Saturday 28 April 2018

Cyprus Trip Report

Cyprus birding in mid to late March was pretty good. I was taken aback by how established the summer visitors were at that time of the year. Not used to seeing Nightingales, Wrynecks and lots of Swifts and Swallows for example so early in the season. Highlight of the trip? For me it was the female Pallid Harrier present late into the trip one afternoon at Paphos Headland (shown below). It patrolled the grassland of the archaeological site when Hooded Crows allowed, and presented a good id challenge. Getting ready for when one gets sighted back home at Low Moor, Midhope. Surely not out of the question :)

To give an idea of what birding opportunities can be had on the island in early Spring please take a look at my trip report uploaded at 'Birding Trip Reports - Other'

Also, a video compilation from the trip at https://youtu.be/rqFmCBGMQb0





Tuesday 17 April 2018

Glaucoides to the left of me, Glaucoides to the right of me and a Black-necked Grebe in the middle of Aveley Pool

Arrived at the Stone Barges on the long walk to Rainham RSPB (14 Apr) with the knowledge that about an hour earlier an Iceland Gull was reported in the area. Presumably the bird of last weekend which had been seen during the week as well. Not many large gulls were on show so I started to walk down river. A few hundred yards east of the Stone Barges large gulls were beginning to gather in the middle of the Thames slowly drifting up river on the incoming tide. They had come off the landfill, typical behaviour, and also to be expected was that one minute there were a dozen present and then moments later a hundred dropped in. I scanned the flock and an immature Iceland Gull was drifting by. After a few minutes it flew to and landed on the Stone Barges jetty. Over the next few minutes another 'flotilla' of gulls had developed. A scan revealed another Iceland Gull in the mix, a whiter individual than the first with grey showing through on the closed wing. A quick look back at the jetty and the first bird was still present. I followed the floating Larids back to the Stone Barges where several other birders were scanning the gulls. As the paler bird drifted out of view, we then studied the original bird. It was tricky to see amongst the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls on the jetty and best viewed from the right. Time went by and the paler Iceland Gull flew onto the jetty and all of a sudden one birder picked up a third bird, in plumage similar to the original bird. All 3 spent a fair amount of time roosting before the two 1st summer types flew off down river (one later drifted back up river and beyond the Stone Barges). The presumed second summer remained and then came to bread giving everyone a good look. Alos from the Stone Barges at least 3 Common Terns flew down river, my first of the season.

Several records shots of two of the birds below, check out some fine photos from Shaun Harvey of this gull at
Valley Birding.





How old were the Iceland Gulls? In the past the practice was to label as 1st winter then 1st summer and repeat the sequence through to adult plumage. A trend perhaps due to better understanding of moult patterns gave rise to calendar year labelling of birds, especially gulls, but can this always be applied?

On site at first I thought the second (paler) bird was a 3rd summer, but then wondered if it was an advanced 2nd summer. Looking at the literature still not 100% sure of its age, but I'm favouring 2nd summer if such terminology is still being used. The first bird looked like a typical 1st summer from my experiences, and I think the same of the third bird, although a little more advanced, it had a paler eye.

  • Bird 1 - dark eye and two-toned bill appearing black-tipped. Missing a primary on the left wing when seen in flight.
  • Bird 2 - strikingly white with grey saddle, not extensive grey but on closed wing in certain light looked to have grey on the wing. Pale eye and bill had a pale tip beyond the black band. Bill more yellow in tone than the others. Looked clean winged in flight.
  • Bird 3 - as Bird 1 in upperpart tone, eye appeared paler but not as striking as Bird 2. Hint of a pale tip developing on the bill. Missing primaries on both wings in flight.
Lots of good birds seen on the reserve that day. Whilst watching the passage Black-necked Grebe a Red Kite showed briefly in the distance over the Target Pools mid pm before heading fast to the south west. Lots of Buzzards moved through during the day helped by temperatures rising to the high teens and a southeasterly tail wind. I saw about 10 of the 30+ tallied, but my count may have included a few local birds. Marsh Harriers took to the skies and my first Hobby sighting of the year with one hawking insects over the Eurostar line. Swallows still thin on the ground (2), but I heard my first Willow Warbler and UK Lesser Whitethroat of the summer. The Great White Egret continued, still maintaining it's half a mile birder exclusion zone!






More photos of the Iceland Gulls at 'Latest UK Bird Photos'.

Sunday 8 April 2018

Early Spring Birding including a genuine white-winged gull

A twitch north to Scotland, South Yorkshire moorland birding magic and this time, a genuine white-winger.

The (American) White-winged Scoter is a relatively new addition to the British list (2013) following the first off the Aberdeenshire coast in 2011. This North American cousin of the Velvet Scoter has appeared a handful of times in Scotland since and debate continues as to how many different birds have actually been seen. An adult drake of this species on the Firth of Forth offshore from Musselburgh, Edinburgh present before Easter - would it linger to be twitched?


A 5 hours drive (29 Mar) from South Yorkshire to Edinburgh had the delights of the morning rush hour traffic around Newcastle to contend with, where the fog on the Tyne lingered. The coastal run into the borders was pretty spectacular and relatively traffic free. Arrived on site (10:30) to news that the very rare Scoter had been present earlier but then flew west towards the harbour. The Firth held small scattered groups of Velvet Scoters with Eider and Goldeneye also present. A handful of Long-tailed Ducks were busy moving from one side of the Esk river mouth to the other. All of these seaducks and the rare drake Surf Scoter offshore would have usually warranted much more prolonged and closer scrutiny, but where was the very rare Scoter? I scanned the sea and to the west soon picked up a drake 'Velvet' Scoter type with a pronounced white eye tick patch swimming with a group of 4 definite 'Velvets'. One of the locals had seen the same bird and there it was, the adult drake (American) White-winged Scoter. Spent the next couple of hours studying this bird as it kept company with Velvet Scoters at a reasonable distance offshore, at one stage flying strongly east before doing a U-turn. It was never close for photos but gave comfortable 'scope views on a not so choppy Firth under good light. On several occasions it's North American Surf Scoter pal was in the same field of view. Of the (American) White-winged Scoter as well as the eye tick, the bill had less of a pale patch which was pinkish in colour and not yellow as for Velvet Scoter, and the bill shape differed with a bit of a bulge at the base of the upper mandible. This was difficult to make out, but noticeable at some angles. I'm sure the brownish flanks were evident during some wing flaps... to a degree!

On now making time to study the other seaducks I manage to pick out 3 Slavonian Grebes moulting into summer plumage. This made them difficult to pick out against the dark water as they just seemed to melt away! Several Red-throated Divers and Guillemots present offshore. At the river mouth flocks of Oystercatchers, Curlews and Bar-tailed Godwits flew by, moving from roosting to feeding sites.

A photo looking west to Edinburgh from the Esk river mouth at Musselburgh on the day, whereas the (American) White-winged Scoter shown below was photographed several years before in Washington State, USA (2008).





Home in South Yorkshire where the diverse landscape makes for brilliant birding. However, the varied weather always has a part to play in the birding day. This trip included sunny days where it was quite mild in sheltered spots, with April showers featuring shortly after Easter. However, Easter Monday (02 Apr) saw a deluge of snow for 3 hours in the morning catching many road users unaware around Sheffield and on the cross Peninne approaches.



Visited Old Moor RSPB during the afternoon thaw on Easter Monday. One adult Mediterranean Gull present on the mere in its summer finery, and the Swallow hawking insects over the water looked out of place against the snowy and now misty backdrop. A Bittern 'boomed' from the reedbeds.

The South Yorkshire moorlands were magical. Buzzards and Kestrels patrolled the skies with a couple of Ravens noted. Curlews dominated the rough ground and chipping Snipe were a delight. Oystercatchers also back on territory, likewise a pair of displaying Golden Plovers. A flock of over 250 'Goldies' at a staging site nearby were preparing for more northern climes. A small flock of 9 Common Crossbills 'jipping' in flight as they moved from one moorland plantation to another (03 Apr). A migrant Red Kite was upstaged by a passage Osprey that moved north up the Strines valley at lunchtime the same day (03 Apr), with another Osprey flying north in the same area the following morning (04 Apr). This second bird was tracking the moorland edge to the west. Always nice to see these beautiful fish eating raptors, especially on migration. As well as their distinctive plumage, the hanging nature of the slow long circles they make in the sky are pretty characteristic as is when they change tact, launching themselves into a long fast power glides maintaing a distinctive shallow M-wing profile. Moreover, study a migrating Osprey and see how little they flap. It's very much a case of gliding and flapping only when they have to.





A few days beforehand (31 Mar) I was driving along the moorland edge along Mortimer Road mid afternoon where a group of big white 'blobs' were close inshore at Strines Reservoir. Mindful of passage Whooper Swans being noted in the region, I stopped to have a further look. Good job I did as the 'blobs' turned out to be a vocal flock of about 60 Whooper Swans (57 or 58 with 10 - 20% being immatures). After the event I understood they were seen earlier in the day over Sheffield and then departed either the same evening, or overnight?




Back at Rainham Marshes RSPB, London (07 Apr) where the sunny morning skies gave way to increasing cloud on a mild and brisk southerly wind. The weather promised visible migration but it was not to be. The reserve held a variety of birdlife including very vocal Redshanks back on territory, noisy Cetti's Warblers, several winter ducks remaining and stunning Marsh Harriers patrolling the site. Less expected yet most welcome was an immature (1st summer type) Iceland Gull. It stuck out like a sore thumb as it joined Herring Gulls picking at the surface of the Thames on the edge of Aveley Bay, as it 'glowed' in the morning sunshine. From here a scan from the river wall back onto the reserve produced a sighting of a Great White Egret (cannot get used to the Great Egret name!) that had been in residence for a week or so. For such a large species it could be difficult to pick up in Rainham's marshland habitat, and only gave itself up at 1/2 mile range as it fed apart from the several Little Egrets gracing the reserve. Later on from the balcony a Peregrine provided entertainment as it made sure another flew off up river.




More photos from this period at 'Latest UK Bird Photos'.