Red-spotted Bluethroat at Swineham GPs, Dorset

There had been a very showy (or "confiding" as birders often like to say) Red-spotted Bluethroat down in Dorset. It had been around for a while and, judging by the photos to be found on various blogs and social media posts, it was showing very well (or "porning" it in birder parlance). Now as a species, I've seen three previous Bluethroats with a first winter in Cornwall back in October 2008, the returning Slimbridge bird last May, and then the first winter bird at Otmoor last autumn. That's plenty of Bluethroats and would normally mean that I wouldn't be particularly tempted by this bird. Also, as someone who is not really a photographer, I wouldn't go out of my way to try to get some good photos of a bird that I've seen a few times before. However, as regular readers will know, I am increasingly interested in sub-species ticks and indeed include all birds species and sub-species that can reasonably be identified in the field on my most inclusive of the various lists that I keep. So while this would be my fourth Bluethroat it would be only my first definitive Red-spotted one since, apart from the two first winter birds, the Slimbridge one had been a White-spotted subspecies. So this would be a sub-species tick and therefore a Gnome "Maxi List" tick. Still, that fact that I didn't race down there at the first opportunity was a testament to the fact that a sub-species tick doesn't quite have the same pull for me as a new species one. Still, last Saturday with nothing better to do, I decided to make a day of it and headed off mid morning on the 2.5 hour drive down to Dorset.

By way of some background info, the Bluethroat is a migratory member of the Old World Flycatcher family (which is a rather large taxonomic family encompassing many species). It is widespread across Europe and overwinters further south in northern Africa and Asia as well as the Iberian peninsula. I guess that global warming is only going to make this species more common here in the UK as they start to colonise the country. There are 11 subspecies but the two main ones that are considered here in the UK are the White-spotted and the Blue-spotted. The other subspecies tend to be variations on this - e.g. the Spanish subspecies has no spot (or sometimes a very small white one). I think in terms of my Maxi Listing these two will be more than enough for now.

The journey was uneventful though with a fair amount of traffic. I arrived at the specified road for parking to find the whole end of the street rammed with cars. Fortunately the local rugby ground was open for a match (Swanage & Wareham vs Devizes) and I was able to park discretely by the entrance there. Having done my research I knew where to go and set off on the 25 minute walk to the far side of the nearby Swineham gravel pit. It was a lovely sunny day and the scenery was interesting. Initially it was along a road lined with Scotts Pines (with calling Siskins in the canopy) with a stream and a marsh on the other side (with distant calling Redshank and a singing Reed Warbler). This gave way to the reedy banks of the tidal River Frome on one side with some high hedging bordering the gravel pit itself on the other side (with singing Cetti's Warblers). Finally the path got narrower as I turned a corner and after about 100 yards I came across the twitch site. Here there were less than half a dozen birders, sitting or crouching down and peering intently or trying to photograph something on the path ahead. The "something" of course was the Bluthroat which was porning it every bit as much as the internet photographs had suggested. It was hopping about ahead of us no more than a few yards at time, seemingly oblivious to its assembled admirers. I busied myself with trying to take some photos though in the strong sunlight, the shade cast by the hedge meant that half the time it was in deep shade and half the time in bright light. This, coupled with the fact that I have just a crappy Superzoom camera meant that my photos weren't going to be on a par with some of the stellar shots seen. Still they were good enough for me. 

 

At the twitch site waiting for the next showing

Soon, the bird disappeared into the reedbed for a while. I was told that it would do this for up to 10 minutes at a time though it would soon come back. At this point four people left having had their fill and it was just myself and one other chap. The bird came back for a while, we papped away, then it left again. Some non birding walkers passed through and another birder (a senior gentleman) came and "collapsed" next to us. Apparently the long walk in the heat had taken its toll and he spent the next twenty minutes recovering with his eyes closed. After a while he perked up and was able to partake in enjoying the Bluethroat which continued to come and go periodically. While we waited I kept one eye on the skies on the lookout for Osprey or White-tailed Eagle - both would be real possibilities in this location though all I saw were a few gulls. On the ground the Bluethroat would be joined by a Robin and a couple of Chaffinch from time to time. I'm guessing that they'd all learned to look out for the inevitable mealworms that the toggers had been putting out there though there were none that I could see at the time.

More birders arrived. The Bluethroat came and went and everyone got to see it. It was all very relaxed, easy and enjoyable. After about an hour or so I decided that I'd had my fill and started to head back towards the car. I took my time, enjoying the scenery and feeling content with life. Then it was back to the Gnome mobile and back off towards Casa Gnome. I had toyed with the idea of stopping off somewhere else but in the end I decided I just wanted to head home. After a pit stop for some food, it was an uneventful journey back home for my usual celebratory cup of tea. It had been an ejoyable day out with a very showy bird and a new sub-species tick under my belt. As a footnote, a couple of days later it departed so I'd gone to see it just in time.

American Golden Plover at Otmoor

Last Saturday news "broke" of an American Golden Plover at Otmoor. I say "broke" because it was initially a very confused affair. Somone on a local Facebook group posted a photo of a Golden Plover species that they weren't sure was a Eurasion or an American. They reported that "multiple people" had seen it but no one was sure what it was. This was certainly news to the county's birding WhatsApp group and started off a rather confusing period of time where those nearby converged on the Wetlands Watch Hide, took some photos and tried to ID the bird. The trouble was that this was a first winter bird at a reasonable distance from the hide in bright hazy sunlight so initially the photos were less than conclusive. Eventually somone posted a decent phone-scoped photo during a time when the sun went behind a cloud and at last the photo was clear enough for everyone to be certain that it was an American Golden Plover. This kicked off a mass twitch with many of the county's finest converging on the hide that afternoon. 

Photo courtesy of Steve Sansom

I had been doing various household chores but with everyone else out of the house for the afternoon and with nothing else planned it seemed like a no brainer to go and take a look. Not that I "needed" Anerican Golden Plover (or AGP as it is often abbreviated to) for the county having already seen two previously, but as it was only the third county record (yes I've seen all the previous county records) it's a really good Oxon bird and definitely worth paying homage to. So I set off in the Gnome mobile, electing to park at Noke and walk in from the west giving the likelihood of the main carpark being rammed. It was a pleasant sunny afternoon and after a brisk walk while being serenaded by warblers, I arrived at the Wetlands Watch Hide to find surprisingly few people there but everyone looking relaxed with the bird on show and looking settled. A quick "for the tick" peep through someone's scope and I was able to relax and set up my own optics. There it was, my third AGP for Oxon in all its plovery glory, looking very much at home as it fed along the distant shoreline. I passed a very pleasant hour or so watching the AGP, trying to take some video footage and chatting to the various county birders as they came and went. It was very interesting to tune into its jizz: it's long attentuated rear really gave it a different feel from a Eurasian GP - it felt very different to watch.  

 

A record shot videograb of the bird above; below showing the diagnostic dark underwing

 

Some video footage courtesy of Jason Coppock

At one point quite soon after I arrived, SS who was sitting next to me spotted a White Stork circling in front of us. For more than five minutes we watched as it circled overhead, constantly being harried by Red Kites. At one point it looked like it wanted to land but the Kites kept buzzing it and eventually it drifted off to the east. This was probably the same bird that had been seen in the west of the county the previous day but was a very nice bonus bird to get. Photo analysis determined that it was ringed and had probably been released from a West Country release scheme.

The White Stork overhead courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

After I'd had my fill of the AGP I went for a little walk to take a look at the resident Glossy Ibis trio down by the first screen. Apparently they tend to commute between the first screen and the pools just on the other side of the path in the north east corner of Big Otmoor. Indeed I soon found them at this latter location feeding away busily and looking very much at home. Then it was time to amble back to the car and to head homewards for my usual celebratory cup of tea.

At this point I should wheel out some backstories about the history of this species within the county. Local birders will already know this but the story of how the first one was found is so extraordinary that it certainly bears repeating. Back in the day before AGP had been recorded in the county, our esteemed county recorder had told me to be on the lookout for this species in the large Golden Plover flocks that used to congregate on my local patch of Port Meadow back in the day. Sadly these days these flocks no longer grace the patch but at that time you could get several hundred easily in a flock. Back then I was inexperienced and fairly useless at bird ID ("what's changed?" I hear you ask!) but IL the county recorder patiently tried to explain what to look out for. My tiny brain was only able to take in the bare gist of it so basically I just tried to look for something that was "different". One day not long after this conversation back in October 2008, I indeed found a Golden Plover that looked "different" and stood out from the crowd. I phoned IL and told him I'd seen an unusual Plover so he thought he'd better come and take a look. I'd left by this time but a while later I got a call from him that he had indeed found an American Golden Plover in the flock. I hurried back down and was treated to great views of a juvenile bird in amongst the rather restless flock that kept flying up and resettling. After a short period of time the flock got spooked one time too often and flew off so only a handful of county birders managed to see it. Now, it turned out that the AGP wasn't anything like the "different" bird that I'd picked out. I had noticed one that was unusually pale whereas this bird was a classic dark juvenile with strong supercilium. So I'd completely got it wrong and had dragged the county recorder down to take a look on a wild goose chase only for him to find the real deal in amongst the flock. What are the chances of that happening? Needless to say after this I soon learned how to ID them properly.

Record shot of the 2008 American Golden Plover at the back courtesy of Nic Hallam

I did manage to redeem myself four years later. I had since made a habit of always scanning through the Golden Plover flock on the Port Meadow looking out for rarities. One evening at last light in November 2012 I was looking through a flock of only about 30 birds when at the back I found a genuine American Golden Plover. This time I knew exactly what to look for and was pretty certain of the ID. IL confirmed it from the video footage I'd taken but it was too late for anyone else to twitch it that day. The next morning the great and the good of the county were at Port Meadow at first light. By all accounts the Plover flock gave them the run-around. They all circled high for several hours without ever landing before finally settling mid morning with the AGP still in amongst them. It didn't stay that long though and quite a few county Big Listers managed to miss it for one reason or another.

2012 American Golden Plover courtesy of Jason Coppock

This year's bird did the decent thing and stayed three days, allowing just about everyone in the county who needed it to connect. It had been really nice to have one that was so comparatively easy to see. There was no big flocks to sift through, no being spooked and then having to refind it. Just one settled bird on its own, almost constantly on view (it did disappear for short periods of time but would always return). Come Tuesday morning it had gone on its way. What a nice bird to have seen!

 

 

Richardson's Cackling Goose & Lesser Scaup at Clifton Pits, Worcestershire

I have history with Richardson's Cackling Goose, having previously dipped it on two occasions. The first was down on the Exe estuary on the way back from Cornwall; the second was on a trip up to Durham on a daughter University run. Two dips I think is certainly enough to qualify as a bogey bird so I was keen for my revenge. Now, usually they are only to be seen in the winter up in far flung places like Scotland which makes twitching them difficult. So when one turned up initially in Shropshire this certainly picqued my interest. This bird wasn't really twitchable and soon moved on. However, it then turned up in neighbouring Worcestershire where it proceeded to move around between several sites, never staying too long in any one of them. Despite the relative proximity, somehow I never got to the point of pulling the trigger and going for it. It then disappeared for several weeks and I assumed that I had missed my chance. However at the start of the week it turned up again at Clifton Pits where it was reported on a more or less daily basis. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place on Saturday when my younger daughter wanted to host some friends at our place and hinted that her parents might like to be out of the house for the afternoon. That was the final push I needed so that afternoon I set the Sat Nav coordinates for Clifton Pits and sallied forth. The drive was an hour and a half along the familiar route west along the A40 to the M5 and then heading northwards and turning off onto the A38. 

Just as I turned off this road into Clifton I saw a car driving ahead of me. I couldn't help but wonder if this was someone else twitching the Cackling Goose. The driver was getting ready just as I arrived and turned out to be a local birder coming to visit his patch for the afternoon. We started chatting and he turned out to be very friendly and helpful. He set off ahead while I donned all my winter clothing as the weather had turned wet and very windy - it was freezing!  

Clifton Pits: park at the arrow by the gate

I soon caught up with my guide for the day, scanning the North Pit where the Richardson's Cackling Goose was usually reported. With a scan of my bins I quickly picked it out of the flock of about fifty or so Canada Geese - it was standing right at the front where its diminuative size was readily apparent compared to its larger cousins. 

My first view of the Richardson's Cackling Goose on the North Pit

My companion commented that often on the bank it can be surprisingly hard to spot the smaller size and as I looked through the other birds I could certainly see what he meant. Some of them were tucked up asleep on some small islands and it would have been a nightmare to try to work out which bird it was if it hadn't been standing in such a prominent position. I took some digiscoped video and was just feeling very smug about such a quick conversion of my target when it and one Canada Goose took to the air and flew off to the far side of the Main Pit to our left. Again, had I arrived a bit later than I had done, I would have spent a long time fruitlessly searching for the bird in amongst the Canadas so I once again thanked my lucky stars that things had worked out as well as they did.

Cackling Geese are part of the difficult complex that makes up Canada Geese and over the years have been split in different ways. They were originally subspecies of Canada's before becoming species in their own right. There are four subspecies of Cackling Goose, the nominate Richardson's, Taveners, Small (minima) and Aleutian. To make matters more confusing, there are other small Canada Geese such as Todd's which are considered subspecies of Canadas themselves rather than Cackling Geese.

So what of this bird's credentials? It had first arrived in Shropshire as part of the eastern wild goose influx that brought so many Russian White-fronted and Tundra Bean Geese to our shores. Now, superficially this is the wrong direction for a nearctic Cackling Goose but I subsequently learned that there is a feral Category C population of this species on the continent and that this bird is almost certainly from there. That makes it eminently tickable and the Gnome Rarities Committee has already approved this bird. Of course it would be nice to see a genuine nearctic vagrant but in the meantime, this would certainly do.

Apart from the star bird there were about a dozen or so Egyptian Geese, plenty of Oystercatchers and at least a 100 hirundines, mostly Sand Martins with a few Swallows and one or two House Martins, all hawking low over the water in the fierce wind. A Redshank and a few other bits and bobs completely the birdage on the North Pit. As we chatted, my companion and I compared notes about inland water body patches - it was interesting to hear about the similarities and differences about the sort of birds that turned up here compared to Port Meadow back home.

North Pit where the Richardson's Cackling Goose usually hangs out

We then moved a short distance down to the shoreline of the Main Pit. There we scanned along the shore to avoid looking into the strong sunlight that had now appeared after the rain shower had passed. My companion told me that there were a pair of Lesser Scaup there which we soon picked out. What's more, it was thought that they were the same pair that I'd seen at Helston in Cornwall back in February as they appeared the day the Cornwall birds disappeared. Quite remarkable to see the same birds in two different locations so far apart in the same year! Apart from these ducks, there were a pair of Avocet, a Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and a White Wagtail.as well as lots more hirundines.

The much larger Main Pit, looking into the sun. You can see there is some flooding still which meant it was larger than usual

A digiscoped video grab records shot of the two Lesser Scaup

 

After that we worked our way west along the shoreline, meeting up with another birder and helping him get on the Lesser Scaup. I refound the Cackling Goose on the far side of the Main Pit, hanging out with a few Canada Geese. When some dog walkers approached the geese moved onto the water. As my friend had suggested, when it was out swimming it was much easier to determine the size difference - it looked tiny compared to its cousins when on the water. 

 

Digiscoped video grab - showing the size difference nicely

 

 

Above and below out on the water

 

Some more searching, mostly from my companion who was compiling an eBird day list, turned up some more Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover and serveral Yellow Wagtails. All in all, there was some good birds to accompany the star attraction and I was feeling very pleased with the fruits of my afternoon's sortie. 

As time was getting on I decided to leave and bade my companion for the afternoon goodbye. I then headed back to the car and started for home. I did try to stop in at a local garden centre to score a cup of tea but their cafeteria had closed for the day. So I girded my loins and headed on tealess back home to Casa Gnome, arriving back just before 7pm, very pleased with trip and a shiny new revenge tick under my belt.