Variety is often touted as the spice of life and in the middle weeks of February Mrs Caley and myself certainly mixed up the birding as we sought to see as many interesting species as we could. This is a brief summary of some of those trips.
A bright sunny day on Wednesday 8th saw us travelling out into a neighbouring county and to an undisclosed spot to observe one of the country's rarest, and sadly most persecuted birds of prey, the Goshawk. We know a place where it's possible to view over a large swathe of forest where on sunny and calm days, several Goshawks can be seen thermaling and displaying over the trees. This day was made instantly special when I spotted a huge female Goshawk perched high in one of the trees. The bird was maybe a quarter of a mile away but the scope views were outstanding even if my camera couldn't quite cope. I'd always wanted to see a perched Goshawk so this sighting was a huge thrill. A simply awesome creature!
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| Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) |
It may have been sunny but it was also very chilly and a reminder that we were still in winter birding mode came in the shape of at least a thousand Fieldfares feeding in the fields adjacent to the forest. A few Redwing joined them. They fed with gusto until a male Merlin tore through them, sending the thrushes scattering in all directions.
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| Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) |
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| Redwing (Turdus iliacus) |
We were also treated to a couple of flypasts by a female Goshawk. Again distant but another awesome sight as the bird effortlessly powered its way over the forest.
A report of a Hawfinch discovered in a North Oxfordshire churchyard gave us reason to divert off our route home. We walked carefully into the church grounds and straight into our most sought after finch species. A terrific day all round!
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| Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) |
Year List additions;
126) Goshawk, 127) Merlin, 128) Mistle Thrush, 129) Hawfinch
We returned to the churchyard on the afternoon of Friday 10th. This time we saw four Hawfinches in less than optimum conditions. The views of the birds were great although largely distant and it was cool to hear and see them calling. I'd try again when the sun would shine.
The BBOWT reserve at Greenham Common is well known as being a great place to see some of our rarer breeding species. Dartford Warblers are very special birds and one of my favourites. I choose not to go to see them in April and May when they're breeding since they are a schedule 1 species and shouldn't be bothered at that crucial time. So I go in February when they will be less prone to disturbance. The problem is they are much harder to find since they are a skulking species and don't like to show themselves too readily. We did manage to grab a couple of quick views but none showed as well as they would when displaying later in spring.
The other species that we look for on the common is Woodlark and they were easy to find since they were already singing their melodic refrain. Easy to find when flying and singing overhead but less so when they land and continue singing from the ground. I waited until a couple perched up in a thorny bush before taking my photos.
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| Woodlark (Lullula arborea) |
Year List additions;
131) Dartford Warbler, 132) Woodlark
The following morning, Sunday the 12th, saw us down in Berkshire just over the county border and not far from the River Thames. Again we were looking at bushes and trees that surrounded a sewage treatment plant. Such places really are a Mecca when it comes to attracting small overwintering Warblers and other birds. This time we were looking for a couple of Firecrests that had been regularly reported from the site. It was a dull day but there was no shortage of activity and we soon logged Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper and some Goldcrests as well as many more common species. It took us a while to spot a Firecrest but eventually we did high up in a fir tree. Luckily for us, two Firecrests were "doing the rounds" and soon began to show well in a small avenue of trees.
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| Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) |
The two Firecrests, along with the other birds, were generally favouring a dense hedge where they were tricky to see at times but would pop out at intervals. Getting photos there was difficult especially since the light silhouetted the birds. However, our good luck would continue (for a change) when the birds stopped in a small bramble thicket on their way between the fir trees and the hedge. I had a couple of brief opportunities to gain some better shots.
We weren't done for the day however, and after an enjoyable snack lunch and coffee stop we headed back to Oxford and to Port Meadow, the wildlife oasis that straddles a floodplain of the Thames. We were following up on recent sightings of a Siberian Chiffchaff, the Far Eastern cousin of the more familiar Common Chiffchaff. Strictly speaking Siberian Chiffchaff, although looking distinct from the nominate form and having different vocalisations, are a subspecies and shouldn't count on any ratified lists but most birders consider them worthy of making it onto a year list. I count them, if only to record them as something "different". The Sibe was supposedly favouring a short stretch of trees alongside a small stream but for the first half an hour we only found Common Chiffchaffs, roughly around eight of them feeding on gnats and flies gathered from just above the stream.
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| Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) |
I spotted a clearly paler bird on one of the trees, it appeared to fit the bill for a Siberian Chiffchaff being very "milky tea" coloured all over with no obvious yellow or green colouration at all. It fed apart from the other birds as well. It didn't look like the reported Sibe though, which from photos previously taken by others had very distinct yellow-green on the wings and tail. I took photos and logged it for later.
We found the Siberian Chiffchaff that we had come to see in a tree isolated from the ones by the stream. It was the only Chiffchaff in that tree and was feeding in a totally different manner, lunching on the myriad of flying insects in the very upper branches.
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| Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita tristis) |
After a while the Siberian Chiffchaff dropped into a lower bush and then down into rank vegetation to feed. Now that it wasn't framed against the sky the colours were much easier to discern and it was evident that it was the bird in the photos taken by others, and the yellow tones to the wings and tail could be seen. Far better birders than me were satisfied by the bird and apparently Siberian Chiffchaffs can show that amount of colour past the overall light sandy plumage.
I sent my photos of the other bird to the Oxon County Recorder and he confirmed that it was also a Siberian Chiffchaff. We had come looking for one and had gone home having found two!
A quick scan of the floods revealed plenty of wildfowl species including a few Pintail, our first of the year. It's always nice to have a successful day out locally.
Year List additions;
133) Firecrest, 134) Siberian Chiffchaff, 135) Pintail
One of the advantages of a slack period at work is that I get more chances to go out birding. On Wednesday 15th I was free again so dragged Mrs Caley up to Stanwick Lakes near Rushden where a Bearded Tit had been showing really well throughout the preceding week. We were surprised to find that we were the only birders looking for it when we arrived at nine o'clock. It soon became apparent that the pin drop on BirdGuides was not in the correct place as well so we were soon struggling as to where exactly to look. We did at least manage to find a couple of Great Egrets for the year list.
Fortunately one of the site rangers appeared and put us right. Once armed with the correct information we soon found the target bird, a fine male, but it was difficult to see on the lake side of the small reedbed, with viewing tricky from the path because of bank side vegetation. About an hour after we first arrived more birders and photographers arrived. They had waited because they knew that the Bearded Tit had been following a well ordered routine and didn't tend to show well until mid-morning.
When the Bearded Tit did finally show in some reeds next to the path, there was quite a scrum to try and get into a position in which to view it. The bird however, showed really well although the views were directly into the sunshine. To make matters worse I had an almost total mare with the camera and spent most of the fifteen minutes that the Bearded Tit was present, struggling to focus on the bird as it nipped from one reed stem to another. Luckily I managed a few decent photos after much frustration. I really must work out how to stop my lens "hunting" all the time.
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| Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus) |
A drive out to a nearby cafe in a village with a totally forgettable name, rewarded us with a view of two Grey Partridges feeding in a roadside field, which were also new for the year.
Year List additions;
136) Great Egret, 137) Grey Partridge
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