May Review

With exams until 20^th, I didn’t get as much birding done in May as I had wanted. However, with the bulk of my exams completed by the 11^th, I was able to get out 4 times during the month. On 9^th, I managed my first Swifts of the year over the house. To find out more, read on. To make photos larger, click on them - it will help with the photos in this post.

12th:

The day was spent at the usual locations: Girdle Ness, Ythan Estuary and Loch of Strathbeg. I started off at Girdle Ness in the hope of passerine migrants, where a check of the Battery disappointingly produced 3 Sedge Warblers and 2 Whitethroats. 2 Wheatears and a Ringed Plover were in Walker Park. With conditions unsuitable for seawatching, we headed up to the Ythan briefly. 7 Little Terns (yeartick) were seen distantly downstream from Inches Point. A check of the Snub car park didn’t produce many waders, with 3 Whimbrels being the best of it. Strathbeg was also quiet on the wader front, with 7 Black-tailed Godwits on the Low Ground being the best of it. 3 drake Garganey were the highlight of the day, my second sighting of this species of the year (managing 3, including one female in April). Each of these fantastic ducks were spread out across the Low Ground, but all at fairly close range so great views were had of all of them – always a pleasure to see.

14th:

The 14^th presented a rare change of scene as we headed up Deeside for some countryside birding. Our principal targets were Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher and Redstart, all at Dinnet Oakwoodlands near Aboyne. This was my first visit to Dinnet, and as far as I was aware was one of the only reliable sites for these species in the county. The wood was situated just off the road (B979) and was pretty small, so was easy to cover. Conditions were far from great for this type of birding as it was windy, decreasing the chances of them showing or even singing. These conditions proved to be our downfall, with no Wood Warblers or Pied Flycatchers singing, let alone showing. Later on I found out that this was no longer the reliable site for these species anyway – we live and learn! However we were successful with our other target, with at least 4 singing male Redstarts (yeartick) present in the wood, one which was seen briefly. Whilst searching I unexpectedly came across a Red Kite (Scottish yeartick) drifting over the woods, and equally unpredictably flushed 2 Woodcocks (yeartick), both pretty much from under my feet, the first giving me a pretty big shock! Also in the woodland was an obliging Great-spotted Woodpecker, a male Bullfinch (Scottish yeartick), 2 Grey Wagtails and 2 Willow Warblers. On the River Dee just by Dinnet Oakwoodlands, 2 Common Sandpipers (yeartick) were scurrying around and a Garden Warbler (yeartick) was located.

On the way back we stopped at a site in the Forest of Birse near Finzean (pronounced Finnan) where I was delighted to see Tree Pipits (yeartick) in abundance. Overall 10 Tree Pipits were counted, each showing well and many of them seen in their song flight – it’s not often in a year that I see this species so I took great enjoyment in this. Also present was a Cuckoo (yeartick) which I saw in flight distantly, with at least 2 others were singing, a Lesser Redpoll flew over, and Willow Warblers were widespread, with at least 20 present. Despite having missed out on Wood Warbler and Pied Fly, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile day with 6 British yearticks and 8 Scottish yearticks.

21st:

A decent, long day’s birding with Alan Knox at the usual locations. We started the day at the Ythan, first checking the mouth of the estuary. On the mussel beds here were at least 60 Ringed Plover and 20 Dunlin. Mixed in with them were 10 Sanderling and a Whimbrel. We walked up to the ternery and looked upstream from the golf hut, at which point Alan got onto the stunning drake King Eider. It was roosting on the bank opposite Inches Point and was distant from where we were, but we managed perfectly good views of it through the scope. It didn’t roost for long, promptly proceeding to swim on the water and showing off its magnificent self in the process, and it was watched for 5 minutes or so doing just that. They are truly spectacular birds, regardless of how many times you see them you can’t help but feel bowled over by their beauty. This was the second time I had seen this individual in the year, yet despite this being the case it was fantastic to see it again. From here we headed up to the Snub, where there was nothing much apart from a lone Pink-footed Goose, presumably a straggler that had failed to make the move back to its northern breeding grounds. As we were leaving the Snub a report came from the text service of 2 Avocets at Strathbeg – a NE Scottish rarity. This would be a Scottish lifer for me so we headed straight to Strathbeg.

On arrival the two adult Avocets (Scottish life and yeartick) were showing very well from the Visitor Centre. They were amongst a small group of Black-tailed Godwits (3) and Lapwings, their beautiful pied plumage standing out massively amongst these other waders. Great views were had down to 90ft as they fed and waded around busily on the nearest pools to the Visitor Centre. They covered quite a lot of ground whilst wading, and never went out of view. It was brilliant to watch them at such close quarters, my first of this species in Scotland. I made the most out of the occasion by watching them repeatedly whilst in the Visitor Centre, getting a few photos whilst I was at it. Below are my best efforts.

Avocets, Loch of Strathbeg (21/5/11)

Whilst at the Visitor Centre I was able to pick out a smart summer plumage Curlew Sandpiper (yeartick) with a group of Dunlin on the Low Ground distantly that had been present all day, always nice to see. Having had great views of the Avocets and with not much on the closer pools, we headed over to Tower Pool Hide as most of the waders seemed to be on the Low Ground. Good views of the Curlew Sandpiper were had from here alongside 20 Dunlin – it appeared to not be in full summer plumage. At least 5 Black-tailed Godwits were around (taking the total to 8) as were 6 Ringed Plover. 3 species of raptor were seen from here as well – a female Marsh Harrier, Osprey and Sparrowhawk. The Marsh Harrier was very photogenic, quartering the reeds closest to the hide.

Marsh Harrier, Loch of Strathbeg (21/5/11)

We were near leaving when I spotted a Dunlin fly in with a much smaller wader – a Little Stint (yeartick). Fairly good views were had of it for around 10 minutes as it fed with the Dunlin. It appeared far rustier than the Dunlin with a clean white breast, the latter feature indicating that it was maybe still in winter plumage. Eventually it flew off with the Dunlin and didn’t return; however it was a nice find and meant that I had already seen all 5 of the commoner passage waders for the year at this early stage. Along with the Avocets, the Curlew Sandpiper and other waders, this Little Stint made for a great time at Strathbeg. The final stop of the day was at the nearby Rattray Head. In a field near the dunes here, we were able to count an impressive 68 Ringed Plovers – not sure if this was unusual or not. Also 4 Wheatears were present. The day was rounded off here with a yeartick, albeit common, with 4 Manx Shearwaters past during a short seawatch. We duly headed home after a great day’s birding.

28th:

Reports of a Pectoral Sandpiper and an Avocet at Rigifa Pool just outside Aberdeen on 27^th saw me out birding the next day. Although a small pool, Rigifa had previously provided me with Temminck’s Stint and Wood Sandpiper, so I knew it had great potential. It was our first port of call, and no sooner had we arrived did I pick out the Pectoral Sandpiper (yeartick) and the Avocet within seconds of one another. What a treat it was to have these two scarce waders in the NE on one small pool in glorious sunshine! It was particularly enjoyable watching the Pec Sand, as it is not often I see these Nearctic beauties – this was my 4^th ever. As always with this species, the pale supercilium and pectoral band were very obvious. Great views down to 75ft were had as it fed and waded at the left hand corner of the pool with a few Ringed Plovers, whilst the Avocet was feeding even closer on the right hand side of the pool. Whilst the Avocet never flew, the Pec Sand became quite flighty, disappearing from view on a couple of occasions and sometimes flying back to the very back of the pool. Ideally however, it eventually landed by the Avocet and associated with it, meaning I had feeding Pectoral Sandpiper and Avocet in the same scope view! What a fantastic moment this was, and it went on for some 15 minutes. I made sure to capture it by taking several photos which you can see below, although they are not of great quality – it was a bit distant for photography. We delight ourselves in these fantastic waders for around half an hour, then left for Strathbeg contented. Even though I generally focused more attention on the Pec Sand due to it being the rarer of the two species, the Avocet was actually the scarcer of the two in terms of how many of each species I had seen in Scotland; this was third individual Avocet I had seen in Scotland within a week, compared with an overall 4 Pectoral Sandpipers.

Pectoral Sandpiper and Avocet, Rigifa Pool (28/5/11)

Pectoral Sandpiper, Rigifa Pool (28/5/11)

Avocet, Rigifa Pool (28/5/11)

So satisfied with the quality of birding at Rigifa, I didn’t mind if the rest of the day was quiet as the Pec Sand and Avocet were daymakers in their own right. However, Strathbeg was actually rather productive. 2 drake Garganey showed fantastically on the nearest pools from the Visitor Centre, as always stunning to see. Furthermore on the nearer pools were a total of 4 Little Gulls showing well, 3 immatures and one absolutely stonking sumplum adult so there was plenty of entertainment to be had here. Round at Tower Pool Hide 2 Ospreys were around, but it was quiet wader-wise with just 10 Black-tailed Godwits present on the Low Ground. Having had an enjoyable time here, we headed to the nearby Cairnbulg, where 10 Dunlin were present. I finished the day at Rattray Head, where a dark phase Arctic Skua (yeartick) went past. After a very enjoyable day’s birding, we headed back to Aberdeen.

Although not a great deal of birding took place in May, it was still a very good month’s birding, the Pectoral Sandpiper topping it off on the 28^th. However, previous Mays have bettered the quality of this one.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph

Minsmere Magic and the Dunwich Dartford (10/4/11)

Despite things having kicked off on the bird front with a singing Nightingale on the Wivenhoe Trail in Essex on the 9th, the 10th April marked the start of proper birding on my trip down to East Anglia. My friends that I was staying with in Essex planned to take us to Minsmere for the day, and for most birders Minsmere only spells one thing – good quality birding! This was only the second time I had been to Minsmere – the first time I went was in June last year where I managed to see my first Purple Heron in Britain. Having had such a brilliant time on my previous visit I was very excited to visit again, and it didn’t fail to disappoint me.

We arrived at around midday, and set off in the direction of the famous East Hide at the very east end of the reserve near the beach. A Green Woodpecker (yeartick) was seen in and around the North Bushes not very far from the visitor centre, and as the vast expanse of reedbeds that came into view for the first time a Little Egret (yeartick) flew over the path. We walked alongside the path opposite the beach until we reached the turn for East Hide, and once inside the hide I immediately became absorbed by the bird haven that is Minsmere. The fantastic thing about reserves like Minsmere is that even during times where most would deem it as ‘quiet’, there is still so much to see and the amount of common birds present is just sensational. On top of that, what East Anglian birders would class as the ‘norm’ are a delight to a lot of visiting birders. Within seconds of arriving I was on some Avocets (yeartick), a bird you just don’t get with any sort of regularity in North East Scotland at all. Whenever I see these fantastic waders I cannot help but be gob-smacked by their beauty; they truly are the embodiment of grace. What’s more, at Minsmere – and in East Anglia – they are a widespread wader. From the East Hide alone there were at least 25 and by the end of the day I had counted upwards of 40 Avocets throughout the reserve. Below are a couple of pictures I managed of these delightful waders from East Hide.

Avocets, Minsmere, 10/4/11

A lot was going on at the East Hide. In addition to the Avocets other waders were around en masse, including all the commoner suspects as well a single Ruff close to a few Turnstones on the East Scrape. Furthermore 2 Marsh Harriers (yeartick) were distantly flying up and down the reedbeds in their usual leisurely fashion, and there was a huge amount of gulls, including all of the commoner suspects. Many of the Black-headed Gulls seemed to be inspired to mate due to the lovely weather, including this pair...

Black-headed Gull, Minsmere, 10/4/11

There was also a large amount of wildfowl present from East Hide, with a majority of the commoner ducks being present. More notably there were 5 Barnacle Geese dotted around the pools and cracking views of a pair of Pintail were had no more than 60ft from the hide. Many of the commoner ducks were showing at very close quarters as well which was a treat and allowed for some ideal photographic opportunities. A drake Teal and a drake Shoveler were particularly photogenic.

Teal, Minsmere, 10/4/11

Shoveler, Minsmere, 10/4/11

We spent 45 minutes or so at East Hide, and then proceeded to meander around the rest of the reserve. We soon found ourselves encompassed reedbeds and walked all the way through these until we got to West Hide, which held the same variety of birds as East Hide but was still a pleasure to visit. Once we had visited West Hide we headed through Minsmere’s beautiful, ancient and untouched woodland which fringes the reeds towards Bittern and Island Mere Hide, the latter hide being the place where I had seen the Purple Heron the year before. During a clearing in the woodland, I spotted a fine male Wheatear (yeartick) on an area of rough ground. Bittern Hide provided a fantastic view across the reedbed but held relatively little in comparison to the East and West Hides. The only species of note here was a Cetti’s Warbler (yeartick) which was singing in the reeds right by the hide and briefly showed on top of one of the closest reeds. I had several Cetti’s Warblers exploding with song from the reedbeds prior to this, but had not managed to see one until that point. They are always a joy to hear and see as yet again they are a bird that you virtually never see in Scotland. Island Mere Hide was the final hide we would visit in Minsmere and we didn’t plan to stay long as lunch was on the cards. However, something was going to keep us there for much longer than we had planned....

At first there didn’t appear to be a great deal going on from Island Mere Hide at all, with spectacularly close views of a pair of Marsh Harriers providing the main form of entertainment for everyone. We had been sat there for 15 minutes and were just about to leave when suddenly a man sitting nearby exclaimed ‘There’s a Bittern, coming out of the reeds about 25ft away!’ Everyone in the hide turned their attention to this area of reeds and sure enough, out of the reeds emerged a Bittern (yeartick). Everyone watched in awe as it proceeded to creep low down in a cat-like fashion right out into the open, it’s snake-long neck outstretched as it took giant yet silent steps and looked around warily, as if it had realised how conspicuous it had become. Once it was fully on show I proceeded to get my camera out and photograph it determinedly. The views of this enigmatic bird were unbelievable as not only was it at close quarters, but it also stayed right out in the open for upwards of half an hour which was ridiculously good! Within that half an hour the bird got closer and closer and I took hundreds of photos of it, capturing it in many different stances including the typical camouflage stance in which it stretches its neck completely upright to try and blend in with the reeds – something they are remarkably good at doing. The astonishing show that this bird was unconsciously putting on had everyone bowled over, including me; this was by far the best view I had ever had of Bittern and certainly the most prolonged views! It took my Dad a while to convince me to leave, but eventually I gave in and headed back to the car an immensely happy guy. I hope the several pictures go to show how amazing the views of this bird were.

Bittern, Minsmere, 10/4/11

I left Minsmere longing to return – it really had shown why it is one of the best reserves in Britain for birding. A late lunch was had in the nearby village of Eastbridge, and then we headed to our final destination of the day – the nearby Dunwich Heath. My primary aim was to see Dartford Warbler, yet another one of that is somewhat a speciality species to most birders. Dunwich Heath looks right down onto Minsmere and is very interesting in that it is a coastal heath. Once parked up at the car park, my Dad and I left our friends to go down to the beach and we headed off into the expansive heathland with about half an hour to spare before we had to head home. As I headed along the main path my attention was drawn to a very small bird perched on top a piece of heather – a male Stonechat (yeartick). A scattering of Linnets were around too, but this seemed to be the extent as we headed back towards the road realising that time was becoming short. We were by an area of gorse and on the verge of calling it a day when I suddenly heard a coarse, single-note coming from the heather nearby, a definite Sylvia warbler – and the only Sylvia warbler it could possibly be was a Dartford Warbler. I slowly made my way off the path and tried to flush it. I went some way but nothing seemed to come of my tactics. I moved a little bit further, and finally I flushed it. It proceeded to land right on the top of a piece of short heather and confirmed itself to be a male Dartford Warbler, its vinous red breast glinting in the sun. My Dad soon joined me and we enjoyed very good views of this Dartford Warbler as it flitted around and perched itself conspicuously on several pieces of gorse. At its closest it was no more than 35ft, so I managed several photos. We watched it for 5 minutes so and then had to head off, but I left very pleased having seen my target bird and obtained fantastic views of a bird I would never see at home.

Dartford Warbler, Dunwich, Heath, 10/4/11

The day ended on that note, a day which had consisted of unforgettable views of Bittern, great views of Dartford Warbler, several Avocets, Cetti’s Warbler and many other good birds. It had been an excellent day, and with the first of three birding days on the Suffolk and Norfolk coast coming up the next day the good birding would not stop. Stay tuned to read about my first day of birding in Norfolk/Suffolk. I will leave you with pictures of Minsmere. For larger images of the photos in this post please check out my flickr, linked below.

View of Minsmere (1)

Minsmere (2)

Minsmere woodland (taken on 2010 visit)

Dunwich Heath

http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephbirdphotography/ - My Flickr

Thanks for reading,

Joseph