Winter Ducks.

On Monday I drove over the county boundary to Wraysbury Gravel Pits in the hope of seeking out a few of the migrant species that often frequent the various large lakes formed after the extraction of gravel to build the M25 motorway.

As I climbed over the style to access the footpath that would take me alongside the New Hythe Pit I was initially greeted with a flurry of activity as various species including Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch,  Blackbird and Redwing dived for cover while overhead I could hear the distinctive chattering 'shack-shack-shack' calls from a number of Fieldfare. Both the Redwing and Fieldfare are winter visiting Thrushes and typically vary wary of any intruders so I had to wait patiently for them to settle high above me in order to snap a cropped record shot of both in the frame together.

Moving on I scanned the open water only to find that most of the ducks were typically too far away for the lens on the farthest side of he pit but I was delighted to spot that my quarry including 3 drake Smew and 8 Goosanders plus a number of Goldeneye were in fact on site together with the usual Mallard, Coot, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Grey Heron, Cormorants, Mute Swans, and Great Crested Grebes.  

I eventually managed to capture a male Goosander (Mergus merganser) which had been drifting close to the bank but out of my sight and promptly decided to swim away to join its distant companions. The next two species, Goldeneye and Pochard were fortunately a little more obliging.

Male Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Male Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

A few other species kept me company during my stroll including a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits (constantly uttering their scolding call as I walked by) and the very noisy Rose-ringed Parakeets whose piercing screams nearly drowned out the constant background sounds from the nearby motorway!

My final quarry was the extremely shy and one of the smallest sawbills, the Smew. The males are often referred to as the 'White Nun' due to their distinctive white and black streaked plumage.

Male Smew (Mergellus albellus).

Every winter this dainty species migrates southwards from its northern boreal breeding grounds in Finland, Sweden and Russia. Small numbers can usually be found at regular overwintering sites from December until March throughout the southern counties of the UK. Unfortunately I couldn't get any decent views so had to dig out an image taken during a visit to this site from just a year ago.  FAB.

Click here to link to WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY for more images from around the globe.

Barnes WWT bathed in sunshine.

Earlier this week (Tuesday) I enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine at WWT Barnes. 

Whilst the centre was alive with school children enjoying various activities including pond dipping the hides were very quiet probably because most of the birds were fairly distant. 

After half an hour in the hide overlooking the waterlogged scrape the only close visitors were a pair of Canada Geese who settled for a few minutes before taking flight.

and a couple of male Tufties.

The view from the Peacock Tower over the grazing marsh was somewhat similar so I headed towards 'Wildside' on the other side of the reserve.

Coot with some damaged feathers strutting across the grass.

Moorhen enjoying a cool drink.

I stopped for a while to capture some of the 'collection' species including Red-crested Pochard, a male White-headed Duck and the Goldeneye with a red head Smew in tow. As I wandered the pathways the striking call of a Cetti's Warbler pierced the air and Goldfinches twittered above my head.

Once again there was very little activity from the furthest hide apart from a couple of Dabchicks (Little Grebe). On my return route there was a small collection of people staring across one of the water channels at the distant reedbed. A search through the bins (I'd decided to leave the scope at home!) and I eventually located the distinctive brown camouflaged outline of a BITTERN well hidden in the reeds. It maintained its station while occasionally preening for some 20 minutes but then decided to move out into the open.

Unfortunately it was really too far for the 70-300 lens and the overhead sun didn't help focussing but I managed a cropped record shot that will have to do for the time being. Within a few moments this elusive species was out of sight .... until another day perhaps.  FAB.

Winter Duck - Common Goldeneye.

As a follow up to the post on the Smew (aka White Nun) I thought I would share another of my favourite winter ducks, the Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), a species that also nests in tree holes. 

From a distance the male in breeding plumage appears to be just gleaming white with black upper parts but on closer examination  (see images 5 and 6 below) other colours become apparent. As part of its courtship display in early spring the male tosses its head back so the bill faces backwards and then stretches its neck with the bill pointing skywards while often splashing its feet. I have seen a male practicing recently but couldn't get close enough for a decent view.

The female sports a mix of colours; a deep brown rounded head with pale yellow eye, with ash-grey flanks and breast. A small triangular shaped bill that is totally dark on a juvenille (above) but has a yellow band at the tip on an adult female (see below).   

A closer encounter reveals a head colour that can appear to be either green or purple-black depending on the angle of light. The puffed out cheeks which give it a triangular shape when viewed head on is very diagnostic together with the white loral spot and yellow eyes.

The (Common) Goldeneye is a regular winter migrant to the UK and can be seen around the coast, in estuaries, on lakes and reservoirs until it returns northwards in the Spring.    FAB.

2011 Initial Sightings.

As usual the New Year started off with a bit of window watching and in the last seven days the garden list has already risen to a decent total of 18 species. House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Robin, Magpie, Starlings, Parakeets, Blackcap, Chaffinch, Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll plus a very brief fly through by a Sparrowhawk.

 House Sparrow waiting its turn for a meal.

 Just four of the 30 Black-headed Gulls that circled above the garden for an hour or so.

On 2nd Jan we travelled to Kent to meet up with friends and paid a visit to Dungeness RSPB and clocked up around 50 species including Goosander, Smew, Goldeneye, Chiffchaff, Marsh Harrier and two Bitterns in flight - one crashed into the reed bed 50 yards in front of us and disappeared! The light was poor so the camera stayed in the bag most of the day but here are two shots taken in late December.

 Male Goldeneye.

 Female (Red-head) Smew.

A brief stroll alongside the Wey Navigation on 4th Jan produced tantalising views of several Little Grebes as they constantly dived to feed and always reappeared in the shadows on the far side of the water! Activity on the lake was mainly Coot, Tufted Duck and a few Mallards plus numerous Canada Geese on the grazing meadow with the usual large roost of gulls (Black-headed, Common and Great Black-backed). 

 Adult Little Grebe in winter plumage. 

Male Tufted Duck.

Coot - admiring its own image.

A visit to Barnes WWT on 5th and my first local patch walk today added a few more sightings bringing the month total up to 68. Interesting to note that in previous years a visit to the coast on the 1st Jan regularly exceeded this figure in just one day!   FAB.

A Mixed Week.

I'm not sure where the first part of the week went but on Wednesday I decided it was time to get out and stretch my legs. First stop was a very brief walk at Epsom Great Pond. A pair of Mistle Thrushes were having a verbal argument above me in the car park. The only inhabitants on the water were Moorhen and Cormorants. The light was poor but I tried a few shots of this individual perched on a wooded sculpture of a dragonfly. It twisted its head in all directions following my movements. A Grey Heron, Blue Tits and a Goldcrest elluded the camera.

Main location for the next few hours, after a sprint around the M25 (in the car!) , was to Wraysbury Gravel Pits. As often happens as soon as I turn up everthing moves to the far side of the water.

Even this immature Mute Swan decided to move away but the crafty 'Early Birder' waited patiently and got some more pics that I will share with you in a forthcoming post.

Scanning the water with bins and then the scope produced masses of Coot, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Mallard, Wigeon, Pochard, and Shovellers hiding way away under the far bank. Then this beauty popped up way out in the middle of the pit.....a male Goldeneye.  Sorry for the poor quality but digiscoped in poor light and shaking hands...yes it was cold!

Scanned around but no sign of any Smew yet but did find the resident Cormorants perched on the bare branches between the pits.

As I continued my stroll along the waterside, with the read heads waving in the increasing breeze, I disturbed a hidden Grey Heron who promptly flew away. A flock of 20 plus Long-tailed Tits signalled their presence as they foraged through the trees together with Blue and Great Tits. Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Jay and Crow plus a single over-wintering Chiffchaff were also present.

Further along the path I could hear the unmistakeable calls  from both Redwing and Fieldfare high in the tree tops as they constantly moved from perch to perch.

Above are two long distance shots of Fieldfare. The Redwing didn't hang around for a photo call!

In addition to the constant skwarking calls from Rose-ringed Parakeets flying around this location has a number of other noisy interuptions....the passing trains plus the planes taking off from the nearby Heathrow Airport ..... that bombard the eardrums just at the very moment I am trying to latch onto the calls of Goldfinch.

My walk takes me over a bridge where I stop to listen and look for Kingfisher and Water Rail without any luck on this visit.

As it is well past lunch time I parked myself overlooking this view across another pit and while enjoying some much needed refreshments I continued to scan around but nothing new showed itself.

The return walk back to the car produced Dunnock, Black-headed Gulls and of course it wouldn't be a birding day without a Robin Redbreast, would it!

The remainder of my week centred around dealing with A's car failing to start again on Thursday morning! Battery totally dead, so jump start, ring 'Muz' our friendly mechanic who says bring it over now and I'll fix it. True to his word we picked the car up a few hours later with a new battery plus the brakes adjusted and another minor dent in the plastic card but at least A could now safely drive to meet her friends for a pleasant evening meal.

Today has been another lazy day; foggy and overcast; so decided to refresh all the bird feeders, tidy up the patio and wrap up a few pots to protect the contents from any forthcoming frosts. The House Sparrows are continuing to use the trough planter as a dust bath, creating deeper craters each visit. I've also seen two individuals picking up feathers and dead foliage to line a roosting nest somewhere? A Blue Tit was also seen disappearing into one of the nest boxes...early nest prospecting or just looking for somewhere to roost through the winter maybe. Other visitors were Blackbird, Greenfinches, Dunnocks, Robin Great Tits and Magpie plus fly overs by Starling, Black-headed Gulls and Parakeets.    FAB