Wader Fest

Conditions of late have been very good for Waders at Baron's Haugh, so went along this morning to get some images. In total there were 5 Black Tailed Godwit, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, c30 Snipe and C150 Lapwing. The light wasn't great however:

Black Tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Snipe

Spotshank -never close !

Spotshanks at Baron's Haugh

Went to Baron's Haugh after tea tonight to twitch the 2 Spotted Redshanks. Both showing really well from Causeway hide. Didn't take the camera because I thought they would be miles away. Tried to phonescope with the Blackberry to no avail. Ipod wouldn't do the business either.

Also 3 Green Sands, c200 Lapwing and lots of Snipe in what looks ideal conditions with the water level lowered and lots of wet mud.

View from Causeway Hide this Evening

On Twitching a Chiff !!!!

I haven't had a lifer yet in 2012. Not that  I'm desperate, but news of a possible Eastern Ollie in Fife yesterday evening had me through at Kilminning for 8:30am. The bird in question showed well on an off & indeed very well between 12 and 1pm.

My view was that it was an interesting bird. Very scabby, particularly around the head. Did it remind me of the birds I saw in Greece last year ? Maybe the head shape was not flat enough. Basically, I am no where near competent enough to comment. The experts present were obviously not sure either, although the id as Eastern Olivaceous Warbler seemed favourite. I am however gobsmacked this evening that it has been 'formally' identified as a Chiffchaff!!!!!!???????? I thought they had dark legs. On reviewing some of my photographs there are some yellowish tones which I don't think are good news for Eastern Ollie. Head shape looks wrong too.

Eastern Ollie Chiffchaff

Eastern Ollie Chiffchaff

A lot of the feathering has been lost around the face which probably makes the bill look long. It looks quite grey. Tail pumping was a noticeable feature. Legs are pale, unlike Chiffchaff, but some individuals Chiffchaffs do apparently show this feature.

So I suppose I still haven't had a tick in 2012 & it was a wasted day ? From the point of adding species to a list yes. But overall I enjoyed the day out and at least 3 Whimbrel off Fife Ness in the afternoon was good. Other birds of interest in a 2 hour sea watch were Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Guillemot, Razorbill & Knot. There was no sign of the reported Barred Warbler at Fife Ness Muir so I wasted some time trying to photographing a Small Tort on Buddlia.

Small Tortoiseshell

Hogganfield

A short visit at lunchtime today was pretty unremarkable. However there were a fair number of moulting Tufted & Pochard and I counted in excess of 80 Mute Swan.

Also good to see that both Great Crested & Little Grebe had had some breeding success despite the very wet summer.

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

First Green Sands of the Autumn

Autumn here already ? What happened to Summer ? The former heralded by 3 Green Sands at Baron's Haugh this afternoon.

Green Sand

Also 9 Snipe and 150-200 Lapwings. A good selection of ducks including Shoveler & Gadwall.

Grey Heron - In front of the Marsh Hide

Tenerife..........Hot, Hot Hot!!!!!!

Just back from Tenerife where we enjoyed an 'all inclusive' deal, staying in the Playa Olid Hotel for 11 nights in Costa Adeje on the Southern side of the island. After our disasterous 'Summer' in Scotland it was good to see the sun. However, temperatures in excess of 30 degrees made moving around a bit of a chore.

The beach at Costa Adeje

We had decided that it was going to be a chill out holiday and as such car hire was not envisaged and from a birding point of view this was limiting. On reflection I wish I had hired. Car hire for 3 days would have cost around 120 euros and we would have seen far more of the island and possibly some of the endemics such as Blue Chaffinch.

As for all inclusive I had visions of bulking up on chicken nuggets and diluting juice. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The food range was excellent and the quality overall was good. My only grumble was that the eating environment was somewhat akin to a canteen. We could easily have been in the refectory at Hairmyres Hospital as opposed to a hotel.

The room itself was good although at times a smell of sewage from the bathroom was a little disconcerting. With no air conditioning sleeping at night was a bit of a trial. The morning ritual of sunbed bagging showed how sad some people can be. I cannot believe that you would ever resort to queueing for a sunbed but that is what I witnessed every morning prior to breakfast.



View from the balcony at dusk



Bird life around the hotel was somewhat limited but included small parties of Plain Swifts, frequent Kestrels, lots of Collared Dove, Spanish Sparrow and a Peregrine on one occasion. Canary Islands Chiffchaff were also present. Calling frequently but quite frustrating to see as they kept low in shrubbery most of the time.

Canary Islands Chiff



Kestrel - Very Common on Tenerife

Kestrel Prey

One of the closest birding spots that I had read about prior to going was Costa Adeje Golf Course.
This site provided me with at least 2 Southern Grey Shrikes, 4 Barbary Partridge and Berthelot's Pipit.



Berthelot's Pipit

Costa Adeje at night is busy with many bars and restaurants. The harbour area is especially bustling but allowed some experimentation with slow shutter speeds with interesting effects:

 The harbour is also the leaving point for some of the whale and dolphin cruises that are advertised. 18 euros for a 2 hour cruise on which both Bottlenose Dolphins and Pilot Whales are guaranteed. Being a committed eco tourist I felt compelled and went armed with my big lens. Both species showed well. However, photographing Cetaceans from a small moving boat proved well beyond me. Cory's Shearwaters were a bit easier:

Cory's - up to 20 birds seen in 2 hours

Bottlenose Dolphins - from a 'big' boat off Mallaig

Other birds of interest seen on the trip included several Canaries, Sardinian Warbler and Canary Island Blue Tit.

Canary Islands Blue Tit

Lack of Enthusiasm

I find July very boring and find it difficult to motivate myself for any birding at all. Indeed I hadn't been out in over a month !

However, I finally dragged myself out to Baron's Haugh this afternoon. It was as I expected quite quiet, but at least it was good to at least see something rather than sitting in the house.

Best was Kingfisher, seen on 2 occasions and possibly up to 5 Common Sands. Lapwing flock building with at least 30 birds present.

Common Sand