Simple patch pleasures

With Saturday being a washout, I was keen to get a bit of fresh air Sunday. I packed my scope and headed to the local lake to see what had stepped off the Ark.
I was literally just set up, and focusing on some gulls, when a Kingfisher zoomed across my field of view. I was able to pan and follow it quite a way...this was so pleasing, I had gone all year without connecting with one on the patch, and had specifically set out to try and nab one for the patch year list over Christmas, a result !
With the exception of a Cormorant  there was little else of note, no Tufted Ducks or Goosanders today. I moved across to the stubble field, which initially seemed barren, but after a while things began to appear. At the border, Song Thrush,Mistle Thrushes, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buzzard and Nuthatch. Down on the field were a dozen Chaffinch,and half a dozen Blackbirds and Goldfinches but even with the scope I couldn't string a Brambling.
Back home I did a bit of garden birding, with a good range of species either in or just beyond the garden in the trees behind the house. Pick of the bunch was a Treecreeper in the large Horse Chestnut. The Greenfinches obviously didn't like my presence, but the Dunnock didn't mind. It's been great to see an influx of Coal Tits of late, and I have observed 4 or 5 at a time flitting around the garden. I decided to try and capture some video.

Grimley hits the spot

When JK text on Saturday morning suggesting a cheeky trip over to Grimley, I knew what he was thinking and took up his offer of a ride. I was thinking the same myself, Top Barn does great bacon and I wanted to stock up for Christmas, and their hot sausage rolls make a welcome birding snack !
There was also the possibility the recent meteorological events had produced a bit of bird movement so with a list full of incentives we headed over.
The first site we dropped in on produced immediate results. Usually it's a bit of a speculative stop off, but today, the Sling Pool floods were heaving with birds !
Over 100 Lapwing and dozens of Fieldfare were in the fields. On the water we noted Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Little Grebe and Tufted Ducks. Snipe were strolling around brazenly in very good numbers. However the highlight was getting onto a couple of Black-tailed Godwits that JK picked up in the scope on the far right side. I had only seen them at Slimbridge and Norfolk this year so it was a nice county year tick and a good record overall. Showing well in the scope, I didn't even bother trying for a pic, winter conditions negated that. A Green Sandpiper showed a couple of times too but remained in an area hidden to us.
From there we headed on to the other usual sites, where it was all a bit quite by comparison, save for the female Goldeneye at the New Workings. This was another county 'rareity' for me, not having seen any within Worcs since late 2010.
Before checking the Old Workings, we visited Top Barn Farm shop to raid the fridge of Bacon. A large sausage roll was also partaken of and eagerly dispatched while checking over the Old Workings ( which was pretty quiet ). However, the Sling Pool site alone was worth the trip, and the addition of any pork/pastry product can only enhance the experience.

 

Goldeneye ( record shot from 2012 )

                                                                             

 

New for Xmas, a video on YouTube

Just a quick update, I will be uploading some nature video soon onto my YouTube channel, from this last year, and hopefully more new footage next year.
As a starter for 10, and as it's the time of year everyone releases a video, I've had a stab at cobbling together some of the years highlights, it's only 3 minutes and suitable for all ages !
Click on the YouTube logo to view all videos and check for updates

Cheers!

Goosander Record !.. and Winter Thrushes

On Sunday I was dusting off the cobwebs trying to get myself motivated for a patch walk when I had a text from fellow local birder Glenn H.
He had beat me to the local pool and relayed that there were 16 Goosander present. The "early bird" and all that ! Anyway, I scout marched across to take in this record breaking fall of Goosander. Glenn had nipped home for his camera, and just before he returned I managed to dig out another Female taking the count up to 17 Goosander (6 Males)
Thats' a damn fine count !
 The Tufted Duck numbers had increased to 8, and there were 2 Cormorant also present.
I walked with Glenn back to his car, we were bemoaning the lack of winter thrushes on the patch. As I left him and headed up to the paddocks I came across a flock of 35 Fieldfares ( the first on the deck I had seen), bit of a coincidence, and ironically, when I walked back later, they were all in the field next to where he had been parked.
The final pleasing bit of the walk was right outside my house, where there was a lot of Blackbird activity on the berries. I picked up on my first Redwings in the street this winter, and despite the failing light as the rain started, I managed a quick picture taken from my drive.

Long Tailed Duck and Things

Their has been a long staying Long Tailed Duck a few miles up the road. Although only about 9 miles as the quacker flies, it's a site I rarely visit. Given it's birder unfriendliness, lack of parking and high level of vehicle crime I can't think why I don't spend more time there.
Anyway, I think initially there was just a female, but the prospect of seeing the male was the tipping point as after all they are pretty rare around Worcs.
So Saturday morning I set up scope on the friendly confines of the Resa, and scanned around. There was decent numbers of Goosander of both sexes. After 5 minutes I picked up on the Male Long Tailed Duck , diving frequently in the NE corner.It was smartly marked. Thanks to someone over that side with a long lens, the bird was gradually being pushed further from the far shore, and eventually they managed to put the bird up which allowed me to see the long median black stripe down it's back as it sought a bit of peace..
So that was it , a lifer.
I decided to swing by the large Waxwing flock at Webbs on the way back. However, when I drove through the entrance and saw how close some of the cameras were set up in relation to the berries I changed my mind. To my mind some folks were just too close, not giving the birds anywhere near enough space.There is an ethical line in the sand and anyone who can't get a decent image from a few yards further back with a big lens and several grands worth of kit should take a leaf  out the book of proper photographers who can, without compromising the wellbeing of the subject.Anyway, I don't know who they were and doubt they read this anyway, but it's something that does cause bad feeling with most birders I know.
Anyway, just round the corner on Swan Lane there were c15 Waxwings flitting around catching insects, who obviously didn't fancy having a lens poked up their jacksie.
On Sunday I did my local patch. Tufted Ducks were back on the Pool, 3 males and a female, the first since May. The was not much else to rave about, but on ending the walk I stopped to observe the small House Sparrow population. It frequents an unremarkable part of the patch, around the gardens of 3-4 houses and adjoining land. I had them at another site on the patch but have not seen them there for a while, I hope they have not gone for good. They sit up in the bare bush and chirp at you as you walk past.
 Once so commonplace when I was a kid, they seem to heading in the same direction as the Tree Sparrow.

Great Northern Diver ( Staffs) and Belvide

With news of a Great Northern Diver turning up just up the road in Lower Penn, I decided to pop over, making the most of a day off from work . It was a species I had not seen, and they had been popping up on many inland water bodies over the last few days, so it seemed wise to chance a low mileage " twitchette".

Aside from the very muddy path, this was a jaffa as it turned out, a twenty minute drive and a ten minute walk and I was watching the bird at close quarters, with just 2 other birders..perfect. The bird was doing plenty of diving and the occasional 'snorkel'

From here I decided to carry on up to Belvide. I fancied trying to catch up with a few species I had seen little of  lately, or even this year.I'm an WMBC member but don't visit Belvide nearly often enough, in fact it had been over 12 months since my last visit !
It was less than 30 mins up to the Resa' and I enjoyed a couple of hours watching the decent numbers of  ducks bobbing about, especially the numerous Goldeneye, which was a year first. There were plenty of Pochard, Wigeon, Teal, and Great Crested Grebes as well as a Lesser Black Backed Gull of note. It's always good as well to catch up with the Tree Sparrows, a bird I rarely see elsewhere. A Water Rail squealed it's presence too. With the expected Winter Thrushes and other passerines, it was an enjoyable couple of hours.
I was virtually alone on the reserve and leaving the West Hide at around 13.40 I passed a birder heading to where I had come from. It was most likely the author of Belvide Birding who later posted on his blog that, ironically, a Great Northern Diver had dropped in at 14.03 !



Great Northern Diver

                                                                  
                                                                           Female Goldeneye




                                 

Waxwings on the Doorstep !

I started the morning around Ladies Pool. Last week I had connected with my 1st Brambling of the season around there, and yesterday I had noted the return of a Little Grebe, which seems to favour this spot at this time of year. Today there was a single ♀ Goosander at the furthest reaches of the lake, perhaps a result of the all the flooding locally ?
I was heading back to the car for the next leg of the patch tour, when I received news of 3 Waxwings just down the road at Rowberry's !
This was excellent news. Waxwings seem to have been popping up in every bloody county that borders Worcestershire lately, whilst stealthily  avoiding my neck of the woods. Anyway within 10 minutes I was pulling onto the car park of Rowberry's, hoping they were still around.
As soon as I opened the door I heard their lovely ringing call and enjoyed the birds coming down onto berries just a few feet away. After a few minutes it became evident there were more than the reported 3, and soon I counted 8 on site.
News had spread amongst the local Birders and there were soon half a dozen familiar faces there enjoying these exquisite birds, including Craig R, aka Midlands Birder . You can read about his encounter sometime in the New Year ( only joshing MB !). Craig kindly let me have a butcher's in his scope of the mature adult male, the only 1 amongst the 8.

 I will get my excuses in first, the light was actually quite tricky, and totally against for the closest views, so pics were a bit of a zooming compromise, but hey ho, it was a great Sunday local mini twitch and social, and what better winter migrant to grace it !