Rose-ringed Parakeet and Red Kite

London

Myself and the family just got back from a few days in London. We went to take in a show and do some site seeing. 

Wiltshire

On they way up we stopped for a break at a place near Stonehenge. Conveniently, a place I knew would be good for Red-legged Partridge. I wasn't wrong as there were 12 birds plus a bonus 5 Grey Partridge. 

Hampshire / Surrey

While driving through these counties on the A303 and M3 I was treated to 6 Red Kite. 

London 

We arrived at our hotel in Wembley and was greeted by a calling Rose-ringed Parakeet that was sat in a tree opposite the hotel. 

London Portobello Road

On the second day we went to Portobello Road and I managed a total of 21 Rose-ringed Parakeet. With the majority of these around the Ladbroke Grove tube station whilst the birds were going to roost somewhere. 

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Yellow-legged Gull, Red Kite

Orcombe Point, Exmouth, Devon 

I had to drop my daughter to rehearsals so I thought I would take a walk around. Not much happening bar a few Common Whitethroat and Eurasian Skylark. 

Mudbank Lane, Exmouth, Devon 

I decided to take a look here as the tide was out and Matt Knott was already there. He pointed out a cracking 1st Summer Yellow-legged Gull quite close in. There were also a few Eurasian Whimbrel dotted about. Mostly in the heat haze. Matt moved on but it was great to catch up with him. He did say that there were some Northern Wheatear up on Orcombe Point this morning so I popped back.

Orcombe Point, Exmouth, Devon

Having chatted with Matt I decided to give it a go again and after a little wait I spotted 2 Northern Wheatear in the now ploughed dung field. They were at the far end and very hard to pick out in the heat haze. 

Ottery St Mary, Devon 

Whilst I was in Exmouth, I received a message from Ben that a Red Kite was heading over and I would get it from my house. But as luck would have it, I got home from Exmouth (2 hours after the message) and looked up from my garden and there was a Red Kite. A rather tatty looking bird with missing primaries. Ben confirmed that his was tatty too and so was an individual I saw last week. So I presume it to be the same bird. 

Black Kite and Red Kite

Ottery St Mary, Devon 

I had to pop to Sainsbury's to pick up a few bits early evening but I couldn't resist a 30 or so minutes blip around the River Otter south of St Saviours Bridge. I was first treated to a Cetti's Warbler literally by the Bridge. I walked over the footbridge and through the first gate. All the while hoping for a Common Whitethroat as I did have one stop off here this time last last year.

No sooner had I walked through the gate, I picked up a raptor through the trees to my right. It was obscured but I got Red Kite vibes. Boy, was I wrong. The bird came reasonably low over the treeline and I had one of those heart stopping moments as I realised I was tracking a Black Kite. It veered on and off over the treeline heading rather quickly south. I got the news out straight away in the hope someone further south could get on to it. 

10 minutes or so later I picked up a Kite that was heading north. I hoped that it was the the Black Kite doing a u turn but this time I was on to a Red Kite. I got the news out again and did manage to get another local birder on to the bird as it drifted over his house. I'm still in awe at having a two Kite day in such a short period. 

Also on site, were numerous Sand Martin, Common House Martin, Barn Swallow, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Treecreeper and Grey Wagtail. 

I went shopping with a real spring in my step and forgot all about the fact I didn't see a Common Whitethroat!

Red Kite

Ottery St Mary, Devon 

I was beginning to think I would go another year without seeng Red Kite as I missed every single one on last year's migration. I had been out most of the day and got home and opened the patio doors to let some air in and BOOM! A cracking individual was circling low over the house. It started to gain some height before heading off north. 

Earlier on in the day I saw my first Common Blue Butterfly and an obliging Speckled Wood.

Speckled Wood 

Red Kite And Pink-footed Goose

Roadford Lake, Devon 
I had the afternoon off so I decided to have a look for the Pink-footed Goose. This visit was only my second after a really awful previous trip. It was a few years ago to see a Red Phalarope. It belted down with rain and I got lost and was up to my neck in mud. However, today’s trip was far more enjoyable. As I neared the site a Red kite flew low in front of me just at the A30 turning for the reservoir. I got some advice before going and was advices to park in the lay-by near the bridge. Thanks Rob Murphy for the directions. I walked the short distance to the bridge and looked into the bay area and first noted a Bar-headed Goose that’s a hybrid with something but I am not sure what? Then at the far end was the target Pink-footed Goose that showed rather nicely. I checked the other side of the bridge to find circa 20 Brambling in with a large flock of Common Chaffinch feeding not far from the shoreline

Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Bar-headed Goose (hybrid)

Brambling (Male)

Lower Tamar Lake, Devon / Cornwall 
As I was only 20 minutes or so from this site I felt it rude not to pop in to look for Willow Tit. Surprisingly, this is the first time I have visited the site and I was impressed by the amount of activity on the feeders. I knew I only had 30 minutes here so I staked out these feeders. However, no Willow Tit put in an appearance. I quickly looked at the lake and got my first Barn Swallow of the year hawking over the water. Also on the lake were a couple of Great Crested Grebe. I did have a scan for the Female Ring-necked Duck that hadn’t been reported for a while but I couldn’t pick it out. So it could still be there or moved on. As I returned to the car this nice Male Great Spotted Woodpecker was at the feeders but again no Willow Tit.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Male)

Refreshments And Red Kite

Halfway Inn, Aylesbeare, Devon
A refreshment stop off after a family day out to the beach was quite good on the wildlife front. From the pub garden was a fly over Eurasian Jay, the song of a Garden Warbler but didn’t see it and a distant call of a Conmon Whitethroat. A few butterflies on offer in the form of Brimstone, Speckled Wood and several Orange Tip. Driving across the common back to Exmouth I spotted a Red Kite that was sat on one on the dead trees in the area that suffered a fire a few years ago.

Green Heron And A Possible Black Kite

Llan Mill, Pembrokeshire
My boss was kind enough to let me have a last minute day off so that I could go and see a bird I have longed to see for some time. I missed out on the Cornwall bird in 2010 so I was determined not too miss out on this one. My mate Pete has never seen one of these either so he meet me and we headed off early. The drive up was nerve racking and we had got passed the Severn bridge and still not got news of a sighting. As with any long trip, there's always the chance of a no show so we started wondered if this was going to be a hell of a dip. We finally got the news it had been seen and you could feel the tension ease immediately. Now it was just a case of getting there and hoping it shows in the time I had there as I needed to be back in Exmouth for 5:30pm so time was of the essence.

On route, near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire. Our minds were distracted for a few moments as we were treated to excellent low views of a Red Kite. The traffic had been more than kind to us and we arrived in good time. The bird in question is in a private garden pond on the property of local MP Simon Hart. There was the obligatory charity bucket which we gladly added to and we set up along with 40 - 50 other eager birders. I was impressed with the garden, it was a large pond and the garden looked more like a wildlife reserve. We didn't have to wait long to get our first glimpse of the bird. Phew, pressure off and job done. As my pictures show, it never came fully out in the open and the several views obtained were of it peeking through the reeds. With our boots filled we headed off and were treated to another great Red Kite near the Pembrokeshire / Carmarthenshire border.

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron (Butt view)

We have even made the local paper (Left hand with Green coat)

Ham Wall, Somerset 
On the way back we both needed to stretch our legs for an hour. So we decided here would be as good a place as any to stop. We only walked up to the first viewing platform and back. On the way to the platform we were treated to views of a Eurasian Hobby (first of the year) and several Common Swift. Around the platform and surrounding trees were 2 Great Egret, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Eurasian Reed Warbler and several Eurasian Blackcap. Disappointingly, there was no sign of yesterday’s Mealy Redpoll. We left feeling a bit refreshed and on the way back (a few miles back into Devon) we encountered another Kite species. I say Kite species as this was no Red Kite. We knew straightaway from the jizz that it was Kite but the fork in the tail was small and the bird mainly dark underneath. So we think this was a Black Kite

What a cracking day! The Green Heron was a stunner of a bird and as knackered as I am writing this, it was well worth the trip. The only downside was that my folks live in Swansea that I had to pass twice on the trip and I didn't have time to even call in for a quick cuppa.

American Horned Lark

Staines Reservoir, Surrey
I Don’t usually do twitches that far away but I had the day off and decided to scratch an itch I’ve had for a while now and go for the American Horned Lark. I wasn’t sure if the weather was going to be on my side but I threw caution to the wind and made the trek up to Surrey. On the way up I was stuck at 15MPH behind a tractor (cursing as you do) on the A303 about 10 miles from Stonehenge but I soon changed my tune when I noticed a group of Partridge pottering about at the edge of a field/ road and was able to pick out a Grey Partridge. I managed to stop a bit further up the road and walk back. The Partridges had moved further in to the field but I managed to scope them and there were 3 Grey Partridge.

During the rest of the journey I was treated to 5 Red Kite at various locations on the A303 and M3. As I was on the M3 I noted quite a bit of snow around and wondered what Staines would be like. The  roads were clear of snow so I soldiered on.

I arrived at Staines in good time and was surprised how easy parking was and how easy it was to access the reservoir. I bumped into a local birder who told me the Lark had just been here (yes, I thought. No lengthy walk) but he continued to tell me it flew over to it’s favourite spot (the opposite side of the reservoir (which is a bit of a walk). Anyway, off I trod in the thin covering of snow. There were a few species to keep me occupied on route. Double figures of Common Pochard, several Great Crested Grebe and a few Meadow Pipit.

I finally made it to the location the nice local birder had pointed out and BAM! There it was! Now this may sound strange but this is my 400th species. Yes a lifer, as I’ve never seen a normal one! However, what a species to get for your 400th. It’s also special as as far as I have read it was once on the British list but got disproved and duly removed. There have been a few other not accepted claims. So if the BOU accepts this it would be a UK first. There’s then also the chance of an armchair tick if the IOC split it. It’s been muted that there could be around 6 full species of Horned Lark.

Viewing the bird was a little tricky at times due to the fence but I did manage a few snaps.

American Horned Lark

American Horned Lark

American Horned Lark

American Horned Lark

  

On the way back to the car, the nice local birder pointed out this bonus Water Pipit

Water Pipit

On the M3 on the way home I was treated to 2 more Red Kite.

Enford, Wiltshire 
I made a nature stop conveniently at a spot that I know can be good for Corn Bunting and I was in luck as there was a distant flock of around 20 birds.

Mudbank Lane, Exmouth, Devon
I got home with enough time to catch the rising tide. Good numbers of Dunlin were on view plus a few Grey Plover and Common Ringed Plover. There was also a Knott of the Matt variety (sorry I couldn’t resist). Matt’s company was welcomed in the cold conditions and I do enjoy our conversations. Matts beady eyes got me on to a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull and a few distant Sanderling. Also of note were reasonable numbers of Ruddy Turnstone and a Mew Gull.