Dartford Waffler

Thailand Birding: Raptors At Petchaburi

2011-12-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

The rice fields around the town of Petchaburi always play host to a good number and variety of raptors in the dry season. The areas known as Nong Pla Lai and Tung Bang Jak are just a collection of rice fields and other mixed agriculture just a few kilometres north of Petchaburi and can be reached by turning left of the highway just as the temples on the hill in Petchaburi becomes visible - a distance of about 2-3 kilometres north of the town.

In the last few weeks I have seen large numbers of Black Kites (100+) as well as 4 or 5 Greater Spotted Eagles. At least 2 Eastern Imperial Eagles are also currently in the area and at least 1 juvenile Steppe Eagle has been seen by myself and other observers and I have seen at least 2 different Booted Eagles. Another interesting raptor that is present in the area is Pied Harrier, although I have only seen juveniles recently, but the fantastic adult males do turn up sometimes.

Black Kites

By Alex Vargas

Black Kites can frequently be seen sitting around in trees and other perches like the birds in the photo, almost exclusively they are of the lineatus race. Other raptors which are commonly seen in this area are Eastern Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Brahminy Kite, Osprey and Black-shouldered Kite.

Rarer raptors do also show up in this area from time to time with a Slender-billed Vulture recently being photographed and last winter a Cinereous Vulture and 2 Himalayan Griffons were seen. A juvenile Amur Falcon was also photographed nearby in recent weeks.

For those birders who are raptor enthusiasts, the rice fields around Petchaburi are a must-visit location between mid November and mid March.

Thailand Birding: Migrants Still Returning

2011-11-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

Migration continues throughout November and even into December in Thailand with different species having different migratory routes and times.

On the 9th November I revisited Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia again and there were a few notable differences in numbers and presence of a few migratory species.

The those who are eager of the very latest Spoon-billed Sandpiper news, I saw 2 of this critically endangered species on salt pans at Pak Thale on 9th.

However, it was at nearby Wat Komnaram that I noticed a few interesting changes. Since my visit on 2nd November the number of Grey-headed Lapwings had dropped to 5 birds and the Black-headed Ibis numbers had decreased to 7. However, notable arrivals included more than 100 Red-throated Pipits that seemed to be passing through in the early morning and the arrival of 11 Garganey. Another interesting development were several oriental Skylarks singing when they had not been a week ago.

At nearby Laem Pak Bia I came across a total of 5 Richard's Pipits loafing around on dirt roads. This was a decline from at least 12 Richard's Pipits in the same location on 24th October. Most of these Richard's Pipits were significantly larger than the resident Paddyfield Pipits but the calls of all of them confirmed their identification.

Thailand Birding: Black-headed Ibis & Other Large Waterbirds

2011-11-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Black-headed Ibis is a very uncommon bird in Thailand, but, like many other large waterbirds, they are increasing in number.

In the past many large waterbirds, such as storks, ibises, pelicans, herons etc. were very common birds but years of agricultural intensification and persecution wiped many of these species out or made them very rare in Thailand. Fortunately, as persecution is not the problem it once was and many of these birds are making a comeback.

Black-headed Ibis seem to frequent the Petchaburi region virtually all year round. Most often they can be found in the region of Wat Khao Takrao, but more and more frequently I see them on a large muddy field outside Wat Komnaram, near Pak Thale. Throughought the dry season 2010-2011 one bird was present for a long time and on 25th October 2011 I found 6 birds feeding at this location. A week later, on 3rd November, I found 18 Black-headed Ibises feeding close to the road at the same location; here is a video clip of some of them.

On both 25th October and 3rd November 1 Milky Stork and several Painted Storks were also to be seen at this site, further highlighting the recovery of large waterbirds. In fact such is the recovery that Painted Storks are now fairly commonplace in the Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale area, Asian Openbills are common throught much of the country and Spot-billed Pelican occurs in every increasing numbers in the wet season.

Other large waterbirds that have increased in number over the last 10 years include Purple Heron, Oriental darter, Glossy Ibis and Indian Cormorant. Watch out too for Sarus Crane, a small number of which have been reintroduced in Buriram province.

Good news for large waterbirds!

Thailand Birding: Spoon-billed Sandpiper Returns!

2011-11-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

For all those birders visiting Thailand over the next few months who were getting nervous about whether this critically endangered species would make it back to Thailand this winter, the good news is yes it did!

Phil Round informed me that at least 2 were seen at Khok Kham from 22nd October and 2 or 3 at Pak Thale from the end of October. I can confirm this as I saw 1 Spoon-billed Sandpiper myself at Pak Thale this morning.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper & Red-necked Stint

Photo by Marco Witte

Lots of other shorebirds were also present and giving good, close-up views. 1 adult Little Stint was amongst numerous Red-necked Stints and 5 Dunlin were with a flock of Broad-billed Sandpipers. A large flock of 1000+ Great Knot, 200+ Eurasian Curlew and large numbers of all the common shorebirds too.

More good news for rarity hunters were at least 9 Nordmann's Greenshank at Laem Pak Bia.

I revisited Wat Komnaram too and the Black-headed Ibis from last week had increased to 18 birds, plus the Milky Stork was feeding close to the road.

Thailand Birding: Shorebirds at Pak Thale

2011-11-01T02:10:00.000-07:00

One of the most anticipated arrivals each year is that of Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Birdwatchers from all over the world come to Thailand to watch this critically endangered shorebird at Pak Thale and Khok Kham.

A few days ago on 25th October, 2012, I did a little birding at Pak Thale in the company of Jules Tolboom from The Netherlands. We spent around 1.5 hours in the late afternoon at Pak Thale watching large numbers of shorebirds.

Curlew Sandpipers with Broad-billed Sandpiper

Photo by Alex Vargas

We had a long hard look at all the shorebirds that could be seen from the dirt road at the Spoon-billed Sandpiper site at Pak Thale but despite looking hard none appeared to be present. In fact this is pretty much as expected as it was probably about 1 week too early for the bird.

Despite the lack of Spoon-billed Sandpiper there were very impressive numbers of Great Knot (1500+) and Eurasian Curlew (250+) as well as good numbers of Red-necked Stint, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Eastern Black-tailed Godwit and Marsh Sandpiper.

The most uncommon bird was one Eastern Curlew amongst the flock of Eurasian Curlews which I picked out due to its warm brown buffy appearance. Identification was ensured when it began to preen and showed me its dark underwing (pale/white on Eurasian Curlew). It ought to be noted that length of bill is not an identification point here where the female Eurasian Curlews have bills that are as long (if not longer) than the Eastern Curlews.

Other species present were Red Knot, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Spotted Redshank and Common Greenshank.

Elsewhere at nearby Wat Komnaram a Milky Stork was seen alongside two Painted Storks and 6 Black Ibis and 36 Grey-headed Lapwings were feeding.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper should be back next week!

British Birding: Six Weeks Back Home

2011-10-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

From the middle of August to the end of September 2011 I spent six weeks staying with my family in southeast England. Whilst many British people head to Thailand for some warmth it was nice for me to get out of the humidity and heat for a while and experience some cool weather; in fact apart from some very windy days, the weather was actually pretty good for most of my stay.

Catching Up With Common Birds
Every year, when I return to Britain, one of the first things I do is head down to my old local patch along the Darent Valley in Kent. It is a pleasant area, but in terms of birdlife it is not particularly special, although a good number of the commoner birds can always be found. It is always fun to catch up with species such as Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and other similar species. People who visit me in Thailand always comment on the colourful birds, but Britain has plenty of colourful ones of its own and for people, like me, who don't see them all the time, the species just listed are great.

Finding Summer Visitors
I always seem to get back to Britain at the very end of summer/beginning of autumn and it is a very challenging time to find many of the summer visitors. Finding Reed Warbler is always a challenge at this time but I did manage to see a few of these. Chiffachaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat were easy enough but Willow Warbler, Garden warbler and Lesser Whitethroat were a bit of a challenge although I did find them. Birds I missed out on this year though included Sedge Warbler, Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher!

Uncommon Resident Species
Every year it seems that British birds that were formerly common get rarer and rarer. Much is said about conservation efforts in UK but it seems that it is only waterbirds and raptors that are doing okay; farmland and woodland species seem to be vanishing fast. With this in mind I was pleased to see my first Bullfinch for a few years, even if it was a juvenile. I also managed to find Black Redstart, Marsh Tit, Cetti's Warbler (one that seems to get more common), Corn Bunting, Turtle Dove and Whinchat.

Some New Birds - Seabirds!
Spending most of my time in Thailand means that I hardly see any seabirds. So it is always interesting to look for these birds when I return and for this group I always end up in UK at a good time! At Dungeness I saw a wide variety of gulls including Yellow-legged, Little, Mediterranean and Glaucous Gull which was a long-awaited bogey bird for me. Also at Dungeness I saw my first Long-tailed Skua as well as great views of the commoner Arctic Skua plus Black, Arctic and Sandwich Terns.

Glaucous Gull approaching second winter plumage

Photo by Nick Upton

I also spent some time in East Yorkshire and at Flamborough I managed some more nice seabirds (at least for me as I rarely get the chance to find them); Kittiwake, Red-throated Diver, Manx Shearwater, Guillemot, Razorbill as well as hundreds of Gannets.

Twitching!

I am not normally one to go twitching but the chance to see two lifers in one go tempted me to make the drive to Graffham Water one morning. Whilst the result was nice; adult Sabine's Gull and Grey Phalarope right next to each other; the feeling was one that was less than satisfying and it reminded me why I am not a fan of twitching - drive a few hours, spot the crowd of birders, there it is, watch for a while and leave.

Some More Good Birds

My trip also resulted in a number of other species that I was pleased with; Song Thrush - getting rare in my area; Yellowhammer - tough to find at the end of summer; Lapland Bunting - only the second time I have seen this one; Goosander - first one I have seen for 7 years!; Eider Duck - first for 4 years; Bearded Tit - a bird I see once per year and is always hard to see in the windy conditions of late summer/early autumn; Red Kite - first one for 4 years; Siskin - first for 4 years; Purple Sandpiper - a once a year bird; Rock Pipit - first one for 4 years; Raven - first for 5 years; Water Rail - a bird I see once a year.

A Finishing Flourish

At the end of my stay it was getting tough to see something new without travelling far away. However, a Pallid Harrier was reported at Cliffe. Not wanting to join the twitch I came up with a different strategy. The bird was roosting in some reeds and then heading out down the Thames. However, the news was getting out and I figured that a large group of birders would wait for the harrier on an observation mound which the bird would have to pass if it were to follow its morning routine. I also figured that the twitching crowd would make enough noise to make the bird turn around and head off towards Shorne marshes. With this theory I took a train to Gravesend, walked out onto Shorne marshes and got lucky. The juvenile Pallid Harrier actually flew within 30 feet of me at head height towards Gravesend, then turned around and came back, chasing a skylark but failing to catch it.

What a result!

I also saw some other nice birds on my 15 MILE WALK; Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Hobby, Marsh Harrier and many Wheatears.

In total I saw 154 species in six weeks in England without travelling very much.

Thailand Birding: Wet Season Birding

2011-07-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

The large majority of birders visit Thailand in the dry season (November to April). Why is this?

Well, firstly, there is a far higher number of species present in the country during the dry season due to the visiting migrants from China and Siberia and the largely dry and sunny weather is an attraction for many people. However, it may also be because many books and websites have always labelled the dry season as the “best” time to be birdwatching in Thailand. But best for what?

The dry season is most certainly the time to visit Thailand for migrant species, particularly shorebirds and specifically Spoon-billed Sandpiper. However, for many of the resident species that live in forests, the dry season most certainly is not the best time for birding in Thailand.

Species such as broadbills, pittas, woodpeckers, forest kingfishers and others, are all far easier to find in the beginning and mid wet season, when they are breeding, than in the dry season.

Black-and-red Broadbill on a nest by Alex Vargas

On a recent 3 days trip to Kaeng Krachan we saw 6 species of broadbill, 12 species of woodpecker, 3 species of pitta, 2 species of trogons, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Kalij Pheasant, Banded Kingfisher, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Ratchet-tailed Treepie and many other tough species - this collection of birds could not be expected during a dry season visit to Kaeng Krachan.

Very few birders head to northern Thailand outside of the dry season but a recent wet season visit I made turned up Giant Nuthatch, Spot-winged Grosbeak, Pygmy Wren Babbler, Eyebrowed Wren Babbler, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Grey-headed Parrotbill, Lesser Cuckoo, Lesser Shortwing in abundance and many other hard-to-find birds.

It has to be admitted that the dry season is the best time for general bird abundance, migrants and certain target birds, but birdwatchers who have been to the region several times and are still looking for many of those tough forest species should consider making their trip in the period May-July when a lot of great birds can be found.

If you are a birder who is looking for difficult resident species contact me and I can let you know whether the wet season might be a better time to look for them than the dry - nickupton@thaibirding.com

Thailand Birding: Three New Species For Thailand

2011-05-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

This morning I was alerted (sadly too late) to the presence of a Sooty Gull, which had been photographed at Bang Poo. This is the third new species for Thailand that I have been recently been made aware of with the other additions being Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker which was photographed in Satun province on the Malaysian border and has long been expected to occur in southern Thailand, and Northern Boobook which was caught and ringed at Laem Pak Bia by Phil Round in April 2011; this is a recent split from Brown Hawk Owl.

Click the picture to watch Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker in Thailand on Youtube

With large parts of the country being underwatched or not watched at all, the lack of coverage of the seas around Thailand and the possibility of rare migrants turning up, there are undoubtedly more species to be added to Thailand’s growing bird list.

A new round of splitting will also result in a number of additions to the new Thai list which is under consideration.

However, it should also be noted that Tawny Eagle and Pink-rumped Rosefinch have both been removed from the Thai list and there are likely to be a few others removed when the records committee next reviews them.

Thailand Birding: Maroon-breasted Philentoma

2011-04-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Alex Vargas recently took this photograph of a female Maroon-breasted Philentoma in the vicinty of Km 36 at Kaeng Krachan national park. He also saw the male well, through binoculars but only managed to obtain images of this female.

Maroon-breasted Philentoma is known from Kaeng Krachan but is very seldom seen, in fact it is seldom seen anywhere in Thailand - I have seen a pair just the once myself, at Krung Ching.

In this photo it is difficult to see the dark wash to the breast that field guides indicate the female should have, this may be down to the light conditions or the fact the field guides make more of this feature than is really visible.

Interestingly, Phil Round had this to say about the species;“The easiest place I know to see it, though, is (ironically) at its northerly known limit, at Phu Tho, Thongphaphum District, Kanchanaburi - a good 2 deg N latitude N of Kaeng Krachan. There there is some nice accessible evergreen forest at the base of limestone crags, which also holds Ferruginous Partridge and tons of other good birds. Nobody ever goes there these days since Kaeng Krachan was “discovered” some 20-plus years ago, but I visited the site last in May 2009 and saw a pair of philentomas just as easily as before.”

Alex has several more photographs of the bird here - Female Maroon-breasted Philentoma.

Thailand Birding: Year List 2010

2011-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

As an avid keeper of bird lists I have just tallied up my Thai year list for 2010. Whilst at 623 species for the year, it was short of 2009's total, I did see some species that were long-awaited in 2010.

Highlights for me were two Himalayan Griffons circling low over the summit of Doi Inthanon and a four sightings of Silver Oriole - all in the same tree over the space of 11 months at Kaeng Krachan.

Two night birds were very satisfying too; Mountain Scops Owl at Nam Nao and 2 Hodgson's Frogmouths at Doi Ang Kang. These were both species that I had heard so many times and come so close to seeing on several occasions.

Other highlights included Masked Finfoot, Golden Bush Robin, Java Sparrow and Rufous-throated Fulvetta.

Off to start my 2011 year list right now!

Thailand Birding: Finding A Java Sparrow

2010-07-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

Although I have lived in Bangkok for years I have never taken the effort to go and track down any of the city’s Java Sparrows; there has long been a self-sustaining population of this species, originating from escaped caged birds. However, beyond the vague instructions of “the Don Muang area” I have never known where to look for Java Sparrows

.
Java Sparrow by Peter Ericsson

Don Muang is the name of Bangkok’s old international airport, which is only really used for some domestic flights these days - it is in the north of the city. The area is really busy and I live quite far away, so the prospects of hunting these birds down in residential areas and along busy roads was never one that I relished. However, during a phone conversation with Phil Round yesterday, I finally remembered to ask him where I should look for Java Sparrows and he gave me details of a specific place to look that was easy to find.

With the encouragement of my wife, we went and had a look yesterday afternoon. The location is a small compound of apartments belonging to the airforce, right next to the Amari Airport hotel - easy to find. The hotel is on the opposite side of the road from the airport and there are signs for it in English after you have passed the domestic terminal and are about level with the international terminal. You can park in the car park of the Amari hotel, exit the car park and turn right, walk down the street for about 50 metres and you will see the apartments in a leafy compound.

We checked in with security, who made a bit of a song and dance about letting us in, but after a bit of a chat we entered. Java Sparrows were not obvious. After a bit of a search I spotted a pair, high up on a building, sitting above a ventilation window. Soon another pair joined them and the four of them spent a long time just sitting, preening and flitting about, occasionally disappearing beyond the boundaries of the compound but always coming back quickly. After about 30-40 minutes of watching them we left them to their business.

I understand that Java Sparrows are listed as Vulnerable by Birdlife International with a population of only 2,500-10,000 individuals in its native range, Java and Bali. Due to trapping and increased use of pesticides, Java Sparrow populations are declining; the population in Bangkok may be of significance in this light.

Thailand Birding: Asian Golden Weaver

2010-07-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

The large majority of birders visit Thailand between the months of November and March, which is a great time for winter migrants but not so good for resident birds.

There are a few birds in particular which just are not present in the dry season or not at their best. Asian Golden Weaver is one of the latter; through the dry season months it is in non-breeding plumage and rather dull, but in the breeding season (late March to August) the male is one of the most fabulous birds of the wetlands.

Asian Golden Weaver by Alex Vargas

Over the last few months I have been seeing small nesting colonies of Asian Golden Weavers regularly at Muang Boran Fishponds near Bangkok and Tung Bang Jak near Petchaburi. They make small, ball-shaped nests in emergent vegetation such as Typha whilst their relatives, Baya Weavers, make pipe-shaped nests in trees and Streaked Weavers make a ball with a pipe in emergent vegetation.

Anyone heading to Bueng Boraphet from March to August should also easily see this species by going to the crocodile enclosure at the fisheries research station on the north side of the lake, where they breed, their nests protected by crocodiles.

Thailand Birding: Spoon-billed Sandpiper

2010-02-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

Lots of people have been e-mailing me about Spoon-billed Sandpiper recently. With the species continued decline more and more birders are keen to see it and it seems that Thailand is just about the easiest and most reliable place to see a Spoon-billed Sandpiper right now.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Khok Kham by Jörg Hanoldt

Pak Thale is the best place to find this bird with 5 birds seen together recently on salt pans. The area is fairly easy to find using maps on thaibirding.com and following the signs at the site. If all else fails look for the other birders!

Spoon-billed Sandpipers usually arrive at Pak Thale at the very end of October and are usually not seen beyond end of March (last year I think the last date was around 24th March). During this period they are always present and can be found on salt pans with very shallow water.

For those with less time, at least one Spoon-billed Sandpiper still winters at Khok Kham, close to Bangkok. This site is not as good for other birds as Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale but for those with only half a day to spare, this offers an opportunity to see this rare species. For those with more time, get yourself straight to Pak Thale and see the birds there, then enjoy the many other species that are present.

Thailand Birding: Year List 2009

2010-01-03T23:25:00.000-08:00

Whilst I am not a twitcher (tried it and don’t like it at all), nor do I usually chase birds in any way, I do keep all sorts of lists as I find that doing so keeps my enthusiasm going. Of course I have kept year lists for many years, but never go looking for birds just to get a big list, just that it is interesting to see how each year varies.

In 2009 I spent a far greater time out birding than I ever have before and of course this resulted in my biggest year list ever; 648 species in Thailand in 2009.

Highlights for me in 2009 included a couple of sightings of Cutia at Doi Lang, a fantastic Diard’s Trogon at Khao Nor Chu Chi and a couple of seldom seen species at Kaeng Krachan - Rufous-browed Flycatcher and Ferruginous Partridge, both of which I got to see a couple of times.

In 2009 I finally caught up with some migrants that are common back in UK but I had never before seen in Thailand; Great Cormorant, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Teal, Common Ringed Plover, Common Shelduck, Northern House Martin are a few of these.

I will be keeping a year list for 2010 too but it will be difficult to top 2009.

Thailand Birding: Chiffchaff Calling at Chuwit Park, Bangkok.

2010-01-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

Walking along Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, this afternoon I heard the distinctive call of a Chiffchaff above the roar of the traffic. Wow! This would be a new bird for Thailand!

The call was coming from some trees in nearby Chuwit park, a small park created a few years ago to make some green space in the concrete jungle, and was easy to track down quickly to perch in a tree about 2 metres of off the ground; right above my head.

Unfortunately the song was coming from a speaker mounted on a tree; indeed my suspicions had been aroused beforehand as the Chiffchaff’s call was backed up by a number of other northern European birds. It seems that the park keepers had decided that the ambience of the park would be improved with the addition of some bird song, and it was quite pleasant, just that the species were a little out of place in Bangkok.

Thailand Birding: Chiang Saen

2009-12-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

I recently had a couple of visits to Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai province which proved very interesting for some unusual winter migrants. Chiang Saen is close to lots of wetland areas including Chiang Saen lake, Yonok wetlands and The Mekong but there are interesting areas all around to investigate.

Chiang Saen Lake
The lake is not quite the birding spot it once was with its permanently raised water levels there are few marginal areas for birds to feed in but there are still some good birds to be found. Some of the more regular birds included Pintail Snipe, Citrine Wagtail, Purple Swamphen, Grey-headed Lapwing, Lesser Whistling Duck, Spot-billed Duck and Dusky Warbler but on checking the duck flock I found some interesting species.

Observing the ducks here takes some time because the birds are at great distance. One has to wait until the ducks get close and/or find a secluded place to watch the birds from close to where they like to feed. After spending a lot of time I found the following species on 11th December: Mallard, Gadwall, Garganey, Baer’s Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ferruginous Pochard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon and Common Shelduck.

Baer’s Pochard is now is an endangered species and there was a male and female present. Mick Davies and Dowroong Danlamajak have been reporting a female Baer’s Pochard from the lake since late November and I saw the same pair again on the 21st December so they are obviously in the area for the winter.

Also on 11th December I saw a subadult Common Crane at Chiang Saen lake. As far as I am aware this is only the 3rd record for Thailand. I got a record shot of the bird.

Common Crane (Photo by Nick Upton)

Some other nice birds at the lake were 2 Siberian Rubythroats, Chestnut-tailed Starling and Red-throated Pipit.

On my second visit on 21st December I checked the ducks again and saw these: Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Baer’s Pochard, Common Teal, Garganey, Spot-billed Duck, Lesser Whistling Duck, Northern Pintail, Ferruginous Duck, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and 1 female Baikal Teal. This last bird is apparently only the second record for Thailand and I will submit a description and my field sketch to the Thai Record’s Comittee to see if it is accepted.

The Mekong
On 10th December to 12th December the water levels of the river were pretty high and very few birds were seen. We did see a female Peregrine and an Osprey on sand bars and 13 River Lapwings. Eventually a Long-billed Plover was found on some sand and gravel at the back of an old warehouse on the river. This spot can be found by heading towards the Golden Triangle from Chiang saen town. After a few kilometres there is this sort of white geodesic dome on the right. Enter here and go to the river where birds are foraging on mud, sand and gravel close to the river bank.

On 21st December the water levels were much reduced and many birds were feeding in the area described above. These included many Temminck’s Stints, many Little Ringed Plovers, a few Kentish Plovers, 17 River Lapwings, 2 Common Snipe, 2 Long-billed Plovers, a few Long-toed Stints, a few Common Greenshank, 12 Spotted Redshank, 10+Citrine Wagtails and many White Wagtails. For me the most interesting bird was a Common Ringed Plover which I spotted because of its bright orange legs. Whilst this is a common bird in Europe there are very few records in Thailand.

Yonok
This area has some good birds and interesting areas to investigate. At one of the harrier roosts 60-70 birds came in on 10th and 11th December, mostly male Pied Harriers but good numbers of Eastern Marsh Harriers and 1 male Western Marsh Harrier.

Only 1 Small Pratincole was seen on the Mekong but at Yonok there were a few resting on mud and hundreds flying around at dusk.

Close to Yonok on 12th December some burnt rice stubble produced some farmland species that apparently used to be common but are not now. This included 100s of Red-throated Pipits and 1 Rosy Pipit. Alos many Yellow, White and Citrine Wagtails, Bluethroat, Oriental Skylark and 6 Chestnut-eared Buntings.

Other Birds
Chiang Saen has a lot to offer other than the sites I have mentioned. With so many rice fields and other wetlands other birds are waiting to be found.

I was told that a Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler has recently been seen along with Falcated Duck. Mick Davies also has sensible sounding claims to Lesser Kestrel and Great Snipe in the last few months, both would be new for Thailand.

Both Grass Owl and River Tern have regularly been seen at Yonok over the last few years but I didn’t see them this time. The tern may have disappeared but the owls are still around, I just didn’t put any effort into looking for them.

Thailand Birding: An Unexpected Visitor

2009-11-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

This morning I had an unexpected visitor to my front yard. Whilst I am used to seeing Olive-backed Sunbirds every day, this fledgling Scaly-breasted Munia was a bit more of a surprise, particularly as it flew out of the plants at me as I was watering them.

Fledgling Scaly-breasted Munia

Photo by Nick Upton

Actually, I should not have been so surprised as a pair of Scaly-breasted Munias constantly nest in some bamboo in a neighbours yard. Scaly-breasted Munia is one of Thailand’s resident birds that breeds all year round and this pair make a new nest as soon as the chicks are fledged.

I watched this chick for a while and it was able to fly around okay and its mother was in attendance the whole time, feeding it when it called for food.

Thailand Birding: Some Notes on Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia

2009-11-11T23:16:00.000-08:00

I recently spent two days at Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale (6th & 7th November). After reporting some problems with the road into the Spoon-billed Sandpiper site at Pak Thale I am happy to say that the road has been finished and it is now negotiable by any vehicle again.

On the 6th I saw two Spoon-billed Sandpipers at Pak Thale and 1 on the 7th. I am sure the second bird was also present on the 7th but in a large flock of small waders virtually every bird was roosting will its bill tucked under its wing until workers on the salt pans flushed all the birds which then dispersed over a wide area.

I have been told that a survey in Russia has produced some bad news; in an area which previously held 200 Spoon-billed sandpipers on the bird’s breeding grounds, only 2 were found! With only 2 birds present at Pak Thale on 7th November and none reported from Khok Kham by 5th November things are a bit worrying.

Some Other Birds
Other birds which have been seen in the area include 1 Dunlin, Terek Sandpiper and Grey-tailed Tattler at Pak Thale, plus a few Nordmann’s Greenshank. At least 32 Nordmann’s Greenshank on salt pans at Laem Pak Bia on 6th was the largest count so far this winter.

Sand Spit
So far, on the sand spit, 1 White-faced Plover, as many as 3 Chinese Egrets, 2 Pacific Reef Egrets, a few Greater Crested Terns and Lesser Crested Terns have been reported. As far as I know no large gulls have been seen yet.

Thailand Birding: Spoon-billed Sandpiper Returns

2009-10-31T23:27:00.000-07:00

I spent a couple of days with my wife in Petchaburi province on 29th and 30th October doing some birdwatching and some lazing on the beach.

On the afternoon of 29th I headed to Pak Thale to see if I could find a returning Spoon-billed Sandpiper. A new road was being layed part the way into the site and I was unable to drive in, leaving me with a long and hot walk. The workers said it would be finished in three days though. They were laying a concrete road and where it joins the dirt road towards the sandpiper site there is now a large drop of about 7-8 inches. Unless something is done about this, access to the site will be impossible in a saloon car or even a minibus. A vehicle with very good ground clearance will be needed. I will look at the situation on my next visit.

Despite much searching I could not see any Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Lots of commoner waders were present - Marsh Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Rufous-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Temminck’s Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Eurasian Curlew, Common Greenshank, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper. Also seen were about a dozen Great Knot, 1 Turnstone and 1 Grey-tailed Tattler.

Having sweated myself silly I moved off and checked some wader flocks on my back to Had Chao Samran. Somewhere near the sign which demarcates the boudary between Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale I checked out a flock of stints and found a single Spoon-billed Sandpiper amongst them! Hooray, it’s back!

I checked out a couple of other spots and found lots of Brown-headed Gulls with a Caspian Terna dna Black-headed Gull, a flock of c40 White-shouldered Starlings gathering to roost with huge numbers of White-vented Mynas and in some freshwater wetlands a Painted Stork was in the company of an Asian Openbill, a male Painted Snipe and 2 Purple Herons.

Khao Look Chang
A few months ago David Scott took me to some dry dipterocarp woodland at Khao Look Chang, Petchaburi. My wife and I went there for a quick look on 30th October. We arrived at 11.30am so I didn’t really expect much, however, within 30 minutes I had seen an Asian Barred Owlet, 5 Black-headed Woodpeckers, 4 Lineated Barbets, 5 Greater Racket-tailed Drongos, 1 Spangled Drongo, 1 Green-billed Malkoha, 1 Rufous Treepie and a Puff-throated Babbler, not bad for such a quick stop in the middle of the day.

Khao Yoi
Later in the day (about 4.30pm) we were nosing around in rice fields near Khao Yoi. Most of the normal birds for that habitat were easily seen but most impressive was a flock of Black Kites. At first I saw 2 birds but then noticed many more sitting in palm trees. Through my telescope I could see that there were large numbers in all the surrounding palms and more birds began to descend from above. I counted an impressive 473 Black Kites sitting in trees and wheeling around in the sky but with many many more high above and many birds unviewable on the blind side of the trees I would imagine the real total to be somewhere between 6-700.

As we were leaving a superb adult male eastern Marsh Harrier flew alongside the car, hunting over rice fields.

Birdwatching in Britain: My Trip Back Home

2009-10-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

Back in Thailand I have been going over my notes from my recent 5 week visit to England. It wasn’t really a birding trip, just a visit home, although I did go out birding a fair bit.

In total I saw 129 species. The best of which I suppose were Red-backed Shrike, Great Egret and Glossy Ibis in terms of their rarity in UK. For me though, the highlights were some of the more common British species that I only get to see when back home.

I always enjoy seeing Treecreepers and I only saw a few on this visit which made the sightings even nicer. I got great satisfaction out of a flock of 5 Corn Buntings near my home - birds which breed in that area but in late summer are hard to find. 3 Yellowhammer sightings, all within a short walk of home, were lovely and some summer visitors which I haven’t seen for years; Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Cuckoo were great too.

Visiting some locations that I used to visit regularly is always nice too and a few walks on my old local patch along the Darent Valley, in Kent, were very enjoyable and turned up some nice birds in Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Grey Wagtail, Hobby and the ever-increasing Ring-necked Parakeet.

Thailand Birding: Art Exhibition

2009-10-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Some time ago Louise Truslow contacted me asking where she could go to see birds in large flocks. I suggested wetlands around Petchaburi as a great place to look. The reason she wanted to know was to get some ideas for a series of oil paintings of birds.

It seems that she found what she was looking for as now she has an exhibition of her bird art at the Neilson Hays library in Suriwong Road, Bangkok; she has very kindly invited me to the opening of the exhibition this evening.

The exhibition will run through October and the paintings will be auctioned to raise funds for the care of HIV orphans.

Here is an example of her artwork.

More information on the exhibition can be found on Lousie’s own website: Louise Truslow; When Kingfishers catch Fire.

Birdwatching in Britain: Glossy Ibis

2009-09-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

There seems to have been a mini invasion of Glossy Ibises into Britain over the last week with around half a dozen birds present. Last Thursday I caught up with one at Stodmarsh in Kent, the first time I have seen this species in Britain. However, I have seen plenty of them in India and Thailand where, at Bueng Boraphet, they seem to be increasing in numbers quite rapidly.

The amusing thing for me was that while quite a number of bird watchers were all concentrating on this UK rarity I was more interested in some of the commoner British species; I was particularly happy to see Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Warbler, birds that I hadn’t seen for over 2 years.

The Glossy Ibis was a nice bird to see, but it was a bit far away to photograph, instead here is a photo that I took in Thailand back in March.

Glossy Ibises
Photo by Nick Upton

British Butterflies

2009-09-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

One thing I have noticed over the last few weeks in the UK is how many butterflies are around. A walk around farmland and nature reserves seems to reveal a plentiful supply of butterflies of a variety of species. A few years ago the EU changed agricultural subsidies so that they would only paid if some simple conservation measures were taken. These measures include not trimming hedgerows in the bird breeding season, leaving unsown strips around field boundaries and planting seed and nectar mixes for birds and insects. I have heard that the measures for birds are having some success but it is quite obvious that butterflies are benefitting considerably and I am now seeing more butterflies in the British countryside than I have for very many years.

Today I got this shot of a Comma and the photos that follow have all been taken in the last couple of weeks.

Birdwatching In UK: A Day at Dungeness

2009-09-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

Back in the UK it is always nice to catch up with some birds that I haven’t seen for ages due to being in exile in Thailand. Having been back for a few weeks and already met up with most of the commoner birds I decided to head to the shingle headland of Dungeness on a hot, sunny day yesterday.

I didn’t get there at prime time, arriving somewhere around 10.30am but there were still some nice birds to see on the RSPB reserve. With migration beginning now in earnest there were lots of Whitethroats, Wheatears and Chiffchaffs to be seen and a couple of Whinchats were also amongst the migrant flocks. The star though was an incredibly tame Red-backed Shrike. This species was once a common breeder in Britain but is now pretty much relegated to passage migrant. This was only the 4th one I have seen in Britain and even managed to get a couple of photos.

Red-backed Shrike
(Photo by Nick Upton)

Red-backed Shrike

(Photo by Nick Upton)

Another very uncommon species that was present at Dungeness was a Great Egret, only the second I have seen in UK but a very common bird back in Thailand. However, several Marsh Harriers, a Hobby, a Sparrowhawk and a Sedge warbler were nice birds to see.

Seawatching

After leaving the RSPB reserve I spent an hour outside Dungeness nuclear power station watching sea birds on the warm water “patch”. In that brief time I managed to see a number of species that I haven’t seen for quite some time; these included 1 Arctic Tern, several Sandwich Terns, 1 Arctic Skua and 1 Great Skua but in the warm sunshine I started to feel sleepy so left for a cold drink.

Back on the Reserve
I had an hour left before I needed to go home so I went back to the RSPB reserve where I had heard a Black-necked Grebe had been seen. Sitting in a hide it didn’t take long to locate this bird which had only a little of its black neck remaining but it put on a good show. 2 Black Terns were also great to see and Ruddy Duck was another year tick for me.

All in all I had a really nice day at Dungeness and this is a really good time to visit. 5 Clouded Yellow butterflies were also really nice to see although rather frustrating as just as I was about to press the botton on my camera to photograph one, it flew away. That’s wildlife I guess.

Thailand Birding: Doi Inthanon Summit

2009-08-15T01:41:00.000-07:00

Chestnut-tailed Minla at summit of Doi Inthanon

(Photo by Nick Upton)

The summit of Doi Inthanon is one of my favourite birding spots in the world. There are a number of species which are specialities of the summit and most of them are fairly easy to see and can even be found in the worst of weather conditions - they are vitually guaranteed. The above photo was taken next to the coffee/hot chocolate hut next to the summit toilets. The people at the coffee stand put out bananas and the birds come to eat them, only a few feet away from where people are standing.

I was on the summit of Doi Inthanon in mid July with Robert King and the weather was terrible; strong winds, rain and cold. However, in two visits (both in the same conditions) we managed to see the following species:

Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
Chestnut-tailed Minla
Yellow-bellied Fantail
Ashy Woodpigeon
Ashy-throated Warbler
Davison’s Leaf Warbler
Green-tailed Sunbird
Snowy-browed Flycatcher
Pygmy Wren Babbler
White-browed Shortwing
Dark-backed Sibia
Flavescent Bulbul
Blue Whistling Thrush
Rufous-winged Fulvetta
Yellow-cheeked Tit

We ended up at the summit of the mountain when the weather further down was too poor for birding - at the top it was just a little better and as it is higher up there is more chance of a break or the sun buring the cloud off for a while. Certainly on our second visit we had about 10 minutes where the sun almost broke through and we had time to see the Ashy Woodpigeons and Green-tailed Sunbirds were encouraged enough to come out and feed on flowers in the garden at the top.

One thing about being at the summit of Doi Inthanon in the rain is that the elfin forest looks amazingly lush and the plants are wonderful covered in raindrops.

A full report of the 14 day trip around Thailand in July 2009 can be read here: Rainy Season Birding Tour of Thailand, 1st-14th July 2009.

Thailand Birding: A Day in Petchaburi Province

2009-08-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met David Scott in Cha-am and we went on a tour of various habitats in Petchaburi province.

Dry Dipterocarp Forest at Khao Look Chang
Our first stop of the day was a patch of dry dipterocarp forest at a location called Khao Look Chang, it is right next to the Wildlife Friends of Thailand’s Wildlife Rescue Centre and is protected by Look Chang Temple. Our first birds were a pair of Rufous Woodpeckers which were amazingly confiding and gave us an excellent start. I then went back to the car to get something I had forgotten and on the way back saw 2 Blue-winged Pittas. I alerted David to this and after a little searching we both got a good view.

I was surprised to see this habitat so close to Bangkok (a little over 2 hours away) and we managed to find some nice birds that I usually have to go further afield to see or struggle to get a glimpse of elsewhere. These included a group of at least 6 Red-breasted Parakeets, many Lineated Barbets heard and a few seen, lots of groups of fairly confiding Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes, Rufous Treepie and best of all was a group of 4 Black-headed Woodpeckers.

female Black-headed Woodpecker

Photo by Peter Ericsson

Other birds we saw were Puff-throated Babbler, Black-headed Bulbul, White-rumped Shama, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Racket-tailed Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Spangled Drongo and Striped Tit Babbler.

The Surrounding Open-country
Khao Look Chang is surrounded by scrubby regenerating forest and abandoned farmland. In these habitats we found many of the typical inhabitants including Hoopoe, Indochinese Bushlark, Black-collared Starling, Red-wattled Lapwing, Green Bee-eater, Indian Roller, Sooty-headed Bulbul and mynas.

Pool near Khao Look Chang

(Photo by Nick Upton)

The area was very dry but at one pool we found a number of birds which included White-throated Kingfisher, Streak-eared Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul and Golden-fronted Leafbird. Also at the pool was a sub-adult Booted Eagle! What it was doing there at this time of year I don’t know, it seems way too early.

Tung Bang Jak
After lunch David and I spent a few hours at Tung Bang Jak, just about 1 kilometre north of Petchaburi town. Here we found large numbers of Baya Weavers nesting in trees, Streaked Weavers nesting in Typha and smaller numbers of Asian Golden Weavers also in the Typha.

The wetlands here also served us up a number of Bronze-winged Jacanas, a few Lesser Whistling Ducks, including one female with 6 ducklings, a Black Bittern, several Yellow Bitterns and countless Asian Openbills. Lots of other common open-country birds were present as always, perhaps the most interesting being a Plaintive Cuckoo.

A short drive away at Wat Khao Takrao we found some migrant shorebirds which included more than 100 Black-tailed Godwits and smaller numbers of Greenshank, Lesser Sand Plover, Wood Sandpiper and Common Redshank but the stars of the show were 4 Spot-billed Pelicans and 12 Painted Storks.

Tung Faek
Our final stop was some forest on hill slopes at Tung Faek, close to Cha-am. Unfortunately the rain washed out this part of the day and apart from some Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes and a brief glimpse of a Greater Yellownape we saw nothing.

Rain is always likely at this time of year but it is much easier to take when you have already had a good day’s birding.

Thailand Birding: Wetland and Forest Birds in July

2009-07-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

July is not the time of year that most birders plan a visit to Thailand but if it is the only time that is available it shouldn't put you off. On 22nd July I visited wetlands at Muang Boran Fishponds, Bang Poo and Bang Poo Soi 119 with Mark and Jonty Hiley and it turned out to be a good visit too.

Wet Season Specialities
There are some birds that are just not around during the dry season or they are scarce and/or in drab winter plumage, but in the wet season they are easily found and/or in summer plumage. We enjoyed beautiful summer plumage Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Javan Pond Herons, Asian Golden Weavers and Baya Weavers and also saw a couple of Black Bitterns and Oriental Pratincoles along with a male Watercock - these sights would not be available in the dry season, although one would see more species at that time of year.

Other Interesting Birds
Two Stork-billed Kingfishers at Muang Boran Fishponds were the morning's highlight, but Yellow Bittern, Asian Openbill, Painted Stork, Collared Kingfisher, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Striated Grassbird, Bronze-winged Jacana, White-browed Crake and a flight view of Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker were all nice additions to the above mentioned species.

A real surprise was a female Thick-billed Pigeon in a low tree at Bang Poo which was obviously exhausted. Perhaps it had got caught up in a storm and blown from some forest quite distant from Bangkok.

Off to Khao Yai
At around 1pm we moved on to Khao Yai, arriving outisde the park at about 4pm. We did some birding outisde the park, seeing Red-breasted Parakeet, Black-collared Starlings on a nest, Coppersmith Barbet, Lineated Barbet, Ashy Drongo, Spangled Drongo and a female Plain-backed Sparrow but perhaps the best bird was a juvenile Mountain Hawk Eagle near the bat cave which we managed to get perched and viewable in the telescope.

Khao Yai
On the 23rd we entered Khao Yai national park.

When spending just one day in the forest in the wet season the worry is that it will rain all day and there will be few birds, but apart from about 45 minutes rain in the monring we were lucky. The first sighting was an Asian Elephant feeding by the side of the road from the fire station lookout. We found out later that 2 silly people had stopped their motorbike and got off to take photos and were then attacked by the elephant. Luckily they got away unhurt but give some respect to these animals, they can be dangerous.

Great Hornbill
(Photo by Merl Arnot)

Although things were slow at times, patience and a positive attitude resulted in a lot of good sightings. The most enjoyable birds of the day were Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Green Magpie, Laced Woodpecker, Black-and-buff Woodpecker, Red-headed Trogon, Orange-breasted Trogon, White-crested Laughingthrush, White-browed Scimitar-babbler, Green-eared Barbet, Moustached Barbet, Sultan Tit, Hill Myna, Golden-crested Myna and Thick-billed Pigeon, in fact it was a pretty decent list of birds, seen well, for just one day.

The journey back to Bangkok took about 3 hours.

Butterflies at Khao Soi Dao

2009-06-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

At the end of April 2009 I spent a few days at Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chantaburi province. I was hoping to see any of the specialities of the site: Eastern Green Magpie, Blue-rumped Pitta, Siamese Partridge and Rufous-throated Fulvetta (I have subsequently found this one at Phu Suan Sai national park).

Unhappily I failed to get even a sniff of any of these birds and after rereading Charles Davies's trip report it seems that one must get higher up the mountain for these birds.

Well, apart from no sign of any of those birds birding was good. Blue-winged Pitta was absurdly common and easy to see - I saw at least 10 different birds well. Other nice species that I saw were a male Banded Kingfisher, a couple of pairs of Banded Broadbills, Dusky Broadbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, 3 Pompadour Green Pigeons (plus lots of Thick-billed), Scaly-breasted Partridge and Black-browed Fulvetta.

Whilst I am always a birder first and foremost, what really made the trip (apart from nice accommodation and food) was the huge number of butterflies present.

I managed to creep up on and get photos of only a fraction of the butterflies present as I have to get very close as I am only using a small compact digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 7600), but at one spot lots of butterflies were feeding on rotting fruit and this seemed to make them drowsy and more approachable - I guess they were getting drunk on the natural alcohol being produced as the fruit decomposed.

For those who are interested I have made a few updates on the Khao Soi Dao page of thaibirding.com, which include details of where I stayed: Khao Soi Dao and the identity of most of these butterflies.

Thailand Birding: Eared Pitta Photograph

2009-05-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you are birdwatching, you just get lucky.

One morning in March I was birding at Khao Yai National Park with Merl & Marty Arnot and it seemed that our luck was out with light but persistent rain and poor visibility. After watching a number of common birds like Black-naped Oriole, Green-eared Barbet, Asian Fairy Bluebird and Scarlet Minivet, I suggested a walk on the loop trail near the old HQ where I had seen Eared Pittas before.

Excellent Views of Male and Female Eared Pittas
We had walked only about 400 metres along the trail when a brownish bird flew from the ground along the trail in front of us and luckily landed within view. All three of us managed to get an excellent view of a female Eared Pitta, foraging around in the undergrowth. After some time I heard more rustling around a short distance away and saw the male. We watched both birds at a distance of about 10 metres for roughly 10 minutes before Merl asked if he could get closer for a photo. Given the light and the fact that he would have to be very close I didn't think there was much chance but the Pittas didn't seem concerned by us so I told him to go ahead.

The Photo
Merl sneaked forward a step at a time and unbelievably got to within about 5 metres of the male Eared Pitta. Even so, with the poor light conditions, the fact that Merl was not using flash and that the Pitta was constantly moving its head as it foraged I thought the chance of a decent shot was very slim indeed. Then, as if on cue, the Pitta froze, totally motionless, allowing Merl to get a photo even in very low light conditions - amazing.

Thailand Birding: Khao Yai in the Wet

2009-05-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Khao Yai national park is one of the busiest national parks in Thailand and at certain times (typically public holidays in the dry season) it can get uncomfortably busy. However, it was lovely to visit the park in mid May this year (16th-18th) and to see the park with very few other people around.

Now, very few birders make the trip to Thailand in the wet season and it is certainly true that a dry season visit will produce many more species, but I actually find the wet season very good for birding in the forest and this trip lived up to that.

In fact it wasn't really wet at all with only about 1 hour's birding being lost to rain.

Birds such as Red-headed and Orange-breasted Trogon were easy to find and broadbills were very vocal so it didn't take much effort to see Banded, Silver-breasted and Long-tailed Broadbills in one morning. Lots of other resident species were abundant and easily seen, species like Thick-billed Pigeon, Moustached Barbet, Green-eared Barbet, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Green Magpie etc were all nice. One of the highlights, as ever, were fantastic views of Great Hornbills. I have seen this species 100s of times but it is still always a highlight of any trip for me.

Another couple of nice birds which I wouldn't really expect to see outside the rainy season were a Stork-billed Kingfisher at Pa Gluai Mai campsite and 3 Hooded Pittas in a territorial dispute.

Other Wildlife

White-banded Hedge Blue by Nick Upton

Apart from an abundance of birds, this trip also turned up a lot of other wildlife, including this White-banded Hedge Blue butterfly above which was feeding on rotting fruit.

The wet season is the best time to see elephants at Khao Yai and sure enough there was one sub adult at a salt lick by the side of the road one evening. The commonest mammals at Khao Yai are Variable Squirrel, Pig-tailed Macaque, Sambar, Muntjac and Cambodian Striped Squirrel and these were frequently seen. Other mammals that I saw included Yellow-throated Marten, Common Palm Civet, Golden Jackal, Grey-bellied Squirrel and a fantastic White-handed Gibbon laying back on branch taking an afternoon nap.

For the real wildlife enthusiast there were a whole range of lizards all around, including some water monitors and a wonderful python on the road one night.

All in all you shouldn't let the rainy season put you off of visiting Thailand for birdwatching, although the leeches were quite voracious!

Birding Tips

2009-05-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

I recently created a page on Squidoo.com which lists a number of tips on how to become a better birdwatcher/ornithologist: How to be a good birdwatcher.

I do not claim to be the perfect birder but having been watching birds since I was 7 years old (almost 30 years ago) and leading birding trips for more than 2 years, I hope that I have a few things to say which will help others become better at their chosen hobby/obsession.

Please take a look at the page and add any tips of your own in the guestbook.

Thailand Birding: Hornbill at Ban Maka

2009-05-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

Those birders visiting Kaeng Krachan and wishing to stay in comfort rather than camping in the national park, have a choice of a number of places close to the forest. I usually use Ban Maka which is a pleasant place to stay with air conditioned rooms, private bathrooms and excellent food as well as having helpful staff.

One of the features at Ban Maka is their tame Oriental Pied Hornbill which was given to the owner after a local had become tired of it. The hornbill goes by the name of Gak Gak ( the Thai name for this species is Nok Gak) and can be somewhat overfriendly. A bit of finger drumming on the table usually sees Gak Gak come swooping down looking for a tickle or some food.

"Gak" looking for food at Ban Maka

Photograph by Nick Upton

The trouble is that he doesn't seem to know when enough is enough and he often takes to stealing food from your plate or pulling your shoe laces and after the first night his company wears a bit thin.

If you are going to feed the bird then he seems to like rice and chicken and sometimes fruit.

It is worth noting that there are a couple of wild Oriental Pied Hornbills that visit the garden of Ban Maka but Gak Gak doesn't seem to be interested and never flies away with them; in fact, judging by his behaviour, he was taken from a nest when a small chick and has spent his whole life around humans.

If you go to Ban Maka you will meet him soon enough and he may be a highlight of your stay, or perhaps the biggest irritation.

Update: For those hoping to meet Gak there is disappointment as he flew off to be with the wild Hornbills in late 2010.

Thailand Birding: Rusty-cheeked (Tickell’s Brown) Hornbill

2009-04-30T23:56:00.000-07:00

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill is a recent split from Brown Hornbill and this taxon has been adopted by the BCST on their latest checklist of the birds of Thailand; formerly it was known as the tickelli subspecies of Brown Hornbill. At Kaeng Krachan this species is fairly easy to see with most sightings being between the Bang Krang campsite and stream 3. Sometimes this species can be quite unobtrosive but often gives itself away with its manic screeching.

The bird in the photo below was part of a flock of 9 birds and was checking out a nest hole beside the road at Kaeng Krachan in late February 2009. This was a nest hole which had been used the previous year by a pair which had successfully reared chicks and I have a vivid memory of them passing lizards to the young birds.

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill

Photo by Nick Upton

The BCST issued accompanying notes with their checklist and these make interesting reading; here I reproduce the notes on Rusty-cheeked Hornbill.

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli and Brown Hornbill A. austeni
P. Poonswad (Hornbill Project Thailand; unpubl. data) has suggested that the genetic distance between these two taxa is at least as great as that between Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis and Rhinoceros Hornbill B. rhinoceros, and on this basis we tentatively treat them as distinct species following some earlier authors (e.g., Kemp 1988). It should be noted, however, that the vocalisations of the two “brown hornbill” taxa are very similar. In addition, although the females are highly distinctive, A. tickelli being dark-billed and A. austeni being pale billed, occasional whitish-throated male A. tickelli that appear inseparable from typical male austeni have been observed in tickelli groups (Anak Pattanavibool, in litt.).

Thailand Birding: Siberian Rubythroat at Bueng Boraphet

2009-03-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I have made a couple of visits to Bueng Boraphet in Nakorn Sawan province. This site is most famous for its waterbirds and a boat trip with the excellent Mr Phanom is memorable experience for birders and non-birders alike. Any boat trip at Bueng Boraphet is likely to provide lots of sightings of species such as Purple Swamphen, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana, Purple Heron, Oriental Darter, Asian Openbill Stork, Lesser Whistling Duck and Cotton Pygmy Goose with many other species likely during the northern winter. However, another highlight for many people is the Siberian Rubythroat that Mr Phanom has provided food for and is now easily observed at close range.

For photographers this particular Siberian Rubythroat is especially attractive as this species is usually very skulking and the photo opportunities this bird provides are very unusual. I took a couple of reasonable photos with a digital camera through my binoculars.

Here is a link to a video clip was taken by Daniel Lopez Velasco in mid February 2009 and shows what a beautiful and obliging bird it is: Siberian Rubythroat at Bueng Boraphet.

Whilst this particular Siberian Rubythroat at Bueng Boraphet is particularly easy to see, in the same area we found 4 more Rubythroats skulking around in dry undergrowth; the dry margins of Bueng Boraphet are one of the best places in Thailand I know of to find this tricky, skulking species.

Thailand Birding: Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale & Tung Bang Jak

2009-03-10T00:49:00.000-07:00

The shorebird sites of Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale are well-known and frequently visited birding locations but by combining a visit to these areas with some time at the rice fields of Tung Bang Jak a wide variety and large number of species can easily be seen in a short space of time.

Recently, I was joined by a group of Dutch birders, Pierre van der Wielen, Marco Witte, Rob Struyk and Alma Leegwater, who spent one and a half days in the area. We easily saw the target species of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, White-faced Plover, Nordmann’s Greenshank and Malaysian Plover giving us time to visit Tung Bang Jak on our second afternoon.

Tung Bang Jak is an area of rice fields and other mixed agriculture which can be reached by turning left at the new road bridge which crosses the Petkasem Highway about 1.5 kilometres before reaching Petchaburi.

Green Bee-eater by Marco Witte

When we arrived there were a number of areas where rice stubble was being burned, and this seemed to attract large raptors; presumably large insects, small rodents and lizards were easy to find in these conditions. With 5 pairs of sharp eyes and Pierre’s expertise in raptors we saw 15-20 Black Kites, 5 or 6 Brahminy Kites, 1 adult Imperial Eagle, 2 sub-adult Steppe Eagles, 2 Greater Spotted Eagles, a juvenile Eastern Marsh Harrier, 1 Common Kestrel and a Booted Eagle.

Apart from the raptors, other interesting birds were 18 Yellow-breasted Buntings (a species which seems to be very scarce these days), 150+ Streaked Weavers at a pre-roost site with large numbers of Baya Weavers, 60+ Red-throated Pipits, 13 Grey-headed Lapwings as well as a single Cinnamon Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Oriental Reed Warbler, Slaty-breasted Rail and Bluethroat.

In all we saw more than 130 species in one and a half days and had an excellent time.

More photos from the trip can be viewed at Marco Witte’s gallery: Birds of Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale & Tung Bang Jak.

Butterflies at Kaeng Krachan

2009-03-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

Kaeng Krachan national park is well-known for its birdlife but it is also a fantastic place to find a huge variety of butterflies. At certain times of the year, during the wet season for example, it is worth staying out on the trails all day to find birds; things slow down during the middle of the day but good birds can still be found. However, right now in the dry season it gets really hot in the afternoon and there is almost no activity, making bird finding very difficult and tiring. A good option at this time of year is to spend some time at the second stream a little along the road from Bang Krang campsite to observe the butterflies in the mid day heat.

Common Pierrot

Photo by Nick Upton

The butterflies congregate around the stream to take in minerals and quite often there are large flocks with many species amongst them. Some photographers put down a mixture of fish sauce and water to attract the butterflies to exactly the right spot, but there always seem to be enough butterflies present not to have to bother with this.

People with good quality cameras will be able to take some really excellent photos, and even with my small, compact digital camera some nice pictures can be obtained with patience.

Thailand Birding: Yonok Wetlands

2009-03-09T00:21:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I have written anything about the Yonok Wetlands project, instigated by Mick Davies and Dowroong Damlamajak, near Chiang Saen. The reason for this is not my lack of support for the project, just that I have been very busy; however, it is now time for me to point out some of the good work that Mick and Dowroong have been doing.

Yonok Women's Group
Dowroong has set up the Yonok Women's Community/Conservation Group centred around the village of Ban Huai Nam Rak which meets on a regular basis to spread the conservation message at community events such as festivals and fetes. The group works at creating a community spirit and encourages this to spread to local conservation issues. Perhaps their greatest success is persuading local markets to stop the sale of wild birds as a food item, something which has had a major impact on the level of bird trapping in the area.

Harnessing the energy of local women's groups to further conservation of the Chiang Saen area is an excellent move and this strategy has been one that has been proven to work well. In Kenya Wangarai Maathai initiated the idea of the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve the people's quality of life. She has since gone on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and to become Kenya's Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife. Perhaps Dowroong can go on to do the same in Thailand?

Hunting on the Mekong
Mick and Dowroong's vigilance identified that hunters from Laos crossing into Thailand was a serious issue for bird conservation along the Mekong at Chiang Saen. With assistance from the local unit of the Thai Royal Navy, this problem has been addressed and an increase in waterbirds along the Mekong was immediately noted.

The full story on this, with photographs, can be read in Mick's own words here: Laos Hunters Invade Thailand.

Chiang Saen Lake/Yonok Wetlands & Ramsar Convention
Mick quite rightly questions the value of the Ramsar Convention and its application in Thailand. It seems that the local Ramsar representative in the Chiang Saen region is one of the biggest culprits in encroachment into wetland habitats having turned an area of Yonok wetlands into an area for private rice cultivation. It appears that this representative is to face prosecution for these actions - "This RAMSAR guy is currently facing prosecution for stealing YONOK WETLAND "LAND" for rice planting for his personal gain" [Quote from Yonok Wetlands website].

The Ramsar Convention is essentialy a voluntary conservation treaty that any nation can sign so long as it complies with a few commitments such as designation of Ramsar sites, the "wise use" of wetlands, establishment of reserves and the training of wetland researchers and the consultation with other nations in regards to trans-boundary wetlands. These commitments are rather poorly defined and open to a wide variety of interpretations. On top of this there is little in the way of enforcement. This comes from the Ramsar Convention website;

"The Ramsar Convention is not a regulatory regime and has no punitive sanctions for violations of or defaulting upon treaty commitments – nevertheless, its terms do constitute a solemn treaty and are binding in international law in that sense. The whole edifice is based upon an expectation of common and equitably shared transparent accountability. Failure to live up to that expectation could lead to political and diplomatic discomfort in high-profile international fora or the media, and would prevent any Party concerned from getting the most, more generally, out of what would otherwise be a robust and coherent system of checks and balances and mutual support frameworks. Failure to meet the treaty’s commitments may also impact upon success in other ways, for example, in efforts to secure international funding for wetland conservation. In addition, some national jurisdictions now embody international Ramsar obligations in national law and/or policy with direct effect in their own court systems."

Recent Sightings
Mick and Dowroong regularly update their recent sightings page and it nearly always contains records of birds which are very scarce in Thailand. They regularly see species such as Jerdon's Bushchat, Long-billed Plover, River Tern, River Lapwing, Grass Owl etc. Take a look at their sightings page and if the birds on there whet your appetite then maybe you can visit them to help in their conservation efforts.

Thailand Birding: Spoon-billed Sandpiper & White-faced Plover

2009-01-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

On the 21st and 22nd January I made day trips to Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale for shorebirds. Spoon-billed Sandpiper is still one of the main attractions at this area and the signposts which are on the road help people the find the right vicinity for this species. The birds are usually within a few hundred metres of the same place and on 21st I had the luxury of finding one very quickly indeed. In fact as I was showing Doug Kirwin a Red-necked Stint, a Spoon-billed Sandpiper walked into the field of view - perfect!

Unfortunately, Spoon-billed Sandpiper has recently been reclassified as critically endangered and one wonders how much longer they will be showing up at this spot. On the 22nd January, however, at least 4 birds were present at Pak Thale and I was able to show Brian and Claire Cox these birds.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper by Johan Svensson

Out on the sand spit at Laem Pak Bia on the 21st, we had the amazing sight of a Spoon-billed Sandpiper sitting right next to a White-faced Plover - they were just about 6 inches apart and both facing us - a superb sight.

White-faced Plover is now one of the stars of any trip to the Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale area and it can usually be found on the sand spit. In fact I know that some others have had trouble finding this bird, but in around 30 visits in the last 12 months I have found White-faced Plover on the sand spit every time. It can be an elusive bird but by persisting and searching the whole beach I think the bird can almost always be found. In my experience it favours a small bay on the part of the spit which is connected to the mainland until it is disturbed by visiting fishermen and then it usually moves onto the island part of the spit or sometimes onto the rocks. I found a single White-faced Plover on the sand spit after much searching on both the 21st and 22nd January - at one point on 22nd I really thought that we were going to miss it, but persistence and patience got us great views.

White-faced Plover by Mike Buckland

A recent paper on White-faced Plover has proposed the scientific name Charadrius dealbatus if it turns out to be a distinct species. The paper also explains that this bird has been documented in the past by Swinhoe but inexplicably ignored since his time. The paper can be read here: Rediscovery of a lost Charadrius plover from South-east Asia.

Thailand Birding: Khao Yai 3-day Trip

2009-01-23T00:44:00.000-08:00

These days I don’t get to Khao Yai National Park as often as I used to, so I was pleased to be spending 3 days there in the company of John Plampin from 14th-16th January. After picking him up at La Residence in Surawong Road, Bangkok the journey to the park gate took only about 2 hours or so; although waking up early is painful it is really nice to drive to Khao Yai with almost no traffic on the road.

Finding Birds
John had been birding a few times in Thailand before so we didn’t need to spend lots of time looking at all the bulbuls, drongos and other common birds that slow down the hunt for the difficult species such as pittas. This was quite interesting for me as it gave me the chance to track down some interesting birds: it is very hard to justify spending hours searching for hard-to-find species with visitors who can easily rack up 20-30 ticks in the same time due to the fact that they have never been to Thailand before - and I mostly go birding with people in this category.

Over the course of 3 days, John and I spent considerable time stalking along forest trails and sitting at stakeouts waiting for key birds. Frustratingly, we struggled to get good views of a number of our target species although we did get excellent, if fairly brief, views of Blue Pitta on the trail from Pa Gluai Mai campsite and Haew Suwat waterfall. We did also get excellent views of some other tricky forest interior species such as Red-headed Trogon, Orange-breasted Trogon and Silver-breasted Broadbill as well as all too brief glimpses of a number of other Blue Pittas, a very nervous Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo and a Siamese Fireback Pheasant that ran away before giving us a proper chance to see it.

The Highlights
Over the 3 days a number of birds stood out as highlights. These included White-crowned Forktail, Slaty-backed Forktail, Rufous Woodpecker, Orange-breasted Trogon, Great Eared Nightjar, Grey Nightjar, Large-tailed Nightjar, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Red-headed Trogon, White-crested Laughingthrush, Great Hornbill and Wreathed Hornbill.

Silver-breasted Broadbill by Alex Vargas

The Stakeout
The stakeout behind the toilets at Pa Gluai Mai campsite is well-known for attracting a variety of species including the very hard-to-find Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo. Unfortunately for us this species was not performing well and there was no sign of it at all on 5 long visits to the stakeout. On our 6th visit I saw it dash away into the undergrowth!

However, there were still an impressive assortment of smaller birds visiting the stakeout and we got very vlose-up views of a lot of them. The species we saw at the stakeout included Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Puff-throated Babbler, Abbott’s Babbler, Siberian Blue Robin, Plain-tailed Warbler, Radde’s Warbler, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, White-rumped Shama, Blue Pitta, Red Junglefowl and Orange-headed Thrush.

Silver-breasted Broadbill by Alex Vargas

All in all we had a great trip to Khao Yai, although the temperature was much colder than either of us had anticiapted with the temperature reading 10C at park HQ early in the morning. Even outside the park it was cold at night and I had to ask for extra blankets at our accommodation.

Thailand Birding: Greater Flamingo

2009-01-12T01:41:00.000-08:00

Whilst Greater Flamingo is not on the Thai checklist of birds, it is a species frequently seen in the wild by many birders here. The reason for this is that a Greater Flamingo which has been resident in the Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale region for a number of years now is in fact an escaped bird.

The above photograph was taken on mudflats at Pak Thale on 20th December, 2008 by Esa Keikka.

When this bird first turned up in the area in the early 2000s it was thought by many to be a genuine vagrant. However, when I went to the area with Phil Round we could clearly see that all the secondary feathers growing back in a straight line, indicating that at some point they had been cut and that the bird had escaped from a waterbird collection.

I get many reports of this bird from birders excited to find a new species for Thailand and whilst I have to inform them that it is an escape, it is still a beautiful bird to see.

Scarlet Pimpernel

2007-07-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

They seek him here

They seek him there

Those Frenches seek him everywhere

Is he in Heaven?

Or is he in Hell?

That demned illusive Pimpernel.

Odds fish m'dear!

Flamborough Head

2007-07-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I suddenly realised that I hadn't seen any seabirds this year and as Flamborough is just 40 minutes away I drove there whilst the weather was acceptable. I didn't see anything unexpected but it was nice to watch large numbers of Kittiwakes, Gannets, Puffins, Razorbills and Guillemots go about their business.

Lots of Gannets were flying past, both north and south with quite a number of juveniles amongst the flocks. Kittiwakes were the most numerous with better numbers of juveniles fledging than in the previous few years when the breeding season was a massive failure. Below is a picture of Kittiwakes nesting on one of the cliffs.

Whilst watching these a single Fulmar flew past as did a pair of noisy Sandwich Terns. Good numbers of House Martins and Swifts were feeding in the air and a couple of Skylarks were in aerial song. On the rocks below the cliffs were large numbers of gulls; Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and a single Black-headed Gull along with a few Oystercatchers and a lone Redshank.

I took a walk around some of the farmland adjacent to the cliffs where I came across a Pied Wagtail, a Wren, a male Reed Bunting, 2 Meadow Pipits and a Coot on a farm pond. This farmland is being managed for wildlife and there were loads of nice flowers in the field margins including piles of Kidney Vetch, pictured below.

Blea Tarn and Eskdale

2007-07-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

With another huge fried breakfast inside me I headed uphill from Boot village towards Blea Tarn. The by now customary Yellowhammers, Willow Warblers, Wrens and Chaffinches were joined by plenty of Robins, including a number of juveniles, and a family party of Great Tits.

Once upon the ridgetop a Raven flew over doing its best demonstration of its "graak, graak" call and a Kestrel was hunting over some very boggy land. Somehow I got a bit lost amongst the crags and bogs, which is strange as this is exactly what happened to my dad and I when we came up here 27 years ago - he carried me across the bogs - this time I had to manage on my own getting very wet feet in the process. I found Blea Tarn and nearby Stiny Tarn where a Reed Bunting was busy calling - a quite unexpected species here. The view across the valley to Harter Fell, where I was yesterday was quite good and foretold the rain that was to come later.

Harter Fell

I walked across the moors where some old druid circles exist and some farmers were using sheepdogs to round up sheep before heading downhill. The path down was full of birds with 5 Tree Pipits, 2 juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a male Blackcap, a Whitethroat and many more common species.
Back down in the valley I walked down to the River Eske and along through the woods. Whilst walking across some fields I came across some juvenile Swallows being fed by their parents and allowing me to approach very closely: a nearby sheep seemed very interested in the whole episode too!

The woodlands were once again alive with species; Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Spotted Flycatcher, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Song Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker and a pair of Jays. The river Eske here is very beautiful, I remember having picnics here when I was small but today a Grey Wagtail was picnicking on insects. Heading back to the car the rain began to fall quite heavily so I drove to the coastal village of Ravenglass.

A ridiculously long walk

2007-07-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

After a large cooked breakfast I headed up Eskedale through some beautiful, mossy woodland - immediately, a Spotted Flycatcher showed itself, perching on a fence post. On closer inspection there was a whole family of Spotted Flycatchers, noisly flitting about with the young begging for food. The flycatchers were just part of a feeding flock of birds with a juvenile Redstart, 2 Song Thrushes, 5 Coal Tits and a family of both Great and Blue Tits. A little further along the woodland took on the appearance of something from Lord of the Rings with mossy boulders and twisted trees everywhere. A pair of Treecreepers were feeding on the trees and a couple more Song Thrushes were hunting for food.

At about 10 am some cloud came in and it began to rain which made me think that I was in for a very wet day. Whilst the rain was at its hardest I messed around with my camera and took some photos. I got this one of a tree.

When the rain eased off I strolled along stopping often to watch the birds; a Garden Warbler, some more Spotted Flycatchers and a Nuthatch were interesting as was a close up view of a calling Buzzard. In a small plantation of conifers a male Siskin briefly came into view before flying across the valley.

By the time I reached the bottom of Hardknott Pass the rain had stopped so I headed further up the valley stopping to watch a Grey Wagtail in a stream and to take in more birds amongst the open oak woodland. Two more Garden Warblers were feeding, Chaffinches, a Mistle Thrush and yet more Spotted Flycatchers. The abundance of this species was nice to see. When I was in my early teens, Spotted Flycatchers were so common back home that I would hardly stop to look at them, now they are mostly gone, but it was nice to see them so common here - if only British woodlands were always this good.

Heading up the valley I gained height quickly and the bird species began to change with Meadow Pipit, Wheatear, Yellowhammer and a juvenile Whinchat all present. In the river a Grey Wagtail was busy feeding 2 very recently fledged chicks below a small waterfall. As one goes further up Eskedale the birds thin out, but the views become spectacular with waterfalls and high mountains all around.

The only problem is that getting to all this great scenery involves hiking up loads of steep and wet trails, by this time my feet were already soaked so that I was just taking the shortest route to where I wanted to go, whether that was straight through a bog or not. I had to spare a thought for an old friend of mine who used to accompany me on hiking trips in the past. I was very fit at the time and used to leap up the mountains while he huffed and puffed away; now that I am not quite so fit I have some idea of how he felt. Bogs and steep climbs aside there was still some time to stop and look at the birds with a pair of Ravens calling from some crags and a male Stonechat amongst the bracken.

Once at the top of my climb, the valley opened out into one of the most spectacular views in England. Here the valley is wide and boggy, with a rocky stream through the middle and high mountains all around, like an ampitheatre. This was a good place to have lunch and an even better place for those wishing to overdose on Meadow Pipits, although anyone wishing for more than fabulous views and Meadow Pipits should stay away! Below are a few pictures from my lunch spot, but they hardly do the area justice.

Afterwards I headed towards Moasdale in order to descend and on my way to the pass into this valley I came across a Skylark, which I usually think of as a bird of the lowlands but I guess there is plenty of habitat for it up there, and a distant flock of 15 Ravens swooping around a mountain top. The treck down Moasdale was pretty rough with no real track so it was a case of slogging through more bogs, although it was very pretty. Finally, with the sun now out and very hot, I reached the eastern side of Hardknott Pass and stopped a while to watch the cars going up and down this crazy road. It can be very exciting driving up this pass, or scary, depending on your point of view: here's a picture of it.

Hardknott Pass

From here I made the dubious decision to head down the Duddon valley instead of heading over Hardknott Pass. Fortunately the birds began to become more abundant and varied with a male Redpoll landing on a fence in front of me, a Grey Heron fishing in the River Duddon, a pair of Buzzards mewing on a crag, many Swallows, 4 Wheatears, a party of Long-tailed Tits and 5 Carrion Crows feeding on a dead sheep in the river. The valley is very beautiful and the boggy meadows were full of yellow Bog Asphodel and pink Heath Spotted Orchid.

Heath Spotted Orchid

By this time I was very tired and not relishing the very long walk around Harter Fell to get back to Wha House Farm and a shower, so I decided to take the more direct route via the summit of Harter Fell, which in hindsight wasn't the best choice I've ever made. The trail was hopeless and I had to constantly consult the map and try and work out where I should be heading. Somehow I made it to the right place, but not before making several stops to admire the fantastic views of the mountains in the sunshine. I have been up here many times but somehow I am still mesmerised by the scenery. By this time I was so knackered that the birds could be damned - particularly the, by now, quite tiresome Meadow Pipits and Wheatears. Although a Buzzard being chased by a Raven was quite good. The view from the summit was great, particularly the view down upon Hardknott Fort, an old Roman encampment. From this height all the rooms of the fort could quite clearly be seen.

Hardknott Fort

The descent back to the farm was torture, I thought my knees were going to explode, and by this time a dodo could have turned up and I wouldn't have been interested. However, after a shower, some food and a pint of Sneck Lifter I managed to rummage up the enthusiasm to watch a Black-headed Gull catching insects over a hay meadow that was in the process of being cut.

Eel Tarn and Burnmoor Tarn

2007-07-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to go to the Lake District National Park for a few days, despite the weather forecast being for rather poor weather. The national park took me about 3 hours to get to, but the journey took another hour as I was heading for the western lakes, probably the most spectacular part.

I headed into Eskedale and found a B&B at the foot of Hardknott Pass, a place called Wha House Farm. It was a nice place to stay with lovely views and the lady running it was very friendly. The weather forecast was wrong, with fairly good weather, just a little cloud and only on the highest mountains, so I went off for a walk at about 3.45pm. Starting at the Woolpack Inn, I headed uphill to Eel Tarn. A number of birds were easily seen with a Greenfinch at the pub and a Willow Warbler in the trees just behind. A small conifer plantation behind the Woolpack Inn provided the launching point for 2 male Redpolls to perform their song flight. Unexpectedly, the bracken covered hillside was full of Yellowhammers in song, the dark colour of the bracken providing a perfect contrast for the vivid colour of the male Yellowhammers.

After a short climb I reached Eel Tarn, a very pretty spot with views of Harter Fell in one direction and Scafell Pike in another. A pair of Ravens flew overhead and on the tarn itself were two Mallard and a Little Grebe; both seemed a little out of place up here.

Eel Tarn and Harter Fell

It felt a bit strange to be up there again as the last time I visited Eel Tarn was 27 years ago when I was just 7 years old. My father used to take me for walks up there whilst my mother was getting ready to go out on our family holidays to a farm in Eskedale; needless to say the views are as good as ever although it was sad that my father is no longer here to join me on this walk.

With plenty of time before darkness I decided to walk further along to Burnmoor Tarn, another place I last visited as a child with my dad. The walk provided great views of nearby Scafell Pike as the clouds cleared to reveal the summit, although the footpath was soaked and lost amongst Sphagnum Moss and Bog Asphodel. Just as I was thinking that I should have seen more birds, a male Whinchat began calling from nearby bracken. It gave me good views for quite some time. Also showing themselves were a Wren and a Kestrel.

After sinking up to my knees in mud I reached a lonely Burnmoor Tarn where a strange hunting lodge is situated. On the lake were a pair of Great Crested Grebes and two pairs of Wheatears with young noisily feeding and fighting. The only tree for miles around is located next to the lodge and a Tree Pipit had managed to find it; funny how easy this is to seperate from Meadow Pipit when the two are seen close to each other - up here it is a Meadow Pipit heaven.

On the way back down into the valley I saw some more Whinchats before walking through some woodland where I saw a number of species: Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Coal Tit and a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker. I walked back to the Woolpack Inn along the valley, through more woodland and farmyards and just before getting back to the car a Grey Heron flew out of a small stream and a Common Buzzard flew overhead.

Then off to the George the Fourth pub for chicken and leek pie which by that time was urgently needed.

The Flooding continues at Eske

2007-07-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I walked up to the lake at Eske, but very little about apart from a pair of Grey Partridges on the walk up. The water level of the River Hull has hardly gone down at all since the flooding a few weeks back and many fields are still so far under water that flocks of Black-headed Gulls, Common Gulls and Greylag Geese have taken to them. To see a Great Crested Grebe and Tufted Ducks swimming around on a pea field is rather bizarre, but they seem to have taken to it along with Lapwings, Oystercatchers and a Cormorant.

On the lake were about 20 Mallard in eclipse plumage, a few Tufted Ducks and 2 male Pochard. One Reed Warbler was still singing and a Common Tern was hunting over the lake but very little else. On the way back to the car I saw a Yellowhammer, a group of Linnets and a few Swifts and Swallows. Not one of the most memorable birding trips.

Rainham Marsh

2007-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

On my way back home to Beverley I decided to take a look at the RSPB's new reserve at Ranham in East London after reading about it in May's edition of Birds; the fact that a Spoonbil had been hanging around there for a few days helped sway the decision.

I assumed (wrongly) that the reserve would be signposted from the A13 which is rather daft as although the reserve is known as Rainham marsh, the entrance is on the edge of Purfleet, Essex.

The reserve has a good car park and a visitor centre that blends in with the industrial landscape and employs a huge amount of security features including drawbridges!!!!

From the visitor centre there are good views over the marsh, and although it was mostly dry, one can see that in winter, when flooded, it will be extremely attractive to wintering birds. On the 2.5 mile circuit I saw a few nice birds, but things were rather quiet. 5 Little Egrets were present along with at least 15 Grey Herons. The Spoonbill was easily found with a group of herons but the only waterbirds present were 5 Little Grebes, numerous Coots with young, a few Moorhens and about 12 Canada Geese.

A damp scrape held about 12 Lapwings, a few Black-headed Gulls and 7 Ringed Plovers and a number of Skylarks were singing in the warm sunshine.

Other birds seen included Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Pied Wagtail, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Greenfinch along with some other common species such as Magpie and Collared Dove.

Nice to see Spoonbill, but otherwise a trip to the reserve in winter or spring is needed to see it at its best.

Dartford Marshes

2007-07-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Dartford marshes for a couple of years now; quite frankly, that is because it isn't that great a place and when I'm home I usually visit other sites; however, I decided to take a look today to see what was about.

Dartford marsh is not much of a marsh really, just a bunch of fields and rough land, but an open area of land in what is becoming an increasingly developed corridor along the River Thames which can sometimes turn up some interesting species. I drove as far towards the river wall as is possible and parked. I walked just a few metres when a Corn Bunting landed on a fence post and began to call. He was a real monster of a Corn Bunting and not at all shy allowing me to approach to about 3 metres. I watched him for about 10 minutes as he called across an area of ryegrass cultivated for a local model airplane club. The few times I flushed him, he immediately returned to the same place, indicating that this was his selected territory. at no time did I see any female or any other calling males. However, I didn't walk around the whole area so they may have been other birds around, although the sun was out, ideal weather for calling Corn Buntings, and search as I might, I couldn't detect any other Corn Buntings.

Further along a Reed Bunting was singing from a reedy ditch along with some Reed and Sedge Warblers and numerous Skylarks were singing away as was a lone Meadow Pipit.

At the river a number of gulls were loafing around; a few Great Black-backed, about 10 Lesser Black-backed, 3 Herring Gulls and lots of Black-headed Gulls including a few of this year's juveniles, but most interesting were two first year Yellow-legged Gulls - Dartford Marsh is a pretty reliable site for this species. A Common Sandpiper flushed from the river bank and headed towards Essex. Further along 3 more Common Sandpipers were feeding and a family of Linnets were feeding on weed seeds.

I walked along to Littlebrook power station to look for Black Redstarts that used to nest there but found only House Martins, Starlings, Pied Wagtails and Cormorants.

By this time I was getting hot and was late for lunch with my grandparents so I hurried back to the car seeing a Green Woodpecker and a Whitethroat on the way.

Littlebrook Power Station and Queen Elizabeth 2 Bridge, Dartford Marsh

First Dartford Warbler for quite some time!

2007-07-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

I really fancied going to the New Forest in search of dartford Warblers but the weather forecast for that region was terrible. However, the weather at Ashdown Forest was supposed to be a little better so I hoped to find my target there.

On arrival I got soaked! The rain was a persistent mist and I searched pretty much vainly for birds, although I did find a Whitethroat, some Coal Tits and a Treecreeper, always a nice bird. The habitat was very nice though with gorse, bracken and open woodland, mainly Scots Pine and Oak.

Eventually the rain began to ease off and the birds came out with a pair of Stonechats providing some welcome colour to a grey day. Soon, though, plenty more species were around with a couple of Yellowhammers, Linnets, some singing Goldcrests, Blue Tits, Great Tits and a Green Woodpecker. With the weather improving I had a chance to take a couple of photos of some Bog Ashpodel in habitat that was put me more in mind of northern Britain rather than a location just 20 minutes from Gatwick airport!

Bog Asphodel

I took an early lunch in the car and headed to a second part of the forest with lots of open heathland. I had a lovely walk in the sunshine! It didn't take long before I came across a pair of Woodlarks which foraged around on the ground, giving me excellent views before they flew off. A little further along a family of Long-tailed Tits were feeding in trees and a distant Tree Pipit was in song. However, a suden influx of Meadow Pipits, a couple of Woodlarks a number of Skylarks and another Tree Pipit, all in flight at the same time, but not singing, gave me a real identification headache.

Moving down a valley into some woodland another Green Woodpecker flew off, uttering its ridiculous laugh and a whole load of other common species were in evidence including a distant, but noisy Whitethroat.

It is also worth mentioning how common Stonechat was on the heathland around here. I lost count of how many I saw, with lots of juveniles being fed by their parents. Still, by now I was getting a bit frustrated at not seeing any Dartford Warblers, but just as I was taking a break I heard some raucous chirpring coming from a gorse bush. After several minutes of searching I found 2 very young juvenile Dartford Warblers - seperable from Whitethroat by the dark upperparts. However, this was not really as good as getting the adult.

Just a few hundred metres further along I stopped to watch some Linnets, another Tree Pipit and countless Stonechats and Skylarks when suddenly an adult Dartford Warbler flew straight at me and landed in some nearby gorse. What a view! I watched this female for ages as it hunted for food and saw it very clearly catch a small green caterpillar and eat it. Here is a fairly poor record shot of the bird.

Dartford Warbler

Dartford Warbler is a special bird for me as it is what got me interested in bird watching. I remember seeing one with my dad on some cliffs in Cornwall when I was just 7 years old. I couldn't believe that dartford (where I come from) had its own bird - I thought that was brilliant and was good enough to make me buy my first pair of binoculars the next day. Dartford Warbler is probably still my favourite bird of all, maybe one day it will find its way back to what is left of Dartford Heath.

Plenty more birds on the way back to the car including 7 flyover Herring Gulls, a Willow Warbler, a couple of Blackcaps and a whole load of Swifts as well as a monster Mistle Thrush.

Searching for Corn Buntings

2007-07-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I went for a stroll to chceck out the Corn Bunting population near my mother's home in Hawley, near Dartford. Most of the oilseed rape had already been harvested, leaving just a few fields of wheat standing. I saw a few Skylarks and Linnets but no buntings; quite unusual.

A few other birds were around: Swift, Swallow, Wood Pigeon and a singing Whitethroat, but it wasn't until the last field that I saw a Corn Bunting, followed by another and another....
I counted 22 all in just about 1 hectare of land. Many were juveniles with just 3 calling males. Strangely these were the only Corn Buntings I saw. I hope that this isn't all that is left otherwise theyare in trouble here. I think more likely that most of the population is already lying low, moulting after completing breeding quite early.

Not much else on the way back, just Magpie, Carrion Crow and Stock Dove, but that is expected - Corn Buntings are the only real speciality of these arable fields.

Darenth Valley, 11th July 2007

2007-07-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Home for a few days, visiting my family so I decided to make the most of the time with a walk along my old local patch along the Darenth Valley near Dartford in Kent. I walked the section between Hawley and Sutton-at-Hone which includes gravel pits, alder woodland, hay fields, pasture and watercress beds. Over a period of about 25 years I have seen a surprising number of species along here - 109 at the last count. Mind you I didn't really expect to add to that on this walk.

Not a huge amount around, due to both the time of year and the time of day of the walk, but a few nice birds were seen. The local Ring-necked Parakeet population continues to grow with at least four pairs with young seen; 10 years ago this species hadn't made it this far out of London, but now they are ever increasing in number. A few warblers continue to sing with a couple of Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat and a number of common birds such as Linnet, Greenfinch, Blue Tit and Great Tit.

Whilst searching for more Parakeets I noticed a sub adult Grey Heron sitting on a wall. a common species but one I always like to see; it has been one of my favourites since I was a kid.

The lakes held almost nothing with just a couple of Mallard, two Tufted Ducks, a bunch of Greylag Geese and plenty of Coots with young. Just a single Moorhen and 2 Black-headed Gulls.
The watercress beds were very quiet too, but at least there was a Kingfisher present. This spot is much better in winter when it is a reliable location for Green Sandpiper; however, it is one of the prettiest spots along this section of the valley and a place that holds a lot of memories for me. The most amazing was in a very hard winter in 1985 or 86 or maybe 87 (I must be getting old, I can't remember) when a Bittern flushed out of the cress bed only a few feet in front of myself and my father. The water comes out of a spring and in winter is often the only unfrozen water for miles around.

Not much else was seen, Swallow, House Martin and Swift, and a few Stock Doves along with the more common species. On my way back I came across a number of wild plum trees and helped myself to the ripe fruit. Whilst munching these I noticed a badger sett in the hedgerow - this was confirmed by a number of black and white, wiry hairs in the sett entrance.

Finally, something worth mentioning

2007-07-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

Weeks of dismal weather has meant that I have not been out too often, and when I have been out there has been little of interest. However, last monday I got out for a walk up to Eske. The flooding from the rain the previous monday was still very bad and much of the surrounding farmland was still under a few feet of water, turning the whole place into a massive wetland.

At the polo club a group of Tufted Ducks were swimming on what should have been the pitch and a large number of gulls were resting on it: 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 12 Herring Gulls, 5 Common Gulls and 10 unidentifed sub-adult Herring/Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Also present were a pair of Oystercatchers.

Large numbers of House Martins. Swallows and Swifts were feeding over the water and a female Kestrel was hunting over what little dry land remained.

On the lake, about 40 Mallard were reaching eclipse plumage and a apir of Shoveler were resting along with the male Wigeon and female Goldeneye. All the Great Crested Grebes were swimming around aimlessly as if wondering what had happened to their nests.

Further along the river 8 Grey Herons were hunting amongst flooded oilseed rape and 3 Cormorants, 24 Greylag Geese, 7 Mute Swans and a Great-crested Grebe were making use of a flooded barley field, whilst a pair of Marsh Harriers hunted over it.

On the way back I spotted large numbers of Bee orchids just finishing flowering and about 40 spikes of Pyramidal Orchid. A few Common Spotted Orchid were flowering too. Most interesting was a Common Sandpiper on the River Hull on the way back. Perhaps some waders are already making the return journey southwards?

Summer Weather

2007-06-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

It was impossible to resist a walk in such sunny and calm weather yesterday afternoon so I headed along the River Hull to Eske. The sounds of summer didn't disappoint; Skylarks, Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits in song and the screeching of passing Swifts.

At the lake I decide to just sit and wait for the birds to turn up. Male Wigeon and female Goldeneyes both still present - it really doesn't look like they are going anywhere now. The pair of Oystercatchers are still tending their almost fully grown chick and a family of Pied Wagtails were feeding at the water's edge. Three Little Ringed Plovers were present and it appears that one is sitting on eggs -they are very difficult to see on the stony "beach" that is revealed when the water is low. As I stood chatting to another birder a number of Black-headed Gulls settled on a small island and were joined by a sub-adult Little Gull. A soaring male Marsh Harrier, a Kingfisher and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker all put in an appearance too.

Walking a little further north a male Yellow Wagtail perched on the same fence post as I photographed it upon about a month ago and a Hobby was hunting along the river.

Unfortunately I had to dash back to the car in order to collect my wife from work, cutting short this most productive trip.

Swinemoor and crap weather

2007-05-30T01:19:00.000-07:00

A truly miserable walk in cold wind and rain produced predictably few species yesterday morning. Just 12 Lapwings, 2 Redshank, 4 Snipe and a single Little Ringed Plover. Plenty of Swifts and Swallows arond but very little else.

Saturday 26th May - Eske

2007-05-30T01:14:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went for a short walk up to Eske with my wife. The weather was quite nice but we spent most of the time nattering so the number of birds I saw was limited. The usual species were seen, but most notable were two Hobbies hunting at the northern end of the lake. Both birds were catching and "dehusking" insects on the wing before eating them. They also spent time resting in the branches of some dead trees.

On the lake the female Goldeneye was still present and a apir of Canada Geese were swimming around with their new family. Their nest must have been well hidden because I have only seen one Canada Goose for ages now. As we were leaving a Cuckoo flew into the trees and began calling.

On the fields a little south of the lake the Egyptian Goose was still present, grazing amongst the cows.

Eske 25th May

2007-05-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday the weather was really sunny so I went for another stroll up to Eske. Most of the usual species were easily seen with lots of Swifts swooping around and Skylarks singing. However, the grass was being cut for silage in a field to the east of the path; any Skylarks or Meadow Pipits nesting there were out of luck!

Scanning the farms to the west revealed monday's Egyptian Goose grazing in some set aside where some Lapwing chicks were also feeding along with large numbers of Starlings bathing in what little water remained.

Up at the lake a strange double honk drew my attention to a group of Swans and to my amazement I spotted a Bewick's Swan displaying to a pair of Mute Swans. Watching this bird revealed that it was very confused as it displayed to families of Greylag Geese and then tried to grab the goslings. Another pair of Mute Swans landed in the lake and the Bewick's Swan flew over to them and attempted to mate with the female bird! Unfortunately, I had taken a very grainy photo of the Bewick's when I first saw it and drained the last vestiges of power from the batteries of my camera, so wasn't able to video this bizarre behaviour, even though it was all very close.

At the north end of the lake 2 Cuckoos were calling from dead trees, occasionally being mobbed by Sedge and Reed Warblers. Walking around the lake also revealed the Terrapin resting on a log, a Slow Worm and my first Common Blue butterflies of the year along with lots of Orange Tips and Wall Browns.

The only other birds of note were the female Goldeneye (no sign of the Wigeon though) and a family of Chaffinches with 3 fledged chicks. On my way back the Egyptian Goose was swimming around in the River Hull only about 20 feet away from me, but as I stood chatting with a farmer it flew away onto some pasture where it joined some cattle grazing.

Eske and Leven Canal

2007-05-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

With the weather fine and calm it seemed a good day to go for a long walk along the River Hull. I wandered up to the lake at Eske. On the way up a pair of Mistle Thrushes were hunting on the polo club and Reed Buntings were calling from the reeds. The sunshine brought out the Skylarks, with three or four in song, along with a Meadow Pipit or two. I stopped to have a look at a wet pool in some set aside where a number of Lapwings were lurking and at least two chicks were feeding; a male Shoveler was also resting there, but stirred and flew off north as I was watching. Another migrant put in an appearance as I was watching these birds; a Common Sandpiper flying north along the river made a short landing on a lump of floating debris before continuing north.

A local farmer has put his cows out on the flood defences of the river and they look quite nice until they panic as walkers approach and then they stampede.

.

With the fine weather one of the Little Owls was sitting outside its roosting hole, but this time it was asleep and didn't seem to be watching me this time.

On the lake the usual birds were present; Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Great-crested Grebe, Greylag Goose, a single Canada Goose, 2 Shelduck and one Gadwall. Two Oystercatchers are still present as are the male Wigeon and female Goldeneye.

Warblers were much in evidence today with many Willow Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat easily seen and a few Sedge Warblers and a Reed Warbler noisily "singing".

Walking past the lake towards the Leven canal a distant Cuckoo was calling and as I was looking at a group of Mute Swans a large ducklike bird flew north. After looking at it through my binoculars it was obviously an Egyptian Goose! I watched it fly north, almost out of sight, but then it did a u-turn and returned back south, giving me a second chance to see it properly.

A number of Linnets and Goldfinches were feeding in some weeds and as I was watching these a Common Sandpiper flew north along the river. Presumably it was the same one as earlier, and this time it attempted to land on a Mallard's head!

Walking along the Leven canal revealed impressive numbers of both Sedge and Reed Warblers, so many that it was easy to get good views of these sometimes tricky to see species. Suddenly, a long overdue Garden Warbler came into song and very obligingly showed itself. A male Blackcap was showing off too and a couple of Whitethroats were also in song as were a few Chiffchaffs. Strangely there don't seem to be many of this species around up and down the Hull valley, but there were at least three along the canal.

Also along the canal two encounters with Slow Worms made me jump; the first one I saw was about 1 metre long. A Kingfisher made one of those typical photogenic poses on a sign saying no fishing!

The return journey revealed a female Mute Swan building a nest; I took a few photos and a video clip of this - here is one of the pictures.

Back at the River Hull a distant Cuckoo made itself seen as some small songbirds mobbed it. It didn't move far before resuming its call. A little further down the river a second Cuckoo came into view and performed some surprisingly acrobatic moves as it caught some flies. Immediately after this, a Barn Owl appeared almost at my feet, just a few yards away and below the flood defences I was walking on.

Back on the lake another migrant had turned up; a pair of Common Terns, with the male catching fish and offering them to the female. Last year a pair successfully raised two chicks and it looks like they will attempt to do so again. Another arrival to the lake was an immature Cormorant.

Yet another migrant was a pair of Yellow Wagtails, calling and perching on barbed wire. They didn't seem too concerned with me and I managed to take a couple of reasonable photos.

With my stomach complaining at this point I marched back to the car with just a few Swifts, Swallows and a flock of House Martins of note, although large numbers of juvenile Starlings were everywhere!

Strong Winds

2007-05-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Out in the open on Swinemoor the wind made it quite difficult to stand still. However, hiding behind a bush I was able to watch 2 Shelduck, 2 Redshank, a Snipe drumming and a number of Lapwings, two of which seemed to have a single chick each. There may well have been more, but the long grass obscures them from view.

Two of the Little Ringed Plovers have returned after disappearing for a while and a single Wheatear was also foraging close by. Plenty of Swifts were hawking around and a group of House Martins seemed to move through. A Sand Martin was also present along with many Swallows. Whilst standing chatting to a friend a Common Gull and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls passed south and a Kingfisher was flying up and down the Beverley-Barmston drain.

Also in the Beverley-Barmston drain were two calling Marsh Frogs. One of these was quite easy to spot and I got some very bad pictures due to the wind blowing me around. The best photo is below; at least you can see what it is.

Further along the Hull valley at Eske the wind was even stronger and made it very difficult to find any birds at all. The two Oystercatchers were still busy chasing away Carrion Crows and two Shelduck flew in. Plenty of Tufted Ducks and Mallard around and a single male Gadwall, but the male Wigeon is still lurking around as is the female Goldeneye - maybe they are injured and can't migrate. The only notable passerine was a single Lesser Whitethroat. By now their are large groups of Greylag Geese with young on the lake, but despite there being at least 4 pairs of Great-crested Grebes there seem to be no young.

Lapwing Chick

2007-05-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

I went back to Swinemoor this morning to see if the Wood Sandpipers were still present. It seems that the calm weather gave them the opportunity to leave! However, amongst the grass a single Lapwing chick was lurking; the first I've seen this year. The Lapwings on Swinemoor always seem to raise a few chicks despite the problems they face with trampling from horses, fluctuating water levels, dogs and marauding crows.

Plenty of adult Lapwings were on the common today, along with 2 Shelduck, 3 Redshank and a Dunlin in breeding plumage. On the river Hull a Sedge Warbler was singing along with a large number of Reed Warblers, one of which was unusually easy to see. Other migrants were large numbers of Swifts and Swallows, Willow Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats and a distant Cuckoo.

I managed to find the orchid I was told about, but some idiot seems to have picked three of the four stems, leaving just a single flower. It seems like a Green-winged Orchid Orchis morio to me, but I'm not sure.

Rainy Swinemoor

2007-05-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to investigate a report of Wood Sandpiper from yesterday morning at Swinemoor. Unfortunately the weather was quite rainy, but this rain, over the last few days, has topped up the water levels at Swinemoor quite nicely. What had been reduced to a few small puddles has once again returned to a generously flooded area with patches of open water, shallow margins and damp grassland.

The birds seem to prefer it this way!

Lots of Mallard and 4 Gadwall were feeding in the pools, along with 3 Shelduck. Lapwing numbers seem to have risen again to about 20 and 2 male Snipe were busy drumming away. Scanning across the common, I spotted a Greenshank and almost immediately after a Wood Sandpiper flew a short distance. I decided to walk around the common to get a closer look and at the stone bridge that crosses the Beverley-Barmston drain a Common Sandpiper was feeding!

Plenty of other birds around, with large numbers of Swallows and House Martins swooping around the feet of a group of horses. I was able to get right amongst these horses and the birds continued to swoop around their feet and mine.

Once on the river Hull flood defences I was able to get a better look at the waders and immediately saw a second Wood Sandpiper! A fight between a couple of Lapwings and a Carrion Crow scared the Greenshank away, which flew north. I flushed a couple of Redshank out of the grass and I watched one land in another pool. It landed next to another wader and began to chase it around; it really wasn't too happy about the company it was keeping. This other wader turned out to be another Wood Sandpiper! I couldn't imagine that it was another bird so I had a look at where the previous two were and they were still sitting in the same places as before. So, three Wood Sandpipers!

Looking back through my records I saw a single Wood Sandpiper on Swinemoor on the 20th May 2006 and 2 on the 15th May 2005. Obviously this is a regular stopping off point on their migratory route.

A terrapin in the sun

2007-05-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning (12/05/07) I went looking for a marsh orchid that had been found by a friend last week. No matter how long I searched for it, I couldn't find the damned thing! Despite wind and some rain, I did manage to see a few birds. Three Little Ringed Plovers were easily seen as they were chasing each other about and 3 Redshank are still hanging on in what little water remains. Low numbers of Lapwings are still present too, but I think most of the nests have failed by now.

5 Shelduck were rather fidgety, constantly flying around, landing for a few seconds and then flying around again, and an Oystercatcher came to join them in this activity. A nice surprise was a female Wheatear and a male Yellow Wagtail and as I left, a group of House Martins were swept in, in advance of a rain cloud.

I continued along the river Hull to Eske where, after some rain, the sun came out. Although the water level was low, the only waders around were the pair of noisy Oystercatchers, still busily chasing Carrion Crows away from their nest. On the lake 6 Wigeon were present for only a short time, but the lone male Wigeon that has been hanging around remained after the other 6 departed. The female Goldeneye is also still present. Other ducks were Mallard, Tufted Duck and Gadwall. Two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls seem to have made this place their home for the last few weeks and today they were still present, feeding and resting. Nothing much else of note around, the usual warblers, finches etc, but a Great Spotted Woodpecker put in a brief appearance.

The most interesting sighting today wasn't a bird at all, but a Terrapin basking on some dead wood in a small sheltered pool. I saw this one, about a year ago in the same place, but this time I had my camera with me and got a reasonable photo

This terrapin is quite big, about a foot long, and no doubt was once someone's pet Ninja Turtle before it got too big. Plenty of Wall Brown butterflies were to be seen, they'd obviously all just emerged and I got a photo of one of these too.

A grey seal at Eske!

2007-05-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

A brief visit to Swinemoor yesterday revealed that the 2 Little Ringed Plovers were still present, along with 3 Redshank, 2 Oystercatchers and about 10 Lapwings, as well as 2 Shelduck. Lots of Pied Wagtails were present too, but there is now very little water left.

Continuing along the river to Eske windy weather meant that very few birds were present. However, the most amazing sighting was of an adult grey seal in the river Hull, about 1km north of Tickton. It seemed quite distressed, spending much time submerged and when it resurfaced it took three or four deep breaths before submerging again. This location is far inland and to get this far the seal would have had to pass through Hull city centre.

At the lake a rain cloud brought in a number of migrants; a huge cloud of Swifts, House Martins, Swallows and Sand Martins arrived before the rain and stayed after it had gone. Other migrants that blew in were a single Dunlin in breeding plumage, 2 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Tern and a Little Ringed Plover. The resident Oystercatchers were noisily chasing geese around and the lone Canada Goose was still incubating its eggs.

In the lake the normal residents were present along with a male Wigeon and a female Goldeneye both still reluctant to migrate and 2 adult Lesser Balck-backed Gulls. The strength of the wind meant that it was difficult to see many small passerines, although Blackcaps and Willow warblers were in full song. A male Yellow Wagtail continues to frequent the lake shore.

Finally, a Little Gull at Eske

2007-05-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

Considering the close proximity of Hornsea Mere which can get huge numbers of Little Gulls, particularly in Autumn, it is something of a surprise that I haven't seen at least one at Eske before. Well, today as soon as I got up to the lake I saw my first Little Gull for the area, just flying around over the lake dippinginto the water now and again. After a while it began to circle, gaining height until it disappeared.

On the way up to the lake plenty of birds were about. The air was very still, perfect weather for clouds of insects and the birds that feed on them. Hundreds of Starlings were feeding on the mown grass of the Beverley Polo Club as was a pair of Oystercatchers and plenty of Rooks. The clouds of insects obviously appealed to the Swifts as a large group were swooping around at low altitude screaming and gobbling up flies.

Further up a male Yellowhammer was calling from a flowering hawthorn tree, its bright yellow against the green and white of the tree was quite a beautiful sight. Checking out the owl tree revealed a single Little Owl staring back at me, sitting in exactly the same place as a few days ago.

5 pairs of Great-crested Grebes were noisily growling at each other on the lake. 5 Coots, 3 Moorhens, a few Greylag Geese, about 20 Mallard and 16 Tufted Ducks were the only other birds on the lake until a male Gadwall flew over and 2 Cormorants came in to dry their wings. A single Canada Goose is obviously incubating on the island in the lake and as there don't seem to be any other Canada Geese around I wonder if it will produce hybrid offspring.

Another bird of interest was a Common Sandpiper feeding on the water's edge, but an Oystercatcher didn't seem to like it as it chased the sandpiper around. A Pied Wagtail and a male Yellow Wagtail were aslo present on the waterside.

Lots of warblers continue to sing, with Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler all seen.

In a field just beyond the lake about 20 Lapwings were feeding with an Oystercatcher, numerous Jackdaws, Rooks and Carrion Crows and also 4 Whimbrel. Whilst watching these a male Marsh Harrier cruised past and dipped down into some scrub where it obviously caught something as it didn't come up again for some time.

On the way back a pair of Tree Sparrows were in dispute with a Reed Bunting and two male Chaffinches were in a fight that seemed like it might go until the death of one of the participants. In the end one flew away, minus a few feathers. In the owl tree, the Little Owl had been joined by its mate and further along a male Sparrowhawk was hunting.

Swinemoor and Eske

2007-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Another walk to both Swinemoor and Eske turned up some more interesting things. On Swinemoor, Shelduck, Lapwings, Redshank, Snipe and Little Ringed Plover were all still present as were plenty of other common migrants.

The still weather meant that lots of birds were out catching insects and this meant that 100s of Swifts were hawking around. At some places they were hunting around my feet, giving me fantastic close-up views. On the lake the usual suspects were there, along with the female Goldeneye. In the reeds Reed and Sedge Warblers were noisily singing, but probably the most interesting species was a calling Treecreeper, just the second time I've seen one here and in exactly the same place as the last time.

On the way back the Little Owl was outside its roosting hole and watching me as I was watching it!

A number of interesting plants are out in flower now and I took some photos of a very bright flowering broom Sarothamnus scoparius.

Eske and the Leven Canal

2007-04-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

So infused with enthusiasm was I yesterday morning that instead of going home after my Swinemoor visit, I continued north up the river Hull to Eske/Pulfin Fen.

On the way up I didn't see too much; a distant male Marsh Harrier was being attacked by two Lapwings and a few Swallows were flying around. A single Swift and 2 House Martins also flew past.

At the lake a number of gulls were resting on some exposed rocks, 2 adult graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 1st winter Herring Gulls, 5 2nd winter Greater Black-backed Gulls and a single 1st winter Common Gull. Plenty of Tufted Ducks and Mallard also on the lake as well as two families of Greylag Geese, one with 5 and the other with 6 youngsters. A male Wigeon still lurking around on the island along with nesting Canada Geese and the pair of Oystercatchers seemed intent on fighting to the death about something. Plenty of Great-crested Grebes too but no sign of chicks yet.

I decided to walk up to Leven canal to see if I could find some warblers and I wasn't disappointed there. 5 Sedge Warblers, 6 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat were all heard and seen along with my first Whitethroat of the year. 5 Swifts were also present and I could hear a very distant Cuckoo. The canal is a nice place and far away from anywhere else for it to be visited by very few people. There is always a lot of wildlife here and yesterday Moorhens, Coots and Mute Swans were busy with nests and lots of flowers were in bloom. Also there were quite a few toads about, and I got a couple of photos of toads in quite contrasting states of fortune.

Back at the lake I decided to walk around to the reedy areas where warblers were everywhere! An amusing sight was two male Blackcaps sitting right next to each other singing like mad. In the reeds I saw my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Reed Warblers of the year. Overlooking the lake from a different angle a party of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins had arrived but the highlight was a male Garganey sitting amongst some Tufted Ducks. This is the third year in a row I've seen Garganey here so its obviously a regular stopping off point.

Other species seen were Redshank, Snipe, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Robin, Wren, Goldcrest, lots of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Grey Heron, Dunnock and Rook.

Swinemoor yet again

2007-04-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

With more time and energy on my hands than I've had for a while I couldn't resist another look at Swinemoor, from 8.30am to 11am. As I drove past part of the common I noticed the first horses have been put on. However, they haven't made their way over to the birdy areas yet.

Just one Shelduck was present today, but 3 male Snipe were in a mid air drumming battle. Walking along the main drain an Oystercatcher flew overhead and landed at the far end of the common - it didn't stay long though. About 100 Golden Plover were scattered all over the place and two Little Ringed Plovers were obvious - the third one was probably hiding somewhere. The two Wheatears from the previous two visits were still in exactly the same place and two Redshank remain devoted to their ever shrinking patch of water. Redshank watching paid off again as it did yesterday as a very scruffy looking Whimbrel joined them for a short time.

In the sky 3 Swifts circled around and 2 House Martins headed south, quickly followed by 4 Sand Martins. A number of Swallows were also feeding over the common.

Just a single Willow Warbler was singing today, although with the grey skies and intermittent rain I didn't feel much like singing either. All the normal common birds were seen along with a Stock Dove and a Dunnock which strangely I don't see very often here. Also a female House Sparrow turned up right in the middle of the common, which is unusual, they usually stick to the edges where the buildings are.

Not much esle of note around until I was almost back to the car. Alongside the river Hull in the reeds I heard the faint song of a Reed Warbler. I stayed long enough to get a reasonable look but it wasn't being too obliging. A Sparrowhawk and Song Thrush provided a distraction before getting back to the car.

More Spring migration

2007-04-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I went to Swinemoor Common again hoping for some more spring migrants. Once again I wasn't disappointed despite the rapidly disappearing water - not much more than a few puddles left now.

The first bird of interest was a male Wheatear next to the Beverley-Barmston drain, a different bird than the two I saw previously as it was much more brightly marked. As I approached what is left of the wet areas I heard the screeching of a Swift - the first of the year! It was quickly joined by 3 more and a group of 10 House Martins. 3-4 Swallows were also flying around.

I found a good place to sit and scan the common; this turned out to be a good idea as a number of birds were moving through. 5 Shelduck were present today along with about 20 Lapwings - many of them on nests now. A group of about 300 Golden Plovers dropped in and began to bathe themselves and a Little Ringed Plover came in very close. This bird seemed to be a first year bird as it still hasn't reached full adult plumage. However, two more Little Ringed Plovers further away seemed so happy with Swinemoor that they began copulating! Two Redshank were foraging in the wet grass and whilst watching them the same two Wheatears in the same place as Saturday made an appearance as did the male Yellow Wagtail.

Two drumming Snipe were very noisily displaying - Swinemoor is a very good place to watch male Snipe perform an aerial battle.

I decided to look around the scrubby areas of the common finding 7 Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and plenty of common birds: Starling, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Skylark etc. The scrubby areas of Swinemoor are a good place to look for plants and I took some photos of some interesting ones:

Water Crowfoot

At the southernmost end of Swinemoor is a very damp and spongy area of grass which attracts Whimbrel every year and yesterday a group of 9 were feeding amongst the Starlings and a male Yellowhammer sat calling in a small bush.

Walking back to the car a few Reed Buntings were noisily calling, two Long-tailed Tits were feeding in a tree and the Lapwings were busily chasing Carrion Crows away from their nests. The last birds to add to the list before returning to the car were 2 first summer Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a giant Mistle Thrush.

Large-billed Reed Warbler seen in the wild!

2007-04-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

After the recent rediscovery of Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus all eyes have been out to see who can be the first to see it in the field (not in the hand). As predicted it has been seen in northern India, not Thailand where it is apparently a vagrant.

Have a look at the photos of the bird: A. orinus

I would imagine that every birdwatcher in South and Southeast Asia is scrutinising every reed warbler they see with unprecedented fervour. Most birders will be eagerly awaiting discovery of the bird's breeding grounds; I wonder if isotope analysis of the feathers taken from the bird caught in Thailand are being carried out to find out where it came from.

Yet more migrants at Swinemoor

2007-04-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Time for a quick walk around Swinemoor this morning from around 11.15 am to 1 pm. Sadly the water levels are getting terribly low, obviously due to the warm weather as the pasture master has not opened up any drains - he hasn't needed to. The good news is that there aren't any horses yet and lots of Lapwings seem to be on nests, at least they spend plenty of time chasing carrion Crows and Jackdaws away.

Some birds are still using what wet areas are left and today 4 Shelduck were present and two Redshank were feeding. One Redshank that has been around for a while now has an unusually long bill and it keeps making me think it is something else, but no, it is a Redshank. Two Little Ringed Plovers still remain, and as much of the mud is baked hard they could be around for a while yet. The only other wader was a single Snipe.

However, as I was scanning across the muddy pools I noticed a female Wheatear and as I went a little closer I flushed a male Yellow Wagtail who gave seemed to blame a Meadow Pipit for the disturbance as he angrily chased it away. The female Wheatear was then joind by a male - these two were my first of the year, spring is such a great time, so many firsts!

I checked out the scrubby areas but found only a Mistle Thrush and two Willow Warblers. A Lesser Whitethroat was heard but not seen. Some common birds were around, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Blackbirds, a Wren and a Robin, but nothing special.

Over at the river Hull a Common Tern surprised me, particularly as it was following the river southwards. Luckily for me it spotted a fish and dived right in front of me - another first for the year!

On the way back to the car a group of 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew south ( 3 adults and a first summer bird), later followed by an adult Herring Gull. The sun then came out enough to set 2 Skylarks off into song and I noticed two pairs of Swallows checking out nest sites under the eaves of a house the other side of the river.

Another productive walk, I'll try to get back there again tomorrow.

Eske - More migrants

2007-04-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Having finally handed in my degree dissertation it was time to get out and relax. I decided to walk up to Eske/Pulfin Fen in the hope of seeing some spring migrants. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so good, but it was still fairly warm if a little breezy and overcast. Not too much on the way to the lake, but 3 Swallows and a Sand Martin were nice to see. A little further along a Snipe flushed out of a ditch and 4 Linnets sat feeding in some grass. Two House Martins were my fist of the year, but at the lake there were plenty of them, along with Swallows and Sand Martins. There must have been a few hundred with Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins roughly in the ratio of 2:2:1.

Wildfowl were predictably sparse but a pair of Wigeon were still present along with a female Goldeneye that seems to have forgotten to migrate. Other birds on the lake were 7 Great-crested Grebes, 8 Greylag Geese, 2 Canada Geese, 22 Mallard, 28 Tufted Duck, 2 Gadwall, 1 Little Grebe and a pair of Mute Swans.

An interesting sight was a Moorhen with a single chick, the first young birds I've seen this year. However, a number of Mallard seem to be sitting on nests on the island, along with an Oystercatcher which very aggresively chased away a nosey Carrion Crow. Two Redshank seemed to have taken a liking to the location too and remain.

In the scrubby areas plenty of summer birds were present. I got nice long views of a singing Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap and lots of Willow Warblers although best of all were a pair of Marsh Harriers circling around. 3 pairs of Teal were also present in the flooded fen.

So, a nice walk with plenty to see, but I had to rush back to collect my wife from work. Still, on the way back I managed to see a pair of Reed Buntings, a male and female Kestrel and another Snipe.

It's great that it is spring time!

Quick visit to a drier Swinemoor

2007-04-18T02:29:00.000-07:00

After the Red-necked Grebe yesterday morning I made a brief trip to Swinemoor and was disappointed to see that it is rapidly drying up, this was also reflected in the lack of birds. The three Little Ringed Plovers were still present as were 20-30 nesting Lapwings. Just 2 Redshank and a single Snipe were the only other wetland species present.

In the scrub large numbers of Willow Warblers were still present, but only 2 Swallows were seen compared to the dozen or so on saturday. However, a pleasant surprise were three singing Lesser Whitethroat, although I didn't manage to get a look at any of them, I guess I'll have to wait for my first one of the year!

Sunshine and some more migrants

2007-04-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I made a quick trip to see the much reported Red-necked Grebe in a fishing pond at Weel, near Beverley. I parked my car in Weel and walked the short distance to the small pond where I very quickly saw the grebe. A very handsome bird, coming into summer plumage and this was most certainly the best view I've ever had of the species as it came to within about 10 metres of me at times. Every other time I've seen this species has been in winter and often at long distance in poor weather, so this was quite a treat. Unfortunately the bird seemsedto be injured. On its right hand side, a number of wing feathers were sticking out at an unusual angle and it was swimming slightly lopsided. When it stretched up to flap its wings it was unable to flap the right hand wing properly.

Lots of Willow Warblers were in evidence and a single Sedge Warbler was singing away and allowed me a brief glimpse. Other birds present were a pair of Reed Buntings, a singing Robin, a male Linnet, 4 Mallard, 4 Tufted Ducks and 7 Coot.

Figham in the sun

2007-04-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

In the past all my visits to Figham Common have been in the winter and it has become a place that I have associated with windy and overcast weather. So, today seeing it in bright sunshine and getting quite hot walking around was quite unusual. Unfortunately I chose the hottest part of the day to go out and birdwatching was not at its best. Still, I managed a few site ticks, which was pretty simple due to the arrival of a number of common migrants.

Most notable was the large number of Willow Warblers, with over 30 heard and 4 seen; a single Chiffchaff was pretty lonely in comparison. Two Swallows were another sign of summer, but other species were tricky to find. A small group of 4 Linnets and a singing male Yellowhammer were nice to see and in a nearby pond a few common species were hanging out - Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Coot, Mallard and Moorhen.

Walking alongside the Beverley-Barmston drain revealed a pair of Kingfishers excavating a nest hole in the steep sandy bank - I'll have to come back at a later date to see if any young fledge.

A number of Pheasants made themselves noisy as I walked back to the car but the real surprise was in the reeds on the river Hull next to the car park - a singing Sedge Warbler. This seemed quite early to me so I listened for around ten minutes to make sure and finally caught a glimpse, but enough to be sure that I'd identified it correctly by song (well, I don't know what else I thought it might have been!).

Masses of Migrants at Swinemoor

2007-04-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Having arrived back in Beverley at 6pm the good weather drew me towards Swinemoor for a quick look for spring migrants. A quick look turnd into a long look as there were plenty of birds to see.

On the wet grass 20-30 Lapwings were still hanging around as well as about 100 Golden Plovers and I very quickly located the Ruff that has been in residence for a while now - it has now begun to get some ruff feathers, nothing spectacular, presumably it is a first summer bird. Also very quickly spotted was a Little Ringed Plover which turned into two which multiplied further into three! All three birds were quite active, moving around a lot and at times they were making dipping courtship movements to each other. Another very welcome migrant was a beautiful male Yellow Wagtail. Also of interest were a number of Snipe, some of which were nesting and at least two of which were drumming males.

In the air at least 12 Swallows were catching midges along with at least 8 Sand Martins. A tip off about a Ring Ouzel led to me examing about 30 Blackbirds in detail, but whilst doing that a flock of 45 Fieldfares flew into a tree and a single Whimbrel landed on the wet grass.

In the scrub Willow Warblers seemed to have turned up in large numbers from the amount of singing I heard, although I only saw 2. Other birds seen in the scrub were Robin, Tree Sparrow, Mistle Thrush, Starling, Blue Tit, Greenfinch and Goldfinch.

Rather foolishly I walked back to the car looking into the sun which made birding over the wet areas difficult, but I was able to pick out 4 Redshank, 7 Mallard and a pair of Gadwall. In the river Hull there were Moorhen, Reed Buntings and a rat.

As I was leaving the sound of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and cooing Collared Doves along with a rather nice sunset might make it difficult not to come back again tomorrow.

BBQ at Dungeness

2007-04-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Dungeness with my wife and younger sister for a barbeque on the beach. Although this wasn't a birding trip at all, it is difficult to sit on the beach at Dunge in spring and not see something.

From 1-6pm only a few birds were seen but all afternoon two Cormorants were performing a synchronised diving session in the sea directly in front of us. Lots of gulls were around, most of which seemed to be Herring Gulls but a few Black-headed Gulls glided past. I'm sure there were other species if I'd had the time to look properly. However, we did see 4 Swallows come in off the sea and a group of 36 Whimbrel also arriving.

Most of the day was spent eating shrimps, beef, squid and salmon, but when we got back to the car there was time for a brief look around. Along with the usual Meadow Pipits, Starlings, House Sparrows and Linnets was a female Ring Ouzel foraging outside the old lighthouse. Just as I said, almost impossible to fail to see something of interest at Dungeness at this time of year.

Hornsea Mere

2007-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I went, with my wife, to Hornsea Mere to feed the ducks - hardly the cutting edge of ornithology but enjoyable anyway. We took some bread and proceeded to be mobbed by a gang of about 20 Mute Swans with a few Canada Geese trying to get into the act. It was quite funny to see the swans pecking any geese or ducks that got near, not to mention pecking each other quite violently at times. My wife and other duck feeders spent most of their time running away from the swans whilst throwing bread down to divert the unwanted attention.

Once the bread was finished we sat in the car to watch other people feeding the birds. Then I remembered some bird seed that was in the car, so I put this out for them to feed on. The seed was full of high energy grains and seeds - what should be high quality food - but it seems the ducks and swans prefer junk food as they continued to chase the bread-weilding duck feeders.

Eventually they worked out that the grain was good and it was interesting to watch swans, geese, ducks, coots and Jackdaws feeding side by side.

Sitting watching the birds for some time revealed a surprising number of species: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and House Sparrow.

It was very amusing to watch Greylag Geese taking a bath in the lake - flapping in the water, followed by a dive and then popping up back onto the surface like a cork.

One bird was most noticeable by its absence: a Whooper Swan that is usually resident at Hornsea Mere was nowhere to be seen.

Eske/Pulfin Fen again

2007-04-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

A quick walk to the lake at Eske today before a late lunch. The weather was surprisingly windy which meant that many smaller birds were hard to see. However, a patch of uncultivated land with wet patches held a Green Sandpiper along with 5 Lapwings, defending their nesting territories.

Up at the lake the numbers of ducks had dramatically decreased with just abour 20 Widgeon remaining from the winter flock. Around 20 Tufted Ducks were present along with 2 pairs of Great-crested Grebes involved in their neck-twisting dance. 2 Shelduck appeared from nowhere and a single Oystercatcher was feeding on a muddy shore. A final scan across the lake revealed a quite unusual looking duck which turned out to be a female Common Scoter - a new bird for the location for me. I walked around some trees to get a better look and within this time the bird managed to disappear!

Just as I'd given up finding it I noticed a large bird flying over the farmland behind me which turned out to be a male Marsh Harrier, the first I've seen here since last autumn.

Not much on the way back apart from two male Yellowhammers in song; the wind had got much harder and it was quite pleasant to get back to the car.

Swinemoor, 11.30 am

2007-04-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

A quick look to see what was out on the wet areas revealed that the Ruff was still present along with about 1500 Golden Plovers. Just 2 Redshank present but about 20 Lapwings were busy defending nests and incubating eggs. Also one Snipe seen but I'm sure plenty more were hiding in the grass.

Swinemoor drying up!

2007-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

At about 5pm I went to check out Swinemoor again to see if any more migrants had turned up. The answer was no, but yesterday's Ruff was still around and a large flock of about 700 Golden Plovers were getting ready for the night. 2 Snipe were busy nest making and the Lapwings were invloved in all sorts of breeding behaviour, including chasing away Carrion Crows attempting to raid their nests. The only other waterbirds were 5 Redshank, 4 Black-headed Gulls, a few Mallard and some Moorhens.

The most alarming thing today was how the water level had gone down in just one day. Although a lot of wet habitat remains, the amount of open water had decreased by about 50% since yesterday. I guess the pasture master must have opened up the drains to prepare the area for the horses which will arrive soon.

Some Spring migrants

2007-04-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

The warm sunny weather was far too attractive to spend all day indoors working on my dissertation so a quick walk around Swinemoor was in order. Good levels of water still there and no horses yet to trample the grass and disturb the birds.

Singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, along with the sun, made it feel more like summer than anything else. Fairly soon after my arrival I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year. I managed to track it down into a hawthorn bush when a passing dog-walker flushed it.

A quick look at the wet areas revealed 2 Shelduck which I assume will probably spend the rest of the spring there as they usually do.

Also on the wet areas were 3 Redshank, 8 Golden Plover, 13 Snipe, around 30 Lapwings and the star of the show - a first summer male Ruff. At least 3 Lapwings seemed to be sitting on eggs as they remained seated even when I got within about 20 metres. Also a pair of Snipe appeared to be nest building.

Other interesting birds included 3 Dunnocks involved in some sort of threesome activity, a Kingfisher, a Moorhen on a nest, a male Reed Bunting with nest material and a Pied Wagtail.

Interesting to note that today there were lots of people and dogs on Swinemoor, but they all stuck to the paths, staying off of the wet areas that the birds love. This suggests that it is the horses that arrive on Swinemoor around mid to late April that cause most of the Lapwings to desert their nests and not humans.

Nice lunch, nice walk

2007-04-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

After a nice lunch in the pub, my wife and I decided to make the most of the warm, sunny weather by going for a walk to the lake at Eske/Pulfin Fen. The warmth had made most of the birds rather lazy at this time of day, but a few Skylarks were singing away, making it feel like summer. A little way along the river a distant dog walker disturbed a small bird which settled in the vegetation next to the river, about 10 mentres from where we were standing. My immediate impression was that it was a Jack Snipe. This was confirmed by tracking it down and observing it from about 3 feet until it finally flew away south.

An old boggy patch of set-aside land further down held a number of Redshank and Lapwings but my attention was drawn by the call of some Fieldfares; 5 birds were seen flying north along with a flock of Starlings.

At the lake a Chiffchaff was in song, quite probably the bird that I've seen a few times over the last few months, but this really made me feel like spring is here. On the lake there were still around 100 Wigeon left over from winter and 20-30 Tufted Duck, a few pairs of Gadwall, a lonely male Pochard a few Teal and a couple of dozen Mallard. Plenty of Mute Swans and Greylag Geese were hanging around as well as 4 Canada Geese. A pair of Oystercatchers were noisily defending a territory from some encroaching Redshanks and 2 Shelduck were relaxing in the sun on the island in the lake.

Plenty of other birds were around but a male Great Spotted Woodpecker was the most noteworthy. However, 4 species of butterfly and lots of flowers were also very pleasant to see.

Gulls in Bridlington Harbour

2007-04-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

A brief shopping trip to Bridlington allowed me to check out the birds in the harbour. With the tide in there were not too many species around, just large numbers of Herring Gulls of all ages. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull, a few Common Gulls and a lone Black-headed Gull provided some variety and the only waders present were about 20 Turnstones feeding on scraps left over from the day's visitors.

The birds come so close that even someone with the poor photography skills that I possess can manage a few decent pictures. Here are a couple of the best ones that I managed.

Sunny Swinemoor

2007-03-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

With it now officially being spring I went to Swinemoor in high expectation of something interesting having arrived by now; I wasn't disappointed!

A good amount of water still remains creating a nice habitat for wetalnd birds. A large flock of around 200-300 Golden Plovers were bathing and their numbers were growing by the minute. Around 20-30 Lapwings were dotted around the common, defending territories, occasionally making their wierd, synthesizer-like call. 3 Common Snipe were involved in an on-and-off dispute and 2 Common Teal were feeding in the shallows. However, by far the best bird was a single Spotted Redshank which was very obligingly feeding very close to the path. At first I thought it was just a Common Redshank as there were around 6 feeding further away, but as soon as I looked through my binoculars it was obvious that this bird was a Spotted Redshank - the first time I've seen this species at Swinemoor.

Other interesting species were singing Skylarks, 5 Pied Wagtails feeding, 7 Meadow Pipits in song and a small flock of gulls: 5 Common Gulls, 9 Herring Gulls and 14 Black-headed Gulls.

Doves in a blizzard

2007-03-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Outside my flat in Beverley today I was watching a male Collared Dove chase around a female when he decided to mate with her. My celebration of this as a sign of spring was muted somewhat by a sudden blizzard of snow and then hail. Needless to say that this event also put an end to the Dove's public display of affection!

Red Kite at Tickton

2007-03-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Some warm, spring-like weather meant that staying in front of a computer all day would have been a travesty, even though my dissertation work was begging me for some attention. So, a walk to Eske/Pulfin fen was decided upon!

Just a few hundred metres along the path, a large raptor appeared. At first I assumed it would be a Marsh Harrier as they aren't uncommon around here, but on examination, it turned out to be a Red Kite! Although these birds nest in a woodland about 10-15kms away, this is the first time I've seen them in the Hull valley.

After this, the walk was a little bit of an anticlimax. However, further along I did see two Fieldfares and a Chiffchaff - two quite strange species to see next to each other here. I would imagine the Chiffchaff was the same bird as I saw a few months back as it was only about 150 metres away from the spot I saw it in.

There was also plenty of evidence of breeding behaviour, with swooping Lapwings and singing Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches and yellowhammers. On the lake still quite large numbers of winter Widgeon and a lone male Pintail.

Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus

2007-03-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

For some time now I've known about the rediscovery of Large-billed Reed Warbler in Thailand after Phil Round notified me that he'd caught one whilst mist netting at the royally initiated Laem Pak Bia wastewater management program in Petchaburi province in Thailand. The bird was caught back in March 2006 but it has taken quite some time to confirm its identity through DNA analysis. Until now I've been asked not to publicise this, but yesterday the news was released by Birdlife International.

This species was previously only known from a single specimen caught in northern India 139 years ago! Quite unbelievable really. I've written an article on this rediscovery based on the paper published in the journal of avian biology this month and from correspondence with Phil Round here; Acrocephalus orinus.

Hornsea Seafront

2007-03-06T15:05:00.001-08:00

My wife, Srasri, decided she wanted to go for fish and chips at Hornsea after work this afternoon, so off we went to make the most of the late afternoon sun. As usual we had too many chips, so we decided to feed what was left to the gulls.

After a few seconds we had around 50 Black-headed Gulls circling around. It was amazing to watch their aerial acrobatics as they caught the chips in mid-flight. Only once was there nearly a collision when 5 gulls all backed out of making the catch at the last minute with the chip falling into the sea.

We moved further up the seafront to a place where the sun was still on our backs and continued our chip tossing for the gulls. However, most of the chips were missed in flight and fell into the sea before being gobbled up. It became obvious that the sun was in their eyes and they were unable to judge the catching distance properly. We moved back into a shady patch and immediately the gulls catch rate went back up to almost 100%.

Other birds present were lots of Herring Gulls, Common Gulls and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii). Also, 5 Red-throated Divers were on the sea and two Cormorants flew past. Interestingly, the Divers were still in winter plumage but the Cormorants had the white leg patch that indicates they are in breeding condition.

Sings of Spring at Swinemoor

2007-03-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm being too optimistic but all around me I'm beginning to see signs of spring all around me. Yesterday, my birdwatching walk on Swinemoor, brought me yet more spring-like experiences. Although there was still a large congregation of wintering gulls, including around 200 Black-headed Gulls, 150 Common Gulls and 6 Herring Gulls (5 adult, 1 first winter), plenty of birds were in song. Four Skylarks were in full song throughout my circuit of the common and lots of Meadow Pipits were performing their song flight. From a nearby copse of trees several Chaffinches were singing (if you can call it a song) and a single Yellowhammer was "tuning up".

There were still plenty of Lapwings across the wet grass but rather than standing together in a flock they were dotted around, spaced apart regularly by about 30 metres as if they were establishing territories for nesting. Only a few Golden Plover were present (7 to be exact) but I'm sure more are still turning up to roost.

Other birds of interest were a Grey Heron catching frogs from a ditch and a group of Tree Sparrows bickering in a hawthorn bush.

Bridlington Harbour

2007-03-04T13:17:00.001-08:00

Despite the fact that there are some signs of spring around such as flowering snowdrops, lesser celandine and even some leaves opening on small trees, a short trip to Bridlington harbour yesterday afternoon proved that winter is still in town with a number of wintering waders still obvious.

Along the southern side of the harbour wall 18 Purple Sandpipers were feeding amongst numerous Turnstones. The Turnstones here are quite amusing, having learnt to scavenge for chips. Yesterday a couple were eating their fish and chips with a crowd of Turnstones assembling on the wall next to them. When eventually they threw a piece of fish batter to them, one lucky Turnstone ran off with the spoils, chased by three others; I hope they shared it nicely!
Others waders present on the beach were Redshank, Dunlin, an Oystercatcher and a few Sanderling.

In the harbour there were hundreds of Herring Gulls waiting to be fed with chips, donuts, ice cream or whatever else was thrown their way. Most of the birds were adults or first winter, with a few second winter birds. Also present was a single adult Yellow-legged Gull making itself available for study at close quarters: three feet to be exact!

That was it for birds as my wife dragged me off to the shops to search for fresh shrimps for dinner.

The Start of Spring migration?

2007-02-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

A breezy walk to Eske/Pulfin Fen was the first for a while due to the fact that I've been feeling pretty rough recently. Still with a fuzzy head I marched up to the lake, flushing a male Yellowhammer from underneath a bush with a few Skylarks in song.

At the lake still a lot of ducks; Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Gadwall, Pochard and Tufted Duck. Two female Goldeneye on the river and a male on the lake were signs that winter is still not over and a male Pintail was another indication of that. However, a few recent arrivals also suggest that spring is on its way. Four Oystercatchers were squabbling over a territory and two Shelduck were also present. These two species are not present at Eske in the winter but do turn up in spring, with the Oystercatchers staying to breed.

Another nice bird was a Goldcrest singing and some male Chaffinches calling from a nearby copse were also convinced that spring is coming. I can only share their optimism and hope that some migrants might begin to pass through and liven things up - I've grown a little tired of the winter ducks. Notably, there were no Redwings or Fieldfares today and only small numbers of Blackbirds : it seems that they may have departed already.

Cormorant, Treecreeper and Tetnus!

2007-02-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

Enough sunshine today to tempt me outside, just the short distance to Figham Common. Walking along the river flood defenses I could see that many of the fields to the east were flooded by a few centimetres of water. I expected to see some birds feeding on these such was the extent of the flooding - but nothing. I can only imagine that these fields which are usually used for sheep receive too much fertilizer and flood too infrequently for the invertebrates that wading birds such as Lapwings favour.

A Cormorant was in the river and must have found a very good fishing spot because it refused to fly away, even when I was only a few metres away - it simply continued to fish, catching something every 20 seconds or so.

The bushes and shrubs at the far end of the common were alive with Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits, with lots of Blackbirds foraging under a row of mature beech trees; but just one Redwing and no Fieldfares. Interesting to me was a Treecreeper calling ina hawthorn bush, having seen one in the unlikely position of in a lone bush in the middle of flooded grass the last time I was at Figham. This location was not so wierd, but this bird seems to have decided that 10 beech trees and some hawthorn scrub constitues a woodland.

Plenty of Skylarks were singing, a few Reed Buntings seemed to be pairing and a nice male Yellowhammer was almost singing - he must think that spring is here already.

On my way back to the car I managed to slip in the mud and rip the skin on my left hand on a piece of barbed wire. The spike went right in and I was caught on the fence. When I unspiked myself I noticed that the barb was not only rusty but covered in cow's hair and mud. Having not received a tetnus injection for 12 years I had the inconvenience of going to the doctor for an injection. Amazingly I was in and out in under 5 minutes having had the injection. Wow! This goes a small way towards restoring my faith in the NHS. There is still a long way to go though as they messed up my hernia operation last year.

More of Swinemoor

2007-02-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a couple of hours walking around Swinemoor Common, Beverley. It wasn't really a birdwatching walk, I was with three friends from college and we were inspecting the place for our management plan assignment. We came up with ideas like retaining the surface water through spring and summer, and grazing the grassland through late summer and autumn to manage it for wetland birds. The idea is to keep horses off of it through the breeding season to allow Lapwings and Snipe to raise their chicks without the threat of trampling. None of this is actually going to happen of course, it's purely hypothetical.

Other idea we had were a bit of selective tree planting, nest boxes for tree sparrows, roosting boxes for bats and managing visitor access by encouraging them to use an interpreted trail.

However, there's always time to look for birds and we saw quite a good number of Golden Plover, a couple of hundred in total, 40-50 Lapwings, 2 Snipe and 5 Redshank. Alongside were about 40 Common Gulls, 10-20 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Herring Gulls. A Grey Heron flew over too and a Kestrel hunting kept disturbing the waders and gulls.

Yellow-legged Gull?

2007-02-06T03:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I went, once again, to Eske/Pulfin Fen. It was very bright, but a light northerly breeze was pretty chilly. The walk was a tale of two halves really, with the first half (the walk up) being virtually birdless, almost no ducks on the lake and only two Fieldfares were of any interest. Beyond the lake 33 Mute Swans were feeding in a field, but no Whooper Swans today.

On the way back (second half), suddenly the lake was filled with ducks and Geese. The regular 200 or so Greylags all landed in the lake as I watched and 2 Canada Geese were sitting on the island, strangely, this species doesn't turn up here often at all. Amongst the ducks were about 30 Tufted Duck, 10 Pochard, 150 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 50-60 Mallard, 2 Gadwall and 4 Goldeneye, including one male displaying which was the highlight until I noticed 3 large Gulls.

Two of these were adults, and appeared to be Herring Gulls, but perhaps slightly darker than normal. When they eventually flew, the black wing markings suggested argentatus, but I couldn't be sure as I was focussing my attention on the single first winter gull that was present. This bird immediately struck me as different to an immature Herring Gull, in fact I thought it was a Yellow-legged Gull straight away - not that frequently recorded up here. It was exceptionally white in appearance with just a little dark smudging around the eye. Its bill was noticeably longer than the other two birds' bills and heavier too. The bill was dark black with just a hint of pale colouration at the base. The bird's head was fairly long and sloping and its wings were pale grey with distinct dark markings - no smudginess at all. The tertials were completely dark, but I couldn't make out any pale edges. The primaries were long and black. In flight it had a clear white back with no flecking and a distinct black band at the end of the tail. The bird's chest and belly were very pale with some spotting. In flight the colouration of the wings confirmed that it was a first winter bird and the wing tips were contrastingly dark compared to the rest. More than that I didn't notice,

Since seeing this gull I have discovered that I missed a few key features. Unfortunately I'm not that good! However, I have seen plenty of Yellow-legged Gulls and the jizz of this bird seemed right.

If any gull experts want to comment on this fairly poor description, please feel free to.

On the way back 2 Tree Sparrows flew out of some bushes and 2 male Reed Buntings looked like they were in a dispute over a female.

Helping Birds

2007-02-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

Most birdwatchers would like to help birds, but many people don't go beyond feeding them in their back garden. Garden bird feeding is great, by the way, but for serious bird lovers there are lots of things that can be done to help birds.

People who have gardens have a great resource that they can manage for birds and simple things like not using weed killers, slug pellets or any other chemicals will ensure that there is greater biodiversity in the garden and consequently more food, particularly when adults are feeding chicks.

Less obvious things we can do for birds are things which benefit the environment in general, like use the car less - do you really need to drive hundreds of miles to go twitching? My friend Simon Tonkin said that when he does occasionally go twitching he tries to ensure that he gives other s a lift so at least one car is used rather than two (or three or four).

I recently had a look at a copy of Laura Ericsson's 101 Ways to Help Birds

There are lots of nice ways that bird lovers can help birds here (101 ways in fact!), and althought this is aimed at an American market, virtually everything is true for anywhere in the world. Sometimes specific American organisations are referred to, but these can be replaced by your national or local equivelant.

This book encourages birdwatchers to do more than just watch birds, and the section on becoming an ambassador for birds gives an idea of the philosophy behind the book.

Bird Flu UK

2007-02-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's news of a bird flu "outbreak" at a Turkey farm stimulated the normal hysteria that surrounds this subject, with at least one "expert" proclaiming on TV that this was most likely the result of wild birds introducing the virus into the farm. I guess nobody has to take the blame for wild birds, whereas workers, farmers and politicians are responsible for "dodgy" practices in the poultry industry.

This morning I received an e-mail from Wetlands International about this latest bird flu outbreak; they are far better informed on the subject than I am so here is what they have to say.

Role of wild birds in UK Avian Influenza outbreak unlikely.
The outbreak of Avian Influenza (H5N1 hp) in Suffolk is unlikely to have
been caused by wild birds. This is the opinion of the global NGO
Wetlands International . This kind of farm is
too secure to make contact with any wild animals a real possibility.
Moreover, this is not the time of the year when many wild birds migrate,
making it also quite unlikely to be caused by wild birds.

Despite intensive monitoring programmes, no infected wild birds have
been found in Europe since the summer of 2006. On this occasion it seems
more likely that the source of the outbreak was within the poultry
industry, and it will be important to fully investigate possible links
with the outbreak in Hungary in January.

Measures to minimise all contacts with wild birds, such as the strong
measures in the Netherlands to keep free range chickens indoors, always
reduce the (small) chance of infection between wild birds and poultry.
An outbreak in a secure farm where poultry have no contact with wild
birds is no reason to impose these measures. It seems likely that the
outbreak in the UK has been successfully contained. If, however, an HPAI
outbreak spreads more widely, this will be the time to consider measures
to prevent poultry being kept outdoors.

I hope they e-mailed all the so-called experts that make commentary in the newspapers and on TV with this too.

I was hot! I actually got hot!

2007-02-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

What a strange day. It must have been very cold overnight because even at eleven o'clock on a very sunny day, the water covering Swinemoor common was still frozen. At this time though my jacket, sweatshirt and t-shirt meant that I was overdressed for the sunny weather and it wasn't long before I was hot! I'd forgotten that it was possible to actually be hot in this country, but yes, at the beginning of February I was hot. Wow!

Swinemoor in the sun

A few interesting birds about: around 60 Lapwings, 3 Golden Plover, 1 Snipe, 4 Teal, about 150 Black-headed Gulls, 24 Common Gulls and 2 Herring Gulls were loafing around on the wet grassland. Also 17 immature Pied Wagtails were feeding on top of the ice.

Further along a group of feeding birds included 6 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Great Tits, 2 Blue Tits and 2 Tree Sparrows. A flock of about 30 Redwings flew out of some trees as I walked along and a lone Grey Heron was hunting in a ditch - strangely enough this is a species I rarely see here.

Plenty more common birds around with a couple of Mallard, loads of Moorhens and a Little Grebe in the Beverley-Barmston drain - what a glamourous address!

Neglected blog and British birding.

2007-02-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

So, having created this blog I've rather neglected it over the past week or so. The thing is that every time I go out, I just see the same birds. Not only does this become a little tedious, but I'm sure it doesn't make good reading. I have actually been out over the last week, but forgot to write the trips up.

Last monday (29th January) I walked up to Eske again, and in fact saw quite a few interesting birds. A number of Goldeneye were in the river Hull and on the lake, a total of about 8-10 birds, two of which were males. Bags of ducks on the lake with one of the male Pintails having made a return. Larger number of Tufted Duck than usual with probably about 50 birds, with a couple of Pochard and loads of Wigeon and Mallard, a few Gadwall and Teal but no Shoveler. The best birds were beyond the lake; 7 Whooper Swans in a field with 36 Mute Swans. Whilst watching these a Barn Owl came along the river and shortly after another flew out of some rough grass; a different bird as it was much darker than the first. In addition there were plenty of finches, tits and thrushes, with probably the most notable passerines being a small flock of 9 Yellowhammers and 2 Reed Buntings.

7 Whoopers & 3 Mute Swans

Not such a bad trip but I have found myself spending most of my time developing my birdwatching in Thailand website: thaibirding.com instead of looking for British birds. Today I was reading Joe Cockram's blog where his latest posting is titled "British Birding Sucks", a bit harsh maybe, but he's just returned from a seven month trip to Australia and Thailand. Both of these countries have high levels of biodiversity and birds are just everywhere - loads of species too! The sentiments he expresses pretty much sum up how I sometimes feel about birding in Britain. Still, I find it possible to get enthusiastic about my own "patches" and hopefully I will be able to write plenty here about the species migrating along the Hull valley over the next few months - I have to do a college assignment on Swinemoor common, so that should get me out there and give me something to wite about.

Snow Showers

2007-01-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up and everything was white with snow. The snow showers carried on all morning, but by the afternoon most of it had melted. I went for a walk to Eske/Pulfin from 3-4.30pm expecting the cold weather to bring out some birds. I was pretty much wrong there, with just the normal collection of species present. Plenty of Wigeon on the lake, along with Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Pochard and a few Great-crested Grebes.

The wintering Goldeneye has been joined by three more, all four are females.

The hedges did contain quite a few Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits, but almost no finches at all; just a few Chaffinches and Greenfinches. Pulfin Fen was under quite a bit of water and loads of Teal were feeding there with a nice sunset in the background. In the distance to the north about 30 Mute Swans were feeding in fields and a distant Barn Owl was hunting along some ditches.

On the way back another Barn Owl flew very close by, illustrating how common they are in this area - I've sen more Barn Owls in the 2.5 years I've lived here than in the rest of my life put together!

The state of the footpath was interesting; the first 200 metres from the road were terribly churned up where people have wlaked along it, but after that it was far less muddy, showing just how few people walk more than a couple of hundred metres from their car!

Figham Common species list

2007-01-23T03:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's trip to Figham Common turned up a number of new birds for the location, mainly due to the fact that I very rarely go there, so I've posted here a list of the birds I've seen at this site. As is obvious from the list of species below, I've only ever been there in winter, I'll have to get out there in spring and add a load of common migrants to the list. Has anyone got anything to add to this list?

An Unlikely Treecreeper

2007-01-22T14:13:00.000-08:00

Having finished a peice of coursework, due in later this week, I found some time for a quick walk at Figham Common. What a bright sunny day it was too, but a wintery breeze finally brought some seasonal temperatures. I only had an hour an a half; from 2-3.30pm but there were plenty of birds around. However, the common is very muddy, there aren't really any proper paths other than along the river, so decent boots are a good idea or you end up with cold, wet feet - like I did.

The first bird I spotted was a Barn Owl, hunting over the rushy part of the common. Figham seems to be a good place for this species, I've seen at least one here on all but one visit. As it neared a clump of trees a flock of about 60 Fieldfares flushed out and flew away making a racket. Just a little further along a male Stonechat sat on a fence post and was shortly joined by a female.

Unfortunately, the pasturemasters seem intent on keeping the common drained, I'm not really sure why, there are only a few cattle grazed here in the summer, and where tractors have been used to dig drainage channels it is difficult to pass without ending up to your knees in mud.

I crossed to the western section of Figham where there is very wet pasture, some scrub and a small rushy reedbed (actually it's greater reedmace). Loads of birds here - hundreds of Redwings and Greenfinches feeding on hawthorn and these were joined by a Goldcrest. Heading towards the wettest area I heard a Treecreeper calling from a lone, and very stunted, hawthorn in the middle of a very boggy area. After some time I finally saw it, having thought that I must be mistaken - surely it could have found some better trees around to creep around on? There are some decent beech trees a few hundred metres away, they would have been much more suitable.

At the reedmace patch 15 Teal and about 35 Snipe were flushed - there always seem to be lots of snipe here - and a large female Sparrowhawk flew overhead. Not much else on the way back, just a Meadow Pipit and a first winter Reed Bunting, although there were more excellent views of the Barn Owl which didn't seem to mind me being there.

A few Herring Gulls were calling overhead but I was too busy unsticking myself from the mud and trying to untangle myself from thorns and barbed wire to bother to take more than a quick glance.

As usual for my birdwatching walks near Beverley, I was the only person there. I guess the other birders are out somewhere better!