Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Brimful of aqua
Lots of water coming down the Jubo on this brilliant, windy morning.
The white-fronted geese were with Canadas in the Eton Wick field, close to the path.
I took three pics and left them lying there, and walked downstream beyond the black bridge. When I walked back all the geese were making their way westwards along the flood.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Dorney
It was just before 4 pm and too late to go birding really, but I had something to post and decided on a quick visit to the floods. I parked at the cattle grid in light drizzle and walked along the very muddy bank of the stream, noting a solitary Canada goose at the far end of the common flood.
From the high path I saw the other Canadas (with the two white-fronted geese) at the far end of the Eton Wick flood. They left the grass and took to the water, paddling purposefully towards the common. I walked back to the gate and was surprised to see a shelduck now on the common flood.
I was so busy trying to get a record shot of the shelduck, I failed to see that the two whitefronts were airborne until they were past me. They landed next to the solitary Canada. The other Canadas followed in dribs and drabs until the geese were all together in a tight flock on the common; meanwhile the shelduck flew off west.
At home: A couple of nights ago there was a full moon. Several tawny owls were calling round the village. I looked out and the sky was clear, with Orion (one of the few constellations I can identify) climbing in the south. Couldn't see any of the owls, though.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Dorney
There was thunder during the night, rolling around the Thames Valley like "drums in the deep". Just as it was getting light, a tawny owl called; I shot out of bed hoping for a sighting but no-go.
In the afternoon we paid a visit to the wetlands. It was nice to have Greger with me. The two white-fronted geese among the larger Canadas were a twitch; so it was satisfying to get a self-found flood tick in the form of a song thrush, foraging in the mud beyond the Roundmoor Ditch.
The Cetti's warbler gave Greger the best views he's ever had of this species as he recalled long hours of patient (and mostly futile) waiting down at Titchfield Haven in Hampshire.
Two of the local dog-walking ladies came along and asked what the latest bird was. One then prompted the other, "Wasn't that a snowy egret you had here the other day?" Well, you never know of course, but I suggested it was possibly a little egret. The lady agreed with a laugh and said that she recently saw waxwings by the Jubilee River and informed a birder that there was a flock of crested tits there! We all laughed uproariously.
Oddly enough, when they'd gone, we looked across the common flood and saw a little egret sitting on a branch by the hedge. The dark duck in the foreground is one of two shovelers, and a pair of teal was also present.
A nice outing to blow away the cobwebs; and back at home I looked up snowy egret. Just in case.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Dorney Wood, Buckinghamshire
Several green and great spotted woodpeckers were seen today in Burnham Beeches and Egypt Wood, but I had almost given up on lesser spotted when I caught sight of a male in Dorney Wood, towards the end of my walk.
He was foraging at the usual maniacal speed, a couple of trees and several hundred twigs and branches away.
The thrill of seeing these little woodpeckers never wears off. They're hard to find, hard to keep sight of once found, and blooming difficult, in these mature woodlands, to photograph. (No one's told them they're supposed to be a parkland bird.) But I will never do what I read on one photographer's blog; he walked through a wood where he'd heard that lesser-spots were to be found, playing a recording of the call. A lesser-spot responded - but on seeing where the call came from, immediately vanished again. Good!
Two mistle thrushes were on the fields, a dozen redwings were in the woods and a skylark was heard flying over.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Dorney
Late afternoon Greger declared work over for the day and suggested a walk at the wetlands. We parked at the cattle grid and went to look at the floods. Greger hasn't seen them and was duly impressed.
The common flood has a covering of ice but the Eton Wick flood held loads of snipe, teal, at least two dunlins and a green sandpiper.
As we left, with the light rapidly vanishing, we saw a bunch of wigeon and gadwall out in the snowy field beyond the twigs of the Roundmoor Ditch.
Fieldfares were evident on the wetlands, foraging mostly on the ground beneath the bushes. The berry eaters must now be in trouble.
A small spectacle: several flocks of ring-necked parakeets flying low and silent over the flooded field to the north-east, their plumage a startling brilliant green in the light from the setting sun.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Barge Farm
I walked from home this afternoon just to get some fresh air and found a large flock of geese feeding near the Jubilee River on the fields of Barge Farm.
They appeared to be mostly Canada geese, with a fair number of greylags and one bar-headed goose.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Dorney
A cold but brilliant afternoon drew me down to the Jubilee River. A larger number of golden plovers was present on the flood today, sometimes taking to the air with musical calls. Four landed close enough for a record shot.
The chiffchaff in the picture below is possibly the Siberian individual. It was taken when the sun was behind a cloud.
When the sun came out it flooded the reed-bed with golden light which, though beautiful, gave a completely different idea of plumage colour.
Monday, January 14, 2013
A green woodpecker was in the garden this afternoon. So that's who's been making holes all over our lawn!
Yes, I'm talking to you!
Shame I couldn't do justice to his gorgeous colours. (Bad light, falling snow, through the window, blah, blah.....)
Sunday, January 13, 2013
I was wrong when I wrote in my earlier posting today that I hadn't seen the pale chiffchaff in the Roundmoor Ditch again.
Studying a head-on photo of a Siberian chiffchaff at Dinton Pastures on the Berksbirds website this evening reminded me that I got a very poor frontal shot of the grey chiffchaff, on 3rd January.
The bird really did look grey and white, it's not just my useless picture. But it's a record of what I saw and I'm glad I remembered it.
Dorney
The flood was busy at midday, although only with the usual suspects as far as I could see.
At least four collybita chiffchaffs were seen. I would like to see again the very pale grey bird which I photographed in December and haven't seen since; I'm past caring what it is, I just liked its colour scheme.
A solitary goldcrest was foraging just above the water in the Roundmoor Ditch.
As I walked from the cattle grid where I'd parked, a Cetti's warbler was singing just beyond the houses. This one also sang (from cover), then did a bit of muttering.
I was scanning the reed-beds as I walked along the Jubilee River, hoping for bearded tits; and if a chap on a bike hadn't stopped and looked up the bank, I would have walked right past three waxwings. A little while later, a small flock flew over me and joined them. There were at least fifteen.
They were feeding on rose hips - not their first choice, I'm sure. I've rarely seen any birds eating rose hips. Every year I dutifully leave the hips on our garden roses; and every year they turn black and mushy and fall off, with all the local birds ignoring them. The only creature I've seen take them is a grey squirrel, who ran off with a fistful back in the autumn but didn't seem to repeat the experiment. He also pulled the last blooms off the fuchsia and ate them on the patio in front of me; for which he got chased up the holly tree.
Last sighting from Dorney Common was of a flock of golden plover, at least seventy, flying around high and eventually moving off south-west.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Dorney
The meadow pipit was snapped yesterday in late golden sunshine, in the same tree as the rock pipit in November.
Today was colder and duller. This chiffchaff is probably not the Siberian, although it could be. I photographed it for no other reason than that it sat still for long enough.
When all the birds on the flood went up I realised that eight golden plover were among the gulls and lapwings.
A Cetti's warbler was foraging and didn't care who knew it. A goldcrest and a wren moved through the low branches. A green sandpiper flew unhurriedly from the common to the field flood and then away across the Jubilee River. Nice to hear that call for the first time this year.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
The first day of the year
And what a day - blue skies and sunshine! I felt bad about going out while Greger is still housebound with a cold, but he was adamant that I should go.
It was muddy work getting across the field into Egypt Woods in Buckinghamshire and pretty wet underfoot once I was in there, but a lesser spotted woodpecker made it all worthwhile.
Driving away, I snapped the kite through the car windscreen.
***
I went home for lunch, getting a newspaper for Greger on the way, and then went to Dorney Wetlands. I was lucky with parking, someone just leaving as I arrived. The Jubilee River was a very popular place this afternoon, providing quite a culture shock after the peace and quiet of the morning woods. I'm afraid this made me rather grumpy.
I couldn't see any waxwings, but enjoyed watching some nice tawny redpolls feeding in alders.
Standing by the information boards I could see a distant stonechat on the north bank. One of the two remaining bullocks on the north bank was standing against the walkers' gate; I slapped him on the rump (which usually works with the cattle in Burnham Beeches), but he just looked at me reproachfully while the second one gave a mournful "moo". They were waiting for the farmer to bring them fresh fodder. In the end I climbed over the vehicle gate, and trudging across the muddy churned-up ground, got close enough to get a record shot of the stonechat.
Water rails and Cetti's warblers were vocal in several locations and half a dozen snipe could just be seen dozing on West Marsh. My day list came to a pitiful 41, but I enjoyed the walks and I'm more than happy with these sightings on what was a truly beautiful day.
