147 for 2009

Despite quite a bit of effort I was unable to add any more to the list in the last 2 months or so and the year finished on 147.

In some ways it was a very frustrating year. Concerted efforts to see certain species were unsuccessful but this was balanced by some good fortune at other times. It was galling that one of the few days the Glossy Ibis failed to visit Maxey was the day I made the long ride out there and this wasn't the only species to show when I was in the car but refuse to perform when making the effort to cycle.

Then again it was lucky to pick up Osprey from the house and even more so to get a Gannet flying past the office window.

Common Scoter, Ferry Meadows

Found today by Paul Taylor.

147 Common Scoter

Common Scoter Melanitta nigra, male


Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x20

Red Crested Pochard

Found this on Lynch Lake at Ferry Meadows this morning with 36 Wigeon.

146 Red Crested Pochard

Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina, first-winter male

Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x20

Rock Pipit

This was a little galling. I have been checking the north shore of Gunwade Lake for Rock Pipit all this week without any joy but this morning had to drop the car off at the garage so wasn't there. So the call from Mike to say he'd found one was intensely annoying. In the end I managed to rush home and bike there in the evening with just enough light to rattle off a few shots, one of which was just about passable.

This is getting to be a habit, twitching Mike's birds. Hopefully the rightful order will soon be restored and he can get back to twitching mine... ;)

145 Rock Pipit

Scandinavian Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus littoralis

Canon Powershot SX10

Scaup

Yesterday Mike found another Scaup at Ferry Meadows with a party of Tufted Duck. There had been one here back in January but this was before the cycling madness had taken hold so I was keen to see this one. There was no sign yesterday when I passed through at 17:30 and I could only find a couple of Tufties then, so it was a relief to hear from Matt that they were all back in the late evening. This morning it was showing well on the east side of Overton Lake.

144 Scaup

Scaup Aythya marila, female

Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x20

Gannet

What an astonishing stroke of luck! Chris Park had just texted me to say he had a juvenile Gannet flying over Ferry Meadows so I thought I'll take a look out of my office window to see if anything was passing and there was a 3rd calendar year Gannet flying straight towards me heading down Broadway towards Peterborough town centre! I quickly grabbed the compact camera and started firing away more in hope than anything else and this is the result. I hope the bird doesn't suffer too much from the wire it seems to have got entangled with.

143 Gannet

Gannet Morus bassanus, 3rd cal year

Canon Powershot A2100 IS

Ruff & Whinchat

A brisk southwesterly propelled me to the Nene Washes central drove in little more than an hour this morning. The Cranes still eluded me and, with Wood Sandpiper and Whinchat being reported from here yesterday, the were three potential ticks.

The waders were all on field 20 near the end of the drove but the water here is distant and there is a lot of vegetation so it is virtually impossible to see the birds. With a bit of patience I eventually managed to see at least 3 Greenshank and r4 Ruff, along with more numerous Lapwing, but no Wood Sand.

I set off back down the drove more hopeful of Whinchat with the sun now behind me. But the wind was now into my face, I was cold and becoming increasingly despondent. At this point I'd forgotten that Ruff was actually a year tick and thought this was yet another long ride without a result. Even seeing a Cuckoo half way back didn't cheer me too much.

Then I met fellow biking birder Steve Gann. We had a short chat and by now time was getting on and I needed to get going for work. Then he casually mentioned there was a Whinchat behind me on the fence. We went back a bit to get the light behind us and there were 4 of them! If I hadn't bumped into Steve I'd have ridden right past them. They were just getting up from wherever they had been hiding. Thanks Steve!

141 Ruff
142 Whinchat

Redstart

Two ticks in a day! Well it does follow a rather lean time.

I was cycling home and decided to take a quick look where the Spotted Flycatcher had been on Heron Meadow this morning and there was a spanking male Redstart shaking off the rain from the heavy shower that had just abated. It didn't show for long but Don and Mike got onto it again a bit later on.

This is only the second Redstart I've found in the area.

140 Redstart

Tree Pipit

At last a new addition to the list. It has been very slow going recently despite getting back to cycling to work regularly for the past week or more. Several false alarms have been very frustrating: a flushed crake at the end of a long pre-work cycle to the end of the Central Drove of the Nene Washes that was probably Corncrake but couldn't be sure; then Don's latest Redstart, found on Sunday, failed to show yesterday.

However the numbers of small migrants gathering at Ferry Meadows has been very encouraging and had me down there early again this morning. There was no sign of yesterday's Black Terns but the poplar clump at the south end of Coney Meadow was once again bristling with passerines. A Lesser Whitethroat revealed itself among the mass of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, then just as a friendly lady stopped to chat I heard an unfamiliar explosive buzzing call from overhead. It called several more times and I thought I heard another close by. I watched the bird fly off south over the campsite but it took a while for the penny to drop: Tree Pipit of course. Not a call I hear very often at all.

After waiting a while with Matt Webb to see if the bird(s) reappeared I continued around the park picking up a flock of Swifts and a Spotted Flycatcher on the edge of Heron Meadow before continuing into work.

139 Tree Pipit

Mediterranean Gull

Well, what a day! Got off early on the bike but just as I was starting to pick up speed down Greenhill towards Bullock Road a young rabbit darted out from nowhere straight into the front wheel. I didn't even have chance to brake and found my self lying painfully on the edge of the old road in a mixture of mud and bramble.

Checking for damage I didn't seem to be too bad and the bike was OK but everything was a bit of a mess so I decided to head home and get cleaned up. Just behind me lay the body of the rabbit; it had been killed outright! One bonus anyway, that went in the pannier and will provide a nice meal.

On getting home I found that my camera had taken a hit to the zoom button and battery compartment and wouldn't start up. Bollocks! The A640 has been a brilliant camera and you can't get them for love nor money now. I checked and couldn't find one second hand.

Managed to patch myself up and bike into work on time so at lunchtime headed into town to find a replacement. I liked the sound of the A2100, which has the same close focus ability as the A640 (1cm) and very little vignetting with the scope. A bit of an impulse buy but thought I'd try it out.

Turns out not to be as configurable as the A640 and the lens is no where near as sharp, as the shots below will testify but it will do for the time being.

On the way home from work I checked out the hides at Ferry Meadows and was delighted to find this juvenile Mediterranean Gull with a small party of Black-headed Gulls on the reserve. An ideal opportunity to try out the digiscoping abilities of the new camera.

138 Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus, juvenile

Digiscoped with Canon A2100 and Leica APO77 x20

Garganey

Earier in the year I made a few rides out to the Nene Washes, most notably to get Cattle Egret, but failed to find any Garganey, despite seeing them while driving out that way. Today I decided to check out if there was any water on the High Wash, which often has waders at this time of the year. On the way I discovered quite a bit of water on Stanground Wash and this was attracting a few birds, including ducks, gulls, terns and a few Lapwing.

So I stopped and deployed the scope to check it out. I soon came across a Shoveler and then picked out a Wigeon. I couldn't find any waders other than the Lapwings (but the potential was there) then noticed a smaller duck slip into the water and start feeding. Although a bit distant this was clearly a Garganey and a very welcome addition to the list.

I'll have to make some more lunchtime trips out to here while these conditions persist. Wood Sandpiper should be a possibility.

137 Garganey

Crossbills

A persistent puncture meant I was in the car yesterday. I was on the way to Maxey when I realised time was getting on so stopped at Southey Woods where I found a party of 18 Crossbills. Clearly an invasion was underway but that is an awkward place to get to on the bike.

By the time I set off this morning it was already gone 7am and I reckoned I'd need a bit more time to get to Southey so set off up Greenhill to go in via Orton BP instead. Imagine my surprise when a flock of about 10 Crossbills flew low right in front of me calling. An astonishing record for Elton and a massive stroke of luck that saves me a ride out to Southey that I was not relishing at all.

136 Crossbill

Osprey

Been cycling to work most days in the past weeks but this is a difficult time of the year to advance a year list and I've succeeded only in increasing the number of kms, accidents, injuries and punctures!

So it was nice today to be gazing out of the bedroom window when an Osprey headed north along the far side of the Nene over the water meadows, circling occasionally to give good enough, if rather distant and hazy, views.

135 Osprey

#134

Can't say what it was or where it was as this is another rare breeding species but it is another welcome addition to the year list.

134 A mystery

1500km and a new day record

Now over 1500km travelled by bike in search of birds in this area and today set a new working day total record of 74 species.

I'd already notched up Bullfinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker before leaving Elton as I set off up Greenhill this morning. The 'pecker was the first of at least 8 seen during the day. They seemed to be popping up everywhere. It is often a tricky species to find but with a noisy nesthole full of young in Lynch Wood is a virtual certainty right now.

Further up Greenhill a Garden Warbler was singing near Keeper's Cottage; another species not guaranteed. A Painted Lady flew up from the track just past the bypass.

The Linnets in the Bullock Road area failed to show but the Little Owl was out in the open along the Billing Brook and there were 2 Meadow Pipits singing nearby; often the only ones I see on a working day. Linnets showed shortly after just past the A1, shortly after a Cuckoo had flown over on the west side.

Approaching Orton BP another Great Spot and a Garden Warbler were singing from the wood and a Painted Lady flew over the farmland where a Red-legged Partridge was the only sighting of the day. A Grasshopper Warbler was singing again on the heathy area at the west for the first time in a while, perhaps preparing for a second brood. A Cuckoo also sang here.

Most of the common warblers appeared at OBP, including what looked like young Garden Warblers but I still hadn't heard Chiffchaff or Lesser Whitethroat as I headed off to CEGB passing yet another Great Spot.

The reservoir is the only site on my usual routes to hold Little Grebes in the summer and sure enough one showed here (they aren't always obliging). I also added a Redshank and Pied Wagtail, another species that often eludes me but I would see more of both of these later.

Next stop Fletton Lake. On the way a Lesser Whitethroat sang from alongside the railway line and a young Fox showed very well on the Ikea grassland. With water levels low the islands managed to attract a couple of Redshank and an adult Little Ringed Plover.

From here I headed into work via Town Bridge where the Sand Martins were active but I failed to see Grey Wagtail, the first of many sites I was to check for this species. A Sparrowhawk here was a bonus, even though I was to get another later in the morning flying over my office carrying prey.

Other often tricky species like Kestrel and Stock Dove had also shown on the way in so, with a good list of about 64 species already under the belt, I decided a bike ride out at lunchtime would be a good idea and headed off to Stanground Lock for a second dip on Grey Wagtail. Further on, Bradley Fen Pit came up trumps with another Redshank and a Little Egret but I could only see Mallard and Tufted Duck, and not the hoped for Pochard, Gadwall or Teal. The Millenium Bridge to Fitzwilliam Bridge is another dead cert for Grey Wagtail that failed to deliver. A Cuckoo flying over Padholme PS and a Gadwall on the outfall were the only consolation.

The Old Sewage Works managed to rescue what would have been a very embarrassing omission; Chiffchaff, the only one of the day! Sadly the Tawny Owl now seems to have abandoned the tree hole there.

The cycle home went past a Peregrine site and another two Grey Wagtail sites without adding either species. There were another 6 Redshank on the reserve at Ferry Meadows along with 5 Gadwall and one addition to the day list; a male Teal. A Kingfisher glimpsed as it dashed across Overton was my first for at least a couple of weeks and another bonus but that was the last addition to the day list on the way home.

All these Great Spotted Woodpeckers and I realised I still hadn't seen or heard Green Woodpecker all day. So I slipped out after tea and headed up to the church where the Spotted Flycatchers performed well but no Green Wood. I ended up flushing one from the roadside near Elton Bridge after checking the Mill and river for Grey Wagtail (along with Red Kite the only common species to elude me during the day).

The final tick of the day came from the bedroom window where a distant Common Buzzard could be seen hovering persistently over towards Fotheringhay.

Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata



Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Great Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Teal
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
Red-legged Partridge
Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Little Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Redshank
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Little Owl
Swift
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Grasshopper Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Spotted Flycatcher
Long-tailed Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Bullfinch
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting

Spotted Flycatcher

Been checking a few places for this species with no luck so pleased to find one calling away and showing well in an ash tree in the churchyard at Elton this evening. This is an annual breeding site for a species that is becoming harder and harder to find locally.

133 Spotted Flycatcher

Black-necked Grebe

Must have missed this as I steamed through Ferry Meadows this morning but fortunately Matt was on the ball and picked it up. I buzzed out at lunchtime and managed a record shot as it drifted further and further away unfortunately.

Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis


132 Black-necked Grebe

Greenshank

One of the problems with this list is the lack of any really good wader habitat on my normal routes or within easy reach of home/work. March Farmers, Maxey GP and Baston and Langtoft GP are the best sites at the moment attracting such goodies as Sanderling, Whimbrel, Curlew, Turnstone, Grey Plover and many more to come. But I have to make do with the High Wash, Beeby's BP and Ferry Meadows none of which attracts a great variety of waders. The wader scrape on the reserve at Ferry Meadows is now looking a lot better though and today held a Greenshank and a couple of Redshank.

131 Greenshank

Terns galore

I'm going to give up looking at weather forecasts. Today it was supposed to be chucking it down by the afternoon but there have only been a few showers. As a result I decided to leave the bike at home and try to find a few birds by car. There was barely anything of note at Maxey though, despite many terns and waders dropping in all over the region.

Then news came through of Black Terns and two Little Terns at Ferry Meadows. Well my only option was to wait until after work and cycle there from home. A tense afternoon ended and I drove home via Fletton Lake, picking up nine Black Terns there on the way as a bonus.

I hurtled to Ferry Meadows into the brisk easterly in 23 minutes and the sight of two Little Terns fluttering over Gunwade Lake was magical. The three Black Terns on Gunwade kept to the SW end but another seven were on Overton along with a fair few Common Terns. I couldn't see any Arctic Terns there at all.

130 Little Tern

Dotty

It is fairly mad to cycle all the way out to Turves but these 10 Dotterel were very nice to see and I'm very pleased they stuck around long enough to give me a chance to get out to them. The Turtle Dove was sitting by the green wheel between King's Dyke NR and the High Wash.

Also saw Corn Bunting, Shelduck, Oystercatcher and Kingfisher on the ride this morning.

128 Dotterel
129 Turtle Dove

62 species seen in 34km.

One Megametre

Today saw the 1000km clocked up and was my best one day total so far with 72 species showing during the 40km cycling to and from work. As always with any list despite a bit of effort some species just refused to show; e.g. Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Red Kite.

Here are the 72:

Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Great Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Marsh Harrier
Buzzard
Kestrel
Hobby
Peregrine
Red-legged Partridge
Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Lapwing
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Black Tern
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Little Owl
Swift
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Wheatear
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Long-tailed Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Bullfinch
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting

Black Tern

Probably more to come looking at the forecast for continuing easterlies and rain by Wednesday. Great bird to see though as I hit about 1000km cycled so far this year.

127 Black Tern

Just a Hobby

Back in the saddle after another weekend away in Hampshire (during which a trip of Dotterel turned up in the area, which I might still be able to get to). The wind now firmly in the NE I set off via the brick pits hoping to pick up a tern or Little Gull.

Climbing up Greenhill from Elton I caught sight of a Hobby belting towards the village from Keeper's Cottage. The rest of the trip into work was also good with Little Owl sitting out at Haddon village, Marsh Harrier at an undisclosed location, a Wheatear on the cleared land between Hampton and Jones' Covert, a Cuckoo near there and Grey Wagtails at the Town Bridge.

126 Hobby

Cattle Egret

Once again I was heading to Hampshire when a good bird turns up but I was back this morning and took a gamble on the Cattle Egrets still being there. A strong tail wind helped me get to the High Wash in 50 minutes and I quickly relocated one egret with the cattle on the Whittlesey side of the wash towards the eastern end. Then I faced the slog back to work into the wind but at least the rain had stopped by then. The traffic along the North Bank Road is utterly dreadful though.

125 Cattle Egret

In an intruiging postscript to this sighting two more Cattle Egrets arrived later in the day, making a total of three. If these were the two that were present the previous day then the one I found this morning was a totally new bird and the second time I've found the species in the PBC area.

Iceland Gull

I think this is my fourth ride out to Tanholt this year and on each of the previous trips I've ended up with a puncture. This time I appear to have avoided that but there were few birds, let alone the Iceland Gull reported from here on Sunday and presumably seen again yesterday going to roost on the Nene Washes.

I decided to return via Dogsthorpe Tip and quickly spotted many large gulls resting in the field opposite. This very pale Iceland Gull was virtually in the middle of my field of view as I lifted my bins to view them.

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides

Digiscoped (at some distance) with Canon A640 and Leica APO77 x20

124 Iceland Gull

Swift

After a few days away in Hampshire it's good to be home again and adding to the list.

123 Swift

Garden Warbler and Cuckoo

Coming in through Ferry Meadows this morning netted me a couple of cycling firsts.

121 Garden Warbler
122 Cuckoo

Ring Ouzel

So yesterday I decided to make a mad dash after work to see the Ring Ouzel reported by George Walthew at King's Dyke. Failing to find it made the hard 20km ride home even more difficult and I really regretted the attempted twitch.

This morning, just as I was leaving the house, I had a message from Mike to say he had found another one. This was at Caldecote. Within cycling range but it would be another hard ride. I was there in about 40 minutes but couldn't see the bird immediately. I had to walk a little way up the field before I saw it feeding towards the top end so I rattled off a couple of record shots and retreated to start the long ride into work.

Coming in via Orton BP, CEGB reservoir and Fletton Lake netted me some more good sightings, the best being a male Goldeneye and my first Common Sandpiper of the year at CEGB.

Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus

© Brian Stone Digiscoped with Canon A640 and Leica APO77 x20

119 Ring Ouzel
120 Common Sandpiper

Corn Bunting at last

It's depressing how difficult it is to catch up with Corn Buntings in this area now. I've taken a long ride out into Newborough Fen earlier this year and tried Farcet Fen yesterday without any joy. However this morning I was talking to the Toadsnatcher, that doyen of fenland birding, and he reminded me about King's Delph. This is an excellent area of fenland just north of Blackbush (which is probably the best of all but a bit further away) and I realised that this would probably be in lunchtime range. So I headed off that way and was in the habitat within 20 minutes. Only a few minutes later I had 2 Yellow Wagtails on a wire calling away and moment after that a Corn Bunting started singing nearby.

I also flushed a Snipe out of a ditch here and had two more smart Wheatears on the fields. Excellent stuff!

117 Yellow Wagtail
118 Corn Bunting

More migrants

Another foggy morning but this time it didn't clear until after I arrived at work. Cycled via Orton Brick Pit this morning and there were clearly a few more Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat in plus my first Reed Warbler singing at the SW end of the pits and at least one Nightingale singing near Hampton Vale.

115 Reed Warbler
116 Nightingale

Wheatear and Tawny Owl

Biked to and from work via Ferry Meadows today bumping into those other biking birders Don and Mike. Didn't see anything new but a Black-tailed Godwit feeding on the reserve was nice.

At lunchtime I took a ride out to Farcet Fen but couldn't find any Corn Buntings or Grey Partridges along Conquest Drove. Then I noticed what I thought was a Mistle Thrush on the ground in the distance. As soon as it moved I realised the slight miscalculation of scale as it was a smart male Wheatear just on the edge of Farcet village.

113 Wheatear

I was on my own for a while in the evening so took a short ride via Elton Bridge at dusk. Mammals were out in force near Ranger Pigs with a young female Roe Deer, a small party of Fallow Deer, a Fox and some bats. Then on the way back two Tawny Owls were calling to each other and flying around by the bridge and one showed very well in the failing light. I've been surprised not to hear anything from the house so far this year and with the Old Sewage Works bird now left this was a year tick.

114 Tawny Owl

Covered 61km today and racked up 63 species.

Egyptian Goose

A lunchtime trip out to the High Wash produced my first rarity for the green list. Egyptian goose can be hard to catch up with even by car so this is real bonus.

The location of the two Marsh Harriers had better remain quiet for now just in case, but it's another nice species to have under the belt.

111 Egyptian Goose
112 Marsh Harrier

Managed 55km on the bike today and clocked up 69 species including 5 new for the year.

Three Warblers

Back in the saddle for the commute again and coming via Haddon and Orton BP notched up a few common warblers.

108 Whitethroat
109 Grasshopper Warbler
110 Lesser Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Went on a tour of likely Ring Ouzel spots around Old Sulehay and Ring Haw this morning. There was a Siskin in our birch trees first thing, the first for the garden this year, and a Sedge Warbler was singing near the Elephant Grass field on the Nassington Road. Parties of 50 Fieldfare in Elton and another 10 at Ring Haw were interesting.

107 Sedge Warbler

Common Tern

A morning cycle ride to Ferry Meadows failed to reveal the hoped-for Sandwich Tern but there were a couple of Common Terns, plenty of Sand Martins, Swallows and Willow Warblers and another Kingfisher.

106 Common Tern

70 in a day

Working from home this afternoon produced 4 raptors and House Martin contributing to a new maximum day total of 70 species. Not bad for a working day.

Great Crested Grebe
Great Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Shelduck
Gadwall
Teal
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Tufted Duck
Red Kite
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
Red-legged Partridge
Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Lapwing
Redshank
Green Sandpiper
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Fieldfare
Song Thrush
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Treecreeper
Jay
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting

Willow Warbler

Lots of dipping this morning. There were Little Gulls at Ferry Meadows yesterday but I wasn't able to get to them and unfortunately they were gone when I cycled through this morning. I also failed to find the recent Iceland Gull among the large gulls at Dogsthorpe/Tanholt. This could still turn out to be my highest ever BIGBY day total as things like Kingfisher, Little Egret and Shelduck showed at Ferry Meadows, I had my first Willow Warbler of the year at Orton Meadows, the Grey Wagtail pair is back on territory at Orton Lock and Redshank and Green Sandpiper showed at the Sewage Works. 62 species so far with no raptors on the list as yet.

105 Willow Warbler

House Martin

Another gorgeous day with up to 6 Common Buzzards and a few Red Kites over the house. Biked out to beyond Nassington to do a BTO Atlas square but spent most of the day working in the garden where a pair of House Martins flying through added to the year total.

104 House Martin

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Not sure how many times I've ridden out to Old Sulehay this year. Quite a few anyway. This time hit the jackdaw, I mean jackpot, with a superb male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling and drumming a great deal near the centre of the wood. Lots of Nuthatch activity and action from the other two woodpecker species. Still no Willow Warblers though.

I've now cycled about 500km so far this year.

103 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Water Pipit

A glorious morning for my second long morning ride out to the Nene Washes. A misty 06:30 start had me worried I wouldn't see much but by the time I was at the Dog in a Doublet, just over an hour later, the mist had cleared. No sign of any Garganey, no raptors and no waders other than the breeding birds; in fact overall rather disappointing. Plenty of time for all that though so quite satisfied to settle for a couple of Water Pipits towards the end of the central drove.

57 species seen doing the 40km from home to the end of the drove and back to work. Highlights were the many Chiffchaffs singing along Oundle Road, 3 Blackcaps singing around King's Dyke, 3 Green Sandpipers, a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail at the Sewage Works, another Grey Wagtail at the Town Bridge and a Little Egret on the washes.

102 Water Pipit

Cloak and Dagger

I really wanted to get to 100 species before the end of March so today I biked to a top secret location known to rather a lot of people, but which must, nonetheless, remain under wraps. There I was fortunate enough to add two species.

100 Little Ringed Plover
101 Peregrine

Swallow

Today started off very well with a Chiffchaff singing in the garden, first this year. Cycled into work via Orton Brick Pit and the Little Owl was showing well at Haddon. Failed to find the Glaucous Gull at Tanholt at lunchtime. Then loads of good birds at Ferry Meadows on the way home including about 100 Sand Martin and my first Swallow of the year. Little bonuses like Kingfisher and Snipe here resulted in my highest green day total this year - 65 species to show for about 50km riding today.

99 Swallow

Mandarin

Putting in loads of bike miles at the moment but the next tick came from the comfort of the bedroom. This morning a pair of Mandarin flew south along the river then turned back towards Nassington. Just before that two Ruddy Shelduck flew south as well. These were also seen at Ferry Meadows today and ended up on the Nene Washes by the end of the day. They aren't on the British list as yet, although if you ask me they are most likely to come from the large Dutch population so there must be a chance they will be on Category C5 before long.

98 Mandarin

Jay

It's quite possible I've overlooked Jay up to now, especially having spent a few mornings in Old Sulehay searching unsuccessfully for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. I don't remember coming across one before now in any case so the one by the river in Bluebell Wood this morning was good. There were also 3 Kingfishers noisily chasing each other around here for ages and a male Goldeneye on the river.

97 Jay

Sand Martin

A good selection of birds on the way into work this morning including 7 Sand Martins on Overton Lake, a few Siskins scattered about, Redpolls again near Orton Mere and at least 4 Chiffchaffs singing in various places. 47 species seen on the way in.

96 Sand Martin

Redpolls

A bumper haul this morning. I was a bit late leaving home so I decided to take the direct route via Ferry Meadows. A good decision and I ended up seeing 50 species on the way to work including a Water Rail calling on the reserve as well as the year ticks mentioned here.

The Redpoll flock was along the cycleway at Orton Water between the golf course and the railway. Several of the Lesser Redpolls were singing but the first bird I saw well was a female Mealy Redpoll feeding in a larch right by the track. Quite a pale bird with white, lightly streaked undertail coverts and whitish tramlines leading to a pale rump.

A Chiffchaff singing here was the second of the morning after another at Heron Meadow.

93 Chiffchaff
94 Lesser Redpoll
95 Mealy Redpoll

The addition of things like a Little Egret roosting on the island at Orton BP on the way home brought the day's total to 60 species just cycling to and from work.

Ringed Plover

Cycled in via Orton BP (which is due to produce a good bird any time now) and Crown Lakes. A vast levelled area between Crown Lakes and the Beebys Brick Pits is littlered with flooded pools and will certainly be worth checking once migration is under way. I'll make do with the Ringed Plover that was on there this morning.

The Little Owl was again on his favourite willow along the Billing Brook near Haddon this morning.

92. Ringed Plover

Cycled home via the gull roost at CEGB but failed to find anything other than the five common species. However birds seen on the way home did contribute towards a pretty large day list of 62 species - only one less than the day I biked out to the Nene Washes. It will be interesting to see what a full day on the bike could produce in May.

Little Owl

Biked into work via Haddon and Orton BP this morning. OBP was uneventful with just a few Goldeneye and a Kingfisher but a Little Owl showed well along the Billing Brook.

91 Little Owl

Nene Washes

When I set out on this year list I wasn't sure how feasible visits to the most diverse location in the area would be. This morning I set off from work on the bike at 06:45 and had a good half an hour or so to explore the central drove before heading back. Plus the route there and back takes in the High Wash and Stanground Wash, both of which have good birds at times.

Four species added to the year list this morning, although not the hoped for Water Pipit. The washes are extensively flooded and the drove is completely flooded from about half way. It's pretty wet and muddy before that too and very hard going on a bike.

There were 260 Whoopers and about 10 Bewick's Swans, 1000+ Black-tailed Godwits, 13 Dunlin, 2 Oystercatchers and many Lapwing, Snipe, Redshank, Golden Plover and wildfowl.

In total this bike ride of just over two hours netted 61 species. A couple more species added later in the day brought the green day total to 63.

87 Whooper Swan
88 Black-tailed Godwit
89 Bewick's Swan
90 Dunlin

Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus



Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa icelandica


Bewick's Swans Cygnus columbianus

Orton BP

Another two species added this morning thanks to a ride out to Orton BP and CEGB Reservoir. The latter is now very deep and didn't produce much. Orton BP is as ever humming with birds, although I only found one Tree Sparrow remaining from the large flock there earlier in the year. There was also a Kingfisher here.

85 Tree Sparrow
86 Water Rail

Green Listing

Last year was an amazing one for the variety of birds seen in the PBC area. Of the 205 species recorded in total both Mike Weedon and I saw 189 (with just a few differences in the make up of the 189). This is a new record.

It was a great encouragement to get out in the field but did involve a lot of driving about the 12 10km squares. This year has got off to a slow start for me but, in an attempt to cut down the amount of driving and improve health and fitness, this year I'm trying to set a total without using the car.

The rules are the usual plus all species must be seen without using anything other than human-powered transport from either home of place of work. This amounts to the garden list plus what I can get to by bike.

Despite a slow start I am now well under way with some exellent birds already under the belt. My regular lunchtime cycles along the Nene east of Peterborough have already netted Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Stonechat, Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Pintail and a Goosander. A trip to Bradley Fen picked up an unexpected lunchtime Barn Owl and a long hard ride out to Newborough Fen revealed a Little Egret (but not the hoped for Grey Partridge or Corn Bunting). Rides out to Old Sulehay and Thornhaugh Quarry this weekend have added Nuthatch, Woodcock and Jack Snipe.

Today was my first cycling into work; a ten mile trip that can take in a few good sites. This morning I came via Ferry Meadows and added Goldeneye, Oystercatcher and Shelduck taking the list to a respectable 84.

1 Grey Heron 01-Jan
2 Red Kite 01-Jan
3 Kestrel 01-Jan
4 Pheasant 01-Jan
5 Lapwing 01-Jan
6 Black-headed Gull 01-Jan
7 Common Gull 01-Jan
8 Woodpigeon 01-Jan
9 Collared Dove 01-Jan
10 Green Woodpecker 01-Jan
11 Great Spotted Woodpecker 01-Jan
12 Pied Wagtail 01-Jan
13 Dunnock 01-Jan
14 Robin 01-Jan
15 Blackbird 01-Jan
16 Fieldfare 01-Jan
17 Song Thrush 01-Jan
18 Redwing 01-Jan
19 Mistle Thrush 01-Jan
20 Goldcrest 01-Jan
21 Coal Tit 01-Jan
22 Blue Tit 01-Jan
23 Great Tit 01-Jan
24 Magpie 01-Jan
25 Jackdaw 01-Jan
26 Rook 01-Jan
27 Carrion Crow 01-Jan
28 Starling 01-Jan
29 House Sparrow 01-Jan
30 Chaffinch 01-Jan
31 Greenfinch 01-Jan
32 Goldfinch 01-Jan
33 Wren 02-Jan
34 Long-tailed Tit 02-Jan
35 Great Cormorant 04-Jan
36 Snipe 04-Jan
37 Feral Pigeon 04-Jan
38 Mute Swan 05-Jan
39 Greylag Goose 05-Jan
40 Canada Goose 05-Jan
41 Lesser Black-backed Gull 05-Jan
42 Herring Gull 05-Jan
43 Great Black-backed Gull 05-Jan
44 Mallard 06-Jan
45 Stock Dove 06-Jan
46 Moorhen 08-Jan
47 Sparrowhawk 13-Jan
48 Redshank 14-Jan
49 Green Sandpiper 14-Jan
50 Kingfisher 14-Jan
51 Grey Wagtail 14-Jan
52 Stonechat 14-Jan
53 Marsh Tit 15-Jan
54 Buzzard 21-Jan
55 Skylark 05-Feb
56 Blackcap 07-Feb
57 Little Grebe 11-Feb
58 Gadwall 11-Feb
59 Northern Shoveler 11-Feb
60 Coot 11-Feb
61 Meadow Pipit 11-Feb
62 Linnet 11-Feb
63 Golden Plover 15-Feb
64 Great Crested Grebe 16-Feb
65 Eurasian Wigeon 16-Feb
66 Teal 16-Feb
67 Pochard 16-Feb
68 Tufted Duck 16-Feb
69 Barn Owl 16-Feb
70 Reed Bunting 16-Feb
71 Northern Pintail 18-Feb
72 Goosander 18-Feb
73 Little Egret 19-Feb
74 Yellowhammer 19-Feb
75 Siskin 27-Feb
76 Red-legged Partridge 28-Feb
77 Nuthatch 28-Feb
78 Treecreeper 28-Feb
79 Bullfinch 28-Feb
80 Jack Snipe 01-Mar
81 Woodcock 01-Mar
82 Shelduck 02-Mar
83 Goldeneye 02-Mar
84 Oystercatcher 02-Mar