BEWICKS ARE BACK!

With a cold easterly wind, I was not surprised to hear that the Bewick Swans have begun to arrive at WWT Slimbridge.  With some winter sunshine forecast I paid them a first visit of the season. About 50+ are now present, although all but a couple were grazing in the fields. However as it neared  4pm small groups began to assemble in the Rushy Pen awaiting their tea time feed. 

I spent the afternoon  along the Holden Walkway, where a number of birds of interest were to be found, apart from the Bewick swans. A water rail was clearly visible from the Willow Hide,  making the most of the seed fallen from the feeders above it. A snipe and a Jack snipe were also present on one of the islands seen from  another of the hides. As well as the more common greylags and Canada geese, a few barnacle geese could be seen from the Holden tower,  together with a number of cranes, and I also spotted one of the  white fronted geese from another of the hides along the walkway. Plenty of wigeon were grazing and there were also a good number of pintails and teals. Also a redshank seen. 

                                                                     Bewick swans

Canada geese

greylag

house sparrow

jack snipe

pintails

shelduck

shoveler

snipe

snipe

teal

water rail

whited fronted goose with Canada goose

wigeon

wren

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER

After having missed a Hoopoe near Lyneham yesterday, I was  more successful in locating a great northern diver at Coln country park just outside Lechlade  this afternoon.  I parked up, and walked part way round the lake, every so often checking through my binoculars as gaps in the reeds allowed a decent view. 
 After a while the bird in question popped into my view. It was drifting with the wind back toward the way I had come, and I realised if it continued to do so, it would become slightly nearer as the lake narrowed. This did, in fact happen, although as it became slightly nearer it started to dive which it had not done so far. One dive  brought up a crayfish which I managed to capture. 
According to reports, this bird is an adult  moulting in winter plumage, and although not exactly a twitch, ((no one else was looking for it!) it was another tick for my year list!

A CHARM OF GOLDFINCHES

I spent a couple of hours at Shornecote reed bed in the Cotswold water parks this afternoon Glorious sunshine and not too cold or breezy so an enjoyable autumn walk. Not a large number of species seen, but the sun shed some good light on a group of goldfinches feeding on teasels and a stonechat sat up high on a bush.

Species noted: buzzard, heron, coot,  moorhen, gadwall, teal, mallard, long tailed tit, blue tit, great tit, dunnock, robin, wren, blackbird, pheasant, magpie, wood pigeon, stonechat, goldfinch,  cettis warbler (heard).

stonechat

buzzard

CATTLE EGRETS AT WATERHAY

I managed to find an opportunity to catch up with a couple of cattle egrets which have been hanging around in the Waterhay area of the Cotswold Water park. Admittedly at a distance but another tick for the year.

FARMOOR RESERVOIR

An afternoon at Farmoor today; the usual birds on the reservoirs (coot, tufted duck, grebes etc) and pied wagtails and meadow pipits on the causeway. Temperature
colder than of late but still pleasant in the autumn sunshine. A wait in one of the hides gave eventual views of a water rail.

female red crested pochard ready to roost

 water rail

little grebe

OARE MARSHES KENT

I am nearly up to 150 bird species for the year now, thanks to sightings of four new species during my visit to Oare Marshes last week. 

It was sunny but with a cool breeze for my visit, but I was hopeful of seeing a few additional species for the year at this Kent Wildlife Trust reserve on the Swale estuary. I visited earlier in the year so I found the reserve without difficulty and parked up. The wind was cold and I began to wish I had brought my hat and gloves, but as the morning passed it did warm up. There were good numbers of birds on the East flood; every so often a whole group of lapwing or dunlin would be disturbed and rise up together and swirl over the water before settling once again. 

I stopped in the hide and was grateful to a visitor for pointing out a greenshank roosting at the back of the flocks of lapwings and black tailed godwits. The same visitor left the hide then returned, to say that a regular little owl could be seen well in a hawthorn  bush about 50 metres away so  I and another bird watcher went out to look, and sure enough we could make out the small shape of the owl (tick) viewable amongst the red berried  bush.

As I walked back towards the carpark, I stopped at another viewpoint. I could not identify a group of waders and waited to enquire from a group of three visitors coming in the opposite direction. Golden plovers I was told, we then located a group of common gulls,(tick) two curlew sandpipers,(tick) plus some whimbrels and a marsh harrier which were viewable on the opposite side of the road. As I neared the car park a group of long tailed birds flitted across the road and landed amongst the reeds; the orange tinge told me that they were bearded tits ( another tick).

Highlights of my visit included:
bearded tit
little owl
common gull
golden plover
curlew sandpiper
marsh harrier
whimbrel
little egret
green woodpecker
black tailed godwit
ringed plover
greenshank
redshank

golden plover

little owl

green woodpecker

RETURNING WHITEFRONTS AND A JACK SNIPE

I paid an afternoon visit to WWT Slimbridge today; a mild and bright afternoon. There had been reports of a Jack Snipe from the Martin Smith Hide over the past few days but there had been no reports yesterday or this morning, so I was not exactly hopeful of seeing this elusive bird, which would be a nice tick for my list for the year.

On arrival at the centre, I made for the hide in question, but, unsurprisingly, it was empty, and although I scanned the islands no snipe was evident. I did the rounds of the other hides on the Holden Walkway then ended up at the Holden Tower. Whilst there I heard rumours that the first four white fronted geese of the season had returned, and could be seen from the hides but later I was told that they had moved away. From the tower could be seen a couple of cranes, and a large flock of greylags which were put to flight by a low flying helicopter. Apart from that it was pretty quiet. 

A visit to the South lake hides, produced views of snipe, further cranes, black tailed godwits, ruff and the usual ducks but I was most interested to hear that the 'guide in the hide' had seen the jack snipe that morning but it had retired to a spot behind the reeds. With that news, I decided to return to the Martin Smith Hide and as I approached it I could hear voices and indeed, inside, a number of people had their telescopes and lenses pointing at the island. The jack snipe is back, I was told, and I could immediately see it, feeding and bouncing as is its habit. It was great to watch it  for a while, not having seen one before. As a bonus, the four white-fronts  could be now seen amongst the greylags. All in all a pleasant afternoon with a some nice highlights to end the day.

jack snipe

video of jack snipe (apologies for  voices in the background!)

common snipe

teal

crane