East Meets West

 Alan Shorrock and I made a return trip to Ecton this morning for another look at the Siberian Chiffchaffs. It was certainly a lot milder than it was on our previous visit which resulted in there being less birds on view but with just the occasional sunny spell the light quality was more helpful for trying to separate Sibe Chiffies from their commoner cousins, we managed to find one in amongst about twenty of its relatives. This week's individual was a grey looking, dark legged bird with some green on its folded flight feathers and on its tail. The bird was not very vocal but close observation suggests that Sibes don't pump their tails as frequently as Common Chiffchaffs do.

Siberian Chiffchaff

Away from the Chiffies there was once again an obliging Cetti's Warbler which showed very well on occasion. A Kingfisher paid only a brief visit and a Water Rail was heard calling while there was also a Green Sandpiper present. We were watching the Chiffs when a Raven passed by treating  us to a display of aerobatics, this is their time of the year for displaying. Several Grey Wagtails were also noted but there were no repeat viewings of Jack Snipe sadly.

Cetti's Warbler.

From Ecton we called in at Ravensthorpe Reservoir to have a look for the female Ring-necked Duck that's been here for a day or two. With the help of another birder we managed to find her and enjoyed some fairly distant though good views. After about three quarters of an hour we decided to call it quits and packed up for the day.

Ring-necked Duck

Not One To Remember

 New shift patterns at work mean that I have to work the occasional Saturday, not great but the compensation for this comes in the shape of a day off in the week. Today I teamed up once again with Alan Shorrock for a trip to the dam at Rutland Water. Foggy interludes, some drizzle and a cold wind made for some fairly challenging conditions, I'd like to say that the birding made up for this but I'm afraid to say that it didn't!

Goosanders

There was no sign of either of the Great Northern Divers that have been frequenting the area recently and not much else in all honesty. I can't remember there being so few birds in this area before and I'm not sure why. What is for sure is that this was my worst visit to Rutland ever. A pair of Goosanders were the pick of a small bunch, I'm hoping that my next excursion supplies a little more interest, it shouldn't be difficult!

Rutland selection

Returning briefly to those Ecton Chiffies and I'm happy that I saw and photographed at least two tristis types but there's one bird that I photographed that I'm struggling with. Initially I thought it was a Sibe Chiffy but there are a couple of features that rule this out. With pale pinkish legs, a pale bill and an obvious supercilium I'd pass it off as a Willow Warbler had it been either spring or summer but winter records of these are rarer than Sibe Chiffies. It's a shame that the photo doesn't show the primary projection well enough but you can't always pin a name on a bird and I'll have to put this down to experience or lack thereof!

What is it?

UPDATE Just learnt that not all Sibe Chiffs have black legs and that in some individuals they can appear paler. This combined with the bright sunshine exaggerating this feature in the photos makes me a little happier with the original ID.

Ecton Chiffies Revisited

 Eagle eyed Alan Shorrock has inspected some of his and my shots of the Ecton Chiffchaffs and has noticed that all show birds with pale legs which appear to be pinkish or orangey. Given that Chiffchaffs are supposed to have dark coloured legs this poses something of a question. There's no doubt that the birds we were watching were either ordinary Chiffies or tristis type Siberian Chiffchaffs so why would the legs appear to be pale? I'm wondering if the bright sunshine was responsible or could it be that some of the paler looking birds may be as Alan suggested leucistic? I believe the light's responsible for the illusion but it's certainly an interesting observation. Here's a few more pics including some Common Chiffchaffs.

Three images of tristis types and one ordinary Chiffchaff

Winter Walk

 After yesterday's haul of goodies today's pickings were always going to struggle to compete and they were slim in comparison. It was a beautiful day, cold but sunny and I enjoyed a stroll around the Northamptonshire countryside in the Deene and Deenethorpe area. Taking advantage once again of the cheaper bus fares I travelled as far as Upper Benefield and walked back from there.

Fieldfare and Yellowhammer

The countryside between Benefield and Deenethorpe did not hold too many birds, there was a selection of buntings and finches and a few winter thrushes but not much else. A Brown hare, the first of two today, stood out against a frosty grass field as it nibbled on grass. Near the barns at Burnt Coppice a male Stonechat was a welcome find. it was my first in the county this year. I continued my stroll towards Deene without adding too much more to my list.

Brown Hare and Stonechat

White-cheeked Pintail and Fallow Deer

The main lake at Deene was frozen though there was some open water near the inflow. At least fourteen Shelduck were present and there were a few Shovellers and a Pochard feeding with the more regular ducks. Also putting in an appearance was presumably the returning White-cheeked Pintail from last year. other wildfowl of dubious origin were four Black Swans. A flock of forty or so Lapwings were noted in flight over Deenethorpe village and a Snipe was flushed between the village and the airfield. Not much else was noted apart from a Fallow Deer grazing on the edge of Weldon Park Wood.

Starling and Wren

Ecton Excels

 A report of a Siberian Chiffchaff at Ecton STW persuaded Alan Shorrock that a road trip might be in order and I was more than happy to tag along with him. With the use of one of the local birding maps from the Northamptonshire Birding blog we managed to find the site but had to wait for a thick mist to lift. Once the viewing conditions had cleared up we were treated to a good selection of local birds.

The mist soon lifted to reveal some goodies

Arriving at bridge K121 we saw two Little Egrets, a Green Sandpiper was also glimpsed as it flew off up the outflow stream. Soon afterwards a Kingfisher repeated this disappearing trick though it did return a little later and treat us to some decent views. Several Common Chiffchaffs were flitting around the bridge and numbers built up as the morning progressed. We managed to find first one and then a second tristis type Chiffy and one or the other showed reasonably well during our stay. Neither called while we were there but I'm reasonably happy that both were Siberians. Showing well at times was a Cetti's Warbler which gave my best ever county views of this often elusive species.

Distant Jack Snipe and closer Cetti's Warbler

Several Green Sandpipers had returned to the outflow stream but these were overshadowed by a Jack Snipe which gave us prolonged though fairly distant views of this often difficult to see species. A Common Snipe later joined its smaller relative for a while providing a good comparison. Grey Wagtails also found the banks of the stream attractive and at least two were seen while Water Rails crossed the channel on a couple of occasions. Alan picked out a flyby Great White Egret which was another good bird to add to the list. Having eventually left the site several celebratory pints were downed in the Saxon Tavern in nearby Earls Barton, a good end to a good day!

Three views of tristis type Chiffchaffs

Wakey Wakey

 My brother David, John Barn and I spent the day wandering around two sites in Leics and Rutland on the hunt for interesting birds. Although it stayed dry for much of the time there was a cold wind blowing which made for a sometimes cold and unpleasant experience. Despite the biting wind we were treated to a selection of interesting wildlife.

Smew

We began at Eyebrook where Smew continue to be present in good numbers, fourteen were reported by others though we managed a more modest total of about six drakes. Attempts to locate any of the reported Scaup failed though many of the diving ducks were tight up against the opposite shore. Three Pintail were the most interesting of the other wildfowl on site. A trio of Great White Egrets were seen at various points around the res and there was a flock of about ten Siskins at the bridge.

Kittiwake

Satisfied that we had seen everything that Eyebrook had to offer we left and made the short journey to the dam at Rutland Water. There was no luck with either of the two reported Great Northern Divers but luckily that was our only failure here. Another birder alerted us to the presence of an adult Kittiwake flying along the dam, it continued to patrol the area throughout the length of our visit. The same birder then found the reported Slavonian Grebe close to the opposite shore, I had clear if distant views. After this we didn't manage to find any other birds of note though our day was not quite finished yet. An Otter swimming fairly close in treated us to some sustained views as it fed energetically. After ten miutes or so we left the Otter to carry on with its fishing and headed back towards Corby. One plus point for me was that I'd actually managed to visit Rutland without getting rained on - long may that trend continue! I didn't take many photos today, distance was one factor but the main one was that my replacement battery ran out of charge after only a couple of pictures.

Return To Rainy Rutland

 With rain forecast for most of this morning a plan involving some form of shelter seemed like a good idea. For this reason Alan Shorrock and I paid a visit to the Egelton reserve at Rutland Water where there are plenty of hides as well as the possibility of seeing good birds.

Stonechat and Pintail

Beginning at the Visitor Centre we were treated to several fly passes by a female Marsh Harrier, we saw her or another at regular points during our visit. Also showing at several points on the reserve were Great White Egret and Pintails, there were good numbers of the latter present. A distant female Goosander was my first of the year and so too was a male Stonechat that Alan picked out in front of the centre. The neighbouring Lagoon 2 was fairly quiet with good views of a male Kingfisher the best on offer.

Golden Plovers and Redshanks

Lagoon 4 played host to a large number of Golden Plovers and Lapwings as well as a distant Yellow-legged Gull but there didn't appear to be much else on view. We moved on to Lagoon 3 where Redshanks and Snipe were added to the day list but there were far fewer ducks here than there usually is. From here we walked along to Lapwing Hide which overlooks the south arm of the main reservoir. We had been told that two Scaup had been reported from here but initial impressions were not looking that promising. There seemed to be very few birds on the water and most appeared to be Great Crested Grebes. Eventually after some searching the birds were found close to the shore near Old Hall, two immature drakes associating with several Tufted Ducks.

Kingfisher

We were on our way back to the centre when we bumped into a female birder who told us she had just seen redhead Smew on Lagoon 4. A hurried thank you was followed by a swift return to Sandpiper Hide where the Smew was quickly found. Unusually she was out of the water and resting on one of the islands doing a spot of preening. Apart from a brief swim she spent most of her time there treating us to some decent views. Apart from the duck there were a few Dunlins sharing the islands with the plovers and they completed our tally for the day. Nowadays a visit to Rutland always seems to involve some rain but at least it often involves some good birding too.

Bully For Me

 I had enough time today to take a short walk along to the area near the STW, sunny conditions and blustery gusts of wind made for a nicer stroll than yesterday.

Red Kite

Not much to report unfortunately with things being very definitely on the quiet side. Teal have returned to the ponds, their nervous whistles could be heard as I passed by. Several Red Kites seemed to be enjoying the breeze as they passed by overhead but that other than a very attractive male Bullfinch was that as far as birding was concerned.

X Rated

 Stagecoach are running a promotion at the moment where you can buy a single ticket for two quid to anywhere included in the deal. This and a day off tempted me into taking the X4 over to Wellingborough for a spot of birding along the embankment.

Great White Egret and Yellow-legged Gull

I ended up regretting my decision to some extent as the outward journey in particular was fairly horrendous. My bus doubled as the school bus and I had the dubious pleasure of listening to assorted student blah blah for what seemed like hours. Happily most of the teenage lug tormentors got off at Kettering taking their inane banter with them. Thinking that the journey would now improve considerably turned out to be a tad premature. A car crash on the A509 reduced the traffic to a crawl when it moved at all and it took an interminable amount of time (twenty five minutes actually but it seemed much longer at the time!) to clear the jam.  With the air on the bus growing increasingly tainted by flatulent emissions it was with some relief that I finally emerged into the relatively clean air of the Wellingborough rush hour. 

Caspian Gull

I'd love to say that my efforts were rewarded but I suspect it would have taken more than the embankment could offer to erase memories of the journey. There was a trio of Great White Egrets spread between Chester House Lake and nearby Ditchford while the duck population included both Goldeneye and Pochards. A couple of Ravens having a territorial dispute caused quite an uproar, the victorious bird returned back towards the town while the vanquished one headed over the river. The highlight of my visit was the presence of adult Yellow-legged and adult Caspian Gulls on Chester House Lake. Rubbish record shots were taken, the usual enemies of bad light and distance hampered my photographic efforts. Fine drizzle began to fall and I retreated to the pub for a couple of ciders before tackling the journey home, mercifully it was much better!

A Grand Day Out

 My brother David and I ventured out into the wilds of North Norfolk today, we enjoyed decent weather and even better birds as we stopped at several spots along the coast. A Merlin seen from the car near Kings Lynn was an excellent way to kick things off, I just don't see enough of these little falcons so every one is appreciated.

Pink-footed Geese and Raven

Our birding proper began at Holkham where we parked the car along Lady Anne's Drive. Plenty of Pink-footed Geese were frequenting the area and they were accompanied by good numbers of Wigeon. Both Curlews and Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in amongst the geese and we were put on to a covey of six Grey Partridges by some other birders. Stand out bird here was a Raven which was my first ever sighting of this species in Norfolk. Some good birds had been reported from the sea here recently so we wasted no time in heading off in that direction. On our way to the beach another Merlin was noted harassing a flock of Linnets, clearly lightning can strike twice! Our efforts from the beach were rewarded as David picked out first a drake Long-tailed Duck and then a Red-necked Grebe. Other species seen on the sea included twenty plus Red-breasted Mergansers, some Common Scoters and some fly-by Red-throated Divers. Returning towards the car we stopped to enjoy a small flock of Shore Larks feeding in the roped off area, Snow Buntings had also been reported in the area though we didn't manage to catch up with them.

Grey Partridges and Shore Lark.

Encouraging news regarding the reported Long-eared Owl at Glandford decided our next course of action. We arrived at Cley Spy to find both the owl and a hoard of admirers in place. The Long-eared showed very well as it preened in the winter sunshine before settling down for a snooze. Next stop was at the East Bank at Cley where we attempted unsuccessfully to find the Long-billed Dowitcher which was apparently spooked just before we arrived. Sadly the bird did not return in the time that we spent there though I gather it reappeared a little later on. On our return drive along the coast we stopped briefly at Holkham to enjoy views of a flock of White-fronted Gesse feeding in a field near the A149.

Long-eared Owl

Final port of call was at Brancaster where a Hume's Warbler has been present for some time. By now the sun had disappeared behind some clouds and a stiff breeze was blowing, things were not looking too encouraging. Many would be warbler spotters began to drift away before I heard an unfamiliar call which led me to find the warbler feeding in waterside sallows. It disappeared before the few remaining diehard birders could see it but our patience was to be rewarded. Some twenty minutes lapsed before the bird called again but this time the bird was relocated and showed well if rather distantly. This was my first ever sighting of this species and proved to be the icing on what had been a very tasty cake! All in all one of my better birding trips recently, it's certainly going to take some beating!

White-fronted Geese