14th JANUARY 2007.

PEEK-A-BOO BITTERN.

Leon and I had started the day well with a visit to the Leg of Mutton Nature Reserve, Barnes, and had left there in good time to arrive at opening time. The weather was lovely, a bit chilly but with a clear blue sky and the sun shining brightly.
We started with a walk around the Waterlife area, then to the feeder station and finally a walk around the Sheltered Lagoon. We chose to go this way round because the sun was still very low and we thought that we might see more easily from this end of the site. There were plenty of birds about and they all seemed intent on making as much noise and being as boisterous as possible. When we called into the ‘Dulverton’ hide we were rewarded with a fine view of a Common Snipe that was parading just outside the window!

CATKINS WERE SEEN EVERYWHERE

Photo: Reg Norman

Having had such an early start we found that we were both very hungry and so we visited the restaurant for some breakfast. I didn’t realise just how hungry I was, even though the meal was delicious and the portions generous, I still felt a little hungry as we left!
We called into ‘The Lodge’ area to see if we could spot a Goldcrest but were to be unlucky. We had more luck at the ‘Headley’ hide where we were to see the Bittern. He kept appearing briefly and then vanishing just as quickly. You could, however, just make him out if you looked through a ‘scope, which we were able to do due to the generosity of some of the ‘regulars’ who were in the hide.
The Lapwings on the Main Lake were constantly going up and although we scanned the sky we could see no threatening raptors. Perhaps they were just very ‘jumpy’.
The ‘Wildside’ hide was to be our next stop and we reached it following a circituitous walk around the Wildside area itself. There were lots of small birds around, some we missed because they were behind us and therefore we had to look into the sun. This was a shame because we both realised that we didn’t know the calls of some of the birds and so could possibly have been new to us!

STRANGE DUCK IN THE 'WILDSIDE'!

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘Wildside’ hide was crowded with visitors and most of them seemed to be well upon there ‘birding’. It was nice to be able to point out to some of them where they could see some Snipe among the reeds and to offer some suggestions about where else they might see different things.
We could only see the female Stonechat and that was only very briefly as she kept well into the cover of a reedbeds. We spent quite some time at the hide and noticed that the Lapwings on the Main Lake were still very jittery and taking flight every so often. There was still no sign of any bird of prey although we did spend a fair amount of time scanning the sky.
Leaving the hide we made our way back to the ‘Headley’ hide for another quick look at the ‘peek-a-boo’ Bittern. There was, by now, a good sized crowd in the hide and most had had at least a glimpse of the bird. I think that, of all the birds that I have seen, the camouflage of the Bittern is the most perfect. It never ceases to amaze me, every time that I see it, just how wonderful it is.
We revisited ‘The Lodge’ area and were pleased to see a Goldcrest. We then took a rare walk around the ‘New Zealand’ area to view the waterfall. We did this because I had heard that it was a good place to see Pied Wagtails and thought that we should see for ourselves if it were true. On this occasion it was not!

NO WAGTAILS HERE THEN!

Photo; Reg Norman

On reaching the Observatory we were disappointed to find that we were unable to go in as there was a private function in progress. We find that this is one of the most productive spots, in terms of waterfowl and duck species numbers, on the whole site. So, we moved on towards the Peacock Tower stopping at the feeder station once again and were rewarded with some excellent views of more Goldcrests! We popped briefly into the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide just to see if there was anything about but could only see a large flock of Wigeon grazing the Thames-side bank and what appeared to be an enormous number of gulls.
At the tower we were to be surprised at just how many gulls there were. There were hundreds of them! Although mostly Black Headed Gulls, there were several other species represented. I was also pleased to see ’Mr and Mrs’ Stonechat away off in the distance.

FIRST CROCUSES OF THE YEAR!

Photo; Reg Norman

We had had a good day and it was now time to make our way home. Leon had to buy some seed for his ’pigs’ and I wanted to buy another strap for my bins. Leon got his seed but the ‘InFocus’ shop was so busy that I gave up trying to get my strap.
We made our way to ‘the office’ where we discussed the events of the day. We thought about terry and Liz who had gone to Pulborough and hoped that they had had a good day. At least the weather was much better for them than it was for us last week! No doubt we would hear all about it via email or the ‘BirdForum’ site.

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Starling, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Snipe, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Great Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Lapwing, Teal, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Little Grebe, Ring Necked Parakeet, Goldfinch, Coal Tit, Wren, Dunnock, Long Tailed Tit, Gadwall, Wigeon, Heron, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Pochard, Bittern, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Green Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Greylag Goose.

7th JANUARY 2007.

IMPROMPTU GULL LESSON.

I arrived, on my own as Leon was ‘doing something’, at about a quarter past twelve which was much later than I had originally planned. I had wanted to be on Wimbledon Common for about seven o’clock to start recording the ‘patch’ for the LondonBirders ‘Patchlist Competition’. The trip to Pulborough Brooks yesterday (see ‘Othersites’ blog, link to left) had taken more out of me than I thought. Consequently, when the alarm went off I must have killed it! It was an overcast day and only a little chilly. I didn’t bother with waterproofs and wore, as my main protection, the big new fleece that I had been given for Christmas by mother. I had also arranged to meet Terry and Liz as I had something for them but I looked like I would miss them. (I did miss them and found out later via ‘BirdForum’ that they were going to Pulborough next week!).
I had soon noted over twenty birds at my first call, the Observatory, and thought that this might just be a ‘good day’. The first bird of note was Sparrowhawk flashing down towards the ‘Wildside’ hide! My luck held as I reached the ‘Log Cabin’ area. I was hoping to see the Goldcrest and, sure enough, it popped out just as I arrived. He happily flitted about for about five minutes, singing all the while.
Moving on I thought that I would leave the ‘Headley’ hide alone and ‘pick the Bittern up’ on the way back!
Conscious of the fact that this would be not only a blog report but also my first entry, for this site, on the LondonBirders ‘Patchlist Competition’, I was listening out for all the birdsong that I knew. You can claim a bird by sound alone, frustratingly I didn’t recognize any and there seemed to be lots of unfamiliar calls about! It wasn’t too bad though as there was plenty to see!

AN 'EMPTY' FULL WADER SCRAPE!

Photo: Reg Norman

At the bridge just before the ‘Wildside’ hide I slowed down and crept forward, looking around the ‘corner’ of the reeds and was rewarded for my patience with a nice view of a Water Rail. It only lasted for a minute or so but it was the first really good look at one this winter. This really was turning out to be a good day!
At the hide I noted a Common Snipe in the usual place on the promontory. There were quite few people in the hide, some complaining of the cold which I found strange a it was only really cold when sat in front of one of the, open, East-facing windows. As these people left they were replaced by Rupert and Dan, two faces that I am always glad to see! They said that they had had a young Sparrowhawk hunting for most of the morning in this area and noting that only the female Stonechat was on view expressed a hope that it was not the male that the hawk had been after! There had also been reports of a Rock Pipit several times during the morning but I was not to see it today. Rupert found a new location for snoozing Snipe, there were four neatly lined up on the island to the north of the hide. We thought that we saw two jack Snipe in flight but facing into the (weak) light nobody could be really sure so they were not noted.
I moved back towards the ‘Headley’ hide to ‘pick up’ the Bittern. He had been out and about several times during the morning but, of course, was now hiding in the reeds! Typical! Not wanting to waste time, I moved on to the ‘Waterlife’ area as the light would probably not last too long given that it was so overcast.
There were plenty of people and birds about. The people were quiet, the birds not. Everywhere there were different bird calls, many I did not know and was glad that I had taken the opportunity to ask Rupert and Dan for any ideas on a really good CD of birdsong. I really must learn more about his side of bird recognition.
Although quiet at the hides the feeder area was very productive. The ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ was once again very quiet as was the ‘Wader Scrape’. I did note that there seemed to be a fair few gulls about. Alas, I had seen no swans again this week but Dan had said that they had been on site yesterday.
The ‘Peacock tower’ was very busy for a Sunday afternoon. I had not long been settled when Rupert and Dan turned up again! They were both astounded by the number of gulls all around us and it slowly dawned on me that there must have been hundreds of them. There was a very young chap in the hide who, attracted by Ruperts’ comments about gulls, started to ask some lovely questions. He obviously knew a lot more than the average ‘birder’ about gulls (I felt like an idiot!) and was keen to learn more about gulls from someone like Rupert. For about the next hour we were treated to an impromptu gull identification lesson. Rupert kindly showed the boy different aspects of the gulls plumage and also pointed out the different sub-species and how to tell them apart. Whilst doing this he was manoeuvring his ‘scope into the best positions and allowing the boy (and the ‘idiot’!) to have a look each time! Absolutely brilliant!

'GETTING' DARK!

Photo: Reg Norman

The light was by now starting to go so I made my way back to the ‘Headley’ hide once more to ‘pick up’ the Bittern. No show! One of the ‘regulars’ told me that he had been out recently but was now back in the reeds! Suddenly the bird moved! It stood up! It sat down again! Motionless I could not see it although I was allowed to look through our friends ‘scope. Even then it was very hard to see.
I went back to the ‘Wildside’ hide on the off-chance of seeing something and was glad that I did. There was our missing male Stonechat; I was pleased to see him! There was a group of people who were obviously new to ‘birding’ and I was pleased to be able to point a few things out for them.
I decided to make my way back to the ‘office’ as the light was all but gone. On the way back I was treated to the sight of a Kestrel hovering above the ‘Headley’ hide and suddenly diving down towards the Main Lake, Observatory end. I went in to the hide in case anybody had seen it. There was only one bloke in there he had not seen the Kestrel, BUT, very kindly pointed out a Ring Necked Duck! I thought for a moment that it was our Ring Necked/Tufted hybrid but, no, it was the genuine article!
I left again for the ‘office’ but changed my mind when I go there as it was ‘banged-out’!

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Moorhen, Carrion Crow, Sparrowhawk, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Shoveller, Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Lapwing, Starling, Ruddy Duck, Great Black Backed Gull, Pochard, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Goldcrest, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush, Water Rail, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Teal, Goldfinch, Canada Goose, Heron, Green Woodpecker, Gadwall, Stonechat, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Common Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Bittern, Caspian Gull, Ring Necked Duck.

31st DECEMBER 2006.

NATURE WALK AND YEARS’ FINAL SIGHTINGS.

The final day of the year was to hold several surprises. The first of which was that neither Terry, Leons’ brother, nor John, Leons’ cousin were going to be able to make it to the Wetlands Centre today. This was a shame as we had booked for the final Nature Walk of the year some weeks ago and I was looking forward to seeing these two chaps again.
It was an overcast, cold day and the wind appeared to be freshening as we made our way to the Centre. By the time we had met our guide, Dan, it had started to rain and I was glad of the lightweight anorak that I had in my bag. Our first stop was to be the ‘Headley’ hide to try to spot the Bittern that, by all accounts, had been showing well all week. We were to be disappointed; Dan had been there earlier and had drawn a blank then as well.

BARK COLOUR CHANGING

Photo: Reg Norman

The group was then directed back through the Centre towards the ‘Peacock Tower’ by way of the feeding station. All was strangely quiet in the ‘Waterlife’ area, indeed it was the quietest that I can ever remember it being. Things started to look up when we reached the feeder station, there were many of the usual Finches and Tits in evidence and the other members of the group, who seemed to be even less experienced that Leon and I were asking many questions.
We moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’ where it seemed to be very quiet as well although Dan kept himself very busy spotting different birds for us to see. We had some very good views of a pair of Pintails right outside the hide on the ‘Wader Scrape’.
After a while Dan made his way back to the Centre to leave us to our own devices. Leon and I stayed for a little while before deciding to make our way to the ‘Wildside’ hide. It had stopped raining by now and even looked like it might brighten up a bit!
Instead of taking the direct route to our destination we skirted the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ where we were lucky enough to see two different woodpeckers in quick succession although there was little else to be seen! When we reached the feeder station area again we were surprised to see a Brown Rat feeding amongst the Chaffinches and Wood Pigeons! Only a few feet away, the birds were taking absolutely no notice of him whatsoever! At the ‘Dulverton’ hide neither of us was surprised to see that there were no Snipe to be seen. It just seemed to be that sort of day where nothing much was to happen!
There as not much to be seen from the Observatory either, we managed to direct two chaps who were specifically looking for the Bittern towards the ‘Headley’ hide and wished them all the best. I re-packed my bag, returning the newly folded anorak to its’ place. Whilst doing so e discussed the birds that we had NOT seen this year that we would liked to have seen. Mine were the Long Billed Dowitcher at Oare Marshes and the famous Long Billed Murrelet in Devon. Leon would have loved to have seen the Goldcrest that our friend Terry and I had seen on this site. I said that it would be funny if, and that I would love him to see the bird on our final visit of the year!

TERRY, LIZ AND LEON

Photo; Reg Norman

We visited the ‘Lodge’ area just to see if we could tempt fate and it was here that we met up with Terry and Liz. Both Terry and I lost no time in telling Leon what a beautiful bird the Goldcrest was and how glad we were that we had seen it! Terry then went on to describe the almost perfect views that they had had of the Bittern from the ‘Headley hide. To add insult to injury I pointed out that the Goldcrest had now started to sing although we were unable to see it! We said goodbye to our friends and wished them all he best for the coming year.
They had only just left us when Leon shouted, (why does he always shout?) “There it is, the Goldcrest!” There it was, the Goldcrest! I am not sure who was the happiest, Leon for seeing it or me for him having seen it at last, the second of my surprises that day! We spent quite some time watching the small bird, pointing it out to several others as they passed.

FIRST CATKINS, NEW YEARS EVE

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘Wildside’ hide was very quiet and we considered ourselves lucky to see the solitary Snipe in his usual position just outside the hide. We didn’t stay long as it was starting to get very cold as well. It was at this point that I tried out my new hip flask; it seemed to work alright but thought that I might need more practice. Leon thought that he would need some more as well!
We were glad to meet up with some of the ‘regulars’ in the ‘Headley’ hide who were only too pleased to regale us with tales of the Bitterns, swimming prowess! It had, of course, vanished into the reeds by now. It was probably the best place to be as the wind had picked up considerably and the temperature had dropped even more. We wished everybody the best for the coming year and made our way to ‘the office’ stopping only for seed for Leons’ ‘pigs’.

BIRDS SEEN: Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Lapwing, Blackbird, Cormorant, Coot, Moorhen, Carrion Crow, Starling, Shoveller, Ruddy Duck, Robin, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit, Teal, Wigeon, Black Headed Gull, Heron, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Pintail, Gadwall, Ring Necked Parakeet, Canada Goose, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Wren, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Common Snipe, Stonechat, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Jay, Great Crested Grebe.