Cattle egret and more!

Some days are rubbish, some are a bit meh, some are quite pleasant.  And then, every once in a while, there's a day that smacks you right in the face with its awesomeness.  Today was one of those days.

Strolling to the Saxon Mill, we started our morning along a private stretch of river we are lucky to have access to.  Enjoying all the usuals as we walked, it wasn't long before we reached an open floodplain.  We had been on the lookout for marsh tit and treecreeper, which we still don't have on the Warwick 100 list this year, but hadn't had any joy.  

In the distance, on the other side of the river, we spotted a couple of egrets in the horse fields.  There have been up to four little egrets in these fields over the last few weeks and a great white egret was recorded there in December, so we weren't surprised, but they're always nice to see, and we went for a closer look.  

"That one's beak looks a bit yellow..."  "Nah, it can't be..."  "Hang on, let me take a pic..."  "I'm sending this to the 100 team for their thoughts..."

cattle egret (credit Alec Cuthbertson)

One of the many benefits of being part of the Warwick 100 is that we use each other for ID confirmation, asking questions without feeling stupid and we all celebrate our successes as a team.  Today was the perfect example of this.  Confirmed as our first ever cattle egret and our 73rd bird of the year, there were cheers all round and three of the team went straight to the area, viewing the bird from the other side of the horse field.

After watching for a while, Jack and I continued birding around the Saxon Mill, picking up a pair of peregrines perfectly perched on a pylon (!) for number 74, along with all the regular birds.  We took a look at Flash Gordon, not really hoping for anything, but surprisingly three smart shovellers took us to 75.  Sometimes the birding Gods just smile on you.

Symmetrical peregrines

Shovellers on Flash Gordon

On to Avon Wood.  This is a wonderful thirty-two acre site of privately owned young woodland, managed traditionally, and quite brilliantly.   It has been great to watch the area grow over the last few years and it is becoming quite the spot for wildlife.  I love to go at dawn to watch the barn owl hunt and there's been records of woodcock, water rail and otters too.  

Today there was an enormous finch flock moving from tree to tree, making a cacophony of noise.  The group was made up of siskin, goldfinch, linnet and over twenty lesser redpoll.  I've never seen so many at once, it was a feast for the eyes and the ears, and took the Warwick 100 team to number 76 for the year.  

Lesser redpoll

And to top it off, just as we were enjoying them, Jack heard a familiar flight call and looked up to see a yellowhammer flying over - number 77.

What an amazing morning we had.  With a call of red kite coming from another team member as we made our way home, the Warwick 100 ended the day on 78 for the year, 138 for all time and enormous smiles on our faces.

Lizzy

Hopyards...or is it?

Well, every day is a school day!  

Hopyards is one of my favourite spots to visit in the Warwick 100 area.  A little-known, quiet stretch of river with a vast flood plain on the other side, it is a little piece of calm amongst the urban noise of a town centre.  

We've seen some great birds and wildlife here (more on that in a bit) but I only found out the other day that it is also known as 'Alderham Pastures' and is designated as a county Local wildlife Site... I had no idea!  After a bit of digging on local council info, I found that it is actually part of a larger area:  

The site south of the M40 is 'Alderham Osier Beds' - with grass, willow scrub and sedge.

The majority of the site north of the M40 is 'Alderham Pastures' - with a small area of wet woodland and large expanse of wet grassland, managed by grazing sheep and cattle.  This is our 'Hopyards', as we know it, and it's not surprising that it is an official Local Wildlife Site, as there have been some fantastic records over the years.

Goosander, shoveller, pintail, Egyptian goose, gadwall, little egret, great egret, whooper swan, white-fronted goose, tawny owl, barn owl, cetti's warbler, marsh tit, green and common sandpiper, muntjac and otter are just a few of the species we've been lucky enough to record in this area.

So, Hopyards or Alderham Pastures...whatever it is called, it is great to know it has been recognised as the important site we know it is, and hopefully it means its protection can be counted on for years to come.

Lizzy

A good start...

 The first day of a new year is always exciting, when everything has reset to zero and even a blackbird or robin is big news. 

The Warwick 100 team were out and about, hampered a little by the weather, but managed a rather impressive 49 species on day one.

It really has been soggy over the Christmas period and there seems to be no let-up as we wade into 2024.  The Saxon Mill fields are cut off from the bridge as the weir rages under my feet.  Hopyards is living up to its name as a flood plain, although there doesn't seem to be any boundary between river and flood at the moment!  

Day three has seen us reach 57 species, the best being a fabulous great white egret, who was taking advantage of a very flooded St Nicholas Park.  More like Kingfisher Ocean than Kingfisher Pools currently!

Stay safe out there, folks!

Lizzy and the team

End of year roundup for 2023

Well, there's another year in the bag.  2023 came and went in a flash and 2024 is upon us!  

2023 has been a really tough one for me, as I lost my wonderful mum suddenly at the end of May.  It's been a tricky year both emotionally and timewise, I haven't got out into nature nearly as much as I would have liked.  

Roland has also now moved to pastures new.  He was the member of the team who managed to bird nearly every day - finding us some amazing records and we really counted on him to get our numbers up each year.    It is now down to us part-timers!  The team that Roland has left behind really are a fantastic bunch; all great fun, enthusiastic and contributing to the Warwick 100 whenever they can - whether it's on a weekly birdwatching stroll, walking to work, cleaning the car or sitting in the garden.  This means we can't expect our totals to reach the heady heights of previous years, but we're ok with that. Occasionally Roland drops in for a visit, it's great to catch up with him and we always hope he'll add just one more for us while he's here!

This year, we hit our target on the 7th May - exactly the same date as last year.  It was a lesser whitethroat that took the prize for being our 100th bird, with 101 following just seconds later as a cuckoo rudely sound-bombed my recording of the lesser whitethroat's song!   

We finished the year on 106 species.  It was incredibly quiet from August onwards, but the final bird went on the list on 23rd December when a great white egret arrived at the Saxon Mill, moving onto Hopyards the next day.

Great egret - credit Mark Smith

Our highlights for the year were more about numbers than special birds (great egret aside.)  It's been brilliant to see red kites regularly, little egrets more often and growing numbers of skylarks in the breeding project on the Racecourse land.  Stonechats have been recorded in several areas, swift numbers were healthy in the Summer and peregrines and ravens are a daily sight around Warwick now.

So, lots to be celebrated in the Warwick 100 and we are looking forward to a new year with new opportunities.  

For me...I just want the waxwings to visit Warwick before Winter is out!

Happy New Year to everyone, happy birding to you all.

Lizzy and the Warwick 100 team.