CHEW VALLEY LAKE

 Chew Valley Lake in Avonmouth is a destination that keeps coming up on my birdguides App, it seems to have some really good birds there as well as a few rarities turning up. It's a place that we've never been birding before so my good friend Steve Bool and myself decided to go down there to take a look.

When we got there the water levels were really low caused by the lack of rain fall over the last few months. We got talking to a couple of birders that we had met and they told us to drive over to the other side of the lake to a place called Herriott's bridge. Before we got there we pulled over onto a layby which overlooked the lake as we saw some Glossy Ibis and absolutely loads of Great White and Little Egrets as well as Grey Herons and Cormorants at the waters edge which was quite a decent way out.

never seen so many egrets

We watched these for a while before making our way to the bridge. 

Herriott's bridge runs over the bottom end of the lake, there's a pool the one side of it that feeds water into the main lake. On this pool is a small island that is a haven for many duck species, gulls and waders as well as more Egrets and Herons. Most of the birds are a little to far off to photograph but Steve has just bought a brand new Leica APO Televid 82 scope it's a fantastic bit of kit so with it we were able to pick out Grey Plover, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers and a couple of a rare vagrant Pectoral Sandpiper a first for both of us. Below is the Wader Island as you can see it's a decent way off, the two birds in the foreground are Greenshanks.

two greenshanks just in front of the island

Here's some footage through Steve's scope of the Greenshanks.

I was lucky enough to get a pic of this Common Sandpiper that came close to the banking.

common sandpiper

 On the other side of the bridge is where the water feeds into the main lake, it channels into a narrow gully with a big reedbed and some trees and bushes because of the lack of rain fall the actual waters edge is about a mile out. We spotted this Peregrine sat on a distant tree stump.

you can just make out the peregrine on the old tree stump

In the gully there were a few Egrets, Herons, and Cormorants all feeding on the abundance of food that must be there for them.

great white egret

great white egret

little egret

little egret (look at them yellow feet)

grey heron swallowing a fish

grey heron

cormorant

There were loads of duck species there including this drake Teal a very handsome bird.

male teal

Steve got some lovely footage of this Grey Wagtail through his scope and I managed to get a decent photo of it.

 

grey wagtail

The highlight of the day for me were the Kingfisher not just to get some incredible views of it but to finally get some decent images.

kingfisher

Steve got some superb footage of this handsome male, again through his scope what a beautiful bird.

There was also a good showing of raptors (birds of prey). As well as the Peregrine we saw Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Marsh Harrier which I managed to get a photo of. There's also recently been Osprey and unbelievably White tailed Eagle there we would have loved to have seen both of those incredible birds but no sign of them on the day we were there.

female marsh harrier

What an incredible place Chew Valley Lake is, it's a massive site and the diversity of birds and wildlife make it well worth a visit can't wait for the next one. We met some really nice people who gave us their local knowledge on the site and the birds there. Once again a massive thank you to my birding best mate Steve Bool for doing the driving and allowing me to use his excellent footage for this blog cheers BM your a star.

TWO PHALS FOR TWO PALS

 Two rare waders turned up recently at Lisvane and Llanishen Reservoirs near Cardiff, they were two Phalarope species the Red Necked Phalarope and Grey Phalarope a very rare occurrence indeed. So I managed to twist my birding companion Steve Bools arm to go down there and take a look. The weather was forecast heavy showers but the chance to see two Phalarope species on the same reservoir was to much of a temptation to miss. The Red Necked Phalarope breeds in the extreme north and north west whilst the Grey Phalarope is a rare breeder in Iceland, both bird species winter out at sea. They do sometimes get blown inland by high winds and storms and as we've now moved into Autumn with the migratory birds on the move these must have been blown in on the recent windy wintery conditions we've been having out in the west of the UK.

The Red Necked Phalarope in Spring is a very handsome bird with a dark face, white throat bright red neck and long buff stripes on a dark grey back. In Autumn they change to being white below greyish above with a black mask they also have a needle fine bill. The juveniles have a black cap, black mask and a buff striped blackish back. The birds at the reservoir were juveniles at least two but there might have been more as Steve spotted some with his scope right out in the middle of the water.

red necked phalarope

The Grey Phalarope is also a very handsome bird in it's breeding plumage being orangey red except for the black head, white cheeks and black and buff streaking on the back and wings. Up north in it's breeding grounds it is known as the Red Phalarope for obvious reasons. In winter birds are grey above, white below with a black mask, juveniles are similar but have a more Spangle on their backs. The bill is thicker than that of the Red Necked and in Summer is orangey yellow. 

grey phalarope

Another interesting fact is that in both these Phalarope species the female is much more brightly coloured than the males and does all the courtship displaying and after laying her clutch of eggs will leave the male to look after them and the young while she will look for another partner. 

Also whilst feeding they have the unusual habit of swimming in close circles, it creates a vortex which brings items like insect larvae and crustaceans from the bottom of shallow water to the surface, making them easy to catch with their bills. 

red necked 

grey

Steve digiscoped some great footage of the birds here's the Red Necked first.

And the Grey Phalarope.

We met some lovely people at the reservoir including Roger and Lisa both great birders with Roger being a photographer so we had plenty to chat about while watching and photographing the birds, he also told me what waterproof camera bag to buy instead of the awful plastic bag I was struggling with so "cheers mate".

red necked

grey

We were also lucky enough to see a Common Sandpiper I managed a couple of images and Steve some video.

common sandpiper

common Sandpiper

The reservoir was full of birds besides the Phalaropes and Common Sandpiper we saw a flyover Hobby, Kingfisher, loads of ducks, Swans, Coots and Moorhens and there were absolutely loads of hirundines Swallows, Sand and House Martins feeding on the thousands of insects over the water so a great birding location.

The weather finally turned really bad so we made our way back towards the car both soaked but it was well worth it. We had our customary Coffee and cake in their really lovely canteen to dry off a bit and look back on our great morning two Phalarope species together in the same place and both really close to each other, who could ask for better than that. 

A WRYNECK TURNS UP IN DEVON

My very good birding mate and partner in crime Steve Bool and myself haven't  been on a road trip in a while, so when Steve discovered that a Wryneck had turned up in Devon we both decided to get down there to take a look.

The Wryneck has bred in Scotland in open park like woodland but with hardly any records in recent years it's now considered a rare passage migrant. The Wryneck gets it's name because of the birds ability to twist it's neck around and it's cryptic plumage is like tree bark which can make it look virtually invisible whilst at rest in a tree. Another non interesting fact is that Steve and myself have never seen one so this would be a lifer for both of us. 

This particular bird had already been there for three days so we were feeling a bit  anxious hoping that it would still be there. After setting off at 5am we arrived at an area where the bird had been reported called Turf Locke at about 7.20am. A stunning location with a canal that ran opposite an estuary with mudflats and a beautiful pub. 

There were a few birders already there and when one of them told us it was showing really well on the floor near the pub we were both relieved and excited. Walking to where the birders were gathered we spotted it there it was our first Wryneck it had only taken us 61 years to see one but it was well worth it "what a bird".

our first wryneck

I started taking pictures and Steve set up his scope to get some video footage.

what a bird

Here's one of Steve's video clips of the Wryneck.

                                            

The bird Started moving around the location but still staying fairly close giving me a good chance of getting photographs of the bird on different perches in between it going to the floor to feed.

Here's another of Steve's excellent video clips.

 After spending some time with the Wryneck we decided to take a look at what else was about.

We saw Little Egrets, loads of Black Headed Gulls, a couple of fly by Curlew and this Black tailed Godwit with the Redshank close by.

black tailed godwit

and another

redshank

At the side of the canal in the reeds we could hear Cettis Warblers calling but no picture I'm afraid.

it's me looking for the cettis

We had come here though to see the Wryneck, here's some of the birders that had made the trip to see it (whose that dodgy looking guy at the back?) also below is another one of Steve's clips, another one of my photographs of this stunning bird and a selfie pic of two very happy birders.

birders photographing the wryneck

two very happy birders

A brilliant morning and an experience that we might never have again so we were both glad we made the effort. A massive thank you to Steve for doing the driving and getting us there top man, it was an excellent trip.

THE CALL OF THE CUCKOO COMES BACK TO THE FARM

 Every Spring we await the arrival of everyone's favourite Summer migrant the Cuckoo. Although this year it's arrival was a tad later than in previous years, it finally arrived just after mid April and waking up to it's repetitive call was a treat to the ears and the soul, it was back.

the cuckoo returns

They seem to like it at the farm as there is plenty of moorland above us where Skylarks and Meadow Pipits nest and also at the farm there's Dunnocks and Tree Pipits, so plenty of host species nests that the Cuckoo can use to lay it's eggs. 

Here's some of the host species that Cuckoo's like to use. 

skylark

meadow pipit

dunnock

tree pipit

The female Cuckoo can lay as many as twelve eggs all scattered about her territory. These eggs hatch a lot sooner than it's host species and the young Cuckoo instinctively pushes either the eggs or chicks out of the nest, so it is the only chick left for it's foster parents to look after.

As soon as breeding is over the adult birds return to their wintering quarters in Africa no later than July, with the young birds once they have left their foster parents following on in September. They find their way to their wintering areas unaided a remarkable example of a birds inborn ability to navigate.

Here's a few more images from this years beautiful bird.

They can sometimes be mistaken for a Sparrowhawk but can be identified by it's heavier appearance pointed wings and it's long graduated tail spotted and tipped with white.

It's great to have them back, for me it just wouldn't be Spring without the sound of the Cuckoo.