Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 13.11.20

 

The diver (which is becoming an obsession) was present again this morning. I managed one or two photos, and also a picture of a ‘tame’ Buzzard just outside Deeping Lakes LWT.

Responsible Birding Diary: Thursday 12.11.20

 

Once more, I found myself driving the Welland in search of the Great Northern Diver (or anything else). At first there was ‘no sign’ and I thought the diver may have moved on. But as I was heading home, I saw it, but a little further downstream than is its customary setting.

Responsible Birding Diary: Wednesday 11.11.20

 

This afternoon, I went to Maxey pits to try to film the Starling murmuration which has been building up there. On the way, I thought I would call in on my beloved Great Northern Diver. Sure enough, after a bit of a wait, he appeared and swam very close to the gate where I originally found him on Sunday. But then, he abruptly turned round and went back the other way.

When I looked a little downstream, I noticed what I thought was a thin branch sticking out of the middle of the river. A second glance revealed it was an Otter, waving its tail in the air, almost like a flag to see off the diver, which was close to invading the Otter’s fishing area! It was a quite extraordinary sight!!

Later on, though I did see getting on for about 30,000 Starlings come to roost, they never really formed a single big swarm, preferring to dive almost immediately into the roost site. Another afternoon, perhaps…

More Welland Great Northern Diver photographs

Responsible Birding Diary: Tuesday 10.11.20

 

The Great Northern Diver was in position again on the River Welland. I took a lunchtime trip up there with my dear wife, Joe, and I managed to get a few more photos. At one stage, a Great White Egret flew over our heads.

Meanwhile, a quick pop in to nearby Deeping Lakes produced a calling Chiffchaff, which I guess is going to linger for the winter, now.

Responsible Birding Diary: Monday 9.11.20

 

I drove up again to the Welland on this the fourth foggy morning on the trot. After a bit of a waiting, I saw the Great Northern Diver in exactly the same spot as I last saw it yesterday afternoon.

Great Northern Diver, River Welland, near Deeping Lakes LWT, south Lincs/north Cambs

Responsible Birding Diary: Sunday 8.11.20

 

For the third day running there was fog on the Welland, and so the temptation to seek birds which may have got slightly lost in the haze. Things started well enough with the Great White Egret, again fishing along the river in the mist.

But then I got lucky! I found a juvenile Great Northern Diver on a stretch of the river, where it branches off from the road (near Deeping; and where the river forms the boundary between Cambs to the south and Lincs to the north). The diver fished the same stretch of river all day. giving great photographic opportunities. (for photos see the next post; meantime here is the Great White Egret in the fog).

Responsible Birding Diary: Saturday 7.11.20

 

For the second day running it was a foggy start, so I was back at the Deeping High Bank (a road which follows the River Welland for a few miles). A Great White Egret was again fishing the banks of the river, and that was about the sum of the goodness on the river. SO, I went to Deeping Lakes and hung out for a while compiling a list from one of the screens.

I reached just over 50 species, with the highlights being a female Pintail and a Green Sandpiper popping in. In the afternoon, I went down to Eldernell (Nene Washes) for a bit of an early evening ‘roost’s session. It is very good there at the moment. My totals were as follows:

Hen Harrier, 1, ringtail,

Marsh Harrier, 7 (minimum)

Crane, 59,

Great White Egrets, 4,

Little Egret, 19,

Stonechat, 2

Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 6.11.20

Despite moaning about a lack of time in the morning pre-work, for birding, I drove up to the Deeping High Bank this morning, as it was foggy, and fog should never be ignored (It brings some very good birds, sometimes). All I had to report was a Stone chat and five Whooper Swans. By the time I got to Deeping Lakes, it was still too foggy even to see the islands properly. A couple of Cetti’s Warblers were singing and that was looking like the highlight, when a Bearded Tit called from near my screen. And a few seconds later a lovely male Bearded Tit flew by calling.

Responsible Birding Diary: Thursday 5.11.20

 

It is hard to get any birding in outside the weekends, at the moment. There is not much time in the morning to get a decent cycle in with birdwatching, before work, despite the clocks going back. Still, I can always pop out to the garden and enjoy the birds. There are always birds in our garden, and with the falling of the leaves, it is easier to see them in the hedges! So, I have been enjoying the Dunnocks, Great Tits and Wrens. But I also had a Linnet fly over and a Sky Lark; the former was my first over the garden, this year, and the latter an indication that there is still some migration going on.

Responsible Birding Diary: Wednesday 4.11.20

 

I popped out for a bit into the sunny but cold garden this morning. Easily the highlight was the pair of Goldcrests working their way through the trees. I have never seen more than one Goldcrest in the garden, before, and these are pretty uncommon ( less than annual).

Responsible Birding Diary: Tuesday 3.11.20

 

The most interesting thing in the garden today was a fresh scattering of Woodpigeon feathers. I think it looks like the remains of Sparrowhawk kill (which we get from time to time) and hope it isn’t a result of hunting by one of the thousands of semi-feral cats that come into our garden!

Responsible Birding Diary: Monday 2.11.20

 

A quiet day, wildlife wise (and too windy to get up to much on my bicycle), the best I could get out of the day was watching Great Tits, Robins and Magpies enjoying the garden.

Glossy Ibis, Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough

 

Responsible Birding Diary: Sunday 1.11.20

 

As the weather was somewhat better today, I decided to pay the Ferry Meadows Glossy Ibis another visit, and I got lucky, with some close views and some sunshine. It may be a brown, dull-coloured version of its species, but it was fascinating watching it probing for endless earthworms. It is a great tribute to the staff at Ferry Meadows, especially my friend Chris Park, that the flooded fields of Heron Meadows, there, have delivered such great birds!

Responsible Birding Diary: Saturday 31.10.20

 

I dedicated the whole day to watching the local celebrity Glossy Ibis. The only other goodies which lightened up this rainy day at Ferry Meadows were a calling Water Rail and the odd passing Sparrowhawk. And when the sun finally came out, the ibis didn’t walk into the sunny bits!

Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 30.10.20

I was slightly hung over this morning, so skipped an early cycle trip to Ferry Meadows CP. However, later in the day, the Glossy Ibis was refound there on the partially flooded fields (with cattle), called Heron Meadows. So, I cycled down to see this first record for the park (and my 122nd FMCP bird this year).

Responsible Birding Diary: Thursday 29.10.20

 

It is my birthday, today, and I never work on my birthday! The only problem today was how rainy it is (which is rare for my birthday!). So, I did a bit of birdwatching in the morning in the Deepings area. The highlights included a family or two of Whooper Swans, and the now resident Black-necked Grebe at Baston and Langtoft pits (present since August). While I was there, I witnessed the horrific spectacle of a Great Black-backed Gull killing and eating an adult Moorhen. Then it rained hard, so I went home.

In the afternoon, the rain stopped and my dear wife Jo and I went down to Eldernell (part of the Nene Washes) to watch the raptors, egrets and Cranes. The highlights were a very late juvenile Swallow, a beautiful adult or near adult male Hen Harrier (which at one stage had an aerial battle with a Short-eared Owl). Six Great White Egrets came into the roost and I watched a distant feeding flock of 35 Cranes (plus another 3 closer to the car park).

The sun even came out for a short while (as it always does on my birthday!)

Responsible birding diary: Wednesday 28.10.20

 

I started the day checking out the Glossy Ibis field in Whittlesey. Sadly, the bird was not there, leaving just Black-headed Gulls and Pied Wagtails in the partly flooded hose field. And that was the highlight of my day’s wildlife watching! These early ‘nights’ are a real downer, as it is pitch black dark by the end of the working day.

Responsible Birding Diary: Tuesday 27.10.20

 

Migration (at least vis mig) seems to be having a bit of break at the moment. There was very littel to show for an hour and a half on The Mound at Ferry Meadows, this morning. Just 7 Redwings and a flock of 5 Common Gulls making up the highlights of some very slim pickings. Tomorrow, perhaps…

One of the advantages of working from home is that when the need crops up, I am able to sneak off for a bit to see a bird. This afternoon, a Glossy Ibis was found at Whittlesey (just east of Peterborough). This is the first one seen in the Peterborough area since 2014, when we were starting to think they would be regular, perhaps annual birds, after a good spell, with ibises seen previously in 2009, 2012 and 2013. But it was a false dawn, and Glossy Ibis hasn’t quite taken over the UK (and the PBC area) as we thought it may.

So, it was great to see this great bird, despite the grim conditions. It takes my Peterborough area year list to 184 and is my 50th ‘elite’ bird in the PBC area this year.

Responsible Birding Diary: Monday 26.10.20

 

Today, inspired by the extra light of GMT in the morning, I was vis migging once again at Ferry Meadows (on The Mound). About 40 species were recorded, with about 10 Sky Larks, a calling Water Rail and the odd Sparrowhawk being the highlights.

Responsible Birding Diary: Sunday 25.10.20

 

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Holme Fen, Cambs, 25.10.20

I could not resist another Holme Fen start, and explored a bit wider, encountering several Goldcrests, but again, none of the targeted Firecrest.

In the evening, I went to check out the Starling roost at the west pit of Deeping Lakes LWT. I got utterly drenched in a massive shower, but did manage to record some 30,000 Starlings coming into the reedbed there, as well as 30-odd Pied Wagtails. A Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel made a couple of half-hearted attacks at the murmuration. More successful was a Peregrine, though it was a pigeon it carried in its talons, low over the reedbed!

Also coming into roost were thousands of corvids (mainly Jackdaws and Rooks) and a Great White Egret.

Responsible Birding Diary: Saturday 24.10.20

Holme Fen was my starting site again, today, with a low Marsh Harrier being the best bird seen. On the drive back home up towards Yaxley, I saw 4 Corn Buntings. Otherwise, it was a quiet day’s birding.

Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 23.10.20

Still enticed by the prospect of relocating the Holme Fen Firecrest, I was back in the morning, searching. A juvenile Hobby was a late bird, and I also had vocal Brambling and Chiffchaff, and a handful of Goldcrests. But, sadly, still no Firecrest.

Later, I popped to Southey Wood and was surprised that there are ‘still’ 30-odd Crossbills feeding there among the Western Hemlocks, including several delightful red males. A Raven also flew over.

I decided an evening session on the Nene Washes at Eldernell seemed a good place to be. So, my dear wife Jo and I watched from the bank near the car park at dusk. We recorded:

Cattle Egret, 3,

Great White Egret, 5,

Little Egret, 17,

Crane, 68,

Whooper Swan, several hundred,

Marsh Harrier, 4,

Peregrine, 1,

Sparrowhawk, 1