Birdwatcher’s Diary No.79

Published on: 19 Jan, 2015
Updated on: 16 Mar, 2015

By Malcolm Fincham

Recalling last winter’s floods, it was certainly easier to start 2015 with a much drier walk on my annual new year’s visit to Stoke Nature Reserve.

Last winter’s floods – a view along the towpath near Stoke Lock by Stoke Nature Reserve.

This time, however, I started the year with the addition of fellow keen wildlife enthusiast Dougal, encouraging me to make a year list of the species I see.

Gadwall on flooded scrape by Stoke Lock.

I was also able to add a few record shots along the way, including three of five gadwall on the flooded scrape by Stoke Lock, that were seemingly practising some synchronised swimming and looking ready for the summer Olympics!

synchronised swimming by team gadwal.

So, there was a reasonable count of 66 different species of birds by January 2 on our walk along the towpath from Stoke Lock and Stoke Nature Reserve out to Trigg’s Lock.

Barn owl at dusk – Bowers Lock.

I even managed a few record shots of the barn owl as it came out to hunt as night fell on our return at Bowers Lock. So the year started well.

Black-necked grebe in winter plumage.

A trip to Staines Reservoir for a few rarer sightings on January 4 certainly helped add a few more species to both our year lists. We were able to pick out and add a great northern diver and get a record shot of a black-necked grebe.

Goldeneye at Staines Reservoir.

As well as a drake goldeneye.

Drake scaup (left) followed by two tufted duck at Staines Reservoir.

And even a drake scaup that we were able to include with a few other additions now wintering on our Surrey waters.

Wigeon at Staines Reservoir.

Rounding off the day and adding a few more winter wildfowl sightings, we then visited a lake just up the road from Staines Reservoir, in Wraysbury.

Goosander on lake in Wraysbury.

There we were able to add goosander, pochard and even a distant view of a male smew to our year lists.

Distant record shot of a smew on lake in Wraysbury.

Little egret also seen in Wraysbury.

The following Sunday, January 11, hoping to add a selection of wading birds to the list we decided on a trip to Farlington Marshes near Portsmouth.

We were diverted however by a message reporting a rare vagrant wader coming through as a ‘mega rarity’ on Dougal’s pager. This had been sighted at Tichfield Haven, which lays on the coastline between Portsmouth and Southampton.

Cargo ship stricken in the Solent.

Parking the car by the beach, we were welcomed by the sight of the cargo ship that had been recently reported on in the national news, still grounded on a sandbank out on the Solent.

A gruelling 40-minute walk along a claggy mud-filled footpath around the outside of Tichfield Nature Reserve led us in the direction the rare bird had last been sighted.

Although ‘power walking’ seems to be the latest fad and recommended as extremely good for one’s health, I personally wasn’t feeling any benefits from that particular route march; neither then nor since, especially while carrying my camera gear.

A keen group of birdwatchers start to gather.

And especially when exhausted and arriving at our destination at Posbrook Flood and meeting up with a group of other birdwatching enthusiasts only to find that they had mostly arrived by an easier route!

Being very much caught up in the moment of seeing such a rarity soon eased my thoughts however, as I started to wonder what the collective noun of such a species (not of the bird) but of what the observers like myself might be called. A Tourette’s of twitchers perhaps?

The rare bird in question was a greater yellowlegs – an American wader about the size of a godwit, most recognisable by its yellow legs.

Distant shot of greater yellowlegs (right of the black-tailed godwits). It’s the one with the yellow legs!

Although quite a common shoreline bird in America, breeding in Canada and Alaska and wintering and in South America, they are rare vagrants to Western Europe.

With only 10 of these birds apparently having been previously recorded in the UK since 1958, it was indeed a rarity. The only Surrey record to date was apparently one at Unstead Sewage Farm in February 1954 (possibly before Unstead stalwart Brian started birdwatching there). This was unconfirmed and a possible lesser yellowlegs, according to Jeffery J. Wheatley’s book Birds of Surrey.

Greater yellowlegs in the centre of the picture.

Despite only getting a few distant record shots of the greater yellowlegs, but eventually some good views through a telescope, and although not getting the variety of birds we had planned on that day, it was certainly (apart from the walk) a worthwhile trip. Especially as by the following day it had moved on and has not been reported since.

Locally for me, birds of prey seem to have featured well in my sightings during the first weeks of January, and even getting a few record shots of our three most common ‘raptors’ in the Guildford area.

They are renown as quite lazy birds in their habits, exerting themselves no more than absolutely necessary. As my observations show, they have been living up to these expectations recently.

Kestrel perches on a wire looking out for a small mammal to swoop down on to.

This includes kestrels perching on wires rather than hovering (as often seen in the summer) as they looked out for the movement of a mammal in the grass.

Common buzzard – Shamley Green.

Also several sightings of common buzzards sitting on posts with one eye out looking for a meal.

Sparrowhawk perches on a post in Shamley Green.

As well as two good views of sparrowhawks during the past week, looking out for a nice sized bird to prey on.

Sparrowhawk checks out some wintering redwing as they feed in a field.

For one of several groups of redwing I’ve seen, maybe they have been taking advantage of soft fields to feed in, leaving some of the berry crops they’ve previously gorged on in case of a cold spell. Weather that many forecasters as well as me are now starting to predict in the weeks ahead.