Diary 2005     alt="Birding

Dec 23    Today I am pleased to put on-line Duncan Dine's October 2005 Jordan Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

Dec 18    I've been away for the weekend in deepest Wiltshire near the Hants border staying with family so apologies for the lack of updates. The nearest I came to any birding was a walk through the village of Fovant to the pub at lunchtime. A Little Egret was working its way along a brook through the village, a nice garden tick for those who were interested, I also had close views of a Grey Wagtail, a pair of Kestrels calling loudly and a Water Vole. At the pub had a nice pint of Brakspears "O Be Joyful", link just for Andy.

 

Dec 14    Today I am pleased to put on-line Dave Pearce's December 2005 Lanzarote Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

Dec 07    We have found out at very short notice that Fromebridge Mill will not be open to the general public in the usual manner on Friday 9th because they are running a Christmas meal and Disco. Richard Baatsen has invited us to his house so we can still get together. Partners welcome too. It is a one-off meeting here and will be back to the Mill in 2006. Bring something to drink and some nibbles. Other food options, include the a nice Chinese takeaway at the top of the hill. There is also an Indian and a Fish & Chip Shop so we could send out for food. Hope to see you there. Parking for four cars on the drive, the rest in the layby. I hope this nice gesture by Richard and Tess meets with everyone's approval.  If you are unsure where to go contact Richard or myself.

 

Dec 05    Today I am pleased to put on-line Martin McGill's November 2005 Champagne-Ardennes Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

A new link added today for Martin Hayes Birds of South Gloucestershire www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk.  

 

Dec 03    With the advent of the Christmas season I would ask that you all support this website when ordering from Amazon. All you need to do is follow the links on the Sightings or on the Home page of the site and it will take you into Amazon. It will earn me a massive 2% on every sale and although that isn't much it will all help with the site running costs.

 

Nov 28    PLEASE NOTE PUB MEETING CHANGED TO SECOND FRIDAY OF DECEMBER 9th INSTEAD OF 2ND, THIS IS A ONE-OFF CHANGE. Of course there is nothing stopping you going on the 2nd as well . 

Today I am pleased to put on-line Graham Watson's August 2005 Algarve Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

Nov 24    I've added the Anser UK 2006 offerings for birding holidays today. Visit here Anser.

 

Nov 22    I've added a new Guestbook today after it was pointed out the old one had stopped working. So to all of you who left messages I'm afraid they're lost. The new Guestbook gives you the opportunity to rate the site. Be nice please. You can find it at the bottom of the left hand index.

 

Nov 19    I spent a top day in the London area with Richard and Jake today. First we visited the well-known migration hotspot of Potters Bar. Here after a short wait we were rewarded with excellent close views of the Grey-cheeked Thrush. It was a lifer for both Jake and I, two in a week now. Next I took them to the exotic jungle of Borehamwood, where possibly the next addition to Category C of the British list is increasing in numbers, Monk Parakeets. We watched as a lot of frantic activity went on, with up to twenty birds visiting what appeared to be a huge communal stick nest in a conifer. Then we moved on to Broadwater G.P.s where we quickly connected with the wintering White-headed Duck. An ugly brute and obviously a threat to our beloved Ruddy Ducks. The one I saw at Shardeloes was a complete sexual fiend leaping out on unsuspecting female Ruddies. Finally travelling back home up the M40 we had at least a dozen Red Kites. 

I also received the following set of Upland Sandpiper photos from Paul Masters who went today. I've been amazed to hear of the number of wives and girlfriends who were suddenly invited to go shopping at Cribbs Causeway .

    

Nov 17    I have added a new Photo Index to the site today. As the Gallery pages take up at lot of webspace and there are now large numbers of photos on the site I thought this index would enable you to find all your favourite photos easily. Initially the index includes all photos from the Sightings, Diary and Gallery pages but will eventually extend to cover all the Trip Reports as well. They range from record shots (usually mine) to excellent portraits worth a second look. I hope you find this useful, its nice to just click on a link and find those favourites easily. I hope you enjoy the index and will let me know if you have any feedback at the usual address. Go to Index here

 

Nov 13    I finally caught up with a couple of Dark-bellied Brent Geese at WWT today thanks to Martin. Now 203 for the year with still a few easy ones to go.

 

Nov 12    An incredible day which started with my failure, again, to see Brent Geese in Glos because yesterday's party had moved on overnight. I did find a new Pink-footed Goose though which was a small reward. I got home about half ten and soon after the pager went as did my mobile phone several times to announce an Upland Sandpiper in Somerset at Kingston Seymour. Within the hour I was southbound with Tony and Paul. We walked up to the seawall on arrival and sure enough a cracking Upland Sandpiper was there, a life tick for me, and not only that it was getting closer and closer. It came within 20 feet of us and I managed one really rubbish photo before it moved away again. Then I got home to watch England beat the Aussies at rugby and then England beat the Argentineans at football. Top Bombing! The Upland Sandpiper is c3mls south of Clevedon near Kingston Seymour at Channel View Farm in long grass at the end of the track to the seawall. Walk NW along Middle Lane towards the farm. ST 382 677. Limited parking on Middle Lane and please allow farm access and don't block exits/gateways.

 

Nov 10    Thought it about time I added a few Diary notes. I had moved on to 201 with the sad grounded Fulmar on October 25th. It was flapping frantically but couldn't get off of the mud. I just hope the morning tide rescued it. 

This morning I got up at 5am and travelled the short distance to Coombe Hill Meadows where Andy Jayne had found a Grey Phalarope yesterday. I was on a very short time schedule, needing to be in work for 8am. I arrived in the dark and eventually set off for the hide at 6:15am. It was decidedly dodgy getting to the hide in the dark, glad I had wellies and waterproof trews because the water was at wellie-top level. One more heavy shower and the level will be above normal wellie tops. The light was just passable at 6:55am but there was no sign. As I made a final sweep with my scope at 7:10am the phalarope flew out in front of the hide from the right and settled on the water for only two minutes maximum before flying further left. I didn't see it land and had no time to look. So 202 for the year now. Well done Andy for finding both phalaropes this year. Perhaps you'd like to finish the set with Wilson's. 

On the sporting front I finally managed to get to Kingsholm on Saturday where Glos turned over Falcons 27-20. Jonny Wilkinson looks in good nick. It was nice to be back there. Even Wolves won 2-0 to complete a perfect day. 

On Sunday I ventured out of the County (see I can do it!) and went to Bredon Hill in Worcs arriving at 8am where I spent three hours looking for the male Pied Wheatear that had been seen by just six birders on Saturday evening. It was worse than Cleeve and that's rich coming from me. The conditions were atrocious - driving rain, hail and strong cold winds - at one point you couldn't see other birders who were only ten feet away. There was predictably no sign and no chance. It would've been a lifer for me too. I did have a Ring Ouzel but that was hardly compensation.

 

Oct 27    For those of you who don't look at the forum here's an interesting story which appeared on the BBC today. Looks like we can all tick Beaver soon. Click here.

 

Oct 26    Today I am pleased to put on-line Rob Miles October 2005 Majorca Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

Oct 24    Another quiet weekend this time working Purton thoroughly in the hope of turning up a Firecrest or Yellow-browed Warbler or even a Pallas's. Loads of crests, tits and finches but no luck. Probably the biggest phenomenon of the weekend was the massive numbers of Woodpigeons on passage, at least 12000 reported on Sunday. A few Bramblings are in together with good numbers of winter thrushes and the Hill Trolls have had a real treat with great numbers of lingering Ring Ouzels on Cleeve. Having seen some in the spring I didn't return because I tend to like my car to have windows and wheels. There is a request from Gareth on the Forum for all of your Red Crested Pochard records this year. Go to the Forum here.

 

Oct 18    A relatively quiet weekend with lots of effort, with Bridgette being away, but no new species. The visible migration over WWT on Sunday morning was spectacular with a constant flow of birds all of which seemed to be going north, the bulk of which were Redwings. Sporting achievement at the weekend drew blanks with Gloucester abysmal at Bath and Wolves losing too, and I had to put up with the goading of a certain Bath-supporting warden on Sunday morning to boot. Honestly, one Little Crake and he's king of the world. 

I've revamped the Message Board into a proper forum, which I hope you will visit and start using - visit it here. Additionally I've received from Paul Bowerman the following link of a new website for Dawlish Warren. 

 

Oct 11    It was brilliant at WWT on Saturday on the wader walk at high tide, despite getting soaked it was, at last, well worthwhile. We gathered at the river's edge under Dave Paynter's supervision and as the mud began to clear the juvenile Baird's Sandpiper dropped in with two Ruff for all of five seconds. I saw it as did Jon Mercer, but could I tick it on that view. I needn't have worried because it eventually returned and got closer and closer until it was only about 25 feet away. Absolutely brilliant views taking me to 199. 

This afternoon I went to Fretherne as I've had a couple of days holiday. This was my reward for spending much of yesterday in Ikea. To be honest it was only a six metre tide and it was almost completely dead. I picked out a juvenile Wheatear and followed it along the bank. It reappeared with a second bird and I thought it was another Wheatear, but it didn't seem quite right. I stuck the scope on it and almost fell in the river, it was a stunning Snow Bunting, gorgeous in buff and white. The second I have found in Glos and more importantly bird number 200.

 

Oct 03    I haven't written for a while because circumstances have dictated what I've been up to. I didn't really get back to birding until this weekend when I watched two feeble tides at Sharpness in the hope of picking up a stray seabird or a seaduck, but to no avail. I managed to catch up with the Wryneck a couple of weeks ago, which took me to 197. Tonight after a quick doctor's visit I got to WWT before closing, in time to see the juvenile Red-necked Phalarope, which was found there today. So 198 with two to go and after missing most of September's rarities I feel back on track. 

Gloucester remain undefeated and I still haven't got there but I have got tickets for the next home game with Newcastle on November 5th. It'll be nice to see the boys in action again and Jonny will be playing. Wolves continue to exasperate. I'm hoping to be at the Fromebridge on Friday night (7th) and hope to see some of you there.

 

Sep 21    Today I am pleased to put on-line Ben Macdonald's August 2005 France and Spain Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

On a very sad personal note Bridgette's father died suddenly on Friday, so many thanks to those who have sent commiserations. Consequently updating may be sporadic for the next week at least.

 

Sep 14    At last my barren patch is over - I saw the stunning Little Crake, found by James Lees, this afternoon. A County tick for all-comers. I've missed at least half a dozen species in the last couple of weeks and was beginning to wonder where my luck had gone. In the spring I didn't miss a thing, but now it was getting desperate. So four to go to the magic 200 and I'm feeling a bit more confident. I don't think the crake was on anybody's Glos year list predictions. Now the sport - the Ashes win was brilliant restoring everyone's faith and interest in English cricket. Glos pinched a win off Sale at the weekend after nicking a draw at Worcester the previous week. I haven't got there yet but will be at the next game. Wolves are doing what they do best - Glorious Inconsistency.

 

Sep 05    A weekend away meant more species down the pan in Glos for me. However whilst at my in-laws near Hemel Hempstead I made two visits to Wilstone Reservoir. I was rewarded with a Black-necked Grebe, 2+ Garganeys, two Hobbies and a massive count of 185 Mute Swans. On the Saturday lunchtime I watched a small raptor passage for an hour when I had three Hobbies, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard and a Raven (both the latter species very scarce in Herts). Just five miles down the road a couple of Honey Buzzards went through. Coming home yesterday we had five Red Kites on the Bucks/Oxford border.

 

Aug 31    I hope you all had a great Bank Holiday weekend. It was fairly quiet in the County birdwise and the Baird's didn't reappear. I made two early morning visits to WWT with no luck, a flock of 19 Knot that I saw with Martin was the highlight. A good count for Glos. 

I enjoyed the Test even though it got a bit tight towards the end. I hope it rains for all five days next week and the Aussies go home empty handed, after all they've been saved by the weather once already. Also the football is back and I don't want to get too excited but Wolves have started well, nice 3-1 win last night. Better still the rugby's not far away now, I'm suffering from Shed depravation. 

On Monday all the family took a picnic down to New Fancy View. My main interest was staving off my brother-in-law's bowling in the family cricket match but I did have 23 Crossbills over at 5pm. Then whilst the girls went blackberrying I wandered off and found 2+ Willow Tits at the entrance to the wood by the lower car park. It took me ages to connect when I was really searching earlier in the year! The list is on stop now and hasn't moved since July 15th when I got the Sandwich Tern in the Water Park to reach 195. I don't know where the five to get to 200 are coming from. Missing the Baird's was a blow and there are no easy ones left although I need Firecrest and Brent and most of the seabirds.

 

Aug 22    For the first Sunday in a long while I didn't go to WWT and whilst my back was turned that Baird's Sandpiper turned up again and was seen by the lucky few on the wader walk or on the spot at the time. Never mind we had a good day at Kingsholm for Gloucester's open day. I enjoyed throwing a ball around with Michael and my nephew and niece, and even scored a couple of drop goals, which I enjoyed. If you're having an off day boys I'll be in the Shed. 

I tried for the Baird's again this morning in poor weather, together with a lot of familiar faces (doesn't anyone work on Mondays?), and unsurprisingly failed. Maybe it will turn up again and settle in front of a hide for the weekend.

 

Aug 15    Today I am pleased to put on-line my August 2005 Lanzarote Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

Aug 12    The wanderer has returned, this time from Lanzarote, a nice relaxing family holiday with some birding thrown in. Not to much to bird really, only 31 species in the week. I set myself five lifers to get - Houbara Bustard, Barbary Falcon, Barbary Partridge, Cream-coloured Courser and Trumpeter Finch. I managed 80% so not too bad - the missing one was Trumpeter Finch, which I thought would be the easiest because it is allegedly fairly common. However I searched from mountain top to coast in all directions and got not a sniff. We didn't go to Fuerteventura in the end because the cost of getting there was prohibitive, at least with a car. A trip report will follow soon. Looks like I've missed the Baird's Sandpiper at WWT but it seems so did everyone else except the lucky finders. Ah well, can't win them all!

 

Jul 27    A couple more record shots of the Hereford Bee-eaters taken today by Gerry Shilham (1) and Dave Pearce (2). I know there was a deluge of Waxwing photos in the winter too but you just got to love these special birds. I want them over Frampton when they go back south.

(1)     (2)

Jul 26    A couple more record shots of the Hereford Bee-eaters taken today by Roy Shilham.

    

Jul 25    Congratulations to Martin and Harriet on the birth of their new baby daughter, Maisie, a sister for Joseph. If you want to add your congratulations I have started a thread on the Message Board.

 

Jul 24    Today I am pleased to put on-line Dave Pearce's 2005 Kos Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. Enjoy!

 

Jul 23    I've just got back from a failed trip to Suffolk for the very elusive Lesser Crested Tern with Richard B, Paul T and Tony. Unfortunately the tern which was settled up until 9:25pm last night at Bawdsey flew out to sea and was not seen again today. However a nice juvenile Marsh Sandpiper at North Warren, Little Terns at Shingle Street and a huge fry-up formed the highlights of an otherwise quiet day. We decided to call it a day at 1pm and when news came through of a pair of breeding Bee-eaters in Herefordshire we decided to head straight there. We eventually got there at around 6pm and had immediate great views, a British tick for me. Now we just want them in Glos when they head back south in the autumn. Because of the time of day the sun was behind them but I managed this record shot, which shows the torrid time the local dragonfly population are in for. We also heard a Quail briefly whilst we were here. The RSPB announcement with directions follows: European Bee-eater - Herefordshire - Hampton Bishop. RSPB has the pleasure to announce (23/07/05) a breeding pair of Bee-eaters at Hampton Bishop, 2 miles southeast of Hereford (SO5538). The birds are feeding chicks within a nest along the River Wye. An RSPB "Aren't Birds Brilliant" viewing scheme is in operation and will last for several weeks. Directions: To 2005 Bee-eater watchpoint: on the B4224 through Hampton Bishop village, drive to the "Bunch of Carrots" public house and then carefully follow signs to access a small lane running behind the pub and alongside the River Wye for 1/4 mile in a southwesterly direction until reaching Colcombe Coach Farm. Access and parking has been kindly provided by the owners of the farm and parking is £2 per car. Park ONLY in the signed stubble field car park and do not park in Hampton Bishop village. Please follow all on site instructions and it is essential that visitors view only from the designated watchpoint to eliminate any risk of disturbance to the birds.

 

Jul 19    I'd just like to welcome Mark Hobson to the Birding League, who is the first of several lurkers to break silence and submit a score. All newcomers are very welcome still. The 200 Club still only has two members and I'm sure it would liven their meetings up with a few more members, especially when one of them can't make it.

 

Jul 17    An excellent weekend with two more species for the County list but one dipped. Friday night saw me shooting up to the Water Park following calls from Richard and Gareth to tick off an adult Sandwich Tern roosting on the Glos half of Pit 32. That took me to 194. Today I got species 195, a summer plumaged Sanderling from Mid Point, the last of the easy ones. This afternoon Martin had a Little Tern off Mid Point at 4:10pm and as I was only watching the golf (not a proper sport - no blood!) I shot off down to Sharpness where I spent an hour getting sunburnt and seeing five Redshanks and a Common Gull (but still more exciting than watching golf!). So five species to go to make the magic 200, not sure where they are coming from yet but hope springs eternal. 

This weekend  also saw the publication of the latest edition of "Birdwatch" where Chris Harbard has featured The Gloster Birder as Website of the Month and written a very kind review. This resulted in an amazing 800 hits yesterday. 

Also for those of you who haven't bothered yet please enter the competition  on site. The prizes are excellent books, and don't forget the "Why?" part of Question 2 as some have done, it closes July 31st.

 

Jul 13    As you may have noticed I am pleased to announce that Anser UK are kindly supporting the website for the next year at least, which is very much appreciated by me. I can thoroughly recommend Anser having just returned from their very successful trip to Finland and hope you will also take the opportunity to look at Martin's offerings for the remainder of this year and next. Further details will be published as and when available. 

On Sunday I was able to advance my County list by two species. First Willow Tits at Woorgreens (at the top of the path through from the lake) and then Mediterranean Gull. I was discussing what I hadn't seen with Martin and James by the WWT Centre and as I mentioned Med Gull they simultaneously spotted an adult summer Med circling above us. Now that's lucky! I failed to turn the Buzzard cruising through north into a Honey though. 

This morning at work I stepped outside to make a call on my mobile at 9:15am and looked up to see a large tern sp going away from me to the NW. It could have been Sandwich but it may have been even better. Steve Dark had a large tern sp SW over Hardwicke last night going down with the gulls to roost. It would be nice to nail it.

 

Jul 09    Thursday night Richard B, Paul T, Tony and I made a spontaneous decision to go to Anglesey to twitch the Sooty Tern, which had been located on the Skerries two miles offshore. Tony booked us onto a boat and we travelled up after work yesterday at 11:30am. We arrived in good time to get our 4:30pm boat out of Amlwch (pronounced Amlock). We saw a host of seabirds on the way out to the Skerries, including Puffins and Manxies, and also several Harbour Porpoises and Grey Seals. As we stopped at the Skerries in under a minute I picked up the Sooty Tern in my bins in front of the lighthouse. We had excellent flight views over the next half an hour, heard it call a couple of times, and although it threatened to land several times it never did. A brilliant lifer for all of us, worth every penny. It was good to get really close views of so many Arctic Terns too, something we don't get in Glos very often. I didn't manage to get any close-up photos but see Surfbirds, however when I downloaded this pic of the lighthouse the Sooty Tern is the bird right at the pinnacle of the lighthouse, and I didn't even know it was there at the time.

 

Jul 06    I thought I'd better write a piece for the Diary just so you know what I'm up to. The answer is not much really. It's gone very quiet. I've been suffering with the Lions and now its just a matter of weeks before I can start suffering with Gloucester and Wolves again. I haven't done much birding apart from lots of hours trying to track down Firecrest but there appear to be none at any of the traditional sites this year. I managed to bump the County year list on to 191 at the weekend with the addition (finally) of Green Sandpiper. I've met James the new Warden at WWT, see News and despite blagging some nice prizes for a competition, only one person has entered, so get cracking it's free. 

I am still actively seeking sponsorship for the website because I'm now having to pay for the privilege of providing you with information now that all of my free webspace is full. I have a couple of irons in the fire and was also pleased to receive a donation this week after the Press Association bought some photos which appeared on the site. As always all donations will be gratefully received. 

Its a pity that Graham's Gull-billed Tern didn't linger at the weekend as that would have been a County tick for everyone, maybe it will turn up on the river. 

 

Jun 16    Today I am pleased to put on-line my June 2005 Finland Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. Enjoy!

 

Jun 13    I'm back from Finland tired but happy. First many thanks to Bridgette for keeping the site ticking over. Second a big thank you to Martin McGill for sorting out the trip in the first place. It was excellent, a great bunch of lads and a good craic had by all. Memorable moments included being the first Finnature led group of the year to get all eight owl species, Three-toed Woodpecker, singing male Red-flanked Bluetail, singing male Rustic and Little Buntings, bizarrely co-operative Hazel Grouse and Terek Sandpiper displaying to name but a few. We had about 20 hours sleep all week, it didn't get dark so we didn't stop birding. The only downside was birding at times in Mosquito Central, but the birds took away the pain. If you're not jealous yet here's a taster from the trip report I am writing, my number one world bird finally achieved - Great Grey Owl.

Jun 06    Today I am pleased to put on-line Phil Pope's May 2005 Kazakhstan Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

 

May 30    An interesting week with six new species added taking me to 189 for the County. The best of these was the Whiskered Tern, which graced Pit 16 in the Water Park for several days, allowing most people to add this cracking tern to their County Lists. A couple of near misses in recent years have been at Bredons Hardwick (Worcs) and CWP Pit 74 (Wilts), the latter eluding everyone except Mo when it briefly visited Glos. I went up on the first night to see it and eventually succeeded after it had been missing for 50 minutes. A lot of new and old faces were there, which made for even better birding (I think I even saw Elvis). On the way along the back lanes at Witcombe I had a Polecat cross the road in front of the car. Other additions this week included a Turnstone and Curlew Sandpiper at Saul Warth, a Spotted Flycatcher at Newent Woods and last night Woodcock and Nightjars in the Forest of Dean. I had excellent views of both of the latter species. At 10pm a Woodcock landed on the path only a metre from me and in the same minute a Nightjar landed almost on my feet before snatching a large pale moth and flying off. Exhilarating stuff! I am only going to publish records of Nightjar from the well-known site at Tidenham but please send me your other Nightjar records still and I will pass them on. Other highlights this week have been the very late Glaucous Gull at Frampton, a Barn Owl at Saul, a Peregrine and two Hobbies together over Saul at dusk, a very noisy Great Spotted Woodpecker nest at Newent Woods, a Goshawk hunting through a pine-stand, Speckled Yellow moths, Wood White butterflies and a Smooth Newt in a water-filled tyre-track also at Newent.

 

May 18    Today I am pleased to put on-line Gordon Hodgson's May 2004 China Trip Report, which includes some stunning photos of much wanted Sibes, as a result please be patient while it loads, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

 

May 16     An exceptional weekend which kicked off on Thursday when I got a call from Gordon Hodgson to say he had just had two Black-winged Stilts fly over the Sailing Lake at Frampton. At this point I didn't realise that Dave Paynter had already had them over the Trust. Then they turned up at South Lake, where they settled for about 30minutes. As I pulled in to the car park at WWT Paul Taylor rang to say they had just flown off north. I decided to head for the flashes at Saul which had been showing promise for a while, after all we'd had Little Egrets, White Stork and Garganey there, so they ought to feel at home. I arrived there just a couple of minutes ahead of Paul, and there they were. Wow! I enjoyed watching them for a few minutes with Paul whilst wrecking my mobile phone bill for the umpteenth time this Spring. Anyway the upshot is they remained settled there throughout the weekend allowing most people to connect with them. They were still there last night at 9pm when I left but not there at 6:30am today. Sadly, the hoped for breeding didn't come to fruition, just as I was getting used to the idea of a few nights in a tent. I visited them every day and twice on Sunday. 

Friday afternoon a bonus year tick turned up at WWT, a Long-tailed Duck, very late but very much appreciated. I also  had another Red Kite over Slimbridge crossroads as I drove to see the duck. 

Saturday morning I added a Wood Sandpiper at Saul and Common Terns at the Sailing Lake to my County year list. Saturday evening those of us who jumped quickly were rewarded with a quite stunning adult summer White-winged Black Tern on Pit 16 at CWP. I also added an Arctic Tern and Black and Common Terns were there as well. Unfortunately this bird didn't stay for the next day visitors. 

Sunday I visited the stilts in the afternoon and again in the evening. They looked brilliant and well settled in the evening sunset. A Hobby flew through north at 8:35pm being seen off by hirundines and was my 183rd County bird this year. If I don't do 200 now I never will.

 

May 09     I posted this on the Message Board and got little response so I'll post it again here because I know some of you don't go there. I have been contacted by three different visiting American birders, requiring some guided time whilst in Glos.
Muriel and husband are here from California from Tuesday May 31 to Thursday June 2 based in B-O-T-W. Dan is here from Georgia from Saturday May 28 to Saturday June 11 based in Cheltenham. Ray and wife are here from Philadelphia in late September based in the Cotswolds.
I am having trouble finding some time to show Muriel around for a day because I am working. The other guys I should be able to give some weekend time to. If anyone is prepared to take Muriel and her husband birding I would be grateful, as would they.
If you think you can help in any of these instances, but particularly the first, please contact me. Thanks.

A good weekend adding five species to my County Year List. On Saturday morning whilst in Almondsbury having been to a charity ball the night before and still a little muzzy, I got a call from Richard to say that there was a nice drake Scaup on the flashes at Saul. I wrote it off thinking it would have definitely pushed off by the time I got back around midday. Fortunately it hadn't and gave good views to all-comers for the whole weekend. Saturday night on the top of a nine metre tide I added a Knot and also White Wagtail. Sunday morning's tide again a big one produced zip, but a Greenshank and Little Ringed Plover in the 100-Acre were year ticks taking me to 176.

 

May 05     I thought it was was about time I did a bit of an update. To those of you who forgot my 50th Birthday last week thank you, to those who remembered thanks for rubbing it in. A great weekend starting at West Down on the Friday afternoon, yes, I know I said I was done with Cleeve Hill but where else was I guaranteed great views of Grasshopper Warblers. 

Saturday morning I flogged around Frampton and Fretherne mostly with Andy Chapman and added only Swifts for my efforts. My favourite summer visitor though, always great to see. 

Sunday I was back at Saul Warth and was joined by Jake. We had great views of the large pale Saker-type falcon hunting in tandem with a Peregrine. It seemed as though nothing was coming up on the tide but late on an adult Black Tern arrived and gave great views. 

Bank Holiday Monday was one of those days when everything clicked, eventually. I arrived at Nagshead at 6am, birded the fringes for an hour, and it remained locked. Then I drove off and walked in to the Lower hide returned at 7:40am and it was still locked. Excellent. At this point I had seen very little so I drove off to Woorgreens. I immediately year-ticked Garden Warbler by the lake then cut through to the circular walk leading up to Crabtree Hill. I could hear Turtle Doves crooning but seeing them was something else. The trees have grown alarming tall through here now, no good for Nightjars, but eventually I saw a couple of the doves in flight. Arriving in the woods in the Crabtree Hill area I heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming and then calling. I just sat quietly and was rewarded when the male landed in front of me and was joined by a female. Fabulous! Walking back down to the lake I found a female Whinchat, which was a bonus. When I got back to the car I still hadn't found a Redstart so I crossed the road to where Phil had had one. I didn't but more surprisingly I found a singing Wood Warbler, another bonus with Nagshead closed. I crossed back to the car and poured a coffee before driving home and heard a male Redstart start singing near the lake. I walked back a few yards and was rewarded with excellent views. Six ticks in a morning taking my County year list to 171. If I don't get 200 this year I don't think I ever will.

Also this weekend I went to the Glos-Saracens match with Michael and witnessed some outrageous daylight robbery. We came away feeling aggrieved that Sara's didn't get a point they weren't given by the touch judge or ref. Thanks also to my lovely family especially Bridgette for the party after the match. I didn't drink too much, we didn't need the Fire Brigade despite 50 candles on the cake, even though putting burnt out fireworks into a chiminea proved not a great idea, but very funny. PS don't try that at home kids.

 

Apr 24     Well what a good week! I've been on holiday so apologies for the lack of updates mid-week but advertising the house empty on the Net didn't seem like a good plan. The first part of the week I added Reed Warbler, Whimbrel, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Flycatcher, Tawny Owl, Tree Pipit, Marsh Harrier, Sedge Warbler, Nightingale and Common Sandpiper to my County Year List. Then it was off to the in-laws where I did very little birding but still saw Red Kites, Ring-necked Parakeets and Little Owl in between visiting a theme park, ten-pin bowling, eating out and fixing my father-in-law's PC. 

Arriving back last night I decided on an early start at Coombe Hill Meadows today. The Egyptian Goose was back and Whitethroats were also a tick. Then I went down to Fretherne where it had the air of a southern headland with at one point eight County birders together. Spot the familiar faces in the group opposite, answers on an e-mail. It was an excellent morning and I added more year ticks - Bar-tailed Godwits and better still a dark phase Arctic Skua which flew through quite close at 8:20am. Also notable were two Avocets and two beautiful drake Garganeys. At 10am everyone drifted away towards their cars except Dave Pearce. I had further to go because I had walked in from Cadbury Bridge. It was then I reaped the rewards of this added exercise. As I walked through the strip of woodland I noticed the ducks and waders had all gone up, so I scanned for a raptor, immediately latching on to a large black and white bird. My initial thought was Osprey but within seconds I knew it was a White Stork. I rang Dave, who at that point hadn't seen it, but in turning to answer his phone he saw it too. I then rang the other seven (bang goes the phone bill again) but all had left. It wasn't picked up again even though it followed the river north. Maybe it will settle at Ashleworth Ham like the 1998 bird or even return to Stoke Orchard tip like last year's bird. A brilliant bonus bird. Whilst searching for it I picked up a Lesser Whitethroat at Elmore taking me to 162, so maybe 200 is on with just 38 to go.

 

Apr 15     I thought I'd catch up with a bit of news as I haven't written for a while. I've had a good couple of weeks despite nearly turning into a Hill Troll with too many visits (i.e. more than one) to Cleeve Hill. I eventually caught up with Ring Ouzels, Great Grey Shrike and the added bonus of a Red Kite. I also managed to gain good views of the Cattle Egret on the one evening it settled on the Bull Ground. I've also added Cuckoo, Merlin (which I had started to think I'd missed again) and House Martins today, taking my County list for the year to 146. 

I've been having e-mail provider problems all week, so if you've sent me a mail and I didn't acknowledge it then please send it again, because I always acknowledge received mails. 

I have also received this letter from Mike Williams, landowner at Nebrow Hill. 

"Dear Mike, 

I've just been viewing your website, very informative it is too, and very long. I would like to make a few comments if I may regarding the site here at Nebrow, its future and the visitors who enjoy its special appeal. Firstly, the sites public access agreement was for a 10 year period which runs out in about four years time. I will then decide whether to keep open in the present arrangements or to close the site. Now here's the crunch - Litter, dog mess etc is a slight problem but not a serious one. The one problem I have is people (birders or otherwise) tampering with property which they have no right to interfere with, namely Larson traps. Last year I had a bird released and the trap smashed to pieces. This year I have had birds released, the last one on this last Monday by a man carrying binoculars. If the man in question gets to read this via your website he will know who he is, and remember 'I know who he is' so he had better be on his best behaviour if he revisits us at Nebrow. Could I remind your friends that the use of Larson traps is fully legal and supported albeit unofficially by the RSPB. I know on your site you describe me as the enlightened owner, but this enlightenment is and will continue to be eroded if this interference continues. The ultimate loser is the many caring visitors who will be denied access due to the actions of a few ignorant individuals whose selfish attitude has no place here at Nebrow. I would appreciate if possible for you to include this letter on your website and would like to assure all genuinely caring birders a warm welcome at Nebrow for the foreseeable future. 

Regards Mike Williams". 

If this was you or you know who it was please leave the traps alone. They are often used on reserves for the removal of corvids and even if you don't agree please don't interfere. We don't want the selfish actions of one individual spoiling the birding opportunities for everyone else. 

I would also like to thank Mike Smart for his site guide to The Severn Hams and to Juliet Bailey for her photos. If any of you would like to provide pieces on areas of the County not covered I would be very grateful.

 

Apr 03     On Friday a Belted Kingfisher turned up in Staffordshire. I was at home, if I had got in the car and gone then I would have seen it easily. However because it was April 1st (hmmm!), the M6 on Friday afternoons is a nightmare and because I had just seen a nice Little Gull on the Sailing Lake and was feeling quite settled at home I didn't bother. At the bird meeting that night (who let Jeremy back into England?) I decided to go on the Saturday morning early with Paul T and Richard B. It would be an easy run up, nice early arrival, bird ticked off and home for lunch. Well, the first two were right, it was an easy run and we did arrive early. We gathered on the shores of a small lake in Shugborough Park with hundreds of other expectant birders and waited, and waited, and waited. Are you getting the picture here? I did find a nice Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which was very welcome but as for the Belted Kingfisher, it was a no show. The massed hundreds spread out and swarmed all over the surrounding countryside, looking diligently and failing, and finally all converging back to the lake. Then the pager went off around midday "Belted Kingfisher showing well" - birders charging towards the shore at top speed, and then we read the rest of the message - "in East Yorkshire". Yes, I know, we should have gone home, after all Paul and I had seen dozens in the States anyway - but Richard hadn't and it was only 1½ hours away. So we joined the birding convoy northwards, together with Tony, and arrived at Eastrington in the stated time. Great, but no news had come on the pager until we were just three miles away from there, then we got the dreaded "No sign" message. Then the comedy got even better, this bird had the stupidity to pick a small pond off a barely single track road. 500+ cars were trying to park on the verges. It was a bus route and two Double Deckers were converging on each other from either end of the lane and obviously couldn't pass. We left and parked a mile away safely in a lay-by and enjoyed watching the ensuing mess from a safe distance. The lane was chaos, the kind of stuff the popular press just loves to beat twitching with. The bus drivers called the police, the residents called the police, the police called more police. Oh and did I mention the bird had been gone for four hours at this point. It emerged that a birder in the hide saw this bird fly over, didn't recognise it, called a mate who he described it to, and the mate called the pagers on realising what it was. "Carry On Birding!", I want the film rights. We went home.

Today was much better. I snuck out to Frampton the see a beautiful summer-plumaged Red-necked Grebe, a County tick for me. I also got a Cetti's Warbler calling taking me to 140 species for the County this year.

 

Mar 29     I hope you all had a good Easter. Mine was quieter than I planned due to my car packing up in Coventry on Good Friday on the way back from my daughter's graduation, two days after I got it back from a £300 repair! At least it was on the way back. A House Martin was darting around her college building whilst we were there. I think that this was probably my earliest ever and before I had seen the usual earlier hirundines. The fact we had to get a tow back cost me the Great Grey Shrike but that may yet be seen again. Many thanks to Paul M and Mark for lifts over the weekend, so I at least caught up with the Black-necked Grebe at Frampton and Paul and I jammed into a Red Kite on Cleeve. The year list continues apace and I've only missed a couple and the only one not liable to reappear is John's one day Franklin's Gull.

 

Mar 20     Another good weekend starting with the Avocet at WWT, after missing it in poor weather on Wednesday night. I also saw my first Kingfishers of the year which are resettling at South Finger and look like being a popular draw over the next few months. Saturday morning saw me heading for Aylburton early on, but by the time I got to Westbury the fog had influenced my decision to go to Woorgreens first. Frankly it wasn't much better and was also very quiet. By mid-morning things were improving so I headed on down to Aylburton. After a lot of patient searching I found a couple of Water Pipits, first seen by Ian on the 11th. Also I saw my first Ringed Plover of the year and got a buzz out of seeing a cracking male Wheatear. Nice to see migration under way. 

This morning I nipped down to Frampton but didn't find any Sandies, just the two Whoopers, now a long-term fixture at Splatt. Mid-afternoon I got a call from Jake to say he had found two drake Garganey on his patch, so I drove down and was very soon enjoying this smartest of all visiting ducks. 131½ species then, I had a singing Blackcap but couldn't see it. Only 69 to go to get to 200 this year and if this keeps up (and I don't run out of steam) I might just do it. This evening I gained a ludicrous garden tick as I arrived home. A cock Pheasant flew over the house, it must have been totally disorientated to be flying over a housing estate quite high up. Sadly still no Waxwings even though they have got within a few hundred yards now but just out of sight.

 

Mar 14     A good weekend but not too much successful birding. On Saturday Michael and I went off to Twickers where we picked up the biggest rarity of the weekend, an England win, 39-7 against Italy. We reserved our biggest cheer for Andy Hazell's try for the Shed at the end of the game. People were looking at us like we were mad. I met Dave at the station when we left Gloucester and as I had my mini-digital, this is why there was a crowd there - King Edward I. I also picked up a year tick from the train at Didcot when we saw a Red Kite quartering the field as we pulled away from the station. 

On Sunday morning I went to Frampton and saw very little of note apart from the two adult Whooper Swans which are now settled just out from Splatt Bridge. It was Michael's 17th birthday so it wasn't clever timing when Neil rang with a report of a Spoonbill at WWT. As the older relly's were sleeping off lunch or watching the rugby, the kids were on the Playstation and the women were in full-jabber overdrive, I crept out to Slimbridge, where I met Richard B. We did all the hides and drew a blank before we heard that it had flown off north. Then we shot off to Frampton where we failed again and I could feel Brownie points spilling all around me. We did see the large Falcon sp. at WWT which I saw at Green Lane on Friday. It is large and pale with a dark mask so don't get too excited if you see it. 

This evening I tried again and finally found the Spoonbill feeding along a channel in the Bull Ground. 

I received this today from Jerry Lewis following the publication of Richard Newton's Hawfinch photo in the Sightings. "Mike, I was told of the recent photo of Hawfinch on The Gloster Birder site.  The bird sports a very fine yellow ring that was put on when I caught the bird near Chepstow in May of last year.  This is now the second colour ring sighting I have had, first went from Brierley (winter feeding site) to Nagshead (breeding season). Could you encourage birders to look out for c/r Hawfinch anywhere in the Dean/Lower Wye Valley and report any sighting to the website or to me on this e-mail address?  Birds would have a grey metal ring on one leg and a single colour on the other (either dark blue, red, yellow or white).  There are also likely to be a few birds around with just a metal ring on the left leg.  Sightings of these or of birds definitely unringed would also be useful. The c/r project is scheduled to last for the next two years and is supported by RSPB and FE, its aim is to get a better understanding of birds' movements around the Forest during the different seasons, and relies heavily on birder's sightings.  Hope you are able to put something on the website, let me know if you want more information".  Jerry. So if you see any Hawfinches and note details please pass them on to Jerry.

 

Mar 08    Today I am pleased to put on-line Dave Pearce's February/March 2005 Fuerteventura Trip Report click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

 

Mar 07    A mixed weekend. I picked up Rock Pipits easily Saturday morning between Sharpness and Berkeley Pill and also thirty Waxwings in Quedgeley. Can't get tired of watching them, now can I have one in my garden please. In the afternoon Wolves scored four goals in the same game and didn't draw for once and I managed to fix my daughter's computer. Still not sure why it was broke in the first place. Sunday started well at least with the first Pink-footed Goose at WWT for two years. Then came the rugby. Oh misery. Glos lost in the last minute of extra time in a game they should have won. That's all I want to say on it really, too painful, our seasons over now. Monday started well when I got given two free tickets for Twickers on Saturday so I won't be in the Shed now. Oh and please remember to wish Martin McGill a Happy 34th birthday tomorrow by Message Board, fax, phone, e-mail or carrier Wigeon.

 

Mar 01    A very cold Saturday morning saw Jake and I at WWT to look for the female-type American Wigeon. We went to the Holden Tower first, adding Little Stint to my year list on the way at Halfway (Robbie Garnett) hide. Two Ruff on South Lake were also a tick. When we got to Lathbury hide Jake picked up the putative American Wigeon straight away. We were lucky that it was feeding very close to the hide out of the water. It is a very pale bird with a good dark mask on a very grey head, with grey descending onto the top of the breast. It was extremely aggressive to the Eurasian Wigeons with it. I have seen this behaviour before from Am Wigs in Cornwall. Unfortunately, like Martin we were unable to see the white underwing that would confirm it. 

Sunday I went to the Forest early and was unable to find Willow Tit at Brierley, but there is a big flock of finches there including 50+ Lesser Redpolls and a couple of Bramblings. In the afternoon I watched England lose again and listened to Glos turn a 22-6 halftime lead into a 27 all draw. Never mind we're above Bath now and we're looking forward to going to Kingsholm Sunday to dump them out of the cup, fingers crossed.

 

Feb 21    Today I am pleased to put on-line Steve Dark's January/February 2005 Sri Lanka Trip Report click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

As to the weekend it was quite a good one. Friday afternoon I loitered around Sudmeadow and whereas John sees Iceland, Ring-billed and Med Gulls, I saw Herring, Common and Black-headed Gulls. So I gave up and travelled the short distance to Bredon's Hardwick to see the male Ring-necked Duck, which was nice and easy, even if it wasn't Glos. 

Saturday morning I found Chedworth Laines and wrapped up all the farm birds except Grey Partridge. Then I went to a freezing snow-capped Cleeve Hill and found one of the Short-eared Owls still hunting and then when it landed, two on the deck together. Brilliant views in perfect light and no camera. In the afternoon Michael and I trooped off to Kingsholm where Glos beat Bath with a brilliant last gasp Brad Davies drop goal when we thought we had lost. Then we trooped off to the pub opposite but not before Danny Grewcock signed autographs for us all. Very nice man, out of boots with studs. Sorry for no update Saturday night I was a bit "tired and emotional" by the time I got home. 

Sunday morning it was back to Chedworth Laines where this time, thanks to Murray and Mark, I got Grey Partridge. Then I had a trawl around the Cotswolds seeing nothing and just as I was about to go home on time Duncan rang me with news of a Black-necked Grebe in Bourton. Well it wasn't there when I got there sadly and I ended up about two hours late as a result. I shall have to behave this week.

 

Feb 15    I've received this WeBS survey information from Martin McGill and thought you might interested. 

"We have finished the monthly WeBS Survey and counted up the totals. As would be expected the wintering birds are departing. We have lost 8200+ birds since the last count on 16th January. The total number of wildfowl and waders using our reserve is 17,072. Shelduck are well up with 465 on site! Nearly all species are down on last month but the Bewick’s Swans, European White-fronted Goose and Pochard are all still here. For how long, who knows. All three are wintering in low numbers…climate change. Shoveler and Gadwall have been scarce this winter. Pintail have been present in good numbers. Moorhen is declining, perhaps due to Coot increasing. Highlights include…Smew, two Whooper Swans, two Spotted Redshanks, a Turnstone (very early date) and two Jack Snipe". Martin McGill. www.wwt.org.uk

 

Feb 14    A decent weekend where I managed to pick up six year ticks the Goshawks at New Fancy View and the male Hawfinch, trying to sing, at Parkend Church, the pick of the bunch. I led a walk with Paul in awful conditions at the Bird Fair Saturday afternoon. It was freezing - there was more chance of getting a Snowy Owl than seeing the Short-eared Owl hunting. A couple of Ravens and a Stonechats were the meagre rewards. I did meet a few old and new friends and put names to faces. Steve's Wales shirt was suddenly prominent for another false dawn. England - Oh Dear! a false dawn would be good. They went from looking like they had France for the taking at half-time to miserable defeat. With kickers that couldn't hit a cow's rear end with a banjo it was hardly surprising. Get well soon, Jonny. 

I've added a new Barn Owl centre event to the Upcoming Events page today and if you check the webcams at www.denburyfarm.co.uk you might get to see a Badger although when I had it on last night a Fox was on view.

 

Feb 10    Today I am pleased to put on-line Andrew Bluett's May/June 2004 Menorca Trip Report click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. Additionally there are several new links on the Birding Links page, including a couple of Badger-cams.

 

Feb 09    Please have a look at Martin's request for quiz teams for the Great West Bird Fair this weekend at WWT. See the Message Board for details. 

For those of you who haven't visited the MB you can find it here

I hope to see a lot of you at this worthy event on Saturday. I'm even leading a walk at 3pm on Saturday afternoon with Paul, where we hope to find a few good birds.

 

Feb 08    I have been asked by Ivailo Nikolov to list this link for a new Bulgarian birding site for those of you wishing to broaden your horizons. It looks really good, click here Birdwatching Bulgaria.

 

Feb 07    I had a very enjoyable bird-free weekend with Bridgette at her parents. Even a glut of Waxwings and the Fudge Duck I visit annually couldn't motivate me (although my birding kit was in the car just in case a mega turned up). We went into London Saturday night to see "Chicago" with the gorgeous Jill Halfpenny. It was a brilliant show. The less said about the weekend's sport the better, Wolves point against Sunderland being the only minor positive. I was especially glad none of you found anything good whilst I was away, but now I'm back so what are you waiting for!

 

Feb 03    I have been asked to list this link for a new photographic site by Paul Bryant - this will take you to a competition and from here you can find their home page, click here Competition. Additionally there is a new Spanish birder's holiday listed tonight on the Birders Holiday page, click here Birders Holidays.

 

Jan 30    A family weekend with more boozing than birding. I did a quick turn around Nebrow Hill Saturday morning and managed to add three year ticks. Sunday morning Bridgette and I stopped in to see the wonderful gathering of Waxwings and birders at St Oswald's Road in the City. I received a couple of requests over the weekend the first from wildlife artist David Miller who has asked me to link to his sites of his brilliant (my words not his) paintings. You can find him at http://www.davidmillerart.co.uk/ and also http://www.wildlife-art-prints.co.uk/. 

The second request of the weekend comes from Matt Prior regarding colour-ringed birds and he says, "I am the chairman of the Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group and am also Conservation Officer of The Wiltshire Ornithological Society. I run several colour ringing programmes and have seen that some of your contributors have seen our birds. A Chiffchaff on 22nd January was reported as having blue and green rings on a leg. It is critical to know whether blue was over green or green over blue and which leg they were on. Sorry to be so exacting but with the correct information we can detail what these birds are doing and how long they are staying. This is contributing to a PhD project. Gareth Harris of the Cotswold Water Park Society has put an article on Glos Naturalists website http://www.glosnats.org.uk/ I run the Wiltshire Tree Sparrow Recovery Project and have ringed over 3000 Tree Sparrows in north Wiltshire in the last four years. I know that some of our birds have turned up at Harnhill. Is there any chance that you could ask your observers in that area to look out for Tree Sparrows with colour rings - they will have two colour rings on one leg and a metal on the other, it is important to know which colour is over the other and on which leg. I can let the observer know how far any birds have moved and from what year. I have several Tree Sparrow sites within 10 miles of Harnhill and know that some of my birds will be there. Many thanks, Matt."

 

Jan 22    An excellent day. I started at Sudmeadow together with Neil and Paul. Best birds were a first-winter Glaucous Gull, an adult Caspian Gull and a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull. The birds are coming to rest and bathe on waste ground viewable from the football club car park or on waste ground at nearby Spinnaker Road. Please note there is strictly no access onto the nearby landfill site. 

When Michael and I drove past Hempsted bridge on the way to Kingsholm there were 25 Waxwings in a tree by the traffic lights. Glos were much better this week and easily dumped Bristol out of the Powergen Cup 21-0. The icing on the cake coming home was hearing that Wolves had scored in the last minute to beat Millwall, and my next-door neighbours are avid Millwall supporters. Bliss!

 

Jan 16    This morning I went out at first light and made the 45 minute journey into Worcestershire to see the male Pine Bunting, which was discovered yesterday. I had excellent views along with Paul, Richard B, Jon, Steve O and Tony. I don't have a very good record with Pine Buntings so this was like a lifer for me. I had seen the grey female at Tyne and Wear years ago and also seen the Halesowen male for all of 30 seconds. In addition I have dipped before in Dagenham and Norfolk. A male Merlin hunting through the flock for half an hour early on was a welcome but nervous sight. Directions are as follows: The bird is present with large numbers of Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings in a narrow strip of maize and seeds at New Farm, 2.5 miles west of Pershore and 0.75 miles south of Wadborough (South Worcs) (SO 905 465). Please park in the farmyard with the yellow barn west of the minor road to Besford and follow all on-site instructions. An access charge of £2.00 will be made.

 

Jan 15    Well what a good day! I headed off out of my natural habitat of Frampton this morning for the far realms of the County and was rewarded with seeing the Bittern at Whelford Pools emerge from its roost at first light and start to feed along the reed edge. I moved on to Dudgrove pit where three very close cormorants showed Neanderthal brows and thin bills revealing them to be Shags. I could hardly believe it. I found one last year too, a ten-minute bird on Frampton Sailing Lake, but this time I had a camera. I needn't have worried, they stayed all day and provided a County tick for several grateful birders. Back to the Water Park proper, via Harnhill, where Tree Sparrows seemed to be in every tree. At Pit 44 a large count of 45 Red Crested Pochards and on Pit 57 a drake Smew and four super drake Goldeneyes, one displaying with that characteristic head-to-back movement - to another drake. Ah, well with no females around what you gonna do? This afternoon I watched Wasps get dumped out of the Heineken Cup and listened to Wolves stuff the Hammers 4-2. This evening a nice chilli and a bottle of Australian white. Life is good, and maybe even better tomorrow at Kingsholm.

 

Jan 14    I received this in the mail today. "VIREO has now made much of its collection of images available online free, with search capability. The URL is http://vireo.acnatsci.org/. Enjoy".

 

Jan 10    An excellent weekend, very relaxing and a few good birds thrown in. The best of these being the four Waxwings, which visited Rob Phillips' garden on Saturday. It was great to see Rob and to get a nice cuppa whilst watching the birds. I certainly needed it after the Friday night pub meeting - did I mention Nick Goatman was 40? I was at Slimbridge earlier in the day and saw a good selection of species here along with Jake, including Tundra Bean Goose, Ruddy Shelduck (probably dodgy, but nice anyway), Spotted Redshank and hundreds of other waders. 

Sunday morning I tried and failed at Jack Snipe and Little Owl in Quedgeley and found Frampton to be quite dead only managing four new species for the year. 

Friday afternoon on the way home from work I was lucky first time with Dipper at Bonds Mill. 

Year list up to 85. I'll post it on the Glos Year List just to inspire the rest of you to do better than me, which shouldn't be difficult. Let's see if we can increase the membership of the Glos 190 Club, which numbers six birders since we started in 2002, and includes the exclusive Glos 200 Club of Neil and Martin (their meetings are boring when one sends an apology). 

I received this interesting thread on possible Whistling/Tundra Swans (Nearctic race of Bewick's Swan) in Somerset from Paul Marshall http://pub13.bravenet.com/forum/1065729998/show/375499 So it might be worth having a good look through any Bewick's you come across, especially away from Slimbridge.

 

Jan 03    A Happy New Year to you all, I hope it is a good one and filled with lifers. 

I started the New Year at Moreton-in-the-Marsh and froze for three hours waiting for a Waxwing that didn't show. I moved on to the Water Park where a drake Smew brightened the day. A quiet start with 47 species. 

Yesterday I went to the Forest which was also quite quiet but I managed to get Bramblings and Crossbills, the latter I didn't see at all in 2004. I finished the day on 60 species. For those that are interested I will kick-off the Year-listing soon. Tony did well to finish top of the table on 196, however a special mention must go to Martin McGill and Neil Smart who both exceeded 200 species in 2004. Martin's final total was 208. I could have easily made 200 if I had been a bit more enthusiastic about some species, but I'm afraid apathy set in after Florida in October. I just couldn't face 70 mile round trips for certain species I had seen already nationally. Still I expect I'll have another lash this year. 

Last night I was back at Kingsholm for the first time in a while and we witnessed a very "professional" defeat from Leicester. After two Glos tries in the first twelve minutes I had hoped for better. Did get to meet Martin Johnson though. Damn, he's huge!

I have moved the Sightings and Diary for 2004 to the Archives section.