Update: Beeeater Wardening

It has been some time since I last posted on here, so its time for a quick update. My new job is fantastic, wardening the small flock of Beeeaters that have set up in south Nottinghamshire. I have been based here from the end of June, working to keep the birds safe and visitors happy. It all came about very quickly, I was employed and on site within 48hrs of the birds first appearance. I have been reluctant to post anything due to the sensitive nature of the work.
 However, as of the 19th July we first noticed behavior from the adults indicating that they were on chicks in one of the nests. On the 21st we observed the same change in another nest, meaning that we only have one nest without chicks. This immediately reduces the threat of malicious human actives, meaning I can finally share all the exciting things that have been going on.

-European Beeeater

 Unfortunately the arrival of chicks means that for the second year on the trot I will be spending my summer doing night shifts chasing away the fox. But on the plus side I get to watch beeeaters for a living. Ever cloud!

Species List:
East Leake Quarry: European Beeeater, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Red-legged Partridge, Linnet, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Sparrowhawk, Hobby, Peregrine, Kestrel, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Common Swift, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpecker,

Spurn Week 1

Once again I have landed myself the extremely prestigious job of Little Tern warden at Spurn. This time I am starting a month earlier than before, and so will be able to actually watch the terns settle down on the nests, and then track individuals progress. Its all very exciting and something I am very much looking forward to.

Of course it does mean that I have now permanently left uni, which really is quite sad. I moved to Spurn on the Saturday and after settling down began work on the Sunday. I'm not sure how best to post things up on here, as I feel it will quickly become backlogged if I post for everyday, so I might try weekly posts or whatever, see what happens...

Sunday 12.06.2016

Day 1, foggy and overcast. Not a lot happening really. I went down to numpties first thing and not long after the first major bird of my stay flew down, a Bee-eater. It was only a flyover but obviously there are few birds better than a Bee-eater. Sadly through the mist and fog there was not much chance of a good photo, but I managed to grab a record shot.

-European Bee-eater

Other species were a bit thin on the ground. A Hobby flew around the watchpoint a few times during the morning, showing really well at times but difficult to catch using the camera. A couple of Shoveler went south, which was something different to the usual species which fly south. A Corn Bunting went north and brief views of a Little Stint which went south with a couple of Dunlin were a nice couple of additions to the yearlist.

In the afternoon I was going to head over to sammies but instead ended up doing a shift on the ponds with the Little Terns. There were not many birds about but I did manage 80 Little Terns sat on the beach which was pretty awesome to see. 

Species List:

Numpties: Carrion Crow, Magpie, Starling, Swallow, House Martin, Swift, Shoveler,  Teal, Common Scoter, Gannet, Fulmar, Hobby, European Bee-eater, Little Stint, Corn Bunting, Knot, Little Tern, Green Sandpiper,

Beacon Ponds: Little Tern, Curlew, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Herring Gull, Mallard, Fulmar, Reed Bunting, Starling, Carrion Crow, Little Egret, Cuckoo, Short-eared Owl, Meadow Pipit, Avocet, Common Scoter, Shelduck, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Gannet, 

Monday 13.06.2016

I start on morning shifts, so I was up at the ponds nice and early. Not long after I arrived on site had I already crashed and fallen asleep. In the periods where I managed to stay awake though I did see a Little Gull and an Arctic Tern. Another highlight of the morning was a Puffin which was sitting on the water fairly close inshore. It seemed to have a damaged wing but was active enough, diving and feeding. Commoner species were obviously still around, but a lack of activity from the Little Terns, with still no birds having settled down to nest yet.

On the way back to Obs after lunch I popped in at the wetlands to have a look at the Common Scoter that had been present for a few days. I was surprised to find the bird sat right in front of the hide as I walked in, not a usual view to get of the birds you usually only see when their flying out at sea. 

-Common Scoter

Absolutely exhausted, I crashed back in the Obs around early afternoon. Try as I might, I failed to muster the desire to go back out, until I read a tweet saying that a Golden Oriole had been found down the canal. I headed straight down there, but failed to spot any observers so had little idea where to actually look for it. I did soon find one observer looking into canal hedge. As I walked down to ask him though, the bird itself flew straight past me giving fantastic flight views. What a bird to see, and the rump was so bright and distinctive.

It staying around the canal while we watched. It was showy but flighty and difficult to approach in any sense. Often it would alight on the sides of bushes that were simply not view-able. I did manage a few record shots though, enough to confirm what it was without doubt. A smashing lifer. The best part of all was that the bird was frequently singing and calling, a sound I am familiar with from those times at lakenheath fen. A superb bird to say the least.

-Golden Oriole

We followed it round but it was very mobile, soon leaving the canal and heading into the village where it flew between various hedgerows, including over the obs garden. Eventually the chase became too much, when the bird was finally lost late afternoon. It was a cracking bird, what a way to start my time here.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Tern, Little Egret, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Arctic Tern, Little Gull, Avocet, Shelduck, Short-eared Owl, Carrion Crow, Sandwich Tern, Common Scoter, Meadow Pipit, Gannet, Dunlin, Magpie, Curlew, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Kittiwake, Puffin, Fulmar, Swift, Sand Martin, Starling, Skylark, Cormorant, 

Tuesday 14.06.2016

Another day on the Job. Once more I crashed as soon as I had arrived at the ponds. Not long after I awoke though did I find my first good birds of my stint, when a pair of Spoonbills flew south over the ponds. Sadly, between my calling them out, and trying to get my camera out they had already turned away from me and I did not intend to just grab photos of the behind of the birds. They made their way south and were picked up at the Warren. A nice start to my finders list for the summer. Also on shift I managed to muster up a Knot, Red-throated Diver and my first Painted Lady of the year. A nice morning spent up at the ponds.

In the afternoon after I had been shopping I headed down the canal to see the Golden Oriole again. It remained very elusive to put it mildly but did show well a couple of times in flight before sitting out in the open distantly in canal hedge. I had hoped to develop my record shots from yesterday but sadly there was nothing much new to add...

-Golden Oriole

-Barn Owl

The Oriole would often go down for long periods of time before emerging from a bush on the complete other side of the canal. Once it dived into canal hedge I decided to call it quits, there was absolutely no point chasing it further. To keep us busy in the mean time there was a nice Barn Owl and my first Emperor Dragonflies of the year. All in other smashing day at work.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Knot, Ringed Plover, Mute Swan, Mallard, Shelduck, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Short-eared Owl, Great Black-backed Gull, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Starling, Avocet, Gannet, Shoveler, Meadow Pipit, Swallow, Spoonbill, Common Tern, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Red-throated Diver, Common Scoter, 

Wednesday 15.06.2016

Another day out at work. I was on site early in the hope that the Lincs caspian terns might have rocked up but the fog was so thick that I was unable to tell, although from what I could see there were no large white birds on the ponds. The fog did not lift until around 10.00, during which time the only notable species I recorded was a nice Little Gull.

The day soon cleared up though into a very nice afternoon, making the four layers I put on in the morning to keep out the rain somewhat redundant. The shift passed largely without incident, with a few more Little Terns looking like they are going to settle down and the 3 remaining Oystercatcher nests still looking good.

Despite the overall quietness of the day I still managed to log another Spurn mega, albeit one that has been seen a couple of times infrequently during the week. A Red Kite flew south over the ponds before being lost in the rising cloud. Thats another good bird to have under my belt for Spurn.

But perhaps the highlight of the day was this: Watching a female Red and Black Burying Beetle bury an expired mole on Long Bank. It was somewhat unnerving watching the mole corpse twitch and shuffle as the beetle excavated it out from underneath, but still fantastic to watch. So interesting.

-Black and Red Burying Beetle with deceased Mole

Due to ongoing footware issues I spent the afternoon chilling in the hope that my bruises might get the respite they need to recover to allow me to fully enjoy working here. We shall see.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Tern, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Little Gull, Little Egret, Dunlin, Mute Swan, Red Kite, Sandwich Tern, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Gannet, Common Scoter, Fulmar, Shelduck, Herring Gull, Curlew, Swallow, Magpie, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, 

Thursday 16.06.2016

Another morning with thick fret, allowing me chance to catch up on the sleep I was missing from the absurdly early starts. There were two Short-eared Owls on Holderness Field early morning as I walked up, but that was about the best of it. The first Redshank of the autumn was also back on Wetlands, a sign that waders were on the move.

Managed to clock up a decent species list during the morning, the best of the birds probably a few Manx Shearwaters that were moving north. Not in any great numbers but in small groups of about four that would occasionally glide past.

The real highlight of the day was a Sunfish flapping about offshore. I picked up the fin about mid-distance and then pondered as to its identity. It was clearly not a dolphin or shark due to its upright nature, and its erratic behavior made sure it was something a bit different. Given these two pieces of information it was not difficult to rule out all other candidates except Sunfish, despite the fact that it is a little early for them. I did get to watch it for some time but alas the choppy nature of the sea meant I was unable to get any record shots.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Redshank, Short-eared Owl, Little Tern, Oystercatcher, Swallow, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Sparrowhawk, Mute Swan, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Linnet, Avocet, Sandwich Tern, Great Black-backed Gull, Mallard, Skylark, Gannet, Common Scoter, Fulmar, Dunlin, Feral Pigeon, Manx Shearwater, Guillemot, Red-throated Diver, Black-headed Gull, Yellow Wagtail, Knot, Kittiwake, Common Gull, Eider

Friday 17.06.2016

The plan of the day was extremely similar to that of the previous days, with fret first thing, followed by a clearer day with healthy species numbers but nothing overly different to add to the ponds list. The best of it was probably a Little Gull early morning which flew off into the fret, or three Arctic Terns which dropped in mid-morning.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Dunlin, Little Tern, Little Egret, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Carrion Crow, Avocet, Mallard, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Arctic Tern, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Shelduck, Gannet, Sand Martin, Swallow, Sandwich Tern, Common Scoter, Fulmar, Pheasant, Grey Heron, House Martin, Woodpigeon, Eider, Reed Bunting

Saturday 18.06.2016

The situation at ponds was very similar to what it has been the last few days. A flock of 42 Knot on the beach were new but otherwise on the whole the variety of species on the ponds seems to have dropped off a little bit today. Out at sea it was a little better, as I got my first Great Skua of the year. Nice to have a few seabirds around to put my scope to good use at sea.

On my way back a couple told me about a Tufted Duck from the hide, so I went in to have a look. I got the tuftie but also got a drake Shoveler, which was a really nice bonus.

-Shoveler

In the afternoon I went for a wander down the canal but I was unable to find anything and the Oriole had long since departed. A Chiffchaff was about the best of it, to give an idea of how quiet it was. Now we enter the dead season when there are really not many birds about at all.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Redshank, Gadwall, Little Tern, Curlew, Knot, Fulmar, Little Egret, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Swallow, House Martin, Sandwich Tern, Great Skua, Gannet, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Starling, Shoveler

Canal: Blue Tit, Blackbird, Magpie, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Little Egret, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Swallow, House Martin, Oystercatcher,

Sunday 19.06.2016

Last day on exhausting mornings. And with the last day came a sudden surge in the variety of waders about, with my first Sanderling of the autumn small group of Dunlin, 2 Curlew, and a Redshank. 2 Little Gull also graced the ponds early morning. On my way back to the Obs I found myself cut off as the farmer was doing something to his fields and had shut the gate, allowing me plenty of time to check Holderness field, where I got Spurns first Ruff of the Autumn. 

In the afternoon word came over the radio of a Spoonbill at the bottom of that same field so I headed over. I was pretty thrilled to see that not only was the Spoonbill still there, but it was not asleep. It was my first proper chance to photograph one not flying or sleeping since that bird briefly at Blacktoft last year. 

-Spoonbill

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Dunlin, Sanderling, Little Gull, Little Tern, Shelduck, Curlew, Swift, Little Egret, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Sandwich Tern, Gannet, Herring Gull, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Great Black-backed Gull, Swallow, Black-headed Gull, Cormorant, Fulmar, Carrion Crow, Redshank, Greylag Goose, Kestrel, Grey Heron, Sand Martin, Mallard, Mute Swan, Ruff, Lapwing, Spoonbill, Teal, Knot,

Spurn Weekend Day 2

The NGBs arrived last night so there was a good squad of us in the warren in the morning. As a consequence of the weather we had taken the day slowly and by 7 there were only 3 of us up. It was at that point that news broke of a laughing gull at Beacon Ponds. I have never seen birders move so fast.

We arrived at the wetlands to be pointed a distant bird heading south over Beacon Lane to be told that was the bird, before it was lost to sight and was never seen again. Guys at numpties did not see it go south so it was assumed to be still in the area, though it was not seen again.

Since we did not know this we went to numpties to see if it would come south but it never did, and we soon gave up as the rain continued to fall.

By mid morning we decided to actually do some birding. Zac had already decided to quit being lazy and had gone to the point. As a result, the rest of us decided to go to Sammies. This was an excellent choice as it resulted in us finding a Marsh Warbler, which was the first of the year for spurn and a lifer for me.

We heard it calling first and all picked it up at roughly the same time before discussing it among us before releasing it as a Marsh Warbler. It was typically elusive and difficult to pin down, but I got a couple of nice enough record shots. Some of the other guys took sonograms of the bird too. Jonnie kept a list of all the birds being imitated, which included Bee-Eater, Yellow and Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Great Tit and a host of other species. Super.

-Marsh Warbler

Other birds were thin on the ground, the only other notable being a Barn Owl. We the returned to the Warren. When Zac arrived back from the point Jonnie, Matt and I took him up to the site to see the Warbler again, but it remained flighty and elusive. After a while we left Zac to try and get a photo, whilst we headed to Patrington to grab a few things.

We returned to the warren for more laziness. Then, once again, the radio buzzed that a Bee-Eater was flying about sammies, then Churchfield, then the canal before settling down in Sammies. We raced up to numpties to pick it up over the canal before racing round the roads trying to find it, before we pulled up in Churchfield.

In churchfield the bird was calling frequently, sat closely and whizzing round our heads. It was a better experience than last time as it was closer, flying around us and calling. It was unbelievably awesome. It just does not get any better than this really. It nearly did as Tim set up the nets to try and catch it, and it so nearly went in, landing on the net poles twice and dodging the net only narrowly. What a superb bird and experience. Sadly the battery on my compact died so I only managed a few shots with that.

-European Bee-Eater

-European Bee-Eater

Paul said he was off to catch the Marsh Warbler, but with the bee eater still around I did not want to leave should it be caught. As soon as Paul had left with the other NGBs though the bee-eater flew off, so I grabbed a lift with Mick to long bank and ran through the sodden grass to catch them with the Marsh Warbler.

I was in luck, they had only just set up when I arrived and within 2 mins the bird had gone straight into the net. My lack of compact camera meant I had to stand well back but I'm still pleased with the shots I got, only that I did not get the feet, which were incredibly distinctive when you saw the bird up close, bright yellow. What a superb little bird and lifer.

-Marsh Warbler

We let the warbler go without putting it out. We then wandered along Sammies where Zac spotted a Kestrel ripping apart a wheatear. Jonnie wanted the feathers so we waited until the kestrel had done before he went to go and get them. By now, with the thick cloud cover, it was quite dusky so we decided to call it quits on the day. Despite the weather we had got some fantastic birds seen and had a great days birding.

Species List:

Sammies Point: Marsh Warbler, Kestrel, Barn Owl, Wheatear, Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Shelduck, Mute Swan, Swallow, House Martin, House Sparrow, Linnet, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Sand Martin, Ringed Plover, Cuckoo, Meadow Pipit,

Churchfield: Collard Dove, European Bee-Eater, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Barn Owl, Swallow, Swift, House Martin, 

Spurn Weekend Day 3

It all started very quickly today. Ed and I were walking back from the pub down canal bank when we heard 5 seconds of song coming from the reeds. Obviously it was dark but we both immediately turned to each other knowing that this was not something either of us had heard before. We waited but it did not sing again so I went to the Collins app on my phone and played a couple of songs of birds that I thought it could have been. We did not find one that was an exact match but we could eliminate a lot of possibilities just from that.

We went back to charge the phone and discuss it, where we reached the conclusion that, based on song, location and time of day, that it was either a nightingale (Eds thoughts) or a marsh warbler (my thoughts). We waited for Pete to get back before we went up again, but it did not sing again.

At first light the next morning I went up canal bank hoping it would be singing, but it was not. There were other birds singing now, including Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. Sadly this will be the one that got away, though I am almost certain that its a marsh warbler.

Having got up so early I then headed to numpties where there was a steady stream of Swifts trickling down, presumably the remnants of yesterdays movement. A few other hirundines were also moving but nothing major. A flock of Bar-Tailed Godwits came over, which was a yeartick for me and I was very pleased with that.

After a while the movement dried up and so I decided to head to the ponds to finally have a look at my little terns again after so long away. Beacon lane was quiet, and there was no sign of the phalarope on holderness field. The only bird of note really was a Common Buzzard circling quite low being mobbed by crows.

I did however get my first dragonflies of the year in the hedge near the wetlands. I saw a medium sized dragonfly take off from the grass and land on the hegde, where I got bins on it to see that it was a Broad-bodied chaser, a superb adult male. I grabbed a few photos (a lot) and then saw that there were a few females around as well, at least 3, so I took a few snaps of them too. Its a dragonfly tick for me at Spurn this one, so I was pretty chuffed with that.

-Broad-Bodied Chaser

It was at this point that I checked the bird news app to see what was about. I was distraught to see that a possible pacific swift had been reported up the coast and was coming south, about an hour ago. Panicked I went to the ponds for a quick look, saw my terns and then rushed back down to numpties praying that whatever it was, it had not gone over yet.

When I got back to numtpies there was already a crowd assembled there, but they had obviously been there a while as some of the guys were calling it quits already. It was not difficult to see why, as the steady trickle of swifts from the morning had now dried up completely, so that if any unusual swift were to come down it would be the only bird in the sky. But I did manage a yeartick here, and it was another finch with a Lesser Redpoll blogging about. In fact it was so quiet I helped pass the time by photographing the Meadow Pipit parachuting on the wires in front of us, serenading us while we waited.

-Meadow Pipit

By mid afternoon there were only a handful of birders left so I decided to head down to the new numpties behind the warren to see if there was anything about. Of course there was not but if anything had of come past I would have been able to see if, unlike yesterday. Another birder had come with me but he could pick up nothing either.

We headed back to numpties, where now only Pete and Rob were. Pete said that there was a good chance we would be leaving pretty imminently due to the fact that it was so dead. At this point the other birder came over to say goodbye when he pointed to a bird behind me and said, in the rushed tone when you know what it is but can't take it in, 'whats that'. At which point we all spun around. The image I saw them I will never forget, as a big brown swift with a distinctive white belly was flying down about 5 meters away from me.

Pete was onto in like a shot and began crying 'Alpine Swift, Alpine Swift' before radioing it out. It all happened so fast and I tried to get the camera out of the bag it was well on its way by the time I had managed it, leaving me with only a stab at a record shot.

But like I said, the image of that bird when i first saw it was remarkable and I will never forget it. Once it had gone it all began to settle down, Rob was thrilled, he had been waiting there for years to get one and he finally had it, and it more than compensated for yesterdays bee-eater for me, what a bird, superb.

-Alpine Swift

That gave us the boost to stick around a little longer but it returned to a state of nothing happening. Ian and Steve both arrived to chat about the swift but then they both left, though Rich and Graham set up at numpties. Were it not for the swift we would have left early but as luck would have it we stayed.

But late afternoon things had still not picked up until the guys at numpties shouted that they thought they had a bee-eater near the bluebell. Rich ran off to drive to where it was to confirm, and the rest of us sat scoping the bird from a long way off. As soon as we had received confirmation that it was one I jumped in Robs car and we raced up to find a small gathering already assembled from the news, and a superb bee eater chilling on the wires.

I only got a couple of shots with the light and the bird moved further away along the wires as we watched. It was fantastic to see, at long last after a weekend of dipping the species here I finally saw one and it was sat down so I could properly appreciate it, and a stunning bird it was too, there are not many better looking birds on the British list that this.

-European Bee-Eater

It had been quite close but gradually moved along the wires until it was only really visible through the scope. As a result we drove round to the other side of Kilnsea where we could watch it, not as close as it had been but clear enough views, and we got to see it in flight and catching bees, what more can you ask for than that?

After maybe half and hour to an hour of watching it dropped over the hedge and that was that. I was thrilled to bits about it, superb bird. We drove back down to the warren and I went to bed for a bit as I was knackered. Given the form of the day I did not miss anything, with hardly any birds having been present, but those that were were nothing short of exceptional, what a day. Its one of the best days birding I have had for a long time. Fantastic.

Species List:
Numpties Watchpoint: Swift, Swallow, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Starling, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Dunnock, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Collard Dove, Common Gull, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, House Martin, Mallard, Curlew, Little Tern, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Feral Pigeon, Oystercatcher, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Jackdaw, Shelduck, Magpie, Little Egret, Sparrowhawk, Grey Plover, Tufted Duck, Ringed Plover, Spotted Flycatcher, Knot, Whimbrel, Great Tit, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Dunlin, Cormorant, Lesser Redpoll, Tree Sparrow, Alpine Swift, Sand Martin, Gadwall, European Bee-Eater, Gannet, Lesser Whitethroat, Puffin,
Holderness Field and Beacon Ponds: Avocet, Shelduck, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Little Tern, Dunlin, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Grey Heron, Broad Bodied Chaser,