Spurn Bird Observatory

   With a few days to spare back in the UK I decided to head over the Spurn point to see some friends and also maybe see some birds. Unfortunately, as seems to be the new normal in spring, there were not many migrants to speak of and despite walking around the Triangle a few times I failed to turn up anything different. 

  However, whilst I was there a Kentish Plover was found on Kilnsea Wetlands. This was a rather dapper male bird and a nice contrast to the autumn bird I saw here a few years ago. Although it was mobile between Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds, it did occasionally show well in front of the wetlands hide.

  In addition I also paid a visit to Hodgsons Field which had much more breeding activity, with good numbers of different singing warblers. Although all common species, it was still an excellent place to spend a few hours birding in the morning. 

-Kentish Plover

-Hairy Dragonfly

Spurn Bird Observatory

For the 60^th birthday of PC, myself and a few friends attended Spurn for a surprise birthday party. While most of the weekend involved drinking and social activities there was a little time for birding and seeing some of the sights.

Just as I arrived an Oriental Turtle Dove was found in Easington. Initially I drove past it, not knowing what was occurring, and so missed the original sighting. It then took a further two hours before I finally connected with the bird, but I finally managed it. It then had the decency to linger into the weekend so the following day I returned and got more views of the bird perched more prominently than at first. This is my second of this species in the UK, and was the first for Spurn since 1975 and only the second ever record.  

There was a reasonable Swift passage during the weekend, with the highest count being 2500 on the 5^th. We also tried flick-netting low flying birds and as such caught two juveniles that we were able to ring, a ringing tick for me. Another species that seemed to be passing through in good numbers was Little Gull, with flocks exceeding 50 birds blogging about the area and often passing low over the observatory building.

In the sunny afternoons I went out hunting for dragonflies. Although it is still quite early in the season there were reasonable numbers, including a smart male Hairy Dragonfly that I removed from the Church Field Heligoland Trap. Although not the prize it once was, this species is always exciting to see. Also nice were up to three Common Emerald Damselflies on the back pond of the Churchfield, a good sign after none were recorded last year.

One afternoon we also went out twitching some Orchids, which seemed to be in good numbers here this year. There was a Southern Marsh Orchid in Church Field, Pyramidal Orchid down the Canal Bank and Bee Orchid at the top end of Sandy Beaches. Whilst there we spotted PK fishing on the beach, and watched him removed a Starry Smoothound shark from the sea. It was roughly a meter long, so not huge, but is my first actual wild shark that I have identified, so very cool to see. Sadly he had released it by the time we made it down onto the beach. 

-Happy 60th Paul Collins, SBO warden

-Spoonbill

-Little Gull

-Swift

-Oriental Turtle Dove ssp. meena

-Collared Dove

-Pyramidal Orchid

-Hairy Dragonfly

Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Common Scoter, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Oriental Turtle Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Roe Deer, Brown Hare, Common Frog, Common Toad, Smooth Newt, Grass Snake, Starry Smoothound, European Perch, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Common Blue-tailed Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Four-spot Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Large Skimmer, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, 

Dorset Holiday-Day 13: Stowe NT

The weather had been pretty incredible all week, but now we had to go home in it, which was less than ideal. We picked our destination prior to our departure this time so we would not end up just doing the job lot in one go. Our destination was Stowe NT, which we had been to before, no we hadn't, Yes we had kind of place. We had been before-Described on this website as 'A random national trust place in the middle of nowhere after the most boring journey in history'. 

Our journey to Stowe was pretty uneventful except that traffic was horrendous and progress was slow, but we made it there for lunch. On the road we saw Common Buzzard, to be expected and also Red Kite, a new bird for the holiday.

The weather was still incredible when we got to Stowe but that meant plenty of insects. My mum and dad got a lift down on the golf cart minibus service, but I said I would walk down to make space on the bus for others. The way down went through some woods, where I saw Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper, 3 very familiar species over the holiday. On the bird front I spotted a Whitethroat singing in the bushes next to the field.

I made my way into the site. Apparently I should have been seen by the gate wardens who check your tickets, but I had no ticket and could not get in without my parents, who had already gone in. But nobody stopped me so I guess that all went well

I first went to the pond directly in front of me. A long lawn led down to it, and I was eager to see what I could find. No sooner did I arrived than did I find Black Tailed Skimmers, Azure Damselflies but also Red Eyed Damselflies, which made up for me missing them yesterday. I immediately took photos of them even though they were not in the best position due to my lack of photos from my previous encounters with them.

-Red Eyed Damselfly

There was one Broad Bodied Chaser among the Black Tailed Skimmers and it kept giving the latter a hard time flushing them from the perches on the waters edge. It only stopped a few times and then it chose perches which were not ideal for my camera.

-Broad Bodied Chaser

My attention was drawn back to the Red Eyed Damselflies, mainly because their eyes made them more striking that most damselflies. They kept perching but not where I really wanted them. One did perch on one of the emergent branches but it was still a little too far away for me to really get to grips with it.

-Red Eyed Damselfly

I mentioned the Black Tailed Skimmers, but they tended to perch on rocks and then not stay there very long, mainly due to the attentions of others of their species and the Broad Bodied Chaser. I did however find one or two who perched with the intention to stay perched so I could get a few photos.

-Black Tailed Skimmer

I left this section of the main lake and headed towards the smaller secondary lake than this main lake flowed into. The secondary lake was more wooded and there was less aquatic vegetation, especially water lilies. Where there was a break in the waterside trees there were a few Azure, Common Blue and more Red Eyed Damselfly, including a few in tandem.

-Red Eyed Damselfly

-Red Eyed Damselfly

I continued my walk and at the far end of the lake I saw a Great Crested Grebe which was quite close and started fishing. But when I looked at the photos afterwards I saw that it had not caught a fish but a crayfish, and quite a big one at that. 

-Great Crested Grebe

At this end of the lake the woods dissapeared and there were more damselflies, including red eyed in a position where I really get photos with all aspects. I took loads of photos but the light has restricted the impact of the eyes in the photos below.

-Red Eyed Damselfly

I continued round the far side of the lake where there was more woodland and here there were a few more birds, like Robin, Blackbird and a female Blackcap which flew across the path and into the trees between the path and the lake. There was also a Brown Hawker hunting this section of the grounds.

-Female Blackbird

Back out on the lake and it appeared that the grebe had followed me. I watched it as it seemed to be striking a threat pose, with its head close to the water, but after that it just sat up and then dived, so I don't really know why it had struck such a position.

-Great Crested Grebe

I found my parents at the top corner of the first main lake and there we watched some more Red Eyed Damselflies, including a pair in tandem.

-Red Eyed Damselfly

We were just setting off to leave and me and my dad spotted at the same time a Grass Snake swimming across the lake. It was a fair old size too but it was the yellow marks behind the head that really gave it away. It was only the 2nd of this species I have ever seen, so I was very excited. It was also the fifth reptile species of the holiday, when really I would have considered myself lucky to get one.

It swum off onto an island in the middle of the lake, swimming between the lily pads which looked rather striking.

-Grass Snake

I then followed my family as they made their way up through some of the smaller pools. Here there were still good numbers of Azure, Common Blue and Red Eyed Damselfly. I also spotted a Banded Demoiselle but it did not choose to land and so it did not take long for me to loose.

On the Dragonfly front there were a couple of female Ruddy Darters, due to the extensive black on the underside and black legs.

-Female Ruddy Darter

I then decided to go and finish my circuit round the main lake. The section I had not been to had good vegetation along the banks but no trees. This made it difficult to get to the waterside, but meant that there were good numbers of dragon and damselflies.

On the dragonfly front there were Four Spot Chaser, and Emperor Dragonfly, one of which took a Large White Butterfly from the air. There was also another of the small hawkers that I was sure were very late hairy dragonflies, but I needed one to land to take a photo so that I could confirm or dis confirm this theory.

It did not land and as such I had to try and take some sort of photo in the air. Below is my best effort, rubbish I know but the dragonfly would dissapear for a good 5 mins at a time and then re-appear at some random spot. I would say though that even though the photo is rubbish it seems to support the idea that it was a Hairy Dragonfly, so I will go with it.

-Hairy Dragonfly

I continued my circuit over the bridge, where there was a Black Tailed Skimmer on one of the posts. It was on the dark side of the post though so no great photos. On the far bank I spotted a Green Woodpecker and some crabby Canada Geese.

I made my way back to where I had started and there found my family again and also thought I saw a grass snake dissapear under the bank, but I could not re-locate it. On the bank the broad bodied chaser seemed to have left so the Black Tailed Skimmers had been left in peace so I took some photos of them perched on their rocks.

-Black Tailed Skimmer

After that my dad and I went for a wander along the bank of the lake and my dad spotted a Pike in the water. We headed off towards where the Canada geese had been but the only thing we saw this time was a juvenile Green Woodpecker chasing the adult bird around, not that we saw much of the adult bird but the juvenile seemed keen to give quite good views of itself.

-Green Woodpecker

And so that was that, the last wildlife act of our holiday down south. Its been a good holiday, but on the way home nothing happened, so here ends my narrative about it...

Cambridgeshire Day 4

I think that this day, Wednesday, was almost certainly the hottest day of the holiday! It was also the day that we decided to go and have a look for the stone curlew. Our chosen destination was NWT Weeting Heath because it offers great views, without disturbing the birds-and you actually have a good chance of seeing them.
I was a bit surprised when I got there! I was expecting slightly more, with ponds and stuff but it was actually a couple of hides overlooking a field with a woodland walk of about 3miles. Even so, I was not disappointed with the birds we saw. We decided not to go for the woodland walk but to only go to the hide to look for a stone curlew.
When we arrived in the hide, some other birders there told us that one had just disappeared from sight down a dip. so as we waited I had a look at what else was around. To be honest, not much really! there were quite a few rabbits, crows, rooks, and jackdaws but there was also a pied wagtail and a couple of lapwings.
Then the moment we were all waiting for-a stone curlew emerged from the ditch and began to move along the steel fence along the edge. It was much too far for the camera, but through the scope you could get great views of the bird, in all its unusual glory. The photos below are just record shots, the bird is in the photo somewhere but it might be a bit hard to find.
You got smashing views through the scope, but eventually one of the crows disturbed it and it flew off, further down the field where we could not see it.

-Stone curlew, surrounded by rabbits and crows
After that, we decided to head back to lakenheath fen, because the woodland walk seemed like it would be too far for my mum. Back at lakenheath I wasted no time in heading to the oriole point, to try and make up for my misfortune yesterday. same as yesterday, I did not see an oriole. I wandered around the stakeout for a while but didn't even hear it. There were however other birds to look at, for example, there were a few whitethroats around.

But then, In a small area of trampled grass with a random stick sticking out from the ground, I found a dragonfly perched. I had read on the sightings board that the dragonfly count was pretty low, the only species being hairy dragonfly, four-spotted chaser and scarce chaser. I knew it wasn't hairy and I could tell that it wasn't a four spotted chaser, so by process of elimination I knew that it was a scarce chaser, which is a first for me.

It was great, that I didn't have to chase it and that I managed to find it whilst it was landed, so I started to get some record shots. I managed to get quite a few, at one point it left but then returned to the same stick, as there supposed to do, but never do in my case, which was nice. The dark eye colour tells me that this is a female as appose to a juvenile.

-scarce chaser
I sadly scared it away by trying to climb over the stick to get a few head on photos, so I didn't manage any. And continuing with the dragonfly theme, I managed to find a Hairy dragonfly perched. It was not a great photography position as there were too many blades of grass in the way. It was also perched so that if i wanted to get the whole dragonfly in focus, I would have to shoot upwards at it, and there wasn't enough space below it for me to do that, but the photo I did manage highlight the stunning colours of the insect.

-Hairy DragonflyI then got a text telling me that I had to go back to the car for lunch. It was a pity, and I would be kicking myself if the oriole came out, but no-body seemed to be seriously looking for it today, where as yesterday, there was always a decent sized crowd.
On the way back I spotted a garden spider poised in mid air wrapping up his lunch, so I decided to take some photos.

-garden spider
After lunch I headed straight back into the reserve, with the intention to go straight back to the oriole site, but in the pool opposite the visitor center I spotted a dragonfly hunting, so I decided to try and take some photos to work out what kind it was. There were two of one kind and a Hairy dragonfly too. It was hard, the dragonfly's just wouldn't stay still, But then I got a real surprise. As I was watching the dragonfly's to see if they would land, a small dark matter began to move across the water. Or at least that's what I saw, but the ripple marks went quite some way back so after about 15 seconds of watching this matter curiously, I realised that this was a grass snake. I couldn't believe it. Its the first time I have ever seen a wild snake, although to be honest all I could see was its head!

-Grass snake swimmingBack to the dragonflys, as the grass snake had reached its destination at the far side of the pond. Eventually one stayed still for me to get a decent view of it. it was quite a way off but I managed to get a quick photo which proved that it was a four-spotted chaser.

-four spotted chaserToday was proving far more successful for dragonflies, but there were much fewer birds than yesterday. Aside from the usual sedge and reed warbler the only other birds, although this is an addition to yesterdays, was a kestrel plus the marsh harriers.
I decided to walk via the vegetation pools to the main reserve rather than the path and was rewarded with more views of a hairy dragonfly, although I didn't manage to get the camera in pin sharp focus, otherwise it would have been one of the best photos of them I have taken.

-Hairy Dragonflyback at the Oriole site there was only more disappointment to be found. However, the verges to the path were still providing a distraction, this time in the form of a large skipper, identification based on the faint spots on the wings.

-Large skipper

Once that had gone, there was still more, although certainly not a easy to identify. I found this wonderful lacewing perched on an overhanging blade of grass. what struck me was the bluey green tint to the wings and also the small black spots on the head. This lacewing is not in my dads insect book, so I can not say what kind it is, not that it matters, its just nice to see. There were quite a few of them fluttering about, so they were quite common down here, whitethroat food!

-Lacewing
Because the verges were proving such a success I decided to walk along the path where yesterday there were those wicked beetles, to see if i could find some more, or something else pretty cool. I managed to find this spider, which seems to be protecting her eggs under her. I have had a look in a quite vague wildlife book and it says that this spider is likely to be Nursery web spider, pisaura mirabilis which makes sense based on the behavior displayed here! It was quite big and the egg sack is almost the same size as the abdomen of the spider, so it makes you wonder how many eggs must be in the egg-sack.

-Nursery web spider
Further up the path I spotted a whitethroat, so far the bird of the day, perched really conveniently on a jutting out reed. It didn't stick around long, but the shot I got must be one of the most successful photos I have ever taken of a whitethroat!

-whitethroatAt the top of the path was the familiar stile that led onto the public footpath along the side of the river. I decided to go and have a look up on top, and maybe at the river for damselflys and waterbirds. But as soon as i got to the top of the path I spotted something else. It was a small butterfly but this one was brown as a pose to blue. I knew immediately, as soon as it landed that it was a brown argus, but even so I had a nagging doubt that it may just be an exceptionally brown female common blue.

It was really dainty, and although not as colourful as its blue relations, it was still really cool to see. Incidentally this is my first new butterfly for the holiday. I spent a while taking photos before I just sat and watched it as it fed on the Daisy's on the low grass that covered the path.

-Brown Argus
I took loads of photos for fear that something may go wrong if i only took a few! After it flew away I decided to take a look by the river, to see what was around. I found a banded demoiselle, which was nice and the first one I had found on the site.

On the way back to the oriole site, I spotted another nursery web spider, this one without a egg sack, and so showing how long its legs were i.e. quite long! It was hidden in a leaf. The fact that these spiders didn't seem to asociate with webs made me wonder how they hunt, maybe this one was ambushing something! so I took a few photos and then left, to avoid disturbing the spider.

-Nursery web spider
When i got back to the oriole site, it was about 4 o'clock which mean't that there was the evening light effect taking place. This truly would be the last chance i would get to try and see an oriole. But instead of an oriole I got good views of a cuckoo, finally an unusual bird for today! I got to see it cuckooing without even having to use my binoculars, which was kind of special because it might have been my final memory of the reserve. There were a few reed warblers that were quite angry about the cuckoo being so close to their nests.

-Cuckoo

In the scrub in front of me, before the poplar plantation I suddenly spotted a small brown bird. It was another whitethroat, once again quite close and so I once again took plenty of photos. Its curious because a few minuets before I had seen a whitethroat with a mouthful of caterpillars, and this one had no caterpillars in its mouth,. so I reasoned that there must be a nest somewhere nearby.

-whitethroat

As I was watching and waiting for a potential oriole, I found the scarce chaser again, and it landed for me to take a photo face on, but sadly they diddn't come out well, possibly because of the light fading.

Anyway, I got a text telling me to head back to the car, because it was time to go home. On the way back, I spotted a brown female common blue damselfly, which just adds to the bio-diversity of the place.

-Common blue damselfly

so, once more i have to say goodbye to this fabulouse nature reserve-I thouroughly recomend it to anyone going to the area! So this was the last full day in cambridgeshire, as tomorow we were going home. Its been a great holiday, it almost had asmany new species as norfolk last year, and norfolk is reknown for its wildlife, so that puts it in perspective!

and whats even better is that we saw the whole point of coming down-the stone curlew! thats the best bit, with their beady eyes and wierd personalities.