Pied-billed bonanza, Hirundine heaven and dark days for Scotland's birds of prey.
To help the Ross-Shire bird of prey situation, a donation page has been created as a reward for those who can supply information to the RSPB about these crimes, here.
Continuing the series, North East birder James Common talks us through the delights to be had year round on his patch, Stobswood: My passion for birds has been a lifelong affair and unlike many other young birders and I’m sure they won’t mind me saying this my passion doesn't lie with chasing wayward, bedraggled vagrants around far flung locations in the hope of an often brief view. Indeed by furthest ‘twitches’ have been for Pectoral Sandpiper and Temminick’s Stint not five miles down the road if they can really be counted! Each to their own however and I admire anyone with the dedication, time (and funds) to prevail as a twitcher but for me the real thrills are derived from routinely watching local sites in the hope of turning up something a little out of the ordinary, or in the case of my patch at Stobswood, Northumberland enjoying the various comings and goings of the common species throughout the year.
My patch is somewhat unique in the sense that it was only really ‘created’ in the last few years with the majority of the site reclaimed from opencast operations that dominated the landscape for decades. Sure the patches of deciduous woodland (located right outside my window) and the small conifer plantation to the west of the site have been around a while but it wasn't until recently that the site gained its truly appealing range of habitats. I am of course speaking of the series of shallow pools that now dominate the old opencast site and the surrounding grassland which, though now heavily planted with alder and birch, still manages to attract a host of species previously absent from the area. I’m also lucky enough to have the addition of an fully fledged Alder Carr and a series of agricultural areas all of which combined make my little patch quite the bird magnet.
It’s only fitting that I begin with a brief(ish) description of the wooded areas of the site as at this time of year this is perhaps to most action packed area of the whole patch! The common bits ‘n’ bobs are of course well represented with Great tit, Blue tit, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch and Coal Tit all routinely making use of my makeshift woodland feeding station which really is little more than a upturned log adorned with whatever food scraps are going spare in the house. Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Bullfinch and Marsh Tit can often be located with a little bit of effort whilst spring is perhaps the best time to see, or should I say hear, Great Spotted Woodpeckers as they set about the business of diving the woods up into a series of neatly defined territories. Further exploration of these area often turns up the full set of resident thrushes whilst summer brings masses of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and on the rare occasion Redstart making ‘my woods’ a spectacular if somewhat noisy place to be!
Moving away from the mature woodland and into the scrubby areas of the patch centred on the now abandoned brickworks and Alder Carr, the avian community changes considerably with thrushes and tits giving way to stacks of finches, with Goldfinch and Greenfinch the most numerous local residents. Linnet often occur here in small numbers too whilst both Siskin and Lesser Redpoll occur frequently though to a lesser extent than their commoner cousins. Again the summer periods breathes life into this small but productive piece of land with Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and on those extra special occasional Cuckoo seen adorning the tops of the sites rather scraggy Hawthorns. Hirundines are common place here with all three species present throughout the season often joined by hordes of screaming Swifts which I suspect nest nearby. Winter on the Carr is equally as productive with good numbers of Woodcock routinely residing in the many thickets and both Tawny and Short-Eared Owls making use of the less vegetated areas for hunting. The latter of which is somewhat of a site speciality with at least four or five present for the last three winters! Aside from these glorious birds only Kestrel and Sparrowhawk routinely entertain here and thus attention inevitably turns to the patchwork of farmland that ruins parallel to the area.
As far as I know the farmland here is one of the best sites in the immediate area to view the common seed-lovers species lost from much of Britain. Okay, Druridge Bay is just down the road but we’ll forget that for the time being. Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Tree Sparrow are abundant here and often flock together making them incredibly hard to miss! Alongside these are good numbers of Grey Partridge and Pheasant and on rare occasions small flocks of House Sparrow and Starling that commute from my home town to make use of the site's plentiful seeds and insects. This is, however, the most the agricultural areas of the patch have ever offered me and alas I can finally turn my attention to my favourite and by far the most productive of the patches environs, the opencast itself.
The grassland fringing the pools holds good numbers of breeding waders with Curlew, Lapwing, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher present in force throughout the summer period. I have on occasion sighted Golden Plover here too well out of the usual season which suggests to me a small breeding population. Interesting! Couple these waders with a monstrous abundance of Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Pied Wagtail and to a smaller extent Yellow Wagtail and Wheatear and you have the makings of a raptor smorgasbord. Birds of prey again are somewhat of a speciality here with a good day turning up no less than five species. Sparrowhawk and Kestrel I have already mentioned but larger than these and somewhat more impressive are the resident Buzzards and Marsh Harriers which more often than not can be seen cruising low over the area in search of a meal. Marsh Harriers are somewhat of a local success story with virtually no pairs a decade ago increasing to such an extent that they are largely common place. No less impressive, but a tad scarcer , are Peregrine and Merlin, both of which like to put in the odd appearance forever scattering my beloved waders in the process. Owls too are prevalent here with Shorties yet again using the site throughout the colder months and both Barn and Little Owl cropping up at times, all be it infrequently of late.
A final note on the ‘grassy areas’ of the patch is the sheer number of geese attracted here during the winter with Pink-feet numbering well into their thousands whilst Greylag and Canada Geese are by no means in short supply. Add to these the one-off occurrences of both Barnacle and Bar-headed Goose and you have a ‘goose fest’ on a scale to rival the more publicized local sites. Okay so Bar-heads aren’t tickable but who cares, they’re stunning and in the case of the four individuals present during December 2013 often a great deal more timid than their truly wild counterparts!
Finally we come to the pools, or ponds, or whatever on earth you want to call them. In that sense none of them are very deep except on the rare occasions when the weather permits flooding. With this in mind we’ll go with ponds for the time being. Winter is again the best time to visit here with all the usual wetland species well represented with Wigeon and Teal by far the most numerous closely followed by the dozen or so resident Tufties and Mallard. These commoner species are more often than not joined by at least one ‘oddity’ and sure enough during my hours spent crouched in the long grass I've tallied up an impressive total of wildfowl including Gadwall, Shoveler, Goldeneye, Shelduck, Pochard, Pintail and most recently a pair of cracking female Scaup which lingered on the patch for a good two weeks before university commitments cruelly drew me away.
Ducks are perhaps the most obvious water loving residents of the patch though they are certainly not the only goodies on offer with Cormorant, Mute Swan, Grey Heron and the five common species of gull usually on show, though admittedly these do little to hold my attention when compared to the waders that, from time to time, grace me with their presence. In the two years I've been ‘intensively birding’ the site I've built up quite the list with Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper my most prized finds. Avocet occur quite frequently (more so in recent times) which when combined with the sporadic presence of Greenshank, Redshank, Sanderling, Dunlin, Black-Tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper create spectacle unusual among such inland, water devoid sites. On average I add about two new wader species per year but with all the common species out the way and some of the more widespread scarcities noted only time will tell what turns up next! An inland Grey Plover perhaps or maybe 2014 will provide a Wood Sand or Whimbrel. Who knows! Such is the joy with my patch.
I couldn’t possibly list all the birds seen and noted around my little patch of Northumbrian Eden or this post would be off the charts in terms patch based avian waffling. I have tried my very hardest to be brief but I do feel I owe it to the patch to list a few honorary species that I didn’t have time to include above, amongst these Snow Bunting, Stock Dove, Jay, Snipe, Red-Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Fieldfare and Garden Warbler have brought me perhaps the most pleasure. I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess as to what 2014 will bring for me though there are few noteworthy omissions that are slowly beginning to eat away at both my pride and patience (I’m sure you know the feeling). The worst of these is perhaps the elusive Moorhen, two words I never thought I’d use in the same sentence, though Coot, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-Eared Owl, White Wagtail and Sedge Warbler are equally frustrating.
Anyways, I hope I did my best at singing the praises of what to me is one of the best places on earth. My gut tells I have no hope in this year’s Patchwork Challenge but with some of you coastal guys racking up the species counts I may just admit defeat and set about mammal watching as with Fox, Badger, Red Squirrel, Weasel, Stoat and Roe Deer all present in abundance I have plenty to choose from!
-James Common James is a 20 year old birder/conservation nut and wannabe naturalist based along the North-East coast near the reserves of NWT East Chevington and Druridge Bay. The last few years he has spent studying BHs Animal Conservation Science at the university of Cumbria from which he has now all but graduated! http://blythbirding.blogspot.co.uk/ https://twitter.com/NEbirder
A belated look back at NGB activity over February 2014, a month where water levels rose, storms rocked the south and heads pointed skywards to an aurora borealis spectacular.
Birdtrack competition
Yearlist competition
*Note: the rankings show the totals of NGB members who have signed up to these competitions.*
NGB combined 2014 yearlist
All NGB members from around the world have clubbed together to record every species to make up a 2014 WORLD YEARLIST!
As for February, NGB members had spent time in no less than 15 countries in 5 continents; from Iceland to Italy, Malta to Malaysia, Namibia to the Netherlands, and have enjoyed seeing every one of the 1114 species recorded on our joint world yearlist. The collection includes some extreme gems such as the Indigo Flycatcher, Crimson Sunbird, Bornean Banded Pitta, Checker-throated Woodpecker, Wrinkled Hornbill, Ural Owl, Cream-coloured Courser and Black Harrier.
One bird on this list which deserves a special mention is the White-winged Flufftail, a bird seen by South African young birder John Kinghorn this month during an organised flush for this species, of which minimal information is known. The flush, organised by Birdlife South Africa, aimed to catch, ring and extract DNA of these birds, a tall order, but one which came good when only the 2ndever White-winged Flufftail was caught and processed in SA history. These little birds are critically endangered and thought to migrate between Ethiopia and SA, though almost nothing of its habits is certain.
Psychic Jack's predictions ANALYSED
Mystic Bucknall predicted for February: February is a difficult month to focus on, but I do see some sort of rare goose or diver, it looks like a Pacific Diver may be claimed but dismissed immediately, my advice is to not dismiss it so quickly, give it a second look…
A mini influx of Bean Geese is also ‘on the cards’, get watching those flocks. A short, but not entirely false, foretelling. January's Pacific Diver stuck around on its lough in Northern Ireland for another month, and there were murmurs that it had been present much longer before it had been confidently identified... A Bean Goose influx was not as noticeable, though small flocks were well spread.
NGB news
The month got off to a start with a group of NGBs enjoying the delights of Scottish birding, even jamming in on the limelight-loving American Coot during their travels, though many proclaimed that Capercaillie was their highlight. Not even Mystic Jack could have predicted the first wintering Red-flanked Bluetail for Britain, and several NGBs journeyed to see it flash its tail and even engage in some singing. Durham's Myrtle Warbler was similarly twitched. The power of twitter proved itself when NGB-er Samuel Perfect posted a picture to our Facebook group, sent by a friend, of an odd Chaffinch, with orange plumage, including Brambling-like wingbars and a curious ginger rump. We speculated on a Chaff/Bling hybrid until we posted the photo onto twitter, only to be told it was a Chaffinch, but a Erythristic one. This word, new to most of us, means that the bird experiences an absence of some pigments and/or an excessive production of others, in this case the pigment for red plumage. Remember 2013? Surely a year that will go down in the annuls of birding history in terms of rarities and something of a blessing for us younger birders, who have listened with slightly envious wonderment at the stories told by older birders of the rarity-padded years of the '70s and '80s. For those who want to keep a momento of this Annus mirabilis, Jonnie Fisk (of "This week in birding") has produced a poster which is available online and in store at The One Stop nature Shop, Norfolk; who have developed a very appreciated partnership with NGB. Scandinavian influxes are rarely unwelcome, case in point: Waxwings, Nutcrackers, Ace of Base, ABBA...but NGB were particularly pleased with a sudden surge in members from Sweden later on in the month, thanks in part to some the encouragement of 'established' members who have spent time/are currently studying in Sweden. Extremely exciting news came when 2 NGB members: Zac Hinchcliffe and Jonnie Fisk were invited by the supremely hospitable and always-cool Birding Architect and creator of Biotope, Tormod Amundsen, to attend Gullfest 2014 - the Arctic's premier birding festival. They will do some talks on NGB alongside some extremely impressive birding figures from across the world, as well as enjoying the frozen delights of early spring Arctic birding. Not strictly birding related, but towards the dying days of the month, the Northern Lights graced much of the UK to perform a swan song for February. Many NGBs witnessed this ethereal glow on coastlines and elevated sites; maybe a once in a lifetime event for some places. I wonder how many birds were seen/heard during those enchanted moments of shimmering light? How many ears barely picked up the murmuring of estuary geese, the whines of Lapwings settling down, the seeping of some overhead passerine, over the visual feast evolving above them? Other NGB Facebook Group discussion this month included the upcoming film A Birder's Guide to Everything, bird rings we have read and submitted (Med Gulls from Serbia and Belgium and BHGulls from Sweden and Poland), this fantastic photo, Team Tringa or Team Calidris?, Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and Common Eiders in all their forms! Did you see? - 5th: The world's second albatross translocation was undertaken, with Chatham Island Albatrosses (the first was with Short-tailed Albatrosses in Japan). The Chatham Island Taiko Trust transported chicks from the The Pyramid -a rocky outcrop on Pitt Island, and the albatross' only breeding colony- to a site on the mainland in order to create another breeding colony - Why? 'The Pyramid' is thought to be at full capacity. The chicks will be hand-fed and plastic adult albatross decoys have been set to lure in others. - In other Albatross news, Laysan Albatross Wisdom, aka: the oldest known bird in the world hatched another chick, her 35th on Midway Atoll. The atoll's first Short-tailed Albatross pair also raised their 3rd chick. - 8th: Hot on the heels of last year's crackers Corncrake who made it to an island off the coast of Brazil, a Spotted Crake was photographed enjoying a February sabbatical in the sun-kissed undergrowth of Guadeloupe, Caribbean! - The birding/taxonomy/seaduck lover community was tested in its tolerance for unusual theories when a story arose suggesting the extinct Labrador Duck was actually a Steller's Edier X Common Eider hybrid.
- An unlucky bird smashed through the windscreen of an equally unlucky pilot's plane in Florida, thankfully causing little damage to the pilot who landed himself safely:
...and finally, my NGB Facebook post of the month goes to Samuel Jones, on the topic of his first Sunbittern sighting: how eloquently put!
One thing that makes surveying, studying and watching birds
so exciting is that new things are always being discovered. Recent discoveries
have included the startling find that Yellow Bitterns were breeding in Egypt and the extraordinary migration of the Red-necked
Phalarope to the Pacific coast off South America. Nothing though can be more exciting than discovering a species unknown to
science and this happens with surprising regularity. One of these discoveries
occurred in Brazil
in 2005 when ecological surveyors cataloguing the area before the proposed
construction of a canal chanced upon the Sao Paulo Antwren. This species, which
was formally given its scientific name this month, is this week’s “Obscure Bird of the
Week”.
The discovery of this attractive marshland dweller follows
the discovery of the very similar Parana
(or Marsh) Antwren in 1995 in marshes around 400 miles south east of the known
sites of the Sao Paulo Antwren. The Sao Paulo Antwren was initially treated as
a disconnected race of the Parana Antwren but subtle differences can be
observed. The male bird has a much darker black breast and throat and a much
lighter crown than its relative. The females are also distinguishable in the
field as they have brown upperparts as opposed to the dark greyish tones of the
Parana Antwren.
Little is known about the bird’s behaviour and its taxonomy
is not entirely satisfactory, with debate as to whether it belongs to the genus
Formicivora or Stymphalornis. More crucially, exact population figures are unclear,
though clearly small as it is only known from 15 sites. This new species faces
many threats including the construction of new dams. The original site of its
discovery was flooded for the construction of a reservoir but the birds were
saved by a remarkable programme of catching them and releasing them at similar
nearby sites. Its precious and limited marshland home is also under serious
threat throughout the region due to housing developments and sand extraction.
I observed two males and a female of this species at
Biritiba Mirim near Sao Paulo back in 2011 when I was shown it by Rick and Elis
Simpson, the people behind Wader Quest (a great cause, check it out here:
www.waderquest.org), on the first day of my volunteering at the now defunct
Ubatuba Birdwatching Centre. I am privileged to have seen this bird but it
saddens me to think that many others may never get the chance. With the grave
threats it faces, it is possible that this species may be extinct in under a
generation since it was discovered.
-Oliver Simms Oliver is a 21 year old Classics student in his final year at Durham university. When he is not studying or indeed "birding without birding" on family holidays, he likes to spend his time birding (without pretending he isn't) and hill walking. He is currently secretary of the Durham University Hill Walking Society and Project Co-ordinator of Next Generation Birders
Buzzetti,
Belmonte-Lopes, Reinert, Silveira & Bornschein, “A new species of
Formicivora Swainson, 1824 (Thamnophilidae) from the state of São Paulo, Brazil”, Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 21
(2013), 269-291
Southern Spain is not unknown to British birders, in fact its one of the most popular destinations in Europe for them. But hidden within striking distance of the world famous Donana is a series of sites that many in the UK may have never heard of. Here are my top 5 sites that may have escaped your attention when looking at a birding trip in Spain.
Llanos de Libar – Mountain birding at its best
Llanos de Libar is your typical mountain valley. A flat, rocky floor with steep sides leading to high peaks that cast huge shadows over the surrounding area. Located just 20km from the town of Ronda and 75km from the coast makes Llanos de Libar very accessible.
Llanos de Libar also covers a wide range of habitats which give it a varied list of bird species.
Starting at the entrance to the valley, at its Northern end, is orchards and rocky small holdings. Steep cliffs line the south side close to the track and the fields spread away to steep mountain slopes to the west and north. This area is home to a pair of Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) and they can often be seen to the North of the track. Birds of prey are evident throughout the valley but from this spot in spring it is possible to see Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Short-Toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus),Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata), Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and Little Owl (Athene noctua), while in Autumn and winter Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus) has been seen here. Smaller birds are present to and Serin (Serinus serinus), Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris),Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba), Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) and winter visitors such as Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) and Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) can be found here.
After 500 metres or so the valley opens up on both sides of the track and it begins to climb up along one side of the valley. Here large rock laden grass fields stretch out to the north and rocky crags dominate the south side of the track. It is worth visiting this area after a cold or foggy night, especially in spring, where many birds will have been pushed down to these lower levels from the mountain tops. During these conditions in April 2012 the following were observed in one small field:
Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis) (2 pairs)
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius) (2 males and 5 females)
The track winds its way on through this rocky terrain, gaining in altitude once again., this area has held Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) and looks ideal for Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo). The next landmark is a noticeable kink in the track and the presence of a large tree on the corner. This area features woodland, rocky outcrops, grass pastures and trackside bushes and foliage that provide excellent habitats for birds. During the spring months this area holds at least one pair of Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis), which can be incredibly confiding with patience, and holds similar species to lower down in the valley. Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) are also a constant feature here as are Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster), Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta) and Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) in Spring.
The track continues and drops down gradually as the valley opens out into a large area of agricultural farmland. It is very surprisingly to suddenly find yourself in the middle of such a large area but once again the birdlife is varied and numerous, groups of 100-120 Rock Sparrow can be seen here as late as mid April in some years. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) are also numerous here.
The final surprise is found a little further down the track. A stone wall with gates seperates the agricultural land with a large area of deciduous woodland. This area starts off flat and is the perfect home for WoodLark (Lullula arborea), Cirl Bunting, Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) and Woodchat Shrike but soon starts to climb up and become an area of mountain forest. Here species such as Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans), Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata), Short-Toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) and Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei) are abundant and in some areas Western Bonelli’s Warblers (Phylloscopus bonelli) seem to be in every tree.
The valley continues through this woodland until a small path climbs up the mountain side resulting in the end of the Llanos de Libar valley.
Regardless of the time of year Llanos de Libar offers some fantastic birding by either walking or driving along its valley floor. With reports of Alpine Accentor and even Wallcreeper(Tichodroma muraria) in cold winters this is a site that holds many surprises that are still yet to be uncovered.
The red line on the map below shows the route through the Llanos de Libar valley. The blue line is the nearest access road.
-Oliver Reville Oliver is a 25 year old birder and photographer from North Norfolk. His passion is the wildlife of Spain and in particular its birds of prey. Oliver's other wildlife interests are Sylvia warblers, Wheatears, Reptiles and British orchids. His photographic inspiration is Markus Varesvuo and his book "Birds: Magic moments" first triggered his own interest in photography. https://twitter.com/OliReville
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