Archive News and Pictures - Stodmarsh Kent, Forest of Dean & Highnam Woods - to 31^st May 2009

20^th May. With our second child having made her safe arrival and having had an incredibly busy two weeks running round on paternity duty, I'd been champing at the bit to get out and do some May birding. Finally a window appeared and I decided to go extreme as usual and headed off to Kent! After driving up the night before I found myself at the Stodmarsh NNR before 7am and soon set off in search of some good birding. My main target was the locally reported "mega" but I was soon totally distracted by a gentle purring sound I'd never heard in the U.K. After listening and tracking the source of the song for song for 10 minutes I was rewarded by the sight of a Turtle Dove singing from a tree top. It showed well briefly before relocating to an unviewable tree but I was ecstatic to have seen and heard what is becoming a scare sight in Britain nowadays. I carried on walking, stopping to look for inaccessible but wonderfully melodious Blackcaps what seemed like every 25 yards until the woodland opened out into lakes and reedbed. I took what turned out to be a wrong turn but had a good flight view of a Cuckoo and watched a dozen or so Common Terns fishing on the open water. I distant Marsh Harrier lazily patrolled the reeds and a Sparrowhawk teased me by flying over my shoulder and towards the sun. Realising my pathing error and retracing my steps I refound my bearings and walked to the Marsh Hide where I found my first birders and also the rare visitor. The Black-Winged Pratincole was sitting on a mud patch in a flooded meadow field and showed nicely through the scope. After a short while it flew slightly closer allowing me to get a reasonable flight shot that showed its wing colour and tail pattern well. It then sat mostly obscured by vegetation for well over an hour frustrating and delighting the assembled watchers. Half a dozen Hobby flew over the hide and had started hawking insects nearby. After 15 minutes of further waiting for the Pratincole to move I nipped out for 5 minutes to watch the aerial display of the Hobbies catching insects and got some good views and a few reasonable shots. I soon headed back into the hide to discover the Pratincole had done a brief flight and as such had missed a photo opportunity! A Stock Dove alighted near the Pratincole's haunt which meant that I'd seen 5 different types of Dove/Pigeon in the U.K. in a single day for the first time ever! After another long wait the bird quickly headed off East and towards the viewing mound near Grove Ferry so most of the birders moved after it. It had sat down behind yet another clump of vegetation out of view so waited a further hour until the bird was flushed by a Marsh Harrier and it began hawking showing its very distinctive fast and manoeuvrable flight. It then landed on a different lake and the watching roadshow moved to there where the bird was viewable but again very distant. Whilst waiting for the bird to relocate again, I spotted a Grass Snake swimming near the hide which soon disappeared as I got the camera on it. The Pratincole flew again giving further distant flight views and then relocated itself at Grove Ferry. We again moved back to the viewing mound, this time spotting a distant Wood Sandpiper to add to the Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and Black-Tailed Godwit on the pool. A flock of a dozen Greylag Geese flew in containing a lone summering White-Fronted Goose. I managed a more acceptable picture then I had previously obtained which was an unexpected bonus for the day. The pools resident Mute Swan wasn't impressed by the arriving Geese and started to chase them off, which eventually forced the Pratincole to take flight again and headed back towards then Marsh Hide. A few of us headed off in the same direction and after a brisk walk and thorough scan we managed to relocate it. I then had a go at digiscoping the distant bird and got a moderate image. The bird again flew round the corner and I couldn't relocate it again. A Greylag Goose with goslings presented a nice photo as they bathed, along with a big calling Marsh Frog and a pair of Turtle Doves was a nice distraction whilst waiting for the Pratincole to reappear. Soon enough it was time to leave and I headed back to the car, carefully avoiding a hissing Mute Swan with 6 cygnets that didn't want to move from the narrow path! With the sound of many more singing Blackcap ringing in my ears and no further Turtle Doves to be distract me, it was time for the long journey back home after a thoroughly enjoyable 11 hours birding!!!

24^th May. A perfect morning weatherwise and a pass until noon meant I left the house at 4:30 to head to the Forest of Dean to reacquaint myself with some migrant woodland birds. I'd hoped to improve my pictures of a few select species but ultimately wanted to find and photograph Redstart. I firstly went to New Fancy as I'd managed to arrive so early that the sun had yet to penetrate any of the canopy making the camera redundant. Singing Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Robin, Willow Warbler, Blackbird and Song Thrush filled the early morning air, resulting in a full dawn chorus with the orange dawn light only just starting to fade. After taking in the view with no sign of any early raptors, I headed back to the car to look for some photographable passerines. I ended up parking and then set off into the Forest letting my ears lead my feet. I was soon attracted towards a fantastic Garden Warbler in full song, which at times was giving song bursts of up to 30 seconds. The light was still a little low so I noted its position and moved on. I ended up walking for a good 2 miles, getting slightly lost in the process but ultimately enjoying the hunt for Redstarts. I heard a few singing Pied Flycatcher and saw several Great Spotted Woodpecker, along with Coal Tit, Siskin and the other more common species. After a long looped walk I found my way back towards the Garden Warbler location but was easily distracted by a Wood Warbler which showed and sang brilliantly. It gave a good mixture of both the songs including the wonderfully rich "Pew-pew-pew" song. After watching the Wood Warbler for around 20 minutes, I moved back to the Garden Warbler and ended up getting even better views of this bird with it singing in a shrubby tree no more than 15 feet away! Although a plain bird in appearance, the sound it was producing was so entrancing that I ended up listening and watching for well over half an hour. Time was marching on and I headed towards the road to hopefully bump into a Redstart. After a walk of no more than 300 yards I managed to hear my first one and got a brief glimpse before the bird flew off. Encouraged, I moved through the woods and found a further singing male but it was way up high in the oak canopy at record shot range. I watched it for 10 minutes but the bird was content on one of three "singing branches" singing and flycatching. I headed off looking for slightly less mature trees which hopefully contained more Redstart and en route, past two further singing Pied Flycatcher, managed a glimpse and record shot of a single Spotted Flycatcher. I arrived at some classic Redstart habitat and soon picked up two singing males and also a photographer sat under the trees who was watching a pair of Redstart with good views. After a brief chat and the recommendation of using the car as a hide, I speed-yomped back to get the car and drove up to a suitable position. After 10 minutes I was soon watching both a male and female Redstart at a range of 30 feet from the comfort of the car. I ended up staying for around 90 minutes, revelling in the cracking views of such a stunning bird. Other sights included a few Buzzards, Great Tit, Blackbird and Stock Dove both flying and singing. Eventually it was time to leave but the drive home flew by with thoughts of such good views of one of Britain's most colourful birds.

30^th May. After experiencing some great passerine singing the previous weekend, I decided to try and go for the ultimate British birding performer. I arrived at Highnam Woods near Gloucester at daybreak, a little late in the year but still hopeful of hearing my first British Nightingale for over twenty years. I walked around the reserve for several hours with ears alert for any sound of one, but although the woods were alive with the sound of birdsong I didn't detect anything other than the scores of singing Blackcap, numerous Chaffinch, Robin, Song Thrush and Blackbird which with the resonant nature that the foliage provided, all had small characteristics of a Nightingales song. After following a path around the perimeter of the reserve I ended up at a road which I thought would lead me back to the car park for another lap. 40 minutes walk along some pleasant country lanes and through the village of Highnam I was back at the car park! After a quick drink I had another shorter walk around but only ended up photographing butterflies with yet more Painted Ladys present and also Speckled Wood and Small White present. After the best part of 4 hours searching, I decided to cut my losses and moved on. I firstly headed up to Ashleworth Ham and had a very brief look around. Other than Reed Bunting singing and a few distant ducks there was nothing of any note so I then headed east to the small village of Hawling where I parked the car and managed to hear a Quail calling briefly. It was distant and in a huge field so after waiting a while for the bird to call again, I wandered on attempting unsuccessfully to get within 50 yards of Yellowhammer and also failing to see Corn Bunting. I did have a great view of a few Kestrels from the car but didn't manage to get the camera on them in time. I then moved over to Condicote deep in the Cotswolds to try again for Corn Bunting but after looking for over half an hour didn't lay eyes on anything other than a few Whitethroat, Goldfinch and some lazy distant Buzzards - not to mention yet more Painted Ladys. Feeling a bit flat after waking up so early and not having taken a single bird photograph I pointed the car in the direction of home and decided at the last minute to head back to Highnam Woods to have another go at the butterflies. After walking round for 10 minutes I heard the unmistakable sound of a singing Nightingale and soon listened for well over an hour to a bird not more than 30 feet away which I couldn't see at all! The sound was simply superb with its rich melodious phrases perfecting the warm summer woodland scene. The pew-pew-pew-pew followed by the frog like croaking noise into the trilling warble was all there and I felt obliged to share it, phoning a few people to let them experience it too! After trying to get a view of the bird for what seemed like ages, my chance came when another singing male joined in nearby. This sprung the original bird into action and soon there were two birds, singing all out no more than 20 feet away! Eventually one made an appearance and I managed a shot deep into its covered location. Fortunately after 5 minutes the defeated intruder moved on and showed well enough for a few clearish shots which despite the woodland light came out surprisingly well. Suddenly the day was a success and after chatting to some holidaying birders in the car park for a while it was back home again.