Texas in spring update

It's been too long since the last post, not because I haven't done any birding. Indeed, it's been the other way around - too much birding/travelling/lack of internet has meant that there will be plenty of stuff stacked up for later. In brief though, having now done 6 days of solid birding here in Texas with Mark L, things are pretty good with 228 species so far. Doing moderately too when it comes to not stocking up on total shite food - some of these Texans are mega fat.

Cerulean Warbler

Anyway, started off in High Island where the first day produced a mini fall with 18 species of wood warbler - Cerulean, Blackburnian, Worm Eating, Kentucky, Hooded, Prothonotary, Blue-winged, Black-throated Green included. Also on our first morning, we managed to luck out on a Yellow Rail on the walk at Anahuac.

Black-and-white Warbler

Monday was also good fall conditions with Nashvilles joining the warbler party and heading south to South Padre Island, the birds showed rather well. It wasn't just warblers with five species of vireo seen and a good day of Franklin's Gull migration too - keeping the gull interest going along with American Herrings and Laughers.

Northern Parula

Black-throated Green Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Heading down into the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday changed the composition of species, and the birds became more tropical - stuff like Green Jay and Plain Chachalacas are pretty common while we managed to eek out Elf Owl, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Clay-coloured Thrush and White-collared Seedeater along with a nice stake out for Ferruginous Pygmy Owl.

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Yesterday, from the Rio Grande we started to head north and though the southeasterly winds reduced the migration significantly, a few birds were still noted. Most notably, a Glaucous Gull on the beach at Boca Chica and then in the evening Aplomado Falcon and Cassin's Sparrows nearby. Today was spent birding around Corpus Christi first thing in one of its city parks, before moving up to Aransas for the afternoon boat trip for Whooping Cranes.

Whooping Crane

That's it for now - there'll be loads to come later, but hope that's a nice taster of what it's like to be birding in Texas in April. Pretty stunning, with loads of yank rares all in their full kit along with regional specialities. Hoping to see some Prairie Chickens in the morning...

Last tip visit of the season

It was warm and sunny yesterday when I visited the tip for what will probably be the last time of this winter period. Late March can be a bit hit or miss gulls wise, but it turned out pretty well in the end. A couple of new birds caused a bit of a headache identification wise, while the gull detective work that often follows - tracking down ringing schemes - was also rather lenthy. But all worthwhile with a juvenile Iceland Gull, two Caspian Gulls (first-winters, one Polish-ringed), two Yellow-legged Gulls (first-winters, including a Swiss ringed bird) and half a dozen Med Gulls (including a displaying pair) recorded. Added to this, 16 gull rings included 3 Norwegian Great Black-backed Gulls plus the Swiss and Polish birds mentioned above.

juvenile Iceland Gull Essex 29th March 2014 - the usual bird that has been present the last month or so

 

Caspian Gull Essex 29th March 2014 - green-ringed P323. Ringed at Kozielno near Paczkow in south-central Poland (near the Slovakian border) in a colony of 300 nests, mainly Caspian Gulls and a few Yellow-legged Gulls. The chicks that were ringed had a 90-95% chance of being a Caspian Gull. Note the shorter and stubbier bill than you'd expect.

 

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull Essex 29th March 2014 - ringed in Switzerland last year, most likely from Lake Neuchatel

 

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull 29th March 2014 - A real brute of a bird. The barred uppertail-coverts and rump and pale inner primary window, however, are at odds with the usual expectations of this species.

1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull Essex 29th March 2014 - ringed as a chick at Leiholmen, Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway (58°00'19"N 007°38'54"E) on 6th July 2013.

 Today was spent locally, where a brief rest from a day of work, produced a Sand Martin over Russia Dock Woodland as well as a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaff singing.

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull up close in Rotherhithe

On the way back from the Hume's Warbler on Sunday, I had a quick look in on the dock that my flat backs onto. It's normal pretty quiet, but a 1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull was a nice surprise and a real performer. Here's a few shots: -

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe 23rd March 2014

Hume's Leaf Warbler at Ramsgate

If at first you don't succeed, try again. So that's what I did today. A couple of weekends ago, I headed to Ramsgate for the afternoon and failed to locate the Hume's Leaf Warbler that had been overwintering in the cemetery there. So with carte blanche for the day, following a moderate lie in, I headed east once again. And, unlike last time, there was success - within a minute or so of arriving no less.

Hume's Leaf Warbler Ramsgate, Kent 23rd March 2014

This is the first Hume's Leaf Warbler I've seen for a decade, and mirrors the first one I saw - at a similar time of year and also in a cemetery - in Great Yarmouth in 1995. Nice to hear it too, with a call that was still disyllabic like a Yellow-browed, but lacked the far carrying pitch and the obvious downward drop of the end note. Though a pretty scruffy looking thing, and looking bright in the sunlight, it was pretty drab/pallid-toned and its tertials were dark-centred.

Little else of note for the day, though a 1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull on Greenland Dock when I got home performed rather well in the sunshine.

First Wheatears as spring continues

It was once again nice to get up early and see the sunshine. London's a quiet place early on a weekend morning, and so it was that I had a relaxing walk at Crossness today. As soon as I arrived, the first Chiffchaffs were singing away - ten recorded in the end - and the female Garganey was still showing with Teal by the outfall; quite bizarre the length of its stay this time of year. A Greenshank was also still lingering on, in amongst the Redshanks, while the undoubted highlight were my first Wheatears of the spring, five in total - including four males - showing nicely in the paddocks.

male Wheatear, Crossness 22nd March 2014

Ducks and duffer chaffs

Some days, it's a bit of a toss up what to do. I wanted to hit Crossness again, but just needed a bit of a lie in really. And waking up to the sun's rays, I decided to go do a bit of shameless papping in North London - Grovelands Park to be precise. The redhead Smew was quickly located, diving frequently in the shallows; a bizarre sight to see in urban London, and as seems to be the case with park birds, the unknown origin caveat has been whacked onto it.

redhead Smew, Grovelands Park, London 16th March 2014

A couple of pairs of Mandarins were also about, pleasing all the punters out and about on this sunny day, including Karen. So after an obligatory ice cream, we headed off west to Ruislip Lido. After a bit of time where no Chiffchaffs had been singing, a couple burst into action and there was a stuttery bird that let out a few Iberian-esque crescendos mid-song, before going straight back into a normal Chiffchaff routine. Possibly the bird from the morning, but for sure I didn't hear anything too convincing. And so I left, with another weekend gone and the week's slog ahead of me.

Mandarin Ducks, Grovelands Park, London 16th March 2014

First signs of spring in London

Given the weather of the last week or so, with all those winter storms behind us, spring does seem to be on its way. I'm not going to get ahead of myself as we're only just in mid-March, though a lot of birds are singing away and this morning I recorded my first spring migrant of the year - a showy female Garganey at the outfall at Crossness. They're just about annual these days here, so to see one so soon into the year was decent enough.

female Garganey, Crossness 15th March 2014

Other than that, there were typically loads of birds but with not much too special mixed in - 3 Green Sandpipers, 26 Wigeon, 300 Teal, a NTGG-ringed Black-headed Gull and a Song Thrush the highlights other than the star duck. No Wheatear, no Sand Martin but for sure they'll come some day soon.