Window to Wildlife

 We departed Shropshire today, calling into Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve near Tamworth on our way home. We have not visited here before, but would do so again. The path initially passes through woodland, which was fairly quiet today, but we found Nuthatches in a tall oak tree, alerted by their call. Then Emilie spotted a Treecreeper in the same tree which she got her mum onto, but I didn’t manage to locate. It was great to see her confidence in her find, having had very recent views at Haughmond Hill and Gilfach nature reserve, and clearly describing its striped brown back and white belly. Continuing onto the wetlands, our target bird was a Wood Sandpiper, which duly revealed itself on a muddy bank, standing close to a Redshank and looking very diminutive in comparison. This was a lifer for Kate and Emilie, and they both had excellent views through my scope. Soon we found a Green Sandpiper too, enabling them to study the differences in plumage, with the Wood Sandpiper sporting a di...

 We were all up early to head off once again to Worlds End in Wales, arriving around 7AM for the Black Grouse lek. There were five birds present, and we enjoyed their displaying antics, with puffed up chests, fanned tails and splayed white feathers, running aggressively at each other and generally strutting their stuff. A supporting cast of Wheatears, with prominent white rumps in flight, Meadow Pipits and Stonechats all added to the entertainment.  Black Grouse displaying After drinking in this performance, we continued along the road slowly, searching for Red Grouse. A Skylark moved amongst the vegetation, and a shrub contained a few Whinchat, Linnets and a pale warbler, presumably a Chiffchaff. We reached the end of the road with no sign of Red Grouse, and I feared we were not going to find them this year. Just below the moor, a group of four Mistle Thrushes hopped across a field. Kate turned the car round, and we drove back along the moorland road, still searching hopefull...

 We made our annual pilgrimage to Oare Marshes today, accompanied by Sue, Steve and Bernie. Our primary target was the Bonaparte’s Gull, returning for at least its fourteenth year. We started at it’s preferred location, east of the slipway on the Swale, and with the help of a fellow birder soon located the bird, although a strong, gusty wind and bright, early morning sun glinting on the silvery mud made viewing difficult. Progressing along the track, and seeking shelter behind a bush, Bernie relocated the bird, and this time we had much better views, with its full hood, black beak, short stature, darker grey back and pink-red legs clearly visible. An accompanying cast of regular waders included Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank and a single Avocet. Bonaparte’s Gull We continued on to the hide on the edge of the estuary, where a family of Shelduck were feeding on the exposed mud and a single Little Tern hunted along the shoreline, yellow, daggered bill pointing sharply downwards as it...

 We had a brilliant start to the day with a magical and exhilarating experience with a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in the field behind our hotel. It sang from atop a small birch for a full five minutes, turning its head from side to side as it poured out its continuous, monotone song. We were able to note the attractive markings on the back, the black patterning beneath the tail, yellow gape and a small black gorget as we watched it through the scope. It was a truly special and joyful encounter with this not easily seen species, and probably my highlight of the trip. After breakfast we all wandered down to Loch Shiel where the ubiquitous Common Sandpiper peeped from a post and a distant female Teal and Red-breasted Merganser were on the water. A Willow Warbler acrobatically twisted and turned as it searched for insects along the fenceline.  Common Sandpiper Next we headed to Mull, getting off to a cracking start with an immature White-tailed Eagle which soared across the water...

 We started our morning with a short walk along the road to Loch Shiel, waters still as a millpond. There were four Tufted Duck here together with a few Mallard, but none very close. A Common Sandpiper posed beautifully on a nearby post as it bobbed its tail and gave its soft piping call - typically photogenic on the one occasion when Tim had not brought his camera out! In the shrubs nearby a Reed Bunting was quietly singing, while nearby a Siskin perched up boldly, its green tones and golden wing flash beautifully enhanced by the early morning sun. A Grasshopper Warbler was heard at some distance, but we couldn’t locate it. Today’s outing was another boat ride and we headed out to the islands of Eigg and Muck. We got off to a cracking start with a huge White-tailed Eagle sat majestically on a rock as we left the harbour. The sea was very calm, and we spotted a number of  Black Gillies floating on the water. We took a short walk on Eigg, exploring a bay adjacent to the harbour...

We had a leisurely day today, driving through wonderful scenery, and pausing at lochs to scan for birds. We picked up our first Common Terns of the trip, although somewhat distant, scanned from the shore of Loch Sunart. We stopped for a brew and a walk at RSPB Glenborrodale, where we clambered up the footpath through a typical western rainforest landscape, trees dripping with lichen and the woodland floor clothed in moss and bilberry, reminiscent of Dartmoor woodland. It was pretty quiet, apart from several families of Great Tit and Blue Tit flitting noisily amongst the branches, a silent Willow Warbler foraging in the leafy canopy and a Treecreeper spiralling up the trunk of a dead tree.  After a drive through stunning, green landscapes, with boulder-strewn high hills silvery lochs and tumbling rivers, we took the ferry across the water, where we were treated to an impressively close fly past from an immature White-tailed Eagle, a huge and powerful bird,  before arriving at t...