Joint with Vale of White Horse Group

A misty start to the day was quickly replaced by sunshine which lasted the whole day.  Forty of us left Oxford and found the birding at Slimbridge well up to the expected standard.  As well as Bewick's Swans we saw several Whooper Swans arrive as well as Bean Goose.  The anticipated geese, White front, Greylag, Canada and Barnacle were also there.  A total of fifty four species were seen on the trip.  As was the case of the first joint trip with the Vale of White Horse Group, the companionship was of the highest quality and what was equally important it enabled the cost for the trip to be reduced by 50%.

Birds seen on trip

Joint with Vale of White Horse Group

Twenty two of us met at Bury Down in a strong NW wind and in biting cold conditions.  This was the first time the Oxford Group had visited the site and we were interested see what birds were about.  The strong wind naturally kept sightings lower than we might have expected but nevertheless we saw twenty nine species.  Excellent views of Sky Lark and Corn Buntings were had before we got out of the cars.  All in all the day was considered a success.

Birds seen on trip

Seventeen of us left Oxford on a beautiful sunny morning.  It was cold with a strong northerly wind and that stayed with us all day.  Cloud came over after lunch but the birding was quite good considering the wind.  The highlight of the day was a good sighting of a Tree Sparrow on the feeders.  The light was excellent and we got really good views of all the birds that we saw.  We managed to see a total of fifty nine species.  A really good day enjoyed by all.

Birds seen on trip

Forty eight of us made a first time visit to the WWT's new reserve in the centre of London.  The weather was mainly sunny with a brisk NE wind making it very cold.  The centre was well worth the visit.  There are virtually no winter swans, geese and water fowl generally but the range of birds was remarkable considering the location of the site.

Birds seen on trip

Summerleys and Sywell Reservoir, Northants

Ten of us visited Summer Leys Reserve first.  The first thing that struck us was the large number of mute swans in the area, mostly in the surrounding fields, approaching a hundred in total.  The second was the enormous number of tree sparrows on or near to the feeders, a lot more than on our last trip.  We had lunch in a hide close-by and watched these and other small species going to and fro.  At the same time a pair of green woodpeckers posed for lengthy periods in an old oak tree nearby.  After we left the hide we crossed a track and saw our first sand martins of the year skimming over another lake.  This was on the 20^th, and on our visit to this site on the 24^th three years ago, we saw them then.  In all, ten duck species and five wader species were seen during our visit.  On to Sywell Country Park where we had good views of one male, and two female bullfinches, but little else.  However, the day was a very satisfactory one and we are sure we shall visit Summer Leys again in the not too distant future.  Fifty species was the count for the day.

Birds seen on trip

Twenty two of us arrived at Durlston Country Park on a cold, dull but dry day.  The birding was as expected from this lovely site. Summer migrants had started to arrive. The walk along the beautiful cliffs gave us great views of Northern Fulmar, Northern Gannet,  European Shag, Common Guillemot and Razorbill, whilst the walk on the top in heathland gave us a variety of raptors including Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby and Peregrine  Falcon.  Fortunately we saw Dartford Warbler before going on the Studland Head.  Sixty four species made for a good days birding

Birds seen on trip

Day 1

Titchwell Marsh RSPB Reserve

Ten of us met at Titchwell to be joined by a friend of may years from Macclesfield.  Our first port of call was the Visitors' Centre where we were met by Paul Eele, the Assistant Warden who had been know to us all when he was at the Otmoor RSPB Reserve.  Paul outlined what birds were about, though it was rather disturbing to learn that many of the spring migrants had still to make an appearance.  The weather was mainly dull with a strong northerly wind - ideal for the Norfolk coast!  Birding, though was as usual for Titchwell really excellent.  A highlight was the chance to compare males of two races of Yellow Wagtail; the flavissima, the British race and the thunbergi the Scandinavian race.  One of the features of the whole trip was the fact that many wintering species were still firmly entrenched whilst the summer migrants still had not really started to arrive. As a results we saw many Dark Bellied Brent Geese and a whole number of duck species.  Marsh Harriers were present the whole afternoon.  Whimbrel were plentiful, but no Eurasian Curlew that day.  Avocet were everywhere. Not a bad start for a half days effort.

© Ian Kilshaw

Birds seen on the day

Day 2

Holkham Dunes NNR, Wells-next-the-sea and Cley NWT

After an excellent meal and good accommodation at the Caley Hall Motel in Old Hunstanton ( www.caleyhall.fsnet.co.uk ), two of us went out behind the hotel to the golf course and the beach at 7.00 am.  We got three birds that had not been on our list the previous day, among them the Northern Fulmar we started our day at Holkham Dunes NNR.  The weather was still dull at first though it brightened up later, with a strong blustery north wind and it was cold. The walk through the woods at Holkham and later on the dunes at Wells gave good birding and added to the list.  A flock of Pink Foot Geese confirmed our impression that the winter migrants were still with us. After lunch we went to Cley NWT, where we expected to see many more species.  In fact it was rather quiet there and whilst a Great Bittern had been heard earlier nothing was heard or seen during our visit.  Excellent views were had of a pair of nesting Little Grebes a mere ten feet from the path.  The light in the afternoon was excellent and we were able to see the plumage of the birds in perfect conditions.  Avocet were everywhere again that day.

© Ian Kilshaw

Birds seen on the day

Day 3

Snettisham RSPB Reserve and Holme Dunes NWT Reserve

Snettisham lived up to its reputation and provided a wide range of birds.  The weather remained bright, but there was still a moderate northerly wind and it was cold. Fortunately because of good planning by Reg two cars had passes for disabled and this meant that we were able to get through to the reserve proper in good time saving at least three quarters of an hour each way.  Suddenly we saw Northern Wheatear.  From being totally absent they were abundant.  Clearly the migration for this species had arrived in Norfolk. There had been a report that Mediterranean Gulls were present and we spent quite a long time searching through large flocks of Black Headed Gulls.  Eventually we got good views of at least three pairs.  We got a number of birds that are quite common on the reserve, amongst them Bar Tailed Godwits and Knot.  Again Avocet were everywhere.  It was very satisfying to see how well established the Avocet has become recently.  A female Scaup was seen on an inland lake.  We left for Holme Dunes NWT Reserve after lunch and enjoyed the walk along the dunes.  Here we heard a Turtle Dove clearly but as usual it proved elusive as far as a view was concerned.  Nightingales gave clear but abbreviated calls.  Clearly the cold weather did not agree with them!

© Ian Kilshaw

© Ian Kilshaw

Birds seen on the day

Day 4

Titchwell RSPB Reserve, Minsmere RSPB Reserve, Weeting Heath NWT Reserve and Lakenheath RSPB Reserve

Being the final day the group split into various parties for the return journey.  Some returned home direct whilst the remainder went to Titchwell and then split into two parties, one returned via Minsmere whilst the other went to Weeting Heath and Lakenheath.  Titchwell gave us Little Gull and Greenshank.  We did not mange to see Sammy the Black Winged Stilt, which were assured was about.  We also missed out on Stone Curlew at Weeting Heath.  One had been seen earlier but did not oblige.  The same was true for Lakenheath where we missed seeing a Golden Oriole by five minutes.  The party that went to Minsmere were luckier as they saw Osprey, Black Tern, Sandwich Tern, Curlew Sandpiper, Barnacle Goose and Marsh Tit.

Birds seen on the day

The trip was a great success.  The organisation from the choice of Hotel, to the arrangement for the disabled passes, to the choice of sites visited was excellent and we all owe Reg sincere thanks for all his hard work.  The weather was excellent for birding.  It was cold but it didn't rain and we had plenty of sun later in the week.  The number of species seen was far better than we had dared hope.  We either saw or clearly heard a hundred and twenty three species or races.  What a trip!

Birds seen during the trip

Sixteen of us arrived at Little Paxton Pits on a sunny but cold morning.  The wind which had been with us for the last few days had dropped almost completely.  The cold changed to warm by lunch time and by the time that the visit was over it was necessary for some of us to strip off the warm clothing that we had arrived in.  Birding was excellent, the highlight being the most fantastic views of a Common Nightingale singing its heart out.  We got at least two sightings each lasting for several minutes.  The shrub was about ten metres away and we were able to get uninterrupted views through our telescopes.  In addition we had as many a seven Eurasian Hobbies in sight at one time.  A total of fifty three species was seen, including many views of Lesser Whitethroat.  An excellent trip.

Birds seen on trip

The visit to this very promising site in the evening was marred by the fact that it started to drizzle as we approached the area and this continued the whole time that we were there.  As a result we saw virtually no birds.    However we saw that there was excellent woodland as well as a well developed heathland which clearly justifies another visit in the future to see what birds have come back to what was once an enormous air force base with the longest runway in Europe.

18 Sept 2005 

A glorious late summer day greeted us when twenty of us arrived at the Bill.  The highlight of the morning was a close view of a Firecrest and a Spotted Flycatcher.  Several warblers were present as were a multitude of Wheatear.  All were clearly preparing for the off to wormer climes.  A brief stop  Chesil Bank saw us see a number of waders among which the view of a Curlew Sandpiper was the best.  From there we went to Lodmoor RSPB Reserve.  Here we got a good though distant view of a Sparrowhawk.  We got seventy eight species for the day

Birds seen on trip

16 Oct 2005

Farlington Marshes, Hants.

Thatcham Moor near Newbury