No Slim Pickings at Slimbrdge

I was wondering where to go on Saturday as Goldcliff has become waterlogged underfoot with the lagoons way too high and un-managed for waders, so when my birding friend and fellow togger Blair Jones had emailed me to see about a trip to Slimbridge, I would have bitten his hand off had he been close enough. The weather was actually very nice so we were really lucky, and at 8am we had arrived. As we got our gear out and wellies on, the birds around the car park included large numbers of noisy Jackdaws and Rooks, with small groups of Starlings here and there, Black-headed Gulls criss-crossing the sky, Collard Dove, Woodpigeons, House Sparrows and a serenading Robin. 

 Beautiful drake Pintail

The first point of call was the Rushy Hide, where a mass of excited birds awaited us, well actually they were waiting for the staff member to place some grain down as is done every morning in the winter. Some noise soon became a lot of noise and the birds perked up, squalled, jumped and ran towards the food source. Bewick's Swans stood out from the crowd with their bright yellow bill patches, and other species in included Common Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Pintail, Mallards, Shoveler, Coot, Moorhens, Greylag and Canada Geese. The Shelduck really weren't that bothered and just stayed put, and several Lapwing browsed past where a single Black-tailed Godwit had been woken by the raucous. Tiny Teal went about their usual business and soon the commotion started to die down.

The beautiful Water Rail

Next stop was the Willow Hide which on Blair's last visit had seen Water Rails. Great Tits, Blue Tits, Chaffinches and Greenfinches were feeding on and around the bird feeders, and several Grey Squirrels were taking advantage of some Crab Apples placed on the ground. A lonely Pheasant was mooching about in the short vegetation, and fairly quickly a pair of Water Rails came into view. They are such a pretty little bird with fine markings along the flanks, and that long, sharp red bill which contrasts well with the red eye - a very striking and charismatic bird. Just across the path is the Robbie Garnet Hide, where the habitat now changed, with an open vista across the lagoon and fields beyond, which were packed with waterbirds. Lapwing and Golden Plover formed the bulk of the birds present, and between them there must have been close to 7-8,000 birds if not a lot more. Making a count was impossible as no sooner had they landed that they were off again, and seemed to be on edge all the time. There must have been a raptor in the area.

Plovers and Lapwings   

Several White-fronted Geese showed quite well as did Curlew, and closer in was a good mic of Common Redshanks with Ruff also in good numbers, including several 'satellite' plumage birds.A Dunnock and a Magpie were added to the lsit, and the damp fields were filled with Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon, and all the time we watched the waders took flight again, circled for several minutes then dropped back down again.

Ruff taking a breather!

Next it was a stop off at the now called Estuary Tower (previously the Holden Tower). The previous viewing tower has now been replaced with this state of the art bird observation tower complete with a lift and an open viewing terrace on the top floor. It was obvious a vast amount of money had been poured into this, and I have to say it is an awesome place to stop off. Long gone are the small slats which have been replaced by larger windows that open up to allow much better views. If I wore a hat I would take it off to the staff and volunteers, not just for this tower but for managing the site so efficiently.

The impressive Estuary Tower - an awesome structure

A Buzzard was sat out on the estuary on a fallen log, and a Wren called from the foliage below us. Herring, Great Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were here and there, and a lot more White-fronted Geese could now be seen amongst the high numbers of Canada and Greylag Geese. Whilst it was relatively quiet, we made our way to the Zeiss Hide. En-route I took a photo of some Mistletoe growing in a tree and beyond the tree high up was a rainbow. No pot of gold or a kiss was waiting for me. Unfortunately, the Bitterns seen earlier in the week from the Zeiss Hide decided to stay well hidden, but it was nice to see and hear more Water Rails. A Common Snipe walked across a gap in the reeds setting my pulse racing as I thought it was a Bittern emerging from the reeds. A group of Long Tailed Tits called close by and a nice flock of 150+ Black-tailed Godwits sat out on the edge of the water.  On the way to the next hide we noticed clumps of Jelly Fungus growing on a fallen Elder tree.

 Common Snipe

We moved on to another hide close by and had great views of a roosting Common Snipe, and a Water Rail crossing an open patch of water was not about to linger for a photograph. Reed Buntings and a Bullfinch were added to the list, and a Cettis Warbler did what it does best - call but remain hidden. A Crow passed over and from here we watched many more Lapwing and Golden Plovers nervously feeding on the estuary, and time after time taking flight. 

Golden Plover - the calm before the storm.

With such a mass of waders we could not pick out the raptor (probably a Peregrine) that was causing them so much grief. We took the opportunity to have some tea and sandwiches, talking to several couples who entered the hide. A Treecreeper could be heard calling as we made our way back to the Willow Hide in the hope of some more splendid views of the Water Rail.

The Water Rail duly showed itself again, as did the second one briefly, and many more photos were taken of this brilliant bird - for me, the bird of the day. From the Robbie Garnet hide we watched the amazing spectacle of many thousands of waders evading the Peregrine, and the two Common Cranes I had heard calling earlier were feeding close in. Now, Cranes are stately looking majestic birds, always standing tall and proud, full of character and grace and always a delight to see. This is one species you could never tire of seeing.

One of the two Common Cranes

Not only do the birds fly, but so does time when your having fun, and so we stopped off one last time at the Estuary Tower. A Pied Wagtail made an appearance and by now the Barnacle Geese had moved much closer in. Our raptor suspicions were confirmed as we spotted a Peregrine high up on the approach to the tower, and later I spotted a male perched up on the fallen log where the Buzzard had been earlier that day. 

Barnacle Geese

It was a chance to watch the wader spectacle time and time again. The Lapwings seemed to either stay low down in their large groups or go that bit higher, but it was the Golden Plovers (with some Dunlin mixed in) that flew much higher, where they circled in large groups, and many of them formed 'skeins' as they flew around - is this the migrating instinct perhaps taking hold?  Soon the light was fading and the natural world was slowly starting to simmer down, slowly preparing for the night ahead, only to have to run the gauntlet the following day of mixing survival with dodging the ever watching raptors... 

Article written by Neville Davies - photographs copyright of Neville Davies