From Tierra del Fuego to the Falklands

As we left Ushuaia harbour on board the Akademik Ioffe on 20th November small groups of Imperial Shags flew by -

Our first Magellanic Penguins appeared on the sea -

...and a kelp raft had some South American Terns aboard -

Chilean Skuas patrolled the Beagle Channel, showing their typically cinnamon underparts -

Heading further east into the open sea the species became more pelagic and a Black-browed Albatross took off from the sea -

The first of a species which was to become very familiar over the following weeks appeared - a White-chinned Petrel -

... and very noticeably different were small flocks of Sooty Shearwaters - nice to see these long distance travelers in their home hemisphere -

Wilson's Storm-Petrel, that most ubiquitous of seabirds began to appear as they danced over the waves -

....and that most archetypal group of cold water seabirds - the prions - presented its first challenge.  Some Slender-billed Prions flew by in their typical zippy, erratic style -

The Great Albatrosses never fail to astound and this Southern Royal Albatross performed its languid majestic arcs of flight all around the ship -

... the dark cutting edge to the bill showed well ...

... a young bird in probably stage 2 plumage ...

A Cape Petrel flew by -

... and that strangest of waders Snowy Sheathbill followed the ship -

Still the prions were predominantly Slender-billed  ...  except for this Fairy Prion -

... and another familiar visitor to the Northern Hemisphere, Great Shearwater, appeared this time in its natal hemisphere -

Another Island ... this time in Patagonia

Tierra del Fuego came to the awareness of the European world in 1520 when Ferdinand Magellan visited.  He noticed camp fires along the beaches and named the island 'land of fire' - Tierra del Fuego.
Last month just arriving at a hotel in Ushuaia a familiar face appeared across the room - my good friend and virtual neighbour Roy who was leading a tour of Argentina !
So, off out birding !  There are some great birds on the island and Magellanic Woodpecker is one - the size of a Black Woodpecker and every bit as dramatic.

Overhead a Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle was mobbed by a Chimango Caracara, one of a strange group of falcons of which we encountered several species in the region.

Some areas of clear-fell provided feeding opportunities for passerines and also geese.  The Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant was a delightful species to which the field guides do no justice.  The birds had been forced to lower altitude by snow and bad weather higher up.

The commonest goose species there was Upland Goose where the male is a striking bird.

....while the female is more cryptic and resembles another species we found later ( Ruddy-headed Goose ).

Also associating with the Upland Geese were a few Ashy-headed Geese typical of these wooded swamp areas.

In these same grassy areas of the riverine forest a few small groups of  Black-faced Ibis of the sub-species melanopsis were feeding.

Also in the open areas some Austral Blackbirds perched up confidently and called noisily.

Another caracara species, Southern Caracara strutted around.

The forest held more delights and Austral Thrushes sang in slow melodic style.

....while Austral Parakeets called in typical parakeet fashion.

This was South America and of course characterful species like Thorn-tailed Rayadito performed with great charisma.

...while others like this Austral Pygmy-Owl were more cryptic.

Down by the coast in Ushuaia a pair of Austral Negritos fed rather unexpectedly on the foreshore.

.... and some South American Terns patrolled the harbour.

Dolphin Gull must be one of the world's most attractive gulls.

... and a pair of Flying Steamer-Ducks posed nicely.

A search of an open grassy area by the harbour finally produced some displaying Correndera Pipits as they performed undulating song flights ending in a parachute glide.  These were lovely robust pipits and set the bench-mark for more pipits as we headed south.........

Carlisle Waxwings ..and some other birds today.

A visit this morning to see the flock of about fifty Waxwings feeding on Rowan berries right next to the busy traffic on Currock Road -

In flight the red 'waxy' tips to the secondaries show up well on photos -

The insect-like calls penetrated the noise of traffic as they fed close to the busy road -

Waxwing ( Bohemian Waxwing ) is one of only three members of the genus in the world - and is undoubtedly the most attractive.

It breeds across northern Europe and Asia and has irruptive movements which bring it to Britain irregularly in winter.

Other birds today included 23 Whooper Swans near Walby and 332 Lapwings on the wet field that was once Walby Flash.

On the Geltsdale Reserve a single male Black Grouse perched in a hawthorn near Tortie Cottage and 'bubbled' quietly before flying off to Bruthwaite Forest.

On Talkin Tarn two female Goldeneye and two female Goosanders were present along with a single male Teal - a surprisingly scarce species there.

But the highlight of the day was the Waxwings !

Parliamentary Debate - Ban Driven Grouse Shooting

While we all knew that this long awaited debate would not involve a vote ( what ? a debate without a vote ?  that was a new one for me ) it was never-the -less a major milestone in the battle against raptor persecution and a fantastic achievement for Dr Mark Avery who instigated the petition.

Bizarrely, the debate considered two petitions but only one had over 100,000 signatures.  The pro Grouse shooting petition had only around 30,000 signatures but somehow got in on the act !

There were a number of shocking aspects to this debate -
- The biased introduction which was shamelessly pro-shooting.
- The arrogance and rudeness of the Tory pro-shooting MPs.
- The low number of MPs to speak for the petition to ban driven grouse shooting ( no Lib Dems ! ).

The Tory MPs dominated the early part of the debate with a bombastic tirade about how Grouse shooting protected the uplands - all doubtless prepared for them by the Grouse shooting 'industry'.
They very rudely and wrongly referred to Mark Avery as the 'perpetrator' of the petition and cast further aspersions on the 123,000 signatories of the petition as being somehow wrong in protesting by way of a Parliamentary Petition - a process of course created by Parliament itself !!


One telling exchange went like this -
Richard Arkless, SNP MP for Dumfries and Galloway. ( Law Degree ) -
"Since I was elected to this place, economics has been used to justify dropping bombs, supplying arms, withdrawing tax credits and now killing birds.  Does this place ever come down on the side of morality versus economics, or will it always be the case that if it makes a few quid, it is okay with the Tories ?"
Nigel Adams, Tory MP for Selby and Ainsty (No apparent qualifications. Voted against measures to combat climate change, voted to sell off state-owned forests ).
"I appreciate the hon.Gentlemans intervention, but it is probably one of the most nonsensical I have heard in this Chamber ..."


Caroline Lucas ( Green Party ) spoke well for the BDGS petition but was brief and soon left.

Rachael Maskell ( Labour MP ) spoke well for the opposition front bench but was insufficiently well versed in the whole matter to effectively challenge the misleading and incorrect assertions being dished out by the Grouse shooting lot.

Kerry McCarthy ( Labour MP and former shadow Defra minister ) also spoke passionately but was similarly limited in her detailed knowledge.

Stephen Timms ( Labour MP ) intervened with limited success but his question about Hen Harriers was somehow completely ignored.

Therese Coffey ( Defra ) gabbled her way through some closing remarks, clearly prepared earlier but inadequately practised to get through her words clearly.

And that was it !

Light relief after Monday's politics

The long awaited Parliamentary debate on Driven Grouse Shooting was a shocking and agonising affair - but more on that later.....

Today it was time to just go out and see some birds - in the sunshine !

Leighton Moss was full of birds.  Pintails were present in good numbers ( although not quite as many as there were on the Solway recently ).

Among the many Eurasian Wigeon was a very smart male American Wigeon.

And a female Marsh Harrier perched on the bank behind.

Two Cormorants intermittently preened frantically and roosted with tucked-in heads but eventually showed their gular angles to be almost 90 degrees - making them sinensis race.

Three individual Great White Egrets were present in different parts of the reserve.  This one showed distantly but still looking regal.

Another fed along with several Little Egrets.

And then posed nicely ..

Meanwhile a Water Rail briefly popped out of the reeds