March WeBS count

I did the BTO WeBS count of my bit of the River Aire today. A few days after the core count date (Sunday 11^th March), but that isn’t a problem. I won’t waffle on. Here’s the list:

84 Mallard (56 male/28 female)
7 Goosander (3 male/4 female)
2 Grey Wagtail
12 Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
2 Mute Swan
2 Moorhen

The non-WeBS species I picked before or during the water bird count were arguably more interesting:

Treecreeper
Nuthatch
2 Goldcrest

Great Spotted Woodpecker
3 Jay
Carrion Crow
3 Mistle Thrush
7 Blackbird
8 Robin
3 Wren
12 Blue Tit
2 Coal Tit
4 Long-tailed Tit
34 Wood Pigeon
Chaffinch
Lapwing
Stock Dove
…and - and - a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling in the area. More about this on another post that I’ll write another day.

Probably the most interesting thing was the dead stuff I found...

 Mallard, Shipley, West Yorkshire - Wednesday 14th March 2012 

 

Common Carp, Hirst Lock, Leeds-Liverpool Canal, Shipley, West Yorkshire
- Wednesday 14th March 2012
 

First egg of the year

My daughter has been feeding empty birds' egg again. Each summer she points out loads of them to me, which I would have just walked past. I guess that’s kids for you.

Her first one this year is pretty early: on 13th March she found an empty Wood Pigeon egg a couple of streets from our house.

Wood Pigeon egg, Shipley, West Yorkshire - Tuesday 13th March 2012 

Looked good for a Wood Pigeon egg, but I checked the books to be certain.

Wood Pigeon egg, Shipley, West Yorkshire - Tuesday 13th March 2012

Neatly opened around the middle. Looks like the chick hatched successfully and the parent carried the shell away.

Spring is here – now bring on those migrants!

Life-affirming

It was lovely sunny spring day today, and I was lucky enough to spend most of outside doing two of the things I love most – bird watching and helping others watch birds.

I met up with the rest of the Rodley Nature Reseve WeBS survey team at 07:00. It was cold, but still and clear and the sun soon warmed us up. March is the month when the resident birds are pairing up and getting ready to build nests, getting a head start on the summer migrants. No migrants are on the reserve yet, so the focus was on the birds about to breed here, or about to leave.

The Linnet flock, which had reached at least 250 birds over winter, was today more like 60. The gull flock was eight Black-headed Gulls and one Common Gull – about 20% of the usual winter flock. But there were loads Jays around, well into double figures, and more Bullfinches than usual too. The Willow Tits, meanwhile, have gone into hiding. Two Kingfishers were chasing one another along the river, and three Goosander. Seven Goldeneye on the lagoon, and lots of paired-up Gadwall and Teal.

I spent the afternoon leading the Airedale Otters Wildlife Explorers around Deep Cliffe Wood in Harden, Bingley. We were checking the nest boxes the kids made in January, and doing a survey of the birds. Lots of fun - it’s a private wood and quite unkempt, and there are none of the usual rules and restrictions of council-owned woods or nature reserves.

Common Toad, Harden, Bingley, West Yorkshire - Sunday 11th March 2012

The highlights were the random toad found at the start of the event, and the yaffling Green Woodpecker, which eventually flew into view, and a Common Buzzard flying over as we walked back to our cars. The kids and parents found all these things, including these really interesting scratches on the several branches of a Holly tree that had been cut down. I assumed this was the work of a Grey Squirrel - we'd seen these around the wood - but after consulting my trusty copy of Tracks and Signs by Bang and Dahlstrom, I'm not so sure. Any ideas?

The work of a Grey Squirrel?

The kids seemed to enjoy it, and so did the leaders and parents. Don’t believe all that crap you hear about children failing and standards falling: these kids know their stuff, they're eager to learn, and they ask far better questions than adults ever do.

So, basically, I had great day: enjoyable, worthwhile, life-affirming.

A twitch too far?

Next Sunday I will be leading a group of Bradford youngsters on a bird and nestbox survey, for the benefit of their education and the wider environment.

There, I feel better now. Knowing that I will be doing something positive next Sunday somehow assuages the guilt I feel for being a rabid tick-hungry twitcher, going on a monstrous journey to (attempt to) glimpse some rare birds last Saturday.

I went to see the first-winter male Common Yellowthroat at Rhiwderin, Gwent, South Wales. For the UK, this is a rare bird – very rare – with only nine previous records. I wasn’t going to miss this. Work, family, daughter’s birthday, and other commitments had slowed me down, but finally I got the opportunity to go – and also got a lovely, unsolicited note from my daughter.

Up at 3am, on site at 7am, great views by 9am. Get in! Only four birders present when we got our first brief views in the rain; but gradually, as more birders arrived and the skies cleared, the bird revealed itself. And what a peach it was.

It was a beautiful bright yellow on the breast, flashing as it flicked around the branches at different angels. The yellow was noticeable on the undertail coverts too, as it flitted along the hedge, sometimes at eye-level but mostly nearer the ground. Despite the bright colour, it was easily able to disappear in the undergrowth for long periods. It had a dark, almost black, mask with a grey supercilium, and dull green upperparts. Occasionally it fed near a Blue Tit and Robin, giving a good indication of its size.

Then it was on to Pagham, West Susseex, for an overwintering Paddyfield Warbler. Another long journey, and this time in vain. The bird didn’t show all day, on account of the wind I suspect, as it was nice and sunny while I was there. I didn’t hang around, many people looked like they’d given up and weren’t looking any more, and I felt a bit of a mug patrolling the path looking into all the reeds on my own for 45 minutes. Stonechat, Curlews and a Spoonbill flying over low were all nice, but not what I’d invested my time away from the family (and all that petrol money) on.

As luck would have it, a Rose-coloured Starling – another lifer for me – was reported at Hordle in nearby Hampshire. So off I went, with the intention of coming back to Pagham if there was some news. I arrived at the cul-de-sac in Hordle to hear the bird had just left the hedge I was stood next to. Sigh. So I spent an hour looking for the bird around the streets, roofs, tress, gardens (respectfully, of course), while most of the other ten or so birders stood next to the same hedge.

I shouldn’t have bothered. I re-joined everyone, and almost immediately the bird flew into the hedge, nearly hitting me on the head as it did. Bizarrely, most of the waiting birders still missed it as it arrived. Anyhow, we all got good views of the scruffy thing as it sang from within the hawthorn. I’d left my scope in the car but a couple of generous chaps (thanks fellas) allowed me to take a couple of photos with my creaky, first-generation iPhone (the one with the rubbish camera).

Rose-coloured Starling - Hordle, Hampshire, 3rd March 2012

 Rose-coloured Starling - Hordle, Hampshire, 3rd March 2012

No news on the Paddyfield Warbler, so I headed home. Via Kent. Bit out of the way, I admit, but there was (still is?) a female Hooded Merganser at Whedsted gravel pits near Tonbridge. This is a species I’d seen twice before in the UK – a perfectly good looking (and acting) female at Saltholme in Cleveland in 2009, and the long-staying showy male at Radipole in Dorset, which I saw on my trip that way in January.

Neither of these in were accepted as being wild by the birding powers-that-be, i.e. the British Bird Rarities Committee (BBRC). So here was another good candidate – worth another punt, I guess.

After getting lost (in the car, then on foot), I stumbled across a friendly local birder who was heading the same way. The bird was on a medium sized lake, diving frequently at the far side. It was a fetching chocolate-brown female with a lovely ginger crest showing nicely in the warm glow of the setting sun. Really glad I made the detour – regardless of whether it was a genuine vagrant or not.

Extremely boring journey home; but at least I got my two ticks, maybe three once the BBRC have done their stuff. Looking forward to next Sunday: WeBS count at Rodley Nature Reserve, followed by the Airedale Otters. All good stuff.

Gulls Allowed

Gulls have never been my favourite birds, but I’m starting to like ‘em – mainly because I’m starting to understand them. This is thanks in no small part to Martin Garner (or, as my friend would describe him, “the old man of the gulls”).

On Saturday, I attended one of Martin’s Gull Master Classes at Stubber’s Green boating lake near Walsall. The site is close to a landfill where the gulls feed, and they come to the lake to wash and roost.  It was very windy, very wet, there was hail, and sleet, and just when we didn’t want it, there was bright sunshine - right into our eyes. But, I learnt loads and loads, particularly about juvenile gulls. And, I learnt that I still know next to nothing!

The focus was on the large white-headed gulls – Herring, Caspian, Yellow-legged, Great and Lesser Black-backed, all of which have 4-year-development cycles. We were asked to ignore the 2nd and 3rd-winter birds, and focus in on the juvenile/1st-winter and adult birds. This approached really helped.

Picking out juvenile Herring Gull in flight, from among Great and Lesser-black Backed Gulls instantly became easy. The pale areas of the wings, the tail pattern, the shade of brown in the wings and scapulars, all became recognisable. We also studied the primary wing tips in adults, helping us distinguish between agentatus and argenteus Herring Gull forms, and Caspian and Yellow-legged Gull.

On the deck we picked out a 1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull (see below). Note how the bird has dark wing coverts coverts and tertials, with little pale fringing. Also note the particular patterning on the scapula feathers, making very distinctive when compared to the Herring Gulls present. The birds do not have yellow legs at this stage.

Yellow-legged Gull - Stubber's Green, Walsall, West Midlands, 18th February 2012

The tail, which can’t be seen well here, was also very different. The Yellow-legged has a darker, shorter tail band, with some restricted dark spotting on the white upper-tail coverts. The Herring Gull has a broader, darker tail band, with much barring on the upper-tail coverts.

The clincher was seeing the single, fresh, median covert feather on the Yellow-legged Gull - these birds tend to start their moult early. Being able to ID a young gull with this level of detail was a revelation to me. My confidence is well up now.

We later moved on to Chasewater for the gull roast, finding a 2nd-winter Iceland Gull (pretty obvious that one though), another probable 1st-winter YLG, and a possible immature Caspian Gull.

An excellent introduction to the dark art of gull identification. Now, where’s the nearest landfill to my house?

What a week of birds!

Golden Pheasant - Wolferton, Norfolk, Saturday 14th January 2012

Last week, from Saturday 14th to Sunday 22nd January, I spent nine days birding every moment of daylight, and for even some time after dark too. I was on a trip with Lee Evans, Chris Baines, and Mike Warner (thanks for all the driving Mike). I saw 11 birds new to me, and saw plenty of others better than I’d ever seen before; I learnt loads, and had a good laugh.

Our plan was to see every bird species on mainland Britain during the week, wherever they were. There were so many great birds in the south west we didn’t get to Wales, Yorkshire, or Scotland as planned; but that didn’t stop us seeing loads and loads of great birds. We started in Norfolk, and travelled through Suffolk, Essex (a beautiful place away from the towns), Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and ended in Buckinghamshire.

I saw a total 187 species (using BOU taxonomy). Lee managed 193, using the taxonomy of his UK400 Club, and counting heard-only birds (which I didn't on this trip).

We saw too much for me to attempt to describe it all here, but the highlights were: the striking Dark-eyed Junco showing so well in the dramatic setting of a New Forest clearing, our exciting cross-country dash to see a Little Auk in Buckinghamshire before it got too dark, and me finding probably the first Swallow in the UK in 2012.

Lowlights: the painfully brief views of the Spanish Sparrow at Calshot in Hampshire, and the sad demise of the aforementioned Little Auk the morning after we saw it.

Here are some photos I took during the trip, followed by the full list of birds seen (including splits). The eleven marked * at the top of the list were all British lifers for me.

Rough-legged Buzzard - Holkham, Norfolk, Sunday 15th January 2012

 

Egyptian Goose - Broads Information Centre, Ranworth Broad, Norfolk, Monday 16th January 2012

Mediterranean Gull - Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Monday 16th January 2012

 

Abberton at dawn, Essex, Tuesday 17th January 2012

 

Glossy Ibis - Chapel Amble, Cornwall, Thursday 19th January 2012

Red-breated Goose with Dark-bellied Brent Geese
Exminster Marshes RSPB, Friday 20th January 2012

Long-eared Owl - Exminster Marshes RSPB, Devon, Saturday 21st January 2012

Hooded Merganser - Radipole RSPB, Dorset, Sunday 22nd January 2012

Little Auk - College Lake, Tring, Buckinghamshire, Sunday 22nd January 2012

Red-breasted Goose*

Ross's Goose*

Bufflehead*

Balearic Shearwater*

Western Sandpiper*

Spotted Sandpiper*

Little Auk*

Richard’s Pipit*

Spanish Sparrow*

Arctic Redpoll*

Dark-eyed Junco*

Mute Swan

Bewick’s Swan

Whooper Swan

Taiga Bean Goose

Tundra Bean Goose

Pink-footed Goose

White-fronted Goose

Lesser White-fronted Goose

Ross's Goose* (not on the British List at the time)

Greylag Goose

Canada Goose

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Pale-bellied Brent Goose

Black Brant

Egyptian Goose

Shelduck

Mandarin Duck

Wigeon

American Wigeon

Gadwall

Teal

Mallard

Pintail

Shoveler

Red-crested Pochard

Pochard

Ring-necked Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Tufted Duck
Lesser Scaup

Eider

Long-tailed Duck

Common Scoter

Surf Scoter

Goldeneye

Smew

Red-breasted Merganser

Goosander

Ruddy Duck

Red-legged Partridge

Grey Partridge

Pheasant

Golden Pheasant

Red-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver

Great Northern Diver

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Slavonian Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Fulmar

Gannet

Cormorant

Shag

Bittern

Cattle Egret

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Glossy Ibis

Spoonbill

Red Kite

Marsh Harrier

Hen Harrier

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard

Rough-legged Buzzard

Kestrel

Merlin

Peregrine

Water Rail

Moorhen

Coot

Crane

Oystercatcher

Avocet

Ringed Plover

Golden Plover

Grey Plover

Lapwing

Knot

Sanderling

Purple Sandpiper

Dunlin

Ruff

Snipe

Woodcock

Black-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Curlew

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Spotted Redshank

Greenshank

Redshank

Turnstone

Kittiwake

Black-headed Gull

Little Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Common Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Caspian Gull

Iceland Gull

Guillemot

Razorbill

Black Guillemot

Puffin

Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove

Ring-necked Parakeet

Barn Owl

Long-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Kingfisher

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Skylark

Shore Lark

Swallow

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

Water Pipit

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Waxwing

Dipper

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Black Redstart

Stonechat

Blackbird

Fieldfare

Song Thrush

Redwing

Mistle Thrush

Blackcap

Yellow-browed Warbler

Common Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Goldcrest

Firecrest

Long-tailed Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Coal Tit

Marsh Tit

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Great Grey Shrike

Jay

Magpie

Jackdaw

Rook

Carrion Crow

Raven

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Brambling

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Siskin

Linnet

Twite

Lesser Redpoll

Common Crossbill

Bullfinch

Hawfinch

Lapland Bunting

Snow Bunting

Yellowhammer

Cirl Bunting

Reed Bunting

Corn Bunting

California Dreaming: San Jose 4-11th December 2011

Working at an engineering company in West Yorkshire isn't the best place to see exotic wildlife. So when that company asks you to go and work for a week at their site in San Jose ("the capital of Silicon Valley") in California, well you don't say no. And so on 4th December I arrived in California, further west than I'd been before.

I had a few hours at San Francisco airport before my colleague arrived, so I did what came naturally: I drank beer and went birding. Bird watching in airports, in and around the terminal, is practically pointless – there’s not much to see but gulls and crows. Of course, the good news is if you’re new to the territory as I was, the gulls and crows are all new birds for you. So it was, my first life-tick of the trip was a California Gull (Larus Californicus), which was stood on a bus shelter outside the domestic departure area.

Smaller than a Herring Gull, with a more streaked head and neck, yellow legs, pointier wings with blacker tips, and the most obvious ID feature: a red and black spot on the gonydeal angle.

California Gull - San Francisco Airport, Sunday 4th December 2011

Unfortunately, because I was working during this trip, and because of the restricted hours of daylight in winter, I wasn’t going to be able to give all the birds here such a good grilling as that gull.

San Jose and Milpitas
I was staying in downtown San Jose and working in Milpitas to the northeast. Both were quite built-up areas, with sparse vegetation. Time was limited too, because at this time of year the sun didn’t rise until about 07:30 and set before 17:00.

I got out into downtown San Jose only a couple of times during daylight, and was pleasantly surprised to find Acorn Woodpeckers in the park off the main Market Street.

I didn’t get much chance to go birding around the office area in Milpitas; I was working indoors all day, away from windows. I did see one or two birds here: Black Phoebe - a very confiding bird – and lots of the ubiquitous American Crow. The other birds around the office eluded my novice identification skills.

Black Phoebe - San Jose, Tuesday 6th December 2011

On the way to work each morning we passed a scruffy area on the CA-87 freeway and every morning I saw a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus Polyglottos) stood on a prominent post, right at eye-level. After the first sighting, I was ready with my bins each morning, helping me clinch the identification. Also in the same area was Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma [californica] californica), probably of the coastal californica subspecies. A beautiful, exotic looking bird – although no more exotic looking than the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) that I get in my garden I guess. Further along on the freeway each morning there was a huge flock of feral pigeons on the overhead wires – hundreds of them favouring just one section of wires. They may have been staying together for warmth – it was colder here than I anticipated…

The most surprising and welcome bird on the morning commutes was a Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) on some rough ground by the Lowes store at the junction of the i880 and Brokaw Road. I managed to pick it out four mornings from five, and get good views as we queued in traffic. This is a bird I’d travel long distances to see in the UK. It was an absolute peach, but it was a little weird to see such a “rarity" (in UK terms) stood in the car park of a hardware store.

Guadalupe River Park

Northern Mockingbird (sat on the sign) - Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, Tuesday 6th December 2011

A couple of blocks west of the hotel I was staying at (the De Anza), and just under the CA-87 Guadeloupe Parkway, was Guadeloupe River Park. It was around here I went birding most mornings, getting 45 minutes in before setting off to the office.

Black Phoebe was the most conspicuous bird here, calling constantly as it picked its way around the concrete structures and homeless people (downtown San Jose certainly had plenty of these).

Mallard and American Coot were on the river itself, and the trees on the riverbank had loads of American Robin and Starling every morning. Lots of the ubiquitous American Crow and Feral Pigeon around too. On the Tuesday morning I caught sight of a pair of American Kestrel high on some overhead wires. After five minutes or so they mated, which seemed odd given it was early December.

The bird that got me most excited was the chunky warbler-type with the yellow flashes, flitting around the smaller trees. It took me ages looking through Sibley’s and National Geographic bird guides before I finally settled on Yellow-rumped Warbler. Then there was the Cedar Waxwing flock, the small group of House Finch, and the really confiding Northern Mockingbird. Probably really boring stuff for most Yank birders, but all very new and compelling to me. These photos aren't great: I'm no photographer - all these photos were taken with a £95 Canon Ixus...

Northern Mockingbird - Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, Tuesday 6th December 2011

House Finch - Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, Thursday 8th December 2011

Cedar Waxwing - Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, Thursday 8th December 2011

 

Cedar Waxwing - Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, Thursday 8th December 2011

City of Sunnyvale Landfill 
On Wednesday lunchtime, I sneaked away from work for a couple of hours and drove up to Sunnyvale, and joined the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society on one of their monthly trips around the Donald M. Somers Water Pollution Control Plant. This was an inspired idea, even if I say so myself. I spent an hour or more in the company of some knowledgeable and extremely helpful local birders, plus around 30 beginner birders, seeing a mass of birds mostly new to me. The site is part of a working landfill and water treatment site, but the area we toured was a former landfill heap that gave us a great lookout over lagoons, drains, settlement beds, and southern San Francisco Bay.

I could barely keep up with all the new birds I was seeing and new information I was hearing. Here's a list of the birds I saw at the landfill (there were more, but like I said, I just couldn't take them all in during the time I had): Canada Goose, Snow Goose, Pintail, American Wigeon, Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Green Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, American Coot, Moorhen, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Burrowing Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, American Crow, Hermit Thrush, Starling, American Pipit, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Borrowing Owl - Sunnyvale landfill, Wednesday 7th December 2011


Belted Kingfisher - Sunnyvale landfill, Wednesday 7th December 2011

Turkey Vulture - Sunnyvale landfill, Wednesday 7th December 2011
 

Hermit Thrush - Sunnyvale landfill, Wednesday 7th December 2011

Half Moon Bay
I was cheeky enough to take Friday afternoon off and head across the San Andreas fault to Half Moon Bay. My colleague was mostly interested in driving along Highway One, whereas I wanted to see more wildlife and, for the first time in my life, dip my toe in the Pacific Ocean.

El Granada, Half Moon Bay, California, Friday 9th December 2011

On Wednesday night we'd had a takeaway curry (a really good one, surprisingly) at the home of an Apple executive (an old school friend of my colleague). While they didn't divulge any Apple secrets, they did recommend this place. And it really is a lovely, quiet, beautiful place (although I suspect it's very busy in summer).

On the wide sandy shores of the Half Moon Bay State Beach were some very tame Sanderling, and groups of loafing California, Western, and Ring-billed Gull. We travelled up Highway One to El Granada at the northern end of the bay, seeing Red-winged Blackbirds and possibly Mourning Doves on the roadside wires. In the picturesque harbour at El Granada, I watched a Great Blue Heron stalking the shallows, while Pied-billed and Western Grebes dived nearby. Lots of ducks here (you can see them behind the Great Blue Heron in the photo above), but I couldn't get a decent vantage point to get a positive ID - just one of many that got away.

(One-legged) Western Gull - Half Moon Bay, Friday 9th December 2011

(Two-legged) Western Gull - Half Moon Bay, Friday 9th December 2011

San Francisco
The last full day in California, and where else to go than San Francisco? Well, I had a few other ideas, but my companions (we were joined by another co-worker) opted for SF. What an absolutely brilliant city. Didn't do much birding here - I just enjoyed actually being here.

We did do the tourist boat trip out to the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island, seeing Double-crested Cormorants and California See Lions at the quayside, and Heermann's Gull following the boat at close quarters.

 Heermann's Gull - San Francisco, Saturday 10th December 2011

 

 Heermann's Gull and Alcatraz - San Francisco, Saturday 10th December 2011

We had a good look around SF later in the afternoon, and bumped into a few Santas before stumbling upon a thousand of them in a park. A great day out to round off a brilliant trip. It was hard work (I was working long days in between all this birding, honest!), but well worth it. Here's hoping for more foreign trips - the company I work for has sites at Manaus in Brazil, and Tierra del Fuego in Argentina... Better get back to work. 

Santa Con - San Francisco, Saturday 10th December 2011