Sunday 17 March 2024

Sunday March 17 - Could this be spring?

 As is usual at this time of year I am constantly searching for signs of spring.

A visit to Earlswood Lakes on Friday failed to bring me any Sand Martins, and I had to settle for a handful of Chiffchaffs around the lakes, while 20 Fieldfares flying east was a reminder that winter birds are still around.

On Saturday I heard that a couple of birders, Gary J and John C, had given Morton Bagot a look and between them had seen four Avocets, an egret sp, numerous Chiffchaffs, and a couple of Stonechats.

It rained heavily overnight, but was forecast to clear so I joined Dave for a bash around the patch this morning. Everywhere was seriously flooded and we joked that there was no chance of an LRP. We did however see a Little Egret with a Grey Heron on the scrapes before confirming that the four Avocets were still resident in the flash field. We logged 12 singing Chiffchaffs as we walked around, but were still missing that little bit of jam on top of the cream scone.

We didn't have to wait long. Scanning the tops of the plastic tree guards Dave noticed a male Stonechat, and panning to the right we picked up something else. Is that a Wheatear? It certainly was, possibly my earliest at Morton Bagot (confirmed as earliest by five days). As clear a sign as you could have that spring has arrived.

Wheatear

By now the sun was starting to shine, and the first three Brimstone butterflies of the season hurried past. They didn't stop long enough to allow a shot, but a Peacock shortly afterwards did.

Peacock

I have recently added to my collection of reference books with a book about hoverflies (Hoverflies of Britain and North-West Europe Bot & Van de Meutter), so I was very pleased when one appeared. 

Tapered Drone Fly Eristalis pertinax

The book suggests that the orange forelegs would indicate it's this common species (which I think I've seen here before). I should say that there are hundreds of species of hoverfly and many cannot be identified from a photograph, so I'm expecting a steep learning curve.

I'll be putting the moth-trap out tonight........and the results are now in:

I caught 34 moths of 11 species including one that was new for me, and three others which were new for the year.

The new one was Pale Pinion. I've seen images of them on line so when I caught it I didn't immediately realise it was new for the garden. I vaguely thought I'd caught one in 2018, but eventually realised I was getting confused with a moth with a similar name (Pale Prominent). They may be fairly common but it's still taken me seven years of garden trapping to finally see one.

Pale Pinion Lithophane socia

The other three which were new for the year were my only micro, Common Plume, plus a March Moth and a very small macro, Oak Nycteoline.

March Moth

Oak Nycteoline on Foxglove leaf

I thought I'd show a picture of the Oak Nycteoline on a Foxglove leaf just to demonstrate how small they are, for a macro.

By doing more trapping early in the season than normal, my garden totals this year are well up for most species. For example I have caught 94 Common Quakers (second best total, with about three weeks before they stop flying), 11 Hebrew Characters (best total), and 13 Clouded Drabs (best total). 


Wednesday 13 March 2024

Wednesday March 13 - Mostly about moths

I haven't done much birding since the weekend. A stroll around Studley today produced fly-over Redpoll and Skylark and not a lot else.

However, last night was mild and dry so I put the trap out and duly caught 22 moths of seven species. This fairly modest haul included three that were new for the year; Double-striped Pug, two Oak Beauties, and a Diurnea fagella.

The latter was my first since 2020 and appears to have undergone a name-change since I last trapped one. The English name is no longer March Tubic, but is Early Reveller. I know this because I recently invested in the latest edition of Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, and it now gives both English and Latin names for all the species featured.

Early Reveller Diurnea fagella

Oak Beauty

I'm also keeping up my New Year's Resolution of trying to only show moths in a natural setting. It's probably a bit irritating for the moths, and some of them (like the Double-striped Pug) just fly off before I can get a shot.

Whether this continues to be possible in the warmer weather to come, we shall see. 

Sunday 10 March 2024

Sunday March 10 - Good day at Morton Bagot (and a good bird at Earlswood)

 Before I get to today's visit to Morton Bagot I should wind the clock back to yesterday. John Oates found an adult Mediterranean Gull at Earlswood, and I was able to twitch it efficiently before doing the Saturday shop.

Mediterranean Gull with B H Gulls at Earlswood

They really are stunning birds. I believe this is the second there this year. 

So, back to this morning. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, but the mixture of light drizzle and heavy cloud was not bad enough to put me off. John C had visited on Saturday and it had been pretty quiet.

Dave was away (Mother's Day) so I had the place to myself. A ringed Marsh Tit in a hedge beyond the small pond was a decent start. The scrape field still contained a pair of Stonechats (the male colour-ringed and the female just metal ringed), while four or five Reed Buntings continued to make light work of decimating the bulrush heads.

I was trying to photograph a singing Goldcrest when the sound of a rush of wings proved to have come from a flock of Starlings heading north. Several more parties followed, and I convinced myself I was witnessing visible migration. However, I later discovered a whole load more in the flash field and so they were probably an accumulation of the birds seen "migrating". The flock was actually the largest I have ever seen here, and I would conservatively estimate 1000+.

Starlings (861 in this shot). There was a smaller flock just out of frame.

Moving hastily on towards the flash field I flushed a party of 26 Meadow Pipits before reaching the viewing point. It was immediately clear that two pairs of Avocets had arrived, and I spent a considerable time trying to get all four in one shot. They were clearly two pairs, and they didn't like each other much.

Avocets scrapping

All four spatially distancing

In addition to the Avocets I counted 19 Teal, 23 Lapwings, and two Green Sandpipers.

Lapwings (and a Starling)

Both Green Sandpipers

Slightly unusual for Morton Bagot were three immature Mute Swans which circled before two of them landed on the nearest flash.

Mute Swans

As I left the flash field the weather started to deteriorate, but I still heard my first singing Chiffchaff of the year and added a third Stonechat and a second Marsh Tit to the day's tally before reaching my car.

I'm quite tempted to put the moth trap out tonight.

Friday 8 March 2024

Friday March 8

Typical early March. The temperature gauges have been heading in the wrong direction, and it's been hard to get motivated.

Nevertheless I convinced myself my cold had gone (it hasn't) and spent Wednesday morning exploring Rough Hill Wood on the south side of Redditch. It was foggy for the entire visit, but as I was in a wood it didn't really matter. Part of the reason for the visit was that Jonathan B (still writing his book on the birds of Warwickshire) had reminded me that he was hoping for additional breeding records for the east side of Redditch which was once within Warwickshire but is now part of Worcestershire. Just to complicate matters further, Rough Hill Wood is a Warwickshire Trust Reserve and is wholly in Warwickshire anyway.

I actually rather enjoyed the visit. It's a smashing wood and looked to have plenty of potential. No Lesser Spots called or drummed to announce their presence, but I did see a Marsh Tit and heard a Tawny Owl hoot. The latter was a year-tick, but it occurs to me that I am now well off the pace and if I do stick to the plan of surveying east Redditch for birds, this could prove a pretty ordinary year.

Rough Hill Wood

Lyn has caught my cold, but despite this we managed to keep our Thursday appointment at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford to see Midsummer Nights Dream. I'm glad we did because it was excellent.

On the downside I got a text half way through the performance; Little Gull at Lower Bittell. This is probably the first twitchworthy (well Shakespeare made lots of words up) bird of the year, and I was well and truly stuck.

This morning optimism got the better of me and I went to see if it was still there. It wasn't, although a flock of 44 Black-headed Gulls briefly raised my hopes. The visit wasn't a complete waste of time as an Oystercatcher appeared at Alvechurch Fisheries during my visit. 

Oystercatcher

Not exactly unexpected as they bred here last year, but still a year-tick.

While the birding has got off to a slow start, my mothing has been a lot more promising. The frosty mornings of the last week relented slightly last night so I gave it a go. This morning the resultant six Common Quakers and a single Small Quaker plus a chilly easterly breeze told me I probably shouldn't have bothered.

Sunday 3 March 2024

Sunday March 3 - Back in the field at last.

 I'm hoping this won't be a flash in the pan, but today I actually went birding to Morton Bagot, and even had a good bird.

The background to all this is that Lyn has required more assistance than usual, and I am her sole carer. Well that was until Friday when a long-standing friend of hers agreed to stay with us for a few days to allow me time to get out. Thanks Carol. 

I had arranged to attend the Warwickshire Biological Recorders meeting near Wellesbourne on Saturday, and was keen to attend. More of that later. But there was a fly in the ointment. During the course of Friday I realised I was coming down with a stinker of a cold. I even took a covid test before attending the meeting (negative fortunately), but I really suffered throughout the next day and apologise to any of the other attendees I may have given it to.

So this morning, still under the weather, I joined Dave at Morton Bagot for a much needed bit of birding. The weather was fine and sunny, though cold. Too early for any summer migrants (though I did hear there was a Sand Martin at Upper Bittell on Saturday). There were some encouraging signs, in particular a grand total of seven Stonechats. One was the colour-ringed bird and I made another attempt to read its ring, but another male showed fantastically (but was unfortunately unringed).

Stonechat (unringed)

Colour-ringed Stonechat

There was also plenty of Reed Bunting activity in the bulrushes bordering a small pool in the scrape field.

Reed Bunting

We reckoned there were about eight birds present, setting themselves up for the forthcoming breeding season.

I wish all birds showed this well. The morning's highlight was at the other end of the scale. After seeing a reasonably close Red Kite, Dave shouted that he had just seen a broad-winged accipiter flying through a flock of panicking Jackdaws. I missed it completely, but a few minutes later we saw what was almost certainly the same bird high and distant above Bannams Wood. From its shape we could tell it was a Goshawk. We watched it for about five minutes as it briefly threatened to come closer before heading off north-westwards in the direction of Gorcott Hill. At no point could any plumage details be seen, but we are starting to get to grips with the distinctive shape of a Gos, and were in no doubt about it.

There was nothing else seen which could match this bird's rarity value, but it was nice to see four Coots, 26 Teal, and a Lapwing on the flash field.

So back to last week.Stuck indoors my only hope was moths. Unfortunately the nights were generally cold and frosty and there was just one evening when I was tempted to put the trap out. The night of February 28 was also wet in parts, but I managed to catch 11 Common Quakers and three Clouded Drabs.

Clouded Drab

On the subject of moths its worth saying that since the start of the year it has been mild enough to encourage me to do a lot more mothing. Previous years' pre-March efforts have been zero days trapping in 2018, three in 2019, three in 2020, three in 2021, two in 2022, and two in 2023. This year I have attempted to catch moths on seven occasions. My results are nil in 2018, 30 of six species in 2019, five of five in 2020, nine of seven in 2021, three of two in 2022, and 17 of five in 2023.

This year I've caught 82 moths of 10 species, a massive increase.

Going back to the Recorders meeting. It was well attended, maybe sixty or so attendees, of which only five had any real interest in birds (and most of them were also experts in other fields). There were presentations on butterflies, moths, mammals plants, fungi, and bryophytes, and I just love seeing how much knowledge these diverse people had. It's hard to beat a lady interested in fungi who discovered an as yet unnamed small brown toadstool new to science in a graveyard in the county. (Mind you it had to be DNA sequenced to get the identification).

While I was unable to get out last week, other birders were finding a Mediterranean Gull at Earlswood, and confirming the continued presence of the Tundra Bean Goose, now back at a field near Shortwood Roughs, south of Alvechurch.

Tony has had a ringing tick at Morton Bagot, successfully catching a Stock Dove overnight on March 1. A common bird here, but you're not likely to catch one in a mist-net.

Stock Dove in the hand

I'm not sure what the coming week has in store. Carol has gone home, but I'm hopeful that I'll be birding again by mid-week.

Sunday 25 February 2024

Sunday February 25 - still kicking my heels

 Although I have been out of action again this week, others have stepped up to the plate.

Arguably the most interesting news comes from one of the commonest of birds. Tony and Leigh catch an awful lot of Blue Tits at Morton Bagot, and they regularly re-trap them. Occasionally one is recovered elsewhere, but given that Blue Tits are not really migrants, these are generally local. So news that one of their birds flew into a mist net in Oxwich on the Gower Peninsular was quite something. The bird was a juvenile when ringed at Morton Bagot on October 12 2023, and then moved 175 kilometres west south west before being caught on February 18 2024.

My garden Blue Tits are likely to be much more sedentary

The key to understanding this movement is the age of the bird. Juvenile dispersal is definitely a thing for most resident species, but only through ringing can the potential extent of these movements be revealed.

Staying with Tony's news. As darkness fell on February 20 he spent time with his trusty night-vision device surveying the fields around Morton Bagot and came up with a remarkable 11 Woodcocks. Only one of these was caught, and proved to be a re-trap of a bird he'd caught earlier in the winter. The surprise is that there are so many Woodcocks using the site. It just shows how day-time birding can miss the bigger picture.

Yesterday, there were two noteworthy reports. John Coombes texted me that he was watching a Short-eared Owl near Ragley balancing lake just west of the village of Arrow. This was right on the edge of my circle, so I convinced Lyn I could be there and back in an hour. It turned out that the bird remained for 15 minutes before being discovered by the local corvids and chased off towards Wixford. I arrived just as John texted news of its departure.

Meanwhile, John Chidwick was visiting Morton Bagot and discovered that a pair of Avocets was resident on the nearest flash. This is their earliest return to the patch. I chose not to push my luck by going for them too, particularly as they should remain for the spring. Ironically Dave went there this morning and they were no longer present. He did see a pair of Stonechats but not a lot else.

The other potential distraction is moths. Unfortunately the nights have got distinctly cold this week, with morning frost. Only a fool would put his moth trap out.

I put my moth trap out last night, and amazingly caught two moths. They were just Common Quakers, but I was very grateful for them.

Common Quaker on frosted foxglove leaf

What else can I tell you? Earlswood remains very quiet, the stand-out being a male Brambling on a garden feeder in the village. The long-staying Tundra Bean Goose at Bittell Reservoir was discovered along Watery Lane, Lea End a mile east of the reservoirs yesterday.

Hopefully I'll be birding again before too long.


Tuesday 20 February 2024

Tuesday February 20 - Birding by proxy

 Unfortunately Lyn still requires my full time assistance and until we find a way to alleviate the situation I am unable to go birding (unless its a quick dash to see something less usual). Fortunately I'm getting plenty of messages from friends to keep me updated. I'm birding by proxy.

Tony and Leigh have been to Morton Bagot in the last few days, ringing a Woodcock on the 15th, and catching 38 birds (13 retraps) on 17th. These were mainly the usual fare but included a youngish Sparrowhawk.

Second-year male Sparrowhawk - Tony and Leigh

On February 18 they ringed at dusk and caught four Reed Buntings, also observing several Toads which are now out of hibernation.

Female Reed Bunting

They reported seeing three Tufted Ducks and the usual Barn Owl, the latter being seen by Mike Inskip yesterday. Mike had also been to Morgrove Coppice where he saw a Woodcock and a Red Kite. John Coombes has let me know that he has seen a pair of Alexandrine Parakeets at Kinwarton for the first time this year, and then a juvenile which appeared from within the tree suggesting that they bred successfully last year.

As for me, the lack of birding is an opportunity to do more mothing. Normally I do very little in February, but last night I just completed my fifth session and it proved well worth it. My count of 30 moths included 24 Common Quakers and also three Hebrew Character (nfy), a Small Quaker (nfy), a Twin-spotted Quaker (nfy, first since 2020), and best of all my first ever Small Brindled Beauty.

Small Brindled Beauty


Twin-spotted Quaker

Hebrew Character

Small Quaker

The Small Brindled Beauty is described as uncommon and local in Warwickshire, so I was very pleased to get one. They are noticeably smaller than the more usual Brindled Beauty (which I haven't seen yet this year), and fly from mid February (early March is typical for Brindled Beauty). 

I feel I'm making the best of it, but will hopefully be back in the field before too long.