4th March:
Back up to the Brecks in the snow with Steve B and Mike M
and near Lackford the Golden Pheasants were again absent although we did have
four singing Woodlarks and two Muntjac were poking around in the snowy fields.
Mayday in the snow was a novel experience but within just a few minutes a male
Goshawk got up followed by a female Sparrowhawk.
I followed bird tracks through the trees and put up a female
Golden Pheasant and Crossbills and Siskins were vocal above me. There were plenty of mammal tracks with Fox,
Badger, Rabbit, Roe Deer and Muntjac.
At least three pair of Woodlark were in the next clearing
and they seemed quite at home in the snow while two male Goshawks tussled above
us. Nothing else was noted on the way
back bar some thrushes and finches. At
Lynford Arboretum the male Firecrest was easily found but the Hawfinches eluded
us but the other usual woodland birds were found easily and an immature male
Parrot Crossbill was a my first for some time.
A huge flock of Brambling in the distance on Cavenham Heath was our
final stop for the day.
12th March:
A typical North Kent trip with Pete but the Medway was
disappointingly quiet with only a couple of Blackwits and Pintail and a singing
Chiffchaff at Funton Creek. Harty was
hazy and no Rough-legged Buzzard was seen although Marsh Harriers were
everywhere and soaring on thermals at times. Hundreds of Russian White-fronts
and a few Hen Harriers were seen but no Peregrines, Merlins or Owls were
seen. We ended up at Cliffe where the
Greater and Chilean Flamingos duly obliged if you can call snoozing on one leg
obliging!
4th April:
A long overdue twitch for the Roman River Valley Little
Bunting and Ian W and I made an early morning visit and after 30 minutes we
fund this singing malae along with the river bank. A good Essex tick and always good to hear one
in song. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were
in and vocal and a Willow Warbler was also heard in the woods. There were Reed Buntings holding territories
and a fully plumaged male Brambling was found weakly singing too. Back at the car two female Sparrowhawks were
seen and my first Sand Martin flew over.
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
Abberton next and it only took a few minutes to locate the
White-headed Duck with the Ruddys and then three sum plum Black-necked Grebes
paddled into view. They are certainly
becoming a feature here. The WHD appears to have lost some of the more orangey
tones and seems greyer now. [Eds: Worth
noting that it was still thought to be a female at this stage].
With no migrants to find we headed north to the village of
Bawburgh on the western side of Norwich where the male Serin definitely was not
present. Two Egyptian Geese were a good
day tick. [Eds: still a good bird back then!] On to Watton where two male and
two female Golden Pheasant were found after an hour. They showed very well and unlike all the
other spots I know, these are to be found in a mixed deciduous coppice wood with
plenty of understorey. All six Tits as
expected along with Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Nuthatches. I hope this spot
does not become too popular.
Lynford and its usual residents all obliged including the
Hawfinches and the Firecrest was still singing in his favoured fir. Two Swallows were the first of the year
before we headed south to Grimes Graves and located the Great Grey Shrike
immediately. Woodlarks were in song and
a couple of Muntjac foraged along the margins.
Stone-curlews at Weeting were despatched in no time at all and
Bramblings were found with the Chaffinches and Siskin flock around the car
park.
The drinking pool at Mayday attracted Crossbills and Lesser
Redpolls and Woodlarks were constantly singing above. Lackford added a Green Sandpiper, four
Redshank and 15 erratic Sand Martins.
With the day fading we trundled across Cavenham Heath hoping to add
Wheatear and Little Owl and amazingly got two of each. A nice way to end a long but very long and
productive days birding.
11th April:
Yesterday morning I should have been hurtling down to Devon
for the Scops Owl but I chose dinner with Orlagh instead was a more preferable
option. Hence when Tuesday morning dawned in Camberwell I was hoping that the
phone would ring. It did and of I
went. How I got from there through the
London rush hour to home and then up to the Swallow Hotel on the M25 to meet
Andrian W in an hour and a half I do not know!
Some four and a half hours later and after a knackering walk to the
bottom of a tiny valley in Morwenstow we clapped eyes on a tiny Scops Owl as it
dozed on the cliffs scree slope. At one
point it lunged at something and promptly fell flat on its face and stayed
immobile for several minutes. We thought
it had died. After a while it clambered back up and went into a cleft and went
to sleep. We left it settled and
clambered back up taking the time to watch Ravens, Buzzards and Peregrines this
time before heading on.
Kenwith CP in Bideford was our next stop and the
overwintering Dusky Warbler was found tacking within a couple of minutes. It had just had a bath and was rather
bedraggled. This was Adrian’s bogey bird
and thankfully 399 and not 400! Willow Warblers and Grey Wagtails were also
present at this lovely site. The local Ring-billed Gull did not oblige but I
did find a Little Egret on the river.
There is just no escaping them! It’s been over 15 years since the last
truly twitchable Scops and so it made seeing this tiny ball of feathers all the
more satisfying.
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| Dusky Warbler |
12th April: The Quest for Albert
A chaotic day when it looked like we might not be going on
our Scottish jaunt but with the Scops Owl having probably pegged it overnight
the whole crew was still together and by late evening Kettle, Tont and I had
assembled at Wander’s in Cambridge. The subject
of small vagrant owls was judiciously avoided and we soon headed North.
13th April
Dan saw us well and truly in Scotland and soon Peregrine,
Buzzard and lots of Greylags and Pinkfeet were logged and 7am in Aviemore was perfect
timing for the opening of the café.
Feeling restored by some hot food inside us we made for our first proper
stop at Loch Morlich passing an Osprey over the fish farm on the way.
The Ospreys were soon found on their big stick nest and a
pair of Black-throated Divers in breeding garb were on the loch itself with
Goldeneye, Wigeon and Teal. What sounded like Common Crossbills called from the
adjacent pines but no Crested Tits were found.
On towards Findhorn via Loch Vaa but we only car ticked the
Slavonian Grebes here as we had found one on Avie Lochan along with Coots,
Tufted Ducks and Goldeneye on the way! A
cracking Hooded Crow hopped around a paddock there. The Findhorn lived up to its reputation and
we even had glorious sunshine in which to watch two immature Golden Eagles
which were mobbed by Peregrine and Buzzards. [Eds: No Red Kites or White-tailed
Eagles back then]
Oystercatchers, Curlews, Common and Black-headed Gulls were
encountered all along the river and there were Grey and Pied Wagtails,
Wheatears, Chaffinches and several Ring Ouzels.
The males were busily singing but were impossible to find but we
eventually found a pair in the boulderfield wood. With the weather holding we headed back out of
the valley picking up two Red Grouse at 20 semi-snowy Mountain Hares [Eds: We
did not see one last June…] along with a
Stoat and many Red Deer.
We visited Grantown next for Cresties and Capers but the
woods were very quiet and after an hour we had only seen two pair of Crested
Tits, a single Scottish Crossbill and two Red Squirrels. Feeling a little
reckless we opted to try for Capercaillie in Glen Taner in Deeside. It was a bit of a drive but once there it started
very well with a Golden Eagle high above and seemingly utilising the same
thermal as a Glider who must have had stunning views of it! Buzzard and Osprey
were in the same thermal.
The four and a half mile hike into the Glen was tiring but
worth it and on the way in we picked up more Scot Bills and Siskins before
reaching this remnant of the Caledonian Forest. Huge gnarled pines partially
shaded an understorey of tall Heather, Juniper and Bilberry scrub. We cross a
small bridge with a sign pointing out that of was part of the Royal estate and
within just a few second up came our first male Capercaillie! This was my best
view of one of these huge monsters. As
we quietly followed the path a further 14 came up with both males and females
seen. One male briefly perched up. I
couldn’t believe it. I have tried so hard to see this species well and here
they were coming up all around me. [Eds:
and experience never to be repeated].
The wood was otherwise deathly quiet and with the light fading we
decided it would be prudent to head back.
It was as superb end to a very long day, capped off with a
nice meal and a pint and then the prospect of kipping in the car at the Ythan
for the night.
14th April
Fortunately I took my sleeping bag and although I could not
move once inside it, I at least slept well and got up just after first light at
0530. Our plan of action had been to do the Ythan, get the King Eider and head
to Aberdeen airport to catch our flight to Shetland but despite checking we
could not find the old boy.
There were plenty of Common Eider and singles of Pink-foot
and Pale-bellied Brent and a lot of waders but eventually our diligence paid
off and we found him on the sand bank. Meanwhile two lads had arrived and
whilst chatting told us that their friends were up on Shetland and that Albert
had left his cliff and headed out to sea!
Disaster! When this venerable
Black-browed Albatross headed out he often did not return for a week! Could we really be a day too late?
Some time later we gloomily checked into our flight and discovered
29 other birders making the pilgrimage to try and see this bird that was older
than most of us. Being still new to
flying it was as ever an experience for me and Wander upset the cabin crew by
talking all the way through the safety announcement and got a proper telling off! Less than an hour later (after a speedy
inflight breakfast!) we were coming in to land at a cloud and drizzle laden
Sumburgh airport. Jon Clifton met us on
arrival and had already sorted us out a hire car – a Proton saloon which I was
to drive for the next three days.
The journey north was a bit of a blur but I do remember
following Hugh Harrop’s minibus and three other birder filled cars, some Great
Skuas and a toasted sandwich before catching our second ferry from Yell to
Unst. We eventually arrived and began
the hike up to Hermaness and hopefully our Albatross prize. The weather was
still inclement and I took my scope and camera up in a bag as I figured we
would probably not be stopping much. No
one spoke on the way up. This was the
biggest birding gamble any of us had ever made.
Either he was sitting on the ledge or he was not. There would be no ‘perhaps he is sitting
somewhere else today’.
Hugh yomped on ahead and strode purposefully out across the
spongy mossy slope and soon we could see Gannets appearing behind him. Then suddenly Hugh turned around and gave the
thumbs up! The sensation was almost indescribable and all that pressure,
tension and exertion was converted into the biggest adrenaline dump imaginable
and we picked up the pace and scampered off after the tiny Hugh.
To view the Black-browed Albatross on his outcrop requires several things; firstly,
an overwhelming desire to see the bird, secondly, a temporary cessation of any
rational thinking that would otherwise prevent you standing six inches from the edge of a 600 foot drop,
on a five foot wide promontory which incidentally is also an over hang and thirdly,
possibly a clean pair of pants.
After a quick glimpse of this sleeping giant I got out of
the way, partly to let others have a look but also because of the gentle
pressure being exerted by those behind who wished to get to the edge. Some of
us headed north along the cliff for a couple of hundred yards and settled
ourselves into a sheep cut where we could look back and see him on his ledge,
bill under mantle and one eye open.
 |
| Familiar faces |
It was bitterly cold and the wind was blowing hard but the
sheep cut offered some shelter and we all hunkered down about 15 feet from the
cliff edge. One of the chaps had severe
vertigo and after being taken to a scope with his eyes closed, told to open one
and seeing Albert had to be escorted back to the van happy but shaken. Half
hour later Albert put his head up and showed off that big orangey bill. A cheer went up and we all decided that it
was time to go so we started to amble back down when Hugh started flapping his
arms at us and we immediately though ‘Alb is flying!’ so we dashed back but he
had not departed and was up on his huge pink webbed feet and flapping his wings
in a warm up to displaying to the nearest Gannet which was very non-plussed by
his foot stomping, head bowing and tail fanning.
 |
| Black-browed Albatross |
All fear of heights was again set aside as we craned to get
a better view. I swapped my scope for
camera and set up as close as I dared and managed to get some shots. Occasional
bouts of slightly maniacal laughter came from the group as the joy and relief
of a well played gamble dawned.
 |
| Black-browed Albatross |
With him being mobile every detail could be seen, down to
the pale primary and tail shafts and the deeper coloured tip to that huge bill. With another squall setting in I had one last
squint over the edge, laughed at the mad Puffins and walked back down with
everyone else.
Once back down we contemplated what to do with ourselves
what with being so bedraggled and tired so we opted for to search for somewhere
to stay on the island for the night. [Eds:
can’t believe we had not even planned this bit!] and we eventually found a nice
B&B where the owners kindly dried all our sodden clothes and boots by the
huge fire and Aga. [Eds: I seem to recall that they were an English couple who
had actually lived just one road over from my parents’ house in Ilford]
Dinner was taken at the Baltasound Hotel [Eds: not that
there was any choice] and as I was conserving funds it was fortunate that Wander
was celebrating his 400th UK bird and I seem to recall two splendid
pints of Guinness. Other birders appeared and tales were swapped and photos (including
the Scops Owl) ogled over. [Eds: You have to remember that there were no mobile
phones, no one had the mobile internet and pictures were actual printed photographs
that you bought from the circle of birders with all the gear. No one could share an Albatross pic with
their mates back home or post instantly about our success. It was in some ways a more private
experience, shared with the crew you went with and those travelling on the same
quest.]
We retired for the night and I wrote a postcard back home
that I bought from a little village shop. [Eds: I bought a book of first class stamps – £1 -
AND a Flake – 10p…]
Tiredness eventually overcame excess adrenaline and I slept
well in my big comfy bed.
15th April
Up bright and breezy but not before Kettle who had been up
for ages and already been out. Warm clothes awaited us outside our rooms and
gave us incentive enough to venture out into the cold morning air. A quick walk
down to the foreshore at Uyeasound resulted in many Fulmars nesting on old
crofts but the only small birds were some obliging Twite, Wheatears and a few
House Sparrows.
Occasional Bonxies cruised over while one took a Gannet out
of the sky around the salmon pens. Long-tailed Ducks, Eiders and Mergansers
filled the Sound. A rather rotund Border Collie befriended us and was not much
smaller than the rather depressed looking Shetland Ponies. Breakfast beckoned
and after a fine fry up and a coffee top up we thanked our hosts and headed
across the island to catch the ferry to Fetlar to search for the Snowy Owl.
The drive produced typical Shetland birds with Rock Doves,
Red-throated Divers, Hoodies, Bonxies and a few more Wheatear and Twite. Two
Whooper Swans with yellow neck collars were on a small lochan. Driving onto the Fetlar ferry meant facing
the other vehicle as everyone else had come from Yell on the same boat. Dozens of Black Guillemots were seen on the
journey along with Kittiwakes, seaducks and Bonxies.
Still behind the wheel of my Proton I managed to reverse off
the ferry at the Fetlar end and up the slip way and head across the island with
several other car loads. The ensuing hors were spent looking for and failing to
find the Snowy Owl but the Bonxies and Arctic Skuas were superb and the views
were amazing. Snipe drummed, Curlew sung
and displaying Golden Plovers performed slow mo display flights around us. A smart male Brambling was near the post
office where I bought lunch of Ambrosia rice puddings (original and banana
flavours) and a bar of Bournville from the proceeds of a National Lottery
scratchcard. I won a whole £2! Whoo hoo! [Eds: I don’t gamble because I inevitably
lose and I have never bought a scratch card since!]
We had agreed with Hugh and Iain the day before that we
could follow his van around Yell and Mainland for the day for a nominal fee of
£5 per head and we were not the only ones. They took us to Sandwick where we
went looking for Otters and they fact that 31 of us walked through a front
garden to get to the beach did not seem to bother anyone, least of the house
owner who came out to see what rare bird we were after. On mentioning Otters, he pointed us to a spot
around the bay and we too were soon watching a large dog Otter hunting
Butterfish in the kelp.
Back on Mainland we drove through rugged, treeless scenery
and around me the car was slowly being dismantled and polluted by the other
three [Eds: I can’t believe that I was not contributing to the dangerous
effluent levels??!] on the grounds that it was only a hire car. I can’t pretend to being unperturbed by their
removal and subsequent disposal of the rear coat hooks and the jamming of both
rear windows thankfully while they were in the up position. The contamination
of the upholstery was extreme and would have challenged the most olfactory
challenged occupant! To compound matters the dampness introduced after Hermaness
combined with sweaty bodies, cigarette smoke and the aforementioned malodours provided
a good incentive to spend more time out of the car exploring!
Sandness was our first stop for a gasp of fresh air but of
the King Eider there was no sign but we did see 16 Great Northern Divers and
more sea duck including chocolate drake Long-tails. Hugh’s minibus broke down ta this point so
all the cars said thanks and headed off to do our own thing and Jon had told us
of another site in Tresta Voe where a second drake hung out and he was promptly
found floating around with the other duck and a raft of 44 Slavonian Grebes.
Hugh had got the van going again but needed a fuel top up
but put the wrong can in and we last saw him disappearing over the hill
backfiring and belching out great plumes of black smoke while Iain dutifully
ferried the stranded minibus passengers to the King Eider.
Wood Pigeon and Rook were added to the Shetland list as we drove
down to Lerwick and we were soon at the Shetland Catch and picked up the 1st
summer Iceland Gull on the roof. Jon
turned up while we were there and announced that Ad had had a baby boy – Thomas
that very morning and we followed him to the hospital to say hello.
Fish and chips and a pint of Raven in the rather snooty
Lerwick Hotel wetted the baby’s head before heading back to Jon’s bungalow in
Virkie where he had kindly agreed to put us up for a couple of days.
16th April
We had arrived at Virkie in the dark and so our first look
was from the bungalow over breakfast. A field sloped down to the cliffs and sea
beyond and Sumburgh Head loomed in the distance with the mythical Fair Isle
clearly visible twenty or so miles to the south. Ravens, Hooded Crows, Twite
and Rock Doves were all on view and there were Grey Seals, six Great Northern
Divers and hundreds of Kittiwakes off shore.
Jon showed us the local sites and pointed out where all the
best birds had been seen over the years – Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Sandhill Crane,
Pallid Harrier. It was a day of all
weathers with blue skies and sunshine one minutes and then horizontal sleet,
snow and rain. The male Green-winged
Teal obliged with some Wigeon and Goldeneye on Scatness while nine Whoopers
were with a few Mutes. Back in Lerwick the Hooded Crows tried to steal fish
scraps form the gulls and there were immaculate Black Guillemots and a handful
of Purple Sandpipers amongst the Turnstones and Redshanks.
Sumburgh Hotel garden was not what I expected being
comprised of very stunted four foot high Sycamores and Rosa rugosa sheltering
behind some low stone walls.
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| Wander, Wells and Kettle - happy days |
The Head itself was spectacular with little corners of tall
grass, thistles and nettles and I could picture all the vagrants that have
sheltered there. The Puffins were coming
back in for the evening and allowed a ridiculous approach and Guillemots and
Razorbills zoomed in and out of the impressive cliffs along with noisy
Kittiwakes, Fulmars and Shags. It was
one solid wall of noise and smell.
Chunky Shetland Rock Pipits and Wheatears were seen and
heavy weight dark island Wrens bounded around the walls and gardens. We found a couple of Chiffchaffs, Reed
Buntings and a single Swallow.
A drink in the hotel and then Jon showed us his slides of
his recent Beidehi trip before we all turned in.
17th April
Kettle and I headed out early to Sumburgh Head for another
session with the Puffins in the biting cold before breakfast whilst watching
Jon’s Shetland videos [Eds: yes, you remember those big black cassette
thingies?] of Bluetails, Wilson’s Petrels, Olivaceous Warbler and Lancy before
heading the short way to the airport and our flight back to Aberdeen where we
said goodbye to our well used little car.
The flight was a little choppy and we were soon on the road once again
but looking for Ptarmigan on the slopes of Glenshee was a no goer due to persistent
rain and low snow so we turned tail and headed south and homewards. It was all a blur from here but what a
memorable trip.
21st April
Somehow I managed to get some of my paintings into an
exhibition in Cley and I managed to persuade Orlagh to come with my for the day
to drop them off. It was a glorious, if
somewhat breezy day highlighted by a superb Barn Owl at Salthouse and a fine
meal in The Chequers at Binham.
30th April
Pete and I headed down to Dungeness on a beautiful spring
day and the RSPB reserve was alive with birds. Terns and Gulls were everywhere
and included several 1st summer Med Gulls while flocks of Bar-tailed
Godwits re-orientated overhead before continuing on their northbound
journey. There were many Great Crested
and Little Grebes and in close proximity to each other we found summer plumages
Slavonian and Red-necked Grebes. Both
were immaculate.
Ruddy Ducks were, as ever, good to see and a pair of Bearded
Tits showed very well. We drove past Tree Sparrows on the way out and down to
the sea. A few early Pomarine Skuas had
already gone through but with n a few minutes one was seen well, if distantly heading
east. There were several Black and Red-throated Divers on the move along with
hundreds of Common Scoter, two Velvets, Fulmars, Gannets, two Swallows, more Barwits, a Whimbrel and many Brent Geese. Amongst the Common Terns were two Arctics and a
few Kittiwakes and Common Gulls but no Little Gulls and Black Terns as hoped.
The gorse towards the old lighthouse held two Garden
Warblers, three Blackcaps, Sedge Warbler, six Willow Warblers and three
Chiffchaffs. The star find was a fine
male Redstart on the wires – always a treat and another was seen in a garden
while a pair of Black Redstart were also found. Whitethroats and Willow
Warblers flicked ahead of us as we moved toward the Moat where a female Pied
Flycatcher was quickly found and it did not take too long to find two female Ring
Ouzels out on the Desert with 12 very dishy looking Fieldfares – bird of the
day for me! It’s a shame that they are
not a breeding bird but then again we would just get blase about them and pass
then off as we do now with most of our own colourful residents. Lesser
Whitethroat and 30 Wheatears were seen here too.
Our final stop of the day was at Scotney Pit where six
Little Gulls were busily dip feeding and included three adults with black heads
and pink breast flushes. A perfect end to a great migration day.
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