A Red letter bird.

My local patch list is kept on a colour coded excel spreadsheet. The species are listed down the left hand column and the years are horizontally along the top. I've described it on here before, so to get the full boredom feel, see link. 

This makes it easy to monitor the species, what is missing for a given year etc. The exciting bit (well ok, the exciting bit for me) is to see how many 'red' species turn up in a year. These are species recorded on 3 or less years since recording began in 2009. The birds might not be rare on your patch or on a national or even county level, but on mine they make the heart skip a beat.

On Tuesday one such species turned up for the 2022 list, my first 'reddity' of the year.

At lunchtime I was out taking Peggy for her walk. The coast seemed quite busy with a  layby full of cars, so we headed off down the 'Teepee Track'. It is a bridle path that runs south from Seahouses Farm where it passes the now defunct site of a reconstructed neolithic hut. It's a mostly bird barren site apart from a stubble field that holds a few finches and larks and it was while scanning for these, the birding took a turn for the better...

We were stood on the old teepee site as I scanned north west across the field hoping for a twite or lapland bunting or even a Meadow Pipit that has not shown so far this year, when, into my binocular view , dashed a direct, low flying, raptor. The first thought was female Sparrowhawk but it looked odd, darker, when it turned to reveal a massive square white rump - a ringtail Hen Harrier!

On this site, Hen Harrier is a knee trembling rarity with only one previous record from 2010 during that hard winter. Concentrating, I leaned on the fence to get the best possible steady views of the bird, thinking it was just passing through. Luckily for me, it was in hunting mode and began quartering the stubble, hovering, sometimes with legs dangling before changing direction and taking another line. It was flushing larks and linnets all over. The sun was behind me, lighting the harrier beautifully as it floated and pirouetted around the field for about 10 minutes. Once it even landed for a look around before getting back up and quartering its way to the north and off towards our village. I wonder if it went over our garden?

Without a camera, I concentrated as much as possible so I could do this sketch as soon as I got back in to the house...

What a great 'red box' bird for my Local Patch year list... 

 

Happy New Year ....

According to the oracle that is Twitter, the majority of birders this year are going to be either local or green or both. Long term readers of this blog might remember I did my first on foot from home list (OFFH) back in 2010, 12 years ago. Since then I have decided that it is too easy to play the martyr and forsake all others to prove a point so now, my annual routine for several years has been a nice balance of both local birding with some variety too. Four basic patterns are followed.

My local patch recording is done within a 1km radius of home mostly but I consider a couple of kms either way north and south to be 'local' I tried the 5km radius last year and found it too much. It was starting to become a job again where I was not allowed out for good behaviour. So that's gone by the by this year. At least my home patch gets watched every single day of the year unless I am away on holiday.

I also have a second patch all of 3km south, at Boulmer. Again this is an area I have watched for even longer than my home patch with early visits in the 90s and with a more concentrated effort since 2005. I treat it like a fair weather friend that is visited weekly or if the weather dictates.

Then we have the rest. If the coast is busy or the weather is clear and birding quiet we cover several 'inland patches' for a whole range of biodiversity from Fungi to Spiders. This wider picture is described well here - Steve Gale's 'Uber Patch'...

Ive posted this image before, but here is the extended or 'Uber Patch'.

The final bit of the puzzle is a confession that yes I do like a county twitch and even a bit further too if it takes my fancy, which is, its fair to say, quite rare these days, but I never rule it out. A Pallas's Sandgrouse in Yorkshire would certainly fire up the Quattro...

2022 will be made up of a smorgasbord of these things, in that order.

To avoid the crowds the Uber called on Sunday morning and delivered too...

A good hike on the moors turned up some nice birds to start the year...

On arrival, several flocks of Redwings flushed out of roosts in battered flat conifer plantations first thing. The devastation in these upland woods from Storm Arwen is amazing. It might even have done some good to the dark monoculture, allowing light in to the areas and in future they will be clear felled.

Mistle Thrush was in full song as were a few male Crossbills with a dozen being seen. 3 Ravens included a displaying bird trying to fly upside down then snapping the tops off the remaining upstanding pines. 

Raven, trying to take greenery from the pine tops.

After trying unsuccessfully to navigate a normally open track through the the wood due to a Grand National type blockage of fallen trees making countless 'fences' we eventually made it out on to open moor. John came up with the double here. While standing trying to get our breath back he noticed this, small Scarlet Caterpillar Club fungi emerging from the grass. It doesn't look much but is quite sinister in its ecology as it is growing out of the body of a caterpillar or pupa it has infected, below the grass. The first I've seen.

Scarlet Caterpillar Club fungi.

 As I tried to get a shot in focus with my phone, above, John called again - Hen Harrier, grey male! Up onto my feet and I had missed it over the brow of a hill, but it soon drifted back over, giving us a distant view as it skirted up the rise to eventually vanish from sight. Its always a good morning when it involves a Hen Harrier. I did not release news of this bird, and forgive me, but will not be giving a location here either.

Distant and into the light etc, but it is a male Hen Harrier so who cares!

Onwards beyond the next plantation where more Crossbills are dotted about,   never seen well enough for a photo, but a juv male Peregrine came very close, if only I was quick enough to get the camera off my shoulder. A nice dark streaked, black hooded bird with an over all brown colouring, it was seen twice on our walk. Kestrel and Buzzard were also seen.

Down on another newly cleared area a flock of 13 Lesser Redpolls fed on heather seeds between the stumps as did these three nice Bullfinches to brighten the day.

Bullfinch Christmas tree.

A good Sunday morning trip out, not on patch, granted, but not another human was seen ( always good) and some good birds all within that Uber patch above...

 

Outer Hebrides 2/3

Corn Bunting

 Tuesday, bright sunny and clear later on. I had an earlyish start this morning, back along to Balranald, where a Corn Bunting showed down to a few feet allowing some nice photos. A chance I'll never get at home. Behind the info centre the ever elusive Corncrakes were still 'giving it what for' so imagine my surprise when I scanned along a raised ditch bank and saw one sunning and calling away. Some careful stalking, despite the constant attention from Peewits overhead, got me close enough for a reasonable shot.

Back at the car, I told a visiting Yorkshire birder that one was showing in the open, he had to pick himself up before stuttering 'Where is it!' I pointed him in the direction and left him to it...

Corncrake

 After this we had a drive south, on a hunch to find some very rare breeding Red necked Phalaropes. Getting specific info on these is like asking for the crown jewels, so it took me ages of internet searching before I got a sniff of a site. Even then I wasn't convinced I would see any, however, on arrival I soon located two fresh summer females and one duller male hiding in emergent mares tails. I couldn't believe my luck!

Although they were too skulky and distant to photograph scope views were good. My first breeding plumaged ones in the uk ( though I saw loads in Iceland). Keeping with the trend, Im sorry I cant give a location.

Also here were 7+ Rock Doves, 4 Black tailed Godwit, 1 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, 1 Raven and a Peregrine.

Next stop was Ardivachar Point, South Uist. The highight here was a flock of 27 Ravens feeding on the shore and a song flighting Dunlin over MOD machair land. Tremendous.

What a day!

Red necked Phalarope

Wednesday was a lovely day, sunny with a pleasantly cool easterly breeze.

While having breakfast in the garden, a male Hen Harrier flew over and caught a fledgeling pipit in the field opposite. No sooner had that happened,  one of the 'garden' Corncrakes flew out briefly giving a short but nice glimpse.

Hen Harrier

We headed north today to check out some beaches and to look for orchids. Hornish Strand has to be one of the finest beaches on the planet! We also checked out Lingay Strand and Grenitote that were almost as good.

 I couldnt find any Hebridean Marsh Orchids ( too early) but Early Marsh Orchid of the form coccinea was new for me. A few were scattered around. 

The unspoilt low impact farming here means there are lots of flowers. Yellow flag irises and Marsh Cinquefoil were abundant. Seaside Pansy was a new form for me here.  

The first of only 2 Arctic Skuas of the trip flew low over the moors nearby.

Hornish Strand, North Uist

Yellow Flag Iris, Marsh Cinqfoil, Seaside Pansy, Early Marsh Orchid

Still searching the machair for my main target of the trip we headed back to Balranald ( its really nice here) where we soon found them - 3+ Great Yellow Bumblebees, the rarest of the kind in the UK, found only here and along the far north of Scotland. Great things watched beside the hebridean race of Moss Carder Bee, that was very orange and black a bit like tree bumblebee. I wish I had taken their pcture too, I dont know how I overlooked this. Too busy just enjoying them buzzing about the masses of clover and trefoil.

Great Yellow Bumblebee

So it was back home where the Corncrakes were seen briefly squabbling and jumping into the air, just behind the garden.

A Blue Hawk...

As the weather today was bright, and clear with a light SW3 blowing we headed off to one of our upland patches.

At the first stop, good numbers of Reed Buntings were attracted to various scattered pheasant feeders, but the highlight was a calling flyover Snow Bunting heading west. A female Stonechat also kept us company, and the fields held 50+ Fieldfares with 200+ Starlings.

After a cuppa, another site seemed very quiet in comparison. A Stoat crossed our path and 2 Roe does ran over the moor. Leaning on a five bar gate, as you do, I noticed a 'lapwing' crossing the heather distantly to our east. Then closer examination changed the morning. This was no lapwing, but an adult, silvery grey male Hen Harrier quartering the ground ahead.

We had a superb hour watching him hunt around at varying ranges, in good light, until we finally left him to it.

What a bird. Its such a shame every moor doesn't hold these...

Back home, 50+ Waxwings dropped in to the apple trees as usual. There are maybe two or three days feeding left here before they head south...

A Woodcock Winter...

My morning began in -5 degrees out with Bunty. We only walked from home up to the coast path.  Woodcock seemed to spring from every sheltered patch and 5 were seen within 15 minutes, with another 3 later. Then I noticed this poor creature that had hit a sheep fence. It flopped along the verge trying to take off without success.

I kept it in a box in the house until this afternoon. Although I could see there was no fixing this one ( the right wing was shattered) I didnt have the bottle to 'do the right thing', so I realeased it onto a wet sheltered patch nearby to let nature take its course. It was quite a perky character. What a shame...

At lunchtime I saw that a flock of geese had settled in the coast path field, so wandered up with the scope to check them out. There were exactly 200 Pink footed Geese, but more interestingly there was a good movement of birds south along the coast so I did a bit of 'viz migging' from the road end.

No sooner had I counted the geese, when I saw a thrush on the far fence. Peering through the scope, it was one of a party of 4 Mistle Thrushes, but as I looked a movement behind caught my attention...HEN HARRIER! And not just a hen harrier, a stonking adult male looking all silvery and uplit, tipped with black. Still watching I scrabbled for the camera but not only was it distant, it was too quick for me and was out of sight, south, within a minute or so...

Right then, back to the counts, I thought, when I heard the calls of more Pinkfeet heading my way. Looking up, they came right over head and one was white! The Newton Pool Ross's Goose, no less, accompanied by 5 Barnacle Geese and 40 Pinkfeet. They whiffled in to the flock in the field for a feed and a preen, and ten minutes later they were off again heading south... 

Ross's Goose with Barnacles and Pinkfeet...

The original flock...

An hour later (watched 12 - 1pm) with numb feet I had counted -

Whooper Swan 8 S ( 7 ad and 1 juv)
Pink footed Goose 525 S
Barnacle Goose 5 S
Ross's Goose 1 S
Hen Harrier 1 S
Golden Plover 11 S
Snipe 8 S and N around the fields
Curlew 5 N
Dunlin 53 N and S around fields some were attached to Skylark flocks.
Lapwing 16 S
Woodpigeon 76 S
Skylark 355 S a constant stream of birds low over the fields.
Mistle Thrush 9 S
Fieldfare 4 N
Brambling 2 S
Linnet 67 S
Twite 1 S
Goldfinch 1 S
Reed Bunting 3 S with Skylarks
Lapland Bunting 2 S with Skylarks.

To warm my feet I had a walk north along the coast path to Cullernose Point and back. The 11 Whooper Swans were still in the field near the lay bye, 32 Grey Partridges were easily seen against the snow in small coveys (8, 2, 9, 7, 6), 1 female Sparrowhawk looked like a male Gos in flight, briefly, until seen perched, a pitfall for the unwary, 2 Buzzard, 16 Oystercatcher, 1 Purple Sandpiper and 3 Woodcock.

Fake Gos...

At dusk I watched 5 Woodcock flighting out of the hedges and woods to the coast to feed, joined by a lone Snipe...This brings the days Woodcock tally to 16.

OFFH List - 160. ( Ross's Goose included, but not on my 'real' list...)