Diary 2006    

Dec 31    I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year with lots of good birds in 2007. This looks like being the first New Year I've seen in on my own in a long while. Our guests for tonight cancelled through illness and as we've been decorating all day Bridgette's tired and gone to bed, so I'm on my own at 11:30pm and have volunteered to run Dad's Taxi at 2am. At least I'm experiencing a very sober New Year and will be raring to go at first light. I may even get an owl later!

Christmas was excellent and Santa very kindly brought me new Swarovski bins, which are a whole world better than my old Opticron's. 

After the late flurry of seabirds it has gone rather quiet again with the exception of the showy Bittern at WWT. It should be a good bird for many people's Year Lists. I hope some more of you will join the Glos 200 Club this year, Good Luck with that.

Dec 07    Well I did manage to catch up with a few Leach's Petrels on Tuesday, my first in the County since 1989. If you don't see one this week you might never get a better chance. Thanks to the amazing influx of seabirds, which is still continuing Steve Owen too became a member of the Glos 200 Club. Congratulations, Steve. His 200th bird was a Guillemot, a bird I still need for Glos. For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of meeting Steve, that's him on the left, in winter plumage, a noticeable two-tone blue. He was also spotted on migration to the Scilly Isles this autumn.

I suspect the next couple of days will produce more Leach's Petrels as there seems to be a national wreck going on at the moment involving hundreds of birds. Best places are likely to be Fretherne, Sharpness, Beachley, Awre or the Trust although views will be more distant there. I'll see you out there.

Dec 04    What a good weekend! Saturday morning I left for Devon early with Andy Lodge. We travelled down to see the first-winter Falcated Duck, which had arrived with a flock of wintering Wigeon. It's credentials were about as good as it gets with nothing to suggest an escape. It is considered acceptable under UK400 rules. The BOU are never going to consider any rare ducks for the A list ever and will still be thinking about it when I'm drawing my pension. Life's too short and it was a lovely bird anyway! After that I managed to find Andy a nice male Cirl Bunting nearby, a life tick for him, and we were back home by 10:45am. 

In the afternoon I took Bridgette to see Cats in Bristol. Not a patch on "We Will Rock You" though. To cap a good day Glos stuffed Bath (don't give me that meaningless cup game rubbish, its always good to stuff Bath) and even Wolves won away. 

Sunday morning I had no plans to go anywhere but the finding of a Yellow-browed Warbler changed all that. Andy was rather keen to go as he was on 199. So again he picked me up on the way past and I was with him to witness him joining the Glos 200 Club. An action replay left, note the big smile and all memories of dipping that Purple Heron gone forever. Congratulations mate! I know it's a slog having done it last year. Then after I went home he only went off and found a Leach's Petrel at Fretherne. 

Today it just went bonkers with Leach's Petrels everywhere. I'd like to say a great big thank you to Tony, Steve, Rob, Paul, Paul and James for ringing and texting me at work to let me know what I was missing. It was great to be sat at a desk whilst the biggest County influx of Leach's Petrels in living memory was going down. Thanks guys!

Never mind I'm off tomorrow so hopefully I can see some early on.

Dec 01    Please remember tonight's monthly pub meeting will be at the Old Forge at Whitminster again.

Nov 26    It's been pretty quiet since the Murrelet although the Trust has come up with a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Green-winged Teal today. I'm suffering from what Bridgette unkindly refers to as Man-Flu for the last four days and haven't done any birding of note since Devon. I had a few days away last week on a course in France seeing only meeting rooms, hotel rooms and bars but no birds apart from two Red Kites on the way out near Newbury. The sport didn't bring much cheer this weekend either with Glaws (reserves) losing to a last minute drop goal against Brizz, England being awful at rugby and worse at cricket.

Nov 11    I went to Dawlish today to see the amazing Long-billed Murrelet that had been found after initially being identified as a Little Auk. I went with Richard B, Pete and Paul T. When we arrived it was a desperately small white dot near the horizon. After an hour however it flew and got closer and closer before landing. We walked out onto a jetty and had good views but then we moved to a further jetty and the bird came so close we could even see its white eye-ring through bins. An amazing record and a cracking bird. We ran out of petrol on the way home but nobody cared. It may have been a different story if it had happened on the way down. 

Nov 05    I am pleased to put my Scilly Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Oct 31    It seems that the general consensus of opinion is that we should relocate the monthly pub meeting back to the Old Forge at Whitminster for a variety of reasons. Therefore from this month Friday 3rd November 2006 we will back at the Forge. We may have to make a different arrangement in December depending on availability (as we did last year, thanks Richard) but from January it will be the Old Forge on the first Friday of each month onwards. The Old Forge is now a non-smoking pub. Hope to see you there.

Oct 27    I haven't picked up a pair of bins since I've been back from Scilly but it has been pretty quiet. This week I went to see the excellent "We Will Rock You" at the Dominion Theatre in London. If you like Queen then you'll love it. 

The latest Issue 18 of the Welsh Kite Trust newsletter Boda Wennol is out as a pdf at http://www.gigrin.co.uk/w/Bodawennol18.pdf for those of you with an interest in Red Kites.

Oct 22    I am pleased to put Ben Macdonald's Corsica Trip Report online tonight, click here and Frank and Pam Bryant's Bay of Biscay pelagic trip, click here  or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

Oct 19    I am pleased to put Richard Tyler and Dave Pearce's Finland Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. I would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone. It is run by Martin McGill's Anser Birding and is quickly sold out each year. Enquire now for June 2007. You can read the 2005 trip report here. Apologies to everyone else waiting on me clearing the backlog of reports, articles and photographs. 

Oct 15    I'm back from Scilly after a successful week. I had three lifers - Booted, Greenish and Western Bonelli's Warblers. Also Short-toed Lark was a British tick. The American Robin was nice and there was a good supporting cast including American Golden Plover, Spoonbill, Red-backed Shrike, Common Rosefinch, Rose-coloured Starlings, Red-breasted Flycatchers, Yellow-browed Warblers, Lapland Buntings and Snow Bunting and a Spotted Sandpiper on the mainland. Also Queen of Spain Fritillary, Convolvulus and Hummingbird Hawk Moths and Prickly Stick Insects and my first British Monarchs. Thirty Common Dolphins were also notable. Pics below of American Robin, Rose-coloured Starling and Spotted Sandpiper.

Oct 05    I'm off to Scilly tomorrow until the 14th so updates may be sporadic. My family will attempt to update, but try and use the D-I-Y Gloster Birder in the Forum.

Oct 01    After three days off for decorating/household jobs before going off to Scilly I'd banked enough Brownie points to nip off yesterday morning. I decided to go to Stanpit Marsh at Christchurch and have a look at the Marbled Duck (whatever it's merits). It was a fairly straightforward drive down and I arrived at 7am. After three hours I hadn't seen the duck but I had seen the Cattle Egret that was also there. I went back to the car for an early lunch and to renew my parking ticket. I'd only paid for four hours as I didn't think I'd need longer. As I walked back onto the reserve the Marbled Duck had been found. I had no more than ten minutes to enjoy the bird before it was flushed by horses. It flew off and wasn't seen again that day. Was it wild? Well, it was pretty angry when the horses tried to trample it. It was a juvenile, unringed, full-winged and arrived on the coast with another. It was fairly approachable apparently, but not when I was there. However if tameness rules out a species I guess I can wipe about 50 species off my life list - Ivory Gull (hand-fed with pilchards), Long-tailed Skua (came within three feet) as did White-rumped Sandpiper in Avon, Blue-winged Teals in Florida (two feet) and Least Sandpiper (paddled with one in Florida) - so I don't believe that's particularly relevant. It also passed the bread test too. Nevertheless two nice birds on a very pleasant reserve with a good supporting cast of Peregrines, Hobby, Stonechats, lots of Little Egrets and Kingfishers. 

I don't want to talk about rugby or football this week!

Sep 24    Another really good weekend! I nipped off work two hours early on Friday after James Lees (yes, it's that man again) found a Semi-palmated Sandpiper at the Trust, a first for the County. As I arrived I learned that James had also just found two Buff-breasted Sandpipers, the first multiple County record. I arrived sweating and lungs fit to burst in time to see the Semi-P at a range of about 20 feet. Wonderful views! Soon after I saw the Buff-breasts too. I followed this up with two Pectoral Sandpipers on South Lake. 

Saturday morning I returned to the Trust all the Yank waders were still present having increased to seven on site as there were now four Pecs. In the afternoon it was off to Kingsholm were I watched Glaws demolish Northampton 28-7. Even Wolves won 2-0. 

Today I had a lazy day planned until Paul called at 8:30am to ask if I fancied going to Anglesey for the Isabelline Wheatear with him and Tony and Richard. I decided to go after a quick consideration. We had a reasonable run up and by 1:15pm we were ticking off the bird. Two pics below - one of which isn't great but quite atmospheric and I like it. We also saw the White Pelican of unknown origin at Malltraeth. Also a Chough, at least seven Ravens together, seven Common Scoters, a Clouded Yellow butterfly and three Grey Seals. A great day. Thanks to Paul for asking me.

Sep 21    Brian Stretch has a new website Worcester Birding  well worth a look and remember Bredons Hardwick birds are often in Glos too. That's how Andy, Steve and I got the Osprey.

Sep 15    I am pleased to put Andrew Bluett's Belgium and Holland Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. Apologies to Andrew for the wait and to everyone else waiting on me clearing the backlog.

Sep 10    An almost perfect weekend, I say almost because I missed the Wryneck at Frampton by just a few minutes this evening but everything else just dropped into place. I was at WWT yesterday morning when the Pectoral Sandpiper was found so I got lucky straight away. After seeing this the Semi-Palmated Sandpiper at Goldcliff was on the pager so I went there with Paul T and Neil. It wasn't on the marsh when we arrived but had flown to the beach. We gained nice views here in better light with less haze and I was well satisfied with a new British tick. We also had two Marsh Harriers, two Curlew Sandpipers and a two Little Stints. 

This morning I checked the Sailing Lake for Black Terns to no avail and then went to Fretherne (even deader, one Grey Wagtail) to await the tide. However within minutes James had rung me to say he had found a Bonaparte's Gull at the Holden Tower, a County first.  I hit the ground running and arrived at Slimbridge probably much quicker than I should have. I saw the gull well with many others who were rushing into the Tower. Congratulations James for such a good find. It was long overdue and amazing that Ivory Gull and Ross's Gull had made the County list before a Bony's. This evening I just missed the Wryneck as I said but still got a Black Tern, my first of the year. 

To cap a fine weekend Gloucester won away at Harlequins and are on top of the Premiership and Wolves won away at Leeds (Great goal Jay!) and are equal top of the Championship. Life is good.

Sep 04    It was nice to get back to Kingsholm on Saturday for the new season. It was a whole lot nicer come 5pm when Glaws had beaten Bath 24-19 (are you reading this James - Pint I believe!).    

Aug 27    Work has started on the Glos Bird Report for 2005 and Dave Evans is requesting authors for sections of the systematic list for the report. He says "As in previous years, I'm short of 'volunteers. It would be much appreciated. They can contact me at this address". Dave Evans. evans.dandj@btinternet.com

Aug 20    An interesting weekend with most people who tried able to connect with the Frampton Aquatic Warbler and especially nice that it has stayed for three days. For my part I am claiming some credit for it being found. I texted Martin on Friday morning - "Hope you are checking for a weekend Aquatic Warbler. A bit of an influx nationally this week". Just about the time he got my text he found the bird. However if I had known it was going to be that easy I would have aimed a bit higher, so can we please have a Greenish Warbler for the coming Bank Holiday weekend. Another nice little earner.

Aug 14    I posted this on the Forum today but I'll post it here too:

The Gloster Birder website is 6 years old today. I started it as just a bit of fun in August 2000 whilst I was just teaching myself how to develop a website and it grew from there in popularity and size, now occupying over 50mb of webspace and having just passed the quarter of a million visitors landmark. 

A big thank you to all that have supported the site over the years and an even bigger thank you to those that have contributed records, trip reports, articles and photographs. 

It continues to run on a shoestring budget with it's only sponsor being Martin's Anser Birding, for which I am grateful. If you feel your company or an individual benefactor would like to be a sponsor, with relevant links of course, contact me at the usual address.

I will post this in the Diary too, because I doubt many will read this here. I fail to comprehend what I need to do to get 2/3's of the members of this Forum to start posting. It would be really good to have a more active Forum. I didn't realise birders were so shy.

Anyway thanks again and here's to the next six. 

If you enjoy this website join the Forum and sign the Guestbook (yes, there is one), it would be nice to get some input. Additionally if there is anything you would like to see or improvements that could be made, let me know at the usual address.

Aug 07    Still very quiet in the County. This Saturday I went to Woodchester Mansion with the family. It was really interesting and was money well spent. The park has enormous potential for wildlife and must be greatly under watched. We saw lots of birds, dragonflies and butterflies and is probably even better in the Spring (see Sightings). Additionally the Mansion is home to six species of bats including Lesser and Greater Horseshoe bats. You are able to see the colony on CCTV.

Jul 25    When submitting your Trip Reports please don't have pics embedded in Word documents. They are corrupted and/or lose quality when moved over to FrontPage. Please send your photos for the report as an e-mail attachment. I am pleased to put Graham Watson's Portugal Trip Report online tonight, click here and Ben Macdonald's Northern France Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Jul 24    I am pleased to put Rob Mile's Scottish Highlands Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Jul 23    I am pleased to put Terry Fenton's Samos Trip Report online tonight, click here  Mike Fox's Majorca Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Jul 19    I'm back from a very sunny Spain and seem to have brought the weather back too. I had an excellent holiday with Bridgette. I got four lifers, which isn't too bad. I am pleased to put our Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

Additionally I have received an update on the white Little Owl from Vince Jones: 

"On Tuesday 27th June 06 we took the White Little Owl to our avian vet for the reason so he can be assessed for release back to the wild or to stay in captivity. The decision made was that he could not be released for many reasons with the main reason being his welfare and predators that would simply prey on him. Whist at the vet the eyes of the Little Owl were closely inspected by four avian vets and what was found was not normal in anyway, not seen before!

The pupils in both eyes were able to move independently. Reason.

The pupils are set in front of the iris with very fine strands of nerve endings, these nerves were not attached to the iris, which is why the pupils are able to move like they do. Most of the time the pupils will sit normal in front of the iris but when they move it's very noticeable.

The pupils should be suspended by nerves that are connected and set slightly behind the iris. The eyes of all Owls are normally fixed in the socket but with the White Little Owl they simply move.

Possible problems the Owl will encounter.

If the liquid at the back of the eye/iris leaks through to the front of the eye/cornea then the movement of the pupils will create friction burns, if this occurs the Owl will end up having damage caused to the eyes, where sores/blindness could occur. If this happens then sadly this would mean he would have to be put to sleep. Let's hope this doesn't happen!!

Through constant observations via a number of CCTV cameras positioned in the aviary, these also being web linked, we can see that the Owl is doing really well with no complications to be concerned about. When they are all awake, the white Owl is always playing around with his orphaned brothers and sisters daily, which is a pleasure to watch. Bobby his foster mum also has been brilliant, surprisingly she as taken more to the white Owlet than the others and on top of this she has become very protective over him. The Owls vision seems to be good and watching him get around on the perches and shooting through the entrance of the nest box like a dart is very encouraging. With all of this going on we are prepared just in case the worse happens.

The Owlet will be staying at the Centre and in the same aviary as Bobby. We just hope that his health does not deteriorate in the future. The name we have given him is Ashley. Ashley's Live Web Cam Link

The five other orphans will be leaving the aviary at the Centre on Thursday 13th July 2006. They will be transported to the release aviary we have located at a project site, over the duration of a few weeks they will be gently released back to the wild where these little fellas belong. Accompanying us to the project site will be a film crew from BBC Countryfile, they will be with us for the day hopefully filming the pre-release of the Little Owls and other things. Let's hope it doesn't rain".

Jul 07    It's been a very quiet couple of weeks during which most County birders dipped both Red-backed Shrike (if you are reading this John M please contact Richard B) and Osprey. I'm off to Spain in the morning with Bridgette so the quality of birds and birding should improve, although it is very hot down there. We'll just have to drink lots of San Miguel to keep cool. A bit worrying leaving the kids to their own devices for a week but what the eye doesn't see.... If you happen to see any good birds please use the Forum to exchange news. Use the D-I-Y Gloster Birder section. 

Jun 24    I received this from Vince Jones at the Barn Owl Centre. "A wild young Little Owl was brought in today and on seeing this youngster we were taken aback by its colour and facial difference to a normal youngster. The difference can be seen in the image below taken by Kev Lewis. To see the white Little Owl live via a web cam CLICK HERE Please note there are five other wild orphans on the cam, the white one is there and might become visible at anytime. I would be very interested to hear anyones views regarding this strange and unusual discovery. All the best, Vince".

Jun 15    I went for the Oxford Scops Owl last night and connected successfully after a four hour wait. Hearing it is easy, seeing it in flight is hard and getting a perched view required the patience of Job. However I did get a cracking eyeball-to-eyeball view at 11:50pm. For all the access details see the Forum.

Jun 08    Today I am pleased to put on-line Frank and Pam Bryant's May 2006 Wales Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

Jun 06    Today I am pleased to put on-line Phil Pope's March 2006 Florida Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

Jun 05    I thought I'd better write a bit of an update. I've not done much birding lately due to a combination of other commitments, lousy weather and lack of birds. However despite the crabby weather we've have through much of May we've still had some good birds - Great White Egret, Purple Heron, Ring-necked Duck and Gannets - to name a few. 

The Nightjars are in, in the Forest and showing well in suitable habitat. As with previous years I will only report Nightjars from Tidenham Chase to keep the visitor pressure off of other sites, but please continue to send in your Nightjar records from elsewhere.

This weekend I went to the Monsters of Rock Festival at the Milton Keynes Bowl with Michael and my brother-in-law, Norman. We have to report that Alice Cooper and Deep Purple still know how to rock a stadium. Awesome stuff! The only birdy moments of the weekend occurred when we had a Red Kite in aerial battle with a Buzzard over Burford in the morning and a Barn Owl over the road at Kilkenny just after midnight on Sunday morning. 

I still can't seem to get you lot to use the Forum, Terry asked for an opinion on a wagtail about a week ago but there seems to be more chance of Bath playing attractive rugby! Please try and visit because you're on your own soon when I go to Spain so you may want to suss it out now. There's a spot for posting sightings when I'm away. 

Also when you check the Sightings always check back a couple of days because I often get reports a bit late and sometimes pics, for instance the cracking Nightingale image I received from Nick West (see June 3rd).

I still have a large backlog of reports and pics etc for the site - they've not been missed - I just haven't had the time.

May 24    A brilliant weekend. Birding was a bit hit and miss but on Saturday I had fabulous views of Gannets with Andy Lodge at Fretherne. We had four in all, but the third bird that came upriver at 1:45pm passed over our heads at a height of about 15 feet before turning over the flashes and then heading up the canal towards Gloucester. Stonking! In 26 years birding up until Saturday I had only seen two Gannets in Glos, they've been that difficult. Also seven Sanderlings were a year tick and that was that. 

Sunday I took an early turn around the pools, didn't see the Purple Heron like many others, and was glad I saw it in the 100-Acre last week. Then it was off home to settle in for the European Challenge Cup Final, brilliantly won by Glos, but not before putting us through the mill as ever. 31-19 up with 12 minutes left I thought that was that. 12 minutes later it was 31-31 with Irish with a conversion to win it in the last minute. I think most Glos supporters had their eyes closed, until he missed. Then extra time and finally a brilliant Django try to bring the cup back to Castle Grim. Can't wait for next season. Well done boys!

May 18    Today I am pleased to put on-line Frank and Pam Bryant's March-April 2006 Scotland Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

May 17    blueyonder mail is down today so if any of you sent something that doesn't appear please resubmit or use Mike@surfbirder.com . Thanks.

May 15    I have also posted this in the Forum, but not everybody goes there so here is a public service announcement. The Purple Heron at Frampton yesterday gave good (mainly flight) views to many people however there was a problem in the evening with birders on the sea wall in the 100-Acre. I gather they were visiting birders who possibly didn't know any better. They not only flushed the heron but caused panic amongst the nesting waders.
There is only two ways to view the 100-Acre now and that is from the two viewpoints (gateway and platform) in Green Lane or on board a WWT Safari. I am sure most County birders realise this by now. Please observe these restrictions at all times.
If you don't know how to find the viewpoints in Green Lane please ask me or WWT staff. Thank You. 

May 14    I haven't written anything for a while but the birding has been excellent over the last couple of weeks. We've had a few good rarities including a Great White Egret, drake Ring-necked Duck and today Purple Heron, all of which I have managed to catch up with. The putative Redhead caused a stir for a while, my thanks to Keith Vinicombe for helping to sort it out. I think numbers of common migrants are down this year, but maybe that's just me. Some species which seem to be particularly scarce include Cuckoos, wagtails, terns and Turtle Doves, the latter now requiring a twitch to see them in the County. The first Nightjar is in but as yet it is early for them. 

The rugby finished disappointingly with Glos losing to Wasps so failing to get into the play-offs despite playing some scintillating rugby. At least there is the European Challenge Cup final next week against London Irish. It's just a pity they've taken the match to a ground with such a small capacity. Anybody got a couple of spare tickets let me know please. Wolves as ever lived up to expectations and finished seventh.

I do have a lot of stuff for the site - trip reports, photos, videos - which I just haven't found time to deal with yet. I haven't forgotten it so please bear with me.

Apr 25    An excellent weekend but not for the birds, this weekend was the wedding of my eldest daughter, Lisa to Kevin, hence the father-of-the-bride picture on the home page. We had a brilliant time and the sun arrived on cue. Gloucester beat Worcester to book a place in the European Challenge cup final and even Wolves won, albeit too late to matter. Feeling slightly the worse for wear I tried to track down the Spoonbill on Sunday afternoon, but always seemed to be several miles behind it. I did manage to find super singing Redstarts in Stank Lane, a cracking male Whinchat at Nebrow and surprisingly three Tree Pipits there. I had another go for Spoonbill Monday night but failed again, only managing Whimbrel as a consolation.

Apr 18    I received this from Colin Butters www.colinbutters.com who has a request for sponsorship for Sue Carman. 

"I am asking my readers to consider sponsoring Sue Carman who is running the 'Race for Life' in memory of her husband, Jim Cooke, who died of cancer in 2004. Some of you may remember Sue as the Bewick's Swan researcher who worked at WWT Slimbridge for many years. I have known Sue and Jim for nearly 20 years and Jim was a great friend who, like Sue, loved natural history and contributed to conservation, particularly of the glow worms near where he lived. The link, for more information, is at http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/SUEFORJIMBO"

Apr 14    I have received a few photos of national rarities and scarcities. The Western Subalpine Warbler in Dorset from Gerry Shilham (two pics) and Red-rumped Swallow in Cornwall, Black-winged Stilt and Cirl Buntings in Devon from Graham Watson. Click on the thumbs to see a larger image. 

Apr 08    I went early morning to Seaton in Devon with Richard B to see the three Alpine Swifts that had been there for about a week. The Killdeer which came on the pager last night didn't change my mind or direction. I have seen two Alpine Swifts in Spain in 2001 but on 20/3/1988 I travelled to Sandwell Valley to see a British one. Unfortunately by the time I arrived it had been taken in to care by the RSPB, so although I saw it and photographed it (see pic left) I couldn't tick it. This bird was flown back to Portugal by British Airways and promptly died when they opened the box. A good reason not to traumatise wild birds by trying to help them. I'm sure if it had been left alone it would have got it's breath back and flown off eventually. Therefore after 18 years this was an itch that really needed scratching and the opportunity to see a small flock just two hours from home couldn't be missed. 

We arrived at 8am and were able to scope a small brown cluster of feathers jammed together behind a duct. I couldn't get a photo with my camera phone but managed a habitat shot (see below). The birds were at the top of the duct running down the centre of the building. We waited for 50 minutes before the first swift dropped out of the roost into the sky and transformed into a fabulous flying crescent. It was quickly followed by another and eight minutes later by the third. They all headed off directly to Colyford lakes. We drove straight there and had more good views of the three of them in the sky together. For really good pictures see Surfbirds. An excellent morning and home by midday. 

Apr 07    You may have tried to use the Forum and found a log-in screen. If you are a member you will already have heard from me. It's because of the fact I am having to remove up to five gobble-de-gook messages a day, which usually contain unsavoury links I have taken the step of having you log-in to use the board. I'm sorry that this is a minor inconvenience but it seemed the best way to stop these random attacks. Spammers, virus-distributors and the rest of the pond life who do this will not usually bother to log in. If you have any problems contact me at the usual address. If you find you have more than one account and want to remove one, if you can't do it yourself contact me. I hope this will not cause too much hassle but it should reduce the amount of spam occurring.

Apr 02    An excellent weekend's birding. Yesterday morning Jake and I found an adult Gannet sitting on a sandbar on the river with gulls which eventually got pushed off by the tide. I phoned out the news and many of the locals managed to connect with this County scarcity. Together with Nick early on we found a female Scaup, which gave us the runaround (as far as Hock Cliff) before we nailed it. An unusual bird on the river. After struggling all winter to see Merlin (until last weekends male) I saw a female on Saturday and two on Sunday. It's often the way. I also year-ticked Ringed Plover, Swallow, the pair of Avocets and Willow Warbler yesterday. 

Today apart from the Merlin, I added House Martin and got soaked three times. I got home and the news came in just after I had changed that a Bonxie (Great Skua) was on the river and heading for Fretherne. I got back into my mucky clothes and headed straight back down. Together with Nick and Steve I managed to see it distantly from Fretherne sluice. Along with Richard, Andy, Steve and Jake we yomped up to  Hock Cliff through both woods hoping to catch up with it. We didn't but had a Kittiwake go through and learnt that we'd dipped a Fulmar back at the sluice. On our return to the cars at 1pm the Bonxie came back down and gave brilliant views. Only my second in Glos, the first was as long ago as 1988. 

Even Glos won but as per usual Wolves lost, thank goodness I've got Arsenal as a back-up, long followed also since my Dad's a Gooner.

Mar 28    I haven't written a lot lately with the birding being quiet, the football bad and the rugby - England and Glos - diabolical. However it seems Spring is getting under way with good numbers of early migrants passing through. Just looking at today's sightings I have to wonder "Am I the only one working in the County? Are you lot all out on strike today or what!" I can hardly see the sky from my office window let alone any migrants. The gulls are back on territory on the roofs though.

Mar 19    Apologies for the lack of service last week. I have been to Venice for a four day break. Although birding wasn't on the agenda I still looked. Other than thousands of Feral Pigeons I did see lots of Black-necked and Great Crested Grebes, Hooded Crow, Marsh Harrier, Yellow-legged Gulls and bizarrely a pair of Paradise or possibly Australian Shelducks on the marsh by the airport. Pics of Black-necked Grebe and Yellow-legged Gulls below. 

Today I am pleased to put on-line Duncan Dine's February 2006 Ethiopia Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. 

Mar 06    Today I am pleased to put on-line Frank and Pam Bryant's Feb/March 2006 East Devon Trip Report, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others. I have also amalgamated the old Shared Links page with the Birding Links page to create one new page listed alphabetically.

Feb 28     Just wanted to share with you Charlie's Bird Blog an excellent site. Have a look at the Blue-winged Pitta  pics link on the right hand side. I've also updated the Birders Holidays page tonight, new Malaysian tours from Sharon Ooi.

Feb 26     Yesterday was miserable, I watched Bath beat Gloucester and then Scotland beat England in the rugby. The only happy note was Wolves winning again. 

Today I went to Slimbridge early to have a look at the Eastern Greylags. At 8am there were two large, pale Greylags in the fields beside the approach road, but it became apparent that their bills were pale orange not pink and that they were continental Greylags, probably still wild but not the birds I had hoped to see. I also finally saw my first Skylarks of the year, although I had heard one singing previously. I went home and got cheered up by Ireland thumping Wales, then I got a call saying that Jake had relocated the Eastern Greylags at Splatt Bridge. I went straight down and had good views. Nice pink bills this time and very large and pale with lots of pale fringing in the back and wing feathers.

Feb 17     I've completely revamped the Birders Holidays page tonight and added a new site Alcossbre on the east coast of Spain. I also wanted to share this website with you Arkive http://www.arkive.org/ its packed with loads of wildlife videos, photos and information and all the videos are downloadable for your own use. Enter the site and select British Chapter or Globally Endangered Chapter. Have fun! 

Yesterday Paul Masters was lucky enough to walk into a showy Bittern at Upton Warren, Worcs. Pictures are below.

Feb 16     An excellent weekend just gone. Friday afternoon I had fabulous views of the Hawling Short-eared Owls in beautiful winter sunlight. I returned home in time to watch Gloucester stuff Leicester 34-16. A grand day! 

Saturday morning I was on duty at the Bird Fair with Paul showing people birds from the South Finger hides. Also received a lot of encouraging website feedback, on the day it passed 200,000 visitors. There seem to be an awful lot of lurkers out there. Don't be shy - send in your records and join in on the Forum, Jeremy will be pleased to talk to you. Got home in time to watch England beat Italy 31-16 with tries for the Gloucester boys. 

Sunday morning I nipped off early out of the County to see the re-introduced Great Bustard which has taken up residence on Bleadon Level just outside W-S-M. Couldn't tick it but great views. Dipped the Ring-necked Duck at Avonmouth on the way back. It was on the pager ten minutes before I and another birder arrived, but all that was there was a grubby-flanked Tuftie. Hmmm! 

I'm stopping the little markers on the Index, as everything is constantly being updated so you'll just have to look.

Feb 07     I received this news today from Frank Williams - "Could you advise folks via the web site that the Wyedean Stages Rally is taking place this Saturday 11th February. Many of the blocks of Woodland around the Speech House, New Fancy, Brierley, Edge End and Christchurch along with some in the Chepstow area are being used. Also many of the Forest Enterprise car parks in these areas will be charging for parking. This money going to local forest charities. Also it is expected that the police will have a high profile and local bylaws make it an offence to park on the verges and tickets may be issued for doing so.

The Rally takes place once a year and has been held for many years". Many Thanks Frank Williams.

Feb 06    A weekend spent covering lots of miles in the car on family business. However I took time out to see the 14 Tundra Bean Geese at College Lake, Bucks and found time to watch England thrash Wales at Twickers. Normal service is resumed Get your Wallpaper here. Great result for Scotland too. Now that we've established everyone gets Blackcaps in the garden I've started a new thread on the Forum about Best Garden Birds Ever, hope you join in.

Jan 30    A freezing weekend which didn't produce many new birds for me. I failed at the CWP Kumlien's Gull on Friday afternoon and because the gulls were still coming in in the dark, I went back Saturday morning and dipped again. I only managed to add Marsh Tit and Corn Bunting as scarce consolation prizes. Year list 112. Saturday afternoon I witnessed the worst game of rugby I have seen at Kingsholm for ages when Glos lost to London Irish. Dreadful! Then true to form Wolves crashed out of the cup on Sunday.

Jan 24    I had a really great weekend connecting with just about everything. I got Willow Tit, Hawfinch, Mandarin and Goshawk in the Forest on Saturday morning. During the afternoon I visited Nebrow Hill for the first time this year and added Snipe (my 100th species), Long-tailed Tits (I know, I know!), three Barn Owls, a Sparrowhawk, Red-legged Partridge and Green Woodpecker. Sunday morning I caught up with Scaup and Water Rail at WWT and Bramblings and Yellowhammer at Ham. 109 species. Its been a strange year where I seem to have seen all the scarcer species before their commoner counterparts - for example Jack Snipe before Snipe, Rock before Meadow Pipit and Willow before Long-tailed Tit. I still haven't seen a Skylark, but have heard one. Good job I'm not really year-listing this year. On top of all that Gloucester won and Wolves naturally drew again. 

Jan 15    A good weekend when I've connected with everything I've been for, the Firecrest at Berkeley found by Paul Taylor yesterday being particularly stunning. 

Andrew Bluett is doing a presentation on the history of the Marsh Warbler in Gloucestershire on the 26th, see News & Events for details.

I am pleased to welcome back Phil Pope to the Gloucestershire Year Listing League for the first time since the original List in 2002.

Jan 08    Not content with all that dipping yesterday I managed to find time to nip to WWT before lunch to dip the Scaup. I did see a Little Egret in a ditch at Shepherd's Patch (never had one here before). Year list up to 81 (feeble!). 

Ian Ralphs sent me this news of today's NCOS short day count in which several teams took part. He writes "I think the total number of species found was (so far) 82 species seen in our recording area. Although for the first time ever on a short day count this total did not (rather worryingly) include either Grey Partridge or Corn Bunting, both of which were searched for extensively but not recorded. SP10 came out tops with 71 species found, resting the short day count crown back from from SP12 (65 species), then SP02 (61 species), SP01 (with 52), and SO91 (with 52). SP10 finds included Stonechat on a roadside near Eastleach, Raven (near Aldsworth) and Cetti's Warbler near Fairford (just west of F104 in rough scrubby willows along the River Coln)". 

I also received this from Gareth Jones. "I've attached a photo of the Ferruginous-type duck from Slimbridge. I realised last night that it looks most like a Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid, but if you want to use the photo on your website to alert others (it can look quite convincing with a white rear end and strong white wing bars), but the bill pattern and head shape give away its Pochard inheritance. I've posted the pic alongside a genuine fudge duck from the Slimbridge collection at my website http://www.pixelbirds.co.uk/January2006.htm"

Jan 07    I am pleased to welcome Graham Watson to the Gloucestershire Year Listing League for the first time. Its nice to see some new faces. I'm thinking of putting together a Rogues Gallery, which has been suggested, to help put names to faces in the field. I have lots of pics already. Let me know if you would like to be included (or excluded!). Obviously I won't include anyone who objects, if you are interested send me a pic and a small bio. 

I had a pretty frustrating morning at CWP today. It started well enough with the Harnhill Tree Sparrows finding me almost instantly. Then I spent over two hours scouring Pit 114 at Dudgrove with Steve Owen and Andy Lodge for the Red-necked Grebe to no avail. On the way home I stopped at Pit 44 but the Smew Andy had earlier had gone. Year list now 80.

Jan 05    I am pleased to welcome Andy Lodge and Ben Macdonald to the Gloucestershire Year Listing League for the first time. I hope many more of you join in this year.

Jan 02    I spent a very quiet hour at Speech House and New Fancy View seeing very little except a few common year ticks. I got a call from Paul to say that he and Tony had relocated the Mealy Redpolls at Littledean. Within half an hour I had joined them and had added Mealy Redpoll to my County list. There were at least two birds still with c250 Lesser Redpolls, the biggest Redpoll flock I have ever seen, one was a classic large, pale individual whilst the second bird was not quite so obvious. Year list up to 73 species.

Jan 01    A Happy New Year to you all, I hope it is a good one and filled with lifers. 

I started the year in Quedgeley and quickly year-ticked Jack Snipe. I then checked three Dipper sites and dipped at each, but did have 40 Siskins. Then I went to the Trust said hello to a few friends and wrapped up all the available species, especially the Brent Goose, which took me until November last year. A reasonable start with 64 species. 

Today was the first time I had picked up my scope since the end of November. After working so hard to get to 200 last year, apathy had set in. I won't be doing it again this year but taking things easier and maybe concentrating on my life list a little more. However the 200 Club would welcome new members. The Year-listing table will be running again and I have posted two first day scores to start it off.

Last year was a good one for birds in the County and I personally had seven County ticks - Red-necked Grebe, Black-winged Stilt, Whiskered Tern, Little Crake, Wryneck, Baird's Sandpiper and Fulmar. Nationally, because I remained so County-orientated I only added three new birds, the Sooty Tern in July (an unforgettable day at sea), Upland Sandpiper and Grey-cheeked Thrush. Further afield Finland was a brilliant trip with a great crowd of blokes and stunning birds. I shan't forget it in a hurry especially cleaning up all the owls, particularly the moment I came face-to-face with my first Great Grey Owl. Lanzarote although a family holiday also produced a few goodies, especially Houbara Bustards.