Great Crested Grebe- A Sad Tale

Last Thursday my survey was cancelled so I went to Langold Lake in the late afternoon. There had been a large movement of Arctic Terns through the country so I went hoping to connect with something good. But as eluded to in previous posts, this spring has been very slow.

Great Crested Grebe

As I parked by the lake the heavens opened, but undeterred I pressed on hoping the grot would force something down. Initially the lake looked pretty quiet and I decided to walk the circuit of the lake and hope that something might turn up on my loop.

Weir at Langold Lake

With the recent deluges the over flow was gushing over the concrete weir, but astonishingly, sat in the middle of the concrete steps was a Great Crested Grebe, which appeared stranded. As you may know Great Crested Grebes are not great on land, their feet set far back on the body which makes them extremely competent in the water, but pretty useless on land. As it saw me it shuffled down the concrete steps of the weir and ended up on a slightly drier part amid the washed over debris. What to do? Although ungainly on land it would be difficult  to catch without a net and being late in the day there was no one around to help.

Huddled up

Using my phone I looked up the local RSPCA office. I gave them a call, but a message redirected me to call the national help line. Eventually after several keypad selections I reached a human being. They took all my details (no doubt I will now get bombarded  with junk mail?) Anyhow I explained the grebe was stranded but appeared unhurt and a net and a ladder (to negotiate the weir sides) would be needed. I was told an Inspector would be on the way, it could be an hour, but when he was near he would call.

Perky Great Crested Grebe

By now the rain was coming in regular bursts, but I was wrapped up. The Grebe looked cold, but not a lot I could do until the RSPCA Inspector arrived. Sure enough after 50 minutes I received a call, it was the RSPCA Inspector and wanted to know if he was in the right place. I asked if he could see my van, we met part way round and I explained the situation. At the same time Andy from Andy's Cafe in the park arrived and we had a chat about grebes in general. The Inspector, Ian didn't have a ladder, but Andy suggested going in under the bridge and over the weir, which I hadn't thought of, sure enough there was a about a four foot gap and Ian made his way under the bridge and emerged on the weir. Extending his net Ian approached the grebe, which tried to wriggle away- with a deft swipe the bird was in the net. Ian took the grebe out and  holding it, the grebe twisted his head, crest erect- looking most indignant. Quickly Ian let it go beyond the weir and it it quickly paddled off. As it swan./ flapped away we noticed it seemed to hold its left wing down slightly, but didn't seem to affect it swimming.

Ian- RSPCA about to pounch

Andy, Ian and myself had a chat about how it got there, presumably it was feeding too close to the overflow and was caught in the current and over it went. All feeling we'd done a good deed went our separate ways- and that should have been a happy ending to our tale, however...

Almost in the bag

The next morning I was back at Langold Lake hoping for a bit of passage. Low and behold, back in the same spot was our Great Crested Grebe- what on earth! This time the situation was a little more serious as the grebes left wing was drooping and well and truly broken. I presume it had gone over the weir and bent it back as it was washed down. Again it was a call to the RSPCA, but things were more complicated, not only did the grebe have a broken wing, the water over the weir was much higher from overnight rain. I don't know how long the bird had been there, must have been some time as it was shivering. Knowing I had an hour to wait I walked around the lake. A couple of people commented to me they had see the grebe there, but hadn't done anything. As I returned to the weir I saw Andy again, he had a net with him, so had obviously seen the grebe. I met him as he was walking back to the cafe. I said I had called the RSPCA again and took the net containing the grebe off him as he had to get to the cafe and open up. Looking in I could see the wing was badly broken, and under the foot.

Gotcha!

I waited about an hour and a half with no sign of the RSPCA. So I decided to call them back and said we'd managed to catch the grebe, but didn't know where to take it. The guy on the other end of the phone said "Take it to any vet", the nearest was in Dinnington. I called them and was advised surgery was until 10am- it was 9.15- so I secured the net and set off. Ten minutes later I pulled into the vets car park. I walked into reception amid the dog and cat owners with my net of exotic looking Great Crested Grebe, which had incidentally behaved impeccably during the journey. I told the receptionist I was expected, to which she said what is it- I explained what it was and how I came to have it, to which she said "You'll be wanting your net back?" "Yes" was my reply. A few seconds later the net was retrieved and I left to return it and continue my birding.

How indignant does it look

I called a few hours later to see how the grebe was getting on and was told "The wing was very badly broken and we had to put it to sleep", which was a real pity. I thanked them for their help and pondered whether the wing could have been fixed and that it was the fact it would need care and special fishy diet, and would generally be too much trouble- maybe I'm being cynical and the wing couldn't be fixed. In the end a beautiful bird died. If there is a saving grace to this tale is the bird was an immature bird, he/she and their mate had their nest washed out, so at least there wasn't a single parent trying to incubate/ rear a family of Great Crested Grebes single handed.

Bit too quick for me

RIP 

Has Spring Sprung?

Firstly my sincere apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's not that I haven't been out, quite the contrary (although not as often as I would like), I have been out, but there hasn't been much to see or report. 

As I sit in my b&b catching up on a certain blog, following a 6 hour survey here in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire- it feels more like it did the last time I wrote something, i.e. it feels like March, not April. Here we are and as yet migration doesn't seem to kicked in. Chiffchaffs are well in as are Blackcaps, but as yet the woods and glades are not full of Willow Warbler song.

I hinted last time that we may lose Hawfinch as a breeding species, well despite numerous visits by three active local birders to prime locations all we can report are 2  birds heard and just a single sighting of a lone Hawfinch. Perhaps the end is nearer than predicted?

We have had a few goodies through including Ring Ouzel, Red Kite and Osprey, but the few active birders in SK58 have had to work hard for these. Lets hope a few bank holidays will reward those who put a lot of effort into SK58 and are seldom rewarded. 

Every two years SK58 Birders carry out a survey of the whole 10km x 10km square of SK58. This is our Biennial Tetrad Atlas Survey. Members take on tetrads and on 2x 1 hour counts record the breeding adult birds. This is the tenth time the survey will have taken place. We had a trial survey in 1995, then a full on survey in 1996 and every two years since. This is perhaps the most important survey the group undertakes, aside from the regular submission of records. It certainly fills in the gaps. If you look at the general records some species are just not recorded as they are deemed too common. Several members who shall remain nameless fail to record common species. In 2011 some members only recorded 4 Blue Tits all year. So a Tetrad Atlas Survey is certainly needed to plug the gaps that regular recording fails to pick up on and does produce some interesting statistics, as eluded to by our first chairman, Rob Hardcastle at our indoor meeting last month .

25 Tetrads of SK58

Bit of a moan coming on- We have nearly 70 members in SK58 and only 25 Tetrads so in theory they should be oversubscribed several times over- however I'm carrying nearly 25% of the them by myself- come on guys, share the load- this is valuable data that is of great use. If local birders/ members can't be bothered, who will. Perhaps when woods/ hedges are being destroyed and we can't do anything because we don't have enough detailed data, it will be too late!!

Buzzard, Kings Wood copyright John Gallagher

Best not end on sour note. Despite the doom and gloom Buzzard are doing really well. On the 25th March three of us counted 34 Buzzard in the air at once from Kings Wood in NW SK58, thrashing the previous record of 22! A day total of 64 birds came from just 5 sites. If we'd made an effort and gone to sites such as  Loscar, I'm sure 80+ birds would not be a fantasy!

April Gone Birding Update

It's been an up and down spring so far. Sadly I had to cancel the Romania tour to the Danube Delta due to several folk pulling out, which made it financially non-viable- which is sad because the Danube in late summer is one the greatest experiences any birder can witness in Europe. The volume and diversity of birds is awesome. However I did add a few folk to the existing tours. As I write I've sorted out extra accommodation on the Ultimate Scotland tour.

This was no mean feat as we stay in 5 different locations in 10 days, so a bit of ladling and teeming to get us all in. Needless to say I've drawn the short straw in some of them. I was looking forward to returning to Scourie and the hotel we use but graciously I've given up my place to the extra paying guests. I'm in a b&b down the road- but will be there to sample the great food and hospitality. I always enjoy this tour, visiting some remarkable places and experiencing some even more remarkable birds and animals and being able to share these experiences with people for the first time. For previous tour reports go to http://www.gonebirding.org/ and click on "Tour Reports".

As I write it's about 8 days until our tour to Extremadura. I've not been for a couple of years so it will be great to be back on the plains and in the mountains again looking at volumes of birds, especially the raptors, which I have a soft spot for. But there's always last minute preparations! errr must get some Euros! and where's my passport?

I bought a bargain on eBay recently, a manual 14x lens for my Canon video camera. The original lens is great, but all my cameras have been manual, giving me complete control. I haven't used it yet, but without stabilisers and  motors it is substantially lighter than the 20x standard lens. My 1.6 extender should make up for the lack of magnification of the original lens. 

I'm resisting filming new stuff until the backlog of tapes going back to 2008 has been logged and edited. The pile is slowly decreasing. Been fun looking back at the stuff I filmed a while ago. Most of it was on a handy cam or digiscoped on tours, so variable quality.... Hopefully once back on track I can make use of the 300mm lens and the new 14x lens. Will just be taking my Nikon p300 & s500 to Spain, wont have enough luggage allowance or time for anything other than opportunist photography. Hopefully the accommodation will have wifi so I can report daily on what we find.

Spring Is Here

SK58 Birding

So the weathers improving, i.e. when I stand still for 4-6 hours birding or surveying, my feet don't feel like blocks of ice! March is traditionally the best month to look and listen for Hawfinch. We do have a now small population, which historically occur in the Kings Wood and Firbeck areas. Worryingly several of us have been out looking and between us, despite several visits over several weeks in perfect conditions, just one bird has been seen, with two further records of a single bird heard. So whats going on with Hawfinch? Nationally there is a fairly catastrophic decline in progress. Locally it wasn't that many years ago you could go to mature woodlands in the north of SK58 and more or less guarantee seeing and hearing several e.g. 

record details

Date/Period of Record		Species	Number	Gender	Location	Observer(s)				Restricted Record
19-Feb-06		HF Hawfinch	8		Firbeck Hall YWT SK58	ADH Andy Hirst				No

Typical historical record from the SK58 archive

Kings Wood corner

In the early and mid 90's, counts of double figures were the norm- so whats gone wrong? The habitat looks the same, climate change or maybe Grey Squirrels, I'd love to know the latest thinking. I suspect Hawfinch will be lost from SK58 within a few years, which would be a tragedy, yet another species gone! Hours spent at Kings Wood corner, a vantage point within SK58 continues to reward with lots of Buzzard activity. I always say raptors attract other raptors, but so far we've only had Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. I missed a Merlin on Sunday by looking in the wrong place, however we have equaled the highest Buzzard count- last week I counted 22 birds in the air at once. A view more akin to vultures on the Spanish plains. We (SK58 Birders) did have our earliest record of Sand Martin by 6 days when 2 birds were recorded at Carlton Lake with a Wheatear also present.  

Carlton Lake- good for Sand Martin

Last Saturday I wardened the hide at NAPT for the first time this spring. There was little in the way of  spring migration save for the presence of 12 Lapwing which had returned ten days previously. Although 19 Snipe and a Jack Snipe were still present the previous week, so winter still has a bit of a hold. However the highlight wasn't avian, but an old steam train which was using the old lines to travel across country and steamed passed NAPT on the main line that branched off to the areas long gone coal mines. 

Oliver Cromwell- Lincolnshire Poacher!

I was surprised just how many rail enthusiasts turned out to watch the "Oliver Cromwell" steam past- viewing from the many bridges along the route. We heard it miles away- eventually it came into view.

"Toot Toot, chuff, chuff, chuff"

Surveys

I had a few days off at the back end of last week. To be honest I needed a rest. Last Monday and Tuesday I was working a cracking little site in north Lincs, which was new to me. Being in Lincolnshire it was very agricultural, but had a few redeeming features such as wet ditches and dikes. A walkover survey followed by 90 min point count was quite pleasant. Lots of buntings and finches in the hedgerows, plus a few passing Curlew etc... but nothing ultra exciting. However it was back on site at 2am for four hours as we carried out a nocturnal survey. It was a matter of scanning the fields using a high intensity light to dazzle any feeding waders. It was a two hour survey which had to be repeated. Our initial pass revealed several Woodcock, which are presumably Scandinavian birds feeding up before crossing the North Sea. I was amazed how many Hares were kicking around, literally dozens. Our second pass produced more Woodcock, as well as 2 Jack Snipe which were presumably on their way back north too. At 6am we began a 2 hour stint of a 6 hour Vantage Point count- which was a pretty cool affair in the gloom of a misty dawn. This produced a few Little Egrets and Geese zapping over. However we were looking forward to a cooked breakfast back at the hotel having been out since 1am. We were back on site for 4 hours by 10am to complete our survey. By now the sun was out and it was very spring like. Surveying is great in the sun and warm! It was the first survey I've completed this year where I could feel my feet at the end of it. Highlights included a few Curlew passing over with a brief view of a Short-eared Owl. However I missed another Merlin- this one was obstructed by several hedgerows. The finish soon came but before going home I drove  into Cleethorpes and headed to 'Steels Fish restaurant' and enjoyed Haddock, chips and mushy peas, as well as a pot of steaming tea. Well it would have been rude not to.

Derwentdale

Friday was a departure for me- being self employed I have to "Earn a buck" where I can. I spent quite an interesting day back at the outdoor education centre I worked at ten years ago. It was good going back, I'm back at the end  of the month for another day. I'd forgotten how pretty the Derwent Valley is! Alas I didn't have time to look for Goshawk, but heard lots of Siskin zapping around.

Gone Birding

An interesting week of ups and downs on the tour front. Unfortunately I've had to cancel my Danube Delta tour. I needed ten clients to make it financially viable, sixteen would have brought the price right down. However a party of six pulled out, then a couple also pulled soon after, leaving just two, which was a shame. However I've sorted out the final details for the Extremadura tour and secured accommodation for the final night  within a short distance of a Duponts Lark site, so we should clean up on the plains and finish off with this enigmatic lark, as well as Wheatears and good numbers of Rock Sparrow. 

Midi-Pyrenees

My sister has a place in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France. We met up at the weekend and tentatively planned several tours here, using their place and converted outbuildings as a base.  Being a short flight and drive from the airport there are several options open to us from short weekend breaks to the river valleys and woodlands to longer ten day trips including three days in the Camargue which is about three hours drive away. I just need to get out there and make contact with some local birders to find the best spots and recce for several tours. I was out there last April and it was alive with birds including lots of raptors. Golden Oriole, Goshawk, Woodlark, Black Kite, Red Kite, Cuckoo and Bonellis Warbler all from the balcony! The area has lots of wooded valleys with some major rivers meandering through, which should offer some great birding. The Gorge Du Tarn isn't far away and the Camargue is three hours away, with the Cevennes just an hour away, so lots of potential- watch this space! 

Still planning a few weekend breaks in the summer and autumn! Back to SK58 this week most mornings, hoping to catch up with some migrants.

Raptor Persecution- We Can Do Something!

Some of you may know that as a lad I spent a lot of time involved in protecting raptors in the Peak District, largely Goshawk and later Peregrine. I spent many a day and night under a sheet watching over a nest in all weathers, as well as help field test & install nest protection devices (trip wires, pressure pads etc...) at active nests. 

Back then in the 80's persecution was a  problem, that an eggers, although there is still a threat from eggers, by far the biggest threat now to our birds of prey are the unscrupulous activities of some game keepers and their employers.

Derwentdale

We hear time and time again at the lack of raptors in our uplands and black holes in Derwentdale where many more raptors (species & number) should be present. The problem with these crimes is they are hard to prove.  The people who carry out such crimes live close by and carry out illegal acts of persecution in the dead of night in remote areas which are more or less impossible to police. Even when they are caught the punishment rarely fits the crime, although now custodial sentences are are available, but rarely used- the magistrate opting for a fine, which is less of a deterrent. With game shoots a multi-million pound industry a fine is classed as running costs!

There is currently a Government E-Petition to sign that makes the Employers of the convicted individuals, i.e. Game keepers and their bosses- responsible. Whether people dont know about it, I'm not sure as there are less then 8000 signatures on it. For it to be moved forward 100,000 are needed- that's less than a tenth of the RSPB membership. The deadline is 17th November 2012. Surely there are enough birders, enthusiasts  or even just Joe Public who find the wholesale destruction of our raptors abhorrent to make this happen, So I urge all to sign!

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/23089

The text from the E Petition :

Introduction of offence of vicarious liability for raptor persecution in EnglandResponsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Scotland, recognising that those who persecute birds of prey frequently do so at the direction of their employers or others with vested interests, has introduced an offence of vicarious liability, the purpose of which is to bring those parties to justice. 
This petition calls on the government to introduce an offence of vicarious liability to bring to justice those who direct or turn a blind eye to raptor persecution in England.

As an indication of how bad thing are, in the last year only four pairs of hen harriers successfully reared chicks in England, fourteen peregrine falcon territories failed on grouse moors in Lancs forest of Bowland, and only one successful goshawk nest was recorded in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire.

Current legislation is not enough to deter those who break the law and destroy our heritage; the introduction of vicarious liability would hit those directing the slaughter.

To sign the E-Petiton sign here: https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/23089

SK58 Birders, Once Upon A Time....

Are you sitting comfortably- then I shall begin.... Way back in 1995 we heard that the old pit top at North Anston was to be landscaped in line with the then governments Coal Board Regeneration scheme. As a group we were keen to be involved and have an input in the development of the site which would hopefully include some provision for birds and birders. Several members had intensively watched the site for several years and recorded some good birds. 

Original plans- c1998

Over the next eight years plans were drawn up, including the design of a wader scrape by the group, with landscaping started, including the removal of many tons of contaminated waste from the old colliery site and completed in 2005, which included a state of the art hide overlooking the scrape a cost of £10,000, which was again an idea of the SK58 Birders.

Digging out the wader scrape- March 2003

Our initial concerns grew when we saw the scrape going in. The plans the group had drawn up including levels had been completely ignored. The scrape was constructed by two blokes and a JCB. It wasn't to size and wasn't to specification. To top it all it wasn't even level so when it rained the water would flow out of the bottom so it would never fill. To cut a very long and tedious/ frustrating story short- For the past seven years we have fought with the developers, who have long since gone, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) who signed off the site as "fit for purpose" and the Forestry Commission (FC), who's original management team were completely unsympathetic. Over the past seven years we've fought hard to get the scrape re-contoured, widened and deepened so it in someway matched our original plans. 

Creating path & scrape- March 2004

Because the scrape wasn't built to specification, i.e. too shallow,  it has never held water- even when full over the winter, by late spring it had completely dried out due to evaporation which meant there was never any water in the scrape to attract late summer/ autumn waders on passage which has proved very frustrating. Also the lack of water and a few other contributing factors meant that Little Ringed Plover failed for four consecutive years to raise any young. The scrape also failed to consistently attract Redshank, a previous annual breeder. 

March 2004

June 2004

With a complete failure of the scrape to perform and a lack of useful dialogue with the management team we really did feel like throwing in the towel and turning our back on the site- But there was a management change at the FC and things progressed.  We did get RMBC and the FC on site and the remedial work took place. We are sure the scrape will now hold water, being deeper and wider, but a succession of dry winters have failed to fill the scrape to the maximum, which again meant the scrape was a dust bowl by May for the past two years. 

Site of hide- 2005

Our latest plan was to pump water in the scrape to top/fill it up. This has been quite exhaustive involving Natural England (because of the Water Voles/ Newts), the Environment Agency (extracting water from water courses), Forestry Commission (site managers) and ourselves. It's taken about two years of negotiations to finally get a pump on site before the end of February deadline- unfortunately the FC had all sorts of problems. On only two days pumping they failed to meet the daily extraction allowance at a cost of £1300, which has resulted in little difference to the levels. SK58's plan is to now purchase a pump, dig a channel for a permanent pipe and fill the scrape ourselves during the autumn and winter. So having missed our window this winter, or unless we experience a wet late winter/ spring/ summer (unlikely given the almost drought like levels of rainfall), another year will lapse before we can try and rectify the water levels and attract waders.

Not so full scrape

It's unlikely structural work will ever take place again to completely re-engineer the scrape, given the current financial situation so the best solution pound for pound is to pump water as and when required outside the breeding season. SK58 Birders will continue to do what we think is best for the site and the wildlife and work with the management team at the Forestry Commission, who's new team have performed valiantly to try and make the site attractive for wildlife, having picked up the gauntlet and  attempt to make a silk purse out of sows ear and listened to what SK58 Birders have said and tried to accommodate our plans for the site.

Temporarily full scrape-how it should be

Regular housekeeping does take place, grass cutting, tree planting etc... The hide was repainted at the weekend at SK58's behest and regular onsite meetings do take place on site between SK58 Birders and the Forestry Commission.

Repainted hide- Feb 2012

SK58 Birders regularly visit the site and warden the hide on Saturday mornings between March and October from 08:00- 11:00. We also have events here, such as a "Big Sit", where we warden the hide from dawn until dusk, this recorded 56 and 53 species from the hide in one day in the two years the event took place.

ADH Big Sit, yes that's Sit!- May 2005

Despite it being seventeen years of what has been a very uphill struggle there is light at the end of the tunnel. SK58 Birders are committed to receiving what we were promised way back in 1995, namely a wader scrape where wildlife, especially passage and breeding waders can, feed, breed and rest whilst providing viewing/ educational  opportunities for members of SK58 Birders, the local community and visiting birders.

Wader scrape at sunset

   

Working Week 13-17.02.12

Last week (13th-17th Feb) was a full week of surveying, which is unusual at this time of year for us sub contractors. My first three days were at a new site to me and one which I hope I will return to for more excellent visits/ birding. The latter two were in North Yorkshire.

I can't divulge where the site is (for client confidentiality), but will say it's in Lincolnshire (big clue huh!). It's basically an intensively farmed area with some interesting ditches/ dikes and margins. 

Monday was an 8 hour walkover where I covered about 12.5 miles (oooh my legs hurt), with six hour point count surveys on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Big sky in Lincs

After meeting my colleagues at a chilly 8.30am I saw the route I was to walk over the next eight hours, taking in fields, ditches and the odd pond. Initially it didn't look great, but the more I walked and looked, the more I saw. Quite a few Teal and Mallard in some of the wider wet ditches and a few Curlew feeding in the fields. About half way round my walk and about 4 hours in I had a Buzzard, but alas was just a Common Buzzard. By one farm was a  small pond, which was no bigger than 50m wide. But it was mostly ice free and alive with wildfowl- the commonest species was Teal, of which there were about 250. As I approached they took off calling and wheeling around for the next 10 mins, although a passing imm. Peregrine had them whizzing round even faster. Amongst the commoner Mallard and Tufted Duck were  Wigeon and several Shoveler, but the highlight for me was a single m Pintail stood on the ice loking very fine indeed. Looking across the fields I had the first of several Marsh Harrier which are clearly moving into this area. It appeared to be an imm. and female, which circled before disappearing down a channel in search of a tasty meal. A little further on an imm Merlin darted past, not long after a Barn Owl quartered low over the field in front of me. The birds of the day for me- on the second leg of the survey a stunning ringtail Hen Harrier almost over head and an imm. Rough-legged Buzzard, which seems to have wintered at the site. The final birds of the day as the sun began to set were 2 Grey Plover, ending what had been a great 8 Raptor day 1. Buzzard, 2. Kestrel, 3. Merlin, 4. Barn Owl, 5. Rough-legged Buzzard, 6. Marsh Harrier, 7. Hen Harrier and 8. Peregrine. Short drive to our very comfy b+b, hot shower and  a curry- bliss!

Tuesday & Wednesday

Resting my legs over the next two days, but pretty chilly sat carrying out six hour point counts- facing a strong NW wind. However with birds/ registrations on my map of Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Rough-legged Buzzard and plenty of hot chocolate the time went pretty quickly. A few wildfowl over during my six hour stint, but the raptors were the stars. For the last two hours on Tuesday we overlooked an area where harriers roosted. In summary here we had 6 Marsh Harrier and 6 Hen Harrier, including 2 grey males, which is pretty good by anyone's standard. In the gloom we drove back to the b+b and out to the Indian again for a warming madras as it was the only decent eatery in the village- however with it being valentines evening it was full of mushy couples, not sure what they made of two hairy ars*d birders. Wednesday was a re-run of Tuesday but from different vantage points on site. Although my colleague Russ and I regretted the madras, wishing we'd gone for something less fiery!! (6 hours is long time to hold it in!) Lots of Marsh Harrier registrations from my vantage point and 4 Hen Harrier quartering the ditches and dikes were the highlights. Managed to pick up the Rough-legged Buzzard, just on flight (stiffer/ flatter flight than Common Buzzard) at least a km away, probably nearer 2!, it banked to show a clean white tail and black banding, plus large black chest blotches. We finished at 2pm and it was a welcome drive home for a hot shower and food other than curry (too much of a good thing).

Red Kite- nice bird, naff photo

Thursday & Friday

More early starts at the end of the week, but a change of scenery, back in North Yorkshire. Thursday was a vantage point count on a moorland fringe/ improved grassland area. Lots of Curlew (yes they are coming back to the uplands already) and Golden Plover which fly up and down for ages- making my map look like a spider has crawled over it with red ink boots! A Red Kite kept me company for quite a while, coming quite low at one stage to have good look at me. I'm clearly inedible to most raptors (except vultures probably- less fussy).

Friday was a walkover survey, so on site for 8am. The sun was shining and it was mild. Hard to believe I get paid for wandering the countryside counting birds! Anyhow quite a few more Curlew kicking around and a few Golden Plover. After another 9 miles my map was full of registrations including lots of Lapwing, Curlew, single Snipe and a few unexpected records including Goosander on a farm pond! Back home late afternoon after a full and tiring week. SK58 walk on Sunday!