OARE MARSH AND SHEPPEY

Sunday, 21st September 2008.

We had been promised some good weather for today and, although it was a little misty when we set off it certainly looked promising. Our little party comprising Libby, John, Leon and myself were dressed for warm weather although we all carried warm / wet gear just in case. We met, as usual, at the Green Man and were soon on our way; Leon and I were particularly looking forward to this outing, as we had not been to Oare Marshes before.

ACROSS TO HARTY FERRY INN

Photo: Leon Rusk

By the time that we reached Oare the weather had really brightened up; there was not a cloud in the sky and there was no wind to speak of. I had always thought that this site was quite small but I was to be proved to be quite wrong!

IT IS A BIG PLACE!

Phto: Leon Rusk

Almost at once we started seeing (and hearing) many different birds in the variety of habitats that make up the area. A flock of Greylags flew in for breakfast and, as we watched them, a Cettis’ Warbler burst into song almost right next to us giving us quite a start!Libby had said that the bird she most wanted to see on this day was the Bearded Reedling; she would not have to wait too long as we very soon heard their distinctive ‘ping-ing’ as they moved along the reed beds towards us! Initially they seemed to stay very low in the reeds, surprising us as we thought that they might show well as the weather was warm and calm. We did not have to wait long though, as we walked along looking at the mudflats checking for waders, the little birds started to show themselves atop the reeds.

A GLORIOUS MORNING!

Photo: Leon Rusk

As it got warmer, so they got bolder; small flocks of them were making short flights along the beds all the while ‘ping-ing’ away to their hearts content! At one point we were lucky enough to have a male sit right on top of a dead branch on a bush that gave us a fantastic view, very close up!There was a group of about seven Grey Seals on the other side of the Swale, on Sheppey. Libby was the first to see them and pointed them out to the rest of us. Some idiots on a small hovercraft thought it funny to cross the mudflats to frighten both the seals and the large groups of gulls and waders. Just the noise of the thing was enough to give me the start of a headache.

MUD, MUD, GLORIOUS MUD!

Photo: Leon rusk

We moved into the hide by the Faversham Creek and settled to watch the waders that were left on this side of the Swale. A good number of them there were too, although not a great number of different species! There was an untold number of Redshanks; I had never seen so many in such close proximity! Blackwits were abundant as well, keeping company with gulls and smaller waders. All the while, Libby kept popping out of the hide to watch the ‘Beardies’ that were now showing almost constantly.
There were some small waders that we could not identify as we were looking directly into the still low sun and the glare was incredible!Moving on we met some friends of Johns’, his local RSPB group I understand. They were engrossed in the ‘Beardies’ as well, their ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ heralding each new appearance!

FAVERSHAM CREEK MEETS THE SWALE

Photo: Leon Rusk

As we moved up Faversham Creek someone (Leon I believe) caught sight of a Peregrine Falcon coming towards us. ‘Coming towards us’ is, probably, a bit of an understatement as the bird was in mid-stoop! It missed its’ intended victim, which was only a few yards from us, and then span around to go back to try again just feet above our heads! What a show! None of us had seen anything like it before and I do not think that we will forget that in a hurry! Although we were to see several raptors during the course of the day, nothing was to come close to comparing with the thrill we all got watching the Peregrine!

SPOILT FOR CHOICE!

Photo: Leon Rusk

At the hide in the centre of the reserve we were to meet more of Johns’ friends and spent a short while in their (very knowledgeable) company. A first for Leon and I, Spotted Redshank was picked out by one of the ladies. There was another bird on one of the islands that everybody was uncertain of. I spent the best part of forty minutes watching the bird, just to see its’ legs! When I did I told john that I thought the bird was a Pectoral Sandpiper and why I thought so. The legs, a pale yellow, had been the clincher but everything else fitted. After some discussion we all agreed upon its’ identity.

FAVERSHAM CREEK

Photo: Leon Rusk

Crossing the site we went to another hide where we watched for the Spotted Crake for a while. Not realising how much time had passed we ate our lunch in the hide. We did not see the Crake and very little else.
Our bags were then left back at Johns’ car and we walked along the sea wall to look again for the Crake. Nothing, not a sausage, but w did have some fine views of a Hobby quartering the area and giving a fine exhibition of its’ aerobatic skills. There was a chap only a few yards away from it at times and he missed most of the show!Elmley, on the Island of Sheppey, was our next destination; Leon and I had been there before and were looking forward to going there again. During the drive there we saw lots of Harley Davidson’s on what must have been a ‘ride-out’ for some club or other. There were also lots of other ‘bikers out and about, some in small groups and others solitary. Everyone seemed to be out taking advantage of, possibly, the last good weekend of the year!

SEALS ON THE DISTANT POINT (REALLY!)

Photo: Leon Rusk

Any body that has been to Elmley will know that there is quite a drive from the ‘front gate’ to the entrance. (!) As we made our way, slowly because of the surface, across the site John told us to watch the gate and fence posts, as you never know what might be perched on them. A split second later Leon spluttered: “There! On the gate! It’s enormous!” We inquired as to what it was to be informed that it was a … “bloody great owl!” I could not see through him so I climbed out to have a look through my ‘bins. “Funny looking owl” I ventured. “What do you think it is?” I asked. Quickly Leon said, “I think it’s a Short Eared ……”, “Cormorant!” interjected John. A Short Eared Cormorant, certainly a ‘lifer’ for me! The boy was crestfallen and very embarrassed. So I said that I would not mention it here! Yeah.

You nearly always get a good welcome at whatever ‘birding’ site you visit but Elmley went way over the top. As we drove along the entrance road they had obviously booked the Red Arrows to greet us as they flew, not very high, right over the car! A bit over the top perhaps, but, ‘thanks’ anyway!

LITTLE STINT ( IT'S THERE, HONEST!)

Photo: Leon Rusk

Disappointment was soon to follow. There had been an outbreak of the blue/green algae at the site and so there was very little to be seen according to the notice that was on display. No wonder they had over-compensated on the welcome!
Thinking it a little early to go to the Raptor Observation Point at Capel Fleet, John said that we could go and see some other places that we could come back to later in the year to view certain birds. We had a look at several places and even visited a small church (St Thomas’ at Harty) whilst still being able to carry on ‘birding’!The wind had got up quite a bit by now, the temperature had dropped a little and there was some evidence of clouds moving in from the east. It was still very pleasant though; a Marsh Harrier was having no trouble moving about, quartering the fields below it.

ST THOMAS', A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE CHURCH!

Photo: Leon Rusk

Having spent some time at each location, it seemed that we were soon on our way back to the Raptor Observation Point. Leons’ face lit up as soon as we left for it; John had told him that it was possible that we might see an owl of some type (!) a little later in the evening!Shortly after arriving, I had to put on my windproof coat as the temperature seemed to be dropping quite rapidly. John and Leon did the same. Several other people who all donned their coats soon after arriving soon joined us. The reason that we were feeling the cold is, of course, that being on top of the mound you get the full force of the elements! If you dropped down to the carpark you could soon warm up!

WATCHING MARSH HARRIERS!

Photo: Leon Rusk

Although we had to wait a while for the birds to show, we soon had a good number of Marsh Harriers occupying the fields around us. There were plenty of Kestrels as well; in fact, wherever you looked you were likely to see one! A Peregrine also put in an appearance although it did nothing so spectacular as the one that we had seen earlier!John had located an owl box that he thought might contain ‘the’ owl; I trained my ‘scope on it so that we could keep a close watch on it every now and then.

RAPTOR VIEW POINT

Photo: Leon Rusk

We had a marvellous view of the Peregrine a little later; it had come back and I was lucky enough to get on it as it started a ‘stoop’ that was to scatter an enormous flock of Starlings in the adjacent field. It missed but did come down to land in the field where it was quickly dive-bombed by the resident Lapwings.
There was movement at the owl box. There was also a Kestrel at the owl box! “ It has just come out of the box and is now perched on the roof”, John informed us. I thought that I caught the merest of quivers on my young chums’ bottom lip.We were now losing the light quickly and it was getting much colder, poor Libby was shaking a little. So, having had a cracking day, we decided that it was time to make tracks home. It took a little while to drag a certain ‘owl enthusiast’ from the observation mound but we were soon on our way!

NO OWLS (OR SHORT EARED CORMORANTS) HERE!

Photo: LEon Rusk

John dropped us off at the ‘Green Man’ where we had a couple of pints and enjoyed the day once more; once again we had seemed to pack so much in to one trip

BIRDS SEEN: Rook, Mallard, Collared Dove, Starling, Little Grebe, Wood Pigeon, Heron, Black Headed Gull, House Sparrow, Greylag Goose, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Coot, Moorhen, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Sandpiper, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Gadwall, Teal, Great Black Backed Gull, Bearded Reedling, Cettis Warbler, Lapwing, Cormorant, Curlew, Linnet, Reed Warbler, Carrion Crow, Common Snipe, Peregrine Falcon, Ruff, Hobby, Kestrel, Shoveller, Greenshank, Golden Plover, Little Stint, Spotted Redshank, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, Swallow, Red Legged Partridge, Wren, Marsh Harrier, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Whinchat, Green Sandpiper, Goldfinch, Meadow Pipit, Kingfisher.

DUNGENESS, RYE AND LYDD.

Sunday, 14th September 2008.

Standing at the bus stop I thought about the weather forecast for the day. They had promised good weather and so I had only put on a vest and heavy shirt, although I did have lightweight waterproofs in my rucksack. It was now quite cloudy although I could see that it was only light cloud that would burn off relatively quickly once the sun started to come up. Having met Leon on the bus we arrived at the ’Green Man’ slightly before our meeting time, seven thirty, only to find that John was already there. In the car with John was Libby, a lady that I think that I recognised from the Wetland Centre.

THE MARTELLO TOWER, RYE HARBOUR

Photo: Reg Norman

The journey down to our first stop, Rye Harbour, was uneventful and the weather improved as we made our way. John had a birdsong CD on as we went along which I really enjoyed. When we got to the part where it featured the Barn Owl, Leon mentioned that he had yet to see one and John replied that if there was a chance later in the day we would try for one; the youngster was made up!By the time we reached Rye there was warm sunshine although the wind coming off the sea kept the temperature down somewhat. All around us birds were battling with the wind.

THE NATURE RESERVE, RYE

Photo: Reg Norman

Never having been to the place before, Leon and I suggested that John might like to set the itinery fro the day. This was to prove to be one of the best decisions of the day; John certainly knows his ‘birding’ spots!
We walked from the carpark and headed towards the harbour entrance. There were not as many birds about as John expected but we put it down to the time of year and the strong wind. As we walked along we scanned the nature reserve area and gradually we began to see more birds, especially Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails.When we reached the harbour entrance, atop a pebble beach, we found many Turnstones doing exactly what their name suggests. The longer we looked the more we saw.

THE BEACH AT RYE, WESTWARDS

Photo: Reg Norman

The wind had eased off slightly but we noticed gulls just hanging in the air and quite a few more making their way to the nature reserve. Several Sandwich Terns also passed by and headed inland.
After spending a little while ‘sea watching’ we made our way back to the café for something to eat. On the way back we saw any more small birds including a flock of Linnets, these were keeping company with Meadow Pipits, Wagtails and Starlings. I wasn’t going to have the breakfast, just something quick. I was glad that I changed my mind as it was delicious and I hadn’t realised just how hungry I was! There was a terrific picture of Barn Owl in the café and Leon mentioned that, as yet, he had not seen one!

RYE, FULHAM FC COLOURED HUT!

Photo: Reg Norman

We moved off and made our way to Dungeness RSPB, going through some charming little villages on the way. I had been there, many years ago, and it seemed not to have changed one little bit! Our first stop was at the ARC lake, hopefully to see the Common Cranes that had been in residence for a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately we were not to see them, we met the warden on arrival and she explained that we had missed them by about fifteen minutes! There were going to be a lot of disappointed people as there were cars arriving all the time and, I would guess, that most of them had come to see the Cranes!The helpful lady then said that we should go over to the viewing point nearby, as there were a flock of Black Terns in residence. Not only that, but, there was a White Winged Black tern among them! She joined us for a while and was kind enough to point the bird out to us and to describe the differences between them!

ARC LAKE, TERNS, NO CRANES!

Photo: Reg Norman

We next moved to the other side of the site where we visited several hides. I couldn’t believe the number and variety of species of birds! We saw several new ones (to Leon and I) and many ‘old friends’. With so many experienced ‘birders’ in the hides with us we couldn’t really miss anything because they would all call different birds as they saw them and give directions.John had a master plan! “Lets’ go down to the beach at Dungeness, do some seawatching and look around near the Bird Observatory, we can come back here later when, hopefully the Cranes will have come back to roost”. This seemed a good idea to us, so off we toddled!

DUNGENESS BEACH, NOT CROWDED!

Photo: Reg Norman

All around us, in that peculiarly Dungeness landscape, were small parties of ‘birders’; some singular and others in various sized groups. Each group with its’ own agenda and all thoroughly enjoying themselves! I wondered aloud what they had all come to see or all might like to see. “I’d like to see a Barn Owl” said a little voice not too far behind me! John led us to several different areas, each offering the chance of seeing different species and slightly different habitats. After having spoken to somebody who seemed to be very well informed we ended up watching a Little Owl that had made its’ home in a disused rabbit burrow; I’ll never forget its’ vivid green eyes. I was waiting for a little voice to ask if a certain other type of owl might reside in rabbit burrows!

DUNGENESS, HERE BE PORPOISES!

Photo: Reg Norman

The beach was our next stopping point, on the way to it John warned us not to go into the bird hides as the local fishermen use them as toilets! The beach didn’t bring up to many bird species, possibly because the wind had gotten a little stronger, but we did get an unexpected surprise! There were about four or five Harbour Porpoises not many yards from the shore! We stayed for a while but there seemed to be fewer birds as the wind increased and the tide receded; there weren’t even any birds around the outflow from the power station.

SEAWATCHING, DUNGENESS BEACH

Photo: Reg Norman

Moving back to Dungeness RSPB, we ate our lunch in the ARC carpark. Again I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I started eating; it must be the sea air! We checked and found that the Cranes had not yet returned and so we made our way to the main site. As usual at all RSPB sites we were greeted most warmly and were soon being given information about possible sightings. John, of course, knew the site and suggested our route which we all agreed upon. As we moved through the shop we came upon a book on owls; it had a you-know-what on the cover. “Hope I see one of those later!” said you-know-who.We had not long started going round this enormous site, only having visited a couple of the many hides, when John recognised some of his old ‘birding’ buddies. They reported that there really was not much to see further on along the site and that we might spend our time more profitably in another place. John mentioned that one of our party could possibly be interested in seeing a Barn Owl and asked if they, being local, could point us in the right direction. They gave him the directions and we resolved to try for a sighting a little later on as it was still too early for them to be out. In the meantime, we decided to go back to the ARC and spend some time in the ‘Viewpoint’ hide. Passing through the shop once more we noticed some lovely paintings, one of them was of the target bird for later on. John and I stood in front of it.

YOU NEED A 'SCOPE HERE!

Photo: Reg Norman

There were more small birds about when we got back to the ARC area. We saw quite a number of Yellow Wagtails moving about in a flock; what busy little birds they are!One of my best ‘birding’ moments was to follow. We noticed a large group of people studying a bush most intently and I asked one of them what they were looking for. “There are loads of Willow Warblers in there,” I was told “and, there is a Redstart with them!” I joined the waiting crowd and, sure enough, out popped a Redstart! What fabulous colours! One of the chaps, who was guiding this particular party, said that he had never seen a Redstart with such vivid colours; I quite believed him. Libby, John and Leon joined us and very shortly they had been treated to the sight of this beautiful bird as well!

POWERSTATION, FROM RSPB

Photo: Reg Norman

As we moved to the hide we were aware of the Wagtails moving about, seemingly trying to cover every square inch of the site! Some of the Black Terns that had moved off earlier in the day had now started returning but the White Winged bird never came back. By all accounts this was the highest number of Black Terns ever recorded in one day here!From he hide we noticed that, although not in the same numbers as earlier in the day, there were still many birds to be seen. In particular there were many Cormorants with more arriving by the minute. Every so often nearly all of the birds other than the Cormorants would take flight; there were many raptors about, not surprising really, considering the amount of prey about! Libby tended to be the one who spotted these; she really has a great knack for it.

LIBBY AND JOHN, A DUNGENESS HIDE

Photo: Reg Norman

We spent quite a long time at the hide; it would be pointless trying for Tyto alba until later in the evening. The Cranes never came back whilst we were there, but, with the prospect of trying out yet another location our disappointment was not too bad!Apart from one minor wrong turn John took us to our destination deep in the country. All of the things hat we were told to look out for, a deserted farmhouse, a particular pub on the way and even a partially hidden stile were all exactly where they were supposed to be! One of our party was getting very excited!

WAITING FOR CRANES!

Photo: Reg Norman

We crossed the stile and started to make our way to where we thought the best vantage point would be. As we went along we became aware of a large flock of mixed birds moving about in the bushes and shrubs along our track. We had not seen many Tits and such during the day, so this offered us a chance to add a few more species to our total. My favourites, Long Tailed Tits, were much in evidence to my delight. One, then another showed itself and then vanished. John pointed and said, “Long Tailed Tit” at a bird that seemed apart from the hubbub. I looked and knew straight away that it wasn’t. The mask gave it away. “No it ISN’T!” cried John, “ It’s a … it’s a Red Backed Shrike!” It was, it vanished, we never saw it again however hard we tried to relocate it! Leon smiled, but Red Backed Shrikes seem not to impress like a certain other bird might do.

RYE, EAST TO THE WINDFARM. UGH!

Photo: Reg Norman

A couple of ‘birders’ passed us; we knew they were ‘birders’. They ignored us even though they must have witnessed our excitement a little earlier. Like ships in the night they were. We moved off in the direction that they had taken and soon caught up with them. They were to one side of the raised track on a sort of a, supposedly, ‘natural’ viewing platform. John approached and asked if they had seen anything and was curtly told that they had only just arrived. They must have known that we knew that they had just arrived. We had been told that we might see Tree Sparrows in the area but, when asked about this, we again got a curt reply to the negative, “Not round here!” They were also ‘not looking for anything in particular’! Good, because they wouldn’t see the Shrike either!Barn Owls were a different thing though. “You want to go right back there, where you came from. That’s’ the best place to be, sometimes two!” They couldn’t get us away quick enough! I wondered what they were there for in a place they obviously knew well.

RYE, EAST TO THE POWER STATION

Photo; Reg Norman

We did move away from them, not as far as they would have liked because we moved out into a field atop an enormous heap of stones from the field clearance. The heap was about twenty feet high and gave us the perfect view of the place indicated for the ‘target bird’. We could see for miles; including everything that our new ‘friends’ could see and more!
It was still not quite dusk and so we settled down to a regime of systematically covering all sides from our viewpoint. It was such a good spot we may have seen all sorts of stuff. The friendly couple seemed to be getting agitated; could the main event be about to start? It was. Libby, with the knack for birds of prey, spotted the first one. A Marsh Harrier was slowly drifting in from some distant hunting ground. He was soon followed by another … and another …and another! In the end there were Harriers everywhere! There were up to six in one field alone! Not only that, but there were also Buzzards sat on the field fences and even eating in another field! “Nothing” eh?Well, not Barn Owls! This perfect place for Barn Owls had yielded exactly … none!

NO OWLS HERE THEN!

Photo: Reg Norman

It having gotten dark, all of a suddenly, we decided to make our way home. We had had a fabulous day out, not really covering the area but getting a ‘taste’ of it. We will definitely be going back again, many times, I hope. We would have many things to talk about for along time to come and the prospect of a pint to start with was most appealing!

BIRDS SEEN: Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Magpie, Starling, Carrion Crow, Curlew, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Black Headed Gull, Ringed Plover, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Yellow Wagtail, Hobby, Wheatear, Cormorant, Oystercatcher, Swallow, Turnstone, Sandwich Tern, Linnet, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Mute Swan, House Sparrow, Coot, Rook, Black Tern, White Winged Black Tern, Mallard, Shoveller, Wigeon, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Heron, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Golden Plover, Common Snipe, Dunlin, Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Greenshank, Common Gull, Little Egret, Green Woodpecker, Little Owl, Gannet, Common Tern, Brent Goose, Merlin, Redstart, Willow Warbler, Great Tit, Marsh Harrier, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Red Backed Shrike, Chiffchaff, Pheasant, Osprey, Ruff.

Saturday, 16th August, 2008.

THE BIRDFAIR, RUTLAND WATER AND EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.

Leon and I had both been looking forward to this trip for a very long time. Neither of us had been to a Bird Fair previously and so we did not really know what to expect, but we were to be pleasantly surprised!
Since our last ‘Other Sites’ entry we have been to quite a few places but because of the loss of my younger brother I never felt like maintaining the blog. We usually meet at ‘The Green Man’ on Putney Heath, which is a readily accessible place for our small party. This is where we were to meet today; John and Leon are already there when I arrive. John is another of our friends that we made acquaintance with at the London Wetland Centre, Barnes. We have done several trips with him and he is a very knowledgeable ‘birder’. I stuffed my gear into the boot of Johns’ car and, just after seven, we set off. I could have gone to sleep straight away! Like a child, I had not slept much last night in anticipation of what was to come!
We were expecting the weather to be a little inclement but were pleasantly surprised to find that it was quite a bright, but not sunny, day. The journey should take us about two and a half hours, which would give us plenty of time to have a nag on the way up.We stopped for breakfast at a Happy Eater about six miles from the Bird Fair site. The service was brilliant and our food arrived in record time! Most unusual for a Happy Eater! It had only taken us just over two hours to get this far and that was without going mad; the traffic was just as you would want it, free flowing and not much of it. Whilst here, Leon started to ‘phone Terry, our friend who now lives in Yorkshire, as we were going to meet him, his wife and some friends, once we reached the site. He couldn’t make contact straight away so tried every ten minutes or so, without having any luck.

FIRST SIGHT OF RUTLAND WATER

Photo: Leon Rusk

The Bird fair site is big, very big, and having arrived we had a good fifteen minutes walk from the car park to the actual venue. Leon had still not been able to make contact Terry so we hoped to either bump into the other group or hope that Terry ‘phoned us. We decided that the best way to ‘work’ was to just go round the site and take things as they came. We did this because none of us had any specific ‘targets’ for the day.
Leon and I were surprised at the amount of stands just dedicated to ‘birding’ holidays there were. You could go to almost any country in the world with all arrangements and ‘birding’ itinery supplied. The company that Leon, Terry and Liz would be going with to the Scillies later in the year had a stand there; Leon would introduce himself a little later in the day. Whilst in Marquee 4. we saw Simon King signing autographs for people in a very long queue. We tried the Zeiss binoculars at their stand and were knocked out by the quality. Until you have actually looked through a pair of these amazing glasses you just cannot even dream of how good they are! A pair of these was added to each of Leon and my wish lists straight away; John already has a pair!We bumped into another of our friends Gill, who wee knew from Barnes WWT, in the next Marquee; she was working on Simon Kings’ stand. We informed her that Terry and Liz were about and promised to point them in her direction the next time that we saw them.

GLIMPSES THROUGH THE VEGETATION

Photo: Leon Rusk

In the next marquee John was having a word with a chap about his ‘palm held’ when Leon spotted Terry and his merry band a little further on. Clearly delighted, he skipped off to meet them. I stayed with John to hear about the equipment. John has one and I was amazed at the amount of information that can be kept, ready for use in the field, on such a small item. One of these was added to my personal wish list.
Terry joined us, hardly able to stop himself from laughing; Leon, the master of all things technical, had been trying reach him on his home ‘phone number!We all made acquaintance with one another, had a quick chat, and departed in our own directions, arranging to meet up again later. It was good to see Liz and Mark again; we had been to see Hawfinches in the New Forest with them last year as well as visiting their home patch, Titchfield Haven. Terry was going on about a bag that he had seen that was going quite cheaply (unlike the monstrosity that we saw for £120 just because it had ‘National Geographic’ on it!); it could take quite a bit of gear for a day out and was quite compact. We convinced Liz that maybe he should have it as it was very modestly priced!

CLEARING WEATHER?

Photo: Leon Rusk

Well, we covered just about all of the site with Leon eventually introducing himself to the people running the trip to the Scillies with Terry, Mark and the two Liz’s (in no particular order!). There were lots of places to eat and all seemed to be fairly reasonable. You could get just about anything to do with ‘birding’ at the Fair and I hope to be able to go again soon.
We met with the other party again to say our goodbyes. Terry had actually bought the small bag and both Leon and I thought that it looked very sweet.
John, Leon and I were now leaving the Fair and were moving on to Lyndon Nature Reserve that is managed by the Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust. We had one particular target that we wanted to see …. the Ospreys!
John, of course, knew the way and it was not long before we arrived at the Reserve. On the way we caught glimpses of Rutland Water through gaps in the roadside vegetation. Leon and I knew it was big but didn’t really get the full impact until now! The chap in reception knew his stuff and John, who knew the site well, had soon wheedled the information we needed from him.The various hides are situated so that you can view a variety of different habitats: we all agreed as to how well this had been done and the quality of the views. We had only been there for a few moments before we got our first view of the Ospreys ……..

THE BIRD WE CAME TO SEE!

Photo: Leon Rusk and Terry Burton

absolutely magnificent! We spent quite some time totally enraptured with birds; Leon tried to take some photos and was rewarded with at least one fairly good shot. There were some chaps in the hide who thought that they could see a Little Stint further along the reservoir so we decided that we would soon move on and try to locate it.
Terry had ‘phoned and asked for directions to the site. We waited until their party turned up so that we might share some time with them once again. I must say that Terrys’ bag looked lovely! Really. I wish that I had got one for myself.
After a while we moved along to the ‘Shallow Water’ hide; this was the area that the chaps had thought they had seen the Little Stint. We spent quite a long time here and, although there was a good selection and number of birds, we were not to see it. Time was getting on so we all took a slow walk back to the Visitor Centre where several of the group quenched their thirst with ice lollies.as the day had become quite warm. It was here that we said goodbye to Terrys’ group after having various arrangements for meeting up in the future.

MR BURTON DIGISCOPING

Photo: Leon Rusk

John had earlier suggested that we might pay a quick visit to Eyebrook Reservoir on the way home as we might see some more waders; a good plan so why waste it! It did not take long to get there as John had been there before and knew the way. Again, it was a lovely place that John had chosen but the now worsening weather seemed to have put the birds off. There were many Canada Geese on the reservoir but, apart from a solitary Common Sandpiper, very little else. John pointed out a small bird on top of a mid-water post that turned out to be a Common Tern, how very small it looked! We drove to the other side of the reservoir ‘just in case’ and to look for a Little Owl that John seemed to remember from a previous visit. We had no luck with this but did get some great views of some Common Buzzards. We were guided to them by their cries. There was a youngster in a tree on one side of a field and what would appear to be one of its’ parents on the other side. The older bird seemed to be trying to encourage the younger to fly across the field by calling it. The youngsters’ replies seemed very mournful. We stayed for some time watching them but as we felt some rather large raindrops, the first of the day, we decided to make our way home.It had been a fabulous day, spent with old friends and new, that would live long in the memory. We had only a few drops of rain all day which came as quite a surprise as it was forecast to mainly wet!

SOFT RUTLAND COUNTRYSIDE

Photo: Leon Rusk

BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Moorhen, Swan, Mallard, Crow, Rook, Little Egret, Swallow, Sand Martin, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Common Tern, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Jackdaw, Curlew, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Buzzard, Osprey, Ruff, Shoveller, Teal, Dunnock, Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Greenshank, Tufted Duck, Kestrel, Dunlin, Wood pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Magpie.

GOOD TO BE BACK

Well, it has been over a year since my last post here. Unfortunately, family situations and work related problems have dictated that I have not had the time or the opportunity to post here. This all culminated with the death of my lovely little brother, Dave, and so it has been a very, very difficult and sad time for the family.

Leon and I have started to go 'birding' again with some friends (thanks guys!) and we hope to start posting here on a regular basis once again.

Terry and Liz have moved back up to Yorkshire, in the middle of some beautiful 'birding' country, and we have been lucky enough to visit them. We hope to go again (if they'll have us!) and of course we will post here of our exploits!

All the very best,

Reg and Leon.

29th APRIL 2007.

AN UNEXPECTED TREAT!

We returned to the Lonsdale Road Local Nature Reserve with a specific goal; we wanted to see what, if any, progress had been made by the Sparrowhawks who were setting up home together. We arrived at the site just after seven o’clock having left in good time to catch the ‘bus. The weather forecast was for a good day and it certainly looked to be shaping up that way. Although a little windy and slightly cool, the sky was fairly clear of cloud and a lovely blue.

HAWTHORN BLOSSOM

Photo: Leon Rusk

Standing at the eastern end of the reservoir we could see that there were many more flowers in bloom …. in only a few days! The yellow Flag Iris was beginning to open in several places and we could see Ragged Robin, Tree Mallows and Hawthorn bursting out in many places too!
We walked around the northern side of the site so that the sun would be well behind us as it rose later on in our journey. There was plenty of birdsong, although seeing the birds was another thing; with all the new growth it was becoming more difficult as the days passed.
We were discussing this when I said to Leon that there were supposed to be Tawny Owls nesting here but a fat lot of chance we had of seeing them. “There’s one! Just there!” he said. How does he do it!!!!! Neither of us has seen a Tawny Owl for years! We used to have them nesting just around the corner from where I lived some years ago. I can still see the place from where I live now, but no owls!

STOCK DOVE, DESPERATE TO APPEAR IN BLOG!

Photo: Leon Rusk

Leon began trying to show me exactly where the Owl was. “Follow this big tree up to the third branch on the right hand side, Bob’s yer uncle!” Bob wasn’t my uncle, and, no owl. “Look!” he said, Up there, third branch, can’t miss it!” I missed it.
“Right!” I said, “Up this tree, third branch on the right, the bird is in this tree, right?” “No, the one behind!” he said. “You have to look OVER the third branch!”
I saw the owl, it was exactly where he hadn’t said it was! We were both very excited by the sighting of this bird, we watched for quite some time and Leon tried to take a picture. It was a shame Terry or Mike were not here with their ‘scopes and cameras; they would have got some lovely shots.

TOWARDS THE THAMES, 'OWL WOOD'

Photo: Reg Norman

We moved on noting that there were more small birds about now and we could see many of them flitting about in the cover. As we reached the tree containing the Sparrowhawks, we were surprised to see a Kestrel flash past, diving down into the reservoir area. We passed the tree so that we might get a better view of the nest area. Again we were surprised; the Kestrel had returned and was on a branch about ten feet below that on which the Sparrowhawks were building their nest! They took absolutely no notice whatsoever. Whilst watching the Kestrel feeding on its’ small rodent prey, we noticed that the branch was quite heavily covered in droppings. Could this mean that the kestrel used this place as a regular feeding station? We will certainly keep our eyes peeled for more evidence of this.

TREE MALLOW

Photo: Reg Norman

We watched both the Sparrowhawks and the kestrel for some time and then moved on to have a look on the Thames bank. The river was flooding quickly and we were a little disappointed to see no birds on the foreshore. A few gulls drifted lazily up and down and a few Cormorants flew past in the direction of the Wetland Centre. Returning to the reserve we made our way round to the southern side.
Once at the southern side we began to see more small birds; there were certainly still lots of Wrens about judging by the amount of their song that we could hear. From this southern side we could also get some more brilliant views of the nest site. Also, form this side we could get some quite close views of the Herons, their nests and their chicks. Leon and I were to ask some more expert ‘birders’ about this raft-nesting phenomenon later in the day. The general consensus is that it probably only happens here!

HERONS NEST ON RAFT

Photo: Reg Norman

We finished our traverse of the site, both still grinning like idiots, and made our way to the London Wetland Centre. We know that lots of people see owls all of the time, but, it had been a long time since we had!

BIRDS SEEN: Chaffinch, Wren, Wood Pigeon, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Great Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Robin, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Heron, Tawny Owl, Ring Necked Parakeet, Coal Tit, Blackcap, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Egyptian Goose, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Jay, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Long Tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Reed Warbler, Starling, Sedge Warbler.

27th APRIL 2007.

MORE GREAT VIEWS OF SPARROWHAWK.

The weather was a little disappointing as we had been promised blazing sunshine and record April temperatures. It was, however, overcast and just a little chilly as we waited for the ‘bus. Our visit to the Leg O’Mutton today was specifically for the chance too see the Sparrowhawk nest again before the foliage grows too thick to see it anymore. We would be going on to the WWT Barnes centre afterwards where we were booked in for a Reptile Walk.

RECYCLING NATURE

Photo: Reg Norman

The wind had risen a little by the time we arrived and it continued to get cooler. It was much quieter than when we were here last week; there was still affair bit of birdsong but the birds seemed to be keeping out of sight. There were also fewer joggers but the dog walkers were much in evidence; the dogs around here seem to be, generally, well behaved.
All around us the fresh green foliage was bright and cheery even though the sun was not out. It was very pleasant just walking around early in the morning. We stood still in some places; letting the birds get used to us and allowing them to go on about their business. People, too, were going about their business; some stopping to say ‘hello’ and others to offer little gems of information about the reserve itself.
We arrived at the point where we watched the Sparrowhawk last week and were a little worried to find no activity in the nest area. There was no need to worry; one of the birds soon showed up carrying yet more nest material. We thought that we could only see the one bird and wondered where the other might be. On the nest and out of sight? We watched for a good fifteen minutes before moving on.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE IN TREE

Photo; Reg Norman

The Thames was very low although it was flooding very quickly; no gulls or waders were visible on the far bank though which was a disappointment.
Resuming our walk around the reservoir, around the ‘thin’ end, we stopped to look into the clearing in the wooded area that bounds the water. There was certainly a lot of activity although identifying the myriad small birds was a little difficult in the gloom. There was one Wren that kept up its’ ‘Tick, tick, tick’ warning all the time that we were there.
We came to another vantage point where we might see the Sparrowhawk nest once again. This time we were able to see one of the birds firmly settled deep in the nest itself. We would not have been able to see the bird from where we were earlier. We thought of Terry and how he might get some fabulous ‘digiscope’ pictures from this point. We were planning to come back on Sunday and hoped that he might join us.
The Heron nests, on the rafts on the water, were interesting in the fact that they were all at different stages of development. Some had a couple of very large chicks; others were clearly still at the ‘sitting’ stage. Some really good shots would be available to ‘digiscopers’.

RECYCLED FENCING

Photo: Reg Norman

The weather had turned really quite chilly and just before we left the site I was forced to put my fleece on to keep warm! Weather forecasts? Huh!

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Blue Tit, Robin, Wren, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Egyptian Goose, Coot, Ring Necked Parakeet, Cormorant, Heron, Moorhen, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Stock Dove, Pochard, Mallard, Starling, Sparrowhawk, Jackdaw, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck.

22nd April 2007.

LEG O’ MUTTON, THE SPARROWHAWK.

What a fabulous start to the morning; clear blue skies and quite warm! We had decided to start our day with a trip to the Lonsdale Road Local Nature Reserve, a place we knew fairly well and usually in the wet! We had not been here for several months and didn’t know quite what to expect.

LEONS' FIRST SWEEP OF THE SITE

Photo: Reg Norman

We just missed a ’bus and made a mental note to leave at ten-to the hour next time as we used to do. We walked down Roehampton Lane to wait for the next ‘bus at Barnes Railway station; you get more choice from there. We did not have to wait for long and were soon on our way. I thought that we had been joined by a super-hero, all lycra and a flowing red cape. Leon said that there were a bunch of fools RUNNING FOR FUN at a marathon in London somewhere! Tchh! The things people do! “It’ll be on the telly later” ventured my companion, “No it won’t!” thought I.
Most of the trees in the reserve were, by now, covered in there first light green leaves. This would make seeing the smaller birds a little harder but who cares; it was such a lovely day.
The joggers were starting to come out as were the dog-walkers; all very pleasant with lots of friendly greetings.
We did not see that many birds but we could hear them all about us. There must have been more Wrens per square foot than anywhere else in Britain; their song really dominated the air. Apart from the parakeets of course.

SWANS NEST FROM ATOP THE BANK

Photo: Reg Norman

Leon, as usual, was the first to see a raptor; a Sparrowhawk sitting in a tree. I saw it just in time to see it ‘stoop’ into the trees on the other side of the reservoir. It had obviously missed whatever it had gone for as it soon returned to its’ perch. It was then that Leon spotted the nest; although out in the open it was fairly well concealed! We watched the bird for quite some time as it continued to ‘stoop’ every now and then; although it never returned to the nest with anything. Except once when it brought back a twig to replace one that it had dislodged. We carried on walking around the reservoir, stopping to have a quick look at the Thames which was so high we saw nothing of note, until w e came upon some Heron nests. The birds were actually nesting on the small rafts provided by the people who run the site. Both Leon and I were not a little surprised as we thought that Herons only nested in trees; obviously not the case! It was good to see so many birds nesting; we had had some lovely views of a Swans’ nest from the bank a little earlier on.

FINAL LOOK BACK ALONG THE RESERVOIR

Photo: Reg Norman

We made up our minds to come back again very shortly to see the progress made by the different birds; next week most probably!
We left the site to make our way to the London Wetland Centre for the second part of our day!

BIRDS SEEN: Goldfinch, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blackbird, Wren, Carrion Crow, Starling, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Canada Goose, Heron, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Chaffinch, Blackcap, Swift, Robin, Sparrowhawk, Coal Tit, Jay, Tufted Duck.