At Harbridge we hoped to find the three bean geese seen there yesterday. Unfortunately we missed them- they had seemingly been spooked by a farmer driving his tractor through the field they had been in. We did find some great other birds though. On the flooded fields behind the church at Harbridge, there was an enormous flock of lapwings, at least 650, and among them were three golden plovers and rather surprisingly a knot- a true bird of the coast which had bizarrely ended up a long way inland here at Harbridge which looked slightly out of place among the much larger lapwings. We then searched a field which contained a remarkable 45 mute swans, as well as several dozen Canada and greylag geese. Nearby, there were nine Egyptian geese, certainly the most wild of this species that I've seen in England (definitely more so than the very feral ones in Hyde Park last December!) and on the river there were lots of wigeon, teal and tufted ducks, as well as a little egret. We then found three Bewick's swans, only my second sighting of the species, and a really nice species to see. Just before we headed to Wyke Down, I decided to have a last check of the lapwing flock, and was duly rewarded by finding three ruff- my first in Britain, and a complete surprise. Of course these birds were looking rather drab in their winter coat compared to their remarkable summer plumage, but there was still something striking about them, they are certainly a stand out wader with their comparatively large size and orange legs- highlighted by the fact that the bird is the only member of its genus in the entire world. Interestingly, only the male birds are called ruffs (so called due to their breeding plumage when they don a remarkable set of feathers around their neck, which looks very similar to fashionable 16th and 17th century neck collars popular with Queen Elizabeth I) and the females are called reeves.
We then drove to Wyke Down, hoping to find another new bird for me- the great grey shrike. We found it almost immediately- a quick scan from the car park and there it was perched on the top of a small tree. We got closer to it and enjoyed some superb views. It is a remarkable bird- unlike almost all birds its size it is a carnivore, feeding on lizzards and small rodents and with the unique (and rather savage) habit of impaling its victims on thorns to help the shrike with tearing its prey apart. A further look around the down produced lots of reed buntings, yellowhammers and skylarks, as well as a fly over golden plover with a large flock of lapwings. The best birds were, however, a peregrine feeding on a freshly killed pheasant near 12 roe deers, before it was forced to move of its kill by a buzzard; and a corn bunting, now a very rare bird in Britain having once been an abundant countryside bird. Its decline has been due to changes in farming techniques, and it is one of a number of species that has been severely affected by this. The mammalian highlight was definitely the dozen or so hares in a plowed field on the down- they are a mammal I always enjoy seeing.
Back at Hilifeld, we have had a period of some great species this winter, which continued with at least two bramblings in with a flock of chaffinches and goldfinches that was feeding in our garden. The bird feeders have been very busy, with up to twelve long-tailed tits, eight blue tits, seven robins and four nuthatches (as well as the other usual species) using them at any one time, along with a single marsh tit, a goldfinch, a bullfinch and our first greenfinch on the feeders this winter.
Great Grey Shrike, Wyke Down 27.1.13
Certainly what can be described as a 'record shot' of the ruff- you may just be able to make them out in the middle!
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