randombirder

This was a first visit to Ouse Fen RSPB a reasonable drive into the heart of Cambridgeshire.  It was a lovely warm morning with the walk starting at a small car park onto the defined paths that lead alongside reedbeds and areas of open water. Areas of mixed woodland and scrub revealed at least two Lesser Whitethroat and five Blackcap with a minimum of three Willow Warbler around the reserve.  A surprise Crossbill flew over shortly before a Bittern was seen flying languidly past before dropping down into the reeds. The reserve is punctuated by lakes and pools.  Following the Barleycroft Trail leads to unsurprisingly to Barleycroft Lake that held most of the interesting sightings. The highlight were at least three purring Turtle Dove with one individual perched high up on a willow.   The lake held a family group of five Little Egret , a single Oystercatcher , 14 Lapwing and two vocal Kingfisher .

It was always going to be a long shot to have had 'Albert' the Albatross make an appearance on the rugged cliff-face of Bempton for a third consecutive day but it didn't detract from what was an excellent day at one of our finest RSPB reserves in England. An early start arriving at Speeton from where the long cliff-top walk starts. Taking in the views across the bay out to Filey and beyond under a moody grey skies. The walk from Speeton to Bempton takes around two hours largely spent hugging the cliff-tops providing plenty of opportunities to pick out a wandering seabird.  I didn't encounter a soul for at least an hour. Commonly seen well out to sea coursing over the waves, the Northern Gannet is a majestic seabird, and observing them at close quarters was an absolute privilege.  Many were seen collecting nesting material - this one deciding that perhaps one trip was enough. An unexpected bonus was...

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 .

There are some places in the UK that for me are are just pure magic.  Wales in one of them, and specifically mid-to-north Wales.  For the second year running, a visit was made to the fabulous RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve around ten miles from Tregaron. It was spectacular, and much like last year, the sun was shining against a crisp blue sky. It started with a showy Garden Warbler singing freely near the top of a willow.  At least two Willow Warbler were in song in the vicinity.  The boardwalk enters the woodland where a subtle sounds of the Welsh woodland specialties draw in the senses. Wood Warbler are particularly vocal, the trills echoing through the sun mottled woodland, with a couple of males seen displaying and at least six males heard around the reserve. Pied Flycatcher are seen all around the reserve as are Common Redstart .  At one point, a male of each species were within ten metres of each other, while Tree Pipit and Wood Warb...

A morning walk round Ynys-hir.  Another gorgeous day with plenty going on.  A reeling Grasshopper Warbler was the first sighting of the day, taking the 'red' route out into the open area.  It then flew around a couple of times being harassed by a Sedge Warbler . Another spectacular reserve, the route produced a singing Common Redstart perched on the very top of a pine.  A really special sight.  A Tree Pipit sang from within the woodland as did a Wood Warbler .  There were at least three singing male Pied Flycatcher here. Also of note were plenty of Siskin on the feeders, and at least four Redpoll flew over. Then onto the Dyfi Osprey Project where the pair were in-situ, the male Osprey gorging on a juicy red mullet.

A first visit to this RSPB reserve in Camarthenshire and it blew my mind.  Set in the glorious valleys of Central Wales, the circular walk route through breathtaking scenery, beguiling woodland, alongside a pristine mountain stream that looked perfect for Dipper. It was a decent drive from Llan-Mill after an enjoyable late luncheon stop at Narberth. There were quality birds everywhere, at least six singing male Pied Flycatcher , the same number of Wood Warbler in full cascading 'spinning top' melody, at least one superb male Common Redstart in the treetops, and a single Tree Pipit deep within the woodland.  These were accompanied by the more common species, Nuthatch and Treecreeper also seen there. No sign of Dipper unfortunately but just taking in the immaculate backdrop was enough for me.

It was ultimately a lacklustre weekend at Titchwell RSPB, an assessment made purely on the lack of returning migrants, and the absence of any autumn rares.  The trip was more in anticipation of what is to come over arguably the most exciting period for a UK based birder. The chance of an encounter of a rare vagrant, a UK mega, forcing local birders away their patches for a week or two for the outer isles where birding bounties lay in wait. It is always a joy being in this part of the world but alas, my arrival was inevitably a little premature.  The freshmarsh is always a hive of activity regardless of the seasons.  The sea however drew most of the interest with a bracing northerly blow that was forcing seabirds reasonably close to shore.  I however opted spend most of the time in the relative shelter of the reserve. It ended up being quite a lethargic couple of days, content with just mooching around, sitting in hides, and convivially bidding everyone a good day...