First patch Osprey in 25 years

After heavy rain and cold northeasterly winds on Friday/Saturday morning Janet and I went out to look for migrant passerines at Druridge on Saturday morning. We stopped at the Budge Screen first and finally caught up with some Little Gulls and the thunbergii (grey-headed) Yellow Wagtail. With two Wood Sandpipers, a pair of Garganey, a Knot, two bar-tailed and three Black-tailed Godwits among the supporting cast we would have been happy to leave it at that. 

We wandered north along the bushes and onto the haul road. It was there, where we were alerted to a large bird flying north pursued by five or six Lapwings. The Lapwings wouldn't have bothered going that high for a gull, so bins onto it and it showed it to be an Osprey! It was heading steadily north and soon lost to sight over East Chevington. 

Osprey heading north pursued by Lapwings (heavy crop)

This is my first patch Osprey since at least 1996 - it was so long ago, the record is in a long-gone paper notebook. 

We didn't find any noteworthy migrants passerines, not even a Wheatear. There were hundreds of hirrundines and the Swifts were flying very low.  The sun came out briefly later and brought out some insects.

Common Cardinal Beetle 

Male Andrena sp of bee

Large Red Damselfy (female)

22-Spot Laydybird

Cheilosia sp of Hoverfly  -STOP PRESS - Roger Morris thinks this is C. bergenstammi

Green NettleWeavil

Sphaerophoria sp of hoverfly - the females can't be identified to species by photographs

Red and Black Froghopper

Today was WeBS count day. Highlights were five Little Gulls, one Med Gull and a single Drake Garganey. Wood Sandpiper and Ruff had been reported but we didn't see them. The Grey-headed Wagtail was gone but there were two flavissima.

Drake Tufted Duck - without the orange eye, this could be monochrome photo

 We walked to Chibburn mouth to check on my fence and walked back along the beach seeing very little along the way - only a handful of Sandwich Terns.

One of the Sandwich Terns

Spoonbill looking miserable on the Budge fields earlier in the week

New arrivals

On Tuesday evening Janet and I wander up to the Preceptory and back. No new arrivals but at least 200 Sand Martins over the Budge Fields with the usual waders, one Yellow and two White Wagtails and Wheatear were also on the fields from the little hide. 

A schoolboy error on Wednesday morning though. I got up early intending to my third territory mapping visit before work but when I arrived at Druridge the wind was strong, about 20mph from the North East and gusty - too windy for a survey so I abandoned and headed for the little hide where it would be sheltered.

The highlight was a male Ruff, coming into breeding plumage, strutting it's stuff in front of the hide. 

Ruff - getting it's ruff

This Ruff was one of three, otherwise there was nothing new to report from the Budge fields. The light was nice and both Gadwall and Shoveler came close into hides.

Drake Shelduck

Gadwall Pair

Chiffchaff in the morning sunshine

I finally got my survey done before work on Friday. The map looked a bit busier with at least 13 singing Willow Warblers and both Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat were new for the year. Blackcaps were noted at three locations. 

Also of note was Wheatear in the dunes and eight Twite including some in full song from the top of as tree. Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Reed Buntings were plentiful in the dunes and three Grasshopper Warblers were reeling there. 

Meadow Pipit in a dune bush

Shelducks are numerous on the Budge fields and in the dunes, giving some nice 'fly-bys'  - I estimated 24 in total.

Male Shelduck

Tufted Duck between the turbines

Nesting Canada Goose with a stick through it's bill - wonder if this is a fashion statement?

This morning Janet and I had wander around the hides. On the Budge fields, two Whimbrel, two male Yellow Wagtails, one White Wagtail, 14 Avocet, three Ruff and five Pintail were noteworthy. There wasn't much on the big pool but a Snipe was feeding just in front of the Oddie Hide. 

Common Snipe

A single Reed Warbler was singing in the reedbed which was new for the year and Sedge and Whitethroat were back in greater numbers. Janet went off horse-riding and I had a look on the sea, it was quiet though with no new terns, but plenty of Sandwich feeding just offshore. 13 Red-throated Divers were mostly in breeding plumage and a raft of 24 Guillemot were loafing on the sea. Twite are still around, 'commuting' along the dunes

I spent the rest of the morning trying to photograph hoverflies and bees on the path to the hides. They'll get their own post later when I've identified them. Meanwhile here's a 7-Spot Ladybird. 

7-Spot Ladybird

Back on the patch

Back on the patch today for my first visit of the year after a two-week birding trip to Taiwan.

Taiwan was interesting and it's not a place many birders get to so we were working somewhat blind but managed to see all but two of the expected endemic species.

It was good to be back on the patch on a cold and crisp sunny morning. I only had time for a quick wander around but added 31 species to the year list. The bushes were quiet as expected, a couple of coal tits were interesting as they are usually an autumn species.

Coal tit

All of the ducks were on the big pool as the Budge fields were frozen solid and there were plenty of them - I'll have a better idea of numbers on Sunday when I do the WeBS count but there were plenty of wigeon and teal.

Drake tufted duck

Pair of Mallards

I wandered up to the north end of the patch and onto the beach along the Dunbar Burn channel where I flushed a jack snipe - it shot out as I approached the end of the channel where there is some wrack accumulated which I presume it was feeding on. 

I didn't see jack snipe last year on the patch. This has happened to me so often, I go a whole year without seeing a species and then see it on my first visit of the next year... Bullfinch, greenfinch. yellowhammer and peregrine are all on that list.

This teal was feeding just beyond where the jack snipe came up from, it stayed put as I walked by, must be plenty of feeding among the rotting weed.

Teal feeding amongst wrack in the Dunbar Burn channel

In the dunes to the north, there was a flock of least 80 twite with a handful of chaffinches, goldfinches and reed buntings.

Reed bunting

Belated WeBS count

I skidded my way to Druridge to do my WeBS count today, a couple of days late, but Sunday was pretty much a write-off (it was my birthday on Saturday) and the weather was too grim yesterday.

I didn't get down to the patch until 11ish, I was hoping the sun might have melted the ice on the roads, but they were still like a skating rink, so I mostly drove to Druridge sideways.

Black ice on the road at Druridge

The Budge fields were frozen solid, the only birds were two crows and eight snipe (which also might have been frozen as they didn't move).

On my way to the Oddie hide, I was treated to a fantastic ermine stoat scampering along the track, it was there again when I walked back later, this time with a vole in its mouth.

There wasn't much to count on the big pool, 109 wigeon were grazing in the adjacent filed with 174 lapwings. The teal were trickier to count, as they were hunkered into the vegetation round the edge of the pool.

The highlight was pair of displaying goldeneyes, the cold obviously not effecting them!

Displaying pair

These two shots show the head-shape nicely

The mute swans were keeping their heads warm

Tufted duck

As I left the hide, I glanced up, above the door, and spotted this field vole on the beam. It was alive, but didn't look like it had long for the world.

poorly-looking field vole

Before heading home, I had half an hour look on the sea. There was a lunatic surfing! OK, I know the sea temperature doesn't vary hugely, but he was out of the water on his board most of the time...mental!

On the sea I counted six red-throated divers, 4 red-breasted mergansers and there were three sanderling on the beach.

There were about 400 pink-footed geese in the field in front of the cottages, I scanned them all and could only see pinkies.

Patch Tick!

They don't come often these days, but today saw another new bird added to my Druridge patch list. Mandarin Duck. OK, it's not a mega rare eastern migrant, but it's new for the patch and it's on my list.

It took a bit to get, after last nights failed efforts, I had a 6.30 start this morning but the duck proved to be illusive. Thankfully, whilst I was having a wander, it was re-found by the original finder, Steve Rippon. It only showed for a couple of minutes before disappearing again, probably sat up in the trees.

The mandarin takes the patch list to 226, my first patch tick of 2012 and the first since last years storm petrel.

Elsewhere this morning the long-eared owl juveniles were very vocal, calling all morning. This one was visible from the public right of way.

Peek-a-boo. Juvenile long-eared owl watching me watching it

 They are also very mobile but are still being fed by the adults.

Silhouette of long-eared owl adult with a vole

A female tufted duck had a brood of five newly-hatched ducklings.

Adult female tufted duck with five ducklings

Cute. tufted duckling

A tip off from Dave Elliott helped me add cuckoo to the year list as I scoped an adult flying south past the plantation toward Hemscotthill. Seemingly, Dave had seen six cuckoos at East Chevington this morning.

This afternoon I was back on the patch, this time ringing the barn owl chicks from the nestbox on the farm. I've been watching the adults hunting around the patch for the last couple of weeks, taking plenty of prey into the box so is suspected there might be a good-sized brood and I was right. When we checked the box we found four good-sized young inside, two of them not far off fledging.

One of four barn owl chicks ringed from the nestbox

Even at this age it can be possible to sex barn owls. The spots on the underwing of this bird shows it will be a female

Ringed and 'posted' back into their box. They'll be fledging soon.

After ringing the owls, I had a drive along the dune road and my luck was in. A raptor caught my eye, flying toward the car from right, from the dunes. As it drew level, I could see a 'moustache' - an adult hobby flew over the car and then over the bushes...gone. There has been a hobby reported regularly over the last week or so from Cresswell up to Chevington. Nice to see it at Druridge.

122 mandarin duck
123 cuckoo
124 hobby