Meet Colin...... and a Remarkable Mimic

4 June 2021 and I cracked. After several years of reading about Colin the Cuckoo and seeing some great pictures I decided it was time for a trip south to look for Colin. Colin ( so named ) has been returning to Thursley Common National Nature Reserve for 7 years. He has become the star of Surrey with many birdwatchers, photographers and just generally interested people visiting to see him.

Cuckoos migrate from central Africa and navigate the dangerous path of drought filled areas, European hunters and fire ravaged habitats to eventually arrive back in the UK and more specifically for Colin Thursley Common in Surrey, near Guildford.

Having resisted the urge to nip down and see Colin for a few years now a chat with Oli, a quick reminder of Cuckoo longevity (he's at least 7 years old) and the fact it was nearing the end of Colin's breeding period (no need to rear the young when someone else does it for you) and his remarkable return to Africa - we decided on a visit. The forecast showed rain in the morning but clearing midday. We arrived in the rain - we found Parish Field on Thursley Common and sat ready for Colin. To be fair it was pretty wet ! BUT that meant there was no one else there a bonus as we had Colin to ourselves -- well if he showed that was.

Please note the state of the art equipment for waterproofing our equipment -- Oli was smiling at this stage......

As we set up a cracking male Redstart appeared and took us by surprise. Lots of cursing and frantic alterations of camera settings ensued - we really were not prepared for this trip !

But there he was a superb male Common Redstart

This held our attention for a good few minutes as the rain steadily increased and then suddenly Colin arrived.

The next hour or so had Colin displaying well in front of us allowing for some great opportunities albeit under challenging photographic conditions with failing light and increasing rain.....................

Cuckoos are secretive and difficult to get close to in the field. A close encounter with a red listed bird like this that has flown from Africa to get here and was soon to leave on it's return journey was a great experience. The continual rain almost certainly contributed to Oli and I being on our own to enjoy this (none else silly enough to visit in these conditions). Thursley is a great area and one I'd like to visit again though maybe next time in drier conditions.

The next "twitch" on the 15 June was to see a Marsh Warbler at Kelling Water Meadows that had been present for nearly a week. I met up with Malc at 5am and we walked down to the meadows on a still but coolish morning to be greeted by the most varied of songs. The Marsh Warbler was in full song. It wasn't easy to see being mostly hidden by reeds and there always seemed to be a reed in the way of a clear photograph ........

but with patience every now and again it would come towards the top of some reeds.

Their song is amazing and mimics birds it has heard on breeding (European) and wintering

(African) areas. Some individuals have been recorded mimicking 75 different species. This morning we clearly heard Blue and Great Tit, Blackbird, Swallow alarm calls, Pied and Yellow Wagtail, Goldfinch to name but a few plus a near perfect Bee-eater that had me looking skyward initially. I was reminded of the bird I found on Lundy many years ago singing in Stoneycroft garden and the numerous ones from Poland.

Lundy part three - the remainders is still to follow.......................

Lundy 1st-11th May 2021 Part 2 The bigger stuff

The bigger stuff - this time in every sense, weather and birds. After my arrival on saturday and the previously reported warblers and flycatchers there was a big influx of Swallows that day some 3500 and an incredible 1500 House Martins. The following day and early morning rewarded me with a Corn Bunting - a big bird for Lundy and only my second ever on the island. Here a heavily cropped image of it in St John's Valley. It hadn't been seen for a few days so I was very pleased to re locate it. It had the habit of flying down the valley and completely disappearing somewhere round Brambles.

Another big event was the rainbow that tried to touch the Ugly flagpole but just fell short.

Three big ones were next in the form of three Whimbrel feeding in the helicopter field. They looked settled but I was concerned that they would simply fly off if I approached too close and too quick. So there followed a slow slither along the ground towards them. It took much longer than it would have 10 years ago! but I eventually managed to get close up and at ground level -

Whimbrel do look a bit like Curlew but they have a shorter bill with a more down-curved tip, and when compared to a curlew, it has a strong head pattern – the brown crown showing two dark bands separated by a narrower, pale center stripe as seen here.

There is much debate on Whimbrel migration with suggestions of a single flight from coastal Africa to Iceland. Some do breed in Northern Scotland but whichever these birds were they are always a great species to see on Lundy.

And then came the really big one............

My notes for Monday the 3rd read...........

and then it hit.............

Now you see it and next day we didn't !

Winds logged at 67 mph and gusting higher. The Tipee went taking a huge chunk of granite wall with it. I had a couple of walks out but difficult to breathe head on and in a few of the windy pinch points hard to stay on my feet - unsurprisingly not many birds ! Pictures never really do it justice (here many hours before it fully hit) and I still struggle to upload video - but it was a big storm

The second gale was a mere force 8 but was more unpleasant as it was accompanied by constant rain and fog.

Big things don't get much bigger on Lundy than birds with big attitudes, in fact a species that, in my opinion owns the island. All birds from pipits to waders must surely feel somewhat apprehensive on the island with the master killing machine for company. I am of course referring to the Peregrine. Even in high winds it is constantly seen looking for prey and if you are lucky enough to see a stoop and a pair hunting together it's quite an incredible spectacle of nature......... photographing these things at high speed is a challenge! Here a bird hunting The Terraces

Creeping up on a perched Peregrine is very difficult as their eyesight is so much better than that of a human. They nearly always lift before you get anywhere near enough for a photograph let alone a good view through the binoculars. Their constant surveillance makes it near impossible. This bird was hunting the Terraces and I saw it from a distance. I watched it through the binoculars and each time it turned away to view another area I walked forward stopping immediately it turned it's head towards me. This took quite a while but eventually I was close enough to grab an image.......... a sub adult bird, perhaps why it was slightly less wary but seeing this so close was a real moment to remember...............

And so to the other big brute of Lundy -

Ravens --- a real delight

The final part to follow with the "remainders"...........

Lundy 1st - 11th May 2021 Warblers and Flycatchers

Following endless moths of lockdown and several cancelled holidays it was with real excitement that I was packing for a week on Lundy with a late 3 day extension. The crossing was smooth, though the island looked a bit foreboding on approach.

On arrival the sun came out and the Landing Bay looked idyllic - I could handle 11 days of this I thought ( little did I know what was in store ).

Millcombe had birds ! Blackcaps were feeding actively zipping all round Smelly Gully and with a bit of patience I managed to catch up with some. They have always been a very difficult bird for me to photograph, I just never seem to get the camera onto them in time. Incredibly active and never seem to sit still - finally though...........

a female sporting a shiny new ring - Mr Duncan had been active.

The males were more elusive and stayed out of camera shot with this more typical distant

and heading off image.........

Eventually however one came close enough and my Blackcap family was complete.

Other warblers present during the trip were Whitethroats with several singing in Millcombe. This bird was feeding along one of the small paths in Millcombe Wood always a bit hidden but then it popped out onto the middle of the path and turned to look at me.....

So onto a species I've never got decent pictures of... The Garden Warbler. Not only are they far a few between but normally massively skulking. I have a few images of birds on Lundy from previous years but all with bits in the way. There were two birds in Lower Millcombe feeding up and down Smelly Gully to the Pond. Yet again trying to get them in the open was proving difficult so I decided on a slither down near Smelly Gully to see if I could gain their confidence. I reckoned I had about 30 minutes tops, not for any reason other than the smell which was particularly pungent this day.

I recall reading somewhere that the distinguishing feature of the Garden Warbler is it's lack of distinguishing features, but for me I find them quite subtly beautiful and when they sing - wow. This bird had just caught an insect and had it firmly grasped in it's left claw.

There were two birds feeding close together and my challenge given to me by the Tims was to get both together in the frame. The stink from Smelly Gully won and I failed.

And so to the Flycatchers. Seeing the arrival of Spotted Flycatchers really epitomises migration for me - the fact they undergo one of the longest migrations of all summer visitors to Britain wintering from the Gulf of Guinea coast to South Africa makes them that bit special. Millcombe was host to some five individual birds during the stay and watching them dash out to catch insects was just great.

Pied Flycatchers do move through Lundy in the spring and are always a challenge to photograph but on this visit there was a bird present for a few days that was favouring the bottom of Barton Field using the fence to perch on and fly into the filed in search of insects. There began my long crawl. I slithered down the field very slowly (no doubt to the amusement of visitors as it was a boat day) as far as I felt the bird would not be disturbed and waited. It was still actively feeing and after a while seemed unphased by my presence while it went about it's business, as did I.............

Next up it's time for the bigger brutes of my Lundy trip..........................