#year tick

11/10/2020-Phalarope paradise at Pennington: The 10 pictures in this photoset different to those I tweeted just now 

As you may have seen we went to Bushy Park yesterday on our big wildlife watching and photography trip which is a part of a day trip we do every year which I loved and was one of the best times of our year without a doubt. I always try to not do trips like that further afield with so many photos and sightings on a Sunday and have to go to work the next day (even when it’s working from home) it just makes me tired and hard to find motivation for the morning and fully cool down from the trip a bit so after the weather putting us off Bushy last Saturday Bushy was locked in for yesterday. On Friday we learned of the mega bird a Wilson’s Phalarope with Grey Phalaropes at Pennington in the Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve at the foot of the New Forest. We instantly knew we’d go there today then we didn’t even have to decide. In hindsight I can say that phalaropes do stay around a few days it seems when they do turn up as they are always birds blown in by Atlantic storms on migration and that’s how they end up in Britain they stay a few days to feed up before flying off again. But I have got to say I did just have a little feeling of slight desperation last night as every tweet I clicked on seemed to be have a picture of the Wilson’s Phalarope! Which is remarkable in itself really. 

People from Hampshire and far and wide (as we observed in person here today for the latter) were coming to my beloved local and one of my favourite nature reserves and getting criminally close views of this very rare and stunning bird and the Grey Phalaropes that I needed to see for my year list too. I just had in my head that I’d feel maybe a bit bad if I missed it being at one of my spots but I had one of my best times of the year at Bushy so I would never have regretted going there and I would not have swapped it for the world yesterday. And finishing the weekend off at Pennington worked it’s a trip much more suited to a Sunday being half an hour to forty five minutes away from us. And I have a feeling yesterday in terms of social distancing many people would be there. Today it’s a Sunday so perhaps some people do other things and there were not hoards here today and it was easy to socially distance when here today. The feelings of “I want to go and see this” gave me interesting twitcher’s vibes. 

So with the strong memories of Bushy still engulfing me in amazement of the experience yesterday I was also so excited to get back to Pennington for the first time since last month on a very sunny afternoon today. I took the first three pictures in this photoset of nice views here today. As we walked down to fishtail lagoon the one that usually always hosts the rare birds interestingly here where the Wilson’s Phalarope had been seen we got binoculars views over the lagoon and noticed a phalarope fly and land by a bank. It was so tall compared the grey and red-necked we are familiar with which the Wilson’s is so we were sure this was the bird. 

We then got down to the lagoon on the pathway and walked towards some people. To our delight right beside the path in the channel south of the lagoon was one of the two Grey Phalaropes around! Like we had seen of one further down here in 2017 we got stunning views of it. It really was so close, it did not seem bothered by people at all. It was simply amazing views and I loved watching it swim down the channel. My first of the year. 

The Wilson’s Phalarope had flown out into the lagoon so we looked for it. Someone then spotted it by the fence of the lagoon coming into the channel further up. The channel is a flooded bit of ground outside of the fence really. We walked down and were astounded to see it right beside us in the water as it swam in and out of reeds. We got absolutely stunning and remarkable views of it. I took the fourth and fifth pictures in this photoset of this incredible bird. This one wasn’t bothered by people either and we just saw this smashing and beautiful bird so close. It was a dreamlike experience to see a bird like this so close. Special stuff. I was in my element watching it as phalaropes do swim up and back along the channel. It showed off its attractive yellow legs at certain points and got on with what it was doing without a care in the world. It even tried to get back through the fence onto the main lagoon at one point which was interesting to see. 

So this is a new bird for me, my sixth this year now only one behind how many I saw last year and level with how many I saw in 2017. It’s my 272nd bird in my life and with the Grey Phalarope my first of the year today takes my bird year list to 186. So my year list is still solidly my third highest ever for amount seen on this date behind last year and 2018, I am only four behind my 2017 total now. But this for seeing a new bird this was something else. The last time I got views this good for a new species I think was my first Crested Tits at RSPB Loch Garten in the Cairngorms in January 2018 and the Barred Warbler at Titchfield Haven weeks before it at the end of 2017. It was telling it was a good view of a new bird as for the pictures I took of it I didn’t use my bridge camera so long distance specialist once but used my DSLR and big lens the whole time it was that close which this camera and lens is so good for usually to see something new now it’s gotta be rare like this was so it’d be a long way away but that’s not always how it works with phalaropes. They are known to be approachable because they can be a bird of the wilderness in their natural range so are less used to humans so seeing them come and behave like this here is quite something. 

We walked on up to Keyhaven lagoon and back noting decent numbers of Wigeon and Shoveler which was really interesting to see some coming in for the winter now, we also got chatting to some lovely people as we did for the whole walk and twitch today who pointed out a Peregrine to us the first we had seen for a while. We also took in some great views as the sun came back after going in a bit including the sixth and seventh pictures in this photoset. When we walked back beside fishtail lagoon the Grey Phalarope was still parading up and down in the channel of water so close to us. We took in more stunning views of this beautiful bird that we missed seeing last year but was now my eighth occasion of seeing one, once in 2009 here, twice here in 2017 as well as at Blashford Lakes and Hayling Island oysterbeds that autumn, twice in 2018 on the River Itchen at Riverside Park and here the next day the same day we saw another new bird the Temminck’s Stint and now today. I took the eighth picture in this photoset of this lovely bird. It was so close I had the idea to take some phone videos of the bird. 

We walked up to the proper channel of water east of fishtail lagoon where followed by observers the Wilson’s Phalarope had moved to. We got more sensational views of it here coming so close to many of us swimming along and I took phone videos of this too all of which I shared posts of from my Instagram earlier and tweeted whilst out today many people were doing the phone videos it was an interesting quirk of this twitch symbolic as another person remarked of how incredibly close the bird was to us. It was so delightful to watch the Wilson’s Phalarope as the bird swam about in the later afternoon sunlight. A real fantastic autumnal moment and stunning birdwatching one. I took the ninth and tenth pictures in this photoset of the Wilson’s Phalarope. A great vibe and atmosphere we were all so in aw of the bird. 

Before we left we saw the Ruff with a white head that we saw here our first of the year in February with another of its kind which was nice I tweeted a picture of that. This ended one of my best and happiest times of the year this weekend and ever. I saw sensational wildlife and views and took so many pictures. The two trips further afield and local complimented each other so well I think. It was two perfect high standard days to follow each other in great weather. Such joyful times I shall never forget this weekend! Thanks so much for sharing it with me and all your appreciation shown. I hope you are all keeping safe and well. Have a nice week.

9/01/20-Peregrine year tick at lunch and moon on the way home

After my year tick filled trip away on my first day back at work my lunch time resembled my New Year’s Day Lakeside walk where I dash about to different habitats trying to see a host of different birds that I at that early stage have not seen in a year. Today there were three birds I have not seen yet this year that I knew I could see in Winchester my work city, whether that be something I have long been seeing here or only recently saw about town. I brought my spare bridge camera as I said I would do in previous blogs along for the ride.

The one o’clock dash took me firstly to St. Thomas Church where I had been consistently seeing the Winchester Peregrines since late November but no sign. I had started if I was honest to stop seeing them there in late December on a few days and whilst I was off one was reported on Hampshire bird sightings website goingbirding at its nesting ground Winchester Cathedral. I had not seen one there since November or photographed one there since October something I had really done monthly until that point. I headed there next and as I walked towards the north tower I was delighted to see a raptor figure looming large at the west end of the ledge they frequent just above where they build their nest. I knew what it was at that stage I think and I delightfully confirmed it was this falcon through the binoculars. I then as I have done countless times now zoomed in on my bridge camera to capture this beautiful view. I took the first four pictures in this photoset of this bird. I felt so amazing doing this again and I was thrilled to see my always important first Peregrine of the year. This felt like another amazing moment in my journey with these birds too I felt such joy seeing them. Yes I saw them at the cathedral in 2018 which I was proud of but really 2019 was the year I followed them from start to finish so you wonder is it a thing of that year but they are one of my favourite birds and I really savoured seeing one in 2020 today. 

I may have been seeing Peregrines about Winchester during my working days since 2017 but this was only the second time I’d got it as a year tick at Winchester Cathedral after finally seeing one as my bogey bird that year in May 2018. I have seen my first Peregrine in a year in a range of places over the years, including Keyhaven in 2015 five years ago today in fact. An exciting early sighting as it was today. Any time spent with this remarkable and famous bird at any time of year though is precious and I could not take my eyes of this individual. It’s my seventh bird of prey species seen in 2020 now and the twelfth of my twenty eighth favourite birds I have seen this year so far. It definitely added to an illustrious list of top birds seen so far in 2020 well. Nice to get to focus on birdwatching for a bit during my first day back. 

I then headed to the River Itchen near Winchester Mill where the Chiffchaff I kept seeing there in December on lunch breaks and the frequent Grey Wagtails there a bird I have ticked here two years running before was on my mind. I did not see either this time and as I walked down the river the rain shower that I knew would be coming finally caught up with me. I’d done well to stay dry up until that point as the weather changed from sunny to cloudy just before I went out. I did see a lovely little Wren on the wall here though a year tick at this spot last year on 2nd January. I shall definitely go to the river as much as I can until I see Grey Wagtail unless I see it somewhere else but this is one of the best places I know for them. Chiffchaff rather felt a  bit fluke like and I should have plenty of places to try and see them in the spring. I was happy to get at least one of my year tick targets seen on lunch today but it feels exciting to have some still to aim for. 

For now it will probably be without my bridge camera, I said in my blog yesterday I didn’t want to take it tomorrow due to not wanting to have much to do tomorrow evening to be quite honest due to an early start Saturday and a slight little commitment looking after the dogs too. If I wasn’t seeing Peregrines I was happy to take the bridge camera once a week for the time being, that would be Monday or Friday as from Tuesday-Thursday I am round my Dad’s house in a typical week where I don’t take any cameras but Grey Wagtails to be honest with these fast and sudden movements aren’t the best thing to use the bridge camera for. I have taken pictures of them last year on days I brought the camera for Peregrines etc. which were maybe not my best of the species whereas the Cathedral and St. Thomas Church allow me to get closer to Peregrines than I ever have before so I am not as fussed about having a camera there for Grey Wagtail I would just be very happy to see one. I don’t need to be photographing birds in my lunch breaks to be enjoying them and sometimes its nice to take the simple joy of just watching birds through binoculars or otherwise. So yeah barring anything special popping up I probably won’t see need to take this camera to work now until February where the journey began for me taking the camera once a month (mostly) to try to photograph the Peregrines. On the way home so on my way to the station in Winchester I took yet another moon picture with my P900 bridge camera something I am really finding it very useful for and I think this was my best yet. 

My New Birds of 2016 with record shots 

On Saturday I saw my first ever Ring Ouzels at Leaden Hall in the New Forest and was lucky enough to get a record shot of one, the 1st picture in this photoset. It was my 7th new bird of 2016, taking my life list to 241 and my year 2nd highest ever list to 170, only 7 behind my record one in 2014, which I was very happy about. It was one of 4 of the 7 new birds I’d been able to get record shots of this year so I felt like bringing them together in a post. The 2nd picture in this photoset is September’s Semipalmated Sandpiper with a Snipe at Titchfield Haven, 3rd is a Corn Bunting at Martin Down on the Saturday of the 2nd May Bank Holiday and the 4th picture is one taken just a day later of if I had to pick probably my rarest bird of 2016 the Great Spotted Cuckoo at Portland. 

The other 3 new birds I saw this year were a Great Grey Shrike at Shatterford in the New Forest in January, a Stilt Sandpiper seen at Pennington just a week before the Corn Bunting and Great Spotted Cuckoo and 2 Nightjars surprisingly flying out at Bolderwood in the New Forest also not long after that joyful bank holiday. I didn’t have record shots of them because the first 2 were just too far away and the Nightjars were flying way too fast for me. At the stage I’m at with birdwatching now, with 10 years and over 200 species under my belt whenever I’m lucky enough to see a new bird its often going to be a fleeting glimpse or one far away, because for me to not have already seen a bird it must be a rare or elusive one especially when I see them in my home area like I have done for all of this year’s really even if Portland is a bit of a treck from Eastleigh. 

But I am really proud of these 4 record shots that I was able to get, and in recent years especially from last year with the arrival of the extra 100mm of my big lens I feel I have constantly been able to get pictures that yeah were nowhere near my best but were still presentable and clear what the species of of not just my new birds but special year ticks and other shots of species I just haven’t managed to photograph much over the years. So I think this year as it did last year it certainly adds a new dimension to the amazing experiences of seeing new birds. 

Every single list of new birds in a year is always going to be special but I am really happy with this years’. It has included 4 from my local New Forest, and is a varied list of fairly common species I’ve wanted to see for ages and really rare birds and has blended twitches and the I think more exciting completely out of the blue sightings and its been a good mix of beautiful species. I’m always thrilled in a year if I can just see one new bird and for a while this year it looked like I only would see the Great Grey Shrike which I saw in January, as I had to wait for May for the Stilt Sandpiper the next one and in this time my focus was more towards the amazing list of year ticks many of which are rarer birds and ones I haven’t seen often to make this a fantastic year. But now after more extraordinary moments I have seen 7 new birds this year which I am absolutely over the moon with. 

Obviously when I got started in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 nearly everything was a life tick for me. So as 2010, 2011 and 2012 arrived as I began to do year lists too the numbers of new birds in a year died down and looked to be more like under 4 and under per year. However in 2013 we explored many new habitats and destinations and saw 16 new birds many of which were ones we really ought to have seen before but just didn’t have the habitat. In 2014 my record year list and I guess I could argue my greatest ever birdwatching year I saw another 16 new birds. These 2 years were extraordinary and I knew I couldn’t match it again surely but I did see 8 incredible new birds in 2015 and the 7 this year which are part of a truly amazing birdwatching year for me and I just feel so lucky.

My Bird Year List 2015: The Highlights

I included my birdwatching of 2015 and my bird pictures in my 10 Wildlife/Photography Highlights of 2015 blogs (which are recapped in my next Tumblr post, but these are the links to those 2 http://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/133350024055/my-10-wildlifephotography-highlights-of-2015-blog & http://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/134410694505/my-10-wildlifephotography-highlights-of-2015-blog ) but I timetable these to go out between the middle of November and start of December. So the birdwatching blog went out a while ago and I’ve since seen 2 more new birds and seen growth in my year list. So as part of my New Year’s Eve tweets and posts I felt like reviewing my year list specifically and mentioning the highlights. It’ll be condensed from my original highlights post, which you can read from the links I posted above.

Firstly the first 5 pictures in the photoset are in order my top 5 in my Wildlife Photo of the Year, which are all birds. The pictures are my Wildlife Photo of the Year the Mute Swan flying, 2nd place the Kestrel and 3rd, 4th and 5th the Coot and Chicks, Ring-necked Parakeet and one of my favourite birds the Fulmar. It’s been a really good year for flying bird pictures for me. The next 3 pictures are 3 of my new birds seen this year, Lesser Whitethroat, Greater Yellowlegs and Hoopoe.

My bird year list had a total of 168 this year, which I was absolutely thrilled with. It meant it levelled my 2013 total, making it my joint second highest year list ever and it’s not too far behind my 2014 record of 177. Like I’ve said a lot I didn’t know how I’d do this year with less visits to certain places and other factors, but it was just as amazing as the last 2 years. I really have seen some fantastic birds, and in my next 3 paragraphs I’ll mention the new ones for me this year, the favourite birds of mine I’ve seen as well as other highlights. I have to say I enjoy doing a year list because at some stage it makes you appreciate every bird, especially in the first few days and weeks where Woodpigeons and Blue Tits are exciting to see. I think these first few weeks blend twitching and birdwatching together, and I look forward to getting started on 2016 over the coming days. I don’t know what I’ll get in 2016, but I think even if I don’t see many new or special birds I will still take pleasure from building the year list. Since 2013 I’ve structured them in chronological and not alphabetical order and this makes it more exciting as you never know what’ll be added next. It’s interesting and really exciting to see which bird will beat another to be on the year list first, and there are birds which I’ll see for only the 2nd or 3rd time ever or get an unusually good view of and this makes a year tick just as exciting as a life tick.

Life ticks always stand out on a year list though, and this year I got eight great ones; Ring-billed Gull, Surf Scoter, Hoopoe, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow-legged Gull, Yellow-browed Warbler and Siberian Chiffchaff. All made me happy, the Surf Scoter and Yellow-browed Warbler were special and it was great to get pictures of the Lesser Whitethroat and Greater Yellowlegs, but the Hoopoe was just in another league. What a bird it is and I got such a special and close view. All new bird experiences apart from the last 2 are mentioned in more detail in the first link above to the original highlights post.

I managed to see 20 of my 24 favourite birds this year; Common Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Gannet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Tawny Owl, Buzzard, Osprey, Pochard, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Kingfisher, Dipper, Cuckoo, Sedge Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Great Crested Grebe and Little Egret. I love seeing them all of course but I have to say I had especially good experiences with the Fulmar, Osprey, Tawny Owl, Little Egret, Dipper and Great Spotted Woodpecker this year.