COTSWOLD WATER PARK

Only six of us turned up for the latest U3A birder walk today, in the Cotswold Water Park. Unsurprising, I suppose, seeing as the forecast was for heavy rain during the afternoon. However, having had to miss many of the recent trips for various reasons, I felt I should make the effort to go, come rain or shine! 

In the event, after some rain during the drive over, it was mainly overcast but with only a few spots of rain now and again and we had an enjoyable afternoon's birding. 

The area was very wet and it became very apparent why a boardwalk had been constructed as we walked from the Neigh bridge car park towards lake 56. We were glad we had been advised to wear wellies as several footpaths were flooded too. After spotting three goosanders as well as the usual tufted ducks and mallards on the water, we soon accumulated a good number of woodland species including spending several minutes observing a greater spotted woodpecker as it hammered  into a tree trunk searching for food.

We retraced our steps and then crossed the road to head toward lakes 44 and 57. Earlier in the year I had seen the yellowed browed warbler here but today we had some close up views of goldcrests instead. These tiny little birds seemed happy to flit amongst the branches within a few metres of us.  Plenty of fieldfares and redwings were flying around, and diving into hedges and trees from time to time and we later spotted a green woodpecker with its characteristic flight.  On lake 44 we were treated to some  views of more goosanders and some red crested pochards and found a heron on lake 57, but sadly not the expected egrets.  However,  I had decided to leave my camera behind, in case it had turned very wet, and in any case the light was mainly on the poor side.  Our usual aim is to see at least the number of species as members on the walk,  and as we returned to our cars as the light began to fade, a quick tally showed we succeeded five times over today! 

Birds seen included:

house sparrow, dunnock, robin, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, goldfinch, goldcrest, redwing, fieldfare, blackbird, green woodpecker, greater spotted woodpecker, mute swan, mallard, tufted duck, goosander, coot, moorhen, heron, red crested pochard, black headed gull, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, great crested grebe, wigeon, cormorant, kestrel, buzzard, magpie, woodpigeon. 

BITTERN!

With a busy week ahead, I was  unsure whether to spend my only free afternoon over at Slimbridge WWT but as it also seemed to be the only fine day this week, I decided to go.

My plan was to firstly visit the newly opened Estuary Hide. Surprisingly it was not that busy but it is a beautiful hide, and the views from the open air top are stunning. There was no wind today but I guess a winter's day could prove very bracing. 

I checked out the Willow hide and watched a pheasant wading through the water, though I did not get a glimpse of the water rail that had been around earlier.

Bitterns have been regularly reported from Slimbridge so I made my way over to the Zeiss hide, where some rides have been cut amongst the reed bed for easier viewing.   As I waited, I overheard another visitor enquiring about  bitterns; he was told that in all probability there was one currently on view at the next hide along.

So guess where I headed next?!  And as I entered the hide and managed to find a seat right at the end, the bittern was indeed showing very well indeed, making its way along the edge of the reed bed! Several people could be heard phoning their friends in other parts of the reserve to let them know but as they did so the bird vanished amongst the reeds, so on arrival they were greeted with the inevitable 'You've just missed it!'

Although it was still only 2.45 pm, I didn't wait much longer to see if it reappeared, as I wanted to visit a couple of other hides and then leave in good time to get home. 

estuary hide

newly arrived Bewick swans

house sparrow

pintail

pheasant

WATERLOGGED WATER PARK

Although I've been out and about a few times, there has been nothing of note to write about hence the gap in the blog. 

Today it was a sunny day between two wet ones, so I went out to Somerford Common to look for redpolls which have been reported there. I don't know the wood that well, but despite having sightings of tree creeper, nuthatch and jays, there seemed few birds about. It was a muddy track which led first downhill then uphill to the open areas and I was glad of my wellies. 
I was also glad of my wellies for a visit to Shornecote reedbeds later on in the day; after following the footpath across two fields, it soon became waterlogged and  every so often I had to wade through several inches of water. At one point, it became obvious that people had gone through the fence at the side to avoid the path. 

I saw my first winter thrushes of the season, groups of fieldfares and redwings in the trees and several flocks of fieldfares calling as they flew over.  From the first hide there were coot and moorhen, mallards and gadwalls and later a marsh harrier flew over. A lady I met in the hide told me she had seen a kingfisher too, just before my arrival. Cettis warblers were also heard and the squealing of a water rail too.  We were hoping for  starling murmuration but decided against waiting as it was getting rather cold. One for another day I think. 

Footpath at Shornecote. It should run between the gates! 

Footpath under water

marsh harrier over the reeds

winter thrushes

KENT BIRDING

As I am spending a few days with family in Kent, it seemed an ideal opportunity to visit the rspb site Cliffe Pools which is only half an hour away, especially as a grey phalarope has been reported there for the past few days.

It was a straightforward trip to get there although I did have to ask instructions for the exact location of the car park once I was almost there. Having found it and parked up I donned coat and hat - yes there was a cool breeze blowing - and followed the track leading to the trails. 

I didn't see anyone for a while, though a group of birders were just arriving as I set out on my walk. I had a trail map and followed it, in the general direction of the Flamingo pool where I read the phalarope was seen yesterday. Meeting another birder I asked if he'd seen it, but he said no and was about to ask me the same question.  Whilst stopped to talk, the group of birders I'd noticed in the car park approached, they hadn't seen it either; they were a group of RSPB members/volunteers  and we ended up joining them as they showed us where the phalarope might be and told us some of the history of the site.  It appears that there were once great plans to develop the reserve with a large 360 degree hide, but sadly the money wasn't forthcoming and all that was achieved was an improved car park and a central path through the reserve.  Sadly we were unable to find the phalarope, despite scanning with binoculars and telescopes.  Being such a small bird makes it very difficult to spot especially if the water is churning and it wasn't possible to see the whole perimeter of each area of water due to a lot of overgrown areas. Great for the wildlife but not so good for birders! There were, however, plenty of birds of interest, albeit mostly distant. I understand that in the winter months bird numbers increase and as high tide approaches more birds move from the creek into the lakes. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to stay for that today.

Birds seen included; litte egret, marsh harrier, kestrel, ringed plover, lapwing, lesser black backed gull ,pochard, wigeon, little grebe, great crested grebe, tufted duck, mallard, pied wagtail, shelduck, shoveler, dunlin, golden plover, redshank, curlew. 

Today was another sunny day, and I arranged to meet some friends at Haysden Country park, Tonbridge. After enjoying a cup of coffee from the cafe, we started our walk around one of the lakes where we found  tufted ducks and mallards and a pochard, mute swans, canada geese and an individual which appeared to be a cross canada/greylag. I also spotted a grey wagtail flying low across the shoreline.   We then ventured into one of the woodland areas. Here we spent time checking the trees for woodland species,  and found nuthatch, tree creeper, blue and great tits, goldcrest and  jays. Our walk then continued alongside the river,  and under the railway line before returning to the original lake which then gave us sightings of little  egret and heron, and a chaffinch feeding under the picnic tables.

Birds seen here: wood pigeon, crow, jay, unidentified bird of prey ( buzzard/sparrow hawk?). grey wagtail, moorhen, coot, mallard, pochard, tufted duck, mute swan, canada goose, heron, little egret, black headed gull, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, robin, blackbird, goldcrest, nuthatch, tree creeper, chaffinch, cormorant, great crested grebe.

Canada goose

mute swan

tufted duck

NEW HIDE AT WHELFORD POOLS

A new hide has been constructed to replace a dilapidated old one at Whelford Pools, a Gloucester Wildlife Trusts reserve near Fairford   and I decided to check it out today. It was a mild and fairly sunny afternoon with little wind as I parked in the small deserted car park. 

The hide in question is only a hundred yards or so from the car park, so I soon located it. Built with similar features to the previous hide, it overlooks a small pond on one side, and has views to the lake in front of it. Sadly the lake is at a distance and I think it would benefit from a feeding station in front of the hide to attract the birds. There was little wildlife on the lake itself, a few swans and a raft of black headed gulls were all that could be seen from the hide.  

A path through some a wooded area leads to a second hide, which has better views of two lakes with an area of scrub between them. Again only a few great crested grebes and cormorants were on the lakes but I sat for a while, enjoying the antics of a group of long tailed tits close in front of the hide. A wren also made a brief appearance as well as a few blue and great tits. 

the new hide

RSPB GUIDED WALK IN FOD

Although there is no local RSPB group in North Wilts, other local groups welcome birders to join them on their guided walks after payment of a small fee, and this is what I did today. I'd noticed a walk with the Gloucestershire group in the Forest of Dean today, aiming to see crossbills, redpolls, siskins, and possibly hawfinches and goshawks. 

Not ever having seen a crossbill, and without redpolls and hawfinches on my list so far this year, this was an attractive trip, so I headed over to Speech House Woodland car park to join the group. It is a fairly easy journey to the FOD and took me just over an hour. I had a  bit of a wait in the car park, but with 15 minutes to go, cars began to arrive, with occupants wearing suitable mostly green and beige clothing and holding binoculars, which made them easy to pick out as members of the RSPB group! 

Eighteen of us made up quite a large group, but just after ten o'clock we set off through the woodland. I soon got chatting to some other members of the group, it transpired that several had also made a journey of an hour, and one lady had even left her home  at Cheltenham  at 7 am to catch  4 buses in order to arrive at the car park in time for the walk!  I did offer to give a lift part way home but she declined as she had already worked out her route and timings. 

Soon after leaving the car park, our leader heard the calls of crossbills, coming from the conifers above us, but sadly we didn't actually see the birds themselves. If on my own, I would have probably waited longer, but as we had only just started out we didn't stop for long. However, having heard them early on the walk, I was hopeful of seeing or hearing some more later on.. (we didn't!) 

The route we took passed by a deserted lake ( apparently the presence of carp was blamed for eating all the food that the birds would normally have fed on) and then through some more woodland to an area of heathland. This was where  I saw the great grey shrike in early 2018 but it wasn't seen last year, so whether it will return again this winter I don't know.   We saw several stonechats, and a flock of siskins and goldfinches land at the top of a distant conifer. Further on we stopped for a while in an open area, and our  guide pointed out a goshawk flying across although, again at a distance. We watched it for a while, noting its different wingflapping which determined that it was not a buzzard. 

The weather was sunny and felt quite warm in the autumn sunshine, with little wind. It was certainly a pleasure  to be out in the open air, and have the opportunity to chat to like minded people with an interest in birds. It's  nice to hear recommendation of other reserves to visit and to tell others about one's own experiences.

No photos again today, but the here is the list of birds we saw today:

blue tit, 
great tit,
robin,
song thrush,
chaffinch,
coal tit,
linnet
goshawk
buzzard
siskin
goldfinch
crossbill (h)
stonechat
wood pigeon
jay
crow

SPOTTED AT SAVERNAKE

A couple of weeks back, someone from my local U3A birders group sent me a link to some events  being held at Savernake Forest near Marlborough, which included a guided bird walk. 
I have not visited the forest very much except in July searching for Purple Emperor butterflies, so thought this might be a good opportunity to find out what can be seen there. 
Consequently 9.30 am. this morning saw me signing in for my prebooked place on the walk starting from a central point on Grand Avenue, a track which runs north to south through the forest. 

There were about a fourteen of us including five children, plus our guide and his companion who kindly carried his telescope around for us to use if something interesting  needed a closer view. 

We started off down one of the tracks and walked for a while before stopping to listen for any birds that might be around. Blue tits and great tits were unsurprisingly the first birds we saw, then a little further we stopped to use the telescope to see a flock of mistle thrushes which had just flown into perch on top of a conifer. 

At this point, I happened to turn round and saw a small brown bird with a light breast perched on the edge of a branch overhanging the path firther on. I couldn't identify it straightaway but then thought.. surely it can't be a spotted flycatcher? 

I wanted to take a photo but just at the moment a cyclist approached from the oppostite direction which caused it to fly off. I mentioned what I'd just seen to someone next to me and he agreed that it was a bit late for them. It must have been a more common bird then, but I hadn't really had a good enough view.
As we got ready to continue our walk, there was a bit of movement in the bushes to our left, a marsh tit flew out and landed in a nearby tree. Then I saw that bird again.. this time, the leader confirmed my original thought,  it was in fact a spotted flycatcher, though an exceptionally late one!  Most of managed to see it though I couldn't manage a photo. I also found a goldcrest in a nearby conifer. 

Along the walk  we also heard and saw a number of nuthatches and tree creepers, as well as the more common robin and dunnock. 

After doing a circuit, we returned to Grand Avenue at which point the families with children left us ( it was nearly 11 am when the walk was scheduled to end) . However, our guide volunteered to take the remaining 5 of us on a further loop of the forest which took another hour. In this time we saw a buzzard and kestrel, but nothing else additional to our sightings so far. 

However, with calm and dry weather, it was an enjoyable morning in the forest.

Bird seen on the walk:
blue tit, great tit, coal tit, marsh tit, robin, dunnock, tree creeper, nuthatch, blackbird, wood piegeon, goldcrest, spotted flycatcher, buzzard, kestrel, mistle thrush, jackdaw, rook.