randombirder

Quiet on the Marshes but a fine pair of Northern Wheatear were present on the South Marsh by the railway line.  A male Whinchat on the east marsh was a nice surprise.  A Lesser Whitethroat rattled from a central area while a Cetti's Warbler was still present.  A flock of House Martin flew north.

This is set to be my annual pilgrimage and there is no finer place than the heart of Snowdonia.  The place of many childhood holidays and now the resting place of my dad who passed away last year.  The trip was to celebrate his birthday - to remember and pass by all those places we spent together as a family.  Family.  Never perfect but there is something here that has purged the imperfections, the valleys have been overruled by the mountains just like the darkness fails to comprehend the light. The trip was a celebration of life, of challenge, and of aching limbs.  Our challenge to climb the highest peaks of England,Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland started with Mount Snowdon. Awaking to clear blue skies, we were both excited about the prospect.  Three minutes into the climb - we were knackered but soon hit our stride.  Two and a half hours later, we hit the top.  The views were breathtaking and a social visit fro...

A busy day at home and a small window to head out on the bike on a warm humid afternoon.  Dashing around is not really an ideal but I wanted a quick peak round the Marshes and the Ressies. A lone female Northern Wheatear was present on the far pen of the rear paddocks,  There were numerous Common Whitethroat in display mode. Moving up towards the reservoirs, it was evident that there was a significant increase in hirundines particularly Sand Martin that must have numbered over a hundred.  My first Swift of the year wheeled over the Warwicks with around thirty seen.  A Red Kite was a surprise, drifting low and away as I was locking my bike up against the railings. A Cetti's Warbler called from somewhere between No.2 and No.3, and at least two Reed Warbler were in song. Heading round East Warwick, a pair of twitchy Northern Wheatear included a fine male.  I followed them along the path before they flew onto West Warwick. Another female Norther...

How crestfallen would William Amhurst (Governer General of India 1823-1828) be if he had any notion that a bunch of tardy birders would be peering into a random area of private woodland in search of an exotic/introduced/plastic/feral/whatamidoinghere bird named endearingly after his wife.  William Amhurst?  Who?  I do admit to having large gaps in my knowledge of history, but even those that are Historically learned may struggle to recall the life and times of the Governer. I believe the story goes something like this.  So the good Lady wife subservient to the Governer's position often took walks through the Burmese forest edges to escape the tedium of day-to-day political meetings and plans to establish the British Empire through military force.  During these tranquil moments, she began to notice the delights of the forest floor, the sounds, the trees, the birds - and a pheasant that particularly drew her attention.  With the help of the waiting staff at...

Consecutive Saturday visits to Rainham Marshes and why not?  I like it here.  Today I was a meeting a good friend of mine for a stroll round the reserve to hopefully connect with some fresh migrants, and to introduce some new species to an enthusiastic ecologist. There was a freshness in the air, a keen breeze blowing from the northeast subdued the temperatures but did nothing to temper the steady flow of spring migrants. A tally of 12 Common Tern including a group of eight battled stoically against the wind suggested that there may be some interest along the river which didn't really materialise during the course of the day. The week had seen a distinct change in numbers of wildfowl with only a pair of Wigeon seen, a few Shoveler , and a reduction in the number of Teal but still decent numbers present.  A few Lapwing were incubating with a pair already overseeing their first fledglings out on the reserve.  Such a relief that the wardens had eradicat...

Missed the Hoopoe that was supposedly still present when I arrived on site at 9am but was nowhere to be seen.  An amazing find by Jamie Partridge and one of those birding moments we all hope for. A male Northern Wheatear was present on the rear Paddocks at Walthamstow Marshes.

I found this little poem about the Ring Ouzel penned by a blogging poet called 'thecheeswolf' and it is rather delightful. Follow the link for some of his other works. RING OUZEL A lunar crescent, skyward horned. A tail which traces scree and ling. A plaintive tone, a mournful tune. A solitary black and bib. Alone in rocks above the scars, Where streams from bogs first scratch their beds With steady tick like lowland merle, A lost and wayward song of moors. The moon is pitched in afterglow And scattered with the trace of stars. The melancholy call of space A flick of night pitched wing and gone. And left as one with what was once, The sadness of a memory’s song. There are cons to early starts on the patch, but today was very much about the prose. A male Ring Ouzel found feeding on the grassy path adjacent to the river on the old Pitch and Putt at the Waterworks was a real treat. Maybe the same bird seen yesterday, it fed pur...

So the forecast today was altogether changeable with the threat of rain for this morning.  Hopes then flooded my tiny brain of throngs of Terns and Waders being forced down onto the edges of the reservoirs by the rain, flooding images of frenzied attempts to pick off dozens of new patch ticks. Instead all I got was a good old fashioned soaking and not much avian swag to take home with me. Best were a flock of 30 Sand Martin over West Warwick. Walthamstow Marshes hardly fared better with 5 Sand Martin here, a singing Cetti's Warbler and two Willow Warbler .  A Common Snipe flew high over the north side. Think I'll stay at home next time.

A warm morning with plenty of birdsong and much promise with a glut of Ring Ouzels moving through southern counties. Surely we could bag one ourselves.  Predictably it wasn't to be but there were plenty of odds and ends. A Peregrine flew south over, and a Sand Martin was seen in its now resident location downriver. A single Meadow Pipit flew round the paddocks and at least three male Reed Bunting were located around the Marsh.  A lone Lapwing flew low over north marsh, where a Willow Warbler sang from the east side.  A Cetti's Warbler called from around the railway underpass.  A Swallow then flew through on the northside, and a single House Martin was seen flying north high over the railway bridge. Two Shelduck dabbled along the relief channel.

When the fog eventually lifted, it turned out to be a stunning day with clear skies.  Despite the promises of the forecasted 20C temperatures today, I could feel an attenuated nip to the wind.  It did feel agreeably pleasant in the sun. So starting at the visitor centre, a reminder that winter was still visible in the rear view with twenty or so Wigeon , and eight Pintail in various areas of the reserve.  Three Common Snipe roosted on Purfleet, and the Common Redshank and Lapwing were energetically protecting their territories. Cetti's Warbler appeared to be calling from every thicket and reedbed, but the first real quality was a drake Garganey feeding at the northern end of Purfleet scrape.  It was close into the edge of the reed making it difficult to get really good views but such a smart duck nevertheless. There were plenty of Reed Bunting , and the distant 'mewing' call were of three high flying Common Buzzard drifting north-west.  A dist...

Another fine warm day, but a little bit hazier than yesterday.  Smog maybe?  Headed over to the Filter Beds first which was predictably quiet with a few Teal in the channel and singing Chiffchaff . A cycle round to the Pitch and Putt where there were around 45 Teal feeding on the rapids viewed from the black railings. I headed to the Waterworks where a Little Egret was probing around Bed 16, with four Teal present there. A drake Shoveler was roosting on the west pond. At least two Cetti's Warbler were calling from around the reserve, with a singing Blackcap there too.  Two Grey Wagtail flew around the hides.  Then at last, my first Swallow of the year flew low over before heading speedily toward the south.  A single Sand Martin also shot through with haste. A tip-off had me cycling up to the Marshes where a singing Willow Warbler was seen at close range in Horseshoe thicket before being rudely chased off by a Robin. I decided to head bac...

What a beaut of a day.  With clear skies and light winds, the sun felt warm and it was great to be out and about.  The same routine as yesterday heading over to the Marshes first that was generally quiet with three Sand Martin overhead, a couple of singing Blackcap , the Cetti's Warbler this time calling from the scrub near the boardwalk, and a couple of Shelduck on the relief channel. Heading onto Lockwood, I met up with Graham and Adam, the three of us primed to pick up a decent migrant.  The weather however was just too good - clear skies, light winds, and no visible sign of migration apart from a dozen Meadow Pipit flying through. On the northside of Lockwood, a lone female Northern Wheatear sat in the long grass before flying onto the west bank.  The Scaup pairing remained and showed really well reasonably close in to the east side.  A single Common Buzzard drifted west and a surprise female Goldeneye flew toward the north end. Heading onto H...

So at last, freedom was my portion after a gruelling couple of weeks of corporate incarceration.  And right on cue, the weather had changed and today was gloriously sunny with a light breeze which felt good for some good old fashioned migration. Jumping on the bike for the first time this year, I headed first to the Marshes where four flighty Redwing lingered along the avenue at the entrance to the riding stables.  A Peregrine flapped purposefully to the east as I headed towards the rear paddocks.  The paddocks were generally quiet, but for two Shelduck on the adjacent overflow, a single drake Teal and a couple of Grey Wagtail . Heading northwards, the increase of Chiffchaff was notable with at least ten birds in full song, and my first Blackcap of the spring were too in song with a couple in bushes on the north-east side. Most disturbing was the sight and sound of an almighty party on the northside where a group had erected a marquee in the grassy area along T...