RSPB Cliffe Pools :: 23 July 2022

We set off early on Saturday morning to see the white rumped sandpiper at Dorney Flash on the Buckinghamshire / Berkshire border. It was a clear run and we arrived through the common and encountered cows crossing the road at will - the flat common and spread out herd of cows was an unexpected and strange sight, especially with this road running through. We saw the flash off to our left and two birders already in residence, both standing with scopes and viewing the flash - we jumped out the car, grabbed our gear and set off across the common; a large traditional grassed common, roughly triangular, which is an SSSI and offers panoramic views of Windsor Castle 2½ miles to the east.

No sooner had we set off than ring-necked parakeets called, and a handful flew overhead. Although there are some resident in Banbury I haven't encountered them this year and so this was a year tick - now for the sandpiper. We reached the birders with only one remaining, the other having walked around the lake on our right. We were greeted with "I wouldn't get your hopes up". Sure enough, there was no sign of our target bird, nor the dunlin that it appeared to have been associating with. Scanning around we saw four little ringed plovers and had a great white egret rise from the reeds to our right. Little egret, lapwing and stock dove all showed, but not our bird - Ewan Urquhart arrived and we said hello, then Dylan Parry-Davies and his partner. We waited and chatted until over an hour and a half had passed at which point we decided this was a lost cause, and that we'd dipped. We set off for breakfast and to decided what to do next.

Refuelled, we set out again having trawled through BirdGuides to try and find somewhere with a notable species of bird. I'd not seen a stone curlew for a number of years and so we made for RSPB Cliffe Pools - as far again as we were from home - not what we'd planned for the morning. The journey was uneventful and we didn't encounter any of the predicted queues for Dover and the Channel crossings, perhaps turning off just in time. We proceeded down Mead Wall which is a very rough stone road to the RSPB car park - it was so rough I was not absolutely sure we were going the right way. We reached a T-junction and found another car parked and looking at our maps we appeared to be in the right place - we parked up, grabbed our bins and a scope and scanned across the first pool from the viewpoint finding, little and great-crested grebes, greenshank, redshank, great white egret, little egret and best of all black-tailed godwits, new for my year list.

Neither of us had ever visited this reserve before but we could see that there would be great views over the pools, and the River Thames running alongside. I dropped back down to the car just as a chap walked passed carrying a scope on his back - I chatted briefly with him about the location of the stone curlew but he also told us the location of three curlew sandpipers - given that they may change location we headed there first.

His directions were spot on and the red car was still directly opposite the short path out to the viewing point - it seemed further than we'd been expecting but now there we could see several congregations of birds. As Kev set up his scope and started scanning the water's edge, he happened on a water rail crossing a gap in the reeds to our right - typically I missed it. We focussed on the righthand pool and two groups of birds, a pair, and a three. The pair we could see was a dunlin and another we couldn't identify as it was sleeping with its back to us - it appeared smaller than the dunlin and later we heard that there had been a little stint there - we will never know ...

The group of three were also asleep but fortunately moved from time to time, and we could see there were the curlew sandpiper - so far away that neither the camera or Digi-scoping over the distance and through the heat haze would allow us a record shot. We spent a considerable time watching the curlew sandpipers hoping they'd get a bit more active but then scanned the larger group of birds on the sandy edge between the two pools. Amongst them was a glossy ibis, teal, redshank, little egret, blackwit, lapwing and shoveler. As we waited a rather stunning ruddy darter dragonfly landed ahead of us - as it was closer than the assembled bird life, I thought I'd take a photo!

Eventually we decided to move on and we were actually here to have a go for the stone curlew - left or right, back where we'd come from or round the other way ... we opted for pastures new and found it was quite a walk even to the sea wall. From the sea wall we could see out to the Thames and a group of seals on the opposite bank. There were various gulls out on the muddy shore and a flock of common gulls on a pipe out from the wall itself.

We checked the map and followed the sea wall around to the spot that overlooked the bay indicated on BirdGuides. We scanned around noting the large number of avocets showing, many feeding but also considerable numbers resting on the water's edge. We could hear voices ahead and went to investigate - we found a handful of birders, two of whom had seen the stone curlew about 45 minutes before we arrived - it had retreated into the scrub behind the shore and disappeared from view. We joined the vigil. Soon one of the birders left, leaving a spot to sit in the shade - the sun was now beating down and the temperature had risen to 26°C. We waited and talked with the others beside us - nearest me was a South African chap who after an hour decided to try viewing from a different angle. I was getting jumpy and thought we'd likely dipped - not in the full sense but that it could very well be much later before the bird emerged. Kev dragged his heels - in the end this was so lucky. Another 20 minutes later our South African companion appeared up on the sea wall saying he'd seen the bird over the back of the scrub standing clear on the sandy inlet. We all rushed up but couldn't see anything from where he was now standing. We therefore returned to his original position and started looking. Suddenly one of the observers spotted it, briefly raising its head above the scrub. We all got on it and then to out excitement it stood up and preened. I know the photo below is not great but given the bird was 300m away and there was significant heat haze, I'm amazed I got a record shot at all!

A single male marsh harrier cruised far to our left and across in front, occasionally mobbed by a couple of crows - again it was too distant for anything but a record shot - seems to par for this site.

We watched for a while and then said our goodbyes, thanking the finder for sharing with us. We set off back to the car, a nearly 25-minute walk from there. As we walked along, we saw a huge brown hawker dragonfly which landed nearby and then along the causeway between pools we encountered a few Jersey Tiger moths; a daytime flying moth - when they land they disappeared unless you could spot where they landed.

Reaching the car we set off home passing queues of people heading to the channel crossings - clear in our direction. We stopped for a very late lunch and got home in time for my evening visitors, just.

Normandy and Stanpit Marshes :: 16 July 2022

The forecast suggested we'd have a very nice weekend leading to likely record UK daytime temperatures by Tuesday. I chatted with Kevin Heath and agreed to meet early on Saturday morning to head down to Normandy Marsh, Lymington hopefully to see if we could connect with the lesser yellowlegs reported there over the last couple of days - worryingly there had been no update on Birdguides since Friday late lunchtime but by a little after 9.00pm we had an update it had been recorded earlier that evening.

I got up at 4.30am (its not late, no no, it’s early early early – Spin Doctors) and set off at 5.00am stopping in Lymington at the only cafe we could find open - a Caffè Nero. We were only minutes away from the Bath Road car park and stopped here to eat our breakfast rolls, watching out over the water as the Isle of Wight ferry left port. We found there was space for three or four cars at the gate into the reserve and noted that for our next visit - we'd followed the instructions on the reserve leaflet, and it is good to see what is actually available when you visit these new venues.

We started out along the path and noted redshanks and a curlew out on the mud - the tide was out or on the turn. We approached the end of the path to see that there were a handful of birders all gathered on the sea end of the Normandy Lagoon, looking back in, presumably as the light was mostly behind them. A tern flew past and immediately we realised it was small and as it made another pass and dived, we realised it was a little tern - a year and life tick for me - Kev had seen some in the north east a month or so ago. The day had already delivered.

The seawall offers views across mud flats, where a number of bird species come to feed. Large numbers of Brent geese seek refuge here in the winter, along with roosting dunlin, black-tailed godwit and grey plover.

The salty mud creates a habitat for plants such as yellow-horned poppy, sea campion and sea aster, and healthy fish populations make the marshes a fantastic place for sandwich and little terns, black-headed gulls, and cormorants.

We worked round the lagoon and joined the onlookers - we were soon on the lesser yellowlegs, distant but great views through the scope. I took some photos, but it was going to be one of those birds that stayed just at the edge of the reach of my lens. Another year and life tick.

We watched on but the views stayed the same and gradually the heat haze started to make it more and more difficult to get a decent shot. Kev made a good choice and turned to look out across the coastal mud and spotted large numbers of redshank, a couple of greenshank, curlew, whimbrel, a bar-tailed godwit, Mediterranean gulls - year tick, two black terns fishing off-shore, and eider ducks - the black terns were yet another year tick. This place was turning out to be gold.

A redshank dropped in near the lesser yellowlegs and after a short while the two birds seemed to get annoyed with the others presence and kicked off. They bounced around on the edge of the rocks beaks raised and landing on one another. I only managed a couple of shots before the yellowlegs retired from the altercation, flying to the front of the island.

We continued watching over the lagoon and out across the decreasing expanse of mud - the tide coming in. We were entertained by a small number of little terns feeding in the lagoon and a small channel between us and the lagoon - from time to time they would hover before diving, and it was on these occasions that I managed some photos - in the end I had quite a collection!

While watching one of the little terns, the yellowlegs flew off landing on the backside of one of the islands but no one was absolutely sure where. I walked down the path following a little tern and stopped to photograph a rather sleepy avocet - Kev had spotted another on a nest at the back of the lagoon. A chap stopped to talk to me and as he walked away from his tripod and camera it fell over, landing heavily on the hood and smashing it. Thankfully his lens appeared undamaged. We followed the terns back and stopped again to watch stonechats with juveniles feeding on and just beyond the fence.

The tide was almost completely covering the mud flats and we decided to pack up and head for Stanpit Marsh over by Christchurch - a Caspian tern had been reported there again. The bird seems to rotate between Stanpit Marsh, Coward's Marsh and Brownsea Island Lagoon. We pulled in enroute at GR Eggs for a snack and more coffee, stopping to consume them before moving on. We looked up the details of the morning’s sightings and corrected the satnav for Fisherman's Point - opposite the Stanpit Marsh reserve. Stanpit Marsh is situated on the north side of Christchurch Harbour, just below the confluence of the rivers Avon and Stour. The site has an unusual combination of habitats including salt marsh with creeks and salt pans, reed beds, freshwater marsh, gravel estuarine banks and sandy scrub. It was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 1964 and in 1986 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

We got to the jetty and set up a scope and were onto the bird, on the ground with numbers of black-headed gulls and dunlin. In just a couple of minutes we were fortunate as the bird made a short flight landing almost on the same spot and never getting any closer. It gave a photo opportunity - not a full frame effort but as it was another year and life tick, I'd let it off.

On the reserve bank we could see a large flock of gulls, curlew, whimbrel, lapwing and starlings and decided to make our way to the reserve. From here we could see the gulls a bit better and picked out a couple more Mediterraneans. We packed up and left the large numbers of boats, canoes and paddleboards on the water, stopping to chat with the volunteers in the Visitor's Centre - we looked at some left wings that they’d found nearby - they appeared to be herring gull juveniles that were likely predated. We'd had a cracking day and I'd added five new year ticks to take me to 200, three of which were lifers. Why is it that it always feels a longer journey on the way home?

YWT Potteric Carr :: 10 July 2022

My usual weekend birding companion Kevin Heath had been fortunate enough to get down to see a black-winged stilt at Theale in April and so on this Sunday morning he decided not to join me as I headed for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Potteric Carr to add this species - I didn't blame him as he had been all over Cambridgeshire and Norfolk the previous day for white stork, bee-eaters and white-rumped sandpiper.

I arose early and set out arriving early in Doncaster - a schoolboy error though in not checking the opening time! - this resulted in breakfast at MacDonalds, filling the car with fuel and a chat with Kev and his wife Karen to pass the time. Fortunately, the gates opened a little earlier than advertised and I joined a handful of people awaiting access through the Visitor's Centre.

Potteric Carr is a remnant of the vast fenland that once stretched all the way across the Humber basin to the coast and is where a pair of black-winged stilts have decided to breed - reportedly four young successfully fledged. It is a good choice of site as it is a mosaic of habitats from reedbeds to winding woodland trails, and networks of ponds. I got instructions of where to aim for from the staff and was off.

I stopped at a new hide that overlooks the pool where the stilts reside and found two chaps already in residence – there must be another way in for members. Far out in front a single adult stilt was feeding, wading slowly across the shallows - life tick - I took some record shots but decided to have a look from the other hide and decide which had better views. I relocated and on arrival found that the bird I'd been watching had decided to retreat to dry land and go to sleep on the bank. Oystercatchers, grey herons and egrets flew around as did black-headed gulls (always noisy at this time of year). I waited.

The gulls and herons did us a favour, eventually the flushing the two adult BW stilts into the air to chase these intruders, landing some distance away and returning to their position out of view. It wasn't too long though until I turned lucky and an adult dropped in to feed in front of the hide and within reach of the camera, giving good views.

The birds were now a bit more visible and eventually I was able to see three of the four juveniles over the top of the reeds on the island between us. A bit of a challenge but I managed a record shot. Over to my left an adult chased some lapwings and dropped onto a small island.

I'd been watching for over an hour and numbers of people started to arrive at the hide and so I decamped and left space for others to view from the front - a rather nice sign said I should do as much. On my phone a message arrived from Kev to say that two Temminck's stints had been spotted about 30 minutes from where I was - Edderthorpe Flash RSPB (Dearne Valley) two on mud in front of bench and to be viewed from the disused railway line on the north side - it would be another lifer for me. I returned to the car along the reserve paths (a good 20 minute’s walk), programmed the satnav and set off. It took about 25 minutes to get there, and I pulled into a layby where a number of cars were parked up - a good sign I was in the right place.

I jumped out the car, grabbed my bins and camera, and searched for a gap in the hedge that would lead down onto the disused railway line. I started off left and saw two birders coming the other way - they confirmed I was in the right place and that the birds were still present. I joined the half dozen people there and was pointed where I should look. I wondered whether to go back and get my scope as the birds were on a distant island but one of the birders said not to bother and offered to let me view through his scope. The birds were distant but visible. Despite the heat haze and distant I decided on an attempted record shot - partially successful.

I noted the avocet and other birds on the water but with the heat haze and distance there was little point in staying very long - the birds seemed settled on their island and even if they moved, I would still be miles away. I left and made it home for a late lunch and in time to watch the Men’s Singles Final at Wimbledon.

North Oxon :: 09 July 2022

It had been a while since I’d had a chance to get out for a spot of birding, partly due to the rest of the family contracting Covid, but also because of that disgusting four lettered word – ‘work’. I woke early and decided to make my way over to some local little owls and check on their progress - still a little early perhaps but it won't be long before the juveniles are out and branching. I was solo as my birding friend was off to Norfolk on a mission while I had a lunch appointment in Cheltenham.

I arrived just after sunrise and found a single adult little owl ahead of me and working along the tops of the poles beside the path. I took a record shot, but it was against the rising sun and there was no point in adapting any settings - hopefully I'd get better views soon.

I followed the bird which returned to its tree where it perched on the lower branches, deep in shade - again I took a few record shots but hoped that the bird would play ball and show well. It hopped along the branches, stopped briefly then flew off and up the field. It was then about 30 minutes of watching the tree and waiting - at this point Adrian Tysoe arrived and as he made his way along the track a male sparrowhawk cut across the top of the crops and away. We chatted for a while until a little owl appeared on the top of a pole further along the track. It then left its perch and returned to the tree, again low and deep in shade.

We thought we'd just be watching this motionless owl until it suddenly decided to alight to the upper branches and perch in full view - this is what we wanted! As the morning had passed the cloud had started to roll in and replace what had been a pure blue sky - am I becoming a 'togger'? I managed to get a couple of photos as the LO moved onto a bare branch and was quite happy with the shot in flight.

This was much more like it but as the morning went on, we were only ever able to see a single owl perhaps suggesting that the female is still brooding the young - maybe things will change in a week or two. As we enjoyed the views given we observed some commotion along the hedgerow and spotted a female sparrowhawk fly off with prey in its clutches - a small bird if I'm not mistaken. We also had two grey herons and a little egret over, plus a great spotted woodpecker which came to our tree a couple of times.

A good morning’s birding but perhaps I'll try again soon and see if I can catch up with the whole family. I was back home for breakfast by 8.00am.