30 Apr 22 - Just Like London Buses

In the previous Blog Post, I detailed the circumstances around finding my first Dorset Black Kite. Two days later, Nick Hopper rang me whilst doing a Raptor survey from a viewpoint near the Soldiers Road Stud Farm to say, he had relocated my Black Kite and drifting West over the Corfe Ridge to the North West of Corfe Castle. I rang the news around the local Birders, grabbed the camera & headed there. Within a few minutes, I had overshot to a good vantage point at Stonehill Down, expecting it to have carried on drifting West. Nick rang again to say he was in a pull in about a half mile along the Church Knowle road & it was over the ridge above him. It had clearly turned around. I picked it up from Stonehill Down, but it was about 1.5 miles as the Black Kite flies. I quickly returned to join Nick on the Church Knowle road. It was still flying over the ridge.

Black Kite: There had been a number of Black Kite sightings in West Dorset about a week to ten days earlier. Dorset doing well for Black Kite records in 2022

Black Kite

Black Kite: These two Jackdaws weren't as happy with this visitor as I was

Black Kite

Black Kite

Over the next forty-five minutes, we were joined by another six locals: Pete Moore, Jol Mitchell, James Leaver, Rob Johnson, Phil Saunders & Durwyn Lilley. We were the only locals to see it, before it circled off high & drifted off towards Hartland Heath: never to be seen again.

James (left), Jol & Phil: Enjoying the Black Kite, albeit not in the best of parking locations. Fortunately, it wasn't busy on this road at the time. One lady did stop & I wondered if she was wondering what was happening. But it turns out it was James's wife!

The amazing thing was when we checked the photos against the photo that Rob Johnson took of my Black Kite from two days earlier, it was confirmed to be a different individual. Just like the proverbial London Buses of my school days, that take forever to come & then arrive together. I've attached a copy of Rob Johnson's photo of my Black Kite, which had a broken primary shaft in the left wing. This highlights the advantage & importance of people carrying decent cameras these days.

Black Kite: Photo by Rob Johnson over the Ulwell Gap. Thanks to Rob for allowing me to publish this photo & the copyright of this photo remains with Rob

28 Apr 22 - A Self-found Dorset Tick

On 28 Apr 22, I was late heading to the St Aldhelms patch. As I reached the last house at the western end of Langton Matravers at 08:35, I saw a Kite over the house. I stopped to check it out as I always double-check & enjoy watching local Red Kites. Red Kites are mainly drift visitors in Spring & early Summer & still not a common sighting locally. Through the bins I could see immediately see that it wasn’t a Red Kite, but a Black Kite. I only had about thirty seconds to try to take this in, before it landed on a telegraph pole. I pulled the car off the road onto a nearby rough parking spot & jumped out of the car to see two Jackdaws had already appeared & started to mob it. It flushed to the mobbing & I lost it as it went low behind the house & into a blind spot below the level of the land: it didn't reappear.

Given the light North Easterly winds, I suspected it was an Easterly drifting Black Kite & it would reappear over the Ulwell Gap or nearby Corfe Ridge before passing North over Studland. There isn’t a great viewpoint at the Ulwell Gap that I could drive to & there wasn’t enough time to walk to a viewpoint above Ulwell. So I decided to head to the high ground by the old National Trust centre above Littlesea, Studland. I was greedily looking to add it to the Studland & Poole Harbour lists. I briefly stopped to grab the camera from my house. There was no time to lose as in the past, I’ve chased three Red Kites that passed over my house & one reached Studland as I arrived in the car. I never saw the other two again & potentially they beat me. I also rang the news around to alert the locals. James Leaver & Rob Johnson headed out to different viewpoints between Swanage & Studland, while Nick Hopper was already out around Godlingston on a Raptor survey.

The first hour at Littlesea went by with no joy & I was starting to think I had made the wrong choice. Finally, there was a call from Rob Johnson at 09:55 to say he had just seen it flying low & North through the Ulwell Gap & he had taken some photos. From my viewpoint, I couldn't see the top of the Ulwell Gap as it's hidden behind the wooded hill to the West of Studland village. It was then a case of waiting & hoping I would pick it up heading North over Godlingston or Studland Village. The next call was from Nick Hopper to say he had just seen it low to the East of the golf course clubhouse & heading East. I decided to hold my nerve at Littlesea & kept scanning Ballard & the village.

Black Kite: Photo by Rob Johnson over the Ulwell Gap. Thanks to Rob for allowing me to publish this photo & the copyright of this photo remains with Rob

A few minutes later, James Leaver rang to say he could see it high over the Glebelands estate on Ballard. I picked it up a minute or so later high over the Corfe Ridge & a few hundred metres to the East of the Glebelands estate, which put it in the Studland and Poole Harbour patches. It was too far for a photograph, but it was still identifiable with the telescope. After a couple of calls trying to get the news out, I couldn't relocate it. Nick Hopper & Jol Mitchell joined me at the Littlesea viewpoint & we stayed till 12:20 with no further sign. It had been a good day with a nice self-found Dorset Tick.

30 Jun 15 - Turkey - Exploring Some Turkish Wetlands

After a twenty minute drive from the hotel in Eregli, we stopped at the nearby Lake Ivriz Baraji. This is actually a reservoir, that was built in 1984. The initial plan was to visit some local marshes, but these were largely dried up, so we ended up at the reservoir instead. It wasn't the best of locations that we visited. However, it was the only site we saw Greater Flamingos and Rose-coloured Starlings.

Black Kite: We stopped briefly for this Black Kite on the way to the lake, which surprisingly was the only one we saw in the trip

Black Kite: This is the nominate migrans subspecies which occurs from North West Africa & Europe to South-central Asia. They winters as far South as South Africa

Lake Ivriz Baraji

Lake Ivriz Baraji: It was a long, thin lake and the Greater Flamingos were at the far end. We had to get the telescopes out to see them properly

Another habitat photo from Lake Ivriz Baraji

It's pretty common to see Goats and Sheep being looked after by a local herder, as they graze in open countryside

Lesser Short-toed Lark: This is the minor subspecies which occurs from Morocco to North Egypt, South Turkey to West Saudi Arabia & West Iraq

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Lesser Short-toed Lark

There were a couple of Rose-coloured Starlings where we parked the coach: They were the only individuals we saw

Long-legged Buzzard: We stopped for a quick look at this Long-legged Buzzard on its nest on a high crag next to the road

An uninspiring bit of Turkish architecture

After an hour or so at Lake Ivriz Baraji, we departed for the two and a half hour drive to the excellent Kayseri Sultan Sazligi wetlands. Unfortunately, a lot of the wetlands in this part of Turkey have drained in the last few decades.

A lot of the journey was across these dull-looking grasslands

By late morning we arrived at the excellent Kayseri Sultan Sazligi Wetlands. There was a long boardwalk through the reedbeds.

The boardwalk at the Kayseri Sultan Sazligi Wetlands

Bearded Tit: This is the russicus subspecies which occurs from Austria, the North Balkans & Turkey East through central Asia to North China

Moustached Warbler: This is the mimicus subspecies which occurs from West Turkey to South Russia, Iraq, Iran & Afghanistan

Moustached Warbler

Moustached Warbler: This must be a potential species to occur in the UK in the future. It used to be on the UK List, but it was removed many years ago. If I remember correct some of the first Cetti's Warblers were misidentified as Moustached Warblers and the evidence of earlier records wasn't sufficient to retain it on the British List

Reed Warbler: This is the fuscus subspecies, which is also known as Caspian Reed Warbler. This subspecies ranges from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian & Kazakhstan. They winters as far South as South Africa

The boardwalk ended up at this good hide which overlooked a decent reed-fringed lake.

The Reedbed Hide

There was a Ferruginous Duck and a few White-headed Ducks at the far edge of the lake

Ferruginous Duck: This monotypic species occurs from West Europe & North West Africa to central Asia

White-headed Duck: Male. This monotypic species occurs from Southern Europe & North Africa to central Asia & North West China

White-headed Duck: Male

Water Rail: This is the nominate aquaticus subspecies which occurs throughout the Western Palearctic

Marsh Frog: This looks like the widespread Marsh Frog. There is a larger and similar-looking Anatolian Marsh Frog that occurs at Sugla Lake, but we were now too far East to be in range of that species

Marsh Frog

Marsh Frog: They appear to be a variable species

Scarlet Darter

I will cover the rest of the day in the next Blog Post.

16 June 14 - Photospot4: Red & Black Kites

When I first started birding in the UK, Kite identification was pretty straight-forward. If you were in central Wales, then a Kite flying over your head was going to be a Red Kite: as this was the centre of the breeding range of the less than 100 pairs in the UK. These birds were fairly resident & therefore didn't seem to wander too far. Elsewhere, then you were unlikely to encounter a Kite, but there was a very slim chance that a Black Kite could turn up in the UK: but they were national rarities. The first one I saw in the UK on the Isle of Wight in 1987 was only about the 95th UK record.

Red Kite: Once a Welsh speciality, but now a UK wide success story. I've even had 3 migrants over my garden in recent years (Southern England, June 2014)

Jump forward to 1992 & the times they were a changing. A successful reintroduction scheme was quietly launched in the Home Counties in the late 1980s. I suspect this area was selected as there were plentiful woods & fields. Also there were less Buzzards to compete with, compared to suitable locations further West. Additionally, it was well away from the established Welsh population. My first encounter with one of these Red Kites was returning from a 20 month Round the World trip in March 1992 & taking a train from Heathrow to South Wales (where my mother was living at the time). Soon after the train entered the Reading countryside, I saw a Kite quartering over the fields. I subconsciously wrote it off as a Black Kite, having seen thousands in Africa (the distinctive Yellow-billed Kite subspecies), India (where good numbers were a daily sighting) & many in parts of SE Asia & Australia. Having looked away, I suddenly remembered I was back in the UK & shouldn't be seeing Kites, especially in this area. Frustratingly, it was a now distant bird & too far away to identify. It was only when I got to talk to birding mates that I heard about the reintroduction scheme & that it would have been a Red Kite.

Red Kite: The 1992 Kite from the Reading train wasn't close to the track & colours weren't easy to see on it. Had it looked like this, then it would have been immediately obvious (Southern England, June 2014)

Jump forward again to 2014 & Red Kites are now a regular sight in many parts of the UK. I recently saw 2 on the journey from Esher Common to Goring-on-Thames (on a Dragonfly day out). I was disappointed in the numbers seen that day, given I was going through one of the hot spots around the M4 - M40 corridor. They are breeding in a number of UK counties, following additional reintroduction schemes. However, they remain a less common species in Dorset, as there haven't been any local reintroductions. We have a regular Spring migration of Red Kites which I think is from birds which winter in the South West & then move East on fine Spring days. Additionally, there are a few birds seen at other times of the year. I'm sure in time they will spread more commonly into the county, as the expanding existing Southern populations look for new breeding sites. As for Black Kites, they have also become commoner in the UK: with over 360 records by 2005 when they stop being considered by the BBRC. There are fairly regular records of Black Kites in the South West & on the East coast, but it's remains a rare bird in Dorset. There are reports, but it's never easy to figure out at the time, if these are genuine or mid-identifications of poorly seen Red Kites. Either way, they never get seen again & must remain an ongoing headache for the Dorset rarities panel to assess. If one was pinned down for a day or two, it would be a well twitched & popular bird, as it will be a long overdue Dorset Tick for many of the local birders.

Black Kite: This shows the uniform grey brown body & head & pale inner primary panel. Note, the shallow forked tail, normal length wings & tail (Kfar Ruppin, Israel, April 2014)

So a quick overview of identification between the 2 Kite species. Red Kites are longer winged and longer tailed than Black Kites. They often glide on bow shaped wings where the middle of the wings is the highest point with the wing tips noticeably curved down. This distinctive long-winged and long-tailed shape makes them easy to pick out at a distance from any of the other UK Raptors. Red Kites also have a much deeper forked tail than Black Kites, which is most obvious in the closed tail, but still obvious when the tail is spread.

Red Kite: Note, the longer & more deeply forked tail compared to a Black Kite (Southern England, June 2014)

Black Kite: They have a shorter tail with a shallower fork, a grey brown body and a diffuse pale panel on the inner primaries (Kfar Ruppin, Israel, April 2014)

Red Kites have a much more contrasting colouration with a noticeable orangey-red tail, contrasting brown flight feathers with paler rufous-brown wing coverts on the upperwing, a rufous body, a light greyish head & a pale panel on the inner wing coverts. In contrast, Black Kites are far more uniform: being a cold dull grey brown colouration with a grey brown tail, a grey brown body & again a pale panel in the inner primaries.

Red Kite: The longer wings make them appear thinner winged than Black Kites & the longer, deeper forked tail is even really obvious in the spread tail of this bird. Also note the rufous body & pale head (Southern England, June 2014) 

Red Kite: Red Kites have more rufous wing coverts, obvious rufous tail & are more contrasting on their upperparts than Black Kites (Southern England, June 2014)

Black Kite: Black Kites have a more uniform darker appearance on their upperwing & a grey-brown tail as these individuals in a large flock demonstrate (Kfar Ruppin, Israel, April 2014)

I am looking forward to getting some shots of a visiting Black Kite in Dorset. Let's hope it's not too long a wait.

12 April 14 - A Cracking Scops Owl

We left Eilat after an early breakfast to head up to the Kfar Ruppin kibbutz, near to small town of Beit She'an, in central Eastern Israel & close to the Jordanian border. This kibbutz is set up to attract birders to it numerous fish ponds, good fields & bird hide. It is also has a ringing station, but no ringing was going on while we were there. The first stop was the fields at the start of the Ovda road for a final look. There were a few migrants moving South West through the valley.

White Stork: Stopping off on migration

Crowned Sandgrouse

Ortolan 

Then it was for a final walk around the sewerage works at the nearby Ne'ot Smadar kibbutz.

The Ne'ot Smadar sewerage works: A mixture of open pools

The Ne'ot Smadar sewerage works: As well as landscaped reed beds

Rock Martin

Tree Pipit: This is the nominate trivialis subspecies

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Wheatear: Female

A quick check on the car reveals a few recent additions: Striated Heron (far left), the Grey Phalarope (middle) & Pied Kingfisher (for Simon on far right)

Bush shelter: Travelling back to the main Dead Sea to Eilat road, we saw this great bus shelter. How long before this would be vandalised in the UK

The bush shelter proved to be a good omen as we had great views of the real thing, Nubian Ibex, at the En Gedi turn off.

Nubian Ibex: This desert Goat occurs in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordon, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yeman, Eritrea, Ethiopia & Sudan

Nubian Ibex: These ones are clearly used to tourists photographing them

Nubian Ibex: I couldn't resist another photo

Carrying on North, we left the arid Dead Sea area and passed into the West bank. The further North we got, the greener & more agricultural it was. It was a quick journey as the road bypassed all the main towns and we only made a couple of quick stops when we saw birds of interest. Passing through the border fence at each end was pretty quick with just a quick scan of the passports at the exit point.

The West Bank: The Southern end where it started to get green

White Stork: We passed a rubbish tip where at least 90 White Storks were feeding along with at least 20 Cattle Egrets

Tank & Cafe: Soon after leaving the West Bank we saw this closed up cafe with tank in the car park 

We arrived at the Kfar Ruppin kibbutz around mid afternoon & were soon being shown to our accommodation, a self catering flat, by David: who as well as running the accommodation was also a birder. This gave us a chance to catch up with directions for a few birds. The key birds here were Long-billed Pipits on the nearby hills near to Beit She'an & Dead Sea Sparrows (which we had missed near Eilat). David confirmed there were a few pairs of Dead Sea Sparrows on the kibbutz & after a quick drink, we were ready to head out birding. We started on the kibbutz, but later explored an area close to Beit She'an.

Pygmy Cormorant

Black Kite

Montagu's Harrier: Male

Moorhen: Immature of the nominate chloropus subspecies which occurs throughout the Palearctic, wintering to Arabia & South China

Bee-eater: It's great when you see them this well

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Clamorous Reed Warbler: This is the levantinus subspecies of Northern Israel with the similar stentoreus subspecies occurring in Egypt. There are a number of other Asian subspecies which occur from Arabia, to the Indian Subcontinent, SE Asia & Indonesia

Palestine Sunbird: Male

Palestine Sunbird: Male who must have seen some Hummingbird Hawk Moths given it was frequently trying to copy them

Dead Sea Sparrow: Male

We headed into Beit She'an to try & get some food. But everything was closed up as it was the Jewish Sabbath. So we ended up with plan B: a few bits from the garage & self catering. It was dark when we got back to the kibbutz & we could hear Scops Owls calling. I put the food plans on hold & grabbing the torch & camera headed out to see if I could get some photos. For me, some of the most enjoyable overseas birding I can remember is walking around at night looking for Owls. I'm always up for the challenge, especially for the smaller Owls. It's rarely quick, but if I see good views of the Owls, then it is really rewarding. I knew from previous experience in Europe that Scops Owls will call for ages from the same perch, but can be tricky to find & won't respond to a tape. But that wasn't a problem, as I didn't have a recording anyway. But there were several around & all calling to each other & so not having a tape wasn't going to be a problem. After about 15 minutes, I had seen a couple of brief flight views as birds moved perches, but that was all. Finally, after about an hour of looking, I located one calling from the top of a palm tree & got some reasonable photos. Time to cook some food at last.

Scops Owl: This is the cycladum subspecies which occurs from Southern Greece to Turkey, Israel, Jordon & South Asia Minor. Still managed to photograph all the Owls seen, although the following evening I had brief flight views of a Barn Owl, so that is currently amended to photographing all the family of Owls I've seen since getting the camera (but the family of Barn Owls will now have to wait till I can get a shot of a Barn Owl in the UK)