Sunday March 9 - Morton Bagot

 A fine sunny morning deserved some good birds, and it delivered. The Avocets have returned for another year, more or less bang on time. I'm not quite sure why they keep coming back because there is nowhere for them to breed here. Perhaps the feeding in the nearest flash is too good to resist.

As you can see there is virtually no muddy edge, but despite this they shared the flash with two Green Sandpipers and a small number of Teal.

I was rather hoping for an early Wheatear, but the only migrants apart from the Avocets were one or two singing Chiffchaffs dotted about the site and a male Stonechat.

There was nearly some moth news because I kept seeing an orange and black moth which refused to land. I'm fairly sure it was an Orange Underwing.

The Garden Moth Scheme started for the year yesterday, and I awoke to find 19 moths of six species nestled in and around the trap. They were all familiar from previous years, but for those who are interested, the full list was: March Moth 1, Oak Beauty 2, Small Brindled Beauty 1, Chestnut 1, Common Quaker 12, Hebrew Character 2.

Small Brindled Beauty (second for garden after one last year)

Chestnut (a common moth which I missed last year for the first time)

Thursday March 6 - It's a marathon, not a sprint

 It's amazing how joining Patchwork Challenge has unleashed the competitive instinct in me. I had told myself I would not change my approach to local birding. I would continue mapping the distribution of the birds within ten kilometres of my house and joining the competition wouldn't change a thing.

But then I drew a part of a square kilometre in the Alcester area, most of which fell outside the circle. As this meant it would only take half an hour to cover I reasoned I could spend the rest of Tuesday morning checking out potential ticks in that general area. Perhaps it served me right that I drew a complete blank: no Cetti's Warbler, no Little Grebe, and no Little Owl.

I did in fact add one species to the list, the humble Chiffchaff, one of which I heard singing along Coughton Fields Lane. 

Today I returned to the area determined to get back to mapping birds. It's now March which for me means I can start counting birds as breeders instead of winterers, although I must admit a lot of the birds are probably not yet on territory.

No ticks were added to the year list but I rather enjoyed getting back to "normal" birding. It was also sunny, so the camera got an airing.

Chiffchaff (the same one as on Tuesday)

Chaffinch (singing male)

Singing male Yellowhammer

Some minor discoveries included a fly-over Red Kite, and a small party of Reed Buntings Chaffinches and Redpolls which were attracted to a damp patch in the road, but unfortunately were disturbed by the local postman who drove passed just as I was getting to grips with them. The only Redpoll I photographed was rather washed out and had white wing-bars (all consistent with the feather wear you can see in Lesser Redpolls by early spring), but as the Redpolls have now been lumped into one species I no longer need to care whether it was Lesser or Common Redpoll.

Redpoll

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Sunday March 2 - Spring in name only.

 I've spent much of the week out of "birding" action. Friends were visiting and needed to take priority. Only on Friday did I finally get out, choosing Preston Bagot at the eastern edge of the circle. It was good to get back into the field, but the birding was steady. The highlight was a flock of at least 45 Siskins.

Now at least it's March. Meteorological spring has sprung. This morning it got off to a good start when the two local Hawfinches flew over as I headed to get a paper. In glorious sunshine I could see the white tips of their tails as well as the more obvious white flashes on their underwings. It was just a shame it was only a naked eye view.

Morton Bagot failed to deliver anything new for the year, but we searched for signs of spring anyway.

As far as the birds were concerned it was just a case of ticking off the usual species. Tawny Owl, 26 Lapwings, 42 Teal, 28 Meadow Pipits, a fly-over Yellowhammer, a Little Egret, and a Green Sandpiper stood out. The latter was the first I have actually seen (as opposed to heard) this year. Unfortunately it was never very close.

The water in the flash pools was largely frozen, but thawed in parts. The only insect brave enough to be on the wing this morning was a Buff-tailed Bumblebee, the traditional first of the year's queen bees.

As for wildflowers, we saw none. Although of course Hazel catkins were out, and are technically flowers.

So no Chiffchaffs, Wheatears, or Sand Martins for me yet, but they've all been reported elsewhere in the country this year so it shouldn't be long.

Sunday February 23 - Morton Bagot

 Spoiler alert: since announcing I would be taking part in Patchwork Challenge my year list has remained steadfastly static. That doesn't mean that the birding has been bad though, quite the contrary.

Things got off to a dodgy start when I heard that an Egyptian Goose had settled in to roost on Engine Pool (Earlswood) on Friday evening. I was there the following morning, hoping to add it to the list. But sadly it had disappeared overnight.

My first moth-trapping session of the year also ended in failure when, on Thursday evening, the trap's light mysteriously went out overnight. The bulb seemed to be working alright, so I tried again on Friday evening. More of that later.

The big birding highlight came as I sprawled on the sofa watching England failing to beat Australia in the cricket. I glanced outside and noticed a "Starling" on top of a tree beyond the Close. It didn't look quite right so I grabbed my bins and discovered it was in fact a female Hawfinch.  My camera was to hand and I took a series of shots in perfect light.

This morning I joined Dave and Andy G at Morton Bagot under grey skies. We hadn't gone far when a Hawfinch flew over us. This time there was no photo opportunity.

In contrast to last weekend the visit was quite rewarding. In addition to the Hawfinch we also saw a male Stonechat (the first since one in January), two Red Kites, 35 Lapwings, a Shelduck, a Little Egret, a better than usual flock of 16 Redpolls, and as I was leaving, a flock of 40 Fieldfares.

So some signs of wintering birds starting to move and breeding birds returning to re-establish territories. 

Regarding the moth-trapping, Thursday produced one micro on the kitchen window before the light failed Common/Banded Brindled Brown Agonopterix heracliana/A ciliella (a species pair which cannot be easily separated). Friday night gave me five more moths of four species, the best (by dint of being one I don't see every year) being Dotted Border.

Dotted Border

Pale Brindled Beauty

It's probably fair to say that whoever came to give these moths their names, they had a relaxed approach to what constitutes a "beauty". 

My plan for this year is to rejoin the Garden Moth Scheme, so I'll only be mentioning moths here if they are scarce or new for the garden....he said!

Thursday February 20 - Patchwork Challenge

 Earlier this week I spotted that the on-line competition known as Patchwork Challenge now includes 10km circles like my own. It seemed almost rude not to join in. I must admit the actual process of joining taxed my limited techno-skills to breaking point, but with help from the Patchwork Challenge team I think I'm on board.

Briefly, the competition produces a series of leagues into which the players add the birds they have seen this year. It also rewards finds of scarcer birds with extra points. I used to enter my Morton Bagot scores, but dropped out about five years ago. I won't be entering Morton Bagot as a patch this time as my Redditch 10km circle now takes priority.

On Tuesday my roving got me to Bell Green, just south of Birmingham (the place I'd ben heading when I got the puncture). It was a frosty old morning and highlights were few. The best discovery was a sunflower field which harboured over a hundred Woodpigeons but not much else.

Today I returned to Chalcot Wood which would be lovely if it wasn't right up against the M40/M42 junction. It was a rather soggy visit, but I was crossing my fingers that the small pool where I had found breeding Mandarin a couple of summers ago might again produce a surprise. Disappointingly it contained five Canada Geese and nothing else. 

However the walk back to the road was much more successful. A short diversion into the wood brought me my first Woodcock of the year. I only saw two last year, both in December. I don't know if this is just a coincidence but all three of my most recent birds have flushed when I paused from stumbling through the undergrowth. It seems as though they watch you, confident that you won't spot them, but when you stop moving they think the game must be up, and panic.

Needless to say no photograph was taken. In fact I didn't get a shot of anything on either foray, so I'm left to rely on my garden feeder again. This time a fine male Siskin paid it's second visit this year.

Siskin

Incidentally, the Woodcock was species number 87 for the year, but my points score is 96. I've no idea how that compares to other circles. I may even be in a league of my own. I hope not though.

Sunday February 16 - February blues

 I don't think many birders like February, and this last ten days has reminded me why. It's been crap. The general malaise in my case has been caused by a mixture of bad luck, bad planning, and bad birding.

Let me take you back to last Sunday. Morton Bagot was quite well attended, with me, Dave, and Mike H slogging round on a cold grey morning. I'm struggling to think of anything we saw which could be worthy of a mention, but based on today's effort the 38 Lapwings which were present are starting to look pretty good.

One bird I should have seen was Red-crested Pochard. A drake popped up on the Earlswood Whatsapp feed during that dire Sunday morning as having been identified just as it flew off. Much later in the afternoon, as the light was beginning to fade, an update had it as still present. I decided it would be too dark if I went immediately and gambled it might be there next day. So on a cold Monday morning I walked around Engine Pool and confirmed it had gone.

My wandering during the week didn't look too promising. On Tuesday I trudged around Church Hill, a north Redditch housing estate, without seeing anything better than Grey Wagtail. There were lots of birds though and it proved to be a much better morning than Friday. My plan that morning was to drive north of Redditch to an area at the edge of my Circle. I didn't get there. Driving along the narrow Icknield Street I met a cyclist coming in the opposite direction and pulled into a farm entrance to let him pass. Shortly afterwards I could hear strange noises coming from the car. By the time I'd pulled over, the puncture caused by driving over a screw which was embedded in the tyre had been exacerbated to the extent that the tyre walls were wrecked. I had to be rescued by the RAC.

And so to today. Another dreadful visit to Morton Bagot. The only highlight being the site's first Coot of the year.

I might just as well have spent the week looking out of the kitchen window.

Moth results

It's that time of year when last year's moth total gets some clarification, and hopefully a boost. Nigel Stone, the Warwickshire Moth Recorder, had taken away a small box of moths, ten in all, where identification proved difficult. He has emailed me the results and I found that my garden list had expanded by four.

The best one was the fourth Warwickshire record of Crassa tinctella a micro also known as Plain Bark Moth. In this case I had correctly identified it, and had sent Nigel a photo which he confirmed did look like one. However he said that he would need the specimen as only three out of a thousand he had previously checked had turned out to be this species.

Crassa tinctella 17/05/2024

Only three of the ten moths were macros; an Oak-tree Pug (which had died anyway so I thought I might as well get it checked), a Scarce Footman (which had looked very pale, and the Obsidentify App assured me was the very rare Hoary Footman. I had it checked because I didn't trust the App, rightly as it turned out), and a very worn Pug which had me and the app completely stumped. It turned out to be a new moth for the garden White-spotted Pug. The books imply this is a common moth, but in fact it has declined rapidly in recent years and is now listed as "near-threatened".

White-spotted Pug Eupithecia tripunctaria 29/08/2024

The remaining two new for the garden were both micros. The first was extremely worn, to the extent that neither I nor the app even got the right family. It turned out to be Blushed Knot-horn Ephestia woodiella. 

An extremely worn Ephestia woodiella 12/06/2024

The last new one was a species I was fairly sure I had been seeing before. The tiny Yponomeuta moths occur in large numbers and there are five common species. Only one is easy to identify, two are utterly impossible, and the other two may be identified by true experts, i.e. not me. So when on July 18 2024 a large catch of moths included two I was pretty sure were my missing species Willow Ermine Yponomeuta rorrella, I decided to have one of them checked, and it was indeed that species.

Willow Ermine Yponomeuta rorrella 18/07/2024

As I've no doubt said before, taking specimens goes against the grain, but moth identification is quite different from bird identification and sometimes if you want to know what they are for certain, there is no alternative.

Friday February 7 - Weekly round-up

 I've had quite a decent birding week all things considered. After Monday's Hawfinch, the next two days featured twitches to Earlswood for species which I could conceivably miss locally in the course of a year.

The first was a Barnacle Goose. Yes I know, far more likely to have come from the substantial feral population currently residing in the UK than from the snowy wastes of Spitzbergen. Nevertheless I had not seen one (or even heard of one) within my 10k Circle since I started this daft obsession in 2021. It didn't help its provenance that it had chosen to accompany Canada Geese in the tranquil setting of Mereside Fishing Pools next to Terry's Pool.

That was on Wednesday. Next day the Whatsapp pinged to let me know that there were three  Pochard at Earlswood. Back I went, and settled for the pair which was swimming around the partially frozen Engine Pool (the other was on Windmill).

No problem with provenance this time, it's just rather sad that this once common winter visitor is now missable locally unless you're willing to twitch one.

This morning I resumed my random wandering, but fate had chosen the north end of Arrow Valley where I was quietly confident I might find another year-tick. And it didn't take long before the target, a Kingfisher flew past me along the course of the river Arrow.

It was too quick for a photo and I couldn't relocate it, so I settled for ambling along the path chatting to anyone who wanted to ask me if I'd seen anything. One lady mentioned having seen a Barn Owl flying in broad daylight around Bordesley Meadows. This will be the same bird as was seen from their garden by Tony and Leigh Kelly a week or so ago. Unfortunately there was no sign today.

Wandering back I decided on a circuit of Arrow Valley Lake where I counted 145 Black-headed Gulls, 16 Goosanders, and five occupied Grey Heron nests. This was all pretty much what you'd expect, and just before I left I saw a Little Egret which flew up into a tree.

Irresistible. The camera came out.

Tuesday February 4 - Unexpected Hawfinch

One of the good things about watching birds is that, unlike such activities as golfing or fishing or playing football, you don't necessarily have to set out to do it. There is no need to "go birdwatching" to enjoy the hobby. Sometimes the birds come to you.

Yesterday I had no intention of birding. I was simply walking back from the local shop, newspaper in hand, when I noticed three finches fly across the road and land in a tree. Two of them were Goldfinches, but the other was like a Goldfinch on steroids. I had no binoculars with me, but was sure it had to be a Hawfinch.

With no optics available I tried photographing the tree top bird with my mobile phone. The result was a vaguely bird shaped dot. The only thing for it was to hurry home, grab my camera and return. I was back in ten minutes, and to my relief it was still there.

Ironically, aside from the satisfaction of being proved correct, I was only mildly thrilled by the experience. Cracking bird as a Hawfinch is, it has become devalued by recent events. The winter influx has meant I had already seen two from my bedroom window, several at Morton Bagot, and more at the churchyard in Studley. There have also been two previous influx years, and in both of those I saw them near the house.

This morning fate was at it again. Another walk to the paper shop, another bird. This time it was "just" a Kestrel, but I think I've seen fewer Kestrels in the immediate environs of the house than I have Hawfinches.

I also actually went birding. My chosen square kilometre was just east of Danzey Green. The habitat was classic farmland, the weather grey and blustery, and the birds were hard to find. Actually, I did have one minor success. While watching a small flock of Redwings, I discovered they were accompanied by at least 40 Chaffinches, the largest flock I've seen locally this winter.

Little victories.

Sunday February 2 - Morton Bagot

 After a quiet week of seeing not very much at Rowney Green (Tuesday), Dickens Heath and Earlswood (Friday) I was keen to see what Morton Bagot had to offer this morning. It did not disappoint. 

I joined Dave and we set off on the usual circuit. The first surprise was that the hollow which had been occupied by a Tawny Owl all winter, now contained a Barn Owl. 

As it was the first weekend of the month we went on to try a kick through the marsh to get a Snipe count for the month, but we only flushed three Common Snipe and two Jack Snipe. Perhaps there had been some prior disturbance. A Sparrowhawk flew across, and was no doubt equally disappointed. A Red Kite appeared above Bannams Wood.

Fortunately some gems awaited us at the flashes. Two Shelducks were new for the year, and surprisingly both appeared to be drakes. Only eight Teal were visible along with 19 Mallard. However, as we walked the footpath and peered through the densest part of the hedge I noticed that a pair of Pintail had swum out. Attempts to photograph them through the hedge were as hopeless as I'd expected, and as we arrived in our favoured spot Dave let me know he could see them flying off.

We wondered whether they might have simply gone to the pool/marsh field, Dave reckoned they'd been heading that way so we decided to arc around to a position we thought we'd stand a chance of seeing them without flushing them again. 

Annoyingly just as we got into position we spotted a chap walking towards us along the Millennium way right passed the pools. He flushed a Little Egret and then some Mallards and the pair of Pintails. The latter circled a couple of times before heading south.

It seems feasible that this is the same pair as was present on December 31 last year, but it begs the question where have they been all through January? 

The Shelducks were probably the first sign of spring, although singing Skylarks, and Song Thrushes along with a singing Mistle Thrush at Rowney Green in the week are also early heralds.

Sunday January 26 - Morton Bagot and Big Garden Birdwatches

 I have to admit that I didn't go to Morton Bagot today. I decided it would rain and so wimped out. Fortunately Dave S and Mike H had no such qualms (and it didn't rain until later), so I am grateful to them for visiting the place and doing pretty well.

Between them they saw a Hawfinch, a probable Jack Snipe, at least two Red Kites, a Tawny Owl and a Little Egret. That'll teach me.

As for me I decided to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch.....twice. My own garden fared reasonably well; 28 birds of nine species. This was probably the best my "smaller than a tennis court" Winyates East garden has ever managed.

I then went to visit my sister in Tidbury Green where her "larger (well longer) than a tennis court" garden absolutely massacred mine. We counted 47 birds of 15 species in the allotted hour. They included a male Blackcap, two Jays, and a male Brambling.

The full results are as follows:

Winyates East: Woodpigeon 2, Blue Tit 2, Great Tit 1, Robin 2, Blackbird 2, Dunnock 1, House Sparrow 5, Greenfinch 7, Goldfinch 6.

Tidbury Green: Woodpigeon 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Jay 2, Magpie 2, Jackdaw 3, Blue Tit 7, Great Tit 1, Blackcap 1, Robin 1, Blackbird 3, Dunnock 2, Chaffinch 4, Brambling 1, Greenfinch 4, Goldfinch 12.

Incidentally we both saw fly-overs and birds in neighbouring gardens which we couldn't count according to my interpretation of the rules. These included Redwings (Winyates East) and Stock Doves  plus a shed load of extra Goldfinches at Tidbury Green.

Saturday January 25

 It's been a very quiet birding week. 

My two exploratory walks were to Oldberrow Hill, and Butler's Hill Wood. The less said about them the better. My only year-tick came yesterday when I wasn't even birding (although arguably I'm never not birding) when I noticed a Red Kite from the A435 at Branson's Cross.

This morning I went to Morton Bagot hoping to take advantage of a window of fine weather between storms. What I hadn't bargained on was that the site would be frozen after the temperature dipped overnight.

It was steady. The one good thing was that the bright sunshine meant I finally got my camera out of the bag.

As you can see, the blog is still functioning.

Sunday January 19 - Morton Bagot and a Bittell Gull roost

 Before I get to today's birding I will just mention that on Thursday I tried my luck at a square kilometre surrounding Junction 16 of the M40, just north of Henley. For the most part it was as unexciting as you might expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a flock of 20 Yellowhammers on Nuthurst Farm just west of the motorway.

Anyway, today I joined Dave at Morton Bagot and we completed the usual circuit in cold, cloudy conditions. This was my first visit this year when the site was not frozen solid, and the birds responded accordingly. The flashes played host to 33 Teal, a Mute Swan, and slightly more unexpectedly four Wigeon. A Green Sandpiper was the third year-tick, although we only heard it.

The biggest surprise came when we prepared to view the Kingfisher Pool. A small group of Mallard flew up and popped over the hedge to the nearest flash and we heard a strange whistling call unlike anything I've ever heard before. I joked it could be a Whistling Duck, but then we spotted the bird itself and quickly concluded it was indeed. But which species?

The reason you have never heard of Whistling Duck (or maybe you have) is that it is not a British species. So we were left to Google Whistling Duck images before coming up with an identification of Fulvous Whistling Duck. Many years ago I saw "Tree Ducks" in India, and I suspect they were actually this species or Lesser Whistling Duck. Fortunately today's birds took off and circled the flash before pitching down on the furthest flash. In that brief flight they were transformed into a much more distinctive bird with seemingly black upper and under wings and white rumps. That rump colour proved to be diagnostic.

I can't count them as a tick of course....not on the British List.

In the afternoon I headed for Bittell Reservoir to do my bit for the BTO's Wings project. The idea was to count gulls at a gull roost. I was aware that the Bittell roost is largely a sub-roost and that the bit in my Circle (Lower Bittell) has no roosting gulls at all. Nevertheless I thought my data would count. It turns out that the times I counted were outside the parameters of the survey (I couldn't actually discover a time stipulation other than "around dusk") so I guess I left too early.

Oh well, Lower Bittell gave me several easy year-ticks. Coot, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Shoveler and Gadwall were all missing from the year list because I hadn't visited anywhere with sufficient unfrozen water until today. The best bird was probably a squealing Water Rail, but I didn't have time to wait to see if it would show itself.

I had to head to foreign lands (Upper Bittell) where I was sure a gull roost (or at least sub-roost) would form. Sure enough it did. I counted 647 Black-headed Gulls, 12 Herring Gulls, and 153 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and in the course of doing so discovered a single adult Mediterranean Gull in with the flock.

All this this was achieved with the help of a scope and tripod. If you don't own one, don't even bother going to Upper Bittell. Its a big beast, and the gulls roost just off the north shore. As I don't have a permit I was stuck on the dam, the south-east edge of the reservoir. I saw Martin Wheeler at Lower, and he joined me on the dam at Upper just as I was finding the Med Gull. Unfortunately I was intent on counting, so I was only vaguely aware he was there as I completed the count. When I did see him I obviously wanted to show him the Med Gull, but as I adjusted my tripod height the gulls flew, and although I felt sure it would still be among them I couldn't relocate it. Perhaps it had gone.

Finally, you may have noticed I've managed to get some photos onto the blog. It would be nice to think that the problem was just a glitch and my troubles are over. My gut feeling says no, but for the time being normal service is resumed.

Problems

 I'm having more problems loading photos onto my blog. I'm not sure how to resolve this, but in the meantime I'll post updates here @mortonbagotbirder.bsky.social

I'll still be updating my lists on this blog.

PS: The link should now work.

Sunday January 12 - Morton Bagot

 It's been a pretty good weekend. Even yesterday in dense freezing fog I managed three year-ticks; a Siskin at Matchborough when I went to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy, a male Blackcap in the garden, and a calling Redpoll when I made a brief attempt (unsuccessful) to see six Hawfinches which Andy Gooding had seen in the churchyard at Studley.

I needn't have worried about Hawfinch because this morning Dave and I found one at Morton Bagot, the first here this year. Our initial sighting was a bird flying out of view behind a hedge, but a couple of hours later we located what was probably the same bird at the far end of the dragonfly pool field. This time it perched up and proved to be a splendid male.

Thanks to the presence of birds at Studley, this was not my first this year, but walking around the still frozen site we managed to add seven species to my year list.

The first was a Tawny Owl, which showed very well as usual. Less auspicious additions followed; a flock of a dozen Snipe in flight, a party of 14 Lapwings heading west, a very brief view of a Stonechat in flight, a Little Egret, and a Reed Bunting. 

The one I've missed out was arguably the best of the day. Unfortunately it was also the most distant, a drake Goosander which flew south-west. It was my first here since 2018.

The ringers were on site, and while we were with them we had a Yellowhammer fly over at considerable height. A noteworthy site record these days.

Although there didn't appear to be any Teal, Moorhens or other water birds present, as soon as the pools thaw they should return.

Friday January 10 - Frozen

 The current freezing weather is not really doing my style of random square bashing any favours. The two I picked this week were Kite Green (just east of Henley) on Tuesday, and Rough Hill Wood (just south of Redditch) today. Neither locality gave me a great deal. The first produced over 100 Redwings just before the temperature really plummeted, while today I at least added Sparrowhawk to the year-list.

Fortunately other birders had been more successful locally, giving me the opportunity on Thursday morning to revisit a churchyard near Studley on the trail of a pair of Hawfinches.

I found them quite easily on arrival, although I did have to wait about half an hour to get the above image. The birds were feeding on Yews among a flock of at least 16 Greenfinches, but unfortunately I couldn't get a clear view when they were actually in the Yews.

I suspect these might be the birds which haunted Morton Bagot, about two kilometres away, during November, although I must admit this is pure conjecture.

Saturday January 4 - Morton Bagot

 My first visit to the patch this year was in some ways a triumph, and in others frustrating. I had switched from Sunday after seeing the weather forecast, although it seems by no means certain that tomorrow will be unbirdable.

Morton Bagot was frozen solid as expected. The ringers were on site but had chosen a different spot, so I found myself alone with no one in view when the bird of the day (or annoyance of the day) flew over. I had been alerted by an alarm call from a crow and looked up to see a largish accipiter flying above treetop height and directly across two fields to disappear into Bannams Wood. It had white undertail coverts which would make it an adult or at least sub-adult, but I didn't get much more on the plumage except to say it looked steely grey as it headed away. It felt enough like a Goshawk for me to count it as such after a period of deliberation. I think it must have been a male because it was not Buzzard sized.

I reached the ringers, but none of them had seen it. They reported having walked through the marsh for Snipe this morning, and had also seen a Barn Owl shortly after arriving. As I was chatting to Tony I heard a Stonechat call, but he told me they had put a tape on after seeing one in the chat field. It seems I had heard the tape and not the bird. 

After failing to locate the actual bird, a volley of gunshots opened up from the direction of Castle Farm, and presently several flocks of geese appeared and flew on. They were mostly Greylags. Several Mallard also appeared, but finding the flashes totally frozen, they carried on too. It was all a bit frustrating.

Some of the Greylags

A few easy year-ticks, Grey Heron and Ravens flew over, but I decided I might as well head back.

Back at the dragonfly pools I had a good idea. I decided to skirt the smaller pool where I had previously flushed a Jack Snipe, and sure enough one got up from under my feet, flipping back over the bank of the other pool where it disappeared, as they do.

It wasn't really a day for the camera, but I couldn't resist a perched Common Buzzard before I climbed into my car.

Thursday January 2 - New year, new resolutions

 Happy New Year everyone. On the first day of the year we woke up to heavy rain, which was a bit disappointing to say the least.

I have made a couple of resolutions which may seem contradictory. Firstly I intend to be more dedicated to exploring random tracts of land within ten kilometres of the house. Usually I start off quite well but as soon as spring arrives I cannot resist regular visits to watery sites like Morton Bagot, Earlswood, and Mappleborough Green Flash. I'll keep up weekly visits to Morton Bagot this year, but other birding will be more random. We'll see whether I can keep that up through the summer.

My second plan is to be a bit more relaxed about birding just beyond my self-imposed 10 km circle, extending it to 20 k just for twitching birds I'm unlikely to see in the core area. I still have care-related time constraints so it'll probably be a case of tick and run.

In fact I spent the afternoon of New Year's Day attempting just that. I went to Upper Bittell Reservoir, where a Caspian Gull had been seen a few days earlier. Unfortunately this was a case of dip and run because it didn't appear to be there. 

This morning I took myself off the Kemp's Green, an area of farmland between Umberslade and Ullenhall. The year list got a bit of a boost, but the species on offer were fairly modest. My best discoveries were a Golden Plover and a Yellowhammer, both of which were ticked audibly and not visually.

As it was sunny I was hoping to photograph something, but the only birds which came close enough were a small party of Long-tailed Tits.

Oh, one more thing. I've rejoined the world of social media by signing up to BlueSkySocial. My account currently has seven followers and no posts. Hopefully I'll eventually see something worth reporting.