High Flyer

Great to see a couple of Woodlarks this afternoon. Despite the overcast conditions and the chilly wind, one brave lad was high in the sky singing it's heart out. To my surprise, photos revealed that he was carrying some kind of insect whilst singing; not sure how he managed that whilst opening his beak! Whilst watching this bird, another started replying from the ground nearby. After a bit of scanning, I found it walking about in the heather, occasionally singing a bit. A really class bird and great that these breed in North Yorkshire these days. 

 

Remote Duck - South Georgia Pintail

We found South Georgia Pintails very easily at most sites where we landed. They were mostly found poking about in the tussock fields, often close to penguin colonies or napping Elephant Seals. They are now re-lumped with Yellow-billed Pintail, though still recognised as an endemic subspecies. They don't seem to fly very much, seeming just to waddle about. The other remarkable thing is that despite a rather cute appearance, they are quite happy tucking into a seal carcass shoulder to shoulder with Giant Petrels! 

South Georgia Pintail with a moulting Southern Elephant Seal, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia.

 

 

Surely, they don't eat side by side with these beasts!

 

Friday Feeling

A melancholy week, with my bro Lonz losing his older brother, Paul, unexpectedly. Very sad and a real shock. 

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No work today, so headed out to Wheldrake Ings early doors. It was a cold start with a blustery westerly giving me instant regret for not bringing gloves. A brave Willow Warbler was singing in the car park, my first for the year and earliest ever, by a day. There had been a big clear out of ducks and also some disturbance as the refuge was completely bereft apart from a herd of 13 Whooper Swans. 28 Pinkfeet flew over, adding to the wintery feel. About 180 Black-tailed Godwits were roosting out from Swantail and concealed a couple of Dunlins and five Ruff among their ranks. They flushed a few times, looking stunning in the morning sunshine. 20 Sand Martins were hawking over the pool on my way back. No Garganey yet. 

 

Next up, the forest to meet Andy. It was good to see my old mate and we scored five Goshawks in my favoured spot. As usual, the territory-holding pair were showing off with another adult male with a couple of missing secondaries in his left wing, and a second calendar year male and female sparring with the first adult male. Really nice views in the sunshine. Not much else of note, save a few Crossbills, plenty of Chiffchaffs and c100 Fieldfares near Snainton. Popped into Castle Howard on the way home, which was very quiet, with six Sand Martins and a couple of Mandarins the only birds of note. 

When Six Became Eight: Antarctic Penguin Fest!

Penguins are fantastic and I've been a big fan since I was a kid, when I delivered an assembly on the family to my bored-looking fellow primary school pupils. Despite the early obsession, my 40+ years of birding had delivered me only three species out of a possible 18 (Galapagos, Humboldt and African). So, the prospect of seeing at least six new species was one of the reasons I was desperate to head to the Southern Ocean and Antartica. And I wasn't to be disappointed.

Here are the penguins in the order that we saw them:

1. Magellanic Penguin

Our first encounter was from the ship as we headed east out of the Beagle Channel. These little fellas were busily feeding in the calm waters particularly in the vicinity of at least one large colony we past. Later, we saw small numbers on New Island, Falklands, where they nested in burrows in a flat grassland. Recent news that several new colonies have been discovered in Chile give optimism to offset documented declines in this species.

 

2. Southern Rockhopper Penguin

A dream bird to see, Rockhoppers were every bit as charismatic as I'd hoped, bouncing up and down the rocky cliffs of New Island to feed fuzz-ball chicks waiting patiently at the top. The Rockhoppers nested amid giant Black-browed Albatrosses and Falklands Shags and they all seemed to be good neighbours. 

3. Gentoo Penguin

Often overlooked amid the more charismatic cousins, Gentoos are lovely birds, with gentle expressions, nesting in large open colonies on grassy plateaus. We saw a number of colonies on New Island, with other birds on South Georgia in among King and Chinstraps. Watching them literally fly out of the surf on to a white sand beach was fantastic.

 

 4. King Penguin

One of the best wildlife experiences of my life was standing amid 100,000 pairs of King Penguins at St Andrew's Bay, South Georgia. They are the most gorgeous of birds: inquisitive, charismatic and noisy, yet at times wistful and mystical.

5. Macaroni Penguin

We saw one lonely Mac among the Southern Rockhopper colony at New Island, but our best encounter was with colonies at South Georgia, including Hercules Bay and Gold Harbour. Macs havbe heavier, redder bills than the similar Rockhoppers, and finer, deeper-yellow crests. 

 

 

 

6. Chinstrap Penguin

I hadn't realised I'd see Chinnies on South Georgia, so this was a real bonus. Absolutely cracking penguins, and with a real affinity to ice! Our best encounters were at Gold Harbour, SG, and then on Penguin Island, South Shetlands. They feed their chicks on balls of krill, much of which ends up down their fronts or in a growing pink puddle on the colony floor! It is amazing how pristine they look on the way back to the colony and then how filthy they look as they head back to the ocean. 

 

7. Adelie Penguin

And if six species wasn't enough, we were then treated to the two Antarctic specialities. I hoped Adelie would be a possibility around the peninsula, but by no means guaranteed. However, good fortune - or perhaps a fantastic expedition leader - was on our side and we headed down the east side into the Weddell Sea, where Adelie Penguins were abundant. And I mean abundant! Tens of thousands fed on krill in vast rafts, with others peppering every decent sized iceflow. This didn't really prepare us for the collossal colony of 250,000 pairs at the finale of our trip on an island in the northern Weddell Sea. Absolutely incredible. 

8. Emperor Penguin

We always knew that if we got into the Weddell Sea there was a remote, but real chance of finding a wandering Emperor Penguin. From dawn at just before 4am, we were out on deck in subzero temperatures, checking every iceberg and iceflow we could see for large penguins. It took a while but late morning, Philip ran over to my side of the deck and asked me to check a large penguin which he was sure was an Emperor, but after hours of searching he wanted to be sure. And it was! A fantastic immature Emperor, standing forlornly on a large ice flow. The nearest colony is to the south on Snow Island (original name!) and most adults stay in the vicinity, but non-breeding youngsters wander about in the Weddell. The ship looped round and pulled up so our fellow passengers could put down their lattes and come out for a quick selfie with the world's largest penguin. This was amazing, a species I had never thought I'd ever see. To top it off, Becca then found another doing its best to hide among a gang of Adelies. Two Emperors! Unbelievable!

 

 

 

Top Emperor 1, bottom Emperor 2 with his cute Adelie friends

 We were somewhat happy to see the Emperors!

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So our hoped-for six species became eight and my life list of penguins rose to 13. Only five more to go...

 

 

 

Searching for Goshawks

It is Goshawk season, and I have spent the last couple of weekends leading Goshawk tours for Yorkshire Coast Nature in search of these fantastic raptors. I am proud to be able to take folk up here on behalf of YCN, who make donations each year to the RSPB Investigations Team, who work tirelessly to stamp out illegal persecution of Goshawks and other species. Hopefully these tours help people understand a bit about these birds and the dreadful impact of the illegal activities that are so rife in some parts of North Yorkshire, robbing many people of a wondeful encounter with one of these special birds.

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It has been great being back in the forest, with every day providing a unique experience with the king of raptors. The tours this year have got off to a great, start; good weather has helped - apart from a foggy start to my first tour - and we have connected with several Goshawks on each trip. 

 

Always wary, we have had good scope views of perched and displaying birds as they sparred with last year's young and the local Buzzards, over the picturesque Yorkshire forest. It is good to see some old familiar birds still holding territory and using their regular perches, where they keep watch over the valley. Having watched this area for several years, we know many of the usual hang outs; nevertheless, we always keep our distance ensuring we do not disturb the birds- hence my poor photos!

Lots of Siskins and Crossbills around too, and Chiffchaffs have started to arrive too. Willow Tits have shown up on most tours, as they seem to be hanging on up in the forest. We always see lots of other wildlife too, including Roe Deer and on one afternoon, a gorgeous Red Fox.