Old Caley's Diary: 200 Up! 26th-30th April 2019.

I had set a target at the start of the year to see as many species of birds as I could in 2019 without going too mad. And without going mad! I saw 242 species in 2018 and thought that I'd at least try to beat that number. Little did I know how year listing takes over and adding birds to the list becomes a priority when planning days out birding. However I'm not a "big" twitcher although I will travel in order to see something that's new for my own life list or for a bird that has appeal. Hence already this year Mrs Caley and I had made trips to the Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire, Dorset, Essex and a variety of other destinations to bolster that year list and to see some great birds of course. A Nightingale seen yesterday in Essex had taken the count up to 199 and now I was eager to get to 200 before the end of April!

I was wondering what spectacular species I could add to make it 200 but in reality it was a fairly common summering species that got me there on Friday afternoon at Farmoor Reservoir when a Common Sandpiper flew past us as we walked down the causeway. I didn't even manage a photo of the bicentennial bird! Cue quelled trumpets and burst balloons......

Bird 200! Common Sandpiper, Grantown-on-Spey, 14/06/2018

Farmoor was quiet on that Friday afternoon, as it had been for most of the year. We did find a couple of Dunlin scuttling along the embankment of the causeway but as usual missed out on the Whimbrel reported earlier.

Dunlin

Common Terns have now arrived back in number but there were no Black Terns yet at the reservoir, surely some will appear soon.

Common Tern

In the absence of much else to grab the attention I studied a Carrion Crow making a meal of eating a dead Perch, conjuring up memories of that old joke "Birds stood on a perch, can you smell fish..." but with the new punchline, "Mmm...okay let's eat it....starting with the eyes....nice!"

"Can you smell fish......", Carrion Crow

As we left the reservoir a female Yellow Wagtail posed dutifully for a photo.

Yellow Wagtail

On a very windy Saturday morning we returned to Farmoor to see what Storm Hannah, which was battering the west coast, had deposited in Oxfordshire, probably nothing as per usual but if you don't look then you don't see. The Roby's were also there but they very wisely elected to seek the shelter of the woodland walk with the added incentive of finding a wayward Flycatcher or Wood Warbler. We decided to head out onto the reservoir itself. The car park windsock was hanging on by a thread but at the carpark level we were still fairly sheltered from the ravages of the storm. Once at the reservoir level we were fully open to the elements and the strong wind from the west absolutely pummelled us! It was hard walking past the marina and waves crashed so hard against the embankment that the spray was flying over and hitting the buildings. It was a little bit akin to walking along the sea front in a gale force 9! Nobody else was daft enough to be out except us but then silly is my middle name sometimes! When we turned to walk down the causeway we could barely make headway against the wind and the walk to the hide where we sought refuge was one of the toughest we've ever done. Naturally we didn't linger long to look at anything much on our way to the hide but it was clear that many Gulls and Terns had dropped into the reservoir to feed and most were on the slightly calmer F1 so we'd be able to watch them well from the hide windows.

Black-headed Gull

We made it to the hide and took our place at the windows. Fortunately the wind was howling in from the west so were able to look out onto F1 unhindered. We did wonder about the durability of the wooden structure though since every gust of wind threatened to lift it off its foundations and I had visions of one of those films in which you see houses swirling away in a tornado. But of course the hide stayed put and we studied the birds battling against the wind and waves out on the reservoir. The Gulls and Terns were quite at home in the conditions, they are made for it and must be used to far worse at sea. I watched the Black-headed Gulls nimbly picking off stranded flies from the water surface and noticed their smaller cousin, a Little Gull, in amongst them. Usually Little Gulls are feeding right out in the middle of F2 at Farmoor but this one, a fine adult, was much closer in and often chased food within 50 yards or so of the hide. The Little Gull also stayed in pretty much the same spot for the whole time that we were there.

Little Gull

Adult Little Gulls are very smart birds, with a full black hood and a subtle pink wash to the underparts. They feed very actively, flying above the water and then dipping down to pick an insect from the surface. We noticed a few Terns also feeding and managed to identify a couple of Arctic Terns among the Common Terns. Once we'd isolated the sleeker and paler Arctics it was easy to follow them owing to their bouncier flight pattern.

Arctic Tern

It was even too rough for the Cormorants to go fishing and they were all stood on the rafts and appeared to be hanging on for grim death. A few tried flying out but soon returned.

Cormorants & Little Gull

After an hour or so the wind abated a little and we tentatively made our way along the rest of the causeway towards the river. In the sheltered corner of F1 were hundreds of hirundines feeding low to the water but try as I may I just couldn't hold the camera steady enough to capture any. We surprised 4 Yellow Wagtails from the embankment but they were flying off before I had chance to get those as well. Next to give me the slip were a couple of Common Sandpipers which went tootling on their way across F1. I did mange a few shots of a pair of amorous Black-headed Gulls but only by using the guard fence over a sluice as a support for the camera.

Black-headed Gull

We were literally blown away by the time we reached the sanctuary of the car but it had been a fun excursion and it's always good to get an adult Little Gull and Arctic Terns.

We called into the Bicester Wetlands on the way home to see if the wind had blown anything in there but there was little on offer except for Swallows, House Martins and a fine Little Ringed Plover.

House Martin

Swallow

Little Ringed Plover

A change of tack for Sunday morning as we ventured out early onto Otmoor. It was decidedly chilly and still quite breezy, Storm Hannah was still hammering the west, and although there was plenty of song most birds kept deep inside the bushes and showed reluctantly. I didn't take a single photo until we had reached the first screen and there were only common species there. It was nice to see new life on the Moor when a Greylag Goose family swam past, the young Goslings dutifully keeping close to their mum.

Greylag Goose family

With little to keep us occupied we didn't linger too long but at least as the day warmed up there were more birds braving the elements and opting to venture out of cover. The resident male Marsh Harrier was out on one of its customary flights along the reedbed that lines the path and a Bullfinch pair reeked out Dandelion seeds.

Marsh Harrier

female Bullfinch

A Common Snipe drummed overhead, the first we've seen do that this year, they usually drum in the evening. We saw our first Warbler of the day when a windswept Common Whitethroat chortled away from the Oak that stands beside the path. He didn't stay on the exposed perch for long.

Common Snipe

Common Whitethroat

The Wetlands Watch hide was welcoming on such a chilly morning but apart from the Finch and Bunting flock feeding on the winter seed there wasn't too much to see there either. One of the Yellowhammers found a much more rewarding titbit in the long grass.

Yellowhammers

A pair of drake Mallards flew noisily past in pursuit of a couple of females. At this time of year Mallards are very handsome birds but because they are common most folk don't give them a second look. On a slow day though they are worth studying more closely.

Mallards

A few Rooks and Carrion Crows were also interested in the scattered seed and both spent time perched precariously on the bushes. Getting a decent image was tricky because of the movement created by the wind.

Rook

Carrion Crow

While driving to work on the Monday morning I had the pleasant surprise of a Tawny Owl flying across just in front of the van. I don't see many Tawny's and it was good to see one actually out hunting rather than just year ticking the Gloucestershire bird. Obviously no photo since my hands were on the wheel and I couldn't relocate the Owl after turning around and going back for another look.

Mrs Caley and I returned to Otmoor on the Tuesday evening which was warm and sunny and far removed from the conditions of Sunday morning. Birds were much more active and several Warbler species were belting out their diverse songs, many from exposed perches for a change.