24 Oct 15 - Happy Second Birthday

Happy second birthday to the Blog. In keeping with last birthday, here are my favourite Posts from each of the thirteen months/part months over that last year. On the first Birding trip with the camera, two years ago I was lucky to photograph a Pallid Swift at Stanpit & later to see, but not photograph, a Pallas's Warbler at Studland. On the second birthday for the Blog it is perhaps fitting that I should see the other Eastern striped jewel, a Yellow-browed Warbler, feeding in my garden: only my second garden record after one heard last Autumn in a neighbour's garden. It is ironic that this Yellow-browed Warbler disappeared as I grabbed the camera. So I will start the first with the last Post in Oct of the one of the three Yellow-browed Warblers I saw at Studland last year.

Yellow-browed Warbler: Knoll Beach, Studland (31 Oct 14)

November was the most difficult month to select a single Post as I spent the first three weeks in the Pacific visiting Tahiti, Pitcairn, Henderson Island & the other uninhabited islands looking for Tuamotu Sandpipers & other endemic Pacific landbirds as well as a good selection of Seabirds. I still have a backlog of photos to sort through from the final week when I get time. It is very difficult to find a single Post that stands out beyond the others with some many great Birds, Cetaceans & Green Turtles seen, as well as, the visit to Pitcairn island. But I have narrowed it down to two great characters.

The Sweet-toothed (Tuamotu) Sandpiper: Strange to imagine that a Wader will be sipping nectar. Tenararo, French Polynesia (12 Nov 14)

Atoll Fruit-dove: Tenararo, French Polynesia (12 Nov 14)

I didn't get out Birding much in Dec until after Christmas when I started to watch Studland more. The clear Dorset highlight occurred on New Years Eve when I found a male Green-winged Teal at Brands Bay. It, along with an overwintering Great White Egret & an elusive Black Guillemot, were some of the reasons to spur me on to have a go at the Studland/Ballard patch Year List. Frustratingly, it didn't reappear in 2015 despite a lot of seaching on near every day in Jan.

Green-winged Teal: With a male Teal on the left. Brands Bay (31 Dec 14)

With the last minute decision to go for a Studland/Ballard patch Year List then it is not surprising that the year will largely revolve around highlights of the patch. I managed to get out somewhere in the patch on all, but three, days of Jan. As a result, I had stunning start to the Year List with an end of Jan total of 123 BOU species. I also saw my first Butterfly of the year: a Peacock at Greenlands Farm on 16 Jan. My previous best patch Year List was 176 (BOU) in 2009. I set myself an ambitious target of 180 species & after seeing the Peacock, I set a second target of at least one Butterfly seen in each month of the year. Currently, the patch Year List is on 179 with over nine weeks before the end of the year. Additionally, I've seen at least one Butterfly in each month so far. I reckon it will be fairly easy to see a Nov Butterfly, but Dec will be the tricky month.

Peacock: One of the highlights of the Jan Round Up of the Studland/Ballard Year List. Greenlands Farm (16 Jan 15)

One of the unexpected species that I saw in Jan on the patch was a Great Grey Shrike which was found by a local Birder on 24 Jan. I managed to see it that afternoon, but the views & photos weren't great. My third sighting was near Pilots Point after it shifted to the South Haven end of the Studland Peninisula. It was surprisingly approachable on this occasion.

Great Grey Shrike: South Haven (21 Feb 15)

March is always a month when the first of the Spring migrants arrive & so it was great to see a couple of Black Redstarts on Ballard Down on the first weekend. The first migrants are few & far between, but always a sign that Birds are on the move & more will be on their way soon.

Black Redstart: Ballard Down (7 Mar 15)

April started off with more migrants on the patch & then out of the blue, news of the UK's second Great Blue Heron on St Mary's. It soon disappeared, but fortunately, was refound on Bryher. As a result, conditions for set for one of those memorable day trip twitches to Scillies with mates Peter Moore & Richard Webb.

Great Blue Heron: Byrher (18 Apr 15)

In May, I managed to join one of the Christchurch Natterjack Toad night walks. This was the only native Amphibian I had never seen. Fortunately, we we lucky to see four Natterjack Toads, as well as, large numbers of their tadpoles. A great evening out & a very informative leader. I would recommend the trip to anybody else who wanted to try & see this great species at its only Dorset site.

Natterjack Toad: Hengistbury Head (May 15)

By June, the patch had become very quiet as all the migrants were long gone & all the breeding species were well into their breeding seasons. But it was a hectic month for me at home as I had to empty the living room to allow the builder to lay a new floor, sort out damp problems & have some rewiring done while the room was being gutted. As a result, the appearance of a Cretzschmar's Bunting on Bardsey was worrying, but the prompt disappearance was good news, given the amount of emptying work I was doing around the house. I was more dismayed when the the Cretzschmar's Bunting reappeared & seemed to have settled down. The prospect of a long drive to North Wales with the uncertainty of whether I could even get on the boat over was not appealing. Then I heard the Ewan Urquhart was organising a charter over & there was a place on the boat for me, as he had had to defer the sailing due to bad weather. I cleared it with the boss to have a day off at short notice & it was game on for the second memorable twitch of the year. A great day that went perfectly with nice bonuses of a Thrift Clearwing, some playful Bottle-nosed Dolphins, local Seabirds & good companions on the charter.

Cretzschmar's Bunting: The second memorable twitch of the year (18 June 15)

I had a short trip to Turkey planned while some of the work was going on in the living room as the house wasn't going to be habitable during the early part of the work. I've yet to write up most of the trip, but here is something to wet your appetite for when I do.

Bruce's Scops Owl: It took us about ten minutes of looking to see this Birecik speciality. Initially, it was watching us, but then bored with the appearance of another group of photographers, it fell asleep again. This must be the most photographed Bruce's Scops Owl family in the Western Palearctic. One of the highlights of the week's trip (2 July 15)

Having successfully completed a six month contract in London, then I had the funds to allow myself to take the Autumn off & enjoy the Birding. Not surprisingly, this focused mainly on the Studland/Ballard patch. One of the highlights of the month occurred off the patch, when news of a Black Stork seen flying off from Arne, broke late in the afternoon. With little to go on local Birder, Nick Hopper, & I were quickly out looking to see if we could relocate it. After about thirty minutes of looking, I jammed into it as it flew out of the Wareham Channel area towards Middlebere. Less than ten local Birders managed to connect with it that evening, but those who got out early the following morning were able to enjoy it before it headed off West.

Black Stork: Great to finally get this tricky species on the Dorset & Poole Harbour Lists. With a couple of Spoonbills in the Middlebere Channel (8 Aug 15)

Despite some great Birding on the Studland/Ballard patch, it was the Acadian Flycatcher twitch that will stand out for many, including myself, as the clear highlight of Sep. When the news broke it was an Empidonax Flycatcher sp. at Dungeness and it was a bit of a gamble about should I go or wait to see if there was a clearer idea of what species it might be. Had it been East Anglia, I might have waited on news, but Dunge was my old late teens stamping ground whenever there was a school holiday & I was quick to team up with local mate & ex-Kent Birder, Marcus Lawson, to go for it. Marcus did a sterling job of getting us cross country after a few problems with the roads that day, whilst examining the photos on twitter. His feelings of Acadian or Yellow-bellied Flycatcher were encouraging (especially as it wasn't an Alder Flycatcher) & after seeing it, we came home thinking Acadian was the most likely fit. Thanks to Martin Collinson (see 30 Sep 15 tweet), we now know if you have purple DNA/poo you might be an Acadian Flycatcher.

Acadian Flycatcher: A stunning out of the blue record. Dungeness (22 Sep 15)

The highlight of the first three weeks of Oct has to be the Wilson's Warbler twitch. Another memorable island trip & my first visit to the island of Lewis & Harris. I'm sure it won't be my last. There is still more to appear on the follow on return visit to North Uist.

Wilson's Warbler: I'm always happy when I can combine a trip for a good Bird on one of the Hebrides with a few days of general Western Isles Birding. More of the trip to come in the next few Posts. Port Nis, Lewis (15 Oct 15) 

I am pleased to see I passed the 100,000 hits on 11 Oct 15. So a big thank you for all the people following the Blog. I hope you have enjoyed it & the photos so far & will continue to look at & enjoy the Posts going forward.

8 Aug 15 - Black Stork Madness

Late afternoon, I was about to grab some food when I thought I should check the RBA news. With a few migrants in Dorset, there was always a chance something mildly interesting might have been found. I wasn't hopeful & I certainly wasn't expecting the breaking news of a Black Stork at Arne. There was no further information as the news had only got onto the breaking news feed at that point. A few quick calls to locals to get the news out while I was making a coffee to take with me: I expected a long search. By this point, the local RBA channel was saying it had been seen from the Arne approach road at 17:25-17:40 before flying West. But it was still only 17:50 so very recent news. I rang Paul Morton again, who couldn't get away & got Paul to phone the news on. He couldn't drive or get away to look for it, and I needed to be on the road at this point. First stop was just after six on Soldiers Road: but no joy. Then a drive along the Arne Road & back again as far as Sunnyside Farm. Plenty of potential places for it to pitch down, but no joy. The next stop was probably where I should have gone first, the Slepe Heath viewpoint which gives views over Swineham & the lower Frome valley. A quick scan over the water meadows didn't reveal any Black Storks. Then I looked towards Arne & realised it was flying just to the East of the Arne Triangle. I had a good view as it flew low toward the upper end of the Middlebere channel & appeared to drop into the fields.

Black Stork: Juvenile. Flying over the upper Middlebere fields toward Middlebere farm

I made a quick call to Nick Hopper who was the nearest Birder, to send Nick to the viewpoint overlooking Middlebere & another call to Paul & a couple of locals to get the news out. Nick got there first, but no sign of the Black Stork. He left for the high ground by the Middlebere Harrier hide, while I stayed put, in case went up again. Twenty minutes later, there was no news from Nick & I had had no further sightings, but I had made more phone calls to locals. So I decided to join Nick. I arrived close to the first viewpoint over the Harrier hide creek, only to see the Black Stork appear over where I had just been on the road. I rang Nick, but the call was going to answerphone, so had to resort to the old fashion communication & shouted as loud as I could, thinking Nick was within 100 metres. Fortunately, I was on high ground & my shout carried the 600 metres or so to where Nick was. He looked up to see the Black Stork flying towards him as it passed over the cottages. It then swung around & came back into my view as it went across the creek in front of the Harrier hide & off towards the Wytch causeway area. This is an area of private roads, with a few public footpaths. A few of the locals (myself included) have permission to enter this area for survey work. Forty-five minutes later, it reappeared from the Wytch causeway area & dropped in into the marshy field, at the far end of the creek in front of the Harrier hide. By this time Nick & I had been joined by Aidan Brown.

Black Stork: Juvenile. In the marshy field in front of the Harrier hide. No sign of any rings (or a bill). It's grainy, but the SX60 was being balanced on top of the telescope & was on 260x (65x optical & 4x digital: the biggest zoom)

Black Stork: Juvenile. With the Spoonbills

More phone calls to update the locals as more were now out looking. The calls were brief as I was trying to get photos as well as get the news out. I knew Nick's mobile had been dead for over an hour & my battery life was now on its last legs. Fortunately, the Black Stork walked into the creek & dwarfed the three Spoonbills feeding in the water. After been on view for about thirty minutes, locals, Ian Lewis, Mark & Mo Constantine & Graham Armstrong had joined us. Soon after it flew again. This time it disappeared into the trees & presumably went to roost. I would expect anybody at the Harrier hide first thing in the morning, will have a good chance of connecting with it. This is not only the best viewpoint, but about the only public accessible area that it is likely to be visible from.

The Black Stork twitch: Mo Constantine, Mark Constantine, Graham Armstrong, Julian Thomas, Nick Hopper, Aidan Brown, Ian Lewis & Mike Cross (who unfortunately arrived five minutes too late) (left to right)

29 Jun 15 - Turkey - A Morning At Akseki

Our first stop was another visit to the Olive groves where we had seen the Eastern Bonelli's Warblers on the previous afternoon. Here, we saw a Middle Spotted Woodpecker that had eluded us on the previous afternoon. However, it wouldn't perform for the camera. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was equally unobliging.

Bush Cricket sp.: This looks similar to a pale Roesel's Bush Cricket, but I can't figure out the exact species

Having seen the Middle Spotted Woodpecker, we were soon moving onto the forests above Akseki town to look for Kruper's Nuthatch. It didn't take long to find them. They were fairly common in the area as we saw at least five in the one place we stopped.

The forest at Akseki

The forest was extensive

Looking for the Kruper's Nuthatch

Kruper's Nuthatch: They occur in the Pine, Cedar & Juniper forests of Turkey and the Caucasus mountains

Kruper's Nuthatch

Kruper's Nuthatch: They are a small and lovely Nuthatch

Southern White Admiral: This is a common species across most of southern Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Lebanon, Iraq & Iran

Silver-washed Fritillary: This is a common species that occurs across Europe as far North as Southern Scandinavia, as well, as Turkey, the Caucasus & Ukraine

Silver-washed Fritillary

There was a Laughing Dove in Akseki town as we returned for a late breakfast and to collect our bags from the hotel.

Laughing Dove: This is the nominate senegalensis subspecies which occurs from some of the Greek islands, to Turkey, Israel, West Arabia, Socotra & Sub-Saharan Africa

Our next destination was Sugla Lake, which was a ninety minute drive from Akseki. In the end, it look a lot longer as we saw a Black Stork fly low over a rocky gorge, before landing on its nest on one of the cliffs. Obviously, we all wanted to stop.

Black Stork: Our first sighting was this individual flying low over the road toward the cliffs

Black Stork: It landed on the next on a rocky cliff on the other side of the valley

The Black Stork nest was on a flat area to the left of the large dark cave

Black Stork: There were three large chicks in the nest

Black Stork watching the world go by from its nest

Black Stork: The other adult flew in

Black Stork: One of the adults departed and provided opportunities for photos as it circled low over the road as it gained height

Black Stork

Black Stork

Black Stork

After a half hour, we decided to carry onto Sugla Lake. I will cover the rest of the day in the next Blog Post.

11 April 14 - A Pricky End To The Day

The late afternoon saw us back at the km20 water tanks North of Eilat. Simon & I had another look at the bushy pools heading towards km19, while Edge & Nigel checked out the main saline water tanks. I voted to stay in the area till dusk & have another look for the Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse at the km19 freshwater tank, while the others decided to check out a Gull roost closer to town. In the end their Gull roost proved quiet & while I ended up seeing a similar set of species to the previous visits, I did get much better views of the Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse.

Black Stork: One of three birds which appeared to have just arrived

Little Egret: This is the nominate garzetta subspecies which is widespread in Eurasia, East & Southern Africa

Squacco Heron

Egyptian Goose

Whiskered Tern: This is the nominate hybrida subspecies

Namaqua Dove: This is the capensis subspecies which occurs throughout Africa, but it is at the edge of its range in Israel 

Yellow Wagtail: The pale ash-grey head, strong white supercilium & long pale patch under the eye indicates this is the beema subspecies, which is a very common migrant through Israel ending up in Russia from the Lower Volga East to Lake Baikal, the Kirghiz steppes, SW Siberia, N Kazakhstan & the Altai area 

Graceful Prinia

Spanish Sparrow

The others collected me at dusk & we drove back into Eilat along the small road towards the Eilat ringing area. This route proved to be a good choice as not only was it quick as it was much shorter, but I spotted a Desert Hedgehog crossing the track. A quick stop allowed Nigel to jump out & grab it in his hat (which now has an aroma of  Desert Hodgehog wee). It was a frustrating animal to photograph being either rolled up or running surprisingly rapidly.

Desert Hedgehog: This species was something we hoped to see in the Western Sahara, but weren't lucky enough 

Desert Hedgehog: It could move really fast when it wanted to