Orgreave Lakes

Today was my last ever lecture, so did not really want to miss it

That being said, when Mark Reeder tweeted that there were whooper swan, common scoter and kittiwake on Orgreave I was tempted to head straight down. I did not and made my way down after the lecture at around 11. The whoopers had already gone and when I arrived I saw that the kittiwake had also departed. I could not see the scoter on site, but I was informed they were still present only around the corner and sleeping.

I walked round and confirmed as such. They did not look like waking up at any point but after a short while they suddenly awoke into action, chasing each other and swimming around, although not fishing I noticed. They flew around once and I wondered if they were going to leave, as the fog that had lingered all morning had begun to clear, but they landed again and when I left they had gone back to sleep. Its the best view I have ever had of Common Scoter and its the first time I have seen them inland. Also, its a patch and yeartick, what a start to the day.

-Common Scoter

I imagined that the whoopers already leaving was my lot for that species on my patch list. In the fog I thought I heard a whooper calling, but I could not see anything. A few seconds later I swear I heard it again and looked up to see a nice flock of 11 Whooper Swans going north. It was a surprise, but I managed to rattle off a few shots for record purposes. Sadly they had already passed me when I got the shot but they do so far as I'm concerned. 

-Whooper Swan

So despite looking like a swing and a miss at first I did get 2 of the 3 potential patch ticks. Kittiwake is possible during the rest of the year, and the two that I got I am more than happy with. What a morning it turned out to be in the end.

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Robin, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Wren, Mallard, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Lapwing, Siskin, Meadow Pipit, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Wigeon, Gadwall, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Coot, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Pochard, Common Scoter, Tufted Duck, Common Teal, Goosander, Cormorant, Whooper Swan, Starling, Grey Heron, Great-crested Grebe, Linnet, 

Staffordshire

Clive messaged me asking if I wanted to go for the long-staying Staffordshire Hoopoe, and I was more than keen, Hoopoe being one of my most wanted birds. When we arrived it took some finding, but after about 20mins we had picked it up in a pretty shrubby area of the obviously long converted quarry. Once we had picked it up it was clear why we had such a difficult time trying to find it, as it was more than happy to sit tight even when we were quite close.

After a while watching it Clive suggested that we move back a bit to allow it to move more freely, and it subsequently did, earnestly feeding and being pretty amazing. After a while watching, it eventually ended in some thicker cover. Clive suggested we leave but I requested that we flush it just so I could see it in flight. It had moved quite some distance and so flushing it took a bit of work. I don't like doing it, but it was worth it as it was so cool to see in flight. It moved into a tree, then it flew back down near us but in an area of mown grass where we got some incredible views as it continued to feed happily despite our fairly close proximity.

It was an awesome bird to see, I'll let my multiple photos and short video do the talking. Sadly, when I managed to get some none shaky video is when the bird was not doing much.

-Hoopoe

-Hoopoe

Our next stop was an estate, the Trentham Estate between Stoke and Wolverhampton where there had apparently been a lesser spotted woodpecker. Sadly speaking to local birders it sounded like the report might be rubbish, and we certainly did neither see nor hear any. Commoner woodland species were in abundance though, including Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Common Buzzard and a yeartick of Treecreeper. There's always a silver lining.

Following that in the late afternoon we headed to Tittesworth Reseroir for the female ring-necked duck. Despite out best efforts we could not find it but the reservoir was very large and it would have been easy for the bird to hide somewhere. I gained another yeartick here, in the form of Mandarin, with a nice pair. Other nice birds on site included Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Goosander, but there was a lacking number of birds given how large the reservoir was, with very few wildfowl at all.

As the light faded we decided to call in at Bakewell to have a look at an apparent Scaup x Tufted hybrid duck. We picked out the bird fairly easily but one look clearly showed it had no scaup in it. The head had a significant purple sheen so I considered lesser scaup for a moment but the un-mottled back, half wing bar and the excessive purple sheen all pointed to the other parent being a Pochard. Another novelty hybrid for me to look at this year. There was also a superb male Goosander coming to bread with the common wildfowl which was pretty awesome to see. If only the light had not been so poor.

-Pochard x Tufted Duck

-Goosander

And that was that. On the drive back we got a Short-eared Owl on the moor, and a Dipper in one of the rivers, the latter being a yeartick for me. Despite 2 dips it was an excellent days birding, and the Hoopoe along means 2016 has probably peaked already.

Species List:
Hinksford: Hoopoe, Yellowhammer, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Collard Dove, Meadow Pipit,
Trentham Estate: Treecreeper. Nuthatch, Song Thrush, Redwing, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Rook, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Robin, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Dunnock, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Mistle Thrush, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Magpie,
Tittesworth Reservoir: Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Pochard, Mandarin, Goosander, Tufted Duck, Oystercatcher, Canada Goose, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Curlew, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great-crested Grebe, Fieldfare, Woodpigeon, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Teal, Wigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie,
Bakewell: Grey Wagtail, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Mallard, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw,

Swillington Ings

A single lecture and then exam results or a day out birding somewhere were my options today, and of course I chose to go birding. Who wouldn't.

I decided to call in at Swillington Ings, as it would not require an absurdly early start and I had a good chance of a few scarce yearticks, as well as cleaning up Water Pipit on my life list. Since the Pipits were on a sewage treatment works near the reserve itself I decided to go there first. It took some finding and thats an understatement. I could not work out where to go for the life of me. However, once I was there it did not take long to locate a smart Water Pipit, once I had trawled through the ample Pied Wagtails.

It was nice as they were feeding alongside a small number of Meadow Pipits, allowing a nice comparison of the obviously greyer and bigger Water Pipit. My only previous sighting was a flyover bird at Fairburn that another birder in the hide had pointed out, which when I was seven was fine to tick, but now obviously seems a little sketchy. Anyway, that can now be laid to rest with these two birds showing rather well. Well, one was, the other kept to the back and generally out of sight.

I think birding at a sewage farm is a new low for me...

-Water Pipit

Once I was happy with the Water Pipit I headed on to the reserve itself, this was about midday so I still had plenty of time. I wandered over to see the Greenland White-fronted Goose on the far hillside, but I was hindered by the fact that the causeway was still flooded so had to take the long way round. I got a few nice birds on the way; mainly Wildfowl like Goldeneye and Wigeon. There was also a large flock of Siskin in the birch trees behind the fence.

When I got to the hillside I could see that the geese were well spread out but after a little searching I managed to pick out the bird I was looking for. One look and I could clearly see it was a Greenland bird as opposed to a Eurasian bird. The black belly bars were much stronger than they had been on the Eurasian birds I had seen a couple of weeks ago, and the bill was very much orange. A real nice sub-species lifer for me.

I could have got closer but did not want to flush them so just grabbed record shots from the path below. My second target bird of the day got.

-Greenland White-fronted Goose

Since the afternoon was drawing on I decided to head to the main lake and see what gulls came in to roost. Last night had been a very good roost and I was hoping for something similar tonight. However when I got to the main lake there was nothing more than Black-headed Gulls.That only being on the gull front, as a hunting Peregrine was pretty awesome as it took on the Lapwings and Gulls. It also put up a Ringed Plover which is a yeartick for me.

Since the gulls were not happening here I decided to move over to the other lake where they might have been. As soon as I arrived I could see there were more large gulls here; three. Even from a distance I could see that one was insanely pale, but appeared to have dark primaries. Intrigued I got closer for a better look.

It was pale, with dusky dark primaries. A real mystery. Its was bigger than the two Herring Gulls, with a bicoloured bill. The outer primaries were not black, but a dusky grey. When the wings were open there was an impressive lack of contrast between the primary window and the secondaries. It basically looked like a glaucous gull with dark primaries. I came to the conclusion that it must be a hybrid glauc-herring gull, or an aberrant of either species, although the latter seemed more unlikely given the plumage features.

I waited for it to fly to get some shots of the wings open, which it did eventually when it flew off. At which point I returned to the main lake. There were still no gulls roosting and a scope towards the tip showed none were coming either. With that in mind I decided to call it a day.

When I got back I messaged Tim with the gull, asking what he though, stating that I had wondered if it was a Viking Gull (Glauc x Herring). Tims reply was that it looked spot on for a 2cy Viking Gull, and that I should put the photos up on twitter. So thats that then; sadly not a yeartick but it is the first time I have seen on of these, and its more exciting anyway, as well as educational. A nice way to cap off a smashing days birding. 

-Viking Gull

What a day out, this is why I love birding. Although I got no Lifers, its three species I have never seen properly or ever before. What a day.

Species List:
Swillington Ings: Shellduck, Oystercatcher, Magpie, Tree Sparrow, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Long-Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Water Pipit, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Great-crested Grebe, Common Teal, Grey Heron, Goldfinch, Siskin, Lapwing, Goldeneye, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Reed Bunting, Wigeon, Carrion Crow, Goosander, Linnet, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Greenland White-fronted Goose, Pochard, Peregrine, Shoveler, Common Gull, Ringed Plover, Starling, Collard Dove, Curlew, Sparrowhawk,

Orgreave Lakes

Another Saturday meant another day of deciding where exactly to go. Since it was a housemates 21st in the evening I decided to stay local so as to keep fresh. Orgreave was the chosen spot, and well chosen it was too. Not long after I arrived I added Stock Dove to the yearlist and this pair or a few pairs spend the rest of the walk flying around.

-Stock Dove

The real bonus of the day was not one but two patch ticks. The first was a superb male Yellowhammer. I picked it up flying towards me as only a silloutheut. The call I recognised but could not put my finger on it, but it was clearly a large finch or bunting. It then landed in a tree where I got superb views of it but the camera was in the bag and by the time I had got it out the bird had dropped so my best shots are through grass.

-Yellowhammer

The second yeartick of the day was a day roosting Tawny Owl. I picked up the brown mass in the tree but it was badly obscurred. I figured it must be a bird and narrowed it down to female pheasant or an owl of some description. As I got closer, though still obscurred, I could make out half the face disc of a Tawny Owl, patch and year tick. Sadly, despite the fact I was still fairly distant, it decided I was too close and dropped into the bushes where I never saw it again...

Still, another cracking day out on the patch.

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Goldfinch, Skylark, Wren, Blackbird, Dunnock, Magpie, Black-headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Cormorant, Mallard, Linnet, Lapwing, Tufted Duck, Carrion Crow, Common Teal, Stock Dove, Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipit, Pochard, Coot, Redshank, Gadwall, Goosander, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Sparrowhawk, Robin, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Tawny Owl, Long-tailed Tit, Herring Gull,

Weston Park

I returned back from lectures with the sound intention of working of developing ideas for my dissertation, something which is now well overdue. That idea was quickly cut short when I saw via the University Birdwatching Society that there was a pair of Egyptian Geese on the Weston Park pond. I, of course, headed straight down there and within 10 mins was watching the birds.

Both were reasonably approachable and readily came to bread. They were unringed and were probably the same birds seen on the far side of Sheffield a day earlier. I had a behaviour tick when I got to see them displaying and a vocal tick when I got to hear the male calling, How cool is that?!? The only real downside was that the light was awful and so all 600 photos I took are also not brilliant.

Anyway, what better way to spend an afternoon...

-Egyptian Geese

Besides the obvious highlights there was also a smart female Wigeon present, unringed but almost certainly of suspect origin, not helped by the fact that it was coming to bread. The ever-present male Wood Duck was still strutting his stuff, today he was displaying earnestly to a female mallard.

-Wigeon

-Wood Duck

Species List:

Weston Park: Egyptian Geese, Wigeon, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail,