Iceland Trouble

No - nothing to do the economic problems currently facing our friends in the North. Worse than that. I've been to the Ogmore Estuary three time and I've dipped on the Icelanc Gull every time.

I had company yesterday - Jeff and the Twitchmeister. Iceland Gull would have been a lifer for the TM and he duly scoured the estuary for it. He tried really hard, scoping all the gulls but there was to be no repeat of his earlier success with the Glaucous Gull at the same site. But, as luck would have it, he still scored with a couple of lifers yesterday - a Water Pipit and Goshawk. The latter was having a really hard time from the local Ravens. This takes Gethin's UK life list up to 197 - a party has been promised when he gets to 200.

He's posted his list on BUBO so, if you can be bothered, you can scrutinise it. If you can be bothered you'll see he's got some cracking birds on the list as well as some hummdinging gaps which he hopes to fill during 2009.

Finally, I came across this publication yesterday which might be of interest to one or two members of Birders in Boxers.

Norfolk Lads' Weekend

On Fri 30th Jan Wayne and myself with honorary "Boxers" for the weekend Geri Thomas and Kevin Hughes "in tow" headed for that winter birding mecca Norfolk for a long weekend basing ourselves at the King's Arms in Blakeney.

After meeting up early in Cardiff we were on our way and after an "Olympic" breakast at a Little Thief off the A14 (we know how to live !) we were soon driving through the "flatlands" of Cambridgeshire.

First stop was just outside the village of Coveny where a Rough Legged Buzzard had been seen regularly for a few weeks previously.

This was a "lifer" for both myself and Wayne having never had the luck to connect with one on 7 previous trips to Norfolk.

We bumped into a local birder walking back to his car who gave us good directions having just seen the bird,we got to the given location and the bird flew out of a tree giving excellent flight views before it disappeared behind some trees at the end of a field.

It soon took flight again and again gave cracking views with it's white tail and black terminal band very prominent.

It landed in an old tree where it perched for several minutes and provided an excellent photographic opportunity had I not left my camera in the Jeep,Doh !!!

Not to worry a great start and a "lifer" in the the bag.

Next stop was to check out a main drainage ditch at nearby Pymoor where a pair of Great White Egrets had been recently seen,just as Wayne was saying "keep an eye out boys" the pair appeared out of a ditch alongside the road and although one disappeared from view the other settled in a nearby field giving great views.

Also in the ditch were a couple of Green Sandpipers,"piece of p...s this birdin' "

Next stop was Lakenheath just over the border in Suffolk where a Penduline Tit and a Great Grey Shrike had been "hanging out".

No sign of the GGS although it had been seen that day and disappointingly no news of the PT.

We scanned a main pool and a local birder got us on to a Caspian Gull that he had in his 'scope.

Although the tit hadn't been seen we decided to have a go for it and took the long walk out to the bullrush populated piece of reedbed where it had been spending it's stay.

No luck with the tit but we did get stonking flight views of 2 of the 4 Common Cranes which were on the reserve,no need to call into Stubb Mill for the crane roost then !!

The first day had passed so quickly and we were soon enjoying a good meal and a couple of pints of Wherry in the Kings Arms.

Next day (Sat 31st Jan) we decided to head west and then work our way back to Blakeney.

We called in at the famous Wolverton Triangle for Golden Pheasant but as is often the case the secretive buggars were not showing.Next stop was Hunstanton cliffs for a sea watch where several Velvet Scoters had been mixed in with the large Common Scoter flocks.We were soon on a number of Velvets as well as picking up Fulmars and a few Red Throated Divers. On then to Dersingham Bog where another Great Grey Shrike had taken up winter residence,Alan Rosney,Gareth Jenkins and Mike Wheeler were in Norfolk on the same weekend and as they were already at the bog and on the bird a quick phonecall soon had us joining them.

We quickly got on the shrike and I managed to "digi-scope" a couple of photos,no sign though of the Woodlark that had been seen that morning.

Next stop was Holme for Long Tailed Duck and from a sheltered position in the dunes out of the biting wind we were soon on to several togethor with some of the common wader species.

We checked the fields as we travelled for partridges which seem to be getting scarcer and I managed to "digi-scope" an obliging pair of Egyptian Geese much to the ridicule of my three companions.

We also called into Thornham which has been the most reliable site for Twite in recent years but sadly they are few and far between this year togethor with Shore Lark.

Our final stop was the RSPB reserve at Titchwell which although over-run on a Saturday is still a great place to visit and one of my favourite reserves.

The walk out along the main path to the beach gave us some good birds including Spotted Redshank and Ruff and a pair of Bearded Tits in the nearby reeds attracted much attention.

There were several groups of geese grazing on the marsh on the way out and a scan of the Brents gave us a Black Brant,there were also some quite near Black Tailed Godwits on the scrapes which looked fantatic in the sunlight.

At the beach we picked up a lot of the common waders such as Sanderling,Dunlin,Grey and Ringed Plovers and Turnstones and Wayne called a fly-by Great Skua which I failed to get on as I was too busy "digi-scoping" a very tame pair of Snow Bunting picking through the beach litter.

With dusk approaching we decided to see out the remainder of the day at Titchwell and picked up several Woodcock flying out of the woods onto the fields to feed.

Another dry day greeted us on Sunday (1st Feb) and after the obligatoty "Full English" we were soon at Cley watchting the juvenile Glaucous Gull in a blizzard,too bloody cold to hang around so after an unsuccessful scan of Arnold's Marsh for Water Pipit we headed inland to Leatheringsett in search of the continental Black-Bellied Dipper which has been spending the winter on the River Glaven.

No sooner had we arrived when another birder/photographer rushed up to the Jeep to announce that the bird had arrived in the last 20 seconds !!,luck or what ??

We all got good 'scope views and the bird duly obliged for a couple of not very good photos.

After a quick visit to Cley Spey a report of four Waxwings in Sainsburys car park had us scurrying for North Walsham south of Cromer,the blighters were nowhre to be seen so after a good search we headed for Cromer for another sea watch from a very cold and windy pier.

Lots of Razorbills,Gannets,Kittiwakes and both Red and Black Throated Divers wasn't a bad return and we decided to finish the day at Warham Greens with the harrier roost.

A number of Marsh Harriers passed through adding to the many we had seen already and finally a cracking male Hen Harrier and a "ring-tail" put in an appearance.

Too cold to hang about and with the light fading we moved on to thaw ourselves out in front of the roaring log fire in the Red Lion in Stiffkey with a pint of the best local brew.

Back to the King's Arms for the evening where Alan,Gareth and Mike who were staying at another B+B in the village joined us for a meal and a few pints as they had done on previous evenings.

Our final day (Mon 2nd Feb) was to be cut short by the threat of heavy snow,we woke to a covering of snow and headed west for Choseley Barns in the hope of maybe a Corn Bunting only to be greeted by a distinct lack of birds.

The side roads were getting clogged up with snow so sticking to the main roads we headed for Flitcham and Abbey Farm via Wolverton (again no Golden Pheasant - I've only seen one in 7 visits to Norfolk !!)

We finally connected with Grey Partridge after seeing several Red Legs and a large finch flock held several Brambling.

From the hide a Little Owl in a blizzard did a good impersenation of a Snowy Owl (we won't go there !!!...)

With the threat of heavy snow forecast for South Wales and not wishing to end up standed we headed for home.

A great weekend once again,great company (thanks to Alan,Gareth and Mike as well),good birding,good digs,some of the best beer in the country and a "lifer" thrown in,doesn't get much better.

Roll on May and a summer visit for Orioles and Monties !!

Tickfest for the Twitchmeister

Having bagged the Glaucous Gull at Ogmore Rivermouth yesterday it seemed like a good idea to get back out birding as soon as possible while it appearead, for once, that we had a bit of luck on our side. It was time to honour my Christmas promise to Geth that I'd take him to Slimbridge in the New Year. He'd been itching to go there for a while having learnt how many glaring ommissions in his list he could fill with one well timed visit. And despite the fact that Slimbridge on a fine Sunday is a bit like Queen Street, Cardiff during a home international we had a cracking day.

First stop, Rushy Pen and lifer #1 for the boy . . . . .

Bewick's Swan - hundreds of them all over the place. Told you it was going to be easy, son! Next stop, Holden Tower, and within seconds lifer #2 for JJ jnr.

What a top photograph. One of the six Tundra Bean Geese out on the Dumbles. Five minutes later lifer # 3 for the Little Lister: two Spotted Redshanks amongst the hundreds of waders on The Tack Piece. I had to help squeeze Geth out of the hide 'cos his smile was so wide. And it was about to become wider . . . from the new Kingfisher Hide (nice hide if a bit cheesey - from the outside it looks like you're entering a Kingfisher nest hole. Hmm. But at least it's got a rubber floor which stops you'r 'scope from vibrating every time somebody walks in) we saw about 400 Eurasian White-fronted Geese. Lifer #4.

After lunch in the Centre restaurant (tasty if a little expensive) it was back to the Tack Piece. The Twitchmeister grabbed the scope off me and settled down to sift through the 2000 or so waders (mostly Lapwing) and hundreds of ducks in search of lifer # 5. He duly found it, a male Ruff. Moments later he didn't seem very bothered about 'scoping a possible argentatus Herring Gull (Geth: "Can I tick it?" Me: "No". Geth: "Can we go for the Bittern now?").

So, off we went to the Zeiss Hide where we duly dipped on the Bittern. Naturally. But, even the Twitchmeister wasn't too down-hearted. He'd had five lifers in a day. (I've warned him that pretty soon he's going to run out of 'easy ticks', but he doesn't seem perturbed at all. "We'll just have to twitch more" he says). We'd also filled our boots with breathtaking views of thousands of waders and wildfowl - all seen in stunning winter sunlight. But, the day wasn't over. Following a tip off, we went back to the Holden Tower where we found another one of these . . .

. . . you wait years to see one and then you see two in a couple of days. Piece of . . . cake this birding!

On a White-wing and a Prayer

I'd dipped on the Iceland Gull earlier on in the week at a 'quiet' Ogmore-by-Sea and so I didn't hold much hope of finding the Glaucous Gull there today in the middle of a beach full of weekend trippers. Even so I was surprised at the sheer number of people (and dogs) there this afternoon - it was packed. The world and his wife were there (erm, including my wife) and the only gulls visible were distant and to the west on Newton Beach.

I checked them out with the 'scope but didn't manage to pick out anything resembling a Glauc. I looked up to see Richard Smith coming towards me. He hadn't seen it either. While we were chatting I hadn't noticed that the young Twitchmeister had commandeered my 'scope and was grilling the beach for himself. A couple of moments later he called out: "What's this Dad? Is it the Glaucous?" This is what he was looking at . . . . . The Boy Birder had done it again. Glaucous Gull in the bag - a lifer for the Little Lister and a county tick for me. (Ahem. It must have flown in 'cos it wasn't there when I looked!). It showed very well, if a little distantly, for around 10 minutes before it was pushed off the beach by the incoming tide. It flew off towards the east. In the meantime Richard had found a Med Gull standing just behind it.

We headed off east along the coastal path to try and re-locate the Glaucous and also in an attempt to find a Chough. We found neither and spent most of our time dodging the dog poo which was liberally scattered along the path. Ogmore-by-Sea must be vying with Kenfig NNR as the Dog Crap Capital of Glamorgan.

Later, a planned visit to the River Ogmore around Portobello Island had to be cancelled because the 'car park' had been taken over by an enormous film crew, lorries and portable cabins. They were even periodically closing the road. What were they filming? 'The Bridge on the River Ogmore'? My bet is an episode of 'Doctor Who'. (Can you imagine the joys of birding if you had a Tardis?). Flippin' media types!!

Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian

On Sat 3rd January Teresa and myself made our Xmas visit to an aunt and uncle of mine living near Llangranog not far from Newquay.

Keeping an eye out for Red Kites from the car as we travelled we spotted one over the road whilst going through the village of Pencader.

We usually see a couple on the approach to Carmarthen but not on this occasion.

After a quick cuppa the four of us set off on a pre-arranged visit to the Red Kite feeding station run by the Forestry Commission at Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian just off the A44 about 10miles due west of Aberystwyth.

We couldn't have picked a better day with a clear blue sky and fantastic visibility and picked up a further 3 kites as well as several Common Buzzards at various intervals over the main road as we approached Aberystwyth.

Unfortunately we slightly mis-judged the distance involved and what with getting stuck behind milk tankers and tractors etc didn't arrive until 2.15pm whereas the kite feeding began at 2.00pm sharp.

I'd wanted to try and photograph the kites swooping down for the scraps of meat but unfortunately we were too late to witness that spectacule,there were however still something like 150+ kites in flight over the centre which in brilliant sunshine gave fantastic views.

I'd been to the feeding stations at Gigrin Farm and Llandeusant on previous occasions but had not visited Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian before and the setting is absolutely amazing,the Forestry Commission have obviously "latched on " to the green tourism money spinner that the Red Kite has become in Mid Wales (nothing wrong with that) and have created a marvellous visitor centre complete with shop,cafe,toilets and loads of parking.

They don't charge "per head" as other feeding stations do and a charge of £1.50 per car for allday parking is fantastic value for money,mind you I think they more than make up their money in the cafe judging by the number of people tucking in.

I didn't bother with the 'scope as trying to digi-scope kites on the wing is like trying to knit fog,instead I took along my Fuji f8000 "bridge" camera which with it's 18x zoom gives the equivalent of a 400mm lense on an SLR,ok not the picture quality of a digital SLR but pretty acceptable all the same and a good compromise for the price.

There were kites everywhere as well as Common Buzzards and several Ravens and Carrion Crows.

The setting is spectacular to say the least with the kites being fed on one side of the small lake whilst the assembled spectators watch from the opposite bank.

I spent about 45 mins taking photos and then we wandered back to the visitor centre to thaw out in the comfort of the cafe before having a look at the common woodland species back and fore the hanging feeders prior to leaving.

Ok,we missed the actual feed but that didn't detract from a great day out in a wonderful location and gives us an excuse not that one is needed to visit again.