So, the 'Glasto' of birdwatching...

Thoughts on Birdfair 2012

Yesterday morning, around 6.30 I left South London for the blissfully quiet drive north to Rutland Water and my first trip to Birdfair. Encompassing all the various aspects of birding (conservation/travel/gear etc), I've seen it referred to as the 'Glastonbury' of birdwatching which is weird. I was kind of hoping it was going to be markedly less muddy and indeed, less shit than that...and thankfully that was the case. It was a jolly day out on all counts.

I managed to avoid all the temptations to sign myself up for some of the many EPIC trips that were on offer by companies from across the world. Instead I realised prize draws and raffles probably offered my best chance of going away anyway exotic in the foreseeable future. Tactics people! Albatrosses have been very high up on my 'wish list' of birds to see for a long time so I was totally taken by the Falkland Islands. I went to a brief presentation on the birds and geography of the (in)famous islands which firmly set the seed. Who knows, maybe one day? It was good to walk around and look through so many of the different stands, a welcome, if slightly frustrating, reminder of just how much there is out there to see.

It was great to catch up with Bernardo and Joao from Portugal at their stand and hear their interesting thoughts on the differences between nature conservation there and in the UK (hint - money!) You should look them up if you ever find yourself with a free day in Lisbon. I had a good laugh at David Lindo's talk (Honey Buzzard over Peckham!) and also really enjoyed the programme of short lectures that were taking place. To be honest they all sounded worthwhile but I went along to hear about the Rutland Osprey project and how the BTO's Breeding Bird Survey is signalling the changes in our bird populations. I thought the best lecture though was the one delivered by Tim Nevard, CEO of Conservation Grade farming and Danae Sheehan from the RSPB. It was a punchy talk about Operation Turtle Dove and the vital measures being taken to help our fastest declining migrant bird. A 91% drop in numbers since the 1970s and the reason? Me. And You. And him and her and the unsustainable demand we put on our food producing industries for MORE food at LOWER prices. The Turtle Dove is a bird that depends on the seeds of certain kinds of farmland plants/weeds for survival (as well as a safe roosting habitat/water) and these have nearly disappeared from our farming landscapes today. For a twenty minute lecture, it certainly made an impression on me.

And that latter point is something to mention because I think it's the one area that Birdfair fell down on. Amidst the sunshine and the friendly banter and the positive atmosphere I don't know what else people would've taken away from the event. No, hang on, that's not quite right, I mean I think the fair should've done more directly to ensure a conservation message came across. Nature and bird Conservation was part of it's core purpose and there were hundreds of amazing examples of this but something clearer and more 'in your face', for want of a better term, was needed. For example, this year the nominated project (to which an impressive percentage of the proceeds go towards) was Birdlife International's Flyways Programme - a really important project focusing on conserving wetlands along the main East Asian-Australasian migration route. Now if I hadn't have gone out of my way to look that up, I would've left Birdfair with little clue as to what it was about. Maybe I missed something, perhaps there was a talk about it earlier in the weekend...admittedly there was a really good article on it in the programme and I did see the mural also. But you can't guarantee everyone will read that and nor can you assume that just cos there's lots of birders around, everyone knows (or cares) about the devastating habitat threats facing Lesser Sand Plovers and countless other birds that rely on intertidal areas in the East. There'll never be a more receptive crowd and just a glance over the beautiful reservoirs, teeming with migrant birds (including a few of the most remarkable of all - Arctic Terns!) meant the inspiration was there for the taking. But just a little prod would've been good. Anyway, maybe that's something for someone who'll never read this to consider.

All in all it was a glorious day out and we finished up back round at Manton Bay watching Ospreys soaring across the sky in fading summer light. What could be better? Here are some other things we saw:

Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar - monster! Thanks to the chap who pointed this out.

Aw. One for Mum.

A non-migrating Vulcan bomber doing the rounds over Rutland Water 19/8/12

A Birdfair warm-up...

What with the hordes (myself included) descending on Rutland Water next weekend for Birdfair you can bet there's going to be a fair few photos like this doing the rounds on the blogs next Monday:

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Manton Bay, Rutland Water 12/8/12

Obviously there'll all be much better than this speculative digi-scoped effort but I thought I'd get in first. It seems strange that, having not been for nearly 10 years, I'll end up going to Rutland on consecutive weekends, but I'm not complaining at all. What's maybe even stranger that it's taken me so long to catch up with an Osprey in the UK. I guess I've only really been actively birdwatching for a couple of years but given their relative success as a breeding species here now I thought I might have come across one sooner. Nevermind, this makes up for it at last! This is the adult male (trust me) perched up on one of the numerous telegraph poles dotted around Manton Bay.

Yesterday's Birdfair warm up was a long-promised trip for the folks, ever since they 'discovered' bird watching in time for retirement. So amid threats of blowing the inheritance on extravagant birding trips to far flung corners of the corners of the globe (which, despite protestations, I REALLY hope they do), we hit the A1 for the relatively easy journey north to Rutland Water.

Heading for Manton Bay we checked out a few of the hides before making our way to the ones with views of the Osprey nest. It was pretty busy in there but we squeezed in and were soon enjoying watching three of the Ospreys. One of this years juveniles flew close by the hide in front of us and had a pop at fishing (unsuccessfully) before flying off down the reservoir. Shortly after that, the adult female followed but instead of heading down the lake, began to circle high before drifting south and disappearing off out of view. That was pretty interesting and I think a good few people wondered out loud if that was IT for her...ie the beginning of her long return migration south. Conditions were certainly good for it; warm and hazy conditions with a light north-easterly. This prompted some pretty endless questioning from Mum about migration ("but what about her CHILDREN??!") Bless, guess we'll see, I wonder how many will be left by next weekend?

After that we ducked round to the Anglian Water Centre in Egleton, which was already busy in the throes of pre-Birdfair tent-putting-up. We had a walk about here before stopping in one final hide (Lapwing) for a view of the reservoir. I think I was trying to turn a Common Tern into an Arctic when Dad pointed out a bird flying across the water, maybe 200m off our spot, in the middle of the res. Got my bins on it and "...Black Tern!". I'd never seen one before but I was 99% sure of it. It was a real rocker of a bird; fast and agile with something almost 'falcon'-like about it...a much surer flight style, the ash dark, slender wings. Views in the scope highlighted a few points:

- very little evidence of forked tail
- relatively long and slender dark 'tern' bill 
- it also made several stooping 'dips' to the surface, not like the plunging dives of Sterna sp

The black breast/belly was really apparent and there was quite a visible contrast with the paler vent/rump. Confusingly, there was also a clear white forehead patch, as on Little Tern (but not so extensive) However, checking the Collins book it says that white head feathers can already appear on moulting adults in June. According to Birdguides there were countless reports of Black Terns over the weekend, on cue I think and no doubt aided by the winds. Really excited about seeing this bird, a lifer too! A good omen for Birdfair next weekend?!

Didn't manage any pics but here's some pretty nifty youtube footage of a Black Tern and a White-winged Black Tern together, just in case you were wondering about the difference ;) :

Rutland 12/8/12:

Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Yellowhammer, Blackcap, Woodpigeon, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff (h), Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted duck, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Greylag Goose, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Black-headed gull, Common Tern, Little Egret, Osprey, Shelduck, Water Rail (h), Red Kite, Buzzard, Kestrel, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler (h), Willow Warbler(h), Chaffinch, Greenfinch, House Martin, Sand Martin, Pochard, Gadwall, Great Black-backed gull, Little Grebe, Lapwing, Hobby, Green Sandpiper, Black Tern, Rook, Pheasant.

('h' indicates 'heard only')