Great grey Shrike in Northants.

Monday 13th April 2009

Having quickly dismissed the notion of Gardening and DIY I toyed with the thought of a slow start to the day and then a couple of pints at the Brewrey. No, once a dedicated birder....so Borough Hill it was. I'd never been there before but heard about it as a good spot for migrants with the added attraction of a Great grey Shrike. The location was easy if you knew the area but I met a number of local farmers, all I should say were helpful and friendly, before I got to the right place. After a short wait the Great grey Shrike appeared just as a pair of Whimbrel flew over which I didnt pick up. The Shrike was quite distant but showed well enough in the scope. One of the 6 birders present picked up a Red Kite in the distance. The bird came closer and circled low over Borough Hill before gaining height and drifting off.

Time to move on to Napton on the Hill and find something in Warwicks. I stopped briefly at Lower Shuckborough to look for Raptors and saw 2 pairs of Ravens, female Sparrowhawk and loads of Common Buzzard. Despite a good look round Napton I found Nap all. A handful of Chiffchaff and Willow warblers were about it. I was particularly diligent in sorting out the Ring Ouzels from the Horse manure liberally scattered around the various paddocks and grassy slopes. Needless to say the all the Horse manure was in fact Horse manure quite inert and definitely flightless.

Now a decision had to be made, I didnt want to go to Draycote, I knew it would be chaotic but it was on the way home and I needed a coffee. It was a Circus, they even had a couple of clowns on Unicycles to prove it. They werent actually clowns just behaving likes clowns if you understand me. After a coffee I made a token gesture at Birdwatching but it did achieve a new County bird for the year in the form of a couple of Little Gulls. (141) There may have been more but a suprisingly large number of Gulls were being pushed around by the various Sailing races going on.

Red rumped Swallow in Leicester

Saturday 11th April 2009

Just a short journey up the M69 and the A46 lies Watermead Country Park, a series of pools and lakes formed from former sand and gravel workings. The purpose of this out of County excursion was to see a Red rumped Swallow, a regular spring overshoot to the UK but still a great bird to see in the Midlands. There was a steady drizzle as I arrived which persisted throughout the morning. The Red rumped Swallow showed well in company with a good number of Barn Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins. For good measure there was a pair of Green Sandpiper and a Little ringed Plover on some rough ground opposite the main pool. I recognised some familiar faces amongst the douzen or so assembled birders. John Hague was his usual welcoming self and after the usual banter about Pork pies we both attempted to take some blog shots in what were becoming atrocious conditions. Get your excuses in early thats what I say.

John suggested we visit Cropston Res. which is a short distance away. I must admit I was rather envious of the local Birders as Cropston and if my memory serves Swithland are havens of tranquility compared with Draycote Water or indeed much of Kingsbury Water Park. There were a pair of Red breasted Mergansers and a pair of Common Scoter on the water, a drake Mandarin flew over and a Common Sandpiper on the dam wall near the road. All in all a good tally at Cropston and a thoroughly enjoyable mornings birding in Leicestershire.

Julian saves the day

Friday 10th April 2009

Have you ever seen a knight in shining armour? No neither have I, let alone one with red hair. But Julian Allan came to my rescue today in a birding sort of way. I'd made all the wrong decisions from the start. I had to get up early to take Jan to pick up a lift to visit her Mum. So do I carry on to Brandon Marsh cos it was a potentially great migrant day or do I go home and have a bit of breakfast? Guess what I did ? Correct, stomach wins every time. Just sat down to eat when the pager tells me theres an Avocet at Brandon. What! I'd be there now if....so down the M69 we go. If only.....Meet people in car park, along path etc. 'its still there' get to the hide no sign. 'Lost sight of it 5 minutes ago'. Predictable or what. If I hadn't eaten my breakfast. Some consolation for what was now the 3 Amigos Andy Hale, Jeff Wesson and myself was the first Sedge warbler (139) of the year but when you're a serious County lister its not the same. It gets worse Id left my pager at home. Gawd knows what was turning up in the other migrant hotspots in the County. Quite! Just in case I go on to Draycote - wrong. The rain gets heavier theres a pair of Citrine - sorry Grey Wagtails on Farnborough bank and 8 Yellow Wagtails and little else but I'm thoroughly wet and past caring now. The fishermen are back in front of the hide, a fact I pass on to the wardens, phone calls are made but I didnt hang around to see the outcome.

Then I get a call from the deputy of Birds r us, Tame valley branch. Sir Lancelot Allan . Did I know there were 3 Black necked Grebes (140) at Lea Marston balancing lakes. Er no, but thanks a bunch for telling me. Its what friends are for, it saved my day and no mistake. Cheers Jules.

Mediterranean Gull at Kingsbury

Thursday 9th April 2009

Just off for a pint of Fallen Angel details to follow..... I do enjoy my couple of pints on a Thursday evening. Trouble is I cant remember what the hell I got up to yesterday now - come to think of it I'm struggling to remember what I did this morning. I basically did a bit of a tour of a few Tame valley sites yesterday but it was all a bit samey I did get some nice views of a Tame valley Cetti's warbler and I heard my first Whitethroat but didnt see it. At Cliff pool Kingsbury I managed to connect with the Mediterranean Gull (138) that had been seen the previous evening. It wasnt difficult to spot as it strutted about on the horseshoe island displaying to Black headed Gulls. It dominated the central part of the island. A single Common tern came in but didn't stay long and two Little ringed Plover did some island hopping.

Happy Returns

Wednesday 8th April 2009

Considering it was supposed to be a non-birdwatching day it turned out quite well ending the day with 2 more species for the year. It was good to see the first pair of Common Terns (136) returning to the Tame valley although I understand there has been a single bird about for the last couple of days. Anyway lets hope the terns have a successful breeding season free from the attentions of predators, Black headed Gulls and floods. Also on Cliff pool late afternoon was a Black tailed Godwit (137).

Earlier in the day I had a good look round Baddesley Common. Birds seen: Little ringed Plover, Blackcap, Willow warbler, Chiffchaff and Common Buzzard. My exploration was interupted in a good way by John Harris telling me about a pair of Garganey on Fishers Mill pool and in a bad way by 3 hoodies shouting at their pit bulls.

Ironically the Garganey had been flushed by the RSPB volunteers who were so involved in planting their reedbeds they were unaware of the birdlife around them. I do hope the RSPB doesn't spoil all the wonderful work they have done by covering all the edges of the Fisher's Mill pool with Phragmites. It would be great to see Bittern and a healthy population of Cetti's and Reed warblers on the new reserve but the Tame valley is a vital area for passage waders to rest up and feed and they add a huge amount of interest to visiting birdwatchers.

Blackcaps at Brandon Marsh

Tuesday 7th April 2009

'Reported', what does that mean when a bird comes up on the pager? It means that there is some doubt as to the likelihood of a genuine sighting or it means the info has come from an unknown source. When the report is a fly by or a flushed bird then the credibility is further reduced. Sometimes it worth the risk to respond to such a message for 'insurance'. How would you feel if you'd not gone on iffy info and missed out. Anyway I didnt go dashing off on this occasion and it was the right decision. Did have a potter round Brandon Marsh where, I think the last Warwickshire Citrine Wagtail was identified in May 1997. A Curlew was circling over the car Park as I got there before heading towards Newlands. Got a new bird for the year in the form of a House Martin (135) over East Marsh.

Other birds around the reserve included: Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Shelduck, Cetti's warbler, Blackcap, Willow warbler, and Chiffchaff.

Slags are looking good

Monday 6th April 2009

Back to the slag heaps today and Bingo, a nice Wheatear on top to start the day. Not exactly rare but its a start. Several Willow warblers were in full voice amongst the Birches and plenty of Meadow pipits around on the grassy areas. On the downside I had to share my slag heaps with a posse of kids on scramble bikes but we managed to keep out of each others way. I used to love the Easter hols now I have to endure them. Sad old goat.

I did a tour of most of the Tame valley sites in Warwickshire, which was frankly disappointing.

Blackcaps were singing on the water park and at Coton. There was also a good number: c30 of both Sand Martin and Swallow at Coton but no sign of a House Martin. About 30 Lesser Redpoll at the feeding station hide at Whitacre Heath and a couple of Willow tits.

Pork pie left over from Saturdays lunch, looks like it too!