A LITTLE OWL WHILE LOOKING FOR BEARDED TITS

My good birding buddy Steve Bool and yours truly went to RSPB Newport Wetlands Reserve a few weeks ago in search of the Bearded Tit's. This species is more closely related to the Babblers and Parrotbills of Asia than the tits and is largely wholly dependant on reedbeds. They can be difficult to see though they do call frequently which especially on windy days is the best way to locate them.

It was a bit breezy the morning we went but we were hopeful that some would show. This juvenile Mute Swan kept us amused for a few minutes as we walked along the reedbeds.

juvenile mute swan

Looking over the sea wall there were a few waders mostly redshanks but they were a mile off as the tide was right out. This Curlew came in close enough for a half decent image.

curlew

It was also nice to capture this Little Grebe with a fish it must have just caught.

little grebe

Still no sign of the Beardies, it was pretty quiet there birdwise this cormorant flew by as we were searching so I grabbed a couple of images as Steve kept looking.

cormorant

It was getting a bit more breezier by now so after two circuits of the reserve and not one Bearded Tit was heard or seen we gave up the ghost and decided to have a cup of tea. We met a fellow birder Neil Hooper in the canteen and he had very briefly seen the birds but they had disappeared deep into the reeds out of the wind. He did tell us of the location of a little Owl that was showing near the bottom of the reserve so we decided to have a look at that and he was right, there were a pair of Little Owls in a tree near a nest box that must have been put up for them. We forgot the disappointment of the Bearded Tits and started watching and photographing this beautiful looking owl.

little owl

a little beauty

So although we never got to see our target species we did get to see this beautiful Little Owl, if we hadn't gone to the reserve that day we might never have seen them. Look out for my next blog where we go looking for the Bearded Tits at a different location until then thanks for dropping by and I'll catch you soon.

A PAIR OF LUCKY BUSTARDS

 My good mate Steve Bool had a job delivering down in Gosport and asked me to accompany him as he was going to look for the Great Bustards on the way back on Salisbury plain. Once again I was delighted that he'd asked me and jumped at the chance to try and see these majestic birds.

The Great Bustard was once a regular breeder but declined to become an extremely rare visitor. Although being associated with farmland it requires large open landscapes, so when landowners started enclosing fields with hedgerows the population plummeted with the last wild breeding individual being collected in 1832 in Suffolk.

The Great Bustard Group (GBG) began it's reintroduction program in 2004 on Salisbury Plain with a 10 year trial licence which was granted by (DEFRA). The GBG imports eggs, raises the chicks, and protects the young before releasing the adult birds into the wild. Breeding was first confirmed in 2009 and by 2019 the GBG achieved it's goal and has a self sustaining population. The Great Bustards are now breeding at a limit where they are self sufficient.

On the day we went the weather was very gloomy with visibility being quite poor. The Bustards were last sighted just off a B, road between Upavon and Enford on Salisbury plain all we had to guide us was this snapshot of a map of the area but with Steve being a Courier and driven all over the country he obviously managed to find the road but where were the birds.

our map

We parked up at a pull in and started scanning the area. We even asked people in the odd car that passed by if they new where the bustards would be but no luck.

We started to walk up the road from where the van was parked, we had seen a Hen Harrier which was in itself a great spot and a few other local species, then all of a sudden from behind me Steve screamed "THERE THEY ARE" and bang! in the distance there were four Great Bustards. We were both to put it mildly over the moon. Steve ran back to the van to get his scope and I started to try and take some pictures, the birds were so distant and the weather so gloomy that the results wasn't great but we had seen them Great Bustards a lifer for both of us.

distant bustards

Steve took a couple of videos through his scope and I some more pictures. When we got back home I did my best to try to edit them to some sort of usable standard. They're not great but for how bad the conditions were not to shabby.

great bustard

and another

we think these are males

Here's one of Steve's short digiscoped videos.

So two lucky old birders taking a chance and coming up trumps. The area is so vast that they could have been anywhere, we both felt so fortunate to have seen them.

the great bustard

A big thank you to Steve Bool once again for taking me with him on which turned out to be an epic trip it was brilliant, until the next one cheers!

A FIRST CIRL FOR STEVE

My very good birding mate Steve Bool has never seen a Cirl Bunting. On one of the birding sites it stated that a very good place to see Cirl Bunting was RSPB Labrador Bay in South Devon. Steve is a courier and had a job down in Newton Abbott and asked me to go with him as he planned to go to the site after he had finished his delivery. So of course another chance to see a Cirl Bunting was to good an opportunity to turn down so off we went.

The Cirl Bunting is really a Mediterranean species with southern Britain being the most northerly part of it's range. It can just about tolerate our Winters but does suffer if the weather does become to extreme.  

Labrador Bay is a cracking little reserve and it's right on the South Devon coastal path. As soon as he had parked his van Cirl Bunting were singing from the trees and bushes right in front of us. Steve was delighted to have bagged his first Cirl Bunting.

labrador bay (steve bools pic)

male cirl bunting

another handsome male

The females showed well to although a little drabber than the males still a pretty bird.

female cirl bunting

Steve also managed to digiscope this Jay with a conker rammed in it's bill.

jay (steve bools pic)

I got a couple of pic's of this female Kestrel that was Sitting in a tree nearby.

female kestrel

But we came to find the Cirl Buntings and what a cracking bird, so glad we made the effort to see them.

cirl bunting calling

A great trip out and so pleased for my mate Steve seeing his first Cirl Bunting. I can't wait for next one.

SWANSEA HOOPOE

 If there's one bird I've always wanted to see it's got to be a Hoopoe. They spend the Summer in central and southern Europe but every year in the Spring and Autumn migration the odd few accidently turn up in the UK . I've either been to busy or I've not been brave enough to drive myself to where they are. So when one turned up in Swansea and my very good birding friend Stephen Bool offered to take us both to go and see it I obviously jumped at the chance.

When we got there we made our way to the Swansea sea front cenotaph where it was last spotted. As we got closer we couldn't believe our eyes there it was in some shrubs and grass right in front of us my first Hoopoe. 

my first hoopoe

It went from around the cenotaph to the trees nearby and then down on the sandbanks where it foraged and fed just feet away from all the birders that had comedown to see it. The Hoopoe was so tame you felt like you could have stroked that beautiful black and white crest it was that close.

Here's a short video clip Steve took through his scope, though he had to stand well back to fit the bird in the frame.

We stayed there for about an hour just watching and photographing this wonderful exotic looking beauty.

A massive thank you to my best mate Steve Bool for driving us down there for what was for me an unforgettable experience what a bird. 
 

OUT AND ABOUT

 Here's some pictures that I've taken from being out and about in my area. They're from my local patch our homestead the Ginny, Pontypool, Cwmtillery and Goldcliff. They were all taken in July/August/September time.

FROM THE GINNY.

Song Thrush

                                                                                                                                             Tree pipit

Male Stonechat

Redstart

Linnet

Juvenile Wheatear

Willow Warbler

Juvenile Green Woodpecker

Buzzard

Meadow Pipit

Juvenile Starling

PONTYPOOL

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher (chick in the nest)

GOLDCLIFF

Sedge Warbler

Male Reed Bunting

CWMTILLERY

Tufted Duck

Little Grebe

Willow Warbler

Juvenile Dipper

And that's it "thank god for that" I hear you cry. It's been a good year so far with a couple of firsts and some good birds seen and photographed. I've been able to get out a lot more and hopefully I can bag myself some more rarer birds for my British list. Thanks for dropping by and I'll catch you soon.