Putting in a stint or five for the WeBS count

Well, I didn't expect to finish my WeBS count this morning by adding FOUR Temminck's Stints to it - but that's what happened!

John Day, an RSPB friend from Bedfordshire and his pal Darren joined us at Druridge this morning, they are up here for a weekends birding. When we joined them just after 7am they'd already seen more species than you can see in a month in Bedfordshire!

It was WeBS count day, so I counted the ducks whilst they enjoyed watching spoonbill, little stint, avocets, pintail, dunlins, lapwing chicks and other nice species. Little stint was new for the year so I was already happy with that. Count done and all three hides checked we headed back to the cars. They were off to the Harthope Valley whilst Janet and I opted for a look on the sea. Seeing very little, I checked my phone to see a missed call from Steve Holliday, and a text message - 'four Temminck's Stint in front of Budge Screen'. Seemingly they'd just dropped in. 

We called John and Darren who were still faffing at their car and rushed to the hide, where, thankfully, the four birds could be seen on the edge of the pool. The four of them stuck pretty-close together and fed frantically along the muddy edge. I always think the 'gait' of Temminck's is quite diagnostic, they almost creep on their 'knees' as if their legs are set too far back on their bodies. They were chased by a redshank a couple of times, and then, without cause or warning, they were off, zig-zagging at first before flying off high and directly north. Steve and I thought that this might be a record count of this species for the County? These were my first patch Temminck's since two were on a pool by the coal haul road back in 2013. 

Record shot  - just to prove there were four!

A slightly better shot of two of them

And one flying off

A very pleasant end to a morning's birding. Big thanks to Steve H for the tip-off.

The Budge Fields are looking fab at the moment. Despite the relatively dry spring, the water levels remain very high, something has changed with the hydrology of the site this winter I think. Birds are dropping in all the time, not long after we left a wood sandpiper was reported. The 'Channel' wagtail that I found on Friday was seen again today.

Here are a few more pics from the last couple of days.

Proud parent on guard

And here's the reason why!

You can see why barn swallows were called bluebirds!

Spoonbills are now a common spring and summer species on the patch

Pochard are increasingly uncommon - the four that are on site at the moment are most unusual nowadays

The geese took a dislike to two roe deer who wandered through the pool. Roe deer are on the increase, almost plague-proportions these days.

My Druridge patch year-list is now on 130 and my 5km from home list is on 157. 

Stints in a storm

I called in to Druridge after work this evening to give the Budge fields a quick check. A black-tailed godwit was out front, as I scanned the mud a single little ringed plover dropped in, but it didn't stay long.

I got onto two small waders way out in an area of shallow water and plants. They were stints, distant and up to their bellies in water. My first thought was to go with the most likely - little stints as they had been seen recently, but I couldn't rule out Temmincks.  I called Dave Elliot to let him know.

I continued to watch them and as the light improved my suspicions grew. Dave arrived but the birds had moved, we soon picked them up on some mud and could get more on the 'jizz'...but now there were four of them.

We watched them for ages, the upperparts were greyish, with little rufous and no sign of any pale 'braces', we couldn't do anything with leg colour at this distance, but they appeared at times,  to have the creeping gait that Temmincks have.

The birds were flushed and flew, showing white a white outer-tail - things were looking good for Temmincks. After flying for a while, the birds settled nearer the little hide, we headed for that hoping for a better view, which we got. The light was still awful as a storm brewed to the north, but against a darker background we saw the leg colour was greenish, not dark. We were both happy they were Temmincks stints.

16 Black-tailed godwits arrived and so did Trevor Blake (wearing a T Shirt!) as the rain began to fall and the thunder and lightening started. By the time Andy Cowell arrived the rain and turned to hail. An almighty storm passed through with massive hailstones and virtually constant rattles of thunder. I wished I had brought my SLR camera to capture it well. We were joined in the hide by some swallows seeking shelter.

Storm at Druridge from Iain Robson on Vimeo.

I saw something I have never seen before. At the height of the storm, two black-headed and a common gull dropped in, onto the pool in front of the hide. As soon as the landed, all three tipped their heads backwards and pointed their bills directly upwards into the air. They stayed like that until the hail ceased, a few geese and ducks were doing the same. We presumed they were doing this to protect their skulls from the large hailstones?

Jonathon Farooqi and his father arrive, crunching through the hail

Looking a lot like Christmas!

iPhone shots - I wished I'd taken the SLR!

I called briefly at Druridge this morning on my way to work, after DE had reported a spoonbill, no sign of it, but an avocet was on there.

Later in the day 'lucky' Andy McLevy had an Osprey at Druridge. I've only ever had one 'patch' osprey, a spring bird, back in the late nineties. I'm long overdue another one!

117 Temmincks Stint

PWC Score 147 (self found bonus points for Temmincks)

Looooong Weekend

Here's a quick catch-up from a longer than usual bank holiday weekend (I had today off work). I managed a few visits to the patch over the weekend amongst long bouts of gardening and the obligatory socialising that comes with a 'B-H Weekend'. Sorry there are no pics, my camera is still in the car.

Saturday

Saturday didn't start on my patch at Druridge, but on Dave Elliott's patch at East Chevington, to twitch the purple heron he found there. Almost eleven years tot he day since the last one he found int he same spot (Stewart Sexton and I scoped that bird from the big dune at Druridge for the patch competition that year and I have to be honest, I tried the same trick again but with no luck.)

Back at Druridge a drake garganey was on the Budge fields with five black-tailed godwits. Three year-ticks followed, whitethroat (now singing everywhere), cuckoo (one over the Budge fields) and tree sparrow at High Chibburn Farm.

Sunday

An earlier start. A quick check of the Haul Road flashes which are still holding some water produced only five ringed plover and a dunlin. At least five 'groppers' were reeling. The rest of the day was spent gardening and BBQing

Monday

I was a bit fragile on BH Monday, but a text message reporting two 'stints' on the Haul Road flashes had me scurrying to the patch. I eventually found them, hunkered down in the grass, Temminck's stints. A nice sighting and my first on the patch since 2008. Arctic and common terns were numerous offshore, Arctic being new for the year.

Tuesday

No waders on the flashes this morning, but two wheatears of the leucorhoa race and a smart yellow wag were there. There are lots of warblers singing from the bushes now, most notably whitethroat,  blackcap and sedge, grasshopper and willow warblers.

An evening visit for a look on the sea produced three year-ticks. Puffin and gannet, predictably and a pair of great-crested grebes, less so.


110 whitethroat
111 cuckoo
112 tree sparrow
113 arctic tern
114 Temminck's stint
115 gannet
116 puffin
117 great-crested grebe

Temminck's Stints

Two temminck's stints on the Budge fields this morning, in true Roppa style, I was still in bed when Dave Elliott found them and called me, was soon down there to see them though...and nice they were too! Also new was wood sandpiper, the pair of garagney were still present along with the greenshank.

Him 'n' Her - garganeys

Spent the rest of the day with John Richardson looking for dipper nests in Upper Coquetdale and the North Tyne. Lots of wheatears and whinchats now in the hills, we didn't get to ring any dippers today but have a few nests staked out, we did ring a brood of meadow pipits though.

115 Temminck's stint

116 wood sandpiper