Good Godwit 17th May 2025

Shortly after my return from Shetland news came through of a very rare bird being discovered on the morning of Friday the 16th of May at Titchfield Haven NNR, which lies by The Solent in Hampshire. 

The bird in question was a female Hudsonian Godwit, referred to as a 'Hudwit', another example of birder slang, a trend which incidentally I loathe. Why not call them by their proper name?

This bird will be the sixth to be recorded in Britain and already being confirmed as still present on a sunny Saturday by the seaside would be very popular and draw a good crowd. Hudsonian Godwits come from North America breeding  in scattered populations from western and southern Alaska through arctic and sub arctic Canada to the south shore of  Hudson Bay.They spend the winter on both coasts of southern South America.

Having already, in 2015 seen a female in Britain  at Shapwick Heath in Somerset, a  mild debate ensued with my inner self as to whether I should go and see this latest one. Enticingly Hampshire is a lot closer than Shetland and a lot cheaper to get to, half a tank of fuel would do it.

I put it to the back of my mind but on Saturday morning I sent a text to Badger enquiring if he fancied accompanying me to see the godwit. It had been quite a while since we last went birding together and Badger being the easy going person he is, it would be a pleasure to have his company and catch up on the news. In fact it would be just like old times.

A text duly arrived back in the affirmative so I set off to collect Badger who conveniently lives in Abingdon which is by the A34 and the route we would take to the reserve

A brilliant sunny day set us in a good mood and we chatted away the miles as we headed south.An hour and a half later we arrived by The Solent and parking the car on a convenient verge made a short walk to the reserve centre to pay our £5.00 entry fees. Another short walk along the seafront took us to the entry gate manned by a volunteer, we showed our natty pink stickers as evidence we had paid the entry fee and were granted access to the reserve.

The volunteer told us the godwit was currently on view right in front of the Meon Shore Hide, which handily was the nearest hide. Another short walk and we gained entry of sorts to a very crowded hide.It was literally elbow room only but people were coming and going, so we soon managed to get a space and a seat and be able to look out to the South Scrape that lay in front of the hide.

The sun was a bit bright but we could see a number of godwits feeding up to their bellies in the  shallow water, probing and ducking below the water with their long bills as only godwits can, their heads for the most part immersed in the water.

The Hudsonian Godwit was feeding with two or three Black tailed Godwits at a reasonable distance from the hide but conveniently right in front. 

The Hudsonian Godwit feeding with a Black tailed Godwit

The bird itself looked markedly different, appearing darker and more heavily marked than its British cousins due to a distinctly mottled brown back and chestnut infused closely barred flanks. 

The crucial diagnostic identification feature are the black axillaries and lesser underwing coverts which can be seen as the bird takes flight. The same plumage features are white on a Black tailed Godwit.The bird flew briefly a couple of times and I managed to see the diagnostic black 'armpits' axillaries and the narrower white wing bar on each of the upperwings.

In the bright sunlight it was not always easy to separate it through the camera lens from the other godwits but various features enabled one to identify it, such as noticeable white supercilia on its grizzled, grey brown head and on this bird a convenient patch of white on each side where the flanks met the base of the tail, 

Its bill was also noticeably bright pink on the upper part and black on the lower half.

We watched from the hide, Badger taking some video while I took far too many photos, struggling with the light, heat haze off the water and constant vibrations in the hide as folk moved about. 

For the most part it fed constantly with one interlude where it flew to the far end of the scrape to loaf on the shore with a host of Black headed Gulls, some Avocets and a bonus Little Gull.

Noise, both within the hide and without was a constant accompaniment to the couple of hours we spent on the reserve.The Black headed Gulls keeping up a never ending strident harsh squawking, while breeding Avocets chased off any gull that came too close to their nest with short liquid calls of irritation.

From within the hide various people related their nightmare journeys to get to the reserve, involving traffic jams and closed motorways, others recounted past birding holidays, yet others previous visits to the reserve to see rare birds or gave  general advice as to which godwit was the Hudsonian to anyone who would listen.It all goes into the mix but there comes a time when enough is enough.

Badger had got his long postponed lifer, I had seen a second Hudsonian Godwit in Britain and both of us had by mutual consent enjoyed a lovely day out birding at the seaside.

No complaints from me.

A Shetland Treat 14th May 2025

On Monday the 12th of May a Savannah Sparrow from the USA and only the fifth to be found in Britain was discovered on Unst, the northernmost inhabited island in Shetland, so Mark and myself decided to try and see it.To cut a long tale of woe short, despite sorting out the nightmare logistics and at great expense we failed to see this uber rare bird as it was nowhere to be seen the next morning when we got there.

It had gone in the night

Having put the disappointment of dipping the Savannah Sparrow behind us we now had two days on Shetland in prospect before catching our pre- booked Wednesday evening flight back to Aberdeen.

Personally it does not take me long to get over these inevitable twitching disappointments although others take it less well.

The weather on Shetland has been glorious for some while with full on sunshine for most of the time while we were there but still accompanied by a cold northerly wind. In sunny conditions the islands look at their absolute best and every turn in the road seems to bring yet another eye watering scene of immense beauty.

After our flight arrived at Sumburgh and the unwelcome news came through that the sparrow was nowhere to be found we mulled over what to do and for some unaccountable reason decided to punish ourselves further by fulfilling our bookings on the two ferries required to get to Unst and Skaw in particular to see exactly where the sparrow had spent all of yesterday..

Whilst viewing the burn at Skaw where the sparrow had performed so well, the weather  turned for the worse and grey cloud superceded the sun. It seemed only fitting that it should do so mirroring our downbeat mood. Oh! and by the way it was the 13th if you believe in omens. Not quite Friday but bad enough. 

Both Mark my twitching pal and myself were dog tired and after a wander along a  deserted Skaw beach we decided on going back to South Mainland in search of an Oriental Turtle Dove that had been intermittently showing itself at a place called Hillwell..

An Oriental Turtle Dove (OTD) is a mega in its own right but certainly did not feel like compensation for missing out on the Savannah Sparrow but it was better than nothing which was precisely what we had achieved so far on Shetland.

Oriental Turtle Dove comprises of two main sub species Streptopelia orientalis orientalis the so called Eastern Oriental Turtle Dove and S.o meena  the Western Oriental Turtle Dove which include between them six named sub species.

Eastern OTD breeds in central Siberia to Japan and Korea southwards to the Himalayas from Assam to Yunnan and northern Vietnam and winters in south and south eastern Asia

Western OTD breeds in central and eastern Asia south to the Himalayas from Kashmir to central Nepal and winters in India as far south as Sri Lanka 

Orientalis is much the rarer in Britain but I had seen it incredibly well when one turned up in a garden in Chipping Norton in the winter of 2011 and remained there for some days, just ten minutes drive from my home in the neighbouring village of Kingham. 

The bird currently at Hillwell is of the other race S.o. meena,  the commoner of the two main subspecies and so now I could legitimately claim to have seen both Eastern and Western Oriental Turtle Doves..At another time and under different circumstances this would have been a reason for rejoicing but it did not seem like it at the time.

The dove could prove elusive but had last been reported an hour ago as frequenting fields and fences by the road that ran through Hillwell. Checking the fields we could find no sign of it but a resident birder pointed it out to us in the middle of a tilled field nearby and there it remained, hunkered down on the earth and half asleep with a Collared Dove for company.

We duly took some photos in appalling light and then called it a day and went to a friends house who had kindly offered to put us up for the night.

Oriental Turtle Dove with Collared Dove

Shattered after being awake and on the go for well over twenty four hours we were in bed and asleep by eight.Never was a bed more welcome.

Next morning with not a lot of bird news we had a lie in of sorts and a leisurely breakfast. Looking out of the window it was obvious that today was to be another of continuous sunshine.

A planned return to the dove was aborted as there was no news of it from Hillwell but a report of a Curlew Sandpiper had us heading for Island, an idyllic little cove of not sand but stones and a large bank of dead seaweed that was proving irresistible to a collection of small waders consisting of Turnstones, Sanderlings and Dunlins. 

Island

All were in summer plumage and the Dunlin in particular indulging in displays, the males chasing females across the pebbles and seaweed with spread wings and much trilling although they still had a long way to go before reaching their breeding areas.

Turnstones

Dunlins

Sanderlings

The sun was warm as I sat on a rock and looked at the endless and entertaining activity of the birds feeding, displaying, bathing, preening, never still for more than a second, all biding their time before the call came to fly north .A brace of male Eiders ah oooed their ardour on the blue waters beyond the shore as ripples rather than waves gently lapped at the stones on the tideline. Dandelions, like yellow stars in the gras grew in abundance here and had attracted many Red Admiral butterflies and a migrant Painted Lady, one of many that have arrived on Shetland with this sunny weather.

We were the only two people here to savour all this natural beauty and I felt as if I was in a world transformed. All care banished.

Despite constant scanning we could not find the Curlew Sandpiper amongst the host of waders.I was sure it was there somewhere but it was of no great consequence. Just to be here on Shetland in this secluded spot on such a day as this was enough.

The tide was coming in and as it covered the stones and pebbles the birds settled to roost on the larger rocks or on banks of seaweed and a hush descended along the shore as they fell silent, ceased any activity and for a precious few moments relaxed or tucked bills into feathers to wait on the tide's turning.

I fancied a trip to Sumburgh Head to see the Puffins that breed there so we made a short car journey south and walked slowly up to the lighthouse from the car park, looking down over the huge cliffs at this the southernmost point of Shetland.It is never less than awe inspiring to look out to sea from here and on such a day as this even more so.

The Puffins were mainly in their burrows but occasionally a pair would come out to briefly stand on the short grass and patches of pink thrift, before flying out to a deep blue horizon.Their wariness was explained by the huge dark brown and sinister looking form of a Great Skua or Bonxie as they are called in Shetland, patrolling the cliffs.

Far below on rocky outcrops, where the sea was forever in a turmoil of white and turquoise beating against the unyielding rock,  ranks of Guillemots stood about readying themselves for the coming breeding season while the deep shaded cliff faces were randomly dotted with the white and grey forms of Fulmars sat on their nest ledges.

We were catching the last flight out of Sumburgh Airport to Aberdeen this evening and on our way there passed a small lochan by the road and here, perhaps for both of us was a last parting gift from Shetland in the form of a Red necked Phalarope swimming on the blue water This wader specially adapted to spend most of its time on water breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia and winters far out to sea in tropical oceans.

Shetland and the Outer Hebrides are the southernmost limit of its breeding range with just a few pairs breeding on Fetlar and occasional pairs on other small lochs on Mainland in Shetland.

The phalarope definitely had not been here this morning when we passed going the other way. Stopping the car we clambered over a fence and sat on the boggy margin of the  lochan and took some photographs. The phalarope was, as they often are, unbothered by our presence and swam about picking insects off the water's surface and then went into a vigorous washing and bathing routine before flying off.

It was a female, told by her attractive, strongly coloured plumage, mainly grey brown above with bright chestnut neck and upper breast, charcoal black face and white throat The role of the sexes as with Dotterels is reversed with the male being much less colourful and taking on the role of incubating the eggs and tending the chicks while the female goes off and mates with another male, lays more eggs and leaves him to it.

For these small birds to arrive on Shetland to breed involves a truly remarkable, one could say incredible journey. A individual from Fetlar was fitted with a tiny tracking device which revealed it migrated to spend the winter in the Pacific Ocean, a journey of 8000 miles. First it crossed the Atlantic via Iceland and Greenland them moved south down the eastern seaboard of North America, crossed the Caribbean and Mexico before arriving off the coast of Ecuador and Peru. It would then presumably repeat the journey in the other direction to get to Shetland. A round trip of 16000 miles.

This has led to the belief that the Scottish birds are an offshoot of the North American population rather than the geographically nearer Scandinavian populations which winter in the Arabian Sea.

I could only look at this bird today and marvel.

I have always wanted to see a Red necked Phalarope in summer plumage and in its native habitat.I have seen them in breeding plumage in my own county of Oxfordshire as they briefly stopped on their way north but always in prosaic surroundings. To see one on the blue waters of a small remote moorland lochan,  possibly just completing its epic journey was for me the ultimate experience and filled me with utmost joy.

Shetland never fails.

At Last a Bee Hawkmoth 10th May 2025

I have never seen a Bee Hawkmoth, neither narrow-bordered or broad-bordered which are the two species that occur in Britain. I have not even come near as they are so infrequently reported, unpredictable whenever they do appear and always hard to see.

They are scarce too and declining, especially the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth which is the rarer of the two.

This situation changed for the better on my visit to Homefield Nature Reserve to look for Military Orchids. It sometimes happens this way, when you go specifically to look for something entirely unrelated and another equally or even more desirable thing turns up unexpectedly and un-anticipated.

As I entered a scrubby field on the reserve I saw a man standing in a corner of the field in which I hoped the orchids might be and walked over to him to enquire if I was in the right place.He was looking at the ground  intently through a camera whilst standing in a patch of Bugle, the short blue flowers extending for quite an area around him in the corner of the field.

Before I could speak he pointed downwards to the flowers and spoke.

I think I have got a Bee Hawkmoth. 

I do not know if it is a narrow or broad bordered but I am sure it is a Bee Hawkmoth.

Surprise, delight and yes, elation swept through me as a long desired encounter with this moth unexpectedly came to fruition in an unremarkable field in middle England.Who would have thought it?

At first I could not see the moth as it was obscured deep in the grass, nectaring from half hidden Bugle flowers but then it rose an inch or two to move to other more exposed flowers but never rising more than a few inches from the ground. 

It was hard to follow and it flew off after a couple of minutes. Would it come back was the big question. Frustration was writ large but at least I had seen it. My initial impression was that, as its name suggested it resembled a giant bee and behaved in a similar manner although, unlike a  bee it never settled to feed but remained constantly hovering and flying amongst the Bugle flowers.Its wings were transparent and moved at great sped, supporting a rather fat. squat and furry, sandy buff body with a broad black band around its middle and a black tip

That was all I could recall before it flew away 

The man told me it had been around for twenty minutes before I arrived but he had  found it very hard to photograph.

We left it there and assumed it had gone.

He showed me where a Military Orchid was growing higher up the sloping field where it adjoined some woodland and we went our separate ways 

Having photographed the orchid I returned to the patch of Bugle more in hope than expectation and for twenty minutes it looked like I would remain disappointed and my hopes of seeing more of the moth would remain unfulfilled. but no, there it was again, flying low around the short blue Bugle spikes feeding from the individual flowers with an incredibly long proboscis, moving constantly from flower to flower and at one point literally feeding right by my foot.

I could not believe my luck and began rapidly filling the memory card on my camera, attempting to capture this insect in flight. By checking the images on the back of my camera I could see the dark brown bands around the outer edges of its wings were not extensive and thus it was confirmed it was a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth.What a result.

Its flight was not as rapid as a Hummingbird Hawkmoth but its mode of feeding was very similar  except the movements were slightly slower.Think of an outsized bee and you would have a good idea of its jizz and behaviour.A few bumblebees also feeding on the Bugle gave a handy size comparison

It flew off again and I lost sight of it but after a twenty minute absence it returned and I resumed filling the memory card on my camera, being joined by the man, who saw that I had relocated the moth.This time it remained for a good fifteen minutes constantly feeding, checking as many flowers as possible but never the same twice.

The sun disappeared and with it so did the moth and despite standing in the Bugle patch for forty minutes it never returned

Both Bee Hawkmoth species used to be widely distributed in Britain but both have suffered severe declines due to habitat loss and most records nowadays come from southern and southwest England with a few records of it from East Anglia, parts of Wales and the Scottish Highlands

The moth was in typical habitat at Homefield as they like grassland and open grass areas adjacent to woodland.Their flight season lasts from May to the end of June and they mainly fly from mid morning to mid afternoon in sunshine.

Dare I say it but this encounter trumped even the Military Orchids.

Lady's, Monkeys and The Military 10th May 2025

Another day and another orchid sortie.Very much a novice I am becoming ever more enthused at seeking out these strange and rather wonderful plants

Today I planned a trip to Hartslock Nature  Reserve, yet another of BBOWT's small but perfect reserves.  Here I was going in search of two more orchid species that are a speciality of this four hectare reserve - the Lady Orchid which is nationally scarce and the Monkey Orchid which is classed as vulnerable.

The problem at Hartslock, especially for a beginner such as myself, is that the majority of orchids  there are hybrids between the two species and pure examples of both are very scarce and hard to find amongst the ranks of hybrids which are present in numbers and in a variety of shades of pink and sizes.

However I had been told that this year there was a pure example of a Lady Orchid and also a few pure Monkey Orchids. Peter who had visited Hartslock yesterday gave me guidance as to where to locate them amongst the many hybrids so I decided to take a chance and hope I would be able to identify them which was far from guaranteed.

Hartslock  is not easy to get to as it is located on a very steep hillside overlooking Goring on Thames. 

Looking down from the reserve to Goring upon Thames in the distance

There is nowhere to park anywhere near the entrance to the reserve and therefore a visit requires you to park further down at the beginning of a narrow lane and then walk in for a quarter of a mile.At least that is what I preferrred to do not wishing to fall foul of the local farmer or the affluent residents.

The day was cloudy but it was pleasant enough walking up the lane surrounded on both sides by burgeoning green hedgerows and then, turning down a track, after a couple of hundred metres I arrived at the entrance gate to the reserve.In front of me arose a steep hill with two more small wooden gates which led into the reserve proper.

Not too sure where to go I saw two other orchid enthusiasts looking intently at something outside and just to the right of the two gates and clambering up the hillside to join them they pointed out a Monkey Orchid, a pure one, its demure presence almost overwhelmed by the hedge it grew under.

It soon became apparent that my two new and very friendly acquaintances, making a special trip from Stoke on Trent, knew what they were talking about and generously imparted their orchid knowledge for my benefit and explained to me why it was not a hybrid  

We then indulged in the ritual of taking our photos before passing through one of the gates and moving upwards via a series of very steep steps to an area on the side of the precipitous slope that was taped off to protect the hybrid orchids, ranged on the side of a bank by a small wood.

Hybrid orchids

I was told that originally Hartslock was known as a place to see Monkey Orchids but at sometime in the past a Lady Orchid appeared and subsequently hybrids began to appear and they now dominate the reserve while some pure Monkey and Lady Orchids persist but very much in the minority. How true this  is I have no way of verifying but it is a reasonable supposition.

The hybrids were surprisingly large, some in fact very robust compared to the orchid species I had been viewing these past days and amongst them was a pure Lady Orchid which stood out due to the fact it was smaller and distinctly coloured.

Lady Orchid

Thus in the space of thirty or so minutes I had seen pure examples of both Monkey and Lady Orchids. The Lady Orchid struck a chord with me as it reminded me of a favourite orchid of mine, the Burnt Tip Orchid, the colours of the flowers being a similar dark reddish brown and white but there the resemblance ended. The name derives from the fact the three lobed lip is shaped like a lady in a crinoline, the two, narrow side lobes forming the arms and the central lobe divided into two. The dark reddish brown sepals and upper petals above, form the lady's bonnet. Really lovely.

We admired this specimen for some time, discussing the salient features and taking photographs and then one of my colleagues found what he considered to be two other Monkey Orchids. 

I looked more closely at the hybrids and amongst them found a smaller mainly white orchid tinged with pale pink which to me looked like a Monkey Orchid.None too sure of myself I pointed it out to my friends and they confirmed it was in their opinion a Monkey Orchid. 

I then spent time with the hybrids, marvelling at their fulsome size and variable colours. One in particular being noticeably large and a very attractive deep reddish pink with white flecks and really eye catching amongst its fellow paler pink hybrids.

The area on the bank where the orchids grow is comparatively small and protected by tape which while not being a physical barrier usually persuades people to remain the correct side of the tape and not get too close to the orchids for fear of trampling them.

Two more hybrids

Eventually we stood back content as a Cuckoo called close by from the trees at the bottom of the slope.

Further up the slope beyond the hybrids we found a White Helleborine, still relatively common and plentiful in the southeast of England to which it is restricted.

It was coming into bloom with one flower almost fully open revealing egg yolk yellow in its centre.We found another ten less advanced plants inside the wood as we did a circuit of this small reserve,.

White Helleborine

Before parting with my erstwhile colleagues we exchanged information about the various orchid areas worth visiting in the area and I suggested Bernwood Meadows and they told me I should go to Homefield Wood in Buckinghamshire for Military Orchids which were now flowering

It is a pleasant and relaxing experience orchid hunting as from my point of view there is not the competitive feelings that come with twitching or even watching birds these days and orchids have the distinct advantage in that they remain where they are and do not fly away overnight which results in a more relaxed frame of mind amongst those of us coming to view them and a general feeling of bonhomie to fellow enthusiasts.

We said our farewells and I made my way to Homefield Wood, one of only three sites in Britain where they grow, to try and find the Military Orchids which would be a new orchid species for me.

A forty minute drive took me across the border of Oxfordshire into neighbouring Buckinghamshire and just west of Marlow I descended a very steep hill and turned into a tiny car park at Homefield Wood, owned by the Forestry Commission and part of The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Beauty. The reserve itself is 6.1 acres of undulating slopes and is managed by BBOWT and consists of deciduous woodland with glades and open grassland encompassed in a much larger area of mainly woodland. Specifically I was aiming for a sheltered field sloping up on both sides and through which ran a grass track at the bottom, the field bordered by a hedge on one side and woodland on the other. It was not very far to walk from the car park and passing through a gate off the main track I entered a field of scrubby grassland and scattered bushes but with little idea where the orchids might be.

Fortunately someone was already there and indicated to me where I could find a Military Orchid which he had found earlier. Military Orchids like to grow in chalk grassland along broad leaved woodland edges and true to form the specimen he had found was growing in the leaf litter beside a hazel, in the open at the top of the slope where field met woodland.

Big and robust, with shiny green strap like leaves and clustered flowers pinkish violet in colour, this was a perfect specimen and my first ever sight of this orchid species did not disappoint

They acquired their name from the fact the sepals and petals are folded in such a way they are said  to resemble a hood or more fancifully a knight's helmet with the lower lip shaped like a man, with arms and legs while lines of spots resemble buttons on a tunic. 

I knelt on the ground and took some photos and later explored the edges of the field.on the opposite side. Here I found another twenty three orchids in various stages of flowering, some near the hedge with others more in the open amongst the grass on the slope but none as advanced as the original one on the other side of the field.

Many were caged to protect them so I had been fortunate that the first one I saw on the opposite side of the field was free of any artificial protection although I had found others uncaged on the other side of the field too.

After wandering around and admiring these orchids I took a track by the hedge that would lead me back to the entrance gate and found half a dozen Common Twayblades. 

Green and undistinguished compared to their more colourful and exotic relatives I realised it had been a very long time since I had seen one so lingered for a while to give them due reverence.

Quite a day!