Heron Addict! Saturday, 3rd August 2019

Just over a month ago we had travelled down to Cheltenham in a bid to see a Black-crowned Night Heron that had been showing really well on a small island on the lake in Pittville Park. That quest had ended in failure when the Heron failed to showed for the assembled including us. In fact the bird had obviously moved on since it hadn't been seen since. Until on Friday when the Heron was intriguingly sighted in the same spot once again! Black-crowned Night Heron's are as the name suggests primarily birds that are active during the night and virtually all sightings of this bird had been either early morning or late evening unless it's roosting spot could be found during daylight hours. We had seen two before, the first was a juvenile at Slimbridge which was incredibly difficult to see in a dense nettle patch and the second was viewed at about 400 metres distance on a fishing lake near Nuneaton. Suffice to say then that Mrs Caley and I had never had a decent view of a Night Heron except in zoos.

We were up early and out of the house by 04;30 on Saturday morning arriving at Pittville Park just over an hour later. It was a glorious morning and already warming up as we made our way to the lake side. Of course, having been here a month before, we knew exactly where to go and where to look. One other birder was already present but he hadn't seen the Heron as yet so we settled down on one of the park benches and started scanning the trees and the margins of the island. Photos published the day before showed the Heron stood prominently on a Yew branch so I searched for that tree thinking that the Heron might just return to the same spot. It was slightly concerning then that I couldn't find any Yew trees on the island!

I also knew that during its previous stay last month, the Night Heron was often observed flying into the island from a different area, presumably it feeds elsewhere and then uses the islands trees to roost in through the day. For the last few weeks it must have found a different roosting spot to laze the days out but had now returned to Pittville. We were sat on the bench for less than 15 minutes when I spotted the Night Heron flying in from the west and watched as it dropped into the far side of the island. I relayed the news to the other birders, there were now two others on site, as the bird flew in and we all hurried, well they did, we ambled, around to the other side of the small lake. Before the other chaps had got there though the Night Heron shifted again seemingly flying around to the other side and where we'd just been! There was to be quite a bit of to and fro with this bird. When we got back to our original viewpoint there was no sign of the Night Heron and I rued the fact that I had failed to take a photo of it flying overhead. But at least we had seen it and added species #253 to our year list.

The search was on and the four of us had been joined by a couple of other birders so there were plenty of eyes on the job. After a few minutes the call went up that the Night Heron was perched near the top of a tree on a part of the island that couldn't be seen from where we were so we made our way around the lake once more to where the others were now congregating. It took a bit of neck craning but with effort I was able to get a good view of the birds head and shoulders at the top of a Yew tree! So it had indeed sought out the same tree to roost, we just hadn't been able to see the Yew from the northern side of the lake. The Night Heron was illuminated beautifully by the early morning sunshine and was only around 20 metres away so my images easily surpassed any that I'd ever taken of a Night Heron before.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Mrs Caley managed to get a good view too through the scope but it was impossible to get any different angles on the bird because of impeding foliage. There was literally just a tiny window of a few feet in which to see the bird and there were now as many as ten people trying to look through that gap! The Night Heron didn't stay long though and soon dropped down into the island vegetation and we all thought that that would be that. However, a newly arrived birder who was stood where we had started out signalled that the Night Heron was showing on the island opposite him so we all made our way around (again!) to our original vantage point. This time the Heron was easy to see, it had taken up a position on a thick Willow branch that laid closely over the water and one that had proved to be its favoured fishing spot when present in July judging by the amount of photos that I'd seen of it on that branch. Problem was that the perch was the best part of 50 metres away and because of the Willow above it was shrouded in deep shadow which would enable getting good images very difficult.

After a while the Night Heron shifted position a little and went out of sight behind the adjoining weedy island so I decided to walk back to the other side of the lake, at least I was getting plenty of exercise, who ever said birding was a gentle pursuit, and see if it was visible from there. It was indeed, although again only by peering through bank side vegetation. The same problem of shade under the tree persisted but at least the bird was now at half the distance away. Another issue now though was that the sun was directly behind the bird. But at least we were now able to really appreciate the Night Heron. Primarily black above and grey underneath the Night Heron also had bright yellow legs and feet and a striking red iris. Its most distinctive characteristic though was a single white plume that adorned the crown.

Night Herons possess seemingly unlimited patience and this one was no exception. It stood mostly motionless on the Willow branch staring intently at the water but apart from a few stretches towards the water didn't make any lunges at any prey.

I heard a Kingfisher whistling past and was then amazed to see, through the camera viewfinder, it career straight towards the Night Heron only veering away at the last moment. The Kingfisher was carrying a fish and maybe thought it would land in the Willow to dispatch it or maybe it was just teasing the Heron, "I've got a fish, I've got a fish, you ain't, you ain't...."

After the intrusion by the Kingfisher the Night Heron became more active, perhaps it realised that it too needed to eat something, and dropped into the water right at the edge of the weedy island. There it resumed its stationary vigil once more until suddenly it made a dart for the water and caught a fish!  Well a tiddler anyway, the small fry not much reward for over an hours patient waiting for its breakfast. 

Once it had eaten the fish and the Heron had resumed the waiting game once more, we decided that we'd had enough and were feeling hungry ourselves so headed off to find some breakfast of our own. A couple of juvenile Choughs had been seen regularly at a site on the Malverns which was only 25 miles away and although they had not been reported on Friday afternoon we thought that we may as well go and have a look. We would certainly see Choughs when in Cornwall later this year but they would be a year tick and would be worth a look since they are always nice birds to see. We found a cafe in Tewkesbury and while eating I perused the latest bird news updates. There was a negative report of the Choughs but we were going to stick with the plan anyway. Well we were, until a report came through that a Squacco Heron, seen briefly a few days ago at Pagham Harbour in West Sussex, had reappeared and been found again. A quick look at the AA route planner informed that the drive was just under 3 hours and 135 miles. We were on our way within minutes!

We'd twitched a Gull-billed Tern on the Wirral on the 6th July and as we'd been leaving a Squacco Heron had been found on the Lincolnshire coast. We had considered driving the 190 miles, 4 hour plus journey across country to see it that day but wouldn't have made it to the site before 6pm and with a further 2&1/2 hour drive home from there felt it was too much so abandoned that idea and spent a few hours at the RSPB's Dee Estuary reserve instead. On the following morning we drove up to Frieston Shore to look for the Squacco but ultimately left disappointed as there was no sign that day. We vowed then, if possible and within reason, to definitely go for the next Squacco that came up without any delay. The one and only Squacco Heron on our lists was one that we saw very early on in our birding careers (1997 I think) that was spending some time in a large and beautiful garden within the Cotswold Water Park. That encounter, our second twitch and coming the day after seeing a female Red-footed Falcon close to home, cemented our combined love for birds and kick started us on our birding journey which we will never ever stop until the day we aren't able carry on.

Mrs Caley kept a close eye on the bird news as I drove towards the south coast on busy roads, I detoured away from the M3 owing to heavy traffic. Our ETA was for around 12 o'clock and 20 minutes before that the news arrived informing us that the Squacco "had flown west". Typical! We stayed on our course, it would have been daft not to with us being so close to Pagham and parked up at the visitor centre where we enquired as to how to reach the spot where the Squacco Heron had been seen. Directions duly acquired we first took the short walk down to Sidlesham Ferry Pond, where some years ago we'd seen our first ever Curlew Sandpiper, and promptly found a Wood Sandpiper! Not a year tick, we'd seen one on its breeding grounds in Scotland in June, and very distant away from the newly built and very bouncy hide but Woodys are a favourite of mine so nice to see and scant consolation for the seemingly wasted journey.

Wood Sandpiper, Frampton Marsh 17/08/2018

We discussed where to go next since we were now at a loose end with no rare bird to twitch. In the absence of anything else that grabbed our attention we thought that we may as well walk to the spot where the Squacco Heron had been seen on the off chance that we'd find it, a highly unlikely scenario since we don't ever find anything that good ourselves despite much effort. Then just as we were about to start on our way an update informed us that the Squacco had returned to the same field! Thank goodness for that, the twitch was back on! A local had told us that the North Wall was around a 40 minute walk and seeing as we'd left the car at the visitor centre and it would take time to fetch it and drive we thought that we'd take the healthier option. It appeared as if the Heron was sticking around so even if it disappeared again before we got there it would likely be back later. The walk around the harbour basin, fantastic habitat throughout but largely ignored owing to our goal, was quite arduous in the heat. We dearly wanted to drop into the Crab and Lobster halfway there but we feared that any delay might scupper our chances of seeing the Squacco. Maybe we'd celebrate on the way back with a lemonade. After getting more directions from another friendly local we arrived at the field and saw in the opposite corner to us just 5 other birders. They were all looking at something so rather than waste time walking to where they were I tracked their line of sight and was delighted to see the Squacco Heron striding purposefully through the tussocky grass of the field. I got Mrs Caley onto the bird and took a few quick photos of our #254th bird of the year.

Squacco Heron, Sidlesham 03/08/2019

We'd been in the field for about a minute when the Squacco suddenly took to the air and disappeared over a hedge. I was annoyed as well as temporarily dismayed because I'd missed the chance of getting a flight shot since I was wrestling with extending the tripod legs of the scope. Bugger! We ambled over to the other birders but by the time we'd got to the corner where they'd been stood there was just one left. The chap then very helpfully gave me the lowdown of the area around the field and where the Heron may have gone too and also pretty much exact timings of when it had flown in and out. It appeared as if the Squacco came for about an hour before flying off for another hour. It had repeated the hourly turn around three times already, it was now 13:20 so I figured it would come back some time around 14:00-30. It made sense just to sit and wait so we sought shelter from the sun under some small trees and settled down. There were other birds around to keep us occupied, a Chiffchaff called from the trees and a huge party of over 20 Long-tailed Tits hurtled through the bushes. A female Kestrel was very active over the field and regularly dived into the long grass to snare a titbit. 

Kestrel

Little Egrets periodically flew along the stream by which we sat, coming close enough for some nice flight shots but by 14:15 there had been no return by the Squacco and Mrs Caley was becoming anxious. I advised that we'd travelled a long way to see this bird so there was no point in giving up just yet and I was confident that it'd be back. I should add that Mrs Caley has a fondness for all things Heron and the Squacco was one of the birds near the top of her list to see again. The brief view earlier had not satisfied her at all. 

Little Egret

We had been joined by a few other birders including a volunteer from the visitor centre that we'd met earlier. He was recounting to his mate about a mad birder who had twitched a Black-crowned Night Heron this morning and had come to see the Squacco now. He looked slightly awkward when he remembered that the mad bastard was me! With Mrs Caley becoming ever more fidgety and not much happening I kept looking at the time. The Squacco had been gone for well over an hour and in fact it was almost 14:45 when another Little Egret flew past. This time however, it was closely followed by a more compact and duskier looking Heron, the Squacco! I called it as it flew towards us and instantly started firing away with the camera. I heard "that's a Little Egret (you plank)" from one of the other birders and, as she scrambled to her feet, "that's it, brilliant!" from Mrs Caley. The Squacco had flown in and landed before any of the other birders except for Mrs Caley, she trusts me you know, had seen it since they were all fixated on the Little Egret! I had taken over 30 frames of it flying in and some of them were corkers (by my own humble admission). 

The shots of the flying bird taken against the dark green of the background trees, although not as sharp as the ones taken against the sky, showed the contrast between the white wings and buffy orange body. When the Squacco landed amongst the grass it resembled a mythical Griffin in profile.

The Squacco Heron was visiting this dry field to feast on Grasshoppers which were teeming among the rough grasses. Its hunting technique was to walk to slowly through the grass and then when it had spied a tasty Gropper (not to be confused with a Grasshopper Warbler) it made a lunge for it in much the same way that the Night Heron had lunged for a fish this morning.

Grasshopper Heron!

The Squacco was maybe about 50 metres away but was surprisingly difficult to get a clear view of in the long grass unless it reared up tall to survey its surroundings. There always seemed to be some wispy grass stems in the way. I didn't want to encroach any closer so manoeuvred myself around laterally to try and get some clearer views while Mrs Caley filled her boots with crippling scope views. I found that by sitting still the Heron would actually walk closer by its own accord.

Many Grasshoppers were devoured over the next 45 minutes or so that we watched the Squacco and it eventually had found an area of shorter grass where I could get some photos of almost the whole bird. At times I likened it to a Stone Curlew since it had that same piercing stare and even a Corncrake owing to its creeping gait and its "up stereoscope" habit. But of course the Squacco is a Heron so doesn't really look like those at all and is naturally most like other members of its own family such as Little Bittern and Great Bittern. It just seemed a bit of an odd setting for a species of bird that is normally associated with wetland habitat of which there were plenty right next to the field and which the Squacco seemed uninterested in.

Time was pressing and we still had a two hour drive home plus the walk back to the car to look forward to so we finally dragged ourselves away from the Squacco Heron. But before heading back we walked out onto the North Wall to find a couple of Cattle Egrets that we'd been told about. We found them on an island in company with around 20 or so Little Egrets. Cattle Egrets are quite stunning birds in breeding plumage with their prominent orangey head feathers and bright orange bill. 

Cattle Egrets & Little Egrets

On our walk back to the car we stopped for that lemonade at the Crab and Lobster and jokingly suggested that we have Crab and Lobster for dinner. Not at the prices being touted though, we weren't that hungry! 

A brilliant days twitching though and please read the title of this piece carefully which I first saw coined by the excellent band British Sea Power who have a penchant for birds. I wouldn't want to give out the wrong impression.

Got the T-shirt!