European Roller

A trip to East Yorkshire with Paul. A long drive to Aldbrough in East Yorkshire was worthwhile as we had great views of the long staying European Roller. Also noted at Bewick Hall where we parked; 6 Tree Sparrow.

On the way home we stopped off on the Ashwell to Bygrave Road where we were delighted to see 3 Turtle Dove. Also noted; Lesser-whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Grey Partridge, Red-legged Partridge.

Some of my hd, 3d, scratch n sniff, high quality pics below. The first eight turquoise blobs in a cultivated field are European Roller, the next three lbj's on a barn roof are Tree Sparrow, next three grey/brown bird in a bush Lesser-Whitethroat and final pic if you look closely you can just make out three Turtle Dove shaped blurs. Enjoy!

Lakenheath Oriole's and Cuckoo's

On a recent visit to Lakenheath with Brendan we met northwest birder and photographer Paul Foster. He has posted some great Oriole and Cuckoo pics on his blog; http://paulifos.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cuckoos-and-orioles.html

Pics from Saturday

Paul's pics from saturday; Barn Owl, Crane, Hobby and Marsh Harrier at Lakenheath. Corn Bunting, Lesser Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail, North Hertfordshire between Bygrave and Ashwell.

Paul's pics below;

Flew Southwest

Monday 4th June 2012.
A planned trip to East Yorkshire with Dave, Paul and Brendan was cancelled because the European Roller "flew southwest" on sunday evening. As no further reports had been posted that evening we decided to head for Norfolk and in particular a couple of sites where we might see "Montie's". On route news came through that the Roller had been seen in it's usual place, however, as we were already in North Norfolk we resisted temptation.

On route near Walsingham a wing tagged Red Kite was noted.

We drew a blank at our first "Montie's" site and same result at the second.

Next stop was Titchwell which was really busy people wise. Nothing out of the ordinary here, the highlights being; Little Gull, Little Tern, Fulmar, Bearded Tit, Red-breasted Merganser. From here we returned to one of the alleged "Montie's" sites. No Montie's (of course!) but we did note; Grey Partridge, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Buzzard, Yellowhammer and a possible Quail ran quickly across the farm track but too distant to confirm i.d.

With nothing much reported in Norfolk we decided to head for Lakenheath in search of Crane's.

Lakenheath; Golden Oriole (singing), Bittern (booming), Bearded Tit (pinging), Cuckoo, Hobby, Garganey, Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier-up to 20 birds seen including several pairs performing  "food pass", Barn Owl-prolonged views hunting over ditch's, Crane-2 adults foraging for food, it is believed these birds have young but reeds too tall for us to see them.

On the way home we stopped off on the Ashwell to Bygrave road in North Hertfordshire. A great way to finish our day as not only did we see the recently reported Turtle Dove but we also had outstanding views of the following; Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Partridge.

Paul managed some pics and they will be added soon.

Otmoor

A visit to Otmoor with Paul and also a brief stop at Bledlow.

Otmoor; Turtle Dove, Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler (reeling), Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Snipe (4 drumming), Curlew, Redshank, Buzzard, Swift, Cuckoo, Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Bledlow; Nightingale.

Angelsey

Paul's pics from our recent trip to Angelsey.

Arctic Tern at Cemlyn Bay

Black Guillemot at Holyhead Harbour

Chough at South Stack

Curlew Sandpiper at Cemlyn Bay

Pied Flycatcher at Aber Falls

Puffin at South Stack

Red-breasted Mergansers at Cemlyn Bay

Sandwich Tern at Cemlyn Bay

Sandwich Tern colony at Cemlyn Bay 

Frog Warbler at Woodmore

An early morning visit to Frogmore Lakes with Brendan; Great views of a very showy male Wood Warbler.

Day Trip to Bangor

A visit to Angelsey with Brendan, Dave, Paul and new team member Carol.

Aber Falls; Dipper, Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Garden Warbler, Blackcap.

Holyhead Harbour; Black Guillemot (3).

South Stack; Puffin (5), Chough (2), Razorbill. Guillemot, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Gannet, Wheatear, Rock Pipit, Stonechat.

Cemlyn Bay; Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Red-breasted Merganser, Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Knot, Ringed Plover, Dunlin.

More Updates

I dropped my wife off at work this morning (Kingsley Green) and was pleasantly surprised to see a Bullfinch. When I arrived back home I saw a Nuthatch on my feeders, a Songthrush in the birdbath and a flyover Green Woodpecker.

Paul captured the image's below on our recent visit to Lakenheath and the Brecks. Golden Oriole, Tree Pipit.

Paul paid a visit to Otmoor during the week where he encountered a White-fronted Goose and a Short-eared Owl. Pics below.

Brief Updates

Monday 14th May 2012.
Keyhaven and Pennington; Little Tern, Common Tern, House Martin, Sand Martin, Swift, Swallow, Buzzard, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Little Egret, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Little Grebe.

Beaulieu Road Station; Stonechat, Redstart, Reed Bunting, Curlew.

Acre's Down; Redstart, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Crossbill (6).

Wednesday 16th May 2012;
Eggplant Lane near J20 M25; Yellowhammer, Linnet, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Buzzard, Red Kite, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch (in and out of nesthole).
Watford Town Centre; Grey Wagtail near the pond.

Take Two

A return to the Brecks this morning with Paul.

Lakenheath; Golden Oriole (2 singing males)

Santon Downham; Tree Pipit (3)

Brecks, Norfolk, Brecks

A trip to Norfolk and the Brecks with Brendan.

Lakenheath; Having spent many hours at Lakenheath last year hearing but not seeing Golden Oriole I visited today more in hope than expectation. After 5 minutes on site we located a male Golden Oriole offering good views in the second poplar wood. Then almost immediately we connected with a second male in flight being mobbed by a cuckoo. The second bird flew from the third poplar wood. Also noted at Lakenheath; Cuckoo (6), Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Bittern (booming), Whooper Swan, Great-spotted Woodpecker.

The Brecks; Stone-curlew.

Cley; Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Gannet, Spoonbill, Little Egret, Whimbrel, Temminck's Stint (2), Dunlin, Redshank, Knot, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Bearded Tit, Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail.

Santon Downham; Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Tree Pipit (3), Willow Warbler, Blackcap.

Otmoor

A morning trip to Otmoor with Paul. Started out quite bright but soon clouded over then rain.
Noteworthy birds; Wood Sandpiper, Cuckoo, Common Tern, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Red Kite, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat (singing), Grasshopper Warbler (reeling), Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Wheatear, Curlew.
Paul's pics below; Whitethroat, Brown Hare, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting.

Stalked by Storks

A days birding with Paul. Unusually for us we did not have a “target bird” for the day. We headed off to Portland Bill arriving about 08:30. Nothing much doing on the sea so we decided to walk the general area. We bumped into some local birders in the top fields and in conversation they mentioned that the White Storks had been reported near Weymouth, we told them that we had seen them last Sunday in Oxfordshire. At that very moment one of the birders was alerted by some gulls making quite a commotion. He then said “there they are, the Storks are here!” The Storks flew up the centre of the island before turning round and heading back towards Weymouth. Not too many people have seen these Storks in 2 counties I think?

Noteworthy birds at “the Bill”; Whimbrel, Guillemot, Razorbill, Gannet, Fulmar, Shag, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Wheatear (in excess of 100 birds in the area), Skylark, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff,  Spotted Flycatcher, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Hobby, Sparrowhawk, Little Owl.

A brief but productive stop at Southwell; Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Tern (7).

On the way home we stopped off at Acre’s Down in the New Forest, quieter than usual but we did note the following; Firecrest, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Coal Tit, Nuthatch (pair attending nesthole), Sparrowhawk, Cuckoo (calling), Stonechat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Bullfinch (calling), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (drumming), Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Paul’s pics below; Linnet, Fulmar, Peregrine, Wheatear, White Stork, 5 White Storks, Hobby, Little Owl, Ringed Plover, Sanderling/Dunlin, Spotted Flycatcher, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit. As always click on pics to enlarge.

Croxley Common Moor

A morning visit to Croxley Common Moor with Tony and Geoff; Common Tern, Swallow, Kingfisher, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Whinchat, Wheatear, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker.

Another visit after work with Paul produced 5 Wheatear.

30 mins on the moor

A good return for the 30 minutes I spent on Croxley Common Moor this afternoon; Whinchat, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Green Woodpecker.