May 2024 News

Friday 31st May

I birded on foot from the Lodge to Flower Corner and back this afternoon, having been away for three weeks. I saw a brood of Mute Swans Cygnus olor in Long Bay and could make out 2 cygnets, but there may have been others riding on mums back. As I rounded Green Lawn, I could hear a Cuckoo Cuculus canorus singing along the North Shore, and at Holt Bay I spotted a family group of Coot Fulica atra (3 juvs.). At Flower Corner I watched a Red Kite Milvus milvus and 5 Buzzards Buteo buteo following the plough, and on the way back saw a Siskin Spinus spinus at Lodge Copse and heard one each of Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti and Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus.

Thursday 30th May

It was good to be back home again, and I went to the lake in the evening and birded on foot from the Lodge to Top End gate and back. I saw a flock of 70+ Woodpigeon Columba palumbus on Holt Farm, a female Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, a Barn Owl Tyto alba, a Tawny Owl Strix aluco, 4 Hobbies Falco subbuteo, and heard one Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti and 2 Garden Warblers Sylvia borin singing. My bird list was 33 species between 1936-2216 hrs.

Wednesday 29th May

It was our last day in Scotland, and Ruth had been keen to take me for a walk along one their favourite railway walks between Longniddry and Haddington. We only had time to do part of the walk, but I was delighted to find Tree Sparrows, with an adult feeding young, and Spotted Flycatcher, Linnet and Bullfinch in the hedgerows. Later we met up with half-sister Harriet and went to Aberlady to visit the Scottish Ornithologists Club HQ and saw Tree Sparrow again on the feeders.

Tnesday 28th May

Sister Ruth went to Linlithglow to do a fitness session, so Ce and I went with her to have a look around the lovely old town. Although tempted, we didn't feel we had time to visit the castle, so took a wander around an art exhibition, then part of Linlithgow Loch and town - although disappointed to find the museum was closed for the day. A few water birds were noted on the water, and we saw Swift, Sand Martin and Swallow over the loch.

Monday 27th May

Having flown from the Isle of Man, supposedly to Edinburgh, but subsequently diverted to Birmingham and driven by taxi north (groan), we stayed with my sister in East Lothian. We went for a walk along one of the many old railway paths around Macmerry. I spotted a couple of Grey Partridge, and Yellowhammer, in the arable fields which are a feature of the coastal strip hereabouts. I noted 41 bird species in total.

Tuesday 21st May

We hadn't been to Port St. Mary previously, so jumped on the bus and took the trip south. In all honesty, there wasn't a great deal to do there unless you enjoy walking. Sadly, Ce isn't able to walk far these days especially where there are hills, so we stayed around the harbour area. I didn't manage to get out across the golf course at Langness as a result, which is said to be worth a visit for birders.

Monday 20th May

Having failed to get to the Calf yesterday, we decided to head back north on the tram, and dial-a-ride bus to the Point of Ayre where we spent a couple of hours, visiting the lighthouse (private) for a cup of tea and the bird breeding beaches. Sadly, we didn't see any Little Terns but had a great selection of seabirds passing close to the shore including Eider, Razorbill, Guillemot, Gannet, Cormorant and Shag. Other birds included Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, a pair of Choughs, Hooded Crow, Skylark, Sand Martin, a Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and Linnet. Mammals included Grey Seals on the beach and Rabbits in the coastal vegetation, plus a passing Red Admiral. We could easily have spent a whole day there and included a visit to the visitor centre along the coast. Back in Douglas in the evening, we enjoyed a lovely meal on the North Quay watching a pair of Peregrines giving the gulls a hard time.

Sunday 19th May

I made my way by bus early this morning hoping to visit the Calf of Man. However, the strong wind conspired against us because although we left harbour, when we got to the crossing, the tide was ripping through the straight and being whipped up by the strong breeze. The boatmen decided it was just too rough for us to be able to land, so we headed back to Port Erin - a pretty bumpy ride in that direction!

Saturday 18th May

Last time we came to the Isle of Man we didn't manage to take a trip on the Great Laxey Mine steam railway and see the two ex-mine engines Ant and Wasp. I saw a few birds including the first Willow Warbler of the trip, and best of all a Common Lizard basking on the railway ballast when we walked to view the mine entrance. There were also a handful of male Orange-tip butterflies still on the wing, a sign that we are significantly further north than home, where their flight season had finished by the time we left.

Friday 17th May

We took the bus to Peel on the west coast today, and saw 4 Eider Ducks in the bay close to the castle, but the best sighting was the 18 Black Guillemots in the harbour, a couple of which were resting on moored boats giving great close views. For black and white birds they are extremely handsome, especially when they open their bills and reveal the almost scarlet insides. In the evening we took a steam train dining trip to Castletown and back. While we were passing Ballasalla I was amazed to see a Great White Egret Ardea alba in flight over the linseide fields.

Wednesday 15th May

My sister and brother-in-law had gone back to Scotland, so Ce and I headed north on the tram again today to visit The Grove Museum of Victorian Life just outside Ramsey. It was really fascinating and well worth a look. We spent some time wandering around Ramsey park, harbour and town. We just had to have another ice cream from the Gelatory too! I didn't see any birds of particular note, apart perhaps from Swallow and Canada Goose. On the way back to Douglas on the tram, the evening cliff/sea views were breathtaking as we headed down the east side of the island. We even saw a few Brown Hares in the fields by the line as we rattled by.

Tuesday 14th May

I had a message from Mervyn P., who went to Blagdon Lake today, as follows: Common Sandpiper, Coot and Grey Wagtail at the dam, 5 Hobbies in the same field of view in his bins at Green Lawn, Swifts, House Martins, a few Reed Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker. Blue damselflies at Top End, a Beautiful Demoiselle at Bell's Bush, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Blackcap and some Southern Marsh Orchids also noted. Top man Merv. Thanks.

At North Quay, Douglas, I saw an Eider Duck, 2 Black Guillemots, 2 Mute Swans and 2 Shelduck, in the harbour. Most of the wet day was spent in the Manx Museum in Douglas, where I spent quite a bit of time in the Natural History section, but there was plenty else there to see as well. It's a great museum and really worth a look if you come to the island.

Monday 13th May

Rob and Skip did the WeBS count today while I'm away and Phil is on a cruise off St. Kilda. They had to do it in strong winds and intermittent rain unfortunately. Counts were as follows: Canada Goose 7, Mute Swan 9, Shoveler 1, Gadwall 8, Mallard 56, Tufted Duck 12, Great Crested Grebe 18, Moorhen 3, Coot 102, Common Sandpiper 1, Great Black-backed Gull 4, Lesser Black-backed Gull 8, Cormorant 5, Sparrowhawk 1, Hobby 1. They also recorded 8 Swifts. Thanks guys.

I went out of the hotel, on the promenade at Douglas, after having something to eat early in the evening because I'd seen a tern working its way around the bay through the window. A few minutes scanning with my binoculars brought 2 Eider Ducks, Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, a Black Guillemot, and a Grey Heron among others.

Sunday 12th May

This morning I'd booked a surprise trip for my brother-in-law, Sam, with Isle of Man Trike Tours. We had the full experience, around both the old and present TT courses, even touching a ton over The Mountain in the safe hands of our brilliant driver. I'd done it on a previous visit with Celia, but was pretty keen to go again...

My sister booked us a visit to the Milntown House and estate, so it was back on the tram to the end of the line at Ramsey, and a very pleasant afternoon on the estate, with a guided walk around the house and an afternoon cream tea, during which we were hugely entertained by a pair of Mallards that wandered into the conservatory and kept making their way to the kitchen and being chased out. I put together a bird list on BirdTrack, including some butterflies that were in the kitchen garden.

Saturday 11th May

We spent the day on the trams heading north from Douglas and, having changed at Laxey, took the Snaefell Mountain Railway up to the high point of the island. We saw Hooded Crows, and a Wheatear near the trig point, and my sister pointed out a Mountain Hare from the tram as we headed back down to The Bungalow.

Friday 10th May

We're on holiday on the Isle of Man for a couple of weeks, enjoying the peace and quiet, trams and steam railway. We took the steam train ride to the south of the island at Port Erin today, where I saw 3 Swifts over the bay/town. I'm hoping to visit the Calf of Man while I'm here.

Thursday 9th May

Message from Melanie P. to say her sister-in-law and niece saw 2 Hobbies Falco subbuteo this morning. Thanks ladies.

Tuesday 7th May [Sunny & warm]

I was busy around the house and in the garden for most of the day, but met Melanie P. early evening for a birding walk along the north side of the lake, for a change. We saw two broods of five Canada Goose Branta canadensis goslings, and I saw a Hobby Falco subbuteo at Top End, as did Ross F. (thanks for the text Ross & sorry I missed you). Mark told me he'd seen a Hobby this afternoon at Holt Bay too - possibly the same one.

Sunday 5th May [Showers]

I birded on foot from the Lodge to Top End hide & back this evening, much of it in drizzle/light rain. I saw the seventh brood of four Mallard Anas platyrhynchos ducklings at Top End, and the first brood of Canada Goose Branta canadensis with five goslings at Green Lawn, after a tip-off from Mark. There wasn't much else to report which was hardly surprising given the conditions.

Saturday 4th May [Sunshine all day - at last]

Wow! Wall-to-wall sunshine made for a very pleasant bat box check late morning with Mark around the Pumping Station and Hatchery. We found several groups of Soprano Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pygmaeus and one group of about 10 Natterer's Bat Myotis nattereri, saw lots of butterflies on the wing including a Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus spotted by Mark, several teneral blue damselflies, and a female demoiselle that I think was a Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo at the Hatchery.

I then went to watch a football match at Wincanton FC with Ce, where I could hear no fewer than 3 Lesser Whitethroats singing from my position on the touchline. They are almost a thing of the past at the lake these days, and I've not heard one there yet this year.

After a quick bite to eat when we got back home, I went back to the lake, parked at Rainbow Point and birded on foot to Top End gate and back, with a bit of time in the hide as the sun went down. I saw a single Hobby Falco subbuteo, and 2 Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos of note, in a total bird list of 42 species.

I was told that an Osprey Pandion haliaetus was present at the lake this afternoon too (photographed).

Friday 3rd May [Overcast & breezy]

I only had time for a quick walk, so I birded from the Lodge to Wood Bay Point and back after checking the dam. There were 2 Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos on the dam wall, and I saw my first brood of Coot Fulica atra in Long Bay, with 5 chicks off the nest. As I walked around Holt Bay I became aware there were 3 Hobbies Falco subbuteo feeding over the water giving great views. I managed to record 41 bird species in the limited time available.

Thursday 2nd May [Overcast, cool and breezy.]

It wasn't much of an afternoon for birding. I drove to Top End hide and walked between Bell's Bush and Top End gate, looking and listening, but it was so breezy that I decided to go back to my car and drive along the lakeside, apart from another stop for a brief listen at Lodge Copse and scan of the dam wall. I spotted another new brood of Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, the sixth, of 7 ducklings, saw a Nuthatch Sitta europaea on the feeder, and the Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos on the dam, in a list of 38 bird species in an hour and a quarter. So far, I've recorded 108 bird species in 101 visits to the lake this year - it has been tough birding with the combination of high water level and dire weather we've had so far. The level has dropped about a foot and I'd say the lake is about 94% full. I'm not sure if BW are pumping, especially with the prolific algal bloom I referred to last week, but the frequent storms have flooded most floating nests built by water birds, especially Coots and Great Crested Grebes, and if the level starts to drop rapidly in the next month or so, any second attempts at nesting are likley to result in the nests being left high and dry. The Mallards that have succeeded so far probably nested away from the waterside and walked the young to the lake. Pipe Bay and North Shore reedbeds have been trashed by the storms. New growth is only just starting to appear above the water surface so this may affect the number of Reed Warblers that may attempt to nest in them this year. I have heard the warblers singing in nearby hedges, so it'll be interesting to see if they are prepared to wait until conditions are right for nesting in the reeds, or, if they'll use the adjacent hedges and other waterside vegetation. The rookeries seem to have survived the worst of the storms and many nests are empty now because the young have flown, rather than because the nesting attempts failed. Overall, I'd imagine that breeding success will be down with most early breeding species, but it has been surprising to see how resilient a few, at least, have been.

Wednesday 1st May [Overcast & mild.]

At last, an Osprey Pandion haliaetus was showing well at Top End late this afternoon. I'm guessing it was the same bird seen earlier at Chew Valley Lake, but when it flew it appeared to go off down the lake, although I lost track of it so don't know if it left. I saw the usual Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos on the dam wall, 2 non-breeding Great White Egrets Ardea alba, a Little Egret Egretta garzetta, a good selection of warblers (though nothing new for the year), and another brood (the fifth) of Mallard Anas platyrhynchos with 4 ducklings. My day list was 46 bird species.