Mighty Midget 2 ED - A quick review

Birding is a hobby you can enjoy for virtually no cost - £50 will buy you a perfectly reasonable pair of binoculars, £10 a field guide, and perhaps £2 for a notebook.

Unfortunately, there are also many many ways in which you can spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds, and I, like so many birders of my acquaintance, am weak.

So the latest bit of kit is an Opticron Mighty Midget 2 ED travelscope, a small scope designed to fit into a pocket or shoulder bag as I walk around the patch (my main scope, plus tripod, weight about 4kg and so don't tend to get brought out on longish patch walks).

I use an hdf zoom eyepiece on it and together they provide a very impressive optical set up. Bright and distortion-free up to 30x or so, getting darker after that but still perfectly usable up to 36x. A Cullman shoulder pod is almost an essential accessory, making the MM2 an absolute pleasure to use (no more panicking to pull down tripod legs).



I have used the MM2 for some handheld digiscoping - the best so far is this Chaffinch, taken at Draycote Reservoir. With adaptor, shutter release and so on I am sure I could get better pictures, but that is not the point - this is a lightweight take anywhere bit of kit, so handheld is the way to go - record shots and stuff for The Hornet's Nest mainly.

The only problem I have is with cases and lens covers. The eyepiece cover was abysmal - cheap plastic, loose fitting, and I lost it this morning as I knew I soon would. There is also no stay on case available, just a 'grippa' case which doesn't cover the lens hood or eyepiece. My only solution for now is to employ the grippa case with a baby's sock pressed into service as an eyepiece cover.

It might be a great bit of kit, but I don't half look a 'nana now!

All purple at Ufton, Napton and Brandon

I took some of my own advice this morning and again broke my normal patch routine. Having awoken reasonably early (6.20am being, in my book, not a bad effort for a Sunday), I decided to go to Ufton Fields and see if the early-ness of the hour helped me fare better than generally of late. And lo and behold, it did. I'm not claiming that the place was stuffed to the gills with rare warblers, passage waders and the like, but it was certainly livelier than I had seen it for a while. Ufton is a difficult place to bird anyway, largely comprising dense woodland and pools with a shortage of obvious viewpoints, as well as a path that follows the circumference of the site, leaving a large interior area in which the birds can remain endlessly hidden. However, today was pretty good, with 80 or more House Martins twittering high over the site when I arrived, and trees seemingly dripping with young Goldcrest. I was also delighted to find my first ever family party of Bullfinches - two adults and two juveniles, issuing strange wheezing calls which made me think more of grebes than finches. A Marsh Tit, three Jays and a Kingfisher were among the other high points. I then moved on to Napton, which apart from demonstrating once more how windy it can be, offered little of note. Time, I figured, for a man of action such as myself to head off in search of... a huge breakfast. So to Brandon, which, like Ufton Fields earlier this morning, had gone purple - with purple loosestrife in fact. This spiky purple flower is covering anywhere with a bit of moisture at the moment, and splendid it looks to - as this Mallard photos show. As for the birds, this was a quick visit after my (excellent) breakfast - two Green Sandpipers on Carlton Pool, along with two Little Grebes, 30 Lapwing on East Marsh Pool, the regular Barnacle Goose (below), a Kingfisher flashing across Goose Pool, and great views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. My final sighting of the day was a toad, sitting on the East Marsh track next to a huge dead slug. After last month's frog photos, this was at least a great opportunity to increase my amphibian photographic portfolio.

Leam Valley - a new perspective

If you are a regular patch birder, may I be so bold as to suggest an idea?

If you've got into a bit of a rut or routine on your patch, as indeed I have, try to do something a little different. Walk a different way round, or follow a different route altogether. Or, as I did tonight, visit a favourite spot at a different time of day. It really does bring a new perpective to somewhere very familiar.

I've got into the habit of seeing Leam Valley as an early morning site. I nearly always try to be there before seven if I can, and hate being late. Perhaps I'm getting old and grumpy, but I love the peace and quiet before the dog walkers arrive. I've also seen some cracking birds there at the crack of dawn.

For evening walks I tend to favour Ufton Fields, which is close to home, has good paths and is easier to walk around. Perhaps this is why I have such a hard time finding good birds at Ufton - I must try a really early start there.

However - back to tonight. Tonight I went for an after work walk around Leam Valley and saw a very different place to the one I thought I knew. The hedges and woods were quieter, with just a few Blue and Great Tits, a few juvenile Chiffchaffs moving noisily through and the occasional song from a Robin or a Wren.

The scrape was alive, more than 70 Mallards or Mallard-hybrids being joined by 30 Canada Geese, a pair of juvenile Moorhens and a Grey Heron. As I made my way back to the car, four Jays flew past one by one, a Green Woodpecker called loudly, and Wood Pigeons, Carrions Crows and Rooks returned to local roosts.




As a final reminder that I was seeing a different side to this favoured part of my patch, a soft mist began to rise off the fields at about 7.30pm, creating an eerie atmosphere in the fading light. A Barn Owl would have suited the occasion marvellously - sadly, it never appeared.

Napton Reservoir

The weekend has been decidely autumnal, with high winds and constant rain.

I made a quick trip to Napton Reservoir during a break in the rain this afternoon, and was delighted to find the place abuzz with House Martins, Sand Martins and Swallows.

They were all low, some flying past me at waist or even knee height. The Swallows, many of them young, patrolled the grass edges or sat on nearby fences.

The House Martins tended to be over the water, but also flew along the banks at high speed. The Sand Martins, perhaps a dozen on more among the 100+ birds in total, were patrolling the water - but even they came extremely close to me, giving best-ever views of these delicate little birds.

Out on the water, a pair of Great Crested Grebes were notable for the lateness of their nest building - I hope that the weather improves in the coming weeks if they are aiming to raise a late brood.

House and Sand Martins at Brandon

Made an early morning visit to Brandon Marsh today, and found the place swarming with House Martins, particularly over East Marsh Pool, but also down to River Pool.

Closer inspection revealed a few Sand Martins among them, always a nice find because of their general scarcity round here. The conservation team at Brandon built some years ago an artificial sandbank, hoping to attract them to nest, but sadly no joy yet.

Among other highlights were a Little Egret flying overhead, a couple of Green Sandpipers, hedgerows full of juvenile Chiffchaffs and a Reed Warbler which perched right in front of the hide for a minute or so.

More Yellow Wagtails

I found more Yellow Wagtails tonight, this time at Ufton Fields. So after four years without any Yellow Wags on the patch, two lots have now turned up within five days of each other.

These birds were by the IBM Hide - I heard one and saw a second on top of a hawthorn bush by the path. This enlivened a generally quiet after-work stroll, as did the Green Woodpecker which exploded noisily out of the grass near my feet and scared the bejesus out of me at one point.

'Treeps' and 'Yellow Wags' on the doorstep

Two classic, but sadly scare, farmland birds this morning - and both within 1.5km of my house.

In a field of sheep and horses, not far outside Radford Semele, I found my first ever patch Yellow Wagtails, three juveniles with two adults close by. They were running around in the short grass with some Pied Wagtails, sharing the rich pickings of insects drawn by animal droppings.

Closer still to my home were a party of Tree Sparrows, including a juvenile. These are charming little birds which I see only occasionally in this area.

Sadly both species have been in serious decline, probably due to changing agricultural practices. The Tree Sparrow is on the RSPB's red list for conservation concern, having declined by more than 90% since the 1980s, and the Yellow Wagtail is on the amber list with numbers having fallen by 80% over the same period.

Although these bald statistics don't tell the whole story (see here for evidence of long-term historical fluctuations in Tree Sparrow numbers, for example) I am sure it is right for us to be concerned and to see what we can do to help. This part of Warwickshire is something of a stronghold for these beleaguered species, and all of the landowners who provide suitable habitat in which the birds can live and thrive, whether intentionally or inadvertently, have my thanks.

Black-tailed Godwits at Brandon

My good run of late summer birding continued tonight, with 10 Black-tailed Godwits circling above me at Brandon Marsh.

These large waders are easily identified in the air by their long, straight bills and wide white wing bars. They had evidently been feeding on East Marsh Pool for much of the day, and were leaving as I arrived.




Along with the 'Blackwits' I found eight Green Sandpipers (one pictured top left), a Kingfisher, a Barnacle Goose (pictured above bottom, an irregular visitor to Brandon, almost certainly an escapee rather than a true wild bird), Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, and plenty of Lapwing and Grey Herons (above right) among the other regulars.

I also gave my new scope, an Opticron Mighty Midget ED, a good run out. Small enough to fit in my pocket, but with a clear wide 18x magnification, it is the perfect lightweight bit of birding kit. It also allows me to take snapshots without lugging loads of camera gear around - just a little Contax pocket camera held up to the eyepiece. Given the poor light, I'm very pleased with the efforts above.

Spotted Flycatcher at Ufton Fields

After a successful early morning at Leam Valley, I pressed on to Ufton.

A good move indeed, because although things started quietly, I soon found a Spotted Flycatcher perched on a hawthorn bush near the IBM Hide.

This little grey bird is pretty non-descript in appearance, but somehow manages to convey bags of character. They are not at all easy to find in Warwickshire these days, so I have been fortunate to locate them in several parts of my patch in the last year or so - here at Ufton, at Offchurch, and in and around Cubbington Woods.

Little Ringed Plover at Leam Valley

Perfect patch birding - this morning I found three Little Ringed Plover on the scrape at Leam Valley.



This is by no means a common bird, and certainly not one I have found here on my many previous visits. In fact, like the Little Egret I reported on a few days ago, it is a species I have only previously found in Warwickshire's major bird reserves - Brandon (where pairs have successfully bred in recent years), Kingsbury and Draycote.

Now here, at 7am on the outskirts of Leamington Spa, were three more. One female with two juveniles - a few days if not more apart in age, with one moving into adulthood and the other still bedecked in downy feathers. The female was every inch the concerned mother, calling constantly to ensure her youngsters stayed in close proximity. They, children through and through, remained content to feed non-stop, ignoring her rising-falling calls, and even failing to notice when she flew away all together. She was, of course, back within moments, unable or unwilling to leave these two little birds alone just yet.

These plovers were of course the result of a successful breeding attempt, perhaps somewhere else in the county, and were now starting to move on, preparing for the long journey south (because the Little Ringed Plover is a migratory bird, a summer visitors only to these shores).

These beautiful little birds were of course the highlight of the morning, but an honoury mention should also go to a Brown Hare I spotted at the far side of the scrape at the same time - I am always fascinated by these mammals, and delighted to see them.

Little Egret at Wootten Wawen

A lunchtime stroll in Wootten Wawen (a Warwickshire village just outside Henley-in-Arden) found a Little Egret busily feeding on the edge of the manor house pond.

While still quite an unusual sight in Warwickshire, this elegant white heron-like bird is certainly becoming more common across the UK, even breeding in a number of coastal locations (I think Poole Harbour may have been the first). Over the last decade or so, the warmer climate seems to have helped this species to spread north from its former southern European strongholds.

It is still rare enough, however, to make it a rare lunchtime treat, with Wootten Wawen now only the fourth Warwickshire site in which I have seen a Little Egret (after Ladywalk, Brandon Marsh and Leam Valley).

Garden action from the Swallows and Starlings

There has been much frantic activity of late in the skies over Chez Hornet.

As the flying ants take to the air, so do the Starlings, post-breeding flocks of 200 or more birds determined not to miss out on a feast and convinced they are at least the equal of any flycatcher. It's an annual favourite of mine to watch them launch into the air, hover for a few frantic seconds while snapping at the ants, and then descend for a brief rest before repeating the whole process.



Meanwhile, the Swallows from the nearby farm have also bred successfully, and the skies over the house are filled with adults and juveniles alike. They often rest on the wires outside the front of the house, affording great views and generous photo opportunities.

With Swifts screaming overhead, House Martins chattering among them, and a persistent Wren or two in the garden, there's a veritable orchestra to enjoy at this time of year in the garden.

Napton and Ufton - neglected corners

My local patch is basically defined by two waterways - the River Leam which snakes first north and then east from my home, and the Grand Union Canal, which runs directly east. Along the river to the north are some familar villages, such as Offchurch and Cubbington, and also the great Warwickshire woodlands of Princethorpe, Wappenbury and Ryton. The canal route makes its more direct route towards two outlying and much neglected treasures in my patch - Napton Reservoir and Ufton Fields.

Napton today was alive with fishermen, perhaps a dozen in all around this small body of water. Coot and Mallards aplenty were to be found, along with eight Great Crested Grebe and a couple of Common Terns - firsts for the patch. My favourite bird of the morning (a 6am start no less) was a Common Sandpiper which flew low from bank to bank, doing its best to avoid me but still proving unmistakeable, even at distance.



Ufton is a funny place, often quiet and yet so full of potential. Today there were few birds - some Mallards, a couple of Coot and Moorhen, but finally three Bullfinch and a Green Woodpecker to enliven the walk. But what magnificent dragonflies the place has - brilliant blue and huge like birds. The picture is a cheat - it's of an Emporer Dragonfly and I haven't got a clue if they have these at Ufton. But it looks right, and it certainly conveys the beauty of these creatures. 

A hobby at Brandon

The Eurasian Hobby, Falco subbuteo, is one of my favourite birds - a slender-winged aerial acrobat which can twist and turn like a guided missile in pursuit of dragonflies, swallows, house martins and even swifts. It has brilliant yellow talons which stand out like neon lights against distinctive red 'trousers', and an equally prominant facial 'moustache'.



I've been lucky enough to see these beautiful creatures flying high over my garden, and also hawking for insects across lakes and reservoirs. But tonight I had the all-too-rare opportunity to study one at rest, sitting in a dead tree across from the Carlton Hide at Brandon Marsh. Only a few moments, but priceless nevertheless.

Not having my camera was an added advantage, because it meant I didn't spend those precious few moments fumbling for lenses or shutter release cables - instead I was able to just sit and enjoy. Instead of a photo, I think the picture above does a much better job of showing the beauty of this spectacular bird. 

Good butterfly intentions

For a second year running I intended to find more out about butterflies - and failed.

Not enough time, blah de blah de blah - usual rubbish excuses. However, I'm pretty sure this is a Red Admiral, sitting on a teasel.

 

Frog Attack

No birds in July, but loads of frogs!

The garden pond is now in just its third year, but already it looks pretty natural. A lot of self seeding plants have started to appear, and reedmace, sedge and other introduced plants are starting to spread.

Tonight I sat and watched half a dozen large frogs lounge in and around the margins, enjoying whatever shade they could find as shelter from the oppressive heat. The variety of their colouring is amazing - from light green to really dark browns and greens, all superbly camoflaged against the rocks, mud and grass.

All quiet on the birding front

After yesterday's birdless walk around Brandon, today I thought I'd try a walk around Leam Valley.

Hmmm, some people never learn. Not totally birdless, but about as close as it gets. Plenty of Whitethroat, Wren and Wood Pigeon around, a couple of Chiffchaffs, and a pair of Kestrels over Offchurch Bury were among those birds I did find.

But the Reed Warblers were again the highlight, five or six birds singing and perhaps 20 in all (including juveniles) along an 80m stretch of the river.

Can winter start in July?

Took an early(ish) morning trip to Brandon Marsh today. As expected in July, the birding was quiet.

On the Carlton Pool were the highlights of the morning - four Green Sandpipers, something of a speciality at Brandon in recent years. These little waders are among our earliest return migrants. They have already bred in the far north of mainland Europe and are now on their way south again to wintering grounds in Southern Europe / North Africa (although in recent years, some have actually wintered in the UK).

Which all begs the question - is summer already over?

Leam Valley scorcher

The forecasters got it right - it was a scorcher. 30 degrees plus by lunchtime, so I planned on beating that kind of heat with an early start. It turned out to be not as early as scheduled (alarm at 5.50am, up by 6.30am), but not a bad effort.

Without a car for the weekend, I planned a complete circuit from my house, down to Leam Valley, around the scrape, then right across the Offchurch Bury Estate to Offchurch itself and back via the Millennium Cycleway. A much-needed downpour at first light seemed to have sent insects and birds alike into a frenzy of activity, so all looked set fair.

And indeed it proved to be so, the walk uncovering plenty of uncommon, if not actually rare, sights. Along various stretches of the River Leam I found perhaps ten Reed Warblers (where previously I had only found a single bird in three years), a dozen or more Whitethroat (including great views of a newly fledged juvenile), a quarrelling family of five Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Grey Wagtail picking his way over the lily pads, and several Moorhens including a juvenile.

Other than the birds, I was thrilled to observe a grass snake swimming a short stretch of river before disappearing under a weeping willow. I also noticed a couple of beautiful Marbled White butterflies as I crossed the estate.



In the Leam Valley woods I found some real favourites of mine, several Jays, a pair of Bullfinches (I got even better views on the return leg when I found another pair on the cycleway near Offchurch), a Song Thrush, two Goldcrest (one a juvenile) and a probable pair of Marsh Tits (sadly they made no sound, so I cannot confirm 100% whether they were Marsh or Willow).

Chiffchaffs sang on the Leam / Offchurch leg of the journey, and Willow Warblers on the Offchurch / Radford Semele return (I have no idea why this should be, but the difference was marked). Swallows swooped over the scrape, while a pair of Grey Heron fished. Skylarks and Yellowhammers sang over farmland throughout the walk, their sounds accompanying me through the last mile or so as the temperature soared and I wilted, staggering back into the village after nearly four hours out and about. 40 species of bird recorded and a cooked breakfast in prospect - that's how to start a Sunday.

Birding back home again

I made the usual mistake I afraid - I came back from holiday and threw myself into work, exams, DIY, more work etc etc. And the result? A very stressed hornet indeed.

As usual, the antidote was an early Sunday morning and a walk around the local patch.

Leam Valley was quiet at 6.30am, just the way I like it. Chaffinches and Wrens called out everywhere, joined by a Sedge Warbler as I moved along the River Leam and several Chiffchaffs. A Great Spotted Woodpecker near the river was nice, but a Green Woodpecker drinking from the scrape right in front of me was better.

Skylarks sang high over Offchurch Bury, the land turned blue with flax (also known as linseed). Jackdaws called vigourously, and a lone Swallow flew past. The weir was quiet, all wintering Cormorants long since gone, but male Banded Demoiselles erupted from the riverside grasses, a lovely sight.



A quiet morning by the standards of many birders, but a perfect one for me.