That was Scilly

When the Great Blue Heron turned up on the Scilly Isles, I really never gave it a second thought - even though it was a BOU tick, and  only the second for Britain - bizarrely found by the same birder who found the first one in 2007 (Ashley Fisher). Don't ask me why, but even for all the rarities that the Scillies turn up, it's never had a pull for me, but last week a mate of mine, Brian Moore, asked if Iwas interested in twitching the Heron - and asked if I knew anybody else that was interested in going? After a few calls, it seemed that everybody had got work or other things planned, so last weeks' trip was put on hold until this week, when other people were available; after a few more calls, Steve James said he was up for it, so at stupid o' clock on Tues evening, the three of us were on our way to Penzance in readiness for the 9.15am Scillonian lll crossing to St Mary's. The ferry left on time, so we would be on the island at mid-day;  the bird had been favouring Bryher, and sometimes Tresco, but it had done the decent thing and had taken up residence on St Mary's at Lower Moor. After an uneventful crossing, with only Fulmars a few Auks, Kittewake and lots of Manx Shearwaters to note, we checked the news services which said the bird was perched in an Elm tree, close to the school, so we jumped into a taxi to save time (we were on the 4.30pm ferry back). After an hour walking up and down a path where the elm trees, as we didn't know where the bird had been seen from, we decided to walk around to the ISBG hide at lower Moor. Before we got into the hide though, a couple of birders just coming away from the hide confirmed the heron was on the pool. I made a quick call to Steve as he was at the other end of Lower Moor, and it wasn't long before all of us were having stunning views of this huge heron.  It all went too quickly, and before we knew it we were on the ferry, heading back to Penzance. It was my first time on the Scillies - but certainly won't be my last! It was a great twitch -  a long way to go I know,  but these things have to be done................he said tongue in cheek!!!  Below are a few images of the Great Blue Heron

                                                Leaving St Mary's

Just passing St Michaels' mount on our way back into Penzance

As always, thanks for stopping by to read my blog!

Until my  next 'adventure' !

Migrant windfall at Brascote GP.

On  Friday 10th of April, there was a lot of movement of migrants coming in on the South coast -mainly Ring Ouzel - but also really good numbers of Hoopoe in the South West, and a few Garganey were also being found, so, while out on Saturday morning putting up a couple of owl boxes with my good mate Paul Riddle, I got a message from Ben Croxall that our mate Nick had found 3 probably 4 Ring Ouzels at my local patch Brascote GP. Not having seen this bird at Brascote before, (in fact I must find out whether they have ever been recorded there) it was quickly on with the job in hand! The owl boxes were soon in position, so Paul and I made a quick exit for home, and planned to meet up at Brascote GP asap,  which is what we did! We arrived at the site and there were a few familiar faces there already, viewing two male Ring Ouzels in an hedge line running up the field - absolutely stunning birds!  I took a few record images - the birds never came close enough for good images. 

The image below is very heavily cropped, but a really good patch tick. The birds did fly off in an northerly direction, and we thought they had gone - but they were seen again later that evening and there has been 2 there now for the last several days, along with a few Wheatear who have joined them.

Ring Ouzel

Whilst there, I had my first singing Blackcap of 2015, and the day before my first singing Chiffchaff  - which obligingly posed for a decent image!

                                                                Chiffchaff

Now, for a long time, my birding buddy Pete Asher (my mentor) and I have said  that this site is ideal for Garganey, so it was no surprise when, on Tuesday, I got a message from Ben Croxall that Allan Pocock had found a pair of Garganey on one of the old settling pools - trouble was, I could not get there till Wednesday morning due to work and other commitments, so at first light the next day, I was at the pool waiting for my second patch tick in as many days - but they must have decided to leave the previous evening, which was a warm and clear night, so I will just have to wait for the next one to come along, and hopefully I will be the finder!
As always thanks for stopping by...........

Central American Birding

Having been to Central America on a couple of occasions, namely Costa Rica and Panama, the Duchess and myself decided we would like to go there again. We liked the look of a birding trip to Honduras, staying at the 'eco lodge' Pico Bonito in the Pico Bonito National Park - a 400 acre reserve at the Northern (Caribbean) coast of Honduras - so, on Feb 17th, we departed London Heathrow for Houston Texas, where we would stay over night in order to catch a flight the next morning for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Having had two uneventful flights, we had a short wait for the rest of the group to arrive from Miami before our two and a half hour transfer to the lodge. The birds on the way were mainly Cattle Egret, Great White Egret, Tropical Kingbird and white-winged Doves. By the time we arrived at the lodge, we had time for a wash and brush up before meeting up with our party again for dinner. The following morning, we woke to the sounds of lots of new birds singing and calling; the veranda on the restaurant had a few hummingbird feeders, and it was great to watch these flying jewels feeding whilst having your breakfast!  Rufous tailed Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, sripe-throated Hermit, Violet crowned Woodnymph  to name just a few.

White-necked Jacobin

Violet Sabrewing

After breakfast, our two guides Jose and Ezra took us for a walk around the some of the trails in the grounds of the lodge. Birds of note were Hooded Warbler, Wood thrush, lots of Clay Colored Thrush with Chestnut-headed and Montezuma's Oropendola, along with Brown Jays making their presence heard; Wedge-billed Woodcreeper and Red-throated Ant-tanager were also noted. We then went to one of the three tower hides that look out over the forest. From here, we saw Purple-crowned Fairy and the stunning Lovely Cotinga - What a bird! - lots of White-collared Swift were overhead, Blue-crowned Motmot was a good find but the find of the morning was a Great Potoo at the top of a dead tree in its' cryptic pose - unbelievable camouflage! Other garden birds of note over our stay were Black-cheeked and Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Boat-billed and Social Flycatcher, Keel-billed Toucan and Collared Aracari.  Our bird watching was cut short though by torrential rain, so we returned to the Lodge for lunch and continued birding from the verandah, as the rain never eased up for the rest of the day. Below are some images of the birds in the hotel garden.

                                                     Collared Aracari

This was an Iguana that was on the drive when we returned to the lodge one afternoon

This was one of our target birds - the Keel-billed Motmot

Keel-billed Toucan

                     Social Flycatcher.......How does it perch here without hurting it's feet?

                                                                  Summer Tanager

White Hawk

On our third day, the guides decided to change the itinerary as the weather was not going to improve locally. It was agreed that we would travel to the other side of the mountains, to the Rio Aguan Valley, on the southern side of the reserve. We stopped en route at several sites - the first being a small pool, where we saw Great Blue Heron, Crested Caracara, Eastern Meadowlark, White-necked Seedeater, and lots of American Kestrel perched on the overhead roadside wires.

Our next stop was on a river bridge where we saw Ringed and Amazon Kingfisher, Mangrove Swallow and Spotted Sandpiper. A little further along the same road, another small pool produced American Coot, Lesser Scaup, Yellow Warbler, Baltimore and Orchard Oriole, and a nice little flock of Blue-winged Teal. In the grass verge, Ezra, our guide, flushed a Grasshopper Sparrow, and told us to have a good look, as that was the best view we would get of it! - but just 10 minutes later, the Duchess found it perched in a bush, where it sat for a good 10 minutes, allowing all of the group the opportunity of really good views. Ezra said it is very rare to see one perched in a bush! 

Once we had entered the tropical dry forest, the birding did slow down - but we did see the endemic Honduras Emerald and the Salvins Emerald, along with Inca Dove and Purple Martin.

On our way back to our bus, there was a really small pool with only one bird on it - the aptly named Solitary Sandpiper! As we journeyed on to our lunch destination in the nearby ranching town of Olanchito, Grove-billed Ani, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Wood Stork were seen, along with quite a few Black Vultures scavenging on a dead horse. After a simple but delicious lunch, we continued back to the lodge for a rest before meeting for dinner.

                                                                    Honduras Emerald



                                                           American Kestrel



                                                                    Black Vultures

Eastern Meadowlark

Grasshopper Sparrow

Solitary Sandpiper

Amazon Kingfisher

Day four dawned bright and sunny, and we were off to the mangroves of The Cuero Y Salado Wildlife Refuge -less than 30 minutes away. The refuge comprises of over 35,000 acres of rivers, lagoons, mangroves and forest areas, and is reached by a quirky little train that takes you by some wet plains. If anything of interest is seen, the train stops to allow the bird watchers to get good views, which was great for us......but not sure the locals appreciate it! The train ride started well with Spot-breasted Oriole. We stopped several times to view the wetlands, where we saw Bare-throated Tiger Heron, White Ibis, Northern Jacana, Red-winged Blackbird, Black and White Warbler and Northern Parula. On arriving at our destination, Belted Kingfisher and Neotropic Cormorant could be seen. We were then given life jackets to wear, split into two groups and put into small skiffs, with a guide in each one, to explore the mangroves. The first birds of note were Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Black Hawk and Osprey. As we got into the mangroves we saw Black-headed Trogon, Pale-vented Pigeon and Green Kingfisher. Our guide then pointed out a Northern Potoo - again in the cryptic pose; a Yellow-crowned Night Heron flew over the lagoon, and overhead, an Aningha circled. A pair of American Pygmy Kingfisher were observed mating, and we had really good views of the strange looking Boat-billed Heron. All too soon, we were heading back to the jetty, ready to get the returning train - but not before a Magnolia Warbler was spotted, along with a Chestnut-collared Woodpecker! 

The train ride back was much the same as the outward journey, with us stopping for Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Tri-colored Heron, White-tailed Kite and lots of Great, Snowy and Cattle Egret.

We returned to the Lodge for lunch after a very enjoyable morning!

The afternoon was spent walking the gardens again, where birds of note were Yellow-winged Tanager, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Green Honeycreeper, Yellow-olive and Great-crested Flycatcher.

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Boat-billed Heron

Green Heron

Neotropic Cormorant

Northern Potoo

Magnolia Warbler

Our next excursion was to the Lancetilla  Botanical Gardens, which are in a coastal valley area, and were originally a commercial project where fruit trees were grown and studied. Almost as soon as we entered the grounds, we exited the bus and walked along a short ride, which was very productive! Spot-breasted Wren, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Lesser Greenlet and Squirrel Cuckoo were quickly ticked off, closely followed by a beautiful male White-collared Manakin;  Passerina Tanager, Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Black-headed Saltater were also noted, and a Ruddy Crake was heard by our guides, but, despite their best attempts to find it for us, it disappeared! We then moved off a short distance in the bus to the visitors centre, where we alighted again. Streaked Woodcreeper, American Redstart and Slate-headed Tody Flycatcher were added to the list, as were Short-tailed and Zone-tailed Hawk. We left the botanical gardens and set off to Tela, a coastal town, where we went to a beach side taverna for lunch, and from here, Brown Pelican, Royal Tern and Laughing Gull were added.

The following day we stayed around the lodge, but the group were given the option of going up into the mountains or staying around the gardens to do some birding.....I chose the latter, so, with Jose as our guide, four of us had a gentle stroll to see what we could see! We were not disappointed - Yellow-throated Euphonia and Ferruginous Pygmy Owl were seen not far from reception, along with Gartered Trogon, Crimson-colored Tanager and the stunning Barred Antshrike. There was a cocoa plantation in the grounds, and Jose said he had heard an owl in the vicinity a couple of days earlier. To our amazement, it wasn't long before he found it - a Vermiculated Screech Owl! Walking back towards the cabins, Rufous Mourner and White Hawk were seen, and a Roadside Hawk flew overhead.

Roadside Hawk

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Gartered Trogon

Our last day! 

Today we went to the River Santiago Nature Resort where there is a hummingbird feeding station. Again, after leaving the bus, the first birds of note were Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Brown-rumped Attilia and Brown-crested Flycatcher, then it was on to the feeding station.

The area was alive with hummingbirds whizzing about - you didn't know where to look first! - Scaly-breasted and Stripe-tailed Hummingbird along with White-bellied Emerald, Green-breasted Mango - and the one we had all hoped to see - the Band-tailed Bar-throat! I could have just sat there for hours watching these little gems coming and going, but we had to move on! On our return journey, we decided to get out and walk, as there was a river alongside the road. We walked for about a mile and our stroll was rather fruitful as we saw Yellow-faced Grassquit, Buff-throated Saltator, Worm-eating, Tennessee and Townsend warblers along with White-eyed Vireo and Black Hawk-eagle. After a lovely last day, it was back to the lodge to pack ready to go home.

All in all, another good trip! 

Ivory-billed Woodcreeper

Buff-throated Saltator

I hope you have enjoyed sharing my trip to Honduras, and, as always, thanks for stopping by.

Tern Raft Update

The other two Tern rafts we had built were launched today at Hicks Lodge, a former coal mining site now owned by the Forestry Commission in the NW of Leicestershire,  on quite a large lake where Terns have previously bred, although only one pair were successful in fledging at least one chick last year. There is an island in the middle of the lake which has just been cleared by the Forestry Commission rangers and LROS (Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society) volunteers, with a membrane having been put down to suppress the vegetation and then totally graveled over. Along with the two Tern rafts, we now have our fingers crossed that this will be the start of a new Tern colony at Hicks Lodge. Below are a few images on our the operation of the day. 

 With the raft in the water, the lads put on about 2" [50mm] of gravel for the Terns to nest on

 All the gravel on. Scott, one of the forestry rangers, brings the rib in ready to tow the raft out into position

 Andy Smith and Pete Williams taking the raft out, to anchor it into position

 Anchoring into its final position..... Andy and Pete risking life and limb.............................not!!

 This is one of the anchors we use to secure the raft into position. Two anchors are used on opposite corners.

The rafts in their final positions, just waiting for the return of the Common Terns. I will keep you up to date with their progress, and hopefully be able to post some images of the Terns nesting on them.
As always thanks for stopping by.

Tern Raft Launch

On Saturday we launched the first of the 3 rafts that we have built over the last few weeks. It was going on a small piece of water at Church Farm, where Andy and myself had built them. Graham Middlebrook, the land owner, had offered his services - and his JCB - in order to make launching the raft that much easier. The raft will only be a short distance from Thornton Resevoir, where there are no places for Common Terns to nest, but Andy does see them flying over the piece of water where the Tern raft will be sited, so fingers crossed they find the raft and set up home on it!

 Above is Graham transporting the raft to the small lake.........making it look easy

 Lowering the raft over the Sand Martin wall with the JCB made the job much easier.

 The raft finally touches the water and Andy is elated it floats - I myself had no worries what so ever!

 Andy pulling the raft around into position with the 15mm rope

 The raft in its' final position on the lake...... fingers crossed the Terns find it!

We have secured this raft with 2 ropes from either side, as its only a small piece of water and it is on private land. They are normally put into position, then 2 anchors are used to keep the raft in its' place

Raft update

This is Andy - just finishing bolting the perspex sides on to the raft; these sides do a few things - they stop the Tern chicks falling off the platform and perishing, they allow observers to see what's happening on the raft from the shore line, they stop predation - mainly from Mink, and also stop ducks getting onto the raft, as they would  tread over eggs and small Tern chicks

So this is the completed raft, apart from the 50mm of gravel that goes on when we float the raft out,which will be in the few weeks. I will keep you posted on how they are doing.
As always thanks for stopping by