GREY PHALROPE

With many reports of rare migrants turning up on our shores, it was perhaps inevitable that Farmoor reservoir would  present something of interest... and last Saturday a grey phalarope was reported.  These small waders are usually quite confiding and some tend to hang around for a few days, so I was hopeful that I would be able to see it on Monday after I finished work. 

I checked the local birding blog and it had been reported on F2 along the causeway at 8 am so I went straight to Farmoor from school. I checked with a couple of returning birders who told me that it had moved to the NE corner of F1 so I made for that point, which wasn't too far from the entrance. There was only one other person there and at first I couldn't make out where the bird was but then found it swimming bravely over the waves, sometimes hardly visible in the swell. It was only about a few metres from the shoreline and seemed quite unaffected by the visits of various birders who stopped by to photograph it. 

Last time a grey phalarope visited the reservoir was back in 2016 so I was pleased to see another one after a long wait. I also saw the rarer red necked phalarope there in 2017. 

Returning to the car, I stopped to photograph a rather sleepy dunlin which was just standing on the shore, either with its  beak tucked under its wing or just watching the water or preening. 

compare size with a black headed gull

photo taken from where the dunlin was on the shoreline,  the phalarope around corner in the photo. 

 

SNAPPING A SNIPE AT SLIMBRIDGE

Slimbridge WWT centre was very quiet today, in respect of both people and birds. I saw a couple of families and a few other visitors and the hides had only a few occupants. It is that time of year when   the summer flocks have gone and there is a wait before the winter bird visitors arrive. Even the passing migrants had moved on.  The staff at Slimbridge have also obviously been very busy cutting back vegetation and preparing for the winter season. 

The busiest place I found was South Lake where at the Hogarth hide there were snipe and ruff feeding quite close to the hide which was nice to see. Later a flock of black tailed godwits joined them. The most numerous birds were definitely lapwing. 

From the Zeiss hide I could see two spoonbills but the waders and ducks being smaller, were harder to identify just through binoculars. I had hoped to find the wood sandpiper which was reported earlier but it  sadly it wasn't showing. There were a few ruff and  some spotted redshanks though. 

ruff

snipe

south lake from the Hogarth hide

black tailed godwit

lapwing

FARLINGTON MARSHES

I had a spare Saturday morning so decided that with nothing particular that took my fancy locally, I'd venture further afield to a reserve that I'd not visited before,  near Portsmouth. Farlington Marshes is a coastal reserve and mostly popular for viewing wintering wildfowl but also has good numbers of waders at this time of the year.

It was a warm day, and although exposed to the sea, there was little wind and it was a pleasant walk around the 2.5 perimeter of the reserve. Initially I caught up with a small group of female  birders who were pleased to help me identify some of the waders on the mudflat which could only be distantly identified with 'scopes although I could see the birds themselves in my binoculars. These included grey plovers, turnstones and a group of knot. I stayed around with the group for a little while as we looked over a small lagoon and some reed beds then decided to move on as I wanted to get round the whole of the reserve in the time I had.  Although bearded tits can often be seen on the reserve, we could neither hear or see any today which was a pity. 

Other birds of note were about a dozen or more ringed plovers interspersed with a few dunlin, good numbers of little egret and a large group of oyster catchers. 

After completing the walk I re visited the lagoon where  the rising tide had caused a large flock of grey plover to gather  and I could more easily make out their changing plumage.  There were also some yellow wagtails to be seen. Altogether I saw 40 species of bird so was pleased with that, including a couple new for the year. 

large numbers of oyster catchers on the mud

ringed plover

view towards Langstone harbour

grey plover

reed beds but no beardies. The yellow wagtails were on the reddish patch

EGRETS AND A SPOONBILL

 I've not been to Slimbridge for a while so it was nice to pay a return visit in some late summer sunshine.  At the first hide I visited I saw a great white egret, and at the second I had some excellent close views of a spoonbill. The spoonbills I'd seen in Lancashire were  all roosting at a distance but this one was  'spooning' vigorously in the hope of a meal. I also found a rather belated first common sandpiper of the year. 

I walked down the summer walkway to the estuary where a  reserve warden pointed out a black dot in the middle of the Severn estuary which apparently was a common scoter!! 

At the Discovery Hide I was confronted with not one, but eleven cattle egrets, including one splendid looking bird in breeding plumage , something I don't think I've seen before. I also saw one little egret flying which made up the set of three egrets in one day. 

Other birds of note included ruff, spotted redshank, black tailed godwits, a solitary curlew, and green sandpiper.

great white egret

..with grey wagtail

spotted redshank and black tailed godwits

SILVER SPOTTED SKIPPER

 About this time of year I normally do a trip to Aston Rowant and rspb Otmoor to find the final two emerging butterflies of the summer, the  silver spotted  skipper and the  brown  hairstreak . Having already found the hairstreak at Arnside knott I decided to to try a new site for the silver spotted skipper.  Warren Hill lies east of Tidworth and I easily found the location using my sat nav and parked on a large rough area at the bottom of the hill. With a large of grassland in front of me I started to follow a track towards the hill. Earlier blue skies  were now clouding over but in the breaks there were good numbers of butterflies  - mostly meadow browns but also common blues, brown argus, and a small copper.  Joining up with another butterfly spotter I made my way up the hill and continued searching. Here we saw small heath and brimstone and a fritiilary which sailed past, possibly a dark green fritillary or  silver washed, it was very faded and difficult to tell. 

I ventured into a meadow of wildflowers the other side of the hill but they were past their best and not attracting many butterfles. Eventually I walked back down hill to and turned off to an area on my right. At last I came across a few chalk hill blues which indicated I could be in the right area and  sure enough I finally found what I was looking for, a small brown butterfly fluttered past and rested on the ground , its wings folded behind showing the silver spots which distinguish it from the large and small skippers. It had clouded over now so having achieved my goal I had to be content and returned to my car. At least I will know where to look first next time!