Member Reports – Page 8 – Carsington Bird Club

Bempton in April……..

A short trip report from Gary Atkins.

April seemed to be living up to its reputation for showers – and heavy ones at that – as a car containing myself, fellow club member Bernie Brown and his friend John Cave splashed up the M1 and M18 towards Bempton Cliffs, the RSPB’s brilliant reserve with its mass of cliff-dwelling birds.

It quite literally rained all the way, but as we opened our doors, as if by magic it stopped – and didn’t start again until well into the afternoon. And the luck stayed with us throughout as we logged 62 species inside six hours.

All the usual suspects were there at Bempton, with thousands of Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills squeezed onto seemingly every square inch of the narrow ledges, and fewer Fulmars and Puffins adding to the spectacle – but the real highlight was the sheer quantity and antics of the Gannets.

It’s difficult to guess at how many were there, but everywhere we looked their black-tipped wings spanning six feet were in evidence. They were also gathering nest material, so we had good, close views as they sought grass and moss from the cliff tops, awkwardly tearing at the vegetation with their long pointed bills.

We saw Ravens and Rock Doves and, away from the cliffs, Pied Wagtails, Linnets, Meadow Pipits, Tree Sparrows and a Reed Bunting, but not the hoped-for Corn Buntings or Black Redstart that had been seen there recently.

Anticipating bad weather, I’d got a back-up plan – which was to visit nearby Tophill Low (a reserve run by Yorkshire Water) as it has a dozen hides, so plenty of shelter. In the end, after about two and a half hours at Bempton we were tending to see the same things, we decided to head off to Tophill Low anyway, and we’re jolly glad we did as we virtually doubled our daily total.

This site has two small reservoirs, several wetland areas and plenty of woodland, so the variety is excellent – to be recommended. Highlights here included Avocet, Redshank, Sand Martin, the early-arriving warblers Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, and a surprisingly good selection of ducks comprising Goldeneye, Goosander, Shoveler, Wigeon, Gadwall and Teal.

En route to Bempton (which is best between around April and June, when the breeding season is at its height), there are several other reserves worthy of a visit such as Fairburn Ings, North Cave and any of a number around the Humber Estuary.

Yorkshire – a rich birding territory.

G.Atkins – April 2012

Cambodia & Vietnam – Nov 2011 – Gary Atkins

8th – 23rd november 2011 – Cambodia and Vietnam – Holiday Report

There’s always something both exciting and frustrating about holidaying somewhere completely different and encountering bird species that are entirely new: exciting because you never quite know what’s around the next corner – and some sightings can be truly spectacular; frustrating because I more often than not cannot be sure enough of its specific identify to list it.

Despite that, my family holiday to south-east Asia in November (accompanied by my wife, son, sister and nephew) still managed to yield a total of almost 60 species, around half of which were ‘lifers’, with another 20 or so being birds I’d seen before but only very rarely … plus a few, like Swallow, Moorhen, Tree Sparrow and Little Grebe that have cropped up several times already on my 2011 list!

In terms of birdwatching, the holiday began brilliantly and went downhill thereafter. We flew into Siem Riep in Cambodia, via Kuala Lumpur, where we stayed four nights. The first half of this was spent touring the astonishing ruined complex of Angkor Wat – a city of a million people as long ago as the 11^th-12^th centuries whenLondon’s population was just approaching 50,000.

This advanced civilisation built some fabulous temples, many of which were adorned with beautifully detailed carvings and script. Over recent decades, many of these sites have been rediscovered amidst dense forests, where the birdlife was an added bonus during our tours.

My sister (celebrating her 60^th birthday) and I had added an extra day in Siem Riep so we could take in a nearby bird sanctuary – Prek Toal, part of the huge Tonle Sap lake that is around 100km long and 30km wide. We saw 25-30 species on that day alone – possible highlights being Spot-billed Pelicans, Asian Openbills and Grey-headed Fish Eagles among a good array of herons, egrets and cormorants, including the distinctive Darter.

Bird-watching became more of a snatched or very occasional activity during the rest of the tour which took in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, a day or so navigating through the Mekong Delta to Can Tho and, finally, Saigon, the major city in southern Vietnam – a fast-growing metropolis of 10 million people that seems to be a driver’s nightmare, though we were assured the apparent mayhem was normal and that everyone knew ‘the rules’.

We finished the holiday with four days at a beach resort, 200km north east of Saigon. While initially a blissful respite from the relentless pace of touring and constant early morning get-aways, I eventually concluded this was a mistake – both from the point of view of birdwatching, which was very limited, and in failing to enhance our ‘Asian experience’ since the five-mile strip of hotels, restaurants and impromptu retail outlets could have been anywhere in the world.

Indeed, if you ever go to Indochina – and I would certainly recommend Cambodia (and I gather the pace of life in Laos is equally, if not more ‘relaxed’) – and want to include Vietnam, aim to take in the central highlands and more northern parts, since that is where we were constantly being told the best wildlife is to be found.

As it was, we had good views of Green and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters throughout the region, and other highlights included four species of Kingfisher (Pied, Collared and White-throated as well as Common), raptors such as Brahminy and Black-shouldered Kites, Eastern Marsh Harrier and two Ospreys, colourful ‘firsts’ such as Coppersmith Barbet, Red-breasted Parakeet, Indian Roller, Ashy Drongo and Yellow-vented Bulbul, and the Large-tailed Nightjar (bigger than those we find in Britain) that I virtually tripped over during an early-morning walk from our beach resort.

The remaining ‘cast’ in order of appearance, and not already mentioned, were as follows: Black Drongo, Brown Shrike, Intermediate Egret, Common Myna, Rock Dove, Asian Palm Swift, Grey Heron, Racket-tailed Drongo, Spotted Dove, White-vented Myna, Magpie Robin, Javan Pond Heron, Little Heron, Little Cormorant, Greater Coucal, Pied Fantail, (Great) Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Whiskered Tern, Red Collared Dove, Great White Heron, Rufous Woodpecker, Spot-billed Duck, Oriental Skylark, Peaceful Dove, Large-billed Crow, Asian Koel, White-rumped Munia, Olive-backed Sunbird, Pacific Swallow, White Wagtail, Plain-backed Sparrow, Scaly-breasted Munia, Oriental Turtle Dove and Paddyfield Pipit.

Gary Atkins – Nov 2011