Skip to main content

A Soaking at Slimbridge



Whinchat in the gloom


Yesterday I decided to have a potter around Slimbridge.  When I arrived around 10:00 the car park was very busy with parents, grandparents and young children engaged in the traditional emergency entertain the kids at all costs summer holiday outing activity. Anything’s better than the wall climbing cabin fever of the 6 week holiday, believe me I’ve been there!

 

I headed to the Rushy hide only to discover that a coach load of OAP’s had been dumped there with their guide. Having recently become a silver back OAP myself, I’m allowed to say that!

 

So, with my normal lack of common sense, I ignore the gathering ominous black clouds and headed to the very exposed estuary bank at mid-point to look for passage migrants.

As the rain came in I spotted two Whinchat sat on what looked like a purposely positioned twig perch in the reed bed. I assume this was one of the perches erected for the illusive Slimbridge Scarlet Pimpernel, aka Bluethroat, earlier in the summer. I rattled off a few pics in the gloom before the Whinchats very sensible departed for cover. By the time I got back to the relative shelter of the shepherds hutch I was drenched!

What a Whinchat is supposed to look like from Otmoor a few years ago.


After half an hour or so the rain eased and I dripped my way back to the now quieter Rushy hide. I had a look for a Wood Sandpiper that was reported at the back first thing but could not locate it. There was plenty of other wader interest with Green Sandpipers, Snipe, numerous Godwits, Ruffs and  two Spotted and several Common Redshank. The two Spotted Redshanks, perhaps the same birds I saw in summer plumage a few weeks ago, see here, were now in their paler winter plumage. Their feeding habit is very different to their common cousins being very comfortable in much deeper water almost swimming while probing for food.

 


After a sandwich and coffee  lunch in the heaving restaurant, I headed back to mid-point. The clouds had now cleared and the sun was shining. There were now 4 Whinchat and two Yellow Wagtails perching on the cattle fencing before dropping down to grab insects from the grass. There were two viewpoints either side of the fence with one directly into the sun. I spent much too long trying to get a decent photo, by this time the heat haze was punishing, before giving up and going back to the Rushy for another go at the Wood Sandpiper. This time the bird was much more obliging being on show towards the back. It was useful to compare it to the Greens Sandpipers which it was close to, smaller and much slimmer in build with obvious yellow legs and a dark well marked back. I spent an hour or so photographing the various waders on display before making my way back to the car for my 40 minute drive home.


Let's play spot the Wood Sandpiper!



and here again is what one is supposed to look like!



Ruff

Snipe  


Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Albert the Albatross

    High quality framed and unframed prints available at   https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdlifeStudio If you don't see what you want please ask! What is more improbable -   a)     England’ football team    beating Germany in the knockout stages of a major competition   b)     Seeing an Albatross in England   Actually the answer is a) because it has not happened since 1966 rather than b) as Albert the Albatross, as he is affectionally known, has made a number of passing visits to the UK since 1967!   On Monday evening reports started to emerge of Albert associating with the Gannet colony at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, almost one year after his    last brief visit to the same site. During the intervening period there have been a number of sightings of Albert across Europe, particularly from the Baltic Sea where he appears to have spent much of the last 12 months. In fact there were reports that he had been att...
2 comments
Read more

Ok I'll admit it - I'm in love with Wrynecks and Autumn fun on the farm!

  High quality framed and unframed prints available at   https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdlifeStudio If you don't see what you want please ask! There are precious few birds that I’ve both seen and photographed well that I will drive 2 hours to see but I will make an exception for my favourite UK bird, the enigmatic Wryneck. No autumn birding in the UK is complete for me unless I have seen at least one of these beauties. So Monday morning found me in the Volvo driving 2 hours to see an exceptionally showy individual located at Exminster Marshes RSPB in Devon.   As it had already been present for a couple of days, I waited for it to be reported before setting off  and so it was near midday when I arrived at the small RSPB car park adjacent to the railway line. It was then a 30 minute or so walk down a pleasant leafy footpath to the welcoming looking Turf hotel. The hotel is next to Turf lock from where stunning views can be had over the river Exe estuary towards Exto...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hawfinches of the Forest of Dean

   Hawfinch - Forest of Dean, winter 2017 High quality framed and unframed prints available at   https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdlifeStudio If you don't see what you want please ask! A highlight of my winter birding is my annual trip to the Forest of Dean to see Hawfinches. I was unable to go last year due to the post-Christmas lockdown so this year’s visit was even more richly anticipated than normal.   Parkend in the Forest of Dean is my usual chosen location for watching Hawfinches. Here the proven technique of using your car as a hide normally works well. I must also say that,  after a number of quite strenuous twitches recently, I was also looking forward to a much more leisurely birding session!   The story of Hawfinches in the UK is, to my mind at least, a fascinating one. It is what is known as an eruptive species meaning that it occasionally erupts from its traditional breeding grounds to invade on mass countries much further away. This is thoug...
3 comments
Read more