Isle of Mull - Day 4

Every year we have come to the Isle of Mull, we have always gone on Bryan's Wild About Mull tour, (see link http://begbits.blogspot.com) and his tours have never failed us with a good day of birdwatching, and once again, it didn't this time. 7 of us went on his tour, and while collecting the rest of the visitors, Siskin, Buzzard and the regular White-tailed Eagle chicks were all visible. We started actually waiting for one of the adult Eagles to come into the nest with some food for their young, and after an hour of waiting, we were rewarded. Another good bird at a regular stopping point were Golden Eagle, showing well in the mountainside hills. All of the commoner species were available, like Stonechat, Wheatear, Hooded Crows and Wader species. Being close to Pennyghael - where we stayed - were regular points to view the Short-eared Owls, with also the occasional Hen Harrier. 

Plenty of "Hoodies" were sitting on rocks and posts.

Also, Short-eared Owls were on the hunt during the morning

Getting towards lunch time, we headed to Beak. With all the great sightings we'd seen, it was time to view a reptile which is not easy to locate in some parts of the UK, the Adder. Bryan and I had our sandwiches, and he knows where their bathing areas are amongst the heather, and I had a rough idea where they were from the previous years, so we went looking. Only steping into the heather about 10 meters, already a couple of Adders were slithering out from under my shoes, incredible. After everyone finished eating, we grouped everyone up to show them, and with some luck everyone saw them, but not as close as they may have liked to of been. Well, walking out of the heather, you couldn't get much closer than this.....

This is actually a younger Adder, but if you look closely to the bottom left, you may be able to see that it is eating a newt, fantastic.

Going back to some of the birds at Beak, about 3 Hen Harriers were flying about, a Golden Eagle, and a couple of Cuckoos. Driving out of Beak, this caught the corner of Bryans eye..... 

An adult Adder

Another incredible day, only one thing left to find for this week is an Otter!

Isle of Mull - Day 3

Hours away, the boat trip out to Lunga and Staffa lingered in our heads, as our excitement couldn't stay beneath my teeth. Driving down to the Ulva Ferry, the regular birds such as Stonechat, Wheatear in double figures, and the local Buzzards all out hunting amongst the midges. Also, all the common wader species all out and about, getting food for their young. A nice sight was about 20 Eider Duck swimming along the fishing area on Loch Na Keal, but no fish was seen caught. Our first trip was to Staffa, but the only things that were active were some first Twite of the year and also some numbers of Fulmar flying around their territories.  On the boat, plenty of Black Guilemots, Common Guilemots and Razorbills lined the sea in numbers. Arriving Lunga, these are what greeted us;

Very Tame Puffins

A Few Twite were showing Well

Nesting Fulmar were smiling for the camera

An Extremely Tame Puffin

The glowing yellow inside mouth of a Razorbill

Nesting Kittiwakes

A Fantastic day not over yet, as Ravens in their numbers were snorting above the mountain ridges, the White-tailed Eagle pair were collecting their food for their young at Loch Na Keal, and a elegant Red-breasted Merganser pair were swimming the beautiful colours of Loch Scridain, a first for the year too.

Isle of Mull 2012 - Day 2

We headed for Croggan today, a small track running down by Loch Spelve in the south-east of the island. Target birds today were Wood Warbler and Redstart. Unfortunately, one of these birds was not seen by our human eyes, but one to show for us, and pictures were taken.

Normal sightings were Loch Scridain's White-tailed Eagle family, Stonechat, Common Sandpiper and 4 Golden Plover. Please enjoy watching and looking at the following pictures and more will be explained further along this blog post.

Stonechat on heather at Glen More 

Common Sandpiper near Croggan

And the unexpected ones too!

Moving on to some more exciting, but regular birds sightings on the island were Short-eared Owl, Hen Harrier, and Great-Northern Diver with Cuckoo's, Common Waders and Lesser Redpoll. Once again, enjoy!

White-tailed Eagle nest at Loch Scridain

Short-eared Owl hunting near Pennyghael

Turning right down the track signaled Croggan, Dad took the foot of the gas, and we started to dawdle through the old Oak Woodlands, ideal habitat for Wood Warbler and Redstart. Stopping and listening at every passing place, the spinning song of a male Wood Warbler echoed through the woodland. Even better than that, it didn't take long for us to locate it hopping from tree to tree, incredible. Unfortunately, only a very distant Redstart was singing on the other side of a field, but the pictures, I think are good enough to identify this as a Wood Warbler. 

Wood Warbler at Croggan

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 179

Isle Of Mull 2012 - Day 1

Our 3rd consecutive year on this wildlife spectacled, Isle of Mull. This place is literally a dream come true, especially in the south of the Island. Based on the Western Isles of Scotland, it gets its rarities, as well as its beautiful scenery, incredible. You don't need to be a bird or nature lover to come here, its just incredible! Anyway, enough of the persuading, lets got on with the actual holiday.

First trip on the first day was down to Grasspoint, and it was a great couple of hours to spend the day after getting off form the ferry crossing. Plenty of Auks were visible from the ferry, all that was missing was a Puffin. Guilemot, Black Guilemot, Razorbill and Rock Dove were all visible. Grasspoint is a bit isolated on the island in the south-east corner, so its a bit of a drive. on the way through Glen More mountain range, a pair of Golden Eagle were on the lookout. A Wheatear in Pennyghael was an intriguing site, but they definitely breed here. Also on the list were plenty of Hooded Crows (Hoodys), a brief Redstart, Stonechat, Willow Warbler in good numbers, Lesser Redpoll and Common Sandpiper. A great number of Short-tailed Voles bring back breeding Hen Harriers, and Short-eared Owls. Only Hen Harrier were seen today, but Shorties were seen most other days. Another nice sighting was a male Whinchat, which are also breeding here in good numbers. Back in Pennyghael, a male Cuckoo was singing from a fence post, and remained settled for a while, and allowed photographs to be taken. All three resident Pipits here were present at Grasspoint, and not surprisingly, Water Pipit is not seen here.

Wheatear in Pennyghael.

Golden Eagle at Glen More

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 176 

Goldies are back!

We all went to Lakenheath Fen today, and it was pretty obvious on what we were targeting, the Golden Oriole. We didn't hang around the house too long this morning, so we aimed to get there about 9am. After meeting up with a guided walk that were looking for the Goldies, so we hanged around behind them.

We reached the first viewpoint, and we were treated to a blue flash of a Kingfisher, zitting across the reeds. But oh no, people weren't looking at that, they were looking at 3 territorial Bitterns. This was very odd however, as they were flying high above the reeds in circles together!

After they reached touchdown, and out of sight, we realized that a group of people were looking up into the poplars. I asked the man "were they looking at a Oriole?," but the man said that they heard one about 5 minutes ago, so they were looking for the same bird again. Like we stood on a certain good luck rock, the Oriole sprung into life, bursting full of song, but do you think we could see it? No. While the drama was going on, the Reedbed Warbler species were enjoying themselves singing, away, it seemed that only Grasshopper Warbler were absent, not surprisingly.

We then moved on to another group of people, looking more promising into the Poplars. Reaching there, they said "the Oriole just sat there about 30-50 yards away," and we missed it. It was still singing, (see video), but was very, very difficult to see, with all the green leaves formed. With a couple of brief sightings from other people in the same area, I, personally, couldn't believe my eyes. Bearing in mind that there were about 40 people at this very space, I shouted out "I got it!." Everyone was crowding around as I tried to explain where it was, but frustratingly, they couldn't see it anywhere, but I could? I thought and said, "may I borrow someones scope to show it to all of you. This man let me, and believe it or not, I found it in the scope. It was indeed a male Golden Oriole, sitting motionless in the tree. Incredibly, everyone out of the 40 people saw it, and I was knighted. Such a fantastic lifetime moment for me, and I'm only 12!

When watching this video, turn up the volume to hear the Oriole singing at the start, either on your volume settings, or a remote control.

Other species of birds that were active around the reserve were the Crane family were feeding in the reeds, Reed Buntings, a pair of Garganey, and a brief Grasshopper Warbler flew into the short grass, but remained silent. The only thing we didn't see were Stone-Curlew, which we were hoping to catch at Lakenheath Warren, but anyway, another great day!

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 161

First day at the Patch this Year!

It was my first day at Bosmere this year, and the Great-crested Grebe pair have had 4 chicks this year. They have all fledged and are feeding on the lake alone with their Mum and Dad. A shock when I got there though was when a Blackcap was mimicking Nightingale. I thought that this was a actual bird singing, but no. Reed Warblers were back again this year, with a male singing. Lots of Mistle Thrushes have congregated on the patches farm this year, so obvious breeders.

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 158

Minsmere Dawn Chorus

A extremely early start, and getting up at 2:30am and leaving at 2:50am was a bit of a struggle, but on the way, 2 Hedgehog were awake, and so was a ghostly Tawny Owl, my first of the year. We got to Minsmere, and we split up into 2 groups. We headed out at 4:00am, and we were treated to a beautiful Nightingale, also my first for the year, singing it's heart in the lowlights. We headed round the woodland trial, and in the distance the first hearings of Bittern booming, Cuckoo, and Water Rail. We focused mainly on the commoner species such as  Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Robin and Great Tit. After a great Part 1, we headed to the Island Mere Hide, where Bittern, Bearded Tit, Reed Warbler, Water Rail and Reed Bunting were singing in the reeds.

We completed our guided walk, and headed in for our well earned Breakfast. As light approached us, we headed out to the the other hides we missed out on. We headed to the East Hide, where there were Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, and more exciting, a Roseate Tern. It was huddled up against a Black-headed Gull. I had to ask for some help when I spotted this Tern, as I wasn't sure what it was. After getting confirmation of this Specie by 2 very helpful birders, my Camera didn't fall for me today.

We headed on to the Sluice, where the Little Stint had been seen. Typically, it had gone back out to sea, but it had been replaced by a summer plumaged Knot. OK, it isn't as exciting, but it will do for the time. A pair of Common Gull were hanging out by a Little Gull on one of the mudflats.

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 158

Another Great Day!

Another day at Minsmere, and another fantastic one. We knew what to expect there today, but we weren't sure if they were still about. I got a phone call from my cousin saying that there were 2 Black-winged Stilts behind the Sluice bushes, in the flooded meadow. Before we went there, we went to see the weeks staying Wryneck near the Visitor Center, pictured top. This stayed in the same position for a while, so we moved on.

Moving through the North Bushes, and a pair of Garden Warblers were singing in the gorse. 2 Ringed Plover, a Sanderling and a Dunlin were all present along the mud flats. But then, a migrant Common Sandpiper moved into view, and brought some Tern species with it. This included Sandwich, Common, Arctic and Little. We then moved on to the Stilts, but they were extremely distant, you couldn't pick them out with binoculars. The commoner summer migrants were all about, with both Whitethroat species, plus Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Reed and Sedge Warblers.

We were then rewarded with an absolute treat. We took a stroll to the Island Mere Hide, where a Bittern was taking fantastic views in front of the hide, pictured middle. Another treat was a brief Otter, which swam across the river, into the reeds. I couldn't believe the number of Hirundines, especially the Swifts! But they weren't the only Hirundine shaped-bird in the flock. Several Hobby's were catching insects as well. Another great day, but not quite finished, as a last stop in Westleton produced a Ring Ouzel, pictured bottom. Fantastic.

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES IN 2012 = 154

I've been waiting!

Another wet week, but with Swallows now starting to spread around the UK, it is time for another Hirundine to turn up, the Swift. But no, this didn't just turn up in a suspected place, like a Reserve, it turned up in our back garden! It didn't stay for long, as a magpie shooed it off.

Golf Lesson today, and the local Common Buzzard pair were soaring above the driving range, accompanied by a Skylark, and a Kestrel. My Golf teacher mentioned that there was the pair of Barn Owls that bred last year was sighted for the first time this year last night at 8:30pm.

Nothing great was seen at school this year, but a Jay, Swallows and a Chiffchaff were all singing, so a bit of spark. my Dad and I are hoping to go birdwatching on Monday, so hopefully good birds, and I will tell you about that soon.

TOTAL OF BIRDS SPECIES IN 2012 = 138

Welcome Olympic Canoeists!

What a horrible night. I was up at midnight because of the rumbling of the Thunder, and I must admit, I was a bit scared.

Getting the snorkel and Masks out of the cupboard to avoid the big puddles on the way to my Bus Stop this morning, a resident pair of Linnets have been enjoying the small, over grown field we have opposite the bus shelter.

Moving towards school on the coach, a Grey Wagtail flew up from an over-flowed stream, and on to a roof top. A few  Swallows are still showing, but I'm sure the numbers will increase.

For you "Twitchers" out there, on the 2nd of May, you may have noticed that a Male Pied Flycatcher was close to the reserve center, along with the commoner birds.

An update from Blue Tit Cam back at home, and we now have a big total of 10 eggs in our box, and "Mamma" Blue Tit is spending most of the time incubating. Hope the weather improves and speak to you soon.

TOTAL OF BIRDS SPECIES IN 2012 = 137

Wagtail Ahoy!

Non stop rain since Friday has meant we have had a few inches of rain, and the golfing situations were a bit different than normal. Yes, alright I was playing golf again this morning, but it was only a skills challenge, so no 18 holes today.

I wasn't the only one sheltering from the rain, as a very energetic Muntjac running around the woods. It then cut across the practice field, into someones garden and back into the trees. Obviously it was afraid of the water, just like me! When chipping, a wagtail flew over my head. The limited conditions disallowed me to see the colours underneath, but certain identifications shew this was a Yellow Wagtail. I have now seen all 4 Wagtail species this year, including the White Wagtails I saw in France earlier in March. Hope to speak to you soon.

TOTAL BIRD SPECIES OF 2012 = 137

Hide from the Rain!

It's a bit early in the week for me to do a post, but the title of this post suggests what I am writing this about. This morning, about 5 Goldfinches were feeding on the neighbour's lawn, which is quite a good sighting for our area, but are getting more regular in our garden. Our Blue Tits did go 3 days without laying an egg, but at last, the fourth egg was laid. The delay was probably because of the weather. But this torrential weather has obviously not stopped the birds popping out at the East Anglian sites, as Bitterns, Ring Ouzels and Cuckoos are all being brave.

As normal, not a great amount of birds has been seen on the way up to school, or even back from school. Hope the weather improves and speak to you soon.

TOTAL OF BIRDS FOR 2012 = 136

You've brought some birds I see, Mr Rain!

Suffolk coaching today, and some glorious hail and thunder to come with it. when the shiny yellow thing did wake up, around 15 Swallows were dotted all over the place, but no House Martins, even though some present. Lots of the commoner raptors were seen in the local village, including Kestrels and Sparrowhawks. Goshawks have now sort have come to the end of their display time, so there will not be many strays around our area.

Saturday was another Golfing day, and produced Swallows, but a bit more numerous, and the local Chiffchaff, Treecreeper and Goldcrest. A general week at school, not much to provide, but a few Stock Dove have been seen in the woodland areas, accompanied by the yaffling Green Woodpeckers. 

Most days when I come home from school, one of the local Stock Doves pokes itself up in the garden, and on the rare occasion the pair are seen together. We now have 3 eggs in our local Blue Tit Nest Box, and will be keeping a close eye with our camera linked to the TV.

TOTAL OF BIRDS FOR 2012 = 136

Hirundine Spectacular

Another game of playing 18 holes of golf at on one the local courses, but unfortunately not a brilliant round, golf wise. Reaching the 10th holes green, 3 House Martin's flew over, catching insects in every possible breath. The local Tawny Owl was hooting amongst the wet hail that was falling from the heavens, but sounded very drowsy. At the clubhouse, a Pied Wagtail was feeding, with the commoner species (Chaffinch, Woodpidgeon etc.). Coming down the lane leading up to the Golf course, 3 Swallows were on the telephone wire low to the roadside, a great end to a Hirundine day.

TOTAL OF BIRDS FOR 2012 = 136

Fore!

Having a lesson at my local golf course this morning meant that I couldn't look for birds as much as I could on the course. I could have gone round the 18 hole course, but we had to go and get a curtain rail for our living room so that was a no-no. A few weeks back, I realized that there were a Common Buzzard pair that have been nesting in the broad-leafed woodland area. I have been looking over towards the woods every golfing day, but today it did not show. Rattling of Mistle Thrush's were putting me off my golf shots, and the puewing of a Nuthatch didn't help, but I still hit some good shots.

After me having my part done, and the other boys still to go, a Goldcrest was singing it's sibling song in the bushes behind me, and a chiffchaff was in the woods too, but both staying hidden. No proper birds to report, but hopefully tomorrow.

While driving to get are curtain rail, locally, a Sand Martin flew past the road and over towards the stream, and shortly after, a Grey Wagtail, (first of the year, same with the Sand Martin) sat on a roadside barn roof, then flew over our van, incredible. Lots of Kestrels on the A14, and a pair of Buzzards too.

TOTAL OF BIRDS FOR 2012 = 136

Summer has come early!

The first day of this spring that my Cousin, Dad and I went bird watching in Norfolk. I have already got 130 species of birds this year, and we're not even halfway through April. We first headed to Santon Downham in the Thetford area, looking for the elusive Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, where we parked by the side of a small track for a while. Unfortunately, it didn't show for us, but we did see Nuthatch and Coal Tits in this area. We then moved on to park at St Helen's picnic area further down the track. We walked around the church looking for Firecrest that we were told were more reliably seen here, but not today. My first Willow Warbler of the year was singing in a dense Hawthorn, and shew well on the top of it. The soft churring with a trill was being produced at the top of some bare trees, where Brambling's were feeding in small double figures (10-15).  We walked through the wood through to the river and alongside the trees. A nasally whistle of a pair of Mandarin Ducks flew over our heads and into the trees, lost from our view. As much as we used the 10 minutes to search for the pair of ducks, just a distant call indicated their disappearance. After hearing a drumming noise from the wood, we drove down the road in luck for the Lesser-spotted Woodpecker. we didn't see that, but I then spotted a very early male Cuckoo, hopping from tree to tree, superb. We then drove to Lynford Arboreretum, still within the Thetford area. On arrival we walked around the accessible path around the Paddocks to the bridge. Many small flocks of Crossbill were flying over our heads, but sadly not showing perched. We then tweaked on to a pair of Lesser Redpoll over the bridge at a medium level, but soon disappeared. We then got told by a man that by the Folley area we may be lucky to view Hawfinch feeding on the ground bellow the feeder. He also shew us a picture that he took about 5 minutes ago from that point, so we headed straight there. Within reaching their, a flock of about 10 Crossbill were in the tops of trees, a majority of them were males. After taking a few looks and pictures, we moved on to the Hawfinch, where I first found a female in a short ivy-covered tree. We were then fortunate enough to see 2 females feeding where we were told. Brilliant. A fantastic day.

My cousins link is www.jimsbirdingblog.blogspot.com

TOTAL OF BIRDS FOR 2012 = 134

Foreign Glory with Birds!

This was a school organised trip by my School, where about 40 Pupils were to go to France, La boulboule to be exact, and a weeks trip of Volcanoes. I did take a lot of interest, but I was always keeping an eye out for the birds.

I am not going to read out the hole list because I will be here all day. Black Redstart was a common feature to the French hills, and were very perky to our presence. White Wagtail replaced the Pied Wagtail in abundance, but the Pied's still breed. The same applies to the Treecreepers, with Short-toed being seen more than the Common. House Martin were very common, but Swallows were a bit late to show. This Female Serin (pictured top) was near a Castle we visited. Also a passage Osprey was flying low over a lake. Near this Osprey, a Great-Grey Shrike was sitting in the top of a Pine Tree, but then flew off. On a farm where cheese was made, a Cirl Bunting, (pictured middle) was singing in a tree.

Overall, about 3 Firecrests were dotted about, including 2 out of our Bedroom Window. A few Black Kites, Short-toed Eagles and Raven were all showing too, and Chiffchaff were present as well.

Your Teasing Me!

Our 2nd Day in the Thetford Area, and Thompson Common was the place stapled down 3 times in our to do list. Unfortunately, my Cousin make it, but Mum, Dad and I all went through the bumpy tracks to get there. I have only been here twice, and the last time we came we saw Goshawk, Woodlark, Chiffchaff, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and Common Lizard. 

When we reached here, the first few Chiffchaffs were singing in the tops of big hornbeams, and lonesome Nuthatches were being available to the very few public. There were only a few dog walkers around, but the birds soon got disrupted by groups of school children walking around the trials.

After they disappeared, the birds started to return, as a distant pair of Goshawk were flying about over the conifers. A brief Woodlark was calling as it flew over our heads, and later a male was singing distantly, but wasn't showing. Goldcrests and Treecreepers were very popular around the woods, with a lot of Buzzards keeping an eye on the timid Goshawk. A single Crossbill was calling, and briefly perched in a tree top, but then flew off. The weather held, and the birds definitely shew well. Speak to you soon.