Colin Butters Natural History Diary

Diary

3^rd February 2012 – I walked up the River Wye from Ross-on-Wye today under a blue sky but it was a very cold day. The temperature dropped down to -9 deg C. overnight. 74 Mute Swans were near the bridge at Foy and just to the south of this footbridge there was a Tawny Owl perched in an old oak tree. Further south near the tight bend in the river near the dismantled bridge, I found a Goosander pair and a flock of at least 20 Chaffinch was nearby. I noted a Kingfisher in the same location on the river near the A40 bridge.

2^nd February 2012 – I went to WWT Slimbridge again to try to find the Bittern. It was a very cold but blue sky day and most of the water was frozen. Just as I arrived the bird slowly walked out of the reed bed and gave fantastic views very close to the hide. It stayed in the sun for about 20 minutes and then again very slowly walked back into the reedbed. I moved back to the Centre and took some more bill pattern photographs of the Bewick’s Swans for the research team.

31^st January 2012 – I walked along Stank Lane after lunch and found 350 Lapwing on Hasfield Ham. There was some free water when I looked at the Ham from the hide but there was much ice. Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Shoveler were on this water and the two Black Swans were in the field opposite Colways Farm.

I also found an amazing 105 dumped gas cylinders blocking the top of Stank Lane. I have reported this to the local council and have received an email detailing that they have taken pictures for evidence and an attempt at tracing the culprits and they have made arrangements to remove them. The council have had to make special arrangements since because of the sheer volume of the cylinders.

30^th January 2012 – I spent some time in the Zeiss Hide at WWT Slimbridge to try to see the Bittern which has been widely reported. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful in my efforts.

29^th January 2012 – I made a short visit to Brierley on a cloudy day after a cold night. 3 deg. C. at 1200. A large flock of Siskin was in the area and some of the birds were coming low down in the trees and giving good views. Several Crossbill were nearby too as were many tit species and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was near the parking area.

28^th January 2012 – A cold day with sunny intervals. 2 deg. C. at 0900. I went to the Grundon Hide at Coombe Hill Canal. The ducks were flying when I arrived because of disturbance by people walking along the public footpath across the meadows. 61 Greylag Geese and a flock of 60 Goldfinch were nearby and 350 Lapwing were in the air. A female Blackcap was a good find near the car park at The Wharf. There were 2 unringed Mute Swans in the same area and this is the first time this year that I have seen them here.

At the hide at Ashleworth, 13 Gadwall were of note and a Lapwing flock were in the fields opposite Colways Farm. A Barnacle Goose was with the Canada Goose flock and a single Tufted Duck was present. 2 Shelduck seemed to be the only birds on the small amount of water on Hasfield Ham. A new Mute Swan was present with an orange ring ‘60A’. A Peregrine was on the pylon and 2 Buzzards were in the vicinity.

26^th January 2012 – A showery morning with heavy rain in the afternoon and some very wet snow just after dark and then skies clearing to give a cold night. I went in search of the reported Bittern at the Zeiss Hide at WWT Slimbridge in the afternoon but failed to find again. At the Holden Tower there were 154 White-fronted Geese, split between the Dumbles and the Tack Piece. There were 9 Bewick’s Swans on the Dumbles and a further 118 on the Tack Piece. There were more on Rushy Pen but they were moving about and I did not get an exact total count. The Tack Piece was golden in patches with a large number of Golden Plover on the ground. There was a male Pochard with a lime green bill saddle on the scrape in front of the Robbie Garnett Hide with the characters D-KK which was a new bird for me.

25^th January 2012 – A short visit to Brierley in the Forest of Dean at lunchtime revealed a large flock of 70 birds high in the trees near the car park area and many of these birds were Brambling. On the opposite side of the track again in the tops of the trees were at least 3 Hawfinch but 5 flew from the area later. I noted 1 Siskin but more could be heard not far away but I could not locate them in the multitude of trees.

24^th January 2012 – I went to Ashleworth just after lunch. There were more birds there than of late, a great number of these being geese. 180 Canada Geese, 21 Greylag Geese and an escaped Bar-headed Goose. This latter species suggests that many of these geese have come over from Coombe Hill Canal area since there was a specimen of this with the many geese there on 13^th January. There were 15 Mute Swans and the 2 Black Swans. Careful scrutiny of these suggests that they are a pair. One is bigger than the other and the head shapes are slightly different. Among the duck there were 5 Tufted Duck, 4 Shoveler, 1 Pintail, 2 Gadwall and a number of Wigeon and Teal. Lapwings were on Hasfield Ham and on the field opposite Colways Farm. The total of this species appeared to be of the order of 500 birds.

23^rd January 2012 – At Martin Mere at lunchtime it was a little bit breezy and 7 deg. C. with the sun shining on and off. I managed to read 52 Whooper Swan rings and found the only Bewick’s Swan on site. There were quite a number of Ruff wading around the edge of the pond at swan feeding time. At the nearby feeding station I was pleasantly surprised to find one Tree Sparrow and a female Brambling among many other birds including a great number of Chaffinch. There was at least one Marsh Harrier over the reed beds with another possible on the ground near this area but a long way from the hide.

22^nd January 2012 – A day of sunny periods and mild. In the afternoon, I walked the short trail at Nagshead at about 1600 but it was very quiet in the woodlands.

21^st January 2012 – On the Marlborough Downs not far from Devizes, I came across a number of Yellowhammers and a Skylark singing from on high, this being the first for the year on a mild but blustery day.

18^th January 2012 – A very fast and odd weather change overnight. At 2300 the temperature was below freezing and there were ice crystals on the paths here in Longhope and I was looking down at fog in the valley. At dawn it was mild and all of the frost had gone. By 1300, it was 12 deg. C. I did not do a field trip today.

17^th January 2012 – Very cold again today and at 0930 it was -1 deg. C. I went to Coombe Hill Canal where it was overcast and cold. There were not many birds present compared to dusk yesterday. There was not very much open water after the freezing night and this may have caused many birds to depart. There were 36 Pied Wagtails on the field on the opposite side of the frozen water to the towpath. There were 58 Pintail on the water and a few Wigeon, Teal and Mallard. There were also 2 Canada Geese and a few Greylag Geese. I tried to get to the hide overlooking the Long Pool but I could not cross the water in the rhine in the last field to the south of the hide.

After lunch, I went to Ashleworth hide. There were a few Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Mallard. There were also 15 Mute Swans and I managed to read the ring that I had failed to do on 14^th January. This was an orange darvic ‘Z27’.

16^th January 2012 – At Coombe Hill Canal this afternoon to look again for the American Wigeon. It was a blue sky day but very cold. I spent an hour or so on the towpath scanning the flock of birds. There were a great number but not such a diverse variety of species as 13^th January. A handful of Greylag Geese, 4 Mute Swans and the only duck species were Teal, Wigeon, Pintail and a few more Gadwall than of late. Again I failed to find the American bird.

15^th January 2012 – At Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean, I noted a Mute Swan with an orange darvic ‘AAEJ’ which had an unringed mate and two unringed cygnets from last year still in attendance. They were on the northern pond of the two. Near the Stoneworks was a Grey Wagtail, a new species for the year.

14^th January 2012 – It was very cold overnight with the temperature at Ashleworth just after dawn at -5 deg. C. Totals for the Wetland Bird Survey day were, 16 Mute Swan, 6 Black-headed Gull, 103 Mallard, 39 Teal, 22 Wigeon, but at least 100 arrived much later, 10 Shoveler, 2 Black Swan, 10 Pintail, 1 Grey Heron, 14 Canada, 1 Lapwing and 1 Snipe. There were an additional 171 Lapwing in a field near Hasfield village. The two Kestrel were perched up in the usual tree as seen from the hide and Buzzard was the other raptor species present. There was a good number of Fieldfare and Redwings in a field to the north of Stank Lane and in the lane hedgerows, there was at least one Bullfinch. Later in front of the screen hide there were several Mute Swans and I was able to read a series of orange darvic rings – ‘39C’, ‘71C’, ‘40C’, ‘25A’,’V54’ and ‘86A’ again. ‘40C’ and ‘71C’ appear to be a pair.

13^th January 2012 – I went to Coombe Hill Canal to look for the reported American Wigeon. It was cold with frost on the grass but there was plenty of open water. The bird species noted were, 7 Greylag/Canada Geese hybrids, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, 1 Barnacle Goose, 1 escaped Bar-headed Goose, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swan, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Moorhen, Coot, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Starling, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Shelduct, Shoveler, Golden Plover, Grey Heron and Mallard but I did not find the American Wigeon.

At Ashleworth, the Ledbury Hunt were in the area and thus there was much disturbance. Wigeon, Mallard, Pintail, Teal and Mute Swan were present in very few numbers. A Black Swan was also there.

12^th January 2012 – I walked to Cannop Ponds from Nagshead and found at least 3 Little Grebe on the northern pond and at least 6 Mandarin Duck on the southern pond. The males of this species are currently in tip top plumage condition. A Siskin was near the stoneworks and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was on one of the feeders. Of note around Nagshead reserve is that Wild Boar seem to be digging around the very decayed old tree stumps and one dead tree has fallen in the recent high winds but was helped on its way by some extensive digging around the base of the trunk. I have not seen this activity before other than the usual turning over of the turf.

11^th January 2012 – At Symonds Yat this morning the two resident Peregrines were perched up. Near the car park there was a large flock of Chaffinch with assorted tit species including Coal Tit and Marsh Tit. Down in Parkend later there was a Sparrowhawk perched on a roadside grit bin.

10^th January 2012 – A warm and a day of sunny periods at Ashleworth. Very few duck were present and the water level was slightly higher than on 7^th January. On Hasfield Ham there were 9 Mute Swans and I found later 4 more in front of the hide. 80 Lapwing overflew Hasfield. There was a small mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare along Ham Road. Kestrel and Buzzard were the raptors seen and a Common Snipe flew over the floodwater near the hide later.

I went to Slimbridge to look for the reported Bittern but I did not see it. There were, however, good numbers of Lapwing, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Wigeon and Teal. I did note a Reed Bunting in the reeds.

9^th January 2012 – Two pair of Goosander on the river in the middle of Hereford city centre.

8^th January 2012 – 10(3) Bewick’s Swans at Walmore Common. Also there were the 2 Whooper Swans and 5 Mute Swans.

7^th January 2012 – When I stepped out of the house to go to Coombe Hill Canal this morning, I heard a Tawny Owl calling. It was a day of sunny periods and at 1030 at the start of my walk at the canal it was 10 deg. C. There were Bullfinches at two different points along the canal towpath. As a few days ago, there is so much floodwater that it is not possible to get to the hide as the boardwalk is under water. I walked on to view the water from the towpath. The geese present included a good number of Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, a single Barnacle Goose, 3 Egyptian Geese and an escapee Bar-headed Goose. There were at least 138 Pintail and numbers of Wigeon, Teal and Mallard. Also there was a single Shoveler. A few Redwing were flying around the canal towpath as I walked back.

At Ashleworth, there were two highlights in my short visit between 1115 and 1135. These were the arrival of 6 Tufted Duck which is an unusual species at this site. A Red Admiral butterfly was an unseasonal first butterfly species of the year. I called by again after lunch and was surprised to see a Mute Swan nest building.

6^th January 2012 – I went to Ross-on-Wye with the intention of walking up the river for a while but many of the riverside fields are extensively flooded and thus a walk was not possible. A number of Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls were on the floodwater and at the edge of the water there were a number of Redwing. I was amazed to see, in a back street in the town, a mural with a number of Bewick’s/Whooper Swans painted on it.

5^th January 2012 – A very windy night. I had a trip to Slimbridge as the winds very gradually subsided. First I stopped at Walmore Common where in the distance there were 10(2) Bewick’s Swans, 2 Whooper Swans and 4 Mute Swans.

At Slimbridge, there were a large number of Teal sheltering near the hedge as seen from the Zeiss Hide. On South Lake there were many Cormorants, a Great Crested Grebe, a Kingfisher and the female Pochard with the nasal saddle. This bird had been ringed in France in May 2011 and had been seen at Blagdon Lake in Somerset this winter. At the Robbie Garnett hide, there were a number of Pochard and Tufted Duck very close to the hide sheltering from the very strong wind. Among these birds was the reported Lesser Scaup. On the Tack Piece there were 40 Redshank no less, one Oystercatcher which is a very early bird and at least 3 Ruff.

4^th January 2012 – A Mistle Thrush at the car park end of Coombe Hill Canal was very vocal this morning. I was unable to get to the hide as the boardwalk was under water and the meadows are flooded. I viewed the area of the scrapes from the towpath. There were 190 Greylag Goose and a large number of Canada Geese. There were two Shoveler, 72 Pintail, some Teal and Mallard, and a good number of Wigeon. Of the gulls there were 24 Black-headed Gull and a single Common Gull. A Jay flew over the canal as I returned where there was a mixed tit flock which included a number of Long-tailed Tits.

At Ashleworth in the early afternoon, there were 50 Black-headed Gull, 5 Teal, 54 Mallard, 23 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall and 4 Pintail. There were 3(2) Mute Swans and one of the first winter birds sported an orange plastic ring with the characters ‘86A’.

3^rd January 2012 – A very wet and stormy morning which cleared through by midday. I went down to Severn Beach to see if there had been any seabirds storm blow up the estuary. Although a few Kittiwakes and a Fulmar had been reported, I did not see any but there were a good number of Turnstone and a Peregrine flew out over the river.

It was very squally at Aust and with some very heavy short showers. It was very quiet there in the poor conditions.

I called in at WWT Slimbridge on my way back. I had a quick look on the Tack Piece which has plenty of water on it and lots of birds which amounted to many hundreds into the thousands and there were at least 24 species on the ground. Rushy Pen, too, looked good in the clear afternoon light.

2^nd January 2012 – A dry and sunny but cool day with the temperature at 4 deg. C. en route to Nagshead RSPB Reserve. I walked from the car park down the Gloucestershire Way to Cannop Ponds. Nuthatch and Treecreeper were the first birds that I noted on the lower part of the short trail. A flock of Siskin overflew, calling near where the trail turns left. At Cannop Ponds, the only duck were Mallard and the feeders at the stone works were empty probably because of the holidays. All of the tracks are quite muddy and wet.

I moved on to Farmers Green where a Great Grey Shrike has been seen in previous years. I did not expect to find one today and I didn’t. The young birch trees here are growing up and I doubt whether the habitat is now suitable for a shrike. I walked back to the car park and had lunch.

I then moved down to the Lower Hide where there was a Kingfisher doing what it is supposed to do – fishing. On the way back to the car park, I found several Bullfinch to end the day.

1^st January 2012 – Happy New Year.

A day at Strumble Head in Pembrokeshire. At the start of my journey it was 10 deg. C. at 0730 and clear patches. The tide was in at the Flagpoles car park in Goodwick but there were a number of gulls, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull and a single Common Gull. A Great Crested Grebe was on the sea and a number of Turnstone and Oystecatcher were on the remains of the beach.

At the Head it was heavy rain showers and the wind was in the south and force 5-6 and decreasing throughout the day. I did a short seawatch from 1205 to 1305. There was a steady if light passage of auks and a few Kittiwakes passing by. Surprisingly, there was also a number of Gannets passing, all but one being full adults. After lunch, I walked about a mile up the coastal path to the east. As I stepped off the road, I noted the first surprise of the year in the form of a Short-eared Owl over the site of the old coastguard station. This moved off east and I saw what I assumed to the the same bird over a green field to the east of the station site. When I came back, I attended the Sea Trust porpoise and dolphin watch at The Head between 1435 and 1545. Several Common Porpoise were noted but it was difficult in the conditions with a sea state of 4-5. Additionally, a Red-throated Diver passed and there were at least 3 more diver species noted. 26 species seen today.