Photos:
Distant Peregrine, Stonechat and Short-eared Owl at Burton Marsh
Two adult Yellow-legged Gulls (one with fine streaking around the eye), second winter Iceland Gull plus either bleached juvenile or second winter Iceland Gull (top) at Richmond Bank
7th January
The Redwing appeared to stay in the garden all day. 2 Reed Buntings were feeding underneath the bird table at the back of the garden, 30+ Goldfinches and 22 Collared Doves were among various other species dining today. Around 60 Tree Sparrows and 2 Yellowhammers were at the feeding station.
Late morning I took a punt at Richmond Bank. Despite the wintery, wet and windy weather, the BBC weather forecast had shown late morning and the afternoon would brighten up considerably. How wrong they were (again)!
I was soaked by the time I arrived but I plonked myself down and started watching the gulls. There were relatively few large gulls and those that were present were flighty. After a while of nothing I picked out two adult Yellow-legged Gulls (lots of bright looking argentatus Herring Gulls around for confusion) and a second winter Iceland Gull. The latter flitted about all over the place and I picked it up at least six or seven times in different places but definitely the same bird. Early afternoon I set off back but at the top of the path I noticed a large gull flock roosting in a field across the river and almost opposite the power station. I scanned through and found another Iceland Gull. This one is either a juvenile with very bleached and worn plumage or a second winter bird. I thought this bird had a dark eye, though I later found other people who had seen it thought it to be pale-eyed.
I also felt that, due to the lighting conditions, I could see faint brownish markings on the bird’s upperparts. Coupled with a dark eye this would be more suggestive of a very bleached juvenile. This also begs the question as to why this bird is so worn and bleached relatively early in the winter? I did some searching for information on the process of feather wear / bleaching and found very little other than some comments on a few American web sites indicating that little research had been done into this subject. On a final note I also observed several first winter Herring Gulls with a bleached / worn appearance too.
8th January
I took Bill for a walk this morning from Denhall Lane up towards the Decca Pools. Lots of birds were flitting around and moving about. Very windy again though. The highlight was a ring-tail Hen Harrier which showed very well. I also saw at least eight Short-eared Owls hunting around, two of which up the near the pools came very close while others were very distant. One of the nearer birds perched for a while on a post and my digiscoping camera decided at that point that it couldn’t possible focus on anything. Bloody technology!
Far out on the marsh I could see a distant herd of swans. With perseverance I could eventually pick out at least 16 Bewick’s and a few Whoopers. A female Merlin gave some good performances of alternately dashing around and then perching up without actually chasing anything. Two Peregrines further down the marsh appeared to be hunting together – I soon lost them though. A cracking male Stonechat rounded off an excellent walk.
I then popped round to Burton Mere for a very brief visit. I had to leave Bill on the car so I didn’t stay long – just popped my head around the corner to have a quick look at the 56 White-fronted Geese. Another male Stonechat showed well here.
HGF mid afternoon was very windy. A flock of 45 Linnets appeared in the south hedge – a male Reed Bunting was with them. At the feeding station later were 56 Tree Sparrows and a Yellowhammer, all of which melted into the hedge when a Sparrowhawk appeared. In the garden a single Redwing remains and 35+ Goldfinches were on the feeders.
9th and 10th January
No birding.
The Redwing appeared to stay in the garden all day. 2 Reed Buntings were feeding underneath the bird table at the back of the garden, 30+ Goldfinches and 22 Collared Doves were among various other species dining today. Around 60 Tree Sparrows and 2 Yellowhammers were at the feeding station.
Late morning I took a punt at Richmond Bank. Despite the wintery, wet and windy weather, the BBC weather forecast had shown late morning and the afternoon would brighten up considerably. How wrong they were (again)!
I was soaked by the time I arrived but I plonked myself down and started watching the gulls. There were relatively few large gulls and those that were present were flighty. After a while of nothing I picked out two adult Yellow-legged Gulls (lots of bright looking argentatus Herring Gulls around for confusion) and a second winter Iceland Gull. The latter flitted about all over the place and I picked it up at least six or seven times in different places but definitely the same bird. Early afternoon I set off back but at the top of the path I noticed a large gull flock roosting in a field across the river and almost opposite the power station. I scanned through and found another Iceland Gull. This one is either a juvenile with very bleached and worn plumage or a second winter bird. I thought this bird had a dark eye, though I later found other people who had seen it thought it to be pale-eyed.
I also felt that, due to the lighting conditions, I could see faint brownish markings on the bird’s upperparts. Coupled with a dark eye this would be more suggestive of a very bleached juvenile. This also begs the question as to why this bird is so worn and bleached relatively early in the winter? I did some searching for information on the process of feather wear / bleaching and found very little other than some comments on a few American web sites indicating that little research had been done into this subject. On a final note I also observed several first winter Herring Gulls with a bleached / worn appearance too.
8th January
I took Bill for a walk this morning from Denhall Lane up towards the Decca Pools. Lots of birds were flitting around and moving about. Very windy again though. The highlight was a ring-tail Hen Harrier which showed very well. I also saw at least eight Short-eared Owls hunting around, two of which up the near the pools came very close while others were very distant. One of the nearer birds perched for a while on a post and my digiscoping camera decided at that point that it couldn’t possible focus on anything. Bloody technology!
Far out on the marsh I could see a distant herd of swans. With perseverance I could eventually pick out at least 16 Bewick’s and a few Whoopers. A female Merlin gave some good performances of alternately dashing around and then perching up without actually chasing anything. Two Peregrines further down the marsh appeared to be hunting together – I soon lost them though. A cracking male Stonechat rounded off an excellent walk.
I then popped round to Burton Mere for a very brief visit. I had to leave Bill on the car so I didn’t stay long – just popped my head around the corner to have a quick look at the 56 White-fronted Geese. Another male Stonechat showed well here.
HGF mid afternoon was very windy. A flock of 45 Linnets appeared in the south hedge – a male Reed Bunting was with them. At the feeding station later were 56 Tree Sparrows and a Yellowhammer, all of which melted into the hedge when a Sparrowhawk appeared. In the garden a single Redwing remains and 35+ Goldfinches were on the feeders.
9th and 10th January
No birding.
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