June Update

Now, June is supposed to be notorious for birding, or the poor quality thereof. So here's my June so far in only NUMBER bullet points:

• Saw the Red Kites in Wales on 1st June (and actually got Wood Warbler and Dipper on my lifetime list, so not THAT bad).
• Spent five days in Lisbon, Portugal where I got very close to hundreds of Swifts, saw some kind of Treecreeper, and a group of what I can only think were Sardinian Warblers. Nice eh?
• Got an e-mail back regarding that Common Tern that I found the leg ring on - it was ringed in June, 2000 at Bedfont Lakes, West London. So it's 11 years old and breeding about 21 miles from its birth site! Assumedly male as it was feeding its mate who didn't leave the raft. Really exciting!
  
• Visited Dad and twitched (and subsequently 'dipped') a pair of Turtle Doves and a Spotted Flycatcher, but got a year-tick in the form of Bullfinch - ridiculously late, I know - and an Aylesbury tick in the form of Red-legged Partridge.
• Decided to start 'mothing'. So far I've identified 2 out of the 880+ macromoths in the UK. They were Heart and Dart and Rustic (ironically I think it COULD have been an Uncertain). Ah well, no doubt I'll find more soon and there'll be some stunners. A full post on mothing soon.

And that's it. I've been too busy with gigs and restaurant-work to do much in the way of birding but from what I've heard, June's not the most amazing time. No doubt July will be quite the same. Exciting news though - Dad and I are heading off to Dorset come 22nd August for four days of birding goodness. Can't wait!

Leeet's Goooo Seeee the Kiiites

For a while, Linda and I had had places booked on a small trip run by the Redbridge Birdwatching Club to Wye Valley; more specifically we were heading to Gigrin Farm, the central hub that the Red Kites visit every day in order to be fed in front of hundreds of people. The day was a little bit mixed - certainly for Linda whose interests aren't massively on the birds side of things - but picked up hugely towards the end!

The main gripe, I suppose, was the near 6-hour minibus journey to the location. London traffic was bad, there were roadworks along quite a few stretches of motorway, and despite our driver's best attempts to floor it the whole way there, we were still rather delayed. Having left London at 7:30 and arrived at our first destination, Gilfach Farm - a small relatively unmanaged Wildlife Trust reserve situated in the steep hills along the river Wye.

It was a bit cold and windy with rain looking likely but, undeterred, we set off along the trail (all 17 of us). There were a number of Buzzards and Red Kites to be seen even along here, with Willow Warblers calling everywhere (after Red Kites - obviously - Willow Warblers were the most prolific bird on this trip). We spotted a Chiffchaff hopping relentlessly from branch to branch and failed to find the incessantly calling Yellowhammer further up the hillside. I spied a Great Spotted Woodpecker whilst listening to a very vocal Blackcap, and then Daniel, our group leader, somehow managed to spot a Tree Pipit sitting in the top of a tree not moving and not making any noise, perfectly invisible even when you knew where you were looking. Brilliant spot and good identification... I'm not sure I'd've stood much of a chance of ID'ing it as Tree Pipit other than the fact it sat in the tree for a long time.

Up and onto the bridge, and immediately I found a smart, male Redstart and... would you believe it, a Dipper sitting in full view for ages, face-on. Now, I only vaguely recall seeing a Dipper once before somewhere up in Derbyshire, but that's one of those memories you're not quite sure about. This, basically, was my first Dipper in the UK, and I've updated BUBO to reflect this...! A Grey Wagtail flew past, calling, and we heard a Cuckoo cuckoo-ing in the distance as well. Then it got really good. After watching a Pied Wagtail and some Ravens, we entered a bit of dense woodland on our way back to the minibus. A bloke called Mahinder pointed out a strange call that neither he nor Daniel could identify. We racked our brains and decided the closest it could be was Wood Warbler but it wasn't the textbook song we expected. Sure enough, though, a small bird flitted into view. Much like a Willow Warbler but with a very yellow face, supercilium and throat, this bird that sounded a bit like a Wood Warbler was suddenly a very real Wood Warbler! My very first ever, and such good views too as it flitted about for 10 minutes or so relatively low down in the trees.

Anyhow, onwards to Gigrin Farm. If you've never been before, then go. It's an amazing display. Essentially, all the Red Kites in a huge radius come drifting in at the same time (3pm) each day in order to feed on all the old chicken bits that the farm throws out for them. We arrived little after 2pm and already there were in excess of 50 Red Kites wheeling around. This just got better, as the pictures and videos below show:

How many are there in just this one shot, seriously?!

Some were way up on high.

A beautiful photo of one Kite.

What appeared to be a leucistic Red Kite joined the others.

Gives you an impression of the spectacle and movements!

A Buzzard sitting in a tree waiting for the feeding to begin.

More of the masses flying around, and the tractor that brought all the food.

The birds swooping down to feed.

Whew, that's a lot of multimedia. But it's not over yet. After we watched the Red Kites, Buzzards, Rooks, Crows and Ravens feeding on the ground, we had a little walk up and around the farm trail. There were Swallows and Sand Martins galore, and we heard a Reed Bunting calling from a small hide by a pond. Further up the hill we encountered what we all agreed was Lesser Whitethroat song, which was a wonderful surprise, and a female Yellowhammer at last. Then we got to a bit of woodland with two nestboxes...

Immediately into one of the nestboxes flew a female Redstart who didn't come out again - presumably she was incubating her eggs. However, the other nestbox was visited by a female Pied Flycatcher! She kept coming back and forth with food, which means she must have been feeding chicks.

The female which we saw first.

Another view of the female.

Then the male turned up and wowed us all for about 20 minutes until we had to leave! Such smart birds, and such a pleasure to get repeated and close-up views of something like feeding young. Definitely the bird and experience of the day, with the Wood Warbler a relatively close second.

Shows up really well, even from a distance!

Such a striking bird.

Both Pied Flycatchers bringing food back to their nestbox (hopefully) full of young!

Another video showing both the parents in action.

We had a long journey back home, but made it safe and sound! A couple of days ago I spotted a Swift from my living room window, which was a good one to tick. Off to Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow, so perhaps you'll be hearing about a few birds on that trip... come ooooon, Hoopoes.