My 1st SCAN canon netting trip of the year took place a couple of weeks ago in Bangor harbour where we set a net to catch roosting Oystercatchers at dawn.
A combination of bad luck and flighty birds (a Peregrine chasing Knot didn't help the situation) meant we didn't catch as many as we'd hoped. With a big team having a small catch was certainly more relaxed and gave time for the newcomers to discuss the ageing and sexing characteristics as will as looking at some odd moult.
The oldest bird caught was ringed in October 2005 making it nearly 20 years old. It was aged on eye colour as Euring 8 meaning we know it was definitely hatched 3 or more years ago.
An adult Oystercatcher would have been expected to have completed its post breeding moult last autumn but this bird still had unmoulted outer primaries and inner secondaries on both wings. Maybe a sign of advancing age (the bird was later found to be ringed as an adult 19 years ago) or maybe an unexplained arrested moult.
Another ageing feature for Oystercatcher is leg colour with older birds having pinker legs whilst young birds are much duller.
Euring 5 birds (born last year) are identifiable by their dull brown eye and may have some retained brown juvenile feathers as in the photos below:
With the weather calm on 30th December and Jan having to get up early I decided to open a mist net in the garden in the hope of catching a few Redwing. No Redwings but I got a real surprise when this 1st calendar year Brambling ended up in the mist net. I'd not see one in the garden or around my local village patch this winter period. We had a single bird around the bird feeders last April but it didn't hang around.
This bird was particularly bright and was aged as a 3 male (born current calendar year) as it had a moult contrast in the greater coverts with three browner retained outer juvenile feathers with the rest being adult type that it would have moulted into during its post juvenile moult.
A stunning bird. It's not often I get to ring Brambling so it was a real treat. We did manage to ring 23 in one session on Fetlar a few years ago (see here) and this was the first I'd ringed since then.
Once again I consulted eBird for sites close to where we were staying and found a reference to the Twin Oaks Conservation Area. An area of scrub trails and a large lake. What caught my eye was the sheer number of wildfowl, 300 + American Coots for example, along with Snail Kites. One of the few areas this species is seen regularly.
Heading off on our penultimate day I arrived around 09.00 to disappointingly find the preserve allowed shooting and there was a fair bit of disturbance around the lake. There were still plenty of birds around but the ducks were very flighty and a long way out with only Ring-necked Duck & Mallard being close enough to identify without a 'scope. There were also several distant Belted Kingfishers - instantly recognisable by their call. The last time I'd heard one was the one I ticked as a lifer in the UK. See here.
For the 1st time during our stay I met another couple out birding. Not really birding as they didn't have binoculars but they had cameras with large telephoto's. Chatting to them they showed me photos of a Great -horned Owl they just photographed peering out of a hole in an old tree. Armed with directions I headed that way and after a search found the owl peering out of its roost. The 2nd of the trip following one heard only at the Disney Wilderness Preserve.
Whilst searching for the Horned Owl I saw good numbers of smaller passerines including Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. These small birds are extremely active and hard to photograph but I noticed one kept sallying forth from the same tree so waited for an opportunity to get a photo.
The couple I'd met suggested I was a bit early in the day for Snail Kite as they normally saw them towards dusk but told me they frequent a swampy area on the approach road to the reserve. Sure enough my luck was in and I picked up a distant kite perched up. The distinctive bill is adapted to remove their favourite prey, Apple Snails, from their shells. As I watched another bird appeared and they both hunted slightly closer so I could get a couple of record shots.
As the sun got hotter more butterflies appeared including Zebra Longwing, the Florida State butterfly, and Queen butterfly.
Heading back before it got to hot I came across yet another pair of ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes. Crouching down they approached me completely unperturbed by my presence.
A great couple of weeks. Although not a serious birding trip I managed some good trips out ended up with a list of 70 birds. Not a huge number but it included four lifers in Florida Scrub Jay, Pileated, Red-headed and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. I also saw my 1st ever Black Bear and a totally unexpected Nine-banded Armadillo feeding outside the back of our villa one morning. These were introduced into Florida in the early part of the 20th century and are now naturalised.
For once a trip to Disney was more relaxed. The next time we'll probably go will be for our 40th wedding anniversary in 2026 with all the grandkids so I can't see me getting much free time to go birding on that trip.
A lot of the golf courses in Florida have extensive wetlands associated with the. Lots of these are natural lakes but many are attenuation ponds designed to hold rain water or recycled water from the sewage works for irrigation purposes. These attract a surprising amount of wildlife and I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of waders such as Least Sandpiper, Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper, Wilsons Snipe and Greater Yellowlegs in good numbers. Alligators and Florida Red-bellied Cooters (turtles) were also a common sight.
Least Sandpiper
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs with Least Sandpipers
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson's Snipe
Nearly every where we went had at least one pair of ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes whilst both Turkey & Black Vulture were omni present overhead. The golf courses were the only places I saw Loggerhead Shrikes.
Turkey Vulture
Sandhill Crane
Loggerhead Shrike
Golf carts are essential in Florida due to the heat and many courses won't let you play without hiring one. At first I was a bit annoyed about this but I soon discovered approaching birds in the cart slowly meant they weren't disturbed whereas approaching on foot they quickly moved away. The added bonus was the 'beer buggy' that came round selling snacks and cold drinks. Birding on a hot Florida day in the comfort of a golf cart with a cold beer in the icebox provided takes some beating!
The muddy margins of some of these pools held the waders whilst more established areas were home t oa good variety of waterbirds such as Great Blue & Little Blue Heron's , Anhinga, Pied-billed Grebes and on one memorable day my trips only Roseate Spoonbill. Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Glossy Ibis and Limpkin were also fairly common.
Pied-billed Grebe
Roseate Spoonbill
Little-blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
American White Ibis
Anhinga
Some of the best views of birds such as Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler and Eastern Phoebe were of those feeding on the ground on golf courses. Using the cart as a hide meant I could get up pretty close without disturbing them.
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Eastern Phoebe
Ospreys are one of the commonest birds of prey in Florida and they were s common sight fishing in the golf course lakes and ponds. Red-shouldered Hawks also utilised the fairways for hunting. Perching up until they spotted a prey item and then swooping down after it. I also saw my only American Kestrels on the golf courses.
American Kestrel
Osprey with fish
Red-shouldered Hawk
It was outside one of the golf course club houses that I saw my only Wild Turkey of the trip. Apparently it comes every morning to get fed scraps by the kitchen staff.
Patch list (walking distance from house): 133. Garganey
What this blogs about.
This is my blog about birding on the Wirral, in Cheshire and beyond. Its basically an online diary of my sightings and trips. It'll be updated regularly to include photographs of birds (and other wildlife) I've photographed both in the UK and abroad. Why a blog? It's a way of keeping memories of good birds. good trips and interesting ringing sessions for me to look back on when I get to old to be bothered going out in the cold and wet anymore!!#
All photo's are taken by me unless specified and I retain the copyright. Photos shall not be used for any other purpose without express permission.
Moved to Cheshire in 1983 and settled there after marrying in 1986. I've been birding since I was 7 or 8 - it was that long ago I can't remember!
My formative years were spent in Suffolk and birds became a passion in my teens. Started twitching when still at school but began seriously whilst at University in the late 70's and early 80's. I am old enough to remember Nancy's cafe!
Took a bit of a break due to other committment but now able enjoy getting out birding both locally and for long distance twitches and trips.
Married to my beautiful wife Janet since 1986 and have two grown-up children and 4 gorgeous grandchildren.
Trained as a ringer firstly in the 1970's but let it lapse after leaving University in 1982. Re-trained again a few years ago and now a regular with Hilbre Bird observatory and SCAN ringing group.
I first became interested in photography whilst still at school and used an old Zenith SLR with a Tamron 300 mm lens. I've rediscovered my earlier interest and have graduated to digital - much easier to use for an amateur like me!
