Back from Scotland and time for our annual pilgrimage to see nightjar and woodcock. Kev @kev07713 Karen @karenheath62 Charlotte and I dropped down to a site we know in Berkshire that is an ideal habitat offering a mix of open ground for hunting and dense cover for roosting during the day. We parked in a lane and made the short walk from there to the same area we enjoyed the spectacle last year.
Nightjars feed on flying insects, particularly moths and beetles, catching their prey in flight using their wide mouths and bristle-fringed feathers. The best time to observe them is during their active periods at dusk and dawn, and although we'd seen some video footage of the dawn period, our preference was for dusk.
We saw a pair of great spotted woodpeckers in their preferred tree and watched as both left to feed and probably return with food for their nest. Very shortly after we had our first indication confirming the presence of nightjars, churring very early at 7.39pm - nightjars are known for their distinctive churring song; it lasted only a couple of minutes and then stopped for the next couple of hours.
We chatted and listened (just in case) but noted that we'd had our first flyover woodcock at 9.00pm last May (the report here) - it wasn't until almost 9.20pm before we had our first view of a woodcock this time. The light was being lost quickly and I managed a few record shots of woodcocks as they started to pass regularly - circa 15 while we were counting.
Once we'd counted 15 woodcock flyovers the nightjars started calling around us, mainly from behind. Kev strolled back to see where the calls may be coming from and found an individual in a tree - he managed to get a video (see his post on X here) before the bird departed and I arrived (no chance for a record shot). We watched over the back treeline and had great views of flying nightjars, watching them drop into the heather and scrub before rising again. All too far for photos, and the light had gone. Woodcocks continued to pass over, but we were distracted now.
A couple of people appeared, conducting a nightjar survey for the BTO. They moved around the area to get the best views and record the number of birds calling. Since nightjars are primarily active at night, they are difficult to study, and little was known about their movements during breeding and migration. However, recent tracking with high-resolution GPS devices has provided the most detailed and accurate information ever on the migration and movements of British nightjars. These surveys at known locations are an excellent way to monitor changes through the seasons and over the years.
We watched at least three nightjars flying and perching on various trees and Kev managed to take another video - I was again on the other side of the trees and path - idiot. I'd had great views though, just not the photo I wanted. We eventually packed up and made for the car - we'd be getting home after midnight.
Kev and I agreed to meet the following morning and made for WWT Slimbridge - as it doesn't open for members until 8.30am, we didn't rush. There were a handful of cars already in the car park - members that had gone in a little early. We got kitted up and made for Middle Point where a white-spotted bluethroat has been showing again. This is most likely a returning individual that birders have been going to see for the last three years. I feel it is becoming easier to see – I’ve heard a number of people recount the number of repeat visits they had before seeing it in previous years, but it has been a simpler exercise in the last two.
Male bluethroats are particularly colourful, with a bright blue throat featuring a white or sometimes reddish spot, a white belly, and a combination of brown and orange on the upperparts and flanks. The primary component of the bluethroat’s diet includes insects such as beetles, flies, caterpillars, ants, and spiders and so the bird is often out of view and down in the reeds. Bluethroats typically forage on the ground, where they search for insects and other invertebrates among leaf litter, under stones, and in low vegetation.
We passed a birder coming the other way who confirmed the bird was showing - we walked on reaching the Shepherd's Hut and set up outside. As expected, the bird had gone to ground and we scanned around waiting for a view - reed and sedge warblers, and reed buntings popped up and down. A crane flew passed.
After quite a wait Kev spotted our bird on a post way off to our left - he alerted the assembled birders, and we all got our tick.
For the next half an hour it flew up and down this fence line, occasionally dropping from view for 5 - 10 minutes. Eventually it did the decent think and perched on a long twig protruding above the reeds and made a record shot a bit easier. Eventually it flew right at greater distance and out of view.
I was scanning with binoculars and pointed out where I was searching on posts in front of the reeds, away to our right; Kev scanned the area and picked up our bird again. It was too far for photos but soon it reappeared on another perch out in front of us. We decided to make our way back to the Visitor's Centre for some breakfast/brunch.
We made our way round past Rushy Hide having seen a report of drake garganey there just an hour before. Entering the hide it wasn't apparent that it was there at all but as we know they can go AWOL for long periods of time, sleeping/feeding in reeds or dense scrub. It took a while but eventually I saw it in a bay largely concealed by reeds, before it disappeared - Kev didn’t have a chance to see it. 15 minutes had passed when it reappeared at the end of the scrub and at the very far end of the pool. It is entering eclipse plumage and so not quite the stunning individual I'd been hoping for.
Talking of stunning birds, the gadwall is usually a rather plain species but at this time of year really ups its game. A number of these striking individuals were preening close in front. A male gadwall in breeding plumage has a finely marked grey head and neck, with a subtly mottled appearance. The body is primarily grey, featuring intricate patterns and a distinct black rear end.
Just in front of the garganey were two families of shelduck, the young looking particularly cute, quite a number with each pair of parents. They took to the water and looked very conscious that they should stay close to mum and dad. A little ringed plover dropped in very briefly.
We continued walking, and while I paused to watch a warbler in a tree, a kingfisher flew over the path between us and a woman approaching from the other direction. It headed towards a pool beyond a hide. Hoping it might stay around the pool, we entered the hide and spotted it right in front of us. The kingfisher perched for a couple of minutes before relocating to another branch on the left side of the pool. Before finally departing, it moved to the front of the reeds and scanned the water below.
Out in the fields beyond we could see an Egyptian goose on the edge of a pool, feeding on the grasses.
We toured around the rest of the hides and enroute Kev rescued a drinker moth caterpillar crossing a path where it was very likely to be stepped on - footfall traffic was very heavy now. I suggested that he should select an implement to lift it with as I'm sure I'd read that the contact with the hairs is an irritant and care should be taken if you handle one of these. Of course, Kev didn't listen - I know how his wife Karen feels 😂. Reading up on this species it appears that this large, fluffy-looking moth is on the wing in July and August, but that you might spot a caterpillar at almost any time of year. They're most often found in marshy places such as the habitat we were standing in at Slimbridge, the caterpillars feeding on a variety of grasses and reeds. The moth is called the "drinker" because of the caterpillar's habit of drinking drops of dew from grass stems.
Eventually we reached the Kingfisher Hide and found that there were no views of kingfishers to be had. Scanning around we saw a crane working through the meadow to the right, just visible above the long grasses. This crane became two as another raised its head above the height of the grass and followed the first as it worked further and further right.
As they got closer to one another, I had the thought to try and get the two birds in the same photo; as I focussed, I saw a juvenile working along between them. Now trying to get the three in the same photo, I spotted a second juvenile ahead of the leading adult. Like most cranes, this species displays indefinite monogamous pair bonds and their clutch usually contains two eggs, with seldom one laid and, even more rarely, 3 or 4. It was therefore great to see the successful fledging of likely both eggs. I got a photo with three birds, but never the four.
Trying to distract us were three roe deer (one buck and two does) also working through the meadow and dropping to the pool edge for a drink. One doe made the most of abilities prancing left to where the buck was largely concealed from view.
It was getting late in the day, and we could see reports of diversions on the road home, so made tracks encountering road closures and road works in a few places.
Year list: 213.
No comments:
Post a Comment