Last twitch of the year

Monday was my first opportunity to go for the Brunnich's so I arranged to meet PB and MC at 7.00 am. I was a bit late as the alarm hadn't gone off, but as the plan was to drive through the awful weather and arrive as it cleared around 12.00, there was no rush. We stopped for breakfast and a drink and again for a comfort stop and to fill up. We arrived around 11.30 to a grey sky with patches of blue beginning to show, although it was still very breezy. A birder pointed us in the right direction and as we walked along the quay, the bird was showing really close but a little way ahead. By the time we got level it had swum a little way out.








We watched it diving and coming up a fair distance away and then we lost it. We stood around a eventually relocated it across the other side where it disappeared into the naval base. Just as we decided to go and have lunch it was refound and it headed back into the marina. The sun had appeared by now and we had much better views but it went behind a boat and reappeared well right by the breakwater and then headed back into the naval basin.

















We decided to go and look for the Hooded Merganser at Radipole and then the Glossy Ibis. The merganser was with a flock of tufted ducks right in front of the visitors centre and the ibis gave good views in the play park. We then headed home after a thoroughly enjoyable day.



















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Walland and Dungeness

The drive down to Dungeness across the Marsh was very wet with shallow areas of flooding on many parts of the road. The fields around Fairfield church had lots of pools as did many of the fields. At Baynham Farm the feeders held a few Blue Tits, Great Tits, Tree and House Sparrows with 2 Moorhens and a dozen Chaffinch in the feeder cage, otherwise there was little birdlife other than the Bewick's Swans from Caldecott Lane.
The water levels are so high now that many of the dykes and sewers and the moat and desert are flooding.
After a quick drink I worked my way back across the marsh first stopping at ARC both the south end and the Hanson hide. No sign of the black-throated diver but a Great White Egret, quite a few Goldeneye, lots of other ducks and a pair of Marsh Harrier.

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Trip to Holland

As the Hawk owl was still present after our return from India we decided, with PB to make the trip on Wednesday, which looked like the best for weather. We looked at times and due to various commitments the earliest train over I could make was 11.15pm on Tuesday, followed by a two hour drive before I had to stop for some sleep in a service area.
Waking up around 6 we managed a cup of tea before driving on to Zwolle. The day dawned bright and sunny until we left the motorway when it became misty, for the rest of the day!
We found the owl site and were soon watching it on top of a pylon in the mist.


A bit of patience and it flew closer onto the substation poles. It was really alert, searching round. At one point it flew down and caught a probable beetle in the grass. The owl spent some time flying to different posts, including flying down the fence line to a post about 10 feet away, completely unconcerned by the 10 or so photographers pointing cameras. It was almost too close for the lens!









The owl then flew across the road into the park before returning to the trees and lamp posts along the road.






It eventually flew further down the road and we decided to go and look for a Pygmy Owl in a wood a little way away. We put the coordinates into the sat nav but there was problem as it did not take us to the right area. However, following directions from Dutch Birding we eventually found the right place only to be told it had flown about an hour before after a photographer had tried to get too close.
There was a very interesting difference in the 2 groups. At the hawk owl, which has been around a while, it was mainly photographers with only 3 pairs of binoculars and 1 telescope in sight but at the Pygmy owl it was all birders.
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Back home

Returning from a great trip to Gujarat, India, it was interesting to see the changes over a fortnight. The real surprise was how many trees still had their leaves although it was December, and the beautiful colours.
We said goodbye to Patrick on Saturday and then had a look round with a visit to Scotney for the Long-tailed Duck plus Marsh Harriers and then a visit to the RSPB reserve where we saw a drake Gooseander and then a wander across Walland Marsh for the 37 Bewick's Swans.


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Dungeness Point

The moth trap on Friday held my first Dark Swordgrass, another Feathered Thorn and a very late Lesser Yellow Under-wing with a Yellow-line Quaker and Common Marbled Carpet on Saturday and a Red-green carpet on Sunday.
The drive across the marsh was very quiet with just a few Mute swan flocks. No sign of any Bewick's yet.
There were only a few Gannets on a sea watch from the boats so we headed back for lunch. Following a phone call telling us about a Purple Sandpiper further east along the beach so we drove round and parked up then walked across the shingle. We found 2 Purple Sandpipers and some Sanderling among the Turnstones. They were very confiding and pottered along, feeding as they went, letting us get some reasonable photographs.
I wandered back along the tideline looking at all the battered shellfish among the bits of crab, masses of starfish and some seamice, showing how rough the sea has been.
A big, black cloud threatened so I returned to the car just in time to avoid the lashing rain that blew across the shingle.
We went round to the RSPB reserve and found the Glossy Ibis feeding in the field by the entrance track just past Boulderwall, giving very good views before it disappeared into the reeds. A fox trotted confidently round the car park area, finding something to eat under the feeders .

 

Monday morning had a short spell of Raptor activity with 3 buzzards flying inland over the reserve and a Hen-harrier flying out to sea from the boats.


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A wild week

It has been very interesting in the moth trap this week. I don't often run it this late as we don't usually get many moths but this week has seen lots of Nov/Autumnal moths, Feathered Thorns and the odd Common Marbled Carpet but the highlight was a Figure of 8, a Grey-shoulder Knot and a Merveille du Jour.









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More Crossbills

As it was such a lovely day I decided to revisit Hemsted in the hope of getting some good pics of the Parrot Crossbills. DW phoned to say they had the same idea so I arranged to be picked up. When we got there it was a surprise to see about 15 cars parked and a couple of groups standing round. We strolled along the track and wandered down to the break in the trees but it was an hour or more before any crossbills showed. A group of Common Crossbills flew into the pines by the track and dropped down to drink and there were a few feeding around the tops of the pines at the other end but no sign of the 2-barred or any Parrots.
As we stood around a Clouded Yellow flew around and settled in the track, being disturbed by 2 horses.


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Autumn is really here

We needed to get out so we decided to go for a walk around Park Wood as we hadn't been there lately. Arriving in the car park there were only 2 other cars so we expected a quiet walk but it was VERY quiet, we only heard 2 robins and a jay. The foliage was turning to autumn colours making a colourful carpet, there were plenty of fungi, which I struggle to identify apart from the Fly Agaric, and some lovely sweet chestnuts that we foraged as we went.

























































































The results of our foraging





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Crossbills Again

The weather this morning was wet, wild and windy but it did ease and improve by lunchtime so I decided on a further visit to Hemsted with DW and MC. Arriving at the parking area we were surprised to see 9 cars there.
A wander along the track and a chat to the birders who pointed out some Parrot Crossbills in the top of the trees across the clearing. While we were looking at them some crossbills flew over. Eventually the Two-barred Crossbill was found among a group at the top of the pines beside the entrance track.














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Jack Snipe

Saturday started off murky and damp with very little to be seen across the marsh and not much at the observatory. A call alerted us to a Jack snipe at Hanson Hide so we drove round and there it was standing very still and just bobbing occasionally. On the flood were several Golden Plover, Lapwing and ducks and the Glossy Ibis showed off and on distantly on the far side of the lake.

We drove down to the visitor's centre and walked on to Firth hide where there had been a report of a Yellow-browed Warbler but it didn't appear, however, a Cetti's called and several Chiffchaffs flitted in and out of the bushes.