Another one...

Yes, another year has passed; now is the time for reflection of past deeds and for the planning of new ones! First and foremost of my new deeds for this year is to try and post more on here, I can explain away large chunks of my blogging absence by the fact I was living in a caravan at Rutland Water for a few months but more recently Ive upgraded to a wee cottage and equipped it with some internet so no more excuses!

My main aim for 2014 will be my county list. I've always only really cared about county birds and eagled-eyed visitors to the LROS website will notice a new addition to the county listing page - me! I'd never even bothered compiling a county list before - I knew what I had and hadn't seen but had never been bothered enough to put an exact number on it. Now I have and that number is 212 which puts me at the giddy heights of 41st place in the table. I must admit I expected it to be higher - a few months ago I leafed through my Collins doing a quick rough list and ended up at around 230 species, god knows what I'd been smoking that day as the actual number was much lower.

The downside of compiling my list has unfortunately made me want more! I can't help but cast admiring glances up to Mackay, Berriman, Lister & co. all happily sat at around the 270-mark and as a result my main aim for this year is to increase my county list as much as possible. So I'll set myself a challenge. This time next year I'd like to be on 230 species. That makes 18 county ticks required this year, quite a big ask! The task is made slightly easier as there are several relatively easy-to-see species that I should be able to add without too much bother although this will unfortunately find me moving into the dark (or should it be dirty grey?) world of gulling.

The following species should be relatively easy;

Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Caspian Gull
Wood Warbler - will probably require a twitch but the species is still annual in Leics & Rutland
Corn Bunting - a few small colonies remain in the outskirts of the county

My list has a big, fat void around the area of seabirds and with some favourable weather and a little luck I could possibly add any of the following

Gannet
Manx Shearwater
Any Skua
Storm Petrel
Eider

And the following are certainly possible and/or have been recorded in the county in the past few years

Red-necked Grebe
Ferruginous Duck
Lesser Scaup
Honey Buzzard
Stone Curlew
Dotterel
Rough-legged Buzzard
Hen Harrier
Monty's Harrier
Cattle Egret
Great White Egret
Glossy Ibis
Water Pipit
White-winged Black Tern
Red-backed Shrike
Hooded Crow
Red-footed Falcon
Savis Warbler
Snow Bunting
Lapland Bunting
Wryneck

If I get all of the above I shall have achieved my goal but lets face it, I certainly won't!
That leaves stuff of a rarer calibre that might just turn up;

Broad-billed, Baird's, Terek, Marsh, Stilt Sandpipers
Dowitchers
Bluethroat
Small Gulls - Ross's, Bonapartes, Sabine etc
Two-Barred/ Parrot Crossbill - especially with the influx of rare crossbill this winter
Squacco Heron
White Stork
Purple Heron
Black Kite
Rosefinch

so...plenty to be getting on with. Although even by some miracle I did manage to see all of the above birds, I'd still be around 10 short of the Leicestershire big-listers. No fair!

After all that waffling have a rubbish photo of a Brambling I took near Barnsdale yesterday

And a less rubbish photo of a Little Owl taken whilst not seeing a Great Grey Shrike near Hungarton the other week

In recent weeks/months I've also seen the Great Grey Shrike that Paul Riddle found at Harrington (thanks Paul!), the Black-throated and Great Northern Divers at Swithland and Rutland respectively and had a trip to Norfolk where a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen whilst inspecting storm damage at Brancaster. Update done!

#3 Birds!

Third and final installment. The way things have been going lately expect another blog post sometime around August. I'll look forward to it ;).

Despite feeling like I've not done much birding this year I've seen a fair bit I suppose, I've only been on two birding related trips (north Norfolk coast and Thetford Forest) but working at Rutland Water really does help with sneaking in an hours birding before/after/during work everyday. The feeding table under the caravan window has also kept me entertained on many cold mornings before work, its nice being able to bird without going outside!
Anyway, no photos were taken on a recent trip to the Thetford Forest so I won't mention that any further but a trip to Snettisham and Titchwell in mid-february was more successful photography-wise so....

Siskin at Titchwell

Brambling in the same place

House Sparrow - actually taken the next day at Ouse Washes

Song Thrush

Dodgy effort at the Long-tailed Duck

Spotted Redshank

No winter Titchwell trip is complete without a shot of a Sanderling bounding along the edge of the surf

After much deliberation we decided this Diver to be a Black Throated - any thoughts or comments would be much appreciated.

 

Other good birds seen but not papped on the day included Bittern and ringtail Hen Harrier

 

The yard list has crept up towards 100 (94ish at the minute) with a recent addition being the Great Northern Diver that was spied miles off towards the valve tower in the North Arm on Saturday afternoon. Good bird that. Whooper Swan was also a welcome addition after missing the last flock to fly up the North Arm. Here's a few other decent birds (and a couple already mentioned!) that have found themselves on the end of a phone-scoping in recent weeks at work;

 

Drake Smew from AWBC

Confused Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes in the North Arm (also both on the yard-list :D )

Intrepid Hide-robin on Lagoon 3

Great Northern Diver off the dam

Scaup with Pochard and Tufted Duck accomplices on Lagoon 1

Rails on the Egleton Meadows - showing very well at the minute - up to 6 birds.

Afforementioned Whoopers from the workyard

 

I've not been at home much this year but a welcome and overdue addition to the garden list a few weeks back was Lesser Redpoll, no doubt enticed into the garden by the shiny new niger feeder that the Hooded Birder purchased a couple of weeks prior. A few Siskin sightings have also helped spice things up after a general lack of them in the garden over recent winters.

 

And finally, Owls.

Seems like ages since I've written anything or uploaded any images of owls but I can break that run today! One thing I can report on is the evident abundance of owls in the area surrounding Rutland Water , Barn Owls are clearly doing well in the area, I'm always seeing them! Normally when I've not got my camera with me but about ten days ago I chanced upon a lovely shot of a Barn Owl in the falling light. Having to shoot through my less-than-clean windscreen was a challenge but I'm quite pleased with the overall result;

 

 

Little Owls have unfortunately not been as easy to find in the area surrounding Rutland Water but I headed out to a site near Lutterworth today and happily found a pair of Owls on their favoured haystack literally gagging to be my new header image!

 

This image and the next three aren't the best I'll ever take but I'd never managed shots of pellet regurgitation before. Behold...

A keen eye can just make out the pellet falling infront of the bale. click for bigger as always.

 

 

 

First of three! Table images!

Hello all, this will be the first of three posts summing up this winters antics in a photographic manner. What I mean is up until now I'd been too lazy to process and upload all of the images I've taken this winter but I've just had a massive sort-out and can finally get some published!

As already indicated this is the first part of three, starting with some photos from the feeding station I've set up in our workyard. Apologies for the quality of some of the images but all have been shot through a dirty/steamy/wet caravan window!

Feeding table Mk1 - with two Jay on it!

Feeding table Mk2 - feeder addition

Feeding table Mk3 - triple feeders! - note the 8 Reed Bunts on the table!

 

Long awaited table-tick for me - Marsh Tit!

Nuthatch!

Brambling

Meet the Dirty Blue Tit - he/she enjoys venturing down one of our tractors exhaust pipes!

Coal Tit

Robin

Particularly resplendant Blue Tit

Pidge

Jackdaws

Reed Bunt

 In recent weeks the table list has gone past 20, with Long Tailed Tit and Greater-spotted Woodpecker being the latest species to fall for the charms of my table!