Redwing... Check

Gorgeous.

So its been a week since I laid down the gauntlet to myself and have completed my first tick off the list.

Why you should never believe the rule...

It was during a tumultuous autumn Sunday at Harewood House, that went from driving storm conditions to picturesque dancing golden rays. It was during one of these stunning sunlit moments that I was watching a flock of Redwings darting between two Yew Trees as the sun glanced off their red underwings. It was a veritable pick and mix of thrushes, with Blackbirds, Song Thrush and the odd rattling Mistle Thrush in amongst the Yew branches... but alas, no Fieldfares. Probably still a little early to be coming across those commonly.

Now, something else that I noticed on my ways to University was a group of 6 Carrion Crows feeding in Leeds' Hyde Park with a couple of Magpies. This reminded me of the rule that I've often discussed with, usually more novice, bird watchers regarding the difference between Rooks and Carrion Crows. The rule goes; "If you see a group together they are Rooks, whilst one on its own will be a Crow." This picture certainly goes to prove that false! Although this may be an exception, I am still not a fan of the rule in general as family groups and winter gatherings of crows can make it incorrect. Its much better to learn to recognise the more dagger pointed grey beak and face of the Rook compared to the black all over, sleeker Carrion Crow.


I'll leave the this post on two pictures that sum up this time of year in a human and natural way. One from the fireworks at Roundhay Park bonfire and the other (no less spectacular) of autumnal fungi. Here's hoping for a great winter!

Autumn/Winter Hitlist

We're now firmly in the, remarkably warm, hold of autumn and with winter starting to poke it's head around the door in the form of the recent storm, I think it is about time I set out a target for the colder months ahead.

So I'm setting out a target, a hitlist of birds and spectacles of which I want to have seen all of them by the time March rolls around. So here it is.

- Redwing
- Fieldfare
- Waxwings
 - Some sort of Starling murmuration (Having seen that there are none around me in the centre of England, I'll happily take the slightest shred of murmuration action)
 - Smew, Goldeneye, Goosander - any and all winter waterfowl
- Barn Owls hunting during the light.
- Wild Swans, particularly Bewick's
- Urban Pied Wagtail flocks
- Wintering Warblers (Blackcap or Chiffchaff would do nicely)
- Any winter flock lifer gulls
- See a Firecrest!
- Lapwing/Golden Plover gatherings
- Get a decent view of a Brambling!
- See (or perhaps at least hear) a Cetti's Warbler

So there we have it.
Some are vastly more achievable than others and there are probably some that I've missed out but will think of later.
I'll be ticking them off on this blog over the coming months, with the hope I'll be able to get some pictures too. And with that... time starts now!

The clock is ticking...

Phalarope-less Fairburn

So I've suffered my first major "dip" as they call it in the birding circles. Missing out on a rarity sighting. Although it was a week ago it's still raw. Oh no... I must be becoming a twitcher...

So it turned out my trip to Fairburn was Phala-hopeless. Yes, I'm unashamedly proud of that pun.

At least it was a nice day for it...

Anyway, I got there at about 10 o clock on the Sunday morning after it had been seen the Friday and Saturday before - at half 6 on the Saturday night no less. Now I was tempted to skip lectures on the Friday to see it when it first turned up, but being a good student I resisted the temptation. Then I went volunteering at Harewood on the Saturday so couldn't see it then - or so I thought.

When I got back from volunteering I was telling my flat mate about the Phalarope that I wanted to see and that it would be a great tick off my list. He told me to go then, at that moment (which was about 5 past 5 in the evening). I had checked Fairburn's website which said that the reserve closed at 5 so I told him I couldn't go, but no matter.. it had been seen recently and it would be unlikely to move over night. It was here I made two major misjudgements. One: Phalarope migrate by night. Saying a Phalarope will still be around because it won't move during the night is like saying that the roosting owl you found in the tree one evening will still be there because it won't move overnight.
Two: I could have gone that very evening, when I got there the following morning it turned out the scrape wasn't in the reserve itself but on the side of a road that many people had been parking on to look.

When I got there the next morning there were two main theories being banded about by sorrow filled, too little too late birders. Some thought that the bird had simply moved on. That it wasn't supposed to be here and that it had been feeding frantically over the day before and gone. The other theory was much more mysterious...

A birder earlier that morning had claimed to see it floating head down in the water, dead. This was unconfirmed but the birder himself was sure enough that it was the Phalarope to alert the wardens. A twitcher the previous day had said it was getting constantly attacked by the Black Headed Gulls, so perhaps there is some truth in the birders dark tale.

Either way, I didn't see it. Dead or alive.

But I did use the morning to explore all the scrapes and pools at Fairburn that I wasn't aware existed on what turned out to be a gorgeous early October morning. I did see a bird that I hadn't seen before as well. A nice female Pintail from the hide. Not a Phalarope, but still a lifer. There had also been a lot of talk about a Great White Egret that had been seen for multiple days around the pools which, of course, I didn't see. It could well have been dead as well. One day they'll dredge that pool and find an ancient Indian burial ground of scarcities and rare birds...

So there we have it, I missed out on the Phalarope... But I'll get the next one.

Cassidy doing her best to cheer me up!

Back at Harewood and the possibility of Red-Necked Phalarope!

The bird garden's Guinea Fowl enjoying the benches.

 So last weekend was my first weekend back at Harewood House. I had been looking forward to getting back all summer. Just being outside, mixing with the public and being hands on with the birds is a fantastic way to spend a day. Throw that in with the friendly, welcoming staff that work there and it makes it a really enjoyable experience.

So the day involved just the normal jobs. Feeding, cleaning the water, washing the food dishes, and so on. While doing the rounds of the pens I ran into a little hedgehog stumbling around. I presume he must be hungry or suffering some form of illness as hedgehogs shouldn't be as active as he was being during late morning. But he was happy for me to get close enough to take some really good pictures with my phone before I left him to go about his business.

In terms of University work, it's about time I started work on my final year project. I have over 1 million pieces of data in a database that all of my ringing group (Sorby Breck) have compiled over the years and I am very greatful for them letting me use it. Unfortunately the daunting size of this data is making it difficult for me to be able to prise out any specific questions that I want to answer. I'm looking to focus on the timings of moult in various species and seeing if that is affected by weight or climate. This has been made all the more difficult by the fact that I can't find anyone before me who has used the BTO codes in this kind of scientific study. But I'll get there eventually!

I'll finish on two things... Today there has been a Red Necked Phalarope present most of the day at the local RSPB reserve Fairburn Ings. Lectures today stopped me visiting and I won't be able to visit tomorrow due to volunteering. However if the birding gods keep the Phalarope around till Sunday, I'll be straight down to try and see the first one at Fairburn since 1976 and tick off a lifer for me.

And finally here is a picture of some feathers collected from some of the aviaries at Harewood and stuck on my wall. See if you can guess what they are...