Summer starts here!

After several weeks of rather limiting birding (save for a few mad dashes to East Yorkshire), May the 1st represented my first day of relative freedom after the first installment of my final exams. Due to some rather poor judgement the previous night, yes in retrospect no human should consume 6 cans of RedBull in a night, I was wide awake at 8am when I received a text from Adam about a drake Garganey on my patch, Port Meadow. Usually I would have rolled over and worried about it later but with half of the world's supply of caffeine coursing through my veins I decided to wander up there and have a look. After a brisk walk I fund myself on the patch for the first time in over the month. Almost straight away, picked up my first Swallows of the year hawking over the floods accompanied by good numbers of House Martins. I also quickly spotted a couple of Common Terns hanging around at the south end of the floods, according to Adam they appear to have made the floods their home and I later noticed them courtship feeding. This seems like a promising sign however I can't see anywhere in the meadow that they could successfully breed as disturbance leels are just too high. After a couple of scans I soon picked up the drake Garganey showing well along the far bank, as ever an absolute treat to see. The subtle grey vermaculations contrasting with the bold conjoining white supercillia and the ridiculous tertials all combine to make a sublime bird which is one of my most eagerly anticipated spring migrants. It was also only my second record for the patch and was far more active than last years bird which remained resolutely asleep for the duration of my visit. After enjoying the Garganey I had a wander around Burgess Field but it was relatively quiet, producing only the common warblers as patch yearticks.

Record shot of the drake Garganey

This morning I was back on patch again following earlier reports of some Common Sandpipers and a Cuckoo in the Burgess Field. As soon as I arrived I noticed my first Swifts of the year hawking low over the south end of the floods, a welcome site after what seems an eternity since my last, at Spurn in early September last year. I also relocated the Common Sandpipers along with an extra bird, bringing the day's tally to three. I also located a rather late Sand Martin among the numerous hirundines, a nice patch yeartick. The Garganey was also still hanging around remaining slightly distant although I did get the reasonable video of the bird though my phone. Also nice were an extremely late pair of Pintail a rather suprising bird to see on the patch in May! Despite hanging around at the north end of the Burgess Field, I failed to hear the Cuckoo although I can't imagine the could northeasterly breeze helped my efforts. A nice visit to the patch and I aim to make daily visits starting on the 11th. Until then I'll be in Tenerife and hope to mop up on a few of the endemics for my paltry Western Palearctic list.

A late pair of Pintail.

Persistence pays off!

Crag Martin, North Landing, Flamborough Head, (c) Scott Reid

After a hectic February which saw me successfully twitch Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ross's Gull, Red-flanked Bluetail and the somewhat Chinese Pond Heron in Kent, university life stepped up another gear and suddenly I had no time to twitch and only occasionally managed to get down to Port Meadow to get my birding fix. Eventually the Easter holidays rolled around and although I still had a strenuous workload with exam revision, I had a bit more flexibility and thanks to the always-appreciated lifts from Scott, I would be able to get around the country with relative ease. All I needed were some decent birds and on the 11th of April the twitching gods provided me with a stunner, a Crag Martin feeding over the cliffs south of the lighthouse at Flamborough Head. Galvanised by the fact that I didn't bother to twitch the Suffolk Pacific Swift thinking that it wouldn't hang around I knew that the only option here was to head straight to Flamborough and hope that the bird hung around long enough for us to get there. After a short delay, Scott and I were Yorkshire bound and despite making good time we pulled in to the car park at South Landing 5 minutes before the bird was seen to gain height and circle off to the southwest. As the day was warm and clear it seemed likely that the bird has well and truly moved off. Despondent, we decided to hang around anyway  to see if the bird reappeared but it wasn't to be and our depression was further compounded by failing to catch up with an extremely mobile Tawny Pipit, a difficult bird in Britain nowadays.

The drive back to Stockport was not a pleasant one and I was soon drowning my sorrows in my favourite pub. One casual remark that stuck in the mind from the journey home was something along the lines of "I doubt we've seen the last of this bird." As it turned out this was to be prophetic as while I was lying worse for wear on the sofa the following afternoon, an unconfirmed report came through that the Crag Martin had been relocated feeding along the cliffs on the north side of the great white cape at Thornwick Bay. Soon the report was confirmed and after some persuasion Scott picked me up at 4 and for the second time in two days we were steaming towards Flamborough. I was a nervous wreck on the drive across as the prospect of dipping twice in as many days on such a mythical bird loomed large in my mind. Fortunately I needn't have worried as positive news came through just as we pulled into the car Park at North Landing. I wasn't leaving anything to chance and leapt out of the car, covering the short distance along the clifftop to the assembled crowd at breakneck speed. Some desperate fumbling for my bins ensued and then suddenly there infront of me was Britain's 8th CRAG MARTIN! BOOM indeed! 

The bird was favouring a spot on the other side of a deep gorge and after soaking in the stunning white tail markings and gorgeous velvet brown underside we decided to walk round to try and get better views. This proved to be one of the best decisions I've ever made as I was soon enjoying point blank views of the bird scything past me at eye level. If I'm completely honest, I wasn't expecting great things from what I had assumed to be a rather dull brown bird but in the field it had that touch of magic typical of a rare swift or hirundine. As it flicked past us an arms length away I could really drink in the striking dark underwing coverts and subtle gradations of chocolate brown which for me where strongly reminiscent of a dark Balearic Shearwater. If this wasn't good enough the bird would periodically spread its tail as it banked revealing the blinding flash of white markings, a feature which I was previously unaware of and one which for me gives the species a bit of extra magic Watching this almost mythical bird in such a stunning setting was a euphoric experience and provided a perfect example of what makes this hobby so rewarding at its best. After enjoying the bird for around half an hour we decided to have a quick search for the Tawny Pipit around the lighthouse. Once again we were unsuccessful however a cracking Short-eared Owl quartering over the fields by the lighthouse was more than sufficient consolation. A fitting end to an incredible day that I certainly won't forget in a hurry!

Patch Update

Kingfisher, Port Meadow

As we're now well in to February I thought it would be worth posting an update about how my patching efforts at Port Meadow have fared so far this year. Despite the floods being in near perpetual lake mode during the first few weeks of the year, I made regular evening visits to the patch in order to filter through the gull roost in the hope of pulling out a Caspian or a white-winger. Despite my efforts, and the presence of several white-wingers and even a Baltic Gull just a few miles to the south, I drew an almost complete blank other than a couple of smart adult Yellow-legged Gulls. It seems with so many flooded fields to choose from at the moment, the gulls feeding on the tip a Didcot that would usually roost on the meadow, are saving themselves the commute and roosting in the flooded fields nearby. The one saving grace of this otherwise depressing period was finally picking out a smart adult MEDITERRANEAN GULL in flight as it cruised over the gull roost before dropping out of site. This represents the last of the expected gull species to find its way onto my patch list although I am still hopeful of a Little Gull or possibly even a Kittewake in the spring! Another patch tick came in the form of the extremely confiding KINGFISHER in the picture above which I watched desperately attempting to fish the shallow margins of the flooded river Thames on the evening of the 7th of February.

Given how unproductive the gull roost has been, on the 9th of February I decided to explore another area of the patch, the Trap Grounds, which up until this year I have sadly neglected. Upon my arrival at the site I instantly regretted my lack of visits as the mixture of scrubby damp woodland, ponds and reedbeds was screaming with potential. I also managed to hear my target bird, WATER RAIL, at least 2 of which responded eagerly to my tape after only a minute or so. This constitutes my 4th patch tick of the year and a nice bird to get on the list! After visiting the trap grounds I quickly popped into the Burgess Field to check the flooded pools for Snipe. My search was initially unsuccessful however as I was leaving, I heard a strange call and looked up to see a Common Snipe, which had presumably been flushed from another the part of the field, heading rapidly over! This surprise record took me up to 64 species for the year at Port Meadow which I consider to be a reasonable total. However with more rain forecast in the coming weeks as a result of the mental Atlantic weather systems currently in place, the state of the floods is only going to worsen and I feel that for the time being my effort might best be applied to my studies. I can only hope the floods drop by early March in time for the first waders to drop in on their way north!

Water Water Everywhere!

After a fairly slow birding start to the year I was keen to get back to my university patch of Port Meadow to get my patch yearlist off to a good start and hopefully find a few good gulls. I was particularly keen this year as I had decided to take part in the patchwork challenge competition for the first time and also had a more personal competition going with Dave "Devil Birder" Campbell and his university patch of Newhaven in Sussex. I had set my self a substantial target of 115 for the year which I thought was just about possible in term time with a lot of effort and some crafty twitching of Adam Hartley's finds. However my spirits were dampened (both literally and metaphorically) early in the New Year when I learned of the extensive flooding around Oxfordshire. Port Meadow acts as the main flood defence for Oxford city essentially becoming a lake when the river breaches its banks. In this state gulling becomes almost an impossibility and even checking the ducks becomes more difficult as everything becomes so spread out.

Still in an effort to get away from exam revision I decided to head up to the patch on the 12th of January to give it a good going over. I started by walking along the Castle Mill Stream, an area of the patch which I usually neglect, in the vain hope of finding a Marsh tit or Firecrest or some other such goodie. Predictably, none of these hoped for birds came forth however I was almost immediately rewarded with good views of a TREECREEPER, only my second patch record and a valuable addition to the yearlist at such an early stage. Better was to follow however as further along the stream I flushed a LITTLE GREBE from the near bank which proceeded to give good views in the middle of the channel. BOOM! My first patch tick of 2014 and on my very first visit! After the initial excitement things predictably slowed down and the floods produced only Wigeon and Teal with no sign of even the regular Shoveler or Pintail. I had a good kick around the Burgess Field but found none of the hoped for Snipe although an unseasonal Reed Bunting was a nice patch year tick.

I visited again on the 14th to check the gulls which produced nice scarcities but did reveal a total of 17 Common Gulls, by far the largest count I have ever had on the patch. Common Gull is usually a scarce bird on the meadow and is frequently outnumbered by Yellow-legged Gull early in the season. For some reason they all seem to roost over at Farmoor, maybe the elevated water level has attracted them in. A group of 10 roosting Goosander, including 6 males, was another good record for the patch. So not the ideal start to the year but a few good birds on the patch list early which stands at a reasonable 43 species after only 2 species. If the floods drop in the next couple of weeks and I get lucky with a couple of scarcities such as Peregrine and Short-eared Owl then I think 115 is still in reach. I'm about to head out to the meadow to try and check the Gulls now, maybe this is the day my luck changes...

Jack in the bag!

As every birder knows the New Year is an exciting time to be out in the field. As of midnight on December 31st the slate is wiped clean and everything is new and fresh, at least from the perspective of your yearlist. The transition into 2014 was,unusually marked with a slight tinge of sadness this year as I was fully aware that 2013, with its unanticipated list of mind-boggling rarities (including that mythical Needletail!), might be a phenomenon that's never be repeated in my lifetime. Still as January the 1st proper dawned I was excited, if extremely hungover, as me and Dave headed off to Nottinghamshire to attempt to twitch the long-staying flock of Parrot Crossbills at Budby Common. What seemed like a relatively straightforward trip quickly turned into a nightmare as frankly abysmal directions from RBA led to us missing the birds by no more than 5 minutes. The happy stream of birders heading in the other direction led my heart to briefly soar but inexplicably we managed to missed them and our search was hampered by rain, strong wind and eventually the onset of darkness. Damp and dishevelled, even the customary McDonald's did little to lift my spirits and I couldn't help but wonder, even at this early stage, whether 2014 was not to be my year!

Over the few days my previously neglected workload and an impending Ski trip saw a yearlisting trip to North Wales on the 2nd however on the 4th I offered to show Dave my old local patch, Chorlton Water Park, before he headed back home to Surrey. I wasn't expecting much having seen little in 2 years spent heavily birding the site, but as we pulled up in the car. I also suggested that Dave put on his wellies in case a spot of Snipe flushing was in order. Little did I know how prophetic those words would be. The visit got off to a good start with an adult Herring Gull on the lake, a surprisingly rare bird in these parts, before I scored a patch tick in the form of a heard only group of RING-NECKED PARAKEETS near the Golf Course.

On a (slightly embarrassing) high from this we decided to go off piste slightly on the tip and walk some wet grassland in the hope of flushing some Snipe. At this point we saw a large flock of Redpoll fly into a group of nearby Alders and decided to get closer and check them out. After carefully maneuvering ourselves into position, we started scanning the flock and Dave quickly called a Mealy Redpoll. I soon got on the bird as it flew to reveal a clean white rump. On closer inspection there in front of me was a big, frosty MEALY REDPOLL, one of the more obvious examples I've seen and my second patch tick of the day! We spent the next hour or so chasing the Redpoll flocks around the tip relocated the same or possibly another bird several times including once when it showed very well for an extended period down to 10m allowing Dave to capture a digi-binned record shot.

After observing the Redpoll flock for a while we decided to head back to the car via the flooded weedy field where I expected we might flush a Woodcock or Common Snipe. Dave waded in with his wellies on and quickly flushed a Snipe from the edge of a weedy flooded area. I initially thought it was a Common Snipe but Dave's excited shout of "JACK!" coupled with the birds compact structure caused me to do a double take. As the bird banked round it revealed a relatively short, stubby bill confirming it as a JACK SNIPE! My ultimate nemesis finally nailed on my local patch of all places. I felt elation but the brief view caused that horrible sinking feeling to start creeping in. Could I really have seen finally seen a Jack Snipe, a bird I scarcely believed existed, on my old local patch of all places? Luckily as Dave started to walk again a second bird erupted from underneath his feet. Another Jack Snipe and a more gratuitous bird which did a lap of the tip in flight giving fantastic, prolonged views of its structure before dropping down in the same field, showing the bold tramlines running up its back in the process. At this point the elation hit me and I started to laugh uncontrollably. Finally I had caught up with my bogey bird and on Barlow Tip to boot! No more being laughed at by other smug NGB members! On reflection I came to the conclusion that I had now seen every Snipe species on the British list, including the Dowitchers, a feat unmatched by all but the most keen young twitchers. As I thought back to earlier in the day I realised that my words in the car park had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe 2014 would be a decent birding year after all...a Pin-tailed or Swinhoe's Snipe would do nicely!

December 2013 - Birding in a winter wonderland

As my last post illustrates, at the start of December 2013 I had come to the opinion that my birding year was winding down and I had become content with the slow but enjoyable pace of winter birding sessions on my local patch, Port Meadow. I did not expect to acquire any lifers by the end of the year and with a shortened Christmas vacation looming I was excited at the prospect of catching up with my birding mates from home and doing some good old fashioned winter birding. What I failed to comprehend however was that this was not any old birding year, this was 2013, later described to me as the 1990 for our generation of young twitchers by one Andrew Kinghorn. How right that boy was! In complete contrast to the norm, December has been a high octane month filled with great birds on both a local and national scale. Here I shall attempt to recount the various adventures of the most exceptional December I am likely to ever have birding in Britain. Fittingly the bird that kicked it off was an adult Caspian Gull, the subject of many an avid young guller's deepest desires and a bird that I longed to one day catch up with.

My December birding saga started as expected with a trip to Port Meadow in the fading light on the evening of  Monday the 2nd to check out the roosting gulls on the floods. As i approached our usual watchpoint, I noticed Port Meadow stalwart Adam Hartley already hunkered down in position. What's more he was filming a bird through his scope and when he saw me he turned and urgently beckoned me over. When I arrived he showed me the back of his camera and there sat on the edge of the flood was a stonking adult Caspian Gull! People who know me well understand that despite my relative inexperience, gulls are a burgeoning passion of mine and that I have a particular fondness for a good Casp. I had been fortunate enough to find several immature Casps on the meadow earlier in the year but had never seen an adult before and relished this opportunity to take in the bird in all its detail. The most striking and diagnostic feature was the long, pale grey tongue on the underside of P10, a feature I am embarrassed to say that I could never really comprehend until I had seen it for myself in the field. The bird also exhibited the characteristic long, parallel sided beak, sloping forehead and all dark eye. A truly stunning bird and a real pleasure to observe in the field, little did I know that this sighting would spark a run of birding success virtually unparalleled in all my years in the hobby!

Adult Caspian Gull, Port Meadow (c) Adam Hartley

The last week of term continued as normal and on the afternoon of Wednesday the 4th, I had the task of collecting mistletoe from the botanic garden for the college Christmas party that evening. I was on my way back to my room when news broke of a Velvet Scoter present at Farmoor Resevoir. This immediately piqued my interest as it was one of the few very common birds that I still needed as a lifer. I quickly checked the F1 bus timetable and realised that I could probably still make it to Farmoor before dusk if I was quick picking up the mistletoe. This job took longer than anticipated and my friend Phoebe has my eternal gratitude for allowing me to sprint off after a bus whilst leaving her to lug a huge basket of mistletoe around Oxford city centre. Once I eventually arrived in Farmoor village I sprinted up to the reservoir and along the causeway to where the assembled crowd was watching the bird. I quickly set up my scope, pointed it in the right direction and BOOM! An adult female VELVET SCOTER swam into view! Finally that tarts tick was under my belt and for the next half hour I enjoyed the bird as it swam and dived frequently at varying distances as the assembled crowd slowly departed. The bird eventually showed quite well in the evening light and even flapped once or twice revealing the rows of all white secondaries. Incredibly this was the first record for the county in 20 years and was last seen by me shortly before dusk before disappearing overnight, never to be seen again!

Elated with my successful Scoter twitch I headed up to the meadow on Friday evening for my final gulling session of 2013. It was to be a successful evening as I soon picked out a smart 1st-winter Caspian Gull amongst the assembled throngs. This was my second Caspian Gull on the patch in a week and my sixth of the year, not a bad starting point as far as records of this beautiful eastern gull go. I'll be intrigued to see how many individuals I record next year with an increase in effort over the first few months of the year as I undertake the patchwork challenge. The roost that evening also held a striking large first winter Herring-type Gull with frosty tips to the primaries and strong barring on the coverts and tertials. Ian Lewington reckoned that it was probably withing range for a pale argentatus Herring Gull but I can't help but wonder whether there was any Glaucous Gull influence. The next day my parents came and collected the majority of my belongings leaving only a few clothes and books which I would require over the interview period. As well as my optics, my bike was also gone meaning that I had little hope of getting up to the meadow quickly should a good bird be found. This quickly became problematic when On Monday the 9th, Adam Hartley text me to inform me that a 1st-winter Iceland Gull, one of my biggest patch targets. was present in the roost. After a spot of quick thinking I managed to borrow an surprisingly nippy bike of my friend Jack and thanks to some hell for leather cycling, I was on site and watching the bird within 10 minutes. A really smart looking bird and the last of the regular large white headed gulls that I needed for my Port Meadow list, this was definitely a fitting end to my patch birding in 2013!

1st-winter Caspian Gull, Port Meadow (c) Adam Hartley

1st-winter Iceland Gull, Port Meadow (c) Adam Hartley

However my dealings with Arctic gulls were far from complete and exactly a week later I found myself on the bleak shores of the Humber estuary at Patrington Haven with Scott, Austin and Dave Campbell, staring at a distant white dot which, I was informed ,was in fact a juvenile IVORY GULL. After travelling up overnight from Oxford on my day off, these views were somewhat deflating to say the least. Eventually the dot took flight and was chased closer by a couple of hulking Geebs. These views at least proved that the bird was in fact an Ivory Gull but still left a lot to the imagination. The bird soon retreated to the distant tideline and with a storm brewing me and Dave headed off to Hull for lunch at McDonald's. We decided to return in the evening to see if the bird would return to feed on the fish left out for it by other hopeful observers. Upon our return the bird was still a distant speck on the mudflats and I busied myself by chatting with a number of fellow NGB members including James Shergold, Anthony Bentley, Sam Viles and Jake Gearty. Soon however the gull took flight and drifted in towards us, landing on some rocks no more than 50m away and giving incredibly satisfying views. Better was soon to follow however as the bird once again took flight and drifted right over our heads before settling to feed on the fish. This caused mass hysteria among the crowd who all ran over to the pumping station en masse, briefly startling the gull which quickly returned to feed on its fishy banquet. There it remained for 15 minutes or so giving incredible views down to less than 10m as it contentedly tore its meal of mackrel to shreds. The experience of watching this mythical Arctic waif at such close quarters was a feeling rarely paralleled in birding and it probably constitutes the second best twitching experience of my life. I could write pages enthusing about the subtle beauty of this incredible bird but for the sake of brevity I will let Scott Reid's excellent series of photographs do the talking!

Juvenile Ivory Gull, Patrington Haven (c) Scott Reid

After this incredible twitch the next couple of weeks passed by almost completely bird free and I returned home to Manchester happy but exhausted on the 18th. Scott and I had planned to go twitching on Saturday the 21st but a hangover on my end and poor weather caused us to cancel. However an early morning text from Alex Jones, himself on route to see the Ivory Gull, about a Buff-bellied Pipit at Burton Marsh had us in the car and heading westwards within half an hour. Upon arrival at the marsh we noticed a distinct lack of twitchers and were informed that the bird had been spooked by a Sparrowhawk and had not been seen subsequently. There were plenty of pipits feeding among the tidal debris and soon the bird was relocated. However I had stupidly forgotten my bins and this, combined with strong winds and poor directions made getting onto the bird a real difficulty. This led to intense frustration and a bout of colourful language from me. Soon however I calmed down and whilst scanning the flock, I managed to locate the bird in my scope. BOOM! BUFF-BELLIED PIPIT on my list! I eventually achieved satisfying views for a long period of time on several occasions. The bird was strikingly pale and brought to mind Asain Buff-bellied Pipit race japonicus, a first for Britain and a potential split to boot! I was therefore slightly disappointed when correspondence with MG revealed the bird to be the frequently recorded American Buff-bellied Pipit race rubescencs. Still this did little to take the shine of seeing a Cheshire first and a bird that for me was an unexpected grip-back after missing the Berkshire birds in early 2013!

American Buff-bellied Pipit, Burton Marsh (c) Scott Reid

The good birding did not end here however and with the long-staying Hoopoe in North Wales proving too tempting to miss we headed to Pensarn for first light on Christmas Eve. We eventually located the caravan park it had been frequenting but after driving up and down several times we could not locate the bird.What happened next was one of those beautiful moments in birding and more broadly life in general when the stars align and things just seem to work out to perfection. As we stopped next to the sea wall pondering the tricky proposition of how to locate the bird in such a vast area of habitat, I noticed a movement to my left as the HOOPOE flopped over the sea wall and began to feed no more than 10m away from the car. Hoopoe is a species I've built up in my head since I was a small child reading my first bird books and to see one, even a slightly scraggy individual such as this, more than lived up to my expectations. It was an intensely strange experience to see the unique structure and striking plumage brought to life in front of my eyes and this feeling was exacerbated by the fact that it was Christmas Eve! We enjoyed watching the bird at close proximity for a while before heading down the coast to Llandullas to look for the wintering Surf Scoters. this was to be a real test of patience as all the bird were distant and although I thought i saw the birds several times each instant was brief as they bobbed up on a wave and unsatisfying for a tick. Scott, who has seen the birds several times was far more adept at picking them out and nearly got me onto them several times before the mother of all hail storms prevented any further efforts. On the way home I was slightly disappointed but still elated by the early Christmas present that the Hoopoe provided!

Hoopoe, Pensarn (c) Scott Reid

After this enjoyable excursion I enjoyed a relaxed Christmas with the family, most of which was spent ensconced in varying levels of prosecco-related inebriation. On boxing day however the news of a south coast double-whammy of White-billed Diver and the mythical Brunnich's Guillemot had Scott and I rapidly planning an unexpected twitch. After roping in Alex Jones and young upstart Chris Bromley, we headed south overnight to Portland, buoyed on route by news of the guillemots continued presence. Unfortunately by upon our arrival at 09.30 we were told that the Guillemot had not been seen for over half an hour and some reports even told of the bird flying off. Eventually I found Andrew Kinghorn who had seen the bird first thing and who set us straight by telling us that the bird had disappeared among boats in the marina but was likely still present. An hour and a half wait in miserable conditions ensued and was made all the worse by Kinghorn and David Campbell's smugness at having seen the bird. After what felt like an eternity the bird was reported at the far end of the harbour and a mad dash to the castle in frightful conditions ensued. We stopped at the castle and widespread panic crept over the assembled and now breathless crowd. Suddenly a shout of "there it is" put all our fears to rest as the bird duly popped up 100m or so offshore giving great views. A surge of relief convulsed through my body as I finally clapped eyes on the legendary BRUNNICH'S GUILLEMOT, an absolutely stonking bird! It then headed towards the marina in a series of 50m dives with birders running everywhere attempting to predict where it would pop up next. After several satisfying, close views I relaxed and lagged behind the crowd arriving at the marina to find the bird on show as it sheltered from the howling gale in the lee of a small boat. A really enjoyable bird to see although somewhat unremarkable plumage wise other than the thicker bill with a white central stripe in comparison to a guillemot. After enjoying good views we set off west towards Brixham and our second stonker or the day!

Brunnich's Guillemot, Portland Harbour (c) Scott Reid

Upon arrival in Brixham we pulled up at the inner harbour but could see no obvious sign of  the bird or any other birders. A sudden violent hailstorm caused kept us confined to the car and at this point I rang Dave who was watching a Black-throated Diver from the breakwater. We decided to drive round to his location however on route we drove past a group of birders actively watching something at the edge of the inner harbour. We quickly ground to a halt and I dived out of the car and sprinted towards them. They were indeed watching the bird and on their instruction I raised my binoculars to behold a magnificent (and there truly is no other appropriate descriptive word here) WHITE-BILLED DIVER, close inshore in the harbour below! I frantically motioned to the others to get out of the car and together we all dashed down to the harbour edge below. We continued to watch the bird as it moved into the inner harbour where it eventually came to a sort of rest feeding on crabs on the opposite side to us. Scott went back and got the car and we dashed round immediately getting incredible close views of the diver in awesome light. At this point Andrew Kinghorn joined me and Dave and together we watched as the bird repeatedly dived and resurfaced. At one point the bird surfaced less than 5m from where we stood, close enough to see the brown tone of the iris with my naked eye. From an aesthetic point of view this is by far one of the best birds I have ever seen in Britain and its stunning ivory coloured dagger of a bill was a fearsome sight to behold. This is another species about which I could enthuse endlessly however once again Scott did a fantastic job achieving some absolutely stunning image of this spectacular creature!

White-billed Diver, Brixham Harbour (c) Scott Reid

After enjoying our fill of the diver and wishing everyone a happy new year, we headed to Broadsands to look for Cirl Bunting which was a lifer for the others. Upon arrival we found a couple of guys photographing the birds at the well known feeding station and we proceeded to enjoy cracking views of at least 10 birds as they fed on the ground. Really smart birds and always slightly surreal to see, this was a great way to end a truly unforgettable day's birding. It was also nice to catch up with Garry Bagnell here, a really pleasant chap and always a pleasure to chat to. The journey home was a long one but we perked it up with a sing a long to some classic tunes including several from Jason Derulo. I can only wonder what poor Chris Bromlry thought of his new found twitching companions...

Male Cirl Bunting, Broadsands (c) Scott Reid

An Evening to Remeber

As the Oxford term reaches its climax and the workload spirals to almost unbearable levels, the stress starts to take its toll on many students. Despite the relatively easy ride I get as a Biologist, I too get a slightly snowed under with work sometimes and this evening, having finished all my work for the week, I decided to head up to Port Meadow and unwind by checking through the now sizable gull roost. Upon my arrival it was clear that the sunset was going to be beautiful and as I walked up to the North end of the floods I stopped to have a quick scan of the large flock of wintering Golden Plover. After a few minutes in which I failed to find any Nearctic interlopers, I gave up and headed further on to join Adam Hartley who was diligently checking the rapidly increasing ranks of large white headed gulls. On my first scan it quickly became apparent that there was a decent number of Yellow-legged Gulls in the roost with at least 4 adults immediately obvious. Further scans revealed a couple of smart third-winter birds and I would estimate that the final total was a minimum of 7 birds, 5 adults and 2 third-winters, although 10 or more would appear to be a reasonable estimate. The light conditions also enabled me to capture a couple of reasonable shots of one of the adult birds shown below.

Adult Yellow-legged Gull

Despite the impressive number of Yellow-legged gulls, we failed to find the hoped for casp or white-winger and as the sun set Adam decided to leave. I elected to stick it out for another ten minutes or so but soon the light was too poor to see any detail and, satiated, I decided to head for home. The meadow had more to offer though and as I walked back towards my bike I was privileged to experience a natural spectacle the likes of which I have rarely witnessed. I had almost reached the southern end of the floods when the flock of Golden Plover, some 750 or so birds in total, took to the air in unison. They proceeded to wheel around creating endless murmurations silhouetted against the brilliant evening sky. The rush of their wings and the occasional plaintive wail as they rushed overhead only added to the sensory overload of the spectacle. Beyond them the gulls continued to arrive, languid ranks of flapping silhouettes heading unerringly onwards to roost, unaffected by the majesty of the spectacle unfolding around them. Their haunting cries evoked memories of summer seaside holidays and was strangely juxtaposed to the calls of the Plovers, the epitome of the British uplands. As the sky began to rapidly darken the plovers decided to settle and the swirling masses of gulls provided the only visual sign of life on the meadow. Having been frozen to the spot, I suddenly came to my senses and realised that I had things to do in the real world. I left the meadow feeling both elated and profoundly moved by what I had witnessed.

This evening has reminded me about the intrinsic value of birds by illustrating how they can bring joy in a plethora of ways to a number of people. From the laridophile endlessly scrutinising the primary patterns of large gulls to the naturalist who simply enjoys the majesty of seeing large numbers of wild birds in their natural environment, they provide interest in a range of ways to a diverse group of people. As a birder I revel in the knowledge that I can gain joy from both ends of this broad spectrum of interests. The evening also affirmed my belief that Port Meadow is one of the best patches I could possibly have. Admittedly it doesn't attract hordes of incredible rarities but, on an otherwise dull November evening when twitchers are all but hanging up their bins for the autumn, it provides both birding interest and the potential to leave me rooted to the spot in awe of the majesty of nature. What more could you ask from a flooded field just outside Oxford?