We are regular visitors to Slimbridge but we generally avoid going there during school holidays. However, with a rarity, a White-rumped Sandpiper (an annual visitor to the UK from North America in small numbers), reported there the temptation was too great.
On arriving at the Rushy Pen hide (where it has been reported in recent days) we were quite disappointed that it was nowhere to be seen. Nonetheless, it was a lovely morning and we still enjoyed visiting all the hides on the north side of the reserve. There was plenty to see and a Black-tailed Godwit, a Common Redshank, Northern Pintails and Wigeon all came close. There were also plenty of geese and swans (both Mute and Bewick) flying around to keep me happy snapping away.
A Water Rail was just a bit too secretive for me to get a good shot.
Water Rail
However, there were a couple of Oystercatcher very close up.
OystercatcherOystercatcher with worm
From the Tower hide, as well as lots of waterfowl, geese and swans, we could see Common Cranes. There was also a Sparrowhawk perched in the hedge in front of the hide and Blue Tits and Great Tits were very pluckily trying to mob it.
Sparrowhawk
There was a Snow Goose amongst the Barnacle Geese and I presume what I thought was a Ross’s Goose on our last visit probably was the same Snow Goose.
There was another white goose in the distance with some White fronted Geese but I couldn’t see it clearly.
Snow Goose amongst Barnacle GeeseWigeon (with Snow Goose top right)
As we were making our way back to the car park we had to pass the Rushy Pen hide and from all the commotion it was clear that there was something special there. I could hardly get into the hide but from about the third row back I could still see the White-rumped Sandpiper, in all its glory right in front of the hide.
Gallery of White-rumped Sandpiper:
Stepping in fox poo on my way out this morning was clearly a lucky omen!
A beautiful day to visit Chew Valley Lake just south of Bristol. The water level was very high and it didn’t look very inspiring when we looked out from the Stratford hide.
Until, that is, a group of 8 Goldeneye came into view.
Male GoldeneyeFemale Goldeneye
One of the males was displaying regularly by raising its head to the sky. It looked pretty good to me without even doing that.
Just one Great Crested Grebe was to be seen. It spent more time diving than being on the surface but it did get its reward.
Great Crested GrebeThe Great Crested Grebe with French cuisine
The other highlight of our visit was the spectacular fly past by a Great White Egret. There was also a Marsh Harrier surveying the reed beds.
Marsh Harrier
The Tufted Ducks looked splendid too in the glorious sunshine.
Male Tufted Duck
Slideshow of photos from today:
Female Tufted Duck
It all looked pretty romantic. Just the job for St Valentine’s Day.
A day spent birding on the Somerset Levels is always a special treat. However, by midday I was beginning to think this might be the exception. However, the sun burnt through the mist by about one o’clock and I saw some lovely birds in the afternoon to go with the magically atmospheric scenery that I had seen in the morning.
I was disappointed that Catcott Lows was closed due to tree felling but I probably wouldn’t have seen much as it was still very misty.
On the approach roads I did manage to see very close up (but behind branches) a Common Buzzard and a Kestrel.
The approaches to Catcott Lows at 11 am this morning.Common BuzzardSilhouette of a Kestrel
I headed over to Westhay Moor.
The approach to the new hide at Westhay MoorFor most of the morning the view from the hide was more misty than this. Photo software is very clever at “dehaze”.
The best moment of the morning was when a bittern flew straight in front of me but by this time I had given up hope of taking bird photos.
Definitely a lot of use of “dehaze” to get this photo of a Common SnipeFinal views from Westhay
At this point I decided to move on to RSPB Ham Wall (and its toilets).
The sun had burnt through en route but the fields were still steamingA Robin, the first bird to greet me at Ham WallYou can’t have a Robin and not a BlackbirdGreat White Egret from the viewing platformFrom here on there were glorious reflectionsPlenty of close ups of smaller birdsNorthern ShovelerGadwallGreat Crested GrebeGreat White EgretGreat Crested Grebe
We had a fleeting visit to New Passage on the Severn Estuary this morning.
The tide was too low to see much and it was too cold to hang around. There was a flock of 30 oystercatchers stretched along the waters edge and a similar number of redshank where the pill met the waters edge. A single curlew filled the air with its beautiful call and drowned the sound of the wigeon on the water.
RedshankOystercatchers and curlewCurlewOystercatcher
Further up the estuary we could make out a large flock of dunlin and shelduck.
There wasn’t much on the warth but it wasn’t surprising as a peregrine was quite evident sitting on a log dominating the area (but too far for my lens but with good views in the telescope).
It’s been rather dull today but there were glimpses of sunshine when I walked through Stoke Park this afternoon.
I was too slow to get a photo of a Snipe so practised getting my eye in in with some Moorhens and Coots (definitely a soft option).
MoorhenCoot
There were 39 Black-headed Gulls (more than I have seen here for a while – they must be here instead of on the lake at Eastville Park, as there were very few there a couple of days ago).
Black-headed GullImmature Black-headed GullBlack-headed Gull chased by anotherYou can see why the Black-headed Gull was being chased
I saw Mallards mating – fairly precarious for the female.
Mallards mating
4 Cormorants flew in and then, presumably, made their way back to Eastville Park.
We have been lucky enough to spend the last 10 days in Andalusia in Southern Spain – five of them on a birding trip to the Doñana National Park.
It has been surprisingly cold at times but we have had wall to wall sunshine and seen Spain at its best with doses of tourism in Seville (3 days), Málaga (2 days) as well as the 5 days immersed in nature in Doñana.
The birding holiday was organised by ingloriousbustards.com and was superb. As an accidental birder I know my limitations. I’m a keen amateur photographer who likes taking photographs of birds and so there were certain aspects of the holiday which were a little disappointing. At times I was frustrated that the sightings were so distant and my photographic opportunities were limited.
Yet, I did enjoy the trip and the owners of ingloriousbustards.com, Simon and Niki, were excellent birders who located a huge number of different species (124 and counting) and ensured that we all had the opportunity to see them through telescopes. By the end I was carried along by the enthusiasm and knowledge of all these “real” birders and was wishing I had taken my telescope so that we could have spent more time viewing the birds.
DAY ONE
Our group of 10 was picked up by Simon and Niki at Seville train station in 2 minibuses and driven the 80 odd kilometres to El Rocio in Doñana in just over an hour. Throughout the week I always felt comfortable with their driving, which I see as a big bonus on such trips. We were then straight into birding.
We spent the first session birding around the lagoon adjacent to El Rocio and had our first picnic lunch, as all days, in the field with uninterrupted birding. The picnics were simple and nutritious, with delicious hams, cheeses, fruit and other locally sourced products and a glass of juice or wine (organic of course) and plenty of water.
We started our birding adventure on the far side of the lagoon at El RocioThere were White Storks overhead in our first minutes of birding
Niki and Simon took our cases off to the hotel and we followed on foot enjoying more birding opportunities. The lake was teeming with waders and waterbirds and, in particular, the Greater Flamingos and Spoonbills looked spectacular.
Greater Flamingos with red deer in the backgroundEurasian Spoonbills
However, it was just as interesting seeing the small birds around the outskirts of the lagoon such as Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warblers, Waxbills, Common Redstart and two birds which certainly caused me some excitement, a Hoopoe and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (a first for me).
Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerEurasian HoopoeBlack RedstartJuvenile European SerinWhite WagtailBlack-winged StiltChiffchaffGlossy Ibis catching the last rays of sunshine
After moving into our rooms we were off out again with another inspection of the lagoon. Close-ups of Western Swamphen, Cattle Egret (at the feet of horses this time), Black-tailed Godwits, and Glossy Ibis and distant deer in the evening sun were my favourite memories of this session.
We had all our evening meals at 8 o’clock in the local restaurant. The meals were all very good but for me the tuna and the swordfish were standouts. I cannot comment on the vegetarian options but I heard no complaints; but I can say that the wines which accompanied meals were good and copious.
Into the park. Lots of rarities and some very close ups.
Our first sighting in the park was a Booted Eagle. More rarities followed with Marbled Ducks, a male Garganey and a Ferruginous Duck. I achieved some photos but nothing that I would like to publish. We did have good views in telescopes, however.
A quirky Western Swamphen up a tree was little easier to photograph.
Western SwamphenWhite storksWhite StorkPenduline TitWhite StorkStonechatCattle EgretMarsh HarrierSpectacular view of 170+ Common CraneGolden Plover
This was a very special day. We were driven by guides from Doñana Nature in search of the Iberian Lynx – the most endangered of all wildcats in the world.. I was amazed when we had a sighting. I must thank Stuart for his assistance in capturing shots with my camera of the lynx through an open window of the minibus which I could not access. The excitement was not diminished in any way.
Our second sighting of the Iberian lynx
Distant views of Spanish Imperial Eagle were also pretty special but my favourite “bird” moment was two little owls brilliantly camouflaged in some tree stumps.
Little owls well camouflaged in the tree stumpsIberian Grey ShrikeA Dartford Warbler during our lunch break.Eurasian hoopoe also during our lunch breakIberian MagpieFemale Sardinian WarblerSpotted RedshankGreen SandpiperWood SandpiperGolden PloverA very distant Spanish Imperial EagleThere’s a Barn Owl in there somewhere!My best effort of the BluethroatThe little owl was a little more visible on the way backRed-legged Partridge
We had a long journey in the minibuses via Seville to Chipiona, just south of Sanlucar de Barremeda on the eastern side of the Guadalquivir River. We went to see Little Swifts which roost there. I managed to see the last one leaving the roost but sadly no photos.
Little swift roost
Then on to the salt pans at Bonanza, north of Sanlucar de Barremeda.
Top spot for me was an Osprey but a Kentish Plover was also pretty special.
OspreySanderling and DunlinPied AvocetBlack-winged StiltLittle EgretKentish Plover
At the third site, from the roadside near three pools north of Bonanza we had good views of White-headed Ducks and large roosts of Black-crowned Night Herons.
White-headed DuckBarn Swallow and Little GrebeEurasian Crag-MartinBlack-crowned Night HeronJuvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in flightJuvenile Black-crowned Night HeronGreater Flamingo
The group were off again birding for a morning session but we had to leave the group early as we had trains to catch from Seville to Malaga via Cordoba but managed a couple of hours birding on our own around the lagoon. The Glossy Ibis were particularly stunning in the beautiful morning sun, and along with the spectacular views of El Rocio we were left with wonderful memories of this birding trip.
Last morning in El RocioGlossy IbisWestern SwamphenBlack-tailed GodwitA Little Egret (ready for Crufts?)Barn Swallows
El Rocio is a very special place with its sandy roads and cowboy culture. At the end of our stay it was building up for the visit of huge numbers of horses and horse riders. I’m not sure if I would want to be there with such large numbers. It was great fun with just a taste of the culture.
Sadly things are not flourishing in Doñana. Simon and Niki pointed out to us the problems created by strawberry growers in and around the park which are well documented in the following articles which appeared in The Times Newspaper.
Strawberry farmers can take their pick of illegal wells
We have been visiting friends in Sheffield over the new year. On New Year’s Day we accepted the challenges of the weather and had a short walk on the Eastern Moors in the Peak District on the edges of Sheffield. Here I managed a few photographs of birds near feeders.
Coal titNuthatchSiskinChaffinch
On the 2nd January the weather was most kind to us and we visited 2 reserves near Barnsley: Wombwell Ings and RSPB Old Moor in the Dearne Valley.
Mistle thrush at Wombwell IngsLong-tailed titReed buntingSnipePeregrine falconCommon buzzardGoldeneyeGadwallWigeonGold finch
At this time of the year the Bewick and Whooper Swans are normally the celebrities at Slimbridge. However, today a diminutive goose, a Ross’s Goose (or possibly a snow goose) made a surprise appearance. I have never seen one of these birds before.
Ross’s gooseBewick SwanLapwingShelduckTealCommon craneBarnacle gooseRedwingWigeonGreylag gooseBlack-tailed godwitsTufted duckNorthern pintailIt can’t be Christmas without a robin
The kingfisher was on the River Frome (at the bottom of our road) when we started our walk to Eastville Park and there again at the end of our walk, but it was just a fleeting visit – luckily just long enough for me to get my camera out of its bag.
Front view, back view and then it was off ..
It was fairly treacherous underfoot with the frozen ground but much worse for the poor birds on the frozen lake.
Not much fun on ice for this black-headed gull!… nor for the mute swansChristmas must be coming.
A dull day at Slimbridge can still be very rewarding. A great spotted woodpecker was one of the highlights along with large flocks of lapwings and golden plover. Plenty of northern pintails too.
Great spotted woodpeckerLittle and largeNorthern pintailTealWigeonMainly golden ploverLapwingBewick swanMute swansAvocetShelduck
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