Year List Additions, 22nd March 2019

A special day so a trip out with the ever special Mrs Caley! After last winters massive influx of Hawfinches now a distant memory we hadn't yet managed to see one this year so, before the leaves returned to the trees, we had to go and try to find some. An good area for Hawfinch is the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and there are a few hotspots there that usually turn up one or two. We arrived early and checked out the yew trees next to the cricket pitch in Parkend, an established winter site for Hawfinches where photographers dish out free seed in an attempt to bring the birds into the open. We spent an incredibly frustrating few hours here last year (read about that at Hawfully Frustrating!) and had vowed never to bother going back but here we were hoping that at least one Hawfinch would present itself. However and not unexpectedly, none did. Another prime spot for Hawfinch and other scarce birds such as Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is Nagshead RSPB reserve on the edge of Parkend village and that was our next port of call. We've had mixed results at Nagshead, connecting with Lesser Pecker's but failing to see Pied Flycatchers there in the past. We walked along the short trail and noted a good number of Redwing, still with us after spending the winter in the UK. I locked onto a bird perched prominently at the top of a tree, shouted Hawfinch to Mrs Caley, but almost immediately the bird sprung and flew away from us closely followed by another. I watched them until they disappeared into the woods noting the bulky shape and white broadly tipped tail. We had Hawfinches on the year list. Not a great view but good enough and we moved on to 152 for the year.

As we walked on we met a couple of birders who were staring intently at a particular tree and told us that they were sure they had a Lesser Spot on call but hadn't seen it yet. After a few moments the bird called again, "there can you hear it?" said one of the chaps. "Yes I can", I replied, "but that's the call of a Nuthatch". They both disagreed with me and were convinced that is was a Lesser Pecker and only backed down when I suggested politely that they listen to the calls of both species. When they did  I was proven correct. But we all have to learn and mastering bird calls is a rare talent that I haven't passed just yet either. Other more common species were prevalent, with Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk and Great Spotted Woodpecker all seen. No more Hawfinches though so we returned to the car. We were lucky to see a Goshawk being mobbed by a Raven above the tree tops too which was a nice bonus for the day.

It was still early and we decided to abandon the Forest and head to Slimbridge WWT for the afternoon and at least add some new birds to the year list. On the way out though we dropped into Cannop Ponds to see if any of the resident Mandarin Ducks were showing. They were indeed with around 20 either stood preening on one of the small "fishing" jetties or mopping up seed scattered on the bank by benevolent folk. Up to that point I hadn't taken a single photo so I made up for that by snapping a few of the "Mandy's"

Mandarin Drake

Mandarin Duck

I'd received news of a trio of Garganey, the only duck that visits the UK just for the summer, that had been seen at Saul close to Slimbridge so that was our next destination. I also knew of a Water Pipit near by so I imagined that we could "kill 2 two birds with one stone", not literally of course. The walk to the Splatt Flashes alongside the Gloucester to Sharpness canal was much further than I'd reckoned on and in hindsight it would have been better to have parked in Frampton but we had made it anyway. A fellow birder already on site told us that the Garganey, 2 males and a female, were present but they had disappeared behind some tall grasses. I scanned the area and instantly noticed the ducks tucked up in the grass seemingly asleep. Number 153 for the year, good scope views but too far away for any decent photos. Interestingly we saw our first Garganey of last year on exactly the same date.

Garganey trio, 2 drakes and a duck

The Garganey logged we headed back to the car and drove the short distance to Saul Warth to look for the Water Pipit. The Pipit had been spending the winter feeding on the wall of the Severn Estuary which in the chilly wind was a rather bleak place. We looked hard but couldn't locate the bird at all so reluctantly gave up before we wasted too much time. We spotted Mike King (recognised by courtesy of his cap!) of  The Gloster Birder  fame peering out on to the muddy estuary, Saul Warth being his local patch. I introduced myself (we are fellow Twitter followers) and had a quick chat about the Pipit, always elusive apparently, and local birding in general. Mike was looking for a Great Skua that had been seen on the Severn for the past few days but there was no sign of it. For us though it was time to get to Slimbridge before the day gave out so we bade our goodbyes and headed off.

Our last visit to Slimbridge was primarily to see a very showy Jack snipe back in January, see Jack Snipe. On that occasion we had somehow transpired to miss a few of the regular wintering species so we hoped to catch up with those and add them to the year list. Three Garganey had also been reported during the day and one was supposedly showing well from the Robbie Garnett Hide so we made that our first destination, after a coffee break of course. There was no sign of the said Garganey, maybe it was a bit annoyed by the weather since it was now frigid enough to be bordering on snowing. However out in front of the hide was the flock of wintering Barnacle Geese, a pair of Common Cranes and the White-fronted Geese that we'd managed to miss earlier in the year. All three were year list additions.

Barnacle Geese

Barnacle Goose

Common Crane 

White-fronted Geese

We moved onto the soon to be demolished Holden Tower (it's being replaced with a swankier version) which overlooks the Dumbles and the Severn. I'd never seen the Dumbles covered in so much water before, courtesy of a very high spring tide. I instantly locked on to a drake Garganey swimming in tandem with a pair of Teal, still some distance away but closer than those at Splatt earlier in the day. The ducks were sharing the floods with around 30 Avocet and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, both new for the year. There were also more Cranes out on the floods, we counted 11 in total.

Avocet (&Black-headed Gull)

Common Crane

Drake Garganey

Drake Garganey & Teal pair

A couple of Chiffchaffs were calling away in a bush by the hide, while out on the floods there were a multitude of more common species of Ducks and waders. A pair of Jackdaws posed beautifully in the trees outside the hide but most of the birds on offer were quite a way away.

Jackdaw

I scanned further and further away and had got as far as the river when I noticed a large bird floating on the water. Making full use of the 75x zoom on the scope I realised that I'd found the Great Skua that Mike was looking for at Saul! Even at a mile distant Bonxies are big and impressive beasts. I tweeted the sighting out so that Mike would know where it was and also tried to get other Hide watchers on to the bird, no easy task that! I then pointed out, under request, all of the other interesting birds which most in the Hide had not seen, mainly because they were all fixated by the Cranes!

Great Skua

It was already getting dark but we managed to get into the South Hide before closing. I was hoping to find a couple of Mediterranean Gulls that had been seen there but in the fading light I couldn't locate them. They'll have to be a bird for another day. We were afforded better and closer views of Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits.

Avocet

Black-tailed Godwit

After a slow start it had been a good day with some decent birds seen and 8 new additions to that burgeoning year list which at the end of play stood at 159.