The last few days...

Since returning from Italy, I have been continuing to (slowly) progress towards my target of 600 species of bird between leaving school and starting university. 

On the 4th July, I visited the Somerset Levels. I started at Shapwick Heath, where almost immediately a Great White Egret flew overhead. The bushes alongside the footpath were swarming with passerines, mostly Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, along with a single Garden Warbler. We reached Meare Heath, which was disappointingly lacking in any waders and ducks, though a further four Great White Egrets and two Little Egrets were seen nearby. As we headed towards the nearby Ham Wall reserve, two Bearded Reedlings appeared in the reeds next to the path, a fantastic bonus bird to have seen and my first sighting of the species on the Levels. Several Reed and Sedge Warblers were also present.

Arriving at Ham Wall RSPB, a Hobby appeared overhead immediately. It was one of at least ten seen on the reserve. Not long later, a magnificent Bittern took flight from a reedbed. This is undoubtedly one of my favourite British birds, and one that is fantastically common on the Somerset Levels (I saw eight of this secretive heron at Ham Wall). Having heard news of a sighting of a Little Bittern earlier in the morning, and with at least one Night Heron and a Purple Heron seen from the same place, I decided to wait and see what appeared. A Little Bittern was heard to call, but sadly it, along with the other two rare herons, didn't show. A large flock of Gadwall took me one closer to my target of 600, while several Pochards and Shovelers. A Kingfisher that flew past was one more addition, though sadly Lapwings were the only waders showing on the reserve. Amazingly, a further five Great White Egrets were seen around the reserve, bringing my morning's total up to nine! A Cuckoo was heard to call, but sadly not seen.

Marsh Harrier, Ham Wall RSPB. This species is one a number of rare birds nationally that has become amazingly common in this fantastic area. At least twelve were seen during the day.

Great White Egret, Ham Wall RSPB.

Gadwall, Ham Wall RSPB.

Bittern, Ham Wall RSPB.

We then headed to Greylake RSPB. Seven Eurasian Teals were showing in front of the hide, while two more Marsh Harriers flew past. Sedge and Reed Warblers were abundant, but the highlight was definitely a single Yellow Wagtail that was sat on a distant fence post. This was my first sighting of the species in breeding plumage ever, and its bright yellow colour was fantastic to see. As we walked back to the car, a Peregrine Falcon flew overhead, taking my total up to 104 species, and ending a fantastic morning.

On July 10th, I had a day out birdwatching in Devon. I had also added Willow Warbler and Sand Martin to the total since my Somerset trip. Starting at Yarner Wood, in pursuit of some of the specialities of Dartmoor's woodlands. At first, the woods seemed extremely quiet, though a Siskin was nice to see, while Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, Marsh, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests were present in good numbers. After some time walking around the woodland, passing the many (now empty) Pied Flycatcher nest-boxes, I had distant (but very good) views of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, by far my best sighting of the species and only my second ever. A short time later, I was delighted to come across two Pied Flycatchers showing very well just in front of me. The species can be difficult to find in July, when it traditionally disperses following breeding. This was the first time I had seen this bird in Britain, ending my quest to find one of the last regularly-occurring species in the southwest missing from my British list.

Pied Flycatchers, Yarner Wood. It was hugely pleasing to come across these fantastic little birds during a great walk through the woods.

As I headed back to the car, I had two further additions to my challenge total, with Grey Wagtail and Nuthatch seen, along with several more Siskins.

Grey Wagtail, Yarner Wood

Nuthatch, Yarner Wood

A brief check of a nearby location known for its Dartford Warblers sadly produced no more than several Linnets, Meadow and Tree Pipits and Stonechats.

I then continued on to Bowling Green Marsh RSPB. In front of the hide were numerous Mallards, Little Egrets, Black-tailed Godwits and Oystercatchers, along with five Greenshanks (my first of 2015). I walked to the viewing platform, from which I saw hundreds of Curlews and dozens of Whimbrels, along with a Grey Plover, two Knots and a fantastic summer-plumage Spotted Redshank. Surprisngly, no Common Redshanks, nor Dunlin were seen (though one was seen the next day from an Exe Estuary river cruise). Checking in front of the hide as I headed back to my car, I was pleasantly surprised to find a single female Wigeon in front of the hide, a rather unusual species to find in July and a pleasing bonus addition to my challenge total.

On the 13th July, I visited Acres Down in the New Forest. Sadly the weather was not in our favour, and consequently a single Common Buzzard was the only raptor seen, and my attempts at finding Honey-buzzards and Goshawks were very much in vain. It was nice to see a number of Woodlarks around the area, along with a large number of Tree Pipits and a walk around the nearby forest produced several Firecrests and Siskins, along with Blackcaps, Willow and Garden Warblers, Chiffhcaffs, Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits. Before I headed home, I searched the heathland near the car park for Dartford Warblers, though the strong wind was not at all conducive. Several Stonechats and Meadow Pipits were seen, but very little else. A small tree on the edge of the heathland contained at least two female Redstarts, which were seen very well, my 123rd bird of the challenge and one of my favourite British summer migrants.

A rather miserable-looking Tree Pipit at Acres Down

This was my final birding trip before heading to America on Thursday. I can't wait!

Italy, 29th June-3 July

We arrived in Naples late in the evening of the 29th June. The next morning, we caught the train to the coastal town of Sorrento (this train is supposedly the haunt of numerous pick-pockets and other such low-lifes, though I have to say that it didn't feel dangerous in the slightest). I had found three species of Swift (Common, Pallid and Alpine) from our hotel window before breakfast, which was a very nice way to start the trip. We stopped off at Herculaneum on the way to Sorrento. Here, we wandered around the incredible Roman town for about an hour and a half.

Herculaneum

Roman Herculaneum, with modern Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Of course, I was also watching for birds. A species with a very isolated global range, the Italian Sparrow, was abundant here (and elsewhere in the area) and this was a new bird for me. It seems likely that it originated as a population of hybrids between House and Spanish Sparrows, and over time it has become reproductively isolated from the two to become a species in its own right. In appearance (unsurprisingly), the males are intermediate between the two species, though the females are seemingly inseparable from female House and Spanish Sparrows.

Italian Sparrow, Herculaneum.

Without looking closely, I had originally dismissed this bird and the group of similar individuals around it as Italian Sparrows, but looking at my pictures I realised that these were in fact Tree Sparrows, a nice bonus species to have seen! The black spot on its cheek is the main clue as to its identity.

Other birds seen around the ancient town included Yellow-legged Gulls, Jackdaws, Magpies, Barn Swallows, House Martins, Hooded Crow, my first Blackcaps of my challenge and a large number of Serins, which is always a great species to see.

Serin, Herculaneum.

The next day, we got back onto the train and headed to Pompeii. Walking around this city was an incredible experience, especially around the thin cobbled streets. It was truly harrowing to think of the extreme tragedy that had occurred in this area, which was really brought to life by the display showing some of the petrified bodies found in the city.

Sadly, we discovered that many of the city's greatest attractions were closed to the public during our visit for restoration work. It isn't surprising that such work has to be carried out, with the enormous numbers of tourists wandering around the streets (many of whom seem far more interested in achieving the perfect selfie for their various social network accounts than taking in the incredible sights of the ancient city). I shall have to revisit some day! 

I tried my best to add some birds to my challenge list, and was rewarded with several fly-over Hoopoes (definitely one of my favourite species), and a male Sardinian Warbler. On top of that, Italian Sparrows were again abundant, along with Barn Swallows, Hooded Crows, Kestrels and Serins in good numbers. 

For our final full day in Italy, we decided to visit Capri Island. On the ferry from Sorrento, I hoped to find Scopoli's and possibly Yelkouan Shearwaters, but sadly four Yellow-legged Gulls was all I could manage. We spent much of the day walking around the stunning, but extremely over-crowded island. In a wilder area, I found a number of Serins, Alpine Swifts, Kestrels, Hooded Crows, Barn Swallows and Ravens. Sardinian Warblers were calling from everywhere, though I didn't manage to see one. Late in the afternoon, we took the cable car up to the highest point on the island.

The cable cars were single seats with a slightly rickety bar holding the passenger in place. It was an amazing experience to travel up the mountain in this way and the views on the journey were truly incredible.

The views from the top. 

Both Pallid and Alpine Swifts were very common up here, though they were far too fast for me to be able to photograph them.

The Yellow-legged Gull was abundant on Capri.

We soon headed back down, and caught the return ferry back to Sorrento. Sadly no Shearwaters were seen on the return journey either. The next morning we flew back to Gatwick to bring to an end a fantastic short holiday. It is now less than two weeks' before I head to the USA, which is extremely exciting! In the meantime, I will be trying to get as much birding in the UK in as possible, and hopefully I will be able to get close to 115 species before I leave.

Between School and University Challenge

I have decided to set myself the challenge of seeing 600 species of bird between finishing my final exam at school and starting my first lecture at University (in March 2016). In the meantime, I will visit the USA (on a non-birding holiday sadly), Kenya, New Zealand and finally Australia, where I will be studying at University. I have also got four weeks in the UK and I have just returned from a trip to Italy (again purely non-birding). My list is shown on the sidebar.

I finished my exams on the 17th June, and immediately set out looking for birds. My first was a single Carrion Crow perched on Sherborne Abbey, shortly followed by a large flock of Common Swifts and a Sparrowhawk. I spent the rest of the day searching for additions to the list, the highlight of which was definitely my third garden record of the Red Kite, one of which drifted low over.

I visited the Weymouth-Portland area on the 19th, and unsurprisingly this brought several more species. I started at Maiden Castle, where I quickly found a number of my target bird, the Corn Bunting.

Corn Bunting, Maiden Castle. Changed farming practices has made this species rare across most of Dorset, but thankfully it remains common around Maiden Castle.

It was also nice to find my first Common Whitethroats of the year. Every bush around the Castle seemed to contain one of these fantastic Warblers.

Common Whitethroat, Maiden Castle

With my first Skylarks and Wrens of my challenge also seen in the area, I then headed to Weymouth. I started at Radipole Lake RSPB, where I found a number of the species that breed in the reserve. The highlights were my first Reed and Sedge Warblers and Common Terns of the year, along with a Cetti's Warbler.

Young Great Crested Grebe, Radipole Lake RSPB.

I then moved on to Portland Bill. It was very quiet bird-wise around the Bill, though it was nice to see the seabird colony, with large numbers of Razorbills, Guillemots and Shags present, along with several Kittiwakes and Fulmars and lots of passing Gannets. Sadly the Little Owls weren't showing and there was seemingly no migrant activity at all.

My next stop was Ferrybridge. Sadly, dog-walkers had ignored the signs to stay off the beach and consequently it was completely devoid of any bird-life. A search of Portland Harbour quickly brought a number of Little Terns, always a fantastic species to see and a great bird to have breeding in the area, along with several more Common Terns and some Sandwich Terns.

Finally, I visited Lodmoor RSPB. Thankfully, the Common Tern colony seemed to be in full-flow after a disastrous year last year. I managed to add a few more species to my 'challenge list,' with a flock of Black-tailed Godwits and a fantastic Marsh Harrier the highlights.

Eurasian Oystercatcher, Lodmoor RSPB.

Black-tailed Godwits, Lodmoor RSPB.

I finished the day on 80 species. The next ten days were extremely busy, and as a result I only managed to add three more birds to the list (Mistle Thrush, Marsh Tit and Long-tailed Tit). On the 29th June, we headed off to Italy. I will cover that trip in the next post.