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.

15 Oct 15 - Wow

In a late pm decision, I decided that I needed to desert the patch for a short spell & head to Lewis.
It was worth the trip, despite the long drive & not having slept since I work up 39 hours ago. But about to head off the get a long overdue sleep. More to come from today when I get the chance.

Wilson's Warbler: The green edgings to the crown feathers look interesting. A quick internet search on ageing/sexing, says 1st Winter males & females have a less extensive black crown with green edging to the crown

I managed to get four sightings this afternoon: two very brief views with the bins & the other two of those were through the camera. The Wilson's Warbler is very elusive & after a minute of two of brief views across the group of 30-40 peeps (at any time), it disappears for at least another hour. So I was pleased to get any photos, given how elusive it was.

15 Oct 15 - The Trip To Lewis

On the afternoon of 13 Oct, the pager mega alerted for the UK's second Wilson's Warbler at Port Nis, just South of the Butt of Lewis, which is the most Northerly point in the Western Isles. Later news came through that there had been no further sightings, but then it was see again close to dusk. Given the distance & costs involved in a trip to Lewis, then I decided I needed to wait to see it if was seen again the following morning: it was. Still undecided I was tempted to defer a decision for another day, but I did check the ferries. There was a daily morning ferry departing from Ullapool at 10:30. I decided to think about it some more, before deciding about 17:00 on the 14 Oct that I was going for it. My biggest concern was my new camera body & 400mm were still not back from the camera repairers, having had not survived being accidentally dropped on the floor of the Brands Bay hide. Fortunately, my good mate, Peter Moore, had offered to lend me his now semi-retired 400mm lens (having bought the new 100-400mm lens). I checked with Peter if the offer was still available to borrow the old lens, given he was unable to get time off work for an extended trip to the Western Isles. Fortunately, Peter appreciated it would be a long way to go without a decent camera set up & was still willing to lend me the lens. I'm sure he is still secretly wrestling with the ethics of can he tick Wilson's Warbler for his photo Year List, if his camera lens was used.

Ullapool: Other Birders crossing via Uig & arrived an hour earlier, but this was probably the easier drive to catch the boat

It was a good, but long journey up to Stirling, but then the conditions turned nasty with fifty miles of unpleasant fog, which only finally started to clear as the road climbed into the start of the Cairngorms. I arrived at the ferry terminal an hour before the planned boarding time, to find I was only the third car in the queue. But more cars, including a number of other Birder's cars soon appeared, while I was heading off for a quick breakfast at one of the local cafes. In the end there were only thirty Birders or so on the boat. But a few others had opted for the alternative route via Uig.

Ullapool: The less picture postcard side of the town

The crossing was surprisingly calm (given the time of year) & pleasant as I found a place on deck that was more or less out of the wind. Despite the night without any sleep, I was surprised about how keen I was for sea-watching, rather than trying to get a bit of kip below decks. I think I knew I wouldn't succeed with the sleep, or maybe it was the thought, that it couldn't be as dire as seawatching from the Studland patch. In the end, it was relatively uneventful Bird-wise, with low numbers of Gannets, Black Guillemots, Guillemots & Kittiwakes, as well as, a lone Grey Seal. But there were some nice views of Ullapool & the bay, before we reached the sea.

It was great to be leaving Ullapool

It is a scenic start to the crossing as we travelled down the sound to reach the sea

Further down was the entrance into another bay

We were still sheltered by the sound at this point, but the water was very still

I had been surprised when I listened to the shipping forecast that morning. Virtually the whole country was stuck in the grip of a week of prolonged cold North or North Easterly winds, but the Western Isles had Southerly winds from the Northern end of the jet stream. It was actually milder on deck that it had been at the Vis Mig point at Studland in the NE winds over the last week (despite being about 600 miles further North).

Kittiwake: Adult in wing moult

Kittiwake: First Winter

About 13:00, we docked & despite being one of the first cars on the ferry, other cars were let off first & were ahead of me on the road. The car in front of me had Birders in it & I hoped they had a Sat Nav as they immediately ignored the road signs to turn left to Port Nis. Keeping my nerve, I followed them & fortunately, it was a short cut onto the Port Nis road. Various cars turned off along the road that were clearly tourists or islanders, until I was one of a convoy of five cars heading rapidly for Port Nis. Several more cars were a few minutes behind us.

The first view of Stornoway

Getting closer

Finally, we arrived onto familiar roads, as I had already looked at Google's Street View to try & work out exactly where the Cafe Solas was (which was next to the garden where the Wilson's Warbler was showing). The problem was the cafe had been renamed since the Google camera car had been there & I had been unable to confirm the location (but it turned out to be the building I was expecting). But it wasn't a problem as the finder, Tony Marr, was waiting by the road to meet us. We all quickly headed up to view the trees behind David Nichols's house.

The trees the Wilson's Warbler was favouring: When not skulking elsewhere in the garden

The right hand end of the same tree line: David showed us a photo of the same field taken in 1994 before he planted any of these trees. I guess he never expected it would result in so many visitors

The back of the main street in Port Nis

About half of the crowd 

The Wilson's Warbler had been recently seen, but had disappeared again. We were told it wasn't showing for long when it was on view & was working a circuit around these trees at the back of David's garden, as well as, in parts of his garden. About about thirty minutes of looking, it was finally picked up in the trees, where I had a quick view of it: a small bright green Warbler with brighter yellow underparts & a black cap. One of the great things about nearly all New World Warblers is they immediately stand out from the Old World Warblers. It quickly dropped into the trees & was gone. After another hour, it reappeared & a nearby helpful comment said 'it's on the wire'. I grabbed the camera & hoped the camera settings were about right: they were, having already been adjusted earlier in the afternoon.

Wilson's Warbler: My thirteenth species of New World Warbler in the UK & Ireland, which includes Yellow Warbler & Blue-winged Warbler seen in Ireland

Wilson's Warbler: I'm surprised about how short the primaries look. This is my second New World Warbler which was sharing a bush with a Yellow-browed Warbler: the first being the Yellow Warbler at Loop Head, Ireland in Oct 1995

All too quickly it disappeared back into the trees & was gone again. Another long ninety minutes before the next sighting. But this time I was expecting it to show. Earlier that afternoon, I had heard the Yellow-browed Warbler that was also in the area call, while I was watching the Wilson's Warbler. Both Warblers seem to move on at the same time. Having just heard the Yellow-browed Warbler start calling in the trees, then I was half expecting the Wilson's Warbler to pop out. Fortunately, it did, in one of the nearby conifers. A quick check with the bins & then the camera was brought back into action. All too quickly it flicked right & back into the trees again. I waiting for over another hour, but there was no further sign of either Warbler.

Hooded Crow: They were locally common on the Western Isles as well as around Ullapool

It was now late afternoon & I decided that I needed to head back into Stornoway to try & find some accommodation for the night. Having not slept for a day & a half, then some food & a good night's kip was essential. But first I wanted to explore the local area, as there have been some great rarities seen over recent years near to Port Nis. Just to the North of Port Nis is the Butt of Lewis lighthouse, where the UK's only Purple Martin was found. This is the most Northerly point on the Western Isles. It's also been a long standing local joke locally given one of the local Birders is Ian Lewis & a couple of years ago, he travelled up specially to see the Butt of Lewis.

Ian Lewis: One of the local Poole Birders taken in Lhasa, Tibet. I will leave you to do the Butt of Lewis jokes, I can't be bothered (26 June 05)

Butt of Lewis Lighthouse: The lighthouse was build in 1862 by David & Thomas Stevenson, two of the famous Lighthouse Stevenson family

Butt of Lewis: It's must have been a bleak area to live before the lighthouse was automated. This is in the Guinness Book of Records for the windiest spot in the UK

A close up of the folding in the rocks

Rabbits: Interesting to see a field of Rabbits with several black Rabbits in it, near to Port Nis. I often see black Rabbits among the local Studland Rabbits. I've never been sure if somebody has released a pet black Rabbit, which has produced the subsequent black Rabbits, or if there is an occasional black Rabbit colour morph which appears with too much in-breeding. But the Rabbits are always normal or jet black, but never inbetween

I am surprised that all the visiting Birders have failed to alert the Bird Info Services to the influx of Great Horned Owls in the area. I managed to see three on Lewis, with additional individuals on Harris & North Uist, on the following days.

Great Horned Owl: Stornoway harbour

Great Horned Owl: Near Butt of Lewis

Great Horned Owl: Black Morph roosting on the Butt of Lewis lighthouse