Tenerife in late April

K, my eldest daughter, was going to La Palma in the Canary Islands for work. She's an astronomer and visits regularly to take measurments at the observatory there where the air quality and light pollution are both very good for astronomy work. She suggested that maybe after her visit was finished, she and I could explore Tenerife a bit as she'd never really seen it much. I was keen to do this as it would involve both exploring a new and interesting area and a chance to get in some international birding. I've not done much birding abroad and don't consider myself much of an international lister at all. But this would be a good chance to rectify that as well as to explore a completely new area for me. This was not just going to be a pure birding trip but also a chance to enjoy the interesting and varied island scenery as well. Hopefully the balance between birds and holidaying could be struck so that we could both enjoy the trip.

Target Species

I did some background research on Tenerife and found a number of good trip reports - in particular this one which I relied on heavily. From this I found that there are a number of "must see" endemic species that any serious lister targets. For me, I was just more interested in seeing new species and I drew up the following target list

Endemic to the Canary Islands
Canary Island Chiffchaff
Bolle's Pigeon
Laurel Pigeon
Blue Chaffinch
Canary Island Chaffinch
African Blue Tit

Endemic to the Macronesian Region
Atlantic Canary
Berthelot's Pipit
Plain Swift

Others Regional Species
African Collard Dove
Barbary Partridge

In addition to these birds there are a number of subspecies, some of which are rather distinctive and I drew up a short-list of these as well

Goldcrest - (R. r. teneriffae)
Great Spotted Woodpecker – (D. m. canariensis)
Northern Raven - (C. c. canariensis)
Common Kestrel – (F. t. canariensis)
Common Buzzard – (B. b. insularum)
European Robin – (E. r. superbus)
Blackbird - (T. m. cabrerae)
Yellow-legged Gull - (L. m. atlantis)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – (A. n. granti)
Sardinian Warbler – (C. m. leucogastra)
Common Linnet – (L. c. meadewaldoi)
Great Grey Shrike - (L. e. koenigi)
Long-eared Owl – (A. o. canariensis) 

So that was my target list but how would I get on?

Getting There

K was already at La Palma and was flying back to Tenerife on Sunday morning. I flew out from Gatwich on Sunday, arriving just before 8pm at Tenerife South Airport. It was interesting flying in and seeing the island for the first time. It looked so bleak and barren that I wondered what it was going to be like trying to bird it. I later learnt that it is just this southern side, where all the resorts are, that looks like this. The northern half is covered in lush Laurel rainforest and is very different from the harshness that greeted me on landing. I picked up the hire car (hearing a Canary Island Chiffchaff and a Blackcap in the carpark) and drove north for what should have been a three quarter of an hour trip to La Laguna where K was staying at a hotel for the evening. Unfortunately I made a cock-up with the Sat Nav as I'd linked it to the car bluetooth but had not turned the volume on so I couldn't hear any instructions. This resulted in me completely missing my turn-off. What with that and driving a strange car on the wrong side of the road I got really lost until I eventually found a side street I could parK in and could sort out the Sat Nav. After that I made my way back to La Laguna only to discover that there was no where to park outside the hotel so I ended up doing a complete tour of the town centre before stopping illegally in one spot (the streets are very narrow) long enough to check in and get instructions on how to access the hotel parking. Finally, I'd arrived and could relax! I met my daughter in the bar for a catch-up and a much needed beer before turning in for the night.

Day One

K had stayed at La Laguna several times as it is right next to Tenerife North Airport which is used to hop over from Tenerife to La Palma where the observatory is. However, she'd never had a chance to explore the town itself so after the hotel breakfast we went for a wander about. Once out and about the first birds to greet me were the Atlantic Canaries. They were everywhere, trilling away in the trees. Another ubiquitous bird was the Canary Island Chiffchaff - they too were everywhere. In the town there were also one or two Serins about though they were far fewer in number than the Canaries. African Blue Tit was soon picked up in one of the open elaborate courtyards of the grand houses that you can just walk into to have a look around. We wandered up a hill to a local viewpoint (a "mirador") where we found some Plain Swifts flying around. A Sardinian Warbler was also spotted in the scrub as we walked up the hill. Back in town, we bought some food for lunch for the day, headed back to the car and off to our first destination, that of the Anaga rainforest area in the north eastern tip of the island. 

An Atlantic Canary in the town

The Laurel rainforest is quite something: dense Laurel trees covering the rather steep hillside. We parked up in a side road and did a short walk up to a viewpoint. The first area was rather popular which was a shame but we soon picked up Canaray Island Chaffinch as well as the Robin subspecies on our walk. 

 

The path through the Laurel Rainforest

 

A Canary Island Chaffinch - now split into full species. They are rather striking birds

A rather blurry photo of the Robin subspecies (E. r. superbus). You can make out the rather smart blue-grey area that it has bordering the red breast

Back at the car we had our packed lunch and drove on to Mirador Pico del Inglés. By this time the cloud had descended and we were shrouded in mist. This is a common occurrence on the island and makes the whole rainforest experience entirely magical! This was a fantastic viewpoint and we spent some time here just admiring the scenery and looking down the very steep ravine over the rainforest. There were several Plain Swifts flying about and looking down over the canopy I spotted a very distant Bolle's Pigeon briefly as well as a distant Buzzard. 

 

The view from Mirador Pico del Inglés. This is classic endemic Pigeon habitat

Next we drove the short distance to the Túnel de las Hadas. This was a path cut into the mountainside, which in the mist was specatularly atmospheric. No new birds here but it was a magical experience which we both very much enjoyed. 

Túnel de las Hadas

More of the misty rainforest vibe

After that we headed back to the car and just followed our noses driving further northwards, stopping at any mirador that we fancied and admiring the view. The clouds soon lifted and we were back in bright sunshine. Plain Swifts were seen regularly, as well as Barn Swallow on one occasion and another large Pigeon species that I didn't see well enough to be sure which one it was. We stopped at a picnic spot for some refreshments and to tempt down some Chaffinches for a photo opp using a crushed Pringle.

Another Canary Island Chaffinch at the picnic spot

As time was marching on, we decided that it was time to head off to the AirBnB that we were staying in for the next three nights. Our AirBnB was situated along the north coast south of the town of La Orotava about an hour and a half away. It turned out to be up a very steep hillside that was a bit of a struggle for the rather low powered hire car that we had. On the way up the track we flushed a Barbary Partridge which was nice to get en passant. The AirBnB turned out to be a wonderfully characterful place located on the edge of a little rainforest ravine and overlooking La Orotava and the sea beyond it. After settling in we went for a walk along one of the many paths that criss-crossed the area. Canaries, Chiffchaffs, Blackbirds and Chaffinches were singing away everywhere and we flushed another Partridge. The whole area was very green and lush and full of wild flowers. The path soon lead us into some more Laurel rainforest and we kept hearing large pigeons crashing their way out of the canopy as we walked though we could never see them to identify them. This turned out to be a common problem when chasing the two endemic pigeon species. They are often so tantalisingly close yet impossible to see. Back at the cottage we had something to eat and then settled in for the night.

One of the myriad of Atlantic Canaries around the cottage

Day Two

The next morning, first thing it was bright and sunny. Just wandering around the cottage environs there were Chiffchaffs, Canaries, and Blackbirds everywhere, along with a single singing Robin, and a Turtle Dove was purring away in the copse at the end of the garden. Overhead were Plain Swifts and an occasional Sparrowhawk. It was all very pretty and full of bird song. Looking across the small ravine at the end of the back garden I soon spotted lots of Bolle's Pigeons flying about though no Laurel Pigeon. It's interesting that on Tenerife there are no Corvids (apart from the occasional Raven) and no Wood Pigeons so any large bird flying out of a woodland canopy is likely to be one of the two Pigeons.

Our plan for today was first to go up to El Teide National Park, where the large volcano cone that dominates the centre of the island is situated. K had already been up it once as the Tenerife Observatory is there but she was keen to go again and I was looking forward to exploring a new landscape. The ascent initially goes through some pine forests. It turns out that the pine there is a special one that is resistant to insects and fungus so is ideal for building and all the old town doors and balconies are made of this dark wood. It is also remarkably resiliant to fire and despite terrible forest fires last year it was already growing back nicely.

After a while the road suddenly broke out of the trees and into the desert proper. This was a stunningly beautiful landscape - very barren and other worldly. At one of the parking areas we got out for a wander about. A couple of Plain Swifts were zipping about overhead and I heard and then saw my first Berthelot's Pipit sitting on a rock. 

The desert landscape of El Teide National Park

Berthelot's Pipit in the El Teide desert

 

As we drove along, stopping occasionally, there was not much to see in terms of wildlife apart from the occasional Plain Swift - I was surprised that were were no Ravens here. Towards the far end of the El Teide Park at the Mirador de La Ruleta (which was a bit of a scrum in terms of people and parking) we chanced upon a flock of four Berthelot's Pipits, wandering around at very close quarters.

One of the four Berthelot's Pipit feeding in amongst the crowds of people

By now it was lunch time and we decided, naturally enough, to head to the famous La Lajas picnic area. I say "famous" as it is well known to be the spot for the endemic Blue Chaffinch. We arrived to find the place almost deserted with just one large party of asian tourists having a large and very noisy barbeque so we headed to a quiet table at the other end of the picnic area. At first glance the whole area seemed remarkably birdless and I was starting to worry though K said she thought she saw a blue coloured bird fly past us which I hadn't seen. So we settled down for lunch to see what would happen. I crushed a Pringle onto a wall near our table and we started to eat. After a few minutes I spotted the distinctive shape of a large finch-like bird on a distant table and sure enough there was the Blue Chaffinch. A few minutes later suddenly he was on our wall eating the Pringle and we were treated to good views as we ate our lunch. They were much larger than I was expecting, definitely larger that the usual Chaffinch size.

The iconic Blue Chaffinch

Apart from the Chaffinch there were a couple of Ravens (the first of the trip) and I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling. There were also a few Canaries, an African Blue Tit and some Chiffchaffs (of course). Over behind the toilet block I'd read that there was a water hole where all the birds like to congregate but on inspection this turned out to be completely dry. I guess it was too late in the year for that.

One of the two Ravens (C. c. canariensis)

A Kestrel (F. t. canariensis) feeding on a lizard

Having finished our lunch we decided to head into the north west corner of the island and then to work our way back home along the north coast. We were initially thinking of going to La Masca which is a very attractive tourist spot though according to Google it would be heaving with visitors at this time of day so instead we opted for the town of Erjos where there was a track into the rainforest. Apparently, this was also a really good spot for Bolle's Pigeon, and my go-to reference trip report even gave details of the exact tree that they like to perch in! As we drew near the clouds came down again, so it was in increasing mist that we set off on the short walk up to to one of the many paths that criss-cross the island. We initially passed through some nice green scrub area where I finally saw my first Canary Island Goldcrest of the trip. At the top of a small ascent, we knew we'd got to the tree as, with a large clattering of wings, several Bolle's Pigeons took flight all at once. My source of info had said that this would happen and to go into the forest for a little way in order to give them time to return. We needed no second invitation to enjoy the magic of the rainforest and we once enjoyed the spectacle of the trees shrouded in mist.

Yet more misty Laurels!

On our way back I was more careful in my approach and managed to find five Bolle's Pigeons all perched on the same bare tree. However the mist was so bad that they are little more than silhouettes. Still it does make for an atmospheric representation of Tenerife birding!

Three of the five Bolle's Pigeons, shrouded in the mist

Back at the car, we next decided to do some filthy twitching in the form of a stop at Mirador de la Grimona. This is a rather unappealing small Mirador on the busy main road along the north of the island with lots of traffic whizzing by constantly. What is more you have to be on the right side of the road even to be able to stop so we had to go past it and turn around at the next turn off in order safely to stop there. K was somewhat bemused at all this but within a minute of getting out of the car we'd seen our first Laurel Pigeon and basically every minute or two one would fly out from the trees. Whilst the Mirador is for viewing the sea, the Pigeons are actually on the other side of the road on the cliff face towering over us. Also seen were a Buzzard, a Yellow-legged Gull (l.m. atlantis) and a few Plain Swifts.

Laurel Pigeon - about as record shotty as they come!

The view up the cliff where the Laurel Pigeons were

To cleanse ourselves after such a filthy twitch we headed a short distance to Charco De La Laja to look at a natural bathing pool and to stare at the sea a little. There were some interesting Red Rock Crabs lurking around the edge of the pool and it was nice just to sit, nibbling a snack and listening to the sound of the waves.

 

The natural pool at Charco De La Laja

Red Rock Crab (Grapsus adscensionis)

Finally it was back to the AirBnB. There we had an attempt to cook some pizzas that we'd bought before we discovered that there was no oven in the cottage! We tried to cook it on the gas powered barbeque though this didn't really work and we had to abandon our pizzas and eat left-overs from yesterday. Then it was time to veg out from our long day, so we watched some Netflix whilst sipping on some rather nice Rioja before hitting our beds for the night.

Day Three

We decided to have a more chill day today. I'd basically seen all the major species that I had on my target list apart from African Collard Dove. I had spotted a pale Collard Dove species in passing from the car which had probably been one but I wasn't sure. Still, I was fairly easy going about it so we planned something more relaxed. We started with a little walk from the cottage in a loop around some of the local paths. It was a nice walk though with little of note to report. 

Our walk from the cottage. I thought I'd better redress the excess of misty photos with a shot of the lovely wildflowers that are everywhere on the north part of the island

After a lunch made up largely of left-overs we headed down the hill in the car to La Orotava to explore some of the old quarters of the city. We visited La Casa del Balconies (the aptly named House of Balconies) which did indeed have lots of wooden balconies on it. There were also Spanish Sparrows nesting in the eaves which were nice to see.

Spanish Sparrow

The inner courtyard of La Casa de los Balcones

Wandering around the town afterwards I soon came across a definite African Collard Dove. There were also some Ring-necked Parakeets in a little park area. 

African Collard Dove

Next it was on to the nearby Botanic Garden which had an amazing variety of plants and trees. I came across a young Turtle Dove shuffling around in the undergrowth and on the small pond there were a couple of Moorhen. I realised that this was the only patch of freshwater we had seen on the whole trip.

Juvenile Turtle Dove

I think this is Gallot's Lizard (Gallotia galloti)

 

One of the two Moorhen on the tiny pond

Scarlet Darter by the pond

The amazing Ficus macrophylla. This is all one tree which drops support trunks so that it can spread out further

By now it was after 4pm and we were thinking that there would be fewer crowds at La Masca so we headed off on the hour long journey there. I had been feeling a bit ambivalent about it but it turned out to absolutely stunning. The clouds had lifted and it was perfect weather to admire the amazing scenery of mountains and ravines along the switchback road leading down into the valley. 

The amazing switchback road that descends to La Masca in stunning scenery

 

The La Masca view at the end of the road

On the bird front there was another Berthelot's Pipit and quite a few Plain Swifts to be seen. Down at the end of the road there was a small village of houses and restaurants. Amazingly I came across several Barbary Partridges just wandering along the path there and completely unphased by our presence.

A very tame Barbary Partridge

We had intended to eat at one of the restaurants there but they had already stopped serving food so we headed back to the main town and enjoyed a very nice meal of local specialities before heading back on the long drive back home to the cottage. As it was a clear night we tried a bit of star gazing and managed to see several shooting starts just in a short period of time.

Going Home

There's not much to report here. We left the house fairly early, filled up with petrol as the hire car required a full tank on return and then drove the hour or so back to the airport to drop off the car. K's flight wasn't until the evening so she went on via bus to go on a whale watching boat trip while I went to catch my flight. In the end my flight was delayed by a couple of hours as they'd had to swap out the plane that morning on the flight over here due to a technical issue. Fortunately there was a coach back to Oxford just about to leave as I got there so I made back a little time and I got back to Oxford at about 9:30 pm tired but very pleased with what had been an excellent trip. 

It had been a very nice combination of birding and sightseeing and both K and I felt that we'd "done" Tenerife quite well now. I had managed to see all my target species and all but three of the target subspecies. I felt that on the bird front, Tenerife had been successfully completed. This trip had also whetted my appetite for more international birding. With my national UK list becoming very much subject to the law of diminishing returns, international birding opened up a whole vista of fresh opportunities.

 

Appendix 

I thought I would summarise some of the trip details for people contemplating a trip to Tenerife of their own. Starting with "where to find the individual species".

Canary Island Chiffchaff: this is everywhere. You can't help but see this.

Canary Island Chaffinch: this is everywhere

African Blue Tit: this is everywhere.

Bolle's Pigeon: the best spot for this is Erjos on the bare tree at 28.3294,-16.8102. As I wrote above, be careful how you approach it or you will flush them. If you do, then walk on into the forest and then back again in a while to pick them up on the rebound. Alternatively, apparently Barranco de Ruiz is a reliable spot.

Laurel Pigeon: the Mirador de la Grimona is a reliable spot though less than salubrious.  Alternatively again Barranco de Ruiz is a reliable spot.

Blue Chaffinch: La Lajas picnic spot

Atlantic Canary: these are everywhere

Berthelot's Pipit: these were harder than I had been lead to believe from other reports. Mirador de La Ruleta had a tame flock of four though I have no idea if they are always there. I also saw them at La Masca and elsewhere in the El Teide National Park.

Plain Swift: Pretty easy to see.

African Collard Dove: easy enough in the towns and gardens

Barbary Partridge: I managed to come across them without trying. The end of the road at La Masca had them wandering around at my feet. Apparently Barranco de Ruiz is also a good spot.

In terms of subspecies I managed almost all of them without really trying with only the last three on the list above not seen.

As a general note, there are not many different species of bird on Tenerife which tends to make identification rather easy as there is not much to choose from! My entire trip list came out at about only 30 species which is a very small number for three days of birding. I didn't try for any of the sea birds and didn't visit any freshwater so was very light on water fowl. Still, I got all my target species which was what I was after.

Addendum
I have updated this post after learning that the Canary Island Chaffinch and African Blue Tit have both been promoted to full species rather than subspecies.

A Waxwing Winter

I'm sure that all birders are already aware that this year is an irruption year for Waxwings. These charismatic winter vistors normally only grace our shores in modest numbers each winter, usually up in Scotland or along the east coast of the country. However, occasionally we get a "Waxwing Winter", an irruption year when they come over in much greater numbers. During such winters, they gradually work their way down the country and further inland so in such years Oxfordshire has a fighting chance of hosting them as well. This winter, I, along I'm sure with lots of other county birders, watched with impatience as the line of reported Waxwing sightings crept gradually southwards down the country. When it got more or less in line with Oxon it seemed that some invisible force field was keeping them out as counties on either side of us were getting sightings but we were not. There were one or two single-observer untwitchable records in the county, only "possible" or "probable" - it was all very frustrating. In December, in frustration I buckled and made a sortie in Bucks to near High Wycombe where there had been regular sightings. However, the Waxwings weren't seen that morning I got no reward for standing in the cold for three hours. There was one county sighting where they were reported just outside the Oxford ringroad near Hinksey which I thought was close enough to warrant a try for them. However, despite some great looking berry bushes, there was no sign of any Waxwings.

Early in the new year I was pondering going to see the Northern Waterthrush on the Friday after it was first found. However, the lack of firm news first thing rather put me off so instead I elected to pop over to Cheltenham where there were some pretty much guaranteed Waxwings to be had at Naunton Park. EU had already messaged to say that he was going for them and reported that four had been seen this morning though had presently flown off. When I arrived they'd just turned up again with five companions. They were immediately on view in their "lookout tree" which was surrounded by four Sorbus trees as well as quite a few photographers, all waiting for them to descend once more on the berries. 

Naunton Park, Cheltenham: there were four Sorbus trees surrounding a larger central look-out tree

Sitting in their look-out tree

 

...and on a berry raid!

For the next three quarters of an hour they would make occasional raids onto the berries where they would stuff their faces as quickly as possible before heading back to the safety of their lookout tree. After that, they flew up into a more distant very large tree where they were little more than blobs sitting in the tree top. Then they flew off somewhere else. EU and I decided to go and find a café where we ejoyed a pleasant chat as we put the world to rights.

We came back to find the Waxwings were back in a different distant tree. Suddenly they came back down to their lookout tree and the whole process started again. The crowd has grown in the meantime and there was more furious papping and we too joined in. After a while I felt I'd had my fill and decided to go. At last I'd managed to catch up with these beautful birds.

Oxford Waxwings

At last in January, Oxfordshire started to get some definite sightings. Again, single observer and untwitchable but there was a noticeable uptick in reports. Then one evening someone on my local Port Meadow patch WhatsApp group reported that his father had casually mentioned to him that there had been a couple of Waxwings in some trees by the start of the Aristotle Lane footbridge over into Port Meadow. With the various members having been alerted, people started to look out for them again the next day and mid-morning, low and behold they turned up again. I was on the way out to do the weekly food shop with my VLW so we stopped off for a tick and run view of them sitting up in an Ash Tree lookout tree. Later that day I returned to find them still there and making occasional raids on the Sorbus bush.

A slightly blurry photo taking in the fading light

There were initially just a couple of adult birds but the next day they brought some youngsters along with 5 first winter birds also present. They were usually in the same location, using either an Ash Tree or a Silver Birch as the look-out tree before descending to the Sorbus for a berry raid. It was during the raid that all the photographers tried to get photos though these raids were often fleeting and the birds often obscured. On one occasion the flock relocated a few hundred yards down the round in someone's back garden where they could be seen resting in a more distant look-out tree. However, it was the original Sorbus Tree where most of the action was. On one occasion I managed to take some relatively OK video footage of some of the berry raids.

The Waxwings were with us for about a week or so, though not every day and not always reliable. Still, they were the first proper twitchable birds within the county and many people managed to catch up with them. At the time of writing, things have gone rather quiet on the Waxwing front with no reports in the county for a while now. Let's hope we get a few more before the winter is out.

 

 

 

 

The Heybridge Northern Waterthrush

Most birders with their finger anywhere remotely near the pulse of the birding news network will be aware of the Northern Waterthrush currently in residence in Heybridge in Essex. This is in all probability yet another American bird blown over in the Great Storm of '23 that dumped so many Nearctic passerines on our shores. This one wasn't discovered until the 3rd January when an incredulous local birder spotted it in his garden. Fortunately it was subsequently found to be frequenting a nearby creek and so began a mass twitching frenzy to try to see it. It is only the 8th record for the UK and only the third ever mainland bird so this was definitely a Mega! Despite it's name, it is of course actually a Nearctic Warbler, breeding in Canada and northern America and wintering in northern South America. It frequents thickets near to water and looks a bit thrush-like - hence the name.

At only two hours drive from my house, it was very much on my radar, but as well as distance, I have a "probability of seeing it" filter as well. By all accounts this bird wasn't that easy to see. It would go missing for long periods of time and quite a few people managed to dip it. So I decided to wait to see if it would develop some kind of pattern for being seen. By the end of the first weekend, people had realised that standing right next to the creek was the main issue with the bird being so elusive and by standing back it would show quite readily. It was also most reliable at first light, often feeding away for up to an hour at a time before disappearing for a while. It would usually (but not always) then put in a mid to late morning showing and after that it was very unreliable until it came into roost again at dusk. 

Having established all this, I decided that being there at first light was the best tactic but the prospect of battling my way around the M25 before dawn on what would in all probability be far too little sleep was not that appealing. So instead I decided to travel up on Monday night and to stay at an Air BnB some 15 minutes away at Danbury. En route there were a couple of minor issues: my offside dipped headlight bulb failed and there were repeated ominous "Road Ahead Closed" signs as I approached my destination. Fortunately the latter turned out to be 100 yards just beyond my cottage turn off though it did make me sweat a little. The BnB was warm and comfortable and I was soon settled in for the night.

The next day I was up and back on the road just before 7 am. There was a surprisingly large amount of traffic on the roads but I made the short hop to Heybridge easily enough. A bit of pre trip research had unearthed an industrial estate along Bates Rd as a good parking location with the twitch site being a mere 5 minute walk from the end of this road. The temperature was going to be around freezing first thing so I was well wrapped up as I hurried in the darkness along the path, onto the road so familiar from Streetview planning, before finally turning the corner to see about thirty or so hushed twitchers in the pre dawn darkness, waiting for the light and hopefully the bird as well. I met JT from Oxon in the twitcher line and we chatted quietly as we waited for the show to start.

Waiting in the darkness...

It was only about 7:20 when someone in the line with a thermal imager said that he could see it and a few people around me managed to see some movement in the same general area. By around 7:30 it was just light enough so that peering into the dark one could make out the silhouette of what was clearly the bird. It was feeding away at close quarters around the sluice gate. Gradually as the light improved so did the views and the bird seemed quite happy to continue feeding despite all the birders up on the ridge above looking down on it.

Because of the poor light I resorted to some hand-held video to start with

After that it became a question of trying to get a decent photo of it. The fact that the light was so poor still and the bird was constantly on the move meant that it was nearly impossible to get a decent photo with my relatively low tech camera and shot after shot came out blurred. In the end most of my shots are of "record shot" quality and don't really represent the quality of the views that we were getting. It was often showing down to about 5 yards and one couldn't have asked for better views. It's brown upper parts and streaked underparts and the way that it hunted along the water shoreline very much reminded me of a Rock Pipit though its smart elongated supercilium and more well-defined elongated breast streaking were both very different from the smudgy vagueness of that other species.

A couple of blurry photos of the bird. There was no issue with how close the bird was, just the poor light and the fact that it was constantly on the move

Me in the blue woolly hat peering at the Waterthrush, courtesy of JT

The famous (and much photographed) creek. The bird would feed all along the shoreline
including  right up against the concrete edge.

A proper photo of the Northern Waterthrush taken later in the day, courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Fellow Oxon Birder PL turned up, fortunately in time for the first showing and immediately connected with the bird. As per the schedule, it was basically on show for about an hour, nearly always at a close distance though it did occasinally move further up the creek. Then suddenlly, it flew off into a nearby tree, worked its way from bush to bush before feeding briefly in the creek on the other side of the ridge on which we were standing. Then it decided that the morning show was over and it flew off. I contemplated hanging around in the cold for what could be a couple of hours in order to get a better photo and decided against it. PL stayed a bit longer than me but I wandered back to the car, stopping to admire the scenery now that it was light enough to see it.

Looking towards Maldon and the River Blackwater

After some hot tea and a snack back in the car I pondered what to do. In the end I decided to try for a Red-breasted Goose at Bradwell-on-Sea, a salt marsh some 40 minutes away. I drove down increasingly windy and narrow country roads until, some 2 miles from the destination I came across a gate across the road where it became private with walking access only. I got out of the car to find that the forecast increase in wind had indeed happened - it was bloody freezing! The prospect of slogging 2 miles there and back and trying to pick out a distant Red-breasted Goose in a flock of Brents in what was an extremely cold and strong wind was just not that appealing. So I got back in the car and retraced my steps and instead pointed the Sat Nav for home. I arrived back at Casa Gnome in time for lunch with my first lifer of the year safely under my belt.

End of Year Review

As usual, my end of review is a fashionably late January one. I find that Christmas is just too busy a time for me to find time to write it. By all measures it was a very good year. Other bloggers have written about their amazing lifer additions for the year and, whilst I was more restrained in what I went for, I too had a good addition to my national life list. But I'll come to that in due course. As usual my review is split into patch, county, national and other stuff.

Port Meadow Patch

As usual, I've done a separate full review of the Port Meadow Patch year which you can read here. So to summarise, it was a record breaking year with a year list total of 148, smashing the previous record of 141. If you look at the headline birds from the year, it makes for amazing reading:

SMEW
MARSH HARRIER

ROCK/WATER PIPIT

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
WILLOW TIT
SIBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF x 2
LITTLE GULL
MERLIN
KITTIWAKE x 2
WOOD WARBLER
MANDARIN DUCK
SANDWICH TERN
ARCTIC TERN x 2
SHORT-EARED OWL
NIGHTINGALE
CROSSBILL

WOODCOCK
RED-CRESTED POCHARD 

Drilling down into more detail it was a year of two halves: all the action happened in the first half and autumn was completed dead. November and December did provide the Smew and a second Marsh Harrier as well as some more Siberian Chiffchaff action but that was about it. The bird of the year was the American Wigeon though sadly it was only seen by a single observer on the Meadow before it relocated to Otmoor.

American Wigeon courtesy of Thomas Miller - the Port Meadow "Bird of the Year"

Oxon County Birding

Like Port Meadow, the county too had a very good year with an amazing spring purple patch. But things all started earlier than that in March when a drake Lesser Scaup turned up at Farmoor. This was a long overdue county tick for me as the previous easily available one was before my time when I started birding.

The Farmoor Lesser Scaup

As I said above, spring was when it all kicked off. In quick succession the county was graced with a singing Spotted Crake, a single-observer Night Heron, a Black-winged Stilt, a Temminck's Stint, a Montagu's Harrier and a Golden Oriole. Apart from the Night Heron and the Harrier I caught up with all these bird. In particular the Golden Oriole was a county tick that I never thought I'd get. What's more, it was even on show for an extended period of time - quite unprecedented for this species which is normally extremely skulking. You can read up on all of these birds here.

The showy Golden Oriole

 

Having missed the Night Heron in the spring (though I did reckon that I heard it), everyone thought that was it. However in July, it (or another one - there'd been a national influx) turned up at Drayton on a small pond which everyone got to see so that county bogey bird was finally put to rest.

The Drayton Night Heron

Just as for Port Meadow, the second half of the year was completely dead apart from a Pallid Harrier that I missed whilst seeing the Brown Booby (see below). Whilst the official county bird of the year was the Harrier, for me it has to be the Golden Oriole. To get views that good was something I never thought would happen in the county. 

To round off this section, below is the traditional Oxon Birding Review montage set to the usual inappropriate music.

The Oxon Birding Review for 2023

 

National Birding

My national life list is a cherished part of my birding and I'm pleased to say that this year I got 7 shiny new ticks, more than my usual average of 5 which I've had for the last few years since I got my BOU list above 400.  It all started with a King Eider (not a lifer) up at Redcar as part of one of my occasional Durham trips to ferry Daughter #1 to or from her home in the North East. It was hard work picking out the bird at extreme distance in the strong wind but I managed it in the end.

 

The Redcar King Eider courtesy of Damian Money

The next national trip was to Seaford in May for the White-crowned Sparrow (my first lifer). Fortunately I went on the last day it was there and got good views as well.

 

The Seaford White-crowned Sparrow

 

It wasn't until August that I had my next national birding trip, this time to Arne for the long staying Forster's Tern (another lifer) which was nice and straight-forward to connect with. With Honey Buzzard afters, it was a nice trip. 

The Arne Forster's Tern

September was the top month of the year with no less than three trips, all for lifers. The first was a trip over the border into Wales to get a little piece of the amazing American warbler fest that happened in Wales. This was in the form of the second Magnolia Warbler of the Year for the UK, this one in Baglan.

The Magnolia Warbler courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

A few days later there was another warbler twitch, this time down to Sussex for the long staying Aquatic Warbler. This species is usually impossible to twitch so when one set up camp along a river bank and was comparatively easy to see it was a no brainer to go for it.

 

The Aquatic Warbler courtesy of Joe Tobias

The third tick for September was when I had to take Daughter #2 all the way up to Aberdeen for the start of her Master's degree. On the way back down I stopped off at Teeside for the Brown Booby which showed well throughout the time I was there.

 

The Teeside Brown Booby

That was it until November when I first had a little trip over the border into Gloucestershire to see the Purple Heron there. Unfortunately, whereas others had had crippling views of it in previous days, all I got was about 30 seconds before it flew off, never to be seen again.

The Whelford Purple Heron courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

There was one more national twitch that I went on. This was a trip over to Norfolk for the long-staying Pallid Swift, followed by the Canvasback for afters. The swift was easy but the duck was hard though in the end I saw it well enough. Pallid Swift is one of those species that I thought I would probably never see so to have an obliging twitchable bird like this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

The Pallid Swift courtesy of Nick Truby

So that was my national birding. In terms of national bird of the year they were all pretty much "good ticks" to get. However, I guess it has to be the Magnolia Warbler. American warblers are just so stunning to look at compared to our drab birds.

Other Stuff

There was some other stuff that I went for during the year, mostly orchids and odonata. In early spring I saw the Oxon Giant Orchids that had newly been discovered. I guess it will become an annual trip to see them now.

One of the Giant Orchids

There was also a trip up to Scotland in June when I finally caught up with some of the Scottish speciality orchids (Lesser Twayblades and Coralroot) as well as Northern Damselfly. There are still a few more of both orchids and odonata that I need so another trip will probably happen this year as well.

Northern Damselfly

So that was my birding year. It only remains for me to wish all my readers a belated Happy New Year and to a fulfilling birding year ahead for all.