Whimbrel and Stonechat at Marazion Marsh

Two Whimbrel were showing well yesterday feeding on the grass bank at Marazion.  A pair of Stonechats at the east end of the marsh are on territory as well.  The female below was very obliging in late evening sunshine.

Adult Black-tailed Godwit at Marazion today

I found this adult Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage today feeding on the grass bank and very close to the road.  Normally this species stays close to the water but for some reason was happy to feed with the Whimbrels today.

24 year old Guillemot found dead at St Gothians

Back in February I found a dead Guillemot at St Gothians NR with a ring on it.  I submitted it to the BTO and was surprised to find that this bird was just shy of 24 years old.  Quite an age.  Further details relating to the find are shown below:

Ringing Scheme:       Ring Number: T77296         Species of bird: Guillemot

This bird was ringed by Clyde Ringing Group as age nestling, sex unknown on 27-Jun-1990 at Sanda Island, Argyll and Bute OS Map reference NR7304, co-ordinates 55deg 17min N 5deg 34min W.

It was found on 16-Feb-2014 at Gwithian, near Hayle, Cornwall OS Map reference SW5841, co-ordinates 50deg 13min N 5deg 23min W.

The bird was Freshly dead    Bird Found

Remarks

It was found 8635 days after it was ringed, 564 km from the ringing site, direction S.

Montagu's Harrier at Croft Pasco, Lizard

A Montagu's Harrier was found on the Lizard on Wednesday on the downs around Croft Pasco pool.  I saw it today on several occasions, but never close.  The three images below are 50% crops.

The species is rare in Cornwall, averaging about one or two records annually.  Several birders with me today were pleased to notch up a new county tick.  It is of course the rarest of all UK breeding raptors with just a handful of breeding pairs in East Anglia and southern England, hence the strong interest in this migrant.  The species last bred in Cornwall in the early 70's.

The population for the western Palearctic is estimated at 35,000-50,000 pairs.  The global population is unknown but could be anything between 150,000 to 200,000 individuals. This uncertainty is due to most of the world's population being situated in Russia where it is not quantified.  The species is a long distance migrant.  Birds from Europe spend the winter in sub-Saharan Africa, while those from the eastern part of the range migrate to the Indian subcontinent.

Breeding and wintering range of Montagu's Harrier.

References: Wikipedia.

First Orange Tip of the season

I called in at Breney Common this morning to see if any Orange Tips were out yet.  Just one male was found at this woodland site on the west edge of Bodmin Moor.  The temperature this morning was only 11 degs so I guess maybe the heat of midday will entice a few more out later.  I managed to get a few shots away when the background wasn't competing for attention - not easy in woods!

 

A few more Purps

These shots were taken this morning in much better light than in the week.  The sun has just brought out some of the purple sheen on the scapulars which gives this bird its name, Purple Sandpiper.  The map below shows the breeding and wintering range of this species.  I was lucky enough to see this species on its breeding grounds in the high arctic in Northern Norway a couple years ago.  The tour leader pointed out a favoured area on the side of a windswept mountain in the tundra, and this is where this bird will be in another month. 

Breeding and wintering range of Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper action shots

I saw about twenty Purple Sandpiper this morning at the usual place at Jubilee Pool, Penzance.  Most were roosting but one bird was determined to feed at the water's edge and in the surf.  Only one bird was showing any hint of the summer plumage purple sheen in its feathers.  Perhaps another month and the plumage will change.

Roseate Spoonbills in Florida

Roseate Spoonbills were locally common in small numbers is most suitable habitats.  They are wary birds though, and I only had a couple chances to get any decent shots.  The first image is a pair of adults and the two below show a first year bird. The species is a resident breeder in South America, mostly east of the Andes and in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, the Gulf Coast of USA and on Florida's Atlantic coast at Merritt Island.  The photo's below were taken here.  They are indeed stunning birds and one of Florida's speciality birds to see.

Least Bittern deals quickly with a green frog

This female Least Bittern snatches a green frog from a pool at the Green Cay Wetland site near Miami, Florida.  It all happened very quickly.  The frog is pulled from the water, shaken to death in a milli-second and swallowed.  We only saw two Least Bitterns, a male and female, both at the Green Cay site.  Of all the wetlands we visited (scores), this place was my all time favourite reserve.  Truly stunning and only set up in 2005.  

Green Cay Wetlands, image by Eva Matthews.

Some nice passerines in south Florida

The passerines below were all fairly common and seen either daily or regularly in suitable habitat.  These are the juicy ones that you always like to find

Male Black-throated Green Warbler - scarce

Female Black and White Warbler, winters in small numbers in Florida. Saw  c.20 birds.

Blue-headed Vireo, seen in small numbers in most wooded areas. 

Northern Parula, common and males in full song in wooded areas.

Male Painted Bunting, uncommon but regular around feeders in reserves. 

Male Palm Warbler, second commonest passerine and everywhere. Some males already in full SP.

Male Yellow-rumped Warbler - the commonest passerine and everywhere. This was the brightest male - not bad for early March! Some were in song.

Green Heron makes a Pig of itself

This adult Green Heron battled for twenty minutes before it devoured this huge Pig Frog. It had to kill it before swallowing the frog. Throughout the scene, the heron never let go as the frog would have jumped away. Because of the frog's weight, the heron couldn't thrash the prey either, like a kingfisher does. It simply squeezed the life out of it, then kept dunking the frogs head in the water, presumably to drown it.

 

Florida trip

My wife and I visited south Florida earlier this month for a two week birding trip.  We covered 1800 miles, stayed in six different locations and visited many of the top birding attractions in this stunning State.  We notched up 148 species.  We saw most of the specialities including Snail Kite, Florida Red-shouldered Hawk, Florida Scrub Jay, Roseate Spoonbill, Painted Bunting, Purple Swamphen, every egret, ibis and heron possibly available, all the normal wintering warblers (most approaching summer plumage), and six species of woodpecker including the huge Pileated Woodpecker. 

We also visited the famous Florida Keys and took the 70 mile boat trip to the Dry Tortugas.  This tiny island in the Gulf is the only place in the USA to reliably see Brown Noddy, Brown Booby, Sooty Tern and Magnificent Frigatebird.  We connected with all of them in good numbers plus saw Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Brown Pelican. 

The Tortugas experience for me was the ultimate in a stunning trip but the high standard of wetland reserves, boardwalks and information centres, giving crippling views of the herons and waterbirds was simply mind-blowing.

Below are some images of birds we saw:  More images can be found on this link here

Least Bittern, one of just two seen on the trip, making this the rarest "heron" (for us).

Brown Noddy, one of hundreds seen at Dry Tortugas.

Ovenbird seen at Key West Botanical Garden.