19 Feb 25 - Shagging Dutch-style

On the Dutch Spectacled Eider twitch with Pete Moore, we quickly established that the Spectacled Eider hadn't been located early on our second morning. So, we decided to depart on the 10:00 ferry from Texel and head to a channel near the village of Anna Paulowna to look for a flock of Smew. After watching the male Smew displaying to the females, we needed to push onto our main target for the day at the Nature Park on the edge of Lelystad. Amsterdam has had a bad reputation for many years due to its red-light area, but we had a more interesting shag planned: with a nationally rare Pygmy Shag, or to be more accurate, a Pygmy Cormorant.

Bison carving

The Lelystad Nature Park has been tastefully designed to make it a popular visitor attraction with lots of lakes, as well as, things to keep younger visitors entertained.

Jay: This is the glandarius subspecies which occurs in North & central Europe

First we popped into the visitors centre to pay for the parking and for a call of nature. The Lelystad visitor centre had some unexpected stuffed Mammals.

Moose and Red Deer: Moose were extirpated from Holland about a millennium ago, while Red Deer still occur in a few National Parks

European Bison: Another species that hasn't occurred in Holland for many centuries

Thanks to Paul Rhodes for the following feedback on European Bison, which have been introduced into Zuid Kennemerland National Park, near Haarlem, to assist in vegetation control. They have come from the Polish Bialowieza Forest.

The gents toilets: I never expected I would be photographing gents toilets for the Blog. Not only were these three cubicles well decorated, but they were playing bird song inside the toilets as well

Presumably, this is a White Stork nest platform: Thanks to Paul Rhodes for the confirmation that it is

A large bat box

There was no news on the Pygmy Cormorant when we arrived, so we started to look around the lakes. This Scarlet Elfcap was the highlight: one of the few species of Fungi that I know.

Scarlet Elfcap: The Sycamore seed pod gives an idea how small this distinctive species of Fungi is

We had just reached the far side of the lakes, when Pete said, that there was some news that the Pygmy Cormorant had just seen. Unfortunately, we were heading in the wrong direction and it was quicker to backtrack to the car park and take the other path to the other side of the lakes. Eventually, we reached the right area, only to find it was perched at the far end of the lake. We started to watch it through the scopes & to grab some distant photos.

Pygmy Cormorant: there are only a handful of Dutch records of this species which occurs on inland lakes & rivers from South East Europe to central Asia

Tufted Duck: Males. Given the distance of the Pygmy Cormorant, these individuals were more distracting

While I was photographing the Tufted Ducks, Pete said that the Pygmy Cormorant had just taken off, before we could try walking closer. It did a distant pass, before disappearing from view.

Pygmy Cormorant

Pygmy Cormorant: With the Pygmy Cormorant disappearing, it was time to head to the railway station

We ran into a couple of Whooper Swans, as we were walking back to the car park. They looked suspiciously tame. Eventually, one walked onto the grass, where it was possible to see a ring on its leg and there was clearly a lot of damage to one of its wings when it briefly flapped them. Perhaps it was a wild individual, that had damaged its wing and has been forced to stick around at Lelystad.

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan: The same individual, which had a damaged wing

The next part of the plan was for me to drop Pete at the railway station in Lelystad, so he could get a train into Amsterdam and met up with his wife, Claire and younger son, Rowan, who had arrived that lunchtime for a half term mini-break. My plan was for some Birding, a visit to some World War two battlefields and to visit Luxembourg: my seventy-nineth country. More about that in the next Blog Posts.

24 Feb 19 - Exploring Mainland Shetland

When I booked the flights for the Shetland trip, the Tengmalm's Owl wasn't being seen every day & therefore I was trying to maximise my chances of connecting by being on Mainland Shetland for two days. But my hope was that with a few more people looking on a weekend, then I would see it on the first day & I would then have the chance to go Birding in a part of the UK I hadn't visited very often. Many twitchers, myself included, end up travelling long distances, hopefully see the Bird & then head home as quickly as possible. Sometimes, it's time pressures of work or other commitments that make it a necessary strategy, but with offshore islands I am generally keener to spend some time on the island & do some exploring & general Birding if possible. Having seen the Tengmalm's Owl I now had most of the second day for some exploring. I was up at first light for breakfast after a good night's sleep in a hotel in Lerwick. I expected to be grabbing snacks for the rest of the day, so I might as well take advantage of prepaid hot food & drinks. The previous evening, we had been asked to not visit the Tengmalm's Owl garden before 09:00 & told there would be limited access during the day, as there was a family get together planned. It seemed another good reason for going Birding elsewhere on Mainland Shetland. There were a number of other Bird highlights on the island, including a Pied-billed Grebe, an overwintering Scarlet Rosefinch, as well as, the more expected Iceland Gulls etc in the fish processing part of the Lerwick harbour. However, my plan was to avoid all of those & go looking for Otters & Orcas in the North of the island, as well as, some general off the beaten track exploring & Birding. As I walked out to the car, I was pleased to see the wind had dropped noticeably. There was still a wind, but I can't believe that there are many genuinely still days on Shetland. But it was dry & still really mild so about as good as it was going to be for late Feb.

Hooded Crow: A common species on the Shetlands. I had only got a few hundred metres from the hotel when I found this individual feeding on some seed thrown onto the pavement

Hooded Crow: Trying to improve the background for me

The first site I was aiming for the ferry slipway for Yell. It was still early & I was hoping that one of the regular Otters might be enjoying itself in the water: unfortunately not. But there was a selection of commoner Wintering species.

Otter sign: Unfortunately, this was as close as I got to an Otter

After drawing a blank around the Yell ferry slipway, I returned to the main road to the North & carried on explore the North West corner of mainland around Hillswick, before heading further out onto the peninsula.

Bay en route to the Yell ferry slipway

I spotted a sign for some toilets in Hillswick: But there were no more signs after I parked the car. Then I realised the more subtle clues

There was running water in the toilets: So, these outside facilities were no longer needed

Carrying on beyond Hillswick, the small road leads onto the open boggy moors with occasional crofts.

An isolated croft

The moors are very boggy

Shetland Sheep: The numbers of Sheep must outnumber the humans by well over ten to one. The Vikings wandering around Lerwick on the celebration days still can't complete with these Sheep for elaborate headgear

Shetland Sheep: They look even better from head on

 

Greylag Goose: The standard Shetland Goose species. They can be seen commonly across the Shetlands, but they were immediately wary & start moving away as I stopped the car for photos

Greylag Goose: They seemed a lot more interesting than their tamer cousins around Poole Harbour

Whooper Swan & Wigeon: There were a few parties of Whooper Swans on lochs, but none were particularly close. This must have had a muddy bottom given how dirty their heads are. On this loch, every party of Whooper Swans had at least one accompanying Wigeon, which were clearly picking up smaller bits of food brought up by the Swans

Rock Dove: It's commonly known locally the lack I interest I have in the local Feral Pigeons, but I do enjoy seeing their wild relatives. I saw a number around the island during the two days, but this pair were the only ones I got to photograph

Carrying on towards Eshaness lighthouse, the coastal scenery became even more exposed to the elements: but the nearest land to the West is the Southern tip of Greenland. I was looking for places to look for Orcas, but it was going to be a long shot finding the Orcas along this coastline.

The seas aren't forgiving on the offshore rocks

There must have been offshore rocks close to the surface

There were large numbers of Fulmars, Kittiwakes & the occasional Gannets flying along the coast. These Fulmars seen later in the day were a bit closer.

Fulmar: The local Fulmars were clearly keen to start settling down to breed

Fulmar: They generally seem quite graceful with their landings, but this one was making a hash of its touchdown

I had time for a quick look at Ollaberry on the North East coast.

Overlooking Ollaberry bay

This was more sheltered than the West coast. Over the years, there have been a lot of stories going around about the honest of some of the big listers & the veracity of their lists. What I hadn't expected was that one of the top listers had a property in this part of Shetland.

Fiblister: I wonder which of the big listers owns this property?

Finally, it was time to turn round & start heading for Sumburgh for my late afternoon flight off the Shetlands. I hadn't seen anything exceptional on my travels, however, I would rather have had some time to go looking than follow the beaten route that many of the other twitchers had been taking involving a distant Pied-billed Grebe, an erratically showing Rosefinch & some Iceland Gulls. I will be back on the Shetlands in the future & maybe I will be luckier with Orcas next time. The Loganair flight left on time for Aberdeen.

Flying over the RSPB Loch of Strathbeg & Rattray Head: I visited Rattray Head for a Desert Wheatear the day after I came off the Shetland ferry after the Pine Grosbeak twitch in Feb 2013

 After a ninety minute wait, I was boarding the plane to Heathrow & was back indoors before midnight: seven hours after taking off from Sumburgh. The end of a memorable weekend. It hadn't been a cheap weekend, but the weather had worked out well, I had seen the Tengmalm's Owl as soon as I had arrived & I had enjoyed the chance to have a general look around Mainland Shetland. Crucially, I hadn't had to take any days off work on my recently started new job.

1 June 16 - June Started Early

June started early with an 03:00 departure to allow us to drive on the dirt track back roads near to our chalet, about twenty kilometres SE of Kuusamo. We were hoping to find a Hazelhen on these quiet back roads, but unfortunately, we were not that lucky.

We found this great view over the lake next to the accommodation as we crossed a nearby bridge

Looking South from the same bridge

Nearby we found three male Smew on a lake which apparently breed in small numbers in the area.

Smew: Male. They were surprisingly jumpy considering they were at the back of the lake. But they gave a brief & much closer flight view as they circled on the lake

Whooper Swan: Nearby were two Whooper Swans

We also saw a few Mountain Hares. Closer to Oulu, we had seen a number of Brown Hares, but all the Hares we saw in the Kuusamo were Mountain Hares: we were far enough North for Mountain Hares to be found at low level (Kuusamo is about 260m above sea level). The adults all seemed a bit too keen to get off the road as they saw us, even when we stopped at a reasonable distance. So perhaps the suffer from being hunted at some times of the year.

Mountain Hare: Great to see this superb Mammal. Sadly, I only seen a few in the UK & none have been really close. They are still a heavily persecuted Hare wherever there are Grouse shooting interests in the UK

Mountain Hare: The black ears with the white edges, white bellies & white legs were great to see

Mountain Hare: Eventually, I saw this youngster disappear off the road & then freeze not too far in. Like the pale eye ring

We spent some hours birding in one of the Gosney's hillside sites, but it was surprising at how quiet the forests were: apart from the ever present mozzies. Frustratingly, we flushed a Hazelhen as we were walking up the main path on the hillside, but it didn't fly until after I had walked past it & the first I knew was of a shout behind me: I never saw it.

Reindeer: Youngster. Getting desperate for another Mammal to add to this post. They weren't very common. On one occasion, we saw a couple in an office car park just feeding on vegetation. An early morning youngster

Reindeer: We saw a few each day in the Kuusamo area, including this roadside party

Reindeer: Male

In the afternoon, we tried a lake on the edge of Kuusamo. The highlight of the visit was a distant breeding plumage Red-necked Grebe.

Red-necked Grebe: Nice to see it in summer plumage rather than the winter plumage I normally see at Studland. Unfortunately, it was well beyond realistic photographic range & all I could end up with was a record shot from the SX60 on a ridiculous 130x magnification, with a delayed timing to try reducing vibration on this high magnification

The mid afternoon rain set in again & make it even harder to find Bird activity. So we decided to try a layby site to the North of the Ruka ski centre, where we had a chance of seeing Siberian Jay. We ended up putting food into the empty feeders & sat it the car, hoping that some Siberian Jays would appear. At least, we managed to stay dry & catch up on some food & drinks, but no sign of the hoped for World Tick. Finally, it stopped raining & there was a chance to walk one of the hillside paths. By now it was early evening & as the Bird activity seemed to drop off in the evening, we were not surprised we didn't see that much. Time to call it a day, head back to the chalet for an early night. We had a 01:45 alarm call to get some breakfast, before heading off to Kuusamo to meet our guide for the Kuusamo guided tour the following morning.

Whooper Swan: Party of a twenty strong flock on the way back to the chalet

17 Oct 15 - Berneray & North Uist

The only sign of life at the ferry terminal on Berneray were a couple of Rock Pipits.

Rock Pipit

When you come out of the terminal road, you are meant to turn left & onto the causeway to cross onto North Uist. But there wasn't a sign & so I ended up turning right to the small village of Borve. But it is a very scenic village & was well worth the time spent looking around it.

Borve

Borve: Picture postcard photos on a day like today

Borve: A more traditional looking house (shame about the car spoiling the photo)

Borve: A great looking garden

Common Seals: Fitting in with the sleepy look of Borve

As I drove in, I flushed a Snipe from the road side. It didn't go far, but was well camouflaged. 

Snipe: Skulking in a small gap in the vegetation

I saw a lot more Black Sheep on the islands than I do in Dorset

All the roads in Borve end in dead ends & so after a look around, I ended up taking the causeway over to North Uist.

The rugged fields of Port Nan Long, North Uist

Some of the locals were confused when I stopped at some trees to try some pishing

The first stop on North Uist was Lochmaddy to book the ferry off. I had wanted to come off on Sunday 18, but was told that both the ferries from North Uist & South Uist were full. I guess there were people over for the weekend & heading home. In the end I had to compromise & make a booking for the late afternoon. Not ideal, but it would give me enough time to have a quick, but not too hurried, look around the excellent Balranald area.

Scolpaig Tower: These days the government keeps the same building project going, with schemes like the O2 in Greenwich & the new Hinkley power station

The road to Balranald passes the Scolpaig Tower. This well known local landmark was built around 1830 as a Georgian folly to provide employment for the locals during a period of local famine. The road to Balranald isn't a quick road as it is nearly all a single track road with plenty of passing points. There isn't a lot of traffic, but having to regularly give way, means it does take a while getting around the island. But there is plenty to keep looking out for on the road & it is very scenic, so not having to hurry isn't too much of a problem. After about thirty minutes driving from Lochmaddy, I reached the turn off for Balranald.

Panoramic view of two of the lochs along the approach road

Any Birders who have never been to North Uist & Balranald in particular, have really missed out on a stunning RSPB reserve. The side road to Balranald has lakes on either side of the road with excellent looking meadows & fields, which are the Summer home to the reserve's best known visitor, Corncrake. The whole area is farmed for the wildlife & as a result, is a very good example of how great the Western Isles can be for Corncrakes & breeding Waders. But in Winter, the reserve is also popular with Geese & Wildfowl. My only Winter visit was in Feb 13, after a Harlequin Duck had been found. I was in Scotland for a few days, on the way back from the Shetland Pine Grosbeak trip & decided to have a couple of days on North Uist. As well as the Harlequin Duck & a Glaucous Gull on the sea, there was a Richardson's Canada Goose (Cackling Goose) in a flock of about 400 Barnacles and a Ring-necked Duck on the reserve. With two presumably wild Snow Geese a few miles further South, it was a great couple of days. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as good on this visit as the main Geese numbers hadn't arrived yet (or if they had they were feeding elsewhere on North Uist). But there were a few skeins of Whooper Swans, as well as, a couple of family parties of Barnacle Geese, plus Wigeon and Teal.

Whooper Swan party

Whooper Swan: Adult

House Sparrow: Male. One of a flock of about fifteen House Sparrows looking for food on these hay bales

Corn Bunting: Always a good sign of a well managed habitat when you see Corn Buntings

Panoramic view of the bay at Balranald This is a stunning bay to look at

On the drive back to Lochmaddy, there was time for a quick stop at Grenitote. There is a small side road that leads down to another stunning bay. Had there been more time, I would have left the car & taken the track out towards the dunes & ultimately the sea. But this was only a fifteen minute stop for a hot drink & a quick scan of the bay. The highlight was a party of four Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

The Grenitote pcinic site: This must be one of the best views from a picnic site & even better I've yet to find it in use despite several visits in June

Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Other short roadside stops were made for a flock of Golden Plover & a Buzzard.

Golden Plover

Buzzard: A real shame this wasn't something more interesting

A final roadside stop was needed for this view of the bay just outside of Lochmaddy. The house with this view is very lucky.

View of the bay just outside Lochmaddy: On the road to Solas & Grenitote

 All too quickly it was time to join the queue waiting for the ferry to dock to take me to Uig, Skye. It had been a great extension to the Wilson's Warbler twitch & excellent weather. Several locals said the weather was better than during the summer.