A WhatsApp alert updated that a hoopoe had been located in a churchyard in Old Arley, Warwickshire; it had apparently been there a few days, but birders had only just become aware. I pinged the information to Kevin Heath as he might find some free time - I was busy at work and wouldn't be able to slip out before the end of the working day. As it happened Kev was also busy, and it wasn't until the following morning (Friday) that he and his wife Karen made it across from Banbury and ticked the bird. The company I work for were planning to present a course on the following week and so final preparations had to be completed before I would have any chance of leaving - I managed to get wrapped up by 4.00pm and was off.
I arrived at the last posted location and scanned around, looking for the bird in a large garden - the bird had been feeding here and visible from the end of the drive through a fence. But not for me now. I gave Kev a call to see if this was where he had seen it, but he said he had connected further down the road in the churchyard and in the playing fields. I wandered off there, the only person in attendance which I thought strange. I scanned around but still no dice. After 5 minutes or so a nice chap and his wife turned up - he joined the search while she waited in the car. Still nothing.
We decided that we would track back down to the garden and again couldn't see the bird. I worked along the verge beside the main road, whenever possible peeking through the dense hedge, but still nothing. Then I spotted a photographer on the far side of the garden, across another lower hedge, his camera trained on the back side of my hedge. I pushed up against some holly and looked back along the hedge line, soon spotting the bird hopping in and out of view. I tried to take a photo, but the foliage was a real pain. I called the chap who then popped off to retrieve his wife and we all joined together at the end of the drive. The bird was now in full view, and I snapped off some record photos as the bird would never get close enough for that frame filling shot.
As we watched Dylan Parry-Davies (@DPDNature) and Sue Toon (@SueToon79) arrived - we said our hellos. Dylan is concentrating on Warwickshire birding this year and so this is a welcome visitor to his "patch". After quarter of an hour a blackbird flew directly at the hoopoe and there was a small altercation - I'm not sure what the hoopoe was doing to upset the blackbird. In any case, after a minute or so the hoopoe decided to relocate across the lawn and out of view. A few spots of rain started to fall and as I hadn’t bothered with a coat, I started back to the car as did Dylan, Sue, and the other couple. A terrific bird and not far from home.
Saturday arrived, and I set off with Kevin Heath (@kev07713) to see if we could connect with quail reportedly calling in Gloucestershire. We pulled up at the field highlighted and waited. The skylarks were very busy with dozens showing - up to nine hares scuttled across the field in front and behind. We waited and waited but no joy - another birder past by and said he'd been here from very early and had made a complete circuit of the area and heard nothing – was the bird just passing through? He left and we waited for another half an hour but still were not able to connect. We could wait here all day and not see or hear anything and so made for Pilning Wetlands where both little and Temminck's stints had been reported the day before.
As is expected, I took the wrong path along to the bird, but we got there in the end and found another birder already in place - we chatted and found his grandparents had lived quite local to Banbury (in Shenington) and he knew our area. It wasn't long until we were on the little stint, the Temmink's was not there. To begin with it was on the far side of the pool but on occasions it would fly with ringed plover and dunlin to our shore, still distant but closer. A great white egret dropped in, and a marsh harrier hunted ahead.
The distance and heat haze over the water made it almost impossible to get a photograph, but eventually I managed an acceptable record shot.
We chatted and watched for a while but with not much else happening we set off for the main event, trying for an Iberian chiffchaff at Staple-edge Wood. The bird had been present for about 5 days and had been reported earlier so it should be well worth the visit - it would be a lifer for me (Kev had seen one in East Sussex already. but was happy to see another). We didn't know the area and from our maps it wasn't clear where the best parking spot would be - again I probably messed up as we had a walk of almost 1&fract12; miles from the car to the bird's location, and the first two-thirds up a slope ... Kev didn't mention it though. There were surprisingly few birds on the route, save for blackcap, garden warbler, goldcrest and crow.
We eventually arrived in the area where the bird had been reported and met two lady birders who were on the point of leaving. They told us where we should look and departed - it only took us a few minutes until we could hear the bird calling. We'd listened to the call in the car on the way over and of course Kev had recently been listening to one. Seeing it was another matter - it took us around 15 minutes to eventually clap eyes on the bird, high in the tree canopy and above a group eating a picnic.
Eventually the picnicking group left, and we were joined by a couple more birders. The chiffchaff eventually decided to perch on a very high branch in clear view and I snapped some photos. The bird then dropped into a fenced off area beside the footpath where we heard it call and eventually watched it return high into the canopy. I turned and spotted a goshawk spin by and away out of view before I managed to capture a photo.
We talked to another birder about where he had parked as we were miles away - he pointed us to a track on the map that was actually a lane that cars could travel along. Intel after the event! - however, this was useful as Kev's sister then got in touch to say she and her partner Dean were on their way. We provided instructions on where to park and where the bird was to be found. We weren't going to stay and wait for them and started back having one last encounter with the chiffchaff as it landed in a tree almost directly above the footpath.
The return journey to the car was much easier as it was largely downhill, and we had more sightings including: siskins, chiffchaff, willow warblers, coal tits and goldcrests. When almost back to the car we came to a pool and heard a strange bird call - it turned out to be four black swans - they were on the other side of a fence and seemed very content to have us very near.
We reached the car and grabbed some lunch and drinks from the boot, then climbed up onto Lightmoor Pool. A pair of greylag geese and their goslings came over and waited expectantly to share our food - we obliged. A moorhen chick was also fed by one of its parents. Out in the water a terrapin cruised by, apparently one of around four residents. It was a beautiful afternoon and the goslings settled down for a post-prandial nap, the adults seeming happy to have their young sleep at our feet.
Kev got a call on his phone from his sister to ask what the registration of my car was - they were in the car park beside us! They came round to join us and also had a spot of lunch. As we were sitting on the grass, a squirrel took some of the food and just behind where it retreated to, a large grass snake slithered down the slope and into the water - it was a big 'un.
Karen and Dean headed off to see the black swans and would then go down for the Iberian chiffchaff, parking closer than we had. We said our goodbyes and headed home after another great day out.
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