Birding in The Land That Time Forgot!

I have finally managed to get out and do some birding in the two tetrads I've been allocated for the BTO Bird Atlas programme. I had been praying for fine weather as today would be the last opportunity for me to do an early winter Timed Tetrad Visit, so it was a case of now or never really.

The sun wasn't exactly shining, but neither was it raining and blowing a gale, so my 'minder' was dragged out of bed, despite suffering from man flu (his words!) and pressed into action.

The first tetrad visit was great - birds everywhere and a lovely walk through a mix of habitats. We didn't see anything unusual, but had some great views of Bullfinch (even the minder was impressed), Fieldfare and Redwing. There were more Wood Pigeon than you could shake a stick at, and a variety of small stuff to keep us both occupied. A highlight was a female Sparrowhawk being seen off by a Carrion Crow.

Well, time for coffee so we headed back to Wetherspoons for a latte (and a bowl of Christmas pud!) before setting forth on the second tetrad.

A little more difficult this one - and not being familiar with this area, in the end the route we took left a little to be desired. I thought if we walked along the canal then we could have that habitat, whilst looking out over farmland. Only the bit of canal in my tetrad is surrounded by steep, wooded sides, so no view of farmland what-so-ever. It is also dark, damp, and today almost completely devoid of any birdlife!

On a dull winter's day it really did feel like the land that time forgot, with the sides covered in thick undergrowth, and a variety of ferns. I half expected something prehistoric to emerge and make us its afternoon snack at any moment. And as for conditions underfoot - it is hard work trying to look up to find birds, whilst having to look down to make sure you aren't up to your knees in mud, or sliding off into the canal itself.

With hardly a bird seen, two Goldcrest were the highlights, along with a brief but close view of a Buzzard, and a very confiding (or just plain nosey?) Robin.

Funnily enough, if you stood on the 'border' between my tetrad square and the next, it appeared that the neighbouring square was full of birdlife! Still, I wasn't surprised - on a day like today I could understand why little wanted to linger long in the area!

RSPB Old Moor

Aren't Mum's great? When all your birding companions are at work, and you're faced with the prospect of going it alone, they offer to come out in the wind and cold and rain and keep you company, even when they would much rather be tucked up in the warmth at home.

So off we went to the RSPB's Old Moor reserve near Barnsley to brave the elements once again. The worse was the wind which in some hides was blowing straight in through the open windows so strongly and so coldly that it hindered seeing anything due to streaming eyes.

Not that there was anything overly exciting to see, but there were nice numbers of Teal, Wigeon, Goosander, Lapwing, Linnet, Gadwall, and Dunlin. The odd Redshank, a small and mobile flock of Starling, and big numbers of Cormorant also added interest. The highlight for both Mum and I however were the two stunning male Bullfinch and the single female which were making use of the feeders near the cafe, and which were causing lots of ooh's and aah's from those enjoying watching them.

Boxing Day saunter

The morning dawned dull, grey, damp and cold. Undeterred we left the warmth, the TV, and the chocolates and ventured out for a saunter up a nearby lane, bins at the ready for all those farmland birds we were bound to see. Shame really that all those farmland birds obviously had other ideas and stayed firmly out of sight.

A few Wood Pigeon, the odd crow, a few Chaffinch and House Sparrows, and that was the lot. We heard a Goldcrest but couldn't locate it. It possibly beat a hasty retreat when a Magpie landed in the same tree.

So with little about and no sign of better things to come we turned around, sauntered back, and went off to watch something a little more lively instead - in this case the Sheffield Steelers beat the Cardiff Devils 6 - 3 in an eventful match which saw one player knocked clean out, lots of fighting, and some fast and furious play. Now we just need to find the game rules because I wasn't alone in spending most of the match completely confused!

Christmas Day Blackcap

With a new pair of bins to 'bed in' I thought that I might be able to sneak in an hour somewhere today, but with visiting neices, dinner, tea, and card games with Grandma, it wasn't quite to be. Still, Dad's feeders in the garden are always busy, and there was a very welcome if unexpected highlight when a male Blackcap appeared - the first for Dads garden list.

Other than that we had to content ourselves with Dads new bird book (Bird: The Definitive Visual Guide) trying to out do one another with 'I've seen one of those......I've seen that'......

Dad's winning by a long way!

Christmas Eve Bittern (Potteric Carr)

Birding surely shouldn't be this easy? You stroll into a Thornton's coffee shop on the way, enjoying a big Cafe Latte topped with cream, along with scones and chocolates, and then you make your way up the road to the reserve. You saunter through the reserve, picking up a few things along the way (Siskin, Great Tit, Blue Tit etc) and then you wander into a hide.

On opening the door you find a sea of happy faces, hurrying you in. "It's just there" they say. And sure enough it is. One Bittern, just 30' away, smack in front of the hide, in low reeds, and as plain as day to see.

You dash in and take it in quick in case it decides to fly off immediately. It doesn't fly off. For an good hour. In fact, after feeding and drinking for a while at the edge of the reeds it decides to have a wander. Straight towards the hide. It stops about 15' away, in a small open area, and proceeds to wander around, practice classic Bittern type poses, and then turn itself inside out preening.

In fact, this bird does so much preening and posing that you do begin to wonder if it isn't very well aware that it is the subject of some very excited photography as several photographers scrum to get the best position, and a chorus of clicks provides the background music for its antics.

And you curse that you didn't bring your camera - something often left at home as the maximum lens length available isn't usually good enough. But you also take pleasure in not having to brave the scrum, and instead being able to sit quietly and watch this beautiful bird do what it is that Bitterns do without having to worry about aperture and shutter speeds and light levels.

And you don't want to leave because whenever in your life are you going to get views like this again? But after an hour and more you decide maybe you will. There are other people who would benefit from your comfy seat and brilliant vantage point, and there are other birds to see. Water Rail, Marsh Tit, Bullfinch, Sparrowhawk, Treecreeper, and Jay all oblige, amongst others.

The rain sets in and it is time to go, but what a day. All the better too, for having viewed it all through the fantastic new binoculars that Santa kindly brought a day early.

Merry Christmas x