Little Things Mean a Lot

I have been sick as a dog of late (I feel your love, thanks) and incredibly busy so the last thing I wanted to hear was that there was a Brambling on the patch, worse still that it was a lingerer, even worse still every patch local and his (healthy) dog was seeing it. Happy for you guys, really.

By Wednesday I had figured out a cunning scheme, I have to read, and presumably absorb, some dire 90 page training document for work by the end of the week…”this really needs peace and quiet”, I said to the boss, “such as can only be found by working from home”. By 13:00 I was on the reservoirs (If you’re reading this boss, it will be done) and stomping in the direction of the erstwhile Brambling. Ahead of me I could see what looked like a birder, I stomped more quickly, I didn’t want him flushing the darn thing just before I got there!

I was momentarily stopped in my tracks by a candidate 1^st winter Yellow-legged Gull which promptly did the off as I erected my tripod. The mystery birder ahead of me had stopped and seemed to be texting or some such so I slowed down again, as I did an elegant Tern-like Gull came flying directly towards me, dipping to the surface a few times, it looked small, it looked interesting, my thoughts turned to the recent Bonaparte’s Gulls in Berkshire and Hertfordshire, it got within 30m and banked revealing a dark charcoal underwing…LITTLE GULL, a stonking adult in winter plumage no less.

There then followed the normal headless chicken procedure of juggling phone, glasses, telescope, tripod etc. by which time it was cruising the far side of No.4. I did manage to get some record shots but it was constantly on the move and the light really was dreadful. By now the mystery birder turned round revealing himself to be Garrry J, I pointed to the Gull but he had already seen it. A quick tweet and the twitch was on, some locals getting their second patch tick of the week.

Sadly 2015 was a blank year on the patch for Little Gull (and Brambling), which up until that point had both been of annual occurrence, so it’s ironic that both should turn up in quick succession so soon into the new year. So often Little Gulls are just fly throughs here, though the last I saw, in 2014 stayed for a morning and my previous sighting in 2010 stayed at least 8 days. My records are all of singles, apart from an astonishing 50 together, mostly 1^st winters but with a few 2^nd winter and adults, on the Banbury in 1989 (the flock also held a Black Tern, 4 Sandwich Terns and a Sabine’s Gull, a day to remember for sure).

I chatted with Garry whilst we looked for the now seemingly ex-Brambling amongst just a dozen or so Chaffinches and he informed me he had just seen a Green Sandpiper fly along the overflow channel, so that puts us on a cumulative total for the patch of 78 for the year, I suspect that is some sort of record. Apart from Wigeon and Caspian Gull that is virtually everything seen that was around at the end of December, with a change in the weather promised for next week we could be in for some cold weather movement. Keep ‘em peeled!

@birdingprof

Brambling

After waking up late and seeing the drizzle, i had decided to stay in. Five minutes into this decision David Callahan messaged our twitter group saying he had a brambling on the patch.

Brambling have been very hard to see on the patch for me, in fact the closest I've been to the have been a couple of fly-overs just outside the patch boundaries.

Waterproofs on and stupid wax fisherman's hat (which i later left on the bus), I scanned No 4 for a 2nd winter yellow leg that David had also mentioned but no sign. I did however see the brambling. after getting to the general area (the paddock below/besides numbers 4 and 5 res'), a bird with a white rump flew away from me and over the relief channel, two mins later i heard brambling , and then it was in the closest tree to me. Showed pretty well for a couple of minutes then was gone.

It didn't stop raining the whole time i was out.




This female kingfisher was near the outflow on number 3



A water rail was by the edge of number 2 from the central path, and the Drake Scaup was on the Lockwood



Happy new year.

@jarpartridge

Not too shabby at all

The weather map suggested there might just be a rain-free window for a trot round Lockwood early morning to catch up on what I missed yesterday when the reservoirs were closed. Three female and a drake Goldeneye, along with a drake and female Goosander were expected. Slightly less so was the drake Scaup halfway up the east bank which had not been reported for a few days.
      As it turned out, the rain held off long enough for me to look at No 4 and 5 as well. A Common Sandpiper was in the NW corner of No 5 which then flipped over to No 4 which held the drake and two female Goosanders seen earlier by SF. As I was watching the Common Sand, I looked up to see my second wader of the year with a Lapwing high overhead. I had the same luck when watching the the Barnacle Goose feeding on the playing fields and heard and saw a Fieldfare in the trees along the overflow channel. Up to 60 species already with several species it took me weeks to catch up with last year already in the bag. If the weather allows a walk around the Warwicks tomorrow, I should just about beat last year's total for the first weekend.  
DB @porthkillier

Reset

No, yes, I'm not sure? 

Sue and I met up this morning to get the 2016 list started. The Prof had made a head start on us and had already got the female stonechat that Sue later picked out. The horseshoe thicket was alive with goldcrests and song thrushes. A siskin was heard over the raptor hill. The rear paddocks held a small flock of linnet. 

We bumped into Mike in the WaterWorks. A peregrine falcon perched in a pylon before gliding off towards the ex pitch and putt field. A common snipe flew out of bed 18 and three lesser redpoll fed in birches.

A small flock of around ten meadow pipit were on the ex pitch and putt field and three jackdaw were in leyton tip.

A respectable 61 birds in total were seen between the four of us.

61. Common Gull (1-Jan)

60. Lesser Redpoll (1-Jan)

59. Siskin (1-Jan)

58. Linnet (1-Jan)

57. Collared Dove (1-Jan)

56. Great Spotted Woodpecker (1-Jan)

55. Goldcrest (1-Jan)

54. House Sparrow (1-Jan)

53. Green Woodpecker (1-Jan)

52. Meadow Pipit (1-Jan)

51. Peregrine Falcon (1-Jan)

50. Kingfisher (1-Jan)

49. Grey Wagtail (1-Jan)

48. Cetti's Warbler (1-Jan)

47. Common Snipe (1-Jan)

46. Grey Heron (1-Jan)

45. Pochard (1-Jan)

44. Great Crested Grebe (1-Jan)

43. Stonechat (1-Jan)

42. Canada Goose (1-Jan)

41. Greylag Goose (1-Jan)

40. Egyptian Goose (1-Jan)

39. Little Egret (1-Jan)

38. Robin (1-Jan)

37. Great Tit (1-Jan)

36. Chiffchaff (1-Jan)

35. Little Grebe (1-Jan)

34. Song Thrush (1-Jan)

33. Mute Swan (1-Jan)

32. Rose-ringed Parakeet (1-Jan)

31. Blue Tit (1-Jan)

30. Long-tailed Tit (1-Jan)

29. Jackdaw (1-Jan)

28. Greater Black-backed Gull (1-Jan)

27. Lesser Black-backed Gull (1-Jan)

26. Shelduck (1-Jan)

25. Greenfinch (1-Jan)

24. Kestrel (1-Jan)

23. Goldfinch (1-Jan)

22. Pied Wagtail (1-Jan)

21. Starling (1-Jan)

20. Mistle Thrush (1-Jan)

19. Cormorant (1-Jan)

18. Chaffinch (1-Jan)

17. Shoveler (1-Jan)

16. Gadwall (1-Jan)

15. Tufted Duck (1-Jan)

14. Moorhen (1-Jan)

13. Coot (1-Jan)

12. Sparrowhawk (1-Jan)

11. Dunnock (1-Jan)

10. Wren (1-Jan)

9. Teal (1-Jan)

8. Mallard (1-Jan)

7. Blackbird (1-Jan)

6. Wood Pigeon (1-Jan)

5. Magpie (1-Jan)

4. Pigeon (1-Jan)

3. Carrion Crow (1-Jan)

2. Black-headed Gull (1-Jan)

1. Herring Gull (1-Jan)

GH - @leevalleybirder

SH - @suzehu

PW@birdingprof

Mike M

Reset Extra

As I unexpectedly had time on my hands and knowing the reservoirs were shut today, I wandered up to the top field (between Lockwood and Banbury) to see what I might be able to add to the patch list. The answer was not much and certainly not the Woodcock I hoped for. But I had at least one - if not two - male Pheasants and a female Goosander flying up the overflow channel to the Banbury. More unexpectedly were a single Redwing (which took me about six weeks to see last year) and a male Reed Bunting both sitting in the hedges. Even  better was a Water Rail feeding along the Lockwood (Essex) side of the Lea just by the lock. Otherwise a few Goldcrests and plenty of species still needed for the new year list if it ever stops raining. I am already about thirty behind everyone else....

DB @porthkiller..

Extra, Extra...
Didn't get out today as was feeling a little worse for wear, but did have a look out the loft window long enough to see a few things, the highlights being a Peregrine on pylon by Banbury res (hope they breed again this year), a female Goosander flew past and there were 2 f Goldeneye on the Lockwood - my first modest contribution to the first day on the patch. Best wishes to all for 2016!
@LolBodini

Caspian update....

Another fairly disapointing photo from the other day, Same bird, same day... I jus thought the scope photos were blank, but this one almost worked, you can see the bill fialry well, and shawl and leggyness. Just thought i'd add it

I've been down almost everyday since and havent seen the same number of gulls and there doesnt seem to be a pattern in when they arive so, but i will keep going over the next month i suppose.

@jarpartridge

CASP TIP

With recent sightings of caspian gulls up in the pre roost gathering at amwell and a single bird at Wanstead as well and many being found in the Thames area in general I've turned my attention to gulls for the last few visits to the patch.

Today was Leyton tip, a difficult place to view, with much of the feeding area obscured, however there were probably a couple of hundred large gulls present today, on the tip and on the few surrounding rooves, this is , i reckon the best site locally in my opinion. Double figures of Great Black Backs and around ten or so 'Argentatus' herring gulls were the first birds of note, also at least 4 Jackdaws were present.

When scanning through gulls in winter I'm always on the look out for white headed birds of any age, often 1st winter great black backs catch your eye, in flight or whilst scanning through resting birds, with their contrasting black and white tail, dark tertials and White head...  however I picked this bird up in flight, it showed the clean white upper tail and contrasting black band and white head, exaggerated by the head streaking being mainly in the hind neck, which is the shawl thing people talk about. I could see dark tertials and clean whiteish under wing. The bird then landed on a roof and stood obscured by other gulls and the roof itself.  knowing from flight views that i had a good caspian candidate at least, I fumbled some photos through my scope and through my camera whilst the bird bickered with surrounding herring gulls, (of course not diagnostic behaviour but a good sign)

The bird then came to the front of the roof and through my scope I was able to check the following features;

A number of pale grey scapulars, with white fringes, 

Dark centered greater wing coverts giving a scaley appearance to the mid closed wing,

Solid dark brown, unnotchced tertials with a pale tip to them, (look very close at the photo, you can see these last three features...well the tip of the tertials..)

Legs long and pale

Long, black parallel sided bill, as well as the shawl mention before, and an overall jizz of casp, im ded happy with the I.D .

It was a nice, constrasty bird, the blacks were black and the whites were frosty white , just the kind of 1st winter you want to come across.

The bird flew onto a lmp post and faced me for a while but i still wasnt able to get a shot of the back end stuff... then it flew the rubbish tip itself , i think  had it in flight brielfy after that but it wasnt seen again.

My apologies for the photos, much of my desription, isnt on view here and it doesn't show much beyond pale head, a 'kink' in the kneck, which i read somewhere is a caspy thing, you can just about see the top of the tertials and  the bird spent most time obscured and when did show i wasn't quick enough to phone scope it, ill be going down tomorrow so hoping its there again and photos to follow... 

Of course any comments welcome, and any thing I miss out/overlook I'm keen to hear, it's a bird I've found before amoungst 'real gull people' and on my own, but finding one on the patch was challenge and I'm willing to stick my neck out and claim it

@jarpartridge