Slimbridge Spectacular!

 The ever curious Robin

I decided to have a change of scenery, so I invited along fellow birder John Lawton for a day out at Slimbridge. We arrived at 8am and the usual birds were seen around the car park and towards the first hide, such as Woodpigeons, House Sparrows, Goldfinches, Moorhens, Mallards, Greylag Geese flying over, Little Egrets, Rooks, Dunnocks, Black-headed Gulls, Jackdaws, Crows, Blackbirds and Chaffinches.

First stop was the Rushy Pen Hide where Pintail were feeding really close in along with Tufted Ducks, Coot, Mute Swans, several Common Redshanks, Teal, Shelduck, Wigeon, Canada Geese, herring Gulls and a tiny Wren pecking around in the grass. Next we moved on to the Martin Smith Hide which had a good selection of water birds out on the flooded fields and lagoon. Wigeon and Shoveler were in good numbers and the distinctive qhistling calls of the Wigeon were lovely to hear. Redshanks and several Oystercatchers and Lapwing were present and a single Grey heron sauntered past. A colour ringed Curlew caught our attention, which had a yellow ring on the left leg and a metal ring marked '29' on the right leg. I am always interested to know where individuals were ringed and where they have been flying to.

Colour ringed Curlew

I was telling John about my last visit, watching Water Rails from the Willow Hide, and this was our next stop, and when we arrived I spotted one up in the top corner with a second bird close by. Soon we had views of them close in feeding together and offering some great photo opportunities. John likes to make film footage of the birds so this was an opportunity not to be missed. We watched them coming and going for a while (in fact we popped back into this hide four times during the visit). Some feeders close by had the usual Blue and Great its and Greenfinches around them, and a male Pheasant made an appearance. A Robin had a leg ring which I just managed to get a photo of and I have submitted the information to the BTO.  A distant Cettis Warbler called on a few occasions and a Dunnock was feeding close in also.

The magnificent little Water Rail

At the Estuary Tower we took the lift to the viewing balcony. Most of the geese were far out on the salt marshes and there were sadly no Cranes to be seen. A male Peregrine was perched up on a fence post in the distance, and the Barnacle Geese were way off. A pair of Canada Geese close in had a single Pink-footed Goose in with them which was nice to see, and a Skylark was singing overhead. A flock of White-fronted Geese flew past in a skein but we would catch up with them later at the Kingfisher Hide. After a nice cup of tea from the flasks and some sandwiches, we stopped off again briefly in the Willow Hide to watch the Rails feeding. A Little Grebe could also be heard calling.

Male Kingfisher

Next stop was the Zeiss Hide, but sadly no Bitterns were showing and even the usual Common Snipe were absent. Avocet and Cormorants were added to the list and another Cettis called but remained well hidden. Suddenly for no apparent reason the Avocet and Lapwing took flight and then we could see mixed in with them was around 60 Golden Plovers. Eventually they all settled down on the lagoons again and things returned to normal.

The Kingfisher Hide was to be our main lunch stop, but lunch was delayed as a pair of Kingfishers were showing really well across the water by the banking. The windows on this side of the hide have been locked to prevent disturbance to the nesting Kingfishers, so we made the best of it and took photos through the glass. The pair were diving occasionally and flying back and forth, and by chance asI was photographing the female, she started to regurgitate a pellet. Soon after she entered the top left hole in the soft bank and the male stayed outside preening for around ten minutes before flying off out of sight. It had been an entertaining twenty minutes or so watching these spectacularly coloured birds.

Female Kingfisher regurgitating a fish pellet

We enjoyed our lunch and watched a pair of Gadwall, a Little Grebe and some Coot feeding on the water. A pair of Brown Rats were popping into the hide to take advantage of any dropped nibbles, and at one point one was right by my feet which when I looked down made me jump. The White-fronted Geese that passed by the Estuary Tower were now feeding in the field close by, and a female Kestrel passing through caught the attention of the Lapwing who preceded to harass her. A single Starling passed by. 

It was now early afternoon so we headed across to the South Lake Discovery Hide, where a Cattle Egret had been frequenting. Today however it was nowhere to be seen, but we did enjoy good views of Common Gulls and Avocvets with 400+ Black-tailed Godwits mixed in, some in full breeding plumage and these really stood out. Pied Wagtails were here and there and I realised how intricately marked a drake Teal actually is, and took a number of photos where I zoomed in on the head pattern, the flanks and the green feathers on its side. It was fascinating looking through the zoom lens this close at the markings. A drake Shoveler also gave some good viewing like this.

A pair of Oysterctchers flew in, with the male feeling a bit frisky. He did the business then proceeded to stand beside her looking quite content. They both then flew away as quickly as they arrived.

Getting down to business - a pair of Oystercatchers

We made our way back to the Rushy Pen Hide watching Common Pochards. I never noticed until now how iridescent the nape is on a Rook. The nape is a flash of blues and purples when the light catches it.

Another stop at the Willow Hide gave us a view of only one of the Rails this time and a Great Spotted Woodpecker made an appearance. One last look from the Estuary Tower (this time from the second floor as it was now quite cold) showed the Barnacle Geese close in, and mixed in with them was the long-staying Bar-headed Goose and the Snow Goose type hybrid also. A Common Buzzard was out in the field catching Earthworms and a pair of distant Roe Deer were moving around by a hedge boundary. A single Rabbit ran along the edge of the water close in.  One last look in the Willow Hide and one more sighting of the Rail.  Now it was time to head off and reflect on what had been a great day, with some excellent sightings and a tally of 63 species.

Squabbling Barnacle Geese