Back to the Axe

This morning I found myself back on the Axe Estuary in Devon at first light waiting for a loud bang followed by the ringing of plenty of lovely ducks. This was the first catch of the winter following a cancellation due to low water levels. Plenty of birds came up onto the bank which lead to a catch of 63 birds. Unfortunately, the catch comprised of a decent number of Canada Geese which allowed several smaller ducks to escape but everyone was still happy, especially those who got to ring a goose. (Was I being sarcastic in the last sentence? Make your own mind up...)

I took a bit of a step back from ringing as there were lots of eager trainee’s keen to get stuck into some new species but I did get tempted by a few Wigeon. It’s been nearly a year since the last wigeon I ringed so today was a good reminder with regards to aging them.

It’s pretty easy to tell an adult male! That bloody big white bit gives it away.

And here’s his head.

I can’t forget the ladies. (Or should that be ducks?)

Tufty Trio

This mornings plan to catch and colour ring more Coots were quickly ruined by the fact that nearly every coot that came within a metre of me already had a colour ring on! Instead, I started grabbing what ever came near and ended up three Tufted Duck and a Mallard. Not bad for 20 minutes catching. The Tufted Ducks were presumably newly arrived birds as they were clearly not aware of our intentions.

I have not featured a Mallard picture on the blog (I think) so this should rectify that.

This Tufty took a real dislike the old geezer sitting on the bench.

Notice my hand in the corner struggling to stop the duck from attacking.

I’ve also (literally!) just been sent this picture of me trying to catch Black-headed Gulls this afternoon. Managed one before they realised what I was doing and flew to other side of the lake. I have had some good returns from Black-headed Gulls at Radipole car park. One of the first I ringed was sighted in Denmark and I’ve had a Belgian  control which I caught last winter.

Hume's something or other...

Went over to Little sea Holiday Park this afternoon to have a peak at the Hume’s leaf Warbler, or should it be called a Hume’s Warbler or even a Hume’s Yellow-browed Warbler. No idea…

Anyway, it was expectedly elusive though luckily it was calling frequently giving away its location briefly. Got a few good views but only for a second or two at a time and by the time the camera had been aimed towards the bird it duly disappeared. You’ll just have to Google it so see a picture of the species but basically it’s a washed out Yellow-browed Warbler which has features a few times on the blog over the last month or so.

Another rarity I’ve failed to photograph recently is the juv Rose-coloured Starling that’s frequenting Lodmoor at present. Seems quite settled there so will have to get back over the camera and try harder!

A bit of bird spotting at Lyme

Today started with a visit to clouds hill where my bird feeders had hopefully been attracting plenty of customers. On arrival the feeders were empty which was encouraging as obviously something had been using them. Filled them up and after about an hour and large flock of Greenfinch, Linnet and Goldfinch turned up. The Greenfinch were keen to jump into the net and one round produced 12 of them plus a few Goldfinch.

 By mid morning Fred (who was ringing with me) and myself started to feel the urge to go twitching. Probably should have been heading up to Chew Valley where a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper plus a host of other goodies (though not Bill Oddie) are in residence. Instead we stayed a little more local and landed up in Lyme Regis where a juv Spotted Sandpiper has decided to spend the winter. Unfortunately the bird stayed pretty distant which meant photos came out like this.

Shame it wasn’t as obliging as the Purple Sandpipers.

Whilst back at the car park having Sandwiches and Coffee this young male Black Redstart performed on nearby buildings. There seems to be quite a few around Lyme Regis with another three being seen on the other side of town near the museum.

Must quickly mention that Radipole’s been back on form with several 'nice' Gulls including this superb Little Gull which was about last weekend.

And finally I can’t not post a picture of a Yellow legged Gull. Sorry! Taken during the week at Radipole.

The coots are back in town

Coot catching commence this morning at Radipole with a short session to see how keen the birds were to come in for food. There has definitely been an arrival over the last week so hopes were fairly high. We caught three in quick succession then the birds wised up and remembered not to come anywhere near me. The temperature is still stupidly high for the time of year so hopefully things will cool down soon and the birds will get a bit more peckish.

As with last year, we are colour ringing the coot with a white ring with a green code consisting of two letters. Obviously, sightings are most welcome!

A rather interesting 'Phyllosc'

This morning’s visit to clouds hill wasn’t particularly an exciting one. Got there extra early in the hope of a few grounded Redwing and Fieldfare but numbers of each were very low and none were caught. However a few Song Thrush and Blackbirds were caught including a re-trap Song Thrush from the start of October which I presumed to be a migrant but perhaps not? The morning just got quieter and drizzle made me pack by about 9am but whilst furling the nets a ‘phyllosc’ jumped into the net. Extracted it a presumed it was a Chiffchaff but when I took it back out of the bag for processing, I could see that it wasn’t! Getting excited? Portland bird obs caught a Dusky Warbler yesterday and this time of year can produce all sorts. So what did I get?

A Willow Warbler!

This is obviously very late for a Willow Warbler to be still in the UK and its the latest I’ve seen by far.  Just as proof here is a shot showing the primary feathers where number 6 is clearly isn’t emarginated. Chiffchaff (and infact Dusky Warbler I think but thats irrelevant) have emarginations on the 6th primary.

As Dorsets getting colder Blandfords getting Otter

Nearly every Dorset naturalist will have either been to see or have heard about the Blandford Otters. It’s ridiculous how bold they are! They just parade back and forth in front of large crowds of spectators. There must have been about 70 people watching them whilst I was there and the animal wasn’t the slightest bit concerned. Not sure how many Otters there are at Blandford but locals have been suggesting up to five all around the blue bridge over the Stour. After a while it became a little like watching an Otter in a zoo as the animal was in constant view feeding on small fish that it was catching at the base of the weir. Obviously I took some photos so here they are.