A Yorkshire break (and a 'bogey bird' breakthrough)

Our latest family weekend in Yorkshire afforded an unusually high number of birding opportunities i.e. more than none.

The first of these unexpected opportunities was at Hellifield Flashes, a typical moorland wetland not half an hour from where we were staying. Having persuaded a reluctant child that a short walk might be in order, I was able to enjoy the spectacle of hundreds of birds gathered round this modest pool - plenty of wigeon, teal, pochards, lapwing, common and black-headed gulls and greylag geese, and then, with closer inspection, a group of nearly 50 snipe, easily the largest flock I've ever found.

That was pretty good, but the next evening I was even more excited as I first heard, and then saw, a tawny owl dashing through the woods as I stood contemplating the night sky. Embarrassing though this is after so many years of birdwatching, I had never until that moment clapped eyes on a wild tawny owl (heard plenty of course). So although it was a pretty sketchy view in the dark, that has to go down as a lifer, and one more of my embarrassing bogey birds dealt with.

Finally we dropped into Brandon Marsh on our way home - nothing spectacular, but a really good volume of waterfowl, including notable numbers of shovellers. A couple of kingfishers flashed past and my weekend was complete (unless you count waking up on Monday morning to find a great spotted woodpecker on my neighbour's feeders, that was a nice start to the week).

Bird of the day: Tawny Owl (Strix aluco), a fairly common resident bird which is made somewhat harder to see by its pretty much totally nocturnal habits. Your only chance of finding one in daylight is to find it roosting, and in many years of birding I've not managed that yet. A shadowy glimpse with two calls to verify will have to do for now. Photo courtesy of ClifB on Flickr -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11444813@N03/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Stonechat at Leam Valley

Tit flocks are an under-rated feature of autumn wildlife watching. Perhaps it's the name - it's hard to explain this point without someone cracking a smile, if not a nudge-nudge-wink-wink comment. Know what I mean?

Still, the fact remains that while the headlines are grabbed by the rare passage migrants (yesterday's glossy ibis in north Warwickshire for example) and the new arrivals that will stay through our winter (the redwings, fieldfare, siskins and so on), the coming together of the various tit species into sizeable foraging flocks can be a spectacular sight.

This morning's birding at Leam Valley was initially saved by one such flock. It had been a woeful start. There were isolated common species here and there around the reserve itself, but really nothing of note - not helped by the extremely low levels of water on the scrape. But as I left the reserve and headed just a hundred yards or so into the Offchurch Bury estate, I walked underneath an oak tree and was suddenly surrounded by scores of birds.

It was a fantastic flurry of colourful activity, blue tits, great tits and long-tailed tits all together, and I stood there for perhaps 15 minutes, enjoying the spectacle and trying to grab the perfect picture (as you can see, I failed). Such was my enjoyment that long-tailed tit looked a nailed on certainty for my coveted 'bird of the day' title - until, that is, a Marsh Tit turned up, a fairly rare sight round these parts. I had a new 'bird of the day'.

So there I was, my day salvaged and about to turn for home. When...

A stonechat! An actual female / juvenile stonechat sat high on a hedge not 20 yards away. Not rare in birding circles of course, but bloody rare on my patch - in fact it has been top of my patch wish list for five years or so! A quick and distant photograph for the record, and my morning was complete. A decent haul in the end included sparrowhawk, green and great-spotted woodpecker, 40 fieldfares (my first big flock of the year) - and when I got home, I found two coal tits on the feeders as well. 30+ species for the morning is a pretty good local haul.

Bird of the day: Stonechat (Saxicola torquata), an upright little bird, slightly smaller than a robin, which loves to show itself from handy vantage points. The male is striking in red, black and white - my female was a little more subdued, but still a lovely little bird.

Napton shines

Today at Napton was more like it - half the temperature of a few days ago, but infinitely better visibility, and many times more birding enjoyment.

Up on the hill I immediately heard, then saw, a raven - mobbed by a carrion crow until the raven finally grew bored and headed away to the east. Soon afterwards, four fieldfare flew by, my first of the year. Elsewhere I found more redwings, blackbirds, a pair of meadow pipits and a female blackcap.

Down at the reservoir, a pair of Gadwall were all that was new on the water. But the fields around the edges were stuffed full of birds - male yellowhammers bright in the sun, meadow pipits all around, a small group of dunnocks moving through the hawthorn, and big numbers of skylarks either singing in the autumn skies or chasing each other low over set-aside fields. The mute swan in the main photo wasn't the bird of the day, but he was the photo of the day as he passed low overhead not once, but twice (just as well, the lens cap was on first time around - smooth!).

Bird of the day: Raven (Corvus corax), the largest of our crows, a truly massive black bird, notably larger than a buzzard. Once confined to Wales and the north, its range is starting to spread east, meaning it is by no means uncommon in Warwickshire these days.

Aha, migration (but where are the rare ones?)

Determined to find the latest arrivals to the area, I headed up to Napton-on-the-hill for a thorough look around - if anywhere in my patch has a record for early / interesting migrants, it's there.

So I arrived at dawn, then scoured the area around the church, the track to the windmill, the embankment, the fishing pools, the quarry and the scrubby woodland. The hour was right, the season was right, what could go wrong?

Well, thick fog for a start. I could see little, and hear even less. Nothing, apart from a very occasional robin and one Mistle Thrush, moved or sounded from 7.30am until 9am. That was 90 minutes of not very much (the deer aside, which nicely broke up the monochrome monotony - anyone know what type it is?)

Still, things livened up a bit from 9am, and I settled in near some berry-laden bushes and watched as first the blackbirds streamed past (20+) and then a similar number of Redwings broke cover and headed across the hill. So, nothing rare, but there they were - the first real evidence of mass migration on my patch this year. And as I left (the sun finally bursting through, typical) I saw one last hurrah from the old guard - a swallow doing two laps near my car before heading off south. Good luck my young friend, see you next year I hope.

Bird of the day: Redwing (Turdus iliacus), a small thrush and one of our earliest mass migrants, visiting us from Scandanavia every winter. Beautifully marked, particularly around the face and eyes.

Migration fever (must be happening elsewhere)

I thought the brisk NW winds might have brought something fresh to my local patch. I was wrong.

Napton Reservoir was quiet all around. The butcher's who manage it have managed to hack back every single bit of vegetation around the small pool at the entrance (see photo, left), so that was understandably empty. On the two main pools there were about 70 Coot, a dozen Mallards, 5 Tufted Ducks, a pair of Great Crested Grebes with three juveniles (one adult with a particularly vigorous appetite, see photo), a couple of Moorhens and a few Black-headed Gulls. The only thing of interest was when four Wigeon briefly dropped in.

Around the edges there were Goldfinches and tit flocks aplenty, a pattern continued when I trecked up to Napton Hill for a look-see. Certainly nothing rare or migrant-y - the highlight here being a Buzzard which made a low pass as I headed back to the car.

And the less said about Ufton today the better.

Bird of the day: Wigeon (Anas penelope), a beautiful winter duck, the male in particular having striking plumage.

An away day at Rutland

Oh, it doesn't get better than this! A day off work meaning a third consecutive day's birding - what an indulgence.

So, with Draycote and Leam Valley covered on Saturday and Sunday, and everyone else in the county now squabbling over a big twitch (Aquatic Warbler in the south of the county), I decided to leave them to it and head out of the county. Having weighed up the relative merits of Slimbridge and Rutland Water (both about 90 mins away, one south west and one east) I settled on the latter in the hope of some good passage waders.

And it was pretty good from the word 'go'. I arrived to be told that four Whooper Swans had dropped in overnight, and there they were, right in front of the visitor centre. Not exactly lifers, but the one I had previously seen always seemed a bit doubtful to me, so it was good to bag four absolutely stone-dead legit birds (non-birders might be wondering how a swan can be anything less than legit - sorry, it's a long story).

Also on that first lagoon was a Black-tailed Godwit (with another five spotted in flight shortly after), a Ruff (distant views from here, much closer a little later on), plenty of Egyptian Geese, Little Egrets and Cormorants, and some Lapwing, Green Sandpipers and Redshanks here, there and everywhere.

Moving on to the next lagoon, I was ecstatic to lock straight on to an oncoming raptor - not only was it a Peregrine doing a low pass in front of the hide, but it was playing with / sparring with a Hobby as well. A real result - although I watched a Peregrine in Derby city centre just a few weeks ago, I never see enough and they must be a contender for one of my favourite birds. And as for a Hobby - I'm not actually sure I've seen one at all this year (a sad state of affairs indeed).

Elsewhere I found a small flock of Golden Plover, a male Pintail and a few Shelduck - none of them rare, but none likely to turn up on my patch too often. And to cap it all, I could add Kestrel, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk to the day's sightings, meaning I had seen five raptors in all - there aren't too many days that can be said.

Bird of the day: Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), a large white swan with a distinctive yellow wedge of colour on its black bill. A spectacular winter vistor.

Patch treasure - Green Sand and Red Fox at Leam Valley

Back on patch this morning, and feeling much better for it - what a great return to Leam Valley.

Over the years I've grown really fond of this local patch of river, wood and scrape, and it's never more beautiful than early on an autumn morning as the mist lays on the flood plains across the river.

It was quiet at 8am, with even the birds only just starting their day. At first there was just a little Robin song here and there, but gradually the Blue Tits, Wrens and everyone else joined in. As I strolled along the river I startled Moorhen after Moorhen - five in all - and Carrion Crows, Rooks and Jackdaws started to cross hither-and-thither overhead. Half way to the hide I had my first real magic moment - a Red Fox just across the water from me. I froze, watched it pounce unsuccessfully, and then moved into position for a photo. It heard the first shot, turned and looked at me, gave me a great second shot, and then it was off into the undergrowth.

As soon as I sat down in the hide and looked out over the low low water and shallow pools, I knew I needed to leave quickly. Not because of any problem, but because far away to my left I could just make out a wader - I needed to get down to the viewing screen to find out what it was! I half-walked half-ran there, waders being a rare treat indeed at Leam Valley. And there, nice and close was a Green Sandpiper - a migrant I had long hoped to find here, but never had. A Leam Valley tick and a patch tick to-boot. Hurrah.

From then on the birding was great. A pair of Teal nosed around the end of the scrape, a flock of Long-tailed Tits flew past and around me, and Jays busied themselves with their acorn storing. Down at Offchurch Bury weir there was at least one, possibly two, Grey Wagtails, a cock Yellowhammer in all its glory, and a Kestrel being persistently mobbed by a Jackdaw. Finally, as I left, a Chiffchaff sang loudly (and a little unseasonably) from trees near the golf course.

Only 28 bird species (plus a fox), and nothing of spectacular rarity. But still my perfect morning's birding.

Bird of the day: Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), a distinctive, contrasty bird (dark on top, white below) and a classic migrant / winter wader.

All quiet on the Draycote front

I'll keep this brief. Got up, went to Draycote, walked all the round with scope, 'pod, camera and all, got... precisely bugger all. Well, pretty much bugger all anyway - I suppose the exercise will have done me good.

Bird-wise it was one Common Sandpiper at Rainbow Corner, four Lapwings around Tofts, four or five Yellow Wagtails along Farborough Bank, a pair of low-flying Great Spotted Woodpeckers belting past me on the road by Biggin Bay and pretty much sod all else (to be fair, I am excluding large numbers of Pied Wags, Coots, Tufted Ducks, Little and Great Crested Grebes, Mallards and Teals).

And the only other thing worth mentioning was one sighting I really didn't need - a fisherman who decided to walk from one side of Tofts Bay to the other via the shoreline of the conservation area. Funnily enough that made a quiet sit in the hide a great deal quieter as all the birds quickly buggered off. Smart work Einstein.

Bird of the day: Erm, Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) at a push. A striking bird and always a pleasure to see, but it really shouldn't be a highlight in the middle of autumn migration :-(

Pectoral Sandpiper and 'barwit' at Draycote

A superb morning's birding.

First of all, Draycote's latest star attraction - a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper - did the decent thing and hung around long enough for me to see it. Despite having been there since Monday, it showed no signs of being in any hurry to move on, and was there to greet me at 7.15am (my earliest start in quite a while). I watched this smart little American bird on my own for quite a while before moving on as the number of birders, and the inevitable photographers, started to grow.

Up at Tofts Shallows there was little to add apart from a solitary Common Sandpiper, so I headed off to Hensborough Bank, my other 'best guess' for a good place for autumn waders. On my way round I found plenty of Yellow Wagtails, a juvenile Shelduck that crossed low over the water, good views of a pair of Meadow Pipits, a Green Woodpecker, hundreds of low-skimming House Martins, a Yellow-legged Gull, and plenty of other diversions. But the wader count looked set to disappoint as Hensborough turned up nothing but a pair of Lapwing.

However, I set the scope up near Rainbow Corner for a final scan, and instantly locked on to a distant godwit - bar-tailed as I worked out through closer examination. So I set myself down on the wall, and waited as it worked its way towards me along the waters edge. Great views of a super wader, and one (I later learned from my records) that I have never seen before in Warwickshire.

With a lifer and a county tick already under my belt, I headed off to Brandon to see whether yesterday's Osprey had hung around. It hadn't, which served me right for trying to push my luck.

Bird of the day: Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), a scarce passage migrant from America or Siberia. To be honest, I enjoyed finding and watching the 'barwit' more, but the Pec's rarity wins the day and secures it my coveted 'bird of the day' award! I've linked my poor picture (it was early and quite dark) to a better set of photos taken by proper bird photographer Steve Valentine so you can see what it looked like. The larger barwit photo is all my own work though, as are all the others (I particularly liked the three Snipes posing on an otherwise quiet morning at Brandon).

A Mersey surprise

A city break in Liverpool afforded us the opportunity of a quick dash up the region's bountiful coastline.

We arrived at Crosby Beach (home to Anthony Gormley's art installation Another Place) at high tide, and watched for half an hour as the tide turned and flocks of Redshank, Dunlin and Knot started to gather on the exposed flats.

A quick dash up the coast then took us to Formby, a beautiful stretch of dunes and pine forest with a real star turn - Red Squirrels. I have been to favoured locations for this rare, and endangered, species before and always drawn a blank. With just half an hour to spend at Formby I wasn't at all hopeful. But as I stood in the car park with a cup of tea in hand, I heard high pitched squeals I didn't recognise (always a good sign), looked up, and there were two Red Squirrels bouncing through the tree tops. Hurrah - instant success and good views. If only it was always like that.

Mammal of the day: Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), the 'classic' British squirrel now sadly decimated by disease, habitat loss and competition from the introduced Grey Squirrel.

Hawker at Home

I arrived home tonight to find this beauty patrolling my drive - a Southern Hawker (unless someone better than I on the subject of dragonflies needs to correct me).

A fabulous thing to find outside your back door - not rare but dazzling nevertheless. To quote the Warwickshire Dragonfly group's website: This is a widespread and common species. It is enterprising and often visits gardens to mature and breed in quite small garden ponds.

Insect of the day: Southern Hawker (Aeshna Cyanea).

Ch...ch...ch...ch...changes

The changes in the weather which had brought in one lot of migrants (at Draycote, see previous post) had also encouraged a lot of other migrants to take the next step on their journeys south. So when I arrived at Brandon on Bank Holiday Monday, there was frankly little to see.

The view from Carlton Hide was desolate. Just mud, water, a few Teal, some Stock Doves in the trees and a line of bored photographers all praying for a Kingfisher. Teal Hide revealed some juvenile Moorhens, and River Hide was no better. Where were all the sandpipers (common and green) and the Greenshank which had been reported all last week?

Sadly now gone, so even the main East Marsh Hide was quiet - the resident waterfowl, plenty of Lapwing, a Kestrel hovering overhead, a line of Black-headed Gulls and... bingo, the flash of yellow leg that revealed the final gull as a Yellow-legged Gull. Not a rarity perhaps, but a scarcity, and enough to salvage a desperate days birding at Brandon.

Bird of the day: Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis), only recently recognised as a species in its own right, rather than a sub species of the Herring Gull. They are the same size as Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and adults have darker grey backs and wings than Herring Gulls, but are paler than the lesser black-backs. The real giveaway (if you are able to catch a glimpse of them) is the bright yellow legs (a Herring Gull has pink).

Autumn birding back on patch

The weather has changed - still pleasant enough, but notably cooler and breezier. That means changes in the local birding.

I went to Napton and then Draycote Reservoirs on Sunday morning to see that for myself. Napton was v. v quiet - just Tufties, Coots, Moorhens, a few Great Crested Grebes (along with three juveniles) and the odd Mallard here and there. But Draycote had some of the birds I was expecting to mark the real start of autumn passage.

First were the Yellow Wagtails, perhaps six or seven dotted around. Then I found one of four Wheatears which had been spotted - these little bouncing birds are a real favourite of mine. In the muddy banks of Tofts Bay were a pair of Common Sandpiper, and all over the water were big flocks of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins, gathering to begin preparations for their long migrations south. A Lesser Whitethroat completed my birding morning, although I reportedly missed a Whinchat by not many minutes.

Back in the village, I was later treated to great views of a Sparrowhawk as it flashed around the gardens and houses, startling everything including our last remaining House Martins.

Bird of the day - Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), a colourful little bird with a bright white rump, similar in lots of ways to the Whinchat I enjoyed so much last week.

About the Broads

A family holiday in the Norfolk Broads provided a few opportunities to slip out birding - and turned up little when I was expecting it, plenty when I wasn't.

Oulton Broads is on the southern edge of the Broads, virtually on the border of Suffolk and Norfolk. With several members of the family having hired the Albion for the week (a traditional Broads wherry), we got ourselves a chalet nearby and headed down.

The area is beautiful, the weather was fine, and around and about us I saw several Hobbies flying over and heard Bearded Tits 'pinging' in the reeds near the Albion's mooring (sadly it was too windy for a chance to see them).

A trip to Minsmere was more than a little disappointing - conservation work in progress meant virtually nothing on the main scrapes (why don't they close for a day a week like they used to?). I did manage to find a few things including a dozen Black-tailed Godwits flying over, but overall the trip was the poorest I've yet made to this normally great reserve.

Which made the next day at Snape Maltings so much the better. Initially a family / shopping trip, it transpired that the RSPB has bought land there and is planning on managing it for nature. I joined the guided tour and was thrilled to find a pair of Whinchat, my first for a long long time, and easily my best views. Unexpected birding is always the best.

Bird of the week: Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), a lovely little upright perching bird with a broad creamy stripe above the eye - definitely don't see enough of them round my way!

Brandon by bike (again)

Another fantastic Sunday morning cycling to Brandon Marsh. There was plenty to enjoy on both legs of the journey - Buzzards calling, Yellowhammer song, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinches all around, and various unidentified forms of fungi and flora.

Once at Brandon I braved the onslaught of shutter noise in Carlton, in an ultimately fruitless wait for a Hobby to turn up (still none this year). Better luck as I left the hide though, as a female Sparrowhawk made a low, showy pass. It was probably her partner who put the Lapwings to flight shortly afterwards on East Marsh Pool, in turn allowing me to notice the Black-tailed Godwit which had been feeding among them. How does a wader that large hide for so long.

And along with that very satisfactory birding (also including Sand Martins, Common Terns, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Green Sandpipers etc), the place was alive with butterlies - these photos of a Painted Lady, a Comma and a Peacock being just three of the lovelier specimens on show.

Bird of the day: Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), a tall, long-billed wader with a distinctive red body and striking white wing bars and rump when in flight. Shouldn't have taken me half an hour to find really.

Cycling and birding - it just works

I start with something I never thought I'd hear myself saying: the cycle ride to a birding destination is often at least as enjoyable as the birding itself, and never more so than in high summer.

How so, and how especially so in high summer?

Well, at any time of year it is a pleasure to enjoy the feeling of liberation that cycling confers - a feeling of motion without undue haste, hassle or cost (either to your bank balance or the planet). There are sights and sounds to enjoy which are a mystery to passing motorists - little byways and alleyways, things just over hedges, birdsong, and people to greet with a cheery "mornin'".

So there is always the danger that after a fabulous 10 miles or so, the birding itself might fall a little flat. And this risk is at least doubled at the peak of summer, when the birding can often be best described as ordinary. No migrants, nothing much moving, birds gone to ground after breeding - you just cross your fingers and hope some times.

Well, by happy chance today was one of the lucky days - great cycling and great birding (mind you, I'd not been out much with either recently, so perhaps I was easily pleased). The 11 mile ride to Brandon Marsh was superb - pleasant but mild weather, the wind at my back, Yellowhammer and Greenfinch calling from every hedgerow, and plenty to see on my way - including an interesting array of fungus which I must go back and inspect more closely.

Things initially seemed quiet at Brandon, but then the birds emerged one by one. A Kestrel then a Common Buzzard. Mallards, Coot and Moorhen of course, and a Grey Heron hunched low in waterside scrub. At East Marsh hide I found 60 or more Black-headed Gulls, black heads rapidly fading, and 200 or more Lapwing. A Green Woodpecker exploded noisily from the grass banks, and around me Reed Warblers could be seen and heard.

Among all of this was a less common, but by no means rare, Ringed Plover, then a Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe and, with a flurry of black, white and orange, and Oystercatcher. Hidden among rocks I found a Common Sandpiper, and while I studied it closely I heard calls to confirm that three Common Terns had just arrived over the water.

I was already pretty pleased with my haul, but a quick trip to Carlton hide added three Redshanks, a Green Sandpiper, two more Cormorants and a personal favourite, Sand Martins. I presume the martins bred here this year, a very welcome development. And of course, alongside all of the birds, there were the flowers and the insects - the stripy caterpillars pictured above caught my eye, but I'm afraid I'm far too lazy to look up what they are.

All superb, and you'll excuse me if I gloss over the cycle ride home - into the wind, some serious uphill work, persistent light rain, and aching knees. I'm just rethinking my opening line - I'll get back to you on that.

Bird of the day: Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), a super little wader with a distinctive comedy bob as it walks, and a diagnostic clean white 'swoosh' up its side.

Summer stuff

Although I've not had the chance to post on my last few trips out, I think they can be neatly lumped together as: nice weather, nothing remarkable on the birding front, plenty of plants and insects to keep me interested (confused). Oh, and lots of insect bites - why am I so popular with them?

I was delighted to find my first orchids at Ufton a couple of weeks ago, the Common Spotted Orchid to be precise. Not that this took any great skill on my part, just the brains to turn up at the right time of year and actually look for them. Forgot my camera though, which makes it all the more fortunate that there were also some in Fingringhoe, Essex, this weekend - hence the picture.

Bird-wise, I'm disappointed to report that I have still only heard one cuckoo this year, and that at Brandon Marsh. Regular spots from previous years, including Ufton, Napton Reservoir and Radford Semele, have all been silent this year. Hmm. I notice that Swifts have been put on the amber list this year as well - sometimes it's hard to stay optimistic about these things.

Anyway, Fingringhoe put on a pretty good show - Nightingales still calling, plenty of warblers around, the usual Curlews and Little Egrets out on the marshes, and lots of newly fledged birds around the place - as with the Magpies in the photo, and the Long-tailed Tit, one of dozens which swarmed past me at one point.

Flower of the month: Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), just how did I get to my age without noticing things like this before - absolutely beautiful.

Sunny May days in Leam Valley

OK, so late May is hardly the top birdwatching season. In fact it can be a bit quiet. But it seems downright churlish to complain on days like today.

Our 'barbecue summer' is back with a vengeance, with the hot hot days making morning by far the best time to be out and about. 7am at Leam Valley was beautiful and a joy, just as long as you weren't looking for anything rare or remarkable (I wasn't).

The birds were in good voice, if a little elusive. Blackcaps and Garden Warblers both showed well, along with a couple of Chiffchaffs - but no Willow Warblers. A male Sparrowhawk drifted low and slowly overhead, while Swifts screamed on high and Swallows dropped down onto the scrape pool to drink. Reed Warblers and Whitethroat hopped around the waters' edge, taking advantage of reedbeds which have really started to come into their own this year.

And although my attention was firmly fixed on the birdlife, it was impossible to ignore the plants and flowers all around. Again, the water's edge was the place to be, with buttercups, oxeye daisies, red campion and bird's foot trefoil all intermingling to form spectacular splashes of colour.

Bird of the day: Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), a relatively common raptor which doesn't often give good views (more often than not it'll be a low direct dash past you before you get binoculars anywhere near your eyes). This was was low, slow and gave superb views before it slunk menacingly back into the woodland to hunt.

What's in a name?

Today's lunchtime stroll around Henley-in-Arden got me thinking about our very human obsession with naming, categorising and organising the world around us.

Why do I work so hard at identifying birds by sight and sound? Why am I starting to photograph and identify the plants I see when I'm out and about? And why am I so ashamed at my lack of knowledge on butterflies, moths and dragonflies?!

Well, today's first sighting didn't take much identifying - the brilliant flash of blue that darted away from me down the stream was clearly my first Kingfisher on this stretch of water for a couple of years.

But as I wandered further, I started to realise that my obsession with naming things was helping me see my surroundings much more clearly than might otherwise be the case. If I didn't know it was White Campion, would I have paid so much attention to the flashes of white along the riverbank? If I hadn't planted a few Flag Irises in my own pond, would I have stopped to admire the stand of yellow flowers by the small pond? And if I hadn't failed to find Ragged Robin on a so many recent outings, would I have even noticed the few whispy pinky flowers just a few feet away (pictured)?

I think not.

The act of naming, of knowing what we are looking at, fulfils many purposes and has many joys, but principal among them is the way it encourages awareness. The very act of putting a name on something compels us to stop and notice it, and in doing so to begin to value it. And that, in turn, makes our world a more joyous place.

Either that or I'm just justifying my own nerdy obsessions. Possible, distinctly possible.

Bird of the day: Yes, there is one among all this, the Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), the unmistakeable flash of blue that enlivens any riverside walk.

So, did I find a Nightingale?

With the option of spending part of my Bank Holiday weekend with family in Essex, I thought I'd dedicate myself to finally tracking down a Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).

This legendary songster is now extremely rare in Warwickshire, so my chances of stumbling across one on home turf are pretty low. Fingringhoe in Essex, on the other hand, must surely be one of the UK's hottest hotspots, with 30-40 males singing there every April and May.

Knowing that the bird is an intensely shy skulker, the first precaution I took was to spend some time listening to an mp3 of its song, in order that I could pick it out when I heard it. The second precaution was to get up nice and early and arrive at Fingringhoe as soon as it opened - Nightingales, like most songbirds, are more vocal and visible at the start of the day.

So... did I find any? Well, I arrived to be told at the visitor centre that I was probably a week too late - not the best of starts. Then I wandered round for 20 minutes hearing nothing but Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap song, interspersed with more common resident species like Wren, Blackbird, Robin and Chaffinch.

And then I heard it. Wow. No danger of not recognising that then. It turns out that the Nightingale is a bit like opera - nice to hear a recording, but absolutely nothing like the experience of hearing it live. It is a spectacular liquid bubbling call, a call that stops you dead in your tracks the moment you hear it. As long as you're familiar with the other loud songsters (notably Song Thrush and Cetti's Warbler), there is no chance of mistaking it for anything else.

So I heard one. I heard four or five in fact. But seeing them was another matter all together. I scoured, searched, loitered, stared, scanned and squinted at bush after bush, but all in vain. Until finally, after 20 minutes spent stalking one particularly vocal specimen, I found him. On the plus side I got a great view, full length from beak to tail. On the downside, it lasted for perhaps a second before the bird dived back into cover.

So, success of sorts, enjoyable but limited. I'll definitely be coming back for more.

Bird of the day: Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), a wonderful voice but not much of a looker (which reminds me, Britain's Got Talent is on in an hour).

ps. I clearly didn't have long enough to get a photo. This one is courtesy of Sergy Yeliseev on Flickr.

Nature notes - a quick update

This is just a quick post to fill in some gaps from various trips and sightings from early May.

May has generally been a lot less pleasant than April, with showers and blustery winds the order of the day. However, that hasn't stopped nature going about its business, and there's still been plenty to see while out and about on my day-to-day travels.

The first Swifts arrived back in Henley-in-Arden on or around 7th May, very much in line with previous years. While driving around the neighbouring countryside, there seem to be more Lapwings over the fields than in previous years, and I'm hoping this marks a return to wider spread breeding due to changing farming practices. Fingers crossed anyway.

On the subject of breeding birds, I put my first ever nest box up in autumn last year, and I'm now the proud steward of a family of Blue Tits. They're going through fat balls like crazy, but it's worth every penny - it's amazing to watch just how busy the parents are at the moment.

The photo is of a bracket fungus on a dead tree where my wife works. It's absolutely amazing and I have meant to photograph it every year it appears. I read somewhere that fungi are more closely related to animals than plants - is that true?

And finally, I missed one trip to Ufton Fields out of my regular trip reports, and it was an important trip for one key reason. I have often been told that Ufton represents my best chance of finding Turtle Doves locally, and while I couldn't actually see any last weekend (10th May), I did hear several birds, softly purring along The Ridge in between the Wood Pigeons. Ultra distinctive and ultra exciting, although I was gutted that 45 minutes of searching didn't throw up so much as a glimpse. Still, never mind - nice to know they're there.

Bird of the week: Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur), a beautiful elegant bird with a soft, distinctive purr. Sadly rare these days, and still in decline.

Siskins in May (and in my garden!)

The thing about birding is that the unexpected rarely turns up when you're expecting it (stick with me for a moment, that's more profound than it sounds).

If I trek off to a 'hot-spot' reserve looking for something rare or unusual, I'm not often surprised - if only because someone else will invariably have found anything rare or unusual before I get there, and emailed / blogged / forum-posted / told me directly about it.

Tonight however, a quick glance out of my kitchen window genuinely surprised me when I was least expecting it.

My usual glance up from the sink might reveal House Sparrows on and under the seed feeders, Blue Tits on the fat balls, a few Starlings squabbling on the bird table, a couple of Wood Pigeons loitering suspiciously near the veg plot, and then the occasional Blackbird, Dunnock, Wren or Greenfinch to liven things up.

What I wasn't expecting to see tonight was a pair of Siskins on the niger seed feeder. These are relatively common passage or winter birds, but extremely rare (as far as I know) in Warwickshire as breeding birds during our summer months. The latest I've ever seen in the county before were on February 27th, so this pair is either extremely late leaving, breeding locally or... what? Any thoughts?

Bird of the day - errr, that'll be the Siskin (Carduelis spinus), a lovely little finch which should be a long way west or north of here at the moment!

Napton Reservoir - Scalped?

I saw this article about Naption Reservoir, insects and biodiversity in the Leamington Courier and got very depressed.

I know that last year's cutting back of the water edge vegetation had a damaging effect on habitat for nesting Sedge Warblers and the like, but this article reports on the subsequent damage to insect life and wider biodiversity.

Napton could be a great little habitat if properly managed - let's hope British Waterways gets moving on trying to "encourage biodiversity while still ensuring compliance with the reservoirs act".

An irritating pest in Cubbington Wood

Birdwatchers, like mosquitoes and many other irritating pests, favour watery habitats.

I think the logic goes like this: while it is usually possible to find non water-loving birds near water (in the hedgerows, fields and woods nearby for example), it but all but impossible to find waders, waterfowl, kingfishers or other water-dependent birds unless there is actually some water to hand. Thus, with the odds of a good morning's birding swung firmly in our favour, we flock like thirsty warthogs to the nearest water holes.

I like to think that a lack of watery habitats is my main reason for not not visiting Cubbington Wood more often. Sadly I think it may also be down to the fact that my (ir)regular route is quite a long walk - all too often my head and heart say "good idea" while my legs and stomach say "why not take a quick stroll rounds Leam Valley / Ufton / Napton Reservoir / Brandon, and then slope off for a quick fry up?"

Well, today my head and heart won. Spring is a great time to visit woodlands, so with the promise of warblers, wildflowers and wilderness, I set off on my stroll.

The walk starts at St Michael's Church is Weston-under-Wetherley and sets off towards the wood across farmland which is voluntarily managed for nature - broad and shaggy hedgerows, wide grass margins full of wild flowers, and permissive paths to allow everyone to enjoy the fruits of this enlightened regime. The farm in question has a sign at its entrance promoting Leaf - Linking Environment and Farming, a wonderful initiative that makes so much different to a simple stroll through the countryside. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - thanks guys.

So, from the church past the farm to the wood, through to South Cubbington Wood, up to Cubbington itself through fields of rape seed, turn right across more fields and a road to reach the edge of North Cubbington Wood, then back to the church via the road. A nice walk, and no more than 90 minutes of anyone's time.

And what did I see?

Well, the highlights of a rewarding walk were a bird, a flower and mammal. The bird was spotted early on the walk - a bright Yellow Wagtail in a horse / sheep field near the farm. This a wonderful little bird which I always expect / hope to find and then rarely do - in fact I've been successful only two or three times in my five or so years on this patch. I was thrilled.

Then into the wood, where I found myself surrounded by the most wondrous carpet of blue. These, of course, were bluebells, the original English variety and splendid to behold, whichever way one turned.

And finally the mammal. As I paused to read a sign near the north tip of North Cubbington Wood and rabbit darted to the edge of the wood, saw me, skidded, turned and darted back, pursued by a beautiful Red Fox. With respect to the rabbit, it was the Fox that wins my 'mammal of the day' nomination - what an animal.

So there you have it - a lovely walk, great flora and fauna, beautiful surroundings, and an environmental success story to boot. I really must get to Cubbington Wood more often.

Bird / Flower / Mammal of the Day: Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) / Common (English) Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) / Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), all brought great joy to my morning.

Immigrant Song

I had the misfortune to have a BNP leaflet pushed through my letter box the other day - a misfortune indeed since no one wants to find a pile of excrement on their doormat first thing in the morning (or indeed at any other time of the day). After allowing myself the briefest moment to be thoroughly sickened by the lies and bile, I did the only thing a decent human being could - I tore it into tiny pieces and submitted it for compost. At least some good may eventually come of it in this form.

I only mention the incident because it came back to me when I realised I had just spent the most beautiful Warwickshire morning surrounded by African immigrants. Birds of course, and I'm pretty sure even the BNP doesn't object to bird migration, but who knows what idiocy their stupidity and lack of basic human decency might lead them to?

Anyhow, back to the birds. Brandon Marsh was alive with recently arrived migrants. The warblers included Reed, Sedge and Willow, Chiffchaffs and Whitethoats, as well as the resident Cetti's. All were singing loudly, but sadly there were no Grasshopper Warblers reeling along with them. Over the Newlands reedbeds I saw Buzzards being mobbed and a pair of Kestrels courting, and then I headed off to the pools.

Here I found more recent arrivals - a Ringed Plover and a pair of Little Ringed Plover, a pair of Oystercatchers, three Redshanks, five or six Common Terns, and a small flock of Sand Martins. It was a lovely morning with good weather, good company and plenty of variety. And I finished on a thoroughly 'English' note - my breakfast being of the full English variety. Nothing wrong with this sudden outbreak of patriotism of course, because patriotism isn't the same thing at all as nationalism - as has been often said, a patriot loves his country while a nationalist hates the other person's country. It is a distinction people would do well to remember before stuffing leaflets through my letterbox.

Bird of the day: Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius), a beautifully marked migrant wader with a striking orange eye ring.

The nature garden

When I bought my house six or seven years ago, part of the appeal was the garden. It's a decent size, it was then a blank canvas (entirely laid to lawn except for a couple of mature trees at the bottom), and it is close enough to open farmland to have decent potential as a nature garden.

Now, all those year's later, I'm finally getting to grips with it. The smart family end near the house looks OK, with flowers and shrubs doing what they are supposed to. But it's the nature area that excites me: with wildflowers like Red Campion in abundance; a mature and natural-looking pond stuffed to the brim with newts, frogs, toads and myriad insects; bird visitors aplenty; Pipistrelle Bats in the summer months; and the odd surprise every now and again.

We've enjoyed a couple of those surprises in the past few days. Our irregular Mallard pair (a sure sign of a mature pond!) have been back more and more frequently, much to the delight of Charlie; and then tonight I got dragged outside into the garden by my wife to investigate a loud rythmic snuffling sound. Fortunately it wasn't the rapid dog we both feared - instead by torchlight we found a pair of amorous hedgehogs availing themselves of the shrub bed nearest the house. I hadn't actually seen a hedgehog in the garden for a few years, so I'm delighted to have them back.

Mammal of the day: European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), Britain's only spiny mammal. Generally solitary and non territorial, but mighty loud when 'courting'.

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Blackcaps at Leam Valley

April 2009 has been far from the cruelest month in Warwickshire - despite the occasional storm it has generally been warm and bright, a welcome respite after the relentless grey of a British winter.

Today has been no exception - to prove the point, I have just come in from pottering around the garden in shorts. Taking advantage of the unseasonable pleasantry, I was out this morning for a spot of birdwatching at Leam Valley.

The changes from my last visit were largely in the type of birdsong. The Great Tits and Song Thrushes that dominate in late winter / early spring have now been replaced by Blackcaps and Wrens, plus the relentless Chiffchaffs.

In fact today was the day of the Blackcap, with five singing males all giving good views, and one shuffling past with a female in tow.

The Blackcaps were the highlight of a generally average trek round the reserve itself, so I headed off down to Offchurch Bury for a bit of variety - and was instantly rewarded with a Green Woodpecker, a male Bullfinch, a cock Yellowhammer, a couple of Skylarks and an unidentified pair of wagtails (I see a fair few greys down there, but this looked to have a shorter tail - perhaps it was the yellow I've looked there for in vain for so long).

Bird of the Day: Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), a common and distinctive warbler with a lovely little song that sounds a little like a hurried and confused Blackbird (to my ears anyway).

Essex boy - Abberton and Fingringhoe

I took full advantage of a weekend in Essex with trips to Abberton Reservoir on Saturday and Fingringhoe reserve on Sunday.

The weather was grey, cool, windy and even momentarily wet on Saturday morning, although it did brighten significantly by lunchtime. The hostile weather meant that standing on the causeways wasn't much fun, so although I lingered long on the first (finding nothing), I paused only briefly on the second. I soon scuttled back however, when the visitor centre boards told me there were four summer-plumaged Slavonian Grebes close by!

Sure enough, I found three of the four just 20m or so from the roadside, and braved the wind long enough to admire this showy little specimen and take a (very bad) record photo through a furiously vibrating 'scope.

All in all it was a grand morning, with 50 or so species on show including: Cettis Warbler, Bullfinch, Linnet (a pair of a bird I don't often see these days), Ruddy Duck (among a full complement of wildfowl including lingering Goldeneye), Egyptian Goose and a fantastic low-flying displaying piping pair of Oystercatchers.

Sunday was a completely different day, with beautiful weather from first to last. It made for a virtually perfect morning's birding, from which highlights included: a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a Carrion Crow for 10 minutes or more, eight or more little Egrets on the salt marshes, Red-legged Partridges courting loudly and visibly all around me, a flock of Sandmartins overhead (my first this year), Blackcaps singing all around, and (out in the estuary) big flocks of Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Redshanks, gulls of all kind, Black Brant Geese, Curlews and Oystercatchers.

Bird of the weekend: Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus), only my second sighting, and my first in 'proper' plumage. A small but striking grebe with wonderful yellow 'ears'.

Crossover birds

More 'good birding without going birding' in March.

This is a great time of year, because it includes those few days, perhaps even a few weeks, when the various migrant types 'cross over' - that is to say the first of our summer migrants arrive while the last of our winter migrants are still with us.

That means that I can be welcomed on to the Preston Bagot canal towpath by one of the year's early Chiffchaffs (my single favourite thing about spring) and then enjoy the spectacle of 30 or more raucous Fieldfare flying over nearby fields. The Chiffchaff has just arrived, the Fieldfare will soon be heading north, but today they are both with me in this little part of rural Warwickshire.

Elsewhere I continue to see birds wherever I go - a Red-legged Partridge by the A45 / M42 roundabout nr Balsall Common; a Treecreeper landing just feet away from me on a lunchtime stroll (and a second - sadly dead - Treecreeper outside J's office); Lapwing wheeling over fields around Warwickshire, and also low over a Newbury road as I headed down for a meeting; Buzzards pretty much wherever I look (by far our most common raptor around here); and my first Swallow of spring, a notably early specimen on a telegraph wire outside Henley-in-Arden today (31st March). In fact, the Swallow beat my previous earliest Swallow by a full two days.

Bird of the post: Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), the most elegant of the hirundine species, and a proverbial harginger of summer. 31st March is pushing it a bit to claim summer, but it's still a wonderful sign of what's just round the corner.

Henley-in-Arden miscellanea

Occasionally I get away from my desk for a stroll at lunchtime. Even more occasionally I find a bird (or two) of interest. Last week's finds made it a red-letter week indeed.

First of all, a quick turn down by the river (just downstream of the medical centre, if you know the area) turned up the male Mandarin Duck which had been reported a few days earlier. OK, so it's not exactly a native, and I wasn't the first to find it (that shouldn't matter, but it just does) - but even so, it was a mighty fine sight to brighten up a grey February lunch hour.

Slightly more 'authentic' was the walk I took, a couple of days later, down the canalside from nearby Preston Bagot. There was plenty about - three or four Great Spotted Woodpecker vyed for territory and attention (I suspect it wasn't me they were trying to impress); two Buzzards tried to continue with their circling, soaring courtship while ignoring the irritation of mobbing crows; Wrens hopped through the tangled undergrowth; and Long-tailed Tits flitted pinkly (that may not be an actual word) through the trees overhead.

But the star birds of the day, as so often at this time of the year, were the Siskins, in this case perhaps 80 or 100, my biggest flock of the year. These beautiful little finches fed furiously on alders at the canal's edge, allowing me to watch for many minutes until a passing jogger caused them to erupt in a explosion of pingy squeaks (it's not easy explaining sounds with words, so just bear with me here).

Bird of the week: Siskin (Carduelis spinus), a most exquisite little winter visitor to these parts, most commonly found feeding on alder trees near water.

Leam Valley

A quick Sunday morning stroll round LeamValley today.

Plenty of Song Thrushes letting rip (approx half a dozen), along with Great Tit song everywhere. Other highlights include a tree full of Siskins (the riverside alders as normal), a Kestrel, a Buzzard, a male Bullfinch, a pair of Tufted Ducks on the scrape, and a not-often-seen Coal Tit near the hide.

Bird of they day: Coal Tit (Parus ater), dullish brown tit which is locally common, but I don't see enough of them to get bored!

Brandon by bike

Brandon Marsh, the flagship reserve of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, lies on the eastern edge of Coventry, about 12 miles from my home. Perfect cycling range in fact.

So, with a free weekend to spare and no car, it was the perfect opportunity to test the route I had planned - out via Offchurch, Cubbington and Baginton, and back via Weston-under-Weatherly, Hunningham and Offchurch. I'm delighted to report it's a great route - a few hills to test old knees, of course, but basically fairly smooth, with not too much traffic on a Sunday morning and plenty of countryside to enjoy. 23 miles at 11.5 mph is a pretty good workout in my book.

Cycling really does make the journey as enjoyable as the destination. I passed fields full of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling, a Yellowhammer popped up among the Blue and Great Tits, and Buzzards, Kestrels and Jays passed close by. Once I got to Brandon I found a reserve only just 'waking up' from its icy weeks, the water still milky white in places and one or two of the smaller waters still iced over.

From East Marsh Hide I watched a full array of 'winter ducks' - Tufties, Mallards, plenty of Shoveller, a couple of Pochard, a few Teal and the odd Gadwall here and there. Among them were the usual Coots, Moorhens, Greylag and Canada Geese, Black-headed Gulls and Cormorants. But there were also less common birds to arouse the interest - a pair of Goldeneye, three Snipe, a Cettis calling behind the Carlton Hide, and, from the same hide, a lazy close fly-by by a female Sparrowhawk.

On the way back to the visitor centre (where I enjoyed a full English breakfast with which I won't bore you) I heard a tiny little sound which turned out to be a Water Rail foraging among the watery undergrowth. Since I haven't seen one for at least a year (too lazy to look up exactly how long), I was absolutely delighted. Even if I did have a 12 mile ride home to look forward to.

Bird of the day: Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus), a beautifully marked bird which is reasonably common but scarcely seen, due to its secretive habits and love of densely-packed reedbeds. See here for details on the Water Rail from the RSPB.

Birds, birds everywhere

No birding of late, and horrendous weather - snow, ice, wind and rain. But there have certainly still been plenty of birds around.

The garden has seen an infrequent Fieldfare over the last week, a very rare event indeed. Among the flocks of other birds driven in to gardens by the cold weather has been a male Blackcap, and we have also enjoyed a pair of Song Thrushes, hopefully getting ready to breed nearby.

At work I have seen a Treecreeper down by the River Alne (along with Redwing, Long-tailed Tits and Chaffinches aplenty), Bullfinches in the trees outside my office, and yesterday a Goldcrest in the clematis hanging to the side of our building.

Meanwhile, a drive through any country lane in Warwickshire at the moment is likely to take you past Lapwing wheeling low overhead and Buzzards sitting by the roadside waiting for the big chill to end.

Bird of the week: Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), the largest thrush, a superbly coloured bird found more often in the open fields and trees around my house than in the garden itself. A welcome splash of colour in a drab grey February.

Back at Napton

After a couple of hundred miles, the legs and the lungs are starting to cope better with cycling. This is great news - it gives me more range, a more enjoyable experience, and of course more opportunities to combine cycling and birding.

Today was brilliant. My trip from Radford Semele to Napton and back was 24 miles in all, cycled at an average speed of 10.8mph, up almost a full mph since I started cycling. I saw loads of birds as I travelled (including a patch first), enjoyed a nice walk around Napton Reservoir in the middle, and then arrived home in time for tea and buns - hurrah!

So, to the birds. As I left Offchurch and headed for Hunningham, I saw a flock of 200+ Lapwing in the fields away to my right. When I stopped to watch these, I was extremely excited to find an even larger flock of Golden Plover swaying and swarming above the Lapwing. In fact I stopped to watch their interplay for more than 10 minutes - these were the first Golden Plover I had ever found on the patch.

Moving on I found a couple of Buzzards, plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing, hedges full of tits and finches, Skylarks singing, great views of a Meadow Pipit on a roadside spoil heap, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming.

Once at Napton Reservoir, things looked quiet at first - the usual Tufted Ducks, Coots and Mallards, with nine dozy Pochard lazing in reeds at the back and a single pair of Gadwall. But then a Cormorant flew over, causing me to look up and see at the same time a pair of Snipe circling fairly low over the reservoir. They continued for 30 seconds or so, giving great views of their distinctive profile before diving into the reedbed.

As I left I found Bullfinches in the hedgerow, and then two pairs of Mistle Thrush (one at Stockton, one at Long Itchington) on the way home. Top cycling, top birding.

Bird of the day: Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria), a real winter treat for inland birders. These waders are often found with Lapwing in large numbers, feeding on winter fields and flying overhead in tightly co-ordinated flocks if startled.

Abberton's unexpected Bittern

A trip to my mother-in-law's in Essex meant a free Saturday morning to enjoy the best that Essex birding could offer. And in her neck of the woods, that really comes down to a choice of three - Fingringhoe, Blackwater Estuary or Abberton.

I had no plans to leave early, but when I finally did get up just before 8am, the weather made up my mind for me - it was wet and it was windy, and the two coastal destinations were just to exposed to appeal. So Abberton Reservoir it was - a bit of shelter, a few hides, and plenty of wintering birds. In the event, I needn't have worried about the weather - it brightened up beautifully. But I'm still glad I chose Abberton.

From the first causeway across this mighty reservoir I spied plenty of Goldeneye, Pochard, Tufties, a huge 'raft' of Coots and plenty more... including a cluster of birders standing together on the second causeway, a half mile or so away. This could only mean one thing - something was afoot.

So I drove round, hopped out, and heard one of the birders telling someone: "and just track along the line of reeds to the left of the weir." So, still not knowing what I was looking for, I dutifully obliged and locked straight on to a Bittern! Magic, one of Britain's rarest birds, a real favourite with most birders - and unlike most of the elusive little so-and-so's, this one was right on the edge of the small reedbed. I just about managed a record snap through the scope, and headed off a happy man.

The day was off to a flier, and it continued to be a belter. OK, so I couldn't find any of the reported 6 Smews (it's a big water, so it's not as easy as it sounds), but I did find Siskin at the visitor centre, more than 120 Curlew in fields nearby, a fabulous glittering flock of Lapwing, a close-to Redshank, scores of Wigeon, Teal, Goldeneye etc, Bullfinches, Goldcrest, Green Woodpecker, winter thrushes, 20 or so Sky Larks tumbling low over a ploughed field, and, my personal favourite after the Bittern, a pair of Stonechats on a reservoir-side fence. Brilliant birding.

Bird of the day: Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), with a special mention to the Stonechat. The Bittern is a smallish brown heron which was nearly hunted into extinction in Britain, but hangs on as a breeding bird in a small number of (mainly East coast) reed beds. These are supplemented in winter by incoming continental birds escaping the worst of the mainland freeze. They are rare, incredibly hard to see in the reeds (just check out the camouflage some time, and a favourite for most birders.

Red-necked Grebe (at last)

Certain birds have always eluded me (a lot, now I come to think about it) - partly it's about being a rubbish birder, partly it's a lack of dedication to the cause, and partly it's a pig-headed refusal to twitch anything further than a mile from my home.

However, on a freezing cold and very windy morning at Draycote Reservoir I finally got another one off that 'elusive' list - Red-necked Grebe. Tucked into a line of Great Crested Grebes it was distinctive enough with its buff neck and head and yellow bill contrasting nicely with the white / pink of the Great Cresteds.

Apart from that I got a few Goosanders, a couple of Ruddy Ducks (not seen any for ages), freezing cold feet and tired legs from cycling into the bitter headwind. Still, the life list is up to a desultory 206 now - it'll be 250 by the time I reach 60 (which is a few year's off yet).

Bird of the Day: Ooh, let me think. I reckon that'd be Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisigena), an occasional winter visitor to inland waters and a welcome sight for sore, cold, watery winter eyes.

Of biking, biting cold and bank voles

The absolutely freezing weather continued into this weekend ('just like winters used to be'), but a New Year's Resolution is a New Year's Resolution - so on to the bike for a bit of exercise and birding.

Friday saw the big ride, a 25 mile round trip to Napton Reservoir via Hunningham and the back roads east of Leamington. It was an exhausting but exhilarating experience - the exhausting being the cycling, and the exhilirating being the birding. I am a total convert - cycling is the only way to bird. You get to see so much more than you do by any other mode of travel - before I'd got anywhere near Napton I'd enjoyed hundreds of Fieldfare, Redwing, Bullfinch, Goldfich and various LBJs flitting from tree and bushes around me, close encounters with Buzzards, Kestrels and Green Woodpeckers, Lapwings flying over Offchurch, and... well, you get the picture.

At the reservoir itself, the cold had left most of the water frozen over. Concentrated in the remaining open water was an unusually high number of Wigeon (around 40) and Mute Swans (14), as well as a few Pochard, Gadwall, Tufties, Coots and so on. The most unusual sighting was the Harris Hawk which was out for a spot of fresh air with its owner - I often see unusual birds at Napton, but sadly they never seem to be official (i.e. legitimately wild). Never mind, it was still a superb bird to look at.

After a day off to recuperate some tired limbs, I set out today on a more modest 12 mile loop to Ufton Fields. The hedgerows were again alive, with Bullfinches, Jays and Fieldfares all easy to spot with their brightly coloured rumps. At Ufton itself the water was nearly all frozen, but huddled in front of the IBM hide was a record number of Teal (24), along with 30 Mallards, a couple of Coot and a Moorhen.

Other moments of note were my first drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker of the year and a Bank Vole which ran out and sat just in front of me for two or three minutes, allowing me best-ever views. Magic.

Glad to be off that saddle though.

Bird of the day: Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) - yeah, I know, but it was great. Told from the Field (aka Short-tailed) Vole by its tail length. My one was over half the length of the animal's body, so definitely Bank. If it had been 1/3 or shorter it would have been a Field Vole. Other contenders too numerous to mention - Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming, record numbers of Teal and Wigeon on the two waters, great close views of roadside Buzzards etc.