Slimbridge revisited ... in the mist ...

 Yesterday was the one chance for a visit to this iconic location ... a childhood dream that never happened to a place that seemed impossibly far away at the time ... and a place that I've become incresingly fond of over the handfull of times that I've been there since ...

The last Bewick's Swans to be recorded in Cumbria were over ten years ago so they were on my wish list ... despite the mist the close proximity of the birds proided great views of this rather special species ...

... it was not recognised as a species util the early 19th century, having previously been lumped with Whooper Swan under the name Wild Swan ...

... there was a single Whooper Swan among the fifty or so Bewick's Swans and it was interesting to compare the two side by side ... first in the morning mist ...

... and later as conditions improved for a while ...

... this is such a great plae to get close views of wonderful and striking species like Pintail ...

... Wigeon ...

... Gadwall ...

... and Shoveler ...

... the pool frequented by the Bewick's Swans hosted a lone Black Swan that had apparntly been around for a while ... non-natives can be interesting too ...

... out towards the Estuary there were twelve Cranes which included a family party of four ...

... a single Barnacle Goose that was consorting with some Greylag Geese was perhaps of questionable origin and its companions undoubtedly did it no favours in that respect ... but who knows ?

... the other species on my wish list for the day was Russian White-fronted Goose and a group of forty or so fed obligingly in fields to the west ...

... a closer look revealed the pinkish bill, reduced belly barring and broader white terminal tail band compared with the Greenland race ...

... nearby a female Kingfisher posed nicely to the obvious delight of the occupants of the hide ...

... then moving away from th Estuary the South Pool provided rich pickings ... a juvenile Spoonbill roosted by the shore ... not the most obliging pose but the pink bill was at least partly visible ...

... a large flock of Curlews circled ...

.   and even more Golden Plovers wheeled arond in tight formation ...

... on the pool some Avocets fed ... 

... while others roosted ...

... and fifteen Cattle Egrets flew in and onto an island ...

... nearby a mixed flock of waders included Ruff, Lapwing, Dunlin and a Curlew while some Teal drifted by behind ... a rich mix !

The winter livens up ...

 Autumn can carry such high expectations and while Norfolk was a lovely experience, (not least of all with the memory of Moules Mariniere under a warm blue sky) it was not mind blowing.

There's something about the higher value of birds that we see when they're on our local patch.  Such was the case at Bolton Fell Moss in late autumn when on a misty day some Pink-footed Geese dropped in for a while.  This recently restored peat bog is often very quiet in winter as the habitat is still recovering from commercial peat extraction only a decade ago.  It was quite special to see these birds there ...

Last year I was in Spain for three weeks in May and seeing Western Olivaceous Warbler there fulfilled a long-held ambition.  There can be a down side to foreign trips and that comes when a really good bird turns up at home - and one did - you don't get much better than a first for the UK.  The Grey-headed Lapwing in Northumberland departed as I was on the ferry back to the UK.

When one appeared in East Chevington just a short time ago this was an unbelievable chance to pull one back ...

... first from the L shaped hide it kept company with Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Wigeon ... a strange lot of incongruous pool-fellows ...

Then from the South hide it performed some short vertical flights / jumps much to the delight of the gathered throng ... and to me !

... interestingly, the only other Grey-headed Lapwing that I've seen was also an out of range bird, in Mongolia ...

Back on the closer to home patch the Rockcliffe Marsh floodbank which is part of the new coastal path gave good views of some distant Barnacle Geese and an accompanying Red-breasted Goose ... an elusive individual and a good one to catch up with ...

... Carr Beds was disappointingly quiet ... so on to the Solway ... the light was failing and I resolved to make the Caravan Park layby at Port Carlisle my last stop ... checking through the first birds, a group of Teal revealed an excitingly unexpected Green-winged Teal ...

... first it was head on to show just two thin white bars and then viewed from a little to the west it looked better ...

Norfolk in October

 

Norfolk was a strange experience in mid-October with biting north winds at the start of the week giving way to days of Indian summer with 20 deg C and clear blue skies by the end ...

This illusion was dispelled by winter visitors arriving with Whooper Swans on Arnold's Marsh ...

A male Kingfisher entertained the occupants of the hide at Cley Marshes giving some close views ...

... and Bearded Tits showed incredibly well as they perched high in the reedbeds in the light winds ...

... and a lone Avocet was regular on Pat's Pool ...

... Titchwell delivered a predictably wide range of species as a Spoonbill flew by ...

... some dark-bellied Brent Geese loafed along the beach ...

... and Snow Buntings fed cryptically among the material along the tideline ...

... a flock of Pink-footed Geese near Holkham included a leucistic individual, the first I've seen in this species ...

... and Red Kites appeared in unlikely beach habitats ...

... with a male Marsh Harrier putting in regular appearances ...

... in an autumn where scarce waders seemed to be in short supply a returning Long-billed Dowitcher was a welcome visitor to Pat's Pool ...

... and interesting to watch it in the company of Black-taled Godwits rather than the Redshank that the long-staying Cumbria bird associated with ...

... two dusk visits to pat's Pool resulted in an absence of gulls although a nice Mediterranean Gull was there earlier in the day ...

... and good numbrrs of Ruff gathered at dusk ...

... one surprise was a fly by of two Ravens at Wells, I was told later that they breed at Holkham ...

North Uist 9th to 17th September ...

 As the ferry left Uig harbour a juvenile Black Guillemot was swimming in the still waters of the bay ...

... as we headed out west across the Little Minch a few Kittiwakes were off the starboard side ...  a typical juvenile looking rather pristine ...

... and then a 2ndW bird as indicated by the black line along the outer primaries ...

... a dark phase Arctic Skua flashed by and a rather unexpected light-bellied Brent Goose winged its was west, followed by a Manx Shearwater as we neared North Uist ... over the mountain ridge two Golden Eagles soared distantly along with this 2nd/3rd year White-tailed  Eagle, showing a pale back and banded tail ...

... on arriving at Lochmaddy I headed south to South Uist in search of an American Golden Plover that had been reported over recent days at The Range, West Gerinish ... on finally locating Launch Area 2 there was a scattering of Golden Plovers feeding among the vegetation ... after a short time the very striking adult appeared ...

Back on N Uist at Aird an Runair ... the stormy weather brought some gulls close in to inlets to feed among the foam ... an adult argentatus Herring Gull showed its white tip to p10, small mirror on p9 and absence of black mark on p5 along with pale tongues eating into the black wingtip ...

... these features are indicative of birds from the southern Scandinavian breeding population ...

... a Common Gull floating on the wind was in transition from juvenile to 1stW plumage, showing retained juvenile mantle feathers with pale fringes and some grey 1stW feathers mixed in ... the bill pattern was that of a juvenile ...

... seawatching produced mainly Gannets but in a 60mph morning a Sooty Shearwater was the reward for braving the rocky tip of Aird an Runair ...

... Starlings were present in good numbers as they fed among the piled up seaweed ... this group were in transition from juvenile to adult plumage ...

... some female Eiders flew ut of the bay ...

... the finch flock at Balranald consisted mainly of Linnets with a few Twite in the mix ...

... a sizable flock of Black-tailed Godwits, presumablt irds moving south from Iceland, was a surprise ...

 

... while waves of Pink-footed Geese headed in the same direction ...

... a few Bar-tailed Godwits probed the sands .

... Ravens cavorted overhead ...

... the most common wader was Sanderling ... this probable adult was transitioning to winter plumage ...

... while most were juveniles ...

... an early adult Whooper Swan appeared ...

... a flock of Wigeon included some adult males, females and a few 1stW birds lacking the crisp wing covert pattern ...  

... Turnstones were widespread, this juvenile is indicated by the pale fringed scapulars and wing coverts ...

 

... a Herring Gull showed a mixed suite of age related features ...

... the lack of white primary tips suggests 2ndW as does the bill pattern, the wing coverts, scapulars and tertials would point more towards a 3rdW ...

... the ever present Sanderlings were manly juveniles ...

... another 1stW Common Gull was more advanced with fewer juvenile mantle feathers ...

Rock Doves fed in flocks in stubble fields ...

... a walk through a field path at Clachan Sands, and a late Corncrake burst out of the long grass, called raspily and drpped back in ...

Seawatching produced large numbers of Gannets ... this juvenile showed a strange pale face as it moved into the next plumage phase ...

... and a 3CY bird ...

... and adults ...

Greylag flocks were frequent in the fields ...

... 

... with a few juvenies showing fainter more curved mantle feather fringes ...

... and the adults flew off showing barred flanks ...

... and another smart Common Gull moving into 1stW plumage ...

... Knot were present in small numbers and included a few juveniles ...

Dunlin were quite scarce and most were adults ...

... and the Ringed Plovers appeared to be mainly 'Tundra types' with dark mantles ...

... while the Grey Plovers were still in breeding plumage ...

... near the Udal Penninsula a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull tried unsuccessfully to feed on a newly dead Common Gull ... 

... showing the chequered mantle, heavy bill and tail band that turned into dark spots towards the rump ...

... nice fly by views ...

..

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