Perfect Timing

With storm Imogen long gone and just a gentle breeze over Wiltshire it was off to Barbury Castle to see what was about. It look like I was in luck as well; as I passed through Overtown so the clouds overhead started to break up and the sun came out. For me that's a first, normally it's the other way round.

Before I turned off onto the Ridgeway track I had my first Stock Dove of the year sitting on a telegraph pole. An easy tick! The track was bumpy as ever and those potholes are getting bigger each time I visit, and of course they were all full of water. However with a bit of care I eventually made it to "Finch Corner". 

At first it was fairly quiet albeit for a few Blue Tits, a Dunnock and a Wren around the gate, and then very slowly a few Chaffinches appeared on the outermost branches alongside the footpath heading north. For once there wasn't any grain on the ground, but someone had kindly placed some on top of the gate posts and it was here that a few of the Blue Tits and Chaffinches were coming to feed.

As I turned to get my camera off the back seat of the car I caught a glimpse of a Red-legged Partridge, limping across the track. Not sure how he hurt his leg, but hopefully he will recover. Still another tick, so a really good start.

Soon there were many Chaffinches coming to the posts and then the Bramblings decided to join in. In total I counted 25 Brambling, but that number could well have been more, as the ones I counted were on the edge of the hedgerow. Also about were a few Greenfinches and a very aggressive female/juvenile bird, which I think was almost likely to be a 1st winter male as there was just a hint of green coming through on his wings. It mattered not whether it was Brambling, Chaffinch, Blue Tit or one of its own, this individual was determined that these freebie seeds were his and his alone.

And then, what I was waiting for, Tree Sparrows. I saw one and heard at least two more, but that was the best I got. One as I say showed itself very briefly and like the others was happy to sit it out somewhere in the middle of the copse. Another Day!

In amongst the finches were a few Yellowhammers and later as I drove further up the track I came across 5 more, plus a Buzzard sitting on the post close to the pool.

As I drove back up towards RAF Wroughton, lo and behold there was a RABBIT. Not that I get really excited about bunnies, but this is the first one I've seen this year and its the first one recorded within a ten mile radius of Swindon. Where have they been!  Further up the road I came across 70+ Fieldfare in the tall trees, but every time I stopped for a look, they took off and carried on to the next set off trees. I wasn't playing this silly game so I drove off and left them to it.

A few images and videos from today:

A great comparison between a male Brambling and a male Chaffinch


See how this Greenfinch drives off the Brambling. Chaffinch and Blue Tit

A female Chaffinch

and the more brightly coloured male.

A great comparison between a male Chaffinch (foreground) and a male Brambling

I'm thinking this is a 1st winter male Greenfinch.........

.....and a very aggressive one at that, as this Chaffinch found out

A male Brambling

And more aggression between 2 Brambling, whilst a Blue Tit gets in quick.

A female Brambling

Two of around 25 Brambling sit it out on the branches.

The rear of a Brambling....

and a peak from the owner.

Beautiful markings

and another male sits bolt upright.

A Blue Tit keeps a wary eye out

And another soaks up the winter sun.

One of a few Yellowhammer that were with the finches.

A Common Buzzard on his favourite perch.

Well it was until I came along.

Birds Recorded: 1 Buzzard, 4 Pheasant, 1 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 2 Dunnock, 1 Robin, 1 Blackbird, 60+ Fieldfare, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Great Tit, 6 Blue Tit, 2 Wren, 1 Magpie, 50+ Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 200+ Starling, 3 Tree Sparrow, 25 Brambling, 15 Chaffinch, 5 Greenfinch, 8 Yellowhammer. Also my first Rabbit of the year

Now That's Windy

Well we've had Gertrude and Henry so far this year, and now its Imogen wreaking havoc on the UK. More on how these storm names have come about Here.

Not to be beaten by a bit of wind and rain I headed off to Liden Lagoon and then to the Business Centre at Lotmead Farm to have a look around there. Well it is on my doorstep and there's always something to see there.

First stop was Liden Lagoon and despite the heavy rain over the past few days, the pool wasn't as flooded as I had expected it to be. There was certainly some colour to it as the mud from the fields passed through the lagoon and out at the northeast end.

Birds Recorded: 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 6 Mute Swan (2 resident, 1 cob, 3 juv), Canada Geese, Mallard, 7 Gadwall (4m, 3f), 53 Tufted Duck (not sexed), 1 drake Pochard, Moorhen, Coot, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow and 3 Goldfinch

Here are a few images from the Lagoon this morning:

No surprises here. Just one of a few trees that have either split or fallen today from the strong gusts.

I don't know who was more surprised me or the Great Crested Grebe as it popped up right in front of me.

Just one click of the camera shutter and a record shot of a Little Grebe!

The interloper has a stretch, probably getting in shape for its next round with the resident Mute Swans.

The drake Pochard....

.......poses for the camera........

.....and then gets a bit ruffled by the wind!

Not even a stretch of the wings for this Cormorant as it braces itself against the elements.

And this Grey Heron is finding it really tough as it leans into the wind. Eventually it gives up.............

............and flies off. No doubt looking for somewhere windy.

Now Coots aren't renowned for getting too close to humans. In fact most scatter if you get anywhere near them. However this individual walked along the path. Stopped, looked up at me...............

......and just carried on by. It must have been the camouflaged jacket I was wearing. Either that or my black Wellington boots. Surely it didn't think my boots were another Coot!! I think we'll leave it that.....

My next port of call was Lotmead Farm Business park and a quick look at the pool. Talk about flooded, but to my surprise there were 7 Teal, 2 Mallard, 2 Coot, 1 Moorhen and a pair of Little Grebe riding the waves. So not a bad result at all.

Birds Recorded: 2 Little Grebe, 2 Mute Swan (1 adult and juv), pair of Mallard, 7 Teal (4m, 3f), 1 Moorhen, 2 Coot, 3 Herring Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, 3 Collared Dove, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, 25 House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch

A Little Grebe

Same bird.

and the 2nd bird

Quite cute.....

A pair of Teal

Now this is really odd. Both drake Teal, but look at the difference in size. However this is not unusual and certainly in Teal, there size can vary by 11cm (4in) or so.

Same bird in the foreground, really tiny. The duck in the centre is a female Mallard with 3 more Teal at the back.

And its lift off. I don't think the drake on the right was expecting the pair in front to take off!

Another Windy Day

CWP Pit 30
Location

With just an hour and a bit to spare this afternoon, it was off to a very windy pit 30 to see the 2 male Smew. Having struggled to find somewhere to park I eventually found an off road spot, opposite the footpath. And as per earlier reports the Smew (I only saw 1 male) was on the far bank, sheltering from the gale force wind. Clearly a male bird, all white with that striking black patch around the eye. Unfortunately the photograph below doesn't do it any justice whatsoever!

Birds Recorded: 1 male Smew, 3 Tufted Duck

A very very distant shot of one of the male Smew on Pit 30. A drake Tufted Duck to its right.

CWP Pit 74
Location

Moving on from Pit 30, I headed off to Twitchers Gate Here, you never know what you will find here. Today though it was all about Wigeon, they were everywhere. The horrendous wind was keeping just about wildfowl species to my right, including many Pintail on the stretch of water beyond the bar on the other side of Pit 74. Here there were also a lot of Teal and Shoveler, whilst on the bar itself were a dozen or so Cormorant and a few Lapwing. On Pit 74 though were my first Goldeneye of the year, a beautiful male and two females.

By Twitchers Gate I was surprised to hear a Treecreeper, which may well have been tagging along with tits. Also in the scrub a Reed Bunting.

Birds recorded: Great Crested Grebe, 12 Cormorant, 2 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swan, Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, 3 Goldeneye (1m, 2f), Coot, 100+ Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, 5 Herring Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Treecreeper, Wren, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Chaffinch and Reed Bunting.

Wigeon and Coot sit it out on the choppy water

Back To My List

The good old British weather, one day fine, the next wet and so on. At least the weather forecast is more accurate nowadays and today (as forecast) was dark, overcast and wet when I decided to have a quick walk around Stanton Park. My quarry Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch for my year list.

Now if I'm truthfully honest I stopped doing lists years back. However I feel obliged this year, only because a few of my friends on the Swindon Birds and Wildlife Blog, have unbeknown to them, influenced me into having ago. If you're reading this you know who you are. Now it's not a challenge in seeing who gets the most birds in one year, just simply a log of what I've seen on my travels. However and it does happen, on the very odd occasion I might go and have a look at something of interest, but I won't be twitching every rarity that comes into our area.

The Great Northern Diver was a treat and when its just 15 minutes from your door, it would have been a shame not to have paid it a visit. So I have a 2016 list, which is the first one since 2006.

A few birds I would love to tick off my Life List, but not necessarily this year, are Dotterel, Rose-coloured Starling and Common Rosefinch. A few birds I would love to see again in the UK would be Golden Oriole, Wryneck, Waxwing, Red-rumped Swallow, Turtle Dove, Bee-eater and Hoopoe. Lets hope for some decent weather then.

Anyway on my walk around Stanton Park I recorded: Mute Swan, Mallard, the Chocolate Magpie x Mulard duck, 1 pair Teal, 4 female "redhead" Goosander, Moorhen, 5 Black-headed Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 16 Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, 2 Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, 1 Nuthatch, 1 Treecreeper, Wren, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, 30+ Siskin and 30+ Goldfinch.

And here are some very poor looking images. The Canon PowerShot SX 50 HS is a lovely bridge camera but not brilliant in low-light conditions.

One of the 4 female Goosanders

Chocolate Magpie x Mulard duck

An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

Same bird in flight

A Much Better Day

Sun again, though listening to the weather forecast it's going to short-lived. But at least I kept dry for a change, as I headed off to Liden Lagoon to see what was about.

Well for starters there were 46 Tufted Duck. There were 54 a couple of days ago, but not an easy duck to count, as they never keep still long enough, continually diving down in search of food. Today there were 9 Gadwall. There were lots of Mallard about and the Mallard x Indian Runner duck is still present. No sign of the pair of Shoveler and do we have 2 male Pochards! As I walked around the lagoon adjacent to the A419 and looked into the lagoon between the two islands, there was a drake keeping very much to himself. However as I made my way round to the path behind the housing estate there was a very "tame" drake Pochard that followed me down the lagoon. A bit of a mystery. Are there 2 birds!

The lone Great Crested Grebe was around the North Island and to my surprise there were a pair of Little Grebes along the bank of the South Island. Such a busy little bird, diving at every opportunity and then moving along a bit before diving down again. One thing I did notice was they way they always retracted their feathers just before diving. One minute all puffed up, next minute slimline. I can't believe its taken me 48 years to notice that!

A pair of Little Grebes working their way along the bank. They are also known as Dabchicks. Quite fluffy as they swim about on the surface, but if you look closely, each time they dive down, all their feathers are retracted to make them slimline for swimming under the surface. Apologies for sound quality, it might have been sunny, but it was quite windy.

Other birds about on the water were Coots, Moorhens, 70 odd Black-headed Gulls and 8 Herring Gulls.

Around the banks a few Blue Tits pairing up, Long-tailed Tits moving through the trees with a few Great Tits and Goldcrest accompanying them and overhead a Sparrowhawk spiralling above the lagoon.

Here are a few images from today:

Still just the one Great Crested Grebe

A pair of Little Grebe hastily make their way to the island, under the watchful eye of a Coot.

Now these three drake Tufted Duck have lovely mauve sheens to their heads.........

..........whilst this one has a beautiful green sheen. Same species but just a different angle to the sun showing just what an iridescent plumage the drake Tufted Duck has.

A drake Pochard. Are there two! This one is amazingly tolerant of humans, yet the one I saw just 10 minutes earlier on the opposite side to the lagoon was anything but. I'm very confused!

4 pairs of Gadwall and now another drake.

More gulls - an adult Herring Gull comes into land.

I'm going for 2nd winter, though the saddle is quite grey!

From left to right and I am open to suggestions, but I reckon 2nd winter, 1st winter and 2nd winter

1st winter Herring Gull.

This has to be one of the smallest juvenile Herring Gulls I've ever encountered. Its not a juvenile Common Gull, though it would be perfect in size, but the beak is all wrong and is more typical of a Herring Gull. A really odd looking bird!

A lot easier to ID a Sparrowhawk surveys the Lagoon from above.

And something else keeping an eye on me, one of a few Grey Squirrels around the lagoon

Birds Recorded: 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, 6 Mute Swan (resident pair, 3 juveniles and 1 cob),, Canada Geese, Mallard, 9 Gadwall (5m, 4f),  46 Tufted Duck (25m, 21f), 1 possibly 2 drake Pochard, 1 Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Coot, 71 Black-headed Gull, 8 Herring Gull (3 adult, 2 2nd winter, 2 1st winter and a juvenile), Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Plus 2 Grey Squirrels