Limosa Tour to Portugal October 2015

Some photographs from a recent Limosa tour Portugal including finding a first for Portugal - a Booted Warbler.

Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata)

Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata)
 

Descripiton sent to the PORTUGUESE RARITIES COMMITTEE

Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata) Vale Santo Cape St Vincent

I was leading a Limosa Holidays tour to Portugal. João Jara from the Birds & Nature Tours Portugal was initially down as the first leader, but unfortunately had commitments elsewhere. On 6^th October we were birding the south end of the Vale Santo when I spotted a very pale grey warbler. I pointed it out to my group but they were not over interested in it. I decided to quickly obtain shots of it for identification later, as the group was giving all the impressions of wanting to move on. Western Olivaceous Warbler seemed the obvious grey bird of choice. Even the possibility of Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata) floated through my mind. But I was just concentrating on getting shots not analysing the plumage. The bird was a fairly long looking warbler with a strong bill. There were some pale edgings to some of the secondaries and a broad pale supercilium, before and behind the eye, were about the only features I mentally noted at I was photographing it. The bird was flitting from bush to bush. Checking the photographic metadata I was photographing the bird between 3.01 to almost 3.15pm. We then explored the area a little to the north and saw the bird (at a distance) again in the same area at 3.50pm.

Further up the road we then bumped into a local birdwatcher Simon Wates at about 4.40pm, who only had time for a cursory look at the back of my camera photograph of the mystery Warbler, as he was busy guiding, and he suggested perhaps a grey Melodious, but he was trying to eliminate Western Olivaceous and was purely looked at the ground colour of the bird, not the whole bird. We passed several birdwatchers looking at the bird on our return later in the afternoon and I passed on (erroneously as it turned out) the information from Simon. It was not until later in the evening that I had a chance to study the photographs and it became instantly obvious the bird was a Booted Warbler or Sykes’s Warbler. A quick check of the Algarve Portugal Rare Birds facebook page revealed that the news had been put out as a Booted.

Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus weigoldi)

Wilson's Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)

Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)

Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)

Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)

Great Shearwater (Puffinus gravis)

Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla)

Isle of Wight

Some of the wildlife seen on a trip to the Isle of Wight in August.  

The Field Cow-wheat was taken at one of only four or so sites left in UK and the Wood Calamint at its only UK site. 

Red Squirrels seemed relatively common, now there are several feeding stations. Or are they just easier to see? I didn't see any on our annual summer holidays there as a child but then we did spend a lot of time on the beach.

Field Cow-wheat (Melampyrum arvense) 

Wood Calamint (Clinopodium menthifolium)

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus discolor)

Fossil Iguanodon dinosaurs foot cast

Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Surrey

The Peregrines of Norwich Cathedral

The Peregrines of Norwich Cathedral by Robin Chittenden is out now. To order your copy please visit www.robinchittenden.co.uk for details.

Front & back cover below

Limosa Tour to Romania 2015

A selection photos from Transylvania.

Brown Bear (one of four seen)

Pygmy Owl (One of three juveniles)

Crested Tit

Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus alpinus)

Horned Lark
(Eremophila alpestris balcanicus)

Narborough

A singing male Marsh Warbler set up a territory by the River Nar at Narborough and attracted many birdwatchers 10th-23rd. The Marsh Warbler’s song is renowned for its bird mimicry and this one performed great renditions of Blackbird alarm call, the jangling song of Goldfinch, alarm call of Chaffinch, the peeping of a Nuthatch and flight calls off a Crossbill and Bee-eater. 

A bonus was an Osprey seen there regularly, attracted by the easy pickings at the neighbouring fishing lakes and trout farm.

Limosa tour to Lesbos (Lesvos) Greece April/May 2015

Some photographs from recent tour to  Lesbos (Lesvos) Greece

Some more can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/robinchittenden and also here soon.

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)

Persian Squirrel (Scirius anomalus)

Rüppell's Warbler (Sylvia rueppelli)

Scops Owl (Otus scops)

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)

Limosa tour to Sri Lanka February 2015

Some photographs from recent tour to Sri Lanka. 

Some more can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/robinchittenden and also here.
 

Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura

Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus

Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense psarodes

Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis ceylonicus

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaultii

Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus

Bear Monkey Presbytis vetulus senex

Sri Lanka Blue Magpie Urocissa ornata

Limosa tour to Morocco November 2014

Some photographs from Morocco. Please view earlier entry on the discovery of a Great Knot in Morocco.

Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita)

Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita)

Desert Little Owl (Athene noctua glaux)

Audouin's Gull (Larus audouinii)

Scopoli's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)

House Bunting (Emberiza sahari)

House Bunting (Emberiza sahari)

Great Shearwater (Puffinus gravis)

Great Shearwater (Puffinus gravis)

Thick-billed Lark (Rhamphocoris clotbey)

Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)

Some recent scarce birds from Norfolk & Suffolk

There has been a run of Desert Wheatears with three in Norfolk & Suffolk this autumn. Plus a few Shrikes and a Hoopoe.

Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)
at Winterton 8th December 2014

Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)
at Gorleston-on-Sea November 2014

 

Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius pallidirostris) Burnham Norton
Norfolk October 2014

Hoopoe (Upupa epops) Kessingland
Suffolk October 2014

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) Lowestoft Suffolk October 2014

Limosa Tour to Morocco November 2014

On the recent Limosa Tour to Morocco I found a Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) at the Oued Souss on the last day of the tour 8th November 2014. It was associating with Red Knots (Calidris canutus). It was only the second record for Morocco. 

The most obvious features that struck me when scanning through the group of Red Knot were the dark breast and large spotted flanks. Although I knew immediately deep down that it was a Great Knot I couldn't quite believe it. They are just so rare in Africa (and Europe). Could it just be an aberrant Knot? Afterall the bird was in fairly poor light and quite distant (aren't they always). However with closer scrutiny the slightly larger size and longer bill were apparent. 

From photographs other features could be seen. The black tail contrasting with the white rump and uppertail coverts in flight, marginally broader wings and the less contrasting dark wingtips in which the primaries only gradually turn black towards the tip. It is thought to be a first winter bird due to the darkness of the mantle and coverts feathers.

Arnoud van den Berg who was also leading the tour quickly got on to the bird and began documenting the sighting including taking some photos of the bird feeding with his telescope that gave far greater magnification than my (and his) telephoto lens. There were nine other birdwatchers in the Limosa tour group and they all saw the bird. 

The bird is second bird from the right on top photo and second from left on the bottom one.