Old Caley's Diary: The Magic of March 2023; Part 1

March is "moving" month. Wintering birds begin dispersing back northwards and the first spring migrants arrive back in the UK for breeding in our summer. There are usually some surprise bird encounters during March.

The title of this blog pays homage to a song that I can't stop listening to these days, "The Magic of Meghan" by Dry Cleaning, a brilliant and vibrant track that has accompanied me on many of my days out recently.

Thursday 2 March; Angry (looking) Birds!

I was working close to our local Hawfinch hotspot so popped in there after finishing for the day. For once it was a sunny day and it was sufficiently late enough for the big round shiny thing to have moved out of direct eyeline to the trees that the Hawfinches favour. Initially there was no sign of any but after half an hour or so I found one acting sentinel at the top of one of the taller trees by the church.

Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)

Hawfinches like to use lofty perches as an observation post and I could hear this bird calling softly which usually indicates that there are other birds close by. Sure enough as the lookout flew across the churchyard ahead of me it was followed by four more, all of which landed in a Holly where I knew the flock had been feeding over the past few weeks. I struck lucky when a couple of them appeared in a gettable place for a change!

Friday 3 March; Not a Lesser County Tick!

A fortnight before we had travelled to Staines Reservoir to see a Lesser Scaup that had been wintering there. Our views were from so far away and poor that, if it wasn't for the fact that it had to be the bird frequently reported from there we would never have been able to positively identify it. In the late hours of Thursday, while I'd been watching the Hawfinches, a drake Lesser Scaup, and presumably the same one, had been found close in to the causeway at Farmoor. We could possibly have made it there before dark but anyone who lives in our area will know that venturing around Oxford during the rush hour is generally a waste of time so we decided that we'd wait and see if the duck was seen again in the morning.

I had the day off and shortly after we'd finished the weekly shop, the news was received that the Lesser Scaup had indeed stayed overnight. I had only seen Lesser Scaups on a couple of occasions before, a group of three in Cornwall twenty years ago, a brief sighting of one in Norfolk and the impossible view twelve days before. I can remember the several dips we've had (especially last year when we were a day too late to see a pair in Staffordshire) more than the sightings!

There was to be no problems with the Farmoor bird. We noticed a few fellow county birders just a few hundred metres along the causeway and joined them within minutes to add the latest addition to our county list. Amazingly after so many years of never having had a good view of the species and never having gained any photos of one, this Lesser Scaup was so close at times that I could almost pet it!

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

We watched the Lesser Scaup do what it does best, ducking and diving! The lovely grey, black and white duck was feeding along with a small flock of Tufted Ducks, resurfacing with small clams and snails. On one occasion the catch appeared to be a small Perch. The food was often tangled up in weed and algae so much thrashing on the water surface to rid the impediments was required.

The differences between the North American Lesser Scaup and our more familiar Greater Scaup are subtle. As the name depicts, Lesser Scaup is smaller than its cousin, smaller even than the Tufted Ducks that it accompanied. Instead of a rounded head shape it had a slight hind peak giving a hint of a Tufted Duck. In the drake, as with this bird, the grey vermiculation of the back is much coarser, and very noticeable when views are close. The wing bar of a Lesser Scaup doesn't extend to the outer wing, a feature which can only be seen when in flight or during a wing stretch.

Despite the return to grim and grey conditions, we spent an enjoyable hour or so, and I happily gathered as many photos as I could for my portfolio. In truth, this wasn't the most exciting twitch because the Lesser Scaup performed so dutifully and there was never any jeopardy, but after our view at Staines, I really shouldn't complain!

Incidentally the Greater Scaup, a female, that has been present all winter was still there as well but hugging the far bank of F1 and I couldn't be bothered to walk around to see it so the photo below is from last year.

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Far more entertaining in some ways were the antics of a couple of Carrion Crows who basically pester any visitors for titbits. I am partly to blame for this because ever since I saw Farmoor's number one stalwart birder handing out feed for the birds, I have also carried a tub of sunflower seeds around in my pocket. So if you birdwatch along the causeway and you are willing to pay for the pleasure then you can get great close ups of the two Crows.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

Before we left, I found a bit more time to grab a few more photos. This time of the Lesser Scaup preening and stretching.

Saturday 4 March; Waxwing Lyrical

Blog already written and posted here

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Sunday 5 March; Not Much Happening in the Woods

We have a go-to site for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (exact location withheld) in Northamptonshire. We visit every year and apart from one have always seen at least one bird on territory and once, as many as three. I feel though, that the birds are struggling in the wood we go to so I was delighted when I spotted a female very briefly in the top of a pine tree. It proved to be our only sighting of the diminutive Woodpecker all morning though, and a subsequent visit a fortnight later failed to yield any birds. It is getting very hard indeed to find the species anywhere locally.

We saw plenty of other birds, most notably a couple of Lesser Redpolls, but in cold and dingy weather photos of anything were hard to come by. The only birds that really played ball were Stock Doves and a Jay.

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Stock Dove (Columba oenas)

Year List additions;

166) Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 167) Lesser Redpoll

Wednesday 8 March; Even Angrier (looking) Birds!

Another trip to our Hawfinch hotspot, this time in snow and sleet, yielded the largest flock of the birds that I'd seen this winter with at least fifteen adorning the trees. Great to see so many with the only slight disappointment being that the birds were much warier and refused to provide any decent photo opportunities so it was back to record shots only.

Thursday 9 March; Garden Surprise!

The snow, and rain, continued into the following morning and as I looked out at the garden feeders, a big surprise awaited in the shape of a pair of Siskins, the first we'd seen here for over seven years. I had a few minutes photographing them in the near dark before I went to work. The Canon R7 performed admirably considering slow shutter speeds and that I was shooting through the kitchen window. The Siskins returned briefly on the next morning but were not seen again after that.

Siskin (Spinus spinus)

Saturday 11 March; Put the Little Flags Out!

We didn't have a plan for the day, there was little about to get excited. We were on our way to Otmoor when Mrs Caley noticed that a Little Bunting that had been present near Hatfield a week before but had not seen for the previous few days had actually been reported again the previous afternoon. Usually I'm on top of the bird news but somehow had missed that one. Little Buntings are difficult birds to observe, I'd only seen four before so in number terms there were rarer on an Old Caley's list than a Lesser Scaup!

The SatNav was rerouted and we arrived at Stanborough Lakes an hour or so later, paid an extortionate six quid to park in an unmade carpark and took the ten minute walk to the edge of a marshy area where the Little Bunting was reported to have been feeding along with several Reed Buntings. The birds were making good use of a repurposed Pheasant feeding barrel. There was only a couple of other birders there and they had good views of the Little Bunting just five minutes before we arrived. As we have come to expect there was no sign of the target bird for an hour during which time our friends Kev & Kyle had also arrived.

There were two angles from which to see past some bushes to the feeder and people staged themselves at both. Typically when the Little Bunting popped into view, in a small bush next to the feeder, we were stood at the wrong viewpoint but thanks to a birder alerting us, we were able to move around and see the bird comfortably from the other.

Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla)

The Little Bunting then joined some of its congeners at the feeder and all the assembled had good, prolonged views of the star bird. As the name suggests, Little Buntings are smaller than others in its family group. It has striking chestnut cheeks edged with black borders which helps to separate it from the similar Reed Buntings.The belly is white with black streaks as opposed to buff and brown of the Reed. They are super little birds!

Year List addition;

168) Little Bunting

Sunday 12 March; Dick's Dippit!

Richard's Pipits are not easy birds to see. They favour wide open grassy areas and can be hard to observe when feeding. They most often give themselves away when they fly and call, which to the trained ear is very distinctive. At the end of 2022 we managed to see a Richard's Pipit near Gloucester and another, or possibly the same bird, had been found at Awre just a few miles away as a Pipit flies.

On a fresh breezy morning we took the mile long walk to the area by the River Severn that the Pipit was favouring but in a couple of hours had no luck in finding it. The bird was undoubtedly still present (it was seen again on subsequent days) but must have been ranging far and wide.

Wednesday 15 March; Never Spotted!

The RSPB reserve at Middleton Lakes is a well known spot to see Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. The trees around the car parking area is a good spot to see them. Well, maybe for other folk it is. We've tried three times now and not seen one there!

We saved the day by heading to Balscote Quarry near Banbury. BQR is a small reserve administered by the Banbury Ornithological Society and superbly wardened by volunteers. In recent years the feeders have become a magnet for many species and in particular Brambling which are frequent winter visitors. The screen which conceals the observer is close to the feeding station so really good views and photos can be achieved.

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)

The area used to be good for Tree Sparrows but sadly they've all but disappeared now. However, other farmland species appear to be flourishing. Yellowhammers were well represented below the feeders.