London Wetland Centre, Barnes

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Today was primarily a photography day, rather than a birding day, so no hunting for the bittern, water pipit or mealy redpoll, all seen at the Wetland Centre today. On the bird front, the highlights were a pair of pintail and a shelduck. Instead, I chose to spend the morning trying for some decent images of common species. The light wasn't too bad in parts, where the watery winter light gave way to sunnier patches.

This robin (Erithacus rubecula; click any image for larger) was preening near the sheltered lagoon and allowed a close approach.







In contrast, this wren (Troglodytes troglodytes; click for larger) popped out and allowed a single snap shot.



Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus; click any image for larger) can be difficult to deal with in bright light - the contrast between the whites (difficult not to blow) and near blacks (difficult to keep detail in) is a challenge.







Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula; click any image for larger) present the same problem.





Finally, this Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus; click for larger) was exercising its wings, and I liked the contrast between the detail of the head and the pattern of the flexed wings.

Lavell's Lake, Berkshire

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A quick 30 minutes at Lavell's (which I've just discovered has a nice new website) to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. There was little unexpected around - there were good numbers of pochard, wigeon and teal, and a water rail scurried through the reeds.

The water levels are very high (images taken with mobile phone; click for larger) suggesting, just as last year, the usual Lavell's bitterns will stick to other areas of Dinton Pastures. A few passerines were visiting the feeders, and there was a small group of redwings in the hedgerows, and a wintering chiffchaff called near the brook.

Dungeness, Kent

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Being stubborn (or slightly more pejoratively, pig-headed), on booking a day off I decided to head back to Dungeness for one more hunt for the glossy ibises. I arrived before sun up, parked by the ARC pit and headed over towards Boulderwall Farm to see if my luck was in. A flock of tree sparrows flew over as I scanned the field from the road, but no sign. I moved on up the road to where a slight rise afforded a good view over the water and pasture, and from the left, in flew the ibises, landing about a 100 yards away. The light was poor and so I'd left the camera in the car, but the view was superb. They preened for a couple of minutes before disappearing off again. No matter what the rest of the day held, it was worth it. I was especially keen given that these are among the last few of the great glossy ibis invasion of the autumn of 2009. I'd guess that at least 50 juvenile birds arrived, probably from Spain, in a number of small flocks which spread throughout the country. It's not clear why they dispersed north post-breeding, but they did, I had finally managed to see them.

Elated, I headed to the ARC hide to see what was about. The light was still poor (all shots were taken at ISO 800), but there was a good range of species present on the spits (click for larger), and a pair of Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus; click for larger) out on the open water. A yellow-legged gull was picked out in the distance by someone else in the hide, and there was a scattering of interesting waders (golden plover, black-tailed godwit) among the usual ducks.





There was no sign of the penduline tits (these are now my official bogey bird after five attempts to see them this year - both here and at Rainham), and I moved to the end of the willow trail in case they were feeding in the reedmace, but there was no sign of them. A wintering chiffchaff was the only species of note.

As I walked along the trail a hunting marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus; click for larger) got everything up.



I moved to the main reserve, stopping at Boulderwall Farm again, where the glossy ibises (Plegadis falcinellus; click for larger) were feeding a few hundred yards away. The views weren't as good as earlier, but at least I got a few record shots. Glossy ibis is also my 200th species of the year - so I'd hit my target with a species I'd really wanted to catch up with in the UK.





I moved around the main reserve, checking each of the pits. My next target was smew, for which Dungeness is perhaps the premier location in the UK, with up to 20 wintering. After a lot of hunting, I eventually found a distant redhead. On the way around I came close to a kestrel (Falco tinnunculus; click for larger), but most birds were keeping their heads down in the chill wind.



While I missed the bittern from the Denge hide, the great white egret (Ardea alba; click for larger) hunted in the distance, and a small group of black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) and a couple of ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis; click for larger) bobbed in the choppy water.





The rest of the day was relatively quiet. I headed to the power station on the off chance of a wintering black redstart, or a snow bunting, but all that was around was the usual gulls and cormorants. Stopping off back at the ARC didn't turn anything new, apart from a squealling water rail and a sparrowhawk zipping past my ear. I waited as the light (such as it was) faded in case the penduline tits showed, but no luck. The only other notable addition was a tawny owl flying across the motorway on the way home. In spite of the poor photography conditions it was an excellent day - the glossy ibises were well worth the effort!

Moatlands Gravel Pits, Berkshire

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Sometimes I'm just ever so slightly ashamed of myself. Currently stupidly busy at work, and in spite of whining about just how much I have to do, one hint of a dry day and a meeting-free morning, and off I go in pursuit of a juvenile long-tailed duck which has been resident at a local gravel pit for the last fortnight.

In my defence - it only took an hour, I only took a short lunch-break, and I went with a PhD student and we spent the time discussing her thesis plan (I'd technically call this working - nice work, but still working). And to show that it was pretty awful and therefore not skiving at all, juvenile long-tailed ducks are actually not that charismatic, unlike their grown-up counterparts, and Moatlands is right next to the M4 and therefore not high on my list of 100 birding sites in Berkshire I must visit before I die. Perhaps the feeling of guilt is just a transference of shame for heading out on an undeniable local twitch - walk to duck, see sea duck, leave duck. If I'd gone in the evening I could at least have defended being there by suggesting that I wanted to scan the gull roost, but even that's about as transparent a justification as any. Gulls (with the obvious exception of the white winged ones) are just not that inspiring and so make rubbish excuses for birding inland waters.

I am a bad birder. And I didn't even bring my camera, so I am also a bad photographer. I must learn to live with the shame of it all. Now - that serin at Rainham sounds tempting...

Dungeness, Kent

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A rare day off resulted in a very early dash to the Kent coast. Sunrise over the shingle was a spectacular blaze of colour, but that didn't last long. Soon the forecast rain was bucketing down, and combined with the near-gale force winds meant that while I lugged the camera around, it didn't see the outside of the camera bag. I started at the ARC pit, where a pair of penduline tits had been reported yesterday. Most birds were keeping their heads down, with water rail and a hunting marsh harrier the highlights. Apart from that, there were good numbers of pintail, gadwall, teal, shelduck and wigeon, as well as Cetti's warbler, sparrowhawk and the usual gulls. A couple of hours split between the hide and the end of the willow trail (where they had been reported), failed to find them.

I moved on to the power station and climbed up the shingle bank, walking into the rain whipped about by near gale force winds. The breakers rolling onto the shingle shoreline disturbed gulls and little else. Watching out to sea was only possible from the lee of the sea-watching hide. No sign of any sea ducks, and apart from black-headed gulls little was on show. I didn't last long, and headed back to the ARC pit in the vain hope of seeing the penduline tits.

An hour's wait in the driving rain while staring at a large patch of reedmace proved wet and fruitless, so I decided to head to the Boulderwall Farm pit, to see if the glossy ibis were in view. The wind still threatened to blow the tripod and scope over - this shows how fierce the wind was, and it didn't take long before it was impossible to see through any optics. A ranger driving through put up the grazing wildfowl, gulls, crows and lapwings, and apparently the ibises, but yet again I failed to connect - very frustrating. This was the third time that I've tried to see the glossy ibises at Dungeness, and even though they've been around, luck hasn't been with me.

So, a bit of a failure on the birding front, getting cold and drenched into the bargain. Still - better out there than stuck inside!

Ash Ranges, Surrey

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A couple of dank, chill hours on Ash Ranges meant that the camera stayed at home - rubbish light and open heathland are no place for lugging 10kg of kit pointlessly around. I was hoping to take advantage of a lull in the army's training schedule to see if any of the heath's winter visitors were in place.

No sign of the great grey shrike (a recently reported one may just have been on passage - feels a bit early for the winter resident to me) and no decent raptors either, but there were a few Dartford warblers 'dzeeet'ing from the heather. These are my first since the late winter snow, which killed off my local population. A passing birder suggested that their breeding bird survey on the Ranges has seen the population fall to 10% (from 200 pairs) of its previous level, and it seems to me as if the Dartfords in peripheral locations were wiped out. Apart from that there was a large flock of greenfinch (over 70 birds), plenty of meadow pipits, and a pair of crossbills flicking about in the pines were the birds of note.

First time out in three weeks - I needed to stretch my legs and find a little solitude - and there's little in Surrey that compares with the views from Crown Prince Hill over the rolling heathland.

Dungeness, Kent

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Arriving at Dungeness at dawn proved quiet - there was little moving of interest at the patch, and a wander towards the observatory produced nothing of note, apart from a late flock of swallows feeding over the power station. Stopping off at the ARC pit produced a range of common wildfowl (including pintail) and a solitary ruddy duck, lapwing, golden plover and a little stint. A chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita; click for larger) foraged in a nearby sycamore.



Stopping at the main entrance to Dungeness RSPB reserve produced a small flock of tree sparrows, which nest in the adjacent farm, and a covy of red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa; click for larger).



Wandering through the reserve produced little of note; the heat built up quickly, reflected back from the shingle, and by mid-day felt very un-Autumnal. There was little evidence of movement through, apart from recently arrived ducks, and the stonechats (Saxicola torquata; click for larger) were the most visible small passerines.



Overhead, marsh harriers (Circus aeruginosus), kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and a mobbed sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus; click any for larger) hunted in the heat haze.







I headed back to the car, resigned to a long drive back, when I got word that a cattle egret and a pair of glossy ibis had been seen from Denge marsh. I headed back, to hear that they had disappeared, but I then found a superb bittern (Botaurus stellaris; click for larger) far in the distance, climbing the reeds in classic bittern pose. Through the scope this looked great - just doesn't quite work through a 500mm lens!



That was the start of a round of ardeids, with grey herons and little egret (Egretta garzetta; click for larger) already seen in small numbers.



The great white egret (Ardea alba; click for larger - here hidden from the view of Denge hide) was playing hide-and-seek in the reeds to many people's chagrin.



And then after a long wait, the cattle egret (Bulbulcus ibis; click for larger) flew in to forage among the sheep in the late afternoon sun.





A long wait for the glossy ibis failed to produce yet another wanderer from the Mediterranean, but as a real unexpected bonus, a stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus; click for larger) flew in from the sea. These are fantastic - much more impressive than these primped egrets - real birds! The stone curlew bathed in a small pool, and provided a final highlight to a day that started poorly, but ended on a high.

Lavell's Lake, Berkshire

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A 10 minute visit on the way home produced evidence of more movement - increased numbers of duck, including pochard, redwings passing over in number, and a surprising Cetti's warbler in the reedbeds.

Lavell's Lake, Berkshire

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After yesterday's excitement, back to more prosaic local patch watching. Dropped into Lavell's Lake on the way home from work. Autumn is definitely here, with the first redwings of the winter feeding on hedgerow berries. Duck numbers (mainly wigeon and gadwall, but also teal, tufted duck and shoveler) continue to build. Apart from snipe and a sparrowhawk, there was little unusual around. Most attention was given to the little grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis; click for larger), with half a dozen in front of the hide. I suspect that they were a recent brood, as a couple were testing their wings and chasing over the water. The great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus; click for larger) were still feeding their well-grown offspring.

Brown Shrike at Staines Moor

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A reported red-backed shrike was transformed in interest by its later re-identification as a brown shrike (Lanius cristatus). This is only the fifth or sixth UK record of this Asian species, which at this moment should be somewhere mid-migration from Siberia to south-eastern China, and instead finds itself just inside the M25 and next door to Heathrow. The news came in too late to dash down yesterday, so a 6am departure ensured that I was at the last reported spot well before dawn.

It was a cold morning, with ice scraped off the windscreen a hint (that I failed to take) that warm clothing would be wise. A thick low-lying mist didn't burn off until the sun was well up, and the side of the River Colne already had at least 50 people who probably should have been in work waiting for the shrike, with many bemoaning the clear skies and suggesting that it wouldn't be seen. But seen it was, and the shrike showed well for the couple of hours I spent there. Never close (all images are fairly substantial crops, with a 1.4X converter), but in good light and a scope the views were excellent as it foraged after insects.







Compared to the juvenile red-backed shrike seen at Dungeness last month, this had a stronger mask, lacked the scalloping on the mantle, and to me at least appeared longer-tailed, giving a different silhouette. Very pleased to have seen this one - and this makes three UK shrikes (great grey earlier in the year) for me this year. Then after getting into work the messages come through - both red-backed and great grey shrikes also seen in other parts of the moor - surely that cannot be beaten?!

Skylarks, kingfishers and kestrels added to the trip, and as I reached the car, a stoat dashed across the lane, stopped, looked at me and ran on - a great way to end the morning, and I still managed to be in work by 11!