Keeping it local at Upton Warren

   

Green Sandpiper

Since my twitch to see a Black-winged Pratincole, see here, there’s been nothing to entice me to drive any distance. There was a report of a Tibetan Sand Plover some 4 hours’ drive away in Northumberland but before I could turn the car engine on it was reidentified as a Greater Sand Plover, a bird I have seen well before.  I guess its inevitable as my UK list moves well into the 400’s that there will be less and less new birds to tick. With the exceptions of a few gaping holes, most notably around seabirds, its only rare new birds ticks that will get my list growing. I’m also finding myself less and less motivated to drive long distances to see birds I’ve seen well and photographed before. 

 

High summer is always slow for birding with many birders turning to the temporary delights of butterflies and dragonflies but my second major hobby, gardening, together with general maintainace work around our smallholding keeps me very busy over the summer.

 

Worcestershire’s wildlife trusts Upton Warren reserve is only some 20 minutes’ drive from home which begs the question why I haven’t visited more often since I moved to Pirton. I guess the answer is probably the lack of scarce and rare birds compared to, say, Slimbridge which is about the same distance away. The layout of the site for me is also a little problematic with some of the hides facing into the sun,  which I personally find makes viewing difficult and somewhat uncomfortable. There is also the issue that the two parts of the reserve are not connected and access to the flashes is through the Aztec carpark and is hence subject to their late, by birding standards, opening time of 09:00. Having said all that I have visited a couple of times in the last ten days and have enjoyed birding from the Avocet hide which overlooks the flashes. 

 

There are upwards of 15 Green Sandpipers currently on the flashes together with a few Common Sandpipers and +30 Avocets. As I’ve mentioned before, the Green Sands at this time of year are likely to be a mix of females and failed  male breeders. The females abandon their Artic breeding grounds to the males as soon as their eggs are laid leaving the males to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks.

Green Sandpiper

 

Little Egret

Local birders told me that the Avocet’s have had a difficult breeding year with a stoat predating most of their eggs leaving just 6 chicks to fledge. Little Ringed Plovers also regularly breed at Upton Warren and juvenile birds are in evidence on the flashes. Compared to its cousin, the Ringed Plover, it has pale (not orange) legs and a distinctive yellow eye-ring which the Upton Warren Juveniles are just starting to develop. They are comparatively recent additions to the UK breeding list having only breed for the first time in 1938 and are offered enhanced breeding protection as schedule one birds.

Little Ringed Plover

I’ve really enjoyed my last couple of visits to Upton Warren and plan to visit again soon. It’s just such a shame that early morning access to the flashes is so limited.

 

 

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