Central Asian Lesser Whitethroat

Last Friday I managed to spend some time with the probable Central Asian Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca halimodendri) that has been frequenting feeders in a garden in Tynemouth (Northumberland).  The bird showed well on a number of occasions and I managed to obtain several photographs and videos of it.  It was also heard to call on two occasions, a soft 'tek', but unfortunately I was unable to record this.

Lesser Whitethroat (probable halimodendri). Tynemouth (Northumberland). 10 January 2014.

Lesser Whitethroat (probable halimodendri). Tynemouth (Northumberland). 10 January 2014.

Lesser Whitethroat (probable halimodendri). Tynemouth (Northumberland). 10 January 2014.

Lesser Whitethroat (probable halimodendri): Blurred video-grab of tail pattern, possibly showing pattern on T5-T6 (on right-hand edge of feeder). 

 

Great Grey Shrike & Bewick's Swan in Durham: 4 January 2014

With the family dropped off at the Beamish Open Air Museum, I had about four hours to kill birding in Co. Durham, so I whizzed down the A1 to Bradbury where a Great Grey Shrike had been showing on and off for a week or so.  Often elusive and flighty, it took me over half-an-hour to locate it, perched on hawthorns in a rough field NE of the railway bridge.  I watched it for about 15 minutes as it just hung around, saw it regurgitate a pellet and managed a few digiscoped record shots, before it flew south across the road and out of sight. 

Great Grey Shrike. Bradbury (Durham). 4 January 2014.

I then headed down to Sadbergh where an adult Bewick's Swan and three Whooper Swans had taken up residence in a flooded field just north of the village.  The swans were easily located and good scope views had of all four.  Unfortunately the poor light meant that my digiscoped images came out fuzzy!  Back up to Beamish were the woodland around the car park produced Common Crossbill, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest.  Back home in the North Tyne Valley a Tawny Owl in the village this evening brought my 2014 year list to 91 species.  Not too bad after four days...

Leicestershire: 2nd-3rd January 2014

It's been a fairly decent start to my 2014 birding year, with my year list now up to 84 species after three days birding.  New Year's Day was, in keeping with recent years, fairly low key.  Gone are the days when I used to post a big 1st Jan total with dawn to dusk birding.  The kids take priority now, whilst red wine consumption on New Year's Eve makes for lethargy the following morning.  A quiet wander around the village on the 1st produced good views of a Kingfisher on the river, plus Brambling, 3 Tree Sparrow and a male Bullfinch.

 

Back to work on Thursday and Friday, but with site visits in Leicestershire lined up for both days, the opportunity for tagging on some birding was good.  On the way down to Leicestershire on Thursday I found myself at Burton Marsh (Cheshire) for dawn to successfully dip the Buff-bellied Pipit.  Despite the absence of the pipit there was still plenty of good birding to be had, with highlights, at either Burton Marsh or nearby Parkgate, being a distant Great White Egret, 2 Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis), 2 Common Chiffchaff (collybita), a hardy Northern Wheatear, a total of 3 'ringtail' Hen Harrier and 4 Peregrine.  Not bad for a few hours effort, before continuing south!

Car loads of pipit dippers!

Friday was also a pretty good day.  With my site visits sorted I had a burn around a couple of Leicestershire's finest reservoirs.  First stop was Swithland Reservoir where the juvenile Black-throated Diver showed well just off the dam, whilst further out were 4 Scaup and 3 Goosander.

Black-throated Diver (juv). Swithland Reservoir (Leics). 3 January 2014.

On to Eyebrook Reservoir where the female Ring-necked Duck continued to linger just off the fishing lodge.  A brief, but fantastic, session at Eyebrook also produced 2 drake Smew, 2 Red Kite, a male Merlin and c.10 Tree Sparrow.  Can't complain, especially when the day was then topped off with a perched Barn Owl in the car headlights as I drove back up the North Tyne Valley to home :)

Ring-necked Duck (female). Eyebrook Reservoir (Leics). 3 January 2014.