FRIDAY 30^TH JANUARY – Overcast day with light drizzle

Our final day of the tour saw us venture south into the Brecks to have a look for some woodland birds, the main genre that we were missing for the list so far. It was forecast to be a grey day but basically dry – what we actually got was pretty much continuous light drizzle all day so this did hamper our chances with some species somewhat. We start at Lynford, where the main target was Hawfinch. We’d seen them on a recent visit perching up in the tops of the trees in the arboretum viewed distantly from the roost area, so wondered if they might be feeding in there at the moment and hence a better bet than the traditional location of the paddocks. We wandered slowly in to that area and almost right away heard the distinctive sharp, penetrating call of a Hawfinch and saw a small group fly through the canopy. They perched and we were able to get some binocular views and a quick glimpse in the scope before they melted away. Thankfully they were favouring this area as suspected and with patience we soon found them again, this time enjoying long scope views of this most spectacular of British finches.

Down at the paddocks, the ‘chip-chip’ calls of Crossbills were predictably a constant backdrop – after several very poor years they are everywhere at the moment. Perched views were harder to come by but we did have a pair stripping bark in the paddocks and another male perched briefly in the conifers, plus lots of flight views. The drizzle hampered us from seeing much else but elsewhere around the arboretum we did have excellent views of Marsh Tits and Nuthatches.

Yellowhammer by David Carlsson

Read more

FRIDAY 31^ST JANUARY – Overcast with drizzle, 3C

Our final day of the trip started with a visit to adjacent Titchwell reserve. After seeing the Water Rail in its usual spot in a ditch behind the feeders, we headed more or less directly out to the shore to catch the back end of high water. The visibility was poor and the Common Scoter flock were typically distant in a fair swell, so seeing anything amongst them was going to be a challenge! We spent a good while scrutinising them and eventually everyone in the group managed to see both a Velvet Scoter and a Long-tailed Duck – it wasn’t easy, but we got there in the end! Four Red-breasted Mergansers were on the tidal pool and we had really close views of Grey Plovers in the corner of Volunteer Marsh beside the path. Popping into Parrinder, we had great views of all the ducks present including several lovely Pintail, and were able to notch up both Rock Pipit and Water Pipit, though the latter only made a very brief cameo. A male Hen Harrier ghosted past the hide really close but was soon gone off to the east, and a couple of Skylarks were watched on one of the closest islands.

Woodcock

Read more

FRIDAY 17^th MAY – warm and sunny in a light northerly wind, freshening to a moderate northerly later. 21C

We left Glasgow under sunny skies for the 150-minute journey to Oban. On reaching Loch Lomond we encountered some fine mixed woodland. It was not long before we heard singing Wood Warblers as we drove along. A total of at least 6 were heard, but as were on an A road it was difficult to stop. At the one lay-by we found there were no Wood Warblers to be seen or heard but we enjoyed the compensation of a singing Tree Pipit and a distant Cuckoo. Our scheduled stop at the Green Welly saw a fantastic collection of House Martins gathering mud for their nests from a puddle and several Siskins flitting around the conifers. The undoubted highlight was a mature White-tailed Eagle soaring high against a hillside but giving great views in crystal clear skies.

Arriving in Oban, where we met the final member of our group, we embarked the ferry for the journey up the Sound of Mull and then across the Hebridean Sea to South Uist. We saw a distant pair of White-tailed Eagles in a tree on the mainland and watched as one of them flew behind us to Mull. The weather was fabulous and the sea flat calm, which helped us pick out a splendid summer plumaged Great Northern Diver. Black Guillemots (tysties) gave excellent views.
Read more

BIRD WATCHING MAGAZINE READER HOLIDAY – 8TH – 12TH MAY 2024

WEDNESDAY 8^TH MAY – Fine and sunny with light winds, 18C

The group met at Briarfields at Titchwell this afternoon at 3pm ready for a 3.30pm birding excursion. Nick and Ashley had just found a pair of White Storks on their drive over the meet the group and so drinks were quickly abandoned and we rushed back to the spot, which was thankfully less than two miles away at Choseley. The storks had circled in high and spotted a tractor ploughing close to the road south of the drying barns, and duly dropped in to feed behind the plough with all the gulls! We had superb close views of them with the light behind us, a slightly surreal experience! As it turns out, one of the birds, which was ringed at Knepp and part of their rewilding project, recently went to Spain and seemingly returned paired to the unringed bird it is now with – so a wild one. They had been in east Norfolk up until the previous day, and seen over Cley in the morning. We carried on checking a few fields around Choseley, picking up singing Common Whitethroat, Yellowhammer and a few Red Kites, plus Roe, Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac.

Read more