Day out at Dungeness 16/12

Had a good day out at Dungeness with Rich and Dante today. We had a six and a half Caspian Gulls - two first-winters (a really nice one and a less nice one), two third-winters and two adults plus a hybrid first-winter.

Most of these were scattered around Burrowes Pit at the RSPB reserve during the day, although the better of the two first-winters showed well near the fishing boats for a little while in the morning, albeit not long enough to really blow it away - but thanks to Martin for letting us know about it. Numbers were generally quite low around the fishing boats today, presumably due to the settled weather conditions.

First-winter Caspian Gull, Dungeness, Kent, 16 December 2017

I also managed a few photos of the hybrid, a bird that I assume is, as Rich would say, 'German muck'. At a distance it looked quite Casp-like but, on better views, clearly wasn't, looking much more like a Herring with some Caspian qualities at closer range. It's quite a washed out bird and, in flight, looks pretty Herring-like with a huge window on the inner primaries. Underwing was pale, being a latte colour.

Caspian x Herring Gull, Dungeness, Kent, 16 December 2017

It was otherwise a very pleasant, if cold, day's birding around the Dungeness peninsula. We enjoyed singles of Long-tailed Duck and Slavonian Grebe at Lade Pits, a pleasing 16 Bewick's Swans and a flyover Merlin from Cockles Bridge and Great Egret, two Ravens and six Goosanders on the RSPB reserve.

Fuerteventura, 8-10 December

Fuerteventura is a cheap place to visit in the depths of winter and, with its targets all relatively easy to see, it can comfortably be cleaned up in a weekend. With little else on for the second weekend of December, I'd booked flights with Jet2 from Stansted (£130 return including a hold bag) at the end of November.

Fortuitously, a few days after booking, the Western Palearctic's fifth Dwarf Bittern was found just a stone's throw from the airport, and it was no surprise then that this proved the first target on arrival on Friday afternoon. I was accompanied by Ed Stubbs, who'd been tempted to book his flights when the bittern broke, and we were enjoying this mega Afrotropical vagrant within minutes of arriving on site on Friday afternoon.

Dwarf Bittern, Llanos Pelados, Fuerteventura, 8 December 2017

Also here were a couple of pairs of the local race of African Blue Tit, at least five Fuerteventura Chats (the first I'd seen since I was a young lad on holiday with my parents), several Egyptian Vultures and a variety of waders including Green Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers. As it transpired, this was actually one of the birdiest spots we visited on the entire island - no wonder it's produced both the bittern and (apparently) Allen's Gallinule in recent weeks.

Ed had booked a very reasonable apartment in Puerto del Rosario (£20 pppn) - dodgy door aside, it was excellent value. After some tapas and a few cervezas with Ed and Alan Lewis, we got our heads down.

We were at Tindaya for first light and had soon bagged a couple of Houbara Bustards - a new bird for both of us. We saw a total of five, but none was really close enough to be well photographed. Just a single Cream-coloured Courser was seen plus a handful of flyover Black-bellied Sandgrouse and the usual Southern Grey Shrikes, Berthelot's Pipits, Lesser Short-toed Larks and Trumpeter Finches. It was then back to the airport to collect Rich Bonser and chauffeur him to the bittern which, again, was showing on arrival - sounds like we've been quite lucky as there are stories of birders waiting for hours. The bittern showed terrifically, albeit in the strong early afternoon sunshine, as did a pair of Fuerteventura Chats.

 Dwarf Bittern, Llanos Pelados, Fuerteventura, 9 December 2017

Fuerteventura Chats, Llanos Pelados, Fuerteventura, 9 December 2017

We spent some time searching sites along the coast, all of which turned to be absolutely pants, so we headed over to the reservoir at Los Molinos. Here there was a throng of noisy Ruddy Shelducks, a male European Stonechat and a few Spoonbills and Snipe.

Ruddy Shelducks at Los Molinos, 9 December 2017

Another pleasant evening of Spanish cuisine and beers followed, with another early morning start at Tindaya on the Sunday producing at least four more bustards and, finally, a showy one that walked across the track in front of us.

Houbara Bustard, Tindaya, Fuerteventura, 10 December 2017

The less said about the rest of the weekend (i.e. waiting in airports for delayed flights), the better.

Pre-Christmas Iceland Gull

Best bird of a couple of days' searching around Peterborough was this juvenile Iceland Gull at Dogsthorpe Tip on 23rd. I was genuinely surprised to see it drop in to the pit given how scarce both white-winged gulls have been up to this point. Despite good numbers of gulls, nothing else of note seen - not even any Casps.

Masked Wagtail

Britain's first Masked Wagtail (Moticilla alba personata) was identified in the small Pembrokeshire village of Camrose earlier in the week. While not (yet) a split, this particular individual was a real looker and it seemed rude to pass on the opportunity of joining Richard Bonser and team and heading west this morning.

The bird performed well on and off from around 08:20, often to within just a few metres as it fed on the road and along driveways. It seems very settled here, familiar with its surroundings and it would be surprising if it doesn't spend the winter here. It's a fantastic bird too, and well worth a look - tick or not.

Thanks to Rich for driving.

Masked Wagtail, Camrose, Pembrokeshire, 3 December 2016

Iceland Gull in Hammersmith!

I went for my first bike ride along the Thames for a couple of weeks this morning in the hope of finding a Caspian Gull. I had a Lithuanian Black-headed Gull at one of my usual spots in Chiswick (I'll blog about this bird at a later date) but only about 30 large gulls, so decided to continue east past Hammersmith Bridge and down towards Fulham.

This turned out to be a good move as I stumbled across a juvenile Iceland Gull among about 80 large gulls on the river adjacent to the Wetland Centre. This was actually the first time I'd biked down here this winter and it was nice to find a new spot for loafing gulls at low tide - Chiswick has generally been poor for numbers of large gulls in the past month.

Initial views of the Iceland Gull, Fulham, 2 December 2016

Eventually the bird showed pretty well, although steadfastly refused to show any interest in the four loaves of bread I threw at it. As such the scope for flight shots was minimal (I only grabbed a few as it flew past me towards Hammersmith) and I had to make do with perched shots at an awful angle and against a typically grubby Thames background.

After about half an hour the bird decided to fly off west upriver, over Hammersmith Bridge (thus in to my regular 'patch'!) before turning north and disappearing off over the West London skyline. It turns out that this is the same bird seen by Pete Alfrey at Beddington on 24 November and then by Dave Harris in the Island Barn Reservoir roost on 28th - not that that's surprising, given that there are so few Iceland Gulls in the country at present.

A white-winged gull with Hammersmith Bridge in the background - the stuff of dreams

Japan 2015 day seven: cranes and eagles on Christmas Day

25 December 2015

An early flight from Tokyo saw us arrive at Kushiro airport by mid-morning and, with a few hours to kill before the daily feed was scheduled to take place at Akan Crane Centre, we decided to make the short journey in to Kushiro to explore the port area for gulls.

Although there wasn't much snow on the ground the skies were grey and the temperature hovering just below freezing, and it was no real surprise when it began to snow a short while after our arrival - my first truly 'white' Christmas!

Kushiro harbour was busy despite the date, with plenty of trawler activity attracting hundreds of gulls. Quickly we found our first Kamchatka Gulls of the trip off the main pier, with birds of all ages performing well for the camera as they came in for our bread and popcorn handouts.

Adult Kamchatka Gull

Rather unlike Kyushu, Slaty-backed Gull was by far the commonest species. Among the hundreds gathered were a few tens of Glaucous-winged Gull and about five Glaucous Gulls, with all three species looking particularly striking and imperious as the snow fell. Over the next hour or two we happily papped away in what was a great session for photography - despite the minor issues with auto focus caused by falling snow!

 Slaty-backed Gull appreciating our offerings

Slaty-backs chasing a dumpster truck out of Kushiro harbour in the snow

A couple of Black Scoter were seen distantly but the commonest duck in the harbour was Greater Scaup though there were a few Harlequin Ducks and Goldeneye present and about 10 Goosanders at the nearby river mouth. Our first Hokkaido eagle - 'just' a White-tailed - landed on the outer breakwater.

Female Greater Scaup

With time pressing we decided to head inland (via a food stop at 7-11; these convenience stores proved staple to our daily diet) to Akan. On arrival around 70 Red-crowned Cranes were showing very well from the viewpoint. By early afternoon the skies had cleared and the cranes looked simply stunning against the blue skies and snowy backdrop, even if the experience did feel a little dudey. Generally peaceful in their antics, scuffles and display would occasionally break out among the gathered birds.

At 14:00 the feed began and a bucket load of fish was thrown out. Within seconds up to five White-tailed Eagles appeared from nowhere, swooping down to grab the offerings and giving absolutely outrageous views as they did so. The cranes acted quite aggressively towards the eagles as a peaceful scene became utter mayhem in the space of seconds. The eagles, evidently wary of the cranes' flying limbs, rarely paused to enjoy their meals and soon flew off to the safety of nearby trees. This spectacle was over in little more than ten minutes, and serenity soon returned.

We enjoyed the delights of Akan for the rest of the afternoon, focusing almost entirely on photographing the cranes as well as we could. The light changed quite frequently as banks of cloud rolled over and mist occasionally began to rise, allowing for photos to be taken in a range of conditions.

I went for a little wander late on and came across a Grey-headed Woodpecker giving excellent views near the captive crane pens - the only individual of the trip. Other birds included Willow Tits, Jay of the race brandtii and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

With darkness falling we made the short drive to our accommodation in Tsurui where I was very quick to head for the onsen to warm up. After that we we treated to a superb Christmas dinner, consisting of several dishes of traditional Japanese cuisine - a fitting end to a fine first day on Japan's northerly island.