September 2020 part i — Just A Bird

It’s quarter to six, Sunday evening on 13th September. My wife is at work and me and the kids are tucking into a delicious pasta dish I made them for tea. The bird alert goes off and a photo flashes up of a possible Hen Harrier at Pleinmont. I glance at the phone screen and……..”frickin’ hell it’s a bloney PALLID!!!”

I dashed around, collecting everything together I needed whilst my daughter finished of the last few mouthfuls of her tea, then told her we were definitely going out for a drive in the car. As is usual in these circumstances I got stuck behind a slow driver who didn’t seem to comprehend the importance of the situation. I arrived on the headland maybe about 25 past 6 and was mortified that the bird had not been relocated since the news went out - how very dare it! I parked up just east of the scramble track and forlornly scanned the fields.

This was starting to get very familiar as, about the same time last year, I had pulled up in more or less the same spot after work one day, to dip out on Guernsey’s first Pallid Harrier - and not by too much either. I was certain that this bird had headed off east, never to be again but at least this time there were plenty of people looking. I kept scanning the Mont Herault fields and was momentarily fooled by a distant Short-eared Owl quartering the area.

Nothing had been seen of the Pallid for almost an hour, and I was entering the beyond-disgruntled zone. Then a message popped up that it had apparently just been showing east of the watch house, which was however just over the rise from where we were and therefore not visible. I was contemplating dashing into the car and racing round there when another message flashed up from someone else that it was now flying by the Vau de Monel which was 180 degrees from the other sighting. My reply of “It can’t be in two places at once!” was indicative of my total confusion and I was flummoxed as to where to look next and what to do.

It was now about five to seven and I was frantically spinning back and forth, stressfully scanning and scanning in any direction. Then I heard some shouting from behind me and the guys who were on the taller mound were desperately trying to attract my attention. They were silhouetted against the sky and I couldn’t really tell which way they were pointing and the shouts did not arrive at my ears as fully-formed words. I panicked and dived into the car to get closer to them, u-turning quickly and bouncing through the field (which my daughter found hilarious). The phone went off within a few yards of setting off, I skidded to a halt and it was Wayne telling me they could see it towards the TV mast - an area which was not still visible for me. So I revved up and sped away again, only to stop suddenly for a second time as Wayne was now flagging me down by the roadside. He pointed out that it was currently very low over the Societe fields but I still couldn’t see the sodding thing!

I thought rather than trying to glimpse it from where we were, since I was in the car, I might as well just drive right up to the fields in question. I set off again and bounced to a halt in the pull-in, flung myself out of the car for the third time in a minute, and had a superbly close fly-past of the beautiful PALLID HARRIER, as it slowly flapped across the road in front of me. Success! And a much deserved grip-back on last year.

I grabbed my camera and fired off some shots as it passed closest to me but they were unfortunately out of focus. The bird took its time and hunted round the bottom of the fields for a while before eventually disappearing behind the slope. It was so exciting to see a Pallid Harrier - my first one since I was in Israel all those years ago. I have not seen this species in the UK as it was still a pretty gripping rarity when we moved over here. The colour of this bird was astounding, a deep and glowing orange on the underparts and also on the upper outer-tail feathers, like LED lights along the tail. The face pattern was ideal for Pallid with the pale goggles contrasting with the dark face, and a fully pale collar, with the chocolate-coloured boa over the nape looking pretty uniform. It didn’t return straight away and seemed to just disappear because it was travelling so low. The same or another Short-eared Owl appeared in the field below us for even better views than before. A short while later I picked up the Pallid Harrier again over the scramble track and it flew towards us and gave us another relaxed fly-past which I managed a video of, but it was well after 7 pm now and the light was getting too dull for good photos. Satisfied with two excellent views, I headed home.

Back to the first week of September, when my birding opportunities become less flexible due to returning to work. After school on 2nd September I popped up to Pleinmont on an unlikely search for a Bonelli’s Warbler sp that had been briefly there the previous day. Despite only a short visit it was pleasing to see a few migrants about with 2 Redstarts and 3 Whinchats together at one point. I think that this was due to the amazing numbers of flying insects swarming in the balmy conditions. There was also a Reed Warbler in the trees and 3 Swifts feeding over the headland. Calling in at L’Eree, as many as 35 White Wagtails fed in the saltmarsh with a single early-arriving Grey Wagtail.

3rd September and it was high tide as I made my way to school. A large flock of gulls was feeding at the surfline at Pulias which contained 7 different Med Gulls which is an unusually high number for there. One of them was a very brown individual which initially looked confusing but I assume was a late moulting juvenile bird. A brief stop at Richmond, Vazon a few minutes later revealed two more Med Gulls, one of which was wearing a coded ring - RR1E. This bird is from a ringing project at a colony on the Atlantic coast of France. On the way back from work called in at the Vale Pond and saw the Cattle Egret that has been there a few days.

juvenile Mediterranean Gull - Pulias, 3 Sep 20

The next weekend was a no-birding weekend for me as Rosie was working all day, both days, but I did have a brief look from the car on 6th for the Pec that had been found at Richmond the day before, but only saw a Knot. After work the next day I did successfully see the Pectoral Sandpiper on the beach but not very close as it was quite low tide. It flew in from the west just as I was about to set off home, so not very satisfactory views. So I tried searching again on 10th when I was able to get pretty close to the wader flock for potentially cracking photos, but of course it was not amongst them.

The rest of the second week was quiet. I did get out to Pleinmont for an afternoon scoot around on 12th but there was few migrants. At least 5 Firecrests in the valleys seemed to me to be local post-breeding birds rather than new-in arrivals.

Moth-trapping was quiet at the start of September but livened up big style on the night of 11th. I blearily wandered outside towards the trap in the morning and tried to focus on what seemed to be a small bird resting, spreadeagled on the patio. Straining my eyes through the gap in the grapevine I thought crikey, that’s a moth, and a bloody big one! A few steps closer and I could see what it was, an absolute beaut of a CLIFDEN NONPAREIL, one of the most enigmatic species there is, and a new species for me.

I could see it was already starting to vibrate its wings and I was afraid it was going to fly before I got anywhere near it with a pot. So I decided that running in to get my camera was the best option and took some in situ shots of it sat on the tiles.

Satisfied that I got some shots for the record, I dashed inside again to collect a larger pot and I was lucky enough to catch it before it flew, which meant that I could get some proper pictures of it later in the day. It always rested with its forewings slightly open revealing the blue band, unlike the Red Underwings I get which always seem to have their wings closed. It even looked spectacular from underneath. 2020 seems to have been an excellent year in the UK for the species which no doubt is reestablishing itself in the country. The same night as I had mine, two more were also trapped on the island.

The other good species recorded was from the next night (12th) when I was surprised to see a distinctive Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) resting under an egg box. Well ‘good’ as in a new species for me and only the 3rd record for the island, but not good overall since this is an invasive species which is increasing exponentially in Europe and not good for gardeners with box hedges.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

Just A Bird