Shocking weather produced THE bird of Patch 2...ever

The Safari's drive to work was interesting with an 'alba' Wagtail in the puddle where the alleged R'ouzel was, for once in a blue moon we were in Wifey's car and sat too low down to be able to see it  properly...but another one goes on the R'ouzel puddle list. After a few minutes in the office we braved the soon to land with a vengeance weather and was out on site with the Rangers and super local naturalist MS. We were looking for recent signs of the Water Voles and invited him to come along to search for Common Meadow Rue a plant that is so common round here that any site that has it automatically qualifies for County Biological Heritage Site status.

We donned the waders but the prospect of getting in the rather full and uninviting looking ditch didn’t appeal...and that water was cold!...so we checked for feeding signs from the top of the bank occasionally slithering into the slimy shallows for a closer look and/or to retrieve a specimen of chewed grass. We are pleased to report that the Water Voles are still in situ and we found signs right into the depths of the adjacent area too.

While we bumbled around the ditch and had a shuffy across the field MS checked out out the rough area for Common Meadow Rue – yes he found it...he found in spades not just hanging on in this part of town but obviously finding it to its liking and doing very well thank you!

Next time we go alooking in this area they should be in flower and a full six feet (2m) tall and not so easy to step on/over

Our turning over of things gave us a few Frogs, one Toad and one Short Tailed Field Vole, with evidence of recent activity by several more voles but no snakes, lizards or newts.

One thing we did find that we weren’t so chuffed about were these tiny fry in the amphibian/snake pond. We hope they’ll only grow into 3-Spined Sticklebacks and not anything larger with a bigger mouth and appetite – the Sticklebacks are bad enough as we know only too well from the pond at work (Still at least seven remaining uncaptured in there!).

Only inches from where the fry were hanging out the Ranger found this...

Bingo double bingo – a Great Crested Newt egg. Further searching didn’t give us any more but they must be there somewhere! Not a bad morning’s work and our 'candidate' CBHS must surely now be declared as the full monty!

Not content with all that joy we pulled up a wet work, the promised rain had now started in earnest, and heard a hweet call from the bushes in the garden. Luckily we had our bins with us as a Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff would be a good bird here. But it was seriously better than that, our ‘hweet’er was a cracking male Redstart tucked away under the Tamarisk bushes hopping around on the floor poking about through the woodchip. What a great bird for Patch 2, (#65). Unfortunately we got the camera too slowly and it did a flit and wasn’t seen again despite some searching in between the showers/downpours. Wasn't expecting to see two grounded migrants of this species within a few days  of each other that's for sure!

At lunchtime – yes  all that happen before lunch! – we met up with our friend from the sanddunes for a bit of sea watching. Not a great lot going on with a strong easterly wind and ropey weather although a few Sandwich Terns were diving not too far out and a single Guillemot was a little further away. Much better was the Grey Seal only 50 yards off the wall. We dashed back to the office for the camera but it must have got wind of our intentions and by the time we’d got back – 2 minutes – he’d done a bunk and wasn’t seen again. It’s not often we get close encounters like that, usually a seal is just a dot in the distance.

Where to next? Just checked the weather and more overnight showers and easterly winds are forecast so what might be in the Patch 2 garden tomorrow

In the meantime let us know what vivid coloured thing brightened up your outback.

Oh no not more wind

The Safari was up and at em for very windy and shortened Patch 1 predawn walk this morning. The only things to show for our efforts were single Blackbird and Robin seen – not a sound was heard everything was very sensibly hunkered down.

Our hopes for a few year birds at Patch 2 were dashed cos when we got to the wall, some three hours after a low high tide, the water was still lapping at the base due to the very strong wind. All we could see out in the raging tempest were a few Common Scoters (62). Away to the south hundreds of gulls faced the wind on the bit of exposed beach there along with a handful of Oystercatchers. Those five minutes were enough watching – time for a warming cup of tea, with the expectation that low tide at lunchtime would be more interesting.

A quick nip to the shops for some hardware supplies for Base Camp had us whizzing up the road a couple of miles further to check out the five Tundra Bean Geese (63) again. There they were sat in the field at some not inconsiderable distance. Their friend the Pink Footed Goose was still with them and in the next field was a monster of a Peregrine sitting on a tussock looking around no doubt wondering who was going to be lunch. With little time to spare and not having the scope with us sadly all we could do was ‘tick n run’. The Bean Geese look settled in for the duration so hopefully we’ll be able to come back and have a proper leisurely gawp at them at a later date.

By lunchtime although it was low tide the storm surge meant that almost all the beach was still covered in water. The sea was heaped up like the Himalayas with spray breaking of the top of the breakers all over the shop and big dollops of foam coming across the beach and over the wall. All in all unpleasant!

We struggled to keep the scope still on our new, but seriously off-gassing plastic-chip beanbag; you could get high in the Land Rover after leaving it in there overnight!!! Just 47 Oystercatchers and three Sanderlings (64) were counted.

The usual gulls were all present with the strange exception of any Black Headed Gulls, won’t struggle for them later in the week though.

By the time the light faded and dusk fell Patch 2 had opened its account with a remarkably unimpressive massive score of nine species.

Nine species of birds in a day (nearer ten minutes more like, with a extra few peeks out of the windows at the birdless back garden) might not be too good but during the festive break our marine biologist friend found what we think is a new species of shell for the beach here, the Banded Venus Clausinella fasciata...one we’ll have to keep an eye out for when we are next able to get down on to the beach....it’s not all birds you know!

Back in the office we listened to the storm driven hail trying to break through the windows and longed to be still on holiday and sat back at home cozy warm close to Little Bertha or in a freezing cold draughty bird hide somewhere.

Where to next? More of the same gale force winds in the morning and with several Little Gulls being seen this afternoon from Chat Alley perhaps we should be a little braver and stick out the adverse conditions a little longer tomorrow.

In the meantime let us know where, given the choice, you would be sitting in your outback.

Below is a map of our recording area for the nature reserve, which actually only covers the area within the dashed line, although much of the rest is designated as a County Biological Heritage Site or is under review by the BEAT Naturewatch group as a candidate CBHS. To the east is the farmland known somewhat inspired name 'the East Fields'.

Mid afternoon the sun tried to come out between humongous hail showers so we went all arty-farty for five minutes with the mirror ball, while the kettle boiled, without daring to venture outside.

If we were any good at Photoshop or hat least had the patience we could probably get rid of the overhead cables and improve the pics a bit.