Desperate times

The one saving grace about today was the sun. In the wildlife garden at work it was sheltered from the biting easterlies and my balding noggin actually caught a bit of colour. The less than cheery news on the radio later was that the average temperature in March was the lowest in England since records began (in 1910).

An indication of what this prolonged cold spell has done to our wildlife was evident from the takings in the moth trap over the last two nights at work. There, I am able to run a 125W Mercury Vapour lamp which typically pulls in a greater range and volume of species than the 15W actinic I run at home. On Monday, I awoke to a frost-free morning, but there was not a single moth in the trap. Today, numbers rocketed. A March Moth and a Hebrew Character. Two moths. Abject. The Hebrew Character was a very fresh specimen and I suspect that it had been encouraged by the slight increase in daytime temperature to brave emergence.

Looking back on my own garden figures for March last year, on occasion I was catching over 100 moths. Admittedly, the species diversity wasn't great, but nevertheless there were plenty of moths about doing their thing, laying eggs and from which will have come the millions of caterpillars required on which many of our resident and migrant songbirds would gorge. There is a lovely stat in a Butterfly Conservation publication which estimates our 8 million Blue Tits get through 35 billion caterpillars every year.

With this delayed emergence, it makes me wonder what effect this will have for our breeding bird populations over the next couple of months, remembering that last year was also so bad. Results from the BTO's Constant Effort Sites scheme showed Blue Tit and Great Tit productivity down by over 30% in 2012.

Happy days.

Swifts - coming soon

It is still bitterly cold out there and there is a barely a sniff of spring in the air.The dawn chorus is feeble, with just Blackbird and Dunnock trying to wake me up before first light.

However, I know that in a little over a month's time, Swifts will be back, returning to their historical nest sites. One of them is our house. The outside of the house was painted last summer and it was only after the decorators had finished, that I noticed they had blocked up some gaps on the end of the eaves. Full marks to them for such attention to detail, but it has stuffed things up as a potential nest site for swifts and starlings that have both nested, or tried to nest, in those gaps before.

A solution was sought and we are now the proud owner of two RSPB branded Swift boxes.

 

 

Just to refresh my memory as to their plight, I had a look at the Swift Conservation website. Some of the stats charting the decline of Swifts are extremely depressing. It is important to highlight what the problems are, but it is much more important to find workable solutions and I would urge anyone reading this to have a look at the website www.swift-conservation.org.uk If the boxes alone don't do the job, I have bought the CD of screaming swifts in the hope that this proves irresistable. 

Are you Norwich* in disguise?

It came as a great and welcome surprise to see the mighty Stutton lying second on one of the inaugural Patchwork Challenge tables last week. Admittedly, the table was formed from only 75 of the 200 or so Patches entered, so for all I know the other 125 could be sitting on 100+ species already and were just waiting until the month end to put their scores in. Maybe they were doing the right thing and actually birding rather than blogging about it.

Since the NYD thrash around for 76 species, matters have slowed down considerably. At the time of writing I have edged up to 90 species with the only additional two-pointer being a red-head Smew from the hides on Alton Water. Still present today so the vice-Chairman of S.M.O.G. tells me. Unfortunately for me, the five Eider that I saw off the barge a fortnight ago where just outside my patch, but fortunately for my neighbour Richard, they were in his (Holbrook). In the spirit of fairplay, I did phone him and he was able to add this Stour Estuary mega to his list for two points.

My two-point tally is represented so far by that Smew, the Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe and, for us southerners, the generously handicapped Little Egret and Dark-bellied Brent Goose. I am rather disappointed that Pink-footed Goose only scores one point - but we can't have it all our own way. Richard on the other hand has jammed a Waxwing opposite his house and more skilfully picked up a Firecrest and several other two-pointers. I am not at all bitter that he saw this in an area where our Patches overlap.

On the "Need it" list still and what I would judge to be realistically attainable over the next 5-6 weeks are Kingfisher, Goosander, Linnet (what is the world coming to), Avocet, Grey Wagtail, Little Owl, Barn Owl and Water Rail. Other stuff that is around and could do me the kindness of showing up are Shag, Common Scoter, Long-tailed Duck (becoming more of a long shot), Marsh Harrier and Scaup. Another scarce grebe or diver would be nice, as would a grey goose (Tundra Bean or White-front please). The herd of 500 plastic Greylags has so far delivered the aforementioned Pink-foot and a bonus Barnacle. I might have to go and torch some fields for Woodcock as well. So if all of that lot puts in a show, we should still be flying high.

*This is where I refer you back to the title. You know how it is at the start of the football season (or any other sport you care to follow), when a team outside of the big four has a good start and then they just tail off. Stutton and Holbrook, I fear, are in that bracket. They are very good winter birding spots, but if you want a slice of migrant heaven, look elsewhere. Or maybe, just maybe, I shall be singing a different tune by the end of May...

Collared Flycatcher anyone?

One for Sorrow

After a thirteen year break, I am back on the listing game. As far as I am concerned though, this is an entirely admirable and green one. Three square kilometres all within an easy cycle of the front door. The Patchwork Challenge was duly accepted in Stutton and after a late New Year's Eve night, I was out the door on the bike at 7.30. Two years ago on New Year's Day I had gone round the village and amassed 76 species - surely with a more concerted effort this time around I was going to stroll in to 80+ territory?

There were several birds in the patch that needed targeting as there was no guarantee they would be around in the future. My plan was to work the parts of Alton Water that lie within the Stutton parish boundary first - which fortunately includes the hides in Larch Wood; then down to Stutton Ness for Slavonian Grebes (the best site for this species in eastern England don't you know) and then finish off at Stutton Mill for the high tide wader roost and the possibility of an owl or two.

There was a bite in the wind, but the sky was clear and so, unfortunately, was the Dam end of the reservoir where I was hoping to see the majestic Great Northern Diver that had been around for a week or so. Recompense came with a Pink-footed Goose that flew in with the Greylag flock. My only other village pink-foot was on NYD two years ago. On that day, I also had a female Ruddy Duck - I haven't seen one since.

Passing the cafe, there was no sign of any Waxwings that had been around on Christmas Eve, but some welcome wheezy notes allowed me to tick off Brambling. A potentially tricky bird for such a compact patch.

Next stop was the hides for the four Smew that had been frequenting Larchwood Bay. They weren't around either - maybe there were in conference with the diver somewhere? By the time I left the hides at 9.15 I was up to 45 species and things seemed promising. A quick stop at my Uncle's house added Tree Sparrow and Lesser Redpoll. House Sparrow came after and was my 51st species. What a sorry state of affairs I thought.

After a quick family stop off, I was out the door ready for Stutton Ness when I got a text to say that the diver had appeared back at the dam. So off I went. (patchchallenge)Tick!

I didn't reach Stutton Ness until Midday and the Slavonian Grebes took an age to appear. The chop on the water didn't help and the low, strong, winter sunshine also inhibiting viewing. That's my excuse for not seeing Shag or Long-tailed Duck anyway. One day I will get to Stutton Ness and see Shorelark or Snow Bunting, but New Year's Day there is a veritable Piccadilly Circus. A Rock Pipit obliged by dropping in for number 70.

Most 'daylist' days, have their blackspots and mine, regrettably, was Stutton Mill. By the time I was there just after 2pm the wind was stronger still and the tide was very high. Poor judgement on my part. I was only able to add a measly four waders, but Bar-wit, Avovet and Pintail all eluded me. So what next? I decided to hack it up the hill and back to the hides to see if the Smew had reappeared. A strip of game cover en-route enabled me to add Reed Bunting for 75, but I was still shy of Grey Heron, Fieldfare, Stock Dove, Mistle Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Canada Goose and Magpie! Why, oh why should I be getting upset about seeing a Magpie? For the second time, the hides drew a Smew-blank and I was left with a last desperate look for the Waxwings around the now much-busier car park. No joy, but I did see a Magpie.

Patchbirding. It's all about eagles and weasels.

Well a quick trawl through an old BOU checklist (a year 2000 one with annoying names like Hedge Accentor and Little Plover) and I reckon that without breaking too much sweat there are 138 species that should easily appear in the village this coming year.

There is a saying that I like - "Eagles may fly high, but weasels don't get sucked in to jet engines". This predicted list very much falls on the side of the weasel. I have only allowed for one diver and one scarce grebe, for example. Duck-wise, Scaup should make a show, but I have held fire on Long-tailed Duck even though there is one hanging around on the estuary presently. All the sawbills have shown up over the last couple of years, so I have stuck my neck out for the same in 2013.

I have yet to see Osprey in Stutton, even though they are annual around here. Peregrine and Hobby are on the list, but Merlin is a long-shot. The only real hope of Hen Harrier will be down at Stutton Mill on the parish boundary with Brantham.

Grey Partridge - forget it.

All the waders should be in the bag by 2nd January, with the exception of the migrant species. Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper are never the easiest on the whole estuary, let alone just in Stutton. LRP should fall and I hope that a Whimbrel or two will announce their presence. The only BB rare wader on the estuary in my time was the '06 Long-billed Dowitcher.

I haven't seen a phalarope or skua here in ten years and white-winged gulls are also gloriously absent. But there lies the challenge. Writing this, really does sharpen the focus. It makes me want to get out there now and scan that small gathering of gulls in the middle of the reservoir (if it was light of course) that I have been studiously ignoring recently. I would settle for a Franklin's mind.

The White-winged Black Tern that appeared this autumn was a bonus tern and I confess that I did twitch it (shame on me, but it was in the parish and less than a mile from the house). I am only expecting Common and Little as gimme's.

I have been bold in adding Turtle Dove, as these are now genuinely scarce around here and sadly, I don't think that it will be long before Cuckoo is pencilled rather than penned on to the list. Unless the local gamekeeper lets me know about a Long-eared Owl roost, the owl sp. list will be an easy three with a possible fourth being Short-eared.

It is when we get to the small stuff, that things get tricky. I still need Ring Ouzel and Stonechat for the village and even Wheatear won't come easy. I am struggling to think how I will connect with Willow or Garden Warbler and keeping my fingers crossed that Cetti's make one final push to the reedbed down at Stutton Mill. I know they are about half a mile from there.

There won't be any shortage of Nightingales - there were 33 territories around the reservoir this spring, but Nuthatch and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker are in the 'two hopes' category.

A shrike would be a chance find. There was an October Great Grey Shrike in 2010, but the only Red-backed was further east at Erwarton a few years before then.

Tree Sparrows have been wintering for the last couple of years and I have boldly decided to put them on my weasel list. Whilst that would be great to see, the chance of a Corn Bunting is up there with the Eagles.

This is a great invention. If you are a birder/twitcher reading this, get a patch sorted out and get signed up. Most importantly, get all your records on Birdtrack. It is the simplest way that your observations can help with the conservation of those birds that have brought you so much joy yesterday, today and for the rest of your life. 

Patchwork Challenge - Go Stutton!

It is been ages since I kept a year list (1999 if memory serves me right) and probably about the same time since I have worked on keeping a British list. I was finding twitching a fairly tedious exercise and surprisingly, when I started in my current job working for a large wildlife conservation charity, my interest diminished further. Spare time could have played a part as well of course. Tucked away on the PC though is a British and Stour Estuary list (two shy of 200 with recent addition of Sanderling and Mandarin), so I suppose the vestiges of a 'list bug' is lingering.

We are now in our third year living in Stutton and I have never kept a parish list. Nowadays, my active birding is mostly spent within the confines of the village, with the occasional foray down to Mistley Walls across the border in Essex. The place comes alive in the winter and on New Year's Day 2011 a three-quarter strength attempt at a day-list brought in a respectable 76 species. I think I had another day of birding the village ten days later and that was it. The parish-list fell off the list. The arrival of a small child may have played a part as well.

So, my thanks to Patchwork Challenge. I accept your offer. My first attempt at drawing a map came in under 3sq.km at 2.996sq.km! All luck, no judgement. Reservoir and estuary feature strongly and are easily accessible, but migrants are going to require much more time and effort, both of which may be in short supply come the spring with number two due then. I know that Sedge Warbler is going to be tricky, but in contrast all three divers should be possible. Mediterranean Gull would be a village first for me, whilst skuas never make it this far up the estuary (or indeed in my ten years here - never on the estuary). I shall have to go through the list in more detail, draw up some predictions and get birding done.

Tree Sparrow

The Tree Sparrow flock is still in residence in the village. Liz Cutting has taken some excellent images of these obliging birds. I think this is the best one.