Paul's Birding Diary

Sunday 29th March 2015 A photo I took of the Brent Goose on The Dumbles at WWT Slimbridge this morning has confirmed it as a PALE-BELLIED BRENT GOOSE , the first in the county since 2006 - pleased with that. It was only present for a few minutes so I was lucky to see it. Cropped version  In other news, I haven't done a lot of birding recently, having been knocked out by the lurgy-flu last weekend. It started brewing on 17th, Linda's birthday, but I was driven to go out in the evening in search of the Aurora Borealis, it being unusually active that evening,  I drove to a dark spot away from the light pollution along the country lanes and stopped at Longney. It was a clear night but with a bit of mist forming. And there it was, green and purple, amazing. The photo doesn't do it justice but shows up more purple than I could see with the eye. Aurora Borealis, Longney On Friday that week, another astrnomical event, this time a predicted one, the solar eclipse. Part...

Saturday 7th February - Sunday 22nd February 2015 Last Sunday I spent nearly three hours in the hide at Ashleworth, watching the GREEN-WINGED TEAL and other birds, and getting quite cold by the end of it. The Teal made a few appearances, but most of the time was out of site. During its active moments it was displaying often among the Eurasian Teal which was quite fascinating to watch. The Green-winged Teal was always rather distant The previous morning I carried out a survey for the Winter Random Square Survey project at Mallards Pike. It's a while since I've been to this site and getting there early I beat the crowds and spend a pleasant couple of hours counting every bird in sight, and sound. Nothing exceptional but 23 Mandarin were a year tick and I found some very unusual 'hair ice' on some decaying Beech branches. Mandarin, Mallards Pike Hair Ice, Mallards Pike Mist rising off the lake at Mallards Pike A couple of weeks back I caught up wi...

Saturday 31st January 2015 Siberian Chiffchaff, Shorncote Heading for Shorncote, conditions weren't promising on a cold, dull, windy, rainy Saturday morning. However, the Siberian Chiffchaff seemed unperturbed and I found it quite quickly after sifting through the other Chiffchaffs present (I counted 10 common in all). The Sibe really stands out and is a text book example. A classic Sibe, and very different from the other Chiffys present Also here were three Cetti's Warblers showing occasionally, and two Water Rails w ere calling. Shorncote I went to WWT Slimbridge later for Mya-Rose Craig's talk, which was fascinating. The furthest I had been by the age of 12 was Bigbury-on-Sea. Mike Dilger's talk on Sunday was also excellent. I still haven't caught up with the Pink-foot, but the two Water Rails were showing very well at the Willow Hide, and the Bank Voles are still providing entertainment near the tunnel entrance. This Water Rail posed nicel...

Friday 16th - Sunday 25th January 2015 Dipper, Painswick Friday 16th I took the afternoon off work to bird, on a lovely sunny, and cold, day. I stopped first at the Horsbere Flood Storage Area just off the Barnwood by-pass/Elmbridge Court roundabout link road. This was my first visit here, which was prompted by the chance to see a Red-crested Pochard relatively close to the city. Besides the drake RCP there was a good range of other birds, including a Kingfisher , eight Wigeon and five Snipe . It's a fabulous habitat, and I shall be returning in the not too distant future. I have a fondness for Horsbere Brook, having grown up quite near it further upstream at Brockworth, and spent many hours trying to dam it! Red-crested Pochard, Horsbere (what is that in its bill though?) Horsbere Flood Storage Area - perhaps one day a more glamorous name: Horsbere Nature Reserve? After Horsbere I headed for Hawling for owls. Three Short-eared Owls were showing well when I got the...

Saturday 10th January 2015 Hawfinch, Forest of Dean A trip out to the Forest of Dean this morning with Andy and Mark was very productive, despite the initially unpromising weather. Early rain gave way to sunny conditions, although the NW wind kept temperatures down. The highlights were a Dipper at Wenchford, 12 Hawfinches at another site, the Great Grey Shrike , a pair of Stonechats and a Goshawk at Crabtree Hill , and seven Goosanders at Woorgreens. Great Grey Shrike, Crabtree Hill Drake Goosander, Woorgreens Early on around Quedgeley near the canal / Clearwater Drive area I saw two Little Egrets , a Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail . Little Egret, Quedgeley A Coal Tit on the garden feeders is the first I've seen in the garden for some time. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker has replaced usual female this weekend; the male Blackcap continues to be almost ever-present at the feeders. Coal Tit, garden After making the most of the day with a 3-mile walk ar...