were easily seen, and I could just make out a few pink footed geese in the next field.  A cackling goose (i'd never heard of one,  apparently it looks like a small canada goose) was said to be present but with a large flock of Canada geese which couldn't be seen at the time I was looking. I did see a bar-headed goose in flight, but not the barnacle or white fronts as they were feeding in distant fields. From the Zeiss hide I added peregrine and golden plover to my year list.

After an enjoyable morning, I stopped off briefly at the village of Frampton on Severn, to see if I could locate the regular roosting Tawny Owl in a particular tree. I parked alongside the village green and took the footpath past some allotments and then turned left and over a stile. In the field there is a particular oak tree which has some holes made from where branches had once been, and in one of these near the top of the tree, a tawny owl has its favourite roosting spot.  I had tried several times unsuccessfully to see it, but today it was present so another tick for the year. 

Birds on the Rushy Pen in the morning sunlight

                                                           The deep lake on the Rushy Pen

Bewick Swan

Pintail

Redshanks

Water rail emerging from the reeds

Frampton Tawny Owl

Peregrine Falcon

OXFORDSHIRE GREAT BUSTARD

 

Over the past few days one bird in particular  has been drawing a lot of interest in Oxfordshire. A great bustard, descended from the flock which was reintroduced to Salisbury Plain around 16 years ago has found its way to a fallow field in Letcombe Regis, a village near Wantage. Because of my hours of work, there is always a few days before I am able to get out and look for anything that has been reported at the weekend, thus today was my earliest opportunity.  

Wantage is  about half an hour away, and I left home in rather drizzly conditions at around 9 o'clock.  Yesterday the bustard was reported as spending the day in a field viewable from the A417, next to a secondary school but this  doesn't provide any parking opportunities. However,  in the evening it returned to a neighbouring  field which can easily be reached from a cul de sac called Manor Fields.

  I therefore decided to check the site next to the school first and with nothing visible there from the A417 I turned  round in the school drive. A quick check on my phone, showed that the bird had already been seen near Manor Fields and I drove over to that location. 

 

   After parking, I  followed the guidance and walked along a footpath leading from the end of the road and looked in the field to my left, which has  gaps in the hedgerow and plenty of good viewing points. Around 300 metres along, I saw the Great Bustard, albeit at a distance but easily discernable.

These birds stand about a metre tall and are one of the heaviest flying birds, but from a distance it was difficult to get a feeling of  its size; in the middle of a large open field, there was nothing to compare it to. This particular bird is apparently a first winter male. I have found out it is possible to   join a trip to see Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain at a cost of about £20. However, I was pleased to be able to get today's sighting much more locally. 

I took a few photos but with the overcast  sky and drizzle I had to be satisfied with record shots. 

view from the edge of the field , 

STANTON PARK

Another visit to a local country park  produced a surprise in the car park, with a large wooden model of a unicorn!  A little out of place I thought but it adds to the increasing collection of carvings which seemed to be popping up everywhere!  

I circuited the lake before stopping at my preferred bird feeding area, where a group of benches is arranged a few metres away from the bird table, reached by a short path leading from the main track. Here, a well stocked bird table produced a constant stream of visitors. Five members of the tit family were present; great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, coal tit and marsh tit, along with nuthatch, robin, chaffinch and blackbird. 

coal tit

great tit

long tailed tit

marsh tit

nuthatch

tree creeper

a surprise in the car park!

SPARROWHAWK!

 

Sadly I have had to (temporarily) cease feeding the birds in my garden in order to discourage a rat from entering my loft, but looking out of the window today I saw this character at the end of my garden who had obviously no intention of going hungry! 

This female sparrowhawk had caught a pigeon and was methodically pulling out feathers and insides , making a terrible mess as she did so, but by hiding behind various trees/shrubs I was abe to get quite close (within 5 metres) before she flew off.