What a day!

EABA leaders: Connor

After the super Dotterel the Buff Breasted Sandpiper, five Curlew Sandpipers, 16 + Little Egrets, Scaup and Greenshank with Matt I travelled to Cley NWT thanks to the kind invitation of Ray and David Roche. Although there was no sign of the Barred Warbler or the Ruddy Shelduck (we later discovered it was at Stiffkey) a seawatch provided three Arctic Skuas. After this we decided to walk down the the North hide. From this hide a single Curlew Sandpiper was among the many Dunlin. From here we continued to Arnolds Marsh, seeing two Wheatears and three Marsh Harriers in the process. On arnolds marsh there were four Greenshank, six Spotted Redshank, two Sandwich Terns, one Common Tern and many Dunlin, Redshank, Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits and a few Bar Tailed Godwits. We saw nothing else of note apart from two Kestrels and sveral Linnits.

Golden Plover, Golden Plover, Buff-Breasted Sandpiper,Golden Plover, Dotterel!!!!!!!

27/08/05 Snettisham RSPB Leaders: Matthew.

On a day at Holme NOA we decided to go and leave to see the Buff - Breasted Sandpiper at Snettisham...
After the long walk to the Rotary Hide we stopped and looked over the flats to find 200+ Golden Plover and 100+ Knot, and the only mobile bird in the flock the Buff - Breasted Sandpiper! It regularly disappeared in a ditch for even more fun! It didn't show exeptionally well though reasonably close in good light.
While walking back we spotted 2 Curlew Sandpipers when...we heard a strange call...a bit like a Redshank exept lower and more tuneful...then 2 juvenile Dotterel flew down on the beach in front of us and showed superbly, close and in good light, they even went up on the path!
Other birds at Holme included Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Knot, Sanderling,Turnstone, Ruddy Duck and Common Scoter.
Overall an exelent day.

Lucky!

Brampton and Fen Drayton EABA leaders: Connor
An early morning trip into Cambridgeshire for the Cattle Egret near Brampton. Me and my dad got lost several times before finding the right place. Here we were greeted by the news there was no sign of the bird. We waited for another half an hour before moving to Fen Drayton where yet again we got lost. We eventually found the right place but there was no Fudge Duck or Black Necked Grebe. Oh dear ! We travelled back to Brampton for one last try. After five minutes of waiting the Cattle Egret appeared. It had been in a ditch! It then showed reasonably well if at a distance.

Round-up

Due to packing and preparation for the hols in Cornwall I did not have much of a chance to update in the days just before the holiday. A week searching for vital year ticks provided Dartford Warbler at Dunwich heath, Golden Oriole and Stone Curlew in the brecks, Osprey at Rutland and Woodlark at West Newton wader scrape. Two recent visits to Titchwell RSPB have provided four Curlew Sanpipers, three Greenshank, two Little Gulls, 50+ Little Egrets, one Green Sanpiper, two Grey Plovers and a Little Stint but the Pec Sand disappeared when I came back from Cornwall!!!

Cornwall!

A family holiday to the Sennen/Lands end Area provided me with the ample opportunity to do some birdwatching and here is what I saw.

Day 1

The ten hour plus drive yielded a surprise Osprey just outside Wellingboro and a Common Tern somewhere in Cambridgeshire. Five Common Buzzards, a Barn Owl, three Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk made the tedious journey slightly easier. On arrival at Sennen two more Common Buzzards appeared as did a Mediterranean Gull. A Perergrine was a surprise above Sennen Village.

Day 2

On my first full day in Cornwall a walk around the Cove provided four Mediterranean Gulls, a Kestrel, two Common Sandpipers, a Kittiwake and a second calendar year Yellow Legged Gull.

Day 3

An early morning seawatch at Porthgwarra provided seventeen Manx Shearwaters, four Balearic Shearwaters, one Sooty Shearwater and a European Storm Petrel. Later a very brief trip to Marizon Marsh RSPB provided Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Grey Heron and Common Buzzard.

Day 4

The trip back from the Isles of Scilly by boat provided Puffin, six Manx Shearwaters and a European Storm Petrel.

Day 5

Another early morning seawatch provided a Cory's Shearwater, one Balearic Shearwater, one Sooty Shearwater and fifty Manx Shearwaters.

An afternoon visit to Drift Reservoir provided Little Egret, Grey Heron, Willow Warbler, Whitehroat, Kestrel and Teal.

Day 6

Yet again I'm up early morning but this time I'm at Pendeen Watch. An incredible sea-bird movement took place with ninety Manx Shearwaters, eighty-one Cory's Shearwaters , fifteen Storm Petrels, eight Sooty Shearwaters, two Great Shearwaters, one Balearic Shearwater, one Great Skua and one Arctic Skua. Wow!

Week two

For the second week we moved to a farm in north Cornwall. The highlights over the week were as follows: Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron, Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Hobby, Common Buzzard, Kingfisher and Yellowhammer. It had been a fabulous holiday!

SCOTLAND!!!!!!

Scottish Highlands 8/8/05-13/8/05 Leaders-Matthew

8/8/05 - We were staying just outside the small village of Boat of Garten, 4 miles away from Loch Garten Osprey Centre, which is a half an hour drive from Inverness. We arrived around one O'clock and by the time we had unpacked it was two O'clock. At our Steading two Nuthatches, a Willow Warbler, two Greater-Black-Backed Gulls and a Buzzard greeted us. Then we decided to go to Loch Garten.
In an hour at Loch Garten we saw five Siskins and a Red Squirrel.Which wasn't much but we would be back the next day.

9/8/05 - Nothing much at the Steading today apart from a suprising 15 Fieldfares (resident in that area!). We then returned to Loch Garten to find more Siskins, another Red Squirrel and at last an Osprey (Henry). We walked through Abernethy Forest RSPB (down the road) overlooking Loch Garten and Loch Mallachie where we heard and saw Siskin,Long-Tailed Tits and Goldcrests with 3 Crested Tits mingled in. There was also a Gadwall on Loch Garten. The conditions were quite poor though.
Then near the town of Grantown on Spey there is a loch called Lochindorb. There we looked over the Loch to find three summer plumaged Black-Throated-Divers (to distant for pictures unfortuanately!) showing very well though. Walking up the hill to try and get the Divers better when we heard the churring call of a male Black Grouse which flew up, then a female flew across the heath! A Tree Pipit flew on the top of a heather bush. There were also twenty Greylag Geese. We drove round the Loch slightly to find to female Redstarts on a fence!
Then we moved on to the best place to see Ospreys in the area Rothiemurchus Fishery where we saw five Ospreys and a Kingfisher.

10/8/05 - We went to Insh Marshes RSPB where we saw four Buzzards, five Lesser-Black-Backed Gulls and two Marsh Harriers. Back to Rothiemurchus Fishery where we saw an Osprey being mobbed by gulls, two Gadwalls, five Goldeneye and fifteen Sand Martins.

11/8/05 - After seeing nothing at Fairy Glen we moved onto Loch Ruthven RSPB to see breeding Slavonian Grebes (now bred) in summer plumage, we saw six it was poor light but a record shot was taken also we saw an Osprey, a Buzzard ,a Grey Heron and also a Stonechat on the by the car park.We then moved onto the Findhorn valley for Golden Eagles. We saw Grey Wagtail and Dipper.

It was an excellent trip and I thoroughly reccommend visiting the Highlands.