North Wales & Wyre Forest :: 19 May 2024

Kev was away on a birding holiday in Scotland and so I would be on my own for the weekend's birding. One of our friends Mark Ribbons had suggested joining Kev and I to experience a black grouse lek for the first time, and as it is a difficult trip with three, this was an ideal opportunity to take him. The best time to see black grouse is during their breeding season from late March to May. Also, early in the morning just before and at dawn to witness their lekking behaviour - a top wildlife experience. It is best to arrive at the site before dawn to settle in and minimise disturbance; the birds usually start their display before first light. The females are very elusive and are seldom seen. The nesting period generally starts in late April, with most females on the nest by early May. The exact timing can vary depending on the weather and location; the incubation period lasts about 25-27 days, with chicks typically hatching from late May to early June.

So at 01.20am I was up and preparing to collect Mark from his house at 02.00am - the journey is usually around 2h15m from Banbury at that time of the morning. We stopped just short of the site and got out the car for a swig off coffee and to arrange ourselves in the front and back seats on the right side of the car - with all our kit and provisions beside us to avoid the need to get out at any point. The car would be our hide for viewing the lek from a roadside layby. We'd had a number of pockets of fog along the way, but these had disappeared (thankfully) as we got close to the moors.

In place we could instantly hear the presence of black grouse as they bubbled and hissed - a cuckoo could be heard calling further along the valley. The light started to rise, and we could see 12 strutting males, fanning their tail feathers, and making bubbling and hissing sounds,then confrontational displays and occasionally physical clashes. Another two cars joined us, but we were in pole position and loving the spectacle.

After a couple of hours what at first appeared to be a sparrowhawk approached and flew through, scattering the grouse - it quickly became apparent that it was a ringtail hen harrier. It passed through and within about 15 minutes all 12 males had returned to the arena. Initially they seemed to have lost some of their purpose, but in the next 10 minutes they struck up again, tails fanned and picking fights with one another. We picked out a wheatear feeding at distance, and a male stonechat even further away. Meadow pipits and skylarks fed at closer quarters and both a raven and curlew flew through.

A fourth car appeared and partly blocked the track - fortunately for them no one wanted to get through. After another hour we'd seen as much as we could see and edged out and moved the extra car on, our spot being rapidly claimed by the car behind.

A couple of hundred yards ahead we pulled into another layby and got out to stretch our legs after hours curled up in the car. We spotted a red grouse and then a second, but both were restricted in photo opportunities. A couple of curlews fed a hundred meters away. Soon we climbed back into the car and set out to see if we could get some better red grouse views - it wasn't long before I spotted one perched on some heather by the side of the road and we edged to get an angle for photographs. A very confiding bird.

On we went spotting red grouse and meadow pipits as we made our way to a layby by the trees. Last year I'd had seven cuckoos around here and this year managed to see two distant, being chased by meadow pipits as their nests were raided.

We scanned along the valley and took in the vista - fantastic, and we could still see pockets of mist at the foot of the slopes. We scanned and had good views of male and female stonechats, and a lesser whitethroat that announced its presence by calling loudly. We turned to return to the car and as we did, I spotted a male whinchat on top of a bush, then the female lower down. They flitted around but stayed distant. My previous whinchat this year (at Greenham Common) had managed to escape before I got a photo and so this prolonged view was most welcome.

We stopped to have our breakfast rolls we'd brought with us and has a wander up a higher track watching whitethroat, willow warbler and chiffchaff sing and flit around the tree line. A mistle thrush also passed through stopping on a more substantial bush out on the moor. Buzzards and a red kite cruised and circled in the distance. Eventually we returned to the car and made our way back along the track, stopping from time to time to watch stonechats and red grouse. On one occasion we were lucky enough to see the whole red grouse family, chicks (3) and all.

We scanned the slopes and Mark came across a buzzard perched in the distance, off to our right. Shortly after I spotted a raptor perched on a post in the very far distance, near a single male black grouse. I was excited for a while as to what it might be but from the photos it appears to be just a very pale common buzzard.

Soon we reached the lekking arena and found that all our males had departed and there was just a single car in residence in the layby, ever hopeful. It was more than five hours since we'd arrived and we decided that we'd drop into the Wyre Forest on the way home - sort of on the way - to add some forest birds to Mark's year list and as Mark is also keen on his butterflies, we'd look for pearl-bordered fritillary. I was also still short of a wood warbler.

An hour or so later we arrived at our usual car park to find it full but there was a space in the lower layby (holds three cars). We ascended the slope and onto the main arterial track through the forest. As we walked, we saw a couple of good candidates for our fritillary butterfly, but they didn't stop, then one did and result. Some may say I don't know my butterflies from my elbow but Mark does, and he pointed out the key features.

We walked on and heard a tree pipit calling to our left and found it atop the same tree as Kev and I had seen it the week before. It stayed put and again I was only able to get a record shot - but a year tick for Mark. A handful of birders stopped to see what we were looking at; one had already picked up the call.

We stopped again at a spot where I'd seen a pied flycatcher the week before, around a couple of bird boxes and within seconds Mark called a female - result, I hadn’t seen one the week before. It wasn't long until we were joined by a male. Another year tick for Mark - now five for the day. We retuned onto the main track and heard the male pied flycatcher singing above us and to our surprise it flew out from the trees and onto a wire cable running alongside and crossing the path, just as spotted flycatchers do.

We dropped down onto the path leading to Dowles Brook and came across another male pied flycatcher feeding lower down and just to our left - unfortunately sitting in challenging light for photos but great to watch. It stopped there for a minute or so and then set off again, as they often do.

We continued down to try and find a dipper - another species that would contribute to Mark's year list - and it was Mark that spotted one preening at the foot of a tree on the edge of the brook. We watched and it continued to preen and stayed put, while we moved on. By the bridge across the brook, I was able to spot another in exactly the same spot as the previous week.

We continued back to the car and ate a late sandwich lunch. before setting off for home. It had been a great day and special to see a black grouse lek, one of nature’s true spectacles.

Year list: 205.

Wyre Forest :: 11 May 2024

We'd been waiting for our annual trip to the Wyre Forest to see the array of woodland dwellers, returned to the UK for the Spring breeding season. We fuelled up on the way and arrived a little later than usual, meeting John Coakley @John1Coakley, Steve Nikols @nikols_steve and Gary Hobbs @NuneatonBirder in the car park. While birding would be part of their day, they were here to see the pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies; a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 38-46 mm. Between 1982 and 1997 its UK range contracted by over 50%, making it one of the most rapidly declining butterflies in Britain. The upper side of the wings is orange with black spots and markings while the underside of the hindwings features a series of white pearls (hence the name) bordered by black and orange patterns. It can be confused with the small pearl-bordered fritillary, but the latter has a more intricate pattern on the underside of its wings, smaller "pearls" and typically arrives a few weeks later.

It wasn't long, and the three amigos were ahead as we held back waiting to hear or see any of our target species. Our first was a lone tree pipit high in the distant trees, giving it large. The tree pipit is a migratory songbird that breeds in the UK and like many others, winters in sub-Saharan Africa. As you can see in the photo, the tree pipit is a small, slender bird with streaked brown upperparts and a pale, streaked underside. It has a thin bill and a fairly long tail with white outer feathers. It can be confused with the meadow pipit, but it has a stronger face pattern, bolder streaking on the breast, and a more prominent pale spot at the base of the bill. Tree pipit is known for its distinctive song flight where males sing a series of descending notes while flying upwards from a perch, and then parachute down with wings and tail spread. It would be the only one we'd see.

We continued and soon came to a spot where there are two nest boxes that are often favoured by pied flycatchers. Sure enough, a few minutes wait gave us good views of a male working around the trees, mostly from 10ft and up. These are one of my favourite Spring sprites, a delightful and distinctive small bird that visits the UK during its breeding season. Males are striking with black upperparts and white underparts and have a prominent white patch on their forehead and white wing bars. Females are more subdued in colour, with brownish-grey upperparts and paler underparts. They also have white wing bars but lack the prominent white forehead patch - we'd not see a female all day - perhaps all on a nest? They are active foragers, catching insects in flight or picking them from leaves and branches. Their diet mainly consists of flies, beetles, caterpillars, and other small invertebrates.

Try as we might, we couldn't find a wood warbler in the spots we traditionally locate them - talking to the other birders, none of them could find one either. Reports on Twitter suggested that they must be arriving late, but this is getting worrying now - later than we've traditionally seen them.

We worked down to Dowles Brook and turned left to a spot where redstarts nest in an old tree, unfortunately finding that the tree had gone. Damn and a shame. We bumped into another birder who'd been watching dippers and had lost them upstream but was now on a bird that he'd seen in the canopy - it turned out to be a spotted flycatcher, another first for the year. It was tricky to see unless you were in the right position and I just couldn't get it in the camera viewfinder before it departed, stage left.

We continued along the brook hoping for a view of a dipper - I'd had several in Scotland but Kev @kev07713 was still waiting. We reached a bridge that crosses the brook and stopped to look at a spot we suspected is where they nest. It took at least 20 minutes but then a dipper dropped onto a rock in the opposite direction from the spot we were watching. It bobbed a few times and then flew under the bridge and onto the bank opposite the area we'd been scanning. It preened a little then popped into the area we think it nests, and within minutes it was back out and flew almost between us on the bridge. A great experience.

We walked back up the slope, passed the mill, and watched for pied flycatchers, wood warblers, redstarts and tawny owl - reported in this area. We came across some male pied flycatchers, but none of the others - we did find two birders/photographers that had been lucky enough to see badger on the path earlier, and a tawny owl in one of the trees. We stopped to enjoy the flycatchers.

We were still keen to find a wood warbler so pushed on and eventually ended up back on the main track. A goldcrest dropped in a tree right beside us and gave it large, completely happy with us being within 10 feet - a second bird eventually dropped right onto it and they both departed.

We met with Steve, John and Gary to hear that they had been successful with their butterflies. Later we'd see their photos on Twitter: Steve's here & here; John's here. They'd also found a redstart and seen the badger. We decided to separate and go in search of wood warbler and redstart down a path we'd never tried before.

We stopped along the path for a swig of coffee and listened for any hint of our quarry - we waited for about 15 minutes before deciding that there was nothing here. We'd move on. I was about 10m ahead of Kev and as I turned to look down the slope, who would be looking back at me but a tawny owl. I called Kev and he watched the bird as he closed the gap - unfortunately as he drew level with me it flew off and right.

Kev hadn't had time to get his bins on it and so we looked down the slope to see if we could relocate it. With no sign I started to look further along the track and found the bird low on a branch, squashed against the small trunk of a tree - I called Kev but again his approach flushed the bird, this time without him seeing it. We continued on along the path and soon Kev found the bird for himself in a more substantial tree, and we were able to view quite clearly as it blended against the trunk.

Despite being a widespread bird of prey in the UK, known for its distinctive call and nocturnal habits, they are not seen as often as barn owls due to their colouration - mottled brown and grey plumage, which provides excellent camouflage against tree bark; something I hadn't realised is that they are apparently absent in Ireland. The classic call of the tawny owl is the male's "hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo" sound, often answered by the female's sharp "twit" call. These calls are most often heard during the autumn and winter months, peaking in October, when they are establishing territories.

From our vantage point we had extended views of our bird. Kev took some nice video and posted on Twitter. Eventually the bird decided to leave, and we continued our search for wood warbler and redstart.

We reached the end of this track, at a gate leading to a building and log store. Above our heads we could hear a redstart calling and after 10 minutes we eventually managed to lay eyes on it. It was right at the top and against the sky, but I took a photo anyway through a small gap in the leaves and branches - another year tick for me. Try as we might, we couldn't get a better view despite relocating to the opposite side of the trees down another track.

We returned to the car and were still buzzing from our encounter with the tawny owl - it was a significant topic of conversation for much of the way home.

Year list: 203.