2021-02-01 Bird Watching

ID CHALLENGE ID Tips & tricks ID TIP! Here are a few extra tips to help Warblers are turning up you to identify winter garden birds more frequently in winter UK gardens. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps are most common, but be on the look out for rarer warblers Winter Chaffinch vs winter Brambling These two Fringilla finches are very similar in size and shape. One (the Chaffinch) is one of our commonest birds, in gardens and beyond. The other (Brambling) is a highly prized winter garden ‘rarity’ for most of us BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY* KIT DAY/ALAMY* Chaffinch (male) O Green rump Brambling (male) O Rows of black spots on back O White/yellow shoulders and O White rump O Pink underparts and face O Orange breast, white belly O Orange shoulders and wing- O Grey-blue crown, nape and wing-bars (black spots on flanks) O Dark tail, white outer tail bars half-collar O Black head, variably pale O Dark tail, with limited white O Grey bill feathers fringed O Brown back O Yellow bill DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY KIT DAY/ALAMY Chaffinch (female) Brambling (female) O Pale buff underparts O Buff rump O Orange breast, white belly O Spotted mantle and face O White/yellow shoulders and (dark spots on flanks) O White rump O Grey-brown crown and nape wing-bars O Grey, female Chaffinch-like O Orange shoulders and wing- O Grey bill O Dark tail, white outer tail face ‘lined’ with dark bars O Brown back feathers O Yellow bill O Dark tail, with limited white SNAP IT! NEXT MONTH’S KIT DAY/ALAMY* CHALLENGE Have you taken a great shot of a garden bird? If so, why not share it Diving waterbirds with other readers; send photos to: [email protected] 50 February 2021



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COLLECT & KEEP Every month we bring you 10 more sites to build up your GO BIRDING collection GO BIRDING 10 GREAT SITES FOR BRILLIANT BIRDWATCHING DEVIL’S BEEFTUB GRINDON LOUGH BLACKHEAD THREE HAGGES WOODMEADOW GRASMERE/RYDAL WATER LONG LANE CRAIG YR ADERYN DENGEMARSH JOHN CANCALOSI/ALAMY* MORE SITES WYRE FOREST WILLINGTONGRAVELPITS DWT For a full list of the sites we’ve birdwatching.co.uk 53 featured, go to birdwatching.co.uk/gbindex

GO BIRDING DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY MAX MILES ON FOOT: 4 MIN TIME: 4 HOURS DEVIL’S BEEFTUB Spectacular scenery and varied birdlife PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: DG10 9LT Meadow Pipit GRID REF: NT 072 121 MAPS: OS Explorer 330, OS Landranger 78 WHERE TO PARK: Park on the grass verge opposite the work hut before the farm TERRAIN: Mainly rough grassy paths, and can be wet ACCESS: All hours, year-round FACILITIES: None on site, so you need to go to Moffat T he total area of this IAIN SARJEANT/ALAMY*spring feeding along the way, withCheck for dragonflies in summer,INSIDER KNOWLEDGE Border Forest Trust DAVID WHITAKER/ALAMY*Curlew and Lapwing likely. Therewith Golden Ringed and Common reserve covers 1,580 will be Pied Wagtails along the road, Hawker likely. Check the scree areas for rare acres, and has a number of©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20along with Swallows and House ferns and clubmosses, along new broad-leaved plantations, Martins hawking insects. 4A steeper area up the Skirtle with the odd alpine plant. wetlands, burns (the start of holds several screes, where I the River Annan), as well as 2Park on the grass verge off the found both Wheatear and Ring TARGET BIRDS active sheep farming. The road and walk up to the conifer Ouzel. Both Peregrine and Raven AUTUMN/WINTER history of the Beeftub was as plantation listening out for the tell- were also found here with Sky Lark a site for stolen cattle used by tale sound of Crossbills in the trees. and Meadow Pipits, especially on G Raven the reivers, marauding Border Both Goldcrests and Siskins can also the top. G Peregrine folk including both Scots and be found, and check the area for G Buzzard English families. Buzzard and Sparrowhawk. 5Returning to the start, check G Sparrowhawk out the newly-planted native G Kestrel JOHN MILES 3Walk up to the Beeftub, checking woodland area, with the ‘Annan Trail’ G Snipe the young planting on your running through it, for Whinchat, G Crossbill WHERE TO WATCH left for Willow and Grasshopper Stonechat and warblers. Cuckoos G Goldcrest Warblers. Wet areas have the chance will be found in summer, plus Grey G Stonechat 1Once you’ve left Moffat, you drive of Snipe with a rich ground flora. Wagtail and Dipper. G Fieldfare up a narrow road heading towards G Redwing Corehead. Look out for waders in SPRING/SUMMER 4 5 3 G Willow Warbler G Pied Wagtail 2 G Common Sandpiper G Sand Martin 1 G Swallow G House Martin G Ring Ouzel G Wheatear G Curlew G Lapwing 54 February 2021

NORTHUMBERLAND MAX MILES ON FOOT: 1 MIN TIME: 2 HOURS GRINDON LOUGH A historic site with a great record of passage birds PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: NE47 7AE Lesser Redpoll GRID REF: NY 806 676 MAPS: OS Explorer OL43, STEPHEN ILES/ALAMY* OS Landranger 87 WHERE TO PARK: Two rough areas along the road. Beware of fast traffic on this straight road TERRAIN: Grass verges to scan over the area ACCESSIBILITY: All hours, year-round FACILITIES: The Sill Visitor Centre is nearby: www.thesill.org G rindon is one of those 2Check the fields on your left for are possible, with a Montagu’s INSIDER KNOWLEDGE BRIAN JACKSON/ALAMY* areas where you wish geese and waders, with plenty nesting here several years ago, and for compulsory of Greylag and Canada Geese in Hen Harrier present most winters. There is very little cover, so try purchase – it has so much winter, attracting oddments like Listen out for singing Sky Larks and for less windy days, as the wind potential, and with a million Tundra Bean, Greenland White- possible hunting Short-eared and can play tricks with your scope! visitors to Hadrian’s Wall next fronted, Pink-footed and even Long-eared Owls. door each year, it would be a Barnacle Goose. Singles of Snow TARGET BIRDS great advertisement for the and Lesser White-fronted have also 5The east end parking is limited, AUTUMN/WINTER region’s wildlife. It has great been found. but gives you excellent views of passage birds, and was a the lough. An American Wigeon G Golden Plover former breeding area for 3Driving from the west, there is has been with the Wigeon flock for G Greenshank Black-necked Grebes. a parking place by Blackdyke a number of years, and look out for G Goldeneye Plantation. Check for warblers, Teal, Shoveler and even diving ducks G Tufted Duck JOHN MILES Lesser Redpoll and Siskin breeding like Tufted and Goldeneye. G Canada Goose here, and cross the road to scan for G Greylag Goose WHERE TO WATCH waders and ducks. A summering 6Use a scope, as there is no access G Peregrine Red-necked Phalarope has been the down onto the lough. Breeding G Goshawk 1The Stanegate Roman road runs star here in recent summers, with waders include Lapwing, Redshank, G Hen Harrier parallel to Houseteads Fort on a summer-plumaged Long-billed Curlew and Oystercatcher. G Buzzard Hadrian’s Wall. It offers you a gentle Dowitcher also seen. Shelducks can turn up and when the start to viewing the lough area water levels are low, Little Ringed SPRING/SUMMER with moorland on your right called 4Keep checking the moor on the and Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, Little Muckle Moss. With heather go Red south of the road, as harriers Stint and Black-tailed Godwit. G Lapwing Grouse and Meadow Pipits, plus G Curlew Wheatear on the rocky outcrops. G Redshank G Black-tailed Godwit ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20 6 G Ringed Plover 2 35 G Little Ringed Plover G Dunlin 4 G Common Sandpiper 1 G Pintail G Black-headed Gull birdwatching.co.uk 55

GO BIRDING CO. ANTRIM MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 2 HOURS BL ACK HEAD Great seawatching and more, at the northern end of Belfast Lough PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE BT38 9LH Black Redstart GRID REF: 479922 MAP: OSNI Sheet 15 Belfast WHERE TO PARK: Easy parking on the seafront at the harbour TERRAIN: Level tarmac footpath to the lighthouse, but 140-plus steps up to the top and the same down again! ACCESSIBILITY: Open all year FACILITIES: Shops and cafés in Whitehead, toilets at the tennis courts CHRISTOPHER COOK/ALAMY* INSIDER KNOWLEDGE: T his walk has been good range of gulls and waders as 4Blackhead is an excellent. There Travel by train to Whitehead DERMOT BLACKBURN/ALAMY closed for some time well as Grey Heron. It is a good spot is a daily movement with divers and its beautiful Victorian owing to rock falls, but for passage Wheatears and Grey drifting out of the lough through the station and walk to the start of has been refurbished and Wagtail in winter. Twite are present afternoon. Skuas are also occasional the walk via the promenade. reopened. It is an out and through autumn and winter, usually visitors. A sheltered spot and a good back walk, with the option of around the area of the boat park. scope can pay dividends, on the path TARGET BIRDS climbing up and round the round the base of the lighthouse or ALL YEAR lighthouse which sits on the 2The Port Davey/Wrens from the top path after the 140 steps. northern point of Belfast Eggs area is a regular spot G Peregrine Lough. The coastal section to for Sparrowhawk. 5The view from the top path G Rock Pipit Blackhead is renowned for its is superb and gives a 180° G Raven early morning passage of 3Check the bushes, trees and panorama over the lough and the divers flying to Belfast Lough. fields for passerines in summer, Irish Sea. Peregrines are possible as AUTUMN/WINTER Migrant thrushes and Stonechat are well as breeding Fulmars, migrant DEREK POLLEY possible in winter. Offshore ,look divers and skuas. Due north is the G Divers for Gannet, Fulmar, auks, Kittiwake Gobbins, with its breeding seabird G Skuas WHERE TO WATCH and Manx Shearwater in summer colony and the Ailsa Craig Gannet G Sea ducks and divers in winter. The main colony. The steep twisting path back G Twite 1Park at Whitehead harbour or diver movement is through the first to sea level holds the usual passerine G Mediterranean Gull walk there from the station and hour of daylight (best January to species. The return walk along the G Wheatear check the promenade, beach, March). Counts have exceeded 200 coast gives a second chance to G Grey Wagtail boatyard and seafront. Bonaparte’s Red-throated Divers with smaller check the beach and the inland Gull, Mediterranean Gull and numbers of Great Northern. trees and bushes. SUMMER Black Redstart have popped up recently. Regular birds include a G Gannet G Fulmar OPENCYCLEMAP.ORG 54 G Razorbill 23 G Guillemot G Kittiwake 1 G Manx Shearwater 56 February 2021

CUMBRIA MAX MILES ON FOOT: 5.5 MIN TIME: 4 HOURS GR ASMERE/RYDAL WATER Birdwatching in the footsteps of Wordsworth PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: LA22 9SJ Canada Goose GRID REF: NY 338 073 MAPS: OS Explorer OL7, OS Landranger 90 WHERE TO PARK: There are several car parks, with this walk starting at Grasmere TERRAIN: Tarmac, rough paths and grassland ACCESSIBILITY: All year round FACILITIES: Grasmere and Ambleside LARRY CORBETT/ALAMY* INSIDER KNOWLEDGE T his is a wonderful 2Check the large island for and Little possible. Both Coot and Early morning and evening TONY PHELPS/ALAMY* walk, full of William breeding Grey Herons from Moorhen use the area. Look out for may allow you to add Otter and Dorothy February onwards. You should also a passing Osprey, with nine pairs and Roe Deer to your list. Wordsworth’s landscape, as find them around the base of the now breeding in Cumbria. their former home is found island as well. Look through the flock TARGET BIRDS at Grasmere. It takes in two of Tufted Ducks for possible Pochard 5Some wonderful woodland can AUTUMN/WINTER large waters, woodland, (so rare now), and even Ring-necked be found around these waters, parkland and wetland, Duck, once seen here. so listen out for Wood Warbler in G Tufted Duck offering you a good mix of spring. Scan for Redstarts, and look G Goldeneye birds and other wildlife. It is 3Scan the shoreline for waders to see if you can find Pied Flycatcher. G Goosander best to start early or late in such as Common Sandpiper in Autumn sees flocks of tits moving G Teal the day, to miss the crowds. summer, and look for Pied Wagtail through, so look for Marsh Tit and G Little Grebe in winter. The thick bracken slopes even Treecreeper among them. G Grey Heron JOHN MILES will hold Woodcock in winter and an G Buzzard evening walk may even allow you to 6Crossing the busy A591 you now G Sparrowhawk WHERE TO WATCH hear that wonderful ‘roding’ sound of walk back through parkland, with G Treecreeper a bird displaying. open trees and grassland. Listen out 1You can start this walk in the for the yaffle of Green Woodpecker, SPRING/SUMMER village of Grasmere, walking 4Rydal gives you another chance and the movement of Jays carrying west around the mere to a minor to look for wildfowl like Greylag acorns in autumn. Check the fells G Mute Swan road, which takes you south past and Canada Geese. Check for for soaring raptors, with Buzzard and G Coot willow swamp and Alder. You can grebes, with both Great Crested Sparrowhawk likely. G Moorhen scan the mere for various ducks G Mallard and swans. G Sedge Warbler G Common Sandpiper ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20 1 6 G Grey Wagtail 2 45 G Dipper G Pied Flycatcher 3 G Wood Warbler G Nuthatch birdwatching.co.uk 57

GO BIRDING NORTH YORKSHIRE MAX MILES ON FOOT: 1 MIN TIME: 1 HOURS THREE HAGGES WOODMEADOW A maturing habitat with increasing potential for birding PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: YO19 6EF Whitethroat GRID REF: SE 628 394 MAPS: OS Explorer 290, OS Landranger 105 WHERE TO PARK: On-site car park; follow signs for Hollicarrs from the A19 TERRAIN: Flat, with mown pathways ACCESSIBILITY: Open all year FACILITIES: Toilets and café DAVID TIPLING PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY* INSIDE KNOWLEDGE: Remember to look up for raptors and fly-over ducks, geese and gulls. T hree Hagges shrubs and grassland to create Woodmeadow is the trust’s Woodmeadow is a a haven for wildlife. It’s flagship site, and it hosts relatively new site on managed by the educational events throughout the York area map, having Woodmeadow Trust, with a the year. It’s already rich in been a plain old barley field vision of creating a thriving biodiversity and there’s great as recently as 2013, when it woodland and meadow birding potential. The number was planted with native trees, ecosystem. Three Hagges of bird species recorded has risen from 15 in 2014 to 51 in 2019, and is likely to keep rising as the habitat matures. PAUL BROOK WHERE TO WATCH GER BOSMA/ALAMY* 1Immediately to the left of the entrance is Jubilee Copse. In summer, look for Willow Warbler and Bullfinch. You might also flush a Red-legged Partridge. 2Orchard and Plasmor Copses TARGET BIRDS are good spots for Reed Bunting AUTUMN/WINTER and Whitethroat in the summer. Yellowhammer and Garden Warbler G Kestrel G Buzzard 3 have also been reported here, and G Red Kite G Red-legged Partridge there are always Goldfinches. G Mistle Thrush G Barn Owl ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20 24 3The pond at the far end of the G Meadow Pipit 1 site is a magnet for dragonflies, which I’m hoping will encourage SPRING/SUMMER Hobby – already regular summer visitors to the nearby Lower Derwent G Willow Warbler Valley. This corner is flanked on two G Whitethroat sides by mature woodland, which is G Garden Warbler worth checking for common species, G Swift especially mixed flocks of tits and G Swallow finches in winter. G House Martin G Reed Bunting 4The adjacent woodland of G Yellowhammer Hollicarrs Holiday Park attracts G Stock Dove Tawny Owls, and Cuckoo can be G Bullfinch heard in the spring. There are usually Buzzards overhead, and Kestrels and Red Kites are common. 58 February 2021

DERBYSHIRE MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 3 HOURS WILLINGTON GR AVEL PITS DWT Wildfowl and waders on a migrant flyway PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: DE65 6PD Oystercatcher GRID REF: SK 295 280 MAPS: OS Explorer 245, 259, CHRIS LAWRENCE/ALAMY* OS Landranger 128 ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20 PARKING: Park on the rough area at the start of the lane, just off Willington Road. There’s room for at least 6 cars TERRAIN: Muddy paths with big puddles – wear wellies ACCESS: All hours, year round. Hide (you need the code from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust) is wheelchair accessible, you could drive as far as the information board FACILITIES: None on site, but Willington has most of what you need I ts location next to the to be good for Wheatears in spring, Crested Grebe. Garganey are INSIDER KNOWLEDGE Trent means that but overgrown vegetation has put seen from March to June, and rarer Willington Gravel Pits gets paid to that. Check carefully, though, grebes such as Black-necked have Expect Peregrine at any time plenty of passage migrants, for commoner warblers including dropped in. Look for egrets around of year – they have bred locally but it has year-round interest, Whitethroat in spring and summer, the edges (10 or more Little, plus at more than one site. with a winter visit being and maybe something rarer. regular Great White and occasional particularly good for wildfowl Cattle). Bitterns winter in the TARGET BIRDS and waders (depending on 3From the first platform, you can reedbed, and Marsh Harrier is also AUTUMN/WINTER water levels). Spring can also view a small, almost enclosed often seen, plus occasional Hen be very productive, with some bay of the main lake. Expect Snipe Harrier in winter. G Bittern good tern passage, but at any around the edges, and possible G Fieldfare time there’s the chance to Water Rail. View across the wet 5The hide has views of some G Redwing make your own discoveries meadows for Grey Herons (often small islands, and back to the G Snipe double figures), and geese – mainly spit – regular waders are Lapwing, G Marsh Harrier MATT MERRITT Canadas and Greylags, but Pinkfeet, Oystercatcher and Redshank, with G Teal Whitefronts and Whooper Swans the likes of the godwits, Dunlin and G Goldeneye WHERE TO WATCH drop in during winter. Listen for Sanderling dropping in on passage. G Shoveler Cetti’s Warbler from here on. Tern passage in spring (check the 1Walk along the lane from the main posts in the water) should include SPRING road, and expect the commoner 4The second platform has views Arctic and Black, with White- tits and finches, plus winter thrushes of the main expanse of water, winged Black Tern and Whiskered G Garganey in season, and Blackbird, Robin and which in winter can contain Shelduck, both recorded here. The feeders G Arctic Tern Dunnock at all times. Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Moorhen, here get Reed Bunting and the G Black Tern Coot, Mute Swan, Goldeneye, commoner tits, and have had Willow G Oystercatcher 2At the information board, take a Shoveler, Cormorant and Great Tits in the past. stroll through the old workings to SUMMER your right. The mounds here used G Whitethroat 1 G Lapwing G Swift 2 G Swallow 3 ALL YEAR 54 G Water Rail G Canada Goose G Greylag Goose G Grey Heron G Cetti’s Warbler G Little Egret G Reed Bunting G Shelduck G Gadwall G Moorhen G Coot G Mute Swan G Great Crested Grebe G Cormorant birdwatching.co.uk 59

GO BIRDING LEICESTERSHIRE MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 2 HOURS LONG LANE A calm birding oasis in the midst of modern hustle and bustle PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: DE74 2RG Short-eared Owl GRID REF: SK 489 291 MAPS: OS Explorer 245, CHRISTOPHER MILLS/ALAMY* OS Landranger 129 PARKING: Several places on verge, and at right-angle turn – be careful not to block gateways TERRAIN: Tarmac road, with sometimes muddy verges and quarry entrances ACCESS: All hours, year-round FACILITIES: None, but everything you need in nearby Kegworth J ust across the border WHERE TO WATCH for the commoner small birds, plus INSIDER KNOWLEDGE from Nottinghamshire Fieldfares and Redwings along the (you could just as easily 1From Kegworth, follow the lane hedges in winter. Check the fields Trent Valley Pit, on the B6540 start at the Notts end), this over the bridge over the A453. to the north for Starling flocks, at the far end of the lane, is is a remarkably quiet lane There are several spots from which and possible Lapwings or even worth checking for wintering considering its position you can view the pits on your Golden Plovers (but that could soon grebes, wildfowl and the likes near the M1, the busy left with a scope – expect Pied change). Check the ditches and of Great Northern Diver. A453, a main railway line, Wagtails, Stonechats on the scrubby channels for possible Grey Heron and the enormous Ratcliffe vegetation, Little Grebes, Mallards and egrets. Power Station. Most days, and waders. Snipe are present in you’ll only see walkers, winter, plus Green Sandpipers, while 4The copse here used to be a cyclists and horse-riders, a Wood Sandpiper has wintered this good spot to find Little Owls, plus the odd car. But the year. But all sorts of waders could and check carefully for roaming pits on the south side of drop in during migration periods. finch and tit flocks. Great Spotted the lane are soon to be Woodpecker is regular here. filled in, and work 2Check the scrubby fields on your beginning to extract right for hunting Short-eared 5There are further views of the gravel from some of the Owls in winter, and Buzzard and gravel workings here, with similar fields to the north. A Kestrel any time. Peregrines from the species expected as at (1). changing landscape means power station could be overhead. changing birds, though, so expect anything. 3The stretch of lane past 6You can carry on to the railway TONY MILLS/ALAMY* the right-angle turn (it now bridge – Barn and Little Owls are MATT MERRITT becomes Ratcliffe Lane) is good regular in this area. ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20 6 TARGET BIRDS 5 43 G Little Grebe 12 G Mallard G Moorhen G Little Owl G Kestrel G Buzzard G Barn Owl G Pied Wagtail G Stonechat G Starling G Fieldfare G Redwing G Peregrine G Snipe G Green Sandpiper 60 February 2021

MEIRIONNYDD MAX MILES ON FOOT: 1 MIN TIME: 2 HOURS CR AIG YR ADERY N The only inland colony of breeding Cormorants in Wales PRACTICAL INFO POST CODE: LL36 9TN Cormorant GRID REF: SH 642 066 MAPS: OS Explorer OL 23, OS Landranger 124 PARKING: On roadside directly below the Rock TERRAIN: Scree slopes, cliffs and upland pastures ACCESSIBILITY: All year round FACILITIES: None on site, so head for Tywyn DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY*T owering 700ft aboveand in recent years slightlythroughout the year, in winter mid-INSIDER KNOWLEDGE IAN THRAVES/ALAMY*the Dysynni Valley,more than 50 pairs.afternoon is best as birds flight in and five miles from the to roost. Choughs nest in the cliffs, ©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20sea near Tywyn, is theDAVID SAUNDERS while the winter roost flock spectacular Craig yr Aderyn 3Feeling energetic? If so continue gathering just before dusk can or Bird Rock, where WHERE TO WATCH a little further along the road prove impressive. Cormorants have nested since before taking the footpath south, at least the 17th Century. 1The best general view of Craig yr the climb of some 700 feet; what a TARGET BIRDS Welsh naturalist Edward Aderyn is from beside the bridge vista from the summit, south-west WINTER Lhuyd, when writing in 1695, over the Afon Dysynni, afternoon towards the sea. Look down on referred to the ‘corvorants being best; check the river itself for passing Cormorants or those nesting G Cormorant (cormorants) rock pigeons Dipper and Grey Wagtail while the at this unique site. G Sparrowhawk and hawks that breed on it’ Kingfisher is described as a very G Red Kite while William Catherall in scarce resident and scarce winter 4Craig yr Aderyn is also noted G Buzzard 1828 described the site as ‘a visitor in the county. for its Choughs – this is one of G Kingfisher most picturesque and lofty the few natural inland nesting sites in G Chough rock’ to which towards 2From directly below the cliffs North Wales, as others use quarries, G Raven twilight ‘large aquatic fowls enjoy the spectacle, a very abandoned mines and coastal cliffs. G Wren may be seen majestically special one, of Cormorants passing A party of Choughs, their calls G Dipper wending their way to this to and fro 500 or more feet above echoing about as they sweep close G Fieldfare place of nocturnal rest.’ having travelled 12 miles or more by, really makes the climb worthwhile. G Redwing Previously, about 100 pairs of from offshore feeding grounds or Flights of Cormorants are also G Mistle Thrush these ‘aquatic fowls’ nested, resting opportunities closer at hand special, as are tumbling Ravens. G Stonechat on Broad Water. The Cormorants G Grey Wagtail are present in variable numbers SPRING/SUMMER 1 3 2 4 G Common Sandpiper G Cuckoo G Swift G Sky Lark G Sand Martin G Swallow G Redstart G Wheatear G Tree Pipit G Meadow Pipit birdwatching.co.uk 61

GO BIRDING WORCESTERSHIRE MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 3 HOURS W YRE FOREST A wildwood walk for forest and river birds PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: DY12 2LT Wood Warbler GRID REF: SO 771 763 MAPS: OS Explorer 218, OS Landranger 138 PARKING: Follow the signage along Dry Mill Lane, Bewdley to the small car park by the old railway bridge TERRAIN: A variety of tracks from level ground along the old railway line and in the forest to sloping paths down into the valley bottom to the river ACCESS: Full public access throughout the year FACILITIES: None on site but the main Forestry Commission car park at Callow Hill has an information point, café and toilets. (grid ref: SO 749 739) OUR WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY* T he Wyre Forest, on the PHILIP MUGRIDGE/ALAMY*embankment for resident species,3From the old railway bridge INSIDER KNOWLEDGE Worcestershire/ typically thrushes, finches and tits viewpoint on a sunny morning, Shropshire border,©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20including Mistle Thrush, Bullfinch,scan for soaring raptors displaying Pay particular attention to covers approximately 10 Goldfinch and Lesser Redpoll, over the canopy, typically Kestrel, bridges over Dowles Brook, square miles. A mixture of Marsh, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, plus as these are often the best deciduous wild wood and plus Siskin, Goldcrest and Firecrest possible Red Kite, Goshawk and spots for observing an early- conifer plantations along with in conifers. Also present are Jay, Raven. Hirundines, Swift and Hobby nesting Dipper. redundant orchards, clearings Green, Great Spotted and Lesser will be on the cards as the season and scrub along the old Spotted Woodpeckers, Treecreeper, progresses. Old orchards and large TARGET SPECIES railway line ensures a wide Nuthatch and summer visitors such clearings nearby are favoured SPRING range of woodland species. as singing Blackcap and Whitethroat. habitats for Redstart, Tree Pipit, An added bonus is Dowles Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat G Mandarin Brook, that bisects the forest, 2Check Dowles Brook for and at dusk, Nightjar and Woodcock. G Goshawk delivering a chance of Dipper Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail, G Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail, plus bridge plus Dipper, which tend to feed 4Mature woodland supports G Dipper viewpoints for observing among the boulder-strewn sections Hawfinch, Siskin, Marsh Tit and G Marsh Tit soaring raptors. of the stream. Woodland margins Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, plus G Tree Pipit attract Spotted Flycatcher and summer migrants such as Wood G Grey Wagtail PAUL TRODD Cuckoo, while the valley slopes are Warbler, Turtle Dove, Cuckoo, G Redstart good for Wood, Garden and Willow Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart. G Wood Warbler WHERE TO WATCH Warblers and an outside chance of a Conifer plantations harbour Siskin, G Firecrest Pied Flycatcher. Firecrest, Goldcrest and Coal Tit. G Spotted Flycatcher 1Scan the clearing around the G Turtle Dove car park and along the railway SUMMER 2 1 3 G Nightjar G Woodcock 4 G Pied Flycatcher AUTUMN/WINTER G Roving passerine flocks G Winter thrushes G Crossbill G Siskin G Brambling G Lesser Redpoll G Hawfinch 62 February 2021

KENT MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 4 HOURS DENGEMA R SH Search for incoming spring migrants on the south coast PRACTICAL INFO POSTCODE: TN29 9PS Purple Heron GRID REF: TR 062 197 MAPS: OS Explorer 125, OS Landranger 169 PARKING: Park in the Dungeness RSPB car park opposite the reserve entrance off Dungeness Road TERRAIN: Mostly on unmade tracks and on level ground. For those with mobility problems view from pull-ins along Dengemarsh Road ACCESS: Open access on public rights of way throughout the year FACILITIES: Dungeness RSPB Visitor Centre and toilets on the reserve. Convenience stores, pubs and toilets in nearby Lydd TOM BAILEY S ituated on the western RAY WILSON/ALAMY*scrub for Sedge and Cetti’s Warbler,3The flooded hayfields harbourINSIDE KNOWLEDGE edge of the Dungeness Whitethroat, Stonechat and Linnet. breeding Lapwing and Redshank National Nature©CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 021/20Scan the Boulderwall fields foralongside the chance of passageChoose a day with light winds Reserve, Dengemarsh, with its grounded passage waders such Bar- waders; typically Little Ringed Plover, as this will greatly enhance variety of RSPB-managed tailed Godwit and Whimbrel, plus Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, your species tally. wetlands, this is the perfect wagtails, pipits, finches and buntings. Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit, area to connect with a wide plus Yellow Wagtail and Water TARGET SPECIES range of spring migrants and 2From the viewpoint scan Pipit. From Dengemarsh hide, view SPRING breeding birds. Dengemarsh Hooker’s Reedbed for Sedge, the lake for Great Crested Grebe, has an enviable track record Reed and Cetti’s Warblers, Bearded Garganey, Common Tern, Common G Garganey for rarities; typically Tit, Cuckoo plus passing hirundines Gull, and Common Sandpiper. G Common Tern ‘overshooting’ summer and Swifts. A good spot to view G Marsh Harrier migrants from the near displaying Marsh Harriers and 4Arable fields, drainage ditches G Whimbrel continent such as Hobbies hawking flying insects. and sheep pasture are good for G Cuckoo Purple Heron, Black Kite, The back fields attract Shelduck, breeding Sky Lark, Meadow Pipit, G Wheatear Black-winged Stilt and feral geese, Stock Dove, Buzzard, Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler, G Yellow Wagtail Red-rumped Swallow. Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Reed and Corn Buntings, while grid G Sedge Warbler egrets. At dawn and dusk listen for pylons provide ideal perches for G Bearded Tit PAUL TRODD ‘booming’ Bittern and ‘sharming’ Raven, Hobby and Peregrine. Check G Tree Sparrow Water Rail. Little Grebe, Shoveler for Whinchat and Wheatear on G Corn Bunting WHERE TO WATCH and Gadwall should be present in passage, and dung heaps for wagtails open water. and pipits. SUMMER 1Check the garden bird feeders for Tree Sparrow and adjacent G Breeding warblers G Common Tern 1 G Common Gull 42 G Hobby 3 AUTUMN G Passage waders G Passage warblers G Hirundines WINTER G Wildfowl G Roosting gulls G Great White Egret G Bittern G Water Pipit BW birdwatching.co.uk 63

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VIEW GET IN TOUCH PHOTOS, LETTER, TWEETS, QUESTIONS – HAVE YOUR SAY [email protected] facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag Bird Watching, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA JEROME MURRAY – CC/ALAMY* ‘Little men with startled that I’d risked it, given big guns’ that they were all armed). So, Owling with joy all due respect to the there we go – Little Men very handsome ducks) are better I chuckled to read Kevin adequately sums up the I went for a bit of a drive even than Goosanders: two Larkin’s letter (Your View, inadequate. recently alongside a nearby Barn Owls and a Short-eared December), suggesting we Simone Stanbrook-Byrne river in open country. I was Owl. The latter came very find an opposing epithet to hoping to see one or more of close to my car and one of the ‘bunny hugger’. Book for beginners the Goosanders which had Barn Owls even perched on a been reported on the river, fence by the side of the road, Walking a public footpath I am a newcomer to the UK, during the winter. no more than 15m from my a few years ago my husband having moved from India to car. I just thought I would and I found ourselves in the study music in Greenwich. I I had no luck, but instead middle of a shoot. The ‘guns’ am very interested in the birds saw some birds which (with share my joy could do nothing about our around me, here, especially with your readers. intrusion, we were on a public the waterbirds on the pond in 1 It is not all right of way, so they had to Greenwich Park and on the doom and gloom stop shooting. We slowed nearby Thames. But they are this winter! our walk to a shuffle and all new to me, and I can’t Harvey Rutterford watched as the Pheasants put name them at the moment up by the beaters flew off (except Moorhens and unharmed. Great! And as I swans!). Can you please walked along the all-male line recommend a book for a total I delighted in having beginner who is unfamiliar the opportunity to politely with British birds? tell them all what Ally Khambatta, “little men with big guns” Greenwich, London they were, with great emphasis on the “little”. Q The editor says: You can’t go wrong with a basic ID Surprisingly, they took it, guide like the RSPB one with no return fire, and featured in our WishList without hitting my husband section on page 96. (though he admitted afterwards that he was Reader Shots WE LOVE... ...the Green Woodpecker on a green-encrusted Send your snaps to [email protected] gravestone, by to be in with a chance of seeing your photo in Rob Porter. Excellent 2 print. All images should be high res JPEG files. 4 1 Blue Tit by Kevin Bowers Camera: Nikon D500, Lens: 600mm, Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec, Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 1,250 2 Green Woodpecker by Rob Porter Camera: Panasonic DC-G9, Lens: 600mm 3 3 Little Owl by Joanna Hutchinson Camera: Canon Powershot SX70 HS, Lens: 247mm, Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec, Aperture: f/6.5 ISO: 800 4 Great Spotted Woodpecker by Deb Gaynor Camera: Nikon D500, Lens: 150-600mm, Shutter Speed: 1/1,250 sec, Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 800 birdwatching.co.uk 65

PICTURE SPECIAL JOIN THE #MY200BIRDYEAR OUR FACEBOOK GROUP and share your best birding experiences and images with the community: facebook.com/groups/My200BirdYear Little Owl by Janna Hutchinson Great Bustard by Rachel Bennett House Sparrow by Liz Walker Stonechat by Deena Sharp Starling by John Gawthrope Buzzard by Phil Denis Redshank by Jay Thomas Black-necked Grebe by Joe Jones Little Egret by Steve Ransome Kingfisher by Danielle House 66 February 2021

Your Questions Send all your birding questions to [email protected] and our experts will give you the answers TOM MOORE ELAINE WALKINGSHAW MYSTERY BIRD OF PREY Q I am a subscriber to Bird Watching magazine (love it!), and would very much appreciate some advice with an ID. Attached are two photos taken on the edge of the Ludham Marshes in Norfolk – a visitor to my garden, sitting in an apple tree. He (?) stayed there perching for about 20 minutes. The quality is not brilliant since it was taken through patio windows – apologies. I am leaning towards a first year Peregrine; but knowledgeable friends are saying it is probably a female Sparrowhawk. I would agree if it had a more distinct tail. One other friend suggests a Goshawk. Wader with Turnstones after all. What do you think, Can you settle this discussion, please?! please? Sorry, I don’t have Q I would be very grateful if a photo! Tom Moore you could identify the bird in Gareth Donald the attached photos – shown with A With pleasure, Tom. We agree with your knowledgeable friends that this is indeed a Sparrowhawk (the legs and toes are too thin, Turnstones, and also a closer image (not shown) – taken near A Any skeins of geese in the build too slight for a Goshawk, for starters). But it looks more like a Cambs which aren’t Greylags Keyhaven, Hants.  I first thought it juvenile, perhaps a juvenile male. The giveaway for it being a was a Purple Sandpiper, but it and Canadas are a great find, youngster is the buff fringing on the relatively fresh back feathers. lacked the orange beak and feet. Gareth. Without a clear photo it is Those feathers’ blue-grey colour hints more at a male than the Elaine Walkingshaw difficult to be certain about the browner feathers of a female, and the orange on the submoustachial geese’s identify. However, black area looks right for a male. Note that a juvenile Goshawk has A Hello Elaine, you are right in banding on the belly is pretty longitudinal streaks on the breast and belly, whereas this bird has excluding Purple Sandpiper diagnostic of adult White-fronted transverse underpart barring. Incidentally, the white spots on the back for your dumpy little wader, based Goose (Lesser Whitefronts are are quite common but not universal features of many Sparrowhawks. on the bill and leg colour. Your bird extremely rare). Unfortunately, is instead a Dunlin in winter distant overhead skeins of plumage (probably first-winter, White-fronts and Pinkfeet can judging, for example, by a few sound confusingly similar. And, it blotchy streaks on the breast/belly, could be that both species were which are retained juvenile features). mixed in a flock. In December, Dunlins are very similar in shape to there was a notable influx of Purple Sandpipers (though in real White-fronted Geese of the life, Purples are bigger and darker). European aka Russian subspecies albifrons, into the UK. But nearly 60 Goose query birds would be a very impressive Q I live in Cambridgeshire, and flock of this species. Perhaps, they SHEELAGH STILL in mid-December heard a were a mixed flock including skein of nearly 60 grey geese White-fronted Geese, but we will approaching from some distance, probably never know for certain. heading south-west. They were high, but the calls reminded me of On the feeders A Your bird is a female House seed-eater’s bill, the grey-brown Sparrow, Sheelagh! Once those of Pink-footed Geese, which Q Please find attached a plumage, streaked in places, and the photo of a bird on our bird I am familiar with through visits to upon a time, they would have been broad buff supercilium (‘eyebrow’). Norfolk. But, when I looked up feeders. I  t fed on peanuts and so familiar to all of us that a sparrow Note that it is easy to rule out Tree with my binoculars as they flew rested for about 5-10 minutes. M  y would not get a second glance. Sparrow, as both males and females overheard, I thought I saw black husband and I are not sure what it Now, they have become the subject look the same; both have a black bands on the belly. So, perhaps is. I  t looks a bit odd. of Q&A! Key features include the bib, chestnut crown, and white they were White-fronted Geese Sheelagh Still chunky finch-like shape, and cheeks with a black spot. BW birdwatching.co.uk 67

RUTH MILLER Bar-tailed Godwit What s a ²ird? Exactly what does make a bird a bird? It’s a question prompted by a new book that has captivated Ruth, this month… T here was a heavy thump as plummeting down to pounce on an like penguins to ‘fly’ underwater instead. a parcel came through our unsuspecting vole in the grass. Or maybe a The book discussed avian feeding habits letterbox and onto the Fulmar, its stiff wings locked in effortless doormat. A new bird book had flight as it skims across the sea, catching and the specific adaptations of bills and feet arrived to be reviewed. I every updrift of air over the waves. to suit a bird’s particular diet, and how each opened the cardboard packaging to reveal bird has adapted to best suit its own niche to a large book entitled ‘What is a Bird?’ Or how about a Swift briefly arcing across give it an advantage over potential sporting a colourful illustration of a our summer skies in pursuit of insects, competition. If you spend time beautiful Inca Jay on the cover. before abandoning our climate for warmer birdwatching at an estuary for example, you air and plentiful food in Africa. Not all birds can clearly see this adaptation at work. Inside, the pages were packed with can fly of course, some are simply too heavy Birds gather on the mudflats exposed by the coloured photos of birds, close-ups of to beat the laws of physics and are land- falling tide, all feeding voraciously on feathers and bills, diagrams, charts, bound such as Ostriches, or maybe adapt invertebrates in the refreshed mud, yet they maps, tables and more. I turned a few are not in direct competition. pages just to get a feel for the book. An hour Dunlin and a half later, I reluctantly put it down Fascinating facts and got back to what I was supposed to be ALL IMAGES: RUTH MILLER doing that morning! Different bill and leg lengths lend themselves to different feeding strategies. It was a fascinating study of all aspects The Dunlin, for example, a dumpy bird with of what it is that makes a bird a bird, short legs and a drooping bill, feeds by starting with the evolution of the modern- walking slowly forward and probing the day bird from its dinosaur origins, and the mud for insects and worms. features that connect this evolution. Of course, the most striking feature of a bird is The Curlew is at the other end of the its ability to fly. Who among us hasn’t wader spectrum, with its fantastically watched a bird lift off into the sky and long decurved bill. It can stand in deeper wished that we could do the same? water and probe to a much greater depth into the mud with flexible mandibles, which Perhaps it’s a Kestrel hovering in mid-air act like tweezers to pull out deeply as it searches for prey on the ground, its submerged worms, shellfish and shrimps wings and tail outstretched, making minute beyond the reach of the Dunlin. adjustments to keep the head still as it focuses on the ground below, before Compare and contrast this orderly subdivision of food with the competition 68 February 2021

OBSERVATIONS Fulmar Kestrel among Homo sapiens at a breakfast buffet! mere being. It’s totally unconscious Curlew ‘What is a Bird?’ also covered migration of course; no wild bird actively seeks to do anything to benefit us as human beings, Ruth Miller is one half of The Biggest Twitch and the incredible journeys that some and yet they always have a positive effect team, and along with partner Alan Davies, set the species undertake to spend time each year on us, chip-stealing Herring Gulls then world record for most bird species seen in a in a different part of the world that provides notwithstanding. year – 4,341, in 2008, an experience they wrote a food benefit. This requires birds to know about in their book, The Biggest Twitch. Indeed, the right time to make the journey and have Flying doctors Ruth is still the female world record-holder! As well incredible navigational skills to complete a as her work as a tour leader, she is the author of the journey they may have never done before, Just by being there to be watched, birds Birds, Boots and Butties books, on walking, birding as well as the adaptability to survive the and tea-drinking in North Wales, and previously rigours and dangers of the journey itself. can improve our health. If you look out of worked as the RSPB’s head of trading. She lives in North Wales. birdwatchingtrips.co.uk An extreme example is the Bar-tailed the window and see a bird, for the time that Godwit, which can migrate non-stop from its breeding grounds in Alaska to you watch it feeding or preening or simply overwinter in New Zealand. It has the mind-bending ability to shrink any internal flying by, you are absorbed by it. You organs not needed for the flight, such as its stomach, for example, as it won’t stop en concentrate on the bird and you forget route to feed, in order to maximise the space and weight available for storing energy for everything else. Any concerns or worries the journey. One tagged bird was monitored in 2020 flying an astonishing 7,500 miles you may have, are simply buried by the (12,000 km) non-stop in just 11 days, an achievement that we humans simply aren’t action of watching the bird. It’s the perfect equipped to undertake. mindfulness activity and the more you do And, as for the rather derogatory phrase ‘bird-brain’ that we use for someone who it, the better you’ll be for it. If you add going isn’t perhaps the brightest button in the box, well you simply couldn’t imagine a more for a walk to watch birds, then you add inappropriate phrase for a creature that is so supremely adapted to survive. even more health benefits into the mix with And yet I believe there is still more to a fresh air, exercise, and a greater bird than its anatomy, physiology and behaviour. Birds have an ability to have an appreciation of your own place in the world, impact on us that extends beyond their all contributing to your improved mental and physical health. The idea of green prescriptions is becoming increasingly mainstream as the health benefits of the natural environment are recognised more in our current constrained times, and watching birds is the icing on top of this healthy cake. Put simply, birds make you feel better. As the American poet Emily Dickinson, wrote in 1861, “Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul’. BW birdwatching.co.uk 69





DOMINIC COUZENS ON THE... Falling numbers of this bird in the UK should be worrying enough, but factor in European declines, too, and it’s even more of a concern W hen I was younger, SPECIES FACTFILE You only have to look at one to I had a wonderful LITTLE OWL appreciate this. Little Owls live up to mentor. He taught me their name. They aren’t very much bigger many things about Scientific name: Athene noctua than a Mistle Thrush or a pigeon, albeit birding, along with they are much more rotund, with a round a healthy dose of good principles and a Length: 21-23cm head and a short tail. They have staring bemused, detached world-weariness. In yellow eyes and heavy white eyebrows common with all the best mentors, he had Wingspan: 54-58cm which, in combination, give them an his eccentricities, and one of these was a expression somewhere between disdainful slavish disgust of all introduced birds. UK numbers: 5,700 breeding pairs and furious. He couldn’t bear them; he would not Habitat: Farmland Interesting quirk deign to look at them or even talk about them. He was a Ruddy Duck-hater before it Diet: Small mammals, birds, beetles and worms Their brown plumage (extra brown in the was fashionable, and the only Mandarins juvenile on this page) mottled with white that were acceptable to him were oranges end of the 1800s, so this diminutive spots gives them superb camouflage, in tins. The unquestionable beauty of a predator has only been established here especially when they are perching on Pheasant passed him by. If there was a for a little more than 120 years. willow trees, one of their favourite haunts. Red-legged Partridge in a field, he would They nest, and often rest, in holes in trees, literally turn and walk the other way. Quite why people made a big effort to buildings and drystone walls. introduce these owls can perhaps be best Remarkably, though, for a stubborn explained by the Victorian desire to If you have seen Little Owls in the wild man, there was one species that ‘improve’ the countryside by adding new as a birdwatcher, you may well have somehow escaped his ire. I often teased animals, but at first the initiative wasn’t noticed an interesting quirk in their Ron for this chink in his armour, this popular and met widespread resistance behaviour. In contrast to some other owls, obvious flaw in this thinking, and he from farmers, who suspected the Little never did give a satisfactory explanation. Owl of eating chickens, Pheasants and But he delighted in Little Owls, excluding other livestock. Many of the newcomers them from all criticism. And, of course, he were deliberately shot. shouldn’t have. The Little Owl already had a history That’s because the entire breeding of captivity in Britain long before these population of the Little Owl in Britain major introductions occurred. As early as the 18th Century, they had sometimes stems from deliberate introductions. been kept as professional cockroach- These began seriously in the 1840s, in killers, which proves that householders Yorkshire, Kent and then knew something that farmers Northamptonshire. The first subsequently didn’t – the Little Owl is breeding was in 1879 and the a predator of small fry. population didn’t take off until the 72 February 2021

IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 73

WHERE TO SEE THEM The Little Owl can be found in England and Wales, with a few in southern Scotland. Look in lowland farmland with hedges and copses, parkland and orchards. The birds are most common in central, southern and south-east England and the Welsh borders. which at roost give the impression that The mighty Little Owl you are an unwelcome distraction from displaying its wingspan of a deep sleep, Little Owls seem to be less than two feet! awake all the time, including through the day. It is common to see them bobbing up LITTLE OWLS SEEM TO BE AWAKE ALL THE TIME, and down, flying about and even calling INCLUDING THROUGH THE DAY... while it is light. including beetles and millipedes. pull so hard to extract earthworms from the This is especially odd, because studies Earthworms, too, are a perennial favourite. soil that, when the worm gives, the show that they are very reluctant to hunt Almost every book you consult on Little predator falls over backwards. You won’t during the day, even when feeding young. Owls comes up with the delightful see a Blackbird doing that. They have quite specific schedules. They observation that, on occasion, these owls will hunt from dusk to midnight, have a Breeding season break of a couple of hours, and then go out again until dawn. Part of the reason for this Little Owls also take vertebrate prey, could be that they are vulnerable to other including small mammals, and especially birds of prey, such as Goshawks. But in voles. They do take some birds, too, mainly contrast to Tawny or Long-eared Owls, they in the winter when fewer insects are about. are usually much easier to find. But whatever they are taking, it is usually in one of two ways which, coincidentally, Earwig supper are exactly the same as those methods used by, for example, Robins. The Little Owl’s diet is a typically catholic one, depending on what is The bird sits on an elevated perch and available, but on the whole, it leans watches for movement below; when much more towards invertebrates than something is spotted the owl flops down that of other British owl diets. It contains and ambushes it. The other method used is some interesting preferences, too. If you to hop over the ground looking for prey, were the person who ever wondered what which works best with worms, for example. animal eats earwigs, you now have an answer; one examined pellet contained the It should be noted that the Little Owl also remains of 343 of them. take some plant material in its diet. About 6% of pellets have berries or other Little Owls also eat lots of craneflies vegetable remains inside, and this is (daddy-longlegses) in the summer and autumn. Indeed, throughout their range they take many kinds of larger invertebrates besides cockroaches, Little Owls love a hole in a tree! TIM GAINEY/ALAMY* 74 February 2021

LITTLE OWL SPECIES LES GIBBON/ALAMY* not thought to be accidental. Presumably sharply, to the tune of 40% between But there is another reason, too. Not berries are an occasional useful source 1995 and 2010. of extra energy. so long ago, in a cave in Somerset, Since the early 1970s its range has The birds might need berries for contracted by more than 10%, and it has palaeontologists found the bones of a Little some vim in the late autumn, because disappeared from Scotland and much of Little Owls, like other owls, begin west Wales and parts of south-west Owl from deposits that were post- breeding early in the season. Indeed, England. The reasons are not certain, but during the human holiday of mid- are partly related to cold, wet weather and, Cromerian, about half a million years old. December, Little Owls begin copulating overall, a reduction in available food. The with increasing frequency. Eggs come latter is also the case in mainland Europe, That means that, at least during certain along in April and, when the eggs hatch, where the Little Owl is doing badly over the male feeds the whole family on its much of its northern range. Intensive interglacials during the Pleistocene, the own for the first two weeks. farming is likely to be a major culprit, as it is for so many British birds. Little Owl was at times native to Britain. For this kind of arrangement to work, both sexes need to be committed to each But should we be worrying about Whether that is reason enough to consider other, and it seems that Little Owls are the decline in the Little Owl? After all, indeed highly faithful to their mates and it is only here because of artificial the Little Owl one of our own (after all, their territories. In contrast to many introduction. It doesn’t qualify for Red British birds, they are thought to be or Amber listing as a Bird of Special Hippopotamus bones have genetically monogamous, with little or no Conservation Concern, and with so straying outside the pair bond. many British species showing been found under worrying declines, should we pay There was a time when the Little Owl any attention to a non-native bird? Trafalgar Square) is was found in suitable habitat almost throughout England and Wales, with even The answer is almost certainly yes a moot point. a small number of breeding pairs in the – after all, this is a species that is extreme south of Scotland. In recent years, declining in many places, not just here. It does prove one however, its population has declined That should be reason enough. thing, however. As usual, my mentor’s instincts were right. BW FLPA/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 75

BIRDTHEW RLD THE BEST HOLIDAY OFFERS & TRAVEL REPORTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE READER HOLIDAY OFFER ITINERARY MARK BRETHERTON/ALAMY* Somerset Starling FULL DAY 1: Arrive Walls Farm by spectaculars ITINERARY 2pm, settle in to your comfortable cottage accommodation. DATES: 21-23 JAN; 28-30 JAN; 10-12 FEB AT: TWO-NIGHT PACKAGE After a cup of tea and settling in, we birdwatching.co.uk/ will head off for an afternoon visit to reader-holidays Somerset’s Avalon Marshes complex hopefully to view the spectacular T o see up to half a larger one arrives, then more to offer than just display of Starlings in a murmuration million Starlings another and another... They Starlings. Huge numbers of prior to their roost in the reedbeds. ‘murmurating’ is just keep coming. wildfowl come in to the truly a sight to flooded fields and wetlands In the evening, a welcome dinner behold. If the conditions are What we then want is a – ducks, waders and elegant including canapés and wine will be right, the skies can darken, as belligerent passing Peregrine egrets make for excellent served in Walls Farm with your hosts first one group arrives to roost or a hungry Marsh Harrier birdwatching opportunities, Stephen Moss, and Graeme and Kay in the reedbeds of the Avalon with attitude – then bingo! plus plenty of raptors. Mitchell. There will be good birding Marshes – then another The sky is full of the largest chat and you will be briefed further on flock/swarm/fountain of birds In the evenings, we all our planned birdwatching excursions. WHAT’S INCLUDED you have ever seen – turning gather in the cosy kitchen in one way then the next. Walls Farm to discuss and DAY 2: Breakfast is in your cottage. G Expert bird guiding share our birdwatching stories Morning visit WWT Steart Marshes throughout Somerset’s murmurations of over drinks, home-made near Bridgwater. Many thousands of Starlings on a crisp winter nibbles and then one of Kay’s Lapwing and Golden Plover overwinter G Accommodation dusk is the stuff of legend, and delicious suppers in our here along with many different duck G Two delicious dinners with has to be seen to be believed. convivial dining room. It is the species. A good place, too, for spotting perfect end to round off your Peregrine and Merlin. wine and canapés Of course, the murmurations birdwatching experience. G Breakfast baskets are spectacular, however, We will continue to the coast at G Teas/coffees and additional winter on the Levels has much Wall Common to look for Curlew, Dunlin and other shorebirds. We will refreshments as stated on FURTHER INFORMATION and BOOKINGS then return inland to West Sedgemoor your confirmed itineraries Price: £399 per person (sharing a twin room) to look for our Somerset Cranes. Light G Entrance to all Single room supplement £40 pub lunch will be included. birdwatching sites www.somersetbirdwatchingholidays.com/starling-spectacular A stop at RSPB Greylake is always good in winter with thousands of ducks close up to the hide. Time permitting we may drop into the SWT reserve at Catcott, also good for over-wintering birds. Depending on our murmuration success the previous evening we may return for more starling action if conditions are better or alternatively visit one of the other bird reserves on the Levels. Return to Walls Farm by about 5.30pm by crossing Tealham and Tadham moors, looking for Barn Owls.   DAY 3: Breakfast is in your cottage. Morning visit Cheddar Reservoir for ducks such as Goldeneye, Goosander, Pochard and a huge number of over-wintering Coots. We then may visit Cheddar Gorge itself, for possible Dipper, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail and an opportunity to purchase some genuine cheddar cheese, as an appropriate souvenir of your visit to Somerset. Return to Walls Farm by around 12.30pm when it will be time to depart and head for home. 76 February 2021

Welcome to NOW BOOKING 2021 - 2025 heatherlea birding and wildlife holidays If it’s Scotland - it HAS to be Heatherlea! %LUGLQJ6FRWODQGLVPRUHSRSXODUWKDQHYHUEHIRUHDQGZHEHOLHYH+HDWKHUOHDLV\\RXUQDWXUDO FKRLFHLQWKLVZRQGHUIXOFRXQWU\\:LWKWKLUW\\IXOOVHDVRQVGHOLYHULQJH[FHSWLRQDOKROLGD\\V EDVHGLQWKHLGHDOSODFHZHKDYHHYHU\\WKLQJ\\RXQHHG&RPHDQGMRLQXVLQVSULQJ -XVWDIHZUHDVRQVWR¶'2,77+(+($7+(5/($:$<·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ÁH[LEOHDSSURDFK ELUGLQJFOLHQWV WR¶ORFNGRZQV· LOOKING FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE! See our website IRUIXOOGHWDLOV READ OUR SHORT NEW! WORLDWIDE FIVE-YEAR 2021/22 BROCHURES BREAKS birding and wildlife holidays FROM birding and wildlife holidays HOLIDAY PLANNER! Scotland and the rest of the UK ONLINE OR HAVE ‘SCOTLAND AND ONLY 2021 2021/22 REST OF UK’ POSTED £495 TO YOUR HOME Now is the time to start planning your return to world birding! Register for tours up to five years ahead without any payment! We will keep you informed as dates approach. All details online. Choose Heatherlea - outstanding value from your complete holiday provider! 6HHRXUZHEVLWHRUFDOORXURIÀFHIRUIXOOGHWDLOV Heatherlea, The Mountview Hotel, Web: heatherlea.co.uk Tel: 01479 821248 Nethy Bridge, Inverness-shire Email: [email protected] PH25 3EB. Twit: @heatherleabirds F/book: heatherleabirdwatching

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BIRD THE WORLD READER HOLIDAY OFFER Highland winter birding SAT 20 FEB – SAT 27 FEB; SAT 27 FEB – SAT 6 MARCH PRICE £1,395 PP NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT FULL NEIL MCINTYRE ITINERARY WHAT’S INCLUDED Fabulous birding in the north of Scotland on this brilliant Bird Watching Readers’ Break! AT: G Five nights in Nethybridge at the comfortable birdwatching.co.uk/ Mountview Hotel, home of reader-holidays our hosts, Heatherlea, and two nights comfortable en F ebruary is an exciting frozen and/or snow-covered. the very far north, staying in suite hotel accommodation month for birding in Flocks of Waxwing, Lesser Thurso for two nights, and in Thurso. All rooms are en the extreme north of Redpoll, Twite and Brambling visiting secluded harbours and suite, with TV and the British mainland. are very possible while windswept lochs to find the hospitality tray. There is no And this holiday is something northern rarities, including birds that make this holiday so single supplement, and a little bit different, featuring Great Grey Shrike, are often special. You will visit very guests are never expected remote northern hideaways, as found at this time. different Scottish coastlines; to share. we locate the very best the very far north in Scottish birdlife in winter. Activity at the coast features Caithness, the rugged G Full Scottish breakfast, a Our speciality birds include concentrations of winter east-facing coast north of substantial packed lunch, Capercaillie, Ptarmigan, Black visitors offshore, and rarities Inverness, and the long and a delicious dinner. Grouse, Crested Tit, Scottish and scarce British birds expanse of the Moray Firth, Crossbill, Golden and White- sheltering in harbours. Gulls, depending on available G Six full days birdwatching. tailed Eagle, and we look for waders, geese and ducks, birding opportunities and, G All transport by these during a couple of divers, passerines and raptors, of course, weather. absorbing days birding the just about anything can turn comfortable PCV minibus. Scottish interior, which may be up! We make an exciting This is a time of year when All estate access and expedition over three days to tourists are few on the ground, ferry fees. and wild landscapes and G Guidance from a Heatherlea’s Mountview solitude (you won’t see many professional Heatherlea Hotel, Nethybridge other birders!) are combined Group Leader with exceptional birding. BW G Checklist to record sightings and notes FURTHER INFORMATION Please note: all itineraries and BOOKINGS are given as a guide only. Contact Heatherlea. Actual holiday content may Telephone: 01479 821248 vary according to the Email: judgement of your guide, [email protected] and elements beyond our Web: heatherlea.co.uk control (eg weather). birdwatching.co.uk 79

JAPAN Kairakuen Gardens It was a birding adventure with a difference for Dominic Couzens, who visited Japan to enjoy the many avian delights this beautiful country has to offer… S urveying the scene – huge One moment the view through the SADO FUKUSHIMA CITY reedbeds stretching out in front binoculars was strikingly familiar, AIZUWAKAMATSU of us with open water beyond, the next it was joltingly different. the arrow-shaped formations of LAKE INAWASHIRO ducks flying in the distance, This heady mixture of the exotic and harriers quartering just ahead and everyday characterises birding in Japan LAKE TOCHIGI wagtails calling from the wires up – and indeed many things in this CHUZENJI above – Jon Dunn said: “You know, this astonishing country. There are shops, IBARAKI could be Minsmere.” He was right, and motorways, street-lights and you drive on NIKKO MITO for the twentieth time already today, I the left; as we found out, there is rain, too, NATIONAL pinched myself. and autumn colour, hill trails and hotels. PARK No, this wasn’t Minsmere. We were a But there are also shoes for every very long way from the famous Suffolk occasion, communal baths, chopsticks TOKYO reserve; we were just outside Tokyo. and public toilets with multiple LAKE mysterious functions. You smile, but you IMAGES: DOMINIC COUZENS UNLESS STATED The harriers were Eastern Marsh also bow. For a moment you understand fellow writer Jon, to Japan for a birding Harriers, some of the ducks were your surroundings, the next you are adventure with a difference. It was Eastern Spotbills and the wagtail – it was plunged into confusion. Japan offers a December, but we wouldn’t be seeing the very splendid Japanese Wagtail, joyous cornucopia of experiences; it is monkeys or cranes or Steller’s Sea Eagles, which looks like a Pied Wagtail wearing half in this world, and very definitely half as most eco-tourists do. Instead, for a a tuxedo for a night out. On the other out of it. When you are watching a hand, though, a (Western) Osprey was Lapwing, you know that a Meadow fishing out over the water, a Reed Bunting isn’t far away. This is the land Bunting was calling, and Carrion Crows of the pinching thumb. sauntered over the neighbouring fields. I had been invited, along with my 80 February 2021

Japanese Wagtail TRAVEL JAPAN A bit of snow wasn’t going to put Dominic off finding birds NEIL BOWMAN/ALAMY Slaty-backed Gulls and one Black-tailed Gull... week or so we would be following the Little and Great Crested Grebes, variable numbers to Japan, soon proved country’s newly established Diamond Coots, Mallards and Little Egrets, while themselves to be one of the commonest Route, a voyage designed to usher visitors on the overhead wires was an eclectic birds. I even heard one calling later in the into some of Japan’s less abundantly flock of small birds: Tree Sparrows, which trip while I was indulging in an outdoor foot-fallen prefectures (equivalent to replace House Sparrows in much of onsen, the communal bath which is a counties) – Ibaraki, Tochigi and eastern Asia, and Grey-capped national institution. Fukushima. Our mission was to see what Greenfinches, which are similar to, but these areas might be like for birding, but pleasingly different, to those familiar to The following day kept us in Ibaraki, also to be immersed in Japan’s unique us. They have a brown mantle. We also with a quick trip to the Pacific coast at the culture and history. caught a glimpse of a Japanese Pheasant, seaside town of Hiraiso. We were only endemic to this country. scheduled a short stop, but that was Endemics and more enough us to be immersed in some utterly Elsewhere, we enjoyed something of a sublime seawatching. Imagine you were As far as birds were concerned, Lake bunting-fest, with Black-faced at to look off the Norfolk coastline and Kasumigaura (Ibaraki) gave us a rip- Ukishima (which hosts the gorgeous everything was suddenly different, even roaring start. It is the country’s second- Japanese Reed Bunting in the summer) though the leaden waves, cold dark rocks largest lake, and around the shoreline and the super-smart Meadow Bunting at and stark breakwaters looked just the there is an abundance of different the splendidly-named Nishinoshu, a same. Every distant dot and huddled habitats. At one corner, at a spot called place-name that would surely perfectly fit floating blob was a thrill to behold. Edosaki, a flock of Taiga Bean Geese had a Japanese restaurant. Other good birds taken up winter residence on some fields around this area of fields, paddies and Three blobs turned out to be Harlequin that looked no different from any of the marshes included Buff-bellied Pipit, Ducks, the males with steel-blue and others nearby. We parked next to a broad White-cheeked Starling, Bull-headed rufous plumage splattered with white canal which held an array of good Shrike and many Dusky Thrushes. blobs, making each of them look like ‘British’ wintering birds: Black-necked, floating modern art. The latter, which are winter visitors in Two Black Scoters and a Red-breasted birdwatching.co.uk 81

Merganser flew by, while Greater Scaup, Nikko National Park National Park hold a range of good Wigeon and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks species. The lakes are full of diving ducks, sheltered in the harbour. A Pelagic The tapestry of upland mixed forests, including Goldeneye, Goosander and Cormorant dived offshore while, perched rivers, swamps and lakes was easy on the Smew, while the rivers play host to some on a reef, Temminck’s Cormorants dried eye, but the birding got much harder. On great birds, one of which we saw and one their wings. Even the gulls were Not Your our third morning, we awoke to a thin we missed. We enjoyed encounters with Average; they were Black-tailed Gulls and carpet of snow at our hillside hotel near several Asiatic Dippers, which differ from Vega Gulls, no less. Nikko. Small flocks of Dusky Thrushes ours in being entirely brown apart from a moved through the trees, as well as the white eye-ring. They gave great value, Vega looks like Herring Gull, but the odd party of Hawfinches. Some careful allowing a close approach, singing (which medium-sized Black-tailed is refreshingly searching revealed Japanese, Willow and is not unusual for Dippers in the winter) refined, with a dark grey mantle, black Long-tailed Tits working the bare and, on one occasion, swimming on the tail band and a long yellow bill with a branches, but the biggest delight came in surface of a lake and diving, exactly as an blobby black tip. This might not send the diminutive form of the Japanese auk might do. shivers down your spine, but these gulls Pygmy Woodpecker. Imagine a fairly were, for us, gloriously, far-away Asiatic common and tame version of the Lesser Eagle sighting and ecstasy-inducing. Spotted, albeit with greyish markings on the head. This species entertained us In complete contrast, we couldn’t garner a Japanese garden several times over the next few days. solitary sighting of a Solitary Snipe. This is a poorly known Asian species of high The town of Mito lies just inland, and our mountains above the treeline (to 5000m), first dollop of culture came from a visit to which winters not so much in marshes as nearby Kairakuen, which is one of the other snipe species do, but along the Three Great Gardens of Japan (the others margins of rivers, where it eats snails and are in Okayama and Kanazawa). This one worms and other fancy items, all of them opened in 1841, most unusually as a raw, in classic Japanese fashion. public garden. Although it was December and the best colour had passed, many of Despite some hours of searching, the trees and shrubs were still ablaze with admittedly in incredibly attractive the embers of autumn. streamside locations, we couldn’t find one. Nevertheless, during our search we It was so neat and tidy that you could did discover something else; at a beauty imagine that the whole garden was spot we found a dispensing machine that dressed up to please an exacting aunt, the offers hot café latte from a can. bonsai evergreens clipped, the gravel paths raked and the patterns perfect. Our hard birding work did, though, eventually pay off in Tochigi. On the last The buildings dotted around (we morning our admirably patient and needed different shoes for every one) were friendly guide, Masayuki Shamada, took all reverentially swept clean; even the piped music was timelessly peaceful. The garden also held some birds, including Japanese White-eye, Japanese Tit, Hawfinch, Brown-eared Bulbul (the world’s most northerly of its family), lots of Dusky Thrushes and two colourful gems: Daurian Redstart and the lovely Varied Tit. We transferred inland to Toshigi prefecture and to a completely different landscape, both in the Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 82 February 2021

Asian Crested Ibis AROUND THE REGION OF AIZU AND NEARBY FUKUSHIMA CITY AGAMI PHOTO AGENCY/ALAMY* us down to the banks of Lake Chuzenji, around the region of Aizu and nearbyWILDNERDPIX/ALAMY We did have one more treat in store, acting on a tip-off. After some tense Fukushima City. Lake Inawashiro is though. Our brilliant fixer, Yuki minutes he suddenly exclaimed “Ha!” and Japan’s fourth largest and is famous for Matsuura, had arranged a short visit to pointed. Right over on the other side of the changing colour of its surface water. the island of Sado, just offshore from the lake, but still looking suitably huge, The wetlands, reeds and farmland are Niigata on the coast of the Sea of Japan. was a magnificent Steller’s Sea Eagle. It excellent for ducks such as Smew, and This is the scene for the reintroduction of made a desultory attempt at grabbing Bewick’s and Whooper Swans. Long- one of the world’s rarest birds, the Asian something from the water surface and tailed Rosefinches winter round the edge. Crested Ibis, invariably known hereabouts then landed imperiously on a treetop, as the Toki. Once considered on the verge where, with our hearts pounding, we On the edge of Fukushima is a terrific of extinction before a previously unknown could enjoy seeing this iconic bird small reserve known as Kotori-no-mori population in China was discovered, the through a telescope. (‘Forest of Small Birds’), where the Toki has been extensively bred in captivity feeders give you point-blank views of and now is on the road to recovery. After the hours of snowbound Snipe- Varied Tit, a delectable mix of black, grey Watching this ibis, with its ornate white searching, a short switch to conventional and glowing rich chestnut. There were crest, red face and red legs, with its long, tourism felt surprisingly welcome. The White’s, Pale and Dusky Thrushes here, curved bill probing into the ground, I town of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima and lots of Rustic Buntings, and both realised how far we had come in a few prefecture, offers a superb glimpse into Long-tailed Rosefinches and Japanese days. With its backdrop of paddyfields, Japan’s colourful past. It was here, in Accentors have been recorded. with deep snow on the ground and the 1868, that the Boshin War brought 700 tall, craggy, forested mountains rearing up years of rule by Shogun (a type of Japan’s Lake District lies to the north of in the background, the scene really wasn’t hereditary military dictator) to an end, Aizu. We stayed in a huge resort near with the siege of Tsuruga Castle. Goshiki-no-mori, on the shores of Lake BW The inhabitants of Aizu were among snow had settled. Stumbling Dusky Thrush the last to be loyal to the shogunate but through the forest, where signs were on the wrong side of history; the warned of dangerous Asiatic Black Emperor Meiji won and was raised to power. Notoriously, during the siege, a Falcated Ducks on one of the lakes, small detachment of young Samurai men, but conditions soon worsened. no more than teenagers, spotted a fire in Aizu from a nearby hilltop. Wrongly was a white-out. Dusky Thrushes thinking that the castle had fallen, they all attempted to commit ritual suicide; managed a superb view of the very only one of the dozen youngsters attractive Japanese Green survived. There are photos of their young Woodpecker, and noted that, as we faces in the restored castle’s exhibition. did, the local Bullfinches have conspicuous pink cheeks. But our There are several terrific birding spots birdwatching.co.uk 83

With many of us considering the option of visiting more UK birding hotspots when regulations allow, the county of Devon will be a popular choice… WORDS ED HUTCHINGS BARNSTABLE EXMOOR W ith its verdant Devon’s southern coast, where ports such meadows, winding as Dartmouth and Salcombe are awash M5 country lanes and cosy with amateur sailors. TAUNTON thatched cottages, Devon has long been Landlubbers flock to the sandy beaches A386 M5 idealised as a vision of a pre-industrial, and seaside resorts, of which Torquay, on ‘authentic’ England. In fact, much of the the south coast, and Ilfracombe, on the RSPB AYLESBEARE BLACKDOWN county is now inhabited largely by retired north, are the busiest. The most attractive DAWLISH WARREN NATIONAL HILLS AONB folk and urban refugees, but there is still are those which have preserved traces of NATURE RESERVE COMMON tranquillity and sugar-free charm to be their 19th Century elegance, such as found here, from moorland villages, to Sidmouth, in east Devon. Inland, the A30 EXETER EAST DEVON quiet coves on the cliff-hung coastline. county is characterized by swards of lush AONB pasture and a scattering of sheltered Reminders of Devon’s leading role in villages, the population dropping to BURRATOR DARTMOOR MARSH RSPB the country’s maritime history are never almost zero on Dartmoor, the wildest and A30 RESERVOIR NATIONAL PARK far away, particularly in the two cities of bleakest of the West’s moors. Exeter and Plymouth. These days, it is the A386 RSPB EXMINSTER ‘yachties’ who take advantage of the Exmoor, with wonderful wooded LABRADOR BAY RSPB numerous creeks and bays, especially on valleys attractive to birds, is the prettier of the county’s two national parks, while PLYMOUTH BERRY HEAD NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE SLAPTON LEY NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE 84 February 2021

TRAVEL DEVON Cirl Bunting FRANZ CHRISTOPH ROBILLER, IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY* FERTILE ESTUARIES BREAK UP THE RUGGED COASTLINE NORTH AND SOUTH SAVO ILIC/ALAMY Red-backed Shrikes are attempting to Six miles to the west, on the east re-establish themselves on Dartmoor. The bank of the River Exe, Bowling Green island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel is Marsh RSPB comprises coastland good for vagrants, while the southern grassland, as well as open water and coast holds localised but increasing marsh. Large numbers of Shoveler, pockets of Cirl Bunting. Wigeon, Teal, Golden Plover, Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit winter, as well as Birds and butterflies Brent Goose and Avocet. Within the western reaches of East Devon Spring brings Shelduck, passage AONB, the quiet Aylesbeare Common Garganey and waders including Ringed RSPB, consisting of pebble-bed lowland Plover, Whimbrel, Ruff, Little Stint and heathland, ponds, streams and wood other sandpipers, as well as Yellow fringes, holds Buzzard, Dartford Warbler Wagtail. The gull and tern roosts are and Yellowhammer, all year. Spring and of interest in summer and high tide summer brings Nightjar, Hobby, Stonechat wader roosts contain many passage and Tree Pipit, while Hen Harrier are birds. Wildfowl, wader roosts and possible in winter. There are a good range Peregrine feature in autumn. of dragonflies, including the rare and Entomologists will find interest in Guillemots ROBERTHARDING/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 85

On the opposite bank of the Exe, Dawlish Warren National quarry area) and Cirl Bunting (in Exminster and Powderham Marshes RSPB Nature Reserve flocks in autumn) are resident. In spring is Devon’s premier wetland, incorporating and summer, up to 1,200 Guillemots nest coastal grazing marsh with freshwater arable, clifftop, semi-improved grassland, on the cliffs below the Southern Fort, ditches and pools, reeds, scrub-covered scrub and woodland. while the reserve is well known as a canal banks, winter stubbles and crops migrant hotspot. Shearwaters and skuas managed for farmland birds. The reserve was purchased in 2008 to can be seen offshore. help secure the future of the Cirl Bunting, Hundreds of Brent Goose and Wigeon which can be seen all year round, as The limestone flora includes Slender inhabit the marshes in winter, plus breeding pairs in spring and summer, Hare’s Ear, eight species of orchid smaller numbers of other common ducks, plus in flocks during autumn and winter, including Autumn Lady’s-tresses, as well Water Rail and Short-eared Owl. In when they feed on the stubbles with other as Autumn Squill; while mammals spring, wildfowl and Redshank breed, as farmland birds including Sky Lark, include Greater and Lesser Horseshoe do Cetti’s Warbler on the canal banks. Chaffinch and Yellowhammer. Buzzard Bats, as well as Common Dolphin and Sadly, this is Devon’s final breeding site and Peregrine are also regular. Offshore, Harbour Porpoise offshore. Walks are for Lapwing. dolphins and Basking Shark may be seen. arranged to see the former. Invertebrates of interest include the alarming Bloody- Summer brings passage waders, gull Nine miles to the south, in the South roosts, Hobby and hirundines, while Devon AONB, Berry Head National Nature autumn holds winter wildfowl, Short- Reserve near Brixham is composed of eared Owl, Peregrine and finch flocks. 200-foot limestone cliffs, grassland and a There are also records of Wood Lark and Cirl Bunting. The reserve has 23 species of dragonfly including the scarce and local Hairy Dragonfly and the very local Scarce Chaser. Great variety Five miles to the south, on the south side of the mouth of the Exe Estuary, the mudflats and shore of Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve are a hightide roost site for wildfowl and waders on the estuary. One can usually see about 20 species just before high tide. The reserve is also made up of dunes, dune grassland, ponds, scrub and woodland. Waders and wildfowl are the main attraction in winter, but the site is also good for divers and Slavonian Grebe offshore. Summer is particularly good for terns, but there is an excellent variety of birds all year, especially on migration. Six miles along the coast to the south-west, Labrador Bay RSPB covers 1.25 miles of coastline a few miles south of Teignmouth. Part of a working farm grazed by cattle in summer and sheep in A gaggle of Canada Geese at the wetland reserve of RSPB Bowling Green Marsh 86 February 2021

Redstart OUR WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY* IAN WOOLCOCK/ALAMY* Spring and summer brings Cuckoo, Nightjar (on heaths), Sky Lark, Wood Warbler, Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Stonechat, Tree Pipit and Linnet. In autumn and winter, there is a good range of birds with feeding at the hide including Lesser Redpoll and Siskin, plus Hen Harrier on Trendlebere Down. There is also a good range of butterflies, including fritillaries and Grayling. A few miles to the south-east, Bovey Heathfield is a mix of wet and dry lowland heath, surrounded by secondary DEVON OFFERS FREEDOM. ITS BEACH-FRINGED woodland covering 58 acres and LANDSCAPE IS STUDDED WITH HISTORIC HOMES, VIBRANT CITIES AND WILD, WILD MOORS containing numerous ponds. Nightjar, Dartford Warbler, Stonechat and Tree Pipit breed, while commoner species include Sky Lark, Linnet and Yellowhammer. Ten miles to the south-west, Slapton Ley Mammals include Hazel Dormouse, Other notable wildlife includes National Nature Reserve, also within the Badger and Otter. Slapton Ley Field Centre South Devon AONB, is the largest offers residential courses on behalf of the heathers, wet and dry heathland plants, freshwater lake in south-west England, Field Studies Council. lying south of Dartmouth on the south more than 60 endangered insect species, coast. It is one of the nation’s finest Sixty miles to the north-west, on the freshwater reedbed and aquatic areas. south side of Dartmoor, Burrator Reservoir Green Hairstreak and Grayling, Slow Intriguingly, although it is only is surrounded by open moorland scrub, separated from the sea by a narrow pine forests and wooded steams. Winter Worm, Grass Snake and Adder. The shingle bar, it is entirely freshwater. brings Goosander, Green Sandpiper, Marsh, reedbeds and woodland constitute Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Brambling, Lesser adjacent industrial estate somewhat takes the remaining habitats. Redpoll, Crossbill and Siskin, while Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Barn Owl, all the edge off, but it is worthy of a visit. Seasonal delights three woodpeckers, Kestrel and Tree Sparrow are resident. Other fauna of Devon has a wide variety of habitats. There is good seawatching in favourable note includes Marsh Fritillary and conditions during spring and autumn, dragonflies, especially in the arboretum, Fertile estuaries break up the rugged plus migrants on passage and a large as well as bats and Otter. gathering of Swallow in autumn roosts. In coastline north and south. There is winter, divers and grebes are on the sea Fifteen miles to the north-east, on the and Bittern occur at Higher Ley, while western edge of Dartmoor, East heathland in the east. Both coniferous diving ducks and grebes are found on Dartmoor Woods and Heaths National Lower Ley. Migrant warblers feature in Nature Reserve consists of three and deciduous woodland. Hilly farmland. spring and summer. connected sites (Yarner Wood, Trendlebere Down and Bovey Valley And of course high moorland. Cetti’s Warbler (around 40 singing Woodlands), a total of 365 hectares (900 males each year) and up to four pairs acres) of upland heathland and oakwood. Devon offers freedom. Its rippling, of Cirl Bunting are resident. The Yarner Wood has probably existed as reserve’s Great Crested Grebe population woodland since prehistoric times. beach fringed landscape is studded with is the most south-westerly in Britain. Slapton Ley is also the only site in Resident species include Sparrowhawk, historic homes, vibrant cities and wild, Britain for Strapwort. Goshawk, Buzzard, all three woodpeckers, Raven, Dartford Warbler wild moors. Here you can ditch schedules and to do lists and hike a rugged coast path, take a scenic boat trip or get lost in hedge lined lanes that are not even on your map. Wherever you go, the scenery is usually magnificent and the birdlife equally as distracting. G For more information please see visitdevon.co.uk and also devonbirds.org/home The Rough Guide to Devon and Cornwall (6th edition) is a highly recommended general guide. BW birdwatching.co.uk 87

View from the observatory DAVID LINDO THE URBAN BIRDER DAVID LINDO Aqaba, Jordan A wealth of brilliant birds await you in the coastal city of Aqaba – but you may want to leave your telescope at home A qaba is the only coastal city in Formally known as Hume’s Owl, it is a JOIRSDRAANEL AQABA BIRD Jordan and is situated in the species that has attained legendary status OBSERVATORY southernmost part of the among world birders, as it has only been EILAT country. It borders Israel and relatively recently discovered and is very GULF OF AQABA AQABA indeed, is directly opposite range-restricted. I had to work for it though, Eilat, a location that is well known for its as it entailed a steep late-night trek into a undertail coverts, outer tail birding riches. I travelled during November mountain range that actually left me feeling and crown. Overhead, Rock Martins were 2019, having been invited to explore the quite sick. The reward was to hear two of regularly swooping. These swallows were wider country as well as to indulge in some these enigmatic owls calling with their clearly paler than the closely-related Crag quality urban birding in Aqaba itself. I distinctive Collared Dove-like hoots, before Martins that I was used to in Spain. stayed with my hosts the Hyatt Regency seeing one closely flap past, illuminated by Aqaba Ayla Resort, an extremely swish the moonlight. Utterly incredible! Every evening, after our daily excursion, five-star hotel complex set in the grounds of I made it a habit to check the larger lake a high-end golf course – itself a fascinating Meanwhile, back at base, there was no birding venue. More about that later. let-up in the excitement. The golf course around the hotel had been designed with I spent the ensuing days on excursions nature in mind, with areas of bushy cover visiting cultural sites such as the amazing along with a couple of water bodies. The Petra, and Star Wars-like dramatic shrubs harboured Sardinian Warblers and, landscapes at Wadi Rum. I encountered perhaps more exotically for me, Scrub incredible desert birds such as Sinai Warblers. They have a weird vibe for a Rosefinch, Brown-necked and Fan-tailed warbler reminding me of a tiny babbler, Ravens and larks galore, like Desert, round bodied with sticky-uppy tails. Bar-tailed, Temminck’s and Greater Hoopoe Larks. Perhaps the most fabulous bird was a White-crowned Wheatears were also brief but good look at a Desert Owl at Dana fairly prevalent, even in the heart of urban Nature Reserve. areas; the males being handsome birds with their black plumage relieved by white Unfinished hide at Enter for great birds Aqaba BO DAVID LINDO 88 February 2021

White-crowned Wheatear BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY Western Reef Egret PAUL STERRY/ALAMY KEY SPECIES Sardinian Warbler Little Stint RED-THROATED PIPIT The Red-throated Pipit is typical member of the pipit tribe: cryptic and sometimes difficult to identify. In the UK it is a sought-after birders bird. Superficially similar to the more familiar Meadow Pipit while in non-breeding plumage, its breeding garb is very distinctive with varying degrees of brick-red on its throat and upper breast. It is a native of the boreal regions of northern Europe and Asia migrating south into southeastern Asia, Africa and locally in the Middle East. In the UK, they principally show up sporadically during the autumn and never seem to hang around for long. In places like Eilat and Aqaba they are common migrants that sometimes overwinter to be found inspecting sports fields and waterside edges for food. SAVERIO GATTO/ALAMY* VINCENZO IACOVONI/ALAMY* (which was still quite small). Birds like My guide, Feras Rahahleh, and I walked DAVID LINDO White Wagtail were plentiful and I around its lagoons tracing the recent tracks watched Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher of the tractors that were still carving out the giant within the ornithological world. – the latter species dramatically hovering paths. Being the manager of the over the water before plunging after fish. observatory, he was very keen to show me I must make you all aware of one major Striated, Squacco, Purple and Grey Herons every single bird on site. all frequented the small lake, along with issue when visiting this incredible country Great White and Little Egrets. Late one We carefully approached the basins to evening, I stumbled across a Western observe hundreds of Cormorants nervously to enjoy its wildlife. You may not be able to Reef Egret. Its dark plumage stuck out like loafing at the opposite end of the lagoons. a sore thumb. Apparently, it was the first Hanging out with them were good bring binoculars, telescopes and cameras record for the site! numbers of Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Ruff, Little Stint, Snipe and into the country! My entry into Jordan at Largely ignored area Red-throated Pipits. Black-headed Gulls were numerous standing alongside some Aqaba Airport wasn’t the most welcoming. The urban birding pièce de résistance was inconspicuously hidden and superficially visiting Aqaba Bird Observatory. Those of similar Slender-billed Gulls. I was held up for 45 minutes being you who have visited the Bird Watching Centre in Eilat could be forgiven for A lone foraging Whiskered Tern, in questioned by authorities over my immediately comparing Aqaba’s offering non-breeding plumage, broke my gaze as as a poor man’s version. Wandering around I was sifting through the bobbing Pintail, possession of a telescope. After threatening an underdog among the more recognised Wigeon, Teal and at least five Ferruginous urban birding jewels in the world appealed Duck – always nice birds to see! to confiscate it, I eventually convinced to my sensibilities. Sleeping giant them otherwise. The very warm welcome Like the former site, Aqaba is a series of managed lagoons with areas of scrub. Some Feras saved the best to last. As I watched offered at the hotel afterwards certainly of the basins are reed-fringed, whereas a couple of Greater Flamingos stride in others are quite bare of vegetation. While another lagoon, he pointed out a couple helped to calm my frayed nerves. Leaving the Israeli site is designed with walkways, of species that were complete newcomers to hides and a visitor centre, Aqaba Bird the scene: around 20 Egyptian Geese and the country was not much better. I was Observatory has none of these luxuries, yet. a lone Lesser White-fronted Goose that Whatever species that has famously turned had taken up permanent residence the stopped a total of five times over my up at the bird watching centre has year before. The Lesser White-front was anonymously turned up in Aqaba. It simply a lifer for me and a perfect way to end telescope and nearly missed my flight as is not visited by many birders. my Jordanian birding experience. Aqaba is certainly another sleeping a result. There does not seem to be any official advice regarding getting permits for optics and cameras. BW DAVID LINDO Thanks to: Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Resort https://www.ayla.com.jo/ Feras Rahahleh at Aqaba Bird Observatory jdtours.com/the-aqaba-bird-observatory Reference Guide: Collins Bird Guide birdwatching.co.uk 89





BIRDS ON THE BRINK Each issue, the team behind Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) looks at conservation issues surrounding different species from the UK and beyond, using beautiful images to inspire. This month it focuses on curlews – the plight of a beleaguered genus of iconic waders WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL STERRY Eurasian Curlew Compared to most of its wading cousins, the Curlew’s long legs and a long bill allow it access to Numenius arquata deeper water and more squelchy, invertebrate- G UK Population: rich mud on our saltmarshes and mudflats. 58,500 pairs (source: BTO) PAUL STERRY G IUCN Red List Category: Red List, Near Threatened G UK Conservation Status: Red Birds on the Brink is a conservation grant-awarding T he genus Numenius comprises million birds were killed each year. charity (Charity No: 1188009) that owns the eight or nine species of wader, Closer to home, the Curlew is a competition Bird Photographer of the Year. Grants depending on which authority are awarded to projects that support bird you choose to believe. breeding species in the UK, and favours conservation, typically offering between £200 and Collectively, they are better rough grassland and moorland when £1,000 to small groups or individuals carrying out known as curlews and whimbrels: large, nesting. Northern Europe is reckoned to grassroots conservation work that has measurable long-legged birds with long, or very long, support more than three quarters of the impact. It was borne of a passion for wildlife and in downcurved bills. Of their number, two Curlew’s global breeding population; particular birds, and is a response to the seemingly species – Slender-billed Curlew Numenius more than 25% of that population nests unstoppable process of human environmental tenuirostris and Eskimo Curlew N. borealis in the UK. According to the British Trust exploitation and biodiversity’s steady progression – have almost certainly become extinct in for Ornithology’s Breeding Bird Survey towards extinction. At its heart there is a our lifetime. The former species bred in there have been significant declines in recognition that all is not yet lost and Birds on the Siberia and wintered around the Scotland, England and Wales, and an Brink aims to inspire people to care using striking Mediterranean, and its demise was overall UK decline of 42% between 1995 imagery - to capture the imagination and thereby probably the result of habitat loss and and 2008, attributed to change of land nurture interest and compassion. Bird Watching degradation; the latter species, once one of use resulting in habitat loss and magazine is proud to support conservation and the most numerous shorebirds breeding on degradation. The species is also money generated by these articles will contribute the North American tundra, was hunted to widespread in the UK on coasts to the funds of Birds on the Brink. extinction; at the height of their outside the breeding season and data For more information, visit destruction, it is said that sometimes two indicates a decline in both numbers and birdsonthebrink.co.uk range in winter. Prey items for the Curlew include surprises such as the occasional small flatfish, and even a feisty Shore Crab as seen here. Undeterred by the pincers, the birds often try to shake off some of the crab’s legs to make the act of swallowing easier. PAUL STERRY 92 February 2021

The call of the Curlew, PART 6 CURLEW often delivered in flight, is an evocative sound of The Curlew’s long bill is sensitive at the tip and allows it to find prey located deep in UK coasts in winter. the mud. This one has found a juicy lugworm which it is attempting to swallow. PAUL STERRY In the UK, Curlews are under threat in the breeding season due to habitat loss and degradation, and human disturbance. They have been extirpated from many of their former lowland haunts and now Britain’s upland grasslands and moors are the species’ stronghold. NEXT PAUL STERRY LARIE CAMPBELL MONTH: Aquatic During the breeding Bristle-thighed Warbler season, Bristle-thighed Curlew Curlews favour hilly Numenius tahitiensis tundra in Alaska and finding one involves a G World Population: hard trek and a good deal 7,000 (source: Birdlife International) of luck. G IUCN Red List Category: Red List, Vulnerable TONY DAVISON/BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMMENDED IMAGE The Bristle-thighed Curlew is a vulnerable wader that was first discovered by science wintering in the South Pacific. Not until the 1940s were its breeding grounds located – 2,500 miles away in Alaska. Post-breeding birds fly non-stop to Hawaii and other tropical islands, where they are vulnerable to hunting and predation; their vulnerability increases during the autumn moulting period when adults are flightless. To add to their woes, rising sea levels are destroying their restricted coastal wintering habitat. birdwatching.co.uk 93

BINOCULARS KITE APC STABILIZED 12X42 £949 Reviewed by David Chandler T 12 minutes after electronics don’t remove all 8x. But that’s not just sunset on a traces of movement – but they comparing IS with non-IS – birdwatchers would reasonably bright day. make the view usable. I was the IS bin has a substantially Close-focus is quoted (pretty impressed with what it does higher magnification and The basics accurately) as four metres. tracking a bird in flight – a much narrower field of view. view of a Great White Egret on It has “military grade This binocular produces a very The dioptre ring stayed in the wing seemed particularly capacity”, providing a 2° good (though narrow) image position when adjusted and stable – it was perhaps even correction angle, two or – brightness is good, and the eyecups (click-stopped more impressive than the three times more correction sharpness is good at distance, with two intermediate added stability given to birds than other consumer though didn’t seem quite so positions) stayed up. I did find on the ground. I tried the APC stabilised binoculars. good close in; and there was the eyepieces steamed up a bit, in a slow moving car (imagine a bit of edge-softness, but sometimes – letting a bit of air a safari experience) – it It’s different nothing distracting. in helps them clear. revealed more detail than a Sometimes, there was some wide-angle 8x (with no IS). This does not look or feel like colour fringing, but again, it It works I took it out in a canoe. When a conventional binocular. It was not a big issue. Low light the canoe was more or less takes a bit of getting used to – performance was good with The point of this binocular is a still the APC delivered a more including the two-finger wide some colour differentiation stable, relatively high stable view than the 8x. From forward positioned focusing magnification view. The a moving canoe the 12x view wheel. Be gentle with the image-stabilisation (IS) works. seemed about as stable as the focusing – I sometimes found Sometimes the image wobbles myself ‘hunting’ to achieve the initially and then settles, but very best focus. The wheel the IS makes a big difference. moves very smoothly with A number plate at 200 metres moderate resistance, through was much easier to read with about one revolution, anti- the IS on – it was barely clockwise towards the possible with it off. The horizon. In normal birding you won’t be moving it more Adjustment of the than a quarter to half a turn. eyepiece spacing is simple and effective This binocular takes batteries! There are two battery chambers – one beside each objective lens. Each holds two AA cells. One side provides the power, the other holds a spare set. One set provides 60 hours of use – quite a lot of birding. The stabilisation is switched on by turning an 18mm diameter wheel on the front of the 94 February 2021

Note the two-finger wide forward actually use. If you have a TRIED & TESTED GEAR positioned focus wheel tremor, spend a lot of your time birding on boats, from TROUSERS of power. A green light tells moving vehicles, in a you they’re awake. It flashes howling gale or watching CRAGHOPPERS STEALL red when they’re dozing. I did birds in flight, or if you WATERPROOF TROUSERS, sometimes see it briefly green simply wanta hand-held when they really should have higher magnification, then £75 been resting! Remarkably, check out this Kite APC even with all the electronics, stabilized binocular. Reviewed by without the batteries this David Chandler binocular only weighs 720g. SPECS If you’re a fair weather birder, turn The blurb says it is one of Eye relief: 17mm the page now. But, if you go out when the lightest 42mm stabilised Field of view: 3.8°/67m@1,000m it’s wet or don’t want to be caught out binoculars ever. Its build Close focus: 4m by rain, sleet or snow, read on. quality seemed very good; Weight: 720g (without batteries) it is waterproof (including Height x width: 184x128mm These are not over-trousers. They the electronics) and RRP: £949 are trousers that you wear as normal nitrogen-filled. Warranty: 30 years optics and trousers, but they are waterproof. chassis, 2 years electronics. Craghoppers describe them as “stretch Not so good Supplied with: wide neoprene performance waterproof trousers”. strap, rainguard, zip-up padded case. Available in black only (Henry Ford would At 67m@1,000m the field of Web: kiteoptics.com approve) the Stealls have an Aquadry view is narrow. Mostly membrane to keep the wet stuff out, a though, I had no problem VERDICT fleecy lining, three zip-up pockets (two getting ‘the bins on the bird’. OPTICS +++ + hand, one on the rear), belt loops and a I’ve been using binoculars HANDLING +++ + partly-elasticated waist, and for decades, however – PRICE +++++ velcro-tabs for cinching in at the someone with less experience OVERALL +++ + ankles. They are described as breathable, windproof and as may find this trickier. offering complete freedom of movement. So… I’ve been wearing them quite a bit and they do a good job. They seem to be well-made, though the pockets, especially the This binocular gives you rear one, could be a bit bigger. These trousers are cosy and handheld 12x detail you can protective – the blurb says “a year-round trail must-have”. One session saw me out for nearly two hours, with light snow at the beginning, which turned to sleet which turned to rain. It was just above freezing and there was a cold breeze at times. These trousers kept me dry and kept the worst of the chill out. Their official warmth rating is 5-15°C. I’d say they can cope with temperatures a bit lower than that, but am not sure I’d want to wear them at the top end of that range. Maybe that depends on how hot-legged you are. I didn’t manage to wear them in torrential rain, so resorted to five minutes or so under the Mira shower, the equivalent of super-torrential. They did very well – they kept me dry. Craghoppers are working hard on their environmental performance – the Stealls are PFC-free and about 28 plastic bottles are recycled to make each pair. The polyester that results is smooth, a little slippery even, and not silent. The rustle wasn’t excessive, wasn’t a particular problem for me, and I suspect completely silent waterproof trousers are hard to come by. I wore the Stealls over ‘posh-wellies’. The legs are wide enough for that without flapping around. The velcro tabs at the ankles are not my favourite feature but could be useful. Sometimes one of them came unstuck and flapped around a bit, but not always. VERDICT If you want cosy trousers to keep you dry, at a price that isn’t too excessive, consider these and look after them well to get the best out of them for as long as possible. 100% polyester. 535g. 30-42’’ waist in various leg lengths. Guaranteed for life. Craghoppers make other waterproof trousers ,too. Aysgarth (£75) are the women’s equivalent. craghoppers.com birdwatching.co.uk 95

NEW PRODUCTS GEAR WishList Essential gear to spend your hard-earned cash on this month WORDS DAVID CHANDLER VICTORINOX SWISS NATIONAL TRUST NOVO MANTIS MP50 CHAMP WOOD, £105 DUCK & SWAN BLEND, MONOPOD, £99.90 £2.50 FOR 1.5L/900G A Swiss Army Knife that is embellished with Walnut It’s two legs short of the full tripod, wood from European forests and has a low carbon Ducks and swans need more than bread. This blend is, so not as stable, but easier to carry footprint. It boasts 29 ‘functions’ – though the key and manage in confined spaces. This ring doesn’t really count in my book. There are blades prefer this to other blends carbon-fibre leg is just 413mm long and for cutting fruit or cheese when you stop for lunch, a (I made that last bit up by a lightweight, at 530g. Six leg sections bottle opener and corkscrew for celebrating great birds, the way). It’s a mix of barley, give a maximum height of 1.55m – more screwdrivers, scissors and pliers, a ruler, a magnifying wheat, dried grass pellets, with a ballhead. It has big twist locks and glass, and for idle moments in the hide, a nail file… can cope with a 20kg load. And then 91x33mm. 185g. victorinox.com (it doesn’t float though). there’s the dual 1/4” and 3/8’’ thread, Sales help the National a screw-off rubber foot with a spike BORN TO underneath, a detachable wrist strap, REWILD birdfood.co.uk bag, and 5-year warranty. T-SHIRT, £19 novo-photo.com £6.99 RSPB HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS, 5TH EDITION, PETER HOLDEN AND RICHARD GREGORY, £12.99 a million copies. It does a job as a conservation story to promote. These organic cotton Hopefully, you won’t be in the the birds between its covers – with T-Shirts are plastic-free, and printed on demand here 20%. An ‘Allergy Friendly Product’ sections on behaviour, habitat, in the UK in a factory that runs on renewable energy. approved by the Vegetarian voice, breeding biology, longevity What’s not to like? Available in black or white, for XS- Society. haymax.biz and movements, population XXL men, and women from size 8-18. trends and conservation status. rewilding-britain.teemill.com bloomsbury.com PÁRAMO VORTEX DIAMONDBACK HD KNITTED BIRDS, £12.99 BEANIE, £22 20-60X85MM STRAIGHT/ ANGLED SPOTTING SCOPE, £12.99 buys you a 128 page 18.8x23.4cm paperback by This hat is clever. It can £559 Nicola Fijalkowska with instructions for knitting over 30 keep you warm and birds. Some can be produced relatively quickly, others cool. It’s made from This new Diamondback is one of the more affordable are more complex. The book also contains information Parameta® G fabric big scopes on the market. It comes with a bigger to help you sew up your birds, stuff them, and make legs with a stretch fleece objective and HD glass – for extra brightness and a lining, is warm and clearer image, and a new eyepiece with a field of view that work – so your protective, quick wicking that’s up to 20% wider. It’s fully waterproof, argon woolly creations can and quick drying. You stand, perch, or grip can wear it under a hood or on its own (other clothing your finger. If you knit recommended). The fleecy grid traps air for warmth a lot you can knit a when it’s under something windproof. Uncover it and Knot. I don’t know if gaps in the grid let air in for cooling. Confused? Maybe Knot is in there but you should just try one. Available in a range of colours. I couldn’t resist that. 50g. paramo-clothing.com shopping.rspb. org.uk 96 February 2021

TRIED & TESTED GEAR Book BOOK Review OF THE MONTH We take a look at the latest releases... WORDS JOHN MILES AND MATT MERRITT £14.99 EDITED BY JOSEP DEL HOYO, LYNX £85 WAVEBREAKMEDIA LTD UC18/ALAMY* This is a collection of work by This is one amazing book which, as the title suggests, covers all the birds Melissa from her writings in you would hope to see on this planet, which today stands at a total of Nature Notes for The Times. 11,524 species. Many subspecies are also shown, and the 3,313 endemic They range from 2014 to 2020, species are marked. They are painted by 32 different artists, many from and cover geographical areas the UK. There are distribution maps on each bird and 37 larger maps at ranging from South London, the back of the book, so you can’t go wrong. The status of each bird is shown and there are even details of how to find video, photos and sound Dartmoor and Dorset to her recordings of each species. new home in Suffolk, although the stories do venture out of This book will certainly allow you to browse the birds you have already these areas, too, covering topics in the news at that seen, and push you to see even more around the world. time. They do cover a lot of bird sightings, as Melissa has a dog which takes her out walking at least three times a day! This is an easy to read book, and ideal for those long winter nights. THE BUMBLEBEE LEE BOOK NICK OWENS, £8.99 HB £24.95 There have been some good crime and mystery novels using birding as With so much work going on in a backdrop, but this is more of a your gardens to promote male-led rom-com – along the lines wildlife, this is another book you of High Fidelity, with birds replacing need to get to ID these bands. And it’s very enjoyable, with amazing insects, along with well-drawn characters, a good plot, their ‘cuckoo’ forms. The book and enough birding detail to keep you is well laid out, with a large happy. Perfect reading for a long number of pictures on each species. One chart shows the changing journey, or to relax after a hard day’s gull IDing. emergent dates from 1912 to 2015 in the south of Britain, indicating the way that increasing temperatures are having an effect on these birdwatching.co.uk 97 bumblebees! There are lists of flowers to use in your garden, as well as conservation tips, life cycles, bumblebee mimics and lots more.