Perseverance pays off

With the wind howling and light mizzle falling at home this morning, it would have been very easy to say "Sod it", not go down to the patch and find something better to fill my day. After all the likelihood of a year-tick was slim.

But no, I thought, it's your last chance, get yersel out. I decided on grand tour of the patch, starting at the bushes then down to the Oddie hide and a good chinwag with Ian Douglas. Then I headed inland, for the Preceptory. I sneaked in, walking over some fresh barn owl pellets and caught a little owl sneaking out from one of the chimney stacks, it flew out to perch on the fence. A very unexpected year-tick.

Ian Douglas and I had just been discussing how poor an owl year it was.

My route then took me down to the farm, where there was a decent flock of chaffinches but nothing else among them and back towards the cottages.

A final quick scan of the Budge fields revealed nothing new and the rain had started to lash down, so I headed for home without my usual look at the sea.

So the year ended on a bit of a highlight with my 171st species for the patch for the year, the best year I've had for at least the last six. I can't put my finger on why the year has been so good. I eventually got most of the common waders, despite passage being slack, there was no real 'falls' of the autumn so I missed stuff like redstart. Seawatching was canny at times so that would have helped, but we caught and ringed less birds than any previous year.. All in all though, an above average year.

So the highlights...

The greatest highlight was catching and ringing a breeding pair of marsh warblers and then seeing fledged young later. We had to keep this to ourselves at the time for obvious reasons. If accepted, this will be the first confirmed breeding record for the County.

Marsh warbler (male)

Three new species were added to the list.

The first was nightjar back in May, which you can read about here. Nighjtar was a species I hadn't even considered might occur at Druridge.

The second species to be added was Jay. Long awaited and I didn't even find it myself, but thanks to Roger and Dave.

The final species was belter, not found by me, but by Martin Kitching. Subalpine warbler, later confirmed as being of the 'eastern' race and hopefully split very soon.

I've really enjoyed my year on the patch again. I'll not be starting over again tomorrow as I am off to West Bromwich Albion. Maybe on the 2nd....

Thanks for reading over the last year and all the best for 2014!

171 Little Owl

Marsh Warbler still singing

I stopped at Druridge for literally five minutes tonight, in the rain and cold northerly wind - it felt more like late October than early June.

After I had 'bollocked' a couple in a landrover who had driven over the mounds that are either side of the road at Druridge, that are there obviously to keep vehicles out ....Why is that people who buy 4X4's feel some strange urge to do silly things? 

If there is grassy knoll in an otherwise perfectly flat car park,  you can bet the 4X4 owning wazzack will park on it!

The marsh warbler was still singing from the willows over the mound. 

The area if frequents was once pristine habitat for things like breeding willow warblers and whitethroats, I asked RBA to urge people to stay on the path (they did put this on a couple of messages), but I don't think it would've mattered. There is now a well trodden path into the reserve...

Even over the old bridge, onto the area between the willows and the phragmites that the bird was favouring wasn't off limits  to some.

Still, as long as the photographers got their shot and the MP3 playing wazzacks got decent views, then everything is just OK!

Mr and Mrs Whitethroat might not have been so happy.

I've often thought what might happen at Druridge these days, if a real rarity turned up.. a county mega? 

If it was viewable from the hides or the road, then it would be manageable., but if it was skulking warbler in the bushes....a different story. If  it was during the breeding season - forget it - the habitat would be destroyed.

In the autumn, this type of behaviour is not too much of an issue - but remember the damage caused by the idiots trying to flush out last year's Raddes warbler?

If I am ever lucky enough to find a rare bird skulking in the bushes at Druridge during the breeding season, you'll read about it in the bird club bulletin a month after it has gone.

A round up....and a marsh warbler

I've just been too busy to update the blog this weekend, especially on Saturday when I was up for 23 hours!

A brief seawatch on Friday evening produced 3 roseate terns and 2 little terns as well as 7 red throated divers.

On Friday I did another territory mapping survey, again in less than ideal conditions. I arrived at Druridge at 5.30, as had a sea fret, it cleared by 7.40 and then brightened up to be a real scorcher! I'm finding both house sparrows and tree sparrows that nest over by the hamlet are both feeding in the bushes at Druridge, must be a better supply of caterpillars there. Nothing else of great note, there are now three singing whitethroats.

On Saturday, Janet and I were ringing for only the second time this year. A calm morning soon brightened up to another hot day, which brought the plebs flocking down to Druridge with their England flags waving from knackered Corsas - makes you proud!

I had to go to work at 9am, but in total we caught 24 birds (19 new ones and 5 retraps) including our first sedge warbler of the year.

sedge warbler - caught and ringed

We also caught this blackbird which was first ringed in November 2003 as a first year bird, making this chap 7 this year!

Seven year old blackbird

Janet caught this juvenile starling, there are a lot of them about so I am surprised we didn't catch more, Janet wasn't concerned though, seemingly starlings are a pain to ring. I was disappointed, I've never ringed Starling.

juvenile starling

Saturday night ended at a BBQ in Stakeford, I didn't get to bed until 3.30 am, not bad going considering I had been up since 4.30.

I was in the office today when I got a call from Steve Holliday, who was sure he had a marsh warbler singing by the path to the hides. I called in on the way home and soon heard it singing, imitating a swallow at first, from the willows behind the bund.

It only sung intermittently and flew out of cover, briefly, once, in the hour and half I was there. this is my second marsh warbler for Druridge, the first was on the 1st of June 2008, which sang for three days by the Budge Screen.

Whilst I was bored, I took these shots...

Cercopsis vulnerata a red and black type of froghopper

northern marsh orchid

unidentified spider

Any thoughts on this spider?

123 little tern
124 roseate tern
125 marsh warbler