Venus Pool - Hen Harrier take 2

It's my birthday today with 100+ Yellowhammer, 30 + Reed Buntings etc invited to a party in the crop field.... The star guest was of course the ringtail (female) Hen Harrier which put in a couple of appearances early afternoon!

Despite the overcast conditions, a sight I could never tire of seeing here!

Dropping in every now and then....

And coming ever closer!

The closest approach :-)

The Corn Bunting count was up to 17 today and here's some of the flock perched up!

A male Sparrowhawk and Merlin firing through the field as well, completed a brilliant day - happy birthday indeed :-) Just a shame Craig (Midlands Birder) and friends had to settle for brief distant views late afternoon!

Venus Pool - Hen Harrier

I've been mega busy with talks and non-birding activities this month but got myself spurred into action when I realised the ringtail Hen Harrier at VP was not just a flukey flyover. Arriving early afternoon, it wasn't long before it was seen but took quite a while to get some record shots....

They did come eventually!

When it was in view, always pretty mobile!

Sometimes landing, seemingly observing the 100+ Yellowhammer, Reed Buntings plus a couple of Corn Buntings feeding on the seed amongst the spent crop.

The following sequence is not good news if you are a small passerine trapped in the endless tangle of stems!

A succession of hops and pounces.....

Culminated in this Reed Bunting (if you look closely) being plucked out by the the right talon.....

The Harrier then flew off for its late afternoon snack!

There's life (and death) in the old patch yet! With more time now becoming available, I might just be putting a few hours in and with a few good birds under my belt - that VP year list may just become the target for 2015? 

Trench Pool - 1st winter Caspian Gull

Joined the Scilly Spider this afternoon in the hope of the possible Thayers candidate dropping in again? It didn't happen but at least we had a 1st winter Caspian Gull - present for most of the time late afternoon....

I picked it up as an 'interesting' gull flying in!

It certainly was.....

The centre of attention.....

Eventually settling down quite close on the ice!

That will do nicely.....

Cound - Whooper and Bewick's Swans

The nine Whooper swans were present here on New Years day but extremely distant. Since then they had been joined by two Bewick's swans and the only view I'd had was the whole group flying into VP to roost in virtual darkness a week ago. After a daytime disappearance further up river for a while, they were back in the usual field today! And sort of in range - for a group shot any way?

Here's all eleven swans!

The Whoopers....

 seven of them at rest.

And the two Bewicks.....

Maybe I'll catch them on Venus Pool one day?

Darts Farm - Penduline 'nearly' show!

Back on what seemed like very familiar territory today! A talk in Bristol in the evening had tempted me to 'overshoot' and pop down to Darts Farm, Topsham where the Penduline Tits had been showing really well for the previous two days.....

Every day is different however and I'd only been at the reed-bed for 15 minutes, when all three adults flew in, initially landing in the shrubs next to the hide!

They then dropped into the reed bed! Sadly keeping quite low out of view....

.....then almost immediately flying to the far side!

A couple of minutes later they flew high in the direction of Topsham! And despite staking the reed-bed out until 3.30, they never returned! With rain moving in, I moved out!

A pair of Stonechats were keeping the Chiffchaff company, occasionally sitting up well! Here's the male....

And the female....

Oh well, it could have been worse with a complete no show??

Venus Pool - Greenland White-fronted Goose

'Twas a low key start to the year, on patch in Shropshire with a bit of mystery goose to unravel as daylight broke! A group of three birders were scanning one of the fields opposite Venus Pool (from the metal gate situated across the access road).

"Anything interesting? I asked. "pretty sure we've got a White-front" came the reply.....

Unfortunately it was in with a big flock of Greylags over the distant ridge and with just heads appearing every now and then, it took another 40 minutes or so before 'interesting' Goose in question duly got my interest going!! Here's why...

It certainly was a White-fronted Goose! But just look at that striking dark head!

And eventually as the flock moved further away in the field, the whole goose could at last be seen!

We weren't looking at any old White-front, the dark plumage, head and orange bill all pointed to the Greenland race (Anser albifrons subsp flavirostris) . The European race is a rare occurrence nowadays in Shrophire but the Greenland birds seem to be in steep decline even in their regular wintering grounds in Scotland. It's not just a smart rarity - an absolute 'mega'  for the shire!

 With the flock becoming more distant and record shots in the bag, a move to the pool was on the cards and after 20 minutes of accumulating a stack of year ticks (for the list I'm not doing - honest!!) A large flock of Greylags flew in..... Including......

Nice comparison shots. Could it ever be in doubt?

And eventually a bit closer by itself.....

Eventually it ended up more distant, on the island left of the hide.

Not a bad Shropshire bird to start the New Year? Maybe I'll do a Venus Pool year list, maybe not, we shall see.......

If you want to compare and contrast European with Greenland races, there are a few images of the 2013 European duo (also at VP) in my gallery here. Note the slightly smaller pinkish bill, pale head and plumage generally (expecially the breast) with the European race.