A Matter of Luck

So here we are dhortly before the solstice and there are still one or two flowers just about in bloom in the garden.

Snapdragon...

... or antirrinhum?

Around the corner a couple of other plants are growing new leaves as if it was already Spring in spite of a sudden frost early this morning.

Rumours of a growing colony of snow buntings on The Links at Whitley Bay proved to much for me to resist and today I headed for the suspect area, barely 300 yards from the student flat I was in at 2 Davison Avenue 50 years ago.  As many as 20 had been showing up consistently for over a week, presumably feeding on grass seed.

I moved down from Briardene Car Park in observation mode but at first it looked like oystercatcher and redshanks were the ones harvesting the seeds.

Oystercatchers

Redshanks

In the end it was an easy job to find the snow buntings, as there was a couple of people I know who were already watching them.

Snow Buntings en groupe

Snow Bunting close-up

Overall we counted around 15.

Of course this wasn't really great luck.  Now settled it is quite likely they will stay in the area until early

Spring, as happened a few years back when some stayed over at St Mary's Island.  But having missed them twice at Seaton Sluice a couple of months back, it felt like a success.

The whole process can't have taken more than about 30 minutes so I decided to go for broke and check out reports of a lone black redstart down the road at Cullercoats.

This was a bit more of a 'needle in a haystack' task as I didn't have a precise idea of their location. I decided to investigate the bay south of the Lifeboat Station, hoping that it wouldn't be put off by the local restrictions:

You have been warned!

This tactic however proved fruitless and I was starting to feel cold and in need of coffee when, coming off a breakwater and stopping to watch a pied wagtail, I noticed another plausible area to the North of the prohibited worms and thought I made out the shape of a bloke clambering over the rocks with a camera.

A quick view through the telephoto lens confirmed this to be correct - so obviously I had to take a walk along.  The bloke had set up his camera to focus on a nearby rock, obviously hoping the bird would come and pose.  It didn't but I thought I momentarily saw a black redstart moving to his right. Shortly afterwards, another chap turned up and said "Have you seen it?" then confirmed this was the right place.

Ultimately the guy with the camera pointed it out on a small rock, pleasing the non-bird watchers who had turned up to ask what we were looking at.  I think it was a female, like the one I saw at Tynemouth in 2020.

Black Redstart

Obviously this was the result of sheer luck of the kind I had a run of a while back but seems to have deserted me lately.  Hopefully it has changed.  It also goes to prove the maxim I share with one of the lady spectators today - don't look for the bird, look for men (and sometimes women) with huge cameras!

Spain Day 5

Today was to be the day we caught up with the wallcreepers on the cliffs at Alquézar.  

But first a post-breakfast stroll in the hotel gardens showed it was good for finches too, notably a couple of greenfinches and as many hawfinches as I've ever seen in the same place:

Greenfinch

Hawfinch

It's only the third time I've seen hawfinches. The early morning light from behind doesn't do justice to the colouration of either bird.

When we got to Alquézar I must admit I was pretty much bowled over by the first views of the place - it looked stunning!

Alquézar

So after a brief tramp through the town we settled down on the seats opposite the cliff face for a full day vigil.

Quite quickly someone managed to spot a blue rock thrush, which of course I didn't manage to see until someone else pointed it out in painstaking detail.  Once I found it the picture I got at considerable distance suggested I'd done the right thing by changing the camera settings.  A first for me, it was to turn up periodically through the day.

Then around 11.00 am the wallcreeper was spotted at the far left edge of the cliff face, only for it it disappear behind the cliff edge almost as soon as it had appeared as the rest of the group hurried over to see if they could get it in a 'scope or camera.  And I did actually see it, but just as a tiny black speck against the horizon that I could never have identified.  Then it was gone behind the cliff edge.

I think we assumed it would return.  When it didn't, we moved behind the capella to survey the rocks on the other side.  Here there were quite a few things to be seen - a perching griffon vulture, sardinian warbler, and notably alpine accentor...

Alpine Accentor

Sardinian Warbler

... whereby I'm only showing the warbler because it's the first time I've managed to capture it.  It flew off before I went for the close-up.

After lunch the vigil continued.  Various birds turned up including a lot of vultures on a thermal, a peregrine falcon, numerous crag martins, black redstart and rock dove.

At one point I saw a single honey bee near the foot of a wee tree where we were standing.

I had noticed that most people were surveying the main cliff and the left hand edge where the wallcreeper first appeared.  So I decided to focus on the castella and the right hand cliff where it was known that the wallcreeper had landed on previous occasions.

Well all I got for my pains was more crag martins and blue rock thrushes, though it was fascinating to see how the ivy growing up the rock had been colonised by a mass of blackcaps that kept appearing and reappearing.

Blue Rock Thrush

Blackcap (female)

I think we jacked it in around 5.00 pm.  I later jokingly remarked that we should have persevered for another hour or so but I don't think it went down too well.

In a later debriefing session, one of our guides pointed out that the alpine accentor was a much rarer bird than the wallcreeper.

You win some and lose some I suppose.  At least I can claim I saw both, which not everyone did.

Spain - Day 3

We set off in the wee small hours again the next day, this time in search of the secretive Dupont's lark.  Its shyness meant us standing in line motionless on the site off the road to La Yunta in near freezing temperatures. Well we heard it clearly enough but it seemed to have disappeared by the time there was reasonable light and we only saw one or two bits and bobs on the way back for breakfast. 

Setting off again in the van we stopped briefly for some common cranes that were posing nicely in a field, not daring to get out in case we disturbed them.

Cranes posing

This was on the way for a walk in the hills near Tornos looking for larks, which were well-camouflaged and the one I definitely saw was Thekla's Lark.  Unfortunately my photography skills were again much challenged as many sightings were at considerable distance and several photos came out blurry.  Hopefully I can find an app to rescue some of them

Later we headed to the other side of the laguna, where there were some flamingos at reasonably close range, mainly keeping their heads down.  I think this is the best view I've had of flamingos to date.

Flamingos

There were a good deal of both marsh and hen harriers around and another walk near Las Cuerlas, after a period of seeing bits and pieces at distance, we hit on an area where a large number of raptors were flying overhead, almost as if participating in an air display.  In addition to those already encountered, they included a totally new sighting, the black-shouldered kite (never heard of!) and, almost as an afterthought, a couple of golden eagles...

Of all of them I got nothing but blurry silhouettes so it was a bit of a surprise, on returning to the lagoon near Dirigida, that I managed to get a passable shot of a mass of cranes right on the far side of the lake, many hundreds of yards away.  I must have got the zoom spot on for once.

Cranes at distance

When we first got there, there was also a nice white wagtail close by but the main birds in evidence where great and cattle egret, the latter showing no yellow as still in winter plumage.  I learned you can still tell them apart by the fact that the great egret has a much longer neck.

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

White Wagtail

Great egrets are starting to be seen in the North of England but cattle egrets are still a rarity, though I saw lots of them in the West Indies.  The white wagtail is also infrequent.

However the strangest thing we saw on stopping further down was three roe deer that had apparently decided to swim the whole length of the lagoon in very cold water.  We saw the last part of their journey, lasting several minutes with one pulling ahead to leave the other two straggling behind.

Roe Deer

Also sighted in this area and on the way back to the hotel were: little bustard, stonechat, linnet (lots of), black redstart and spanish sparrow.

In the evening I had a bit of reflection on the photography angle and decided to increase the focal length of the birdwatching auto facility on the camera.

Of course serious birdwatching photographers will tell you you really need to use manual settings...

Trip to Tübingen

This wasn't a dedicated nature holiday, the main aims being cultural and relaxation in various forms.  Some of the sightings I did make were annoyingly fleeting, making identification tricky.

One day though, I visited the University Botanical Gardens with its impressive array of gardens and trees.  On the way from the nearest bus stop there were a couple of butterflies and an elusive black redstart.

Once there, I had my first sighting of a common blue in an area of rewilding and a spectacular stripey bug on an exotic plant.

Common Blue

Minstrel Bug

Apparently it's an Italian Striped Bug or Minstrel Bug.  Also fleetingly sighted for the first time this year were common darter and marbled white.  On some steps a nomad bee was so active that I couldn't get a picture of it.  This was a pity as all the bees I saw afterwards were honey bees or obvious forms of bumblebee.

On the way to a bike hire place, I had a couple of forays along the River Ammer, where there were a few trout rising and this slightly puzzling duck with a blue sheen on its head feathers.

There is a thing called the Blue-headed Mallard in America and the beak certainly looks mallardy but on balance I think this is probably some sort of hybrid.

Mallard Hybrid?

Another teaser occurred during my one bike ride on a decrepit city bike.  At the edge of a farm field I happened on a couple of large pipits of a long thin body shape and a palish chest marking.  Of course, they moved on soon after I stopped.  It was hard to make them out properly against the light but I reckoned that tawny pipit was likely.

A couple of days later, I caught sight of a butterfly flying along the hedgerow that had all the signs of being a brown hairstreak, my first ever, but of course it did not land.  Later on I was amused to find a pair of Egyptian Geese casually surveilling the punts and  sunbathers by the Neckar.  

Egyptian Goose

I ended up in a Biergarten by the river, feeding fragments of bread to a decent sized carp - almost as satisfying as catching one.

The last day of my holiday was a dedicated nature outing.  I took a bus to Bebenhausen, which offers a number of walks on the southern tip of the Naturpark Schönbuch.  

The first thing I saw, before even leaving the village was a small white butterfly - except something about it struck me as unusual.  I think in fact it was a Southern Small White.  If so it was pretty much right on the Northern edge of its established range but I'm pretty confident about this one.  The giveaway is that the black edging extends slightly down the outer edge of the upper forewing.

Southern Small White

Although the forecast was for very hot weather, it took a while for the clouds to disperse.  When they did, another white appeared by the side of the Fohlenweideweg - a fair number of wood whites, always nice to see as they do not occur in the North of Britain.

Wood White

Their weak, erratic flight means that wood white sites are very precious as the butterflies are unlikely to relocate over any distance.

Ironically the real fun butterflies started when I took a wrong turn and went down a wee overgrown lane.  I was surprised to find that the dominant butterfly here was the pearly heath.

Pearly Heath

I'd seen the pearly heath several times when I was in Bulgaria but did not know it extends across mainland Europe.  

Several expected items turned up including another common blue, and, looking smart, meadow brown and ringlet.

Meadow Brown

Common Blue

Ringlet

I also spent some time confirming that the small skipper I saw was a small skipper, as Essex or Lulworth Skipper were also feasible.  Anyway, it is.

Small Skipper

More troublesome was a very small and worn female blue that kept fluttering around the path track without settling more than briefly.  My feeling is that it may be a Silver Studded Blue but without better images, it's hard to be sure, 

Silver Studded Blue?

Then there was the one that completely defeated me, as I couldn't find anything that resembled this rather smart-looking black moth.  Or maybe it's not even a moth at all?

Unidentified Flying Object

It almost looks like the translucent wing tips are reflecting the treetops above.

Last of all. the most joyful appearance went completely undocumented when a massive purple emperor came down and flattered briefly in front of my midriff.  I waited around for half an hour for it to return but there was no further sign.

Monday 7th December

Having caught sight of a jay showing well on the edge of Chopwell Woods as I returned from the doctor's,  I decided to take a walk there last week.  This was also to test my theory that you see far less in the way of birdlife there than you would expect from what is an apparently attractive area.

The theory was pretty much proven.  I wandered around for an hour or two, trying to keep off the main tracks as much as possible.  Birdsong was notably absent as I went.  Eventually I caught sight of a nuthatch on a conifer and got one distant sighting of a jay in a tree.  There were a few tits singing in the trees on the way out but that was it.  Overall I think you're more likely to see deer there than a notable bird, but can't really say why.

I'd have seen more if I'd stayed in the garden, which is where I saw this female greenfinch a few days ago.  Getting the rear view first, I thought it might be a siskin, which would have been a garden first.  Something about this bird strikes me as not quite right  (too pale?) but greenfinches are certainly around although not on the feeder.

On Saturday I took advantage of some improved weather to track down the black redstart at Tynemouth.  It wasn't where I expected to find it. Instead there was an eider duck quite near to the shore.

Eider Duck

Eventually after fish 'n' chips I managed to locate a birdwatcher who told me where to look, just outside the pier rather than inside the harbour.  Others reported it hadn't been seen for  half an hour but when one left, it duly turned up, moving about the rocks and occasionally pursued by a jealous robin.

It was hard to get decent shots in the shade but once again "mission accomplished".  It seemed paler than the ones I have seen in Germany.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

An additional bonus was a rock pipit patrolling the same area.

Rock Pipit

With some time available I moved on and did a walk from Seaton Sluice to St Mary's Island where there was at least a hundred lapwing at the water's edge just after low tide.  I looked for golden plover among them but instead found these waders at distance. 

Waders

Canal du Midi Part 3

On the way back from an early visit to the market at Narbonne with some local honey, I encountered a chap fishing in the Canal de la Robine for zander with a spinner.

Today's run to Beziers involved various detours, one of which was self-inflicted as I took a wrong turning. A planned one took me past an old abbey which I wasn't much impressed with but I did see a lesser kestrel (apparently they nest on the abbey) hovering nicely above some scrub on the way, before it moved off to become a silhouette on the horizon.  It's frankly astounding to think that this was the only bird of prey the whole week. I checked the abbey for ravens but only saw crows and jackdaws, just like home.  One or two other birds were seen briefly but, as on other days, were quick to take flight.

Finally rejoining the Canal du Midi at Capestang, the weather was windy and the scenery much of a muchness.  There were no butterflies I hadn't already seen though this clouded yellow (below) is pretty interesting in comparison to the paler version seen on the first day.  Stopping at one point to feed the tiddlers with breadcrumbs, a couple of dragonflies turned up and I was particularly impressed by one that turned out to be a violet dropwing.

Clouded Yellow

Violet Dropwing

The last stretch to Beziers was quite tiring and the excellent ice cream sundae I found at one of the canalside harbours held my attention more than any further wildlife events.

Canal du Midi near Beziers

The last day of cycling was a tour almost to the canal estuary, and then through marshland areas near the western tip of the Camargue.  Flamingos and all kinds of birdlife were promised in the tour guide, but the extremely dry weather meant that results were massively disappointing.  After some lovely scenery along the canal (and a few mallards) the nearby marais de l'Estagnol was pretty much a misnomer as it had pretty much completely dried up and there was little to see beyond a couple of white horses.

Mallow Skipper

The area is a mixture of marshes and prosperous-looking seaside resorts.  Turning onto a cycle track near Portiragnes Plage, I did see something interesting - a mallow skipper, the only skipper I encountered on the whole trip, flying around some plants at the edge of a reed bed.

Grey Heron

The track eventually led up the side of the Lac de la Grande Maire, a massive inland lake which also proved to be totally dried out for a good part of its length. At the wider end there were a few gulls and I thought I might have spotted a couple of purple heron on the far side.  But they turned out to be (rather large) juvenile grey heron.

This was nothing like the experience I had cycling down the Navigation Channel during my holiday based in Arles in 2013. However that was in June rather than September.

In retrospect, I wish I hadn't spent time scouring the supposed marshes and headed straight for the conservation area at Les Orpellieres.  Here there was a good spread of vegetation and signs of butterflies and birds to add to the little egret I spotted in passing through.  It looked a great place to wander around on foot and the bottom end of the Orb river is also attractive.  There were several sizeable fish just beneath the surface and several fishermen trying their luck.

Unfortunately I was by then somewhat behind schedule and needed something to eat before heading back to Beziers to return the cycle I had hired.

Black Redstart

I spent an extra day in Beziers which turned out to be pretty rainy.  During a brief visit to the Parc des Poetes, I noticed a flock of sparrows working the trees that didn't seem quite the same as usual.  Wondering if they were spanish sparrows, I returned in the evening with camera but of course they were no longer around.  However there were some black redstarts messing around on the paths, and unlike the other small birds I encountered, they weren't particularly shy. They were also a good deal lighter in colour than examples I have seen in Germany

Canal du Midi - Part 2

The third day on the road was devoted to a round trip to Minerve, one of the oldest villages in France.  However I was at least as much interested in the huge gorge that stretches out to the West, as I reckoned there was a chance of seeing some wallcreepers, a bird I have wanted to see for a long time but isn't too predictable and varies its nesting sites.

It wasn't to be.  In spite of extensive work with the binoculars, all I could see apart from a few crows and other hirondelles was a good number of crag martins flying around the gorge, plus a fleeting sighting of a red-rumped swallow.  Notably the River Cesse was totally dry, so one suspects this may have had an effect. The absence of birds of prey was disappointing as some quite exotic species have been seen here in the past.

I got a bit distracted into looking at butterflies again in a flower meadow, where a wall brown, a grayling and another brown argus were to be seen.  The latter is interesting in that the black spot on the upper wing is encircled by white. This is normally a characterstic of the French version of Spanish Argus but other aspects of this worn specimen don't suggest any further similarity.

Wall Brown

Grayling

Brown Argus

After still not seeing interesting birdlife in Minerve itself, I managed to catch up with a couple of chalkhill blues 'at it' by the roadside. Again there are several subspecies to choose from but I think they were pretty much the standard offering.

Chalkhill Blue

After that the wind got up and I headed for the swimming pool in the B&B at Olonzac.

Long-tailed Blues

Day 3 was another canalside run through to Narbonne, some delightful scenery breaking up some of the more monotonous sections. Again the butterflies got active once the afternoon was underway, and there were a few nice common blues on the hook in the Canal just past Paraza. Then, on passing a lock just after Le Somail, I noticed some faster flying blues homing in on a single plant. They didn't settle very long so photographs were hard to get but the distinctive underwing pattern shows that they were long-tailed blues - even though one was hard put to see the actual tail, which is basically just a bristle.

A little later I managed to identify at least one bird, a black redstart.  It was surprising not to see more of them in the wine producing areas which are common around here.

Riding past a woodland area next top the canal, I then caught sight of a swallowtail which didn't settle.  At first I thought it wasn't the stadard variety as it was flying rather delicately.  Past the Port de la Robine, I followed another for ages without it settling before I finally got a shot of a delapidated specimen, clearly a standard swallowtail.  Something similar was happening with coppers, as I thought, but when I got one to settle on the path, also just past the Port de la Robine, it proved to be, as far as I could determine, a sparsely marked spotted fritillary.

Swallowtail

Spotted Fritillary

Following a cross country diversion away from the Canal, I managed to see a couple of decent-sized fish, probably dace or carp but they bolted under a bridge as soon as they saw me and couldn't be induced to re-emerge by flicking a few sundry titbits into the water.