Belvide Reservoir - 14 Dec 19

Today I made another visit to the WMBC Reserve at Belvide. When I was here last Saturday there were just three Mute Swans present here. Today almost thirty. Here seven adults and a cygnet (with a drake Gadwall getting in the shot). The reservoir is too large for any pair of swans to claim it as their territory and non- and post- breeding birds arrive in variable numbers. I was surprised to read recently that the Mute Swan’s nearest relatives are the Black Swan, native only to Australia; and the Black-necked Swan native to the southern tip of South America. The ‘wild swans’ (Whooper and Bewick's) that are winter visitors to the UK come from a quite separate lineage.

Greylag Geese were flying to and from fields just across the A5. Here one takes off for the fields.

And here two are departing.

They did not stay out long – a group returning.

Touch down of the group does not look all that elegant or controlled.

Geese attract passing geese. Here a white goose has joined them. The bill seems big-enough for it to be a ‘farmyard goose’ with Greylag heritage. It is less convincing as a white morph Snow Goose. In flight a ‘real’ Snow Goose has black primaries. It matters little: it is most unlikely a genuine wild bird.

More exotics. Three rather distant Egyptian Geese. This species has established a free-flying breeding population in the UK and I am allowed to count it as a UK species. Following this trio is a Ruddy Shelduck. There is a free-flying breeding population in Holland but all UK records are tainted with the epithet ‘escaped from wildfowl collections’. Ruddy Shelduck is native to Asia. Two back-to-back feeding Mute Swans behind. [duck Wigeon, a pair of Mallard and a Coot can also be seen in the photo]

A male Goldeneye showing off. Raindrops spattering around him.

Still showing off. Not sure who to.

A Common Buzzard with a very full crop. It has just had a good meal I would judge. Showing well here are the many parallel, narrow and rather indistinct bands on the undertail. All the possible confusion species show very different plumage in the undertail.

On the left a first-year Moorhen next to an adult. The bill colour is strikingly different. The body colour less so. Apologies for the stray twig – they would not both walk out in the open.

Lapwing flocks lollop about and are very hard to capture in flight. One of my better efforts.

With rain streaking down this male Great Spotted Woodpecker took refuge on the lee side of the trunk.

And decided to see what it could find to eat. From the marks on the tree seems like he has been here before.

Tit parade as they wait for the feeders. I find Blue Tits charismatic.

This Great Tit has either eaten too many nuts or is feeling the cold.

Justifiably giving me the cold shoulder after that remark. Note the white tips to the tertials and the white edges to, especially, the secondaries.

Now a Marsh Tit with its small ‘Hitler’ moustache. It would not come out from behind twigs ...

... except to stand with its back to me hacking at its prize.

Last November I found some Trooping Funnel fungus. This is a reminder of what they looked like then.

Here is what they look like now. Evidently long-lasting fruiting bodies but ‘drooping funnel’ would be a more apposite name.

 A windy day with squally showers. This time of year the sun is so low that almost semi-circular rainbows occur even at midday. The complete arc defeated the camera even on the widest of wide angles so I settled for the brightest part against the North Wood. I understand the physics behind the colours of the rainbow. What I have never seen explained is why the sky within the arc looks paler than the sky outside the arc.

(Ed Wilson)

RSPB Burton Mere - 9 Dec 19

On Monday 9th December, a rare fine if breezy day, I made another visit to the RSPB reserve at Burton Mere on the Wirral. The main target was the wintering flock of Pink-footed Geese. There were plenty in the air ... as here ... bit none too close.

In this view it is possible to eliminate Canada Goose (no white chin strap) and Greylag Goose (bill too small). Beyond that .... In real life the calls identified the species easily.

At the back a Shelduck, recently back from Heligoland Bight where this species congregates to moult. In the foreground two drake and one duck (Eurasian) Wigeon.

This Shelduck seems to be starting to acquire a red knob at the base of the bill indicating it is a drake coming in to breeding plumage. Drakes also have a wider chestnut breast-band but that is partially hidden here.

Not a stunning shot. However the distinctive pattern of Shelduck in flight is shown. On this bird the bill appears more orange than red. Probably a first-year bird.

A drake Wigeon ...

... with the rather strong breeze under its tail.

A pitfall for the unwary. In silhouette Wigeon could be confused with Pintail as at first sight they seem to have a ‘pin tail’. They do: but nowhere nearly so pronounced. Separation also possible by the more pointed wings and shorter and thicker neck of Wigeon....

... and from above the diagonal white flash (here on immature drake Wigeon) that would never be shown by a Pintail of any age or sex.

Two of this trio of Grey Herons were having a bit of a scrap (care: what at first sight seem to be legs on the flying bird are reeds!)

Rather ungainly as they do so.

Always a bird that is a challenge to photograph, staying well away from any of the hides and boardwalks, is Marsh Harrier. The long and narrow tail rules out Buzzard. The head looks smaller too. There is not much else to provide any identification clues here.

A Moorhen sloshing through the mud – no feet!

Not a species I see on every winter visit – (Eurasian) Curlew. Most of them sleeping.

Later they woke up and flew off to a distant field to feed. On the left of this trio is what is almost certainly a female – they have longer bills than males. The black shape amongst them is a Starling.

Black-tailed Godwit is almost always present around the reserve. Here is a juvenile with just a hint of orange suffusion on the breast and retained patterned wing-coverts – adults would show an all-grey neck and rather plain grey back and wing coverts. Note the long, straight two-toned bill. This bird appears rather atypical in showing a clear white eye-ring. Normally there would be a short white supercilium in front of the eye only.

The same bird has now been feeding, burying its bill in the mud with its head underwater. As a result the bill appears less clearly two-toned. Note from this angle the short supercilium is evident.

And now it has a muddy face as well.

 Best I could do against the light with this party of (Common) Redshank. Length of the bill is the only real clue to their identity though I fancy I can see a red base to the bill of the closest bird.

It is not all about water birds. The reserve is bounded by wooded areas and this male Great Spotted Woodpecker put in an appearance. Rather oddly it appear the bill is slightly upturned. Must be an optical illusion (or its mother met an Avocet on a dark night?)

Here having a good look around.

A Siskin in a rather unconventional pose – this species is usually seen feeding head-down. Identification feature for this against the light view are the sharp pointed bill; the hint of yellow across the breast; the prominent streaking on the flanks and the neat ‘V’ of the folded tail.

(Ed Wilson)

Belvide Reservoir - 30 Nov 19

Here are a few images from WMBC Reserve at Belvide today

It had been a very misty and frosty start to my latest visit to the WMBC Reserve at Belvide. As the mist cleared this adult Mute Swan decided to go for a fly. Immediately after breeding started there was a congregation of over 100 non-breeding birds here. These have gradually reduced – many no doubt feeding on the many wet grassy floods in the area.

Not exactly the most elegant of landings from these Gadwall – the small white area on the back of the inner part of the wing identifies at long range.

If you take enough photos of flying drake Mallards sooner or later one will be in focus!

A flight shot of a drake Goldeneye – note the white area on the face. Note in particular the extent of the white across the wing and compare ...

... with a flying duck Goldeneye on which the white only goes half way across the wing.

Not a species to be expected in the Midlands almost in to December, though Common Sandpipers do regularly over-winter along the South Coast. Here it has found a morsel.

A clear shot showing the pale fringes to the back feathers and the white notches on the folded wings. The very rare (in the UK) Spotted Sandpiper lacks these notches: otherwise because it loses its spots in winter it is hard to separate from Common Sandpiper.

The best I could do across the whole width of a still rather foggy lake. An adult winter Great Black-backed Gull dwarfs the adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull behind it. This is a rather strange bird (not another ...!) in that the mantle is not as dark as the folded wing tips and no darker than the other adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull on the right of the picture. It also seems to have a dark eye. Lastly while the bill is large it is not noticeably ‘brutish’. (Canada Geese, Cormorants and a single Greylag Goose as well if you look hard).

Another odd feature was the dark marking on the nape – Great Black-backed Gulls are not supposed to get any dark head streaks in winter. The size of the white spots in the folded wings supports the Great Black-backed Gull identification and, though not captured here, it scratched its head with pink, not yellow, feet. (a drake Wigeon has been added to the background).

What seems to be a juvenile male Pied Wagtail – just a few adult black feathers showing on the back.

You have to be alert for food to turn up anywhere on the wind-driven spume. What seems to be a faint yellow wash on the face confirms a juvenile – perhaps immature would be a better description.

Spent a long while with these tits. Willow Tits and Marsh Tits are notoriously hard to separate and most easily identified by voice. Today, with temperatures hovering around freezing, they were not disposed to call and I needed to try and get decent photos to make certain. Here are two what I eventually decided were Marsh Tits. The features to look for are: the small black ‘bib’ – ID guides used to call it a ‘Hitler moustache’ but we probably can't say that these days: and the warm tones on the belly and the front of the flank that ‘bleeds’ behind the cheeks. Rather confusingly this bird shows a hint of a ‘pale panel’ in the folded wing which is supposed to indicate Willow Tit. It would normally be much more prominent on that species.

The pale panel in the wing does looks more prominent here. However we see on the back bird that the black crown extends widely down the nape confirming Marsh Tit.

Here for a size comparison with a female Chaffinch. Many birds here are ringed – there is a very active ringing group at the lake (properly licensed of course).

Not as crisp as I would like but a good view of the extensive black down the nape.

This shows a feature that I had never read about before but which one of the other birders present mentioned – Marsh Tits have a pale patch at the base on the upper bill’s cutting edge. It is almost impossible to see this ‘in the field’ and indeed on this photo it is hard to be certain it is not just light reflection. I found this information at Two Owls Birding Here.  That link illustrates another feature not mentioned in bird books. Willow Tits look ‘clean’ as if they have just had a bath. Marsh Tits look rather ‘muddy’.

All the other photos were taken at the feeder which I don’t normally like to do. The birds tended to ‘grab and go’ and this was the only shot I managed of a bird in a more natural habitat.

I know Dunnocks are thought of as the archetypical ‘small brown job’ but they are a very delicately marked species.

Here is another having a good poke about to get its feathers in order.

Its back could do with a touch more smoothing. The bird’s attention seems to be drawn to trying to read the number on its ring.

Also proudly showing off its ring is this Robin.

(Ed Wilson)