3 ducks ticked, 1 duck dipped (again)

It's happened again, I've got all behind....too busy birding & trying to get to grips with my new MacBook.

Since my last post I've been up on various bits of Woodbury Common looking for Woodcock & Jack Snipe without success, and had a second failed attempt for the Green-winged Teal at Portworthy Dam near Plymouth. We also went up to the Blackdown Hills and finished the last of the Devon Bird Atlas surveys. There were lots of birds about, although we didn't find anything unusual.

We then went up to Leicestershire to check on our canal boat Muriel, and whilst there I managed to find 2 new ducks for my Year List. The first was a Velvet Scoter at Swithland Reservoir, which is only a few miles from the boat. I was checking out little dots on the far side of the water with the scope when Simon pointed out a couple of ducks about 40 yards away, one of which was indeed one of the female Velvet Scoters that had been reported there for a few days. That was enough birding for Simon, so I dropped him off in Loughborogh & went to Rutland Water for the rest of the day. I'd never been in the actual reserve before, so I had a very pleasant afternoon exploring. I was pleased to find 4 female Smew on Lagoon 3, although they were quite a way off. 2 male & 2 female Red-crested Pochards were also a nice surprise, although I'd already seen a couple at Exminster Marsh a while back.

Lagoon 3 at Rutland Water

I stayed until the light started to go watching the gull roost (worrying!) & as I left the the hide a Barn Owl did a fly-by right in front of me. A lovely sight.

Back south, I spent a morning at Bowling Green Marsh which was heaving with birds. The Long-tailed Duck was still there, along with the usual suspects, including a beautiful flock of Avocets, hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits, a few Bar-tailed Godwits, lots of Snipe & 2 Grey Plover.

Yesterday I had my first foray into Cornwall. I went straight to Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor, the lake reputed to be the legendary home of the Lady of the Lake where King Arthur was given the sword Excalibur. I must admit, it was a beautiful place, but more importantly it was small, making it fairly easy to locate the adult drake Lesser Scaup. There were only a few Tufties, Pochards & a pair of Goldeneye keeping it company.

Dozmary Pool

Next stop St John's Lake, which isn't actually a lake but part of the Tamar estuary. A Green-winged Teal had been reported there, probably the same one that had given me the slip at Portworthy Dam...twice. I spent the afternoon there, along with 3 other birders, but we couldn't find it in the muddy channels. In hindsight I should have gone there first when the tide was in, but it had been reported the day before in the afternoon, so I figured it was possible to find it on a low tide. I felt a bit better when I discovered that 2 of the other birders had dipped the Portworthy Teal twice as well.

St John's Lake

It had been a long way, but I drove home fairly happy as I'd at least seen one of my target birds putting my Year List on 217.  Back in Feb I mentioned that I'm in a Year List Race with a couple of friends. Well, for various reasons, there are really only 2 of us left in the running, and when I'd set out in the morning, Dom was also on 217. However, my happiness was short-lived as I arrived home to discover that Dom had been on a trip to Suffolk & added 4 birds. So, I'm now trailing by 4 birds, a gap that I'm going to be hard pushed to close.  I'll give it a good go though!

Ducks, a shrike & an anti-aircraft gun!

I set off with the intention of looking for the Ring-necked Ducks at Chard Junction & the Great Grey Shrike in Smeatharpe, but as I had to go almost past Aylesbeare Common, it seemed rude not to stop off there first.

I was last at Aylesbeare Common on 28/12/2001 & I know that as I saw my first Dartford Warbler so it’s marked in my Collins guide. I was hoping to get one today so spent lots of time checking the tops of gorse bushes. I didn’t find one, but I did find at least 70 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing & a Mistle Thrush. I needed the Mistle Thrush for my Year List, so that was the first ‘tick’ with my nice new scope!

1st tick with the new scope on Aylesbeare Common

Then off to Chard Junction in Dorset.  I’d checked the maps of the area & the Birdguides info, so had a fair idea where I needed to be. I found the entrance to the track which is marked as a footpath on the map & parked up. It didn’t seem very promising as I walked past all of the quarry warning notices, I couldn’t even see any water. Then I walked up a small bank through a few newly planted trees & there it was, a body of water which I think was more of a pond than a lake. Straight away I spotted a lovely drake Ring-necked Duck, didn’t even need the scope, although it was a fantastic view with it. The second one then appeared as well.  Superb!!

Track up to East Lake

East Lake for a quick 'tick'

Then across to Upottery Airfield near Smeatharpe, back in Devon. It wasn't far, but it was a bit of a convoluted route & I could have done with a navigator. As I didn’t have one, I had to stop several times to figure out where I was.  It was at this airfield that Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, US 101st Airborne Division boarded Douglas C-47 transport planes to make their first combat jump into Normandy on 6th June 1944 as part of the D-Day invasion. Easy Company was the subject of the Band of Brothers mini-series & Upottery Airfield was used in the filming of the series in 2001. Now all that remains are the runways, a few dilapidated buildings & an anti-aircraft gun!

40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun

One of the Birdguides reports showed a grid reference, so I headed to the ‘road’ that runs along the Western edge of the airfield, which is actually a concrete surfaced track with intermittent vegetation! I parked up for a quick lunch whilst watching the surrounding bushes, then went to speak to a chap that was wandering around with a scope. He said he’d been looking for 2 hrs & was giving up to go home. I decided on a brew before starting on a search, planning to give it about 2 hrs. Considering that most of the country is under snow, it was actually quite mild, but I thought 2 hrs would probably be enough. I sat in the van with my tea & immediately heard a shout.....the chap had just found the shrike! I left my tea & legged it up the track to get a distant but good view.  Great!

Shrike bushes in the mid distance

I drank my tepid tea then set off across the field towards the old airfield buildings as the chap had said that a Little Owl sometimes perches there. Unfortunately there weren’t any owls, but I did find 2 Stock Dove which I needed for the list. A 4 Year-tick day! That puts me on 118.

Old airfield buildings & runway, but no Little Owl

It was still only about 2.45pm, so as there was still some light left I decided to have another go at Aylesbeare Common on my way home.  I had a long walk around the reserve, found quite a lot of birds including a Treecreeper & Goldcrest, but nothing new for the list. A bloke driving through the reserve said that there is only one pair of Dartford Warblers left on the reserve, the rest having been killed off by the harsh winter last year. Not surprising that I didn’t find one then.

As I waited to cross the road back to the van, a large vehicle with flashing amber lights was coming towards me. For some reason I assumed it was a Heavy Recovery vehicle. It was only when it nearly reached me that I realised it was a gritter spreading salt. There was nowhere to go, so I covered my bins & reversed up to the hedge hoping that my new scope would survive. The nice gritter driver must have spotted me cowering in the gloom & kindly stopped spreading until he had passed me. Phew!

I may not have found a Dartford Warbler but I’d had a pleasant walk & worked up a good appetite for the roast dinner that was underway when I got home. Perfect!