County Birding: Divers, Ducks and a County First!

I've got three local county outings that I thought I would amalgamate into a single blog post. One of them was a county first that mobilised the entire Oxon birding community en masse but we'll come to that in a while.

Diver

My first outing was a trip to Farmoor a few weekends back to pay homage to the long staying juvenile Great Northern Diver that is spending the winter there. This bird has been around for a while now and clearly is finding it to its liking. There have been countless photos of it dismembering the invasive Signal Crayfish that are so prolific in our waters these days. On the day that I went it was right in the far north west corner of F1 and despite trying to see it from across the other side, it was only when I actually walked all the way around that I was able to find it. The light was very overcast by then so my record shots have come out rather monotonic but still it was very nice to see such a smart and impressive bird comparatively close up and looking so relaxed and at home.

The over-wintering juvenile Great Norther Diver

County First!

The next outing took place a couple of weeks ago. News broke late one afternoon of a Pallas' Warbler that had been found at Abingdon sewage works by GB. The back of camera shots were suitably gripping and whilst the news broke too late for me to contemplate a twitch I understand that a couple of people did actually manage it in the 30 minute window before dusk. 

Pallas' Warbler are usually found on the east coast in autumn and inland birds are very rare. I remember twitching my first one in Berkshire back in 2013 when one over-wintered along a river on the Berkshire/Hampshire border. Since then, I have seen three more: Cornwall (self-found!), Spurn (briefly) and Norfolk (fantastic views at Thornham) so in terms of my national listing this was not particularly important. However, in terms of Oxon listing there was no doubting the significance of this find as it was a county first. This meant that all the serious county twitchers were going to be there the next day and naturally enough I was going to try to see it too. 

Overnight it was ridiculously cold, going down to a freezing -5 degrees. This made me wonder whether being there at first light was actually the best tactic or whether to wait a little bit until things warmed up a little might not be better. So in the end I rocked up at the sewage works at a little after 9 a.m. to find the great and the good of the county birding world all assembled already: they'd all been there since first light of course, being proper hardcore twitchers. Still it hadn't done them any good as there'd been no sign of it so far. In fact it had just got to the stage where intense concentration in looking for the target was starting to wane and was giving way to aimiable chatting instead. It was quite something to see everyone all there together. Since the pandemic there hadn't been a chance for any social gatherings in the Oxon birding world so for many this was a good chance for a long overdue catch up.

Having come a bit later I was still quite keen and diligently searched along the northern boundary of the treatment works for the target bird. There were plenty of Chiffchaffs about and one or two Goldcrest which would get the pulse racing until the head was seen properly but not our much sought after county first. After about 30 minutes of this a shout went up to the west. We all knew what this meant and as one we hurried to investigate. It turned out that PR had seen it briefly in a more wooded area off to the north west of the works. We all spread out looking and a minute or two later PR had it again in a tree next to the path. We all converged on the spot and sure enough there it was, zipping about high up in an Alder tree. It was hard to pin down as it was very active but I managed to see it well enough to be sure of what I was looking at. We then all followed it for several minutes as it worked its way through the tree tops before it went deeper into the wood and was lost to view.

After that, the atmosphere relaxed noticeably. There was a lot of chatting and mutual back slapping and comparing back of camera photos from those that had managed to get off a shot. The crowd also began to disperse, with some of those who'd been there since first light starting to head off home. A few late comers arrived to find that always difficult twitching situation where everyone there has seen it well and is no longer looking and you're left trying to refind it on your own. For myself, having arrived a bit later and having seen the bird comparatively quickly I was in no particular hurry to leave. I wandered back to the main sewage work area for a bit to take a look at the Siberian Chiffchaffs which tended to hang out at this area. They see to be faithful to a small area next to the concrete treatment rings and I saw them well enough. I then helped some of the late arrivals to look for the bird again but without any success. Eventually hunger started to get the better of me and I headed back for home with a shiny new county tick to my name.

Some of the lingering twitchers watching the Siberian Chiffies

 

A couple of stunning photos of the Pallas' Warbler taken a few days later, courtesy of Roger Wyatt

A couple of Siberian Chiffchaff photos courtesy of Roger Wyatt

 

Pallas' Revisited and a Duck

As everyone suspected, the Pallas' stuck around. Having located the insect oasis that is the sewage works, there was really no where else for it to go. It was onto a good thing for an over-wintering insect eating bird and anywhere else would probably not sustain it. It was reported every day since as various people, local and national came to pay homage. A week or so later I went back for seconds one Saturday afternoon. There in the company of less than ten people I had regular glimpses of it as it worked its way along the trees and hedges of the narrow wooded strip north of the sewage works. The views were never crippling but I managed some nice pale lemon rump views which are always very pleasing.

I didn't stay too long as the views were unlikely to get better and there was no point in attempting a photo given the distances, the gloomy light and how comparatively elusive the bird was. Instead I chose to nip over to Thrupp lake nearby at Radley to see the drake Ring-necked Duck. It was immediately on view though somewhat distant. I busied myself with trying to photograph it but given the circumstances it was always just going to be a record shot. Also present on the lake were seven Red-crested Pochard, a species that I don't happen to see that often. There is a bit of a glut of RND's nationally at the moment and it's nice to see that Oxfordshire is getting in on this action. Indeed just in Oxon, apart from this bird there is a lingering female at Appleford GPs which is being seen from time to time.

A photo of the distant Ring-necked Duck

All in all, it has been a great start to the county birding year. A county first like that is almost certainly a shoe in for the county bird of the year unless something even rarer turns up. Still you never know!

January Durham Run

After having spent Christmas with us, our eldest daughter asked me if I could give her a lift back up to Durham at the start of January. With not much happening I felt that a change of scenery would help to shake off the January blues so I agreed. As usual I spent the week prior to our trip looking to see what might be around in the North East but, as is often the case at this time of year, there was nothing particular tempting to be seen. So in the end I decided to keep it fairly low key and stress free, choosing just to enjoy some of the local specialities.

Rather than our usual 8am start on Saturday we had a more leisurely departure at 10am, arriving at my daughter's house that she shares with her boyfriend, after an uneventful run at around 2pm. After a coffee and our packed lunch I proposed a local walk along the River Wear so I wouldn't have to do any more driving that afternoon. It was cold but sunny and I had a specific target in mind of wanting to see a Dipper which I'd not seen for a quite a while now. Having described the sort of shallow runs that they like, my daughter, who regularly walked along the river, took me to some ideal habitat where sure enough there was the sought after distant bobbing bird. With the addition of a couple of Goosander, a Grey Wagtail and some Little Grebes it was a very pleasant afternoon's walk.

Distant Dipper

Back at home I pootled about for a bit before we ordered some takeaway from my favourite Durham Thai restaurant - my treat for having done the drive. Then, after watching some Netflix Korean dramas in the evening (I have become obsessed!) it was time to turn in for the night.

The next day I was up reasonable early and out the door before my daughter was even up. I'd picked out a couple of local birds to try and see with the first being at the unlikely sounding location of a Morrison's carpark at Doxford Park in Sunderland where a third winter Iceland Gull was supposed to be hanging out. I arrived to a deserted car park (it was late opening on Sunday) and at first glance it seemed completely empty with not a gull to be seen. Indeed I had already started programming my next destination into my sat nav when I thought I'd better just chuck a few pieces of bread out to make sure. Low and behold within a few seconds I was surrounded by a couple of dozen Black-headed Gulls. This was more like it! A short while later the first larger gulls started to arrive and finally the Iceland Gull itself showed up. It had a liking for sitting on a roof top right in the corner and as I didn't have a great deal of bread to hand I had to use it sparingly at the right moment to entice it down to the ground but eventually it obliged.

The carpark Iceland Gull

Having got some reasonable photos I then decided to head on to my second destination, namely South Shields. It was not somewhere that I'd been to before but various reports of Snow Buntings just south of the pier had tempted me to go and take a look. I arrived and eventually managed to put together enough coins to pay for the parking - no contactless payment for some reason! I then wandered down to the dune area just south of the pier. On a sunny Sunday morning the area was full of people walking their dogs and at first glance it seemed fairly hopeless. 

Looking north towards South Shields pier

 

Looking around the only areas which were quieter were in the dune areas between the beach and the fairground so I had a little explore but there was nothing to see. Back towards the pier I encountered a fellow birder who turned out to be a chatty local. He told me that the flock of 20 or so Snow Buntings were normally right next to the pier where we were standing but that they'd not been seen today in two hours of searching. He said that by the steps people put seed out so I went over to take a look and there was a woman quietly watching a single Snow Bunting sitting on a rock. Relieved to have at least one to look at I relayed this information back to my new companion and set about taking a few snaps.

Like most Snow Buntings, it was very approachable and just sat there

Having finally seen my target I decided to have a wander along the pier to see what was about. 

Looking east at the start of the pier with the River Tyne on the left

 On the calm sea south of the pier there were a couple of Red-throated Divers fishing close in.

Along the pier itself there was a mixed flock of waders roosting on the rocks at the base of the pier, a mix of Dunlin, Redshank, Sanderling and a Ringed Plover.

 

On the sea at the end of the pier there were a few Guillemots fishing and on the River Tyne iteself there was a single Eider duck. With Turnstones and Rock Pipits also about it was nice to add some coastal species to my year list.

A Tyne Eider

A winter Guillemot

The small lighthouse at the end of the pier

It was very pleasant in the sunshine to wander about and enjoy the different surroundings and some different birds. Eventually though I realised it was time to start heading back so I retraced my steps and fired up the Gnome mobile. The journey southwards was long but uneventful. I punctuated it with a couple of quick stops for some tea from my flask and with Radio 4 for company I got back safely at tea time. It had been an enjoyable albeit low key trip up to the North East.

The Late (Again!) End of Year Review

Whereas other bloggers are now already blogging about their new year expeditions I'm still collecting my thoughts about the previous year. I seem to have got into a habit of being late with my end of year reviews and this year is no exception. Still, better late than never, here is my review of what was a pretty decent year's birding. As usual I will divide it up into the usual patch, county, national and non-bird sections but all managed to perform well this year.

Patch Birding

Regular readers will know that much of my day to day birding efforts are taking up with my local Port Meadow patch. I have already done a comprehensive review of the year (see here) so this is just an executive summary. It was a record breaking year in terms of year listing with 136 strict BOU species + 2 release scheme birds (Crane and White Stork) and two feral species (Snow Goose and Red-breasted Goose). One of these days I'm going to sit down and write my blog piece about Gnome listing but for now I'll leave the total deconstructed as above. The highlights of the year were: a Black Redstart in March (a personal patch tick), a Pectoral Sandpiper in December and a Dotterel also in December (also a Patch tick). The Port Meadow Bird of the Year was the Dotterel.

The Dotterel, courtesy of the finder Ollie Padget

County Birding

It was a very good year for county birding as well. Some years, outside of my patch it can be very quiet with no additions to my county year list but this year I managed three ticks. My day job meant that my twitching was more constrained so I had the extra challenge of trying to do door to door twitches within the one hour that I have off during daylight hours. This added a certain frisson to the twitching!

First up was the Purple Sandpiper at Farmoor. I had been away down in Cornwall for the only other twitchable county bird since I started birding at the end of 2007 so when this was found one August evening at Farmoor I hurried down there to make amends. 

Farmoor Purple Sandpiper

In September, I had the chance of another county grip back when a pair of Roseate Terns were found early afternoon at Farmoor. Again, I'd been away for the last twitchable bird and I managed to twitch them and return to my desk all within one hour. Hectic stuff but great to get such close views of this lovely Tern species.

The two Roseate Terns

It wasn't until December that my third county tick turned up when a Little Auk was found down on the river at Farmoor. Once again it was a mad dash to see it and get back all within one hour but somehow I did it, adding what was the ultimate county Mega to my list.

The Little Auk

The only other county trip of note was a morning spent up at Wantage to see an elusive Wryneck. The main enjoyment was winkling out views of this shy species but in the end it showed well enough.

The Wantage Wryneck

There is little contest for the county Bird of the Year: it has to be the Little Auk just for sheer rarity value. Only two county listers had ever seen one before (apart from some rescue birds) so it was a tick for just about everyone.

National Birding

My day job has rather been affecting my national birding as well. As I am confined to weekends, I either have to take the day off or do a weekend twitch. This has resulted in at least two missed life ticks this year but I still managed six additions to my coveted personal life list.

April was a productive month with three lifers no less! To start with there was a trip down to Cornwall that got me the Northern Mockingbird and the Newlyn American Herring Gull. Both birds fortunately hung around throughout the lockdown and were obliging enough for me to turn up and tick them fairly easily.

The Northern Mockingbird

The Newlyn American Herring Gull

The following weekend it was off to Sussex for the White-throated Sparrow at Barcombe. This involved waiting reasonable lengths of time before getting comparatively brief views but it was a lovely bird that certainly warranted putting in the time and effort for.

Barcombe White-throated Sparrow

Nationally, it was rather quiet then until June when we had a trip en famille down to Cornwall. Cornwall itself was rather uninteresting with just an adult Rose-coloured Starling worthy of note but on the way back we stopped off for the Ham Wall River Warbler which, after a tense wait, I managed to see just before the family needed to be picked up from Glastonbury.

The River Warbler

It wasn't until September that I had my next tick with the long-staying White-tailed Lapwing up at Blacktoft Sands. This was a lovely little reserve with a great supporting cast and the star turn was obliging enough.

The White-tailed Lapwing

I thought that that was going to be it but then in the last few days of the year I managed to snaffle the elusive Belted Kingfisher up in Lancashire. The views were distant but prolonged and, given all the tales of multiple dips on the internet, I was very happy to have this Mega in the bag.

The Belted Kingfisher

Other trips of note included a Durham run in January on which I saw the Northern Eider at Redcar. This is a subspecies tick for me and will therefore appear somewhere on the convoluted Gnome listing hierarchy.

The Redcar Northern Eider

The national Bird of the Year award is a really tricky one as they were all much appreciated in their own way. The Mockingbird and the Kingfisher are both real Megas in their own right; the American Herring Gull was something that I had long wanted to catch up with and I really enjoyed the Sparrow, Lapwing and River Warbler twitches. So this year I am going to be controversial and share the award equally amongst all of them.

Non-birding

There were only a couple of non-birding trips this year in the form of jaunts down to the New Forest for a couple of Orchid ticks that I still needed, namely Fragrant Heath Orchid and the tiny Bog Orchid. I enjoyed having something to do in the height of summer and with a side helping of some Honey Buzzard views it was a great couple of trips.

Bog Orchid

Summary

So there you have it: despite the restrictions of a day job and the on-going pandemic I managed to see some decent birds and to keep my various county and national lists jogging along. I really appreciate having mutliple different outlets for my birding in the form of patch, county and national birding - each offers me great enjoyment in their own way. Let's hope that 2022 is just as good.