Penduline Tit

I was in Bristol for a few days over the weekend and with a bit of time to spare managed a quick trip to Gloucester to see the Penduline Tit. Although globally classed as being of "Least Concern" with an increasing population and large range, it is still a rare bird in the UK and always interesting to see. 

The bird was to be found at the Plock Court Wetland Nature Reserve just next to the A40/A38 roundabout. It was showing well when I arrived flying between a hedge backing onto the busy A40 and a small pool where it was feeding on the Reed Mace.

I picked a spot near a stand of Reed Mace and didn't have long to wait before it flew in to feed. A really stunning bird and giving some great views.

It is amazing how every birder now seems to carry a camera. It only seems like a few years ago when Dave and I would often be the only ones present trying to take pictures. There are advantages, in that I now no longer feel like a dose of the plague when I turn up on site but there are also disadvantages. This bird had a clear flight path between its hedge and feeding area. So where did some of the photographers go and stand to get the best shots? I am all for getting a good picture but you still need field craft and some empathy for the bird's struggle to survive.


We also had another curious observer. This Stonechat had probably never seen a Penduline Tit before and spent some time following it around.

As twitches go , it wasn't too bad. There were about a dozen present. On a bright and sunny Sunday morning I had expected more. I would have liked more pictures but we didn't stay long. Slimbridge was just down the road and I wanted to pay a quick visit there to see the  Red-breasted Goose.

Well, it was there although very distant on the Tack Piece. It looks good, it is free flying and with wild birds but I guess the default position has to be that it is an escapee from somewhere rather than a genuine wild bird.

Lots of other Ducks and Geese out on the peripheries of the site. A couple of year ticks but most too far away for a picture. Although this Bewick's Swan was worth recording.

I always have mixed feelings after a visit to Slimbridge. I support the work they do but it always feels a bit like a zoo with even the wild birds being a bit suspect. It gets more crowded every time I go there, which is good for fund raising but not so good for birding.

Lesser Scaup, Cirl Bunting, and Penduline Tits

My last post drew to a close a very unsatisfactory search for a Little Bunting. Eight days and probably around fifty hours and I was still not really sure that I had the right bird. (but now confirmed via BirdForum) I needed some success and a few decent pictures and the next few hours were about to deliver just that. Three great birds, good picture opportunities and all for a couple of hours birding and a "bit" of driving. 

The light was beginning to fade as I left Forest Farm where I had been looking for the Little Bunting. My other target in Cardiff was the Lesser Scaup. It was getting a bit late but I headed round to Cosmeston Lake on the other side of Cardiff just to see if I could locate the bird. Sometimes you just get lucky. I parked up and walked down to the lake and there it was.

I also spotted this unusual duck on the lake. I assume that it is some form of hybrid but I will have to do a bit more research to find out what it is.

Hybrid?

What to do next? There was no point in going back to Forest Farm the next day as they would be working around the hide area. Cosmeston looked interesting but it would be full of people and dog walkers on a sunny Saturday. I felt as though I was on a bit of a roll so I decided to head over the bridge and down into Devon to look for the Cirl Buntings.

The next morning I was in the car park at Broadsands at at 06.15 with the sun just coming up, no one about and a lot of bird activity all around me.

Song Thrushes, Dunnock and various Tits kept me busy for a few minutes

Dunnock

Song Thrush

but then a pair of Cirl Bunting arrived. I got a couple of record shots but the dawn light has too much orange in it for  recording the true colours and I just had to hope that they would hang around for half an hour or so. Fortunately they did and I got the pictures I was looking for.

Cirl Bunting

The female was staying in cover and was harder to photograph and in the time I was there I only saw these two birds but then two is a lot better than none.

Female Cirl Bunting

Where to go next? Darts Farm was just north of Exeter and on the way home, Penduline Tits were putting in occasional visits there, would my luck hold?

Only a quarter to ten in the morning and I was heading for home feeling really happy. There were a lot of places I could have visited on the way back but anything now would be an anticlimax. All I really wanted was a comfortable chair and a cup of tea.

The frustration of an eight day search for one bird wiped out by three great birds in just a couple of hours. Knowledge and field craft play a big part in finding the birds but you need to be lucky as well.

Penduline Tit

Mid February must be a good time to see Penduline Tits. Last year I had one at Stodmarsh on the 19th, this year it was two days earlier at Dungeness. They had been giving close up views at the Hanson hide over the weekend but then moved on to Hookers Pit. I tried the hide first as this would give the best picture opportunities but had no luck there. So it was over to the ramp at Hookers Pit where they eventually gave distant views.

It's not much to show for three hours standing in the cold

Digital enlargement

Disappointing but at least I came away with a record shot. Last years bird was much more obliging.

Stodmarsh Penduline Tit -  February 2013

Not much else to show for the day. Female Smew, Marsh Harriers and the usual Tree Sparrows. Brief glimpses of Goldcrests and Willchaffs but they were moving fast and were very difficult to get in focus.

Willow Warbler?

I stopped off at Scotney twice but everything was a bit distant. Plenty of gulls, a few geese, and loads of Lapwings but nothing unusual that I could see. Rye Harbour was very similar. Nothing much from most of the hides then when you got to the Crittall Hide so many birds that you couldn't see enough detail to pick out anything unusual.

Nice looking Little Grebe

But you had to be quick.

 I was a bit disappointed not to get closer views of the Penduline Tits but can't really complain. Plenty of birds and no rain what more could I ask for?

Penduline Tit

Another early start, picking Dave up at 06.00 and heading out to Kent. Our first destination was Stodmarsh NNR to see if we could locate the Penduline Tit. The weather on the way down was not promising. There was dense fog in places with cloud cover above but we arrived with the sun breaking through and were able to quickly locate the bird.

Penduline Tit on Reedmace

Our last encounter with a Penduline Tit had involved distant views through moving reeds and whilst we had left happy to have seen the bird the pictures were not very good. This time we were more lucky, the bird came close and at times was perched out in the open.

Colours blend in well in the reed bed.

The thin mask and lack of red spotting on the breast suggest this is a female

As there had been various reports of between twenty and thirty Water Pipits at the Marsh Hide we felt obliged to struggle through the mud to have a look. There were only two visible in the distance when we arrived so no picture opportunities but still worth seeing. We also had views of two or three Marsh Harriers circling over the reserve.


Our next destination was the ARC Pit at Dungeness with the target bird being the Smew. We did locate the female (redhead) in the distance but there was no sign of the drake. However, there was a bonus sightings of a Great White Egret and there were also Marsh Harriers flying over the area.

Poor shot but an unusual bird - Redhead Smew

Great White Egret

Spring was in the air and the Goldeneye were getting amorous.

Goldeneye displaying

Making sure she doesn't escape

Either mating or attempted drowning

Still looking good

The one disappointment was that the Tree Sparrows at  Boulderwall Farm were not very visible. We still had three of our target birds for the day to look for so could not afford the time to wait.

Scotney Pit found us just inside the Sussex border when Dave located the drake and female Scaup through his scope. No chance of a picture using the camera or with the phone camera through the scope when I gave it a try. I will have to read up on how to do this. Next stop was Pett Level where we were hoping to see White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese. Dave found the Pink-footed but we had to get the Collins guide out so that he could convince me of what we were looking at. Good to have him along as I would not have spotted the Scaup or Pink-footed without his help.

Pink-footed Goose

We did not get to see the White-fronted Geese but whose complaining. We had five of our six target birds for the day and a few other good sightings as well with 50 different species seen. Its always worth leaving something for another day.