Thursday 30th November 2017

In an effort to catch up, I will try and scoot though the rest of the autumn, with November being just as good as September or October for rarities, as it tends to be nowadays.

On 29th Oct I had another go at Pleinmont and there were plenty of birds around but nothing rare was discovered. I thought I had flushed a small bunting from the Societe fields but in the end, all that I could find in there was 3 Reed Buntings rather than the possible Little. There were double-figures of Firecrests, and flyover Brambling and Siskin, but again no Hawfinches seen.

During the next work-week, I tried to pop out for ten minutes whenever I could, to try and catch the last of the migrants which were still passing through. This autumn was the best year for Bramblings that I could remember here on Guernsey. On 31st Oct I had one fly in and land by the car park at Pulias early one morning, my first record for my patch. It didn't stay long and moved off inland. Then just 3 days later on 3rd Nov, I had a second bird in almost the same place, hanging round with the Greenfinch flock, and then another in my lunch hour in some random fields at Les Niaux. There was a late-ish Wheatear at Rousse on 2nd Nov.

Firecrest - Le Guet, 2 Nov 17

When the weekend came again I had another session at Pleinmont on 4th Nov. A very similar situation as the previous weekend with almost the same selection of species seen - Brambling, Siskin, Firecrests - although a single Mistle Thrush was found. I spent many lunch hours at this time searching for the Glossy Ibises which kept being seen in the fields above Kings Mills, along the Castel Rue des Hougues, but I failed to even glimpse the blighters once. On the morning of 7th Nov, at first light, I discovered a Water Pipit at Fort Hommet but it was very elusive, moving quickly between beaches, and difficult to see well in the strong winds - I could barely stand upright. It was there again the next morning and I managed a poor pic of the bird. Surprisingly, it then disappeared and has not been seen again. Also on 7th Nov, I had my lunch at Fort le Crocq, especially to look at the Lapland Bunting that had taken up residence there and you could just drive up to in your car and take some cracking photos!

Lapland Bunting - Fort Le Crocq, 7 Nov 17

Lapland Bunting - Fort Le Crocq, 7 Nov 17

Lapland Bunting - Fort Le Crocq, 7 Nov 17

Water Pipit - Fort Hommet, 8 Nov 17

The next weekend there were very strong northerly winds hitting the island and so I decided on a late seawatch from Jaonneuse on 12th Nov, to see if I could find something surprising. There were lots of birds passing but these were mainly Kittiwakes (at least 268 birds) and auks (at least 366). I did manage to pick out 6 Sooty Shearwaters and a Bonxie, plus a very late Manx Shearwater. It was quite exciting seawatching, since birds were passing constantly with no boring gaps between sightings. Afterwards, I predicted that some Portuguese Man 'o wars would be washing up on the adjacent beach with these stormy conditions and I was correct. I found at least four, my first sightings of this ocean wanderer. My powers of prediction were not especially magical though since I knew that there had been plenty recorded in the previous few weeks, I just hadn't got around to searching for any yet.

Portuguese Man o' war - Jaonneuse beach, 12 Nov 17

In the last couple of days there had been a Spoonbill seen a few times along the coast between Claire Mare and Vale Pond but I hadn't had the time to make a special effort to go and see it. However, as I was passing Port Grat, driving to work on 16th Nov, I glimpsed it flying west, low along the coastline. I accelerated round the corner, and as I skirted Pulias Pond, it flapped down and dropped onto the edge of the small lagoon. This must have been one of the first times ever that there were no dog walkers passing to immediately flush it, and so I parked up, managing a few photos in the early morning gloom, before it inevitably flew off. Only my second patch record of Spoonbill after my first way back in 2003 I think.   

Spoonbill - Pulias, 16 Nov 17 a.jpg

Stonechat - Rousse, 17 Nov 17 bw.jpg

After the autumn's influx, we had hoped that a few Hawfinches may stay on the island for the winter rather than just be seen as flyovers. On 14th Nov, this seemed to be the case when Wayne found a few in Foulon Cemetery feeding on the Yew berries. They had been seen daily for the rest of the week but were very elusive and only seemed to be visiting the site to feed. So on Saturday morning, the 18th Nov, I went down there to see if I could find any.

It was a nice bright, cold morning, and there were a few of us searching but there was no sign initially. However, after a while, I went for a wander round and picked up 2 Hawfinch perched atop a tree on the other side of the road, outside of the cemetery. They were too far away to see very well, so I ran back for my 'scope and camera. Unfortunately, when I returned to the spot they were nowhere to be seen. Then about an hour later on, I spotted a chunk of a bird on a distant tree. This time I had my 'scope with me and could see that it was a Hawfinch and had decent but distant views. As can be seen from the pics below it was rather a long way away, more at the Dell Nursery rather than the cemetery. So, not very satisfactory, but at least I hadn't dipped out.

The general birding here though was excellent and I recorded seven species of finch, including a male Bullfinch, a Brambling and a couple of Siskins. There were winter thrushes perching up in the tops of the trees and some coming down to feed on berries - about 40 Redwing and 10 Fieldfare. There were lots of tit flocks roaming around with the odd Short-toed Treecreeper. And the biggest surprise of all, the Kingfisher that zipped by me at great speed, just missing the headstones by inches!

Hawfinch - Foulon, 18 Nov 17

Hawfinch - Foulon, 18 Nov 17

The Hawfinch was perched in the bare trees arrowed - not exactly close views.

Foulon Cemetery with the Yew trees apparently favoured by the Hawfinches

The next day, 19th Nov, since Rosie was working, I took my daughter for a late afternoon stroll at the Reservoir. The weather had been a bit miserable so we took the opportunity for a quick walk down the dam. As we got near the middle of the dam I scanned the egret roost, over the far side of the lake, with my bins as birds had started to come in after feeding on the coast during the day. I noticed that one of the birds was perched in a separate tree just to the left and it looked a little different, perhaps a little smaller, although they were mainly white blobs at this distance. This bird then flew across slightly and joined the main flock in the larger tree. As it flew, I got the jizz of a Cattle Egret from it and was pretty sure that's what it was. I could see it perched - the highest one in the tree - but I just couldn't get any detail on the bill at this distance. I decided to take plenty of photos and, as she was getting impatient, we carried on with our walk. Returning to the dam, I was sure it was still there, but again could not be sure. Back at the car, I looked at the camera scree, eventually found a photo which showed the bill in profile and, even though it was difficult to be sure on the small screen, was happy that it was a Cattle Egret. I did get the 'scope out of the car and set it up to get a proper view but the bird had now moved down into a hidden position.

As I put down the tripod, I picked up a couple of large birds moving west to our south. Putting the bins on them, I was surprised to see that they were two Glossy Ibises! So quite a productive late afternoon stroll.

Cattle Egret - Reservoir, 19 Nov 17

The final bit of rare bird excitement of the month was a Whooper Swan which was discovered in the fields along Rue des Hougues (Castel) on 24th Nov, the same area that the Glossy Ibises had been hanging out. This was just a few minutes from work and so I popped along to see it. This is still a pretty good rarity here but seems to be increasing with birds seen now for three years in a row.

Whooper Swan - Rue des Hougues, Castel, 24 Nov 17

Whooper Swan - Rue des Hougues, Castel, 24 Nov 17

As can be seen, I have been trying to use the video facility on the camera a bit more. I have abandoned the previous video-editing program I tried as there seemed to be incompatibility issues. So I am using the VSDC free video editor which is really easy to use. One of the most important things I have worked out is how to zoom in digitally which should help for distant birds. One thing that is obvious though is how much higher quality the video is when viewing the file on my computer rather than on the internet - it makes a huge difference. So, even though it may take longer to load up, it is worth clicking on the highest HD setting possible when viewing my videos on this website or youtube.

Friday 27th October 2017

Friday 27th October was the last day of my half-term holiday and would prove to be a memorable day's birding on the island. I decided to head up to Pleinmont as my main target was to try and see any Hawfinches passing through. There had been an unprecedented passage of Hawfinches through the island in the last week or so but, due to work and other commitments, I had not had a sniff. The number of Hawfinches seen this month was about three times the total ever seen on Guernsey and was associated with a big influx into the UK from the continent.

I arrived on the headland pretty early to see a huge Marsh Harrier feeding on a dead rabbit on the road in front of the car. I was able to watch it pretty close until if flew. I parked up by the scramble track and had a cuppa from the flask. I could see that there was plenty of birds around as I waited, with lots of Chaffinches, Redwings and Song Thrushes flying below the cloudy skies. I headed off towards the Societe fields and started noting the odd small Skylark flock moving over. Looking further ahead, a flock of Starlings dropped down onto the lawn of Mabel's Cottage and I was sure I saw something pale flash down with them. I could not see the lawn due to the hedge but as I approached the flock flew back up onto the cottage roof and there, as the birds posed for a line-up, I could see there was a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling with them. That wasn't bad, the first rarity after just a few minutes of looking and the second Rosy Starling I've found this year! It was very elusive though and only was seen a couple more times during the next 20 minutes and then never again - an unusually short-staying bird.

Rose-coloured Starling - Pleinmont, 27 Oct 17

Buoyed by this great start, I carried on scouring the top fields and hedges - it felt very "rare" today. There were so many Song Thrushes bursting out of every piece of Blackthorn scrub that I came to, along with lots of Redwing and Blackbirds with a single Fieldfare going over. I was particularly noting the smaller birds that were passing in case one was a Hawfinch, but each one I focussed on was a Chaffinch. In amongst these however, unsurprisingly, called the odd Brambling. I couldn't find anything else rare on the outer headland but there was a notable influx of Stonechats and my first Black Redstart of the winter on the cliff edge.

During this walk round, I received a grapevine alert about a flock of 10 probable Glossy Ibises flying east over Fort Doyle early morning! Blimey! That would only be the second island record and no one has them on their list. However, since Fort Doyle is literally the furthest point away from where I was standing, and the birds were flying the wrong direction, I thought it was sensible to just continue on my way and hope for more news.

As stuff was still moving overhead I continued on to check the fields of Mont Herault. More of the same, including more flocks of Skylark, at least a hundred birds altogether, but most were not staying. As the morning progressed, huge flocks of Woodpigeon kept appearing from the north - there must have been thousands moving that morning. A Golden Plover called and circled the fields but I was disappointed not to find anything scarce. Apart from Stonechats and a single Wheatear, there was not much on the deck to search through, and identifying rarities from specks flying high above isn't the easiest. As I headed back west towards the car I was sure I saw a Hawfinch pass low over the trees by the roadside, but I'd picked it up after it had passed me and could not, hand on heart, say it definitely was one. 

As I crossed the scramble track, I received a phone call from Mark G that the Glossy Ibis flock had just been spotted on the Old Aerodrome at L'Eree! Luckily, I had returned close enough to the car for it to be visible and was able to pile in and screech away within minutes. I broke the land speed record along Rocquaine coast road and pulled up at the triangle to tick off GLOSSY IBIS for my island lift. Superb!  

Glossy Ibises - L'Eree, 27 Oct 17 a.jpg

Glossy Ibises - L'Eree, 27 Oct 17

It was especially pleasant to have a nice straightforward twitch - no searching for the bird, as they were bloney obvious, and they were always on show. Lots of people arrived and it was nice to see everyone enjoying the birds, a species we had been awaiting for quite a while now. Despite the regularity that they have been turning up in the UK, Guernsey has been surprisingly empty of ibises. There was a single-observer record a few autumns ago but that's been it - so it was a tick for everyone (well, everyone who wasn't having to be at work!). Also on the Aerodrome was a Ruff and a few Lapwing.

The Glossy Ibis twitch

After a while, I decided to continue up at Pleinmont since I had not covered any of the valleys yet. When I arrived up there I received a message that the ibises had flown off soon after I had left. So, if it wasn't my half-term week, I would have probably missed them as they didn't stay into my usual lunch hour. [As it happens, there would be plenty of chances to catch up with them over the next few weeks, but at least I avoided the stress of trying to find them].

There was still plenty of birds on the headland, but not much more was passing over now it was almost midday. The most unusual sighting was a bird circling really high up with a couple of gulls which, due to long pointed wings I thought could be a tern, but putting the bins on it was a Black-tailed Godwit. God knows what it was doing so high over the headland. I checked out Pezeries and Vau de Monel where there were still plenty of Firecrests after the influx last week. I found a Yellow-browed Warbler down by the hairpin and a very pale Chiffchaff in the same flock which eluded me. I also had a couple of Siskin and at least two Water Rails calling from the scrub, but not the Hawfinch that I'd hoped for. But an island tick and a decent find was more than satisfactory for a morning's birding.

I spent the rest of the day at home and due to the good migration that had been happening that morning, I kept popping out into the garden for some short vis-migging sessions from my new viewing spot atop the rockery. There were still lots of birds flying around, plenty of Redwing and finches of various species. I had two Swallows heading south late afternoon, and then, at about 4:40, directly above me and quite low, almost skimming the rooftops, heading directly west, a fabulous HAWFINCH flew by. Even though I didn't even have time to pick up my bins, the identification was straightforward, being a chunky bird and flashing its moon-shaped wing patches at me. The bird also called - but not the usual 'tic' flight call, but a different, soft high-pitched call. This has apparently been the most common flight call heard through the UK during the influx. Although I was half-looking for a Hawfinch, it was still a big shock to actually spot one - especially since I'd spent all morning failing to find one. So two Guernsey ticks in one day! I can't remember the last time that happened, and I don't know whether it will happen again.

Hawfinch sketch

Going back to previous sightings, the day after our trip to Herm, was a good day at Pleinmont apparently, with 2 RBFlys and a big influx of about 50 Firecrest. Although I was busy that day, this did encourage me to give it some welly on my patch during the next week. There were indeed plenty of Firecrests, with at least 5 at Le Guet and 4 at Rousse, plus a couple of singles elsewhere between 16th and 19th October. At Le Guet on 19th there was a lone House Martin and, what gave me rather a shock, a late Whitethroat feeding high in the Sycamores! Seeing common birds in unusual places can initially cause brain freeze and you temporarily wonder what the hell you're looking at. Then finally in the same place, in my lunch hour on 20th I saw only my third patch Yellow-browed Warbler. 

Yellow-browed Warbler - Le Guet, 20 Oct 17

Super-stormy conditions on 22nd, with the wild wind blowing from the north, meant another trip to the rocks of Jaonneuse for seabirds. As it was high tide and the waves were big, the brave band of seawatchers regularly were covered in spray from the sea, and occasionally with the actual waves! It was indeed tricky conditions for viewing but we saw at least 50 Bonxies passing plus a couple of Arctic Skuas and some Kittiwakes. We thought we stood a chance for Leach's or Sabine's but it was not to be (again) - although one could have passed and we may have missed it behind the foamy crests.

The mighty seawatcher clings to the rocks (photo by Wayne). As you can see, I am rather wet!

The other notable natural event happened on 16th when at work. I looked out of the window to see that the skies were strangely dark despite it being mid-morning and the sun was a deep red colour. Apparently this was due to the southerly airflow from storm Ophelia - which was the remnants of the easternmost Atlantic hurricane ever recorded - which was bringing a combination of Saharan dust and smoke from Portuguese forest fires into the atmosphere. I'm glad there was a scientific explanation for this blood red sun as I was wondering whether it was the start of the apocalypse!