The end of March / early April is passage time for Ring Ouzels in Shropshire. Here's a taster from 29th March 2010...
A day off work and with a few hours to spare early afternoon, the prospect of a migrant forced down by the heavy rain looked promising? Venus Pool was waderless and rather than fall asleep, I opted for a visit to another Shropshire peak -
Titterstone Clee! Minimal effort for this one though as you can drive to the summit....
I was going to have a good nose around the whole area but almost immediately upon entering the quarry, my ears were assaulted by an echoing 'chacking' of what could be only one thing.....
It's always a great birding buzz to find a bird you 'hope' will be there but usually isnt! I watched quietly as this cracking male
Ring Ouzel flew left and then then right almost out of view. A quick call reannounced it's presence on the grassy ledges above a large boulder scree in front of me and unbelievably - it stayed! I settled down to record some images in the murk and drizzle.....
About as confiding as a Ring Ouzel could be!
There was obviously an abundance of worms in this area! Given the poor light, any of my images with 'movement' were blurred (and there's a lot of this when a worm is being yanked out of the ground). Nevertheless, here are some '
Ring Ouzel with worm' portraits!
The cloud ceiling eventually dropped and in a scene resembling pea soup, I left the bird to his worming. A couple of Wheatears had also been seen - my next target up high and I'm long overdue one of these - is a Shropshire Dotterel!! Keep watching this space....
Meanwhile... On 29th March 2009, I'd jumped the border to check out Dolydd Hafren. The highlight was a Merlin having a brief touchdown in the River Severn!!
A morning spent in South Shropshire on a Goshawk quest turned up trumps with an adult pair and juvenile performing in the stratosphere! This
juvenile Goshawk at least gave chance for a record shot....
The plan was to head for Titterstone but it was now afternoon and no news of Ring Ouzel was forthcoming or no birders were up there?
Never mind, a decision to try elsewhere paid off big time! Dolydd Hafren in nearby Powys put Shropshire to shame! A pair of
Little ringed Plover,
Green Sandpiper,
White-fronted Goose x 4
Pink footed Goose x 6,
Red Kite for starters!
On/by the river:
Goosander, Kingfisher and
Merlin amongst others. Wait a minute... Kingfisher and WHATTT! Yes, a female Merlin - stood by and then cooling it's feet down in the river Severn - eyeing up the Pied Wagtails etc for lunch! And if you don't believe me, have a look at this sequence....
Not sure whether she was trying to catch fish or just cooling her talons down?
Lunch was missed but the sight of a Merlin skimming the water was quite something!!
We may take them for granted nowadays (even in Shropshire) but back in 2008, Great White Egret was a prize bird. I caught up with one on March 29th 2008...
... The journey south continued, just as I was crossing the Severn, news came out it had already been seen that day so, the hunt was on! If you go to Meare Heath, take directions, it can be a bugger to find. The area is a sort of 'Whixall Moss with reedbeds' - a fantastic habitat nevertheless!
After driving past it once, I found the car park and headed up the track to the pools. Birders returning confirmed I was hopefully not going to be disappointed, and I wasn't! The Egret was out in the open, about 100m or more distant but this is one big bird - not to be missed!!
The Giraffe of the bird world?
Of course, without a reference feature, it is difficult to gauge size so, enter a very obliging
Little Egret which had a habit of following the big guy around and apart from a brief squabble, provided the perfect foil for showing just how majestic and 'Great', this Egret truly is!!
Sadly, my luck with birds and the weather then took a downward turn! The Franklin's Gull was back at Chew Valley Reservoir! Like a fool, I ended up heading back up the road and fortunately the comfort and shelter of Moreton hide. After an hour of watching the wind blown surf with a couple of local birders, there were only three Little Gulls (one adult!) to show for our efforts. Mind you, I don't know when I've seen so many hirundines, mostly Sand Martins but with the odd swallow and a first House Martin for the year thrown in!! With weather like this, bet they wished they'd stayed where they were.....
What an end to the week, just three sessions, eleven year ticks, four of them lifers - brilliant stuff! Oh and I'm not going back for that Franklin's - ever!
