Garden Patch, Caergwrle. (3 Viewers)

[JWN Andrewes]

Green Woodpecker calling in Friday, and then second record of Red Kite over towards Caer Estyn on Saturday morning.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Fly-by Mistle Thrush yesterday evening (as I nipped into the front garden to pick some sage to go with our pork chops) was a garden June tick.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Fly-by Mistle Thrush yesterday evening
James

And another yesterday, as well as a recently fledged Great Spotted Woodpecker in the willows and a never-to-fledge squeaking clump of down clamped between the mandibles of a Jay flying over, being persued by Chaffinch, Blue Tit & Jackdaw.

Also headed off patch last night to track down Nightjars nearby with a mate, successfully I'm happy to say, as I'd only visited the site once, five years ago, and we only had a not very detailed road atlas and a new SatNav neither of us really knew how to operate to help find it. Just brief flight views of one of two birds heard churring, and unseen Grasshopper Warbler and Tawny Owl thrown in. Got eaten alive by midges into the bargain. Really must start getting out and about more.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Finished supper last night at around half seven (we eat early so Archie can eat with us before he heads off to bed) and from where I sit at the table I can look out down the garden to where we park our cars at the back of the houses, and on top of next door's little red car there's a fledgling Grey wagtail with its mum! I sat and watched for a good fifteen minutes as mum went from car to car, picking off splatted bugs, and occaisonally flycatching as tasty morsels flew over, with junior occasionally begging when she passed close by, but to no avail. Time to grow up kiddo, and make your way in the world. Then as I headed out to the Spar for some doughnuts (we all get the urge from time to time) just after Springwatch (so a little afgter nine I guess) a Hobby drifted low over, persued by indignant hirundines.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Finished with a June 2010 total of 51, my best June yet, with a couple of Siskins calling as they headed north along the river yesterday being a new June bird.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Had a Common Gull going north on the evening of 17th July; my earliest "autumn" record by 9 days. Dipper singing on the Alun the following day, and a brief Hobby. A Tawny Owl bizarrely calling in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday brought 2010's July total up to 50; my best July to date (previous best was 46 last year). Otherwise boringly quiet, hence few updates.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Third Red Kite record, and second this year, an immature circling overhead for several minutes on the morning of 10th August. Then quite a lively day yesterday, with a Willow Warbler (first record outside of April/May) singing for much of the morning from the trees by the river behind the house. Then a Hobby over later in the morning, a couple of Siskin heading upstream calling, a brief calling Green Woodpecker and a lonely Swift (last one of the year?) in the afterrnoon.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

and a lonely Swift (last one of the year?) in the afterrnoon.

Not quite; another over yesterday evening, and also a high circling Peregrine.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Plenty of Hobby activity recently, with one drifting through a large flock of hirundines clutching a swallow on 22nd, snacking as it drifted downstream, and another or the same low over heading west in the evening a couple of days later.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

A trio of Meadow Pipits over on 1st September was a year tick, a singing Willow Warbler on Wednesday morning was a September tick, and the latest record to date, and Hobby continues to put in occasional appearances.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Highlight of the weekend was a late Swift on Saturday morning; a new garden September bird. Best of the rest was a Sand Martin on Saturday, then an adult Peregrine being pestered by an immature on Sunday, along with three more Meadow Pipits heading west in the morning and a Song Thrush in the afternoon; my first since July, meaning this is the fourth August in a row I've failed to get a Song Thrush record! Also Hobby both days.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Twenty-odd Greylags headed south yesterday morning at half nine, a new September bird, but trumped ten minutes later by a party of eight Golden Plovers heading north! Not only a September tick and year tick, but an upgrade from a heard only record to boot! Still a few Swallows & Martins around, but the big numbers have recently moved on, probably reducing greatly my chances of pushing back my latest Hobby record from 15th, in spite of a good recent run of records.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Still a few Swallows & Martins around, but the big numbers have recently moved on, probably reducing greatly my chances of pushing back my latest Hobby record from 15th,
James

Wrong. Although I failed to see any big numbers of hirundines last Thursday, they were back yesterday, as was an immature Hobby, so that pushes back the latest record by five days. Off again on Saturday, so who knows, could go later still this year.

Highlight of yesterday though was a cracking Spotted Flycatcher. Second record, and in almost exactly the same spot as the first, a couple of years ago, in the top of a willow directly opposite the back door. This one was properly flycatching though, and stayed for long enough for me to enjoy prolonged scope views. So many of garden watching's best recoords are of fly-overs and fly-bys it was such a treat to actually give a garden rarity a proper grilling. Fantastic!

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

This September's turning out to be a pretty good month. Finally got my first Goosanders of the year on Sunday, a quartet of redheads heading upstream in the afternoon brought this September's species total to 57, equalling my previous best month (January 2009), and a calling Tawny Owl that evening broke the record, with a day off in the month (Thursday) still to come.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mostly pretty quiet yesterday, but a real highlight was two Redpolls calling as the flew right over the house early afternoon; quite a garden rarity and my fifth year tick this month! Astonishing!. Also set the new month record at 59. Siskin numbers are building up, and had the first hirundines for several days, with parties of Swallows heading south early evening.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

And four days after a record breaking month total I see two species I missed in that month! The first was Pied Wagtail over, which I'd been seriously searching for to no avail, but the second continues my run of good fortune; a Snipe heading east at 18:50 yesterday evening, yet another year tick supplied by theis fabulous autumn! Also yesterday a lonely looking Swallow heading south early afternoon, a flyby Meadow Pipit (also going south) and a skein of a dozen Geese heading downstream; one Canada at the front, the rest Greylags.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Oops! Getting a bit behind. So, in brief, first Redwings and last Swallows both on 10th October, along with a handful of Meadow Pipits and a sight record fly by Kingfisher. Year tick on 19th October; second Merlin record! A juv/female heading north in the morning bringing this year's total to 74, matching 2007's record. Notched up 43 species on 20th October, with a single Lesser Redpoll over west being the best record of the day. Lots of groups of Fiieldfare heading west on 22nd, Peregrine on 24th and second Mandarin record on 26th, another drake, heading north this time and once more over towards Caer Estyn. Also on 26th the first big flocks of Siskin of the year, over 40 or so. 37 species yesterday, with two groups of Pink-footed Geese heading north mid morning, one of 50+ and then a group of 15...with a Barnacle Goose tagging along! Nintieth species for the garden list, just 10 to go for the century! Also a very late House Martin and a record eight Stock Doves over.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Still no Waxwings for me! And more worryingly the feeders were hardly used yesterday. I have been topping them up each evening after dark when I get home from work, and when I got back yesterday they were still full. I asked Anna if she'd filled them but she hadn't. I've not had a day off to see what's been going on since Monday (when there were birds all over them, Great, Blue, Coal & Long-tailed Tits, Gold-, Bull-, & Chaffinches, Robins, Dunnocks, Nuthatches) but I'll be off again tomorrow, so I'll try and find some time to watch them. And to look for Waxwings.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

off again tomorrow, so I'll try and find some time to watch them. And to look for Waxwings.

James

Still no Waxwings! A couple of flocks of Lapwings though, and a Grey Heron over, which along with a Tawny Owl calling in the evening brought 2010's November total to 51. Day off again on Monday, and I should be able to indulge myself with a good spell at the back door in the morning, with Archie at school and Anna taking Sam shopping with her. Fingers crossed. Again.

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

As I filled the feeders yesterday morning I heard a Curlew calling, looked up, and there was a flock of 17 heading inland. (As a digression birds heading past the garden fall into a number of fairly distinct types. They can be heading "left" or "right" (these tend to be small birds, Tits, Dunnocks and the like, generally toing and froing from tree to tree), "upstream" and "downstream" (this usually applies to anything that appears to be following the line of the Alyn, so Goosanders, Kingfishers etc as well as some less common species like Teal and Whooper Swan). Then there is "North" and "South" which generally applies to anything too distant or high to be thought of as either of the first two categories (although there is some overlap; a high distant Hobby or flock of Fieldfare might be thought of as heading "North", but a Goosander or Cormorant following the same line might go down as heading "upstream".) Finally, there is "coastwards" and "inland", almost exclusively applied to Gull flocks on their daily commute between feeding inland and roosting on the North Wales coast. I would speculate that the Curlews were a rare occurence of non-Gulls heading "inland", having sat out the freeze on the coast and now taking advantage of the thaw to feed inland. End of digression.) The 17 were follwed an hour or so later by 4 more. As well as being a year tick Curlew is also a December tick (indeed, first winter record). Another December tick from yesterday was a single Cormorant heading downstream; the 43rd species to now have been seen in every month. The third highlight of the day was a male Blackcap coming to the feeders, the first record since October.

James