Annual pilgrimage to Wales

Ty Pegi Cottage Strumble Head

I've been away in Wales for the last seven days with Suzanne. Instead of staying at Shute Cottage we rented another cottage on Strumble Head, isolated and quiet without mobile or internet with uninterrupted views it was a cracking choice by my good lady.

View from the kitchen window

The sunsets were fantastic and the night sky alive with stars you just can't see at home.

Sunset on Strumble Head

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The evenings were spent in front of the cozy log fire in the company of Simon Schama and "The History of Britain" a DVD I've had a while just waiting for the opportunity and time to watch. (I must be getting old)

Among the places visited were Gilfach Farm, Marloes Mere and the Deer park, Dinas RSPB, Llyn Brianne Reservoir, The Blue Pool at Abereiddy, Bwlch Nant Yr Arian, Ceibwr, Fishguard, Cardigan and New Gale to name but a few.







Here's a few photographs taken by Suzanne on our travels........

Aberreidy 

Ceibwr

Strumble Head

Dinas RSPB 

Llyn Brianne Reservoir

The Severn Bridge and our route in and out of Wales

Tia

On the birding front it was a cracking week which I'll continue on a seperate blog tonight but the highlight would have to be the self found Black Headed Wagtail at Marloes Mere which is the first ever on the mainland in Pembrokeshire and only the third for Wales and nineteenth for Britain.

The third ever Black Headed Wagtail for Wales (larger crop inset)

Fishers Green youngsters

I had a trip around Fishers Green today in between the gusts of wind and rain.
I have been watching the young birds develop here this year and so far have seen young Greylag and Canada Geese, young Coots and a pair of Grebes on the nest with eggs that I'm waiting to see hatch.

Baby Coot (a real ugly duckling)

Canada Gosling (not so ugly)

The Greylags and Canadas have yet to lose a baby which is some achievement as there are plenty of predators waiting to take advantage of any lack of attention from the parents. (Heron, Gulls and Foxes to name a few) I'm away this week and expect the Grebes will hatch whilst I'm away as they built the nest on 4th April and started laying on 5th with incubation taking about 4 weeks they are due to hatch any day now and Grebes carry their young which is what I was hoping to see. Maybe I'll catch up with them in a week?

Canada Geese

The Sedge Warblers came out between showers but wouldn't quite pose for the camera as I wanted  but I grabbed a couple of pictures anyway. Sedge Warblers winter in Africa and come to Britain to breed, they'll be here until October now raising their families before flying back to the Sahara which is quite amazing when you think about it.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

A hobby was seen and Common Tern are now in and using the rafts that have been held back for them preventing the Black Headed Gulls from taking up all the accommodation on offer. (Good work from the rangers.)

Common Terns

I also found an Orange Tip butterfly and managed a record shot despite having the wrong lens for the task.

Orange Tip

Orange Tip butterfly

NB: A mega rarity has been reported in Northumberland where a Collared Flycatcher has been found and has shown well today. It's six hours from home so I can't quite stretch my two hour rule for this one which is a shame but I have to have some kind of self imposed boundary to keep a sense check on this crazy hobby and the "soft" two hour rule works well for me most of the time but I would like to see it all the same. The last one to be seen in Essex was back in 1979 and the one before that was 1962 so I may have a long wait. Scotland seems to attract the bulk of Britain's records for this species but it's by no means a common vagrant although it has a healthy eastern European population.

Black Tern at Startops End

Black Tern

I popped out this morning and found a nice surprise in the form of a Black Tern at Startops End Reservoir.A cracking bird flying with several Common Tern but it failed to come within range of the camera. I grabbed a record shot in the greyness of the morning and the bird moved my year list to 224.

Common Tern

                                                                                                                                                                                         
Later I found a nice Kingfisher and grabbed a shot of it and the local Grebe.

Kingfisher

Great Crested Grebe

What happened to the south easterly

I headed to Dungeness yesterday with a forecast for south easterly winds I was thinking the Skuas might be moving but on arrival the sea was flat and calm and hardly a bird in sight save a few Sarndwich and Common Terns. Two small groups of Scoter flew west and over a dozen Porpoise hunted close in but that was my lot.
A single Wheatear was seen on the beach but the highlight was the fish and chip dinner at the Pilot Inn, superb value and if you are ever in Dunge I'd suggest you give it a try.

Dungeness (picture by Suzanne)

I also gave Grove Ferry another go to see if the Cattle Egret would show for me but of course it wasn't seen until I was back home in Essex so dip three on this one which is even more painful because the bird is actually there it just won't show while I'm there. Suzanne stocked up with more "much needed" crafting supplies in Rochester on the way and Tia had several good runs rolling in anything and everything along the way. All in all a good day without a tick...more like August than May with bright sun and NO wind and I mean zero wind and you don't get to say that about Dunge very often.

Ticking again

After Saturdays dip trip I stuck my neck out and tried again for a Red Footed Falcon, this time my destination was Lakenheath in Suffolk. We made the long walk out to Joist Fen hide noting the Whooper Swan and a Cuckoo or two along the way. At Joist Fen we sat for a couple of hours enjoying good views of Marsh Harrier and listening to the sound of Bittern "booming". A single Crane flew over the river early on and the reed beds were alive with a selection of warblers. Jimmy found a Whinchat posing on top of a bush to give me tick 221. I then spotted a Hobby at the back of the fen and watched as it landed in a tree as another Hobby came out to hunt. On closer inspection through the scope the second bird was quickly ID's as the Red Footed Falcon (222) and the group of eager beavers at the hide enjoyed it for almost thirty minutes as it hawked high over the reed bed but never came close enough for a photograph. The Purple Heron had been seen at New Fen so we decided to give it an hour there to see if the bird would give itself up for us but it disappointed staying low in the reeds. A grass snake swam across in front of New Fen hide and I managed to get a photo and get the small crowd on to it as well.

Common Whitethroat

Whooper Swan

Grass Snake

The day wasn't over as this evening I got news of a Black Winged Stilt in Essex so made the short trip to Limbourne Creek and the not so short walk along the sea wall to catch this vagrant bird. It showed really well and gives me tick 223 for 2013. On the walk back to the car I bumped into Dave Bradnam making the opposite walk to see the bird. The news alerts say 400m walk from the car park but trust me it feels closer to a mile but well worth it as it's a cracking bird once you get there.

Hardwork

Today I tried to get the Jims a couple of ticks. First stop was Holme where two Dotterel were reported last night. Of course they had moved on by this morning so no amount of scanning was going to reveal the birds for what would have been a lifer for them. Our scan revealed Golden Plover, Yellow Wagtails & Lapwings.

Golden Plover

We moved on with a little disappointment to Ouse Washes and walked to the furthest hide in search of a visiting Red-footed Falcon which was a good couple of miles from the car park. We had Spotted Redshank, Ruff and Garganey along with a few Marsh Harriers but after a four hour watch we resigned to the fact that the bird had moved away. Five minutes after we left the bird came out for a short flight but of course we missed it. A quick stop in the Brecks on the way home gave the Jims a year tick as we located a lone Stone Curlew and we then headed off to Fairlop Waters in Hainault where we missed the Long Tailed Duck by an hour and couldn't find the reported Ring Ouzel so all in all a day of disappointments.

I suppose we'll just have to work harder next time.

ps..I got home to a great chocolate and cream sponge that Suzanne had pulled together while I was out touring Cambridgeshire with the Jims.

A couple of shots from the garden yesterday........

House Sparrow

House Sparrow

Cranes and Crossbills

An early start today saw me at Lakenheath before 6am. First find was a nice Whooper Swan in the Mute flock. The bird has been at the reserve for a couple of years now but seems happy with the environment and was seen to make a short flight so would appear to be able to leave if it chose to.

Whooper Swan

Along the path I heard my first Grasshopper Warbler of 2013 (217) but it failed to appear despite me giving it plenty of time to show itself to me. Bittern were "booming" and I counted at least six. Lot's of Marsh Harrier activity with a couple of food passes witnessed. A single Crane flew in while I was at Joist Fen hide and the Barn Owl made a short appearance too. Cuckoos called and a Cetti's Warbler sang loudly by the hide showing well at times.Hobby (218) numbers slowly built as the sun came out but stayed distant towards the rear of the marsh. A Spotted Redshank flew over Joist Fen too whilst I was there, a first for me at this site.

Back at Brandon Fen I located the male Ring Ouzel that's been here about a week now. The bird was in the fenced off area and was unsettled flying from bush to bush perhaps getting ready to move on.
A Wheatear came to see what I was doing and was quite happy to stick around in my company for a while.
I took advantage by grabbing a few photographs.

Wheatear

WHEATEAR

I made a quick stop in the Brecks on my way to Hollesley Common to find another year tick in the form of a single Stone Curlew (219) The bird was distant and hard as I tried I couldn't find another bird in the area which seems strange as the area is a stronghold for these birds. At Hollesley I found the car park on the common and was happy to take directions from some locals which helped me find the "puddle". After a while waiting the puddle was visited by up to twelve Crossbills and a couple of Yellowhammers. Again the camera came out.

Crossbill

Crossbill

Crossbills

Crossbill

On the way home I had a text from Suzanne that told me the Wood Sandpiper was still at Cattawade. With this only being a couple of mile diversion from my route home down the A12 I had to try and after parking up I walked along the main road a few yards to scan the pool quickly finding Greenshank and Redshank along with a single Snipe. After a few minutes I got on the Wood Sandpiper for tick 220 of the year.
A lovely day in Sunny Suffolk.