Rain!

The Thames Water hosepipe ban started yesterday. Like a good citizen I went out into the garden and tidied away the hoses and the sprinkler I've been using on the vegetables and pots lest they lead into temptation. The water butts are full, the watering cans are out, and I am ready.

It was inevitable therefore that last night the heavens opened. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, and as I typed this early this morning it continues to bucket down (29mm recorded by 1pm) What passes for my lawn already looks greener. This is but a temporary respite, we need much, much more to replenish stocks of water in the south-east. Not that anyone really needs a hosepipe for their garden much beyond September, but I expect that the ban will last for much longer. I've read a few interesting stats about water recently. They are all from the internet, so caveat emptor and so on, but:

- Since the water industry was privatised by Mrs Thatcher over 30 years ago not a single new reservoir has been built in England. Some, like Abberton, have been enlarged, but nothing new has been constructed.

- The water companies have paid around £60bn in dividends to shareholders since then.

- At the current rate of investment and repair each water pipe needs to last for 2000 years. The lifespan of the newest PVC pipes is 100 years. Somebody else's problem I guess.

- I could run a hose for 73 years and use less water than Thames Water loses in a single day to leaks. 

No doubt this is not the full story, but it seems a bit rich (which incidentally is what water companies and their CEOs are) to impose restrictions when these companies have singularly failed to plan for the future and instead just pocketed huge sums of money. Mind you did anyone expect any different? Of course not. What can I do about it? Nothing. The modicum of good news is that whilst reading up about hosepipe bans I discovered that dripper hoses on a timer are exempt. I use a couple of these to efficiently water a bed of ferns and a bed of semi-tropical plants - palms, bamboos and agapanthus - so that is one less thing to worry about. But I have huge numbers of plants in pots, two greenhouses, and a vegetable patch that I am now going to have to water by hand whilst continuing to pay Thames Water a pile of cash. Excellent.

Today's saturation should mean I get a few days off, but various plants in the greenhouses will still need doing and somehow I am going to have to find more time to get round them all. In normal weather it is fine. When it is in the high 20s my greenhouse gets to well over 40 degrees and whilst my plants in pots love this it means they dry out very quickly indeed. Many are drought-tolerant, but it is easier on them if they have water. On the plus side the heavy rain has highlighted a few leaks in the conservatory, so there is less watering to do in there.... 

Twitch on!

A couple of weeks ago I went on another twitch. This is the third this year, and they have all had one thing in common. Well, two things in common. One, they have all been successful and not dips. And two, they have all been ridiculously straightforward and essentially stress-free. This one was the easiest yet, although as the bird in question was a Gull it was of course totally rubbish. Yes indeed, the Grafham Water Kelp/Cape Gull, a first for the UK. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen many firsts - Eastern Crowned Warbler in South Shields sticks in the memory, but that might be the only one. Oh, hang on a minute - Acadian Flycatcher at Dungeness is probably another. Regardless, it does not happen often, and generally I dislike the air of desperation/madness/grown men losing their shit that accompanies such things and so avoid them. This however was just too easy to pass up.

Yuck

I would not have known about it all had Tony not put out a message on our patch chat group. Whilst I do have BirdGuides I don't know why I do as I hardly ever look at it. All the mega noises it has been making recently have been to do with the Shrike and the Albatross and so I came to ignore it. However the Wanstead messages make a different "bong" and I was on to that straight away - it might have been a Redstart!. But it wasn't.

"Cape Gull anyone?"

You what?! I've seen this species in South Africa, and the nominate Kelp Gull in Argentina, but never in Cambridgeshire..... Anyhow, as we all know this was not a wind-up, and a decision was made within about two minutes. Sunday morning, no plans, Grafham Water under an hour a half away, no traffic issues and a hulking great scabby Gull that was unlikely to move. We could be back mid-afternoon and continue our lazy day as if nothing had happened. And that is exactly what panned out. There is no point stringing it out or trying to build suspense. We drove there, saw it immediately, and came home again. I think I was drinking a Daquiri in the garden before 4pm.

Fulfilling? Well, ish. I mean it is clearly a very rare bird (here) and I do not see very rare birds very often. It was just pleasing to have it all go our way with no drama whatsoever, to snaffle it so quickly and be home almost before we were missed. The bird showed extremely well, and because we were quick off the mark there were no issues with wacky races or with parking, nor a particularly enormous crowd (it was nice to see a few familiar faces from Shetland, including a birder from the SW who got there only marginally after we did!). We were in and out within an hour, within the first parking fee band in fact which was great as I loathe paying for parking. The other day I got picked up at Edinburgh airport and the fee for the short stay was £9!! Highway bloody robbery I tell you. Anyway, so simple, and when the Gull decided to fly further up the reservoir to a reeking trout corpse we decided not to follow it and instead go home for celebratory drinks.

First for the UK = Two drinks. Like I need an excuse.

Four Redstarts

Unusually there were no Redstarts found on the patch this spring. All to play for then. Last week the first arrived on Wanstead Flats. I went to look for it and dipped, and it is alleged that other birders ticked a Chiffchaff! Today solved the issue for everyone, with four birds, possibly five, spread across the Flats. Rob found the first in the SSSI - handy as I was birding in the Brickpits about two minutes away. By the time I arrived he had found another, with both birds shimmering in the same bush, tails a-quivering. Nice. 

Meanwhile L & G had found another along Centre Path, a smart male. Could this be a three Redstart day? No, or at least, not yet. Although the bird had momentarily vanished, another had been seen up at the Enclosure. This too had disappeared by the time I got there, but had been replaced by a Pied Flycatcher, presumably the same bird that has been giving me the runaround the last few days, and I finally got some decent and prolonged views. I fancied there was some more activity beyond this bird though, back out towards the brooms, and skirting round the side and out again the first thing I set eyes on was the male Redstart. They are just superb in this plumage, even if they are not quite as glossy as they would have been earlier in the year.

The others gradually assembled, and when the male flew out of the Hawthorn a female/juv type followed it. Surely different to the birds across the road, I'd been on the patch less than an hour and seen four Redstarts! Late on Nick came across another male near Alex, which is likely a fifth bird. Wanstead Flats is simply sensational at this time of year, and I can't wait to get out again tomorrow and see what else is there!

Signs of autumn

The patch has looked like autumn for many weeks - dead brown leaves, fallen before their time, carpet most of the copses as the dessicated trees are unable to maintain them. The bird life has of course remained decidedly summer, i.e. dead, and as is customary I completely avoided the patch in June. And for all but the last week of July actually, which I can't recall doing before. I was just busy, and by the sounds of it I did not miss a great deal.

Naturally it started getting interesting as soon as went to Fife, with the first Tree Pipits, Redstarts and Flycatchers arriving. I am back now, of course just as Fife starts getting interesting! The Eden estuary has had a Spoonbill, the East Neuk has seen multiple Pomarine Skuas, and there was a two Great Shearwater day at Fife Ness which is basically unprecedented. C'est la vie I suppose, but I have been venturing out here in Wanstead instead and it is beginning to feel good.

Before work the other day I scooped up three Whinchat and three Wheatear together by the model airfield, and a Yellow Wagtail went over south which was my first of the autumn. It's not quite the flock of 40 that Abberton got, but I am still of the opinion that Wanstead Flats consistently punches well above its weight during migration season, particularly autumn. There was also a briefly exciting moment when a "Plover" was mooted on Alexandra Lake, reported by a non-birder and possibly talked into it! I was working from home and was able to take the time to hop on my bike and rapidly pedal down there. As I arrived I heard a Common Sandpiper call. Still, all waders are good round here - my 39th Common Sand on the patch in coming up to 20 years birding here, which gives an idea of their scarcity.

A bird from long ago....maybe this weekend I will take my camera out with me?

On the day that the Thames Water hosepipe ban was announced we had a deluge locally, and this has lent the area a new lease of life. It is still a myriad of shades of tan and brown, but the air feels humid, there are clouds overhead, and birds are appearing and finding food. After work yesterday I came back across the Flats, encouraged by earlier news of Flycatchers. I did not take long. I struck out at the birches, a favourite haunt that had hosted a bird in the morning, but at Esso Copse a familiar dash of muted brown resolved into a handsome Spotted Flycatcher. Quite mobile, a short while later it flitted towards Long Wood and as it did so a second bird followed it, I fancied greyer than the first. I followed both! In the part of Long Wood we know as the Enclosure I had the briefest view of a Pied Flycatcher before it disappeared, and pretty soon I could once again see a bird perched up prominently on the outer edge of Esso Copse again. Joined by Nick (long time no see), this turned out to be the Spottie again, but the Pied had vanished. Meanwhile James found both species together at Alexandra Lake, so we are a little confused as to how many birds there actually were. Definitely two Spotted Flycatchers, but potentially just one very mobile Pied. Equally there could have been three, so I think we are going to settle on two. Science in action.

So the next few weeks are the good ones, and generally they make up for all the crap ones. We need to make the most of it!

Another from the extensive back catalogue. This is really easy!

Meanwhile in Fife

I went up to Fife again at the end of last week to check on the old folks. They are doing fine of course, so I just went birding. Mostly I visited Letham Pools, and this time I remembered to take a photograph, aware that my last attempt at Letham bloggage rather stupidly forgot this key item. So here it is at about 6am one morning, during a thunder storm. I actually went every day - wader season is upon us and the mud is looking rather fantastic. During my time away in London, or rather, whilst I have been leading my normal life at home in London, I missed White-rumped Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper at Letham, but I have now added a consolation Greenshank. I am back there again soon, so fingers crossed.

Usually I bird on foot from the road, but here I am sheltering in the back of the car

I visited every morning I was there, I just really like it. The Snipe numbers were particularly impressive, with 30 there most days, as well as up to nine Water Rail all out in the open feeding. Black-tailed Godwits were in the shallows, Common Sandpipers skittered around the place, and on one day no fewer than five Greenshank were present, a site tick for me. On the day I had also been to North Queensferry for Tree Pipit vizmig, when I dropped in at Letham for a few minutes before starting work three Tree Pipits also buzzed over the pools - a multi-dimensional site!

Three of the five Greenshank, with a Snipe

Sunrise from Ferry Hills watchpoint

Fife remains a superb place to go birding, though while I was there is was quieter than I had been hoping. I did manage to quickly nip to the Eden Estuary for a late evening Pectoral Sandpiper, though we all know I would have preferred to see it at Letham... 

However the most exciting birding moment was after lunch on Saturday on my parents' terrace. I had just taken the final sip of rosé when I heard a familiar cronk and heading towards the house were two large black dots. I dashed inside for my bins, discarding sunglasses and hat in a mad rush, and returned in time to see two Ravens fly majestically north past the house. I only saw Raven for the first time in Fife last year, but they are on the increase in the Kingdom as I also had a pair at Largo Bay at the start of this year. Given I also jammed Jay from the garden in January, that completes my expected patch Corvids. Unless a Hooded Crow would like to relocate.... more chance of that than a Chough I suppose.

Albatross!

The Black-browed Albatross currently/recently residing at Bempton Cliffs remains on of the best birds I have ever seen. I had the opportunity to see it again a few weeks ago. Notionally the prize was the Turkestan Shrike that had appeared in basically the same place, though not with Gannets. That was all fine, always go see Shrikes, even if someone fleeces you for £10 to stand next to a pile of rusting old boilers and assorted junk. Guardians of the countryside, pah. It showed pretty well, though not as well for us as it did for some, and we went away poorer but nonetheless happy with the result of seeing it and not dipping after a four hour drive.

I had woken up at 3.15am and had taken Bob as far as Stansted. From there Bradders Birding Tours picked us up along with co-guide Howard, and we made our way north. As is customary I slept for most of the rest of the way, waking up briefly for coffee and breakfast, but essentially contributing only a regular and I would like to think calming soundtrack. Shrike present and corrrect, yes yes, but actually we all just wanted to go and see the Albatross again, or in the case of Bob and Howard, an Albatross for the first time in decades. I suppose it is possible that this is the Hermaness bird from all those years ago, they are very long lived as everyone knows, but somehow I doubt it.

It was there (it is not always) and it was glorious. Initially asleep on the cliff it got booted off by an unimpressed and angry Gannet and flew quite a way out. That might have been it, but after an ego-restoring period on the water it got up and flew lazily back to the cliff before flying figures of eight right in front of us for what seemed like ages. What. A. Bird. Mesmerising.

The return journey also saw a fair amount of sleeping, and the guys were good enough to wake me up for a quick stop at the Idle Valley where a convenient Caspian Tern had been hanging out. Ol' carrotnose was still doing precisely that, and we enjoyed it flying around for a bit whilst adding to the day list. I don't do a great deal of twitching these days, but days out like this with (had I been awake) good company and wonderful locations are sometimes just the ticket.

Madeira May 2022 - Day 2

 After a spot of birding at our hotel, followed by admiring the cycads and dodgy Mute Swan in the Parque de Santa Catarina, we made our way to Funchal Harbour for our wildlife watching tour on a RIB. It had not been possible to book a true pelagic (note to self, book pelagics then book flights). Plan B was a generalist two hour trip which should actually have been described as dolphin watching. Not that this was not very cool, it was, but we were there for birds and they basically play second fiddle to racing after pods of dolphins that have been spotted from land. 

Despite being first in the original queue, we ended up last in the final getting on the boat queue. This was a blessing in disguise as the rearmost seats meant we could stand up without getting in anyone else's way, and could also brace ourselves against the wheelhouse. Despite all the annoying dolphins (we saw Common Dolphin, Striped Dolphin, and Atlantic Spotted Dolphin) we got excellent views of Cory's Shearwater, and I mean really really excellent. We also saw a few Manx Shearwater, and, ever alert, I managed to pick up a single Bulwer's Shearwater although the views only lasted for about 20 seconds as it hightailed it behind us. The message is clear, if you want to get the Madeiran sea birds on those all-important lists go on a proper birding trip. That said, this was only about €40, rather than the hundreds the pelagics cost, so if all you want to do is pap a few Cory's then this could be for you.

After a quick lunch on the corniche we headed up to the Palheiro Jardim, high above Funchal. I had not known about this spot as a place for Trocaz Pigeon, and was put onto it by eBird reports - not only do you not need to go way up into the mist-laden laurel forests, but you also get far better views of this tiny population that have chosen to live here. And the gardens themselves are rather nice for a pleasant stroll too, especially if you like plants. And frogs. For those of us that like plants and pigeons AND frogs....

All from South Africa - Protea and Strelitzia

The site was true to its fame, amazing views. Patience was needed, but eventually we managed to get close to a bird feeding on the ground and could get the kind of photographs that we wanted. Versus the grey blobs I had taken before this was incredible frankly. The gardens also had Madeira Firecrest, Madeira Chaffinch, gazillions of Blackbirds (also a sub-race) and was one of the most birdy places we went. Recommended.

We then headed higher, into the Ribeiro Frio. Here we saw more Trocaz Pigeons, and many more Firecrest, but the photographic opportunities were nowhere near as good. At the Balcoes viewpoint we witnessed the very finest of British tourists, an elderly couple that hated each other, and were generally amused by the very tame Chaffinch flock as well as the spectacular view. I also took a video call from my mother who had no idea I was even there, and was able to share it.

We spent the final part of the day at the Pico do Arieiro, the highest spot on Madeira that you can get to, to watch the sun set in the west over the peaks. We were not the only people with this plan.... but there is a big car park and plenty of space, and it was rather fun. We also found some Red-legged Partridge and an extremely friendly Berthelot's Pipit to help while away the time spent waiting. In the end the sunset was rather a muted affair, ruined by pesky clouds. At least there weren't any dolphins.