SOLWAY: The Story So Far ......

So back in the UK again after a couple of months leading tours in Latin America. Take a look at the above image: Oh how I missed you (after Mrs B. of course). This is the Scottish subspecies of toasted teacake found readily at Caerlaverock between 11 am and 4.30 pm. Lightly buttered (not dripping in the stuff as some teacake amateurs like it - you know who you are!) and ideal before venturing into the field prior to seeing absolutely nothing from hides where it's totally impossible to set up a telescope and tripod in a comfortable position. Rant over for now.

We arrived at Southerness last Saturday (21 March) in time to sort out a few minor problems at the caravan before taking a quick stroll along the beach at the point. The tide was out so we didn't see too much although it was good to see so many Barnacle Geese using the fields behind the dunes still.

Sunday 22 March was a fine morning so we started off birding around Southerness Point. The tide was dropping but most of the rocky peninsula was still covered when we ventured out. Waders included 355 Golden Plover, single Greenshank, Knot, Dunlin and best of all 9 Purple Sandpipers. It's been a half decent winter for this scarce wader at the point (we had at least 22 here earlier in the month) and after last year I had fears of losing them on our Solway patch.

The weather was still relatively pleasant when we left Southerness but the wind began gaining strength as we drove into the Nith Estuary at Carsethorn. By now the tide had dropped considerably and there was plenty of exposed mud but we managed to locate one of the regular wintering Whimbrels (above) on the shore.

Whimbrel, Carsethorn 22 March 2009.

As it was now just unpleasant walking against the gusting wind we decided to head inland for a quick look at Loch Kindar. Late winter / early Spring is a good time for grey geese in this area and even though some had evidently departed it was nice to have some Pink-footed Geese to search through. No sign of any Beans yet again (although one has been seen somewhere on the Nith recently) and at least 5 Sand Martins over the loch were a welcome distraction.

Touring the Nith we located a few large gatherings of geese, mainly Barnacles near Kirkonnel Flow. They were very flighty indeed though and we never managed to look through any on the deck for any Cackling Geese. A nice flock of 150+ Chaffinches failed to produce the hoped-for Brambling but it was good to see a flock of 15+ Fieldfares and a couple of Redwings. We seem to be finding the latter much easier this winter in contrast to our efforts in early 2008 when we didn't see a single Redwing! Jay, Nuthatch and Mistle Thrush were added to our trip tally before heading for Mersehead RSPB seeing a passing Swallow just outside New Abbey.
We didn't get a lot of time at Mersehead but a quick look from the Brauich Hide produced 16 Whooper Swans, single Little Egret, a brace of Black-tailed Godwits and 7 Tufted Ducks. A decent day's birding indeed.

Whooper Swans on the Whooper Pond, Caerlaverock WWT 23 March 2009.

Given the blustery conditions we decided on a trip to Caerlaverock on 23rd. In truth it was pretty quiet (even though there were nearly 5,000 Barnacle Geese on view!) and the best thing was the aforementioned teacakes.

The report of a Bean Goose (of unspecified race) somewhere on the Nith intrigued me though, so I was kept busy scanning any flocks of Pink-feet just outside the reserve. No joy though and it looks as though this D&G tick will have to wait until the end of the year at least. Peregrine, 11 Black-tailed Godwits and 300+ Golden Plover were the pick of the bunch on this day.
News of "probable Richard's Pipit" at Mersehead RSPB on 23rd had us change our plans for 24th March. The windy conditions at the reserve made the chances of finding this critter very slim but we thought we'd better give it a go as it was so close to "home".
So it was no surprise to bump into D&G stalwart Chris Baines during our search and we plodded over the scene of the crime for a whole morning without a sniff of a strange pipit. It wasn't a total waste of time though as we located 2 nice male Wheatears in the dunes. Very smart. Duck Goosander on one of the channels was a decent bird for the reserve too I think. Otherwise it was business as usual with single Little Egret, Raven, a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, several Stonechats and our first Chiffchaff of the "Spring". No Jack Snipe again though - another one that refuses to fall on the D&G list for me.

The view across Rough Firth from Rockcliffe 25 March 2009.

Not a single Surf Scoter in sight: Castlehill Point near Rockcliffe 25 March 2009.

Rockcliffe.

Er, ROCKS .... yes rocks at Rockcliffe.

On 25 March we checked the Barnacle Geese at Loaningfoot near Southerness before heading along the Colvend Coast (stunningly beautiful and one of my favourite stretches of coast anywhere) to Rockcliffe. The weather was breezy but dry so we opted for a walk out to Castlehill Point to see if there were any seaduck offshore. Sure enough a distant raft could be seen in Auchencairn Bay, sheltering behind Heston Island. Now these birds were probably about a mile and a half away but with the 60x's 'scope that I tried to donate to any passing driver in Mexico about a week ago (see "Scope for improvement" post) I could make out 150 or so Common Scoter and 100 or so Scaup. At least 3 Red-throated Divers were in the bay but the wind got the better of us and we retreated to the car.
We spent the rest of the day around Loch Ken where we located the Greenland Whitefronted Geese near Crossmichael where we could see 17 Whooper Swans on the other side of the loch. The Ken - Dee Marshes reserve was rather quiet apart from some Red Kites overhead and a Red Squirrel on the feeders.

MEXICO March 2009: La Cumbre, Colima.

A stunning male Orange-breasted Bunting (endemic to Mexico), La Piscila Road March 2009.

The shrine on top of La Cumbre near Colima, March 2009.

The endemic Black-chested Sparrow, La Piscila Road March 2009.

Rufous-naped Wren, La Piscila Road (below La Cumbre) March 2009.

A few pics from the recent Western Mexico tour to wrap things up for the time being as I'm off for a break in SW Scotland with Mrs B. This is one of my favourite outings on the trip: La Cumbre is a short ride out of Colima and late afternoon below the shrine on the hill on La Piscila Road can be very productive indeed.
The endemic Orange-breasted Bunting can be seen here in quite large numbers (February / March at least) and the dry thorn forest is a good place to find the Rufous-naped Wren. The endemic Black-chested Sparrow can be found alongside the more common Stripe-headed Sparrow along this road or on the hill near the shrine.
At dusk Colima Pygmy-Owl can be seen and Balsas Screech-Owl and Buff-collared Nightjar can be found after dark.
More images from recent travels in Latin America in a few days and hopefully a few birds from the coming days north of the border too.

S. ECUADOR 2009: Amazonian Umbrellabird.

In late January / February 2009 I visited S. Ecuador straight after the tour to the north. We concentrated on the Podacarpus National Park (mainly Bombuscaro on the east slope), the Buenaventura area on the west slope and Tapichalaca at the southern perimiter of Podacarpus NP.
Bombuscaro was a particularly productive site; we stayed at the excellent Copalinga Lodge (with White-breasted Parakeets in the grounds). The east slope upper tropical forests are the home to many desirable birds such as Black-streaked Puffbird and this fine Amazonian Umbrellabird. It was a particularly wet period in Ecuador at the turn of the year as can be seen from my attempt at taking the pic of the "Brolleybird" through soaking wet understory.

GUYANA February 2009.

Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock (male).

I spent a couple of weeks in Guyana in February - a new destination for me. Guyana is a spectacular country and most birding destinations are accessed by light aircraft or boat. Birding tourism is in its infancy here but the infrastructure is in place and the potential is there. Many Guianan Shield endemics are available here with a good selection of more widespread Amazonian species. Guyana's wilderness experience is evident as one travels across the country's vast expanse of rainforest and savanna.

The spectacular Kaiteur Falls can only be reached by light aircraft allowing aerial views over the the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela's Angel Falls drops in stages, whereas Kaiteur is a single drop of 228 metres). One of the main attractions here is the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock but we also saw Orange-breasted Falcon.

The Kaiteur Falls are 100 metres wide as the Potaro River makes a sheer drop.

Eddy Grant (of "Electric Avenue" fame - remember him?) has a home on the mighty Essequibo River in Guyana.

MEXICO 2009: Scope for improvement!

A flycatcher of the genus Empidonax. Don't give much away do they? Take Valium with each sighting and you may get through the trip.

Back from Mexico (thanks Aero Mexico and KLM for a good journey) with plenty to catch up on. I don't usually bother with the witty play-on-words title to postings so well used by other bloggers but this one really is appropriate. All will be explained.
A full set of postings from the Mexico trip to follow (and the Guyana and Ecuador ones still to come!), so just time for a preamble here. My third trip to Western Mexico was, just like the previous two, very educational and above all enjoyable. Now the nice thing about birding in Mexico is that apart from a healthy helping of endemic birds to look for you get to see a few N. American migrants. Never having birded in the States before it's a bit of a learning curve for me, albeit an enlightening and pleasurable one. Empidonax and Myiarchus flycatchers are put on this Earth to test our ID skills and especially our patience. Has it got a crisp eye-ring or a "teardrop"? Long wing projection? Broad base to the bill and what colour? Any chance it called by any chance? Hmmm, great fun. But there's also those tricky little humming birds and those streaky little sparrows that are so variable.
Early morning of our last full day was spent at Lago Zapotlan near Ciudad Guzman where we saw large numbers of Yellow-headed Blackbirds coming out of roost, loads of American White Pelicans and a few other bit's 'n' bobs. No problem there then.
Then this sparrow popped out on the path. The strong sunlight bleached the plumage a bit but we could pick up rufous secondaries, strong black malar stripe, buffy supercilia and streaked underparts with a black blotch in the centre of the chest. Those "in the know" (and I wasn't one of them) concluded it was a Fox Sparrow. A species unfamiliar to me.

Savannah Sparrow, Lago Zapotlan, Jalisco March 2009. In this enlarged image you can just make out the yellow-buff on the supercilia just above the eye.

So we happily went off to a bit of desert scrub to make an attempt on stringing some new warbler for me (unsuccessfully I might add) but the sparrow was still playing on my mind a bit. By now it was getting a tad hot in the midday sun so we returned to the bus where I plonked down my 'scope and tripod, guzzled some water and then stuck my head in the field guide, checking out sparrows and some tricky plumaged warblers. I happened to gaze at some record shots of the sparrow as we sped along the highway and noticed that the forepart of the superciliar was actually yellow: Savannah Sparrow then.
So the point of all this rambling is to explain what a clever dick I am then? No. With my head still stuck in the fieldguide I suddenly realised that my trusty 'scope and tripod were no longer at my side!
Sh#t!
About turn and a hasty retreat to the turn-off in the scrub where we'd parked the van was in order. It seemed like we'd only been driving for 5 minutes or so as I thumbed my way through the fieldguide en route to Guzman, but the return drive to rescue the 'scope was taking an age despite our driver's skill.

Lost and found. Just!

Reaching the lay by there was no sign of the tripod but just as we closed in on the turn off it could be seen. Phew! Surely the only factor saving my 'scope from being a very nice free gift for some unsuspecting Mexican was the fact that they'd been speeding past it on a highway.
So all's well that ends well then. Indeed I've been meaning to mention my new project for sometime now (but I forgot). The new "Home for the Bewildered Birder" will soon be open. I shall be one of the first patients at "Seaview", in deepest landlocked Northampton. Inmates, sorry I mean patients will have full use of all facilities including the optics outlet Out of Focus. Theory sessions explaining the everyday use of tertial length, primary projection and other fascinating facets of bird identification will be a regular event. I shall be admitted later this week. Nurse!

More postings from Mexico, Guyana and Ecuador to come.

MEXICO 2009: Collared Forest Falcons.

Forest Falcons are not birds you bump into too often, even when touring the Americas as I do. OK, they're not too tricky to hear, but seeing one is a different story completely. So encountering Collared Forest-Falcons on consecutive days here in Mexico is quite an event. Our first was a bird flying across the Tobara mangroves at San Blas after calling out of sight for quarter of an hour or so. This was to be surpassed the follwoing day at Cerro de San Juan however. We were just about done and leaving for our hotel when two Collared Forest-Falcons were found perched in dry forest on a bank above the road. After brief copulation one flew off into cover leaving one bird (right) on view for sometime. A species I'd never photographed before so very welcome indeed. Coincidently my previous sighting of this ace bird-killer was also at this very same site during the 2008 W. Mexico tour.

MEXICO 2009.

Back home soon after nearly two months non-stop tour leading in Latin America. We're just about finished here in Mexico having arrived in Ciudad Guzman for our 3 days birding on Volcan Fuego and Volcan Nieve. This year we started in Mazatlan and travelled up the Durango Highway and the Tufted Jay Preserve (right). Returning to the coast once again we headed north to San Blas using the nearby Miramar as a base to explore Cerro San Juan and the La Bajada area. Continuing north we made our way to Barra de Navidad visiting Barranca el Choncho and the Playa de Oro Road before heading inland to Colima and our present position.
Highlights have been many (Tufted Jays, Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Collared Forest Falcon, Grey-collared Becard, Flammulated Flycatcher and Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo to name a few) but a couple of surprises in the form of at least 6 Sinaloa Martins and a Chestnut-sided Warbler at Rancho Primavera were noteworthy. The latter is aparently a rare bird on the Pacific Slope of Mexico.
A more comprehensive account will follow (as well as finishing Ecuador and Guyana!).

Hasta luego.

SOLWAY: Between trips ......

So, still not finished the N. Ecuador postings, haven't even started the S. Ecuador posts and just back from two weeks in Guyana. Way behind so best to go out birding!
Mrs B. and I popped up to D&G today. Bit of a late start (I didn't get back from Heathrow until tea time yesterday) but we were birding north of the border by late morning. Mission D&G Bean Goose started at Islesteps west of the Nith with a sift through the Pink-feet at the side of the A710. No joy but very glad to be back with the geese again after a couple of weeks in the tropics. Loch Kindar was devoid of geese apart from a load of Canadas and Greylags so we drove to Carsethorn with the tide rising. This is a cracking place with plenty of offshore Great-crested Grebes, Mergs and Pintails and regular wintering Whimbrel. Just a single female Scaup today in contrast to the four figure raft observed here last autumn (where do they all go?).
High tide at Southerness Point produced the desired Purple Sandpipers on the rocks near the lighthouse. We counted at least 22, the most we've had for some time here. Not much on the sea apart from a summer plum' Red-throated Diver so we headed for Powillimount where we found a large gathering of Pink-feet. We spent some time going through these for Beans but no joy unfortunately, just 60 or so Barnacle Geese.
On the way back to the A75 we called in at Milton Loch where a 1st winter Med' Gull was the best bird with 26 Whoopers and 9 Pochard noteworthy.

Off to Mexico in a couple of days.

More soon ..........