Redgannet

Sydney Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia, Jan 2012

2012-02-10T10:30:00.000Z

From Singapore, our itinerary continued to Sydney, Australia. From our slip hotel, within the carry of the short boundary at SCG, is the wonderful Sydney Botanical Gardens and it was a pleasure to be accompanied by my beautiful colleague MS. It was amusing to find someone who walks even slower than me and who is even more easily distracted than I am.

Fuelled by carrot cake and with a plan to find Tawny Frogmouths and Buff-banded Rail, we hoped to be back at the hotel within a couple of hours, but with two such unfocussed amblers, we were still there by mid-afternoon.

The resident Sulphur-crested Cockatoos flew down to the grass close by and gave us a good look, while the Masked Lapwing posed and showed off its wing spurs. I was surprised to learn that these spurs have a moulting process wherein the topmost layer of horny covering is dropped to reveal a similar, but shorter spur beneath.

The Grey-headed Flying Foxes are still in residence despite the best efforts of the rangers to move them along. The bats are protected and cannot be physically relocated, nor chased or scared away. The rangers' have deployed various methods to deter the bats from ruining valuable trees as they roost, but to no avail.

Garden Orb Spiders spun their huge webs across paths and between trees. Of all the toxic creatures that you might find in Australia, especially in the same backyard as the Redback and the Funnel-web Spiders, this horrific looking one is actually pretty innocuous.

A Buff-banded Rail darted out onto the path as we admired the spider, but was too quick for a photo. It appeared again further down the path, but still managed to elude the camera. The Tawny Frogmouths were nowhere to be seen. The ranger network had lost track of them over the last couple of months.

Noisy Miners were, as ever, noisy and abundant. Unlike the mynas, the miners are honeyeaters and feed at flowers using their brush-like tongues to collect nectar. Note that they are also important pollinators as you can see by the deposits on the head of this bird.

Beyond the shop and the cafe are the ornamental ponds which often contain large mullet and eels. Little Pied Cormorants, Little Black Cormorants and Australian White Ibis nested in the stunted palms of the small islands.

MS enjoyed a spectacular close encounter with a couple of Laughing Kookaburras which landed in a tree close to her and allowed the closest approach that I have ever experienced with a wild kingfisher.

A pair of Dusky Moorhens had built a nest on the plank of wood which was there to help small animals escape from the sheer-sided walls surrounding a small ornamental pond. If it had been subject to planning regulations, it would have been condemned, but the couple had managed to raise a chick in it and were lavishing their attention on it. One of them tried maintaining the nest by moving a few twigs around, but it was still a rubbish effort. It made for a very endearing family snapshot nevertheless.

As we eventually left the gardens, an Eastern Water Dragon posed for us in the palm area near the greenhouses.

Birds seen; 19

Little Black Cormorant 3, Little Pied Cormorant 6, AustralianWhite Ibis 50, Australian Wood Duck 2, Chestnut Teal 1, Pacific Black Duck 10,Buff-banded Rail 2, Dusky Moorhen 15, Masked Lapwing 6, Sulphur-crestedCockatoo 5, Rainbow Lorikeet 3, Laughing Kookaburra 3, Welcome Swallow 30,Noisy Miner 50, Magpie Lark 1, Australian Magpie 2, Pied Currawong 2,Australian Raven 2, Common Myna 3.

For more posts from Sydney Botanical Gardens, follow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/05/cockatoos-at-dusk.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/02/sydney-botanical-gardens.html

Visit the dedicated Australasian page for more posts from Sydney and Beyond, including; Bi-centennial Park, Royal National Park and North Heads.
Sydney Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia,

Day of days at Paser Ris, Singapore, Jan2012.

2012-02-08T10:37:00.000Z

Any day that brings 3 species of kingfisher before breakfastis already a good one, but this visit to PaserRis Park in Singapore just kept on getting better and better.

After yearsof missed opportunities, I remembered to get out my camera to allow it to acclimatiseto the heat and humidity before I needed it. Even so, the condensation still lingered as I approachedthe bridge over the gutter on Sungei (River)Tampines (Google Earth ref; 01 22 36.20N 103 57 10.01E). Normally this wouldresult in a ruined picture, but this morning was one of those rare, blesseddays when everything was going right and the mistiness actually enhanced thephoto a little don't you think?

Just beyond the platform a brown body was ‘porpoising’ throughthe water. Monitor lizards usually adopt a more serene, serpentine style. Thisswimmer was frenetic and there were three of them.

Otters! Smooth Otters have only recently started to be seenregularly in Singapore, but can easily travel across the Straits of Johor fromMalaysia. They continued upstream towards me, chasing each other, frolicking and playinguntil they ended up almost beneath my feet.

They scampered in and out of thewater, revealing the true intent of their playfulness. One caught a fish and asquabble ensued when a second approached and snatched the fish away. Anotherfish was caught and the group settled down to feed.

Stillness returned to theriver as they slipped away downstream leaving half of the fish uneaten and the Common Kingfisher returned to his post to target smaller prey.

Back inthe world of the birds, Black-napedOrioles, Asian Glossy Starlingsand Pink-necked Green Pigeons seemedsedentary and mundane by comparison. But this was to be a great day and newsreached me at the top of the viewing tower that a Mangrove Pitta had recently been seen in the park and may still befound along the boardwalk. A Mangrove Pitta, any pitta in fact, would be afamily tick and a good scratch for an itch that I have never managed to reach.

Along theun-railed part of the wooden walkway, where the tide only reaches at itshighest of highs, a couple of Singaporean cameras were set up in the hope thatthe pitta might show today. They very kindly pointed out the areas where itmight make an appearance, but added that it was mostly seen early in themorning or later in the afternoon. I was in no hurry today and was able toafford the luxury of stopping with them for a while. As we waited, the chatturned to a Spotted Wood Owl that livedin the park. It had two chicks which were out of the nest now and were usuallyto be found beyond the close by herb garden.

The pitta seemed reluctant to showas the morning warmed up, so I took some directions and headed out towards theherb garden. As I searched through the trees on the beach side of the plot, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Sunda Woodpecker, and an overflying White-bellied Sea-eagle were seen.Another birder in the park noticed me looking blankly up and turned me round topoint out a large dark mass in the shade at the top of one of the thinly leavedtrees.

This was the adult Spotted Wood Owl, but we were unable to locate theyoungsters. A couple of other birders had found a good vantage point andbrought news that the pitta had been seen again.

I hastened back to theboardwalk and found that the other birders had moved along, obviouslysatisfied. I carefully stalked up anddown the walkway in the hope that it might still be showing, but to no avail. Cursingmy luck, I was about to move on when something caught my eye. It shouldn’t have,as it was motionless and not obviously different to its surroundings, but aquick look through the binoculars into a tangle of low branches and high rootsbrought my first ever sighting of a Mangrove Pitta.

I habitually use red to note the first sighting of a species, but I think thatthere should be something even more dramatic to register the first member of afamily. So much for the contention that pittas are more easily seen early in themorning or later in the afternoon, this was now 10 minutes to midday. It wascrouched, unmoving, on the ground beneath the tangle of branches and roots. Asmall gap just allowed me to get a picture, though nothing like the shots thatthe other birders had managed earlier.

The day was becoming increasingly hot,humid and oppressive. Zebra Doves fedquietly in the dry areas of shade. I decided to move on thinking that the dayhad surely given everything that it had to offer, when the tiniest movementcaught my eye.

A tiny snake slithered back into the fronds of a low, shadedpalm but paused for a moment to look back and top off a most remarkablemorning.

Birdsseen; 31

Grey Heron 40, Little Egret 1, Striated Heron 2, Black-crowned NightHeron 6, Brahminy Kite 1, White-bellied Sea-eagle 1, White-breasted Waterhen 2,Common Sandpiper 2, Spotted Dove 6, Zebra Dove 5, Pink-necked Green Pigeon 8,Long-tailed Parakeet 3, Asian Koel 3, Spotted Wood-owl1, Black-capped Kingfisher 1, Collared Kingfisher 15, Common Kingfisher1, Dollarbird 1, Sunda Woodpecker 1, Mangrove Pitta 1,Pacific Swallow 25, Yellow-vented Bulbul 3, Common Tailorbird 2, AshyTailorbird 1, Arctic Warbler 1, Asian Brown Flycatcher 1, Plain-throatedSunbird 2, Black-naped Oriole 10, House Crow 6, Asian Glossy Starling 30, JavanMyna 50.

Mammals seen; 1 Smooth Otter 3.

An earlier post from Paser Ris can be found at the link below:
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/05/singapore-paser-ris-park.html
Visit the dedicated Asia page for more posts from Singapore including Sungei Buloh, Central Catchment Area, and Botanical Gdns.
If anyone out there can suggest a name for the snake, spider and butterflies, I would be thrilled.
Thanks.

Taking a break, Mote Park Feb 2012

2012-02-07T01:30:00.000Z

In a perfect world there would be enough time in the day towrite up the posts from Singapore and Australia as well as going for a walkthrough the park in the snow. With so many pictures to sort through from lastweek, I felt that the best thing to do would be to go out and take evenmore.

I made it as far as the Little Owl who was not showing when I reached its oak, but came to the front of its hole in response to the sun breaking through the cloud.

Two male Goosanders (Common Mergansers), had been reported from Mote ParkLake, so on the way to meet my son, I dropped in for a quick look. They were onthe south side of the lake and I had chosen to traipse along the north shore,so they were a little distant, but quickly recognisable. Another birder hadreported a couple of Smew females that had taken off and could not be relocated. AWater Rail flicked away into the far corner of Old Pond as I approached, butshowed a bit better on my return journey.

On the bank leading down towardsthe watersports launch jetty, a European Golden Plover was seen to pull a largeworm from the grass from which the snow had been removed to build a snow fort.

Birds seen; 25

Little Grebe 1, Mute Swan 12, Canada Goose 8,Eurasian Teal 3, Mallard 8,Common Pochard 15, Tufted Duck 35, Goosander 2,Water Rail 2, Common Moorhen 2, Common Coot 4, European Golden Plover 1,Black-headed Gull 120, Common Woodpigeon 40, Little Owl 1, Grey Wagtail 1,Northern Wren 2, Song Thrush 1, Common Blackbird 3, European Robin 1, Blue Tit3, Eurasian Jay 3, Eurasian Magpie 6, Eurasian Jackdaw 3, Carrion Crow 15.

For more posts from Mote Park, follow the links below; http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/02/jack-sipe-in-mote-park.html http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/02/on-my-own-doorstep.html http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/04/cats-back.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/04/poaching-on-patchwork.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/04/while-cat-is-away.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/keira-knightly-in-mote-park.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/10/mote-park-cormorant-oct-2011.html

Visit the dedicated UK page for other sites around Kent.

Sungei Buloh, Singapore, January 2012

2012-02-06T09:46:00.005Z

Sungei Buloh is Singapore’s premier dedicated nature reserveand wetland. It is ironic that the bus from Kranji MRT Station continues on tothe reserve only at weekends, but on this Sunday morning, I chose to alight amile short where the bus normally turns round and heads back.

The Singaporeanchapter of the Big Lens Club were pointing their tackle at a tree in KranjiBeach Battlefield Park (Gogle Earth ref; 01 26 20N 103 44 15E). I pressed thebutton and jumped from the bus to see what they had found. It was a BrahminyKite, posing as if it had nothing better to do with the day.

Rather than walkthe remaining mile on a morning that was already oppressively hot, I wastedsome time until the bus passed again by watching a Pied Triller in the carpark. Also seen here were Collared Kingfisher, Striated Heron, Common Sandpiperand Asian Glossy Starling.

At the entrance to the visitor centre (Google Earthref; 01 26 42N 103 43 48), more cameras were arranged as a battery pointing atan Olive-backed Sunbirds’ nest. The pair had been building for a couple ofweeks at this point and they were just adding the final touches before thefemale began laying.

The tide was low as I crossed the bridge into the reserve.A tide of 3.2 meters was expected at 15.00, but I cannot say how that comparesto average high tides. More than twodozen viewing hides, screens and towers circle the managed mangrove wetland andthe freshwater ponds.

My intention to head for the freshwater area beyond themangrove boardwalk was thwarted, as usual, by my weakness for distraction. Acrocodile was basking on a sand bar and a large monitor lizard kept itsdistance as it passed.

At hide 2D, Little Egrets, a Great Egret, Lesser SandPlovers, and a couple of Marsh Sandpipers were all outnumbered by CommonRedshank. I had intended to leave the waders until the tide pushed more of theminto the reserve, but they were such a pleasure to watch and the hide wascomfortable and cool. A narrow rivulet runs just in front of the hide and gavethe redshank somewhere to bathe.

The sun had climbed high now and the heat andhumidity was sapping. By the time I reached the freshwater area most sentientlife had crawled off to sleep in the shade and nothing was moving thereexcept for some mad dogs, this Englishman and a daft Blue-tailed Bee-eater. Pink-necked Green Pigeons were common, feeding in fruiting trees near the boardwalk.

Thetide eventually pushed the birds off the mud and beaches along the Straits ofJohor and up into the reserve. A large flock of Whimbrel joined CommonGreenshank and Pacific Golden Plover in the managed areas. A Milky Stork thatis often seen at the reserve is said to be an escapee, but sometimes more thanone is seen. On this occasion a singleton must be assumed to be the fugitiveand will not count towards the year list (unless things get tight towards theend).

The best sighting of the day was a Yellow Bittern which put on a show atthe freshwater pond back at the visitor centre by the entrance. It suspendeditself between two reeds as it watched for prey in the weeds and water beneath.

As I watched the bittern a movement in the weeds provoked some excitement and I readied myself for a crake or somesuch to emerge. The movement was caused by the most abundant of Singapore's Rallids however, a White-breasted Waterhen.

Birdsseen; 31

Grey Heron 4, Purple Heron 1, Great Egret 1, Little Egret 40, StriatedHeron 3, Yellow Bittern 1, Milky Stork 1, Brahminy Kite 1, White-bellied SeaEagle 1, White-breasted Waterhen 6, Pacific Golden Plover 40, Lesser SandPlover 25, Asiatic Whimbrel 150, Common Redshank 60, Marsh Sandpiper 4, CommonGreenshank 60, Common Sandpiper 4, Spotted Dove 4, Pink-necked Green Pigeon 12,Stork-billed Kingfisher 1, Collared Kingfisher 6, Blue-tailed Bee-Eater 2,Pacific Swallow 35, Pied Triller 1, Common Tailorbird 2, Ashy Tailorbird 1,Plain-backed Sunbird 2, Olive-backed Sunbird 4, Black-naped Oriole 6, AsianGlossy Starling 25, Javan Myna 30.

For a previous post and directions to Sungei Buloh, follow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/05/singapore-dragons-and-dragonflies.html

Visit the dedicated Asia page for more posts from Singapore, including Paser Ris, Botanical Gardens and Central Catchment Area.
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Salt Lake at Santa Maria, Sal, Cape verde, Jan 2012

2012-01-31T16:56:00.000Z

If you were to travel from Dakar, Senegal, out into theAtlantic Ocean, you may be lucky enough to encounter an archipelago known as TheCape Verde Islands. The ex-Portugese colony is seldom heralded for its birdlife and more mention is usually made of its place in the history of slaveryand salt.

Salt production on the island has taken second place totourism over recent years, especially on Sal Island and its southernmost town of SantaMaria. Salt pans here have been dug up and built over, but a few remnant bodiesof salty water remain attracting wading birds that can be seen at quite closequarters.

Just on the West side of town is a lake that held a niceselection of birds this morning. Immediately obvious from a distance were theBlack-winged Stilts. The birds moved independently of each other rather thanfeeding closely together and moving as a small flock.

Smaller birds on the edge of the lake included KentishPlover, Common Ringed Plover and Curlew Sandpipers.

On the far side a Little Stint fed amongst the other specieswhile a White Wagtail was seen on the distant shore. It was too far away for adecent photo, but I managed a bad one to document what is thought to be avagrant bird.

The race of Common Kestrel on Sal takes alexandri as the third part of its trinomial. It is bigger than thenominate and struck fear into the tiny fluttering hearts of the waders thatwere roosting on a small sand bar.

Three birds passed over together , a repeated “vrii“ coming from the young birds. Oncethey had passed over the waders settled down again and spread themselves outalong another roosting bar. Common Redshank and Ruddy Turnstone were seen hereto add to the list.

On the way back to my apartment, one of the Kestrels was seen escorting a Brown-necked Raven from the neighbourhood for my third lifer of the visit.

Birds seen; 16

Cattle Egret 45, Common Kestrel 4, Black-winged Stilt 7,Common Ringed Plover 15, Kentish Plover 25, European Whimbrel 2, CommonRedshank 2, Common Sandpiper 1, Ruddy Turnstone 35, Sanderling 60, Little Stint2, Curlew Sandpiper 15, Black-headed Gull 1, White-wagtail 1, Brown-necked Raven 1, Cape Verde Sparrow 25.

More digiscoped Bittern.

2012-01-27T13:58:00.000Z

A Bittern is posing in the reeds about 70 meters away. It isstanding completely still with a touch of weak winter sun warming it from thesouth east. On a crisp January morning such a sight is bound to gladden theheart and quicken the pulse of a newcomer to the art that is digiscoping.

Taken at 400mm for comparison.

“Canonfodder!” I hear some wag cry. Well, you would have thought so wouldn’t you? Istruggled again to get a good focus and though I had plenty of time with thebird completely still and in plain view, I just could not seem to get it crisp.

Digiscoped at 16x magnification.

I was using live view on the Canon 50D which allows me to zoom in to 10xmagnification to check the focus. The scope sports a 16x eyepiece so betweenthem I had an image on the screen of 160x with which to judge the focus. A fine adjustment knob on the scope crisped up the reeds in front of and behind theBittern, but sadly not the bird itself.

Am I expecting too much? Surely thissituation is exactly what digiscoping is for. Any tips will be very gratefullyreceived and I shall persevere to get it right when I get another chance.

All the photos have been posted in their original state, then cropped to the same degree for comparison.

Then I started mucking about and tried to zoom the scope in as far as I could. This one was at about 36x magnification.

Eventually, after trial, error, more error and some more trialling, but mostly error and a lot of photoshopping, I got this one. This is closer to what I was hoping for, but there is still some way to go and I have been hit by the realisation that there is more to this digiscoping lark than just poking a camera down a scope.

To those who contest that that digiscoping is not an artform, try it for yourself. If it works for you, please come back and tell me how you did it!

Bag a better Bittern.

2012-01-26T23:25:00.000Z

So I have a new scope and a T-mount and a-digiscoping weshall go. Now I haven’t yet perfected the art and of the few pictures that Itook in the garden, none have been at all successful, so don’t go hoping fortoo much yet. I chose to go to Leybourne Lakes to see if I can find the Great Crested Grebes performing again. They were too distant for my zoom lens a coupleof weeks ago and I was hoping that the digiscope set up would bring them close enough for a decentpicture.

A Northern Shoveler from about 150 meters was to be my first attempt outdoors, but thatproved to be a disappointment. I was surprised by how much distortion there was around a small circle of clear shot in the centre. The Grebes were conspicuous by their absence, soI tried with the Tufted Ducks instead, but I was so cack-handed and slow thatby the time I had them in frame and in focus, they had dived beneath the ripples andI had to start all over again. I was beginning to develop a grudging respectfor people who have mastered this discipline.

I caught a Black-headed Gull in the frame which is all we shall say about that. What I needed was something thatwould stay reasonably still. Bitterns are good still standers, but where areyou going to find one of those when you need one? As luck would have it, Idid find a Bittern but had to hurry along as time was pressing. This photo was taken using my Canon 100-400 for comparison with the digiscope.

The SLR attaches tothe scope by means of a screw-in tube and a Canon-specific T-mount, so that thepicture can be taken through the eye-piece with its 16x magnification. Thepictures were disappointing to say the least. The subject was willing, but thetechnique is still weak.

I can see that there is some merit to this digiscoping lark, but it will need rather more effort on my part to master it and get a nice clear shot. The one below is the best of the rest with the head visible, but focus a bit suspect still.

All of the pictures have been cropped to exactly the same degree for comparison and reduced to 580 pixels on the longest side for uploading.

Other posts for Leybourne Lakes can be found by following the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2012/01/leybourne-lakes-kent-uk-jan-2012.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/leybourne-lakes-maidstone-kent-july.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-celebrate-return-of-dragonflies-to.html

Sal, Cape Verde, Jan 2012

2012-01-26T00:30:00.000Z

Cape Verde is not usually considered as one of the brighteststars in the bird watching firmament, but this archipelago of 9 inhabitedislands, in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of West Africa has a uniqueplace as the most south-westerly landmass to be included in the WesternPalearctic region and is thereby able to claim a number of breeding birds thatwould normally be considered as part of the Afrotropical region’s avifauna.

I made a quick 48 hour visit to the Island of Sal and onlyhad the opportunity for a couple of brief outings, but without walking too far fromthe tourist town of Santa Maria in the south of the island, I managed to find aselection of birds that included three lifers.

The islands also boast a number of endemics andsub-specials, but a thorough and wide ranging tour of the chain would be neededto find them all. One endemic that is easy to find is the Cape Verdean (orIago) Sparrow. It can be found on all the islands and is commonly seen intowns. Compare it to a House Sparrow and you will see that the Cape VerdeanSparrow is smaller and more slender. The male’s crown is black to the HouseSparrow’s grey; he has a much reduced black bib on his breast and shows arufous rump.

This one is a bit curious. The Islands use the marketing motto,“No Stress”, yet this individual has turned prematurely white.

Stroll from the town towards the south-west and pick up theroad heading north between Hotel Rui and Villa Verde. Desert and short scrub oneither side of the road make this a good place to find GreaterHoopoe-Lark.

I had missed this bird on my previous visit and wasfollowing directions from a trip report found on the internet. It was exactlyin the spot described by John Lee, just beyond the pile of rubble on the lefthand side, travelling north (Google Earth ref; 16 36 05N 22 55 21W).

The Google satellite photos of Sal are very old and needup-dating. There has been a lot of tourist development at either end of theroad as well as the road that reaches there from town.

Bar-tailed Larks also like this habitat and were seen on afew occasions. They were loathe to fly and show off their tail which would havebeen the clincher. Despite their reluctance to display their mostcharacteristic feature, the identification was straightforward due to the lackof choice.

A flock of Black-headedSparrow-larks waited for me on the way back to town. The males remindedme of the Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark and I had to wait until I got home toconfirm that the red crayon was required.

There are a few tracks that cut through the dunes to theshore and the popular beach at Ponta Preta. Here you can find the Cape VerdeKite (-surfer). A few waders were seenalong the shore line and a Whimbrel posed well as the sun began its falltowards the ocean.

Birds seen;

Whimbrel 2, Common Kestrel 1, Sanderling 6, Ruddy Turnstone4, Greater Hoopoe Lark 3, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark 9, Bar-tailed Lark 6,

New York City, New York, Jan 2012

2012-01-24T02:18:00.000Z

Having seen what Corey can do with a digiscoping outfit and a Long-tailed Duck, I have taken myself to the photographers' temple at B and H Photo and Video on the corner of 34th and 9th. Go there.

On the way I noticed a few Gray (American bird, American spelling) Catbirds in the tiny park at Herald Square in front of Macy's Department Store.

I wondered what they were still doing here as I had thought of them as a summer visitor. This required a check once I got home where I found that, according to Sibley, some catbirds overwinter along the eastern seaboard.

There are plenty of other examples of catbirds overwintering in northern states and even defending territory during the cold months. Most of them still migrate south however and spend the winter in the southern-most states such as Florida and Louisiana, further south in Central America or on the Caribbean islands.

Given the choice, I think that I would have chosen the Caribbean. This bird doesn't look too happy with its decision to stay behind.

Long Island, New York, Jan 2012

2012-01-23T01:35:00.000Z

I have been trying to retrospectively piece together a dayout with Corey and some of his fellow New York and Staten Island birders.

First off, thanks to Seth who drove all day up to thenorthern tip of Long Island and back via who knows where. It was all in aid of my quest to find a SnowyOwl, which, if you have read Corey’s account of the day, you will know that wedid not find. It was disappointing. I was very excited about the owl as it is abird I never thought that I would get a chance to see.

I only took my camera out once, so have no pictures, just alot of sand in my shoes. In fact, such is my dismay that I will skip this postand recommend you to Corey’s version of events and his simply glorious shot ofthe Long-tailed Duck.

I managed to get a few moments to scan the airfield as we taxied out at JFK in the vain hope that an owl might have blown up onto the apron, but no luck there either.

Thanks for your hospitality guys. Next time!

Birds seen; 38

Red-throated Diver 6, Great Northern Diver 4, Horned Grebe15, Northern Gannet 3, Double-crested Cormorant 15, Great Blue Heron 15, GreatEgret 1, Mute Swan 2, Snow Goose 1, Canada Goose 4000, Brent Goose 600, AmericanBlack Duck 40, Common Eider 150, Harlequin Duck 3, Long-tailed Duck 35, BlackScoter 1, Surf Scoter 60, White-winged Scoter 30, Bufflehead 15, CommonGoldeneye 6, Red-breasted Merganser 15, Northern Harrier 2, Red-tailed Hawk 5,American Kestrel 2, Common Pheasant 1, American Oystercatcher 4, Ring-billedGull 150, Great Black-backed Gull 12, Herring Gull 120, Lesser Black-backedGull 1, Bonaparte’s Gull 25, Downy Woodpecker 2, Northern Mockingbird 2,Mountain Bluebird 1, American Robin 2, American Crow 15, House Finch 4, SongSparrow 4.

Leybourne Lakes, Kent, UK, Jan 2012

2012-01-22T00:40:00.000Z

A Bittern had been reported at Leybourne Lakes which is within very easy reach of my home, so I made a couple of attempts to locate it. The bird had been showing during Christmas Week and into the New Year and I hoped that I wasn't too late to find it in what sounded like a reasonably good location.
A small parking area is available just outside the gate of the Water Treatment Plant in Snodland (Google Earth ref; 51 19 09N 00 26 42E).

The Bittern had been seen in a small patch of phragmites reeds and bullrushes on Streamside Lake and I took up position on the opposite bank which would have given me a good view if the bird had shown. I had only popped in quickly as the sun was setting, but returned early the next morning for another look. A European Robin came to keep me company.

After staking out the Bittern for a while and hearing that another bird had been seen on Brooklands Lake, I took a stroll to see what else I could find. The chances of there being 2 Bitterns were not astronomical, but the likelyhood was that the bird had moved. Access had been made to reach the bank by the reeds and perhaps some over zealous spotters had flushed the bird.

Eurasian Siskins were feeding in the alders along the track leading to the railway line. Goldfinches wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a long-dreamed of picture of them on a teasel head. A short way along, a path heads left between Streamside Lake and the adjacent lake. A Water Rail flushed from the margins.

Great Crested Grebes were indulging in their courtship dance. Each dove beneath the water and re-surfaced with a small piece of weed. Then, with their necks low to the water, they swam towards each other and raised themselves from the water in the 'penguin dance'.
My camera was not powerful enough to capture the moment; it really is time that I began to think seriously about this digiscoping lark.

I returned for another stint across from the reed bed. Watching for the Bittern was not an arduous task while Tufted Ducks bobbed on the water and a Common Kingfisher darted back and forth. I was scoping the fringes and stood up for a moment only to see a browny, cinammon coloured pair of wings fold back into the rushes. It was as if the Bittern had just flown back in, but I am sure that I would have seen it coming up the lake, perhaps it was just having a stretch. I quickly found it in my binoculars and had a quick view of its head and neck before it melted back into the reeds.
Rushing around the bank to get a different angle didn't help. A small island with a thorn tree had obscured my view so I changed position, but could not relocate the bird.

Birds seen; 36

Little Grebe 1, Great crested Grebe 12, Great Cormorant 15, Grey Heron 2, Great Bittern 1, Mute Swan 3, Greylag Goose 15, Mallard 3, Northern Shoveler 6, Common Pochard 8, Tufted Duck 30, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2, Water Rail 1, Common Moorhen 8, Common Coot 40, Herring Gull 2, Black-headed Gull 50, Stock Dove 2Common Woodpigeon 40, Eurasian Collared Dove 4, Common Kingfisher 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Northern Wren 2, Redwing 8, Fieldfare 12, Common Blackbird 8, European Robin 8, Long-tailed Tit 5, Great Tit 25, Blue Tit 15, Eurasian Magpie 15, Carrion Crow 4, Chaffinch 6, Eurasian Siskin 2, European Goldfinch 10, Bullfinch 1.

Other posts from Leybourne Lakes can be found via the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-celebrate-return-of-dragonflies-to.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/leybourne-lakes-maidstone-kent-july.html

Visit the dedicated UK page for more posts from the UK

Reculver, Viking Coastal Trail, Jan 2012

2012-01-20T23:22:00.000Z

The Viking Coastal Trail runs from Reculver Towers along the Thames Estuary, eastwards past Margate, rounding the headland and passing Broadstairs and Ramsgate before cutting back inland at Cliffsend. There are proposals to continue the path from its current end at St Nicholas-at-Wade and close the circle back at the twin towers of Reculver (Google Earth ref; 51 22 46N 01 11 58E).
Don't imagine that I covered the current 47 kms, I just thought a bit of the back story might be interesting in case you fancied an afternoon out in East Kent.

I had gone on the look for Snow Buntings. A post from here last year, offered a very poor view of the bird and I made a promise to come back and try again. So here I am.
I started towards the west dropping down onto the beach hoping to find some waders along the shore. A few Black-headed Gulls were seen with a small flock of Sanderlings and a single Grey Plover.

A dog-walker spoiled the view by running his dog along the water-line and spooking all the birds.
I passed the towers on my way back to the east and met a couple of birders, Ed and Val, who were also on the lookout for Snow Buntings. Together we walked along the dyke path, noting plenty of Common Redshank, Ruddy Turnstones and a few Goldfinch.
Up ahead a small restless bird on the low wall bordering the path proved to be a Black Redstart which we saw a couple of times, but which kept its distance. The wave and tide action has swept the shingle beach into tiers, affording a little privacy to a Eurasian Oystercatcher.

Ed was calling birds from out on the estuary, Red-throated Divers, Great Crested Grebes and some Brent Geese. There were some Common Shelduck and and a few gulls too. Ed and Val turned back after a while without having seen the buntings, but they did give me the heads up about a Bittern which had been showing well at Leybourne Lakes. I continued on and beyond Plum Island before heading back.

I spent a short while sea-watching from the shelter of the twin towers and saw what I thought might count as a Black-throated Diver. It was very distant and I could not make out the shape of the head or the bill angle, but the distinct white flash to the rear of the flank gave me serious cause for consideration. I am not at all experienced at sea-watching so I sought advice but was not encouraged in my ID which will remain in pencil. No other reports of a Black-throated have been filed for the area and there were plenty of Great Crested Grebes and Red-throated divers to confuse the mix.

Birds seen; 28

Red-throated Diver 6, Great Crested Grebe 12, Great Cormorant 25,Brent Goose 25, Common Shelduck 3, Common Kestrel 2, Common Pheasant 3,Eurasian Oystercatcher 4, Grey Plover 3, Common Ringed Plover 16, CommonRedshank 35, Common Sandpiper 1, Ruddy Turnstone 20, Sanderling 30, Common Gull25, Herring Gull 3, Black-headed Gull 80, Common Woodpigeon 12, EurasianCollared Dove 2, Meadow Pipit 2, Pied Wagtail 4, Common Blackbird 2, EuropeanRobin 1, Black Redstart 1, House Sparrow 20, European Goldfinch 8, CommonLinnet 60.

Other posts from Reculver can be found at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/11/reculver-seawall-kent-uk.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/11/return-to-reculver.html

Visit the dedicated UK page for more posts from the UK

Where did all these Wagtails come from?

2012-01-19T01:00:00.000Z

Last week, I found myself popping into London Heathrow’sTerminal 5. It was just around dusk and as I came to leave again, I noticed afew White Wagtails dropping down toroost in the trees just outside. When I stepped through the door it becameobvious that it was more than just a few. The trees were already full of birdswith still more coming in. Altogether, I would estimate that there were about3,000. What drew them here and did they not know that the trees had beenbird-proofed?

Bird-proofed? I hear you scoff. Yes indeed. The developmentof the new terminal had faced a lot of resistance from pressure groups and plannershad decided that such a large expanse of glass would be vulnerable to dirtyprotests from the avian community. I wish I could tell you how thebird-proofing was accomplished because if there is a way to make trees lessattractive to birds, then there should, conversely, be a way to make them moreattractive. Actually, a quick look in Google suggested many ways to deter birdsand the most likely solution was a liquid spray that leaves an unpleasant,sticky residue on the branches of the treated tree. The birds feeluncomfortable roosting in the goo and move on.

I suspect that the trees have grown since their treatmentand the new, uppermost branches are free from unpleasant stickiness. I have only just noticed the flock here and am concerned that someone may be missing a flock from their town centre and will be fretting about their disappearance. Does anyone know how long they have been there? Has anyone misplaced a large flock of wagtails?

Update;
I have been in contact with the peole who know about these things and it has been confirmed that the trees are indeed bird-proof. Not as I surmised to repel the birds with icky stickyness, but rather the 'goblet shape' of the tree, with upward pointing branches makes constuction of nests difficult. So perching and roosting birds are to be expected, but nesting is thought to be unlikely.

Wagtails are known to gather in large numbers, especiallyduring the colder months, but this is the largest roosting flock that I haveever seen. Perhaps a primal, collective memory drew them here as Terminal 5 was builton the site of the old Perry Oaks Water Treatment Plant. This spot had alwaysbeen popular with wagtails but was filled in before the end of the last century inpreparation for the symphony in glass and steel that is Terminal 5.

In the UK we host the PiedWagtail form of White Wagtail and they often have to compete with othercommunal roosters such as Starlingsor Pigeons for the best roosting spots.As the weather has suddenly turned cold, the bird’s choice of roosting spotcould prove to be vital. Wagtails have shown a marked preference for shelteredspots such as railway stations and even an internal courtyard at the Princess Royal Hospital at HaywardsHeath. The trees in front of Terminal 5 are sheltered in all directions and mayoffer protection from the wind and probably some warmth radiating from thebuilding itself.

Cost-cutting to drive profit is still very popular among the airlines. Here’shoping that one of the incentives to save money will be to hold back onbird-proofing until the weather starts to warm up again. In the mean-time keep a look out, between dusk and dawn, in the trees at the south-eastern part of the terminal. Drop down into the carpark, level 3 for the best view.

Pied Wagtail, White Wagtail, Terminal 5, Heathrow airport, Large flock,

Discovery Park, Seattle, SEA, January 2012

2012-01-12T00:03:00.000Z

An irruption of Snowy Owls has given me a focus for my North American trips this winter. At Boundary Bay, just South of Vancouver, observers are reporting them by the dozen! www.ebird.org contributors have recorded sightings of up to 30 at at time during the first week of 2012 and I was headed for Seattle, just 100 miles or so south, as the Bubo flies.

Sighting numbers around Seattle can't hold a light to those at Boundary Bay and are distant from the city without easy public transport access. Without enough time to book a twitching car, I chose Discovery Park as the best likelyhood. There are recent historical records of Snowy Owls here, but Ebird was not ebullient about my chances. As you might judge from the list below, it was a quiet day and I found myself taking an interest in the moss and lichen to while away the time between birds.

It was a drab, damp day when the light finally began to filter through into the misty morning. The bus had arrived about 20 minutes before sun up and dropped me at the North car park (Google Earth ref; 47 39 53N 122 24 39W ). I took a short stroll along the road opposite, marked Bernie Whitebear. A couple of other roads led to a dead-end in a small residential area.on the northern headland. I hoped to catch a few late refrains from a Barred Owl perhaps that is said to be resident in the park. The first sounds came from a Song Sparrow with what sounded like a Bald eagle in the distance. I was unsure about the eagle, do they start calling before it gets light?

The road brought me round to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center where the first visual identification of a bird put American Robin at the top of my list. The light was just peeking through as the eagle flew over my head and out across Shilsole Bay to meet its mate on a buoy out on the water.The viewpoint here gives a great view out across the bay, or would do if the visibility was good. Sealions that sounded exactly like the ones from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf were playing near the shoreline. As Steller's Sealion seldom barks, I came to the conclusion that these were Californian Sealions.

A road leads south from the Cultural center climbing the slope toards the meadow. Animals have worn trails into the forest along the road and walking paths cros it. At last, I ran into a small party of birds consisting of American Robins, Varied Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Golden Crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper. A small flock of Pine Siskins were feeding, silhouetted in the top of an Alder.

The Loop Trail crosses a quiet road that drops down to the lighthouse at West Point. I hadn't seen much from the viewpoint, so there didn't seem much point in trekking all the way down the hill and back up again. View points in the meadow looking out over Puget Sound were also disappointing. Cliffs here afford a good vantage point to view the water and J Pod, the resident Orca family had been playing with the ferries the previous day. No sign now though, sadly.

A group of Birders from the Seattle Audobon Society were conducting a monthly point count. I had hoped that they might have had more luck than me, but they bemoaned that fact that it was a quiet morning. They were very helpful and pleasant, but confirmed what I probably already knew that my chances of seeing a Snowy Owl were marginal. One had been sighted closeby before Christmas, but had not been seen again since. Ah well, I have another chance in New York next week.

Lee Barnes was also able smooth my furrowed brow concerning the Northwest/American Crow conundrum and most people take American Crow in Discovery Park. He told me later that he found a few Snowy Owls at Damon Point, Ocean Shores and I am hoping that he will send me a picture for an otherwise disappointingly illustrated post.
A bird list for Discovery Park can be found at this link. It is rather more impressive than my paltry collection below.

Birds seen; 17

Horned Grebe 4, Double-crested Cormorant 3, Bald Eagle 2, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Glaucous-winged Gull 3, Northern Flicker 1, American Robin 25, Varied Thrush 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 3, Black-capped Chickadee 6, Brown Creeper 1, American Crow 20, Pine Sikin 14, Spotted Towhee 2, Song Sparrow 6, Dark-eyed Junco 4.

Bus no 33 for Discovery Park can be caught from the stop at University and 4th in Downtown Seattle. They terminate at the North parking lot in Discovery Park.At weekends, they run once an hour. During the week the service is more frequent, but less regular. You can pick up a timetable on the bus or look up route 33 at www.kingcounty.gov/tripplanner

For other posts from Discovery Park and other sites in Seattle, follow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/12/discovery-park-seattle.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/07/last-night-i-took-quick-run-down-to.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/12/montlake-fill-seattle.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/10/seattle-ferry-to-bremerton.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more from the North American continent.

High Resolution Images from December 2011

2012-01-08T16:00:00.000Z

High Resolution Images from December 2011

The images in the main blog have been reduced in size to 600 pixels or less across to facilitate quick loading. It goes against all my sensibilities to reduce the resolution, so each month I shall select a few shots that warrant being seen in in hi-res.
These posts may take slightly longer to load, so please be patient.

The links will take you to the original post.
These Black-tailed Godwits were flying out to see if the tide had receded enough to allow them to start feeding in the Thames Estuary near Oare Marshes.

Any African pictures are always going to make it onto my favourites list. Just inside the gate at the Kruger National Park in South Africa was an Impala receiving a grooming from a Red-billed Oxpecker.

Lake Panic provided a delightful couple of hours during the visit to the Kruger NP where a family of Goliath Herons kept us all entertained.

Visit the dedicated Hi-resolution page for more

Sultanpur National Park, New Delhi, January 2012

2012-01-06T22:16:00.000Z

Dutch New Year burst upon us with a barrage of glitterbombs, sparklers and apple cake. The celebrations of the KLM crew were likelyto outshine the attempts of the British trying to sing a traditional Scottishsong to which no-one actually knows the words, so I took the opportunity for aquick lie down before heading out to SultanpurNational Park. As it happens, I was disturbed a short while later, by afull-throated roar to the tune of Auld Lang Syne from the airline party room 4floors up. Well done chaps!

Given my track record, I had foolishly left a few issuesunresolved and had 3 things to worry about this New Year’s morning. Would thecar arrive? I had tried to book a car on-line, but had not received anyconfirmation. Would the sanctuary be open on New Year’s morning? Would the foglift? There had been fog inside the terminal building and the hotel lobby whenwe arrived! Would the driver know the way (OK, so that’s 4 things to worryabout, but Indian drivers often confuse the ability to ask directions at theroadside with actual knowledge of the route)?

Perhaps my luck is changing in anticipation of a great yearahead because just before 06.00 Jasvinder Singh arrived with the car andconfirmed that he did indeed know the way. We arrived just over an hour laterafter having to stop only three times to ask the way, but found the gatesfirmly locked. Luckily another birder/photographer was already waiting andconfirmed that the park would open as soon as the gatekeeper woke up. Shortlyafter, a couple of men arrived on a motorbike and one jumped over the gate,woke the guard by poking him with a stick through the grille and moments later,we were in.

I joined the other photographer, Vinay Chand and he led mealong the lakeside to a spit which juts out into the lake and can be seen atGoogle Earth ref; 28 27 43N 76 53 18E. The fog had not lifted unfortunately butit was still possible to see out across the lake through the murk. Small islandmounds were proving very popular with the wildfowl and in particular, the Bar-headed Geese which Vinay was hopingto photograph today. I am sure that his pictures will be atmospheric, whilemine just turned out grainy and grey.

Out on the water ducks included Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail,Gadwall, and Eurasian Teal. An IntermediateEgret stalked the shallow weedy margins with Common Coot and Common Moorhens.A Common Snipe flushed and I wasable to get my first ever picture of one in flight.

On a couple of occasions the mist thinned. Vinay wasconfident that the sun would come out soon and burn it all away, but sadly hisoptimism was misplaced. A flock of PaintedStorks could just be made out on the far side of the lake and occasionallyone would appear, pterodactyl-like from the mist.

We returned to the path that runs around the lake and beganretracing our steps towards the entrance. Dry woodland surrounds part of thelake attracting birds such as BlackRedstart, Red-breasted Flycatcher andIndian Peafowl. We wereconcentrating on the lake and found LittleGrebe, Purple Swamphen and Little Cormorant as we continued alongthe path and back past the entrance. Vinay told me that this part of the parkwas less visited and the birds appeared to be more wary.

Spot-billed Ducksand Comb Ducks were quick to moveaway from the bank as we appeared through the gloom Even the Greylag Geese were quick to take flight. Rose-ringed Parakeets and TreePipits were seen in the woodland to our left as we rounded the northernpart of the Lake.

We were headed for another spit which can be seen at GoogleEarth ref; 28 27 51N 76 53 33E. Vinay was hoping to find some good photoopportunities with Pied Kingfishersand Crested Serpent Eagle. I amstill unsure what the large birds of prey that we saw outlined in the distancewere, though I was able to confirm a Booted Eagle, seen later, by its “headlights” on aphotograph when I got home.

The nesting colony, or “village” as Vinay preferred, ofPainted Storks can be seen from this point. On a day such as this, it was anunimpressive sight and the grey, drab juveniles looked wraith-like in the lowlight.

A Plain Priniashowed in the rushes along the spit and at last I was able to get a clearphotograph of something. The mist had thinned, but the light was still poor bythe time I had to leave. A Black-neckedStork in the distance could be seen at the top of a tree, watching over itsnest and its brooding mate.

Away from the lake during the journey home, the air qualityimproved somewhat. A Hoopoe was seen on the wall at the entrance. Cattle Egrets andIndian Black Ibis were seen in thefields and Black-necked Stilt could be found in even the dirtiest of puddles.

Birds Seen; 68

Little Grebe 8, Great Cormorant 20, Little Cormorant 40,Oriental Darter 10, Grey Heron 5, Purple Heron 1, Great Egret 4, IntermediateEgret 2, Little Egret 3, Cattle Egret 150, Indian Pond Heron 6, Painted Stork70, Black-necked Stork 2, Black-headed Ibis 6, Indian Black Ibis 2, EurasianSpoonbill 1, Greylag Goose 300, Bar-headed Goose 250, African Comb Duck 30,Gadwall 200, Eurasian Teal 400, Spot-billed Duck 30, Northern Pintail 60,Northern Shoveler 100, Tufted Duck 3, Black-shouldered Kite 1, Black Kite 10,Shikra 1, Booted Eagle 1, Common Kestrel 1, GreyFrancolin 1, Indian Peafowl 3, White-breasted Waterhen 3, Purple Swamphen 3,Common Moorhen 25, Common Coot 60, Black-winged Stilt 12, Red-watttled Lapwing12, Common Snipe 3, Common Greenshank 1, Common Sandpiper 2, Eurasian CollaredDove 1, Rose-ringed Parakeet 40, Greater Coucal 3, White-throated Kingfisher10, Pied Kingfisher 4, Hoopoe 1, Plain Martin 15, Barn Swallow 20, Tree Pipit,White Wagtail 1, Red-vented Bulbul 3, Orange-headed Thrush 1, Oriental MagpieRobin 2, Indian Robin 2, Black Redstart 8, Plain Prinia 12, Lesser Whitethroat1, Red-breasted Flycatcher 3, Jungle Babbler 12, Purple Sunbird 1, IsabellineShrike 12, Black Drongo 20, House Crow 150, Large-billed Crow 15, Bank Myna 6,Common Myna 25, Asian Pied Starling 2.

Sultanpur isapproximately 50 Kms from New Delhi and the drive should take about an hour.Normal street taxis may have difficulty crossing the state line (perhaps aspecial licence is required or maybe heavy tax is payable, but drivers seemreluctant to try for whatever reason). A private car should be used and a priceset with waiting time for the driver taken into account. 2 years ago anegotiated price from a private hire company was Rs1200 with 3 hours waiting.On this occasion I booked ahead with www.uniqueindiatour.com(good driver, good car and punctual). Considering that I was unlikely to beable to find a car on the street at 06.00 on New Year’s morning, the price of Rs2500was not unreasonable (all tolls and taxes were included, but 5% for using Paypal was additonal).

The Sanctuary opening times are from 06.30 to 16.30, but itis closed on Mondays.

Other posts from Sultanpur NP and other sites near New Delhican be found by following the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/sultanpur-new-delhi-india.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/02/tughluqabad-fort-new-delhi.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/04/mercury-had-passed-40c-in-new-delhi.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/08/tughlaqabad-fort-new-delhi-india.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/02/kalindi-kunj-crescent.html

Visit the dedicated India Page for posts from the rest ofIndia.

High Resolution Images from November 2011

2012-01-05T00:02:00.000Z

High Resolution Images from November 2011
The images in the main blog have been reduced in size to 600 pixels or less across to facilitate quick loading. It goes against all my sensibilities to reduce the resolution, so each month I shall select a few shots that warrant being seen in in hi-res.

These posts may take slightly longer to load, so please be patient.

The links will take you to the original post.

November was a funny month with exams, bad weather and very few trips. There were only two photos worth looking at again.

The Northern Mockingbird was the best shot from a visit to Washington and Virginia, taken at the end of a cold, frustrating trip disrupted by the November storm.

Against all the odds, my favourite picture from a day out with Corey and Doug in New York, is scenery. Who would have thought it?

Visit the dedicated Hi-resolution page for more

Lake Panic, Kruger NP, South Africa, December 2011

2011-12-31T23:36:00.000Z

In the Kruger National Park is a fantastic game viewing hideover-looking the excitingly named LakePanic (Google Earth ref; 24 58 53S 31 33 58E). It has become knownprimarily for its birds, although on the last two occasions I have narrowlymissed Lions and a Leopard. Its proximity to the PaulKruger entrance gate and Skakuza Camp have made it especially popular and therestriction of only 8 cars in the car park at any one time is routinely ignored.

There is seating for about 20 - 25 people in the ‘L’-shapedhide, but it is not uncommon to find people standing at the back and evenqueuing out through the door, such is its popularity. And its reputation isjustified, so much so that I want to single it out for its own posts, here andon 10,000 Birds.

I had chosen to stop here during a very quick visit to the KrugerNP. Being only 9kms from the Paul Kruger Gate made it easy to time my departureto be out of the park by the allotted time. The stars of the show today were afamily of Goliath Herons. An adultbird had been bathing and shook itself dry before having a nap. Meanwhile thejuveniles stood close to the edge of the water, peering in, but at a loss whatto do next.

Eventually the adult bird re-emerged from its roost andregurgitated some food for its hungry offspring. A more detailed account willappear on 10,000 Birds soon.

Immediately opposite the thatched hide is a large colony ofweavers. There are two distinct nest shapes in the colony indicating that atleast two species had chosen this site and were able to tolerate each others’closeness. The majority appeared to be the Village(Spot-backed) Weaver. The rest of the nests were built with a slightentrance tunnel descending from the woven sphere. These were the nests of the Southern Masked Weavers.

Very close in, lily pads supported African Jacanas, one of which was playing King of the Castle on atangle of roots with a Black-neckedCrake. Whichever one was currently the ruling monarch seemed determined toincrease its defensive capabilities by dragging more weed and root stems ontothe mound. Could this have been a prospective nesting site? It did seem ratherexposed.

A Grey Heronstood gazing towards the sun with its wings drooped. My visit almost coincidedwith the austral solstice and I was put in mind of a Druid rehearsing formid-summer. Close observers might notice the corrugations in the water as a Crocodile slipped silently through thepool behind the bird.

African Fish Eagleswere calling with their distinctive gull-like shriek. They only came brieflyinto view as they came around the corner from the main body of water. Hippos kept their distance, but couldbe seen and heard as they rose in the water, occasionally raising a head to‘yawn’.

As the sun began to set, the hide became busier and busierwith some visitors bringing picnic hampers. A leopard had walked by at aboutthis time on the previous evening and was said to be a regular visitor to thearea. I wondered if this might have been how Lake Panic had gained its name,but I am given to understand that it was so called because the engineer whodesigned and built the dam that contains the lake had a crisis of confidenceduring the first big storm. The Sabie River flooded and filled the lake whilethe engineer fretted for a day and a night.

A dead tree in front of the hide was productive for less water-associatedbirds. As well as a non-aquatic Brown-hoodedKingfisher, a couple of Retz’sHelmet-Shrike stopped in the dead branches. The lake stretches around a corner and out of view beyondthe trees. Along the northern bank Yellow-wattledLapwings, White-faced Duck and Egyptian Goose can be seen.

In an attempt to achieve balance and fairness, I should advise you that other hides are available, dotted around the park, but in my limited experience, none so well placed and exciting as Lake Panic.

There are a couple of other posts from this trip and from a previous visit. See the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/dullstroom-grasslands-south-africa-jnb.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/mount-sheba-south-africa-jnb-december.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/mount-sheba-re-visited-south-africa.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/quickly-unto-kruger-south-africa.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-time-i-have-faster-it-goes.html

See the dedicated Africa Page fro other posts on sites accesible from Johanneberg, Cape Town and South Africa

Happy New Year.

Lake Panic, Kruger NP, South Africa,

Quickly unto the Kruger, South Africa, December 2011

2011-12-28T13:07:00.000Z

A quick jaunt into the Kruger National Park in South Africawill simply never be enough. I have been driving in the African bush long enough toknow that trying to predict how far one might travel in a given time is a pointlessexercise. I should have known better but, once again, Time beat me and I had tochange plans to get out of the park by dusk.

It is difficult to do justice to the bird watching if youare mammal watching and vice-versa, but occasionally things work out justnicely. Impala were plentiful andthis Red-billed Oxpecker was givingone a fine-toothed combing. There was much to see. A Red-crested Koorhan stepped off the road into the long grass and crouched, with its head cocked as if it were about to launch itself into its display leap.

I had arrived at the Phabeni Gate (Google Earth ref; 25 0130S 31 14 30E) intending to drive as far as the Malelane Gate (25 27 44S 31 3156E). The journey of 100kms should have been easily possible over the four anda half hours that I had before closing time, but even before reaching Skakuza,less than a third of the way I knew that I would have to leave by the KrugerGate.

Elephants hadproved to be very watchable with 2 big bulls very close to the road. They musthave recently taken a bath and were rubbing against a tree to rid themselves ofparasites. they came right out onto the road and gave a superb view. These were mature bulls with nothing to prove and were relaxed in close proximity to the car. Across the road a third bull, with one huge tusk on the right, melted away into the sparce bush.

The first soaring bird seen inside the park was a Bataleur, easily recognisable with itsshort-tailed outline, as it passed over the top of the car. A couple of Levaillant's Cuckoos chased each other through the trees and were closely followed by a pair of Gabar Goshawks doing the same.

Another bird of prey was the Dark Chanting Goshawk. Beyond the range of the Pale ChantingGoshawk, this one was easy to identify without having to check for the palesecondaries contrasting against the darker wing and back.

The road from Phabeni Gate to Skakuza crosses a couple ofsmall water courses. A pair of WaterDikkops was roosting quietly by the bank of one.

Just before turning up to visit the bird hide at Lake Panic,a Juvenile Red-backed Shrike wasseen close to the road and it sat well for some pictures.

The best part of the short visit to the Kruger was the hourand a half that I spent at Lake Panic (Google Earth ref; 24 58 53S 31 33 58E). I chose to stop hereas it would not have been possible to reach the next gate and thus I wascommitted to leaving the park by the nearby Kruger Gate come closing time.

Lake Panic was such a delightful place that I will devote awhole post to it and it has given me a post for 10,000Birds in the New Year too. The bird list that followsincludes the birds from Lake Panic.
Don’t ever imagine that distance divided by speed will give you a good approximation of time while driving in the Kruger National Park. You can try it, but will probably still be wrong by hours!

Birds seen; 51

Grey Heron 2, Goliath Heron 3, Cattle Egret 6, StriatedHeron 1, Hadada Ibis 3, White-faced Whistling Duck 8, Egyptian Goose 6, AfricanComb Duck 1, African Fish Eagle 2, Brown Snake Eagle 1, Bataleur 4, Dark ChantingGoshawk 1, Gabar Goshawk 2, Common Buzzard 1, Helmeted Guineafowl 8, BlackCrake 2, Red-crested Bustard 1, African Jacana 6, Water Thick-knee 2,Blacksmith Lapwing 8, Wattled Lapwing 1, Ring-necked Dove 6, Emerald-spottedWood Dove 1, Levaillant’s Cuckoo 2, Dideric Cuckoo 1, Little Swift 2,White-rumped Swift 4, Woodland Kingfisher 2, Brown-headed Kingfisher 2, PiedKingfisher 2, Lilac-breasted Roller 3, African Grey-billed Hornbill 1, AfricanRed-billed Hornbill 1, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill 3, Greater StripedSwallow 50, African Pied Wagtail 2, Cape Wagtail 1, Common Bulbul 4,Tawny-flanked Prinia 1, Cape Crombec 1, Scarlet-chested Sunbird 1, Red-backedShrike 1, Retz’s Helmetshrike2, Fork-tailed Drongo 15, Cape Glossy Starling 6, Red-billedOxpecker 3, Southern Masked Weaver 20, Spot-backed Weaver 40,Blue-breatedCordonbleu 1, Common Waxbill 1.

For posts on other sites close to the Kruger National Park, floow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-time-i-have-faster-it-goes.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/dullstroom-grasslands-south-africa-jnb.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/mount-sheba-south-africa-jnb-december.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/12/mount-sheba-re-visited-south-africa.html

There are many more posts for sites that are accessible from Johannesberg, Cape Town and far wider on the continent of Africa on the dedicated Africa page.

Kruger, South Africa, JNB Johannesburg,

Mount Sheba Re-visited, South Africa, December 2011

2011-12-26T15:20:00.000Z

My issues at Mount Sheba are still unresolved, but thismorning brings another chance and as much time as I need. The journey fromLydenberg was quick and easy with a few species gleaned from the side of theroad as I drove. A Rock Kestrel satatop a telegraph pole and plenty of small weavers and doves flushed from theverges as I passed. The local relay station was guarded by a good flock ofroosting Cattle Egrets.

Driving onto the reserve, it quickly became apparent that Ihad made the right choice to stay high in the mountains. Cloud cloaked thelower layers and meant that there was no need to hurry to get to the forest. Onthe approach road, swifts were already feeding and I had the chance to take areally good look as they swept low across the road and note the contrastingback of the Black Swift thatdifferentiates them from the Common(European) Swift.

The cloud layer had actually settled just below the resort,so I pressed on into the forest on the road that passes Chalet No 1. The Narina Trogons and the Red-chested Cuckoos were calling again,but I was still unable to get a decent look at any of them. The forest was veryquiet this morning. I followed the road until a sign enticed me into the forestalong the trail that passes Marco’s Mantle. Despite stopping frequently, Ifound almost nothing until I traced the source of a “sweet pepper” call to a White-starred Robin. The path was roughin places and I spent more time watching my step rather than looking for birds.It is useful to know the calls of some of the species that you are likely tofind in the forest. This leaves your eyes available to look where you aregoing. The trail is narrow and rocky, but well marked.

Another trail leads out from the left side of the road as itreaches the resort. Here a GreyCuckoo-shrike and a TerrestrialBrownbul were seen, but the target birds from the forest remain unticked.

In the gardens and around the small trout lake birds were much easier to see. A Cape Wagtail parent was feeding its juvenile chick on the edge of the pond and a pair of young Familiar Chat watched hungrily from the fence as they waited for their parents.

A young Cape White-eye maintained a keening noise until its parents re-appeared with more food for it. On the steep switchback road above the resort,plenty of birds were moving, but very few sat still for the camera. Only a Bar-throatedApalis popped its head out to scold me.

A couple of birds that do not appear on the resort’s birdlist were also seen with a group of 4 EuropeanGolden Orioles, a Black-throatedCanary and a very washed out EuropeanRoller noted. The Roller struck me especially as it was so pale.

Birds seen; 38

Cattle Egret 50, Jackal Buzzard 2, Rock Kestrel 1, HelmetedGuineafowl 6, Ringnecked Dove 60, African Palm Swift 3, African Black Swift 20,White-rumped Swift 6, European Roller 1, Rock Martin 2, Greater Striped Swallow40, Cape Wagtail 2, Grey Cuckoo-shrike 1, Common Bulbul 6, Sombre Greenbul 2,Terrestrial Brownbul 1, White-starred Robin 1, Cape Robin-chat 2, CommonStonechat 8, Familiar Chat 2, Drakensberg Prinia 3, Bar-throated Apalis 3, CapeGrassbird 1, African Dusky Flycatcher 1, Greater Double-collared Sunbird 2,Cape White-eye 25, Eurasian Golden Oriole 4, Common Fiscal 8, Cape Crow 2,Pale-winged Starling 11, Red-billed Quelea 1, Yellow-crowned Bishop 40, RedBishop 120, Yellow Bishop 4, White-winged Widowbird 3, Common Waxbill 3,Pin-tailed Whydah 2, Black-throated Canary 1.

There are more posts from Dullstroom and nearby sites at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-time-i-have-faster-it-goes.html

Visit the dedicated Africa Page for other sites near Johannesburg and for posts from elsewhere in South Africa and further afield on the Dark Continent.

Mount Sheba, South Africa, JNB

Mount Sheba, South Africa, JNB, December 2011

2011-12-24T22:37:00.000Z

I had some unfinished business to attend to in the Afro-montaneforest of Mount Sheba, and foundthat I had a couple of hours of daylight left after exploring the grasslands of Dullstroom. The entrance to the resort (Google Earth ref; 24 53 15S 30 40 46E )is about 30 minutes drive from Lydenberg and a further 10kms will find you atthe hotel and resort buildings.

Here Cape White-eyeswere very common in small feeding flocks. This young one was still being fed byits parents and looked cross that I should disturb them.

Greater StripedSwallows and Red-winged Starlingsflew around the roofs and Common Bulbulswere easy to find.

I wanted to get into the forest and look for some birdswhich had eluded me on my previous visits here. The Orange-bellied Thrush, Blue-mantledCrested Flycatcher and Red-chestedCuckoo had all out-foxed me here before and I was keen to make up forthat. The cuckoo was immediately audiblewith its three clearly defined notes repeated constantly. Its Africaan’s nameis an onomatopoeic ‘piet-my-vrou’ with a slight drop in pitch with each note.There were at least 4 birds calling, but I was completely unable to locate anyof them. There are chalets in the grounds of the hotel and guests wereobviously in residence. I chose not to impose on the guests’ privacy by goingaround the back of the chalets, though this may be acceptable if you know thechalet to be unoccupied.

Around the grounds of the resort, sympathetic plantings give home and harbour to African Dusky Flycatchers. The Greater Double-collared Sunbird is usually very common here, but I only noted a couple of females today.

A road leads into the forest below the hotel by passingchalet number 1. The ‘South African Birdfinder’ book recommends this as a goodplace to look for Narina Trogons.They could not have been more accurate if they had nailed the bird to itsperch. Sadly the light was fading fast and the silhouetted photograph was asgood a view as I had of this bird. It was not even possible to tell the sex,but the profile was very distinctive and I was able to enjoy another pairshortly afterwards in slightly better light.

My 3 target birds continued to elude me. An Olive Thrush made me look twice, butany day that you see 3 Narina Trogons is a good day nonetheless. It was dark asI reached the car and Jupiter was showing high and bright. On the westernhorizon Venus (I’m assuming) was also very obvious. The three stars, Sirius, Canopusand Rigel, described a huge triangle in the western sky and Orion hunted upsidedown as is his wont in the southern hemisphere.

I took a hand-held shot to nothing of Jupiter with its 4 Gallileansatellites showing and was a little shocked to get a result.

Birds seen; 14

Natal Francolin 4, Helmeted Guineafowl 6, Narina Trogon 3,Greater Striped Swallow 6, Common Bulbul 8, Sombre Greenbul 1, Olive Thrush 1, ChoristerRobin-chat 1, Bar-throated Apalis 1, African Dusky Flycatcher 2, Cape Batis 2,Greater Double-collared Sunbird 2, Cape White-eye 25, Red-winged Starling 6.

There are more posts from Dullstroom and nearby sites at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-time-i-have-faster-it-goes.html

Visit the dedicated Africa Page for other sites near Johannesburg and for posts from elsewhere in South Africa and further afield on the Dark Continent.

Mount Sheba, South Africa, JNB,

Dullstroom Grasslands, South Africa, JNB, December 2011

2011-12-23T10:08:00.001Z

A journey into the mountain grasslands of Mpumalanga is justthe tonic for a chap still suffering from the effects of the winter malaise.Two and a half hours from the OR Tambo International Airport at Johannesburg isa small town named Dullstroom and just beyond the town is a small road on theleft marked to ‘Die Berg’ (Google ref; 25 22 21S 30 08 31E ). This unmade roadcrosses the railway line and enters a vast tract of grassland.

The journey had included a lot of common and widespreadbirds such as Hadada Ibis, Blacksmith Plover and Red Bishop, but the large part of thedrive is on the motorway and it had not been possible to stop. The firstopportunity I had to pull over came just beyond Belfast (on the R540) where a Long-crested Eagle perched on a telegraphpole.

The traffic on the unmade road into the grassland is verylight, but please be aware that vehicles come round corners and over risesquickly and suddenly. Birds were seen as soon as I crossed the railway line witha White Stork and a Black-headed Heron in a newly mownfield and Cape Canaries on the phonelines.

3kms on from the railway line is a rocky slope out to theleft of the road. This often holds MalachiteSunbirds and Grey Rhebok may beseen here too. I stopped especially to scan the proteas on the hillside for Gurney’s Sugarbird. This is a spotrecommended by the incredibly accurate ‘SouthernAfrican Birdfinder’ book and the sugarbird was one of my targets for thetrip. The proteas are a bit distant from the road and I was unable to pick outa sugarbird on this occasion.

Further along on the right is a marsh created as waters froma dam on the left trickle into a dam on the right side of the road. Red Bishops, Yellow Bishops and Yellow-crownedBishops can easily be found here along with the non-clergy birds such as Southern Bald Ibis, Red-billed Quelea and Red-collared Widow. All were sportingtheir magnificent breeding colours on this week before Christmas. The femaleshowever put in very little effort and remain dowdy throughout the festiveseason.

On the next bend, exactly as predicted by the ‘SAB’, a Buff-streaked Chat hopped amongst therocks. From here-on-in the vista opened out and the wide expanses of grassland,strewn with rocks and wildflowers reached to the far horizons.

Mammals such as Blesbok, Common Duiker and Common Reedbuck were seen, but these animals do not enjoy any kind of protection from National Parks or sanctuaries and are truly wild and thus very shy.
There were cisticolas and pipits, but when faced with trickybirds such as these I often turn away and pretend that I haven’t seen them asto take the time to identify them correctly is not always an efficient way tospend a morning. A Long-billed Pipitstayed near enough and long enough for me to get a good look and an Orange-throated Longclaw wasunmistakeable in the distance.

After about 17kms the unmade road rejoins the tarmac (R577)and I took the right hand option towards Lydenberg (Mashishing). A short wayalong here is another protea-studded slope that ‘SAB’ assured me would harbourmy Gurney’s Sugarbird. There is a lay-by on the right where you could leave thecar and walk down to the bushes on the gentle right hand curve at Google Earthref; 25 14 02S 30 09 04E.

The sugarbird was not immediately obvious, but I could seeprotea flowers on these bushes which would exponentially enhance my odds offinding one. A cryptic-coloured shape in the shade of the furthest bush piquedmy attention and after a few moments of trying to change it from a rock intosomething more exciting, it suddenly turned towards me with the big orange eyesof a Cape EagleOwl.

There are protea bushes on both sides of the road andsilhouetted in the top of one of these was the Gurney’s Sugarbird which was my maintarget for the trip. It then flew back to where it was supposed to be,according to the ‘SAB’, and enabled me to get a picture with two lifers in theframe.

From here it is possible to get to Lydenberg and from thereyou can access the attractions of Blyde River Canyon, Mount Sheba, or continuedown to the lowveld and the Kruger National Park.

If you do not wish to return to Dullstroom by the route youcame. Turn right onto the tarmac towards Lydenberg (Mashishing) and turn backinto the grassland after 9.5kms, at the sign for Vermont. Stay right atjunctions along this road and you will eventually regain the R540 about halfwaybetween Dullstroom and Lydenberg. There are many B and Bs and places to stay ineither town. I stayed at Klitz Gras chalets (Google Earth ref; 25 06 48S 30 26 50E ) at the T junction on the approach toLydenberg and can heartily recommend it. Klitz Gras is also a very popular European Swallow roost.

If you intend to hire a car in South Africa, pleasefamiliarise yourself with where you want to go as the car rental companiesoften do not supply maps or provide inadequate ones. CNA is a popular book andstationary store that sells good maps.
Birds seen; 50

Little Grebe 3, Long-tailed Cormorant 2, Black-headed Heron2, Cattle Egret 50. White Stork 1, Sacred Ibis 8, Southern Bald Ibis 3, HadadaIbis 6, Glossy Ibis 8, African Spoonbill 4, Egyptian Goose 6, Spurwinged Goose6, Common Buzzard 1, Jackal Buzzard 5, Long-crested Eagle 1, HelmetedGuineafowl 8, Red-knobbed Coot 30, Blacksmith Lapwing 8, Ring-necked Dove 25, Cape Eagle Owl 1, African Palm Swift 15, Little Swift20, White-rumped Swift 60, Speckled Mousebird 1, Bank Swallow 1, EuropeanSwallow 250, White-throated Swallow 3, Rock Martin 2, Greater Striped Swallow30, Long-billed Pipit 1, Cape Longclaw 3, Sentinel Rock Thrush 3, White-headedBlack-chat 2, Common Stonechat 15, Dusky Flycatcher 2, Gurney’sSugarbird 1, Common Fiscal 20, Cape Crow 1, Pied Crow 2, Common Myna 20,African Pied Starling 6, Mossie 4, Red-billed Quelea 4, Yellow-crowned Bishop 40, Red Bishop 12,Yellow Bishop 4, Red-collared Widowbird 15, Long-tailed Widowbird 20,Pin-tailed Whydah 5, Cape Canary 15.

Mammals seen;

Blesbok 20, Common Duiker 1, Common Reedbuck 2,

There are more posts from Dullstroom and nearby sites at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-time-i-have-faster-it-goes.html

Visit the dedicated Africa Page for other sites near Johannesburg and for posts from elsewhere in South Africa and further afield on the Dark Continent.

Dullstroom Grasslands, South Africa, JNB

Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali, Mumbai, December 2011

2011-12-15T14:20:00.000Z

Sanjay Gandhi National Park was spared my undividedattention as I was feeling under the weather and was distracted by variousailments, but being poorly in a beautiful forest beats languishingself-pityingly in a dark room. Actually, I was slightly concerned as predatorsoften target the old, the weak and the sick; I was 3 for 3 in that respect anda good-sized portion to boot. Leopards in Sanjay Gandhi NP have gainedthemselves a bad reputation over recent years. During one month of 2004, 20people lost their lives to panther attacks.

As the city of Mumbai increasingly encroaches on the park and the villages within itgrow, the big cats come into conflict with people. Thankfully, official action hasgreatly reduced attacks on humans, but the panthers are still commonly seen inthe suburbs that surround the park, hunting for stray dogs.

Crows were the big story of the day. Hundreds and hundredsof House Crows were seen on the 30minute ride to the park this morning. They were still abundant, but began togive way to more Large-billed Crows asI pushed further into the park.

Their cawing was deafening and maddening as itoverpowered any other more interesting sounds. I had stepped off the road andonto a path that led to the left. Now that I was away from the crowds andalone, thoughts of leopards filled my head and my caution was excited by anarea of scrub that was attracting a lot of crows. Both species were flocking into the trees overlooking the scrub and screaming raucously.

I began tounderstand how Tippi Hedren must have felt. A predator was surely close by, butthe chances of it being a leopard were slim, more likely it was an owl orperhaps a snake. I couldn’t findanything, but I couldn’t help looking back over my shoulder after moving on,just in case.

A Cheetal stagbolted from the left as I approached the tumbledown bungalows near to theriver. This area had been very productive on my last visit and it was such abeautiful day that I felt sure that today would be good too. Unfortunately, Ididn’t have the energy to put in too much effort and if a cursory pish did notbring forth a bird, I passed on and the bird remained unseen.

I crossed the bridge (at Google Earth ref 19 13 30N 72 5300E) and took the left fork, signed towards the safari area. 400m along theroad is a small hut and a path leading to the right. This is the ShilondaNature Trail. A map shows some points of interest and I decided to walk as faras the marked waterhole.

I stopped to check on a CommonTailorbird and noticed a powder blue bird in the background. Focussing quickly,I was just able to confirm a Black-naped Monarch before it flew. The path runsto the east, bearing round to southeast after a while. Fork-tailed Drongo was common along the way as were Red-rumped Bulbuls. The waterhole wasdry and unlikely to attract anything interesting, so I turned round and beganheading back. On the return leg a faint rustling and a movement in the scrubaround a large termite mound proved to be a Rufous-bellied Babbler. It wasconcentrating on feeding and the photo of its rear end need not troublereaders. Instead, here is a pleasant photo typical of the park.

I returned to the junction by the bridge and began walkingtowards Kanheri Caves, monuments and living quarters carved from the rock bymonks. Shortly after, as a group of macaques fed in the trees by the road, Iwas approached by two young men who warned me of the “dangerous tribals” wholived in the village up ahead. Recent reports included robbery at knife-point.Sure enough, as I rested on a rock a little further up the road, a group ofmotorcyclists approached and passed very close to me, jeering and trying toscare me into falling of my perch. If their intentions were any worse thanteasing tourists I couldn’t say, but it seemed like a good time to turn roundand head back.

The sun was high and hot by now and the raptors werebeginning to move. A Common Buzzard was escorted from the area by a handful of angrycrows, though a Crested Serpent Eagle was left to circle lazily.

By the gate, some features of the area include a couple oflakes which appeared to be much cleaner than when I visited last. I hadn’treally intended to have a good look at the water, I just popped down on a whim,but was thrilled to see a little head, close to the far bank, followed throughthe water by a serpentine body.

The big disappointment was that I could notpossibly identify the snake from such a distance, but then I noticed a stallthat hired out pedal-powered pleasure boats. I was tempted, but by the time aboat might be ready, with me in it, thesnake would have been long gone. As luck would have it, a second snakeappeared, swimming parallel to the close bank. Its features looked very similarto the first and I was able to get a record shot and identify it when I gothome as a Checkered Keelback Watersnake.

This isonly a tentative ID. The features appear to fit, but I do not know if similarlooking snakes exist. If anyone is familiar with Checkered KeelbackWatersnakes, I would be pleased to have it confirmed.

Birds seen; 23

Cattle Egret 2, Black Kite 15, Crested Serpent Eagle 1, CommonBuzzard 1, Rose-ringed Parakeet 12, Asian Koel 3, Greater Coucal 1, Asian PalmSwift 15, Coppersmith Barbet 1, Red-whiskered Bulbul 2, Red-vented Bulbul,Common Iora 1, Oriental Magpie Robin 3, Grey-breasted Prinia 1, Ashy Prinia 1, Common Tailorbird 3, Black-naped Monarch 1, Tawny-belliedBabbler 1, Black Drongo 15, House Crow800, Large-billed Crow 400, Common Myna 12, Chestnut-shouldered Petronia 2.

Mammals seen; 3

Three-striped Squirrel 15, Cheetal 1, Short-tailed Macaque8.

Reptiles seen; 1

Checkered Keelback Watersnake 2

This butterfly is known as a Common Leopard, Phalantha phalantha, but has not been implicated in any attacks. Other butterflies included; Blue Pansy, Lemon Pansy, Grey Pansy, Chocolate Pansy, Common Sailor.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali, Mumbai, BOM, December 2011

DEL Jan

Gill Lane, Woodbridge, EWR, December 2011

2011-12-08T09:53:00.001Z

Today’s walk was curtailed by necessary seasonal preparations andI took just a short walk to allow time to fulfil my retail obligations. Gill Lane in Woodbridge, served fromNewark's EWR, slopes gently northwest down towards a railway bridge (Google Earthref; 40 33 40N 74 18 48W ). Before the bridge, on the south side, in adamp sump, a small flock of AmericanRobins were feeding from the ground.

A little copse justhere holds a couple of berry trees and more of the thrushes were feasting onthe fruit.

The copse proved to be the most productive spot of my shortwalk with, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyedJunco and Downy Woodpecker alsofeeding close by.

Calls from the BlueJay filled the air as usual and followed me under the bridge and intoanother copse on the far side, to the right. Carolina Wren showed here as did more juncos and a small flock of White-throated Sparrows.

Further along the road, both sides are taken withcemeteries. Song Sparrows respondedwell to some pishing in the maintenance area on the left, southwest, side ofthe road, but stayed back in the rank weeds surrounding the area of movedearth. Unexpectedly, a flock of 14 Goosanders(Common Merganser) flew over.

At the furthest point of the cemeteries, on theright, is anaccess road that skirts another small, wet wood. More Blue Jays and a Northern Mockingbird were seen here,but the White-tailed Deer that I wasexpecting did not show until I returned to Gill Lane and spotted them on thefar side behind the maintenance sheds (Google Earth ref; 40 33 54N 74 19 19W ).

Birds seen; 20

Goosander 14, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Herring Gull 12, MourningDove 3, Red-bellied Woodpecker 3, Downy Woodpecker 2, Carolina Wren 1, NorthernMockingbird 3, American Robin 50, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tufted Titmouse 1,Blue Jay 15, American Crow 1, Common Starling 500, House Sparrow 8, House Finch1, American Goldfinch 3, Song Sparrow 6, White-throated Sparrow 3, NorthernCardinal 2.

Other posts from New Jersey and Newark can be found at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/04/muskrats-and-misdemeanours.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/09/newark-woodbridge.html
http://redgannetsdragonflies.blogspot.com/2009/09/newark-woodbridge.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/09/merrill-park-new-jersey-sept-2011.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from the region

Gill Lane, Woodbridge, Newark, EWR, December 2011

Oare Marshes, November 2011

2011-12-03T03:47:00.001Z

Autumn is closing in on December and the mild weather is predicted to turn wet and cold by the end of the week. The family was committed to school and other irksome duties, so I was able to visit Oare Marshes to look for some photographs to illustrate an upcoming 10,000 Birds post.

Before turning up Church Road to reach the marshes, I took a quick side trip along Oare Creek. A large white heron flew over the car and I tried to find it again to exclude Great White Egret. A leucistic Grey Heron has been seen in the county, but it could also have been a Little Egret and poor depth perception.

The heron had disappeared so I had to make do with one of the plentiful Black-headed Gulls. The Common Redshanks were being slowly pushed up the banks by the encroaching tide and show well along this lane with the sun usually coming from behind.

Church Road bisects the reserve with the East and West Floods found on their respective sides. A lay by overlooks the East Flood enabling birders to check the small island sanctuaries there that provided roosting spots for European Teal, Common Snipe, Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlin this morning.

The lay-by provides a temporary stop for a quick assessment of the flood before moving to the main car park by the launch ramp. The tide was due to reach its peak at just before midday at a height of 6 meters, so I had a little time to explore the rough grazing meadows of the west flood. Northern Lapwings and European Golden Plovers were roosting in the fields while Ruff actively fed amongst them.

Back at the lay-by and viewing verge I was able to take a more leisurely look and found Cormorant, Shoveler and Pintail on the centre island with Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet in the distance. More Northern Lapwing were seen with an occasional Grey Plover enhancing the appearance of their Golden Plover kin by comparison.

Three hides allow birders to scan the reserve in comfort and out of the wind. From the East Hide, which, naturally enough looks out onto the East Flood, I noticed a tiny bird in the distance and was able to pin it down as a Little Stint.

The tide was nearly up to the top of the dyke which made me think that a 6 meter tide at Oare is quite a substantial one. There was little to be seen out on The Swale, but a Little Egret, some Common Shelduck and a Eurasian Oystercatcher were seen from Sea Wall Hide.

As the tide began to ebb, small parties of birds set out on sorties to see if any mud had yet become exposed. I positioned myself on the dyke where the birds would pass overhead and tried to get a few shots of them inflight. A delightful picture that presented itself but never quite came to be was the flying birds as they passed in front of the sunlit reeds.

Dunlin, Golden Plover, Common Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwit passed over in small flocks and a few moments later returned when it was plain to them that the tide was still quite high. Sadly, each time they crossed in front of the reeds, the sun went in.

By luck rather than by minute calculation, the first piece of mud to emerge from the water was just on the other side of the dyke and less than 20 meters from where I stood. The birds responded quickly and very soon there was a mixed feeding flock following the rapidly receding water out into Oare Creek.

On returning to the car park by the launch ramp, I took a quick scan across towards Mockett’s. This is a low hill on the Isle of Sheppey, across The Swale. Above the western slope of the hill was a buzzard. Even with a scope it was very distant and I could not discern any plumage details, but Rough-legged Buzzard is often reported from that very spot during the winter. It was holding its position against the wind absolutely perfectly, but it was gliding rather than hovering. I will have to wait for a better sighting before including this one.

Species seen; 45

Little Grebe 6, Great Cormorant 8, Grey Heron 2, Little Egret 2, Mute Swan 2, Greylag Goose 15, Common Shelduck 25, Eurasian Wigeon 4, Mallard 35, Northern Pintail 4, Northern Shoveler 1, Eurasian Marsh Harrier 4, Common Kestrel 1, Common Pheasant 6, Common Moorhen 6, Common Coot 8, Eurasian Oystercatcher 6, Pied Avocet 70, Northern Lapwing 800, European Golden Plover 400, Grey Plover 15, Common Ringed Plover 20, Common Snipe 14, Bar-tailed Godwit 150, European Curlew 1, Common Redshank 500, Ruddy Turnstone 3, Little Stint 1, Dunlin 150 Ruff 40, Common Gull 3, Great Black-backed Gull 2, Herring Gull 15, Black-headed Gull 40, Common Woodpigeon 6, Eurasian Collared Dove 4, Pied Wagtail 3, Dunnock 2, Common Blackbird 3, Jay 1, Eurasian Magpie 4, Rook 70, Common Starling 30, Reed Bunting 2.

To find other posts from Oare Marshes, follow the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/04/kicking-my-heels.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/12/glossy-ibis-at-oare-marshes.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/07/oare-marshes-kent-uk.html

Visit the dedicated UK Page for other posts from Kent and the UK.

High Resolution Images from October 2011

2011-11-21T20:30:00.000Z

High Resolution Images from October 2011
The images in the main blog have been reduced in size to 600 pixels or less across to facilitate quick loading. It goes against all my sensibilities to reduce the resolution, so each month I shall select a few shots that warrant being seen in in hi-res.
These posts may take slightly longer to load, so please be patient.

The links will take you to the original post.

This splendid male Wood Duck was reflected in a small open patch of water in Beaver Lake, Stanley Park, Vancouver.

This Yellow-billed Pintail was seen at the end of the day in the Botanical Gardens in Sao Paulo.

This Common Snipe was one of the few that didn't flush on sight from the shallow ponds at Long Valley, Hong Kong

Other galleries can be found at the dedicated High Resolution page.

Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, Nov 2011

2011-11-16T21:00:00.000Z

If this were to be a perfect day, it would have to be sometime next week. Next week, my exams would be over and with any luck this hangover will be gone too! I had left the big camera at home as I knew that if I brought it to Lagos, it would draw the attention of the Security Manager and I would be distracted from my revision.

As it happens, the revision was going fairly well until I noticed ripples coming from a puddle on the flat roof outside my window. Luckily I had packed the small camera and some binoculars, ‘just in case’. The bird hopped up onto the wall and showed itself to be a Shikra. This was just the distraction that I needed and I dropped my books and took myself out to the gardens for a quick once round before dusk.

In the area beyond the razor-wired wall a Double-spurred Francolin stood atop a cinder block wall. Peter told me of the francolins’ habit of burying their eggs, but leaving one above ground to remind them where the nest is. I can’t find any supporting evidence for this, but if anyone has any special knowledge of this bird, it would be interesting to know.

Peter was the security guard who had been tasked to keep an eye on the gardens and he joined me for a lap around the path that serves as a jogging track to some of the more active guests. He did not object to the camera, so I assumed that its smaller size was acceptable.

Birds stayed high and silhouetted, out of range of the Nikon, but some dragonflies stayed put just long enough to have their pictures taken. The one above is a Lucia Widow and below is a potential Red Basker, Urothemis assignata.

Bird Species; 10

Cattle Egret 2, Black Kite 4, Shikra 1, Double-spurred Francolin 1, Red-eyed Dove 2, Laughing Dove 3, Rose-ringed Parakeet 2, Western Grey Plantain-eater 4, Common Bulbul 4, Splendid Glossy Starling 1.

Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria, LOS,

Other Lagos posts can be found at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/sheraton-hotel-lagos.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/sheraton-hotel-in-lagos-just-one-lap.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/04/to-pish-or-not-to-pish-dire-warnings.html

Visit the dedicated Africa Page for more posts from Nigeria, West Africa and the continent

Different day, different boys.

2011-11-12T01:41:00.001Z

If you participate in a hobby or pastime, it is only natural that you should aspire to reach a level of competence that will enable you to mix and confer with other adherents to your chosen pursuit. Until, that is, you meet ‘Doug’. In every hobby where single, middle-aged men gather together in the spirit of gentle competition to follow a mutual interest, there is a ‘Doug’; someone who raises the bar and makes the most basic concept of competence seem a distant prospect. Doug is an “absurdly good birder” who appears to eat, breathe and talk…and talk and talk birds and birding.

It was a real experience to join him and Corey from 10000 Birds, for a day’s birding along the barrier islands of Long Island. I had sent Corey a wish-list of birds that would enhance my life list and he had enlisted the help of Doug to plan a military-style campaign to wring every potential bird from the day and so it was that I found myself trailing in their wake as we launched an assault on the birds of Sussex, Nassau and Queens Counties, New York. The day passed in a blur. We were in and out of the car, striding along beaches and boardwalks, criss-crossing car parks and county lines, visiting and revisiting sites with a commendable sense of urgency. Do we need the scope? What are we looking for here? Shall I bring the camera? Have I had my breakfast? All this just to find me a few birds; I felt very honoured until I found that this was the normal pace of a walk out with Corey whose outings have been likened to “route-marches”.

I cannot give directions to any of the sites, as I had no input into where we went or how we got there, but I have identified a few on Google Earth and given the coordinates with each one. Cut and paste the co-ordinates and it's almost like being there yourself.

There was much discussion about where to start, but the decision was made to go to the nearer Jones Beach State Park and look out from the Coast Guard Station there (Google Earth ref; 40 35 23N 73 33 10W). A small sand bar, conveniently located close to a shady pagoda and viewing platform, held a few waders, such as American Oystercatcher, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover with a few Herring Gulls and an American (Buff-bellied) Pipit flying over. On the water were plenty of Brant Geese, a couple of Horned Grebes and a Common Loon.

Retracing our steps back past the car and close to the Coast Guard’s gate was a patch of scrub that I heard referred to as the West End. Apparently good for migrants and sparrows, it was well stocked with Song and Savannah Sparrows today with approachable Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding in the verge and grass by the pavement.

Further along at the western-most end of Jones Beach Island, Doug pulled a few Black Scoter females from a flock of Surf Scoters. Looking back, I am ashamed to have questioned him, but he set up the scope and sure enough, the pale cheeks of the female Black Scoters and the more delicate bill were apparent. I suspect that he had finessed them with an experienced eye for size and habit and nevermore did I call his identifications.

To the east is an open air stadium sponsored by Nikon, accessed by an underpass beneath the freeway. A flock of Boat-tailed Grackles were seen here with a female sitting nicely and this may also have been the spot where we saw the Merlin chasing grackles. Nearby but, I think, on the ocean side of the barrier island, a Common Tern was seen at the water’s edge.

Next, on to Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, characterised by the parkway and some huge parking lots. Doug became very excited by a ringed American Kestrel perched on a sign here.

There is a hawk watching platform (Google Earth Ref; 40 37 49.48N 73 13 29.51W), used to monitor migrating birds of prey and the low scrub and ocean give access to a whole lot of sky to watch, interrupted only by the Fire Island Lighthouse. We approached it along a very birdy boardwalk with more sparrows, House Finch and a Cooper’s Hawk seen from it. The hawk watchers had had very little success, but a Sharp-shinned Hawk passed low as we left.

Perhaps it was about now that we returned to the Coast Guard station to check the sand bar again. The tide had been coming in all morning and was nearing its highest point now, bringing lots of wading birds in with it. The bar was now covered with birds.

Dunlin, Red Knot, American Oystercatchers and Black-bellied Plovers were especially abundant with a single Marbled Godwit and a few Semi-palmated Sandpipers. Doug called a Western Sandpiper which accommodatingly went to roost beside the Semi-palmated and I am sure that the differences are obvious to the trained eye. Actually, I had to ask and found that the slightly bigger Western Sandpiper (on the left) roosts with a slightly more upright posture than the Semi-palmated Sandpiper.

These two images were digiscoped, a discipline that I have yet to master, but thanks to Corey for giving me a go. I tried and failed to get a shot of Doug’s Yellow-billed Cuckoo that came in off the water into the bush at the top of the sand bar.

We may have achieved a sub and a drink on the go before reaching a rather fetching salt marsh, the Marine Study Nature Area (Google Earth ref; 40 37 11N 73 37 16W), with a boardwalk running through it. We were hoping for some Ammodramus sparrows here, but had to content ourselves with some Brant Geese and a Great Egret. The theory as I understood it is that the sparrows would be driven to the dry ground in the margins as the tide flooded the salt marsh, but we may have missed the top of the tide and the sparrows could have retreated back into the long grasses.

And so onto Fort Tilden (Google Earth ref; 40 33 55N 73 53 05W) with an eye for a Vesper Sparrow. One had been seen recently in the community gardens, or allotments as they would be known in the UK, but it appeared to have moved on. Corey published a couple of pictures of the said chunky sparrow on 10000 Birds and I could recognise the stump and the car on which it had posed for him, but of the bird itself, there was not a feather to be seen. An overgrown patch close by was popular with the Song and Savannah Sparrows again with a Northern Cardinal putting in a brief appearance too. Corey had found some White-footed Mice under some corrugated moulding and in so doing added Peromyscus leucopus to my mammals list.

In what proved to be my favourite part of the day we stopped at the southwest corner of Fort Tilden, looking out to sea. Close in were a few more Black Scoter and I was able to get a good look at the yellow-knobbed bill of the male. There were three species of scoter flying by further out and Doug happily called my attention to a slightly smaller bird here or a more defined line and pattern of flight there to indicate the differences between them. One day, one day.

The light was fading now and Corey made a last dash for Jamaica Bay’s West Pond where a good head of Ruddy Duck was seen. Other species mixed amongst them included a Shoveler, an American Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Pintail, some Bufflehead and some Red-breasted Mergansers. Laughing Gulls were seen in higher numbers here than at any time during the day and a huge flock of Boat-tailed Grackles came to roost in the reeds.

I am indebted to Corey for inviting me along, organising the day and driving us around and to Doug for his boundless expertise. Thanks for a great day out guys. The list below reflects only my misty memory of the numbers of birds seen and is certainly wildly inaccurate. Doug took copious notes during the day which I had hoped to cheat from, but forgot to ask at the end of a long day. To separate the sites with a list for each would be impossible at this stage with no notes, so the whole day has been melted into one big list.

Species seen; 73

Red-throated Diver 1, Great Northern Diver 4, Horned Grebe 2, Northern Gannet 80, Double-crested Cormorant 80, Great Egret 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 1, Mute Swan 4, Canada Goose 50, Brent Goose 2000, American Wigeon 1, Gadwall 4, Green-winged Teal 2, Mallard 25, American Black Duck 60, Northern Pintail 3, Northern Shoveler 1, Greater Scaup 600, Common Eider 1, Black Scoter 8, Surf Scoter 150, White-winged Scoter 6,Bufflehead 10, Red-breasted Merganser 30, Ruddy Duck 3400, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Cooper’s Hawk 2, American Kestrel 1, Merlin 2, Peregrine Falcon 1, American Coot 20, American Oystercatcher 370, Grey Plover 60, Marbled Godwit 1, Willet 2, Red Knot 330, Sanderling 50, Semi-palmated Sandpiper 2, Western Sandpiper 1, Dunlin 500, Ring-billed Gull 15, Great Black-backed Gull 15, Herring Gull 60, Laughing Gull 35, Common Tern 1, Mourning Dove 2, Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1, Downy Woodpecker 2, Northern Flicker 1, Eastern Phoebe 3, Tree Swallow 150, Buff-bellied Pipit 1, Northern Mockingbird 6, Eastern Bluebird 1, American Robin 12, Hermit Thrush2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 15, American Crow 20, Common Starling 150, House Sparrow 8, House Finch 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler 12, Palm Warbler 2, Chipping Sparrow 4, Savannah Sparrow 8, Song Sparrow 25, White-throated Sparrow 15, Dark-eyed Junco 26, Snow Bunting 1, Northern Cardinal 1, Red-winged Blackbird 15, Boat-tailed Grackle 450, Common Grackle 15.

Actually, I have just found how to access Doug’s notes from e-bird www.ebird.org but if I compare what I recall with what he recorded I begin to wonder if we were looking in the same direction, so I have selected a few pertinent counts and relied on my own inadequate memory for the rest.

To find more posts from New York, New York; follow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/03/hooded-merganzer-lophodytes-cucullatus.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/10/central-park-new-york.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/03/approach-to-broad-channel-train-station.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/04/central-park-new-york-new-york.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/01/out-of-towners-central-park-new-york.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/06/central-park-new-york-xena-and.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-york-new-york-so-good-they-sent-me.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more from the continent of North America

JFK, New York, Jones Beach State Park, Black Scoter

Boys' day out Pt. 2

2011-11-09T23:18:00.000Z

The sun rose by 07.30 to find us (us being Mike, Dave and me) well on our way along Route 66 towards Shenandoah National Park. The snow and sleet front had passed over and the scenery along the route was stunning in the early morning light. We had thought it prudent to look at the website to check that the park would be open. It had been closed during the storm of the previous day and we were hoping for a prediction on its status for today. It was such a beautiful autumn morning that we could not resist driving down, despite there being no updated info on the website.

As we drew closer to Front Royal, the northern portal town for Shenandoah National Park, the snow became thicker and lay inches deep on parked cars. The glorious sunshine and the autumn colours in the trees were spectacularly enhanced by the blanket of snow, but it gave me twinges which were borne out when we came upon the barrier blocking the entrance to the park.

It was closed of course. A couple of miles upstream along the southern fork of the Shenandoah River is a high lookout which gives out across the river to another Appalachian ridge in the distance to the west. I believe this to be the George Washington National Forest. A chap looked incredulously from the frosted window of his canoe-hire centre when we pulled into his car park. When he realised that we were not planning to go tubing on the river he turned back to his heater as we took in the fabulous scenery and found our first few birds of the day.

A Pileated Woodpecker flew across the river and a Downy Woodpecker pulled into a tree close by. The bright red of the Northern Cardinals in the car park impressed my companions who are not birders (yet). But this was not going to fill our day, so once again we repaired to a diner (the excellent Knotty Pine in Front Royal) to consider our options.

Asking at the local gas station threw up the name Raymond J “Andy” Guest Shenandoah River State Park. It was only a few miles along the road, south from Front Royal (at Google Earth ref; 35 50 35N 78 18 04W) and it seemed like a reasonable alternative. It was even said to occasionally harbour bears. Indeed there was a bear, “Stella”, stuffed and mounted in the visitor centre just beyond the entrance control post, but no live ones were found here. The State Park is many times smaller than the National Park and can easily be covered in a day.

A platform jutting from the hillside afforded a magnificent view across the snow-frosted valley. We chose to follow a couple of paths, namely the Cottonwood Trail which led us alongside the Shenandoah River and the Wildcat Ledge.

The snow on the boardwalk of the Cottonwood Trail was frozen and crunched loudly under our boots, so we turned off onto the Wildcat Ledge trail. Tufted Titmice had formed small foraging flocks with Carolina Chickadees and we watched four Bald Eagles in the meadow to the north from the lookout point at the end of the trail. Wildcat Ledge is a dead-ending trail, so we retraced our steps and gave the crunchy boardwalk another go. We could see the eagles in the air now, circling to gain some height.

There was a nice selection of birds found as the boardwalk looped around and back on itself. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen on a few occasions with a Red-tailed Hawk sitting atop a leafless tree in the meadow. Singletons included White-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-breasted Sapsucker and Carolina Wren.

Early in the afternoon, the sun had warmed the air sufficiently for us to remove jackets and hats. Perhaps Skyline Drive had been re-opened by now. Sadly it hadn’t. Perhaps it is still early in the season for snow. The trees still had plenty of leaves and the snow would have been laying heavy on them. Though it looked as if a man with a snowplough attached to the front of his truck could have it cleared in mere moments, we had not considered that the weight of the snow could have brought down a few trees as well.

So if you find yourself in Front Royal and the Shenandoah National Park is closed, do consider the Shenandoah River State Park. It may not have the scale and the bears, but it was a very pleasant place to enjoy some stunning scenery. My thanks go to Mike and Dave for being so understanding and proactive and for being such good company on a long day out.

We arrived back at the hotel to find the only bird of the day that actually sat for a photograph. A Northern Mockingbird perched in a tree adjacent to the entrance to the hotel.

Birds seen; 32

Great Blue Heron1, Turky Vulture 8, Black Vulture 1, Bald Eagle 4, Mourning Dove 6, Red-bellied Woodpecker 2, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1, Downy Woodpecker 3, Northern Flicker 4, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Cedar Waxwing 60, Carolins Wren 3, Northern Wren 1, Northern Mockingbird 1, American Robin 15, Hermit Thrush 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 4, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Carolina Chickadee 12, Tufted Titmouse 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Blue Jay 15, American Crow 35, Common Starling 60, American Goldfinch 6, Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, Chipping Sparrow 3, Song Sparrow 4, White-throated Sparrow 15, Dark-eyed Junco 12, Northern Cardinal 8, Common Grackle 8.

The Boys' day out Part 1 can be found here.

Other posts from the area can be found by following the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/shenandoah-national-park-virginia-iad.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other North American posts

Shenandoah National Park, Shenandoah River State Park, IAD, Tyson's Corner, Washington.

Boys' day out, Pt. 1

2011-11-04T22:49:00.000Z

The weather put the kybosh on a boys’ day out in Washington this week. Plans to visit the Shenandoah National Park had to be deferred for 24 hours as a storm warning closed the Skyline Drive route through the park.

Instead we took in a few of the local sites close to Tyson’s Corner which all proved to be a damp trudge along puddled footpaths, with little of note to see from beneath the rim of an umbrella.

We passed briefly through a site close to Tyson’s Corner which is usually good for White-tailed Deer and has been previously described at Redgannet, but most of the site has now been dug up ready for more shops. We went on to Great Falls Park (which can be seen in a far better light either here, here or here) before taking shelter in a likely-looking diner (diners played a significant role in our excursions this week) to make fresh plans.

Between Mike, Dave and me, there was nearly eighty years experience of being flexible, resourceful and inventive, so within 6 eggs, lots of coffee and some pancakes (there was also a lot of experience in unnecessarily large breakfasts) we had a new plan.

We visited Washington DC as the snow came in and took in the Pentagon Memorial and individual parts of the complex of museums that make up the Smithsonian. I only mention this because of a couple of unlikely lifer birds, Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet, which I found in the basement of the Natural History Museum.

Apart from that, the few birds below were seen through the morning.

Double-crested Cormorant 1, Great Blue Heron 3, Canada Goose 6, Mallard 6, Banded Kingfisher 1, Kildeer 4, American Crow 25, Carolina Chickadee 12, Golden-crowned Kinglet 3, Carolina Wren 2, House Wren 1, Hermit Thrush 1, Eastern Bluebird 4, BlueJay 4, Yellow-rumped Warbler 12, Song Sparrow 6.

Other posts from the area can be found by following the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/shenandoah-national-park-virginia-iad.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other North American posts

Tyson's Corner, Washington DC, IAD.

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, Oct 2011

2011-10-29T22:46:00.000+01:00

The plan was to have an evening stroll around the peak, with the chance of getting a nice picture of a Black-eared Kite silhouetted against the dramatic cityscape of Hong Kong.

My astronomical calculations predicted that solar/planetary alignments would be favourable for this, but I failed to take into account that the fire alarm in the bus station might be triggered and we would not be allowed off the bus until the sun had almost set.

A beautiful song carried from high on the mountain. The Hwamei’s voice is rich and fluty, but the bird itself could only be seen very poorly in the evening gloom.

While I was up there, it seemed a shame to waste a chance to see the legendary lights of Hong Kong, so I took the opportunity to get a few shots and then cross to see the laser show from the Kowloon side.

Next day, I returned and left a little extra time in case of unexpected emergencies. Tip for next time; Victoria Peak is ridiculously busy on a Saturday (from the back of the queue, I watched one bus fill up and return to Central leaving me to wait for the next one).

The kites were very distant and not very accommodating. I had hoped that they would bank on outstretched wings to give a beautiful silhouette against the buildings, but the city provides such a wide column of rising air that there is no need for them to circle to stay in the current. A flat profile against the background of the city proved to be a terrific disappointment, so I had to employ some jiggery pokery to give the desired effect.

Take the bus no. 15A from the bus station at Central. The journey takes 25 minutes and costs HK$9.8 @12 = £1.

Birds seen; 5

Black-eared Kites 80, Peregrine Falcon 1, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 15, Pale vented Bulbul 3, Japanese White-eye 4.

Follow the link below for a previous post from Victoria Peak;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-still-here.html

Visit the dedicated Asia Page for more posts from Hong Kong and the Far East.

North District Park, Hong Kong, Oct 2011

2011-10-27T23:04:00.000+01:00

With sites such as Long Valley and Mai Po a short bus ride away, North District Park is unlikely to be your focus for the day. It is a short walk from Sheung Shui Station at the top of the East Line in Hong Kong. I went because I had an hour to kill before I needed to return to the city and a very pleasant hour it was.

There is an area set aside as Conservation Corner which has been planted with trees. The common park birds including Red-whiskered Bulbul and Light-vented Bulbul seemed to enjoy the sprinkler system there.

Oriental Magpie Robin are quite approachable and Japanese White-eye fed from the flowerheads of the lower bushes.

A small lake held fish which had attracted a Common Kingfisher and some Eurasian Tree Sparrows chirped in the shrubs near a little pagoda.

Exit from the south-bound side of Sheung Shui Station and walk about half a kilometre to the right. North District Park is across the road at Google Earth ref; 22 29 51N 114 07 59E.

Spotted Dove

Species seen; 7

Spotted Dove 2, House Swift 10, Common Kingfisher 1, Red-whiskered Bulbul 25, Light-vented Bulbul 12, Japanese White-eye 15, Eurasian House Sparrow 20.

Follow these links to find posts from other sites accessible from Sheung Shui Station and the East Line;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/12/hong-kong-twitching-pt-1-tai-po-kau.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/hong-kong-hangover-mai-po.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/10/long-valley-hong-kong-oct-2011.html

Visit the Hong Kong section of the dedicated Asia Page for other posts from this region.

North District Park, Hong Kong, Oct 2011

Long Valley, Hong Kong Oct 2011

2011-10-25T00:32:00.001+01:00

For once the Asian Koel was quiet. Normally they greet the dawn with loud hysterical calls, but perhaps the longer nights and cooler mornings that the third week of October brings had dampened their spirits. Pale-vented Bulbuls and Red-whiskered Bulbuls were very common on the approach to Yin Kong, but were completely absent from the intensely farmed area known as Long Valley (Google Earth ref; 22 30 18N 114 06 40E) to the Hong Kong birdwatching community.

Workers were already hunched over their crops, weeding or harvesting, oblivious to the birds around them. Business must be good if this lady can afford what appears to be a Hermes headscarf for use in the field. Plain Prinias called from a fallow plot beside the path and a Siberian Stonechat watched from its perch.

I hastened through the rice paddy fields with flocks of White-backed Munia feeding from the seedheads and perching atop some young banana plants. I wanted to get quickly to a spot where a few unused plots formed a reedy swamp, hoping to catch sight of a rallid or two. Dusky Warblers “tchacked” from the reeds and the first Common Snipe of the morning flushed at my approach.

There were no rails or crakes here today, but my timing was rewarded with a Yellow-breasted Bunting instead.

In a previous post about Long Valley, I conjectured that it was probably a dynamic environment where crops are planted, harvested and rotated with some plots being left fallow. However, on this visit, I noted that the same crops were planted on the same allotments as last time with previously fallow areas still left overgrown.

The results are in and the bird in the photograph above has been confirmed as a Grey-headed (Chestnut-eared) Bunting. Thanks to Vicky at HKBWS and please ignore the paragraph below in italics..

Perched on one of the many wires that run up and down the site was what I took to be a Reed Bunting. Only when I arrived home and started writing up did I realise that Emberiza Schoeniclus would make an interesting sighting for Hong Kong. It winters on mainland China in the neighbouring state of Guangdong which left me wondering why its status in Hong Kong is that of a vagrant or accidental visitor. Perhaps my information is out of date. Perhaps it isn’t a Reed Bunting; the conspicuous eye-ring is a worry, but I put the buff colour of the throat and face markings down to the early morning light. Thoughts on a postcard please.

A Peregrine Falcon flew over, half-heartedly chasing a Spotted Dove as it passed through.

Closer to the river is a chain-link fence with a few wet plots beyond it. I was surprised to see a Plaintive Cuckoo perched there at this time of year. A couple of other birders looked sceptically at me as we chatted later, so I include the picture in case it is of any significance.

My favourite recollection of Long Valley is of the numbers of snipe that may be seen there. In the next few plots, they flushed in all directions as I made my way along the bunds. Occasionally one would allow me a clear shot, posing reflectively.

One plot in particular was popular with the waders. Wood Sandpipers stood silently in the shallow water while Black-necked Stilts fed in the deeper spots where Spotted Sandpipers had to up-end like dabbling ducks. Its a shame that I did not have this shot for 'Poop Week'.

More Snipe flushed as I followed the bund along a plot that had held lotus flowers in the warmer weather. One bird darted to the far bank and crouched there rather than flushing. Its posture was distinctive as that of a Greater Painted Snipe and a quick look with the binoculars confirmed the shorter, drooping bill and characteristic eye marking.

Two birds in the same plot both wore the male plumage which is duller than the females’ who take on much of the stereotypical male duties in this family. Note; Painted Snipes are not related to the true snipes such as Common and Pintail Snipe.

Two rivers, Sheung Yue and Shek Sheung, converge at the northern part of the site. Grey Herons were feeding from a mud-bank exposed by a low tide. Black-winged Stilts and Chinese Pond Herons were also seen there. A Common Kingfisher perched on a wire crossing the river and dived in to catch a small fish as I watched. The herons and the kingfisher blanched as a big catfish, over a meter in length, surfaced.

Back in Long Valley plots were being prepared for the next crop. This rotovator is as mechanised as cultivation here gets.

In a taro paddy a snipe sat well and posed for my favourite picture of the day.

The temperature rose to the high twenties as noon approached and a few dragonflies and butterflies were seen.

The Green Skimmer, Orthetrum Sabina, which can be seen on the wing until the end of December, proved to be more common and looked to be getting even more prolific than the Common Red Skimmer, Orthetrum pruinosum, which flies until late autumn.

I will have to come back to you with names for the butterflies as it is still a very new discipline for me. If anyone would care to save me a few minutes by suggesting names or where I could look to find them, I would be very grateful.

Species seen; 51

Great Cormorant 1, Grey Heron 15, Great Egret 6, Little Egret 5, Chinese Pond Heron 25, Eurasian Teal 8, Peregrine Falcon 2, White-breasted Waterhen 1, Common Moorhen 2, Greater Painted Snipe 2, Black-winged Stilt 35, Grey-headed Lapwing 1, Little Plover 15, Common Snipe 65, Spotted Redshank 4, Wood Sandpiper 30, Common Sandpiper 1, Spotted Dove 15, Plaintive Cuckoo 1, Asian Koel 3, White-throated Kingfisher 2, Common Kingfisher 2, Richard’s Pipit 1, Red-throated Pipit 1, Olive-backed Pipit 3, White Wagtail 30, Red Whiskered Bulbul 25, Light-vented Bulbul 15, Sooty-headed Bulbul 6, Oriental Magpie Robin 6, Siberian Stonechat 12, Zitting Cisticola 1, Yellow-bellied Prinia 4, Plain Prinia 2, Oriental Reed Warbler 2, Dusky Warbler 8, Red-breasted Flycatcher 1, Japanese White-eye 20, Black-naped Oriole 1, Long-tailed Shrike 3, Black Drongo 6, Eurasian Magpie 3, Collared Crow 3, Crested Myna 15, Black-collared Starling 15, Eurasian Tree Sparrow 20, White-rumped Munia 150, Yellow-breasted Bunting 1, Grey-headed (Chestnut-eared) Bunting 1.

To reach Long Valley take the East Line train to Sheung Shui station. Across the road to the west is a stop for bus no. 76K. Ask the driver to put you off at Yin Kong, just after the golf course. Yin Kong Road is off to the right from Castle Peak Road and the allotments are about 400m along, beyond the public toilets. The local farmers are extremely tolerant of birders here so please respect their crops and bunds.

For a previous post from Long Valley with extra directions, please follow the link below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/01/hong-kong-twitching-pt-2-long-valley.html

Visit the dedicated Asia Page for other posts from Hong Kong and China.

High Resolution Images from September 2011

2011-10-22T22:11:00.000+01:00

High Resolution Images from September 2011

The images in the main blog have been reduced in size to 600 pixels or less across to facilitate quick loading. It goes against all my sensibilities to reduce the resolution, so each month I shall select a few shots that warrant being seen in in hi-res.

These posts may take slightly longer to load, so please be patient.

The links will take you to the original post.

This was taken using manual focus to get through all the greenery. The Green-lined Brush-finch would not come out to have his picture taken.

Blue-faced Darners were seen by the hundred at Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco. I was thrilled to get this picture of one in flight.

If it is possible to twitch a butterfly, then this was it. The Adonis Blue was hunted down for a special post on 10,000 Birds. Go on, use the link, they need the traffic.

Other galleries can be found at the dedicated High Resolution page.

Mote Park Cormorant. Oct 2011

2011-10-19T13:56:00.000+01:00

It was such a beautiful autumn morning that I couldn't resist a quick turn around the park. The sun was up, the air was crisp and still. The season has caught up with the trees and the temperature has taken a big dip after the heat wave of a fortnight ago.

A couple of people approached me to ask about the "big black bird" that could be seen at the top of the dead tree on the island where the River Len flows into Mote Lake.

So if you are in Mote Park and you see a large, glossy, black bird at the top of a dead tree, chances are it is a Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo.

They feed on fish and may be seen swimming on the water and diving beneath to hunt. They often perch with their wings outspread. a couple of theories about this behaviour suggest that they are either drying their feathers or that they are warming up their bellies in the sun to aid digestion.

For a great composite picture by jel1969 of a Cormorant coming in to land on a branch (it may be the same cormorant in the same tree), follow this link.

Tufted Duck

Species seen; 28

Great Cormorant 1, Grey Heron 2, Mute Swan 3, Mallard 25, Tufted Duck 1, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1, Common Moorhen 4, Common Coot 6, Black-headed Gull 65, Common Woodpigeon 35, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Grey Wagtail 2, Northern Wren 4, Redwing 8, Common Blackbird 5, European Robin 3, Blackcap 1, Goldcrest 1, Long-tailed Tit 15, Great Tit 6, Blue Tit 8, Wood Nuthatch 2, Treecreeper 1, Eurasian Jay 5, Eurasian Magpie 3, Carrion Crow 35, Chaffinch 2, European Greenfinch 1.

Mushrif Park, Dubai, UAE. Oct 2011

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000+01:00

The approach road to Mushrif Park is lined with flowering shrubs with trees behind which today were filled with White-eared Bulbul and Eurasian Collared Doves.

Halfway up the drive is a control gate (25 13 25N 55 27 08E) where you will be charged the entrance fee which currently stands at 6 Dirhams (@ 5 Dirhams = £1). In the unlikely event that you are on foot, the entrance is 3 Dirhams. Just beyond the gate, a leaking drain provides a small oasis that drew in a lot of bulbuls, doves and House Sparrows. Little Green Bee-eaters were easily seen here too. This one appeared to have been eye-deep in soft mud. Would bee-eaters be excavating burrows at this time of year perhaps?

The park is a good example of Ghaf woodland. The Ghaf tree has become endangered and efforts are underway to replant it into the desert. The plantation-style straight lines that can be seen from Google Earth images suggest that this park is aiding the efforts to preserve it.
I had arrived close to dusk and had a very specific target bird in mind, but before it got dark I wanted to explore an interesting looking tract of scrubland beyond the main centre of the park. The spot I sought was beyond the mosque and the restaurant, but I was disappointed to see that it was a picnic area approached through a Smurf inspired arch. There were no picnickers here today so I had a look round, but found little more than I had seen already.

Beyond the next car park and the cycle track the small trees thinned out and the environment began to resemble a scrubby patch of desert. An Isabelline Wheatear perched on a low bush here and I had to wait for it to fly before I could see its distinctive tail pattern. The Burj Khalifa was visible in the distance through the glowing light of a gulf dusk. The Muezzin began his azan, calling all to prayer, at 17.52 as the sun set on this Thursday evening in the second week of October.

Opposite the mosque is a patch of trees. Pallid Scops Owls are said to be resident here and often give spectacular views as they feed in the spotlights of the administration building there. As I approached, a small, cryptically plumaged bird flew from the top of one of the roadside lights into a tree. Surely it was one of the owls, or would that be too big a presumption to make? It was such a brief sighting that I cannot rule out Little Owl nor Eurasian Scops Owl at the moment and will have to defer the pleasure of getting the red pen out.
Hoping for a better sighting, my eyes were drawn to movements through the trees as I sat on the grass watching the brightly lit areas. Mostly these were bats, but occasionally a dove would clatter out from its roost, wings whirring.
I did hear a soft ‘woo – woo - woo’ call coming from behind the administration building which I took to be the Pallid Scops Owl, but no more sightings were had and families were arriving to set up picnics on the grass to celebrate the start of the Muslims’ weekend.

I had a return flight to London this evening and no firm plans as to how to get back to the hotel, so I left the owls un-ticked and headed home. As my friend Martin often philosophically states, I have a good reason to return to this very pleasant site on another occasion.
To reach Mushrif Park, take the Metro train to Rashidiya Station at the airport end of the Red Line. An all zones pass costs 8.50 Dirhams. Bus 11a runs from here to the park entrance but has an infrequent schedule about once every hour. I took a taxi from the station rank and paid 20 Dirhams.
There is no taxi rank at the park and I was lucky to find one for the return journey. If you are stuck and time is running short, it may be possible to walk about a mile back towards the airport and catch one of three buses that run through the nearby estate as shown in the photo below.

Birds seen; 12

Eurasian Collared Dove 150, Pallid Swift 6, Little Green Bee-eater 8, Indian Roller 3, Eurasian Hoopoe 3, Barn Swallow 8, White-eared Bulbul 40, Red-vented Bulbul 5, Isabelline Wheatear 1, Common Myna 15, House Sparrow 60,

Back at home, I was able to listen to the call of the Pallid Scops Owl on Xeno Canto and am happy that this is what I was hearing. With a couple of pairs resident in the vicinity, it would be too strict for me to deprive my list of the Pallid Scops Owl. I confess that if I didn’t know that the owls were commonly seen at that particular spot, I may not have been able to identify it, but since it is documented as the likeliest owl to be seen and with a definite call heard, I can afford to be less anal than usual.

Mushrif Park, Dubai, UAE. Oct 2011

Ras Al Khor, Dubai, UAE. Oct 2011

2011-10-14T22:38:00.001+01:00

It is strange that I have resisted making a visit to Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary in Dubai until now. I spent a thoroughly pleasant couple of hours there in this second week of October and looking back, it is difficult to pin down a reason for my previous reluctance. Getting there and back was slightly awkward, but at least it was open.

Here are a couple of facts for the visitor before we start. I want to highlight these as they are important but not well documented. The Sanctuary is open from 09.00 until 16.00 daily, but is closed on Fridays. It is possible to see birds from outside the perimeter fence, but that would be a sad alternative to a place in one of the hides during opening hours.

The roads surrounding the sanctuary are busy 4-lane motorways with no crossing points in case you find yourself on the wrong side. Taxi drivers are not all acquainted with the sanctuary and it is not signposted, so for their information, the southern tip of the lagoon is marked by the interchange of Oud Metha Road (Route 66) and Ras Al Khor Road (Route 44). Use the Emarat petrol station on the south-bound carriageway of Oud Metha Road as a marker for the Flamingo Hide on the opposite side (Google Earth ref; 25 11 34N 55 18 44E).

Ras Al Khor is a 620 hectare complex of intertidal mudflats, lagoons and mangroves at the top end of Dubai Creek. It is internationally acknowledged with its RAMSAR Wetlands Site status and provides a staging post for migrating and wintering birds with up to 20,000 birds present at its peak season during the winter. There are 3 hides; Mangrove Hide is accessed from Ras Al Khor Road, Lagoon Hide which has been closed recently due to construction work around it and Flamingo Hide which is described in this post.

I found myself at the petrol station on the wrong side of the motorway and had to skip smartly across 8 lanes and a central barrier to get to Flamingo Hide. I had missed the tide by a combination of over-sleeping, having to shop for sun-block and by selecting a taxi driver that had not heard of Ras Al Khor. As it was, the water had retreated a little, but the Greater Flamingos were still close enough to the hide to give good views.

Other birds around the hide included Little Stint, Lesser Ringed Plover and Common Redshank. Further out, Black-bellied Plovers and a couple of Eurasian Curlews could be seen. A friendly security guard has charge of a spotting scope which he encourages visitors to use but this is packed away by 15.45 in anticipation of his knocking off time. Through the scope it was possible to see Greenshank, Whimbrel and a larger congregation of assorted waders in the distance.

Overhead a Eurasian Marsh Harrier patrolled the lines of mangroves hoping to catch a smaller bird unawares. An Osprey flew by but looked as if it was heading for deeper water to hunt.

For the most part, the sanctuary was very quiet apart from the rumble of traffic behind us. I shared the hide with the guard and a gentleman, Shafaat, who had come to the hide seeking solace and inspiration from the natural setting. A few other visitors popped in as we watched, but few stayed very long. We were reticent to leave at 16.00 when the guard began his locking up preliminaries. The flamingos appeared to know that it was chucking out time and began approaching the hide and moving towards the road along the screen that covers visitors’ approach to the hide.

There is a drinking water fountain in the hide, but no toilet facilities which may explain some accounts of security guards (who have been on duty for at least 7 hours with no relief) being slightly grumpy come closing time. Our guard today was very pleasant I would like to add.

To get to Ras Al Khor, I took the Metro train to World Trade Centre. From outside the nearby World Trade Centre Hotel , bus number 61 leaves from the stop (Google Earth ref; 25 13 38N 55 17 24E) on the 2^nd Za’abeel Rd. I wasn’t sure of the schedule and took the opportunity to hail a cab which immediately turned round and took me the other way, taking half an hour to complete what should have been an easy five minute ride (Tip for next time; bring the name of the place you are visiting, that would have been useful in the increasingly hot backseat of the cab. There are two Emarat petrol stations on Oud Metha Rd. If you can’t see mangroves or flamingos, you are at the wrong one).
My plans for the afternoon had not got as far as figuring out a way to get home from Ras Al Khor, but I was very lucky that Shafaat lived close to a Metro station and very kindly offered me a lift. In other circumstances, I would have had to rely on flagging a taxi down on the busy motorway. Bus number 61 has a stop at the petrol station across the road, but that will take you in the wrong direction. It would have been my fall back plan to board this bus, wrong way or not and take the return journey back to the Metro station at World Trade Centre. If anyone has any other suggestions, they will be gladly received.

Species seen; 19

Grey Heron 2, Greater Flamingo 400, Osprey 1, Eurasian Marsh Harrier 2, Grey Plover 6, Little Plover 4, Kentish Plover 3, Whimbrel 1, Eurasian Curlew 2, Common Redshank 25, Common Greenshank 1, Terek Sandpiper 2, Common Sandpiper 1, Little Stint 25, Gull-billed Tern 3, Eurasian Collared Dove 3, Crested Lark 2, White Wagtail 1, White-eared Bulbul 1.

Other Redganet posts from Dubai can be found via the links below and through the dedicated Middle East Page.

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/01/safa-park-dubai.html http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/01/meet-family.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/safa-park-dubai-pt-2.html

The excellent and comprehensive UAE Birding can be found via this link.

Stanley Park, Vancouver, Oct 2011

2011-10-10T22:23:00.000+01:00

Nearly 3 years ago I did a trip to Vancouver’s Stanley Park with the inestimable Charlie Moores. It was he that inspired me to start Redgannet (although some less charitable observers have suggested that the blog is perpetrated rather than written), following the style and format of his much-missed charliesbirdingblog. Charlie has given up flying around the world and can now be found talking naturally with guests on his podcast website.

The light came late this morning and I had to back-track to get any decent photographs, so shadow-watchers may see some crazy time lines in the sequence of photos in this post. Follow W. Georgia St. north-west to Google Earth Ref; 49 17 40N 123 08 14W and you will find yourself at the south-east corner of the 18 (-ish) hectare Lost Lagoon. The season is still a little young for the great variety of ducks that might be found here during the winter. Instead, there was a big head of Canada Geese as first light fell.

I get plenty of bad photographs in my pursuit of half-decent ones, but occasionally I fluke an atmospheric picture through no intention or talent of my own. Often overlooked as a trash bird, the geese were in their place and time today and a smaller version amongst them was a life-first Cackling Goose. The split from Canada Goose was made in 2004, but looking at the size and bill shape makes me wonder what took them so long.

Raccoons were seen on the path as I walked around the lake in a clockwise direction towards the bridge. They are often fed by well-meaning park visitors, but they have become very used to people and often come into conflict with dog walkers and parents with small children.

I was using a bicycle this morning and my intention was to take a gentle ride around the sea-wall, but this meant returning to W. Georgia St. and crossing over to comply with the one-way bike trail which runs anticlockwise. This should be the best way to chase the light, but high trees and raised ground cast long shadows out onto the water to shade anything close to the shore.

Any visit to Vancouver will inevitably include gulls. Glaucous-winged Gulls were the most common today, but in fewer numbers than I recall. The only other species seen was the Short-billed (Common) Gull. One of the Glaucous-winged Gulls was trying to swallow a starfish and looked to be gagging on it. A couple of walkers stopped to watch, but became grossed out by the constant regurgitating to get a better grip. Another passerby was very impressed giving it a high score for technical effort and artistic impression. The fay, English critic gave it a “Yes” and it went through to the next round. For the full performance and to vote for the Glaucous-winged Gull, click this link.

Out on the water were Pelagic Cormorants as well as Double-crested Cormorants with their much thicker bills and orange chin. The only ducks seen along the first stretch were American Wigeon. Good numbers of Horned Grebe were seen and a Harbour Seal came quite close to shore.

At around the 3.8km mark, the Ravine Trail leads up to Beaver Lake. This is always a good place to look for Spotted Towhees, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees. They are often fed here and are very approachable.

Beaver Lake, as the name suggests has a Beaver lodge and the rodents constantly block the overflow drain to increase the depth of the shrinking pool. It is choked with weeds now and is becoming quite swampy with only a tiny piece of open water left. The Wood Ducks love it here and also like to endear themselves to the people who come here to feed them.

Back out on the sea-wall I passed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge and was rewarded with a view out across the open water towards the Strait of Georgia which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland. There was a large flock of Scoters out there. The big white face and head patches of the Surf Scoters stood out from a distance, but there were a couple of oddities amongst them. I took a seat with Stan and Mary Stanford (who so loved the view from here) and scanned the flock carefully. A small group who stayed very slightly removed from the main flock proved to be White-winged Scoters and there was one Long-tailed Duck mixed in with the melee.

In a small bay close to Third Beach a pair of Harlequin Ducks rode the gentle swell of an incoming tide. I wanted to get a closer picture and clambered down onto the rocky shoreline to wait for them to round the headland, but the tide pushed me back as the ducks paddled further out at my approach.

I had come full circle now and stopped for a passable fish and chips at a café near to First Beach. A Glaucous-winged Gull was keening pitifully for its parent who was watching my chips with a dark eye.

Back at the bridge and the Lost Lagoon, I managed to get a few of the photographs that I missed in the horrible light of an overcast morning. The Raccoons were out in force with at least 8 of them begging for scraps from anyone who passed.

The Great Blue Heron was in a better position with some nice warm afternoon light falling on him, but still he looked grumpy.

Species seen; 29

Horned Grebe 25, Double-crested Cormorant 12, Pelagic Cormorant 35, Great Blue Heron 5, Mute Swan 6, Cackling Goose 1, Canada Goose 400, Wood Duck 15, American Wigeon 120, Green-winged Teal 5, Mallard 80, Harlequin Duck 2, Long-tailed Duck 1, Surf Scoter 350, White-winged Scoter 8, Cooper’s Hawk 2, American Coot 8, Short-billed Gull 15, Glaucous-winged Gull 35, American Robin 2, Varied Thrush 1, Black-capped Chickadee 6, Chestnut-backed Chickadee 8, North-western Crow 400, Spotted Towhee 12, Song Sparrow 40, White-throated Sparrow 3, Golden-crowned Sparrow 6, Dark-eyed Junco 35, Red-winged Blackbird 1.

The path along the sea-wall passes the First Peoples’ totem poles and the attendant interpretative centre.

Stanley Park, Vancouver, YVR

Cantareira Sate Park, Nucleo Pedra Grande, Sao Paulo, Sept 2011

2011-10-07T23:36:00.000+01:00

Serro do Cantareira is the largest urban forest in the world, but it is closed to the general public during the week and only accessible to walkers, picnickers and birders from 08.00 at weekends. This is less than ideal if your only day off is on Friday, or if you prefer your forests to be a place of peace and contemplation in the early hours.

I maintain that polite enquiry, or gentle charm in the face of refusal, will open more doors, wider than huffing and puffing ever will. To this end I contacted the park authorities explaining that I was an international visitor and that my opportunities were limited. Permission was quickly granted and the offer of a guide who would meet me at the gate at 06.30 was enthusiastically accepted.

The commuters of Sao Paulo were already thronging the metro by 05.30, but I was travelling against the flow and arrived at Jardim Sao Paulo station by 06.00. A Reas20 (@R2.60 = £1), 10 minute taxi ride got me to the entrance in plenty of time to meet my guide and I was allowed through the control gate (Google Earth ref; 23 27 17S 46 38 08W) where I occupied myself by watching Burnished-buff Tanagers, and Dusky-legged Guan while I waited.

Diego arrived and proved to be a very amiable English speaker who is obviously well-liked by all his colleagues. He is not a professional bird guide, as evidenced by his fees, but he is familiar with the 8,000 hectares of forest that is in his charge during his day job working as a biologist at Cantareira State Park.

We drove to the park administration building and started our morning by birding around the small lake there (Google Earth ref; 23 26 51S 46 38 01W). Birds were abundant with 5 lifers coming in a short walk along the bank and through a stand of trees. An unmistakeable Red-ruffed Fruitcrow was seen in the distance, sharing the treetops with a Surucua Trogon. An Olivaceous Euphonia was quickly identified by Diego who also made the call for the Planalto Woodcreeper and the White-throated Woodcreeper.

The Black-crowned Tityra was not a bird that he had seen here before and we had to check it in the field guides. Before he dragged me away from the administration area, Diego showed me a Yellow-fronted Woodpecker which had cut a double-entry nest hole into a tree by the administration building. An inquisitive Streaked Xenops was peeking in through the lower hole, but the larger woodpecker soon put it to flight.

On the main road, Diego pointed out a Blue-backed Manikin that he suspects has been showing off at a lek close to the junction and stopped suddenly as a Solitary Tinamou melted back into the forest from the verge. A tiny bird flew into a tree above our heads and I would have struggled had Diego not called a White-throated Spadebill. Further along, a tree reaches out over the road and has been used as a nesting site by a pair of Surucua Trogons for the last three seasons.

Male

Both parents were close to the nest. There is something mystical about Trogons in my experience. I have never seen one fly; they seem to appear from nowhere and disappear in an eye-blink without crossing any intervening space when doing so.

Female

Next we went on to Lago das Carpas at Google Earth ref; 23 25 25S 46 38 06W. This is a very picturesque lake (probably with carp in it) with a children’s playground and toilet facilities. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the Least Grebes on the water and only realised that they were life birds when I got home. I was concentrating more on a flycatcher that may or may not have been a red-crayon Swainson’s Flycatcher. It was not possible to separate it from the Short-crested Flycatcher, which would also have been a lifer. A Rufous-collared Sparrow sat for a moment and was unmistakable in the sun.

The full tour of Cantareira’s Pedro Grande Nucleo would not be complete without a visit to the eponymous big stone. From here a view can be had out across Sao Paulo and I wondered why people would leave the city and come to a forest so that they could look back at the city. Pedro Grande however is the park’s most popular feature and a bus spilled a group of tourists out onto the hot rock.

Diego had to work in the afternoon and left me in the forest near to the trogons’ nest. I settled myself in the shade hoping that they would return, but they probably spirited themselves in and out as I did not see them again. Black Vultures circled overhead and made a few low passes, close enough for me to hear the wind in their wings. Only when they began to settle in a nearby tree did I realise that they thought that my supine inactivity might mean that it was time for afternoon tea. During my vigil, rustlings in the dry leaves of the forest floor attracted my attention. Mostly, they were Solitary Tinamou turning the fallen leaves as they passed by, but one sound in particular, that called to mind something being dragged through the leaf litter, set my imagination into overdrive.

During the previous day, Diego had been called out to assist in rescuing a Puma that had strayed from the forest into an adjacent plantation and had been scared up into a tree when felling started (the puma was up the tree, not Diego. Just wanted to make that clear). My mind was full of pictures of a large cat dragging its prey though the undergrowth behind me. The excitement mounted as the creature came closer and closer to the road until at last a huge monitor-type lizard emerged, dragging its long tail behind it.

The walk back to the control gate was about 2 kms or so and I stopped frequently to look and listen. One hot spot was close to the junction with the administrative building turn off. There is a small building beside the road with a greenhouse behind. Berry bushes and fruiting trees were attracting, Pale-breasted Thrush, Yellow-legged Thrush, White-throated Thrush and the ubiquitous Rufous-bellied Thrush.

White-throated Thrush

Also feeding here were Ruby-crowned Tanagers and Blue Dacnis. A Red-eyed Vireo was calling. Strangely its song was slightly slower than I was used to and its eye was dark. I believe that the Brazilian version of this species is known as the Chivi Vireo, but I would be pleased to hear from anyone who can confirm that or put me straight.

As I came closer to the entrance of the park, a few well-marked trails cut away from the tarmac. I followed one, the Bugio Trail, intending only to venture a short way along it, but as I turned to retrace my steps back to the road a shrill, “You tWIT” called me back. This is where the confusion started. I assumed that the bird kicking around in the leaf litter was the one that had made the call, which was so like that of a Northern Bobwhite. This planted the seed that it must be a bobwhite. However, the Crested Bobwhite, which is the only Brazilian candidate, would be 2,500 kms out of its accepted range and in the wrong habitat. In a reply to my email, Diego suggested that I consider Spot-winged Wood-Quail and after enhancing and super-zooming a dreadful picture, I will side with him. After comparing my recording with accepted examples on Xeno-canto, I am happy that it was not a Crested Bobwhite, but the call was not that of a Wood-Quail either, so remains a mystery.

The Bica Trail starts from beside the control gate and I had saved this short, circular path until last so that I could better time my departure from the park when the gate closed at 17.00. A few hefty thumps reminded me that I had once seen a Blonde-crested Woodpecker along this trail and I was very keen to see this spectacular bird again. Sadly just at that moment, a group of school children came round the corner, screeching and pulling at my binoculars for a go.

Once the children passed on, the Howler Monkeys started calling directly overhead, making the kids’ noise pale in comparison. In truth I didn’t miss anything. The hefty thumps that I had mistaken for a woodpecker pecking were actually from the Howler monkey which makes a few separated cracks as a warm up before increasing his frequency and intensity to create his deafening roar. The trail on this occasion will be remembered for producing a Red-crowned Ant-tanager.

The day was not yet finished as the walk from the gate down past the public park produced a final lifer of the day. A small number of Ashy-tailed Swifts, which are known locally as Sick’s Swift, shared the evening sky with some Blue and White Swallows.

Birds seen; 48

Solitary Tinamou 4, Least Grebe 2, Neotropic Cormorant 2, Striated Heron 1, Black Vulture 35, Roadside Hawk 1, White-tailed Hawk 1, Dusky-legged Guan 4, Spot-winged Wood-Quail 2, Picazuro Pigeon 8, Pale-vented Pigeon 1, Maroon-bellied Parakeets 4, Scaly-headed Parrot 4, Ashy-tailed Swift 6, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird 3, Suruca Trogon 4, Red-breasted Toucan 3, Yellow-fronted Woodpecker 2, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner 1, Streaked Xenops 1, White-throated Woodcreeper 2, Planalto Woodcreeper 1, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow 1, Blue-backed Manikin 1, White-throated Spadebill 1, Piratic Flycatcher 1, Streaked Flycatcher 2, Tropical Kingbird 3, Black-crowned Tityra 1, Blue-and –white Swallow 45, Southern House Wren 2, White-throated Thrush 2, Pale-breasted Thrush 2, Yellow-legged Thrush 1, Rufous-bellied Thrush 25, Red-eyed Vireo 2, Violaceous Euphonia 2, Golden-crowned Warbler 1, Bananaquit 6, Ruby-crowned Tanager 5, Red-crowned Ant-tanager 1,

Cantareira is in the hills to the north of Sao Paulo City. Actually it is technically a mountain by virtue of reaching 1010m at the big stone. It is divided into a number of “Nucleo” of which the Nucleo Pedra Grande is the most convenient from Sao Paulo.

Public visitors are usually only allowed entry from 08.00 until 17.00 at weekends and private vehicles are not permitted. A Reas6 entrance fee is applicable. To walk to Lago das Carpas and complete the circle via Pedro Grande on the (mostly) paved road is a distance of 9.5kms. Short trails into the forest, close to the entrance control gate, are very enjoyable with plenty of birds, but will be busy at weekends for sure.

Accompanied groups (religious, senior or school groups) are admitted during the week, but are escorted by a member of the park staff or driven in a bus. By asking nicely, or by bringing a friend, you may be considered as a group.

Diego or one of his colleagues will escort a single birder or small group through the park outside of normal public visiting hours and is prepared to start very early in the morning (06.30 in my case). His fee was Reas60 (@2.60 + £1) which is very reasonable for a morning. With his vehicle we were also able to cover more ground than might otherwise have been feasible. Diego is not a full-time bird guide, but he did me proud today and is prepared to admit if he is unsure about an identification. He is familiar with many of the calls and is able to use them to track and identify birds. Contact him by email at diegohrl@yahoo.com.br and follow up on arrival by calling him on; Tel (00 +55) 11 92908035

Take the Metro to Jardim Sao Paulo, in the direction of Tucuruvi. Show the taxi driver the following address to be sure that you are going to the right place;

Rua do Horto, 1799 – Tremembe- Parque estadual da Cantareira – Nucleo Pedra Grande.

On return, I was unable to find a taxi at the bottom of the hill and after waiting for quite a while, resorted to the bus from a stop outside the petrol station at the junction. Buses have their ultimate destination on the front and intermediate stops on the side by the door. Most buses go close to a Metro station. Make yourself familiar with the Metro logo and look for it on the side of the bus.

Better still, arrange for a taxi to meet you at a pre-arranged time. Diego was able to receive a signal on his phone in the park. Carry a taxi number with you.

Follow the links below for other posts from Sao Paulo;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/08/sao-paulo-august-2009.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/10/botanical-gardens-sao-paulo-sep-2011.html

Visit the dedicated Central and South America page for more posts from this region.

Serra da Cantareira, Nucleo Pedra Grande, Sao Paulo, GRU, Brazil