I spent the week following the nice surprise visit of Garganeys to our village lake, see here, birding locally at Upton Warren and Grimley. The highlight was seeing three little Gulls at Grimley which were found by another local birder. In habit they are more Tern, rather than Gull, like as they hawk for food over the water. As the name suggests, they are small Gulls being almost Dove like in appearance. The three birds seemed to all be adults in various stages of moult into summer plumage and they have a characteristic black underwing which is very obvious in flight. They were too distant for anything other than record shots but gave very nice scope views.
I fancied a trip out somewhere this week so hatched a plan to visit Devon. My plan was to spend a couple of hours trying to see a Spotted Crake at Exminster Marshes and then visit the RSPB reserve at Labrador Bay. Spotted Crakes are often extremely elusive and sulking in habit, in fact a few years ago I spent all day in a hide at Gibraltar point in Lincolnshire for one 5 second view of one! So, rather than waste a whole day, I resolved to spend a maximum of 2 hours looking for it.
The journey from home to Devon is a very straightforward but somewhat tedious drive straight down the M5. I arrived around 9:00 to find a small group of birders peering at the pond island the Crake had been frequenting. It was biting cold and I was very grateful that I had looked at the weather forecast and donned thermals before leaving home. To cut a long story short, it didn’t show during my two hour vigil. In fact, true to form, it didn’t put in an appearance until later that evening. A distant Spoonbill, a few Sand Martins, and a hunting Marsh Harrier did provide good distraction while we waited. So at 11:00 I upped stumps and made my way the short distance to Labrador Bay.
Labrador bay was brought in 2008 by the RSPB with one intention in mind, saving the Cirl Bunting from extinction in the UK. The Cirl Bunting, a charming relative of the yellowhammer, is at the limit of its European range in the UK. Cirl Buntings were once a common and widespread farmland bird all over the south of England and up into Wales but a survey in 1989 revealed a catastrophic decline in their numbers. There were just 118 pairs left, mainly in Devon. The modern farming practice of planting winter corn has removed their traditional winter food source in the stubble which, sadly in common with most other farmland birds, has contributed to their sharp decline. At Labrador bay the RSPB has worked with local tenant farmers to provide the ideal habitat for these Buntings such that numbers have risen from 118 to 862 pairs in 25 years. In spring the males have a striking black chin, eye stripe and crown and yellow stripes on their head and yellow underparts.
I have visited Labrador Bay more of less annually in recent years and so knew exactly where to look for the Buntings and I found them still in their winter flocks with no sign of territories being set up yet. The RSPB run a supplementary feeding program and the Buntings in their winter flocks never seem to be far from the feeding area. I adopted my usual technique of sitting down by a promising hedge, waited, and immersed myself in nature. Bumble bees were feeding on the frothy white blackthorn blossom and several Chiffchaffs were singing their loud repetitive song which gives them their name. Sure enough after an hour or so I heard the distinctive cheep cheep call of the Cirl Buntings and a flock flew into the hedge facilating some nice views and photography. The R5, being a total silent mirrorless camera, comes into its own in such circumstances with no shutter noise to disturb the birds. After 10 minutes or so the flock moved on and I decided to go for a walk to warm up a little.
I found a small gap in a hedge above a mud bank which gave a view into a recently ploughed field and I saw the Buntings ground feeding at the far end of the field. It was just about possible to lie down behind the bank with the camera perched on the bank so I settled down in an awkward and somewhat uncomfortable prone position and waited. The Buntings slowly made their way towards me and after an hour or so I was rewarded with close views. I kept completely still and for 15 minutes or so I had the best views I have every had of these delightful Buntings. The males were absolutely resplendent in their spring plumage. The females, while lacking the intense contrasting yellow and black of the males, were nonetheless very attractive in their own right. The viewing spectacle ended abruptly when a Blackbird let out a loud alarm call as a Buzzard flew overhead and the flock flew into the safety of a nearby hedge.
In an altogether ungainly manner I extracted myself from my prone position behind the bank and started to make my way home very satisfied with my views of this most characterful bunting.
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