January 30th 2011

Out early this morning with my old friend Andy Jones destination Clayhanger Marsh,Walsall,W.Mids for the Juv/1st winter Black-throated Diver,after seeing the mutterings on Surfbirds & questions being asked on it's ID & some even going as far as saying Pacific Diver (I just had to go & have a look) the last 2 days the bird has been called as Great-northern,Pacific (by some) & Black-throated (which is what it is,a bog standard BT Diver) The bird is small but with all birds there's always a marked difference male/female runt etc!! Anyway the bird showed well in the early light but having to get Andy back for a prior appointment we left early & headed back to Nuneaton,on route we had 3 Waxwing on Castle Rd,Hartshill (a welcome year tick for Andy) After dropping Andy off i headed straight back over as a 2nd Winter Iceland Gull had been reported at Stubber's Green (Many thanks to Steve Evans who came across & pointed me in the right direction) after having good but distant views decided to have the last hr at Clayhanger with the Diver which showed well in the sunshine (photo above,3 from this morning below)

Black-throated Diver (Juv/1st Winter)

Iceland Gull (3rd Winter ?)

Tufted Duck (female above,male below)

Common Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

January 25th 2011

A walk out with the dog this morning & a quick check of the local rowans produced no Waxwings so headed upto the woods on the way back though the distinct sound of Waxwings could be heard with at least 50 birds feeding on Thorntons Way on Rose hips by the old subway,the same place as back in Dec,popped into the local shop & 5 birds were back on Kingswood Rd briefly! A quick check on Seeswood produced the 1st winter White-fronted Goose with Greylags in the field 1 back from the fishermans carpark! Driving back from town & a single Waxwing was on telegraph wires on Tomkinson Rd just up from the Cock & Bear jnc.

January 24th 2011

Still at least 60+ birds present on Kingswood Rd this morning apart from when Max came went just 1 bird was present but showing very well (just a shame about the light) still quite a few people coming to visit the birds from as far away as Stratford so pleased that the birds are putting on a show! Took a trip up Seeswood Pool to have a look for the 1st Winter White-fronted Goose with mssrs J Liggins & A Burton & sure enough the bird was still present,went back in the afternoon where i met up with Terry Southgate,Mo & Dennis Woodward & the conclusion is that this is the recent Marsh Lane bird going on the bird showing a juv belly plumage but 1st winter face!

White-fronted Goose

January 23rd 2011

Seeswood Pool

Decided to check on the pool this afternoon,been a birdless place for the last few months & i seem to have neglected it,so a friendly word in my ear Fri night (Thanks Steve) that i might miss something if i didn't keep a check on the place had me up there with the dog!! straight away 6 Goosander (3m 3f) a good site record along with 9 Pochard a quick scan thru the Greylag Geese & bingo a 1st Winter European White-fronted Goose,only the 3rd record for the pool (1st record 1/3/1960 2nd record 15/4/1990) So well worth the visit! took the pooch home then went back to get some record shots above.

January 23rd 2011

Waxwings Galore!!

Decided to stay local today,checked out my local Waxwings at 08:30 when 30 birds were present by 09:30 upto 148 birds were present!! A superb sight & sound!! It also produced probably Grove Farms 1st mini twitch with at least 10 birders at any one time!! Hopefully they all went home happy!! Photos above from Y'days session as the light is not really good enough today!

January 21st & 22nd 2011

Upto 90+ birds present this afternoon & the sun even came out for 5mins!

At least 51 Birds present in trees this morning 22nd but being kept at bay by a single Mistle Thrush.

After finishing my nightshift i decided to have a lazy day recovering,at about 3pm decided to head out to visit friends just as i was getting into the car,the familiar sound of Waxwing could be heard & right above me was a single bird (nice garden tick)a quick run down to the main road produced at least another 70+ birds coming down to the 3 rowan trees (fantastic the most ive had in my home town) the birds took flight & all ended up in the hedgerow outside the front of my house!! cpl of record shots in the dimming light above

January 16th 2011

Decided to have a day out in North Norfolk with some good year ticks on offer! 1st stop was the East bank at Cley where i soon found the Shore Larks an impressive 11 birds on the shingle bank between the East bank & coastguards,next was the American Wigeon on Pope's Marsh which showed well in the scope but just to far for any pics! Next stop Salthouse for the Snow Buntings which showed well but were very flighty also seen were thousands of Pink-footed Geese,Brent Geese a flyover Ross's Goose (I presume an escapee,unless it was the Holkham bird?) final stop was at Thornham marsh for the Northern Harrier,on arrival it didn't look good with many birders on site for over 4hrs & not a sighting,so i sat in the car scoping the marsh when the crowd started moving towards me & there it was coming low over the coal barn,a cracking looking bird but in my haste to grab me bins & camera i somehow caught a can of Cherry cola which exploded everywhere much to a few birders amusement!! A brilliant end to the day birdwise but a sticky 2 1/2hr drive home.

Redshank
Turnstone

Pink-footed Goose

Dark-bellied Brent GooseShore Lark

Snow Bunting

January 9th 2011

Well i was planning a trip into Norfolk today but chronic backache & being up most of the night forced a change of plan! so a shorter journey down to Berkshire was the order of the day,with the light the best so far this Year the chance of some more pics of the Glossy Ibis at Freeman's marsh & the nearby Great White Egret proved to be the right choice!!

Great White Egret





Glossy Ibis