Zach Pannifer Birding

Thursday, 14 April 2022

Birding Around Mock Exams: Part 2

Whilst preparing for my mock exams, I still tried to fit in as much patch birding as possible and I was rewarded with some great sightings at both Beddington Farmlands and Upper Woodcote. Here are some of the highlights that I have not managed to post about until now...

On the 2nd of February, one of the Little Owls at Upper Woodcote (above and below) actually showed itself for once and was surprisingly close and curious to see what I was doing.

Little Owl above and below

On the 5th, an all day session at the Farmlands ended rather well. I spotted this lovely Jack Snipe in front of the South Lake hide (much to Sue's delight). It sat still for ages, except for the occasional amusing bobbing motion. On the same say, 2 Stonechats were a nice addition and made the effort of walking around Bikers Field worth it.

Jack Snipe above and below

Male Stonechat

Female-type Stonechat

Upper Woodcote, 25th February:

Great Tit above and below

Record shot (finally) of the female Bullfinch

At least 6 Buzzards displaying and fighting for territory

On the 26th I took another trip down to the Farmlands. I found a 1st winter Caspian Gull, plus a Great Crested Grebe was present and the Shelducks were getting feisty.

Male Shelducks

Great Crested Grebe and female Tufted Duck

Great Crested Grebe in front of female Tufted Duck

1st winter Caspian Gull

(2nd winter?) Herring Gull - paling iris and bill colouration appears too advanced to be a 1st cycle bird

1st winter Herring Gull

I was at Beddington again on the 5th of March:

I found this adult Mediterranean Gull:

Adult Mediterranean Gull and 2nd winter Caspian Gull

Got the usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull in the background there too

Usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull

The following day, a late adult Great Black-backed Gull flew over and the male Kestrel perched close, as did an obliging Redwing:

Male Shelduck

Adult Great Black-backed Gull below:

Common Buzzard

Male Kestrel

Redwing

Beddington Farmlands, 8th March:

The Barnacle Goose (which was a patch tick when it initially turned up) finally showed well from public viewing

Anand also managed to get it just before it flew off after I called him to come and get it

Closeup Canada Goose

Male and female Pintail flew around 100 Acre

The usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull showed well:

Grey Wagtail above and below

This takes me nicely up to the start of spring migration, which my next blogpost (hopefully soon) will be about.

Wednesday, 16 March 2022

Birding Around Mock Exams: Part 1

From the 21st of February to the 4th of March I had my second lot of mock exams of year 13. Revision and cracking down on the hard work has kicked in now for my A Levels in May and June, so I've had to take a slight step back from birding so regularly, and this is also the reason for the long gap between blog posts. Either side of my mock exams I still managed to enjoy some quality birding moments.

On the 16th and 17th of February I went down to Brighton to see the Starling murmuration at Brighton Palace Pier. I had been exactly 2 years ago on the same dates and had wanted to visit again. The raging stormy weather on the first night unsurprisingly meant that the Starlings did not put on a show, quickly taking shelter beneath the structure of the pier. I didn't leave the shelter on the hotel and viewed the pier from the window. As a result, instead of heading home on the Thursday morning, I decided to stay in the area and wait until dusk for another try with the Starlings. A pleasant walk along the coast to Shoreham provided a lifer in the form of the long-staying Long-tailed Duck that had been at Southwick Ship Canal since November. I had actually somehow missed all the reports of this bird on Birdguides, so it was an awesome surprise to see it.

Ebird trip report here.

Some pics from my time at Brighton:

Partially leucistic male Blackbird

Stormy conditions

Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls (plus a Cormorant on far right)

1st winter Herring Gull

The same 1st winter Herring Gull as the individual above

1st winter Herring Gull

(2nd winter?) Herring Gull

Pied Wagtail above and below

Turnstones above and below

Turnstone showing off its retrices

Carrion Crows above and below

Showing off its nictitating membrane

I quite liked the lighting on this one

Iridesence showing nicely on this Starling

Female Long-tailed Duck above and below - I'm still confused by the age of this bird. Reviewing online pictures of this individual, perhaps a 1st winter bird that's mantle has become less contrasting as it has matured through the winter and started to look more adult-like? For anyone with more knowledge about Long-tailed Duck moult patterns and how to age them any opinions would greatly be appreciated.