3rd December 2017 (Hertfordshire)

Drove back from Norfolk today and decided to stop off at Wilstone Reservoir where I had fantastic views of the drake Ruddy Duck. This is my first since 2014, and potentially my last with the way things are going so I hoped to get a decent record shot of it. Unfortunately my phone ran out of charge before it came really close in, so I had to settle with these.

Ruddy Duck - Wilstone Reservoir

 

Still a big improvement on my record shot from 2014!

Also of note were 3 female Goldeneye and a Red Kite plus at least 6 Red Kites from the car window on the way.

Grey Wagtail - Wilstone Reservoir

 

Pochards - Wilstone Reservoir

2nd December 2017 (Suffolk and Norfolk)

Headed up to East Anglia this weekend for a couple of scandinavian finches. First stop was Hazelwood Common, Suffolk where the COUES'S ARCTIC REDPOLL was showing on arrival. The flock, mainly consisting of Lesser Redpolls, frequented the vegetation by the path before feeding in the adjacet field. The coues's arctic was easy to pick with its black-and-white body plumage and largely plain underparts. Also amongst the flock was at least one Mealy Redpoll.

COUES'S ARCTIC REDPOLL - Hazelwood Common

 

Lesser Redpoll - Hazelwood Common

Next stop was Santon Downham in Thetford Forest to search for the flock of parrot crossbills. On arrival, I was dismayed to hear that there'd be no sign all morning. After searching for an hour or two a report came that 3 birds had been seen not far from the car park. After a bit of confusion, I and three others birders realised that the bird had been reported at the very spot we were standing, but there were no crossbills and no observer! Soon after another 30 or 40 people converged on the spot and none were any the wiser. Fustrated, we contined searching to no avail, producing just a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, a few Siskins and other bits and pieces. I walked along to the level crossing to find no one searching here. It was getting late and I was about to turn around and head back to the car when a birder appeared across the level crossing and called me over - after a short dash I was watching a flock of Parrot Crossbills! The birds were distant I didn't mind, I was just relieved to have seen them! The bill shape and size, the large cheek and bull neck were obvious even at this range.

Parrot Crossbills - Santon Downham

 

Kingfisher - Santon Downham

We eventually counted at least 16 birds. It was approaching dusk and 15 birds took flight, allowing us to hear the characteristic call. One bird remained in the tree but dropped down out of view. On my walk back to the car, I came across a group of birders, one of which had just claimed a flock of 19 crossbill types flying over giving parrot-type calls, so looks like several more may have been lurking about.

A great end to the day after what had seemed like a three-hour dip.

26th November 2017

Saw that the red-necked grebe was still present at Chard Reservoir this morning so I decided to head over. My only previous sighting of this species was a very distant pair in Portland Harbour in 2013, so I was keen to get a better view and some record shots.

After a bit of scanning, I was put onto the Red-Necked Grebe which spent most of its time in the overhanging vegetation at the north of the res. With a bit of patience it swam out into the open and gave good scope views. A flyover Grey Wagtail was the only other species of note.

Red-Necked Grebe - Chard Reservoir

A fantastic find for in inland reservoir and a great record for Someret!

Stopped off at Norton-Sub-Hamdon on the way home to try to finally catch up with a hawfinch this winter. I saw my first ever Hawfinches at the same site in 2013, so I checked a few of the same locations near the church yard without any luck. Thinking I'd arrived too late in the day I was ready to leave when I noticed a small bird fly up next to a green finch. I got it in the bins and it was a Hawfinch! Eventually, I got onto at least 2 or 3 individuals in the small trees next to the church yard and managed a few record shots. Also of note was a Green Woodpecker, a Grey Wagtail and all 5 thrushes.

Hawfinch - Norton-Sub-Hamdon

25th November 2017

Had a look at Lodmoor this afternoon, where the LESSER YELLOWLEGS was showing on arrival. Shortly after, it flew to the south end and disappeared into the vegetation. After it didn't come back out, I headed up to the north end of West Scrape to scan through the gulls producing just a few Med and Common Gulls. Also of note were 2 Kingfisher, 6 Ruffs and a Marsh Harrier. As dusk fell, I headed back and refound the yellowlegs at the same spot, showing at point blank range. By this time my phone had run out and it was too dark for my bridge camera.

11th/12th November 2017

Was about to head out the door yesterday when news came in of a possible italian sparrow at East Budleigh, Devon. Well I had to take a look! When I arrived at about 2:30pm, there were plenty of sparrows entering and leaving the garden and things were looking promising. 30 minutes in and it starting pouring. I waited until 4pm, but the birds were refusing to show in the poor weather, so I decided to head home and try again tomorrow.

I got up early morning and managed to break my phone scoping adapter, good start. Arrived on site at around 8:30am. A short look from the same spot from yesterday produced only a few sparrows. A number of birders had walked further up the road where the bird had also been reported. As they hadn't come back yet, I decided to head up. Quite a few people were at the top end. A large number of sparrows could be heard across the gardens, but very few were visible. After most of the birders had moved off, the call went up. After a bit of searching through the scope, I was watching the potential ITALIAN SPARROW! I waited until 12:30, in which time the bird only showed a couple more times before the feeders ran dry. It was surprisingly distinctive with it's gleaming white cheeks, brown crown, small bib and white in-front and behind of the eye. Needless to say, I failed to get a record shot by free-hand through the scope.

The classification of these birds seems somewhat confused, I'll be sure to do some more complete research into this if/when I get time. None-the-less, I'm very glad I went and saw this - birding isn't just about ticks!

4th November 2017

Had a look fromt the Moreton hide at Chew Valley Lake today. Although I heard multiple water pipits, I failed to locate any. The only other highlights were at least 15 Great White Egrets, 2 Goldeneye and a Roe Deer with two young.

Pheasant - Chew Valley Lake

Roe Deer - Chew Valley Lake

29/30th October 2017

Headed down to Ninesprings Lake yesterday morning for the first time since January (I really need to spend more time on patch next year!). The highlight were high numbers of Water Rails. There is one regular bird every winter, but today I saw 2 on the Lake plus a 3rd which was heard only, and a probable 4th heard calling from the river. Oddly, no mandarins were present on the lake, though 2 Little Grebes, 1 fly-through Kingfisher and a Grey Heron were on offer, and the intermittent blue-winged goose was again present. There was little of note away from the lake with nothing better than 2 Nuthatches and a few Raven overhead. On the drive back to the house I had a female Kestrel in the fields between Brimsmore and Longcroft.

Walking into work this morning proved to be a good decision as I had a flyover Lesser Redpoll, my first in Yeovil this year.