Morton Bagot Birder: Tuesday October 18

Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Tuesday October 18 - the competitive streak

A competitive streak is probably not a good thing to have if you're a birder. Far better to be a dispassionate observer, unconcerned about lists and the like. But I can't help myself. Even though this #LocalBigYear thing is entirely a competition with myself, and this is the inaugural year so there isn't even a previous year's total to aim at, I still find myself working out how many I might get and setting targets.

The target in my head has developed from "I'll probably see between 130 to 140 species" to an aspiration of 140 species. This is based on my best ever year (2019) at Morton Bagot bringing me 122 species and factoring in the additional habitats available within 10km of our house.

This morning I was on 135 species and reflecting on what I still need and what I've missed. I think I have two that I'm very confident of getting; Pochard and Goldeneye. Surely Lower Bittell or Earlswood will get those this autumn. Birds missed include Oystercatcher and Black-tailed Godwit, both now unlikely to reappear until next spring.

There are still at least half a dozen realistic possibilities, and even more unrealistic ones to keep me on tenterhooks until the end of the year. It's got to the stage of targeting habitat with these possibilities in mind.

This morning I went to Spernal STW (or at least the footpath along the Arrow which skirts its eastern edge). The species in mind was Yellow-browed Warbler. It's never had one, and probably never will, but it gets wintering Chiffchaffs so never say never.

It was a lovely sunny morning with barely any wind. Ideal for checking the willows and sycamores for small passerines. Skylarks were on the move, and I arrived at the Haydon Wood carpark to find a host of Starlings on the pylon above. I counted 170 of them while really checking for Rosy Starling. Obviously there were none of those.

But as I started the walk along the river I heard a parrot-like call. Looking east, into the sun, I spotted two long-tailed parakeets heading south. There is only one species of Parakeet on the British List. The Rose-ringed Parakeet abounds in the London area, and now in Birmingham, and I need it for the year list.

But there was a snag. Quite apart from the fact that the views were totally silhouetted, the call I had heard didn't sound quite right (although it might have been), and one of the parakeets was appreciably larger than the other. This could be sexual dimorphism, or perhaps one was some other type of Parakeet. Maybe they both were.

So until I find them again, they'll have to remain unidentified Parakeets. Drat.

The rest of the morning passed pleasantly, but without incident. I heard a singing Chiffchaff, counted a remarkable eight Song Thrushes in a hedge, noticed five Redwings overhead, a few Siskins and not a lot else.

Joe at Earlswood had a Great White Egret flying over this morning, which reminded me to keep an eye open for herons.