Notch-up one at Newbourne...

With the weather in Suffolk being so beautiful (as I'm led to believe it is across the entire country) I decided to take a trip to the exquisitely picturesque Newbourne Springs with mother. I went with birdwatching in the back of my mind, hence taking the camera and binoculars, but it was mainly a nice walk in the sun drenched woods which was the aim of the day. The reserve is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and they do a wonderful job of managing it without it looking like it has been managed - if you know what I mean.

We arrived in the glorious sunshine and my eye was instantly drawn to the bright orange butterfly which was flitting around next to where we parked the car. Of course, by the time I had got to the boot and found the binoculars it had disappeared. So off we strolled surrounded by the combined tweetings of chaffinches, wrens, robins and the newly arrived, but very vocal, chiffchaffs.

As we strolled around bird highlights came in the form of a great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, treecreeper and a flock of at least 15 fieldfares. I'm guessing their proximity to the east coast means that they could be considering making the trip back to Scandinavia soon. The really pleasant surprise (which I had half-hoped for) my first singing blackcap of the year. He was generally quite elusive, but after a short time of following us whilst uttering short song excerpts from the depths of the scrub, he sat out on display for a short time.

Blackcap - Newbourne Springs - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Another first of the year for me can in the (very distinctive) shape of a couple of comma butterflies sparring with each other before landing in the sunshine.

Comma - Newbourne Springs - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

There was also red admirals on the wing and a white which, from a distance, looked like my first green-veined white of the year - but I'm not 100% on that one.

A lovely way to spend a couple of hours and Mum loved it!

I shall call it ... Springter!...

I love this time of year, when the arriving Spring migrants meet the Winter visitors who are preparing to leave.

I feel this photo sums it up...

Garganey & Wigeon - RSPB Boyton Marshes - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

So first, a brief catch up on what I've been up to since the last post. Last week we had an impromptu trip to North Norfolk which was probably a month too early. Migrants were still somewhat in short supply with the exception being my first little ringed plover of the year at RSPB Titchwell followed by a Spoonbill at Cley. We then followed this first trip with another a couple of days later when we headed over to Lake Vyrnwy in Mid Wales. Again, since this site specialises in species such as wood warblers, redstarts and pied flycatchers, we were too early since these species wont be appearing for another month or so. I might post some pictures from these trips at a later date.

So that brings us up to today. I'm now back in Suffolk for a couple of weeks and I intend to catch up with as many migrants as I can because when I get back to Birmingham, time will be at a premium. Anyway, my first target species for my trip home was a garganey. They had been popping up all over the place in the last week and I thought I must have a good chance of seeing one. After a relaxed morning I heard that one had been seen just a short drive away so I grabbed my gear and headed out to RSPB Boyton Marshes. As I arrived I was greeted by one of the most pristine looking male marsh harriers I have ever seen - perfect definition of the dark wing tips, crisp contrast between the white and brown and a clear pale head. It appeared so quickly that I hadn't even got my camera out of the car as it past overhead. After this encounter I headed off to look over the first of the flashes and after seeing curlews, redshanks, oystercatchers and avocets I clocked a very handsome drake garganey cruising across the water.

Drake Garganey - RSPB Boyton Marshes - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Having swam around a little he took to the edge and adopted this position:

Drake Garganey - RSPB Boyton Marshes - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

I guess he must be tired after a long overnight migration! Unfortunately I couldn't find the mixed group of bean geese and white-fronted geese which were supposed to be lingering around in the area, but not to worry, a beautiful female marsh harrier drifting over more than made up for it.

I finished up at Boyton pretty quickly because despite the beautiful weather, the breeze coming off the river made the earlier choice of shorts seem a tad optimistic. Driving back home I passed Upper Hollesley Common where a great grey shrike has been residing for the past few days - I would have been an idiot not to stop! Although the shrike was somewhere around the common, my real hope was to see a woodlark and a yellowhammer (believe it or not, I haven't stumbled across this species yet this year). So off I trotted down the main path towards the crossroads and after a while I paused because of what I could hear. Singing somewhere across the common was a yellowhammer. I scanned the bushes and heather and clocked a dartford warbler and a stonechat. So now I could see two fantastic species whilst still listening to a the yellowhammer. Some crossbills flew overhead but there was no sign of the seemingly elusive yellow devil. I pressed on and was greeted by the sound of a singing woodlark who refused to make himself visable. I arrived at one of the two famous drinking pools on the common - there are literally hundreds of photos on birdguides which have been taken of birds coming down to drink and bathe at them - and I bedded in for a short time with a couple of proper photographers.

Crossbills - Upper Hollesley Common - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Siskin - Upper Hollesley Common - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

And the crossbills just kept coming, it was fantastic.

Crossbills (with a cheeky chaffinch) - Upper Hollesley Common
- Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

So after spending some time at the puddle, I walked on in search of a woodlark and yellowhammer. Further up the path I found a goldcrest who refused to be photographed and as I turned to carry on walking, two birds flew down to the path to feed - yellowhammers!

(Overexposed) Yellowhammers - Upper Hollesley Common - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

After the yellowhammers dispersed a singing woodlark drifted overhead and into the distance - I couldn't ask for anymore in a day (except for maybe the shrike). On the return to the car I passed the puddle again and rejoined the photographers for another short puddle-watching vigil. They informed me that I had missed yellowhammers coming to drink and a stonechat bathing. You can see a picture taken by one of the photographers here. I did however manage to get some lovely views of yellowhammers coming down from the trees though.

Yellowhammer - Upper Hollesley Common - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Yellowhammer and Chaffinch - Upper Hollesley Common
- Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

And so concluded another lovely afternoon's birding. This also highlights another reason for loving Springter - you can have a productive morning doing stuff and still get a good afternoons birding in!

Sandwell's 2012 highlights so far...

The cogs of migration are slowly beginning to turn with me hearing my first chiffchaff of the year yesterday. As we say goodbye to our Winter visitors and prepare the reserve for the Spring arrivals I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect upon some of the birding highlights of the year so far here in the Valley.

The first candidate worth mention is a regular winter visitor (recorded every year) but can be as difficult to see as an Umpalumpa laying down in a carrot field. It is of course the diminutive and perfectly camouflaged Jack snipe. In the last coordinated snipe count on February 29th we flushed at least 6 of them which is a good count for anywhere in the country let alone a small 'urban' reserve. This year they have also been coming to within spitting distance (literally) of the hide and giving amazing photo opportunities (alas I haven't been there when this has been the case). One visitor was fortunate enough to get this shot after a brief visit to the hide in February.

Jack Snipe - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Kyle Smith

These have been accompanied by their slightly bigger cousin the common snipe which have also been present in good numbers with 60 being counted in the end of February snipe count. This year I haven't managed to get a good photo of one yet, but here is an older photo taken from the Sandwell Hide.

Common Snipe - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Date Unknown/Forgotten - Mike Ixer

In early February a group of 6 golden plover were seen on the other side of the Valley by Salters Lane.

Golden Plover - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

The next visitor was the real star of the year so far. It arrived on the 12th, stayed for 5 days in February and had it's gender discussed at length. It was of course the redhead smew and was the first of this species to visit the Valley in at least 8 years - if not more.

Smew - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Smew - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

At the same time as the smew was floating around the lake, we also had a visit from some greylag geese (scarce in the Valley) and a handsome drake pintail.

Greylag Goose - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Pintail - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Mid February also saw the return of our regular oystercatcher Stumpy. She is so named because of her distinctive missing foot - an injury which looks to be very uncomfortable but is clearly not too much of an inconvenience because this is her 5th summer in the Valley! Below is a photo I took yesterday on the North Island. In it you can just about make out that the bird on the right is missing her left foot.

Oystercatchers - Sandwell Valley - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

On the 22nd of Feb we had a brief visit from a yellow-legged gull which unfortunately avoided the camera lens. We also had our first visit of the year by a black-tailed godwit (which I missed because I didn't arrive until the afternoon!). One of the hide guides managed to phonescope this shot though.

Black-Tailed Godwit - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Richard Edwards

A pair of ravens has been present in the Valley recently and there have been sporadic sightings from the reserve but they have thus far remained unphotographed. The same can't be said about the dunlin which dropped in on the 4th March.

Dunlin - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

This brings me bang up to date to my visit yesterday which coincided with the first redshank of the year.

Redshank - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Mar. 2012 - Mike Ixer

So my Sandwell Valley yearlist stands at 79 for the year so far and with the early signs of Spring migration being seen I hope to add to that over the next few weeks.

Minsmere Moments...

I am fortunate in that the RSPB's Flagship reserve at Minsmere is only a 30 minute drive from my parents home back in Suffolk, and therefore whenever I am home for a visit, I often make the (short) pilgrimage up the A12 to see what delights are on offer. I have found Minsmere's reputation to be both a blessing and a curse for the reserve. This is because people come expecting to have one of the infamous 'Minsmere Moments' which you hear about and read about in blogs, and if they do not experience this it can almost be a disappointment. For example, when I took Beth there for here first visit at the beginning of this year, we had a relatively quiet day (by Minsmere's standards) during which we only saw more marsh harriers than you can shake a stick at and a few avocets and therefore left feeling strangely let down. However, if you visit often enough, you will occasionally be rewarded with one of those moments.

I can think of three particularly special visits I have made - and dozens of other bloody good ones which of course shouldn't be discounted. The first of which was a couple of years ago when one Autumn afternoon the parents and I decided to head up the road after a spate of interesting sightings. For some inexplicable reason I did not take my camera and therefore missed a number of opportunities to get some fantastic pictures of some truly amazing birds. To summarise, in the short walk starting at the visitors centre and circumnavigating the scrape we had seen a wryneck in the North Bushes, a juvenile red-backed shrike from the North Wall, a Lapland bunting on the beach and a little stint from East Hide. It was truly phenomenal! I understand that all of these birds are regular passage migrants in this country and seeing one on a birding trip would not normally become a treasured memory (except possibly the wryneck, elusive little sods!), but to see all four in such a short time will always stay with me.

After an average Spring day walking around the two circular routes I stumbled wearily into (the old) Island Mere Hide and found a man with a huge amount of video equipment set up in the corner quietly looking slightly glazed over. A short while later I had established that he was on a mission from the BBC to film a bittern in the open and since they had been showing themselves very well of late in front of the hide that it seemed the perfect place to come. I also found out that he had been sitting there since just after dawn (it was now mid afternoon) with nothing but a few flight shots at distance - hence the slightly glazed look. Not long after arriving in the hide, a bittern flew into the reeds just to the right of the hide, but more importantly, just next to the clearing - everyone's collective breath was held hoping it would see fit to take a stroll in front of us. The glazed look was now long gone from the cameraman's face and sure enough, a bittern began to tentatively walk out from the reeds. Motordrives on cameras began to heat up as the bird became increasingly bold seemingly oblivious of the shutters rattling in the hide.

Bittern - RSPB Minsmere - Apr. 2010 - Mike Ixer

The bird then paused as if it had suddenly become aware of the cameras. What it had noticed we shall never know, but it was at this moment that it stooped down, began to inflate as it gulped in air and then gave one of the most distinctive bird calls you will ever hear. Yes, we (including the cameraman) had just witnessed a bittern booming right in front of us - truly incredible! If you want to watch the video (and let's face it, who wouldn't!), it can be found here on the BBC website. He (the bittern, not the cameraman) then pranced around a little more offering yet more opportunities for photographs.

Bittern - RSPB Minsmere - Apr. 2010 - Mike Ixer

Bittern - RSPB Minsmere - Apr. 2010 - Mike Ixer

Finally, having walked almost the entire distance across the clearing, he flew off into another part of the reedbed. It was at this point the excitement of everyone in the hide could finally be released after bottling it up so as to not scare the bird - people were borderline cheering after this display!

The final outstanding memory has to be at the back-end of Summer last year. It was the best time to be watching the terns because they were starting to migrate and this means that all sorts can 'tern' up (couldn't resist, sorry). I was in the hide overlooking the South Scrape where it seemed the terns were gathering. After just a quick scan the three breeding tern species had all made themselves apparent, they were common, sandwich and little. After a slightly more thorough scan a black tern suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb. Things were starting to get really interesting and, intrigued by the possibility of finding five tern species from one hide, I had a really detailed look amongst the assembled common terns in the vague hope of finding an Arctic - and sure enough, eventually one was found. At this point one of the volunteers arrived and after talking to him about the assembled mass of terns, I asked the irresistible question "Any roseate terns been seen?". Apparently they had! So commenced a number of detailed searches - but to no avail. After deciding I was just being greedy in wanting to see six tern species in one sitting someone gave the call that they had found the roseate. There it was, glowing slightly pink in the perfect light, thus completing the entire set of terns that you would hope to see (barring the really unusual ones).

This bout of nostalgia over my personal Minsmere moments has been brought on after a visit this weekend and an experience which almost qualifies. I arrived early(ish - not early by birding standards) and headed straight to the Whin Hill Watchpoint after reports of a glossy ibis being viewable from there. On my way there I was confronted by this in the middle of the path.

Red Deer - RSPB Minsmere - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

I don't really know anything about deer, but is it not a bit late for young to still be feeding from mothers? Anyway, after arriving at the watchpoint, I scanned across Island Mere and the fields behind with my binoculars and was greeted by the sight of at least three marsh harriers cutting across above the reeds. Then, another birder allowed me to look through his telescope at the (incredibly distant) ibis. Without this scope I would probably have never seen a bird at that distance, let alone been able to identify it! Well it was still a new life bird for me - but there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to seeing my next one. After some further scanning looking for a great white egret which had also been reported, the call came out that there was a bittern flying over the reeds, and sure enough we all picked it up just as it dropped into the reeds. A few false alarms on the egret later (it is difficult to not try to turn little egrets into great ones when your looking for one) and I spotted what looked like a very large white bird come out of the reeds and start to gain height. After pointing it out to the assembled select group, it was confirmed as being the great egret just as it flew out of sight towards the South Levels. Now, there are not many places (in this country) that you could visit and having stood in one place for 30 mins be able to say you had seen 3+ marsh harriers, a glossy ibis, a bittern, a grey heron, plenty of little egrets and a great white egret. The only reason that this might not qualify right up at the top of my Minsmere moments is that the views, although identifiable, were very distant and definitely out of camera range.

So those are my current outstanding Minsmere moments and I look forward to hopefully having many more in the future.

Some Sandwell Pictures...

Last week I made a couple of trips to the Valley because I had an essay which needed completing and nothing says "Mike has an essay to complete" like me doing everything which isn't it. So having tidied the flat, made copious amounts of tea and spent an inordinate amount of time watching a peregrine sat on top of one of the large buildings (I think the old Natwest building) in the city centre, the only procrastination method left at my disposal was birding.

Peregrine Falcon (digi(phone)scoped) - Birmingham City Centre - Feb.2012 - Mike Ixer

So instead of a blow-by-blow account of each Sandwell trip, I feel a brief summary is in order for this entry. On Wednesday (15th) I spent the morning having a look around and was rewarded with views of some birds that don't visit the Valley very often. First (and most obvious) was the group of four greylag geese which were grazing around the marsh with a large number of Canada geese.

Greylag Goose (1 of 4) - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

I assume they found some good grazing here because it had just thawed and other areas were still fairly well frozen. Although the greylag is not an unusual species in 'urban' settings, it is no longer resident in the Valley - apparently they were "rubbish at breeding" - and now you only see them a couple of times a year. As you can see from the above photo, the Marsh is also now attracting other waterfowl and we all have our fingers crossed that after the improvement works at the end of last year, it will prove to be very productive this Spring.

The next bird of note was the redhead smew which was still present that day.

Smew - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

The bird unfortunately departed the next day (Thursday 16th) never to be seen again. However it was a really good record for the reserve and the Valley as a whole and since it was good enough to visit during half-term lots of people were able to see it. The final unusual (for the Valley) water bird to put on a show last Wednesday took the form of a very handsome drake pintail.

Pintail - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Unlike the smew, this chap has been good enough to hang around for a little while and was still there on Sunday (19th) when I visited. Final thing of note was a large mixed flock of redwings and fieldfare feeding in the field at the north end of Forge Mill Farm.

Fieldfare - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

So my next visit was a couple of days later, on Friday (17th) as a way of celebrating having handed in the aforementioned essay. It was an overcast day and having walked down to the hide, I was in two minds whether there was any worth in going any further. Having consumed two whole packs of chocolate digestives while finishing the essay, I decided that even if the birding turned out to be rubbish, I was still in dyer need of some sort of exercise - so I set off to do the 'big' circuit. This involved walking around Forge Mill Lake to the farm, down to Swan Pool, around the west shore of Swan Pool, over the bridge at Salters Lane, through Sandwell Park Farm, back across the M5 and into Priory Woods, around the Paddocks, back around the east shore of Swan Pool, back up to Forge Mill Farm, around the lake and finally back to the temporary RSPB centre - a walk which totals over 5 miles.

Photos are a little few and far between because the very overcast conditions led to the sort of terrible light which my camera struggles to cope with. First acceptable photo is of the boom on Swan Pool (the one which I've previously mentioned as being good for gulls).

Gulls - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

As I have also previously mentioned, my gull ID is not particularly good, especially when you get into the realms of juveniles. The juvenile in this photo struck me as being very light compared to what I am used to seeing around the Valley. I've got it down as a juvenile herring gull, but any further input from any of you would be welcome. Just near this boom a pair of great crested grebes were nest building and started shaping up nicely for a 'weed dancing' display - unfortunately just as they swam apart to get the weed a dog charged into the water and they quickly aborted the attempt.

Great Crested Grebes - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

The final photo of the day was of this immature male goldeneye who was quite close to the banks of Swan Pool until I decided to raise my camera for a photo, at which point he dived three times in quick succession and finished much further away.

Goldeneye - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

So you might assume from the lack of photos that my initial fears about there being a lack of birds showing themselves turned out to be true. Quite the opposite was actually the case, the walk produced a staggering 63 different species of birds. Virtually everything you could hope to see around the Valley at this time of year decided to put in an appearance. The only absentees were buzzard (which is amazing in itself), collared dove, kingfisher, water rail and little owl. This was my most productive Valley session ever and I think it will be a long time until I top it.

A final trip on Sunday to build a nest box didn't provide any amazing sightings. However this chap was causing a bit of chaos amongst the geese between the marsh and the lake.

Fox - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

And here is one final picture to remind everyone that despite the recent dips in temperature, Spring is still definitely in the air.

Feral Pigeons - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Sunday at Sandwell...

So after the exertions of Saturday's trip to Norfolk, I was in the mood for a relaxed trip down to the Valley for a look around. After arriving I spent about an hour chatting to some other volunteers that I hadn't seen in a while and eventually headed out to see what was about.

The usual suspects were in the usual places - wigeon on the river bend, siskin doing circles over the reedbed area, teal up river a little way - but with the exciting additions of a couple of great spotted woodpeckers and a sparrowhawk hurtling through the bushes next to the Marsh Screen. I ambled up to the feeding station where again all the regular candidates were laying their claims to the food, great tits, blue tits, a willow tit, chaffinches, greenfinches, bullfinches, dunnocks, robins, blackbirds, woodpigeons and squirrels.

Dunnock - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

While admiring the various scuffles which were breaking out around the table, I got a text asking if I could come down to the hide to help identify a mystery water bird - intriguing!

I raced down and entered the hide to find people gathered around looking at the area of open (non-frozen) water to the right of the hide. "We think it is a smew, but we're not 100%". I looked through the scope and sure enough there was a redhead smew swimming around quite happily amongst a pair of goldeneye and it's cousins, the 18+ goosander.

Smew - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

After an afternoon of unexpectedly manning the hide - I had talked to enough people and admired the bird enough to come to the conclusion that it was probably an immature male and that it was the first in the Valley for about a decade (or so I'm told).

So after that excitement I wandered back up to the temporary centre again via the feeding station and added reed bunting and coal tit to the days feeder species. It was the first coal tit I had seen around the feeders for a while - cold weather driven them further south maybe?

Anyway, that was a great way to waste a Sunday - couldn't recommend it more!

No folk like Norfolk (Part 2 - Salthouse and Cley)...

After sharing some of our lunch with the previously mentioned 'tame' birds in the Titchwell car park we hit the North Coast road to head to Salthouse. Paul and I discovered the delights of Salthouse last year when we were both desperate to see snow buntings and a helpful local birder said casually that if we went there, the birds would be feeding in the car park. We didn't believe him and were subsequently amazed when we pulled up and a flock of 20+ snow buntings landed no more than 20ft from the car on a grass covered bank to feed!

After that experience, it was a definite stop on this trip. As we arrived we saw some large camera lenses pointed at the bank on which the buntings were feeding last year, but this time the birds didn't instantly arrive. We took a walk up the shingle bank and looked back to see a good sized flock of at least 40 snow buntings circling around the car park and eventually coming down to feed on the bank. From this position I took this photo.

Snow Buntings - Salthouse - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Not the greatest photo I will ever take, but I quite liked the action of it. More interesting was this next photo.

Snow Buntings - Salthouse - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

It wasn't until after I looked at this on the computer that I realised there was a bird who was already significantly through it's moult and was very white. If I had realised at the time, I would have spent longer trying to get a really good shot of it. Final snow bunting picture I like because it's not often you actually get to see snow buntings on snow, so here you go.

Snow Buntings - Salthouse - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

We then headed over the shingle bank to have a look over the sea which was now incredibly calm and still. A scan over with the binoculars revealed plenty of wigeon, some gulls and an interesting grebe. I could instantly tell it was either a black-necked or slavonian grebe, but it wasn't until plenty of um'ing and ah'ing whilst looking through Paul's telescope that I was 75% sure it was a slavonian. This was quite exciting for me because I'd never seen a slav grebe before - but at the same time this made me vary wary about my identification. Thankfully at that point a more experienced sea watcher than myself arrived and was able to confirm it to be a slavonian - very happy Mike at this point! Shortly after we left, dodging the dunlins and turnstones that had also taken to feeding in the car park, to travel those couple of miles back up the road to Cley.

Unfortunately we arrived the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's famous Cley reserve a little later than planned and the setting sun was always against us. It was a bit of a whistle-stop tour of which the undoubted highlight was a group of ruff. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get around the edge of the reserve to the beach where Paul and I had seen this shorelark the previous year.

Shorelark - Cley NWT - Feb. 2011 - Mike Ixer

That said, none had been reported there on Saturday, so we would have in all likelihood been disappointed. As the sun was disappearing a few skeins of geese flew over which included a few groups of pink-feet - but nothing on the scale of what we witnessed last year when at least a thousand flew low overhead and appeared to go to roost in a field near the Cley visitors centre.

And so ended our trip. Having left the flat a bit before 6am, we got back at 8pm and I was knackered. Well worth it for the 78 species of bird we saw which, as I have explained, included some real crackers.