tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50138177767598671092024-02-21T00:50:28.915-08:00Staffordshire StrayStaffordshire Stray, as the title suggests, follows the occasional inane bird ramblings of a Staffordian-in-exile.Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-90392918327974300012011-05-21T15:22:00.000-07:002011-05-21T15:52:11.933-07:00BIRDS & WINE<span style="font-size:78%;">Image via visitvineyards.com </span><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;">McLaren Vale</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJm3Si_YwEI5ZaZSQ5Tr_anvCLln66kxpXEFIetV_HReg82QYih2VWqUAe0Gc1d-uZx8FiIP8SNAKVo6CjzJ9pl1QUEjkbO-3kn3zDX2WUjHCTHbuyoieqEOWAjyemjXRkkh9Nu7BBFZdu/s1600/mclaren+vale.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609302966664948514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 168px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 208px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJm3Si_YwEI5ZaZSQ5Tr_anvCLln66kxpXEFIetV_HReg82QYih2VWqUAe0Gc1d-uZx8FiIP8SNAKVo6CjzJ9pl1QUEjkbO-3kn3zDX2WUjHCTHbuyoieqEOWAjyemjXRkkh9Nu7BBFZdu/s200/mclaren+vale.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The idea was to use <em>Staffordshire Stray</em> as a vehicle for those birding trips beyond <a href="http://www.birdofallenroad.blogspot.com/">Allen Road</a> and the wider <a href="http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/">South Burnett</a> region. It seemed that our excursion to South Australia, more specifically to McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley, with quick jaunts into the Adelaide Hills and the Clare Valley [the latter purely for nostalgic reasons going back to 1989] would provide the ideal starting point for the revival of this blog. And it almost has.<br /><br />South Australia was never going to be a purely birding trip, the area is overflowing with good wine- some of the reds would compete more than favourably with the finest from most other viticultural corners around the globe and a good Clare Valley riesling is to die for. Our travelling companions, while having a general interest in birds- Tom’s imitations of the Pied Butcherbird <em>Cracticus nigrogularis</em> call are something else-their watching rarely extends beyond feeding their backyard birds. They do however share a passion with us for good food and fine wine. Ann’s ability to unearth local Brisbane gastronomic gems has become legendary.<br /><br />Our forebodings of this trip as a birding venture were borne out, just as our hopes of tasting a large variety of top Australian wines was equally fulfilled. As the saying goes, you can’t have your cake [or in this instance a drop of top shiraz] and eat [drink] it.<br /><br />We started the trip in our usual manner, at the airport, each having to guess as to which species would be ticked first on arrival. Fay opted for the humble Rock Dove <em>Columba livia</em> while I called Australian Magpie <em>Cracticus tibicen</em>. It was a Magpie-lark <em>Grallina cyanoleuca</em>!<br /><br />No sooner had we unpacked and put ourselves around the first cup of tea than we began adding new additions to the 2011 Year List. <em>Jessica’s Place</em>, in Vine Street, McLaren Vale [highly recommended], had only a small postage stamp of a backyard but it almost immediately provided us with New Holland Honeyeater <em>Phylidonyris novaehollandiae</em>. This dapper little bird featured each morning during our brief stay here.<br /><br />The humble Common Blackbird <em>Turdus merula</em>, so beloved of English poets, was as common here as it was around Attlee Crescent in Rugeley, Staffordshire. House Sparrows <em>Passer domesticus</em>, Common Starlings <em>Sturnus vulgaris</em> and, at only a small stretch of the avian imagination, Spotted Doves <em>Strepopelia cinensis</em> made the place a Little England beyond the White Cliffs, not that I suppose any self-respecting South Australian would welcome that particular patchwork quilt.<br /><br />It didn’t take long to discover a small park less than a hundred metres from our accommodation. It became our early morning haven – both Fay and I are early risers, Tom and Ann tend to linger a little longer beneath the bedcovers. The park was good for the Adelaide race of the Crimson Rosella <em>Platycercus elegans</em>: Clements [6th Edition, 2007] has the bird as a full species, <em>Playycercus adelaidae</em>. It was also a favourite haunt of the ubiquitous Magpie-lark and Crested Pigeon <em>Ocyphaps lophotes</em>, the colourful Rainbow Lorikeet <em>Trichoglossus haematodus</em>, the raucous Galah <em>Eolophus roseicapillus</em> and the sombre Little Crow <em>Corvus bennetti</em>. The ever-present Red Wattlebird <em>Anthochaera carunculata</em> was another addition to the Year List.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;">Image via <a href="http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/">http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/</a> </span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;">Purple-gaped Honeyeater </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUvZ13adCojEOt3swOII57ePIAwZqdb7ynRXHhSGYVEg_pSU_DBAdnrb-dSYv13pc_S8G2GMNFbGLxEZJWJrTiLYt5QJo5GUEiARdjcI0_MqhIfxmlfsyx26NxdHMdQhx9BpYTtd83MDO/s1600/purple-gaped+honeyeater.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609304097530366978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUvZ13adCojEOt3swOII57ePIAwZqdb7ynRXHhSGYVEg_pSU_DBAdnrb-dSYv13pc_S8G2GMNFbGLxEZJWJrTiLYt5QJo5GUEiARdjcI0_MqhIfxmlfsyx26NxdHMdQhx9BpYTtd83MDO/s200/purple-gaped+honeyeater.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />On the first of only two serious birding trips we added a lifer to our list, a Purple-gaped Honeyeater <em>Lichenostomus cratitius</em>. The Little Raven <em>Corvus mellori</em>, first encountered on our previous 1989 trip to South Australia, paled into insignificance.<br /><br />From McLaren Vale we made our way towards the Barossa Valley, via a quick stop at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. It was disappointing, tourism, or rather the need to appeal to the tourist dollar, seems to have taken the soul out of the place or perhaps time had smoothed over some of the wrinkles that had been present in 1989. Then it had come across as German, today it oozes tourism – and the coffee we had at some unmemorable and now forgotten café was terrible- coffee that would have been an indictable offence in the homeland of the area’s pioneering fathers.<br /><br />To add insult to injury we added only two birds to the Trip List, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo <em>Calyptorrhynchus funerus</em> and Australian King-Parrot <em>Alisterus scapularis</em>.<br /><br />We settled ourselves into <em>Cabernet Cottage</em>, in Mill Street, a stone’s throw from Tanunda’s main thoroughfare. It wasn’t a patch on <em>Jessica’s Place</em> but it served the purpose and there was the brisk walk alongside the hospital to the large parkland area where the birds were, well, more or less similar to those observed in Vine Street. As an alternative we did on a couple of occasions turn right out of the front gate, cross the main street and made our way down to the bridge over the North Para River where we met a retired schoolteacher who along with his wife, Fay, now runs a B&B nearby. The Golden Whistler <em>Pachycephala pectoralis</em> was among the last new additions to the Trip List.<br /><br />The birding eased, as much to do with an adverse change in the weather as anything else; the wine tasting increased in pace. The final tally amounted to 19 new species on the Year List, one of which was of course a lifer, for a meagre Trip List total of 54 species.<br /><br />We tasted more wines than that! Perhaps the birding had not been serious enough, the hole in the credit card however, certainly was but then, as Fay would say, we contributed towards promoting the Australian wine industry. </div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-62879870867101755412011-02-10T10:50:00.000-08:002011-02-10T11:06:32.639-08:00Hallelujah! A RevelationA link between us. The Black Swan in Leek.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQBKrO7Q6CN-xlyLldYE2tlmw2ihbGJ3ISazgzehsxjuELHOgG-AHOOSsIlKQWoPu8KEHcMrdeo9D1s1onGgAkTIbiJdgr8DziRlIferMxERPQvtEMeaR5MDcKX2iXunFlgKXKuRsgm38/s1600/black+swan+leek+%2528648+x+968%2529.jpg"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572137810503473170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQBKrO7Q6CN-xlyLldYE2tlmw2ihbGJ3ISazgzehsxjuELHOgG-AHOOSsIlKQWoPu8KEHcMrdeo9D1s1onGgAkTIbiJdgr8DziRlIferMxERPQvtEMeaR5MDcKX2iXunFlgKXKuRsgm38/s200/black+swan+leek+%2528648+x+968%2529.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br /><br /><br /><br />I have never made any secret of the fact that my nascent career as a blogger started here, in <em>Staffordshire Stray</em>. It was created as a precursor to our pending U.K. trip in September 2010, part of the pre-trip planning intended to establish contact with birders in the West Midlands, particularly in Staffordshire.<br /><br />That was all well and good but clearly the moment arrived, all too soon, when the trip had gone beyond the planning stage, indeed, had come to an end and Fay and I had returned to Australia. Apart from a trip summary I assumed that <em>Staffordshire</em> <em>Stray</em> would simply be eased out of the scene: the trip was over, there was no real further need for this blog.<br /><br />During the U.K. trip I had decided that on our return to Australia I would certainly create a <em><a href="http://www.birdofallenroad.blogspot.com/">Birds of Allen Road </a></em>blog and that lead to the idea of a second blog, to cover the wider immediate South Burnett region [a la Martyn Yapp’s West Midlands coverage in his <em>Blurred Birding </em>blog].<br /><br />Both Fay and I were quite content to move on, to leave <em>Staffordshire Stray </em>comfortably behind in the warm afterglow of our trip memories.<br /><br />That was until the rains come pouring down from out of the skies over Christmas 2010 and the early part of January 2011. As already intimated in a previous post, I spent one particular weekend up to the armpits trying to dig out not one but two bogged vehicles. It was during a respite from tackling the more difficult rescue, Fay’s 4-wheel Toyota [bogged to the axles], that I, out of simple curiosity, brought up <em>Staffordshire Stray</em> on the laptop.<br /><br />My resulting amazement is documented in the previous post. Not only was I totally gobsmacked, blown away by the number of visitors to the humble blog but I also suddenly felt guilty. It seemed that I had simply abandoned all those lovely people who had taken the trouble to either become “followers’ or at least “visitors.”<br /><br />It has niggled since that mud-filled day.<br /><br />It is said that the best way to solve a problem is to cast your mind elsewhere, to think of other matters. Often that ploy will bring the required results.<br /><br />I was driving home from school last Wednesday, casually listening to one of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos [Concerto No.1 in F Major] when it suddenly occurred that perhaps I had interred <em>Staffordshire Stray </em>a little prematurely. Yes, I now have <em><a href="http://www.birdofallenroad.blogspot.com/">Birds of Allen Road </a></em>to cover my “backyard” birds and <a href="http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/"><em>Birding the South Burnett</em> </a>to take in the wider regional birds but what of all those occasions when Fay and I venture even further afield? Indeed, where will I blog on the planned 2012 overseas trip?<br /><br />In my heart I remain a Staffordian who has simply strayed beyond the county borders. I am a Staffordshire Stray who aims to continue his bird-related wanderings.<br /><br /><em>Staffordshire Stray </em>is therefore resurrected and will serve as the vehicle for those bird trips beyond Allen Road, beyond the wider South Burnett region. </div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-55932869405968550752011-01-08T17:12:00.000-08:002011-01-08T17:26:55.961-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwYPv_UkyMryO0JYThsHMj97Uzzkof5cOaj03Ek5BbCjipETX4hmGwhs6hyvBHx6vnpomp1IhiBLLMe3h_nL-yu_DFTmPMiAJWKMdG35TbM_4acNj3bTXeMjbVrDvKWW1mCJeFPsdWubJ/s1600/fay+the+birder+%2528648+x+968%2529.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559990463564327778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwYPv_UkyMryO0JYThsHMj97Uzzkof5cOaj03Ek5BbCjipETX4hmGwhs6hyvBHx6vnpomp1IhiBLLMe3h_nL-yu_DFTmPMiAJWKMdG35TbM_4acNj3bTXeMjbVrDvKWW1mCJeFPsdWubJ/s200/fay+the+birder+%2528648+x+968%2529.jpg" border="0" /></a>I remain totally gobsmacked!<br /><br />Given that even more rain is falling [you may have heard about our spot of wet even as far away as Staffordshire/West Midlands] I decided to take a moment’s respite from digging out Fay’s 4-wheel-drive [yes, we managed to bog it – in our own backyard!]. I trawled through to the old <span style="color:#ff0000;">Staffordshire Stray</span> blogspot and there it was…160 UK visitors!<br /><br />Where were you all when Fay and I were in need of a helping hand or two back in September 2010? I am nevertheless suitably impressed. And that’s not to detract from all the “overseas” visitors to my Staffordshire blogspot. Can I persuade some, or better still, all of you lovely people to follow me through to:<br /><br /><a href="http://birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/">http://birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />and/or<br /><br /><a href="http://birdofallenroad.blogspot.com/">http://birdofallenroad.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Happy 2011 to all my UK birding contacts. Even to those birders I've never met!Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-935444607875686632010-10-23T22:17:00.000-07:002010-10-23T22:46:07.695-07:00TRIP REFLECTIONS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_YSnRMv8-6J4ia8-6TvxuR_OhRIOgi_zezNZsRmpNvKsJ1_GgHU76mww2AcIwreUB5vTriY7_kLhz6oDXUMCUOp5Y2WEomPzpBUNXn738CEaOFbGl4_gWggs5VNja5d6vGo07FzIZt9e/s1600/canal+bridge02+(1936+x+1296).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531479094817348066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_YSnRMv8-6J4ia8-6TvxuR_OhRIOgi_zezNZsRmpNvKsJ1_GgHU76mww2AcIwreUB5vTriY7_kLhz6oDXUMCUOp5Y2WEomPzpBUNXn738CEaOFbGl4_gWggs5VNja5d6vGo07FzIZt9e/s320/canal+bridge02+(1936+x+1296).jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;color:#990000;">a typical bridge along the Trent & Mersey Canal</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The eventual trip tally managed to crawl over the one century mark at 101 [65 for Staffordshire]. That total includes two lifers, the “megatick” <span style="color:#ff0000;">Red-necked Phalarope</span> <em>Phalaropus lobatus</em> [thanks largely to Les Ditchburn of Tewkesbury] and the <span style="color:#ff0000;">Mandarin Duck</span> <em>Aix galericulata</em> on Rudyard Lake [which we found ourselves].</span></div><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><div>The more astute followers of this blog over September [2010] will no doubt almost immediately have noted the discrepancy in accounts. In an earlier blog, “TWO DAYS- TWO LIFERS,” I claimed the Belvide Black Tern <em>Chlidonias niger</em> [courtesy of Steve Seal of “Staffordshire Birding” fame] and the aforementioned Red-necked Phalarope as two consecutive lifers ticked over two consecutive days. There was no attempt on my part to deceive [or “string”]. At the time I believed it to be an accurate call.</div><br /><div>Such are the joys of modern technology! Prior to our departure for the UK I had copied both my then current Life and Year Lists onto a usb stick using Microsoft Excel 2007. My sisters in Rugeley still operate on Excel 2003 and to my horror I discovered that while the Year List opened without any difficulties, the Life List remained unreadable. That rather upset the well-planned apple-cart of checking lifers on the run.</div><br /><div>Here, back home, both my now deceased computer [Windows XP running Microsoft 2007] and my new computer [Windows 7 running Microsoft 2010] opened the Life List to display that Black Tern had been recorded in the London area [Staines Reservoir] in May 1997. The Belvide bird was our second only view of the species; our third brief glimpse was at Slimbridge the following day.</div><br /><div>On the other hand, the Mandarin Duck almost slipped by unnoticed until I was transcribing field notes into the computer, again back here in Nanango. Both of us spotted the bird gliding into the water from the bank and simultaneously called it Mandarin Duck, an unmistakeable male.</div><br /><div>The malfunctioning usb [or simply the inability of my sister’s 2003 system] didn’t help although I suspect that the root of the problem was that we’d both seen the bird before, at Slimbridge – as a captive exotic so consequently had excluded it from any of our previous lists. Out of sight [on any list], out of mind. The exact details had clearly become a little confused. The bird was known to us, ipso facto it was already on that inaccessible Life List. It wasn’t.</div><br /><div>Four major bird groups are represented, accounting for some 85% of all species recorded during September. While the passerines show as the largest single group, 41%, the combined top three non-passerine total 44%. The remaining 15% are all other non-passerines coming in at lower species counts and include members of nine other avian orders: podicipediformes [2 species]; pelecaniformes [1 species]; ciconiiformes [2 specie]s; galliformes [2 species]; gruiformes 2 species]; columbiformes [3 species]; strigiformes [1 species]; coraciiformes [1 species] and piciformes [2 species].</div><br /><div>In essence the basic passerine/non-passerine split came out at 60/40.</div><br /><div></div><div>On leaving Australia the 2010 Year List stood at 167 species. Given that the Trip List [UK birds] stands at 101 it would seem only logical that at the end of September the new year tally stood at 268 [the Common Myna at Abu D’habi making no difference to the count]. It didn’t quite pan out mathematically as of course we share a number of species and six were already listed for 2010 – including the humble House Sparrow <em>Passer domesticus</em> first recorded on the streets of Nanango itself. For the more arithmetically challenged, that made a Year List [at the end of September] of 262 species.</div><br /><div>It currently stands at 270.</div><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Scenes from Seven Springs on Cannock Chase</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWqNNy-m8efXDd_hdzFRhTofxosYEpOr7avdHu1w_m81Z4rkW-Keik_hoOi97z3J0J-CIEohl7t5k6TrO8s1S0NcVl_Q9_xO2qTWrdp9p_Gh-az5IhYwH1sDP-n4tdAz2lv7_HBkdgRHt/s1600/seven+springs05+(600+x+402).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531483501440258562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWqNNy-m8efXDd_hdzFRhTofxosYEpOr7avdHu1w_m81Z4rkW-Keik_hoOi97z3J0J-CIEohl7t5k6TrO8s1S0NcVl_Q9_xO2qTWrdp9p_Gh-az5IhYwH1sDP-n4tdAz2lv7_HBkdgRHt/s320/seven+springs05+(600+x+402).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>The Woodpigeon had us puzzled. Back in 1999 it was a woodland species rarely seen beyond the barnyard. It appears to have usurped the old Rock Pigeon [Dove] as the most common urban bird. They were even on chimney-pots along Attlee Crescent.</div><br /><div>Back in the late 1990s we travelled especially to central Wales to see the Red Kite [with a later brief glimpse of one along the M40 out of London]. They appear to be winning, certainly we came across them in several Welsh spots.</div><br /><div>But perhaps the most obvious difference in eleven years was not the birds or the birders – the UK has long been renowned for its excellence here- but the greenery. The trees seemed taller and greener. The countryside seemed more expansive and greener. In particular the canalside shrubbery seemed wilder, more unkempt and certainly better habitat for a wider range of wildlife.</div><br /><div>2010 was supposed to be our last trip to the UK but now… well… who knows? Another trip could well be in the offing. There is still so much more to explore in your green and pleasant land, so many more birds to add to our British List.</div><br /><div>In the meanwhile we’ll content ourselves with birding the South Burnett. This morning we paid our third only trip to the Gordonbrook Dam and came up with a couple of crackers but those are not for this blog. Readers are more than welcome to follow my Queensland adventures at:</div><br /><div><a href="http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/">http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/</a></div><br /><div></div><div>or, even closer to home, my backyard birding exploits at:</div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.birdsofallenroad.blogspot.com/">http://www.birdsofallenroad.blogspot.com/</a> [to be activated anon].</span></div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-50079521404033211152010-10-20T03:20:00.000-07:002010-10-20T03:51:59.901-07:00Delay Upon DelayDoxey Marshes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDEDb9tSnljP2UykAwSprrF-i1Qyw51Cs8ndkJzA3JQgR1DCXOEwBsMYb81FOtEuBYliarJlzAkhz0UFrQsomyV2Bsx3KaFVEcm4S0dzTi2v0uS3i2KeLGVVMXjcKKth0aBHsQMrAOeyr/s1600/doxey+extra.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530073722537071346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDEDb9tSnljP2UykAwSprrF-i1Qyw51Cs8ndkJzA3JQgR1DCXOEwBsMYb81FOtEuBYliarJlzAkhz0UFrQsomyV2Bsx3KaFVEcm4S0dzTi2v0uS3i2KeLGVVMXjcKKth0aBHsQMrAOeyr/s320/doxey+extra.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />It never rains but it pours. I had intended writing this summary of our UK trip a day or two after our return but… the best laid plans of mice and men… Back in the 1990s, when we travelled overseas fairly extensively, jetlag rarely reared its ugly head. It was one of those urban myths that effected only old ladies and those of a more fragile disposition. Welcome back Kotter!<br /><br />When it came, it came with a vengeance. We had late Saturday afternoon and all Sunday in which to recover before we both reported back at the coalface on Monday morning, 4 October. Given previous experience it was going to be a piece of cake. Heaps of time to unpack, settle down to the old home routine and be ready for work.<br /><br />I first noticed that all was not as was well as it could have been when about half way through our mid-morning English lesson. I began to repeatedly drop my chalk [or rather, whiteboard maker]. When I set the lesson’s short piece of writing I sat at my desk to catch up on some of the work the relief teacher had given the class in my absence during the last two weeks of Term 3 [when Fay and I were in the UK]. One of the students eventually tapped me gently on the shoulder and asked if I was okay as I’d been snoring for the past few minutes.<br /><br />Kids can be surprisingly good that way. They could have grasped the opportunity to run riot but had instead sat quietly in their places, working, while Mr B had a snooze. They understood jetlag.<br /><br />It took more or less the rest of the week to readjust to Australian Eastern Standard Time – and of course in that week the rest of the eastern seaboard put their clocks back an hour while Queensland [ever fearful that milking cows may cause their curtains to fade] remained on standard time. We found ourselves wide awake at 0200 hours and knackered by 1800 hours. Driving back and forth was a nightmare. Thank God for I-pods and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”<br /><br />By the end of our first week back home I felt fit enough to grapple with the “Trip Reflections” blog. Had the first couple of paragraphs sketched out and decided to test them for visuals on Microsoft Word. Looked promising. I tapped out a few more words, extended some of the sentences, switched a few paragraphs around, dotted a couple of “i’s”, crossed a “t” here and there and then sat back. Time for a drop of the Barossa’s finest red.<br /><br />Shortly thereafter the computer crashed. Cables and leads were hastily unplugged and the moribund machine taken to the local technician. His wife, a whiz with computers, smiled, suggested it was probably dust on the terminals [or some such disease these technological contraptions suffer from]. She did unspeakable things to the machine, blew here and there, tweaked this, poked that, squeezed a little and sure enough the machine came back to life. Another resurrection to set the Evangelists abuzzing.<br /><br />The less than heartening prognosis was, however, that my computer was so outdated that should I ever be in need of replacement parts it would be neigh on impossible to find any anywhere this side of Cyber Heaven [where all good electrical appliances go when the last amp leaves their battery].<br /><br />And yes, you’ve guessed it, that weekend [the weekend before last] the computer crashed again, only it was obviously a mite more serious this time. Last rites were administered; a Requiem Mass celebrated and where possible data rescued. The old desktop was no more.<br /><br />Long live the desktop!<br /><br />It took a few days to put together the new computer: Windows 7; Office 2010; cordless keyboard and mouse; new external speakers and that curious pale pink button, bottom left, which, once fully understood, will pour me a glass of wine on demand!<br /><br />In the meanwhile I kept myself from fretting by backing-up trip pix onto CDs [via the Government-issued laptop].<br /><br />And all this in a background of rampant fleas. That was a side issue that made sitting still in any one spot not only uncomfortable but also very irritating. Whenever Fay and/or I sat in the “office” for any length of time, the lower half of our legs became covered in fleas! I am assured that it has something to do with the excessively wet conditions while we were away –the rain gauge registered in excess of 100mm of rain. One of life’s little ironies really. During those last few days in the UK, when there had been some drizzle, kith and kin, and the occasional oddball, would come up and say something to the effect that they were sure we would be glad to be back in sunny Queensland.<br /><br />The thing with excessively wet weather is that it drives the humble house mouse <em>Mus musculus</em> indoors seeking shelter. The thing about mice indoors is that they tend to nibble here and there and occasionally that “here’ is a computer cable, the “there” a wad of important bird notes and so to prevent these calamities, as much as we both dislike the practice, we leave poison baits lying around in strategic spots [under the settee, on the lowest bookshelf, etc.]. The thing about dead mice is that the fleas they hosted leave to seek fresher pastures. The thing about homeless fleas is that they remain hidden in minute dust mounds awaiting some unsuspecting warm-blooded creature to attach themselves onto.<br /><br />Having a huge English Mastiff die of old age did little to deter the influx of fleas under the house – and of course some inevitably found their way upstairs into the main living quarters.<br /><br />And so here we are, where we should have been almost a fortnight ago.Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-43464927367149811952010-10-03T13:05:00.000-07:002010-10-03T13:16:02.258-07:00BACK HOME<span style="font-size:78%;">Little Egret</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXi20k-hGm_UIk-04ZwbLyaE8ta-0Sgfy4Pv-qw_sQfyl6lhNPLJJjNANXeGFT48NBDwQ8eaKMaY12Yqs4OkNyvCL9_1gTZIWN7EPdNEf1KSLSGKp-lWS7gNySJvT7iNnHb3skwMEw526/s1600/egret+little1009a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523914733339716834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXi20k-hGm_UIk-04ZwbLyaE8ta-0Sgfy4Pv-qw_sQfyl6lhNPLJJjNANXeGFT48NBDwQ8eaKMaY12Yqs4OkNyvCL9_1gTZIWN7EPdNEf1KSLSGKp-lWS7gNySJvT7iNnHb3skwMEw526/s320/egret+little1009a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I had intended writing this piece late Saturday afternoon [3 October 2010], shortly after our return to Nanango but as Steinbeck quoted, borrowing the words from that most famous of Scottish poets, Robbie Burns, the best laid plans of mice and men often gang… JETLAG! I don’ recall it effecting either of us to this extent back in the 1990s when Fay and I travelled extensively around the globe in pursuit of birds – indeed, we frequented the skyways so often that on more than one occasion we earned sufficient “frequent flyer” points to facilitate a number of internal, intra-Australia, flights. These freebies brought us a number of Australian Lifers; together with much appreciate tours of the Clare [South Australia] and Hunter [New South Wales] Valleys, renowned more for their wines than for their birds but to the discerning eye, and palate, famous for both. </div><div><br />Not that there was much to report, a flight back home is, well, to all intents and purposes, a flight back home and the norm is that nothing much worth reporting occurs on such journeys. In avian terms this is probably the case in this instance. We did pick up our only, to date, Middle Eastern tick, a humble, if rather invasive, Common Myna. There had been a small number of other birds flitting around, visible from the transit lounge of ABU DHABI airport but it was late, the light was dimming and the birds never approached close enough for anything but the most cursory diagnostic peek.... a pipit type, something akin to a swallow… The Myna hung around on the edge of a nearby aero-bridge to afford us the opportunity to view all its tale-telling features. Indeed, there were three of them at varying distances and angles of view. </div><div><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Black-headed Gull</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLvuIRFuiGHpsKQvgorXTN4cqjcgR5wkAb0kfzWV2CxWsNrewtPi7C0kTWKU7PMwPA99vCFEFTZOk5DY4XMOW4bfEaDHzCEcOemnwbElQw9NiorK0gyDTr29SotNJ8F-yj7hrXQi7p08f/s1600/gull+blk-h1009ja.jpg"></div></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523914397861963890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLvuIRFuiGHpsKQvgorXTN4cqjcgR5wkAb0kfzWV2CxWsNrewtPi7C0kTWKU7PMwPA99vCFEFTZOk5DY4XMOW4bfEaDHzCEcOemnwbElQw9NiorK0gyDTr29SotNJ8F-yj7hrXQi7p08f/s320/gull+blk-h1009ja.jpg" border="0" /><br />What did have me almost totally gob-smacked, surprised beyond speech, was that for the first time since the knee replacement operation [22 July 2008] my bionic part didn’t trigger the metal detector as I walked through the arch at the airport security area. You probably need to have an artificial, metallic, bit to fully appreciate the difference between a lion leaping through a loop and the same creature leaping through a lighted loop. Having become accustomed to the lights flashing and the alarm resounding I had in fact stopped and pointed down to my knee to indicate the source of the problem. I think I had even started the now almost inevitable stoop to untie my bootlaces- just as I had done on the outward journey. An armed guard bearing nothing more disarming than the most friendly of smiles beckoned me on with a kind “It’s okay, sir.”<br />In true Shakespearean style I offer the following brief aside: never judge an entire nation by what you might see/hear via various forms of the Media. Not all Arabs are bomb-toting terrorists, just as not all Christians attending weekly church rites are Christian. Until back in 1997 I think I had a rather jaundiced view of North Americans; loud and brash with little sense of humour or at least a sense of humour too cryptic for the likes of me to fathom. It was of course a cynical opinion based on too many hours of American television programs in which the cops only ever chased villains in high speed cars and, again almost inevitably, shot them dead at the end of the chase. The Arizona café owners and the Pittsburgh widow shattered those illusions.<br />To cap off the Abu Dhabi experience, on returning through security at Singapore’s Changi International Airport, where on the outward journey the metal detector had clanged its dire warning to all and sundry that a potential terrorist was passing through, nothing happened, not so much as a lowly grind or metallic gnashing of electrodes. And again, I hesitated, already pointing my right index finger towards my right knee. I was waved on.<br /><br />Since the knee replacement in July 2008 I have passed through ten airport metal detectors and in 80% of those instances the alarm was raised and I was more carefully scanned by the hand-held detector and pat searched. What was different on these two last occasions? Is it a sign of better things ahead?<br /><br />We arrived home mid-afternoon, Saturday 2 October, pleased to find the house still standing, the two dogs and three cats still alive and looking well and the Sacred Kingfisher back on its old limb surveying the area which Fay and I, in our more foolish moments, believe belongs to us.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Starling</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOByixPeDRWZOv91s_meWvg9le7GMkEG_mmNMQNjMftqI5AJMfK1aEKGkaxHa8LTuqGvbt8JEa6ChzJuGg_F979pGl7iKVC4L_d7dq6iO3OdlIRiJUo-8ZCFt944JgIlmKaK5HvgOiJ83o/s1600/starling1009a.jpg"><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523913832987156194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 302px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOByixPeDRWZOv91s_meWvg9le7GMkEG_mmNMQNjMftqI5AJMfK1aEKGkaxHa8LTuqGvbt8JEa6ChzJuGg_F979pGl7iKVC4L_d7dq6iO3OdlIRiJUo-8ZCFt944JgIlmKaK5HvgOiJ83o/s320/starling1009a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sometime in the near future I will analyse the trip in avian terms and put down some reflections. I will of course blog the essentials here but the full version will appear on my soon-to-be-revamped website: <span style="color:#3366ff;">http:/members.bordernet.com.au/~osprey/birds</span>. </p><p><br />Meanwhile, for those interested in following the birding exploits of a “Staffordshire Stray” on his local patch, the South Burnett region of Queensland [approximately three hours by car NW of Brisbane] , I invite you to glance across at <a href="http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/">http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com/</a>. Indeed, given a little more spare time I hope to create a blogspot with an even narrower focus – provisionally to be called Backyard Birding: Allen Road.</p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-20903637592501159412010-09-27T21:05:00.000-07:002010-09-27T21:27:12.149-07:00The End Draws Nigh<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3GPmrWbQl7eSNDJGO8_DaHT51jvEak-cL0k0IKldrQffRQ593VUfHYVNt_9AJKu4PCAu0Ccf7D7Xw1qSy8Di5YLNenHZ-Vv2TCj3-suVcX7wVzCcomIONqnBUWQLy4WIeIzs7loNd_5h/s1600/rudyard01a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3GPmrWbQl7eSNDJGO8_DaHT51jvEak-cL0k0IKldrQffRQ593VUfHYVNt_9AJKu4PCAu0Ccf7D7Xw1qSy8Di5YLNenHZ-Vv2TCj3-suVcX7wVzCcomIONqnBUWQLy4WIeIzs7loNd_5h/s320/rudyard01a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521814335445280338" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Rudyard Lake from railside</span><br /></div><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In birding terms, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday 24 September</span> was a wasted day.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Fay was expecting a telephone call from one of the curators at the Shrewsbury Museum which kept us house-bound until the call came through.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">By early afternoon, with still no sign of that call, Fay telephoned the Museum only to reach a brick wall.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We hung around as the information Fay was hoping to receive was of some importance to her.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Sher continues to wait for that information.</span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday 25 September</span> was only a little better.<span style=""> </span>We<span style=""> </span>had a second appointment to meet up with Fay’s brother and his wife.<span style=""> </span>We need squeeze in an early morning stroll along the towpath of the Trent & Mersey Canal, from Bridge 64 to Love Lane and then took the opportunity to revisit Leathermill Lane.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday 26 September</span> was earmarked for lunch with one of Fay’s more distant cousins in Biddulph, another genealogy aficionado; they shared the grandparents of Fay’s grandparents, whatever that makes them in relative terms!<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">However, Fay’s paternal grandparents ran the Wesrport Inn on Canal Street and while this beerhouse no longer exists [unless it’s the derelict Pack Horse Inn on the corner or alternatively the Sea Cades building at the other end of that section of canal – it does have the hint of former stable yards to it] Fay was keen to see the area and perhaps even come away with a photograph or two.<span style=""> </span>Using a combination of an old Stoke-on-Trent road atlas and <i style="">Where to Watch Birds in the West Midlands </i>we headed for the [now non-existent] parking area on nearby Canal Lane.<span style=""> </span>From here we simply followed the canal towpath, alongside Westport Lake- even if the Visitor’s Centre was completely fenced off!</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Westport Lake area did, on the other hand, provide two new Trip and Staffordshire List birds.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Yesterday, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday 27 September</span> saw us race off to Leek to visit an old favourite haunt, the <strong><i style=""><span style="font-weight: normal;">Picture Book Bookshop</span></i></strong><b style=""><i style=""> </i></b><strong><i style=""><span style="font-weight: normal;">and Churnet Valley Publishing</span></i></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in Stanley Street.<span style=""> </span>Back in the 1990s, when Fay and I made frequent overseas birding trips [always calling in on the Old Dart to visit kith and kin] we made a point of calling in here – and, more often than not, either walking out with or having a collection of birding books sent out to us in Australia.</span></strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">It shuts on Mondays!<span style=""> </span></span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We took the opportunity to visit Rudyard Lake and almost immediately came across a Mandarin Duck and Canada Goose.</span><br /></span></strong></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Canada Goose on canalside.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQtVSWhteSIThPVYn4Qc3lVJllONlk_ZKKUtJuOXXuWcDYcCO_vWcFYreESzsyU3kAu-MO-NHOA7IeNJbwKD46m2ElTIyc2BtNrpgP1XNZ3nwUd-Zmc9wYhCgzBEbna5p9uZKsWOIJ9xb/s1600/goose+canada100926a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQtVSWhteSIThPVYn4Qc3lVJllONlk_ZKKUtJuOXXuWcDYcCO_vWcFYreESzsyU3kAu-MO-NHOA7IeNJbwKD46m2ElTIyc2BtNrpgP1XNZ3nwUd-Zmc9wYhCgzBEbna5p9uZKsWOIJ9xb/s320/goose+canada100926a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521812594553547810" border="0" /></a></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></span></strong><div style="text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">It is a little after 0440 hours as I tap out these few words [sleep and diabetes often refuse to collaborate with each other]; the day is earmarked for taking my two sisters to Strafford-upon-Avon.<span style=""> </span>How can I refuse them?<span style=""> </span>They have made their home our home, fed us and generally looked after us during our month-long stay.<span style=""> </span>Who am I to refuse them a small culture shot in a town that will almost undoubtedly be filled with tourists and Feral Pigeons?</span></strong><strong></strong></div></div> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tomorrow [<span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday 29 September</span>] will be largely spent in packing and with final farewells.<span style=""> </span>We leave for Brisbane on Thursday.</span></strong></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Trip List: 102 Staffordshire List: 62<br /></span></strong></p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-71287115178905962762010-09-26T11:56:00.000-07:002010-09-26T12:26:56.137-07:00Essex and Back<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPe5TRSx03GzGLvJcmExEVt-9y79ZEi6bvP8yqbyFRVW0qd7AlXUbaPkoG9NHvzleuVieqjoY-3zKwYiHGyAZFKFOA7AdhP4n0IYF1ALdZMyRpzQavqwsrUAhRvhfIqySo30UIKfpwTBwP/s1600/view+from+victory001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 444px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPe5TRSx03GzGLvJcmExEVt-9y79ZEi6bvP8yqbyFRVW0qd7AlXUbaPkoG9NHvzleuVieqjoY-3zKwYiHGyAZFKFOA7AdhP4n0IYF1ALdZMyRpzQavqwsrUAhRvhfIqySo30UIKfpwTBwP/s320/view+from+victory001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521302548023682482" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >View from our hotel room. Note strip of lawn through railings.</span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p class="MsoNormal">Right from the outset, at the very beginning of our planning stage for this U.K. trip, the Blackwater Estuary was always going to be an integral part of the itinerary.<span style=""> </span>As a former history major, indeed as a current continuing student of history, it was one of those corners of English history that I had somehow always managed to miss visiting and once in Australia the distance seemed impossible.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The key to a quick, untroubled, journey down to Maldon, or more specifically Mersea Island, appeared to be the A14.<span style=""> </span>Using our AA road atlas we plotted the route: head for Lichfield and Tamworth [A38, A5], connect with the M42 until it hit the M6 at Junction 4 and join the A14 at Junction 19.<span style=""> </span>That would lead us to the M11 and eventually to the A120, A12 and finally onto the B1025 into Mersey.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And all went to plan until we hit the outskirts of Colchester,<span style=""> </span>At this point the earlier free flowing traffic became an agonising snail’s pace; a long series of roundabouts and bumper-to-bumper tail-gating.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We did of course eventually manage to crawl our way around Colchester and join up with the B1025 all the way to Mersea Island..<span style=""> </span>Given that it was still too early to check into<span style=""> </span>our hotel we veered off to the left on crossing the causeway.<span style=""> </span>This took us to East Mersea, the more agricultural of the two Mersea Island townships.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We added Dunlin and Ringed Plover almost immediately on reaching the estuary.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other than the one lunch appointment with another of Fay’s cousins we got in as much birding as possible, visiting Abberton Reservoir, paying a second trip to East Mersea and following a number of routes around West Mersea.<span style=""> </span>New additions were made to the Trip List although the Cetti Warbler – and the vaguely possible Lapland Bunting [which the RBA pager had been dotting both north and south of Essex] - eluded us.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Oddly enough, one of the best sightings of the two days was a bird we hadn't even considered as a possible. Our room at the "Victory At Mersea" hotel opened out onto a balcony overlooking the boatyard and estuary but with the concrete carpark immediately below us. At the edge of the carpark, between it and the road, was a narrow strip of lawn. I was enjoying the first cuppa of the morning on the balcony when I happened to look down towards the aforementioned lawn and there, almost unbelievably, was a Green Woodpecker!</p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Green Woodpecker</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6Do-ogvuLaSLIp_ZXkJxkI0dS_i-jZS3l-2Vx10RH6f_Ub_iSsbW_L3MBROjciAHPQw-K69F3Y9WJvSRmnXKxLB1sGGYU9snpZ7_HVpzUKvPZOiuvJpaIBGfaNMZxTdhKcm9O2dqxXUG/s1600/green-woodpecker02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6Do-ogvuLaSLIp_ZXkJxkI0dS_i-jZS3l-2Vx10RH6f_Ub_iSsbW_L3MBROjciAHPQw-K69F3Y9WJvSRmnXKxLB1sGGYU9snpZ7_HVpzUKvPZOiuvJpaIBGfaNMZxTdhKcm9O2dqxXUG/s320/green-woodpecker02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521304715684872578" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Image from English Country Garden website. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Trip List: 96<span style=""> </span>Staffordshire List: 58</p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-53100348380256287032010-09-25T02:13:00.000-07:002010-09-25T06:45:43.297-07:00Uttoxeter Quarry<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccrH-c3ulUxfMV8kWr2DwjTsdvH-PfnfK6HB27F9MLnZPXrsQnjTXdyAe3eEk4MwhbMfkm522I_MROcw3y8wwGsO_00rMSY9V4FP5flAqFeLUVGio_v_gi_i-y4_oB_wK5LTYAUhiOrk4/s1600/utooxeter+quarry.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccrH-c3ulUxfMV8kWr2DwjTsdvH-PfnfK6HB27F9MLnZPXrsQnjTXdyAe3eEk4MwhbMfkm522I_MROcw3y8wwGsO_00rMSY9V4FP5flAqFeLUVGio_v_gi_i-y4_oB_wK5LTYAUhiOrk4/s320/utooxeter+quarry.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520778419970131666" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >View from public footpath</span><br /></div><br />UTTOXETER QUARRY<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Following on from the rather disappointing, if not quite shattering Apedale Country Park experience, visit to Chasewater, Fay and I decided to try our luck at what for us was new Staffordshire birding site, Uttoxeter Quarry.<span style=""> </span>I’d come across this via Richard Powell’s “<a href="http://localbirdingforlocalpeople.blogspot.com/">Local Birding for Local People</a>.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As all too often seems the case when we attempt to follow directions given within the pasges of <i style="">Where to Watch Birds in the West Midlands</i>, we became somewhat geographically disorientated.<span style=""> </span>In the end, having gone round the island twice, we took the bull by the horns and simply drove into the nearby Works Office and asked.<span style=""> </span>The two men in the office initially appeared rather reluctant, hesitant but when I pulled the old trick of pleading that we had come all the way from Brisbane, Queensland, they mellowed in attitude, pulled down a large map of the area from the wall and gave us directions on how to proceed.<span style=""> </span>Further, the more dominant of the pair contacted someone on his mobile telephone and soon secured permission for us to park in a gateway [unmistakable by the concrete trough placed crosswise].</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">On leaving the office I noticed a large, colourful plan of what appeared to be an impressive wetlands setting.<span style=""> </span>The men explained that this was the company’s exit proposal once the quarry ceased to function.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">We couldn't stay long - yet another date with more of Fay's innumerable cousins- but the <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Gadwall </span>was both a new Trip and Staffordshire List entrant.<span style=""> </span>Thanks Richard!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">TODAY’S TALLY:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border: medium none ; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Common Wood Pigeon</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Common Magpie</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Lesser Black-backed Gull</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Great Black-backed Gull</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Mallard</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Common Coot</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Great Grested Grebe</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tufted Duck</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Mute Swan</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Carrion Crow</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">European Robin</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Canada Goose</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Pied Wagtail</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Rook</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Barn Swallow</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><b style=""><span style="color:red;">Gadwall</span></b></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Northern Lapwing</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Greylag Goose</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Barnacle Goose</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 213.05pt;" valign="top" width="284"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Grey Heron</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Trip List: 92<span style=""> </span>Staffordshire List: 58</p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-44565187376517286772010-09-23T12:23:00.000-07:002010-09-24T03:31:32.594-07:00Shades of Chasewater<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYjAZCHVQiSV542ohZD0U81ylaJG5rtlL-gb6GU1xdbZGie9l400MsQhMSFhbl0WAiLZSR0b5gXGhLPC9mH1TgnnJvObYhwc3qeJLrht5UfzpEyqe2_xenrosyh6hZQurj0XbqriciVJU/s1600/chasewater+low.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYjAZCHVQiSV542ohZD0U81ylaJG5rtlL-gb6GU1xdbZGie9l400MsQhMSFhbl0WAiLZSR0b5gXGhLPC9mH1TgnnJvObYhwc3qeJLrht5UfzpEyqe2_xenrosyh6hZQurj0XbqriciVJU/s320/chasewater+low.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520338902875230930" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Chasewater, falling levels. Image by Kevin Smith</span><br /></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />We both retain a fond and enduring memory of Chasewater.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It was late December, mid-1990s.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">At the time the older of my two young sisters lived in Brownhills so obviously a trip to visit Anna almost invariably included at least a quick scan, often a longer look, around the reservoir.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">On this particular occasion there was a howling, near-gale force wind coming in from either the Arctic or perhaps even more distant Siberia.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Whichever, the wind chill factor had the mercury plummeting well below zero; it was brass monkeys’ weather.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A sheet of ice stretched across the surface, creaking and cracking as it shifted slightly under pressure.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Chasewater frozen. Image by Cuvu [no real name available]</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPozKnDuQLZl02UBmgsCLbJU90NbrUogivmoG3dcfP0zuFE7XiPD1ZJFI3OHgl3zhGzmD-Gj_AvNP1KcVW2l_Bx9-qIhGi50c4tCnuuDqbh6XnK4kefO08rzr8CYLbZeyc05xhaU3lf6Yz/s1600/chasewater+frozen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPozKnDuQLZl02UBmgsCLbJU90NbrUogivmoG3dcfP0zuFE7XiPD1ZJFI3OHgl3zhGzmD-Gj_AvNP1KcVW2l_Bx9-qIhGi50c4tCnuuDqbh6XnK4kefO08rzr8CYLbZeyc05xhaU3lf6Yz/s320/chasewater+frozen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520342523036690322" border="0" /></a></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We were parked somewhere close to the sailing club; we didn’t know any better and in those conditions few sailors would have weighed anchor to “Ahoy” a pair of eccentrics scrutinizing <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">a large screech of gulls</span>.<span style=""> </span>There was a small patch of clear water somewhat ahead and slightly to our right – one o’clock to the car bonnet.<span style=""> </span>For obvious reasons a colony of gulls had gathered on this ice-free section.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Also for obvious reasons, Fay and I scanned the birds from the warm comfort of our hired car, viewing through the windscreen.<span style=""> </span>There appeared to be wall-to-wall Herring Gull in various stages of growth development from 1<sup>st</sup>-year winter birds to adults in full winter plumage. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It was Fay who spotted the one gull among a group off to the side that was different.<span style=""> </span>You have to appreciate that Fay has perfect 20/20 vision and is particularly good at long distances.<span style=""> </span>She can often describe intricate plumage details with the naked eye while we mere mortals race to our binoculars.<span style=""> </span>Birding was a “natural” pastime for Fay to adopt.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Once I had located which of the gulls was “different” I had to agree that it did appear to be unlike its immediate neighbours but from my angle the bow in the windscreen and the choppy air itself made positive identification problematic.<span style=""> </span>There was really no alternative, either we abandoned the attempt to distinguish it from the others and dismissed it as just another Herring Gull in one of its partial plumages or we braved the icy Arctic blasts to take a better look.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">But which of us would be the one to leave the warmth of the car, extend the tripod legs, unzip the all-weather casing and focus the scope on the bird to view it at closer quarters?<span style=""> </span>One of us would have to do it.<span style=""> </span>We compromised and I went out.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">With rapidly numbing fingertips and cheeks that felt as id they’d be stung by a thousands red-hot pinpricks I managed to home in on the gull but by that time my eyes were streaming rivulets of tears, blurring my vision so that it was impossible to focus on anything but a general amalgamate of white, grey and black; a massive blob of pied bird body.<span style=""> </span>I dived back into the car, dried my eyes, took a deep breath and ventured forth again where only fools and oddball birders would dare to tread – praying that the anomalous gull hadn’t moved from centre scope.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It hadn’t and it wasn’t a Herring Gull.<span style=""> </span>From here at Attlee Crescent, years from the actual incident and miles from my notes back in Nanango, Queensland, Australia, I can’t now recall all the diagnostic features we considered before coming to our joint prognosis [and we can disagree, leaving the bird unclaimed] but certainly the ring around the bill and the prominent eye-ring were foremost.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It was a Ring-billed Gull, <i style="">Larus delawarensis</i>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCpRHac0El37TUG3jDV3my6fC3E1G2Ok7OEGtUELCXrxB0aTPYr3U95OPY-yBSWYKSlIlsN6xswTMwW2W3KXryImovgl9nhLoyTgQE16ps8M93llt4rQWdUcZUjM8arhl4BekMLWym91s/s1600/Gull,+Ring-billed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCpRHac0El37TUG3jDV3my6fC3E1G2Ok7OEGtUELCXrxB0aTPYr3U95OPY-yBSWYKSlIlsN6xswTMwW2W3KXryImovgl9nhLoyTgQE16ps8M93llt4rQWdUcZUjM8arhl4BekMLWym91s/s320/Gull,+Ring-billed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520193246394577410" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Given the above you can perhaps imagine how devastated Fay and I were on first sighting the Chasewater of [ 20 September] 2010.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We had been warned, at the Chasewater Railway Station where we initially visited for a cup of tea, that owing to remedial work aimed at eventually raising the reservoir water levels there would be a temporary drop in water levels but the spectacle that met our eyes was beyond our wildest dreams – “Dunesque” in its arid proportions.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Where water had once lapped the very edge of the carpark wall it now lay two score metres from the edge; where there had been megalitres of water there was now mere thimblefuls.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The reservoir appeared as a chronic victim of aquatic cancer overdosed on chemotherapy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">There were a few species hanging around, mostly semi-tame waterfowl scournging titbits from the public together with a myriad of hybrid Mallard in all shades of plumage. Other than that I remained impressed only by the humble Rook.</p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-8276121776878902602010-09-19T07:21:00.000-07:002010-09-19T23:07:45.348-07:00BRIDGING THE GAP<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIuNUShWzv8HpCqAXJ_ylULvx7COGX3lFnp7hA4peyb6sTSnGf-Oa-pPxPX32pXCN9zcUTGJjtN5fDYS1JKIIqwzRxRZnxoQW0ynp6hf9Ab96dNfN_nMZdM5nM1GAYPqKoi40HSx9xYJr/s1600/teignmouth01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIuNUShWzv8HpCqAXJ_ylULvx7COGX3lFnp7hA4peyb6sTSnGf-Oa-pPxPX32pXCN9zcUTGJjtN5fDYS1JKIIqwzRxRZnxoQW0ynp6hf9Ab96dNfN_nMZdM5nM1GAYPqKoi40HSx9xYJr/s320/teignmouth01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518631510516505266" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >Overlooking Teignmouth</span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p class="MsoNormal">As anticipated we could not access a computer during our time in central Wales and Devon.<span style=""> </span>Indeed, in PENBRYN it was next to impossible to find mobile telephone reception, although I did once consider climbing to the top of a towering cliff abutting the caravan park.<span style=""> </span>The replacement knee suggested this might not be a smart career choice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> On the other hand both these locations were primarily periods of visiting/staying with FAY’s relatives: birding would be incidental.<span style=""> </span>The following blog is no more than a brief bridging narrative between DOXEY MARSHES and our return from ALBRIGHTON [Shropshire] this morning [Sunday 19 September].</p> <p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Back in the late 1990s we had made a point of driving out to GRIGIN’S FARM in Central Wales to add Red Kite to both our Life and British Lists.<span style=""> </span>A little later we saw the bird over the M40, a few miles beyond London.<span style=""> </span>Now it seems the species is fairly common throughout central Wales, if indeed not even further afield.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">We saw our first Red Kite low over rooftops as we negotiated a turn taking us around the outskirts of ABERYSTWYTH.<span style=""> </span>A few miles further along, near LLWYNCELYN, we had our second sighting of this elegant kite.</p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHqHgt7vnXXO9LnurLkNR0jQsQCdWQNvu8xfQYhdItNaDKQ_Cwl5Qalf8ACkt96u6ahUDrKAljRWSLnWn1w2KPKTFCH2w7fhHjn_jJ3HYFzivAAEIvvI8gmCOcahU4U4LxhUpVsIhpYMF/s1600/kite+red.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHqHgt7vnXXO9LnurLkNR0jQsQCdWQNvu8xfQYhdItNaDKQ_Cwl5Qalf8ACkt96u6ahUDrKAljRWSLnWn1w2KPKTFCH2w7fhHjn_jJ3HYFzivAAEIvvI8gmCOcahU4U4LxhUpVsIhpYMF/s320/kite+red.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518633517171890322" border="0" /></a>Red Kite [Image from RSPB website</span>]<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At N5<span style="font-size:100%;">2</span><sup>o </sup>26’ 23”<span style=""> </span>W03<sup>o </sup>45’ 35” we spotted movement across the other side of the road and pulled up at a convenient layby.<span style=""> </span>We added Common Redpoll to the Trip List.<span style=""> </span>In the carpark of the DYFFRYN CASTELL HOTEL [ N5<span style="font-size:100%;">2</span><sup>o</sup> 25’ 08” W03<sup>o</sup> 48’ 14”] we had crippling views of a pair of Common Buzzards gracefully circling overhead.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Using a previous download from <a href="http://www.visitcardigan.com/bird-watching-west-wales.php">www.visitcardigan.com/bird-watching-west-wales.php</a> [“Birdwatching in West Wales”] we found a small window of opportunity on the morning of Monday 13 September and made our way to POPPIT SANDS on the TEIFI ESTUARY.<span style=""> </span>Almost immediately we sighted a small group of Eurasian Oystercatchers and just behind them a Little Egret and Whimbrel.<span style=""> </span>The Eurasian Curlew, almost directly ahead of us, no more than a few metres distant, was a great bonus.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">From POPPIT SANDS we travelled to the TEIFI MARSHES at the Welsh Wildlife Centre but by the time we arrived the earlier good weather turned and it rained.<span style=""> </span>Nevertheless, on the vague promise of a possible Cetti’s Warbler, we trudged our way to “Kingfisher Hide” and then “Creek Hide.”<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0SAuiwk9K_F7C4SmxwOLrddvS4UrUHyrtu-fqExKzy5Eagi5DMgUCcjK2hp96DnE6kAL6Q_EV7w7sHq_A0YE-e6cmGw8FyLX_M2GJks44lWlgtL8g3cAm8ZKTF92Sdqgv25RKieLbEau/s1600/welsh+nature+trust+%281278+x+855%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0SAuiwk9K_F7C4SmxwOLrddvS4UrUHyrtu-fqExKzy5Eagi5DMgUCcjK2hp96DnE6kAL6Q_EV7w7sHq_A0YE-e6cmGw8FyLX_M2GJks44lWlgtL8g3cAm8ZKTF92Sdqgv25RKieLbEau/s320/welsh+nature+trust+%281278+x+855%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518647181320746338" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >Looking out through Creek Hide</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We dipped in both instances.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The “iron bridge” over the River Nevern was even less forthcoming but it was amusing to find a Yorkshire lass acting as barmaid at the Golden Lion pub.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2-ABXrYk9mfO6hmtDgmgA9JXlsuJHUMLXpsou-h-QqeF8Vjbd-C34LxNYEKsaxjZoiq4Wj4tni-NBgVhc9sPnelt3lEvPcgT992GeDjK1Ais7QxmEG8Ii-Od9KSe1TVTWeWIJLHtz4Mj/s1600/swan+mute01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2-ABXrYk9mfO6hmtDgmgA9JXlsuJHUMLXpsou-h-QqeF8Vjbd-C34LxNYEKsaxjZoiq4Wj4tni-NBgVhc9sPnelt3lEvPcgT992GeDjK1Ais7QxmEG8Ii-Od9KSe1TVTWeWIJLHtz4Mj/s320/swan+mute01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518637877372617010" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">Mute Swan on the River Nevern below the "Iron Bridge"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> Tuesday 14 September found us making the long hike to TEIGNMOUTH, Devon.<span style=""> </span>The funnier side of using a “satnav” to negotiate narrow Welsh country lanes must await telling another day [eventually on our website].<span style=""> </span>Suffice it to say that we only learnt of the Tour of Britain cycle race as we approached TEIGNMOUTH<span style=""> </span>and were turned back to twiddle our thumbs at the nearby Smuggler’s Inn pub.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The delay also gave us the opportunity to visit the DAWLISH WARREN NATURE RESERVE – and again our true feelings about the Centre building and its almost ghostly staff must await the resurrection of our website.<span style=""> </span>Fortunately the birds themselves were far more cooperative with the Northern Wheatear and Sandwich Tern taking the biscuit.<span style=""> </span>The following morning we dipped on the Cirl Bunting at PRAWL POINT and remained unaware of the House Finch at EAST PRAWL until we were running too short of time to keep a lunch appointment with Fay’s cousins.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We returned to RUGELEY late on Thursday evening and the following morning headed out to BLITHFIELD RESERVOIR again.<span style=""> </span>Having already birded both sides of the causeway we decided to try our luck at TAD BAY.<span style=""> </span>There were a number of signs indicating that only “Permit Holders” were permitted to proceed.<span style=""> </span>We had a permit but what the signs failed to tell us is that it was necessary to carry keys to open padlocked gates!<span style=""> </span>That had us stumped and we wondered what the more elderly WMBC members did in such situations – we’d noted a young birder simply climb over the gate back at the ADMASTON side of the causeway.<span style=""> </span>Or does the WMBC issue powered zimmer-frames capable of upward thrust? </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Little more remains to be added.<span style=""> </span>Later that Friday [17 September] we went across to ALBRIGHTON and although we did little birding we saw an awful lot of SHREWSBURY and enjoyed our time at the WROXETER Roman settlement site.<span style=""> </span>However, possibly the highlight of the stay here was to show our hosts [and very good friends] a Great Spotted Woodpecker at their elaborate garden bird feeding station – it was a new addition to their garden list.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nXuudck7h8ufC97avHhoLAS7uUiOVpFyzHEMnhdq8lWc4zfBz998Wowi25Nz53iFC3MXI4FktPRKDGaL2_0Ipt96NvcZWeGoNqIpz1Sa7YHkbYt0QaqecWmv0-m6eefTttnV38sBUDDs/s1600/woodpecker+great-spotted020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nXuudck7h8ufC97avHhoLAS7uUiOVpFyzHEMnhdq8lWc4zfBz998Wowi25Nz53iFC3MXI4FktPRKDGaL2_0Ipt96NvcZWeGoNqIpz1Sa7YHkbYt0QaqecWmv0-m6eefTttnV38sBUDDs/s320/woodpecker+great-spotted020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518636251042557634" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >Great Spotted Woodpecker @ Feeding Station, Blithfield Reservoir</span><br /></div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-3212206365089971012010-09-11T10:22:00.000-07:002010-09-11T10:55:01.646-07:00BIRTHDAY BIRDING<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:78%;" >Apedale Country Park looking out over the fields</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNRYhVrvSJzkxGGdRPbrkMo7yyvgHAEQNnGfC5q5iJuAMKcVW59Fg9ztovnzmiz2ZJFjFZdulU7BBS9eHRhzkSm_L3YjP1tDG2hzeelnjM4WUZZOAVoZ7Bm-9ow_XhIKx2N_pQax7hGvy/s1600/apedale+cp003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNRYhVrvSJzkxGGdRPbrkMo7yyvgHAEQNnGfC5q5iJuAMKcVW59Fg9ztovnzmiz2ZJFjFZdulU7BBS9eHRhzkSm_L3YjP1tDG2hzeelnjM4WUZZOAVoZ7Bm-9ow_XhIKx2N_pQax7hGvy/s320/apedale+cp003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515711852636212674" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">In birding terms Friday [10 September] is best forgotten.<span style=""> </span>We were never really going to get in much real birding.<span style=""> </span>FAY had an appointment to meet up with an 82-year old aunty who had once lived in New Zealand but who FAY hadn’t seen in for many years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We arose to a bleak, overcast, sky that threatened rain; a sheet of gloom descending over Staffordshire.<span style=""> </span>Clearly it had rained overnight, leaving traces of water in crevices and between cobbles. The canal towpath would be too muddy, too slippery, simply too dangerous and when you’re limited in the number of clean trousers you can change into, caution tends to rule the moment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As it had cleared slightly by 0830 hours we decided to leave RUGELEY earlier than was absolutely necessary for the journey up to NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME.<span style=""> </span><i style="">Where to Watch Birds in the West Midlands</i> indicated a few likely spots in the immediate locality of Newcastle.<span style=""> </span>We opted for the Apedale Country Park.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was raining along the approach road but again eased as we pulled into the carpark.<span style=""> </span>We decided to go for it, our luck had to change.<span style=""> </span>Wrong!<span style=""> </span>It continued to cast gloom over the scene; the light made photography difficult and then the drizzle came down to punctuate an already miserable morning with a fine mist of raindrops.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Apedale wildlife?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5igEhSqtSybJ5Fb2J_NI9benVvSHKPNifc_cFvBvs75KpF-uV9_-6l44W6ZFyxTeapUOYmD8KNwrvf5Rrt5CitgD2RTO88fxIeDMJBtoljLdlCA_2qqpGT-hh76e5NBXhTiMKburS8yJ/s1600/apedale+wildlife02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5igEhSqtSybJ5Fb2J_NI9benVvSHKPNifc_cFvBvs75KpF-uV9_-6l44W6ZFyxTeapUOYmD8KNwrvf5Rrt5CitgD2RTO88fxIeDMJBtoljLdlCA_2qqpGT-hh76e5NBXhTiMKburS8yJ/s320/apedale+wildlife02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515712807237569346" border="0" /></a><br />The Carrion Crow and Common Wood Pigeon mocked our feeble attempts; they remained unconcerned with the rain.<span style=""> </span>After meeting up with the fifth dog, all off lead, all sniffing around, we decided to turn back to the car.<span style=""> </span>It stopped raining as we approached the last incline to the carpark; the sun popped out from behind a grey cloud and beamed down on us in mockery.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We’ll leave for Australia at the end of the month with less than fond memories of birding in the Potteries.<span style=""> </span>Sorry, Richard.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >At last! Some real Apedale wildlife!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTddWQczxzG0aGTMx09EkyBwizhwiRXneHIWTAb1r_cq7ZLsKj7fVhCQzsFB6gZGoCpU-9jv5L8mPSUYjvWXSoj9jUcPk6OUxUPkhQGHYgtvnR6Q1hQ3lw3LuK8y13Cgz9hyCWbzW2pRmP/s1600/apedale+slug02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTddWQczxzG0aGTMx09EkyBwizhwiRXneHIWTAb1r_cq7ZLsKj7fVhCQzsFB6gZGoCpU-9jv5L8mPSUYjvWXSoj9jUcPk6OUxUPkhQGHYgtvnR6Q1hQ3lw3LuK8y13Cgz9hyCWbzW2pRmP/s320/apedale+slug02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515714440202842178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Saturday 11 September</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">63 today!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Decided to celebrate my birthday with a quick visit to DOXEY MARSHES, on the edge of STAFFORD.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What a delight compared to yesterday’s debacle at Apedale Country Park.<span style=""> </span>The only frustrating aspect is the knowledge that in all those years when we lived in Rugeley it had never occurred to us to visit here.<span style=""> </span>What a glorious wetlands setting!<span style=""> </span>I even forgive that pair of Mute Swans [with half a dozen older cygnets] who argued the toss with us as to rights of way!<span style=""> </span>Something to tell the grandkids… baled up by a pair of swans on my birthday!<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today’s tally included:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Carrion Crow</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Wood Pigeon</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Europeaan Robin</p><p class="MsoNormal">Mute Swan<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Starling</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Magpie</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Chaffinch</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Chiffchaff</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Mallard</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Black-headed Gull</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Coot</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Grey Heron</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Canada Goose</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Northern Lapwing</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Blackbird</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Northern Shoveler</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Moorhen</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Great Cormorant</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Barnacle Goose</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lesser Black-backed Gull</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Snipe</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Kestrel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Barn Swallow</p> <p class="MsoNormal">European Goldfinch</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eurasian Teal</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Great Tit</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Blue Tit</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Again, following a little more tweaking, the current tallies stand atL</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Staffordshire List: 54</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Trip List:<span style=""> </span>74</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We’re off to PENBRYN, on the central Welsh coast, in the[Sunday] morning, again, visiting FAY’s cousins who run a caravan park in the area.<span style=""> </span>I’m unaware of the computer/Internet situation here, as I am unaware of the situation when we visit more of FAY’s cousins in Teignmouth, Devon, immediately on leaving Wales. so this could be the last blog until we return to Rugeley on Thursday 16 September.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-14818152171624432742010-09-10T11:58:00.000-07:002010-09-10T12:18:06.566-07:00QUIET DAYS<span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-size:78%;" >Jay image from fotoplatforma.pl</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3dfNyC_Bze9PhotrWrnOdw3FOHVdQt5MSJ5YGMqm657kATKgy1Uq1pivG7ShtyjWTHvUosvAxO9lITsYLgjDzrWIWWkSlMFFsuiiwUpBuuFhL_-mawIdNwExvIwuxspt8ns5t7eex083/s1600/jay.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3dfNyC_Bze9PhotrWrnOdw3FOHVdQt5MSJ5YGMqm657kATKgy1Uq1pivG7ShtyjWTHvUosvAxO9lITsYLgjDzrWIWWkSlMFFsuiiwUpBuuFhL_-mawIdNwExvIwuxspt8ns5t7eex083/s320/jay.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515362883817436354" border="0" /></a><br />It was always going to be difficult to immediately follow up on BELVIDE and SLIMBRIDGE. It’s not every day, or every couple of days, that you can pick up two lifers in as many days.<br /><br />Much of Wednesday morning was taken up in returning from TEWKESBURY and thereafter in taking my two sisters to HANLEY, part of the STOKE-ON-TRENT conurbation. The only event of note was that Fay and I bought ourselves a new pair of walking shoes [FAY] and boots [me] from the local BLACKS store.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 51);font-size:78%;" >Goldcrest image from cieronymidou.blogspot.com</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mQobGMYNQ7Y8auUBwIO3oCdk4PM_qO6NLKY64PjKZtwlKIku2XD9lW34WW7O147UfK_O6OMXid9mep1XRXw-cVXZM7MVAi4aAKD7Ta8Pjx2GRAzGffoqf5fNOfQl-nAwxKbd7fWuT3mH/s1600/Goldcrest01-full.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mQobGMYNQ7Y8auUBwIO3oCdk4PM_qO6NLKY64PjKZtwlKIku2XD9lW34WW7O147UfK_O6OMXid9mep1XRXw-cVXZM7MVAi4aAKD7Ta8Pjx2GRAzGffoqf5fNOfQl-nAwxKbd7fWuT3mH/s320/Goldcrest01-full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515363709125307922" border="0" /></a>Thursday [09 September] did at least see us venture forth to the KATYN MEMORIAL on CANNOCK CHASE in lieu of our early morning canal stroll. Given the surname and memories of my father’s tales of the slaughter of Polish army officers by the Nazis -together with reports that this was a top spot for the local Nightjar- it seemed a good choice to [a] bird and [b]reconnoitre for a planned evening visit.<br /><br />And while it was only a comparatively brief stroll through cobweb shrouded heather and bilberry patches, we did record a pair of Jays and our first 2010 Goldcrest. Other species included|:<br /><br />Carrion Crow<br />European Robin<br />Common Magpie<br />Common Pheasant<br />Common Wood Pigeon<br />Dunnock<br />Coal Tit<br />Barn Swallow<br />House Martin<br /><br />And eight Fallow Deer does along Kingsleywood Road on the way back to Rugeley.<br /><br />And, with corrections from previous postings, the current tally stand at:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">STAFFORDSHIRE LIST: 48<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">TRIP LIST: 74 </span>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-25534371607622962502010-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:002010-09-08T21:05:51.165-07:00TWO DAYS - TWO LIFERS<span style="font-size:78%;">Image from RSPB </span><br />Black Tern [juv]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSGLjqn6_YjHtOx36FrIn3oWCvyPT2FG_pCOpxVff4enTcgseWIXi6qmgYoJElvqhNDDSsIMyHW1twWzGaACBVjx_p5UCWYGbiRBy9fgqYGodVsEmBYS6KPucKQJBM5nfHfb6eg0WmGus/s1600/black_tern.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSGLjqn6_YjHtOx36FrIn3oWCvyPT2FG_pCOpxVff4enTcgseWIXi6qmgYoJElvqhNDDSsIMyHW1twWzGaACBVjx_p5UCWYGbiRBy9fgqYGodVsEmBYS6KPucKQJBM5nfHfb6eg0WmGus/s320/black_tern.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514590475501921778" border="0" /></a> What a hectic couple of days!<br /><br />There we were, Monday morning [6 September], sitting around at Attlee Crescent wondering what we would do for the rest of the day other than engage in further idle gossip with sisters and assorted kin. We’d been out on our now customary early birding stroll, venturing further than the nearby canal, instead driving out to SEVEN SPRINGS, which we’d frequented in a previous era.<br /><br />The birding was good, the walking even better to counter the rather high blood glucose reading of that morning! There was the usual Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Common Wood Pigeon en route and at the carpark but the sighting of the moment had to be the Grey Squirrel scurrying around a tree base. Common Chaffinches “pinked” among the treetops and the seemingly odd, skulking, bird amidst the bracken fronds turned out to be a European Robin. At one of the “springs” we spotted three Mallards.<br /><br />On the way back FAY first heard and then looked skywards to see 100+ Common Sand Martins flying by overheard. No doubt warmer climes were beckoning<br /><br />From Seven Springs we wound our way to the area we have always known as BROCTON POOL. This was where, all those many years back, we first heard that the local Tree Sparrow population had been decimated. Indeed, a little later, while birding Norfolk, we still recall being sworn to secrecy by a group of birders [we’d hosted most of them on their earlier trip to Australia]. They stealthily lead us between wattle panels either side of a narrow path and at the hide raised fingers to lips to indicate the need for absolute silence. To our utter amazement the expected “megatick” turned out to be a Tree Sparrow, a humble bird that had been a common woodland species during our youth in Staffordshire.<br /><br />The birding was [for a couple of re-visiting exiles] rewarding, capped when we passed through a patch which presented us with crippling views of both Eurasian Treecreeper and Eurasian Nuthatch. Other species ticked included:<br /><br />Canada Goose [50+]<br />Common Moorhen<br />European Blue Tit<br />European Goldfinch<br />Common Blackbird<br />Black-headed Gull<br />Great Tit<br />European Greenfinch<br />Common Magpie<br /><br />But that had been then, now it was time to twiddle thumbs and ponder the niceties of polite family conversation and what one could be doing out in the field if only there was an appropriate escape clause.<br /><br />Then the pager beeped, announcing a Black Tern at BELVIDE RESERVOIR. LIFER! That settled any lingering doubts. Even my sister couldn’t refuse me the opportunity of a lifer – and Belvide wasn’t far away. With luck we’d be back within a couple of hours.<br /><br />There was a minor hassle in actually locating the entrance to the reserve; the book and our GPS didn’t quite marry but once there we hurried off – along the wrong path as we learnt soon enough. Nothing overly concerning. We arrived at the first hide and asked if anyone had seen the tern but were met with puzzled expressions. Clearly not every West Midlands birder uses the RBA system.<br /><br />At the second hide we met up with STEVE SEAL, of “Staffordshire Bird News” fame. He readily directed us onto the term as it manoeuvred back and forth on the far side but fortuitously against the dam wall providing good contrast between lightish bird [this was a juvenile] and dark stonework.<br /><br />Thank you Steve!<br /><br />The tern was the cream of the crop of course but there was also:<br /><br />Common Greenshank<br />Curlew Sandpiper<br />Pied Wagtail<br />Mute Swan<br />Eurasian Coot<br />Great Cormorant<br />Common House Martin<br />Ringed Plover<br />Common Starling<br />Coal Tit<br />Yellowhammer<br />Willow Warbler<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tuesday 7 September</span><br /><br />Red-necked Phalarope [<span style="font-size:78%;">Image from RSPB</span>]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71FYCYaOptuFEbSDeh4RVt4b7zt-RQV0fRJQBFLYquX1bU-SnYy6-z28RQaOxH-cIg8Fmp_mZJppz_dugwoJx7eGmdcR2qNC3XmRbsb_7hAmZSOQThTv0l0rolIq08Eghuk3Vg4uZrjkv/s1600/redneckedphalarope_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71FYCYaOptuFEbSDeh4RVt4b7zt-RQV0fRJQBFLYquX1bU-SnYy6-z28RQaOxH-cIg8Fmp_mZJppz_dugwoJx7eGmdcR2qNC3XmRbsb_7hAmZSOQThTv0l0rolIq08Eghuk3Vg4uZrjkv/s320/redneckedphalarope_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514591140956718994" border="0" /></a><br />If Monday was hectic, Tuesday was even more so. FAY and I left RUGELEY early to keep an appointment with our friends LES & SANDY of TEWKESBURY. We had a very narrow window in which to meet up; they were off to Kenya on Thursday and Sandy had to work on the Tuesday anyway.<br /><br />Perhaps a brief background setting would be of value. The friendship is based on less than half a dozen encounterss!<br /><br />We first met because of mutual friends when Les & Sandy came to Australia on their initial visit. They weren’t birders at the time although both, I believe, shared a general interest in nature and wildlife. The mutual friends, knowing that Fay and I had been monitoring a nesting Tawny Frogmouth, asked us if we could show them the bird, which we duly did. It was obviously an impressive sight as some time later, after their return to England, we were informed that the pair, but particularly Les, had keenly taken to birding. That made the third couple we had introduced to the pastime.<br /><br />Some years later Fay and I visited the U.K. and Les & Sandy hosted us for a few days. They took us to Slimbridge.<br /><br />We saw a little less of them on their next trip to Australia but by that time Les was a competent birder and easily managed his own sightings.<br /><br />We revisited Slimbridge where, Les informed us, there had been reports, albeit several days ago, of Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper and Red-necked Phalarope but of course, as is always the case in these matters, no one could promise anyone anything.<br /><br />I suspect Les was hoping to repay that Tawny Frogmouth.<br /><br />At the Zeiss Hide we hit “paydirt,” the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE! Not quick, furtive glimpses but long, sustained views which afforded us the time to check out several diagnostic features at leisure.<br /><br />The pace continued at almost breakneck speed. We added:<br /><br />Mallard<br />Spotted Redshank<br />Common Redshank<br />Dunlin<br />Little Grebe<br />Great Spotted Woodpecker<br />Gadwall<br />Barn Swallow<br />Ruff<br />Rock Dove<br />Eurasian Coot<br />Common Moorhen<br />Mute Swan<br />Grey Heron<br />European Robin<br />Northern Lapwing<br />Rook<br />Common Buzzard<br />Northern Shoveler<br />Herring Gull<br />Long-tailed Tit<br />Common Kestrel<br />European Blue Tit<br />Great Tit<br />Sedge Warbler<br />European Goldfinch<br />Black-tailed Godwit<br />Lesser Black-backed Gull<br />Common Snipe<br />Northern Pintail<br />Great Crested Grebe<br />Great Cormorant<br />Eurasian Teal<br />Common Kingfisher<br />Lesser Whitethroat<br />Blackcap<br />Black Tern<br />Yellow Wagtail<br />Pied Wagtail<br /><br />But all good things must come to an end. This had been our first full day of serious birding; Belvide had been a couple of hours snatched from the jaws of boredom courtesy of the RBA. That pint of real ale at the Red Lion was most welcome.<br /><br />Staffordshire List [2010]: 30<br />Trip List: 71Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-22440655699388189532010-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:002010-09-05T21:39:03.739-07:00FIRST IMPRESSIONS<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >Taken from the RSPB website.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIZJM-PZMclWjGvRJKEV6ROP5yQ9rIgQcnar6PLZ8lxvI_4IbmsdqOHKBN9co-nOA4TgzVX96xTVGRMqDfgkWZBpootbnH4xzCkUY37T8E8kwqrp3kapRHBae3EqEOg1NX840og0WCmAT/s1600/woodpigeon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIZJM-PZMclWjGvRJKEV6ROP5yQ9rIgQcnar6PLZ8lxvI_4IbmsdqOHKBN9co-nOA4TgzVX96xTVGRMqDfgkWZBpootbnH4xzCkUY37T8E8kwqrp3kapRHBae3EqEOg1NX840og0WCmAT/s320/woodpigeon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513642423977793106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Anyone can type in a list of species recorded at any one particular birding spot. There's no real talent in that. We all, however, in one form or another, do it. My list appears below.<br /><br />Of more interest to Fay and I were the notable changes since 1999 [in my case] and even 2005 [in Fay's case]. <br /><br />We are aware of the decline in Tree Sparrow numbers but where are the House Sparrows? Have they also suffered a decimation? We came across a small handful during our two towpath strolls but back in 1999 they were profuse.<br /><br />Similarly, while strolling through Rugeley's Market Square, we noted the absence of Rock Dove [Feral Pigeon] which once literally infested the old Town Hall clock tower. We eventually found a couple skulking down by the stream at Brook Square.<br /><br />Where are the garden Blackbirds? The Starlings?<br /><br />And when did WoodPigeon become so prolific an urban creature? Indeed, I've seen more Jackdaws in town than I can ever remember in Rugeley in bygone days.<br /><br />Of course we haven't really started any serious birding yet, we're still at that meeting kith and kin stage of the trip. Nevertheless we have managed to "sneak" out a couple of times to do a little, mostly early morning when others around us appear to be still snugly wrapped up in bed- my sisters have already raised an eyebrow or two at my continuing habit of being up and about by 0400 hours!<br /><br />The Trent & Mersey Canal is a mere stone's throw away; we enter at Bridge 65 [by the Mossley Tavern] and then either walk up towards Love Lane [next to the old tannery] or down to Bridge 64. Either way, we return via the road.<br /><br />Yesterday, Sunday 5 September, because of a last-minute change to the family visiting schedule, we managed a few minutes at Blithfield. There were three birders at the Admaston end of the bridge but as I guessed they'd be intent on "ticking" the reported Osprey [we have a RBA rented for the duration] I decided to drive on to the other end. <br /><br />Cold, overcast and dull but the Osprey duly put in an appearance and a little later, when I looked over, those three birders had disappeared.<br /><br />There didn't seem much else on offer: Great Black-backed Gull, a solitary Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, in various shades of hybridization, Cormorant, Swallow and somewhere behind us, Woodpigeon.<br /><br />We cut our losses and headed to Brocton Pool, which may not been its official name but is the name Fay and I have known it by since back in the 1970s. It immediately brought back poignant memories. On a previous visit here [c. mid-1990s] the resident in the end house first notified us of the major decline in the British population of Tree Sparrows. We can still recall, during a later visit to Norfolk, when a small group of local birders [we had hosted them on their last trip to Australia] swore us to secracy and surreptitiously guided us along a narrow path leading to a bird hide. With finger to lips Chris indicated the need for absolute silence. When we looked out both Fay and I were gobsmacked to find ourselves looking at a humble Tree Sparrow.<br /><br />Back in our halycon Staffordshire days, Tree Sparrow was a common woodland species and certainly never anything worth writing home about. Vestiges of the American Passenger Pigeon?<br /><br />Brocton provided us with a few gems, capped by magic views of a Treecreeper. We also added Nuthatch [seen earlier at Leighton Moss, Lancashire] to our Staffordshire List. Other birds included: Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Coot, Chiffchaff, Great Tit and, one of my particular all-time favourites, Long-tailed Tit.<br /><br />And that's it to date. <br /><br />Trip List: 35<br />Staffordshire List: 29<br /><br />PS In an earlier blog I inadvertently gave the wrong URL for my propsed South Burnett blogspot. It should read:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com">www.birdingsouthburnett.blogspot.com</a>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-68420319260640819302010-09-04T08:52:00.000-07:002010-09-04T09:12:08.032-07:00HERE!Just a brief note to advise readers that FAY and I arrived here yesterday [Friday 03 September] and immediately made our way north to LEIGHTON MOSS. Nothing overly outstanding with the Nuthatch at the feeder the clear favourite of the day. The Marsh Harrier was another gem.<br /><br />The Tally:<br /><br />Carrion Crow<br />Woodpigeon<br />Magpie<br />Starling<br />Great Tit<br />Nuthatch<br />Chaffinch<br />Robin<br />Pheasant<br />Marsh Harrier<br /><br />Alas jetlag was beginning to take its toll so we packed up our binoculars and scopes and headed south on the M6 "home".<br /><br />Our current Staffordshire list consists of:<br /><br />Carrion Crow<br />Woodpigeon<br />Pheasant<br />BuzzardJulian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-9858837107673119232010-08-31T16:30:00.000-07:002010-08-31T21:41:32.228-07:00Eve of Departure<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1OeSI3YdPufNKbz1BijjTIfRE8LbHKAnp7k3qUmQZbqabqIW4zFA8lpIt_WeEuhdAWW86BV9i_oyuY5NXGuc9-WpCMGfUtaBL0vijymBPSXOZAlmFDRFNmG1S78zOWB0ShOM7pTMNfHi/s1600/pardalote+spo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1OeSI3YdPufNKbz1BijjTIfRE8LbHKAnp7k3qUmQZbqabqIW4zFA8lpIt_WeEuhdAWW86BV9i_oyuY5NXGuc9-WpCMGfUtaBL0vijymBPSXOZAlmFDRFNmG1S78zOWB0ShOM7pTMNfHi/s320/pardalote+spo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511797786829636210" /></a><br />We're there! All those months of planning and reckoning off the days until departure date are at an end. We fly out of Brisbane in the morning [Thursday 2 September 2010]. There may be some on-the-run, last minutes readjustments to be made once we're in Staffordshire but to all intents and purposed, this is it.<br /><br />I came to blogging via the West Midlands blogspot to help get a "feel" for my old stomping grounds and that has been worthwhile. I was made welcome and reading through the various posts certainly added further incentive to be there, becoming reaquainted with former "ticked" species and maybe even adding a few new ones to the list. Birding in the U.K. appears to have undergone several changes since I was last there.<br /><br />And yet it has been perhaps a little incongruous, someone from the South Burnett region of Queensland posting occasional blogs referring to Australian birds. No one appears to have objected, certainly no one told me I shouldn't be there. It may be that I have simply misinterpreted the protocols. Is the spot for West Midlands birders only? Is it in fact open to all and sundry?<br /><br />What I have most admired during my brief sojourn here is the dissemination of local birding news and knowledge. Clearly local birders are wll catered for here, although I don't doubt that other regions are similarly catered for.<br /><br />It set me to thinking, what's an old Queenslander doing in a West Midlands blogspot? Yes, I am a former resident but I left Staffordshire in 1974 and have returned only on rare occasions, the last 11 years ago. <br /><br />It's time to move on, to follow Richard Powell's adage, "Local Birding for Local People." I have my own local patch here in the South Burnett and there are a number of local people with varying degrees of birding interest - from the obsessed [you should talk to Fay about it] to the casual backyard observer who throws out a few crumbs or commercial seeds.<br /><br />I have made a tentative start [to be continued on my return from the U.K. in October]. Those interested in knowing a little about the local birds from a small area on the other side of the [West Midlands] world are welcome to follow my at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.southburnettbirding.blogspot.com/">www.southburnettbirding.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />Not that this is the end. If matters pan out as I trust they will I'll post daily updates on our progress throughout September and even after our return to Nanango I'll keep an eye on the antics of "Blurred Birding" etc.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVhXda6wDCf-iZ9bepDq6SulQMgNSOFb8JKParAWhcMit5z-Nm57hlx_81LXFtanZDMBowALVbH_Kz-jG7lax4DNFFS5QT1J_T2Rr70KUJ2PR1SZbM82H7cNC5dkd39n_MdjvyRnabBQK/s1600/pardalote+striated.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVhXda6wDCf-iZ9bepDq6SulQMgNSOFb8JKParAWhcMit5z-Nm57hlx_81LXFtanZDMBowALVbH_Kz-jG7lax4DNFFS5QT1J_T2Rr70KUJ2PR1SZbM82H7cNC5dkd39n_MdjvyRnabBQK/s320/pardalote+striated.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511799760055223890" /></a>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-72136893776460770212010-08-28T03:34:00.000-07:002010-08-28T03:42:36.322-07:00<div>Time Draws Closer… and Ravens<br /><br />We were sitting on the eastern veranda this [Saturday] morning, indulging in a second cup of hot coffee. The ambient temperature was around 5.3oC [it had hit a low of 3.5oC overnight]. When here [and not off somewhere else] we keep an almost religious weekend list of our backyard birds. The usual crowd had been “ticked”: Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Butcherbird, etc. We noted the caw of several crows off to the south and looked up to the sky. Sure enough four Torresian Crows floated into view. I recorded them and looked away to note the White-winged Chough and Crested Pigeon in the orchard.<br /><br />It was Fay who drew my attention back to the crows. Surely the one slightly apart from the others, and clearly much higher in the sky, was almost raptor-like. It soared with outstretched fingers, presenting a flat dihedral. Crows tend to soar with wings bent slightly downwards.<br /><br />Out came the binoculars and, yes, it wasn’t after all a crow but rather an Australian Raven. I deleted the “4”, substituted a “3” but added the 152nd species to the “Backyard List.” We’d have celebrated with a glass of Barossa's finest shiraz but this is Saturday 28 August, the last Saturday before we leave for the U.K. and several last-minute chores remain to be completed prior to our departure. </div><br /><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgricic1wn0kCbT0F3f7BnLV-cckzqq_lzz-LkeslGrPLH035_TSSELVnVV2V1N0prbd8WUzAB70znbdTxLPQoWJ9dT-WHFrs6M3p8RTFRGsGAgCsml4FC0uUm0LweXDWNzu_n0Dy3LPlRo/s1600/raven+aus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510408633275945042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgricic1wn0kCbT0F3f7BnLV-cckzqq_lzz-LkeslGrPLH035_TSSELVnVV2V1N0prbd8WUzAB70znbdTxLPQoWJ9dT-WHFrs6M3p8RTFRGsGAgCsml4FC0uUm0LweXDWNzu_n0Dy3LPlRo/s320/raven+aus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br />The photo was taken by Steve Happ [http://stevehapp.com/blog/?tag=mornington-peninsula]. </div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-38478376713982792442010-08-23T03:08:00.000-07:002010-08-23T04:26:32.488-07:00Last Minute Hitches<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ3R9Um9gLPRysbwzB2d7X7ZPmvDBDrtlmp6FceDnGJ1WhfMZn1Evvx6VUWM-LzpwjTyUhyphenhyphen85niA2Z7ujAbT06aJfKw4gcm1RZdtxCtsv7Td0amr8_wl1tlSLHM2HTqc7ooYOMp4h4rBp/s1600/bfhe43.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508559554931419090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 298px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ3R9Um9gLPRysbwzB2d7X7ZPmvDBDrtlmp6FceDnGJ1WhfMZn1Evvx6VUWM-LzpwjTyUhyphenhyphen85niA2Z7ujAbT06aJfKw4gcm1RZdtxCtsv7Td0amr8_wl1tlSLHM2HTqc7ooYOMp4h4rBp/s320/bfhe43.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Life's like that! All appears to be going swimmingly well, then Fate throws a spanner at your spokes in an attempt to derail all those well laid plans. This time the spanner came close...<br /><br />With thoughts firmly set on Thursday 2 September, a mild smirk could be detected on my face as I considered all those teaching collaegues who would not soon be winging it across to enjoy Cannock Chase, Blithfield Reservoir, Doxey Marshes, etc. Then the postman delivered that letter from the Transport Dept, a brief note to remind me that my driver's licence expires on my next birthday - a week into our U.K. trip!<br /><br />Ordinarily no problem. These days one can even renew online, except if one happens to be diabetic -in which case the law requires that a GP tests your eyesight on an annual basis and confirms that you are sufficiently sighted not to pose a serious problem on the Queen's highways and byways.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47dkxh5HtHKKjIe0BnxJ6ZCTl8w2npdP4RbDeq5YsTQ0pRJ3bYuNbJdw0UDpduTDeG7ey-HZiTcG2FOjXeL-JkYiRA79eqPRupSdGu54PrtecsE46-d2tycZJdmRJ7lg4iWwG2BgdOhSt/s1600/pcur41.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47dkxh5HtHKKjIe0BnxJ6ZCTl8w2npdP4RbDeq5YsTQ0pRJ3bYuNbJdw0UDpduTDeG7ey-HZiTcG2FOjXeL-JkYiRA79eqPRupSdGu54PrtecsE46-d2tycZJdmRJ7lg4iWwG2BgdOhSt/s320/pcur41.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508563157657697730" /></a><br /><br />Again, ordinarily no problem, well not in a metropolitan setting where GPs are a penny a dozen and if your regular doctor is over-booked you simply go along to another. But Nanango is country and here doctors are almost as rare as chicken's teeth - over-subscibed and working flat strap to keep up with the demand. To give you an example, on an earlier trip, simply to seek repeat diabetes prescriptions, my 1630 appointment stretched to 1750.<br /><br />Last Thursday I thought I'd be smart and requested an early appointment. Yes, the doctor could squeeze me in at 0815. I duly informed the Principal [headmaster] that I could be a little late, that my immediate colleague [a simple partition divides our respective classrooms] could keep an eye on my class until I turned up. At 0850 I simply lost patience and informed the receptionist that I had run out of time, was expected back at school and would telephone from there during my lunch break.<br /><br />We rescheduled for 1500; school ends at 1500 and its a 30-minute drive from Blackbutt [where I teach] to Nanango! No problems. I would leave at 1430, again my colleague would keep an eye on the class while I whizzed off to have an eye test. I arrived at 1455 and was eventually called through to the doctor's surgery at 1615.<br /><br />Still, the important part had been achieved, I had successfully completed an eye test and had the necessary medical confirmation that I was sufficiently sighted to be allowed loose behind a steering wheel. For those interested, I have 20/20 vision in my left eye while my right eye leaves a little to be desired but nevertheless continues to operate at above 60%.<br /><br />After school on Friday afternoon I raced through from Blackbutt to Nanango and on to the regional captial at Kingaroy, around an hour's travelling. I walked through the Transport Dept. doors at 1555. They close their doors at 1600!<br /><br />That particular last minute crisis is over, I have my renewed licence in my wallet<br /><br />Not all was conducted at such a hectic pace over those few days. There were quiet, more sedate moments. I heard the first <span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Olive-backed Oriole</strong></span> of the season calling from somewhere on the school grounds. A pair of <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Noisy Friarbirds</span></strong>, again the first of the season, cavorted in the gum tree at the school entrance. A <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Wonga Pigeon</span></strong> boomed from somewhere in the distance and the usual assortment of <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Torresian Crows</span></strong>, <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Australian Magpies</span></strong>, <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pied Currawongs</span></strong> and the ubiquitous <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Noisy Miners</span></strong> scurried around discarded lunch wrappings in search of leftover tasty morsels.<br /><br />Life's never as bad as it seems as long as there's a bird or two in your sights.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM8_i1ACdMNsQmoqhIg-5nOm_IhzoDILilNRahQFzLYt-UUszA2iXUzdnUnQ-Xgogr-oxpSNESvbe5gZ7eJb8kuCf153GN-rZnhFy1egCG_-opxJ6R44bLzA5GFBmxoo9STlyNijloe0s/s1600/sulphur3126+(600+x+402).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM8_i1ACdMNsQmoqhIg-5nOm_IhzoDILilNRahQFzLYt-UUszA2iXUzdnUnQ-Xgogr-oxpSNESvbe5gZ7eJb8kuCf153GN-rZnhFy1egCG_-opxJ6R44bLzA5GFBmxoo9STlyNijloe0s/s320/sulphur3126+(600+x+402).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508564782760659026" /></a><br />Don't forget to look out for the obvious Aussies doing the usual birding haunts in and around Staffordshire during September. Say "Gidday, mate" and in true Aussie tradition I'll buy you a pint at the nearest watering hole.Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-60995891404229757862010-08-17T21:40:00.000-07:002010-08-17T22:13:37.643-07:00...nearer still<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXe2HdKBu-s8ygYmWFPNugPdfxlNfame9-mK3OMbOTylgB4O0wDgFY0b4yEAMi0yOEd8wMLF63h51XvMCwAvaugUAjrX4mUv_1U10x8qercTlXZIIzIwvAbyNznl1XSYjrXo4Kmrtfpqk/s1600/gull+silver002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506606292227861234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXe2HdKBu-s8ygYmWFPNugPdfxlNfame9-mK3OMbOTylgB4O0wDgFY0b4yEAMi0yOEd8wMLF63h51XvMCwAvaugUAjrX4mUv_1U10x8qercTlXZIIzIwvAbyNznl1XSYjrXo4Kmrtfpqk/s320/gull+silver002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hard to believe. This blog started all that time ago to help me get a "feel" for the old West Midlands. Now, it's just around the corner. Two weeks tomorrow [Thursday 19 August] Fay and I will board the aeroplane at Brisbane - next stop [well, almost next] Manchester. A quick drive down the M6 and Bob's you uncle!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-58146965873227281912010-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:002010-08-10T15:09:31.097-07:00…AND NEARER…<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTbvCfn4Y42LwfyGo3UacBFQT4Hc3ikJj2BU_xXw7u-PRYeqnnZuENTRIIl8P3OpET2EMGib-qRgGeKBCKQQIikcuxwmbAtbZ0iItiElYATvW17I1cp6jT-8qMCHmWR_uICIBqnGVgqoA/s1600/rail+buff-bandedC3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503904471664116530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTbvCfn4Y42LwfyGo3UacBFQT4Hc3ikJj2BU_xXw7u-PRYeqnnZuENTRIIl8P3OpET2EMGib-qRgGeKBCKQQIikcuxwmbAtbZ0iItiElYATvW17I1cp6jT-8qMCHmWR_uICIBqnGVgqoA/s320/rail+buff-bandedC3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Three weeks tomorrow and we’ll be aboard the aircraft destined for Manchester. My first overseas trip since 1999; Fay managed a quick, non-birding, trip in 2005, on the occasion of her mother’s 90th birthday. I would be a poor liar if I didn’t admit to a little excitement at the prospect of revisiting old stomping grounds in Staffordshire and the West Midlands – along with our first venture to the Blackwater Estuary and a brief return to Devon.<br /><br />This will certainly be the best we’ve been prepared for a British birding trip. Fieldguides to hand. The BirdGuides DVD-ROM guide to British birds studied; British and regional lists compiled, etc.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7KG7VD-VBeRkukxLb_m5wXXGmNex4zXEgOnwfQRZqKJIFH7VUWleBQqrvHdBG2umuqFwYrRVuxRjOfmtppM8L_bcoT_g6_95WKINtlbRdOg1ItXr0sSaiB3kF-wMMoH7E0HcmxaW2_rN/s1600/magpie02.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503905396451782482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7KG7VD-VBeRkukxLb_m5wXXGmNex4zXEgOnwfQRZqKJIFH7VUWleBQqrvHdBG2umuqFwYrRVuxRjOfmtppM8L_bcoT_g6_95WKINtlbRdOg1ItXr0sSaiB3kF-wMMoH7E0HcmxaW2_rN/s320/magpie02.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Not wishing to over-stretch our ambitions, we’ve limited our target species to a humble four:<br /><br />Long-eared Owl,<br />Nightjar,<br />Cetti Warbler and<br />Cirl BuntingJulian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-22819667192967044922010-08-01T13:17:00.000-07:002010-08-01T13:38:47.960-07:00THE HOUR APPROACHES<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80KohxUKVniUxLT-LjUrGMgibAKT6e4QM_faJ42MY7JBqXPNkqrgjW1tCIN72cx1E-6MTR-gnGBfWzGg5J3E2oLKn_yWvFgIhZiuAX2Ckx75V2gzrAtQQE9UGywZeuNMSHfF6Ac21xRJu/s1600/quail+brown.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 91px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80KohxUKVniUxLT-LjUrGMgibAKT6e4QM_faJ42MY7JBqXPNkqrgjW1tCIN72cx1E-6MTR-gnGBfWzGg5J3E2oLKn_yWvFgIhZiuAX2Ckx75V2gzrAtQQE9UGywZeuNMSHfF6Ac21xRJu/s320/quail+brown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500538754354942802" /></a><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br />It seems superfluous to yet again apologise for the long absence from these pages. Such is life! Much water has passed beneath the bridge since my last blog.<br />I originally came to this Blog in search of birding ideas for our forthcoming sojourn to the UK, to our former West Midlands stomping grounds in particular. At the time it remained a distant objective, something to keep simmering on the back burner while we got on with more mundane and immediate matters – like attending the recent “Wine on the Wharf” event at which some 400 different wines were available for tasting- varietal differences and from competing Australian [with a smattering of overseas] vineyards.<br /><br />Suddenly it is no longer a distant engagement, something to merely pencil in on the wall calendar. All those preparatory months have gone. We are in August, our plane leaves Brisbane airport on 2 September!<br /><br />And it has been both a learning and sobering experience. While the West Midlands remains our main focus, Fay, a keen amateur genealogist, has kith and kin on the central Welsh coastline and a favourite cousin who recently retired to Devon. The Blackwater Estuary, Essex, is one of those things I have to do before I drop off the perch. <br /><br />It all went towards extending our birding outlook, while bearing in mind that on my last visit to the UK [1999] I received a fair bollocking from my sisters for spending more time out in the field birding than I did with them!<br /><br /><br />It has also been interesting gauging the degree of assistance provided by various birders in those four areas to a forthcoming birding visitor. Devon we've decided to tackle alone. The Welsh have been noticeable by their absence; the best I received was a number of suggestions that I visit the websites. The West Midlands Bird Club [of which I am a member] has been outstanding in its efforts to provide me with several necessities. However, I have to acknowledge the best help has come from the local birders of Maldon [Blackwater Estuary] who have provided birdlist specifically for September and even scoured their locality to find suitable hotel/b&b accommodation for Fay and I.<br /><br />Perhaps Fay and I will see one or two of you around the ridges while we’re out and about in spots such as Blithfield, Doxey Marshes, etc. You can’t miss us; we’re the ones with Zeiss binoculars and a KOWA telescope If you come within hearing range you may even pick up a slight twang of Strine.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBABtFb884ZTqNtYiL7Zpu2OctcufrHIpYA_3GD9IuJ5BGpor86mXpocPJx-Y2hDAFUrqlbFK4mYVuVzYWXKuYpKwVjWchxqxYKjwGNCkE6VIMqVsC9uqh7ilYkcTQcPdXu9mhEPq5adq_/s1600/myna+common01.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBABtFb884ZTqNtYiL7Zpu2OctcufrHIpYA_3GD9IuJ5BGpor86mXpocPJx-Y2hDAFUrqlbFK4mYVuVzYWXKuYpKwVjWchxqxYKjwGNCkE6VIMqVsC9uqh7ilYkcTQcPdXu9mhEPq5adq_/s320/myna+common01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500539714131600994" /></a><br /><br /><br />Oh yes, I was also promoted at school in the interim.Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-15999825006822391882010-06-04T21:24:00.000-07:002010-06-04T22:29:00.074-07:00Mists Over Black Creek<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlPulHQaNF5BrwO8bwp0jk5NFLVwn9W2CNp85eaC_Z-F0Fr-MgclrNbl4p80AFzL3bmU32RrV9CUT-yHZ3nKZDeLDn497u6xnxhadHLLCov-8-1_WjoWvNUe5bfdzEPJZ-IV___E3qGSB/s1600/black+creek+mist011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479153720079491954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlPulHQaNF5BrwO8bwp0jk5NFLVwn9W2CNp85eaC_Z-F0Fr-MgclrNbl4p80AFzL3bmU32RrV9CUT-yHZ3nKZDeLDn497u6xnxhadHLLCov-8-1_WjoWvNUe5bfdzEPJZ-IV___E3qGSB/s320/black+creek+mist011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Another long spell between drinks in the Bloggersphere.<br /><br />Not that Fay and I have been idle in the interim. Far from it. Staffordshire in September draws ever nearer and we still have preparations in hand for that. The post-graduate studies continue apace, as does my self-initiated course in basic statistics [for ornithologists]. Above all, our project at the Tarong Power Station has stepped up a few notches.<br /><br />Recently we were granted permission to access the Meandu Creek Dam, the largest water storage reservoir on site, from its "shallow end", that is the end from which the creek flows into the dam. Further, Tarong Energy have asked us to begin a monitoring program of their revegetation project adjoining the Ash Dam. It abuts Black Creek Dam which we have rather neglected over the past few weeks.<br /><br />The day we chose to survey Black Creek Dam turned out to be a misty morning which rather restricted viewing. Nevertheless we persevered trusting that as the morning progressed the heat would disperse the mists. It did! We had magic views of several of the passeriforms and delighted in the feeding frenzy of the Welcome Swallow.<br /></div><br /><br />A pair of ravenous juveniles begging<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFASJ2Z4ozJn4CxEKjMsWeKy6Ag-bB8WDER2pLepCvP8P0lzuTUi5NL6Y4G5QFpWq_ycqhO7Vh4w_bWQE9E5C0g0VHN1lW4jmXxyT__Ty5x3Ai0GKh51tBLAm4wvlEvCbcNydaMTyyFOUZ/s1600/swallow+welcome021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479154510664029202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFASJ2Z4ozJn4CxEKjMsWeKy6Ag-bB8WDER2pLepCvP8P0lzuTUi5NL6Y4G5QFpWq_ycqhO7Vh4w_bWQE9E5C0g0VHN1lW4jmXxyT__Ty5x3Ai0GKh51tBLAm4wvlEvCbcNydaMTyyFOUZ/s320/swallow+welcome021.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRApE3fLSh8_gkp-y8bdXnmrq4UfeDzYM1IBGRMuD70eSjWlAU9Loh0H7HHwtrIi9mbMz53usXonxqUdEl6Wwu0AQATMQqT1PWYJKov3HRJ0zct1W84dTjaVbfDtgJ_upgOQwty8A6ifN/s1600/swallow+welcome041.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479155099461516706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRApE3fLSh8_gkp-y8bdXnmrq4UfeDzYM1IBGRMuD70eSjWlAU9Loh0H7HHwtrIi9mbMz53usXonxqUdEl6Wwu0AQATMQqT1PWYJKov3HRJ0zct1W84dTjaVbfDtgJ_upgOQwty8A6ifN/s320/swallow+welcome041.jpg" border="0" /></a>Mum obliegesJulian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-38096493372089862012010-05-11T02:08:00.001-07:002010-05-11T02:43:09.088-07:00Joys and Sorrows od BirdingAs perhaps Australia's most [in]famous bushranger [for which read highwayman], Ned Kelly, reputedly uttered as the hangman fitted the noose around his neck, "Such is life". Birding has its own ups and downs; its highs and lows.<br /><br /><br />Last week Fay and I had some hopes of having sighted a pair of juvenile <span style="color:#ff0000;">Star Finch</span> <em>Neochmia ruficauda</em>. Having seen the little creatures in the morning, we returned later that afternoon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrq30FdALc6CsRnFDKXkDtSLXHeIkqSx62rBuKaDVJyvlSPhLqAv4NH2VZEFIYcdJoxlFTSaAmSpELk-lS3XdzspKRlSJNlKd9BmwI6hWalsB5bmFJ3sHhyphenhyphenAL20VCGoYJmiCySFQDz8s4/s1600/falcon+peregrine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469944083446541394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrq30FdALc6CsRnFDKXkDtSLXHeIkqSx62rBuKaDVJyvlSPhLqAv4NH2VZEFIYcdJoxlFTSaAmSpELk-lS3XdzspKRlSJNlKd9BmwI6hWalsB5bmFJ3sHhyphenhyphenAL20VCGoYJmiCySFQDz8s4/s320/falcon+peregrine.jpg" border="0" /></a> En route we had the good fortune of seeing a <span style="color:#ff0000;">Peregrine Falcon</span> <em>Falco peregrinus </em>fly low over the adjoining Hoop Pine <em>Araucaria cunninghamii</em> before alighting atop a telegraph pole.<br /><br /><br />Sadly, we found no further signs of the supposed <span style="color:#ff0000;">Star Finch</span> that day. We return the following day and while we had crippling views of <span style="color:#ff0000;">Fan-tailed Cuckoo</span> <em>Cacomantis flabelliformis</em> the alleged <span style="color:#ff0000;">Star Finch</span> again failed o put in an appearance BUT we did see a reasonable flock of <span style="color:#ff0000;">Red-browed Finch</span> <em>Neochmia temporalis </em>which leads us to suspect that the two youngsters we first observed are in fact juveniles of this species; we didn't see the tell-tale red rump and tail region.<br /><br /><br />As we drove away we also had good views of a <span style="color:#ff0000;">Willie Wagtail</span> <em>Rhipidura leucophrys</em> and a male <span style="color:#ff0000;">Variegated Fairy-wren</span> <em>Malurus lamberti</em>.<br /><br /><br />But, isn't that birding! One day you're up, the next you're wallowing in the depths of despair.Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013817776759867109.post-74765559582688635412010-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:002010-05-02T21:54:30.591-07:00Random Thoughts on Returning<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEB4p9eZAyp9fObBBDUnvQjh1ON0cQxFT-le2iinUD3UERKOQmHFVNJ8QIiPbRMXf0lEcTdVI2joWn4u2qEGRVEZOxD0Gw-8jaaRfaQF9RDcZccmMYwrNzc-mzDMyezWB3NZnuR5jMaZV/s1600/zak+%40+dam.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466901331867442114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEB4p9eZAyp9fObBBDUnvQjh1ON0cQxFT-le2iinUD3UERKOQmHFVNJ8QIiPbRMXf0lEcTdVI2joWn4u2qEGRVEZOxD0Gw-8jaaRfaQF9RDcZccmMYwrNzc-mzDMyezWB3NZnuR5jMaZV/s320/zak+%40+dam.JPG" border="0" /></a> Started my last Blog with the words “<span style="color:#33cc00;">Been away from the Blog too long</span>” and that was only after an absence of about nine days. That was all but two months ago! Who would have thought taking on board a post graduate certificate course would have consumed so much of my non-working time. Still, matters have been partly resolved and here I am, back on tap so to speak, with time to venture forth into my more normal birding activities.<br /><br />The 2010 Year List, which I guessed would be effected, has crawled up to 158 with this morning’s <span style="color:#ff0000;">Rose Robin</span> <em>Petroica rosea</em> and <span style="color:#ff0000;">Brown Gerygone</span> <em>Gerygone mouki</em> being particularly pleasing additions. We found both while walking along a track running between a remnant vine scrub and the invidious Ash Dam at Tarong Power Station [where Fay and I have security clearance to monitor the birds].<br /><br />The <span style="color:#ff0000;">Weebill </span><em>Smicronis brevirostris</em> and <span style="color:#ff0000;">Varied Sittella</span> <em>Daphoenositta chrysoptera</em> have returned to the taller trees at the northern end of our property and while we continue to enjoy these, the unexpected visit of a <span style="color:#ff0000;">Brown Falcon</span> <em>Falco berigora</em>, actually on our neighbour’s property but clearly visible from our veranda, was a real thrill.<br /><br />While at the Power Station this morning we came across a finch-type that we have been unable to immediately identify other than to say that the two birds were finches [bill] and both were juveniles of the species. Unfortunately they didn’t hang around long enough for us to take in a number of salient features but if we’re very lucky [lottery ticket time] they’ll turn out to be the rare eastern form of the <span style="color:#ff0000;">Star Fin</span>ch <em>Neochmia ruficauda ruficauda</em>. If the gods are less pleased with us it’ll be the <span style="color:#ff0000;">Nutmeg Mannikin</span> <em>Lonchura punctulata</em> which nevertheless would be preferably to the third possibility, the <span style="color:#ff0000;">Plum-headed Finch</span> <em>Neochmia modesta</em>. Whichever, any would be an addition to the Year List. We return to the area this afternoon for, hopefully, a better look.<br /><br />The picture above may appear to have nothing to do with birds, birding or the West Midlands but there is a link. The dam, at the southern end of our property, has been a happy birding spot for us over the past ten years with <span style="color:#ff0000;">White-necked Heron</span> <em>Ardea pacifica</em> clearly the pick of the sightings here. The Labrador standing at water’s edge is ZAK, named after Izaak Walton of “The Compleat Angler” fame. <div><br /><div>September looms ever closer; Cannock Chase beckons. </div></div>Julian Bielewiczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06550355404789425309noreply@blogger.com0