Oct 31 2016

Summary October 2016

Summary October 2016

Species this month = 109

New Species added to 2016 Year List in October= 10

Sanderling at Hoylake 1st October, Black Swan and Cattle Egret bot at Burton Mere Wetlands on 1st October, Long Tailed Duck at Chanonry Point and Alturlie Point on the 15th October, Black Guillemot at Chanonry Point on the 15th October, Crested Tit at Loch Garten on the 16th October, Golden Eagle at Strathdearn on the 16th October  and at Dava Moor on the 17th October, Black Grouse at Dorback on the 17th October, Red Throated Diver at Roseisle on the 17th October, Mandarin Duck at Etherow Country Park on 31st October.

New UK Life List Birds In October= 0

Running Total for the 2016 UK So Far = 195

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Oct 31 2016

Etherow Country Park : 31st October 2016

Etherow Country Park : 31st October 2016

On the last day of October we took a drive out to Etherow Country Park where I hoped to add to my year list what is normally the easiest year tick of Mandarin Duck I am ever likely to find. As it happened they proved to be a little elusive and weren’t to be found either on the pond or canal or up at the mill race where I have previously seen dozens of them. We did encounter a few Egyptian Geese mixed in with the Canadas and we got a nice Grey Wagtail up at the mill race. We didn’t get a Dipper, though, which we might have expected.

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Oct 25 2016

Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 25th October 2016

Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 25th October 2016

This weeks birding group visit to Sandbach Flashes was pleasant enough on a relatively mild autumn morning. Unfortunately there weren’t many birds around and it was probably one of the least productive visits to this site we have had. Oh well, it was a nice morning anyway.

 

Oct 19 2016

Highlands Birding Break : Summary

Highlands Birding Break : Summary

The main reason for returning to Grantown-on-Spey at this time of year was that we had missed some of our usual highland birds as a result of being a bit later than Spring. We didn’t have a choice in the matter because we were en route to visit my brother for his 70th birthday. So, I hoped to get some year ticks and boost my “year list” which has been stuck at 188 for a while. Although I didn’t get Ptarmigan or Capercaillie I did get a few new “ticks” and got 85 species in all, which wasn’t too bad for a long weekend.

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Oct 18 2016

Highlands Day 5 : 18th October 2016

Highlands Day 5 : 18th October 2016

For my last morning in the Highlands I took a walk with John Poyner through the Anagach Woods, down to the River and back. The approaches to the woods were full of migrant Blackbirds all flighty and calling, probably ready to go further afield after feeding up at first light. The same was true of the woods but these were mainly full of Redwing who were making a huge noise chattering, and one or two actually still singing – a lovely thing to hear.

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Oct 17 2016

Highlands Day 4 : 17th October 2016

Highlands Day 4 : 17th October 2016

We started off the day with a drive up past Nethy Bridge to Dorbach to the area of moorland that holds the Black Grouse lek we have seen before. The last time we tried here the rain was so heavy and the mist was so impenetrable that we had to give up. This morning was a different story with a nice clean, dry feeling about it. The results were also different from the last time !

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Oct 16 2016

Highlands Day 3 : 16th October 2016

Highlands Day 3 : 16th October 2016

We stared out at 8am and drove down to the main car park at Abernethy Forest. This proved unproductive so we changed plan and went on to the RSPB Loch Garten visitor centre where we had more success. After the Osprey season they actually mothball the visitor centre and hide, which I find incredible since they still gave Red Squirrels and Crested Tits in the winter by way of visitor attraction

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Oct 15 2016

Highlands Day 2 : 15th October 2016

Highlands Day 2 : 15th October 2016

We had the idea that the Black Isle might not be as wet as the rest of the immediate area which turned out to be a rather optimistic outlook as it actually rained non-stop everywhere we went and often quite heavily.
We started out for the Black Isle by driving along the road to Carrbridge, the Carr Road. The fields around and sky above the Carr Road were full of flocks of mixed Mistle Thrushes, Redwing, Fieldfares and Starlings with the odd Reed Bunting and Chaffinch thrown in. This made for a really nice scene and the birds were so active that they may well have just arrived from parts further north.Our next stop was North Kessock where the skies as sea were full of Gannets, mainly juveniles but some adults.

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Oct 14 2016

Highlands Day 1 : 14th October 2016

Highlands Day 1 : 14th October 2016

John Poyner, my guide  for the weekend, picked me up from the airport and drove me to the hotel at Grantown-on-Spey.  After checking in and unpacking, I decided to go for a walk in the Anagach Woods nearby. I was hoping for Crested  Tits but I didn’t have any luck in that department though I was reasonably sure that I heard one. In any case I only got a few Long-tailed Tits and some other common woodland birds.

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Oct 11 2016

Birding Group Visit to Leighton Moss : 11th October 2016

Birding Group Visit to Leighton Moss : 11th October 2016

At this time of year the birding group likes to go to Leighton Moss as it is at this time of year that the resident Bearded Tits turn from insect eaters into seed eaters. This change

necessitates the ingestion of grit to aid in the breaking up of the seed in the bird’s gut. At Leighton Moss they put out grit trays for this purpose and these often attract the birds, especially in the mornings. It has to be said that two years previously we had seen them eschew the grit trays and favour the grit on the path instead. We saw a large group of them ingesting “path grit” before but would we be so lucky this time ?

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