randombirder

Another monster late afternoon / evening at Broom having powered through reports and meetings, I headed over to find three arctic tern still present on GLE.  It was an incredible experience watching these polar wanderers fly in close to the viewing screen, against a brisk and biting northeasterly.  It's been a day for them but inland sightings are always special - especially when they turn up locally. This was certainly up there with my best local birding moments. Also present was a stunning summer plumage dunlin , common sandpiper , greenshank , two each of the now resident little ringed plover and oystercatcher and clouds of hirundine and few swift coursing through. A hobby hurtled through on a couple of occasions disturbing everything in its wake - a spectacular sight seeing hirundines swarming and terns charging off in unison.  There was so much activity across this modest sized waterbody. The 2cy common gull was present again along with two little egret , two yell...

The last few weeks have flown by.  Surveying has been fun but tiring in this heat.  It's been standard fair apart from discovering two Hobby nest sites, observing six flyover Crossbill , and chancing upon my first Purple Hairstreak for quite a while. Wanderings round the local area have been few and far between but it always provides an outlet from home office days.  The scenery never stops being a source of joy. There's not been a lot around birdwise but a Marsh Harrier seen along the Wallington Road during a bike ride on the 3rd was my first for the local area. My first Wheatear of the autumn was present on the airfield on the 4th. Grey Partridge seem to have had a good year with plenty of youngsters around. Not managed many trips to Broom but there has been a bit of quality there over the last couple of weeks. A fresh juvenile Wood Sandpiper was present for a couple of days on the 2nd with a decent selection of common waders including three Common Sandpiper , t...

Another cold breezy morning but at least the sun was out.  My first Oystercatcher for the reserve were seen from the viewpoint at GLE with two on the grass there.  Two Lapwing sat with the gulls. At least 13 Shoveler were present and flocks of 60 Fieldfare , 30 Redwing , and 25 Yellowhammer were present in the arable field adjacent to the main lake. A  Brown Hare was seen on GLE and a Muntjac Deer stood stunned by my presence by the main lake. Oystercatcher Muddy scenes

It has been an interesting week of sightings with after my third attempt this year, I finally caught up with the Great Grey Shrike in fields opposite Brogborough Lake (1st Feb).  It really is an elusive individual with a tendency to go missing for long periods.  At least this time it sat up on a bramble for a couple of minutes before disappearing once again. A trip to Broom GPs on the 2nd proved fruitful with my first Raven for the site.  Two birds flew in and rested in the field on the opposite side of the pit.  Typically I forgot my camera and phone.  Also recorded was my highest count of Shoveler with 14 present on GLE. During a week of surveying round a number of Essex' finest arable fields, I did manage to pick up a Grey Partridge and a sparkling adult Mediterranean Gull among a large mixed Gull flock. ______ So onto today and a late afternoon visit to Broom with the evening drawing in and the chill of the air starting to nibble away as I looke...

A final visit of the year to Broom that started off well with plenty of movement overhead. The plan was to spend a little longer here today to check the waterbodies for winter wildfowl.  It was a lovely morning, not too cold, and with high cloud pierced by the low winter sun. The Goosander from yesterday had disappeared so we were back to normal for wildfowl counts albeit with the usual fluctuations in numbers.  Across the lakes  68 Wigeon , 13 Shoveler , 14 Gadwall , 13 Teal , 13 Tufted Duck , 10 Great Crested Grebe , and a single Pochard represented reasonable mid-winter numbers.  A total of 157 Coot  were present on the main lake.  112 Black headed Gull , 33 Common Gull, and 2 brief adult  Herring Gull were congregated on GLE. A Peregrine shot through over GLE sending everything skyward before disappearing off to the east. The real surprise came in the form of an adult winter Little Gull  that was associating with the Black...

A while since I'd visited Broom that was rewarded with a surprise drake   Goosander that drifted along the length of GLE. Other than the sawbill, it was pretty routine with counts of 48 Wigeon , 13 Gadwall , eight Teal. Overhead, a paltry seven Lapwing moved through with a decent number of Fieldfare commuting over the pits.

A dull and dreary day with the status quo well and truly set now for the winter.  Hopefully there will be a few oddities over the season but today was a case of as you were sir. Totals from an hour this morning; 7  Shoveler 41  Gadwall 52 Wigeon 10 Teal 1f  Pochard 4 Great Crested Grebe 200+ Golden Plover 3 Common Snipe 3 Common Gull 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull 12 Cormorant 2 Goldcrest 2 Mistle Thrush 8 Fieldfare

Some decent variety today but wildfowl numbers seem to have settled now albeit with minor fluctuations.  The following minimum counts were; 44 Gadwall 41 Wigeon 26 Teal 1 Shoveler 2 Common Pochard 2 Tufted Duck 1 Great Crested Grebe An approximate count of 270 Lapwing were circling the area and 37 high flying Golden Plover were noted headed west. Three Common Snipe roosted on the large island and there was a decent congregation of larids that included 23 Common Gull , 22 Lesser black backed Gull , and four Herring Gull . A female Sparrowhawk flew through as did four Redwing . Around 40 Skylark were present again and a pair of Stonechat were active near the pond.

A bit of a change today, deciding to head over to my closest RSPB reserve at Fowlmere. It was generally very quiet but the Barn Owl showed really well as it sat in its nesting box viewed from the Reedbed hide. A female Bullfinch and a Treecreeper were seen on the walk round. In the afternoon, I headed over to Broom where over 300 Lapwing passed overhead, none of which stopped to settle on the pits. I carried out minimum counts of the wildfowl with the following results: 51 Wigeon 48 Gadwall 37 Teal 5 Shoveler 4 Common Pochard 3 Little Grebe Also of note were five Skylark , two Yellowhammer , a single Common Snipe , and 15 Common Gull .

Another productive day with plenty of interest. The feeling of Winter was palpable today with a real changing of the guard.  Wigeon numbers were slightly higher today with 42 counted on the pit. Five Common Snipe and a paltry nine Lapwing were the only waders of note.  Gull numbers have increased with 85 Black-headed Gull and two Common Gull resting on the exposed mud. There was plenty of activity over the fields with encouraging numbers of at least 40 very flighty Skylark , three Stonechat present in the tall ruderal, a single Yellowhammer , and 19 Fieldfare over. A Grey Wagtail flew onto the muddy fringes. Stonechat

Precious little to stoke up the excitement for the autumn season.  A group of 36 Lapwing flew through with two deciding to take a break on the pits. A count of 28 Wigeon were present along with two Little Egret .  A walk round Broom East saw groups of Skylark with around 25 counted.  Five Yellowhamer and five Reed Bunting were flighty on a mild breeze. Four Swallow flew through.

Two trips today to the local - with a walk around the west side of Gypsy Lane that produced a Nuthatch and Treecreeper in the woodland. On the pits, the Garganey was still present along with a further increase of 30 Wigeon .  The Common Sandpiper , four Common Snipe and two Lapwing were predictably the only waders present. The evening saw a Kingfisher skimming low over the water, and a brief Water Rail on the far side from the watchpoint made an appearance before dashing nervously into cover.

Very little of note with only the remaining Garganey providing the only semblance of interest.  A high-count of 37 Teal and 11 Wigeon were increases on previous visits.  Two Shoveler were also present. A total of 11 Lapwing were grounded on the exposed mud, and a high count of four Little Egret were resting on the island.  Two Common Snipe were the only other waders present.

Another pleasant early autumn morning with the warm sun warming things up nicely. The long-staying Garganey was still present along with the small group of Wigeon (7). Two Common Snipe and the continuing Common Sandpiper were the only waders of interest. 

More interest this morning at Broom East when a juvenile Marsh Harrier appeared from the south and flew over the reserve heading off north.  It was seen again around 90 minutes later when a group of agitated corvids alerted me to its presence suggesting that it may have been feeding around the nearby fields. There was plenty of interest on the pits with my first Wigeon of the autumn, a group of eight feeding beyond the spit.  Wildfowl numbers were up with a count of 35 Teal counted across the reserve.  Two Egyptian Goose were new in presumably commuting across from Peacocks.   Four Common Snipe were feeding in the shallows, the water levels are particularly low at the moment, with a mobile Common Sandpiper there.   Late migrants included a Sedge Warbler flushed out of the long grass on the west side, two flyover Yellow Wagtail , a Swallow , single Willow Warbler , and around 30 Meadow Pipit . Around midday a surprise juvenile Ho...

After completing the Baldock 5km Rat Run, I headed over for an interesting morning at Broom that kicked off nicely with a dozy one-legged juvenile Spotted Redshank asleep in the bay.  A good local record and indeed a first in the county this year.  It was pretty dormant for a while, before waking from its slumber and hopping inelegantly around the muddy fringes.  I don't believe in miracles but one happened today when after around 5 mins, its second leg appeared and all was well in the world. A crowd of local birders assembled to enjoy this dashing and of course elegant wader, a first year bird en route to warmer climes. The wader interest didn't end there when shortly after connecting with the Spotshank, a juvenile Ruff appeared on the bund.  A double-take to make sure it wasn't the returning Pec.  It too is a scarce visitor to these parts. It was pretty lively out there.  Small groups of Lapwing flew into the pits numbering 42 in total accompanied ...

Dropped into Broom after a survey and the Pectoral Sandpiper was still present and slightly closer to the viewpoint then previous visits. There was a good selection for the hour spent there with the highlight being a Kingfisher that successfully fished from the pool, devouring its catch while sat on the muddy margins.  Not something I had seen before. Other highlights were a juvenile Little Ringed Plover scuttling around the muddy fringes, two Common Snipe , Common Sandpiper , four Lapwing , the Garganey , an increase to three Wigeon , and four Shoveler .

The day started with a wander through the local countryside.  It was incredibly relaxing, there was hardly a soul around, but equally not much in the way of wildlife.  Just two Whinchat held station along a hedgerow off the Wallington Road and six Yellow Wagtail over. Later at Broom, the Pec had relocated elsewhere, but the Garganey remained with a single Common Sandpiper , Common Snipe , and two Green Sandpiper .

After a recce across to Broom East Gravel Pits the evening before, I discovered that a scope was essential here.  I discovered this as I couldn't really see anything across the scrape apart from the huge gathering of boisterous Greylags and a smattering of wildfowl. It looks great, and previous records boast a tidy selection of scarce vagrants as well as a healthy list of migrant waders. The water levels are low at the moment exposing a fair amount of mud - perfect for wading birds. A first proper look at this south Bedfordshire site resulted in the continuing  Pectoral Sandpiper, a great inland record and only my third for the UK.  A really well marked juvenile that flew in after being absent for most of the afternoon. Other waders here included singles of Common Sandpiper , Green Sandpiper , and  Common Snipe . Wildlife numbers were generally low, still early days but good variety led by an eclipse Garganey along with 32 Teal , two Wigeon , ...