GIVING A SHORT-TOED SHORT SHRIFT

I noted that a Short-toed Treecreeper paid a fleeting visit to the Kent cost a couple of days ago. As you probably would have guessed, I didn't travel down to Samphire Hoe to see it. I haven't travelled very far to view any unusual birds recently, although I'm planning a trip to Pagham to see the Paddyfield Warbler - maybe on Saturday. Not sure yet.

At least the Paddyfield has been showing well recently and I'm likely to see plenty of other interesting birds while down at this part of the south coast. It is a visit that appeals to me because I can drop in at Burpham on the way home to hopefully see the Rough-legged Buzzard, and then a few miles further along the A27, in Worthing, I can call in for a quick turn-up-and-twitch for the Yellow-browed Warbler.

After that it's a 40 minute drive back home, and with luck I'll be sated after a successful day out twitching a wide range of rare birds. Sounds great – in theory.

The Short-toed Treecreeper, however, was never on the cards. I'm not a fan. I know for certain, if I had no knowledge of it being a Short-toed mega, I would have undoubtedly passed it off for its common cousin. I think I'm on safe ground in assuming most people would do the same thing.

It's must be a brave birder who can claim to have seen a Short-toed anything, especially one that is half obscured by a fence, as this 'creeper was. But then I'm still learning the basics. The top birders seem to spot all the subtle differences without fail. I don't know how they do this.

But how straightforward is it?

The Short-toed Treecreeper is a bird that looks so damn close to its near relative as to make it almost impossible to say for certain what it is unless you are able to pick it up and inspect it.

As far as I can make out the Short-toed Treecreeper and the common Treecreeper are identical apart from one has a short toe. Any variation is so minute as to make it nigh on impossible to detect out in the field. You can’t even guarantee you’ll get it right by listening to its song, as they are known to copy one another.

To make matters worse, there are apparently five sub-species of Short-toed. Now that is just plain silly.

It must be the hardest bird to look at in the field and confirm its identity. There may be hundreds of them around the country for all we know, its just that no-one can tell the difference.

The same goes for the Long-toed Stint that was seen at Weir Wood Reservoir last year. The Long-toed is one for the real experts. I wouldn’t have had a clue, like most onlookers, as to its true identity. 

I have seen photos of the Parrot Crossbill at Black Down recently and it looked just like a Common Crossbill, but a bit stockier – maybe. But then it had been chilly and birds do fluff up a bit in the cold. Some say it had a deeper call – but that may be what they wanted to hear. Ifs and buts.

People tell me that is the beauty of bird watching - that it is a challenging hobby full of discussion and interesting debate. I could do without it, personally. I don’t like uncertainty, especially in a hobby. I need definitive answers!

Not to worry. There are hundreds of birds I have yet to see that I can spend the next 20 years (hopefully)  traipsing around the countryside enjoying, not to have to worry whether any of their toes are a bit on the short side.

Crooksbury Common in the sunshine

On the personal birding front Annie and I went for a walk on Crooksbury Common yesterday afternoon. The weather was fantastic, and we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Stonechat

It was a good visit. Darting around the area with a couple of Stonechats, was a very active Dartford Warbler, so mobile in fact, I couldn't get a digiscope photo of it. We also saw a couple of Woodlark, three Siskin, and also a Common Crossbill flew over. Then at about 5pm as the sun was going down, a flock of Chaffinch came in to roost along with at least ten Brambling - there were undoubtedly more. 

Male Brambling

Crooksbury is a great place to see Brambling. Tice's Meadow birder, Rich Horton, was the first to point out to me where to watch them roost back in January, so it was great to get a decent view of them at long last

I've focused on the local patch recently - the drake Scaup is still popping up on different lakes (it always seems to be asleep when I see it), plus there have been at least four Little Egret on the site. The Water Rail at the Fordbridge is a regular feature – there are one or two others on the patch – plus I've seen a couple of unusually vocal Kingfishers flying around Mercer's Lake.

While I haven't seen one yet, the first Chiffchaff has been heard calling near Mercer's West, and a Common Whitethroat arrived up the road at Canons Farm. 

Spring is on its way.

*Footnote: saw my first butterfly of the year at Crooksbury - a Comma

DARK-EYED JUNCO AND SPANISH SPARROW TWITCHING DAY

Today was the only guaranteed sunny day this week, and having had to abort Saturday's trip I took a chance and went down to Beaulieu and Calshot this morning.

I don't normally do twitching trips and it didn't start off that well. I got up later than I wanted to (we had had a bit of a late night) so didn't get out of the house until 6.50am. The traffic was horrendous. It took 45 minutes just to get on the M25, and then another hour to get on the M3. Terrible. Then there was an accident on the M3, so I didn't really get going for another ten miles. It was like wading uphill through treacle.

It meant I didn't get to the New Forest until 10.30am - more than three and a half hours after I had left the house - by which time I decided it was best to go to the Hawkhill inclosure to see the Dark-eyed Junco first, and then travel over to Calshot for the Sparrow which, I was led to believe, shows well at the front of the house on Calshot Close along a hedge from between 8.00-9.00am. After that it goes walkabout for a while before returning to the back garden later in the morning.

The Junco setting was great. I haven't been to the New Forest for some years and I had forgotten how beautiful a region of Britain it is. It wasn't long before the Black-eyed Junco appeared. A beautiful and striking bird, it liked to socialise with a flock of Chaffinches and Reed Buntings. It flew into the trees, fed on the ground, hopped onto tree stumps and a fallen pine tree. While watching it a group of six Crossbills were in conversation in the trees including a couple of handsome bright red males.

Eventually I had fantastic views of the Junco feeding on a tree stump just a few metres away. I couldn't have asked for more. It made a long journey worthwhile.

Because of the delays I could only stay for about 45 minutes before I left to head to Calshot. Only about 15 minutes down the road, I was soon walking to the house, where there seemed little activity. There was a bucket for donations to the local children's hospice, which I bunged a few quid into, and then I peered inside.

In an earlier post, I ranted on about how I wouldn't be seen dead queuing up outside someone's house to see a bird, but here I was, mindful to take off my shoes (the first time I have ever done that at a twitch), walking into someone's house to see a Sparrow.

There were only a few people inside including the man who found the Sparrow and put the news out. Bruce Green, I discovered, is a very generous and knowledgeable birder who lives with his girlfriend in her house on the Close, and couldn't have been more helpful.

When I arrived the bird had just flown off, and to cut a long story short, I kept missing it. I was with Bruce down at the end of the row of houses watching another feeder when it reappeared in the back garden, but when I got back, a cat came in and it flew off again. It would be seen at one site when I would be at the other one. Highlight in the garden at this point was a female Reed Bunting feeding on the ground.

It was getting to the point where I thought I was going to dip it. Time was getting on and I was waiting during a period when the Sparrow tends to lie low for a few hours - between 11.30am and 2.00pm. It had all gone quiet. Bruce even suggested - to save some time - I should get my car, which was parked down at the seafront car park, while he'd stand outside if the bird reappeared.

In the end, it all worked out fine, as after a wait of nearly two hours, I picked up the Spanish Sparrow as it flew into a honeysuckle plant at the back of the garden. It then dropped down onto the deck and fed close by for some time before flying back up into the bushes again. What a relief!

A smashing little bird that will probably hang around for some time, maybe even months or years, while it breeds with the local House Sparrows, producing plenty of hybrids. A satisfying end to a good day.