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Jul 09 2012
Scotland Holiday Day 4 – 9th July 2012 : Sea Eagles at Glen Seilisdeir
Scotland Holiday Day 4 – 9th July 2012 : Sea Eagles at Glen Seilisdeir
When we arranged our holiday on Mull we had a number of target birds we hoped to see but one of the most exciting was without question the largest UK bird of prey, the White-tailed Eagle. Mull, of course, is one of the main centres on the west of Scotland for the re-introduction of these animals into the wild and for some years the birds at Loch Frisa were the starts of the programme. This year, however, attention has moved to a pair of birds that feed in Loch Scridian and have their nest in the forest in Glen Seilisdeir. It was these birds we hoped to see.
Jul 08 2012
Scotland Holiday Day 3 – 8th July 2012 : Corncrakes on Iona
Scotland Holiday Day 3 – 8th July 2012 : Corncrakes on Iona
We arrived on Mull on Saturday 7th July and by the time we were settled into our self-catering cottage the rain was pouring down and things did not seem very auspicious at all. However by 9 am the next morning things were much better and we were picked up by our tour guides, Stuart and Ruth from Mull Magic Walks and Tours who were driving us and another family, who were also based in Tobermory, down through the island and over on the ferry to Iona where we hoped that we would be able to see, or at least hear, Corncrakes.
Jun 30 2012
Summary June 2012
Summary June 2012
Garden
The good weather that was a feature of the end of May was promptly replaced by heavy rain for the start of and this lasted for most of the month. Our pair of Blackbirds had three fledglings that they were feeding in our garden and a little later that appeared to be four fledglings. A Coal Tit and two fledgling Coal Tits have been visiting the feeders, several Blue and Great Tits and their young and around ten Goldfinches are regular on the feeders. A Dunnock is often to be seen but perhaps less obvious than usual. We think that we have seen a fledgling Dunnock some times. A pair of Bullfinches, a male and a female, have been daily visitors to the feeders, sometimes several times a day. The House Sparrows from over the back seem to spend a bit more time in our garden and we still have to fend of the Woodpigeons and Collared Doves so that the other birds can get a look in. On the downside there are still no Robins or Starlings to be seen. We found a large bundle of feathers on the lawn one day early in the month which made it look like we had had a visit from a Sparrowhawk but we haven’t seen it ourselves – or rather we hadn’t seen it until 30th June when Anne walked into the garden disturbing it and it flew to the tree next door and then away from there. Unfortunately, by the time she had called me it was gone which was a shame because I still haven’t seen one this year yet.
Jun 26 2012
Birding Group Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 26th June 2012
Birding Group Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 26th June 2012
This weeks birding day was at WWT Martin Mere. Unusually for us we started at the United Utilities hide first because there had been talk of a Barn Owl flying as late as 11am. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to see it but, as is often the case, we did get great views of the Marsh Harriers and some nice views of some of the years new arrivals.
Jun 18 2012
Birding Group Visit to RSPB Burton Mere Wetland 18th June 2012
Birding Group Visit to RSPB Burton Mere Wetland 18th June 2012
Our birding group day out this week was on a Monday rather than a Tuesday and this was to match up with the high tide which should push more birds onto the reserve. As it happens there has been so much rain recently that the water levels were very high on the reserves and this seemed to mean that the high tide had little effect really. However Burton Mere is usually good so we were hoping for a good morning. We started at the visitor centre where by far the biggest attraction was the presence of a fair number of Avocets and lots of Avocet chicks. Their notice board had it as 34 Avocets from 13 pairs. They were also listing breeding Lapwings and Redshank as well as Common Tern nesting which they said was rare for them but we didn’t manage to see them at all.
Jun 12 2012
Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley 12th June 2012
Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley 12th June 2012
Our morning outing today was to the Goyt Valley which is located between Macclesfield and Buxton in the Peak District National Park. The valley is close to the Cheshire and Derbyshire county border. The River Goyt that flows through the valley rises high on Axe Edge Moor near the Cat and Fiddle Public House and flows north through Taxal, Whaley Bridge and New Mills before joining with the River Tame near Stockport to form the River Mersey. We went to the part that is know as the Upper Goyt Valley which is close to the source of the River Goyt. There are two main reservoirs in the valley, Fernilee and Errwood , both provide drinking water to Stockport and its surrounding areas. As usual we parked at the southernmost of the car parks opposite the Errwood Reservoir and crossed the road to the reservoir side.
The first bird we spotted was a Willow Warbler calling from a short tree right in front of us. However, in general, there seemed to be very few birds about which was surprising considering that it was the first dry day in ages. Presumably we should have been there earlier because although there were few birds about when we were there there were some quality sightings if not much in the way of quantity.
May 31 2012
Summary May 2012
Summary May 2012
Garden
The start of May saw a little improvement in the weather as some of the heavy rain stopped. On 3rd May we saw a newly fledged Dunnock pecking around trying out various things to see if they were edible. By the end of our holiday mid-month we saw our first – and by the end of the month – only fledgling Goldfinch on the feeders and young Starlings started to appear only to disappear later in the month. In fact this summer has been very poor for Starlings altogether. Blackbirds are frantically collecting worms and any other food they can find and seem to spend at least as much time squawking to deter predators such as Magpies and cats which root around in the trees looking for easy food. If they catch any eggs or young then there is not a great deal that the Blackbirds can do about it, though I have seen a Blackbird get the better of a threatening Squirrel in the past. Hopefully we will see fledged Blackbirds in the garden soon. On the 19th we saw a male and female Greenfich looking in good shape – they have been rare this year. Continue reading
May 29 2012
Visit to Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, Wales 30th May 2012
Visit to Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, Wales 30th May 2012
After our couple of days with the birding group we wanted to stay another day and go to Cemlyn Bay again and perhaps a few other places. It wasn’t to be quite that way in the end but we had a good start when we revisited Cemlyn Bay. There wasn’t really all that much new there from the 27th but we had longer views of everything and because there was just the two of us we could do what we wanted. As we arrived at the same car park again we saw the half dozen little Plovers on the small pond and a Grey Heron was also roosting there. When we got in position overlooking the Lagoon we could see even more Red-breasted Mergansers – a total of six of them on the main lagoon. Continue reading
May 29 2012
Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : RSPB South Stack
Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : RSPB South Stack
By the time we had finished with the Fish Dock and Soldiers Point in Holyhead and got back on the South Stack Road it was already about 11am and about ten minutes after that we rolled into the car park at South Stack for a much needed cup of tea. The hotel we had stayed at in Holyhead (the Travel Inn) was primitive to say the least and did not do breakfast in any recognizable manner so we were glad of a cuppa. As soon as I looked towards the landward side of the rocks from the cafe I saw two Coughs hopping around the rocks – a perfect start to our day at South Stack. As soon as we were refreshed we set off down the track towards the observatory. From the cliff edge looking towards the lighthouse you could just make out with bins a few puffins floating on the water. Scouring the thousands of Common Guillemots it was possible to locate small numbers of Razorbills. They seemed to prefer to be less densely packed and their backs were much blacker than the dark grey-ish Guillemots. With the scope I even managed to find a couple of Fulmars on the cliff ledges. There were masses of Herring Gulls and at first we could hear Kittiwakes but could not locate the. In fact, as I later discovered, there is a hidden cove in the rock that the lighthouse stands on that they much prefer to anywhere else and this is where I eventually located a few but positive identification was only possible by looking at the leading edges of their wings as they landed in the crannies in the rock. Continue reading
May 28 2012
Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : The Fish Dock and Soldiers Point, Holyhead
Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : The Fish Dock and Soldiers Point, Holyhead
The Fish Dock
After the birding group had finished eating the night before, Anne and I thought we would try to see if we could find the Fish Dock at Holyhead Harbour which was just over the road a bit from the hotel we were staying at. I had looked at it on a map previously so I had a reasonable idea where it was but wanted to check it to see if we could see any of the two pairs of Black Guillemots that supposedly nest in the harbour walls. As it happens it was a bit more of a walk than I thought so by the time we got there it was too dark to see anything anyway. So, back to the hotel we went but at least we knew how to get there and when we all got together in the morning it was suggested that we drive quickly down there to see if our luck was going to be in. None of us had seen Black Guillemot before so it was worth a shot.