It was a more relaxed start to the day as we were going to be more local than of late - since June we have made quite a number of longer hauls to see specific birds. Today was all about trying to at least hear a quail - this part of the Cotswolds is absolutely the right place to be. Kev had some intel from our friend Nick Truby and we set off through Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold and Napton to an area around Hawling.
We were getting close to our target location and stopped to view a freshly harvested hay field. There were six buzzards working the area, often pausing atop the round hay bales. They looked amazing in the warm morning light.
About a mile short of our selected pindrop we stopped on a lane with farmer's gates either side - the field on the right sloped down to a hedge line with a wood beyond - it looked prime quail territory. We stopped here for a good half hour and listened. As we watched we could see red-legged partridge, skylark, yellowhammer and assorted LBJs - also hares, one of which appeared to think it was hiding in cover but was in plain sight. Eventually the hare departed, stage right and down the slope out of view. It was a wonderful place to be, watching and listening to the farm bird calls.
And then there it was, a quail call from the foot of the slope - then a reply from over to the left. Result. A candidate bird flew to the base of a wagon off to our right, but we never got a proper look at it due to the dense grassy cover. We were well happy.
We tried a few other sites along the lane but weren't lucky enough to find any more - they were out there. We reached a crossroads and made our way directly over onto another lane, even narrower. We jumped out and looked around but didn't see any species of particular note. After 10 minutes or so we continued, stopping when we saw some birds flitting around in bushes ahead - bullfinches, common whitethroat and then lesser whitethroats. I jumped out the car and approached but the lesser whitehroats I was trying to photograph were skittish; I didn't continue long as they were obviously not happy with my presence. As I returned to the car Kev pointed to my right and a common redstart flew from the bush - damn, missed that photo opportunity but great to see. A little while later we saw another brief glance of common redstart.
We moved on and spotted a layby and a footpath sign leading past stacked hay bales - flying from the nearby trees to the bales were up to six spotted flycatchers. We stopped and watched these for a while until Nick and Anne Truby arrived - we'd dropped the location of the quail (and where we were), and they'd dropped by - only a brief stop before they were off again.
This was a great spot and we had mixed flocks of tits through, including a marsh tit, great spotted woodpeckers, two handfuls of mistle thrushes, nuthatch and of course more visits from the spotted flys. What a tremendous visit to this part of the Cotswolds and a great morning out with my bud – and our mission accomplished.
It was proving to be a really warm weekend and so on the Sunday we were all in hiding – the temperature in the shade was around 35°C. The family were planning to play some cards and so I decided that the car had aircon and that a tundra bean goose was showing up near Bromsgrove (at the Upper Bittell Reservoir) – I would visit. I mentioned my madness to Kev and he thought he could feel a bit of a turn coming on - he got a pass and we were off. The pin drop on BirdGuides didn't help and we eventually made a complete circuit of the reservoir to arrive at the Sailing Club - stopping short as vehicle access was restricted. On the road down we had a family group of chiffchaff but soon reached the edge of the reservoir - a lot of muddy edge was exposed by the reducing volume of water - a common theme across the country and a result of the continued dry and hot conditions. A birder was already in residence and pointed out where the bean goose was, I looked though his scope and soon after we had Kev's scope on it - amongst a mixed flock of Canada and greylag geese. We prepared to take some photos through the scope but as we did so the bird disappeared, presumably down the slope from where it had been. As we searched, we found a rogue bar-headed goose in amongst the flock.
We searched for what seemed an age until I spotted the bird through Kev's scope - still very distant but we watched it flush with the rest of the flock and it made its way along the water's edge and eventually out for a swim. To our right a peregrine cut across the water but didn't have any luck in catching anything, Common sandpipers followed later. Common terns fished and dived in front of us before a linnet perched within reach of my lens.
In amongst the ducks (predominantly mallard) was some form of hybrid, perhaps Muscovy with ? ... it was a big brute. We'd got to teatime and so made our way back along the road to the car and home.
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