December 2011 - Whooper Swans & Fieldfares!

Friday 2nd: Woke to the first frost of Winter and the temperature at 8:30am was 0° centigrade! Driving round the corner to collect Sandra, I bagged my first sighting of the day. Darting-out in front of the car and alighting on the pavement to my right was a Yellow Wagtail! Wow, fantastic sighting, regaled in all its finery. Sadly no chance or time to grab the camera, but I did stop the car to revel in this splendid looking bird. With Melanie seeing the Grey Wagtail again, for the third sighting this week, in the garden at 10:20am, this has been a good week for Wagtails.

After the initial excitement (on my part), we headed for the Wroot and the countryside. The Sun was up but still it was freezing. We stopped by the river Torne and were greeted by a huge flock Fieldfares. So many that to try and count them was an impossible task, so we agreed that there was 500+. They were everywhere! Many perched on the telephone lines, in bushes and atop trees. Of course these were Hawthorn bushes and trees covered in berries. Two Kestrels were perched on the telephone wires, not taking much notice of the Fieldfares even though they were being crowded-out! The male Kestrel did change locations and even came near us to hunt. But the abiding image must be of the clouds of Fieldfares taking to the blue sky every now-and-then.

A couple of miles up the road, just outside Wroot and in one of the farm fields were what we were looking for. There, off to one side, 70-odd Swans. Wow! Whooper Swans, I counted 34, and 37 Mute Swans.

After chatting to a fellow Birder, he advised us to walk up to the banks of the Torne to get a better view with the scope. He wasn't wrong either, outstanding views! A flock of Lapwing, probably 250 swirled around the sky and descended onto the field. Behind us on the other side of the Torne, Sandra spotted another Kestrel and we watched as it hovered and dove and hovered.

Below is a photo of an adult Whooper and 1st year in the field at Alderfen. This image was captured by Sandra by placing her camera at the eye piece of the scope (digiscoped). Even though the weather was freezing cold and a bitter wind was howling around us, she managed to capture this remarkable image!

Another image from Sandra below is of a flock of Lapwings, 210 in this photo! They may be just specks but I can assure you that they are Lapwings and that there were even more!

Both feeling very cold now, it was time to make for home and a hot cuppa tea. A fantastic few hours of birding.

November 2010 - Hatfield Moor YWT & Blacka Moor YWT

Sunday 7th: An early start to a bright and Sunny day with a visit to Hatfield Moor... well, this was our second visit of the weekend. Sandra and I went over there yesterday afternoon as a Rough-Legged Buzzard had been hanging around for the last 3 days and I need a doctor... I'm turning into a twitcher! Unfortunately we didn't see it yesterday (though a couple of Birders did shout at us to look to the sky as it was airborne)... but I can't be certain I saw it! Lots of formation flying Gulls, hundreds of them. Where did they come from and where were they going? On the lake there wer the usual waterfowl; Little Grebes (the photo below is from Lakesdide a few weeks ago), Pochard,Tufted Duck, B-H Gulls and Mute Swans... not to mention Coots!

Today, we saw high-flying falcons; Buzzard (common), of which I got some questionable photos, Kestrel and another that we couldn't identify. A Roe Deer! After spending 45 minutes with scope at the ready, atop a small hill, we decided to move on. One of the bird hides provided close-quarter photos of Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit and Chaffinch. Sandra saw a Redpoll which evaded me (it would've made an interesting photo). A Common Red Darter obliged for its photo - early November and still a member of the Dragonfly family about, in fact there were two! Then came the Great Buzzard photo shoot... Sandra spotted the raptor high up in the clear blue sky. I immediately took some photos, while she watched it through binoculars slowly circling. It was at the limit of my camera's' zoom! A Ranger believed it could be the Rough-Legged... but another birder confirmed it as Common! Still, a fine image! Time to move on to Sheffield.

Off to Blacka Moor on the edge of Sheffield to see if we could find a Great Grey Shrike... I am turning into a twitcher! Well we eventually got there no thanks to the Sat-Nav! Looking for one little bird amidst a vast Peak-District Moor is impossible but that's the sport of Birding! Needless to say when we got there it was late afternoon. The light was beginning to fade, made even more gloomier with the ever present storm clouds. We did see a Dunnock, missed a pair of Bulfinches but spent a lot of time watching an unusual Kestrel through binoculars as it was pale in colour and I'd decided to leave the scope in the car! Well I started trekking out over the moor in an effort to get closer and that's not to be recommended as the light was fading and the ground was very uneven and boggy! Below is the best long-long range image of the "Kestrel". Needless to say, no Shrike... well it is a very large moor! All-in-all a good day out!

Below are two silhouette images of what is probably a Kestrel - the Sun is behind it and beginning to set. The other three images show a pale and grey bird in a small tree about 200 yards away... is this also the same Kestrel? Is it a Kestrel? The Sun is low and to the right.

March 2010 - Lakeside

Tuesday 30th : It's been a lousy week so far, cold and rain....so much for Spring! So on the way to our local Supermarket, I made detour over to the lake to check on the wild life. I had heard that a Mediterranean Gull had been seen a few days earlier. Maybe a faint hope that it is still in residence amongst any Black-headed Gulls there. Well I didn't find it but I did come across 4 Meadow Pipits that were most obliging. They were perched in saplings on the edge of the lake and let me get a few images but then I pushed my luck too far and tried to get closer. Off they went! but a very good showing using bins!


The air seemed filled with some kind of small flying insects. The rain had stopped and the familiar buzz of those Summer visitors, House Martins, was everywhere in the sky. There must've been circa 50-60 House Martins all over the sky! I took a load of photos, but trying to capture these fast flying, quick turning and diving ariel acrobats was frustrating! The above image is the only one worthwhile showing!.


A couple of Pied Wagtail were close and seemed to be a pair as they always flew in tandem. No pics unfortunately. Some Mute Swans, Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Coots and a lone Greylag Goose but unusually not too many waterfowl about...very quiet just like our garden at the moment.

September 2009: Newport Wetlands Centre RSPB

Friday 11th: Having driven back to South Wales from Cornwall last night, a few hours at another RSPB Reserve was on the itinerary. So this morning I drove over to the RSPB Wetlands Reserve situated outside Newport and on the Severn Estuary. A fine warm day in which I saw plenty of birds and wild fowl. What I liked about this Reserve was the paths that actually went through the reed bed. So giving an opportunity to catch a glimpse of reed Warblers, Bearded Tits etc. In fact a couple of weeks previously several Bearded Tits were spotted. But as is my luck, I saw none. What I did see was 4 Curlews on the mud-flats in the estuary, 92 Shelducks! Yes 92, I counted them! There were good numbers of Goldfinch and other small passerines. Newport Wetlands Center is a very smart reserve and next time I visit the area will go birding here again.

September 2009: Sea Swans & RSPB Marazion Marsh

Thursday 10th: While down in Cornwall visiting relatives, I took time-out and drove 30 minutes along the coast to Marazion, a small town lying in the shadow of Penzance. Marazion Marsh is a small reserve across the road from the beach. Getting there at 9:15am, the blue sky was bright with the Sun and contrasted wonderfully with the blue sea. Immediately I spied 2 Little Egrets, an adult Mute Swan with 2 juveniles close-by. The Reserve is mostly reed-beds surrounded by heath type ground. What is readily apparent is the great abundance of rabbits on this heath! I must've counted 20+ rabbits in one small area alone! Plenty of Jackdaws about and House Martins. I did also see a Buzzard through binoculars, but it was far off over farm land and was not circling my way. I had been told of a Hide deep within the reeds but time was limited and I wanted to get on the beach to check on the bird life there.

When I arrived at Marazion, the tide was in. Some waders were on the shore and small flocks of Wagtails, both Pied and Yellow dashed abouts. A local birder had mentioned to me that a Pectoral Sandpiper, Citrine Wagtail and a Corncrake were in the area. Well, I wouldn't know a Citrine from a Yellow Wagtail or a Pectoral from a Common Sandpiper and the Corncrake required some serious time amongst the reeds of the marsh! Time I didn't have!

Now the tide was moving out rapidly revealing the Causeway to St Michael's Mount. Intriguingly, a group of sea birds had gathered at a point where a fresh water stream trickled from the marsh, across the beach and into the sea. These sea birds - a mixture of various Gulls and Mute Swans - appeared to be drinking seawater! Swans on the sea! Yes...Sea Swans and really sailing on the sea. The pictures here are proof of that! It transpires that the Swans as with other birds (and Butterflies) swim, sail or fly from the island mount to the Marazion beach. Several Cormorants were also perched on the rocks and although I saw a group of Sandpipers, I need to examine the video footage of them to see if one or any was a Pectoral Sandpiper!

Visiting Truro, I stopped by Truro mud-flats as I had heard that many Bar-tailed Godwits descend on the flats. Unfortunately only Gulls were in residence at the time of my visit. Neil, apologies for not getting over to see you, time was very limited. Hopefully next year! Below are some images from Truro.