Archive News and Pictures - Gloucs & Hampshire - to 30^th April 2009

12^th April. I slept terribly on the Thursday night and had planned an early start for Good Friday but still not having slept 2½ hours before the alarm was due to go off delayed it a day. Waking at 5 and arriving at Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire well before 7 I was dismayed that the previous days glorious sunshine had given way to thick fog and was soon wandering 1000 feet up on a hilltop in 30 feet visibility! Cursing my luck I opened my ears and eyes and briefly saw a Short-Eared Owl through the gloom. I wandered around the outside of the fenced cattle and heather enclosures scanning all the thrushes for the sign of a white breast patch. After an hour or so of listening to scores of Willow Warblers and the heartening sound of Yellowhammers in full song, widened my search and heard the distinctive reeling song of a Grasshopper Warbler. Edging closer I saw the bird, together with a Meadow Pipit in a small tree in the centre of a patch of gorse. That was to be my only glimpse but seeing one before a Swallow or even Wheatear this year will probably not happen for many years to come. I headed back to the enclosures and found more birders who I chatted to and after 3 hours of searching finally saw a male Ring Ouzel as it flew to the top of a tree around 150 yards away. Two others joined it and as quickly as they had appeared, the flew strongly to the far side of the enclosure. I waited for 10 minutes for any sign of movement until a friendly waving birder on the horizon signaled that the birds had been relocated. I yomped up the hill and after another 20 minutes waiting eventually saw 2 feeding on the ground for around 15 seconds before they too disappeared! I eventually left after 5 hours and approximately 1 minutes Ouzel watching but they were a life tick and a successful mission. I had planned on heading to the Forest of Dean but common sense left me after having seen and read about occurrences down in Hampshire. I headed off for my first big twitch and after a 95 mile drive, I arrived at Old Winchester Hill in Hampshire to hopefully pick up my first "Mega"! Parking in the very full car park, I had sort of imagined what would greet me and sure enough an assembled crowd of 50 plus "twitchers" were circling a shrubby patch near the car park hoping for a glimpse. I didn't have to wait long as the vagrant American White-Throated Sparrow soon caused commotion as it firstly called and then appeared, giving fleeting glimpses through the thick vegetation. After five minutes of people craning necks to peer at the bird feeding on the ground, I had moved away, still not having seen the bird, but towards where I thought the bird might appear. I was in luck as it popped out into an unobstructed view which I quickly began snapping and got some reasonable shots considering I had to look into the overcast skies. The bird soon moved back into cover, probably encouraged by the massed birding paparazzi and I then stayed and chatted for a further hour briefly finding the bird once more, before heading home, finally reaching my pre-second-significant-life-changing-event target of 220 species.

19^th April. A quick early morning trip out over to Uskmouth and the Gwent Levels reserve. The weather forecast looked good but the cloud proved stubborn and made photography tricky. Lots of birds in full song was good compensation with a Lesser Whitethroat belting out it's rich fluty song near the visitor centre. I headed straight to the sea wall hoping to find a Gropper and passing through the reed beds, saw my first few Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers of the year, both species singing away establishing territories. The sea wall was very quiet with only Reed Bunting and a few Linnet seen. I headed East towards the small wood, ears listening for a hopeful sound of a Cuckoo or Bearded Tit but I could only hear Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Willow Warblers along with the obligatory Uskmouth Cetti's Warblers. Heading back to the car park, I stopped to photograph the Lesser Whitethroat in slightly better light and managed some nice shots with the bird showing well. I then headed over to Farmfield lane and a quick ramble down Warbler Alley. I'd hoped to find a Redstart but ended up photographing a lovely but elusive male Blackcap and being very impressed by the volume of his song! All too soon it was time to head home but nice to get a good migrant fix.

24^th April. On my way back from work I headed back to Farmfield Lane hoping to grab a few pictures in the spare hour I had. Plenty of Blackcaps were singing but remaining in the cover so I headed down to the sea wall to where I could hear the call of a Cuckoo. The male was active and very mobile giving nice but distant flight views. I tried doing a Cuckoo impression to hopefully get the bird to respond but even though the bird did briefly react, I was told by a fellow birder that my impression needs plenty of work and it soon took flight again. Still, a nice year tick in the briefest of birding trips.

28^th April. After hearing reports of a rare Sylvia warbler in Gwent, and then having it confirmed the night before, I arrived at the Newport Wetlands just after 6 on a still sunny morning. Walking straight to the sea wall, past plenty of singing Whitethroat, Blackcap, Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warbler and a few Lesser Whitethroat, I turned left heading towards the copse, seeing 4 distant Whimbrel on the foreshore. I arrived at "the location" where the vagrant had been sighted previously and after a ¾ hour search, briefly laid eyes on the male Subalpine Warbler. It gave a brief burst of its Whitethroat like song and I managed a few quick record shots before it flew off into the small wood. I searched for a further hour trying to relocate the bird only finding numerous Blackcaps and a few philloscs. I reviewed my record shots and one was certainly acceptable, showing off the red eye and the distinctive moustache. Again, another great find by the birders concerned to locate such an elusive bird. I had to head off to work soon after, but got distracted by a Sedge Warbler singing its heart out nearby. My first Swift of the year was a nice bonus. It's strange to see one before a House Martin or even a Wheatear (what an odd birding year it's been for me!) Likewise a Whitethroat took my attention as did a confiding Blackcap near the visitor centre. I arrived back at the car having not seen a soul, just as a wave of twitchers descended to the reserve!