Another BLACK TERN and another OSPREY

WEDNESDAY 8 MAY


Overnight and into morning saw a band of rain cross the region but by 0900 hours, it had cleared away to the east. It was replaced by cooler, fresher conditions, with a freshening SW wind and occasional spells of warm sunshine. Temperatures peaked at around 14 degrees C.

This was my first opportunity in a week to do a full day's local birding, the undoubted highlight being a purring TURTLE DOVE........

I started my day at TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTS) where both Greylag and Atlantic Canada Geese were now accompanying young on WILSTONE. A single LITTLE EGRET was roosting on the west shore, whilst migrants included 140 Common Swifts and 60 House Martins. Not much else of note other than a singing male Mistle Thrush. No sign of any nesting Common Terns - in fact just 2 were on the bunds.

STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR also held large numbers of Common Swift (130 at least), along with 33 Tufted Duck, 13 Greylag Geese, 16 Coot, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 30 Common Terns and the pair of Red-crested Pochard, the female acting as though she had a nest on one of the rafts.

A single breeding-plumaged BLACK TERN was showing well on MARSWORTH RESERVOIR, often roosting for long periods on the bunds (see pictures below); it was associating with up to 33 Common Terns. Several Western Reed Warblers were singing from the reedbed at the west end (Af Nasir had yet another Osprey fly over mid afternoon).

Retreating to the IVINGHOE HILLS, I searched high and low for the Tree Pipit seen by Rob Andrews a few evenings ago but no joy - Top Scrub yielding 2 singing male GARDEN WARBLERS, 2 Common Chiffchaffs, 2 singing male WILLOW WARBLERS, 3 male Common Whitethroats and a single male Song Thrush.

I then made a brief incursion into BEDFORDSHIRE where a jangling male CORN BUNTING was along WELLHEAD ROAD in TOTTERNHOE and the KNOLLS produced a 'purring' male EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE - my first of the year. The dove was showing well in scrub just beyond the Lime Kiln perimeter fencing and perched long enough for me to get some shots (see below). The area also held several Common Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 singing male WILLOW WARBLER and my first Speckled Wood butterfly of the year.

Joining Francis Buckle at COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT (who incidentally had seen the Turtle Dove yesterday afternoon), we enjoyed perched views of one of the two HOBBIES present on the main marsh (see pic). Otherwise, usual fare, including 16 Mute Swans, Greylag Goose still incubating, the drake COMMON SHELDUCK, both OYSTERCATCHERS (with one now sat on a nest on the lefternmost island) and a singing male Western Reed Warbler.

Thanks to Richie Moores, I then added a new species to my BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIST - albeit one of an introduced nature. A pair of MONK PARAKEETS was busily nest-building in the grounds of HARTWELL HOUSE, on the western outskirts of AYLESBURY, a species never recorded in the county before in a wild capacity. I took a lot of photographs (see selection below), the Monk Parakeet population in Britain now weighing in at a minimum 73 birds.

I then checked the southern end of BALDWIN'S WOOD in the Hertfordshire section of the CHESS VALLEY. Anna and JT had seen a Common Crossbill here recently (a species which bred here in 2012) but this afternoon all I could find was 1 singing male FIRECREST, 3 Goldcrests, 1 male Coal Tit, 5 territorial Wrens and a single singing male Blackcap.

Moving into HERTFORDSHIRE again, the KIMPTON area yielded the usual pair of EGYPTIAN GEESE near the cressbeds and a family party of COMMON RAVENS. The usual Cedar tree nest played host to four noisy youngsters this year, furthering the success of this rapidly increasing and east-expanding Corvid.

At the end of the day, I spent a couple of hours searching for RDA's Short-eared Owl around the BEACON but by 2100 hours, it had failed to appear - I gave up as another band of heavy rain crossed the Chilterns

Adam Bassett's third trilling WOOD WARBLER in a fortnight - plus, showy pair of FIRECRESTS at Weston Turville

TUESDAY 30 APRIL


The last day of April proved to be a fortuitous one, with warmer temperatures (13 degrees C), lighter winds (NW) and largely clear skies. Buckinghamshire was my domain throughout the day, with 6 County Year Ticks (CYT) for my efforts...

Following a mid-morning call from Adam Bassett, MARLOW proved to be my first destination, where in the PUMP LANE VINEFIELDS, I soon located the two NORTHERN WHEATEARS (male and female) and the single WHINCHAT (see images below).

I then joined Adam and Dave Cleal at the MARLOW LOW GROUNDS where almost at the end of LOWER POUND LANE, the WOOD WARBLER was still trilling from the Willow and Alder Carr every five minutes or so. Unfortunately, it was frequenting the back garden of a large property and we were only to get rather distant views as the bird sang and flitted through the Willow branches. It was nothing like as bright as yesterday's Wilstone bird. With this being such a late spring and many of the woodlands three weeks behind in flowering, exceptional numbers of passage Wood Warblers have been recorded this spring, many in locations close to water, perhaps 75 in total. Exceptional too has been the fact that Adam has found three separate singers, all within the Marlow area.

Whilst standing listening and searching for the Wood Warbler, 3 HOBBIES glided overhead in the heat of the early afternoon sun, several Common Buzzards and Red Kites, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, food-carrying Common Treecreepers and two Goldcrests also seen. The water meadows themselves held a pair of Egyptian Geese tending 5 small young (see picture below). Butterflies emerging in the sun included Brimstone and Green-veined White.

Neighbouring SPADE OAK NATURE RESERVE (LITTLE MARLOW) very quickly yielded me GARDEN WARBLER, with 4 singing males in the south hedgerow, with 13+ Blackcaps and 5 Common Chiffchaffs singing. Not much on the pit apart from 12 Coot, 6 Lapwing, 7 Gadwall, 1 Egyptian Goose, 1 COMMON SNIPE, 44 Argenteus Herring Gulls, 2 Mute Swans and 5 Common Terns.

Checking the SCHOOL LANE cereal fields in OLD AMERSHAM, I was surprised to find a single LAPWING feeding. It also provided me with an opportunity to get some nice Rook shots as they busily filled their crops to feed the young birds in the rookery across the road. A male Muntjac crossed the field too.

Thanks to some guidance from Graham Smith, I soon connected with both COMMON CUCKOO and LESSER WHITETHROAT at COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT - the former calling from the railway embankment in the NE corner of the reserve and the latter rattling and warbling from the scrub in the far NW corner. Both were new for me.

Also a Site Tick for me was FIRECREST at WESTON TURVILLE RESERVOIR: a pair showing very well in ivy-clad trees, Holly and Birch scrub just beyond the last outbuilding in the grounds of Perch Cottage, perhaps 45 yards in from the road. I managed a few images but the birds were particularly mobile (see below). A COMMON SHREW that ran across the path was also my first of the year.

The two Firecrests - typically flitting

I finished off my day with a visit to SHARDELOES LAKE where I was surprised to see breeding in full swing. No less than three broods of Mallard were on the water, with two well grown young and groups of 4 and 7 ducklings. Coot nests numbered 12, with one pair already feeding a single tiny youngster (adults numbered 42 in total). The Mute Swans were also nesting (see pix below).

The male GREAT CRESTED GREBE was busy feeding, with 4 Little Grebes, 13 Tufted Duck, 3 pairs of GADWALL and 3 MANDARIN DUCKS (2 drakes) present on the lake.

Other species noted included COMMON KINGFISHER, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, 2 Red Kite, 3 Stock Dove, a singing male Song Thrush, single singing males of both Blackcap and Common Chiffchaff, Wren, Robin (feeding young), 3 Goldfinch and 2 Barn Swallows.

YELLOW WAGTAILS on the Horse Field at Marsworth

PITSTONE QUARRY in fine fettle

The view overlooking PITSTONE QUARRY. It has more water in it than I have ever seen and should yield a superb harvest of breeding birds.

More of my shots from recent days

This pair of OYSTERCATCHERS pitched up in the horse field east of Marsworth Reservoir

Greylag Goose and last lingering Black-headed Gull on Marsworth

Up to 171 Tufted Ducks on Wilstone at the moment

The 3 COMMON SANDPIPERS on the bank at Wilstone

RED KITE drifting overhead

COMMON WHITETHROATS are in plentiful supply now - this bird being photographed on the Dry Canal

Images from recent days

Yesterday's BLACK TERN on Startops

Great Crested Grebe in channel behind Drayton Bank Hide

Nesting pair of Mute Swans on Wilstone

Great Crested Grebes just off of the car park steps

This first-summer Mute Swan splash-landed on Wilstone mid-afternoon

Local Mega: singing WOOD WARBLER

MONDAY 29 APRIL

 

When I went away in mid April, it still felt like Winter in the field. Now I am back, it still feels like Winter in the field..........

 

Anyway, with a brisk NNW wind blowing, temperatures hovering around 8 degrees C but relatively clear blue skies, I set forth on a day's birding on the local front, after being lured away in recent days by the likes of Rock Thrush and Eastern Subalpine Warbler......

 

WILSTONE RESERVOIR was my first port of call where Roy Hargreaves had discovered a singing male Wood Warbler early morning in the vicinity of the Drayton Bank Hide. Both Mike Campbell and Cliff Tack had already spent time looking without success, so putting in a further hour on top with no bird was not looking good. Birding in this vicinity did produce a flyover COMMON CROSSBILL at 1045, a flyover Linnet, singing Common Chiffchaff behind the hide, 2 COMMON WHITETHROATS, 2 different singing male WILLOW WARBLERS, at least 9 Blackcaps, Long-tailed Tit and a pair of COMMON TREECREEPERS, whilst on the reservoir proper, the two drake Wigeon and a single Black-headed Gull. A spell of sunshine produced Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterfly.

 

Most concerning was the mindless vandalism to have taken place overnight. Our information board by the car park being smashed, uprooted and thrown into the reservoir.

 

A flock of 8 House Sparrows was by the farm shop

 

After giving up on the Wood Warbler, I joined Martin, JT and Anna Marett at STARTOP'S END, where a full breeding-plumaged BLACK TERN was performing, along with 44 Common Terns and the 3 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS.

 

Knowing that Steve Blain had relocated the NORTH AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL at 100 Acre Pools east of Priory Country Park (Bedfordshire), I decided to switch counties. Just as I drove away, Joan and Anna had an OSPREY fly from Marsworth to Wilstone, bad timing or what. Anyhow, stopping off at BROGBOROUGH LAKE (BEDS) on the way, I was pleased to see 5 ARCTIC TERNS, a COMMON WHITETHROAT and the continuing SLAVONIAN GREBE, now in full summer attire.

 

I did an extensive sweep of 100 ACRE LAKES (BEDS) but failed in my quest to locate the drake straggler - it had flown. Not much to be found apart from a single COMMON SANDPIPER, 6 COMMON WHITETHROATS and a singing male SEDGE WARBLER.

 

Whilst on site, I received a call from Ian Williams. He had visited WILSTONE in his lunch hour and had relocated the WOOD WARBLER - time to move on. Just over twenty minutes later, I was back at WILSTONE where COMMON SWIFT numbers had dramatically increased from about 130 to 220. Swiftly walking round to the hide and past a rather happy looking Mike Campbell, I was rather surprised to hear the male WOOD WARBLER after just a few minutes. It was inhabiting a dense area of Hawthorn scrub about 90 yards NW of the Drayton Bank Hide but was far from easy to see. In fact, it took Peter Brazier and I over an hour to get really good views but well worth it as it was a brightly marked individual (see Peter and Dave Hutchinson's images above). It sang about once every five minutes and kept high in the canopy, often feeding on the newly flowering buds of the Black Poplar trees. After missing two different birds at Amwell and two at Spade Oak, I was very relieved at finally getting this one - Wood Warbler now being a pretty scarce bird in our region.

 

As I walked back to the car, a first-summer Mute Swan flew in and Tufted Ducks had increased to 171 birds.

 

At STARTOP'S END, the tern flock now included two nice ARCTIC TERNS within their ranks, with 2 Grey Wagtails, 11 Common Swifts and several House Martins noted.

 

MARSWORTH held the Greylag Goose pair and at least 4 Lesser Black-backed  Gulls, with the horsefields producing no less than 14 YELLOW WAGTAILS, a BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL and 46 Barn Swallows.

 

With plenty of time to check the hills, I headed towards Ivinghoe Beacon but was diverted at the last minute by a call from LEIGHTON BUZZARD. A EURASIAN BITTERN had been found on the tiny Dragonfly pools at LEDBURN ROAD, TIDDENFOOT (BEDS) - a species I had managed to miss in the county this winter. Luckily, being just seven miles away, I was there within 10 minutes - and luckier still, finder Rory Morrisey was just getting back to the car park. Rory escorted me part way to the site, then Cliff Tack took over - Mike Wilkes and his wife and Bob Henry staying with the bird.

 

Getting to Bob he exclaimed ''It's in my 'scope'' and looking through the viewfinder I was shocked to find such an emaciated bird. It was ludicrously close (10 feet) and was sat in the water like a goose. Something was seriously, seriously wrong. I phoned Andy Plumb and Steve Blain to see if anyone else had shown an interest and then waited for Johnny Lynch to arrive from Tring. I suspected that the bird had collided with overhead power cables and I was right, as after half an hour we captured the bird - it had a broken wing and a slightly damaged leg (see photos below).

 

Certainly an eventful day