Last night’s dinner at The Lodge (Old Hunstanton) consisted of a delicious bowl of Carrot and Coriander soup. Yum. After a good night’s sleep, I was ready to hit the ground running.

Had the pleasure of meeting Ken Reeves when he picked me up at 9:00am. We then went round to collect his pal, Charlie Dobbs. I could tell right away that these two gents were keen birders and really nice guys.

I was happy to hear that our first stop was to be Snettisham RSPB reserve. It started raining really hard, so we waited in the car for about five minutes, then walked out to The Wash. There were loads of Golden Plovers, Northern Lapwing, Brent Goose, Curlew, Snow Buntings, Shore (Horned) Lark, Goldfinch, Twite. But the star bird was the Ferruginous Duck. We had excellent views of the duck. We also saw hundreds of Red Knot displaying in the sky. Brilliant.

We then headed over to Wolferton (Dersingham), but dipped on the Great Grey Shrike. Ken had brought along some tasty sandwiches and mince pies for lunch, which we ate near the Sandringham estate.

Next stop was Flitcham and the Abbey Farm hide. Saw at least two Common Buzzards, Redwing, Greylag Goose, Teal, Song Thrush and a fair amount of rabbits.

It was amazing at how quickly the time had passed. We headed over to a roost at Roydon Common, got into position, and had cracking views of four Hen Harriers (two male and two female). Excellent. We also saw Fieldfare and Meadow Pipit.

I had a fantastic time with two lovely gentlemen. Tomorrow, I’ll head back to Brancaster Staithe for three nights.

The trip was mainly a photographic one, and a great deal of time was spent waiting for the right moment to press the shutter or for a specific bird to appear.

Four nights were spent at the Best Western Florida City,and we were surprised to find a Zenaida Dove sitting on a kerb in the carpark during our first late evening stroll.
Two visits were made to the Everglades NP,including the Anhinga Trail,where American Bittern,Yellow Crowned Night Heron were amongst the usual birds found

Two visits were also made to Castellow Hammock Preserve,Homesteads after reference to Birding Florida, where we found our first Painted Buntings, together with several Ruby Throated Hummingbirds and a single Rufous.A delightful Ovenbird also made an appearance.This is a very small local park but well worth a visit.

Our journey to Naples was made via Shark Valley off the Tamiami Trail,a fantastic park where you almost step on Purple Gallinule and Little Blue Herons,although you really have to watch out for basking alligators.It was here that Limpkin was found by Susan,together with Northern Parula which I missed.

The next twelve nights were spent in Naples,and several different types of crab were enjoyed at various restaurants.

From Naples three visits were made to Corkscrew Swamp, where far better images og Painted Buntings were made,although we had to wait over an hour before they arrived for feeding.Birds noted included the rare Shiny Cowbird and several American birders had arrived to see these.Others included Northern Cardinal,Marsh Wren,Black and White Warbler,Brown Headed Nuthatch,Carolina Wren,Black Crowned Night Heron,Downy,Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers.

My favourite place,Tiger Tail Beach,Marco Island produced the superb Reddish Egret,Snowy Plover,Piping Plover,Marbled Godwit,Ruddy Turnstone,Red Knot,Laughing Gull and a pair of Burrowing Owl.

Sanibel was disappointing compared to out visits with Burbage Birders with few birs,however Roseate Spoonbill,White Pelican,Short-Billed Dowitcher,and a further Reddish Egret were noted.

A 3 hour drive to Highlands Hammock on a very dull day, produced a Black-throated Blue Warbler, and three friendly Nine Banded Armadillo.

Several visits were also made to Eagle Lake Community Park off the H41,where good images of Loggerhead Shrike,Glossy Ibis,American Kestrel,Blue Winged Teal and Mottled Duck were made.This park is well worth a visit.

Whilst mainly a photographic trip,well over 100 different species were seen and verified, with several others to be sorted out from our images,and I would like this opportunity in thanking Ken for his help in showing us the above sites in previous visits.

Regards Brian and Sue Pollard. 23/2/10

Had day out at Dungeness RSPB which proved to be successful, had two glossy ibis, three black necked grebe on Denge Marsh, my brothers first bittern on ARC pit, 2 Bewick swan, quick showing of yellow-browed warbler, several bearded reedling etc ,and a lovely Barn Owl over car on way home. Missed the Geat White Egret and Penduline tit.

We also had a day out at Pagham Harbour, Sussex, lots of species at three different sites including red-breasted merganser, rock pipit, little egret, black-tailed godwit, golden plover, redshank, red-legged partridge, etc.

1999-2009 that's what I thought and as always I was wrong . 2009 has been one of the quietest ever making it tough going to get good results.

But lets face it when you have been on the Islands as many times as I have brushing scopes with some of best Yankee birds ever, it can seem quiet when it doesn't happen.

This year we had 13 members eager to collect as many first's as possible and take in the aura that surrounds this fantastic archipelago

Our First four days were spent in warm sunshine mopping up the birds already on the islands - Yellow Browed W, Rose Coloured Starling, Pied Fly and Jack Snipe being the stars.

Good winds and heavy rain at last arrived for the remaining three days bringing sightings of Sooty and a reported Great Shearwater, Great Skua's, Ring Ouzel, Whimbrel and crippling views of very confiding Radde's Warbler , Lapland Bunting and Red Breasted Flycatcher.

At this point I can picture a very embarrassed David Carman at the Red Breasted Fly site fighting the laws of gravity with his tripod as he slowly sank into the bracken, much to the amusement of Geoff Busby and myself.

All evening meals were taken at the infamous Bishop & Wolf where Mark our excellent host has now moved too.

Accommodation was Self Catering at White Cottage, Greystones and 9/14 Springfield Court

Flights were from St Just with Skybus and return journey by the RAC with my expensive Galaxy on the back of a twin cab truck.

320 MILES at 53 MPH . Seemed like going back to the Orkney's for the Sandhill.

So at this stage I 'm giving the islands a miss for now or am I ??????? Ken R 31/10/2009

Charlie , myself, Vicky and Mo had this great idea to walk the little known footpaths in Norfolk. Sounds good doesn't it. Well I can tell you now it's not so good when you stumble across a Monty sitting on her nest with one chick.

What should we do now I said, the reply was deafening silence surrounded with sheer panic. Just in the nick of time a well known local birder appeared throwing his arms around like a distressed helicopter and indicating to us get down and camouflage ourselves.

This I did collecting 4 fresh piles of sheep s?%t and a small pool of stagnant water on my new trousers and cherished Kaiser Chiefs T shirt.

We were then told by the birder , that the male had deserted his mate 3 days earlier and he was feeding the nest every 4hrs with day old chicks and rat's, with DOE permission of course.

So the dishevelled 4 were fortunate to witness a rare event in the UK by a dedicated few who are prepared to give up their own time to protect and care for one of Britain's rarest breeding birds.

Keep it up lads! and you can bet we'll not give you any more surprise moments. C,K.M.C Ken R 6/09

Thanks for putting brambling on web site, I think the size was a bit mean to get a reasonable image so I am sending you this new one re sized and hope it looks a bit sharper.

Sue and I had a good day at Venus Pool on Sunday, with brambling, tree sparrow, marsh tits,tree creeper, female stonechat, water rail in front of feeders, and watched a female great spotted woodpecker trying to prise a grub from a wood pile only to be grabbed by a weasel and killed whilst we watched, not a pretty site.

We are blessed with siskin on our own feeders at the moment, nothing a Coed y dinas apart from a single male pintail. Will phone soon, Brian.

Hi Ken,

Graham & I had a day out at Summer Leys & Pitsford Res, nr Northampton on Dec 31st. Below is our day list.

Little Grebe, Grt Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Gray Heron, Mute Swan, Graylag, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveller,

Red-crested Pochard (Pitsford), Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Buzzard, Kestral, Pheasant, Water rail (S/Leys), Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Dunlin,

Snipe, Redshank, Bl’k headed Gull, Common Gull, L.B.B.Gull, Wood Pigeon, GreenWood, Gr’t Spot Wood, Meadow pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock,

Robin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Songthrush, Goldcrest, L’g tailed Tit, Bluetit, Great Tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow,

Starling, H/Sparrow, T/Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting.

The reserve had negotiated with a farmer to leave a stretch of crop (we believe to have been oil seed rape) in a field next to the reserve, this patch was

attracting large flocks of linnet, yell’hammer & reed bunting to great effect.

A great day out, all be it a Bl**dy chilly one, the only is that shame Summer leys is perhaps a little too far for the Sunday morning walk.

Disappointment For Travelling Twitchers!

Image courtesy of the RSPCA picture library.

TWELVE travelling twitchers were left pecked off after journeying south to glimpse Esher Rugby Club’s infamous parakeets — only to discover they had moved home.

The Burbage Bird Club from Leicestershire visited the borough via several other ornithological hotspots on February 24, hoping to round off their day by seeing Esher’s colourful birdlife.

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The exotic ring-necked parakeets, which hail from India, roosted in the club’s poplar trees for many years, becoming a much-loved fixture among staff and spectators alike. There were an estimated 4,000 in the flock.

However, after arriving at the club in Molesey Road, Hersham, the birdwatchers found the trees had been hacked to a fraction of their height and had their branches lopped off.

Barbara Rodgers from the Burbage Bird Club, said: “It had obviously been done that week because we could smell the sawdust.

“We saw a couple who had come down from Edinburgh to see the spectacle. We waited and waited until it got dark and saw just one parakeet, which seemed as mystified as ourselves.

“We birdwatchers are a gentle people, but we were so angry. It was a sombre drive home after an otherwise lovely day.

“Who is the non-brainer who agreed to fell these trees?”

As reported in December’s News & Mail, the club decided to chop down the 90ft trees after one toppled on to an ambulance while StJohn Ambulance workers were treating a youngster with a sprained ankle inside.

No one was injured in the freak incident, caused by gale-force winds on the day.

Speaking on behalf of Esher Rugby Club, Tim Bale said the action to lop the trees before they are removed entirely in the summer was taken “with regret”.

But he added: “We have a duty of care to our members and visitors and this is now essential on health and safety grounds.

“In the past five years, four trees have blown down. Again, it is fortunate that no one has been hurt so far but these are huge trees and the potential for harm is obvious.

“One fell on the electricity substation and caused severe damage. They are also close to a bridle path and playing fields. As a responsible club, we cannot risk any further incidents.”

Since waving farewell to Elmbridge, the parakeets have been spotted in several locations, including Box Hill and Ewell.

Esher Rugby Club, the Surrey Bird Club and the British Trust of Ornithology all conceded they did not know whether the birds had set up a permanent roost elsewhere.

Phil Lee kindly picked me up from Nottingham at 2.00am on Saturday morning and we rendezvoused with the rest of the Burbage Birders at Watford Gap services shortly afterwards.

The cars were dumped at Luton airport and we settled in to wait for our 0640 Easyjet flight to Madrid. The seats were surprisingly comfortable and I slept all the way!

In Madrid, we collected three hire vehicles and after a short while were negotiating Madrid’s orbital motorway. Amazingly, all three cars stuck together and were soon heading south-west to Extremadura.

As we went, Spotted Starlings, Red Kites, White Storks, Magpies and a lone Green Woodpecker brightened up the journey. We finally stopped near Saucedilla at Arrocampo Reservoir for a picnic lunch in the warm sunshine.

This was an excellent taster for our week of Spanish birding to come: Spotted Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper, Teal, Snipe and White Wagtails kept us entertained while we munched on the food we had purchased from the airport. Several Azure-winged Magpies flitted among the trees in the background but none showed well.

Suddenly, I noticed a stunning male Garganey on the small pool behind us. Where had that come from?! Several Griffon Vultures glided over the farms in the distance.

We drove a little further and found a Purple Swamp-Hen in the reeds and an obliging Zitting Cisticola, which uncharacteristically posed for a few minutes in front of us.

It was time to make the short drive to our accommodation for the week in San Clemente, pausing only to admire the town of Trujillo on the hill to our right. Claudia greeted us at El Recuerdo as did the energetic dog, Morro.

Three of us (Phil, Vicki and I) were staying a few yards up the track at Las Torres but we joined the main group for a lovely evening meal back at Claudia’s at 7.00pm. The local red wine flowed freely, including across Ellen’s nice yellow cardigan! The evening’s bird log was a lively affair to say the least.

I was itching to show the group the delights of Parque Naturel de Monfragűe but it would be crowded on a Sunday so I opted for a local walk to see some of the commoner species in the area combined with an afternoon drive to try and see the last of the wintering Cranes.

The Las Torres contingent set off one way and the San Clemente lot the other, meeting somewhere in the middle. Progress was slow due to the number of birds to sort through!

The fields and bushes were filled with Hoopoes, Serins, Spanish Sparrows, Crested Larks, Sardinian Warblers and gorgeous Azure-winged Magpies. Meanwhile, the main group had found a pair of nest-building Short-toed Treecreepers and a showy pair of White Storks on a nest on the roof of the local church.

Everyone was enjoying the heat of the morning sun but it was time to leave San Clemente and do some birding further afield. We made for a farm track to the south, where we ate our picnic lunches by a small marsh.

The small pools held Green Sandpipers but the real star was a showy Black Kite found by Mike. Many White Storks were seen but lunch was interrupted when a flock of northbound Cranes flew straight over our heads. A larger flock was migrating in front of the distant hills.

Further along the track, we stopped to admire a Hoopoe posing in a dead tree. Vicky found a Little Owl in the same tree! While we were stopped, a pale bird drifted over our car and I alerted the other two vehicles to the Black-shouldered Kite now heading away from us. We later learned that Fred had seen it fly directly over our car!

As we watched this elegant raptor disappear before our very eyes, Phil found a party of ten Cranes in a field just about visible through the strengthening heat haze. And all this because we paused to watch a Hoopoe.

On the return drive along the track, John noticed small flocks of birds being flushed from the side of the track by our car. Some were Goldfinches but we finally managed to get telescope views of the smaller finches to confirm they were Red Avadavats (an exotic species now classed as a self-sustaining species on the Spanish List).

We rejoined the main road but soon stopped gain to scan an area of plains near a reservoir. There was hardly any water in the lake, scuppering our plans to add a few ducks to our trip list but fifteen pairs of eyes soon found a few titbits to keep us occupied.

Simultaneously, Fred and I spotted a large bird flying over the hills in the distance: Great Bustard! Meanwhile, Ken and Brian found a small flock of Little Bustards on the mound behind us, watched by a Little Owl and an Iberian Hare. Two Calandra Larks finally moved away from the glare of the sun sufficiently so we could all see the dark underwings and white trailing edges. Another Great Bustard flew in and landed on the hill in front. We got unsatisfactory telescope views of this impressive bird but I hoped we would see them better than this!

Again, the bird log in the evening was a lively affair, fuelled by more delicious local red wine (it was John’s turn to have his jumper splattered by wine tonight). On the walk back to Las Torres, Vicky, Phil and I heard at least three Little Owls calling and also a distant Scops Owl. While Phil ran (if we can call it that) back to fetch the others, a Long-eared Owl flew silently over Vicky and I!

The group was now getting into a routine. A few hardy souls had a pre-breakfast stroll around the lanes (usually accompanied by the sonar-like call of a Scops Owl) while others preferred a more leisurely start to the day. We met up at El Recuerdo at 9.15am and headed north.

We drove straight to Peñafalcón and spent a very pleasant two and a half hours overlooking this magnificent crag. Griffon, Black and Egyptian Vultures sailed around the pinnacle, a stunning male Rock Bunting fed around our feet, Crag Martins zipped overhead, one or two Black Storks drifted down the valley and a male Blue Rock Thrush posed nicely on its favourite rock. The icing on the cake was a couple of Otters in the river below.

Suddenly, I spotted an eagle species above the pinnacle. It banked and I was able to confirm it as a Spanish Imperial. Everyone managed to see this majestic bird as it circled with the vultures but we needn’t have panicked. This mega-rare bird (maybe only 200 in the world!) landed in a tree across the valley and we were soon admiring it through telescopes. What a bird!

As the eagle drifted away down the valley, our stomachs signalled it was lunch time. We moved a few hundred yards to a picnic site where we could eat and scan at the same time. This proved fruitful, as vultures continually floated overhead. Phil and Fred managed to see a Bonelli’s Eagle as it flew through a gap in the hills behind us!

Another interruption to lunch was a Black-shouldered Kite flapping over the distant hilltop. It changed direction and lazily made its way towards us. It gave unbelievably close views overhead as it passed our picnic site! To round our lunch stop off, a male Rock Bunting picked up our crumbs as we left the area.

Our next stop was an unscheduled one. A Short-toed Eagle was found sitting on wires right next to the road allowing some wonderful photos to be taken. The bird’s piercing eyes occasionally looked at us in between preening sessions. Another fantastic bird.

We next alighted from the vehicles at Portilla del Tietár, another crag famous for raptors. More vultures were seen but the target bird here was Eagle Owl. I set the telescope up on a small cave on the hillside and the outline of one of these impressive owls could just about be made out.

Most people took a few looks to ‘get their eye in’; others strolled to the lens and saw the bird move! This was a most unsatisfactory look at one of Europe’s most impressive species.

Much more showy was yet another Spanish Imperial Eagle that swung around the crag and proceeded to soar overhead flashing its creamy/golden ‘landing lights’: a superb display from a magnificent bird. A distant pair of displaying Bonelli’s Eagles refused to come closer.

On the drive home, we stopped at the Rio Almonte river bridge to bask in the late afternoon sun and to see if any migration was in progress. Several Marsh Frogs heralded our arrival with their incessant croaking.

Black and Red Kites were noted as was a smart-looking Water Pipit. Brian found a Dartford Warbler and the rest of us wrestled with Crested and Thekla Lark identification. Two Theklas responded to Ken’s CD making life much easier for us.

The birdwatching had been so amazing that there was only time for a quick wash before our dinner at 7.00pm. More wine soothed minds and limbs and the log was again a lively affair, especially as Phil orchestrated proceedings this evening (Muscovy Duck and Chicken made the list!).

Vicky, Phil and I met up with the main group at 9.00am and we headed for a small town to the south. On the way, we found a back road out of Trujillo (i.e. we got lost) where we got our best views yet of Lesser Kestrels. A Black Kite flew up the road towards us before we set off again.

The plains were mostly quiet but a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos played cat and mouse with us. We finally reached our destination and parked the vehicles in a back street.

We spent quite some time queueing for the single toilet in the market square but the time wasn’t wasted. A pair of Lesser Kestrels displayed around us and a Blue Rock Thrush posed nicely on the clock tower.

We walked up the hill to the castle. The ramparts afforded spectacular views across the town and to the plains beyond. Several people spent the time walking round the church, while others scanned for birds.

Vicky was the first to strike it lucky when a couple of Pallid Swifts glided by. I found a Black Wheatear on the rocks below the castle while Brian found another. They both perched together for a short time before disappearing round the rock face. One target species down, one to go.

I decided to walk back to the first entrance, pausing to admire a male Sardinian Warbler showing in full light on a dead tree. I was joined by Fred and as we neared the first archway, I noticed a sparrow on the wall to our left. The sparrow turned to reveal a bright orange throat and flank patches! This was our target bird and I yelled “Alpine Accentor!!!” into the radio.

Sue came over to see what the excitement was about, and then we heard several people running towards us. Soon, most people were enjoying unbelievable views of this bird before it dived below the rooftops and out of sight. Mike arrived just as it disappeared. We waited for it to return but it wasn’t to be.

We drove out of town and stopped for lunch at a picnic site under some trees by the road. A Short-toed Treecreeper was singing from a nearby tree and Crested Larks chased each other around the site.

After lunch, we had a brief stroll and found a couple of Nuthatches. Ken saw a Wryneck dart away but we couldn’t find any Rock Sparrows. Time was again passing us by so we moved on.

Our next port of call was the plains near Santa Marta Magasca. As soon as we got out of the cars, we found three Black-bellied Sandgrouse on the hillside. With a bit of patience, we could make out the colouring of the males but to be honest the views weren’t that brilliant.

We next found ourselves by a river bridge scanning for Rock Sparrows. Ken somehow managed to find a Hawfinch sat in a tree down the river and one or two others flew overhead. There were no Sparrows but a Kingfisher tried its best to cheer us up.

A slow drive along the plains paid dividends in the form of twenty Great Bustards very close to the road. I had never seen them as close as this so I urged the group to enjoy the show. These beautiful birds strutted along, though the male was too intent on feeding to give us a full ‘foam bath’ display.

Another superb day filled with a range of much sought after species. The group celebrated with yet more local wine at dinner. Not many people could pronounce Alpine Accentor at the log!

The group were away from the lodgings at 9.15am, bound for the Belen Plains. The area is so extensive that the best way to cover it is by driving slowly along the road, scanning every few yards to see what is about.

In this manner, we managed to find many displaying Calandra Larks, a confiding Hoopoe, distant Great Bustards, a couple of skittish Great Spotted Cuckoos and best of all a flock of Little Bustards that flew over our vehicles. A very productive morning ended at the Rio Almonte road bridge where we settled down for a picnic lunch in unbroken sunshine.

We undertook a stroll along the river bank. A chorus of Crested and Thekla Larks and Marsh Frogs accompanied us on our way interrupted by the occasional Grey and White Wagtails. Ken found a skulking Rock Sparrow that refused to show to the hopeful gathering group.

On the return walk, Phil noticed a young Golden Eagle dipping below the nearby hillside. Fortunately, it reappeared again a few moments later and circled overhead spiralling ever upwards without flapping a single wing beat. Superb!

We drove to Peñafalcón for an afternoon’s relaxing birdwatching. Vultures were already coming in to roost on the rock, giving awesome views. Phil announced that he had found an eagle high above us mixed in with the vultures. It proved to be a Spanish Imperial Eagle and was soon joined by its mate, the size difference being obvious.

Phil and I simultaneously heard a noise above the crag towering over us and cried, “Chough!” Sure enough, a single bird circled once before disappearing back behind the crag. Fred had managed to see two birds from further up the viewing area.

The eagles showed again, high, high above us giving the group neck strain watching them. To ease the pain, we could always glance downwards at the Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Wren, Black Redstart, Short-toed Treecreeper, etc in the rocks and trees below the viewpoint. It was hard to tear away to get back to the casa rural for dinner!

The leaders had received a request today: could we go shopping in Trujillo? The town is a lovely place to visit anyway and also the best place to observe Lesser Kestrels and Pallid Swifts to boot, so how could we refuse?!

We parked up at 9.30am and walked through the street market to the impressive square. Some of the girls dropped away from the group on shopping missions whilst others spread out to visit the churches in the town. The rest of us stayed in the square to do a spot of birding.

Lesser Kestrels were displaying overhead giving wonderful views in the perfect morning light. Their strange squeaking calls permeated the bustling noise of the square. Several pairs of White Storks were nesting on rooftops, occasionally announcing their presence with bill-tapping bonding displays. Extremely brief views were obtained of three Pallid Swifts behind the monastery so we decided to trudge up the hill to the castle for a panoramic view of the town.

Sure enough, when we reached the highest point, we could see the Pallid Swifts swooping over the square we had just walked from! After scanning the surrounding area – what looked like distant sewage ponds – we walked back into the square. The swifts had departed so we settled down for a coffee in one of the street cafes.

We still had ninety minutes to kill before we were to meet the shoppers and were deciding what to do when our minds were made up by Ron’s voice on the CB radio: “I’ve no idea where I am”. He told us the name of the street he was on and we located it on our maps. We returned to the vehicles and went on a successful rescue mission to pick Ron up (“just because I didn’t know where I was it doesn’t mean I was lost”).

We decided to try and find the pools we had seen from the castle. We were soon parked up by the bull ring where the pools were situated. It turned out to be a leisure complex rather than a sewage works. Unfortunately, it was devoid of any wintering wildfowl apart from Mallard.

We strolled around the park. Many swallows swooped across the pools and a Grey Wagtail and Green Sandpiper were also noted. Charlie and I got brief views of a very slim looking swift with a narrow tail and bright white chin patch. The only thing I could think of that resembled our bird was White-rumped Swift (later scanning of the fieldguides seemed to confirm our suspicions!).

Some tucked into their lunches by the vans before we made contact with the girls in town. They were shopped out so we drove to pick them up at 1.30pm. Half an hour later we were finishing lunch on the Santa Magasca plains while scanning the hillside for bustards and sandgrouse.

About seventy Little Bustards were found along with a couple of Greats and two Black-bellied Sandgrouse. A stroll along the farm track revealed more Calandra and Crested Larks as well as Meadow Pipits and a handsome male Northern Wheatear.

We returned to the vehicles and had a slow drive along the road scanning for birds along the way. We reached the river bridge to find it had been resurfaced since our last visit! Two or three Kingfishers showed wonderfully well along the river but our birding was cut short when the men returned to finish the job of tarring the road.

We ended the day with a slow drive through the plains. More Calandra Larks were found as well as a large flock of Great Bustards plodding along the hillside. We still failed to see any Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, though.

Another entertaining dinner at Martin and Claudia’s in the evening was followed by a gentle ribbing about the species we had yet to see, which set the itinerary for tomorrow!

It was time to get serious! I appealed for everyone to give off positive vibes for the day’s birdwatching ahead. A tight schedule was in place with a set of target birds laid out before us.

We soon found ourselves staring into the usual field near Santa Marta Magasca. For once, there were hardly any birds to see so we had one final drive up the hillside. Mike spotted movement in a huge ploughed field so we stopped to scan. I thought the bird looked like a Golden Plover and telescope views confirmed the ID. In fact, there were about twenty plovers on the ridge.

Phil suddenly said, “Is that a Dotterel?” And sure enough, it was! Gradually, everyone in the group managed to see this bird as it scuttled in and out of furrows in the field. As we tried to locate the Dotterel for everyone in the telescopes, I heard a familiar noise. Phil tried to quiet the group se we could pinpoint where the calls were coming from and hey presto, there was the flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse circling over the field!

They finally landed on the ridge and all ‘scopes were trained on this attractive species. It wasn’t the best views but one or two birds occasionally turned to show the distinctive neck pattern. They had made us work hard but there they were for all to admire: Pin-tailed Sandgrouse!

It was time to move on. The morning’s success buoyed everyone with new found optimism: “What’s next?”

A dash up the motorway brought us to a road passing through dehasa where we could search for Rock Sparrows. Our journey was interrupted by a pair of Short-toed Eagles in a river valley that paused briefly to mate on a crag top! I think this upset the local Great Spotted Woodpecker who quickly made his excuses and left (as the News of the World would say).

We had a lunch stop in the best area for Rock Sparrows but failed miserably to locate any. We did see more Short-toed Treecreepers (on my trip last year I had seen ONE), Azure-winged Magpies, Black Redstarts, a Nuthatch, Spanish Sparrows, Southern Grey Shrikes and several vultures. As we were packing away, a Peregrine soared overhead joined by a pair of passing Black-shouldered Kites.

We drove along the road and parked in a nearby village on a hill. The views were stunning but we were still in birding mode. A Black Redstart posed nicely on wires followed by a pair of stunning Black Wheatears on the rocky hill. A male Cirl Bunting flew past me but it mysteriously vanished behind a farm building. The wheatears were more than enough compensation, though.

Further along the road, we stopped in an area of Cork Oak and had a stroll. Several Nuthatches played hide and seek with us and a dead snake on the road was an unwelcome addition to the day’s list.

Vultures accompanied our walk before Ken shouted the magic word, “eagle!” As it glided from the ridge above over our heads and away, I confirmed that it was a Bonelli’s. A pair of Peregrines made sure the Bonelli’s left their territory at double speed as well as the Short-toed Eagle heading up the valley!

While I was visiting the gent’s toilet, I heard a Crested Tit calling. The group assembled to try and find this elusive bird. It called continually but refused to show. It finally moved down the road and Phil found it a few yards from our position. One or two managed to see it through telescopes and the rest obtained binocular views. Again, this bird had made us work hard but it was worth the effort.

The group had expressed a wish to be back at the lodgings early today so it was time to head back south. What an array of superb birds we had seen but it was still the gaps on the list that stuck in my mind (Stone Curlew, Rock Sparrow)!

At dinner in the evening, Martin and Claudia produced a birthday cake for Sue’s XXXXth birthday! The secret ballot for ‘Best Contributor to the Trip’ initiated by Ken was narrowly won by Brian. Unfortunately, his prize of a bottle of wine couldn’t be presented to him because he was still wearing his photographer’s camouflage gear so we couldn’t actually find him.

Other awards went to: Tart’s Ticker of the Week (Phil – Turkey, Jungle Fowl and Feral Goose - Lee); Wine Spiller of the Week (joint awards to Ron and Vicky); Shopper of the Week (Maureen); Hawk-eye of the Week (Fred); Slave-driver of the Week (Neil); I Know It’s There But I Just Can’t See It Birdwatcher of the Week (joint awards to Ellen and John); There It Is, Oh Bugger It’s Gone Birdwatcher of the Week (Ken); and Trainspotter of the Week (John).

We then settled in front of the log fire in the lounge to choose our three top birds of the trip. Several species were mentioned (including a sad story by Mike as to why he had chosen White Stork as his favourite species) but Griffon Vulture won the vote followed by Spanish Imperial Eagle and White Stork in joint second place. It was interesting to compare the reasons given for each species (rarity, beauty, reading about a species during childhood,

Afterwards, several of us went down to the local taverna for a farewell drink while others retired to their rooms to pack.

Because our flight from Madrid wasn’t until the evening, we had the opportunity to undertake a full day’s birdwatching before heading home. The vehicles were fully loaded and ready to go by 9.15am.

We briefly stopped to refuel and were treated to our last Great Spotted Cuckoo of the trip flapping across the garage forecourt. Extremadura certainly was proving to be an amazing place!

It was only a short drive to our first stop. We were to make one last attempt at seeing Rock Sparrows around the vineyard where the wine we had been drinking for the last week had been produced.

At last, one Rock Sparrow perched on wires but vanished before we could get a telescope on to it. The lanes here were full of birds: Hawfinches, Chaffinches, a male Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spanish and House Sparrows but no more Rock Sparrows.

We then drove straight to Monfragűe to try for better views of the Eagle Owl. We succeeded spectacularly with one adult in full sight, soon joined by at least two fluffy chicks! The earlier sighting must have been of the other adult at its daytime roost. Those poor views were soon forgotten once this magnificent bird had been seen by all. The chicks were the icing on the birding cake!

After we had had our fill of the owls, we drove across the northern edge of the park and made our way to Arrocampo Reservoir to finish the trip as we had started it. A new road made navigation difficult but we found it eventually!

The weather was also the same as on the first day and had been throughout the week: unbroken blue skies. We stopped for lunch by the water tower and ate while scanning the Gredos Mountains, pools and fields.

Several wader species were present including Lapwing, Redshank, Greenshank, Green and Common Sandpipers, Ruff, Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt and Black-tailed Godwit.

Fred suddenly alerted us to a dog Otter that was parading before us on the bank! It soon scuttled back into the reeds but later emerged once more and swam across the pool.

After lunch, we drove the short distance to the causeway. Here, we saw Purple Swamp-Hens, Great Crested and Little Grebes, White Storks and Chiffchaffs but we couldn’t find any Penduline Tits, Little Bitterns or Purple Herons: next time…

It was time to head for the airport. One never knows the state of traffic in the Madrid area. As it turned out, traffic was light and we arrived at the airport in very good time for the evening flight to Luton.

We spent the time chatting, duty free shopping and consuming well-deserved Magnum ice creams. The flight was uneventful and we landed half an hour early at Luton (“please remember you owe us thirty minutes the next time Easy Jet are late”, said the stewardess).

It was the end of an extremely bird-rich trip to an outstandingly beautiful area of Spain. The company made it even more enjoyable and I know I made many friends on the journey and cemented a few existing friendships. And that’s what these tours are all about isn’t it?

To cap it all off, as I drove into my village in Nottinghamshire the local Barn Owl came to say hello as did a Badger in the roadside verge. It was a wonderful end to a superb trip.

Crested Lark ( Brian Pollard ) Griffon Vultures ( Brian P) White Stork (Brian Pollard )

Rock Bunting ( Brian P) Alpine Accentor (Brian P) Can You See The Packed Lunch !!

The above six pictures were taken on our fantastic 2008 trip to Extremadura !

Yes the three musketeers are back on a roll around Norfolk on the first day of 2008 and definitely on a mission. The first bird of the day was an adult Med Gull right outside my bungalow at South Beach Rd Hunstanton.

Recent birding commitments have prevented me spending time in Norfolk and standing on the beach today has made me realise just how much I've missed it. I spent the best part of an hour scoping the Wash between Heacham and the jet ski ramp collecting Bar & Black Wit's, Knot, Sanderling, that adult Med Gull, Turnstone, Ringed Plover and a lone Red B Merganser. Oh yes ! not to mention the 10,000+ Pink Footed Geese making there way to feed on the fields around Ringstead for the day.

Fred Burton arrived at about 8.30 just in time to see me finish off my 4th coffee before departing to collect Charlie Dobbs. Our first decision was abortive as usual with Dersingham triangle giving up nothing." That's it "I said leave it to me Roydon it is for the Great Grey Shrike ," no problem " along with Green Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Hen Harrier ( Ringtail ). From here we called in at various sites on our way towards the coast including The Millennium Scrape, Mill House, Sandringham, Abbey farm and all the fields in between. This was very productive with Charlie showing off his bird call ID, Fred his super vision and my ability to run the lane's with 2 wheels in the ditch and half an hawthorn bush under the N/S wiper. . Birds on route inc Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Marsh Tit, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, L T Tit, Barnacle , Greylag, Canada and Lesser Snow Goose. Finding the Snow G in 5000+ Pink Feet is easy, must be I did it , just remember it's white and all the others are dark brown, "easy" .

Titchwell for the rest of the day seemed the best option and with the poor weather it proved a good decision . Here we collected Cornish Pastie, Bacon Batch and a very limp Cheese Sandwich ( first winter I thought ) plus Red & Spot Shank's, Water Rail (2), Barn Owl, Marsh Harrier, Common Snipe, Siskin, Redpoll, Golden & Grey P, Red Throated Diver & 4 Bewick's stacking in the mist for a landing at Thornham. In all 89 species no bad for 3 musketeers who's swords wilted many years ago, or have they ??

Hi Ken,
Trust you are all well.

Went up into Lancashire on May 24th for the Eagle Owls.

What a day, we had just started the 3.2 mile walk up from Dunsop Bridge
when a police range rover pulled up behind us and took us all the way up to
the birds.
It would be well worth taking the bird club if you get chance.

Dunsop Bridge has a large car park with toilets and next to it is the post
office which also has a tea room.
The path up the valley starts behind the post office.

A river runs all the way along the roadside and we saw Dipper and Grey
Wags.
We also had male Hen Harrier over carrying food and Ravens calling from the
tops.

I'll attach some photos for the web site.

I know the argument will be that they are maybe not truly wild but they are
magnificent birds.

The female Owl is very aggressive and has attacked 2 people, thats why the
police are about and have closed the nearest path to the nest site.
If little Helen goes with you hold onto her.

Despite or because of our best efforts Sunday 1st April will always be the day that goes down in the "not too good "column of the Newsletter. Phil and myself did our utmost to make the trip memorable for the members but I feel that the day just beat us ! 57 Species is the lowest total yet and gives you an indication of how cold NE winds can stop all the migrants in their tracks, even the Red Flanked Bluetail passed on before we got there. The road to the point was closed ,we left late, lost Bern and I had a flat tyre after dropping everybody off. Our thanks must go to Phil for his efforts on the day THANKS PHIL FROM US ALL .

We were a week early for Spurn. The road to the point was open again last
Sat and I had Glaucous Gull and Wheatear and at North Cave Gravel Pits on
my way home there was LRP and Sand Martin and Little Gull. Not to worry at
least we tried our best.

Without a doubt 06 has been the best year on the Scilly's since 1999. The variation in species and direction is stunning. 14 of our members, like my mates garage door business, had their ups and downs ( no change there then ) and enjoyed this magnificent spectacle. Our list includes enough Vagrant's Lifer's and Mega's to make your mouth water-- American Robin, American Golden Plover, Red Eyed Vireo, Blyth's Pipit, Artic Warbler, Aquatic Warbler, Booted Warbler, Firecrest, Yellow Browed Warbler, Tawny Pipit, Lapland Buntings', Bonelli's Warbler' Dotterel, Richards Pipit, Med Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Wryneck, Bluethroat, Short Toed Lark, Black Redstart, Pied Wheatear plus many many more!! Along with all that came the BBC Wildlife camera unit who filmed the two best looking birders on the Island namely Neil Glenn and of course myself for two day's . We had a great time with them and hopefully the 30min program will be shown early next year ( eat your heart out "Oddie" )

What a tremendous day I had swanning around the reservoirs of Northampton with John L + Fred B, Ellen S, Bob and Wendy Roberts and Tony Eaton. We attempted the impossible and did it. Not only did we do it but we did it in STYLE!

Shawell Gravel Pits gave us Green Sand, Common Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Lesser Black Back, Green Woodpecker, Swallow, House Martin, Skylark and common buzzard.

Next stop Stanford Res for Great Spotted Wood, Pochard, Long Tailed Tit, Grey Wag, Coal Tit, Tufted Duck, Greylag G, Canada G and a White Fronted/greylag x G. A short stop at the row of Beech trees on the road to Welford for Brambling was a little optimistic , but you can never tell as the years have proved.

I'll bet there's plenty of you that have never been to Holowell Res. It can be excellent on the right day but this was one of it's average one's. Much of what we had seen before plus flocks of migrating Swallows and House Martins + Common Buzzard. We shall return in the winter months and remember it's only 2 weeks ago when we had Black Tern here.

With time marching on we decided to miss out Ravensthorpe and go straight to flagship of the Northamptonshire's Reservoirs, Pitsford, and just as we arrived the heavens opened. Fortunately it didn't last too long giving us a plenty of time for a superb afternoon in the hides on the reserve. It was a real treat to find A juvenile Little Stint on the waters edge close to the 1st hide along with Black Tailed Godwit, Greater BB, Red Necked Grebe , Black Necked Grebe, Redshank, Common Snipe, Gargany in eclipse, Pintail, Common Teal, Ringed Plover, Common Gull and loads of Pied Wag's.

Just the one day trawling around these Reservoirs can be very rewarding . I will definitely be doing it again this winter." Watch this space"

THE CAST: Neil, Charlie, Fred, Ken, Mike, Archie, Vicky, Ellen, Sue, Rose, Maureen J ,Sarah with a brief appearance by Di

Everyone arrived on time at Ken’s house at 6.00am, just in time to hear a Tawny Owl calling: a good start to the weekend!

After an uneventful ride to Hunstanton via Heacham to pick up the Titchwell Toff, punctuated by more Pheasants than many of us had seen in one trip before, we dropped the luggage at the hotel and met Sarah, the last of the group to be picked up.

We were at Titchwell by 9.00am and decided to march to the beach in time for high tide, when the waders and seaduck would be closer. The only stop was to try and see a Cetti’s Warbler that was singing from the reeds. No such luck!

The sea was covered in sea duck, mostly Common Scoters, and the beach held several species of waders: what to look at first?! Two female Eiders were close inshore but fast asleep. Several Long-tailed Ducks showed well through a telescope and one or two people managed to sort out a Velvet Scoter from the Commons when the former obligingly flashed its white wing bars.

A Slavonian Grebe was found, being hassled by a Great Crested, and then a Red-throated Diver gave adequate views, showing off its ‘snooty’ jizz well. A few Red-breasted Mergansers were displaying out at sea (bobbing their heads up and down and diving frequently) and a lone Razorbill showed for us.

Mike (I think) found the Purple Sandpiper on the beach, conveniently stood by an obvious post making it easy to direct the rest of the group onto it. Not even Rose’s head dive into the sand could distract us from this attractive wader!

We moved into a better position to scan the waders. Several Sanderlings scuttled along the tideline but the Bar-tailed Godwits and Knot were all fast asleep. By this time, hunger was drawing us back to the minibus. The stroll back to the car park produced a few Snipe, Brent Geese, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff, Avocets and hundreds of Golden Plovers on the pools and a distant Marsh Harrier.

We diverted to see a Woodcock in the thick undergrowth behind the visitor centre before eating a filling picnic lunch in the car park (courtesy of Maureen). We decided to have one more look for the Bramblings on the feeders. We were treated to superb views of a Coal Tit, a Long-tailed Tit, a superb male Siskin, etc but no Brambling.

Just as my deadline neared (2 mins to go!), Charlie spotted a beautiful male Brambling under the feeders allowing everyone a stunning view of this attractive finch. We could now leave this brilliant reserve well and truly sated.

The next stop was Choseley Barns, famous for its winter flocks of buntings and finches. Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings filled the hedges, with one or two showing closer on the farm yard. Charlie found another Brambling with the Chaffinches but the Lapland Bunting refused to play ball (as predicted) and remained hidden in the large stubble field. After negotiating the abysmal parking along the lane, we set off for Dersingham Bog.

The weather was stunning. The sun had shone from first light and continued to do so. Because of this, I was confident The Bog would produce singing Wood Larks and displaying Sparrowhawks and maybe even Goshawk and Crossbill.

The birds had other ideas, though, and only a Green Woodpecker showed well for our expectant band of birders. We headed back to the minibus for a revitalising cup of coffee and were entertained by a couple of Goldcrests, Long-tailed Tits and a Coal Tit. The Golden Pheasants refused to show for us around the Wolferton Triangle.

We dropped in at Heacham to see Charlie’s pet Mandarin. Sure enough, he was behaving himself (the duck, not Charlie) and allowed us to admire him from the comfort of the bus. The next stop was the sewage outfall for the gulls.

There were thousands of gulls on The Wash, mostly Black-headed but many Commons and a few Herring and Great Black-backs were also present. The main target here was Mediterranean Gull, though none were picked out. Archie suddenly shouted “Snow Buntings on the beach” and sure enough, there they were! They were feeding along the tideline on the busiest part of the beach just a few yards away – a real bonus for us! At least one of the males was coming into breeding plumage.

After a few had seen a Barn Owl over by the sewage farm, I attempted to move the van. No matter how I tried, I could not shift the handbrake! Fred made a thwarted attempt followed by Charlie. Just like it looked as if the day may come to an embarrassing, abrupt halt, Mike rescued the day with a bit of brute force!

We dropped Charlie off in Heacham and decided to end the day at Thornham Harbour. We immediately located the small Twite flock but they were very flighty. Only one or two of the group saw them on the ground but everyone managed to see them in flight and hear their distinctive call.

The sunset was developing nicely, and right on cue a few thousand Pink-footed Geese came into view across the orange sky. A few hundred Brent Geese followed to round off a superb day’s birding in perfect weather.

Our lovely evening meal was taken at the Le Strange Arms hotel. We were joined by Ken & Maureen and Charles & Di (not the Charles & Di, obviously). Afterwards, we retreated to the Sunningdales’ lounge for the bird log and Maureen’s greedy Woodpigeon story (HOW MANY PEANUTS?!!!!)

Only five hardy souls opted for the pre-breakfast stroll along Hunstanton prom. We were rewarded with good views of Sanderling, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Fulmar and an adult Mediterranean Gull just developing its black hood.

After breakfast, we decided to call in again at Thornham to try and get better views of the Twite. Once again they proved flighty, but with a bit of patience everyone managed to see one or two of these finches through the ‘scopes.

On the way to Holkham NNR, we stopped at Burnham Norton where Charlie had spotted an owl on a post. This turned out to be a Barn Owl that gave us jaw-dropping views as it flew past us just a few yards away. A Peregrine blasted through and a Marsh Harrier settled on a bush in the distance. A nice spot to linger but it was time to move on.

After dispatching Ken to sort the Black Brant from the Brents along Lady Anne’s Drive, we drove down to try and locate the White-fronted Geese. All we saw was ONE Pink-footed Goose (Norman No-mates) and a few Fieldfares. We rejoined Ken who had done his job and found the Brant. Everyone managed to distinguish this American visitor by its darker colour, silver flank patches and thick white neck collar. A Merlin caused some excitement as it zipped over the marsh and disappeared through the trees.

We marched across the saltings in search of the Shore Larks and Snow Buntings. We managed to see plenty of Sky Larks but their rarer cousins just weren’t co-operating. We decided to embark on another seawatch instead.

The dunes afforded a bit of shelter from the cold wind allowing us to scan the sea in relative comfort. The Red-necked Grebes were soon located, one or two Velvet Scoters could be picked out and an immature Eider caused a bit of confusion until it poked its head up to show its white throat and thick bill. The undoubted star of the show was the Black-throated Diver close inshore.

Just as everyone was heading back to the minibus for some warming food and drink, I met someone who had just been watching the Shore Larks. Fred, Sarah and me trudged to the far western end of the saltings and were rewarded with superb views of this attractive lark amongst the Snow Bunting flock.

After a leg-aching walk to Wells, we met up with the rest of the group, busily scoffing their sandwiches (and chocolate muffins, Archie. Yummy!). We had concocted a story that we had seen 7 Crossbills on the walk through Wells Woods, only to be trumped by Ken who claimed 22. Neither believed each other so it was an honourable draw!

After picking our luggage up from the hotel, we continued on to West Newton where a couple of Common Redpolls had been reported. As we arrived, Ken already had them in his scope view but the noise of the minibus scared them off. The flock led us a merry dance for a few minutes before settling in a bush at the end of the field. At least one Common was picked out, being paler than the Lessers, and with a pink flush to its breast.

Unfortunately, only two of us managed to see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that flew over the field. As we were about to leave, three Common Buzzards frolicked over the wood and a Barn Owl showed distantly.

The last destination of the weekend was Roydon Common. It was a case of wrap-up-warm as the wind was picking up. Almost immediately, we picked out a female Hen Harrier, followed by a ghostly pale male. Another ‘ring-tail’ joined the fun watched over by an immature male sat in a bush. No Merlins could be found on the usual perches.

Over the weekend, 116 species were recorded plus Feral Pigeon (yes, Feral, Ken!) and Black Brant (currently a sub-species of Brent Goose). The weather on Saturday couldn’t have been better but Sunday was cold and dull (but at least it didn’t rain!).

The group had plenty of laughs on the way and I hope all thoroughly enjoyed their time in this wonderful county and managed to learn a little bit: I know I did!

We covered only a tiny fraction of this huge county. A lot of heart-breaking decisions had to be made as to which sites and birds to miss out of the itinerary. We will just have to return next year!

Yes and it was, just that little bit quiet. Or perhaps were getting just that little bit older, but one thing is for certain, the Island gets that little bit bigger every time I walk it. So perhaps it's a bloody good job no "biggie" was called during the week or we would have all filled the emergency ward @ St Mary's hospital. We arrived on the Island with the usual ambition to quickly mop up the species you need for the magic life list .First call Lower Moors for Blackpoll Warbler and for those who couldn't save the bus fare for the Nott's Sora Rail there was a quick trip to the Hilda Quick and with a Jack Snipe along the way @ Shooters Pool, a bonus for some. Now it was time to find our own MEGA , if that's at all possible with 4 pensioners, 5 Knackrered Twitchers ,5 cake lovers and 3 has been's. All that aside we still managed to get a respectable total for the week that included, Snow Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Richards Pipit, many Yellow Browed Warblers, Firecrest, Great Northern Diver, Hawfinch, Sooty Shearwater's, Great Skua, Ring Ouzel, Ring Necked Duck, 2 Spoonbills, Peregrine with a touch of Saker in it ( Ian Lewington has been challenged to explain Why!!! ), Merlin ,Hen Harrier, Black Redstart, a shower of Siskins,Razorbill, guillemot, White Wag, Grey Wag, Med Gull, Hooded Crow, Black Wit's and Bar Wit's and Curlew Sand Oh yes not to forget Clouded Yellow ( Photo to follow from Phil Lee) and Humming Bird Hawkmoth. I suppose when you put it that way the Scillies wasn't so bad after all. Well done all 17 of you and I am listing you as well!!

Fred& Linda B, Ellen S & Ron C, Charlie & Di Dobbs, John Lowe, Phil Lee, Stuart Emmerson , Brenda W, Jane Spick, Steve & Denise Holland, Archie & Vicky G and for the very last time myself Keep On Birding Ken R

Members on this trip- Mo ( Credit Card ) Reeves, Fred ( Flusher ) Burton, Rose ( Euro ) Mander, John ( Group Captain) Lowe, Linda ( Where's Fred ) Burton, Mike ( R B Fly) Thomas, Mick ( Channel 5 ) Bagshaw and of course ME ( the good looker ) Reeves.

Six "Res" in one day, can't be done they said, Oh yes it can I said, and 8 members went out to prove it. You would have thought that a cold North Easterly travelling across land gives up some of it's "bite" , well we can assure you it doesn't. It was COLD (BL--DY COLD), so well wrapped, fully flasked up! with coffee and just a hint of RUM we set off for the first stop Shawell Gravel Pits, second stop Stanford Res, third stop Rothersthorpe Res, 4th stop Pitsford Res, 5th stop Earls Barton and finally Draycote Res. Well there it is all six, wait a minuet ,what about the birds we saw, Oh yes ! well here they are- Sparrow H, Common Buzzard Goosander , Barnacle , Canada , Greylag , Brent, Greylag, LBB, GBB, BHG, Common G, BHG, Little G, Med G. Lap, Snipe, Golden P, Grey P, Little Ringed P, Dunlin, Sanderling, Common Sand, Green Pec, Great Pec, Lesser Pec, Chiffchaff, Blackcap Gold C, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit, Siskin, Tree S, House S, Yellow H , Reed B, Red Kite, Golden Eye, Plus-plus-plus All the usual Ducks and Corvids , Hot Soup, Frozen Fingers and a strong North Easterly causing me loads of problems up my left trouser leg!!!! ( can anybody find my string please)

Members on this trip- Fred "the flusher", Steve & Denise "inside Lane" Holland, Dave "spindryer" Mason, Jeff & Enid"Mickeyfinally Mouse" Duffy, Bob "The Greasy Chip" Wale, Neil "Sweetbread" Pinkard, Ellen"Claret" Sandeman, Mike"R B Fly "Thomas, Chris& Wendy" Thinking about a name " Ecob, Sue "Never Any Problem" Bygraves, Linda" Where's Fred "Burton , Charlie "The Titchwell Toff "Dobbs and of course the good looking one "ME"!

Our last trip of 04 suffered a last minute change at the hands of a large reserve on the Ouse with loads of wild swans (wonder who that is? ). Every time we go there something's wrong , don't think we will bother with them again. So guess what! we called on our old favourite THE NORTH NORFOLK GRAND PRIX . Seventeen birders fully kitted out and bulging with Christmas spirit, well I think that's what the spirit was ,( Ellen certainly looked like the cork would have been best left in the bottle), headed for our first pit stop @ Dersingham for Bacon Cob, Coffee, Egg roll ,Tea and, Oh yes !Great Spotted Peck, Mistle Thrush, Goldfinch , Linnet and Kestrel around the car park . Here we go, here we go, here we go! And we did . First lap straight to Thornham for super views of Twite (30), Lapland Bunting (bathing) and a very energetic Sparrowhawk giving the Plover flocks on the marsh a hard time. Lap two with plenty of oversteer to Stiffkey Fen and a very confiding Lesser Yellow Legs along with a good looking Ross's Goose ( Pentney's got alot to answer for), load's of Lapwing, a lone Kingfisher and two bohemian Waxwing that called in to tick our members off their list. Lap three, clocking the fastest lap, to the good old standby Titchwell . Great couple of hour's here with everybody enjoying the last hour's of daylight. Sea watching produced- Long Tailed Duck, Red Throated Diver , Goldeneye, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter(13), Eider and Red Breasted Merganser. The Reserve produced- Black T& Bar T God's, Ruff, Spot Shanks , Red Shank's, Dunlin ,Grey @ Gold Plover's, Avocet Pintail, "Sammy", Merlin, Shelduck, Wigeon, Brent, Pink Feet( Bl--dy Thousands),Curlew , Hen Harrier,Water Rail and not so much as a "tweek" out of the Artic & Lesser red's. Last Lap, Flat out toward's home , the Christmas light's @ Eye and the Chequered Flag.

The following story is one that just must be told. As a part time betting man I would say the odds on all these things happening on just one trip would be at least 500000 to 1. Who could say that with all my careful preparation, I would lose the airline tickets within half an hour of arriving at Penzance! enlist the help of the local "plod", be overweight with the luggage! thought it would be a quiet year! and be stranded for two day's because of terrible weather, I certainly didn't.

Members on this 7 to 9 day comedy outing were- Phil "man of steel" Lee, John "group captain " Lowe, Charlie "the Titchwell Toff" Dobbs, Fred "the flusher" Burton, Dave&Pauline" spin dryer" Mason , Linda "where's Fred" Burton , Steve & Denise" inside lane" Holland & myself Ken" the good looking one "Reeves, well it is my report!

It all got off to a bad start when an un-named birder at the Hayle insisted a euro Teal with a bit of down showing in the breeze was a green winged, I can't see it, I can't see it I said, trying in a polite way to make him realise his mistake, did he?. did he hell. So after slitting the tyres & smashing the screen on the Espace We made our way to St Ives only to be confronted with a car park attendant at the Lighthouse who had suffered a charisma By-Pass .Full, Full, Full he shouted, then proceeded to give us a super" Gorilla" impression. So picking the dead flies off my glasses, remember the smashed screen! we made our way to meet up with Phil ,that didn't happen either, we missed him twice and had a very quiet day. Even the "wring it's neck " at Lands End didn't show. But the best was left till last when at Sennen we discovered a 2nd winter Med Gull along with 9 Purple Sands ,passing Razorbills, a tasty piece of carrot cake at the cafe and a carpet of Turnstones.

Saturday dawned after a long sleepless night wondering where the tickets had vanished too! And guess what! they were in the bedroom( S-D IT). So with the afterburners glowing and only hours to spare we arrived for our 15 Mins flight to the birders MECCA , the SCILLY'S This must be my ------ time , put it this way I can remember when the Hotel on St Martins was only a glint in the developers eye. Courser, Courser, Courser was the cry and the skybus driver duly obliged by dropping us at the golf course. What a bird ! truly magnificent, a moving experience understood only by the true birder and Steve Young who spent so much time up there he 's been given life membership at the club.

Sunday Courser over, where too now was the cry! Bhryer for Ortolan bunting and Lesser Poll's was the shout, and why not we all said. It turned out to be a really good day with great views of the OB and Poll's along with Buzzard over Tresco, Hoodie's (5 ) 2 good , 1 fair, 1 not so good, 1 definatly crap) and the long staying Artic Skua through the roads .That's it ,back to the Bishop.

Monday The islands had been pretty quiet for the previous week so the boatmen decided to take a 3 island trip for those who thought they could dig out a "Meg". Samson , Annet & Agnes were the targets , good idea we said as we boarded "Britannia" for the day. Negotiating the beach without a jetty turned out to be delicate job .Ask Fred , he took a great dive, one that Emil Heskey would have been proud of. It's now my turn to take to take the pill , or is it ? After walking only 200yds I spotted a small grey thrush with two Songie;s on a path. The idea of covering the island ground immediately to a halt with everybody eagerly waiting for a peep as 4 birders including the ever willing Dick Philby Tried a flush .With time running out and no sighting of the thrush I beat a quiet retreat to the "Brit" and the ride to Annet. Here we go again ,even bigger problems trying to land on rocks ,all good fun though. Annet produced - A Roosting Short Eared Owl, Rock Pipits, Gannets and Seal Pup's on the beach. Back onboard and heading for a favourite island of mine St Agnes.Barred Warbler was the target and without the keen eye of Phil Lee it would have been missed, thank's mate. During the interval a very confiding Firecrest gave us a display worth every penny of the boat fare. Oh Well back to the "bish".

Tuesday On St Marys for the day seemed like a good idea and it started well with Black Redstart@ the Hospital and Short Toed Lark on Penninis and to our delight a Kingfisher skimmed across the bay at Old Town.The next port of call was Porthellic bay for a delightfully confiding Yellow Browed Warb that not only gave us all great views but sang to us as well. Onward on to the down and if we thought the YBW was good , what about the Lapland & Snow bunt's ,they were stunning !! giving views down to 1 metre, needless to say we stayed mesmerised by their antic's On our stroll back to town we collected RB Fly &, yes you guessed it , called in at the " bish"

Wednesday Rain, Rain, and more Rain . We spent the day around the Garrison collecting "Icky" and Firecrest on Lower Broom ,Whimbrel on Porthcressa, Redwings and Skylark's on the football pitch . Lost Fred, he was not a happy chap when we legged it to the dump clump for Pallas Warb still he got the Spot fly instead. From the dump we dragged our wet trainers back to the , wait for it! the good old "Bish".

Friday The day dawned embracing a very strong SW wind so a walk around Porthloo to the Leeward side of Mary's was a must. On our way we collected , 1st winter Med Gull, Black Redstart and a very washed/greenie/pied/no chance cit wag/only to be called next day as the afore mentioned Cit Wag with BIB, never mind Sh-t happens .The walk around Bar Point was very quiet and calm with a number of Shag (134), Femail Blackcap, Goldcrest and more Black Reds. And I am just not telling you where we ended the day but I'm sure you can work that out for yourselves.

Saturday It was pi--ing it down and blowing like an old "barge horse" so absolutely no chance of getting off the island today. This was later confirmed during our abortive trip to the airport the inside of which looked like the A&E department at our local hospital, overcrowded, hot and smelly. Beating a hasty retreat back to town we were confronted with the prospect of finding a roof over our heads for 2 days , in stepped the Knight in shining armour, well Tony Dingley & Island Properties. He gave us 3 super flats in town @ no extra cost. Thank's once again for the help Tony. Our Afternoon was spent around the Garrison and Town beaches with sightings of Gannets , Sooty Shearwater and razorbill and just when we thought the day was over Philby comes up trump's again with Little Bunting , a quick call to the taxi man and off we went. great views of this little gem was had by all. this certainly gave us plenty to talk about back at headquarters.

Sunday What a glorious day , blue sky & sunshine all the way , just the day to visit the great little island of St Martins. The decision proved to be a good one with Sanderling ,Dunlin , Ringed P, Magpie!! Merlin, Raven, Rock Pip's and load's of goldcrest. Although the weather had improved the swell was high ,needless to say our journey back to Mary's was not without it's ups and downs. Bu--er it just when we landed some birder with no consideration for others called Red Back Shrike@ Old Town .With the speed of light and the help of the minibus we arrived @ Old Town for good views of the RBS feeding along the hedge in bright sunshine. I think the lounge bar at the "bish" looks much better when the sun shines.

Monday At last were going home but not till 3.30pm, still in my experience something always turn's up at the last minuit .Sitting quietly on a seat @ Porthmellon this possibilty seemed very remote, wrong , wrong, wrong OVENBIRD , TAXI, RUN LIKE HELL, SWEAR, SWEAT, GASP FOR BREATH , familiar words and with only an hour to spare before the flight home.But we did it , not good , but we did it . This year will go down in history as the week of two ends, Courser one end ,Ovenbird the other and very little to shout about in between. Still there's always next year! And be certain of one thing ,we will be there!!

This was the last in a series of educational walks arranged by Hinckley and Bosworth Council to commerate the canal bi-centenary. Our job was to walk the canal towpath from Bosworth to Carlton looking for all the bird life en route. Canal towpaths at this time of the year are not bursting with bird life, but despite this we still managed to see- Common Buzzard, Red Kite, Barn Swallow, House Martin , Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Bullfinch, Goldcrest Mistle Thrush ( family) , Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Because of prior commitments namely waiting for the autumn "MEGA", Legging it around the Scillies for a "MEGA" and cutting the grass for my long suffering wife we will not be leading any walks until Boxing Day. See you then . Keep on Birding! Ken R.

A creditable 11 birders braved the "lousy" weather forecast to boost their life list and see the magnificent Montagues "arrier". Our first stop on Sat at Blatherwyck was rewarded with close views of Red Kite , Common Buzzard, Common Tern and Black Swan, Who said Black Swan? Needless to say they walked home!

We were invited to the first days opening of the Frampton Marsh "Arrier " watchpoint , pity they didn't show even after we had the courtesy to show up ! With the rain approaching I decided to make a hurried excursion to another site known only to myself and 10,000 other birders on the Wash, we were rewarded with stunning views of an adult Montague's Harrier hunting the fields behind us ( please ask the 10,000 other birders where the site is "cos" i'm not telling you.). After settling ourselves into the Sunningdale Hotel at Hunstanton and a fish & chip meal at 77 South Beach Rd we headed for Dersingham Bog for the Nightjars the Woodcocks and the dreaded Mozie's. It was one of those quiet evenings with only 2 good views of nightjar and 1 of the illusive Woodcock. The night unfolded into a story that will be told (no doubt ) at a later date. Sunday dawned raining first thing only to clear 1hr later into bright sunshine. With my foot to the boards we headed for the "brek's " . What a great day with Golden O's, Hobby, Stone Curlew , woodlark ,Spot Fly, Green Woodpecker, Curlew Sand , Ruff ( with collar ) and Bittern.Dragonflys @ Lakenheath were - Hairy, Brown Hawker ,4Spot, Black Tailed Skimmer and Southern Hawker .

The Nightingale feeding young and Ellen's attempts to see the very rapid Kingfisher flying past the Hide kept us all amused @ Paxton Pits or were we tired , don't ask me I was asleep. Many Thanks to you all , you are all worth your money .

The day of the famous 5 , yes the famous and why not, we were the silly bu---rs trawling around Norfolk grinding out the raptors in decidedly dodgy weather .Our first stop a little known site near Dersingham gave great views of Short Eared & Barn Owls. we were defiantly on our way. Next stop Flitcham collecting Merlin, Little Owl, Marsh Harrier & Rough Legged Buzzard ( why we then travelled on to Gt Massingham for the afore mentioned RLB will no doubt be told in a later embarrassing story) Upward & onward to the good old standby Titchwell sighting Kestrel,& Common Buzzard on the way

We arrived at Titchwell to discover a binocular blocking Male Hen Harrier giving a flypast for the tired 5. Add to this 3 Ringtails 2 Barns 3 Marsh Harriers and a sound barrier busting Peregrine scattering a terrified flock of 1500 Golden plovers and I don't think we had a bad day! Coffee's gone, sarnie's gone , daylight's gone , it's time to head for the ranch. Thanks to the other 4. Fred (Hawkeye ) Burton, Jeff (Mickey mouse) Duffy, Bob (more chips on his bonnet than from his fish shop ) Whale & Charlie ( the titchwell toff) Dobbs

It was on a Sunday morning the 10th March 1996 that I saw my first ever Lesser White–fronted Goose. Hempholme near Beverley was the place and as I leant against a wooden fence surveying the geese a chap came up and leant next to me. He proceeded to tell me that he had just returned from a trip to the island of Islay and that it would live forever in his memory for 2 reasons. Firstly for the shear numbers of wild geese there and secondly for the vast array of malt whiskies the island produces. He concluded that its one of those places that a birder must see at least once. Now being a keen birder and an even keener sampler of the ‘malt water of life’ I locked the info away in the ‘to do’ column of my overcrowded memory.

So here we were nearly 6 years on and the Burbage Birders famous five of Ken ‘Mr.fix it’ Reeves, Fred ‘hawk eye’ Burton, John ‘no work tomorrow’ Lowe, Richard ‘digi’ Jackson and yours truly Phil Lee were about to see if the tale was true.

As we sped along the A83 we noted that the summit rocks on ‘The Cobbler’ (Ben Arthur) were snow covered and we eventually reached Kennacraig at 12 noon along with the rain. (9.5 hours travel) As we waited to board the ferry we watched ‘Tysties’ – Black Guillemot in their unfamiliar winter plumage that caused initial confusion but the white wing patch and red feet soon gave them away. Watching from the deck of the ‘Hebridean Isles’ we saw numerous G.N.Diver, Eider, R.B.Merganser, Shag and a solitary Otter and Little Gull almost made us forget about the rain and the fact that we were having to ‘dance’ to stand still on a deck that was by now rolling in the swell. We sailed into Port Askaig in the late afternoon and drove the full 50 yards from the ferry to the hotel. AftTwite.er checking in we just had daylight enough to drive north to the distillery at Bunnahabhain. Here as I stared at the buildings wondering just how much whisky was inside Richard spotted an adult Iceland Gull sat upon the pier. As the light faded we returned to the hotel and noted that now all the crows were Hooded and Buzzards and Ravens were everywhere.

We awoke to pouring rain that was to persist all day on what was to prove to be the wettest day on Islay for 5 years according to the locals. Unperturbed we ate our full ‘Scottish’ breakfast watching Song Thrush, Blackbirds and Robin having theirs on the lawn. The espace proved a good hide as we drove along stopping often to scan the vast flocks of barnacle geese for any ‘odd ones’. A scan of Loch Indaal at Blackrock gave us Whooper Swans, at least 3 Slav Grebes, 100’s of Scaup, R.T.Diver, Pintail, Wigeon, Goldeneye and waders included Bar–tailed Godwit, Knot and Grey Plover. At Loch Gruinart we saw huge flocks of truly wild Rock Doves, thousands of Barnacle Geese (16,000 on the reserve), large flocks of Greenland White–fronted Geese and raptors included Sparrowhawk, Hen Harrier and Buzzard. Large finch flocks fed in the fields and included all the common ones and From the hide Richard (again) picked out a drake Green–winged Teal in the Teal flock and flocks of Snipe, Golden Plover and Lapwing were kept active by the 3 patrolling Ringtail Hen Harriers. As we drove alongside Loch Gruinart towards Ardnave, Phil spotted a Red–breasted Goose amongst the Barnacles (good job Richard’s bins had steamed up). Up at Ardnave 6 Choughs were seen close alongside the car. As the rain still poured we sought temporary shelter in the bakery at Bowmore and a visit to the local Spar shop allowed us to buy some of the Islands best malts for winter consumption by the fire. Purely medicinal reasons of course! As the light faded a tour of the back roads around Bowmore produced yet more huge goose flocks amongst which Richard (now becoming annoying) spotted a Pink–footed Goose and a European White–fronted Goose. We returned to the hotel to find that they had had quite a day of their own. A new road was being constructed from the ferry up the steep hill out of Port Askaig past the hotel but due to the dry summer just how the local beck would behave under spate conditions had never been tested. Until today! It flowed straight into the hotel car park and down the dip at the back of the hotel and had come up to within an inch of the kitchen windowsill before the local estate workers managed to build a bank and divert its course.

The morning dawned clear and calm and we were to have blue skies and sunshine all day. We drove to the Mull of Oa on the SW corner of the Island in search of Eagles. Parking at Upper Killyean Farm we walked to the cliff tops and to the American monument, built to commemorate the loss of 266 Americans from the HMS Tuscania torpedoed by a German sub in 1918 and also the 431 lives lost when the HMS Otranto collided with a boat in a storm, also in 1918. We didn’t see any Eagles but did see Peregrine and Fulmars and the exercise did us good. Returning to Loch Gruinart, we drove up the east side until a gate stopped any further vehicular progress. Walking on we scanned the shoreline spotting Greenshank and Sanderling when somebody (yes, Richard again) shouted Golden Eagle, which we scoped for several minutes over the hilltop. We drove back to Loch Gruinart reserve and used up the remaining light scooping through the thousands of geese including Grey Lags, but again couldn’t pick out any dodgy Canada’s.

A clear frosty morning and we had to leave the hotel at 8.30am to drive across the Island to Port Ellen to catch the ferry back to Kennacraig, and the long journey home returning to the Sapcote .

The chap at Hempholme all those years ago was right. Islay is a special place, full of geese and malt whiskies and it will live long in the memory. In fact I’m already looking forward to a return visit soon, but setting aside at least 4 full days on the island due to the short winter days. In all we saw almost 100 species of bird as well as Roe and Red Deer, Otter and Grey Seal and Richard had seen the majority first. Ken said this was due to him being the youngest. I think it was because he was the only one to add water to his evening tipple!

We must thank the people who ran the hotel who made us feel most welcome and chatted to us at length. Indeed we will always remember the night that the young barmaid stormed from the kitchen, through the dining room exclaiming, ‘I’m on my way to being an alcoholic’ to which we immediately replied ‘hang on, we’ll come with you’! The food too was excellent with whisky even in the gravy and mixed in with the toffee sauce on our evening desserts.

The little woman who cooked our breakfasts, although at times easily confused also had a dry sense of humour. On the first morning Ken had kippers that caused a slight delay. On the second morning he had haddock poached in milk that caused a longer delay. On the third morning has we awaited Ken’s arrival she enquired in her broad Scottish accent ‘ I wonder what your wee friend will want me to go and catch for him this morning’!

My passion for birding is new in my family but my passion for malt whisky is hereditary. In fact my Fathers last request to my older brother and me was that we should sprinkle whisky over his grave. This we agreed to do on the proviso that we could drink it first!

Should we, shouldn't we, will we, won't we, these were the questions we asked ourselves, should we stop on the Islands our should we stay on the mainland and Twitch the Islands if one of those mega rarities arrives After much deliberation and a trip to the Building Society for an extension on the mortgage , we decided to spend the extra and stay on those glorious Islands, after all its always the odd years that are the best, remember '79 '87 '97 & '99 and now '03. Arriving on the Island mid morning Thursday we were jogged into immediate action by the arrival of a Bobolink on Bhryer, a great bird that gave excellent views to the gathered throng. Friday was the day to catch up with that stunning Grey Cheek Thrush, and what a little cracker that was , a real classic of a bird , my 5th but a 1st for the other 7 members, not a bad start for the 1st two days. Saturday was definitely a day to look towards the east with Pallas Warbler, Rustic Bunting, Lapland Bunting and Tawny Pipit, throw in as many Firecrests as I have ever seen, a sprinkling of YBW's a well marked Wimbrel, and Liz McCoulgan would have been proud of us on our marathon around St Mary's. Sunday was our dip day, isn't it strange that every year we fall for the same old cry of Great Snipe, but we never see it, wonder why? Still our consolation prize for the day was a superbly marked Siberian Chiffchaff at Carn Friers lane. Surely our luck would not hold, but Monday proved us wrong .What about that Little Crake at Porthhellick is this our best for the day or not, you might think so, but add 150 plus Dolphin, Slavonian Grebe and a Monarch Butterfly and this certainly gave us plenty to talk about in the Bishop and Wolf at our regular nightly meetings over a pint of Guinness. We decided to have a quiet Tuesday shuffling around St. Agnes in search of our own little rarity and all was going to plan with great views of Ringed Ouzel, Firecrest, Y.B.W and Black Redstart, when the proverbial balloon went up. Swainsons was the shout and we dutifully followed but after spending 2 hours searching we failed to connect with the little s-d. Still it certainly made for an exciting finish to the day. Wednesday was the day we decided to go our separate ways, Phil to Bryer, bless him he needs Swainsons for his list, Mike T, John Lowe, and Archie Gilbert headed for Holy Vale and the elusive RB Fly, Fred Mo, and myself spent the day on St.Martins. Our day was a mixture of Richards Pipit, Raven, Peregrine, 157 Sanderling and a Firecrest in every bush, by now I am sure the Club members now know the call of this little bird. Well this is it our day to go home but as always the Scillies has the last word in this case a super Olive Backed Pipit in the same field as Water Pipit at Salakee Farm. That's it folks we all said, just at the same time as an Isabelline Shrike was found on St. Martins, I prefer to think that it had arrived over night and that we did not miss it on our previous days visit to the Island (Bu--er it). Fortunatly a very obliging Pilot on Sky Bus ,with a bit of arm twisting ,flew us along the St. Martins beach which let me , and only me , twitch the Shrike from the rear seat of a Britten-Norman Islander on our way home (you can believe that if you like)!!!

Our Midlands Marathon team consisted of :- Fred Hawkeye Burton, John The Rocket Lowe, Phil the jet Lees, Archie Bring on the Oranges Gilbert, Mike I WILL! see the R.B.Fly Thomas, Ken damn this Tennis Elbow Reeves and the girls Steph and Maureen. Lets face it I dare not say anything about them. Thanks for your company.

A great weekend was had by all, if you don't believe me try this for size! Sat night 28th June , Woodcock, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl & superb views of nightjar ,a dozen in all, calling, churring and generally keeping those mozie's down. The insect infested location was Dersingham Bog but with views like that who cares, we certainly didn't. Sun 29th, Whimbrel, Turtle Dove, Peregrine, Stone Curlew, Woodlark, Monty's Harrier with prey, Golden O's & many,many great birds ,over 100 species in all . A really good two day's with three of the best birders I know ,thanks lads you can come again !! , .Perhaps Charlie might even open his wallet next time! ( no damn chance of that in my lifetime)

Thanks to Linda ,for the food , Stella for the Lager & Vauxhall for the Astra.

For one weeks intensive birding we based ourselves at the Hotel Anaya in the little village of Puente La Reina about 15km from the town of Jaca. The week was spent revisiting the places found the previous year by our tour leader. These included the viewpoint at Lumbier, Gabardito in the Hecho valley, the sandstone pinnacles at Riglos, the town of Jaca, the woods of Oroel and the high mountain passes of Sanport and Portolet.

The scenery was absolutely stunning. The mountains, the meadows full of flowers, the countless butterflies that I couldn’t name except Swallowtail and Large Tortoiseshell. The birds too were unforgettable and every bird we saw we saw well with close sometimes crippling views. In total we saw about 130 species between the 9 of us and I got 18 lifers. Its too much to list them all but the main ones seen were, Black Kite ( by the hundreds ), Griffon Vulture ( also by the hundreds ), Spotless Starling, Egyptian Vulture ( into the teens ), Crested Lark, Tawny Pipit, Nightingale ( everywhere ), Booted Eagle, Serin, Montagu’s Harrier, White Stork ( nesting on church roofs ), Red Kite ( at nest feeding young ), Bonnelli’s Warbler, Cirl Bunting, Melodious Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Honey Buzzard, Crag Martin, Bonnelli’s Eagle, Blue Rock Thrush, Short-toed Eagle, Red Backed Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Black Woodpecker, Chough, Alpine Chough, Wallcreeper ( pair at nest ), Lammergeier ( 5 together ), Crested Tit, Rock Thrush, Short-toed Treecreeper, Citral Finch, Black-bellied Dipper, Great Reed Warbler, Bee Eater, Marsh Harrier, Sardinian Warbler, Peregrine, Alpine Swift, Black Wheatear, Firecrest, Scops Owl, Eagle Owl, Water Pipit, Rock Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Hoopoe, Pallid Swift, Golden Eagle, Black Vulture and Hobby. The days were long and tiring, the weather started hot and gradually cooled as the week went on. The local people were all patient with us and very few could speak English but luckily nearly all had a sense of humour. Like one old lad in the local shop, when I enquired about the contents of his salad sandwiches I made a chicken like squawk wondering if it was in fact chicken. He just laughed at me and said ‘Si Senor, Pollo’ and then said ‘ you must be English’!

Many thanks must go to Karl Dutton our leader for an unforgettable weeks birding.

What a day! What a racket! What a sight! If you have never witnessed the evening roost of Ring Neck Parakeets In Surrey you have never lived! Every time I go there's always that moment just before the sun sets over the Esher semis roofs, when panic sets in , will they or wont they, and just when you think they wont, they do! 1500+ of the noisiest, silliest birds return to their traditional roost at Esher Rugby Club . Eight members of the club were once again silenced by the spectacle of these "nutters " charging in from every corner of Esher to spend the night in poplars surrounding the pitch! This was the end of a great days birding around the M25. Mention the LONDON area to us rural types and the shakes set in , why for gods sake, we had a really superb day. Our first site was Virgina Water for the Mandarins, throw in Kingfisher, treecreeper ,nuthatch, Great spots, lesser spot&Green pecks and we think it started well. Moving on to Frensham Little & Great Pools gave us sightings of Woodlark, Stonechat, Swallow , House Martin , Sand Martin, Linnet, Redpoll, and Goldfinch, another not bad! Don't mention staines somebody said, but we did! Our last call was Staines Res, cold & windy, but well worth the effort. We spent an hour ID,ing Common/artic terns, must go ,could not find any Arctic's, try that heavy bill and elongated cap, also bill colour changing on one of them, sorry for that! Oh by the way anybody got a name for that large green parrot with the "keets", if you have let us know.

Snettisham and beyond with Ken Reeves and Charlie Dobbs

Disappointment For Travelling Twitchers!

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