Wednesday 29 May 2024

The Double!!! Epic FA Cup Final Victory & Stonking Heron First

26th / 27th May 2023

The end of May bank holiday weekend has delivered some amazing birds over the years - it's very much the business end of spring. For the previous week the winds have been in the east and there was a sense of anticipation. Or at least hope. We’d had a near miss midweek with a belatedly identified UK first - an apparent Indian Golden Oriole on Holy Island in Northumberland. Photos seem to confirm the ID, but the bird was already gone. A massively rare bird had slipped past us. Whilst perfectly understandable, it was a shame it wasn’t identified early as we may have just made it. Then Shetland scored with a Green Warbler; not the major rarity it was until very recently, but still very much mega. Both the oriole and the warbler had travelled a long way to get here. And then the shrikes and Icterine warblers just kept coming (to the far north east and Shetland at least). It felt rare. Surely something from the east was on the cards?

Saturday 26th May was FA cup final day. My beloved Man United were at Wembley against Man City.; the cup-final ultimate derby and a repeat of last year’s defeat. Much as it pains us Reds to say, City are miles better than us right now and I was expecting to get hammered. I was sure we would lose badly, so was resigned watching between my fingers and hoping that we were not embarrassed. But despite this you have to watch anyway. Malc joined me and brought with him more optimism than I felt warranted. But he was right, United played their game of the season and deservedly won. Football, eh?

Man United 2 - 1 Man City. Absolutely brilliant. The weekend was off to a cracking start thanks to the boys in Red. 

Glory Glory Man United.

On Sunday I had a lazy start to the day, then pottered about birding locally. The highlight of another trip to the limebeds was the continued presence of Redshank chicks and mating Ringed Plovers. Two Common Terns flew straight through - a patch tick for me. But migrant wise it was thin pickings. I was just pondering whether to go further afield when an image was posted on the TT WhatsApp group. It was an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron, an American species, sat on a bridge railing. The photo was pixelated and clearly taken on a phone at close range, apparently in Mayo earlier in the day. At first the poor-quality images suggested it may be ringed, but that soon proved to be an artefact of low resolution. The location was well inland, and it was an adult, so it seemed unlikely to be a new arrival. There are previous European records and this is a species that has been on the radar, so no-one really considered it likely to be an escape if true. We now just needed to know whether it was a hoax, and of course if it was still there. The road signs in the photo background were Irish, so certainly not a US photograph. Shortly after, the video was posted from which the photo was a screen grab. Evidently no rings. No doubts now.

Irish birders were soon there and searching, but with no immediate success. They reported a heavily vegetated river with limited access, so lots of places for a night heron to see out the day. But it was all clearly legit. So much for a bird from the east.

I spoke to several other Brit birders. All were sat on the fence about going. I think there was a sense of disbelief. Wait for news or go anyway? It seemed likely the bird had been present some time, but it was also possible it was moving north with spring. I was free for once and so preferred to go on spec rather than wait until later in the week when work was busier. Others preferred to wait, and I could understand that. We all thought it likely to have been there a while, and also likely to stick around, so there was no sense of urgency. Eventually I agreed to team-up with Andy Clifton, John Pegden and Richard Bonser, and go anyway. Just as that was settled, news of the bird being refound was broadcast. The Irish birders were watching it. Immediately others were coming. I was soon booking a ferry for five - John, Andy, Alan Clewes, Malcolm Goodman and me. My house was a sensible meeting points, so I chilled and awaited there 11pm arrivals, before we set off in my car for Holyhead ferry terminal. I’ve managed to accumulate nine speeding points in the last year, so my days of pushing the limits are over and I wanted plenty of time to make the ferry, which we duly did. I’m going to have to get used to driving sensibly, but that’s no bad thing.

We sailed at 02.15 and I attempted 3 hours sleep in my overly priced cabin. By 05.30 we were in the car and disembarking, so just a 3-hour drive to Mayo to go. News of the birds continued presence came just after 6am and our journey was relaxed. The general view was that the bird may disappear to roost before we got there, so if needed we would wait until dusk when it would likely reappear. We had a ferry booked for 8.30pm, but could amend to the next day if plans changed. For once I had a free work-day and so was happy enough either way.

We needn’t have worried. On arrival in the pleasant village of Balcarra we parked next to the community centre and took the path along the side of the narrow river for less than a hundred yards. The stunning YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON had flown up into the trees but was conveniently perched in full view. As easy as that. We stayed for a couple of hours but the bird stayed on it's perch. Thankfully it was wide awake, so constantly preening, stretching and being alert. Whilst I would have stayed and waited for it to start feeding, it was understandable that others wished to get home for work, and they had a longer journey. As is often the case, it became a sociable affair and a good opportunity to catch up with fellow listers and the ever friendly Irish birders.  It was a lovely day and a pleasant spot to linger. The bird was unconcerned by people, as they often are in the US. Local people reported the bird had been around for ages, at least 3 weeks and some even suggesting years. We'll never know, but who cares with a bird that looks like this.








Massive crowd of about 25. Imagine if this was in the UK?



Grey Wagtail. 

We were back in Dublin for the 2.30 ferry, and spent a bit of time looking from the decks. In Dublin harbour there were a dozen or so Black Guillemots, along with a handful of Arctic terns and more numerous Common Terns. And as we neared Anglesey there were good numbers of Manx Shearwaters, a few Kittiwakes, a Fulmar and a couple of Sandwich Terns. 

Back home for 9pm - a 22 hour round trip. 

So much for a bird from the east, but I'll take it! A lovely twitch and an excellent double weekend. Next!



Sunday 19 May 2024

INDIGLOW

I have form with Indigo Bunting. It's one of those species I feel like I should have seen by now, despite it's extreme rarity. I have seen one in the UK before - in Norfolk in October 1988. We even left Scilly for it, as a first for Britain at the time. That record was controversially binned as a likely escapee twice (it failed again at review). To be fair there is certainly room for some doubt. I then missed the bird most people accepted in October 1996 - I had just returned from Cape May then and was not keen to leave Scilly (I thought I was free of the twitching condition at that time and remained convinced the Norfolk bird would be upgraded anyway). Then more recently, in 2020, I dipped one on Scilly and the sort of day out that makes you question your own sanity. That said, it seemed a matter of time before there was another gettable bird.

Saturday 18th May 2024

It's been a quiet spring rarity wise, so this was a welcome twitching fix. It was Saturday 18th May, peak rarity time. However when photographs of a male Indigo Bunting were circulated on the TT WhatsApp Group I wasn't initially encouraged. It was an apparent adult male, coming to a bird feeder in a Whitburn garden. There was a general assumption this was a likely escapee, and I continued with my plans to take Callum suit-shopping (for his forthcoming prom). Something he'd been looking forward to.

Things changed quickly. More photos showed brown wings, suggesting this was a 2nd calendar year bird (born in 2023). There were no signs of captivity (missing feathers, abrasion or damaged legs) either. This meant it could just be a wild bird, albeit an autumn bird on an island would be more compelling. Once the age and lack of damage were established, it soon became apparent this record will likely be accepted by BBRC - entirely because they accepted a similar record in May 2013 (also a male at a feeder, but on Anglesey). There was no reason to assume this current bird is an escapee. People were moving. I was at Cheshire Oaks suit shopping - conflicted between being with my son and needing this bird. By this stage it mattered not, I wasn't going today, so I made early morning plans.

Sunday 19th May 2024

Paul Baker and I set off at 05.00. Negative news the entire journey (people were searching from 04.30) was not encouraging. So we arrived around 8am already in the knowledge it had not been seen in 3.5 hours of searching in lovely conditions. It was surely gone. Everyone else we spoke to was of the same opinion. Arse. My bad luck with this species seemed set to continue.

We headed up the road and consoled ourselves with a cracking male Red-backed Shrike. I hadn't seen a spring male in ages, and thoroughly enjoyed this lovely individual. The local breeding Sedge Warblers and Linnets were very agitated by it's presence, a reminder that shrikes are real predators. 




After that we took the call to head home on the 3 hour journey back. Arriving at the house, Paul got in his car and I set off to collect Callum. As I drove a WhatsApp message appeared on the sat nave - Indigo Bunting back. Noooooooo! 

I really didn't want to repeat the journey in the same day, but I knew I couldn't go the following day and would regret it if I didn't. Callum and I grabbed a sandwich, I dropped him at the house and set off back. Paul declined to return, and I really didn't blame him at all.

The journey back was thankfully quiet and at around 4pm I was back in the Whitburn housing estate with a small crowd. I hate this kind of twitch, but needs must. Happily the bird was immediately on show, sat high in a garden confer. INDIGO BUNTING finally OML (well probably, pending acceptance). I had been expecting to really enjoy seeing this, but the experience was underwhelming to be honest. A combination of the circumstances and location, not helped by dull light meaning that the glow of the Indigo really wasn't that apparent, and of course that remaining whiff of escapee risk. Over the next hour it showed a few times, and I saw it well enough. But quite frankly it felt like a perfunctory twitch. I guess that's the game we play. I set off home feeling like I'd had a day at work. 

One of the photo's below is not mine. Can you guess which one?




Tuesday 27 February 2024

Jamaica, Feb 2024

A two week holiday with Karen along the northern coast of Jamaica. 

I managed all bar one of the possible 29 endemics (missing Jamaican Blackbird), which was better than expected. Mostly thought I just enjoyed birding in warm weather and seeing some great birds. 

Jamaican Crow

Greater Antillean Banaquit

Spotted Sandpiper

Brown Pelican

Royal Tern

Magnificent Frigatebird

Laughing Gull

Green Heron 

White-winged Dove

Zenaida Dove

Collared Dove

Yellow Warbler

Northern Parula

Prairie Warbler

Yellowthroat 

Northern Mockingbird

Antillean Palm-swift

Vervain Hummingbird 

Loggerhead Kingbird

Cattle Egret

Common Starling

Greater Antillean Grackle

Great Egret

American Redstart 

American Kestrel

White-crowned Pigeon

Jamaican Woodpecker

Cape May Warbler

Barn Swallow

Red-billed Streamertail

Killdeer

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Caribbean Martin

Jamaican Euphonia 

Belted Kingfisher

Palm Warbler

Jamaican Mango

Yellow-throated Warbler

Ruddy Quail Dove

Jamaican Becard

Grey Kingbird

Rufous-tailed Flycatcher

Crested Quail Dove

Black-billed Parrot

Green-rumped Parrotlet

Yellow-billed Parrot

Olive-throated Parakeet

Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo

Jamaican Tody

Jamaican Elaenia

Sad Flycatcher

Jamaican Oriole

Orangequit

White-chinned Thrush

Worm-eating Warbler

Ovenbird

Jamaican Vireo

Jamaican Spindalis

Arrowhead Warbler

Greater Antillean Elaenia (Jamaican)

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Yellow-shouldered Grassquit

Greater Antillean Bullfinch

Chestut-bellied Cuckoo

Merlin

Jamaican Pewee

Glossy Ibis

Blue Mountain Vireo

American Barn Owl

Northern Potoo

Jamaican Owl

Antillean Palm Swift

Black-billed Streamertail

White-eyed Thrush

Jamaican Tody

Louisiana Waterthrush

Black-and-white Warbler

Ring-tailed Pigeon

Common Yellowthroat

Caribbean Martin

Common Starling