Second for Warwickshire identified from photograph at Morton Bagot

Although I am very experienced at bird, dragonfly, and butterfly identification, I am a total novice when it comes to other groups.

However, I do input my photographs into the irecord website https://www.brc.ac.uk where they can be peer reviewed by experts.

On the 4 June 2017 I submitted a photograph of a soldier fly which I had thought was Oxyura rara. Yesterday I received news that it was in fact a photograph of a different soldier fly called Flecked General Stratiomys singularior.

Stratiomys singularior

Excitingly, Martin Harvey of the soldier flies and their allies recording scheme says it is only the second record for Warwickshire, the last being in 1986. Apparently its long antennae show that the genus is Stratiomys, and the markings show it is singularior.

Given that this insect was found by complete accident, it makes you wonder how many other special insects occur here.

Sunday November 26

Morton Bagot demonstrated a bit of bounce-backability after the desperately dull visit on Thursday.

It was another sunny morning, but crucially the wind had dropped to nothing. Initially it seemed as though it was going to be a bit quiet again, but the immature Peregrine did its best to entertain.

Peregrine

The chat field contained quite a few Linnets and a few Chaffinches and Goldfinches. There was also a reasonable number of Redwings and Fieldfare. Some of the Linnets perched in a sapling reminding me of baubles on a christmas tree.

Linnets

Heavy frost along the bridleway hinted that all the pools would be frozen. We had a brief view of a female Stonechat on our way to the flash field.

The frozen bridleway

This was indeed the case, and we counted just three Teal, three Mallard, and a female Wigeon. Things picked up dramatically on the return journey. We had reached what we laughingly call the migration watchpoint, a higher piece of ground next the Stapenhill Wood. We generally pause to scan around, but it rarely favours us with any bird migration. Today, however, I spotted a Hawfinch flying in from the east. Better still, it suddenly lost height and landed in trees, close enough for a record shot.

Adult male Hawfinch

Unlike the birds I have been seeing in Redditch this autumn, it was an adult male. I got three shots away before it took off, but only appeared to drop into the wood. Dave went to investigate, while I remained on the rise. After a fruitless 15 minutes Dave returned, but shortly afterwards he saw it fly out of the wood and away towards the flash field. I got onto it, and we watched it swing round and start to return. It also lost height, and we were soon unable to see it.

We had to leave, but I suspect it was still in the vicinity. I'm so pleased that I have managed to get a record shot of this species at Morton Bagot.

No doubt the next challenge will be to add it to the 2018 year list.

Thursday November 23

Sunny and cold with a fresh south-westerly wind.

This was not a visit that will live long in my memory. The year often draws to an end quietly, and today was certainly that.

Chaffinches

The Chaffinch and Linnet flocks remain, and two Bramblings put in a brief appearance. Stock Doves are currently outnumbering Woodpigeons, which is a bit strange.

The Flash field still contains six Wigeons and two Shovelers, but I only counted 21 Teal, one Snipe, and a Lapwing.

The Wigeon flock

Half way round I got a text from Chris Lane saying that there were two Hawfinches in trees by St Mary's Church in Studley. I'm glad someone was having a good day anyway.

Sunday November 19

No companions today, a fine sunny morning with hardly a breathe of wind.

I decided to follow the usual circuit, but soon deviated to check out the cause of a cacophony of alarm calls coming from the hedge behind Netherstead Hall. Eventually I flushed a sleepy Tawny Owl from its hiding place.

Back on track, the pylons produced a young Peregrine which flew before I could get a shot of the whole bird (you were nearly treated to a headless image, a steel girder obscuring it's noggin). Fortunately the bird found itself being mobbed by crows and returned to the pylon where I had another go.

Immature Peregrine

An adult Mute Swan flew by before I reached the flash field. Here I counted seven Snipe, 25 Teal, five Wigeon, and two Shovelers.

On my return I spent a long time trying to photograph a Marsh Tit which had found a source of grubs in some moss on one of the ash trees.

Marsh Tit

A short distance away I found a small party of Siskins extracting seeds from alders.

Siskin

Finally, there were a few Lesser Redpolls in the field by Stapenhill Wood, where two Bramblings landed briefly before disappearing.

Lesser Redpoll

Friday November 17

This morning, a cold but sunny one, I took Richard B round the patch.

Having assured him we would see a Brambling, I found that the finch flock was rather sparse and contained no Bramblings.

We saw plenty of Redwings and Fieldfares, one of the latter posing quite nicely.

Fieldfare

The flash field contained a few Teal, five Wigeon, two Shovelers, a Green Sandpiper and a few Snipe. The only birds to come close to taking me by surprise were a flying Mute Swan (the first since the juvenile disappeared in the summer), and the pair of Stonechats, which I had thought had gone.

You just can't rely on birds to appear to order.

Wednesday November 15

Cloudy with virtually no wind. Mild. Ideal conditions for a walk around the patch. With no shooting going on, the sound of silence was wonderful.

I was a bit late starting due to finding a Hawfinch about 200 metres from our house! It had gone by the time I returned with binoculars and camera.

For a change I decided to lug my scope and tripod around, and this allowed me to spot two Bramblings in a flock of 107 Linnets. The female posed quite well, but the brighter male was too hard to photograph.

Brambling (on the left)

My real goal was to find the Merlin I missed on Sunday. There was plenty of Merlin food around; Linnets, Chaffinches, Redpolls and the like. But the main event failed to show. The hedgerows were full of Redwings, while several flocks of Fieldfares headed west. There was a great late autumn feel about the day.

Redwing and Bullfinch

The flash field and pool were reasonably productive, hosting a Green Sandpiper, 14 Teal, six Wigeon, two Shovelers, 18 Greylag Geese, and 12 Snipe. At the edge of the pool behind the flash I found a female Kingfisher which tolerated my presence surprisingly well.

Finally, I couldn't resist photographing a Lesser Redpoll perched on wires above the scrubby part of Stapenhill Wood.

Lesser Redpoll

Sunday November 12

Cloudy at first, then sunny, with a freshening northerly breeze. Cold.

There is a word for days like this, but I won't use it. Another word is frustrating.

Dave arrived shortly before I did and had recorded several flocks of Fieldfare leaving us with a combined total for the morning of at least 75. I joined him, and the first minor calamity occurred when I got onto a distant finch, which I thought might be a Hawfinch. My directions were inadequate and Dave could not get on it. I wasn't 100 percent, so had to let it go.

Worse was to follow (for me anyway).

At the pond a flock of 80 Linnets and numerous thrushes was swirling about and I commented there could be a raptor about. At this point a young lady from Church Farm appeared with two dogs, passing us with a cheery "not disturbing anything am I". I had to admit that although she was, she did live there so I could hardly complain. Further along the hedge Dave announced, "WHAT'S THIS?" As I whirled round he added "Merlin !" I could see nothing. The bird had evidently been flying on the opposite side of the hedge we were following allowing Dave a brief, but excellent, view of it. By the time I was trying to see it, it must have been passing me at speed on the other side of the hedge.

This was the first Merlin here since December 2013. They rarely give you a second chance so I wasn't surprised that we didn't see it again.

At the flash field a reasonably good number and variety of wildfowl was present, including five Shoveler, two Wigeon, 30 Teal, and seven Snipe.

Fieldfare

Three of the Shovelers (the full complement included a female and another imm male)

The walk back did not add much apart from a distant raptor which I am certain was a Peregrine, while Dave preferred not to commit.

Just one of those days.

Friday November 10

A sunny day with an annoyingly brisk westerly breeze. Although there was no shooting on site, the surrounding farmland soon echoed to the sound of sporting folk blasting away at Pheasants and partridges.

Ironically, his probably helped me because it had the effect of corralling the local ducks onto the nearest flash. I counted 48 Mallard, 37 Teal, three Wigeon and a Shoveler before my presence unnerved them sufficiently to encourage them to fly elsewhere.

Drake Wigeon

Female Shoveler

The only waders were a little group of Snipe huddled in the sedge. I suspect that if it had been possible to walk through the flash field, a lot more would have made themselves known.

Snipe

Passerine-wise it was pretty quiet. A handful of Fieldfares have joined the 35 Redwings stripping the hedgerows, and there are encouraging numbers of Redpolls although it is difficult to be sure how many are here.

Sunday November 5

Non-birding commitments have been frustrating me this week. I had intended coming here on Wednesday, but had dropped the plan in favour of taking my parents to a hospital appointment. The following day I was committed to visiting friends in Yorkshire and, virtually as I was getting in the car, I got a call from Dave indicating that there was a Lesser Yellowlegs (a rare yankee wader) at a private site in Warwickshire. I couldn't do anything about it.

Over the weekend I have fallen foul of a cold, but this morning I was determined to get to the patch anyway. The news of the Yellowlegs, courtesy of Dave, suggests that the site is no longer accessible and the bird may have gone anyway.

It was a sunny morning, and rather cold as a light north-westerly has set in. I quickly missed two photo opportunities as a Kingfisher landed in a willow sprouting out of one of the dragonfly ponds for not quite long enough for me to get a shot off, and then an adult Peregrine flew over Netherstead.

The remainder of the visit featured flocks totalling 90 Fieldfares and 58 Starlings heading south and west respectively, and a Little Egret which flew from the pool (still a puddle) to the furthest flash. The flash field was again disappointing, containing just eight Teal, two visible Snipe, a Green Sandpiper, and three Lapwings.

"Alba" Wagtail

An alba Wagtail was probably just a female or immature Pied. There seemed to be slightly fewer finches around, but we still managed 60 Linnets, 12 Chaffinches, 15 Siskins, and single figure counts of the other usual suspects.

The most unexpected sighting was a Fallow Deer which bolted over the hill in the ridge field.

Hopefully I'll have a bit more energy, and luck, next week.