BARN OWL

I've not been out birding lately but as I had to return to school for an after school club today I thought I would  firstly drive round to a spot nearby where a parent had told me a couple of barn owls are regularly seen perched on fence posts next to the road. It seems that many people have recorded seeing barn owls hunting during the day recently; it appears that the weather may be having an effect.

It was  half past two as I approached, and almost immediately, I could see the pale colour of an owl as it flew low above a grassy paddock next to a house; I stopped the car to watch, and the owl turned and flew towards me and landed on a post right adjacent to where I was parked! Quickly lowering the window, I got out my camera to take a few shots before it flew off again, landing a few posts further back. As it had seemed quite undisturbed by the car's presence, I ventured to reverse a little back down the narrow country road, stopping again by the owl.  After a few minutes it flew off again and perched further away, but as I had to get back to school, I had to leave. 

LONDON WWT

Ring necked parakeets are something of a rarity in my home area; not so in parts of London, where I went to stay with some good friends recently. After a welcome cup of tea we popped out to a local wood, where we were met by the noisy squawks of these parrot like birds. It didn't take us long to spot one, or two, and up to twenty or more as we walked through amongst the trees. Most of them were flying noisily between the branches but one was carefully exploring a hole in one of the trees.

                                          

The following day we made our way to the WWT Centre at Barnes in the centre of London. Originally four concrete reservoirs it was transformed about twenty years ago into  a wonderful wetland area; an oasis in the middle of the city.  Our orignal plan was to visit on Saturday but with storm Dennis threatening, we decided to go on Friday instead, which turned out to be a wise choice as, despite a cloudy forecast, it was actually sunny for most of the time we were there.

Living in a rural area as I do, it was somewhat out of my comfort zone to drive through the streets of outer of London, but thankfully I had someone in the car to guide me. Just to compare, it took 50 minutes to go the 8 miles to the centre, whereas I take the same amount of time to drive the 40+ miles to my nearest WWT Centre at Slimbridge!

However once there, it was all peace and quiet as we headed in to the centre, apart from a group of four parakeets waiting in a tree by entrance!  

We decided to start off by making our way though the paths on the west route and visit a couple of hides where bitterns have been seen. The discovery hide has previously provided some amazingly close views but not today, so we wandered through a wonderful 'wildside' area, seeing and hearing cettis warblers in the reeds, before reaching the Wildside Hide. We were informed that one bittern had been seen an hour earlier but not since, and although we waited for a while, it did not re-emerge.  Meanwhile we watched a female Goldeneye swimming and diving, and found a yellow legged gull on one of the islands. 

It was in this area that I suddenly spotted  two jays perched on some railings. One flew off but the second remained long enough for me to grab some photos. 

We returned to the Observatory to eat lunch  overlooking the main lake, before taking the South route. The Peacock tower provided great views over the wetlands but we didn't add many more birds to our sightings list. We also spotted a family looking at a goldcrest flitting erratically about a hedge, providing some very close views, but not really long enough to focus my camera on! 

Our visit was an enjoyable one, even though we didn't manage to see any bittern which are one of the main winter attractions there, and we also missed out on a water pipit. However we saw 46 species altogether which was a fantastic record for an inland wetland area  I thought. I read afterwards that sometimes 180 species can be seen there throughout the year! 

view from the Peacock tower

one of the six hides

Peacock Tower

view over the wetland

long tailed tit

wigeon

greylag goose

Canada goose

the yellow legged gull is on the left at the back on the right hand island, the gulls flew off as I was about to zoom in for a photo!

jay

flock of cormorants

goldcrest

GREAT GREY SHRIKE AGAIN

                          

I had a free couple of hours this afternoon so decided to head over to Sapperton to  have another look at the great grey shrike. Driving  past the usual quarry site, I could see a lone birder  standing in a gateway next to his camera set up on a tripod  obviously looking for it.  I  drove on past and then suddenly spotted  the shrike perched  up on a tree  a hundred or so yards down the road. As I slowed down for a better look, the bird flew across the road, towards the quarry. I turned the car round and headed back, parking next to  a gap in the hedge.  Just as I had finished talking to the aforesaid birder, I spotted the shrike  on one of the higher bushes a little way off. It was very mobile today, flying to and fro between different bushes and trees and then disappeared from view and only allowing a couple of records shots, but at least a little closer than on my last visit.  It's a very smart bird; its white and grey plumage standing out against the countryside, and often at the top of a tree or bush, making it easy to spot. At just over twenty minutes from home,  it's worth several visits to see it, always hoping it might just be a little nearer...

SORTIE INTO SOUTH WALES

Although Storm Ciara was  predicted to arrive late on Saturday night, the morning's forecast  was  sunny with a moderate breeze and fairly mild; an good opportunity for me to re-visit Goldcliff lagoons and RSPB Newport Wetlands. 

A glossy ibis seems to have made its home there for the past year, and a black necked grebe has also been around for a while so I made it my purpose to try and locate them. In fact it would be my third black necked grebe this year, but both the others have been pretty distant, I was hopeful of therefore seeing one slightly nearer. 

I arrived at 830 am at Goldcliff lagoons, parked on the roadside, as recommended and made my way toward the trail of hides and screens which surround the lagoons. As expected, it was muddy and wellies were needed. 

The usual ducks and geese were present, and I got chatting to a Polish lad who was after the same two species as I was.  We eventually  located the black necked grebe from one of the screens; it was at a distance and I thought maybe I'd get a closer view from the next screen so started to make my way  round the path , but then realised it was moving back towards where I had just been standing, so had to retrace my steps! 

After watching and taking some photos, my temporary companion and I decided to walk the rest of the way round towards the last hide, having been told by some other birders that the glossy ibis was favouring an area which could be seen from the screen. We noticed that they had telescopes though!

After a good wait, the ibis (nicknamed 'Flossy') eventually came into view, fairly distant but viewable through binoculars, and just near enough for a couple of record shots. 

My next stop was RSPB Newport Wetlands. I was a little disappointed in the number of species seen last September, but hoped that there would be more today. However, with the brisk breeze, there again seemed few species. The reserve comprises an expanse of reedbeds from where the occasional cetti's warbler could be heard, and also follows the Wales coast path. However the tide was out and it was difficult to make out any birds on the mudflats. The breezy conditions didn't help either.

black necked grebe

view from hide toward area where I saw the glossy ibis

'Flossy'

little grebe with a 'catch'

LESSER WHITETHROAT IN CWP

For several weeks now, an Eastern race blythi Lesser Whitethroat has been wintering at Shornecote reedbeds in the Cotswold Water Park. It has chosen a favourite spot, and appears to be very loyal to it, on the three occasions I have been to look for it, it has been found there. The path to the reed bed is very muddy at present, and at places covered with a few inches of water. However after crossing two fields you come to a place where  a stream runs along side the footpath, with some bramble covered hawthorn trees.

The whitethroat tends to feed, under the last hawthorn tree,  often obscured from view by the many twigs and grasses found there. However, by leaning against the fence and peering round, it is possible to see it from time to time.

Today I decided to make a further visit, to attempt to get at least one record photo of the bird. It was overcast with a slight chilly wind but the hedge gave some protection as I waited, hopefully, for the bird to appear. There were no other birders present, but I was fairly confident that the whitethroat would be there, having been seen yesterday and regularly in preceding days.

Several wrens as well as a chiffchaff were to be seen, but after 10 minutes I had my first glimpse of the lesser whitethroat.  From that moment I was able to watch it on and off for the next hour, occasionally feeding from the stream but mostly hidden.  Occasionally it would  break cover and fly to the opposite side of the stream, but then remain hidden behind the vegetation for five minutes or so before flying back again to its original spot. After a while I was joined by three other people, one of whom had brought some friends with him to see the whitethroat.  I was able to point out the bird to them almost immediately, and it gave some nice views, probably the best I'd  all afternoon! I managed a few record shots, however the dull weather and difficulty in focussing on the bird amongst the vegetation meant they weren't  great!

the stream beside the footpath ( the stream is on the left!)

the whitethroat prefers to feed beneath the hawthorn on the right of the photo

                                          

BERKS BIRDING

After staying overnight in Berkshire with my daughter I left her house at 8.40. am. with the aim of visiting a few BBOWT reserves in the locality. I started with a walk at Hosehill lake, just five minutes away where you park in a pub car park before crossing the road onto the reserve. I took the path around the lake; a few of the usual duck and water fowl species were there  (greylags, canada geese, shoveler, coot, tufted duck, mallard and cormorant etc.). With the mild weather and early sunshine, it was feeling a bit like spring, and there was a lot of birdsong as the path meandered through an area of woodland, before reaching a willow fenced area around some bird feeders. Holes in the panels enabled you to observe the many woodland birds which were busily feeding - nuthatch, coal tit, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, dunnock, blackbird, chaffinch. A work party came past, one of whom stopped for a chat, and recommended another path from the pub which led to the gravel pits where more water birds could be seen. No time for that today, but worth knowing about, seeing it is so close to where my daughter lives. The one drawback at this time of year is that the paths are extremely muddy, possibly not helped by the fact that employees from a local industrial estate often visit the area during lunch breaks. However, in the summer, I would expect the reserve to be alive with warblers and other summer visitors and I look forward to another visit, all being well, later in the season. 

From  Hosehill, I drove the few miles to the Discovery Centre at Thatcham, again owned by BBOWT. The sun was low in the sky which made it difficult to make out the various wildfowl on the lake, let along take a decent photo. However, I took a short (muddy) walk around the lake before refreshing myself with a cup of coffee in the café. On previous visits, I have extended my walk to the reed beds, but decided against it today, particularly as the hide has been cordoned off for several years now. 

My final stop was at Snelsmore Common, actually a Country Park taken over by the Wildlife Trust in 2014. It has woodland  and heathland and  I decided to take one of the waymarked trails which was expected to take an hour (but actually only took half an hour) There was not much to see on the heath today, but in the woods I watched nuthatches, long tailed tits and saw  my first greater spotted woodpecker of 2020.

path on to the heath

woodland where I saw woodpecker and nuthatch

yours truly

Across all three locations I noted the following birds species:
jay, nuthatch, long tailed tit, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, blackbird, song thrush, dunnock, robin, greater spotted woodpecker, magpie, mute swan, greylag goose, canada goose, coot, moorhen, pochard, gadwall, tufted duck, mallard, wigeon, black headed gull, red kite.