Bittern sweet

Bittern sweet

We had an early morning walk around Branton Ponds today to see if the Slavonian Grebe was still there. Whilst searching the east pond we moved down to an area of Bullrushes, no sign of the grebe but much to our astonishment a Bittern flew up in front of us and proceeded to flap awkwardly around the pond chased by a group of Black Headed Gulls, it eventually flew over trees in the direction of the west pond and was lost from sight. We had no further views but it may have landed in a dense area of reeds at the far end or it may have just kept on going, whatever happened to it this is yet another new bird for the ponds and the second new one in a week.
From the ponds we went on an unusual twitch in the form of a Death's Head Hawkmoth at Howick village hall, provided by Stewart Sexton and much appreciated by the assembled crowd.
This is all just too much to take in,I shall have to go and have a lie down in a darkened room, and as a footnote the Slav was seen again on the east pond later this morning.

Grebe heaven

Grebe heaven

As usual we were out for our early morning dog walk around Branton Ponds, the air was still and clear, the sun had just poked over the horizon and the ponds were alive with autumn birdlife. Teal squabbled near the reedbeds and Wigeon numbers are building each day with their distinctive calls,and 3 Water Rail belted out their pig like squeals from the rushes.
As has been the case all year Little Grebe numbers have risen to almost plague proportions with at least 13 individuals on the ponds at the moment. The Great Crested Grebes are still there but in diminished numbers ( only 4 at the moment) even they will disappear at the first sign of a freeze over, today however they were joined by something much more interesting in the form of a winter plumaged Slavonian Grebe, it's contrasting black and white plumage with stunning white cheeks and straight rather than upturned bill gave us a new bird for the site and one which is remarkable bearing in mind the ponds are at least 12 miles inland.

A Day on the East Lothian Coast

Together with three other Bird Club Members,a decision was made to head North of the Border for a change as some research suggested there may be some interesting sightings in the Torness area.

First stop,Thorntonloch ,and a walk along the sunlit beach provided the usual Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Herring,Black Headed and Common Gulls ,both adult and juvenile.Out to sea ,among the heavy swell,Gannets fished.
Next stop was the small woodland near the Visitor's Car Park at Torness where a Booted Warbler had been reported daily.A small group of birders were seen through the trees but the problem was crossing the fence bearing in mind the 21 year old artificial hip of one of our group.After some manhandling some progress was made but the sight of three women apparently trying to bundle a large object somewhat unceremoniously over the perimeter fence must have raised some alarm as a Police car swept in  and stopped to get a closer look!Leaving Colin dangling uncomfortably half over the fence we waved and smiled apologetically at the Police who drove off  realising we were possibly mad but not bad!.
Our efforts and our companion's discomfort were rewarded by superb views of a very active,obliging Booted Warbler which we observed for a good 20 minutes before it flew out of sight in the woodland.A first for us all!
Next stop Skateraw,and a walk around the Power Station and out to the pier.The wind was strong and the sea rough so  there was little to see apart from Eider,Gannet,Cormorant and Pied Wagtail.
A good  day out but made special by the Booted Warbler!
Looking at the day's recorded sightings later it appeared we missed a Siberian Stonechat,which we must have driven past and which was spotted by more experienced birders!

Tuesday 23rd November .Barnacles Galore!

This was my first trip to Holy Island for some weeks,and after the recent East winds and haar ,we felt we may be in for some exciting spots.
The Causeway is currently under repair with considerable delays,so ,when we had finally parked, we headed off towards the Straight Lonnen which was unproductive apart from a pair of Goldcrest.
The Crooked Lonnen was more interesting  with a female Redstart,and a surprisingly large flock of young Reed Buntings.Goldfinches were in evidence everywhere.
Off to the Lough,where we spotted a Wheatear, while on the pond itself were  four pairs of Gadwall and a Little Grebe amongst the Teal ,Moorhen ,Coot and solitary Grey Heron.
Time and tide waits for no man or woman and it seemed we had scarcely arrived before it was time to face an even longer queue through the roadworks back to Beal.
On the causeway we pulled in to have a closer look at three Little Egrets.Spotting our scope,we were approached by a visitor from Birmingham on his first visit to the area.Please could he have a look at the Egrets?No problem!He then asked if I had noticed the hundreds of Oyster Catchers to the North.Turning the scope we found the Oyster Catchers were in fact Barnacle Geese -about three and a half thousand in fact and with them ,a pure white Goose!A Snow Goose!(later confirmed by the Natural England Senior Ranger Andrew Craggs who happened to be passing!)
We had planned to finish the afternoon at the Fenham le Moor hide but Andrew asked if we could stay and note where the Barnacle Geese headed when  the tide came in.
The flock of 3-4 thousand geese who were just off Beal Point were gradually joined by more and more newcomers ,all paddling and swimming  in the incoming tide.Another huge flock arrived and we thought the original number had probably doubled to about 6 or 7 thousand.Periodically they took off and noisily circled before returning to the water.
During this time small groups of Brents headed North flying low above the water  while high above us skeins of Pink Feet flew in.
Finally as the tide rose,so did the Barnacle Geese and the sky above us suddenly darkened as we were treated to a fantastic,noisy,awe inspiring flyover of 7 thousand or so in full voice!An unforgettable few minutes!
After noisily circling a few times they settled in an adjacent stubble field and after another five or so minutes,all was quiet!
What an experience!

Pinkfeet fly over

There's nothing quite so evocative of September as the calls of the geese as they fly in from the North in their thousands. This morning the sky was full of skeins of 'Pinkfeet'- hundreds of birds in long straggling V-formations high in the sky coming in from the coast over Glendale, calling excitedly to each other. There's always a little thrill whenever you re-connect with that magical sound! True, the the swallows are still busy flying around the house feeding up for their long migration south, but the arrival of the geese suggests we're only days away from the departure of the hirundines.
               Earlier in the week, it was the Barnacle Geese which were moving through, briefly stopping over in their thousands near Lindisfarne en route to the Solway.

Holy Island 21st september

Having been on Holy Island 3 times in the last week and being gluttons for punishment we decided to go back again today. The numbers were well down on our last visit, no Red Backed Shrike, Yellow-browed Warblers or Greenish Warbler this time, but we were still treated to an elusive Firecrest in Alders beside the Lough along with a much more obvious Siberian Stonechat on a fence nearby.
The willows at the end of the Straight Lonnen held a Common Redstart and a Lesser Whitethroat, an Arctic Skua menaced Gannets off Emmanuel Head and in the Vicar's garden Spotted Flycatchers were joined by a gorgeous Wood Warbler.
Our day was made complete with a first for our garden in the form of yet another Lesser Whitethroat.

Fenham Flats again

Fenham Flats again

The year moves on and WeBS for September was today, the sky was clear and there was a warmth to the air. As happened last month the first birds picked out were a small group of 3 Little Egrets and as I moved out to the point more birds made their presence known, including a single Greenshank as it "chew,chew,chew'd" overhead. More unusual for the site was a single Green Sandpiper in the dunes, when I reached the point I was greeted with the sight of a huge flock of 770 Oystercatchers on the sand, on the island just offshore were gathered a mixed flock of 354 Bar-tailed Godwits and 222 Redshank along with smaller numbers of Knot,Eiders and yet more Oystercatchers. A noisy interlude was provided by 21 Arctic Terns and a small group of 5 Little Terns. As I headed back I could hear an unmistakable sound which heralds the  autumn as a flock of 340 Pale-bellied Brent Geese landed on the flats, this autumnal feel was reinforced by the sight of 940 Wigeon on the water near Elwick hide, what other time of year could you get Arctic Terns and Brent Geese on the same walk.