The middle of April onwards is when spring birding really gets going. By the end of the month most returning species will be back and are relatively easy to see before the leaves fully adorn the trees. Our time would be more limited this year so we'd have to choose our days out and target birds more carefully than usual but we'd be out when circumstances allowed.
Stone the Curlews!
Not literally of course, I'm rather fond of all birds including Curlews, so won't be chucking any rocks around, but the main aim for our weekend excursion was to see a curious species of wading bird, the Stone Curlew, which we'd dipped out on the previous Saturday.
Stone Curlews are scarce breeding birds in the UK, although they are more common than they were. When we first began birding, it was necessary to travel to a well known spot like Weeting Heath in Norfolk in order to witness now of our strangest wading bird species. Over the years since then, many other places have emerged as good places for them, such as the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. Last year, as a result of the increased number of the birds and the variety of sites to see them, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust decided that Weeting Heath would no longer require running as a visitor centre because of the lack of the visitors, and that the previous entry fee would be relaxed, but (thankfully) it would still remain open for birders to visit. We do know of a couple of places in Oxfordshire where Stone Curlews can be found but they are always distantly observed from the closest footpaths. You can get better views of the birds post-breeding when larger flocks congregate in the same areas and can be much closer to vantage points. However, those flocks can be hard to locate since the preferred habitat of stoney fields and farmland is huge. So for the chance of obtaining good enough views for photography, we still need to travel to see them.
Last year we visited Weeting Heath in May on a very wet day. We did see a pair of Stone Curlews but they were almost as far from the hides as they could get while remaining visible. There is still a "plot" of flint covered ground maintained, which encourages the birds to breed about fifty metres away from the hides. This square of land is protected by a camera and a sonic deterrent (inaudible to us but not to land predators) which helps to keep the birds safe. Unfortunately though, the main threat comes from the air, and many eggs and broods have been lost to marauding Crows, a fate which occurred the previous year and hence why the birds had abandoned the plot. Also of course, the Stone Curlews, and particularly their young, don't always stay within the protected area. Because I really wanted, and needed, to get better photos of a Stone Curlew for my portfolio, we vowed to visit Weeting Heath earlier this year when the birds would be gearing up for breeding and were more likely to be resident on the "plot".
It was raining when we arrived at Weeting Heath mid-morning. The carpark was almost empty, and there was only a couple of other folk sat in the west hide which tends to be the better of the two hides for viewing the Stone Curlews. One of the chaps watching intently out of the hide window was also there last year when we visited. He volunteers there on a weekend and has spent countless hours observing and making notes on the Stone Curlews behaviour, so consequently knows pretty much all there is to know about the birds. Thus, after spending almost ten minutes peering into the driving rain and failing to find any Stone Curlews, I resorted to asking if there were actually any birds out there!
Stone Curlews are renowned for their camouflaged plumage which renders them really hard to see against the flint covered ground. Normally I'd be confident that I would be able to find them but in the dreary conditions, I just couldn't. And yet, I was told that there were two out there. Even armed with the location of each bird it still proved exceptionally difficult to locate them. Until that "Eureka" moment when one finally fell into my view. I'd been looking in the right place, the birds had been there, I just hadn't realised it until directed on to one of them.
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| The view from the hide showing the camera and solar generated power supply. The red arrow is where one bird is sat. |
The bird that we'd finally latched on to was conveniently sat near to a blue-grey cable that fed the camera that overlooked the stoney plot of ground. So once I'd "found" that bird, it was then relatively easy to relocate afterwards, and for directing Mrs Caley to it. It also became a lot easier to see when it stood up for a while.
The other bird however, proved to be much more difficult to find since it only had it head showing above ground. It took a while before I found that one, and then only after once again receiving almost clod-by-clod, and pebble-by-pebble instructions from the expert in the hide. I was not having my best bird spotting day! This second bird again, only became more evident when it also stood up, this time to utter its eerie high-pitched piping call which we could just about make out over the sound of the rain hammering on the hide roof.
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| Tough gig that one! |
Because of the weather, any chance of getting better views of the Stone Curlews wouldn't be coming any time soon, so we decided to leave Weeting Heath and head the half hour or so to the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve at Welney. The forecast was for the rain to cease by lunchtime and for the sun to appear so we'd come back afterwards for another look at the weird and wonderful. A bird renowned for singing in the rain, a Mistle Thrush, scolded us (maybe for being fair weather types) as we walked back to the car. The "Storm Cock" (or "Rain Bird" even) wasn't singing this time though since it had a beak stuffed with tasty morsels for the youngsters in its nest. Spring was definitely on the way even if the weather gods disagreed.
The drive to Welney from Weeting isn't very far but takes a while because many of the Fenland roads are in a terrible state. Some resemble fairground switchbacks and driving any faster than walking pace is pretty dangerous. We passed two stranded vehicles on one particularly bad section, one of which had lost its back wheels and axle, presumably shattered on one of the mountainous bumps. Small wonder then that most of the local traffic appeared to consist of Range Rovers and heftily built Pickups. Our slow speed at least gave us a chance to bird as we drove, and a few miles from the WWT reserve we found one of our hoped for species. April is getting late to see Whooper Swans in the UK, so the group of six that were feeding in a lush grassy field was a good find and our first of the year.
From the carpark and entrance pathway to the visitor centre, we looked for Tree Sparrows. The scarcer species of sparrow was always easy to find at Welney. However, the population has crashed and apparently there are only a few still visiting the feeders. House Sparrows are booming but usually the two species are compatible stable mates so it would seem unlikely that one has ousted the other. I remember reading once that Tree Sparrows colonies can often just "up sticks" and move en masse so maybe that is what has happened there. RSPB Frampton Marsh lost all their Tree Sparrows a few years back as well. In Oxfordshire we have hardly any left. The House Sparrows were willing subjects. I like Spadges.
We looked out over Lady Fen whilst enjoying a coffee and slice of cake (if a cheese & onion pasty counts as a cake in my case). We managed to find a couple of Common Cranes way out on the furthest flood. The sun was already, although only occasionally, nudging through parting clouds so my assessment of the forthcoming better weather seemed accurate so we wouldn't be staying too long since I wanted to get back to the Stone Curlews. We made our way over the bridge into the reserve itself and chose the open hide adjacent to the main observatory rather than the heated room itself. It was positively baltic outside though so I was soon sat there by myself, Mrs Caley quite wisely heading indoors pretty quickly. The flood immediately outside the hide was awash with Black-tailed Godwits with several hundred stood hunched together on the marshy fen. Until they were flushed by one of the Marsh Harriers that regularly patrol the marshes and floods. Then the whole flock would whirl around, creating quite a spectacle, only landing once the perceived danger had passed.
There were other waders as well. I found Redshank, Snipe and Oystercatchers as well as around half a dozen Ruff which were mixed in amongst the Godwit flock. The Ruff were difficult to keep tabs on as they moved amongst the larger Godwits and of course were displaced every time the flock was flushed but it was a good exercise to pick them out like in the photo below.
I scanned around and locked on to a surprise pair of Garganey. Of course they'd been present for a week or so but I'd forgotten all about them so wasn't looking for them at all. So it was a surprise, for me anyway. The Garganey, our only spring migrant duck species that stays for the summer, were secreted in the grass behind a pair of Shoveler but soon waddled out onto the water for a paddle.
There was just time before we left, to scan the feeders for Tree Sparrows again. Once more we didn't find any and once again lamented the loss of them. The House Sparrows weren't bothered and prompted me to take photos of them instead.
The Whooper Swans had left the field where we'd stopped earlier but I noticed around half a dozen Marsh Harriers displaying above the banks of a small farm reservoir. They were flying slowly into the strong breeze so photography should have been easy. However, now the sun had appeared, the photographers nemesis, the dreaded heat haze, scuppered my best hopes.
We arrived back at Weeting Heath in glorious sunshine so for once it seemed as if I'd made the right decision to go elsewhere for a few hours. All we needed now was for the Stone Curlews to be more visible and hopefully a little bit more active. The hide was empty of other birders when we got back there, meaning this time I'd have to find the birds myself. I like a challenge so I set the scope up for Mrs Caley, and then scanned the ground. The challenge lasted all of two seconds. There, in the middle of the plot, was one of the Stone Curlews preening and stretching. What had seemed like an almost impossible task earlier in the rain, was as easy as sitting on a log this time!
The Stone Curlew was pretty active too, stalking slowly around, and occasionally selecting some invertebrate prey to snack on. The views through the scope were the best we've had of this species since seeing one pre-camera days close to home years ago. It was joined by a Wheatear which was also feeding on the open ground. Wheatears are a sure sign that spring is almost upon us.
The Stone Curlew walked almost up to the closest edge of the plot, probably only fifty metres away, and then settled down into a hollow on the ground. Sitting on the ground made the bird much less evident again but this time we had good light and knew exactly where it was. Mrs Caley then announced that the other Stone Curlew was walking towards the same spot. I hadn't noticed it, probably because I was so occupied watching the other bird. While the other bird rested amongst the flint, this bird stood tall and those piercing eyes of it, stared straight through me. This bird I presumed to be the male of the pair. The birds were around ten metres apart but were clearly keeping tabs on each other.
Rather than loitering around though, after a few moments of inactivity, the second Stone Curlew began to stride purposefully toward the other. When it got to around a metre or so away, it began displaying. It stood up tall, then stooped its head toward the ground while hunching its back and ruffling its feathers. Then it would walk sidewards towards the other bird until there was only a small space between them before shuffling off away again. This crab-like walking dance was repeated several times. Unfortunately for the displaying male, the sitting female appeared to be entirely uninterested in his display.
The male bird gave up and wandered off slightly. Then to make our afternoon even better, it turned and strode even closer to the hide, walking to the nearest edge of the plot of rough ground. I was now able to get easily th best photos I've ever obtained of the normally difficult to see Stone Curlew. I was delighted to have the opportunity, and also pleased that I'd planned a trip to see the birds correctly this year. If you visit later in the year, the birds tend be further away on the grassland beyond the plot, particularly if their breeding attempt had failed. We did see two chicks with a pair once that were reasonably close but again, that was before I owned a camera or a decent scope.
When the male bird settled down and joined the other in a mid-afternoon snooze session, we left, figuring it wouldn't get any better. Our views of the Stone Curlews, and the thrill of watching them had been brilliant.
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