Mike Watson's Diary

15TH SPACE COAST BIRDING FESTIVAL, FLORIDA - DAY TWO

2012-01-26T22:29:00.001Z

American Bittern, Viera Wetland

BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED TODAY WE HAD TIME TO SQUEEZE IN SOME MORE AMERICAN BITTERN! A visit to Viera Wetland eventually resulted in the hoped-for bittern sighting, a prolonged view of a bird working its way along the edge of one of the large tanks - life in slow motion. I am rather obsessed by bitterns so this was a particularly welcome result and although backlit it creates quite a nice effect. Also here today were: Blue-winged Teal; Northern Shoveler; Ring-necked Duck; Hooded Merganser; Pied-billed Grebe; Double-crested Cormorant; Anhinga; Great Blue Heron; Great and Snowy Egrets; Little Blue and Tricoloured Herons; Cattle Egret; Black-crowned Night Heron; White and Glossy Ibises; Turkey Vulture; American Osprey (we saw around 15 today); Bald Eagle (two, adult and immature); Northern Harrier; Red-shouldered Hawk; American Kestrel; Common Gallinule; American Coot; Limpkin (including some very tame birds); Sandhill Crane (one); Killdeer; Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls; Caspian Tern; Mourning Dove; Belted Kingfisher; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Eastern Phoebe; Loggerhead Shrike (five); Fish Crow; Tree Swallow; Marsh Wren; Northern Mockingbird; Common Yellowthroat; Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers; Savannah and Swamp Sparrows; Red-winged Blackbird plus Boat-tailed, Great-tailed and Common Grackles. A coupe of otters bounded right past us only a few metres away, completely unconcerned by our presence. There were so many tame birds here a hide is completely unnecessary and in our limited time we look pretty much exclusively for the bittern, finding one in a suitable position just at the right time before the light became too glary. Fantastic stuff despite the invasion of the birders today. The birds did not seem to mind at all.

Back north along the coast we called in to the Merritt Island NWR, where the stars were three Florida Scrub-Jays. Amazingly confiding and inquisitive they were a true delight. I had to back off them with the 500! Also new here were: Brown and American White (one) Pelicans; Black Skimmer; Northern Flicker (two, yellow-shafted) and a Gulf Fritillary, which was another lifer for me. Florida Scrub-Jay is now very local and its small population (around 6,500 individuals only) is in decline owing to development, disturbance and the suppression of the fires that are necessary to maintain its preferred scrub habitat. It was very impressed with it and although it took some time to find as walked down the trail in the wrong direction at first, when we did find them they were much mroe strikingly pale mantled than expected and are a very smart bird. I am hoping to have another try with a little more time to improve on my photos so far...

From top: American Bittern; Glossy Ibis (and American Coot); Limpkin; Boat-tailed Grackle (female); Florida Scrub-Jay and bottom: US birding legend Paul Lehman calls in to say at the Birdquest/Wild Images booth - he has probably found more firsts for North America than anyone else in recent decades.

15TH SPACE COAST BIRDING FESTIVAL, FLORIDA

2012-01-26T02:24:00.011Z

American Bittern, Titusville

AFTER SETTING UP THE STAND FOR THE START OF THE SHOW, Matt and I had still had some time for a bit of birding on the outskirts of Titusville at the Blue Herom Plant, the highlights of which were: a couple of obliging American Bitterns; Tricoloured, Great and Little Blue Herons; numerous Common Gallinules and American Coots; Anhingas and Wood Stork (three over). The bushes around the marshy tanks were full of Yellow-rumped Warblers, together with a few Palm Warblers, Grey Catbirds and a Swamp Sparrow. Tree Swallows buzzed overhead and two alligators lurked in the shallows. American Ospreys ar amazingly conspicuous around the town and we saw around ten today, including on the Day's Inn motel sign and even from inside the Subway at lunch (adding to my growing Subway raptor list). The exhibitors part of the festival kicked off this afternoon and we got to meet a whole bunch of folks, mostly from FL but some as far afield as Canada. The next few days promises to be a lot of fun! Especially with an unusually large influx of American Bitterns to the area, maybe owing to the drought in most of the southern USA recently.

From top: American Bittern; American Coot; the Birdquest booth at Space Coast and bottom; time for some more homework at the world famous Dixie Crossroads seafood restaurant

TRUMPETER SWAN

2012-01-22T17:41:00.005Z

Trumpeter Swan, Ribchester

A WALK ALONG THE RIVERBANK PRODUCED TWO SPECIES OF SWAN, NEITHER OF THEM NATIVE - the regular long-staying (and surely escaped) Trumpeter Swan (interesting that it is unringed though) and a Black Swan. More introduced waterfowl included Canada and Greylag Geese. The only respectable ducks being two Goosanders. The river was fairly quiet, no doubt well disturbed by fishermen and walkers by the time I got there and all I saw were a Common Oystercatcher and three Great Cormorants. In the morning a group of seven Pink-footed Geese battled west into a cold head-wind, taking a more northerly course low over the village than those last week. It was also very interesting to hear that there has been a Little Egret at Brockholes this week, maybe the bird I saw last weekend? Even more intriguing is the disappearance of one of the Greenland Whitefronts from the Rishton area, which fits the sighting last Sunday perfectly so maybe it was not the fifth record for East Lancs after all, just a relocation? Also today a Grey Wagtail by the river was the first of the year and a flock of 38 Carrion Crows was noteworthy, when I was a child flocks were always rooks and singletons Carrion Crows. With the Carrion Crows was a single first winter rook. A couple of Eurasian Siskins flew across the river but I saw very little else on a windy afternoon. I am looking forward to a much warmer climate from Tuesday onwards!

RIBCHESTER GREENLAND WHITEFRONT

2012-01-15T17:17:00.007Z

Greenland White-fronted Goose (very extensive and boldly blotched belly, generally dark plumage, narrow white tail tip, long bill - it looks pink rather than orange-pink but Bill tells me his photos are more orange - all look good for flavirostris)

THE CALLS OF PINK-FOOTED GEESE FLYING OVER THE VILLAGE WOKE ME UP at 0645 and after yesterday’s passage I decided to have a walk along the riverbank. The hard overnight frost was making it difficult for the Canada geese (222) to graze the grass on the flood plain opposite the school and amongst them were single Pink-footed and Greylag Geese. I saw a single pinkfoot in this flock in 2010 and I wonder if it could be the same bird? Before long the first of several skeins of pinkfeet flew downstream, calling loudly, totalling around 350 birds. I also had an unidentified small white egret fly west but unfortunately if was rear-end-on by the time I picked it up and by the time I had switched the camera to servo mode it was out of sight. A Eurasian Tree Sparrow by the river at Lower Alston Farm was most welcome but the best sighting by far was East Lancashire’s fifth Greenland White-fronted Goose (the fourth record though), which flew downstream at Osbaldeston Hall Farm. I heard it call and was looking for a skein but was surprised to see a lone dark goose heading down the valley towards me with a large white forehead blaze. Wow! Luckily I managed to fire off a few frames to give a chance to confirm its identity later and even better still, I had time to phone Bill Aspin, who was watching the goose migration from Brockholes, and he saw it pass to the north of there a mere six minutes later. This will keep the brand new local patch effort going for a while. I have always enjoyed birding on foot from home. Also today: Trumpeter Swan (the long-staying and very friendly bird was begging food from a couple of fishermen); Mute Swan (a pair drifted downstream, the first I have seen here I think); Mallard; Goosander (one young drake up and down); Great Cormorant (three all west); Grey Heron (one); Common Oystercatcher; Northern Lapwing (44 upstream); Common Buzzard (one disturbed from a fresh pheasant kill by the river); Common Kestrel (two); Eurasian Sparrowhawk (a male hunting the lanes just west of the church); Herring (seven), Common and Black-headed Gulls; Common Wood Pigeon; Eurasian Collared Dove; Pied Wagtail (three); European Robin; Mistle Thrush (two); Winter Wren; Great, Blue and Coal Tits; Common Magpie; Western Jackdaw; Western Rook; Carrion Crow; Common Starling; House Sparrow; Common Chaffinch; European Goldfinch and European Greenfinch. I still have to think about whether to set a local patch boundary and where that will be. The habitat around the village is not very inspiring, mostly short-grazed pasture, hedgerows and some riverside woodland as well as the river itself. However, its position is the best thing about it and it should be good for visible migration as today’s experience suggests. I could claim all sorts of nonsense flying over here with little fear of contradiction but I am hoping to be able to have the camera ready as proof!

GREAT GREY SHRIKE AT STOCKS

2012-01-14T19:32:00.010Z

Great Grey Shrike - East Lancs has a great track record for this fine bird

A dawn to dusk effort in the AONB with Mark Varley was saved at the death by a combination of Ian Walker and the sharp eyes of Mark Breaks. I managed to catch up with East Lancs's latest Great Grey Shrike as the sun set at Stocks, in the willows next to the School Lane car park. On a lovely clear evening it was still in view at 1644! Unfortunately my poor photos aren't good enough to age it. After a sinful stop at the A59 Scottish restaurant I headed into Bowland. It was minus six celsius there this morning and in the freezing cold a singing White-throated Dipper at one of the regular nest sites was a nice start, its mate nearby bodes well for the spring. Another promising record today was a pair of European Stonechats at White Greet, hopefully, after the last two winters having decimated their numbes in Bowland, they can refill the Upper Hodder with their offspring. Apart from an extensive search of the valley for the Marl Hill Great Grey Shrike the other main feature of the day was the westward passage of Pink-footed Geese. We had at least 367 in several flocks from Marl Hill to Stocks (counted from photos) but Allen Holmes and the Breaks family had even more. Maybe more than 1,000 migrated west through the area today on their way to graze the winter grass of the Fylde. We checked the tops at Cross of Greet and Bowland Knotts seeing only Red Grouse in both places (except for three starlings flying south over the cross, the first I have seen up here) and we did a lot of scanning to no avail with only a handful of Common Kestrels and Buzzards to show for our efforts. Ironic that after spending hours in more remote areas of Bowland someone else should bowl up at a well-covered site and find a/the shrike. There must be a message here somewhere but we enjoyed a great day in a lovely corner of England nevertheless and I can think of worse places to spend my time. Other interesting sightings were: Goosander (drake just upstream of the bridge at Newton); Peregrine (two north at Marl Hill); Fieldfare (around 50 in the Marl Hill area); Eurasian Siskin (Marl Hill) and at dusk I heard two Tawny Owls at Stocks and another two at Slaidburn. It was also good to see the Riverbank Tearooms open again today after redecoration.

Joe celebrates sending another customer upstairs to his more expensive room at the Riverbank

MORE MISERABLE WEATHER BIRDING IN LANCASHIRE

2012-01-08T21:58:00.001Z

Glossy Ibis, Leighton Moss

ATTILA SIMAY JOINED ME FOR A DAY’S BIRDING IN THE LANCASTER DISTRICT. Unfortunately we were subjected to yet more miserable wet weather and it was a real struggle to stay motivated when wet through to the skin and shivering in the cold. With some help from Pete Morris and Gareth Morgan we eventually made the best of a dreadfully bad job with a lifer for Atka in the form of a drake Green-winged Teal at Leighton and a second only with the long-staying (now second year) Glaucous Gull on the wooden jetty at Heysham. Sadly the both the teal and gull sat for almost all the time facing away into the wind. There were some other interesting birds today including: Gadwall (five, Leighton); Northern Pintail (pair, Leighton); Northern Shoveler (seven, Leighton); European Shag (at least 10 storm-blown birds at Heysham harbour); Glossy Ibis (another long-stayer was in its usual field at Crag Foot, Leighton); Marsh Harrier (two were hunting starlings at Leighton in the evening); Eurasian Sparrowhawk (one also at the starling roost at Leighton); Water Rail (at least three heard at Leighton); Northern Lapwing (a large flock of around 1500 at Leighton); Red Knot (around 2000 at Red Nab, the rocks turned pale grey by their massed ranks); Purple Sandpiper (two on the wooden jetty at Heysham); Ruddy Turnstone and Dunlin; a nine gull day at Heysham included Common Black-headed; Common; Mediterranean (two); Little (two first years on the nuclear power station outfalls); Greater and Lesser Black-backed (two); European Herring and Kittiwake (an amazing 40 or so around the harbour and outfalls – 30 in a single sweep of the ‘waterfall’ area, many of which appeared exhausted) in addition to the Glauc. Three Common Guillemots were in the harbour at Heysham and at least two Marsh Tits were around the feeders at Leighton. We ended the day there with a great aerial pre-roost display by thousands of starlings over Leighton, just as we were starting to dry out - fantastic!

From top: Glossy Ibis; European Shag; Kittiwake; Mediterranean Gull; Green-winged Teal (middle back) and Attila Simay at Heysham - another of Lancashire's beauty spots!

A DRIVE AROUND THE PATCH (BOWLAND AONB) with Mark Varley on 7 January, in sometimes awful weather (again) resulted in very little of interest. Notable sightings included: Red Grouse (four at Cross of Greet but none elsewhere on the Bowland Knotts loop); Common Raven (one mobbed by Carrion Crows in the rain at Keasden); Green Woodpecker (one across the road at Rough Syke just east of Dunsop Bridge); White-throated Dipper (one whizzed past calling at Burholme Farm heading towards the Hodder); Common Crossbill (one around the car park at Stocks); Eurasian Bullfinch (one at Kenibus and another near the chapel at Stocks). With the Riverbank closed for redecoration we tried the café at Dunsop Bridge – nice atmosphere and their bacon & egg baps were great. How we wish the rain would stop and give us half a chance…

Mistle Thrush, some nice views of several in fields near Whitewell, associating with Fieldfares (thanks a lot to Mark for positioning the van)

DARK-BELLIED BRENT GOOSE IN THE HODDER VALLEY

2012-01-02T17:06:00.010Z

Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Burholme, East Lancs

It was a relief to relocate yesterday’s East Lancs mega a few hundred metres downstream next to the large flood at Burholme and I spent the next few hours watching it between sleet showers, joined by the Breaks family, Gareth, Russell and Ian. The goose was associating loosely with Mallards, grazing the short turf of the flood plain here. It also flapped its wings and flew a couple of times, showing a couple of feathers missing in the right wing. Maybe it has been shot at? I would have thought such a bird would have attracted more attention but I am still a Johnny-come-lately to ELOC listing. Also of note here were: Eurasian Wigeon; Eurasian Teal; Goosander (two); Common Buzzard (at least three); Common Oystercatcher; Greater (one) and Lesser (three) Black-backed, Common and Black-headed Gulls and a Mistle Thrush with several Fieldfares.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Burholme, East Lancs (interesting that it is an adult, lacking white edges to the wing coverts – I wonder why it has turned up here?)

It is obvious that Brent Goose is an extremely rare bird in the ELOC recording area with only five previous records mentioned in ‘The Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside’: Hurst Green/Clitheroe (six, race unknown) January 1979; Rowley Lake (two, pale-bellied) January 1989; Hurst Green (pale-bellied) March 1996; Altham (race not stated) 1998 & Rishton (dark-bellied) December 2004. Margaret also told me there is an old unpublished record of a small flock from the Calder Foot area and White et al mention five other inland records elsewhere in Lancashire. There has been a small influx of Dark-bellied Brent Geese to inland sites this winter with birds still present in Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Worcestershire in the last week. We are fortunate to have been able to see the Hodder Valley bird. It was first found at Stocks Reservoir, a week ago by John Metcalf but owing to an IT breakdown the news did not get out until after it had gone. It then went missing until yesterday when it was seen on a roadside flood pool north of Burholme Bridge at 1115 but again, inexplicably, the news was released too late. I have birded this good-looking area many times over the last few years but this is the first rarity I have seen here. I could not have guessed it would be Brent Goose!

From top: The saying goes that you can never find a poor farmer - Brian Breaks even keeps a pot of gold under his cap; Rainbow over New Hey and bottom: a snowy Upper Hodder Valley

I had a quick spin around the local patch and up on to the fells in the vain hope of a Snow Bunting but there was little of note in the bad weather, not even a Red Grouse, all no doubt keeping their heads down. Instead all I could manage was around 200 Fieldfares and a Common Kestrel at Wood House Gate. Finally back closer to home the Trumpeter Swan was by the Ribble below Ribchester School and a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull was patrolling the river.

BIRDQUEST'S ISLAY 30TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION

2011-12-19T18:07:00.002Z

Barnacle Geese on Islay

Islay is one of Europe’s top winter birding spectacles and proved a very worthy venue for our 30^th anniversary reunion with many thousands of geese, wonderful scenery, clear Hebridean light and some great company, not to mention being the world capital of single malt whisky – the fewer hours of midwinter daylight allowed plenty of time for socializing!

Driving northwest from the urban sprawl of Glasgow we were soon on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond and from here a short climb over the ‘Rest and be thankful’ passing a recent landslip, which had closed the road for a while, took us to Loch Fyne (the longest sea loch in the UK). A succession of Atlantic storms had battered this area over the previous couple of weeks and we could see a tideline of debris washed up along the shore. Indeed we had contemplated not making it across at all but fortunately the latest fast moving Atlantic depression had veered further south than originally predicted and into Biscay, opening a welcome window of fine weather for our trip. Passing the pretty small towns of Lochgilphead, Furnace and Inveraray we eventually reached Loch Caolisport on the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre, as the late afternoon light started to fade. Large gulls tend to congregate near food sources on this coast and the outflow of the salmon farm at Ormsary occasionally attracts interesting species. We were hoping to see a couple of Glaucous Gulls, which had been reported here the previous day, no doubt products of the storms, but instead we found a beautifully marked juvenile Iceland Gull. A distant white-winged gull, for some, was probably one of the glaucs but was too far away to be certain and it was strange that a first winter Glaucous Gull was reported here both before and after our visit with no reference to the Iceland. Maybe the latter had made a fleeting one-off visit? Also here was a raft of a couple of hundred Common Goldeneyes as well as several eiders and Common Scoters. A couple of ravens and buzzards called over a nearby gnarled oak wood and a woodcock flew in front of the first van. The ferry crossing to Islay was steady and pleasantly uneventful in the dark and we soon arrived at our hotel in the pretty village of Port Charlotte. The first of several excellent meals followed, after which folks retired to the hotel bar, a recent winner of the whisky pub of the year award!

Our first morning on the island was a wonderfully clear and frosty one, with a light snowfall on the ground. The first skeins of Barnacle Geese were already on the move over the village outside our hotel and in the small bay behind it the first of many Great Northern Divers was snorkeling close to the shore. Along the ‘low road’ a female Hen Harrier was hunting small passerines over a large area of peat cuttings and, after picking up our VIP participant from the aerodrome, we headed for Port Ellen on Islay’s southern shore. A couple of Black Guillemots in predominantly white non-breeding plumage were fishing in the large natural harbour there and amongst the seaweed on the sandy beach were around 15 Common Ringed Plovers and a few Rock Pipits.

The Oa (the ‘a’ is not pronounced) peninsula towers high over the southern end of the island. Formerly inhabited by around 400 souls it was largely deserted around 1860 during the exodus to the Americas. At this time the population of Islay was around 10,000, more than double the present figure. Now only a handful of farms remain on the Oa and it is a haven for wildlife, partly managed by the RSPB. A sizeable flock of over 200 noisy finches around Upper Killeyan farm was about half Twite and also included five or six Snow Buntings. Many of the farms on the Oa end in the word ‘bus’, the Norse for farm, evidence of the Viking occupation here between 800-1150 AD. However, the Oa has been home to farming communities for much longer than this, its chambered cairns are evidence of habitation dating back to maybe 3,000-3500BC. Twenty or so Rock Doves were feeding in the same stubble fields and are widely thought to be of pure provenance here on Islay. The hoped-for Golden Eagle was in view from time to time looking east towards the towering 200 metre cliffs of Beinn Mhor - Islay is well-known for its sea cliff dwelling Golden Eagles. Also here were small flocks of Greenland White-fronted Geese. This species is often found in small bogs and rushy areas unlike the more numerous Barnacle Geese and can be quite confiding. It even roosts on small acid lochs instead of en masse on the sea lochs of Gruinart and Indaal. A breezy walk along the coastal path to the imposing American monument on the Mull of Oa flushed a handful of Common Snipe and far below a few rafts of Northern Fulmars had gathered below their nesting cliffs. Interestingly a Common Kestrel was the only one we saw on Islay and a lovely male stonechat graced a fence line on the heather. On the mammal front Red Deer was common on the Oa and several introduced Feral Goats were feeding on the cliff faces. The monument itself commemorates the 266 Americans drowned when a German U-boat torpedoed HMS Tuscania seven miles off the Islay coast on 5 February 1918.

Top two: Pretty Port Ellen and bottom two: The Oa

Most of Islay’s eight distilleries were closed for either Christmas or the weekend at the time of our visit but fortunately maybe the most interesting one, Bruichladdich (‘Brook-laddie’) was still open. Established in 1881 it operated until 1994 when it was shut down ‘surplus to requirements’, before re-opening again in 2001 under new ownership. The brand’s ‘strap line’ is ‘progressive Hebridean distillers’ and it has a wider appeal than some of Islay’s other more peaty single malts with its less medicinal taste. The employees now all have shares in the company, which is trying to diversify its product range by, amongst other things, producing a gin, flavoured with local herbs (as well as one ton of imported juniper berries). Bruichladdich has also recently celebrated its first ten years old malt (following its reopening) and is hoping to secure a contract with Duty Free, which will ensure a bright future. It was fascinating to take a walk around the distillery and a have closer look at the huge copper stills and the crusty old wooded tuns, many of which are of 1881 vintage, as well as the shiny new computerized bottling plant. It came as no surprise to us that Sweden is one of Bruichladdich’s biggest importers, the winter nights there are long and cold!

On the shore in front of the distillery were eight Purple Sandpipers – the pier here is a traditional wintering site for this hardy little shorebird. At this time of year, almost at the winter solstice, it is dark by around four o’clock but with a little extra light from the reflection of the glassy waters of Loch Indaal we were able to eke out a few more waterbirds before calling it a day. Several Whooper Swans and Pale-bellied Brent Geese were feeding out on the mud flats at the head of the loch. A circuitous route back to the hotel failed to produce an owl but some caught up with another woodcock for the first vehicle. In fact woodcock was on the menu at the hotel this evening – a party of shooters told us on the following day that they had seen ten and shot two. Unbelievably there is also a Barnacle Goose hunting quota on the island! It is such a shame that this is still allowed.

Bruichladdich Distillery

The following morning we embarked on a goose quest, sifting through the many scattered flocks of Barnacle Geese from Gruinart Flats northwards and later westwards. On a more blustery day we experienced Islay’s rapidly changing weather with bright sunny spells punctuated by heavy downpours of sleet and hail racing in from the northwest, however, these usually only lasted a few minutes. A Peregrine dashed across the flats scattering lapwings and along the eastern shore of Loch Gruinart a small group of four Common Greenshanks was a surprise, probably some of the most northerly wintering birds of this species in Britain and a pair of adult White-tailed Eagles caused panic amongst the flocks of Barnacle Geese soaring over the isolated and abandoned farmstead of Killinallan. This fine raptor now breeds on Islay, as well as on adjacent Jura following its reintroduction to Scotland from 1976 onwards. To the west, five Northern Shovelers looked out of place out on a small island in the sea loch, not too much for them to shovel out there.

The Ardnave (the ‘saint’s seat’) Point area on the western shore of Loch Gruinart is a known site for chough but we didn’t have any luck in the strengthening wind. The freshwater loch at the point is favoured by waterbirds, being shallower and much less acidic than many of the other large water bodies in the area such as Loch Gorm (which is also battered by significant wave action hindering the growth of vegetation on its banks). Little Grebe was new here as was Tufted Duck, along with a few more goldeneye and Whooper Swans. Goose flocks were mostly Barnacles (including one pale brown leucistic bird) plus a few Greenland Whitefronts and Greylags.

Back at the RSPB’s Loch Gruinart visitor centre we had a picnic lunch and scanned the large flocks of ducks on the freshwater lagoons below. Several hundred Eurasian Teals were accompanied by a handful of Gadwall, small numbers of Northern Pintails and a few Whooper Swans. A couple of tits visiting the feeders were added to our trip list and we headed off west in search of more geese. Whilst scanning yet another flock of Barnacles towards Loch Gorm we finally chanced upon a pair of Red-billed Choughs feeding around some small drumlins and enjoyed some great views of these enigmatic birds, at the extreme northwest edge limit of their range in the Hebrides. A flock of Reed Buntings (they appear to be doing well on Islay, surely helped by the barley crops grown by distilleries) included a few Yellowhammers and a fine cock Hen Harrier drifted across the windswept landscape of Loch Gorm – there are plenty of small passerines on Islay for them to prey upon.

Above: White-tailed Eagles and below: Greenland White-fronted Geese

A brief visit to the lovely Machir Bay on the west coast was curtailed by another polar maritime squall speeding in from the Atlantic. The icy cold wind cutting through even the warmest clothing we retreated quickly to our vehicles with only a few Common Ringed Plovers and Common Gulls to show for our efforts. Our continued progress around Loch Gorm failed to turn up anything rarer in the goose flocks, however, it would be harsh not to appreciate the amazing spectacle of Islay’s winter geese. Returning to the head of Loch Indaal we spend the last hour or so of daylight watching waterbirds on the now calm waters of the sea loch. Slavonian Grebes eventually numbered nine and Great Northern Divers around 15, although they stay underwater for so long they can be difficult to count. As the daylight faded a roadside flock of Barnacle Geese back towards our hotel included a couple of Pale-bellied Brents, their shining white flanks standing out well against the silvery grey Barnacles.

Atlantic rollers at Machir Bay

Happily we did not remain in the ‘last chance saloon’ for long next morning until Mark van Beirs found what we had been searching for amongst the Barnacles – a Cackling Goose. Of the form hutchinsii, otherwise known as Richardson’s Goose, it was no doubt of genuine wild origin and all the way from Arctic Canada. This miniature Canada Goose blended in very well with the Barnacles such that as it fed it often disappeared amongst them. Apart from carrying a darvik ring they do not come with better credentials in the UK. Spurred on by this success we headed further northeast to the Sound of Islay and the Bunnahabhainn (‘river mouth’) distillery via some very nice views of around 10 Eurasian Bullfinches en route, now an unfamiliar sight for some of our folks living in the southeast. Not long out of the vehicles Richard spotted an otter swimming to the shore. After spending some time out of sight in the rocks it eventually re-emerged and spent half an hour fishing in the seaweed shallows of the small bay here, catching numerous fish, which it quickly munched down. This was the highlight of the tour for many. A nearby Goldcrest looked particularly nice in a lichen encrusted tree and there were also several Great Northern Divers and Black Guillemots offshore here as well as a couple of their Common cousins. The snow-clad Paps of nearby Jura (‘deer island’ in norse) provided a spectacular backdrop, especially the southwest face of the 785m Beinn an Òir (‘mountain of gold’), the 39^th highest peak in the UK! Finally we dragged ourselves away from this lovely place and headed off to eat. En route we bumped into a small group of eight lovely Pale-bellied Brent Geese working their way along the shore just to the north of Bowmore (‘big reef’), squabbling over eel grass they were fairly confiding and passed quite close by - they are obviously not hunted here, unlike the poor Barnacles, which are now noticeably more skittish compared to memories of my earlier visit.

Top two: Barnacle Geese (can you spot the Cackling Goose in the top photo?); next: the wonderful otter at Bunnhabhainn (Pete Morris); Beinn an Oir, Jura and bottom two: Pale-bellied Brent Goose

A lunchtime recce proved worthwhile with another Cackling Goose located, this time (probably – it is not a straight forward task to identify the intermediate forms to subspecies) of the slightly larger form tavernerii, Taverner’s Goose and fortunately the flock of Barnacles it was with stayed put long enough for everyone else could catch up with it. The two Barnacle x Canada Goose hybrids nearby, however, did not and could not be re-found. Also here another fine male Hen Harrier passed by and a large flock of Fieldfares mixed with starlings was scattered in the surrounding trees. We spent the rest of the afternoon around the head of Loch Indaal again, connecting with the Greater Scaup raft at last (although the numbers wintering here are now much reduced at around 150 – a far cry from the 1,000-1,500 of a couple of decades ago). Long-tailed Duck was another very welcome addition to the trip list, with several fine drakes. Less impressive but also new were Bar-tailed Godwit and Red Knot, amongst the waders on the extensive mud flats north of Bowmore and nineteen Pale-bellied Brent Geese here was the highest count of the tour. Finally, in the twilight, a handful of die-hards visited Portnahaven, the most southerly, Gaelic-speaking town on the island and were rewarded by some stunning views of a Short-eared Owl perched on roadside fence posts in the headlights, which allowed very close approach. The Rinns of Islay have a strong Gaelic influence being closer to Ireland than much of Scotland and this is reflected in the local music. One has to be careful to switch off data roaming when on Irish mobile networks here!

Above: Cackling Goose (probably) of the form tavernerii with Barnacle Geese (Pete Morris) and below: Loch Indaal twilight

Our return crossing to Kennacraig was made in deteriorating conditions but the large Caledonian Macbrayne ferry afforded some sheltered spots from which to watch seabirds as we steamed eastwards. Small numbers of Black-legged Kittiwakes culminated in a large feeding flock of around 50 birds and we also managed 10 Razorbills and an Atlantic Puffin on the crossing. Many of these birds would surely have normally been further out to sea were it not for the recent storms. More normal counts were around 20 Great Northern, 10 Red-throated and 2 Black-throated (at the mouth of West Lock Tarbert) Divers plus lots of shags. Back on the mainland a few magpies en route in between heavy downpours brought this short tour to an end. Magpie would apparently prompt a twitch by the local birders on Islay! Thanks to everyone who made the effort to join us for what was a very enjoyable time indeed. We all have a desire to return to this lovely corner of Scotland soon.

Birdquest at Ardnave Point on Islay

DESERT WHEATEAR, BEMPTON CLIFFS

2011-11-27T18:47:00.006Z

Desert Wheatear, Bempton Cliffs (Mike Watson)

DESERT WHEATEAR AT BEMPTON CLIFFS - a good do with Gary Jenkins. Despite being on the wrong side of the Pennines for Gary, in the Peoples Republic of Yorkshire, we had a fine morning photographing a fairly obliging first winter male Desert Wheatear along the edge of a cliff top field of winter wheat at the RSPB reserve. We were battered the whole time by a cold, strong northwesterly, which kept the wheatear out of sight most of the time in the lee of the tall chalk cliffs but we were also hindered by some unbelievably bad field craft on the part of some of the crazy fools ticking this one off. In the howling gale it was interesting to note that the wheatear never turned its back on the wind in all the time we were there and desperate to find something to eat we wonder if it succeeded? This was surprisingly my first ever visit to Bempton (!) and it was strange to see it minus gannets. Only the tangled messes of their nests, complete with bits of rope etc remained. We called it a day just after noon and the only other birds of note here today were around 30 Eurasian Tree Sparrows. I have seen literally hundreds of Desert Wheatears now but it is always a joy, especially in the UK, where we know that they will probably have travelled around 5000 kilometres to get here. What an amazing little bird!

Desert Wheatear, Bempton Cliffs (Mike Watson)

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - BAHRAIN

2011-11-13T19:42:00.004Z

Egyptian Nightjar (Tour participant Rainer Kopa)

Next came a visit to the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain. Now happily getting back to normal after the uprising of the ‘Arab Spring’, although some obvious traces of the troubles remained in the form of a massively increased police presence, numerous road blocks and some of their Land cruisers bearing metal grills on the windows as well as pock-marks of missiles thrown at them. Occupying an important strategic point in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain (‘two springs’) has been inhabited for thousands of years, by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and latterly the Arabs, under whom it became an Islamic state and then formally a kingdom in 2002. The island has been ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa family since the nineteenth century, with considerable support from the British. Oil was first discovered in Bahrain in 1932 leading to rapid modernization and it also helped its establishment as the Middle East’s financial hub, following the decline of Beirut. Recently it has gained further wealth through the reclamation and subsequent sale of land from the sea surrounding its northern coast, particularly around the (former) island of Muhrarraq.

Gull-billed Tern (Mike Watson)

After checking in, a short time later we found ourselves in the centre of the island, searching the oilfields for Eastern (or Persian) Mourning Wheatear, which has a tiny wintering population here. The wheatear is a potential banana skin but was fortunately found relatively quickly and we enjoyed some nice views, although we dared not linger long in this sensitive military area! Also here were Rufous-tailed Wheatear and Desert Lark but little else. Next followed one of the most surreal birding sites I have ever visited and involved talking the apprehensive manager of the racecourse into allowing our large group onto her site. The grandstand makes a good vantage point over the lake in the middle of the racecourse, a great place for some shameless list padding as well as the occasional rarity. We achieved both with several Mallards, Common Pochard, Water Pipits and a Common Stonechat as well as a Grey-throated Martin (split from Brown-throated), a first for Bahrain! A Pied Wheatear here was a chance for folks who had missed it Oman to catch up.

After a late lunch came the grand finale of the tour. As ever there is one bird above all others that Birdquesters want to see, the beautiful Grey Hypocolius. We were delighted to learn that at last there now appears to be a reliable new gathering site, following the clearance of the famous roost at Saar in the northwest of the island. The fact that the majority of its breeding range from Iraq in the west to Pakistan in the east is effectively ‘off limits’ to western birders has made its wintering grounds, mostly in the gulf (and a small outpost in the Kutch region of India), the place to see it (in Oman we have a chance to find it from the central desert oases and rest houses southwards but it usually arrives here a little later than our present tour dates). Fortunately Bahrain stalwart, Brendan had been hard at work in locating this new site and as soon as we rolled up a female was spotted in an acacia bush not far from the road in a rough patch of land not yet swallowed up by the relentless villa land developments of northern Bahrain. Soon afterwards we enjoyed the comings and goings of at least 200 hypocoliuses and maybe as many as 300, although it was difficult to know precise numbers as some birds may have been double counted. The sleek lines and satin plumage of these shrike or maybe waxwing-like birds make them very attractive to listers. The birds would fly in at a fair height before diving down into the acacias and then making their to the ground below them, we think maybe to dust bath as by afternoon there should not be much moisture down there. Many returned to the tops of the bushes with feathers ruffled supporting this theory. They would then enjoy some evening sun and maybe communicate with other birds gathered here (?) before taking flight again and heading off to their roosting grounds in a safe (although too sensitive for us to visit) residential compound not far away. Again this was the crowning moment of our tour without a doubt not to mention a massive relief. Also in this area of note were: Red-vented Bulbul and Steppe Grey and Turkestan Shrikes. There was now one final piece missing from our jigsaw as we headed off with Brendan to a nearby farm. Doubters did not realize how good a site this place is for Egyptian Nightjar and after darkness fell we did not waste any time in finding a small group of three of these sought-after birds, one of which remained in the headlights at close range for all to see its huge eyes and softly mottled plumage. This was one of my best views so far of this excellent desert dwelling species.

Grey Hypocolius (Mike Watson)

It was hard to tempt anyone into yet another early morning start but those who did were rewarded with some more great views of the hypocoliuses, which perform the same daily ritual in reverse, gathering here before heading out to their feed in the surrounding date palm plantations. After breakfast we checked Bahrain’s main refuse dump but found the gulls there difficult to pin down and Caspian and Siberian as far as we could see. We did add Black Kite to our Bahrain list though, a juvenile bird reminiscent of the eastern form Black-eared Kite/lineatus, although from recent case studies we know they are impossibly difficult to separate from nominate birds. A stop along the coast revealed many thousands of gulls, mostly Common Black-headed but also high numbers of Slender-billed. A few Caspian Terns and Socotra Cormorants were also here. An afternoon along the north coast of Muharraq eventually produced a Steppe Gull amongst the small numbers of Caspian and Siberian Gulls here, although there were also many intermediate birds that were difficult to pigeonhole until we found one with a strongly four-coloured bill and black sub terminal marks on its third primaries. We finished with a visit to a farm and enjoyed some nice views of a male Daurian Shrike, plenty of Water Pipits, a few Eurasian Skylarks and a last addition to the list, Northern Lapwing. We were also able to see a couple of species in the hand thanks to Brendan and Abdullah’s ringing efforts – Water Pipit (the birds here are of the form coutelli) and Isabelline Wheatear, a nice way to end the tour.

Socotra Cormorant (Mike Watson)

After almost everyone had gone I enjoyed a final day birding in Bahrain, adding one new bird for the trip - Common Starling! I checked another farm I have not visited before, where Brendan caught a fine Isabelline Shrike and then I spent the last evening hanging around a pile of chicken shit, which proved irresistable to, amongst others, the Northern Lapwing! This nice Pied Wheatear was also fairly obliging. Finally, a big thank you from me to our excellent driver/assistants on this tour, Dave Andrews and Phil Rostron, whose sharp eyes and great support made my job very easy this time. Thanks a lot guys! Returning to the cold, grey ornithological desert of East Lancashire after such an amazing adventure was a rather unwelcome prospect.

Above Isbelline Shrike (Brendan wears a glove for this bird - 'they will always take the time to bite you' he said and below: Pied Wheatear (Mike Watson)

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - THE DHOFAR COAST

2011-11-09T18:16:00.000Z

Crested (or Oriental) Honey-Buzzard, Salalah (Mike Watson)

Next morning saw us at Ras Mirbat, the promontory beyond the small fishing town of the same name, around 65m east of Salalah. The town here is a glimpse of the old Oman, with no glitzy modern trimmings and was the site of fierce fighting in the Dhofar war of 1970. In fact the flat Mirbat plain is comprised of one of the oldest basement rock formations in the world, more than 800 million years old, well before any life appeared. With younger, overlying layers of rock having been planed off by the sea around 50 million years ago. Encouraged by the passage off Khawr Rouri the previous day but a little pessimistic about our chances in the almost flat calm sea conditions we were very pleasantly surprised by the action this morning. The highlight was the storm-petrels, with around five Swinhoe’s Storm-Petrels (a new bird for us in Oman) and many tens of Wilson’s passing relatively close inshore. Even more surprising considering they are both monsoon birds in Oman but they were undoubtedly further products of Kelia. Good numbers of both Jouanin’s Petrel and Persian Shearwater were also passing today, the latter allowing some great views of their ‘hairy armpits’. Three Masked Boobies also passed by along with a couple of Socotra Cormorants and a Brown Booby was sat on a distant buoy. Fairly pleased with our tally, especially those who had already decided not to run the gauntlet of seasickness and Somali pirates on our upcoming pelagic, we headed back west to try a site where the grosbeak had been seen a couple of months previously. We will see this bird one day in Oman but unfortunately it was not to be today. Instead we enjoyed some nice views of Palestine Sunbird, including a couple of males, as well as Yellow Bittern, a pair of Bonelli’s and a single Booted Eagle as well as a couple of the now ubiquitous Pied Cuckoo, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and some lovely views of some of the commoner birds of the escarpment like African Paradise Flycatcher and Grey-headed Kingfisher.

Jouanin's Petrel (above) and Wilson's Storm-Petrel (Dave Andrews)

We got off to a great start at Jarziz Farm, with Phil spotting a small group of Spotted Thick-knees out of the corner of his eye. We all enjoyed great views, as the thick-knees relied on their cryptic plumage as camouflage. Then… disastrous news, farming operations appear to have more or less ceased there. In a similar fashion to Sohar there are now only a handful of fields being cultivated and the matrix of irrigated fields that were so productive in the past have now been abandoned, their irrigation apparatus dismantled and there were even some signs of preparation for construction. Even though the overall number of birds and variety of species was catastrophically lower than usual we still managed to scrape up some interesting sightings. An adult male Crested Honey Buzzard, spotted perched in a shelterbelt was a new bird for us in Oman, its beady blood red eye fixed on us. A couple of Common Quail and several Singing Bush Larks flew up from one of the remaining alfalfa crops and a Red-necked Phalarope was frequenting a tiny trackside puddle. One dozen Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse paid a brief visit and of course there was an obligatory Pied Cuckoo. Around 40 European Rollers and 20 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters had gathered here but there were no clouds of larks, pipits and wagtails anymore. Such a shame. A visit to East Khawr (or Khawr ad Dahariz) did not add anything new for the tour but instead some nice views of Eurasian Spoonbills, Greater Flamingos, another couple of Collared Pratincoles, a Terek Sandpiper amongst the smaller shorebirds as well as the desperately sad sight of an exhausted Red-necked Phalarope, which expired in front of us. Yet another Pied Cuckoo, around 30 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and a lovely adult male Daurian Shrike was a sign of the migration taking place. We had an early finish this afternoon and off to bed with an exciting nocturnal adventure ahead.

Spotted Thick-knee, Salalah (Mike Watson)

A small band of intrepid owl enthusiasts set off at a truly unearthly hour into the darkness of a very remote wadi in the Salalah region, where we have seen the sought-after Hume’s Owl in the past. With Yemen and (effectively) Israel off limits for us at the moment there are not many places to see it and having never missed it on this tour there was a lot of expectation we would score, especially by throwing a lot more hours at it than we usually do. In the end we had a very frustrating time. The wadi, which we needed to hike along to a known nest site had been flooded by Kelia, necessitating numerous detours up its rocky flanks around the impassable sections. Although we eventually heard around five owls in all they were all just out of reach of the spotlights in the cavernous wadi. After the disappointment of missing the owl we spent a very pleasant morning checking some wetland and foreshore areas back towards Salalah finding Baillon’s and Little Crakes, two Eurasian Coots, five Ferruginous Ducks and after some study around five White-cheeked Terns amongst the many Common Terns here. Another six Pied Cuckoos were added to the tally this morning as well as a couple of European Nightjars, two Blackstarts, six Arabian Wheatears, Great Reed (new for us in Oman) and Ménétries’s Warblers as well as a Rosy Starling in the company of Tristram’s Starlings. The tree spotters also had the opportunity to inspect some very nice Frankincense Trees in a wonderful location. An early lunch and a siesta meant we could do a recce of Salalah’s other farm, Sahnawt. Long closed to birders amidst fears of contamination we checked its perimeter and found several points from which we could see what was inside.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Mike Watson)

It is all very well seeing migrants rare in Oman but common elsewhere but it is far more important to see the regional specialties and there was one big gap that was becoming a worry – Arabian Partridge. We usually see plenty on our first day in Dhofar but had drawn a blank this time and with Yemen out of the question it is one of a trio of endemics not to be left behind. I had seen them coming to roost in the sinkhole at Tawi Attair in the past so this was where we would try this afternoon. On the way to the sinkhole we saw five dead road kills, three camels (!) and two cows. Some people have such little respect for other creatures. So imagine my horror when we arrived there to find around 100 noisy Indian tourists, on a day off from their usual work during the Muslim New Year celebrations. As some left even more arrived, screaming and whooping into the sinkhole. Our chances of seeing the partridges appeared rather slim, however, they are chickens with very small brains so I thought and must be programmed to return here every night. What else could they do? Sure enough they did arrive, seven fine looking partridges in total. They took in some sun on the rim of the sinkhole before descending to their roost. Phew! We watched a fine sunset from the escarpment before having a brief try for Arabian Scops Owl. However, our efforts were hampered by an endless stream of holiday traffic coming out of Wadi Darbat and then an outdoor party at Ayn Hamran.

Terek Sandpiper, Salalah (Mike Watson)

We spent more time than usual in the habitat of the damned grosbeak in the hope of a chance sighting, as happens from time to time, but no luck again next morning. Although we did have a nice view of a Little Bittern, a White-breasted Waterhen for some and yet another eight Pied Cuckoos! Nearby Khawr Taqah was a little disappointing but still turned up an Indian Pond Heron amongst the Squacco Herons, around 10 Purple Herons and more Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters (including 20 in a single bush at one stage) and European Rollers. Back towards Salalah a small southward passage of raptors included around 10 Steppe Buzzards and a female Crested Honey Buzzard and inside the perimeter of Sahnawt Farm the three Spur-winged Lapwings from our recce were still present (another new bird for us in Oman) as were a Broad-billed Sandpiper, four Marsh Sandpipers and around 10 Red-necked Phalaropes. Namaqua Dove was also new for the tour here with a fairly high count of 24 and we saw another nine Pied Cuckoos! The afternoon session included a visit to Salalah dump where, amongst the plastic bags and piles of tipped rubbish, there was an amazing gathering of 350-400 Steppe Eagles and around 300 White Storks. We had a lot of fun checking the eagles of all ages and found a few other birds amongst them, including two young Greater Spotted Eagles, one of which was a strange rufous morph bird. There were also at least two Imperial Eagles, a first year and a second year. This was an amazing sight despite the grim surroundings. Next stop was Raysut harbour for our south coast pelagic. The boats we usually use out of Mirbat had gone east to help survivors of Cyclone Kelia so this time we were left with trying our luck out of Raysut some 70km west. There were obviously far fewer birds moving offshore here but gradually we succeeded in attracting the attention first of some Jouanin’s Petrels, then Sooty Gulls, Persian Shearwaters and Wilson’s Storm Petrels until all were milling around the boat down to only a couple of metres at times to take the small fish pieces on offer. Somali pirates had boldly hijacked an oil tanker from Raysut port recently and had then been thwarted in an attempt to take a second vessel so we were very pleased to see a heavily armed Omani warship patrolling offshore today. The last bird of the day was a big surprise and also new for us in Oman, a juvenile Lesser Grey Shrike, perched on fishing nets in the harbour.

Steppe Buzzard, Salalah (Mike Watson)

We were now running out time with only one more night birding session left and two big targets still needed before we flew back north and out of range of them. First was a second, determined effort for Hume’s Owl, which was met with success this time and a pair of lovely deep orange eyes staring back at us in the spotlight. Hume’s Owl has a most evocative hooting call, which echoes around the rocky walls of its desert home and although it was fairly easy for us to locate its source, hiking across rocky slopes towards it in the darkness was a different proposition. After ‘walk-away’ views we left and it continued to hoot as we hiked out of the wadi. Jens told us later that local people apparently associated the call of the owl with the presence of leopards. It is bad enough finding your way along the stony wadi floor in the dark let alone worrying about being jumped in the process. I choose not to think about it. Hume’s Owl is such an enigmatic bird, almost one of a kind, that it would be shame to leave it behind for want of a few hours sleep. After an efficient operation we were able to dash across the city to one of our sites for Arabian Scops Owl, just in time to hear one. Unfortunately it had chosen the thickest and most dense tree possible to call from and then disappeared as we got near to it. Spurred on by ‘Scops Meister’ Jürgen we mounted a search for it in daylight thinking it cannot have gone too far and sure enough, after some extensive effort he managed to find it, briefly, before it was gone again. Very nervous this small owl was. After some more effort we managed to track it down again, guided by the mobbing Blackstarts and African Paradise Flycatchers and all enjoyed some excellent scope views before the call of a cooked breakfast became too much to resist. The rest of the day was spent filling in time at the farms, East Khawr and Raysut dump before our flight back to Muscat. Highlights included a Pallid Harrier and Greater Spotted Eagle (fulvescens phase) of note at Sahnawt Farm and Montagu’s Harrier and the introduced Scaly-breasted Munia at Jarziz. We revisited the dump but a blasting northerly wind had scattered the eagles and numbers were well down on our previous visit. The ‘land-lubbers’ who had opted out of the pelagic the previous day caught up with the Lesser Grey Shrike, which was still hanging around the fishing boats. And so ended the birding part of our amazing adventure in the Sultanate. Our flight to Muscat went very smoothly and we arrived to a strangely chilly capital with spots of rain in the air. Muscat and its suburbs had taken a battering from Kelia and some remnants of its massive weather system persisted. Those who could still summon some strength enjoyed a wonderful soirée at our agent’s penthouse apartment, including live traditional music and entertainment as well as a fantastic view over Muscat’s night skyline – a fitting end to this section of the tour.

Muscat nightscene (Mike Watson)

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - THE DHOFAR MOUNTAINS

2011-11-04T19:03:00.001Z

Pied Cuckoo, Ayn Tobroq (Mike Watson)

Dhofar is one of the more scenic sections of the tour, with a very different landscape and avifauna to match. The annual summer monsoon or khareef keeps the coast and its adjacent mountains humid and turns them green during the summer rains allowing an opportunity for many species of an African origin to extend their ranges into Arabia. The harsh desert interior represents more of an obstacle to them than the Bab Al Mandab strait and for this reason the Dhofar coast is recognized by some authors as part of the Afrotropical faunal region rather than the Palearctic. A series of springs or ayns flow from the base of the dramatic weather beaten limestone escarpment and Ayn Hamran is probably the one with the best range of Dhofar specialties and like so many sites in the region, this pretty wooded valley is very birdy. This site is our traditional starting point in Dhofar and we made another good start here with a couple of Cream-coloured Coursers and an Alpine Swift around the Bedouin camp on the desert plain and then: Grey-headed Kingfisher; Didric Cuckoo; Blackstart; Arabian Warbler; African Paradise Flycatcher; Shining and Palestine Sunbirds; Abyssinian White-eye; Black-crowned Tchagra; Fan-tailed Raven; Tristram’s Starling; Rüppell’s Weaver; African Silverbill and Cinnamon-breasted (or African Rock) Bunting. There were also some other interesting birds here such as: Short-toed, Bonelli’s and Imperial Eagles and another 10 Pied Cuckoos.

Black-crowned Tchagra (Dave Andrews)

From Ayn Hamran we drove eastwards and climbing the escarpment east of Taqah we found ourselves in a verdant rolling landscape grazed by small herds of dwarf cattle, the rocky upland pastures still with a touch of green. Whilst rampant property development by the tourist industry continues apace along the coastal plain of Dhofar from Salalah eastwards, the mountains remain tranquil in comparison and are a respite from the heat of the coastal plain. Roadside birding in this area can be very rewarding and we quickly added Arabian Wheatear to our growing list. Eventually we found ourselves at Tawi Attair, the site of an immense limestone sinkhole at which Yemen Serin was found by cavers in 1997, more than 1000km from the nearest population in Yemen (although there has since been a report of a flock over around 100 west of Salalah in 2007). As well as being a last refuge of Arabian Leopard and Wolf, the Dhofar Mountains are also excellent raptor country and we enjoyed some astonishing views of the resident Bonelli’s Eagle around the sinkhole as well as a couple of Bruce’s Green Pigeons and yet another two Pied Cuckoos. Four Forbes Watson’s Swifts were also wheeling around here together with the Pale Crag Martins. Several Tristram’s Starlings and Cinnamon-breasted Buntings provided further distractions until we eventually managed to find eight serins feeding quietly deep inside the sinkhole. The serin definitely belongs in the ‘birder’s bird’ category. The sound of a call to prayer from a nearby mosque echoing across the giant sinkhole added to the ambience of this amazing place.

Bonelli's Eagle, Tawi Attair (Mike Watson)

At midday out came the boxed lunches at one of our favourite sites in the mountains, where after a short wait a pair of the hoped-for Verreaux’s Eagle appeared and performed some nice fly pasts and some breath taking dives down the immense cliff faces. This is great bird to see at, or below, eye level. The same vantage point also produced another Barbary Falcon mobbing a Long-legged Buzzard, a Long-billed Pipit, a pair of Arabian Wheatears as well as several Tristram’s Starlings and Fan-tailed Ravens. The plant lovers amongst us also admired some charismatic trees here – Dragon’s Blood Tree and Desert Rose. Last stop today was the picturesque Khawr Rouri, which looks set to be one of the few khawrs on this coastline that escapes the wave of concrete heading in this direction from Salalah. The famous ruins of Sumharan here are said to be the site of the palace of the Queen of Sheba (although we heard later on the tour from some archaeological experts that this is not 100% certain). The khawr was once more open to the sea following Kelia (the massive outflow from the khawr, rather than the sea, breaching it I think judging from the amount of water flowing over the Wadi Darbat waterfalls) and the large brackish lagoon, a magnet for migrating birds as the largest and easternmost of the Dhofar khawrs, was full of birds. No rarities for once but interesting birds included: Purple Heron; Glossy Ibis; Eurasian Spoonbill; Greater Flamingo; Steppe Eagle and five Ospreys of note. A short sea watch produced some seabirds, most following the limit of the brown outflow water offshore: Jouanin’s Petrel; Persian Shearwater; Red-billed Tropicbird (three); Masked Booby; a Brown Noddy and a Ferruginous Duck and around 80 Red-necked Phalaropes. A close scrutiny of the terns gathered near the shore failed to produce the hoped-for and still missing White-cheeked, most having gone by now of course but at dusk we enjoyed some great views of Forbes-Watson’s Swifts bombing around over one of the inlet channels.

From top: the amazing limestone sinkhole of Tawi Attair; Desert Rose (Dave Andrews); Dragon's Blood Tree, Dhofar Mountains and a camera shy Rod Smith enjoys the view

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - THE EMPTY QUARTER

2011-11-03T21:19:00.002Z

Green Warbler, Al Ghaftain rest house (Mike Watson)

After crossing the vast plains of the Jiddat al Harasis, via three Greater Hoopoe Larks and a couple of Cream-coloured Coursers as well as a couple of stops for gas, we arrived at the remote desert rest house of Al Ghaftain, on the edge of the Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter. The gardens of this rest house never fail to turn up something interesting and this time it was a Green Warbler and another Pied Cuckoo. Also in the gardens here were: three Common Cuckoos; around 20 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, catching dragonflies within a few metres of us (swooping down to ground level we could even hear the snap of their bills); around 25 European Rollers; a couple of Eurasian Hoopoes; a secretive Bluethroat that eventually showed to everyone; Black Redstart; Isabelline Wheatear; Ménétries’s Warbler; Common Whitethroat (two of the eastern form icterops); Blackcap; Siberian Chiffchaff and Turkestan Shrike. Eventually we set off along the dark desert highway and it was a massive relief to roll up at the Qitbit Motel at the end of a very long day. It was a sight I did not expect to see at around 0500 this morning!

Common Cuckoo, Al Ghaftain rest house (Mike Watson)

An unbelievably chilly Qitbit signalled that Kelia was still raging. Muscat was especially hard hit and the eventual death toll for the whole country was 14, some bodies not being found until days later after the floodwaters had receded. The gardens at Qitbit were quieter than usual although in any other year the Pied Cuckoo there would not have been sniffed at. Other highlights were: a Eurasian Wryneck; an obliging Ménétries’s Warbler; four Desert Whitethroats; three Siberian Chiffchaffs and three Ortolan Buntings. A couple of out-of-place oddities in the gardens here were a female Northern Pintail and a Pacific Golden Plover and a Rüppell’s Fox disturbed on the edge of the gardens was seen fleeing towards the cover of the distant oasis. Our next stop was the lonely desert oasis of Muntasar, usually a favourite drinking spot for sandgrouse on the edge of the Empty Quarter. However, there was far too much surface water for any to bother making the effort to visit today, or any time soon for that matter. As we rolled up past the former airstrip, only a few rusty oil drums and tumbled-down shacks of which remain, it was obvious that the oasis had seen plenty of rain recently. In 2007 we found a Grey Hypocolius at Muntasar and since then a handful have spent the winter around the date palms, however, we were not lucky this time. Instead we had to settle for a White-breasted Waterhen. It is a common enough water bird in India but is a rare (but regular) visitor to Oman. One wonders why they turn up here? This was followed by: a massive total of at least ten Pied Cuckoos; two Plain Leaf Warblers (the furthest south I have seen this species in Oman) and best of all a Brahminy Starling, another common Indian species. Also in the Muntasar area were: Eurasian Hobby; an off course Kentish Plover; Asian Desert Warbler and Southern Grey Shrike. We stopped for lunch at Qitbit Oasis, which was very quiet indeed, however, the surrounding desert produced another six Pied Cuckoos and another Asian Desert Warbler.

Above: Turkestan Shrike and Brahminy Starling (Dave Andrews) and Pied Cuckoos, Qitbit Oasis (Mike Watson)

Next stop was Al Beed Farm, always a productive one and around the pivot fields here we added Collared Pratincole, another Pied Cuckoo; a Rufous-tailed Wheatear (another furthest south record so far for us); ten Turkestan Shrikes; four Southern Grey Shrikes and a flock of 19 Rosy Starlings. These isolated farms in the central desert are islands of greenery in an otherwise barren and desolate sea of sand, their attraction to migrants is quite astonishing and they are certainly worthy of more attention. Just when one of our 8K men, Phil’s hopes of his last remaining sandgrouse were starting to fade he spotted a distant flock in the surrounding desert and they were indeed the ‘right’ species, Spotted Sandgrouse. We were able to approach them fairly closely and watch them foraging on the open desert. Goodness knows what they find to eat out here, as at first glance there is nothing, just sand and gravel. Continuing our southward journey we pressed on to Thumrayt, the main gateway to Oman’s oil and gas fields and our next over night stay.

Wadi Rabkut, a remote wadi in the Thumrayt region was our morning birding destination and with the amount of rain recently I was cautious about driving the wadi as we usually do. Instead we decided on an extended hike. This area is known as an occasional wintering site for MacQueen’s Bustard. We have seen it here a couple of times but no luck today. Instead it is becoming a good back-up site for some tricky-to-find species as well as a primary site for another. Nile Valley Sunbird was a recent addition to the Birdquest Oman list and we saw it again within a couple of hundred metres of our 2009 sighting. A couple of calling males frequented flowering acacias. Also here we found: a couple of Eurasian Thick-knees; a small party of the exquisitely patterned Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse (we enjoyed some very nice scope views of them on the ground); yet another four Pied Cuckoos (they were simply everywhere); around 30 European Rollers and our first Blackstart. Three fine Mountain Gazelles sprinted across the wadi ahead of us – a sign that they must still be hunted in this region.

Top two: Spotted Sandgrouse (Dave Andrews) & bottom: Collared Pratincole (Mike Watson)

The afternoon saw us make an adventurous detour west, deeper into the Empty Quarter, in search of larks. The one we were looking for in particular eluded us but we did manage to find at least four of the elusive Bar-tailed Desert Lark as well as a couple of Desert Larks, a Greater Hoopoe Lark, a small flock of Black-crowned Sparrow-larks and another couple of Spotted Sandgrouse. We eventually made it as far as Shisr, another bizarre farming development miles from anywhere along brutal corrugated roads. We only had a very short time to explore having underestimated the at least one million stops along the way for larks but still managed two more Collared Pratincoles amongst a throng of wheatears, wagtails, pipits and larks. This place is so isolated that it must repay more attention. The reason we had to make such a sharp exit was the dramatic wall of dark storm clouds looming to the north of us. The temperature dropped, the wind increased and then a savage deluge started. The corrugations on the road ahead filled in what seemed like seconds, visibility was reduced to a few metres and I started to contemplate a night in the cars stuck between floods but suddenly the skies cleared again and we were saved. Shisr is also the site of Ubar, the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’ - a city formerly at the centre of the Frankincense trade but thought to have been destroyed by a natural disaster. This evening we descended the Dhofar escarpment to Salalah, our base for the next five nights, skirting around some massive pools of water in Dahariz, remnants of impact of Cyclone Kelia, which crashed into the Dhofar coast a couple of days before. Getting out of our vehicles with the warm and humid night air and the sound of waves breaking on the beach in the darkness behind us is always such a welcome feeling.

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - JABAL AL AKHDAR & BARR AL HIKMAN

2011-11-01T13:14:00.002Z

Pallid Scops Owl - the jewel in the crown! (Mike Watson)

A right turn on the city limits of Muscat took us up into the Jabal al Akhdar (= Green Mountain). We started our exploration with highlights: Egyptian Vulture (a kettle of at least 56 birds, maybe 100 some said); Lappet-faced Vulture (pair); Sand Partridge (three for a lucky few); Rufous-tailed and Hume’s (c.10) Wheatears; another five Plain Leaf Warblers; Arabian Babbler and Rufous-tailed and Southern Grey Shrikes. After dark we did a spot of payback for Pallid Scops Owl and despite hearing two we were not successful in seeing any. Eventually we admitted defeat and made our way to our hotel, situated high on the cool plateau at an altitude of 1950m asl, the temperature drop a welcome relief from the heat of the lowlands.

Our two main targets up here amongst the junipers and olive trees are Common Wood Pigeon of the Central Asian form casiotus and the perky little Scrub Warbler. The warbler was quickly located, in same wadi in which we had seen it on the last three tours. Unfortunately the only sighting of the wood pigeon was a close fly-by for some of the group. Black Redstarts and White-spectacled Bulbuls were common and a nearby tiny hamlet again came up trumps with both Rufous-tailed and Blue Rock Thrushes, almost side-by-side. We had two sightings of Barbary Falcon on the plateau this year, one them was a juvenile, which was toying with some naughty Brown-necked Ravens. Also of note on the plateau were Arabian Babbler and Turkestan Shrike (this species bred here, for the first time in Arabia, in 2005, although we could only manage one individual).

(Streaked) Scrub Warbler (Mike Watson)

The Sayq Plateau is also famous for its picturesque mountain villages and terraced field systems, perched precariously on the edges of towering cliffs. We took a little time to admire these impressive sights and at the same time keep an eye out for birds. The spectacular terraced hillside at Al Ayn (The Spring) cascades over the travertine deposits of the hillsides below. We saw several more Blue Rock Thrushes around the settlement here, with its groves of pomegranate and walnut trees irrigated by a network of man-made channels or falaj. Formed in an earlier, wetter climate the light coloured calcareous travertine was deposited by mineral-laden spring waters flowing from the surface and evaporating. In fact Oman was once part of Gondwanaland and during the last Carboniferous and Permian periods (280-300 million years ago) it was close enough to the South Pole at 40 degrees south to undergo several glaciations! At our lunch stop we decided to search for Pallid Scops Owl and to our amazement, Jürgen found one in no time at all, in the first tree he looked in. What a star! Lunch boxes were abandoned as everyone paid their respects to this fantastic slumbering little bird. Less than 200 metres away from the owl a pair of Desert Larks (a pair of the dull grey local form taimuri) was spotted and whilst locating them in the scope a small group of Sand Partridges walked into view, high on the cliff face. Drive-away views being had by all.

Al Ayn, Jabal al Akhdar and Phil Rostron, one of our sharp-eyed drivers this year (Mike Watson)

The landscape as one drives eastwards from the Sayq plateau gradually flattens into a featureless and empty sea of sand and gravel. Here people fight a constant battle against the shifting sands, their homesteads surrounded by perimeter walls, built to keep the relentless attack at bay. Pausing at the isolated gas station at Al Safaj for once we failed to add to our small list of migrants seen here on previous tours but Dave did manage a Desert Wheatear as consolation. Eventually we reached the remote desert town of Al Hij, gateway to the awesome Barr al Hikman, wader capital of the Middle East. At the end of the long journey we checked into our hotel, which is much more acceptable these days than it once was and is actually quite comfortable now. New developments are still springing up on the outskirts of Al Hij but it was nice to see that there are still some ethnic fishing villages with their wooden shack homes remaining on the coast although their numbers are becoming fewer as the area is being opened up. There is even talk of a building a small airport here! Al Hij was fairly quiet but a spectacular sunset against a fiery sky should have been an indication of what was coming next.

Crab-Plover (a juvenile, above!) and Broad-billed Sandpiper (Mike Watson)

It was raining (!) as we headed out early next morning for what was supposed to be our overnight stay on Masirah Island. At Shannah there was a surprisingly small number of vehicles waiting for the first ferries of the morning and a stiff northerly wind was blowing across the jetty. A smiling chap, Prasad, a Volvo engineer from Hyderabad was making the crossing to fix a truck on the island, armed with his diagnostics kit in a plastic bag. A couple of Omani guys had pickups loaded with goats, which were on their last journey to the Muslim New Year festivities. The first ferry came and went, filled exclusively by an oil tanker, for safety reasons. The next was one of the smaller craft and after an insane free-for-all we managed to get all three vehicles onto it, only to find that it might not be going after all, owing to the worsening weather in mid channel. There were white horses on the waves just outside the shelter of the jetty and faced with a snap decision I decided to err on the side of caution and abandon our plans to cross. A small flock of Red-necked Phalaropes at the start of the jetty was another sign of the worsening weather. We also saw our first Saunders’s Terns here. Our agent completed a hasty rearrangement of our forthcoming hotel nights and the rest of the day would be devoted to finding our three main wader targets at Barr al Hikman instead of migrant watching on Masirah. The fisherman’s huts that line the beach to the south of the ferry terminal at Shannah act as a great migrant trap and end at a shallow mangrove-lined inlet. This area always produces something of interest and this time was no exception. A juvenile Crab-plover on the beach allowed some close views of a normally quite shy bird but it was a slightly soggy Pied Cuckoo that stole the show. A bedraggled European Nightjar and a grounded Osprey followed for some, as did a dark, sodden Greater Short-toed Lark, which had us scratching our heads for a while. Heading inland across the salt flats, side trips onto the wet sabhka were out of the question, but fortunately we were able to find several Broad-billed Sandpipers by the roadside amongst the thousands of other calidrids, their facial features blurred by soaking wet plumage we had to rely more on their broad, blob-ended bills for identification. Our final main target, the declining Great Knot, was finally secured at another mudflat site at Barr al Hikman, one of the few that were accessible today. A loose flock of nine birds was feeding, typically way out on the water’s edge amongst a wonderful selection of waterbirds, including Greater Flamingos, Crab-plovers, Broad-billed and Terek Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes and our first Gull-billed Terns. Barr al Hikman is shorebird heaven!

Flash floods near Al Hij (Dave Andrews)

The sound of the downpour hammering down on the roof of our hotel woke me up in the early hours and I decided to have a look outside. Still half asleep, I was met with the shocking sight of a flooded car park and water half way up our vehicles’ wheels. The cars one block down were submerged to around half way up their windows and water was pouring into the centre of town from all directions, filling it up like a bath tub. Although we did not know her name at the time (in fact she was only given one today, ‘Kelia’, having reached sufficient intensity to be upgraded from tropical storm to cyclone) the significance of what she was doing was obvious with a raging torrent flowing down Al Hij’s now canalized main street. With a worse than usual smell coming from the bathroom as the sewers started to back up it was clearly time to leave immediately and head for higher ground. Everyone quickly evacuated and we drove uphill out of the deluged town and pondered what to do next. There seemed little point to go back into town for supplies as the shopkeepers would hardly be swimming around in their stores serving customers. Also as far as we knew there was no gas in town either and as the electricity supply failed, lights gradually went out across Al Hij. Even though we were at the highest point for miles around there was still a massive flow of water across the road ahead of us coming from what must have been a relatively small catchment area, such was the intensity of the rain immediately running off the already saturated desert sands. From time to time the rain eased a little and we were eventually able to cross the first flood, only to be a halted by a much deeper one a couple of kilometres further on. Not even the ‘gung ho’ Omani locals would try this one yet, especially as the roof of a pick-up truck, already washed off the road, poked above the floodwater. A bemused local policeman drove back and forth in his Land cruiser giving out his mobile number (as if he could be of any assistance) and a small group of vehicles built up at the edge of the flooded wadi before us, which had been transformed into a massive lake. There was also an ornithological event, which was taking place that would become clearer as the skies cleared later. Several soggy European Rollers were sat on telegraph poles along the otherwise insignificant stretch of road we were waiting on. The rain finally stopped, for a while at least, and we spotted an amazing six Pied Cuckoos drying their wings on acacia tress scattered across the wadi along with more European Rollers. A couple of Asian Desert Warblers scurried around their marooned bushes and a Pied Wheatear put in a brief appearance. To think I had encouraged some rather reluctant Birdquesters to walk all the way along Shannah beach and then to wade through a knee-deep channel to see our Pied Cuckoo of the previous day!

Flash floods near Al Hij, Barr al Hikman - this is what happens if you miscalculate! (Mike Watson)

Eventually the water level started to recede and the first Omani truck drivers headed out across the water. We followed a while later, crossing the big one and then a couple of lesser floods only to discover from folks coming in the other direction that there was no gas ahead on the main highway. However, there was apparently some back at Al Hij. A couple of swift phone calls later (“I will call the sheik” said our agent) and it was clear that there was still some gas in Al Hij but unfortunately this would mean crossing the floods again and then for a third time to get back to where we were now. In a race against time, as more storm clouds loomed on the northern skyline, we made it back to town, filled up and headed back across the floods and on to the highway, where the gas station was indeed closed. Our next move, the long drive south to Ad Duqm, was made easier when we spoke to a car load of locals who had just come from there, contrary to the demoralized foreign tourists who had abandoned their camping trip and told us that this road was impassable. It is difficult to know whom to believe at times like these. The drive south was actually quite pleasant, leaving the torrential rain behind as we stayed ahead of the storm clouds. It was clear that there had been some major flooding along the way the previous day but it was gone in a flash as quickly as it had come. It was a major relief to break clear of the east coast. Getting caught between floods with a group of fifteen people, limited supplies, little gas and nowhere to stay was a seriously unattractive prospect and with no indication of how long the rain was likely to persist I was very glad to escape. Our thoughts returned to what might have happened if that oil tanker had not taken the whole of the first ferry of the previous day - we would surely have been stranded there for goodness knows how long? I had been kicking myself yesterday as it appeared that the ferry we had been waiting on had departed in the afternoon after all and we could have made it to Masirah. However, missed lifers aside, Masirah in fall conditions would not have been such a bad place to get stuck. I can think of worse.

Barr al Hikman (Mike Watson)

OMAN & BAHRAIN 2011 WITH BIRDQUEST - THE BATINAH COAST

2011-10-27T10:29:00.005+01:00

Plain Leaf Warbler (Mike Watson)

Our tour now starts with a very pleasant pelagic, heading straight out to sea to the fabulous Al Fahal island, home to numerous breeding Sooty Falcons and Red-billed Tropicbirds. The harbour from where we take our boat trip usually has something interesting and this time was no exception with a Striated Heron fishing from the huge rocks of the sea wall and a group of Pallid Swifts flashed their pale upper wings high above the harbour as they left their roost on a small offshore island. We were soon relaxing on our powerful craft as it sped past jagged cliffs and an imposing fortress, built as protection from marauding Indian pirates who raided this coastline in the middle ages, now carefully restored by Moroccan craftsmen. A young Osprey perched high on a precipice overlooking the sea. Al Fahal Island is a huge limestone slab lying some 16 kilometres offshore, its steep cliffs, beautifully sculpted by the sea, do not allow landing and it is therefore a perfect, undisturbed refuge for its special inhabitants. As we approached the island, weaving a course through the super-tankers moored off Muscat’s sister city Muttrah’s port, we could soon see the falcons, dotted along its cliffs. Closer still we could hear their screaming calls as adults wheeled around, attending their insistent, now fully grown, youngsters. They would be leaving for their wintering grounds in Madagascar within the next couple of weeks. Sooty Falcons are impossible to miss but Red-billed Tropicbirds are less so. Fortunately our visit coincided with a couple of nice fly-bys by these weird oceanic birds. A surprise here was an adult Brown Booby, apparently roosting on a lower rock face of the island. Judging from the amount of guano below its perch, this is a regular haunt. After a couple of circuits of Al Fahal we headed out to sea for another 10 kilometres or so in search of tubenoses. The sea was very quiet today but we still managed some Jouanin’s Petrels, enjoying great views as our skilful boatman kept us in touch with their fast westward progress. There were also a few flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes that scattered like insects as we sped past them and nearing shore again our boatman made a couple of phone calls and we were able to join some other motor boats watching a large of pod of Spinner Dolphins, some of which were actually spinning, throwing themselves clear of the water’s surface and performing several rotations. Fantastic! The boat’s twin 200BHP engines then powered us back to the mainland and nearby a quick roadside stop added a couple of great wheatears, Rufous-tailed and Hume’s as well as a Long-billed Pipit for some. After traversing Muscat’s traffic we checked out of our hotel and headed off north.

Sooty Falcons and Brown Booby (Mike Watson)

Our next stop along the Batinah Coast was Ras as Sawadi, a low-lying promontory with some more magnificent limestone islets offshore and a nice khawr (coastal lagoon), which is open to the sea. Approaching our destination we spotted a roadside shrike, which transpired to be the hoped-for Steppe Grey, the first of a record showing for this brute. Arriving at high tide we enjoyed some close views of Sooty Gulls on the beach, along with a few Caspian and Slender-billed. A large congregation of terns included Greater and Lesser Crested as well as a few Sandwich. The nearby khawr had attracted several waders, including our first Lesser Sand, Greater Sand and Kentish Plovers. Again there were no Crab-plovers but up to three Ospreys hunting in the vicinity close offshore, a Terek Sandpiper and a couple of Ruff on the beach were noted. Heading along the beach we enjoyed some fantastic views of another young Steppe Grey Shrike, one of three here today, before the start of our hike out across the mudflats to Sawadi Island, now accessible on the falling tide. The island itself is a reliable site for Plain Leaf Warbler and fortunately one of the birds we found the previous day was still present and afforded some good close views in the small trees that line the steps up to the island lookout. This little Central Asian waif is barely larger than a Goldcrest and Oman is a great place to find it in winter. Around the nearby hotel gardens we found a juvenile Turkestan Shrike, a couple of Tree Pipits and another Plain Leaf Warbler, which was appreciated by those who did not go paddling earlier – its progress easy to follow via its distinctive sparrow-like call. Also here was a bird we would see on every single day of the tour, the smart Desert Wheatear. Still looming large to the south of the small khawr is the start of a massive 36 sq km US$325m development, which will include a 5 star golf course resort. It does not affect the main birding areas yet, however, there are apparently plans to develop the whole promontory. I am hoping the economic downturn has put these plans on hold, as there does not seem to have been any progress over the couple of years since my last visit.

Steppe Grey Shrike (Dave Andrews); Rufous-tailed Wheatear (Mike Watson); Plain Leaf Warbler and Sooty Gull (Dave Andrews)

Early next morning we visited an area of coastal mangroves north of Sohar for two of the region’s scarcer specialties, Collared Kingfisher (of the endangered Middle-Eastern form kalbaensis) and Sykes’s Warbler (Oman and the adjacent UAE hold an isolated breeding population, however, they are resident and breed in mangroves… so watch this space!). We were lucky to locate both fairly quickly. The kingfisher perched out in the mangroves and the warbler popped up atop a mangrove snag allowing scope views for all before it descended back into its tangled world. Also here were: an Indian Pond Heron for some; another Striated Heron; Western Marsh Harrier; a Spotted Redshank; three Common Kingfishers; Indian Reed Warbler; Common Chiffchaff; Purple Sunbird; Isabelline Wheatear and an Isabelline (or Daurian) Shrike, which showed nicely on a dead snag in the mangroves. Next stop further north along the Batinah coast, close to the UAE border, was the ghaf tree-studded plain of Khatmat Milahah. The temperature can soar here but fortunately we arrived in time to catch some of the morning’s bird activity, including the main specialties: Variable Wheatear (a pair of the sooty form picata) and Plain Leaf Warbler (one), both of which cross the Strait of Hormuz to winter in northern Oman. The latter has led us a merry dance on our last three tours here but it was already under the belt the previous day this time so there was only the wheatear to worry about! Also here migrants included: Black Redstart (of the form semirufus); Asian Desert Warbler; Lesser and Desert Whitethroats as well as our first Arabian Babblers and a Southern Grey Shrike. Strangely there was not a single Ménétries’s Warbler this time, a species that seemed to be in every tree last time.

Sohar Sun Farms’ fall from its former status as the undisputed prime birding site in the whole of Oman continues, however, it is still worth a visit. After lunch our tour of the farms started as we made our way through the cattle pens, past rather sad-looking cows with their overhead cooling fans and sprinklers, to the water treatment tanks. A good selection of common waders included four White-tailed Lapwings (a sought-after bird that we usually only see at one site). Also at the Sun Farms were: Glossy Ibis; Garganey; Short-toed Eagle; Pallid Harrier (male); Montagu’s Harrier (female); Imperial Eagle (adult); Black-winged Stilt; Little and Temminck’s Stints; Curlew Sandpiper; Ruff; Pin-tailed Snipe and Green, Wood, Marsh and Common Sandpipers; Whiskered and White-winged Terns; Masked (three of the Central Asian form personata), Citrine, Black and Grey-headed Wagtails. Driving around the recently cut alfalfa fields we added two Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, five European Rollers; Black-crowned Sparrow-lark; Greater Short-toed Lark (though in rather small numbers this time); Richard’s (four) and Red-throated Pipits; Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin; Steppe Grey Shrike; Indian Silverbill and Ortolan Bunting.

After our productive session at Liwa there was no need for a return this time and instead we spent the morning at the Sun Farms. Almost immediately out towards the fields we bumped into a group of four lovely Cream-coloured Coursers (two adults and two juveniles, presumably a family). They allowed some crazily close views from the vehicles and were certainly a tour highlight. Four Pacific Golden Plovers on the cut fields were new for the tour as were around 150 Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, a couple of Eurasian Hoopoes; Yellow-headed Wagtail; a lovely confiding Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush; three Ménétries’s Warblers; a couple of Brown-necked Ravens and two Striolated Buntings. Although lacking the rare plovers and larks we used to see here this was an acceptable haul of interesting birds so we headed back south along the Batinah coast.

Cream-coloured Courser, Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Grey Francolin and Indian Roller (Mike Watson)

COMMON KESTREL

2011-10-15T19:58:00.001+01:00

Common Kestrel (YOC badge style)

THIS WAS THE WEEKEND WHEN MY GOOD LUCK RAN OUT IN SO MANY WAYS. With wall-to-wall squares all down the east coast on birdguides.com, Mark Varley and I decided to make a long overdue visit. Unfortunately it was one of those days on which, despite a lot of effort, everything seemed to go wrong. As the first rays of sun landed on the dark ravine of South Landing at Flamborough Head we felt vindicated in our choice of venue when we discovered that the Rufous-tailed Robin in Norfolk had not been seen. However, the same clear skies and high pressure had probably resulted in the Flamborough Red-flanked Bluetail of the previous couple of days moving on from here as well. There was an unconvincing against the light/single observer sighting of it on a section of path on which we saw only a European Robin, for hours before the claim and hours after it. This rather scuppered our plans to search more widely and it also meant we missed out on close views of the first winter male Black Redstart at the foghorn - we saw it fly down to the cliffs below as soon as we arrived, flushed by increasing numbers of walkers on the head. As I write this, to add insult to injury, a second bluetail has been trapped at the South Landing today and is showing next to the car park. We are not worried though, one look at the Finnish Bird Atlas page of this species here shows that there will be plenty more. One can only imagine what the picture on the Russian side of the border would look like!

Although it was simply 'one of those days', we did see some interesting birds: Yellow-browed Warbler (one seen near the car park at South Landing and it or another heard only near there); Common Chiffchaff (one North Landing); Blackcap (one North Landing); Common Crossbill (four flew west at South Landing, one of them a red male); Tree Sparrow (two North Landing) and Yellowhammer (several - nice to see this now long extinct East Lancs breeder). Around 15 Rock Pipits were feeding on the strandline piles of seaweed at South Landing allowing a great opportunity to listen to their high pitched calls. There were plenty of Goldcrests (but nothing like 'fall numbers') as well as a steady southward passage of skylarks, redpolls and linnets on a lovely sunny day that felt like many migrants had moved on. However, I returned home to news of 16 Yellow-browed Warblers on Flamborough Head!!! What? When? Where? I must admit to finding the broadcasting of such news at a time, when it is too late for anyone to do anything about it utterly pointless. Save it for the annual report. 'Flannelborough' as it used to be known always had a dreadful reputation for supression (as well as stringing) when I started twitching at the start of the eighties and old habits die hard. We also managed to squeeze in some fish and chips today from the 'Lighthouse Fisheries' in the centre of the village.

Common Kestrel and Red Admiral butterfly

SLAVONIAN GREBE

2011-10-08T22:41:00.010+01:00

Slavonian Grebe, Fairhaven Lake

AN UNBELIEVABLY CONFIDING SLAVONIAN GREBE AT FAIRHAVEN LAKE, LYTHAM showed down to less than one metre at times and was too close to focus on with the 500 for the majority of the time. Fortunately is seems to be in good shape, feeding actively and even flying a couple of times. In the dreadfully low light I tried opening the aperture as far as it would go (f/4) and trying for a shallow depth of field with only the face in focus and a blurred background. Also here was a pair of Grey Wagtails and a Little Grebe of interest. After grabbing the opportunity of a gap in the succession of heavy showers to shoot the grebe the next downpour arrived and Mark and I headed off to Fleetwood, finding a great little café there, 'The Tasty Bite Cafe' opposite the indoor market. It was a dramatic contrast to the rubbish we were served up at the RSPB's Leighton Moss café the other week and would definitely be a worth a place in our top ten. Before yet another squall we managed an enjoyable walk along the seawall at Rossall Point, with highlights being: three Northern Wheatears (two males); several Sanderlings; two Common Ringed Plovers; three Dunlin; hundreds of Red Knot and an adult Mediterranean Gull as well as the ever obliging Ruddy Turnstones there. As we were returning to the van along the landward side of the seawall I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye in a tiny isolated rose bush, tucked up against the concrete of the wall. It turned out to be a robin. Surely a migrant to be behaving in such a way, I wonder where it came from and where it is going to?

From top: Ruddy Turnstone; Northern Wheatear and bottom, European Robin

SANDHILL CRANE

2011-10-04T21:37:00.011+01:00

Sandhill Crane, Boyton, Suffolk

A MIDNIGHT START FROM EAST LANCASHIRE WITH THE BURNLEY CREW WAS REWARDED WITH A LOVELY DAY WATCHING THE NOW FAMOUS SANDHILL CRANE. It was something of a relief to catch up with it today after following its southward progress over the last couple of weeks and especially now it has been elevated in status as a first for England. Although I have seen thousands in the USA it was very enjoyable nevertheless and we watched it feeding fairly actively, strutting around calling and flying very low over the nearby gathered masses from time to time. There was some great banter today with Jeff, Brian and Gary and I also managed to catch up with old friends Peter ('broom cupboard') and Adrienne Walton and Birdquester Paul Welling. Whilst sitting on the seawall we witnessed a constant visible migration this morning with small parties of Northern Wheatears (up to five at a time) moving south, as well as skylarks, Meadow Pipits, three Common Chiffchaffs and a lone Barn Swallow. Waders included: Common Greenshank (one) and a Eurasian Whimbrel and I am fairly sure I heard dotterel calling while flying south overhead in the early morning. At dawn a Short-eared Owl was hunting over the saltmarsh, with a couple of Tawny Owls calling from nearby copses. On the way back to the village I even managed to catch up with Willow Emerald Damselfly - my first new UK dragonfly for many years! Hawking from oaks and willows its pale pterostigma was very obvious. I do not think I have ever seen a new bird for the UK as well as a new dragonfly on the same day before? There were many happy faces and the walk back along the dusty lanes to Boyton village, full of Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers, was very pleasant.

PECTORAL SANDPIPER

2011-10-02T20:20:00.007+01:00

Pectoral Sandpiper (juvenile), Carr Bank

A COUPLE OF HOURS WATCHING WADERS ON THE KENT ESTUARY NEAR ARNSIDE with Mark Varley was very enjoyable despite the intermittent rain. There was no-one else around, just us and the birds. Stuart Piner's Solitary Sandpiper acted as a very welcome decoy to the northwest twitching masses and after dropping in for a quick view of it, Mark and I were able to study the small Dunlin/ringed plover flocks from the edge of the saltmarsh at Carr Bank. A very nice selection indeed included: two Pectoral Sandpipers; two Little Stints and two Curlew Sandpipers and all of them smart juveniles, although unfortunately no Buff-breast today. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk scattered the waders and three Little Egrets were feeding in the dykes of the extensive saltmarsh. This was the first time we had visited this spot and we will certainly be back. After some haddock and chips at the excellent Arnside chippy (still serving at 3pm on a Sunday in October is worth remembering) we tried our luck further south at Glasson but in dreadful light and now quite heavy rain we did not try to hard to find the distant Lesser Yellowlegs and eventually called it a day.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Carr Bank

AMERICAN BLACK TERN

2011-09-25T22:07:00.010+01:00

American Black Tern (juvenile), Covenham Reservoir, Lincolnshire - another great find by Graham Catley

LEIGHTON MOSS RUFF

2011-09-18T21:32:00.008+01:00

Ruff

A GATHERING OF RUFF WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF A DAY AT LEIGHTON MOSS WITH MARK VARLEY. This is a species, which I do not see often in Lancashire (and I have only seen it once in East Lancashire) and there seems to be more of them around this autumn. At least ten birds (all smart juveniles) were either slumbering or feeding around the Allen Pool amongst: Common Redshank; Spotted Redshank (adult and juvenile); Common Greenshank (two); Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits; Common Snipe; Green Sandpiper (juvenile); Eurasian Curlew (one) and Little Egret (five) of note. Other interesting birds seen on the reserve today included: Marsh Harrier (a lingering juvenile); Eurasian Hobby (one hawking insects high over the mere); Eurasian Sparrowhawk; Common Kestrel and Buzzard; Mediterranean Gull (an adult also hawking insects high over the mere); Black Tern (one over the mere); Bearded Tit and Water Rail (several of both heard only) plus lots of Marsh Tits on the woodland edge. There were quite a few dragonflies about on a lovely sunny autumn day and I identified Brown Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Emperor and Common Darter. I noticed that there are finally plans to replace the Allen Hide. It will be interesting to see what the RSPB have in mind... Let's hope the hide is better than their café, which served up our second worst ever bacon and egg butty today. A real shocker!

Little Egret

STORM-BLOWN SEABIRDS IN MORECAMBE BAY

2011-09-10T15:48:00.001+01:00

Red-throated Diver, Fleetwood Marine Lake

A great day out in the Morecambe Bay area with Mark Varley, my first for a couple of months. We turned back at the A65 Settle roundabout in the early morning, deciding that we should not go to Teeside until we knew the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper of the previous day was still present. A lucky call as it was not seen today. On a day of topsy turvy luck we spend the morning at Heysham's nuclear power station outfalls enjoying some lovely views of the terns, mostly Arctic but also a few Common, feeding there. As high tide approached a steady passage of waders headed south towards their roosting areas and included thousands of Common Oystercatchers, Red Knot as well as smaller numbers of curlews, redshanks, a few Bar-tailed Godwits and a single European Golden Plover, surprisingly quite a scarce bird along the sea front here. There were also up to five Mediterranean Gulls hanging around today (two juveniles, two adults and a second winter) and a couple of Little Gulls joined the terns feeding at the outfalls from time to time. However, it was a Sabine's Gull we most wanted to see and unbelievably it appeared within minutes of us leaving. We abandoned plans to visit a Morecambe chippy and dashed back only to find it had moved off after spending around 30 minutes around the outfalls. Fortunately it reappeared soon afterwards and spent a short while over the stage one outfall before heading south towards Red Nab, letting one of our fellow East Lancs birders off the hook. Around five Grey Wagtails flew south while we were here as well as a couple of Meadow Pipits and three Common Linnets.

After some good haddock and chips on the A6 near Garstang we headed to Fleetwood, where the breeding-plumaged Red-throated Diver was still present on the marine lake, showing ridiculously closely at times. It was clearly unwell and was not even trying to feed. Hopefully local birders will have it taken into care.

Arctic (top two) and Common Terns; Sabine's Gull and Red-throated Diver

Bowland Hen Harrier

2011-07-09T20:11:00.008+01:00

Bowland's superstar mum Hen Harrier

THE HEN HARRIER'S LAST STAND IN ENGLAND is taking place in Bowland. After a long hike in, Mark Varley and I picked a spot on a rather soggy heather hillside in a secluded corner of Bowland, around 1km from a known Hen Harrier territory and eventually we were rewarded with some nice views of an adult female hunting widely over the fells. This bird is extra special having five young in her nest at the moment. A real superstar of her kind! We should not forget how lucky we are to still have several pairs of these wonderful birds on the Bowland Fells. We saw almost nothing else up there except for Meadow Pipits, Small Heath butterflies and a lone Silver Y moth today followed by a couple of speckled juvenile Common Redstarts tended by their smart father on our way back through Bowland. The upland pastures were quiet but a juvenile curlew, with a shortish bill, was nice to see perched on a stone wall and a family party of four screaming oystercatchers and a handful of lapwings also remained. The landscape is quite beautiful at this time of year with a profusion of foxgloves standing amongst swathes of marsh thistles. We also saw a few Melancholy Thistles today, the first time I have noticed it in Bowland.

The 'June gap'

2011-07-08T20:34:00.008+01:00

Butterflies are amazing close up - look at the iridescent hairs on this Grayling's abdomen

I'VE BEEN A BIT QUIET RECENTLY, PREOCCUPIED WITH THINGS OTHER THAN WILDLIFE. I should really avoid this word. As Morrissey observed it implies that creatures referred to in this way should be caged or tamed. Perhaps the 'natural world' would be a better term?

A recent highlight was a flock of up to 30 Common Crossbills regularly visiting the garden at work (29 June – 3 July) to feed on fresh larch cones. The flock did not contain any bright red males, rather yellowish-oranges birds at best and a high proportion of juveniles. Wouldn't it be interesting to know where they came from? Always busily hacking at the cones it was difficult to have any idea how many were hidden in the dense canopy but once when they flew Pete and I counted between 28-30. The rest of the folks in the office enjoyed them as well, marvelling at their incredible crossed mandibles. The boss put his nets up on one day and caught a juvenile, a rare chance to see one in the hand. There is a major influx underway at the moment and I even managed a group of three flying south, calling over Lower Standen Farm on 3 July. Maybe the last addition to the cottage list?

An outing to the Morecambe Bay limestone on my birthday with Alec and Catherine Gillespie was as delighful as ever with Dark-red Helleborines in various stages of flower at a couple of sites and plenty of Dark Green and Small Pearl-borded Fritillaries on the wing over the thyme-covered grassland. Graylings were out in good numbers as well and some allowed close approach on a sunny afternoon. A handful of Northern Brown Argus and worryingly only one definite High Brown Fritillary were other stars here. However, the large fritillaries were so active and I am not 100% confident at separating them in flight after a year has gone by since my last sightings.

I also had a couple of walks in Bowland seeing some 'banned' species, maybe more of these at a later date? The fells were rather quiet though, with much of this year's breeding activity now over.

Dark-red Helleborine & Grayling

DARK-RED HELLEBORINES

2011-06-12T18:59:00.017+01:00

Dark Red Helleborine, Gait Barrows NNR

A VERY EARLY SHOW OF DARK RED HELLEBORINES WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF A VISIT TO THE SILVERDALE LIMESTONE. I joined botanist and Birdquester Jeremy Fraser for a morning of plant hunting at Gait Barrows NNR before the forecast rain duly arrived at lunchtime. I wrote the following after a visit in 2009: Gait Barrows is without a doubt 'one of England's finest wildlife sites'. The reserve includes some excellent carboniferous limestone pavement, shaped by glaciers some 15,000 years ago. It was declared a national nature reserve in 1977, during the Queen’s silver jubilee, saving its amazing geological features, not to mention its rich flora and fauna, from further destruction - since the 1960s a lot of limestone pavement had been removed, to be used in rockery gardens! The 'clints' (the large eroded slabs of limestone) are dissected by numerous fissures known as 'grykes', which provide a microclimate suitable for several rare plant species. Probably the most attractive of these is the Dark-red Helleborine (formerly known as 'Dark-flowered Helleborine') - a beautiful orchid that grows in a few scattered limestone sites from Derbyshire to as far north as Cape Wrath (it is also the county flower of Banffshire). Again we found around 20 plants without any difficulty, some growing in very atmospheric situations, poking out of grykes on beautifully sculpted limestone surfaces. As expected they were very advanced for this time of year, owing to the warmer than usual spring. Jeremy is also a fern and sedge enthusiast and it was a privilege to get some great tuition from him. Other interesting plants included: Herb Paris (the classic ancient woodland indicator); carpets of Lily of the Valley and a nice selection of species growing in the grykes such as Angular Solomon’s Seal, Herb Robert; Limestone Bedstraw; Biting Stonecrop; Oprine; Tutsan and Dropwort. The planted Lady’s Slipper Orchids scattered over the site were now well over though. The woodland features some lovely native trees like Juniper, Yew and Spindle and grasses included Blue Moor Grass and Mountain Melic. The fern list included: Hart’s Tongue; Maidenhair Spleenwort; Common Polypody; Maidenhair Fern; Hard Shield Fern; Common Male Fern, the familiar Bracken and finally Rigid Buckler Farn but this last one was not identified properly until we got home. The limestone pavement here is a magical habitat! One single butterfly was a very small male Common Blue (larval starvation I wonder?) and the large Wood Ant nest I have seen several times continues to thrive. Green Woodpecker, Marsh Tit and Eurasian Bullfinch were the only notable birds.

At nearby Leighton Moss a Marsh Tit was visiting the feeders next to the car park, a first year female Marsh Harrier was flying around the moss from Lilian’s, a couple of Pied Avocets, two Little Egrets, 27 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits and the pair of nesting Great Black-backed Gulls were at the Eric Morecambe complex. Sedge Warbler, Common Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat were all still singing here this morning, near to the awful dilapidated hides.

Dark Red Helleborine - one of my favourites for lots of reasons

Jeremy demonstrates how to identify Slender Woodland Sedge (Carex digitalis) - a widespread Holarctic species

Common Blue butterfly

Tutsan - a medcinal plant, its name is derived from 'Toutesaine' meaning 'all healthy' and in the 17th century it was used to treat sciatica, gout, wounds and cholera!

Jeremy Fraser (unfortunately he forgot his prayer mat)

COMMON CRANE AT PIE CROSS, NORTH YORKSHIRE

2011-06-07T23:47:00.002+01:00

Common Crane, Pie Cross, North Yorkshire

7 JUNE 2011 A COMMON CRANE IN FIELDS NORTH OF PAYTHORNE WAS JUST OUTSIDE THE ELOC RECORDING AREA (BY ONLY AROUND 200 METRES AT ONE STAGE!). Reported his afternoon near Tosside by Birdguides it was soon tracked down by the Breaks family near Mere Syke where I managed to catch up with it as it flew off east and out of sight. A few of the East Lancs regulars arrived soon afterwards and we fanned out checking the newly cut fields in the hope that it had not gone too far. I was lucky to have a very kind non-birder stop when he saw me scanning from the roadside near Paythorne and say 'Are you looking for a stork?'...'it is in a field just down the lane'. And so it was 'wow!'. Luckily we all managed to get to it in time and enjoyed some lovely views as it caught numerous earthworms in the field. Finally as the light faded it took off and flew low to the east at 2140. Like a lunatic I checked Hellifield Flash in case it had gone there to roost but I suspect it is probably using Long Preston Deeps instead. If it was inside the Lancashire border earlier in the afternoon it will only be the third East Lancs record, hot on the heels of the very obliging Chipping bird of 2007.

Common Crane, Pie Cross, North Yorkshire

WHITE-THROATED ROBIN AT HARTLEPOOL!

2011-06-06T23:08:00.006+01:00

White-throated Robin, Hartlepool Headland

6 JUNE 2011 TODAY WAS A VERY SPECIAL DAY IN UK BIRDING HISTORY WITH THE FIRST EVER TWITCHABLE WHITE-THROATED ROBIN. The first for England and only the second record for the Britain (BOU) was an irresistable draw and left me with a large a pile of work to return to in the morning. Hartlepool Headland was very good to me when I started travelling more widely with many happy memories of new birds in the early 80s, within 100m of the bowling green where the robin was. These included Thrush Nightingale and Arctic Warbler in the Doctor's Garden (the former sitting in a plant pot), Paddyfield Warbler and a spring male Siberian Stonechat in bushes around the bowling green as well as my first Pied Flycatcher on a tennis net, also in the Doctor's Garden. There were also lots of familiar faces, many from the northeast, that I had not seen for years today and it was worth waiting for better views in the evening sun when a siege of the high brick walls of the Doctor's Garden was made possible by the arrival of an army of ladders belonging to local builders. A truly surreal sight. There were lots of hilarious antics but one that made me laugh was when a handful of Johnny-come-latelys got frustrated after the robin had not shown for a while 'Get back everyone [... to behind where I am]'.

White-throated Robin, Hartlepool Headland

BROCKHOLES SPOTTED SANDPIPER

2011-05-30T18:16:00.006+01:00

Spotted Sandpiper, Brockholes LWT Reserve

30 MAY 2011 SPOTTED SANDPIPER AT BROCKHOLES. I visited the new Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve developments for the first time today with Évi, primarily to see the sandpiper found there today by Bill Aspin (well done Bill!) and could hardly believe my eyes. It is incredible. However, the massive floating reserve centre and its shop and café is actually not the most dominating feature, that title goes to the even bigger car park and play area. Interesting to note that although the car park was full, only around 20 folk were watching the Spotted Sandpiper at any one time. I can't help thinking that it is going to be a huge white elephant as the general public lured here to have a wildlife experience wonders where the actual wildlife is. Brockholes offers some great birding but it has always struck me as a birders' reserve, with most of the interesting stuff requiring a telescope. No touching distance Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits like at Marshside here. Instead there were also Ruddy Turnstone (breeding plumaged male), Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover present today but I cannot imagine that any of the public enjoyed them? Personally I would rather see money spent on habitat restoration with some viewing shelters like at the RSPB's Hesketh Out Marsh not 'dumbed-down' general attractions like this one but I guess I am becoming a bit of a dinosaur.

GANNET AT LFR!

2011-05-24T23:05:00.009+01:00

Northern Gannet, Lower Foulridge Reservoir

24 MAY 2011 - A NOT-TO-BE-MISSED CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH A GANNET IN EAST LANCS WAS VERY WELCOME! A product of the gale force westerlies over the last couple of days, an adult Northern Gannet was found at Lower Foulridge Reservoir today by Gary Waddington. Well done Gary! A very scarce visitor to the ELOC recording area, it was even an East Lancs tick for Mark Breaks. Also here was a female Common Scoter, another storm-blown refugee, a pair of Great Crested Grebes and five Great Cormorants of note.

Northern Gannet

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - LITTLE OWLS

2011-05-15T18:55:00.001+01:00

Little Owl, Lleida Plains

I would not have gone to Spain to photograph Little Owls before this spring but these little characters alone make the effort worthwhile. I only managed one session in the Little Owl hide and this only included less than two hours of acceptable light before the sun rose in the sky but this was more than enough time for hundreds of shots in a variety of poses. Even from a birding point view it was fascinating to watch them going about their business seemingly oblivious (although I suspect just tolerant) of the presence of the small canvas hide. Fantastic! Note to self - no need for 'Real Tree' hide fabric!

Little Owl, Lleida Plains

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - LAMMERGEIERS!

2011-05-14T19:21:00.000+01:00

Lammergeiers (and bottom two - Egyptian Vultures)

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - VULTURES

2011-05-13T18:51:00.002+01:00

Eurasian Griffon Vulture, Catalonia

Up in the mountains we were privileged to visit a vulture feeding station in the Pre-Pyrenees of northern Catalonia. We witnessed a truly amazing spectacle of well over 100 griffons descending onto fresh carrion put out for them, not even waiting for our hosts to leave the feeding area as they bounded onto it to scrap over the juiciest bits. The flesh and skin disappeared within a few minutes, wolfed down in great haste. A handful of Eurasian Black and Egyptian Vultures arrived until only bones remained ...and then came the Lammergeiers

Eurasian Griffon Vulture (top tw0); Eurasian Black Vulture (a bird from the reintroduction scheme in nearby Aragon) and Western Subalpine Warbler (a common songster of the area)

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - BEE-EATERS

2011-05-11T20:58:00.004+01:00

European Bee-eater, Lleida Plains

Bee-eaters are such wonderful subjects. As our host Steve West says ‘bee-eaters do not have to do much to be admired’. One of our team, Dennis, got some great shots of one coughing up a pellet but I settled for some nicely lit portraits. With hardly any need for cropping it was sometimes tricky to get the whole bird in the frame, making full use of the one million different autofocus points on the 1D4. The hide experience here was made even more special by the strong smell of thyme on the sun-baked hillside, while the recently returned bee-eaters were courting and busily excavating their nest holes in sandy banks, calling to each other constantly.

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - LITTLE BUSTARDS

2011-05-10T23:27:00.000+01:00

Little Bustard

The Plains of Lleida in Catalonia present a very special gentle rolling landscape of small crop fields interspersed with patches of original vegetation and splashes of blood red poppies. We spent a very enjoyable four days in this area visiting various photographic hides. As tour leader I had to take whatever was left after the clients had their pick of the range of hides but Little Bustard was not a bad Hobson’s choice for three out of four mornings! Waiting in the hides at first light the early morning air was filled with bird song – the ‘wet my lips’ call of quail, demented wailing of stone curlews, raspberry blowing of Little Bustards, metronomic hooting of hoopoes and the jangling keys of Corn Buntings, occasionally interrupted by the begging calls of Montagu's Harriers. Recent rain had resulted in some very nice clear light and wonderful hide sessions.

The smart black-and-white-necked males can be observed at very close range on their lekking grounds here. Each one flattening a small patch of bare earth into a lekking pad with its vigorous foot-stamping display, which is followed by a loud ‘raspberry-blowing’ call as they throw their heads back and then sometimes a jump of a couple of metres into the air, wings outstretched (although this is occasionally just a small flutter). Our hosts had three hides overlooking lekking pads in place at the time of our visit, plus a fourth just coming on stream. A couple of them had some very nice poppy backgrounds and the other afforded some very close views, unobscured by vegetation. The real beauty of these hides is that they are much closer to the action than elsewhere and the males tend to stay loyal to their lekking sites instead of moving around like they apparently do in Extremadura for instance.

From time to time other male bustards would visit and a scrap would ensue until the intruder was seen off. The victorious male would then quickly scuttle back to his lekking pad and hammer away at it to reinforce his position. We saw a few females over the course of our stay but not at the leks, suggesting that much of the mating action was already over. However, Jordi Bas suggested that there might still be a later flurry of failed females trying for a second time. Either way it was a true privilege to watch these amazing birds at such close quarters, let alone to take hundreds of frame-filling photographs of them. It is worth remembering that this bird is sadly another species, which is serious decline. According to Birdlife International the Spanish population has decreased from 100,000–200,000 males in the 1990s to only 20,000–25,000 today, owing to changes in agricultural practices. Photographers should grab the opportunity while it is still there!

Poor Little Bustards

CATALONIA IN SPRING 2011 WITH WILD IMAGES - MONTSONÍS

2011-05-09T21:44:00.001+01:00

Melodious Warbler, Montsonís

After cruising west from Barcelona along the A2 we finally arrived at the pretty medieval hilltop village of Montsonís, our base for the next four nights. In the heat of the sunny afternoon we made a quick recce of the surrounding area, which proved a point. It is not easy to get anything worthwhile from opportunistic photography in Mediterranean oak woodland. Despite the handicaps of being in a group and the ‘wrong time of day’ I managed a couple of interesting shots that were just about better than record. However, this was merely the pre-cursor to some serious hide photography over the next few days. The hillside was alive with bird sounds in the afternoon. Numerous nightingales belted out their beautiful songs, Bonelli’s Warblers trilled in the oaks and Subalpine Warblers rattled away in the bushes. Western Orphean Warbler, Serin and Cirl Buntings added to the chorus and the rich grasslands were also alive with butterflies, Spanish Fritillary appearing to be the most abundant but we also saw Southern White Admiral, Cleopatra amd Moroccan Orange Tip plus more familiar species like Glanville Fritillary, Wall Brown and Adonis Blue.

Common Nightingale and Spanish Fritillary, Montsonís

UK Diary 2 – 7 May 2011

2011-05-07T20:35:00.020+01:00

Eurasian Dotterel, Pendle Hill

7 MAY 2011 EAST LANCASHIRE SPRING WADER PASSAGE DAY. Following heavy rain overnight a typical selection of Arctic-breeding waders for the local patch today started with a Sanderling at Stocks Reservoir, in the company of five Dunlins. Margaret and Mark Breaks arrived soon afterwards, Mark finding a Eurasian Whimbrel that flew in from Merrybent Hill and then Margaret found a Bar-tailed Godwit on the island – two more good birds for Stocks. Also here today (including a return visit in the evening with Évi) of note were: Greater Canada and Greylag Geese (the latter with several broods of goslings around the reservoir, the biggest seven); Common Teal (two drakes); Common Shelduck (two pairs); Red-breasted Merganser (two pairs and a single male); Goosander (female); Great Crested Grebe (two pairs); Great Cormorant (five, all Atlantic); Mediterranean (one), Common (two first summers), Black-headed, Herring (one), Lesser and Great (pair) Black-backed Gulls; Common Redshank (two); Common Oystercatcher; Common Sandpiper (four); Little Ringed Plover (three); Northern Lapwing; Eurasian Curlew; Tawny Owl (one on the way home through Bowland); Common Swifts (a major arrival today, including over the cottage); Common Redstart (two singing); Garden Warbler (five singing in the evening between the car park and the new hide); Willow Warbler; Lesser Redpoll and Eurasian Bullfinch (male near Sawley).

From top: Sanderling; Bar-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Whimbrel, Stocks Reservoir

A walk up Pendle Hill with Mark was rewarded by some great views of three Eurasian Dotterels by the trig point, two female, one of which was in fairly good breeding plumage. They were definitely at the more approachable end of the scale but unfortunately some heavy rain came in from the south and put an end to our photo session. Also here a Common Swift flew south into the rain and a Red Grouse, two skylarks and a few Meadow Pipits were standard on the summit and four wheatears were along the landslip trail on the way up. There has been a great spring dotterel passage in East Lancs this year, partly owing to plenty of people looking for them but also thanks to the the persistent southeasterly winds.

Eurasian Dotterels, Pendle Hill

2 MAY 2011 PENDLE HILL DOTTEREL. Brief views of a single male Eurasian Dotterel above Downham Moor was the only notable sighting on a hard walk up and down in a gale force southeasterly wind that was difficult to stand up in.

CHAMPION MOOR DOTTERELS

2011-04-29T20:12:00.011+01:00

Eurasian Dotterel, Champion Moor

29 APRIL 2011 ANOTHER TRIP OF DOTTERELS, THIS TIME ON CHAMPION MOOR, WAS THE PERFECT ALTERNATIVE TO THE ROYAL WEDDING. Seven birds, at least three of them quite smart females, was a cracking find this morning by inveterate atlasser Tony Cooper. At 283m asl the small hill they had chosen south of Black Moss Farm was almost half the height of Pendle or Fairsnape and it was great to see them somewhere the East Lancs 'Last of the Summer Wine' team could get to. Not much else here on a sunny afternoon though with only a handful of lapwings and curlews. A herd of inquisitive cows together with a large, albeit rather moth-eaten-looking, bull made lying on the short turf a bit more interesting but fortunately the cows were quite docile and the bull was even more soppy as he lumbered past Allen and me only a few feet away.

Eurasian Dotterels, Champion Moor

FAIRSNAPE FELL DOTTERELS

2011-04-25T21:34:00.012+01:00

Eurasian Dotterels, Fairsnape Fell, Bowland

25 APRIL 2011. A TRIP OF FIVE DOTTERELS ON FAIRSNAPE FELL. Thanks a lot to Gary Jenkins for the early information enabling me to get up in time before the light became too strong and heat haze set in. I spent a very enjoyable spell sitting next to the dotties while they rested between feeding sessions, I have only seen a party as confiding as this once before in East Lancs - wonderful. Also here today were: Red Grouse; Eurasian Skylark; Northern Wheatear (two); Common Raven (pair) and lots of Green Hairstreaks.

UK Diary 24 April 2011

2011-04-24T14:23:00.005+01:00

Willow Warbler, Stocks Reservoir

24 APRIL 2011 A PAIR OF GARGANEYS AT STOCKS WAS A VERY WELCOME NEW ELOC AREA BIRD FOR ME. Thanks a lot to Margaret Breaks, who now appears to live there. Unfortunately the bank holiday weekend had brought the fair weather day trippers out in force and the whole area was swarming with people. The route across Champion used to be a quiet back road but it is now a busy short cut to Gisburn Forest for at least one million mountain bike riders who now hang out there. Other highlights of the morning with Cllr. John Wright were Grasshopper Warblers reeling at Stocks and Champion Moor, both seen briefly and a pair of Bar-tailed Godwits in the Hodder Inlet at Stocks. Also here today were: Greylag and Greater Canada Geese; Common Shelduck (three); Mallard; Common Teal (c.10); Goosander (four); Great Cormorant (eight); Grey Heron (two); Common Buzzard (one); Common Kestrel; Common Oystercatcher; Little Ringed Plover (one); Northern Lapwing; Common Sandpiper; Common Redshank; Eurasian Curlew; Black-headed, Lesser and Great (one) Black-backed Gulls; Stock Dove (two); Common Cuckoo (one heard); Eurasian Skylark; Sand Martin (c.20); Barn Swallow (two); Meadow Pipit; Pied Wagtail; Northern Wheatear (nominate male, Champion Moor); Willow Warbler (many singing today from Champion to Stocks - a very common breeding bird in Bowland) and Eurasian Siskin (three over, north).

Grasshopper Warbler, Champion Moor

PENDLE HILL DOTTERELS

2011-04-23T18:49:00.009+01:00

Eurasian Dotterel, Pendle Hill

23 APRIL 2011 PENDLE HILL DOTTEREL PILGRIMAGE. At last I managed to catch up with some of this year's dotterel passage. Dragging myself up the hill today was tortuous, having not yet recovered from yesterday's ridiculous exploits, especially my left heel, which has turned into a monstrous blister. I had to walk up in trainers and every step was excrutiatingly painful but Gareth and John telling me the dotties were still at the summit spurred me on. A male and female, the pair was at the more confiding end of the scale and over the course of a couple of hours they approached to within five metres several times affording some great photographic opportunities. When they get close sometimes dotterels suddenly seem to realise they might be in danger and spook but mostly they will simply walk away again. Thanks a lot to Geoff Turner for relocating them and also the two other birders who kept their distance today. The other birds of note were two Barn Swallows that flew north over the summit and a Ring Ouzel and a male Northern Wheatear in the field below the landslide trail. Several Emperor Moths were also zooming around up here.

Eurasian Dotterel, Pendle Hill

UK Diary 18 – 22 April 2011

2011-04-23T10:16:00.010+01:00

Eurasian Skylark, Bowland

22 APRIL 2011. BOWLAND THREE PEAKS. A massive hiking day of over 25km, taking in three of Bowland's 500m hills - Ward's Stone, Fairsnape Fell and Pendle Hill in glorius sunny weather and almost no-one else around was ultimately a big disappointment with no dotterels, again. They were around with four somewhere on Fairsnape - where could they have been hiding I wonder? The two on Pendle in the morning had also moved on by the evening. Bowland has five hills over 500m: 1.Ward's Stone (561m); 2.Pendle Hill (557m); 3.White Hill (544m); 4.Wolfhole Crag (537m) & 5.Fairsnape Fell (510m) and I guess there must be someone who has done them all in a single day but if not it would be a good challenge. Skylarks were a feature of the day and Mark Breaks has commented that they are doing well on Easington Fell this year. Another species, which has been reported in higher numbers than usual in the northwest is Grasshopper Warbler – there was one reeling from a small patch of rushes on the way up Grit Fell today. Northern Wheatears included both singing local birds (males singing on Pendle and Grit Fell) and also large bright birds, presumably Icelandic or heading further northwest on Grit Fell/Ward's Stone (9) and Fairsnape (4). European Golden Plovers included 29 over Grit Fell and two pairs at Ward's Stone. Otherwise the fells were quiet in the hazy sunshine except for swallows flying north over Ward's Stone (4) and Fairsnape (2) with not a single raptor seen in over 10km of hiking to the Ward's Stone and back. Insects included lots of Green Hairstreaks on the walks to Ward's Stone and Fairsnape Fell, this is a very common butterfly in Bowland, its caterpillars feeding on bilberry.

Eurasian Skylark, Bowland

UK Diary 17 April 2011

2011-04-17T21:13:00.006+01:00

Eurasian Skylark, Bowland

17 APRIL 2011 BOWLAND. MORE THAN 10KM OF HIKING ON THE FELLS TODAY WENT UNREWARDED. I guess all my good luck was used up watching Burnley come from behind to beat Swansea yesterday. The only notable sightings were a fock of 46 European Golden Plovers north over Pendle Hill in the afternoon, as well as several Barn Swallows. It was still wonderful to be out today surrounded by singing skylarks and I feel sure there will be dotterels on Pendle this week...

Eurasian Skylark, Bowland

UK Diary 12 – 16 April 2011

2011-04-16T13:13:00.003+01:00

Pied Flycatcher (first summer male), Bowland

16 APRIL 2011 A PIED FLYCATCHER SINGING IN THE HODDER VALLEY was the highlight of a very brief spin around Bowland following a visit to the New Inn the previous evening with Bishop Stuart Pittman. Its jerky song standing out well against a chorus of Willow Warblers, chaffinches and curlews. A Common Buzzard flew over here as well. Many of the trees in the valley are now coming into leaf - it is great to be back.

UK Diary 20 – 27 March 2011

2011-03-27T21:01:00.007+01:00

Lesser Scaup, Marshside

27 MARCH 2011 LESSER SCAUP AT MARSHSIDE. A family outing with Évi and the Morrises on a sunny but chilly spring afternoon saw us visit the Lesser Scaup, which has been loafing around on the junction pool at Marshside RSPB reserve for the last few days. One of the laziest lumps I have seen for a long time it spent most of the time half asleep. I remember reading somewhere (punkbirder I think) that a sign of obsessive twitching was to keep going to see endless Lesser Scaups. This may be true but Marshside is a great place to watch birds at the moment (despite the locals' moronic habit of sounding their horns at birders walking along the coast road path between the hides). There are plenty of avocets infront of Sandgrounders, sometimes only a few feet away. The same applies to Black-tailed Godwits, some of which were quite territorial. Also here of interest were: Northern Pintail (c.10 drakes competing for the attention of a few females); Northern Shoveler; Gadwall; Eurasian Wigeon; Ruff (one with the many Common Redshanks) and European Golden Plover (c.200).

Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit; Northern Shoveler and bottom two - Lesser Scaup (showing a surprisingly different head shape at times)

UK Diary 13 – 19 March 2011

2011-03-20T08:40:00.010Z

Common Kestrel, Bowland

19 MARCH 2011 BOWLAND. AN ALL DAY EFFORT IN THE AONB WITH MARK VARLEY RESULTED A GOOD LINE UP OF RAPTORS, including Common Buzzard (12, taking advantage of the lovely spring weather); Eurasian Sparrowhawk (two); Common Kestrel (eight) and Peregrine Falcon. Common Ravens were also in evidence with a pair at their nest and another couple of singles ‘honking’ over the fells.

Eurasian Curlew, Bowland

The rest of the bird list today was as follows: Mute Swan (one Hellifield Flash); Greater Canada Goose (several pairs on territory); Common Shelduck (six Hellifield Flash); Mallard; Northern Pintail (male Hellifield Flash); Northern Shoveler (seven drakes Hellifield Flash); Eurasian Wigeon (c. 30 Hellifield Flash and c.150 Long Preston); Common Teal (two Long Preston); Tufted Duck (Hellifield Flash); Common Goldeneye (adult female Stocks Reservoir); Goosander (drake on the Hodder at Slaidburn); Red Grouse; Red-legged and Grey (two at Hill Top Farm between Tosside and Wigglesworth) Partridges; Common Pheasant; Great Cormorant (one Long Preston); Grey Heron (Long Preston and Champion Moor); Eurasian Coot (Hellifield Flash); many waders have now returned to the uplands with Eurasian Oystercatchers, Eurasian Curlews and Northern Lapwings paired up and displaying over the pastures – it is always a delight to see them back; Common Black-headed, Common and Lesser Black-headed Gulls; Stock Dove (six at Long Preston was the maximum count); Common Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove; Barn and Little Owls.

Little Owl, Bowland

Eurasian Skylark (c.10); Meadow Pipit (many now in the uplands but still (hopefully) more on the way); Pied Wagtail (many males back on territory plus eight at Long Preston but only one female today); White-throated Dipper (Slaidburn); European Robin; Common Stonechat (only one pair); Mistle Thrush; Common Blackbird; Goldcrest (one); Winter Wren; Blue and Long-tailed (one Long Preston) Tits; Eurasian Nuthatch (one Slaidburn); Common Magpie; Western Rook, Western Jackdaw (maximum c.80 Long Preston); Carrion Crow; Common Starling; House Sparrow; Common Chaffinch; European Greenfinch (singing in Slaidburn Village); Eurasian Siskin (heard) and Common reed Bunting (three males Long Preston and another two on the fells).

There was a lot of controlled heather burning today, including areas to the north of Bowland Knotts, Croasdale and Birkett Fell, a rare event indeed at the weekend and although we tried hard, we failed to find a single wheatear or Sand Martin – there have been some about this week. Today also saw a 'supermoon', when the full moon coincides with a close approach to earth, the latest in a sequence in recent years - the next will be on 14 November 2016.

Top two: Red Grouse, Bowland and bottom: supermoon over Pendle

Common Redpolls, Kemple End

2011-03-13T17:50:00.004Z

Common (or Mealy) Redpolls, Kemple End (Photos by Pete Morris)

UK Diary 5–12 March 2011

2011-03-12T21:02:00.007Z

Common (or Mealy) Redpoll, Kemple End

12 MARCH 2011 A MALE COMMON REDPOLL ON THE FEEDERS AT KEMPLE END DWARFED THE SISKINS (AND THE LESSER REDPOLLS ALSO) THERE. Pete and I have had a couple of sightings on presumed Common (or Mealy) Redpolls at work this week amongst the masses of siskins around at the moment. Also here today were: Brambling (male and female) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (female). After a brief return to the Riverbank with Mark Varley, a female Mandarin was on the River Hodder at Slaidburn, along with a male Grey Wagtail and a White-throated Dipper.

We are growing bored with Stocks and its surrounding area, so we decided to stray outside the ELOC recording area and check somewhere different, seeing: Grey Heron (three); European Golden Plover (seven); Common Oystercatcher (c.30); Eurasian Curlew (c.50); Common Redshank (three); Common Shelduck (pair); Eurasian Wigeon (c.200); Common Teal (c.30); Eurasian Skylark (two were a surprise) and Common Reed Bunting (six) of note but most of all lots of potential for the spring!

From top: Eurasian Siskin; Eurasian Bullfinch;Brambling (male) and Mandarin (female), Slaidburn

6 March 2011. A drake Common Goldeneye on the Ribble at Siddows was a the highlight of a walk with Évi, where a couple of Common Oystercatchers had returned to their breeding territory.

THE TIGERS OF BANDHAVGARH WITH WILD IMAGES - 19–23 FEBRUARY 2011

2011-02-19T20:54:00.000Z

Bengal Tiger, Bandhavgarh

Flying south over the northern Deccan, towards Madhya Pradesh’s famous ‘Kipling Country’, fields grew smaller, areas of deciduous woodland more frequent with the odd rocky outcrop here and there. Left unmolested thousands of tigers could hide here. However, they are not left alone and their numbers shrink ever smaller amidst a smoke screen of alleged over-estimates and murky goings on during the monsoon when the tiger reserves are quiet and devoid of tourists. Thankfully it is still a very realistic expectation to return from one of the main reserves with some decent tiger photos but time is running out.

The newly surfaced road almost all the way to Bandhavgarh was a nice surprise, as were our flashy transfer cars, which made short work of the long drive deep into hills to our next lodge. Amazingly the road transfers to and from Bandhavgarh produced our only White-rumped Vulture sightings of the whole trip. This would have been unthinkable at the time of my first visit to India many years ago! For the next five days we stuck to a routine of an early morning jeep safari in the 437 sq km national park, lasting until lunchtime followed by a break and then another safari in the afternoon until dusk. Fortunately fewer jeeps are now allowed to hurtle around the tracks inside the picturesque reserve and, although it sometimes feels a bit like the ‘whacky races’, Bandhavgarh has a reputation of being the most reliable reserve to produce a tiger sighting. In an effort to regulate the mayhem that used to prevail here tourists now have both pre-allocated jeeps as well as set routes so we would wish each other good luck as we went our separate ways on entering the park from something resembling a F1 grid. We would all have preferred our tiger sightings towards the start of our stay but after several near misses we all gradually got off the mark and in fact the best of all was on our last morning. Even though I have experienced this before several times there is nothing like setting eyes on a tiger, especially when it is staring directly back at you. It is a truly exhilarating moment! Their agate-like eyes look so beautiful and gentle that it is difficult to appreciate what ruthless killers they are. A drunken man discovered this in Tala a couple of months before our visit when he met his end in the garden of the former Maharajah’s Palace there. It was a sobering thought to realize that the tigers can sometimes wander far and wide beyond the park gates at night!

Generally the first vehicles have the best chance of encountering an animal using the jeep tracks to move around and as we rounded a bend one afternoon we could see by the excited reaction of the jeep in front that they were onto one. Snarling as it went, the huge stripey orange cat loped along the sandy track ahead of us. This was apparently a new tigress to this area but I was frustrated that I couldn’t get a shot of her eyes as she looked back at us from time to time. When there are more than two or three jeeps in tow you need to be prepared to shoot whilst standing up in the back of the moving vehicle or lose your place in the formation as you get swallowed up by other jeeps overtaking and undertaking, sometimes three a breast along the single track! Occasionally the tiger will oblige by standing still or sitting down but mostly speed is of the essence. The best photographic opportunities come by way of ‘tiger shows’, when the park’s elephants converge on a tiger sighting and ferry the tiger watchers to and fro, affording some truly stunning off trail close encounters! Back to the snarling tigress though, after around 200 metres of walking along the jeep track, she veered off into the bush but luckily our driver was very experienced and was able to predict where she would rejoin the track with pinpoint accuracy. When she emerged it was plain why I had been unable to get a shot of her eyes, her left one had recently been gouged out. Not a pretty sight and no wonder she was angry! Eventually she crossed the track between the two sets of jeeps following her, disappearing once more into the bush… and that was the end of the sighting.

Just as it was at Gir it is important to learn Spotted Deer’s alarm call to follow a big cat’s progress when it is out of sight. This can work the other way in that if there are lots of deer around and no alarm calls then you can relax and look at something else instead! Another ability of the more experienced drivers and naturalist guides is to be able to predict when and where there will be a tiger show. These are also a means of earning extra revenue for the park, not to mention tips for your guides, so the trackers and forest guards put in a lot of effort to make them happen. Even so tiger shows still only average around one or two per week. I was lucky to have three tiger shows during our stay at Bandhavgarh, the first two of a slumbering group of four tigers, a mother and her three fully grown ‘cubs’ and the other of a recently mated pair, the female the same one-eyed tigress who had just usurped the resident tigress of this area (she was found dead just after our visit maybe having been killed by the one-eyed tigress?). If you are lucky then the photographic possibilities will be good but you cannot do much about composition – sometimes the tiger is helpful in its positioning, sometimes not. Therefore you need to hope for a number of sightings to increase your chances.

All except one of us left Bandhavgarh and its 2000 year old fort with satisfactory tiger photos achieved but this lovely landscape is not just about tigers. It also has a wealth of bird life, some of which strayed to within DSLR range in breaks between tiger hunting. Indian Rollers were particularly photogenic and other bird sightings also included: Black and Woolly-necked Storks; Lesser Adjutant; Egyptian, Indian, Red-headed and Eurasian Black (one – a vagrant) Vultures; Indian Spotted Eagle; Painted Spurfowl; Red Junglefowl; Mottled Wood-Owl; Stork-billed Kingfisher; Malabar Pied Hornbill; Olive-backed Pipit; Small Minivet; Tickell’s and Small-billed Scaly Thrushes and Blue-headed Rock-Thrush of note. The grounds of our lodge itself were also quite productive with: Jungle Bush-Quail; Gold-fronted Leafbird; Orange-headed Thrush; Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and Tawny-bellied Babbler, most of which were visible from the dining table. There was also plenty of tiger food around the park in the form of Wild Boar, Indian Muntjac and Sambars as well as the ubiquitous Spotted Deer and Northern Plains (or Hanuman) Langur monkeys.

From top: Orange-headed Ground Thrush; Tickell's Blue Flycatcher; Indian Roller and Northern Plains (or Hanuman) Langur

NATIONAL CHAMBAL SANCTUARY WITH WILD IMAGES – 18 FEBRUARY 2011

2011-02-18T20:37:00.003Z

Gharial, National Chambal Sanctuary

An early morning roadside stop en route to the Chambal River resulted in a dozen Crested Buntings, winter visitors to the plains, feeding amongst neatly stacked buffalo pats around some small dwellings. At the river itself, a gathering of over 300 ultra-cute Small Pratincoles graced the banks along with several Temminck’s Stints. In our remarkably stable craft (easily steady enough to use a tripod) we cruised slowly upriver, past flotillas of Bar-headed Geese and Ruddy Shelducks. Another Indian Eagle Owl sat in the shade of one of the sandy bluffs but well out of DSLR range this time and a Long-legged Buzzard obliged with a close fly-past. A rich variety of wildlife can still be found on the Chambal, including pretty much all of the characteristic species of the large slow-flowing rivers of the Gangetic drainage system that were once found all over northern India. It is like stepping back in time and other relics included both Black-necked and Woolly-necked Storks, Indian Black Ibis, Comb Duck and Black-bellied Tern. Raptors were represented by a minimum of three pairs of Bonelli’s Eagles and a fishing Osprey. A pair of Jungle Cats bounded away upslope as we passed by and several Golden Jackals were also prowling the riverbank.

Isolated rocky islets in midstream offered sanctuary to slumbering groups of crocodiles, evil-looking Marsh Muggers and the bizarre Gharial. This was one of the creatures that I most wanted to photograph on this trip and we were afforded repeated good opportunities, enough even to be able think about composing our shots. The islets had also attracted some massive river turtles as well as peculiar Great Thick-knees and smart River Terns. Eventually we found the last piece in the jigsaw, Indian Skimmer, far upstream and fortunately it stayed put long enough for us to approach it more closely and appreciate the detail of its strange undershot bill.

From top: Small Pratincoles; Ruddy Shelduck; Great Thick-knee; Indian Skimmer and Long-legged Buzzard

A 960km long tributary of the filthy River Yamuna, the Chambal River has escaped development and its inevitable pollution owing to the river being considered unholy! It is said to have been cursed by a princess as well as carried the blood of thousands of sacrificed cows, ironically saving it from the even worse fate that has befallen the other rivers around it. The National Chambal Sanctuary was declared in 1978 mostly to protect the critically endangered Gharial, the bizarre long-snouted fish-eating crocodile. Named after the Nepalese word ghara meaning earthenware pot, referring to the enlarged growth on the end of the snout of mature males, which can grow to six metres long and one tonne in weight (second only to the monstrous Saltwater Crocodile). We saw one beast with a large pot but unfortunately it evaded the camera. There are less than 400 breeding pairs left in its remaining range, a mere 2% of its former distribution, which used to include Pakistan, Burma and the Brahmaputra. A truly magnificent animal!

Top two: Gharial and below, Marsh Mugger

Our return was delayed by another vehicle breakdown but in typically resourceful style a couple of rickety old jeeps soon materialized to ferry us back to our lodge. After yet another delightful meal a quick tour of the leafy grounds located a couple of much appreciated slumbering nightbirds – Indian Scops and Brown Hawk Owls before we were on our way again.

Indian Scops Owl and below, Brown Hawk Owl

VELAVADAR & THE LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH WITH WILD IMAGES - 12–14 FEBRUARY 2011

2011-02-14T21:41:00.002Z

Indian Eagle-Owl in front of the tour bus at Velavadar

After a final lion safari at Sasan Gir we made the cross-country journey, past fields of coriander, caster oil and cotton, to Velavadar Blackbuck National Park, near Bhavnagar, where we enjoyed an evening meal in the courtyard of the former Maharaja’s residence. Following last year’s strong monsoon, the grass was pretty high at Velavadar, ensuring plenty of healthy Blackbuck and their antelope relatives, the mighty Nilgai. Early morning saw the Blackbuck leaving their gathering areas near the park headquarters to forage in the wider reaches, the impressive males with their spiral horns, white spectacles and brown-and-white pied coats. We did not have any luck with the wolves that inhabit Velavadar but instead enjoyed some nice views of: a Striped Hyena mother and her two pups; a Jungle Cat, as it slinked off into the long grass; a pair of Indian Eagle-Owls; several graceful Pallid Harriers, winter visitors from Central Asia, and clouds of larks that included another Indian endemic, Sykes’s Lark.

Striped Hyena and pup & Blackbuck (male), Velavadar

Heading north we made slow progress past a huge Hindu open air festival near Nal Sarovar, where the visiting guru had been flown in by helicopter and roads for miles around were jammed with pilgrims. It also became apparent that our general progress was going to be slow across Gujurat, with many bridges still down following the last monsoon and painful bumpy detours around the rebuilding works. A lunch stop was brightened by a small party of Collared Pratincoles and some Rosy Starlings. Our next port of call was the Little Rann of Kutch, where a warm traditional welcome awaited us at our lodge, the whole staff turning out to greet us complete with a banging drum and a camel cart to carry our bags to the rooms. Even the local wildlife had turned out as well, with two well-hidden Pallid Scops Owls roosting in the trees around our chalets. In fact a large number of birds from the surrounding countryside find a roosting haven here. We still had time to make a short visit to nearby wetland where we enjoyed a wonderful sunset behind a throng of waterbirds that included a Demoiselle Crane as well as a huge calidus form Peregrine Falcon and a thrilling night drive produced an almost endless stream of great encounters, the highlights being: our first Onagers, or Wild Asses, galloping past us in the dark; Short-eared Owl; point blank views of two of the local speciality, Sykes’s Nightjar and its smaller cousin Indian Nightjar; four Jungle Cats and best of all, a beautiful and rarely-seen Desert Cat, sat in a small acacia and staring at us out of the darkness. It is amazing to think that this delicate little feline is (apparently) the same species as our own Wild Cat! Our daytime safaris produced further interest in the form of Asiatic Wild Asses against an uncomplicated background of the Little Rann’s salt flats as well as, after some searching, a pair of Indian Coursers, which was unfortunately found too late for acceptable quality photographic light.

Our host at Desert Coursers, Danraj Malik, is an amazing guy. He has built an orphanage in the grounds of his lodge that houses 30 children, all funded by profits from the lodge. If this was not enough he also owns and runs a school for 300 children in Zainabad. Nothing is too much trouble for Danraj and it was great to know that our visit would make a small difference to the lives of the unfortunate children.

Pallid Scops Owl; Asiatic Wild Ass; Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Mike Watson) & Sykes's Nightjar (Andy Oldacre)

Asiatic Desert Cat, Little Rann of Kutch (Trevor Andrew)

THE ASIATIC LIONS OF GIR NATIONAL FOREST WITH WILD IMAGES - 9–11 FEBRUARY 2011

2011-02-11T17:57:00.004Z

Asiatic Lion - a battle-scarred, big, bad boss at Gir Forest National Park

My interest in India’s wildlife started with the Brooke Bond picture card album ‘Asian Wild Life’, illustrated and described by C.F.Tunnicliffe. It was published in 1962, four years before I was born and was still available to purchase from Brooke Bond when I was a child. Tunnicliffe’s wonderful paintings graced the cards and his pen and ink illustrations leapt out of the album, however, it would be many years before I eventually travelled to India. My latest visit, with the second Wild Images India Wildlife Spectacular, was a photographic tour with a pre-tour extension starting in Mumbai. From here we flew to Rajkot in the Kathiawar Peninsula of Gujurat and after a somewhat shaky start, which included being food poisoned on the international flight as well as a delay to clear glass from a broken window in our tour bus, we arrived at our comfortable base for the next couple of nights at Gir Forest National Park. One of the most important protected areas in Asia, this 1412 sq km national park holds the last remaining population of the Asiatic Lion, a species, whose range once stretched from the Balkans to Central India. In fact when King Xerxes of Persia advanced through Macedonia in 480 BC, several of his baggage camels were killed by lions. Over the following centuries the lions were extirpated from almost their entire range as unwelcome predators but thanks to the considerable efforts of the Indian government forest department, their numbers at Gir have increased recently to 411 (at the time of the most recent census in 2010). This is a major conservation success story bearing in mind that at their nadir at the start of the 20th century the lions numbered only 15 individuals! In Tunnicliffe’s time (in the early sixties) they had crept up to around 220. Despite this improving trend the lions’ position is still precarious as they remain vulnerable to disease and also have a very small gene pool, which leaves their DNA profile looking like identical twins and hampers their reproduction. A captive breeding programme also exists to protect against these risks but this has not been without problems with haphazard hybridisation between Asiatic and African Lions in the past.

Asiatic Lion, Gir Forest National Park

The deciduous rainforest at Gir presents a dry and dusty landscape in February, with June’s monsoonal rain still months away and hot midday temperatures set to rise further to around 43 degrees celsius before the rains arrive. Despite being such large animals they can be difficult to find in the rather open forest but in contrast to our last visit to Gir we had no trouble at all in seeing lions this time, with two on our first jeep safari and sightings on all of our subsequent trips into the park totalling 17 animals, including an impressive male and also a tiny cub. Apart from two of our five encounters being ‘natural’ the rest were owing to efforts of the guards who track the various prides living in the core area of the park. Brave men indeed, armed with only puny quarter staffs. It is worth remembering that despite often giving the impression of being as docile as domestic cats the lions are still very dangerous animals, as was proved recently by their killing of two school children on their way home through the park.

Asiatic Lion, Gir Forest National Park

The forest is rich in wildlife and during our time here we also encountered: a Leopard, disturbed while stalking a dumb Spotted Deer that was probably saved by our arrival on the scene; Ruddy Mongoose; Hanuman Langur; Eurasian Wild Boar; Sambar and Nilgai, -the latter three are all on the lions’ menu. Birding from the jeeps was not easy but we still managed a smart male White-bellied Minivet as well as Indian Black Ibis; Short-toed, Crested Serpent; Bonelli’s; Booted; Crested Hawk and Greater Spotted Eagles as well as White-eyed Buzzard and Shikra. There were several well-known Spotted Owlet roosting spots and other species of interest included: Asian Paradise Flycatcher; White-browed Fantail and Red-breasted and Tickell’s Blue Flycatchers. The grounds of our lodge also proved quite productive with birds of note including the Indian endemic Marshall’s Iora, a very obliging Savanna Nightjar, which relied on its cryptic camouflage in an attempt to evade detection and also Indian Vultures regularly overhead. We retired to our chalets after dark to the alarm calls of Spotted Deer, a sign that a predator, maybe a leopard, or even a lion, was not far away.

Top three: Asiatic Lions; next: Yellow-wattled Lapwing; Spotted Owlet and bottom: Savannah Nightjar, sleeping on a bed of mango leaves

Where it all started for me, Brooke Bond's 'Asian Wild Life' - still available (on ebay) in mint condition for under £10 for the album and cards

UK Diary 17 – 30 January 2011

2011-01-30T21:20:00.008Z

Shore Lark, Carnforth Slag Heaps

SHORE LARK AT CARNFORTH SLAG HEAPS was the highlight of the weekend. A pleasant tour of North Lancashire on 29 January with Jo Francis, Pete and Jack Morris. A Lancashire tick for me and quite smart for a winter bird, with tiny black horns but oh for one on Pendle Hill! It was also by far the most wary Shore Lark I have seen, flushing from around 40-50 metres at times. Eventually we tracekd it down to a small area of flotsam amongst the rocks of the beach on the high tideline and were able to watch it feeding here for a while. Amazing that they can eke out a living in the most harsh environments, there was not a single other bird here. Other highlights of a lovely sunny day were: a Peregrine blending perfectly into the grey limestone of Warton Crag Quarry; a trio of Waxwings in Tynedale Road on a suburban housing estate on the edge of Blackpool (getting more difficult to see now most have moved on) and finally six Long-eared Owls at their traditional roost at Marton Mere, the sun setting behind the scaffolding-clad Blackpool Tower. On Sunday a very cold evening vigil in Bowland with Mark Varley went unrewarded. The upland pastures very quiet still, with only three Common Kestrels; a flock of 51 Fieldfares at Anna Land End and around 25 rooks of note. Stocks was also quiet, a Drake Goldeneye, c.110 Eurasian Wigeon and c.30 Northern Pintail being the most interesting birds.

Obscured as ever by tangled branches, Long-eared Owl at Marton Mere

22 JANUARY 2011 A DISTANT DRAKE SURF SCOTER IN LARGO BAY was the star of a nice selection of birds off Ruddon's Point in the Firth of Forth with Dave Bickerton. The other two regular scoters were also here but Velvets outnumbered their Common cousins by around 100 to 15! Scoter numbers are apparently much reduced here these days. The jet black drake Velvets particularly smart. Also here were: Long-tailed Duck (c.30 including some lovely drakes); Red-throated Diver (two); Slavonian Grebe (four); European Shag & Rock Pipit (one). Earlier at Loch Leven we were lucky to find a drake Smew out on the ice amongst groups of Common Goldeneyes and Goosanders. Flocks of Pinkfeet contained a couple of wayward Barnacle Geese and a distant Greater Whitefront, which was probably the Greenland that had apparently been seen recently (large, very dark and with brighter orange legs and a long bill but a little too far away to be confident). However, the biggest surprise here was a Common Greenshank standing on the ice of the loch amongst Mallards and Common and Black-headed Gulls! A very enjoyable day's birding in the Central Lowlands continued with the famous Taiga Bean Goose flock (126) at Slammanan, together with by 26 Pinkfeet and a lone Greylag. The first time I have seen Bean Goose of either form in Scotland! Finally we met Dan and Garry at Strathclyde Loch gull roost where several thousand gulls, mostly Herring, Black-headed and Commons were disturbed by a Red Fox that ventured out onto the frozen lake to eat some bird shit.

UK Diary 10–16 January 2011

2011-01-16T18:30:00.004Z

Whooper Swan, Fleetwood

16 JANUARY 2011 WHOOPER SWAN AT FLEETWOOD MARINE LAKES. A woefully inaccurate weather forecast had Évi and me waiting in vain at Fairhaven Lake, Lytham for the foul weather, which has lasted all weekend, to clear from the west. Unfortunately the skies did not brighten until late afternoon and to make matters worse the Red-necked Grebe did not come close to the shore once in the two hours we were there. At least it was good watch a great Lancashire bird at length again, fishing actively the whole time. Also at Fairhaven Lake was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Tufted Ducks. After some more great cod and chips from the Olympia fish and chip shop in Cleveleys (sorry for that!) we had a walk at Fleetwood, and were surprised to see the adult Whooper Swan, which has taken up residence here again, begging bread in the car park with the Mute Swans. I haven't had an answer from the BTO yet about its history, hopefully they will reply soon. Also at the Marine Lakes was a pair of Common Goldeneye and a couple of skylarks flew west.

Whooper Swan, Fleetwood

UK Diary 4-9 January 2011

2011-01-09T20:22:00.012Z

Red-necked Grebe, Fairhaven Lake, Lytham

9 JANUARY 2011 A LOVELY SUNNY AFTERNOON SPENT WATCHING A RED-NECKED GREBE AT LYTHAM’S FAIRHAVEN LAKE WAS A GREAT END TO A SAD WEEKEND. Less than annual in its occurrence, this is a rare bird in Lancashire so the temptation of a very showy bird within an hour’s drive was too much to resist. Mostly fishing in the middle of the lake, from time to time the grebe approached the shore and seemed quite unconcerned by the presence of the many interested passers-by. Several groups of curlews flew over towards the mudflats at the mouth of the Ribble Estuary at dusk, where a few Common Shelduck and Common Redshanks were already feeding. Also here of note were: Red-breasted Merganser (two) and European Greenfinch (a flock of 25 at dusk). In the morning János added a couple of new subspecies in the form of White-throated Dipper (a pair in the Hodder Valley) and, eventually, Red Grouse (12 on Bradford Fell, all paired up and including some territorial males giving their characteristic ‘Go back, back, back, back’ calls). The Cross of Greet road was impassable in the car, the road turned white by overnight snow and we had a couple of scary slides before we got back onto clear tarmac. Also this morning a pair of Common Ravens croaked over the fells and two Common Kestrels hovered nearby but again the upland pastures were mostly deserted. The waxwings were also still in Clitheroe earlier in the morning.

Red-necked Grebe and Lytham sunset

8 JANUARY 2011 AFTER A PAINFULLY COLD WAIT AT FISHMOOR RESERVOIR, BLACKBURN THE ICELAND GULL FLEW IN TO ROOST AT 1628, NEARLY HALF AN HOUR LATER THAN USUAL. It was especially welcome as a long-overdue new ELOC recording area bird for me. Bill Apsin tells me that it is also definitely a different bird to the Preston long-stayer. A fairly typical January juvenile Iceland Gull, with a mostly dark bill that was clearly shorter than the primary projection and not particularly deep either as well as a ‘sweet’ Common Gull-like face. The gull was also enjoyed by a Birdquest line-up of Mark Beaman, Matt Denton, János Oláh and Marc Van Beirs. Pity about the dreadful surroundings though, with litter strewn all over the car park and its immediate surroundings. When we arrived there had been an ice sheet on the reservoir of around 100m square but by the time we left at dusk it had gone, broken up by wave action propelled by the cold and brisk westerly wind. Also here were a couple of Goosanders and Eurasian Coots as well as around 3000 gulls, mostly Black-headed but also good numbers of Common, Herring, Great Black-headed and a handful of Lesser Black-backed. En route to Hilary’s funeral earlier in the day we had some great looks at a trio of Bohemian Waxwings in Pete Morris’s street, feeding low down on Cotoneaster berries. Another find by ten year old Jack!  

6 JANUARY 2011 A Tawny Owl at Two Jays was suitably found by two jays, presumably out hunting in daylight it was scolded by them in a large laurel in the garden.

UK Diary 3 January 2011

2011-01-03T18:22:00.005Z

Red Grouse, Lythe Fell

3 JANUARY 2011 BOWLAND. A tour of the local patch on another cold grey day did not produce anything of real note. In fact the upland pastures are very quiet indeed at the moment with a mass exodus following the ‘big freeze 2’ and far fewer birds in evidence than usual. Common Buzzard and Red Grouse were new for the year at Waddington Fell as were two Common Ravens that flew north over a frozen Stocks Reservoir at the fishery and three Stock Doves on Lane Side. Other interesting birds today were: Great Cormorant (one over Stocks fishery ); Goosander (one, Sawley); Common Kestrel (two, Waddington Fell and one, Easington); Tawny Owl (two hunting in daylight in Gisburn Forest); Mistle Thrush (one, Tinklers Lane); Fieldfare (a meagre five in the Upper Hodder Valley plus a flock of around 25 near Waddington); Eurasian Jay (one, Stocks fishery); Great Spotted Woodpecker (one drumming at Stocks fishery was premature!); Eurasian Nuthatch (one, Hollins House); Eurasian Bullfinch (female, Keasden) and Eurasian Siskin (two, School Lane, Stocks). Évi and I met up with Mark Varley in the late afternoon and added another three Common Kestrels plus a fine adult male Hen Harrier that drifted across one of the rough pastures before we retreated back to the warmth of the cottage.

Red Grouse, Lythe Fell (the red comb size indicates that testosterone levels are already rising in preparation for spring)

UK Diary 2 January 2011

2011-01-02T18:28:00.007Z

Ruddy Turnstone, Fleetwood

2 JANUARY 2011 – FLEETWOOD. By the cottage in the morning was a trio of birds I missed yesterday: Eurasian Nuthatch; European Greenfinch and Fieldfare. A Red Grouse on Waddington Fell was also new for the year but there was no sign here of the Great Grey Shrike here, already off on its morning rounds. Northern Lapwing and Great Black-backed Gull followed en route to Fleetwood with Évi, which was quite cold in a north easterly wind with the snow-capped mountains of the Lake District to the north and Snowdonia to the southwest clearly visible. On the Marine Lakes Red-breasted Merganser, Mute Swan, Ruddy Turnstone and Common Redshank were new for the year. A small number of waders along the shore included: Common Oystercatcher; Red Knot; Grey Plover (seven); Sanderling; Dunlin and Common Ringed Plover (no curlews though). It is always tricky to photograph waders in flocks so a lone turnstone that approached me to within a few metres was very welcome. Around 80 Common Eiders were offshore, a few Meadow Pipits frequented the marram grass along the sea wall and on the return walk I heard a familiar call but it took me a few seconds to realise that there, on the turf by the cars in the car park, with the Mute Swans begging food, was an adult Whooper Swan! Even more interestingly it was wearing a BTO ring and was presumably therefore of wild origin. I wonder if it has been released from care here or maybe it arrived of its own accord? More details when I find out its history. A small flock of c.20 Common Linnets was feeding on the strandline at Cleveleys.

Grey Plovers, Fleetwood

Whooper Swan, Fleetwood

Again it was another rather depressing grey day in the northwest with millions of people with out-of-control dogs along the beach, laughing as their mutts chased the shorebirds. I could hardly imagine the dog-walking public could do a better bird scaring job if this was their professional purpose. The promenade was also littered with dog turds all the way from Fleetwood to Cleveleys and the final insult came when a microlight flew up the beach at the latter, scaring every single bird off it and with them went my chances of locating the Purple Sandpiper that was somewhere on this stretch of coast. On a brighter note we had some great fish and chips in Cleveleys at the only chippy we saw open today.

UK Diary 1 January 2011

2011-01-01T20:41:00.014Z

Iceland Gull, Preston Dock

1 JANUARY 2011 – THE WILLOW TIT AT COTTAM BRICKWORKS WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF A NEW YEAR’S DAY BIRDING IN THE PRESTON AREA. I am always interested in the order in which I see the first birds of the New Year and the 2011 list read as follows: Common Blackbird; European Robin; Great Tit; Carrion Crow, Western Jackdaw; Winter Wren; Collared Dove; Blue Tit; Dunnock (all outside the cottage at dawn); Common Magpie; Common Black-headed Gull; Western Rook; Mallard; Eurasian Coot; Common Moorhen; Common Woodpigeon; Common Kestrel; Song Thrush; Long-tailed Tit; Redwing; Common Goldeneye (three on the Ribble at Brockholes); Grey Heron; Common Starling; Lesser Black-backed Gull; Mute Swan; Iceland Gull (the juvenile still at Preston Dock but it is becoming more wary now for some reason); Common Gull; Herring Gull; Pied Wagtail; European Goldfinch; Greater Canada Goose; Great Cormorant; Mistle Thrush; Feral Pigeon; Eurasian Bullfinch; Goldcrest; Common Chaffinch; Pink-footed Goose; Lesser Redpoll; Eurasian Skylark (six over Cottam); Eurasian Sparrowhawk (female); Common Reed Bunting; Coal Tit; Eurasian Jay; Bohemian Waxwing (two, Cottam Brickworks, feeding on hawthorn berries); House Sparrow; Eurasian Siskin; Willow Tit (the adult, ringed as a first winter last winter at Cottam Brickworks); Brambling (female, Cottam Brickworks with chaffinches); Common Pheasant; Great Spotted Woodpecker and, finally, Goosander (a pair in the evening on the Ribble at Siddows).

From top: Iceland Gull; Herring Gull and Eurasian Coot

The rather short list at 52 species is a reflection of getting stuck on the Willow Tit. Determined to see it, I spent more than two hours at the brickworks, followed a fruitless return to the Iceland Gull, which was even less obliging in the afternoon. Although the waxwings were a welcome find and this might look quite a nice bird list, unfortunately today was not very enjoyable. The company was good with Tony (who keeps the feeders stocked at Cottam - thanks a lot!), the godfather of Fylde birding, Maurice Jones and quite a few other folks looking for the Willow Tit, however, Preston was rather depressing on a damp grey day (that didn’t see a ray of sunshine) spent tip-toeing around numerous dog turds. Some morons had even thrown almost every single life buoy onto the ice of Preston Dock and I also dislike the pushing and shoving on the ring road, with its one million traffic lights. I also heard some sad news today that the Cottam Brickworks site is to be developed in the summer. The suburban haven for wildlife will be razed to the ground, and will be replaced by, amongst other unnecessary things, a Tescos supermarket. Excellent! 

Bohemian Waxwing, Cottam Brickworks and Common Goldeneye (male and adult female - pink bank on bill), Brockholes

Willow Tit is definitely a bird to watch and the Cottam Brickworks long-stayer is the only one in Lancashire north of the Ribble. It is red-listed by Birds of Conservation Concern 3, owing to an 88% population decline between 1969 – 2006, leaving the UK with an estimated 8,500 territories of the brownish endemic form kleinschmidti. In fact Simon Harrap mentioned that while he was updating his and Nigel Redman’s ‘Where to Watch Birds in Britain’ for its second edition the most common deletion from a site was Willow Tit (and the most common addition was Little Egret). It’s scientific name Poecile montana refers to ‘Mountain Tit’ reflecting the fact that it is generally more of an upland bird in continental Europe. My childhood memories are of Willow Tit being fairly common in the woods near my home on Tyneside and I remember watching a pair excavating a nest hole in an old Silver Birch tree stump in Clockburn Woods, Whickham in spring 1980. We should take every chance we get to see this bird while we still can. It is another species whose graph of decline is only going in one direction!

Willow Tit, Cottam Brickworks, Preston

Wanda Jackson - Mean Mean Man

2010-12-31T21:10:00.002Z

The queen of Rockabilly is appearing on Jools Holland's Hootenanny tonight! Happy New Year!

Angram Green Swaledale Rams

2010-12-31T18:10:00.005Z

Swaledale rams, Angram Green, Pendle September 2010 (the sheep in the background is the father of the ram in the foreground)

Christmas 2010 in The Chilterns

2010-12-28T20:46:00.022Z

Jack Snipe, Lemsford Springs, Hertfordshire

27 DECEMBER 2010 – JACK SNIPE AND WATER CRESS. After poking around for this bird at three reasonably good sites for it the previous day without success it was wonderful to be able to watch one at length at Lemsford Springs Nature Reserve, near Welwyn Garden City. Bobbing up and down incessantly in typical fashion it worked a very small unfrozen area of the old water cress-bed in front of the hide, accompanied by a Common Snipe. Évi is often my lucky charm when looking for something good! Jack Snipe is classified as of ‘amber’ conservation status owing to a declining population and 55,000 individuals of this inconspicuous species are estimated to winter in the UK.

Also here were some other typical Hertfordshire winter cress-bed birds: Little Egret (one); Green Sandpiper (two, both colour-ringed) and Common Moorhen as well as: Eurasian Sparrowhawk (a female dashed past the hide flushing everything except the snipe, which relied on their camouflage for protection); Brambling (one with Common Chaffinches that bathed briefly in the cress bed) and Eurasian Siskin (two over calling). Several Redwings were around today, a Common Buzzard flew across the A1(M) near Welwyn and a small flock of around 10 Bohemian Waxwings crossed the motorway at Stevenage, keeping up the family series of daily sightings. The snow and ice is now starting to melt with temperatures just above freezing.

Jack Snipe, Lemsford Springs, Hertfordshire

26 DECEMBER 2010 – BOXING DAY WATER RAILS. A morning tour of some of our old stomping grounds with Stuart Pittman concentrated on the ice-free spring-fed streams of North Hertfordshire. The highlight was some great views of four or five Water Rails (East Hyde - two and Oughtonhead Common - two-three) and other notable hard weather sightings included: Northern Shoveler (a drake at Purwell Ninesprings was a good bird for Hitchin); Black-tailed Godwit (one in the ditch by the River Lea at East Hyde was an unseasonal surprise - it is uncommon in Herts at any time of the year); Green Sandpiper (three, East Hyde) and Common Snipe (five, East Hyde). Unfortunately we did not manage to find any Jack Snipe despite some searching.

(Western) Water Rail, Oughtonhead Common, Hitchin

In the afternoon a tour of the Chiltern Hills east of Baldock produced some interesting sightings of declining farmland birds amongst: Common Buzzard (six plus we saw another earlier near East Hyde); Common Kestrel (one); Grey Partridge (many coveys dotted over the snowy landscape - the north Chilterns are a stronghold of this species); Red-legged Partridge; Common Woodpigeon (many hundreds feeding on hawthorn berries in the hedgerows); Eurasian Skylark (c. 20 Lower Stondon and one Kelshall); Yellowhammer (a flock of c.30); Common Linnet (c.40) and Eurasian Bullfinch (c.10). Hedgerows across the frozen north of county are full of Redwings, Fieldfares and Common Blackbirds at the moment. Later, on 28 December, Rex and I counted four coveys of Grey Partridges totalling 37 birds between Wallington and Therfield and flocks of 71 Common Linnets (and one European Goldfinch) and five Yellowhammers were on the scarp slope of the Chilterns just north of Kelshall.

Grey Partridge, near Kelshall, Hertfordshire

The rest of the bird list today was: Greater Canada Goose; Greylag Goose; Mute Swan (three East Hyde); Mallard; Eurasian Wigeon (c.10 East Hyde); Gadwall; Common Teal; Tufted Duck (pair East Hyde); Common Goldeneye (drake East Hyde); Grey Heron (two East Hyde and one Oughtonhead Common); Little Egret (one, East Hyde); Great Cormorant (five, ‘Continental’ sinensis birds in trees by the River Lea at East Hyde); Little Grebe (three, East Hyde); Common Pheasant; Common Kestrel (one East Hyde); Eurasian Sparrowhawk (one, East Hyde); Black-headed, Common and Lesser Black-backed (one) Gulls; Song Thrush; European Robin; Meadow Pipit (three, East Hyde); Grey Wagtail (one, East Hyde); Common Reed Bunting (two, Purwell Ninesprings); Great, Blue, Coal, Long-tailed and Marsh (one, Oughtonhead Common) Tits; Dunnock; Winter Wren; Common Starling; Eurasian Jay; Carrion Crow, Western Rook and Western Jackdaw; House Sparrow and Common Chaffinch. However, had I stayed at home today I would have seen a flock of around 20 Bohemian Waxwings that visited my parents’ garden and finished off their rowan tree’s berries. Mammals today included: Fallow and Muntjac Deer (one of each at Kelshall) and Brown Hare (c.20 in the Chilterns).   

Although I miss the jaunts with my old mate Pitts, today was yet another reminder of why I grew to hate living in the southeast towards the end of my stay there. It is becoming so crowded with millions of people everywhere. Walking at Oughtonhead was a nightmare with hordes of noisy people as well as their generally out-of-control dogs disturbing the peace and it was a miracle that the Water Rails showed as well as they did. It is also almost impossible to stop even on minor roads in North Herts without another car tearing up behind you soon afterwards. Birding here for any length of time would become frustrating.

Above: Black-tailed Godwit, East Hyde and below: Common Kestrel, near Kelshall

25 DECEMBER 2010 – A WHITE CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE CHILTERNS. A drive around North Hertfordshire with Évi produced a small flock of six Bohemian Waxwings in Hitchin along St Michael’s Road but there was no sign of the curlew, which had been present on a small patch of snow-covered grass on the housing estate there for the previous two days (I never saw a single curlew in Hitchin during my 15 years in North Herts!). In the hills east of Baldock we enjoyed some nice views of a Brown Hare, which had dug itself a small scrape in the snow and a very cold Common Kestrel perched close by the road near Sandon. A couple of Common Buzzards and several Grey Partridges provided further interest.

Common Kestrel and Brown Hare, Kelshall

UK Diary 19 December

2010-12-19T18:22:00.006Z

Bohemian Waxwing, Leighton Moss

19 DECEMBER 2010 LEIGHTON MOSS WAXWING FESTIVAL. A pre-dawn start from the Ribble Valley deep freeze with three generations of Morrisses was not rewarded by the hoped-for bittern sighting but instead by an excellent show of waxwings. They were simply everywhere, in mixed flocks with Fieldfares, Redwings and Common Blackbirds, around the car park, feeding in berry bushes along the railway line, drinking in the stream by the golf course and scattered over bushes on the course itself as well as in trees by the causeway, where they were feeding on the rotting apples on a tree there - fantastic! It is impossible to tire of these amazing birds! Also at Leighton today were: Mute Swan; Gadwall; Common Teal; Grey Heron (one); Little Egret (two still roosting at the island mere); Water Rail (only one today); Common Moorhen; Eurasian Coot (four); Common Buzzard (two) and Eurasian Sparrowhawk (one chasing waxwings across the golf course) of note. Pete and Jack heard some Bearded Tits by the grit trays along the causeway but with Jack struggling in the sub-zero temperatures we all headed back to the warmth of the visitor centre.

Above: Bohemian Waxwing and below: a Christmas robin

We took the direct route back to the Ribble Valley, past a snowy Jubilee Tower and through the Trough. Eight Red Grouse at Jubilee Tower and a couple of Common Kestrels were the only notable sightings on the return journey apart from a flock of starlings huddled around some steaming cows in a barn at Dunsop Bridge. In the afternoon Evi and I had a very nice walk along the river between Siddows and Mitton Weir, seeing six Goosanders; Mallard; Northern Lapwing (110 at Siddows); Great Black-backed Gull (a first winter hanging around a dead sheep near Siddows); Common Buzzard (one); Fieldfares, Redwings and Common Blackbirds were feeding on hawthorn berries along the river and a couple of fine male Eurasian Bullfinches added some colour.

Above: Common Starlings and below: Northern Lapwings at Siddows