Kos Part 1: 05/05/2011

We chose Kos as a birding holiday destination not because it would provide many new birds for us (in the event there were none), but to get away from the 'zoo' that places such as Lesvos have become. There was rather scant information about the islands' avifauna on the internet, but enough to know what to expect, that is, rather similar to Lesvos in fact.

We based ourselves in Tigaki which is convenient for the saltpan (alikes) but which now is a nature reserve, and is one of only four areas of water we knew about (one of which we never did find !). A car was hired for the week (the salesperson was an Englishman from St. Neots !) which allowed exploration of the island.

The weather was, in the main, perfect for our needs. Daytime temperature maxima were mid-twenties, humidity was low, but the wind was generally from the north and on one day, at least, was very windy indeed gusting to 60 kph.

Greater Flamingo
Tigaki Saltpan

Greater Flamingo
Tigaki Saltpan

The lake is a few hundred metres in from the beach, and the turnover of migrants here became obvious as the week wore on. A Tree Pipit was flushed in the scrub on the seaward side of the lake.

Tree Pipit
Tigaki Saltpan

Driving in to the foothills of the Dikaios mountain range we stopped and soon heard a singing Cretzschmar's Bunting - a common enough bird in the appropriate habitat.

Cretzschmar's Bunting

Below, a rather dark Long-legged Buzzard was chased away by a Hooded Crow - the latter being very common. These dark forms usually show a dark terminal band on the tail. This individual shows moult in progress and the tarsi are unfeathered.

Long-legged Buzzard
dark-rufous form

Long-legged Buzzard
dark-rufous form

Further in to the hills another Long-legged Buzzard passed by - this time a pale form. These can be confused with the eastern form of Common Buzzard ('Steppe' Buzzard) - the latter usually shows a dark terminal tail band, dark carpel patches on the upper wing,and are structurally shorter winged.

Long-legged Buzzard
rufous form

Up in the foothills 'scratchy' bird song seemed to emanate from every bush - mainly Sardinian Warbler, but also Olivaceous and Subalpine Warblers.

Sardinian Warbler
Mt Dikaios foothills

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Waxwings, Sandhouse Lane

Gwd's Waxwings of yesterday were still around Sandhouse Lane. They were difficult to count, but around 70-100 birds. Nice to see them on trees with foliage for a change! They fed on a cherry tree and a large patch of Ivy on a Scots Pine.

Local Patch: Firecrest - a site first

A long expected find by John Lynch - a singing male Firecrest. The sun had all but gone as the cloud and wind increased, the now emergent foliage meant focusing manually. None-the-less - a super find by John.

Local Patch - 04/04/11

A singing Willow Warbler and Wren (taken behind glass), plus a fly-over Peregrine.

Pied Flycatcher

Bob Chalkley discovered a fine male Pied Flycatcher at Blows Downs, Dunstable today. It was often elusive and mobile, eventually, in the late afternoon Sun, it settled down feeding from the paddock slope hedge-line enabling a few images.

Little Owl & Yellowhammer

At a traditional site near home, this Little Owl was sat on a log pile close to some old crack willows.

Two of a group of five Yellowhammer that fed unperturbed close the car.

County Birding

The local patch continues to throw up suprises - this time a Greater Flamingo. Sporting a blue and white leg ring, this bird's origins was soon discovered to be Marwell Zoological Park in Hampshire. They differ from the only other old world flamingo by a less  extensive black bill. The oldest known bird is in Adelaide Zoo, Australia, and is at least 77 years old !
Here's a slightly better shot of Greater Flamingo taken in May, 2006 on Lesvos.

Earlier, at Radwell, I was pleased to find 6 Bewick's Swan and a pair of Curlew.

Elsewhere, RAN's Slavonian Grebe could not be relocated at Stewartby, but a Sparrowhawk and three Scaup were seen. At Wixams development fields only the late comers saw a Short-eared Owl, 2 visits earlier in the day were slim pickin's, but a pair of Stonechat were notable, as were two Peregrine Falcon seen together. Three seperate flocks of Lapwing were seen today, and the Leighton Buzzard Starling flock numbered (very roughly) two thousand.

Local Patch - 22/12/10 - Bittern !

The second patch 'tick' in ten days was discovered this afternoon on the only unfrozen patch of water for miles around - a Bittern ! As far as I can tell this is a site first, and just emphasizes how difficult it is for birds in the current deep freeze the UK is experiencing this winter. Bitterns have been discovered wintering in Bedfordshire for a number of years - mainly in the old Marston Vale brick pits, but to see one on the local patch is truly remarkable.

The image was taken under extreme conditions; distance - all birds are under pressure in the cold spell, so stalking this bird was not an option; light - fifteen minutes before sunset. The laying snow helps here, as what light remains is reflected.

Bittern
Dstw
22/12/10

Local Patch - 13/12/10 - Finally, a Smew.

After 18 years at the local patch, a redhead Smew put in an appearance on the lagoons. On the drive over, and despite an hour of daylight remaining, the light deteriorated as the mist descended. The bird was associating with the local mallards and was occasionally frisky, splashing about not unlike teal. The camera was on the tripod, ISO was high, image stabilizer was off (as recommended by Canon when using a tripod), the exposure compensation was down a few thirds to allow for the dark water and give faster shutter. The resultant images were still awful - not unsurprising with 1/80th shutter speed !

Waxwing - 'Seen-from-the-Garden' List

Doggedly keeping an eye open for a Waxwing in the vicinity of the house has finally paid off ! After watching the 45 commuting between Waitrose and Tesco in town this morning, I headed for home and on turning in to my road I nearly fell off the metaphorical perch ! A Waxwing was perched a-top a tree - followed by 29 more in the general area of Vandyke Schools !

The images taken in town were a little better, but still not the shots I was after. There's bound to be more opportunity as the winter progresses !

Waxwing - the Discerning Shopper.

The Waxwing flock in Leighton/Linslade have split in to three camps (based on quality of fruit & Veg ?).  

• Firstly, the Tesco group (56) looking for value for money,
• Secondly, the Waitrose clan (30) after a bit more class !
• Thirdly, the remainder (24) may have gone back to Woburn  !

:-)

Waxwings, Leighton Buzzard

There were 110+ Bohemian Waxwing at the Homebase/Tesco site today on Vimy Road between the Grand Union Canal and the River Ouzel. Their favoured feeding trees were at  SP91682525  and  SP91702528.
The flock of 120 present in Woburn this week seems to have left - all bar 10 - so the Leighton flock are probably from Woburn.
It's a busy area and the birds were often disturbed as they fed on four berry-laden trees, but thankfully they still kept coming back allowing fantastic views. The light was awful and the images taken were not ideal. My hope is that the sun will appear this weekend and the birds will stay awhile.



Bohemian Waxwing,
Leighton Buzzard
10th-Dec-2010



Local Patch - 25/09/08: Kestrel

The strong Northerlies didn't bring any seabird visitors to the county despite being surrounded by Gannet records in Bucks, Cambs and London - there's always tomorrow...
The local patch was quiet, with a few Barn Swallow, Chiffchaff (some singing a few days ago), thirteen Shoveler and Common Snipe now up to three.
A Common Kestrel has been present for a couple of weeks, but still not managed a decent image.

Marbled Duck @ Broom

The duck season continued today with a Marbled Duck found by SRB at Broom. There's a hint of green at the bill base when viewed at the right angle, and the general concensus is that it's female.

Red-crested Pochard - New Site Record !

The local patch warden discovered an eclipse male Red-crested Pochard this afternoon - a new site record. This duck seems to be on the increase recently, so it was always on the cards that one would turn up.
The strong afternoon sun was directly behind the bird, but after carefully moving to a better position, these images were obtained.

Red-crested Pochard
eclipse male

More RBS

Marginally improved the Red-backed Shrike portfolio this evening with another visit to Biggleswade Common.

Red-backed Shrike, Biggleswade Common

Steve Heath discovered this Red-backed Shrike on Biggleswade Common, north of the sewage works, by the railway line. Digiscopers were out in force, but the fear of flushing the bird prevented me form getting close shots with the DSLR setup. The bird seemed settled, mainly feeding on grasshoppers.

King's Wood Heath & Reach

There is a healthy population of Great-spotted Woodpecker in King's Wood. Other birds seen included a Cuckoo and a pair of Bullfinch.

Little Owl