The Gambia - part 2

My first breakfast on the open-air patio at Badala Park was a little overwhelming, with hornbills and Green Wood-hoopoes flying around, monkeys trying to steal my watermelon, and birds I couldn't even identify.  The above, accompanied by one of the myriads of white butterflies which were absolutely everywhere and seen coming in off the sea in huge swarms, was later confirmed by my guide to be a Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling.  The first morning being taken up by an orientation meeting with our local rep, my guide offered to take me out for a few hours around Kotu in the afternoon, with me adding another 22 species before the 'real' birding began the following day.  I had asked for one half day and three "full days", the first of which saw us spending no less than twelve and a half hours in the field!  We started at Brufut Woods, where I saw my first African Green Pigeons, bright-red Black-winged Bishops, and three species of owls staked out on their daytime roosts.  We then moved to Tanji bird reserve for a beautiful lunch overlooking the ocean before scanning the assembled gulls and terns on the beach, finishing the day at Tujering Woods, where the cute little Brubru was one of my favourites.  I finally got back to the hotel after dark having seen another 48 new species in just one day and was so exhausted that we decided to move my half day forward for me to recover!

 

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl with its ridiculous pink eyelids

The Gambia - part 1

This time last month I was in The Gambia!  Seeing as I'd not been outside of Europe this year, I decided to treat myself to a short trip to somewhere I'd always wanted to go, easily combining a cheap package holiday with several days with one of the many local birding guides.

My first Gambian birds - Pied Crow and Hooded Vulture

Arriving at the airport, the sky was full of vultures and Pied Crows and I already identified my first lifer, a Long-tailed Glossy Starling, from the bus to the terminal.  The second, an African Mourning Dove, then came and drank from a puddle as I waited for the transfer to my accommodation, Badala Park Hotel in Kotu.  I'd chosen this rather basic hotel as the grounds were supposed to be good for birds and, once inside my room, I went out on the balcony and immediately saw an African Paradise Flycatcher, one of the (many) birds I most wanted to see!

I then spotted one of the Green Monkeys which would hang around the breakfast area waiting for handouts, before exploring the hotel grounds.  New birds followed thick and fast and the swamp behind the hotel provided Black Crake, Malachite Kingfisher and Hadada Ibis, among others.  After a while, I bumped into one of the local guides who invited me to tag along with his tour to the famous Kotu bridge, just a couple of minutes' walk from my hotel, where I saw my first Hamerkop, as well as Blue-breasted and Giant Kingfishers and the brightly-coloured Yellow-crowned Gonolek.  After just a few hours in The Gambia, I'd already seen 24 new species by the evening, when I met my guide to discuss the next few days.

Western Red-billed Hornbill

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And finally, the butterfly holy grail - the one and only Purple Emperor I have ever seen.  Amazingly, I saw this in exactly the same spot as yesterday's Lesser Purple Emperor, although there was a three-year gap between the two observations.
I wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a birdy and butterfly-ful 2016!

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Another species I saw for the first time this year was this magnificent Lesser Purple Emperor in the forest between Torgny and Virton.

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The second species was Marbled Fritillary, a recent coloniser from southern Europe.  Once again, the underwing pattern is crucial in distinguishing this species from the slightly commoner Lesser Marbled Fritillary.

The mayor of Iceland

I was in Amsterdam over the weekend and twitched this second-winter Iceland Gull on a city lake.  The Dutch name translates as little mayor, due to its similarity with Glaucous Gull or 'big mayor', which itself got its name from early seafarers who named it after its stately posture and dominant behaviour towards other gulls.  Appropriately enough, my first Iceland Gulls were in Iceland ten year's ago and this is only the fourth one I've seen since then.  As for my balcony list, currently standing at 39 species since I moved in, the only recent addition was a couple of hunting Peregrines.

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This summer, I added two species of fritillaries to my Belgian butterfly list.  This Bog Fritillary was at a nature reserve in Belgian Luxembourg and can be identified by the line of pale-centered rings on the underwing.

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Marbled White is not, in fact, a member of the white family with which we are all familiar, but one of the few black-and-white members of the Satyridae family, which includes both Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

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Three species of Clouded Yellow occur in Belgium and they are very difficult to tell apart.  Two of them are migrants, occasionally occurring in large numbers, while Berger's Clouded Yellow shown here has a small population in the very south of Belgium, where they are restricted to chalk grasslands along the French and Luxembourgish borders.

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Meadow Brown, on the other hand, is very similar to Gatekeeper, and both are found in grassy places.  Meadow Brown lacks the small white spots on the underwing of the Gatekeeper and has a broader, unbroken pale band (see Day 1).

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Ringlet is a widespread, woodland species easily identified by the line of rings on the underwing.

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Painted Lady is another migrant, recolonising Western Europe from North Africa each spring, although numbers vary greatly from year to year.

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Red Admiral is a common and conspicuous migrant visitor, occurring from late summer well into the autumn.

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Chequered Skipper is one of Belgium's rarer species, mainly being found in the south-east of the country.

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Even smaller in size, the skippers are another large family which are structurally different from other butterflies and often considered to be a missing link between true butterflies and moths.  The predominant colouration of our commonest species is orange and brown, Large Skipper being most easily distinguished by the pale 'windows' on the underwing.

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Green Hairstreak is also in the same family as the blues and coppers and is a heathland specialist.  Only the undersides of the wings are this distinctive shade of green, however, the upperside being dark brown in both sexes.

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Violet Copper, on the other hand, is restricted to a few protected localities in Belgian Luxembourg and classified as endangered by the IUCN.

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The coppers are in the same family and of a similar size to the blues.  Small Copper is by far our commonest and most widespread species.

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Chak-hill Blue is an extremely localised and scarce species mainly found in south-eastern Belgium.  In August, I made a special trip to an old chalk quarry near Liège in order to see this species for the first time.  The thriving colony there was in a mating frenzy, the brown female here surrounded by several males, which are much paler than the other blues and look almost white in flight.

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The Brown Argus is also a member of the blue family despite being predominantly brown and orange.

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Another common species but much more difficult to identify as it spends most of its time high up in trees and bushes, is Holly Blue.  Notice the very pale and relatively plain underwing compared to Common Blue.

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After the pictures of the past few days, you'd be forgiven for thinking all of Belgium's butterflies are a combination of orange, black and brown.  That is far from the truth, however, and we also have several species of blues.  In order to identify the members of this large family, it is essential to get good looks at the underside of the wings, these two photo's showing two very different views of our commonest species, the Common Blue.

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Similar in colouration to the tortoiseshells but with a distinctive, irregular wing shape, is the Comma, another widespread and common species.

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Large Tortoiseshell, on the other hand, is much rarer and difficult to tell apart from its more numerous cousin.  This ragged individual was the first I have managed to identify.  Notice how the black patches on the forewing extend further back than the smaller, white parts, as well as the slightly different configuration of black spots and generally paler colouration.

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Small Tortoiseshell is one of Belgium's commonest and most easily recognisable butterfly species.

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The Map Butterfly is one of the few European species with two distinct generations.  Yesterday's picture showed the largely black-and-white form of late summer which is very different to (and originally thought to be a separate species from) those appearing in spring.

BButterfly advent Day 1

As this was my first summer in Europe since 2012, I did quite a bit of Belgian butterflying, seeing five new species as a result.  I thus decided to dedicate this year's online advent calendar to Belgian butterflies, with the aim of providing a mini photographic identification guide to some of Belgium's commonest and prettiest species.  To start with, here is nice, late-summer image of a Map Butterfly and Gatekeeper feeding on thistles.

An eagle bogey

I have finally added White-tailed Sea-Eagle to my Belgian list (now at 303 species) thanks to a long-staying immature in the Dijle valley.  It has been there since 25 October but this was my second attempt to try and see it.  The first time, it flew off in a southerly direction before I arrived and everyone assumed it had moved on, only for it to return just ten minutes after I had left!  This time, though, it was sitting, amazingly well camouflaged, at the edge of the reeds when I arrived and we were soon treated to it circling over the lake, scattering the assembled gulls, Cormorants, and waterfowl, including two Pintail drakes.  A group of six Cormorants then entertained us by doing some formation fishing, and there were two Little Egrets plus three Great White Egrets present, one of the latter showing just how big they are by standing next to a Grey Heron.

 

A couple of Grey Herons migrating over Brussels last week were new for my balcony list, as was a single Fieldfare in a flock of Starlings.

Reuland wanderings

Yesterday, I did my annual, autumnal hike across the Reuland plateau, together with a visiting birder who wanted to see Nutcracker.  It was a beautiful day as you can see above but much quieter birdwise than this time last year, with very few migrants around.  Nevertheless, we managed to see both Short-toed and Eurasian Treecreepers well and got great looks at Marsh, Willow, Crested and Coal Tits, the latter of which we watched bathing in a puddle.  There was no sign of any Nutcrackers anywhere so we arrived a little disheartened into Stavelot, where a big group of at least 150 Fieldfares were pretty much the only birds we'd seen all afternoon.  As we were waiting for the bus, however, I noticed a big line of Cranes in the distance which contained at least 650 birds.  The same group was spotted almost an hour later, 65km to the south, meaning that they were flying at 60km per hour at least, although it is unlikely they were flying in a straight line.  No sooner had they disappeared, I noticed what I thought was going to be our umpteenth Jay of the day flying over the road but, at first glance, it seemed rather dark.  It then circled around, revealing the shorter tail, broader wings and distinctive bill shape of a Nutcracker, giving my visitor a brief but convincing view before it, too, flew off out of sight.  Phew!

Wot, no nuts?

One evening last week, I hung out some nuts on my balcony, fully expecting it would take the local birds a few days to discover them.  By 10am the next morning, however, there was already a Great Tit feeding away and, by the weekend, the Monk Parakeets had emptied the bag entirely.  Only two other species were quick enough to react before the parakeets invaded, namely Blue Tit and Jay (see below). 
This morning, I spent an hour and a quarter watching the migration from my balcony with the following results; Skylark 8, Cormorant 4, Brambling 1, Redwing 78, Song Thrush 1, White Wagtail 1, Rook 2 and Jackdaw 6.  Best of all though was a huge flock of Woodpigeons, I reckon somewhere between 400 and 500, with at least one Stock Dove tagging along.  I then went for a walk in the Dijle valley south of Leuven this afternoon, and saw another 210 Woodpigeons go over, but the sheer scale of today's migration is put into context by one observer's count of 44,847 in the south of Belgium!  My balcony list now stands at 36 species, other additions to those mentioned above being fly-by Egyptian Geese, Greenfinch, Black-headed Gull, plus a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen from the comfort of my living room.

Autumn arrivals

I had hoped to be writing about my first Olive-backed Pipit but, having spent all weekend in the same spot at the Belgian coast while I was busy working, it was no longer around on my day off yesterday.  Still, as I got out of the coastal tram in Heist, the bushes were alive with Goldcrests, Coal Tits and Chiffchaffs.  Redwings were absolutely everywhere, with at least twenty of them foraging together in one grassy field.  There were also good numbers of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds, especially first-winter birds, around, plus various small flocks of Siskin, Greenfinch and Goldfinch, with a few Bramblings passing over.  Some Long-tailed Tits were in a mixed feeding flock containing at least two Firecrests and I wasted a good half hour trying in vain to get a photograph of one, but they just wouldn't stop moving.  Now, if Long-tailed Tits are too active to photograph, then you might as well forget about the 'crests but, when a Goldcrest started gleaning insects right in front of me, I just had to give it a try.  Sure enough, the first twenty or so pictures were blurry or only showed some random body part.  My preserverance eventually paid off, though, with this unbelievably lucky shot of the whole bird, including its gold crest!

Balcony birding

I've only managed to add two new species (Rook and Long-tailed Tit) to my balcony list since my last post, although the latter was from within the warmth of my living room as they were feeding together with three Coal Tits in the tree directly opposite which almost touches my balcony.  Identifying things from my balcony is quite difficult as it faces west, meaning most of the migrating birds come from behind my building and aren't visible until they have passed over me and are heading away.  I already have possible Snipe, Goshawk and Peregrine, therefore, as well as numerous passerines, on my unidentified list, together with various heard-only species.  Even balcony birding is not pleasant any more now that the weather has turned cold and grey unusually early, with the first snow showers already noted in the Ardennes.  My only trips out so far this month have been to my patch in the south-east of Brussels, where I saw a migrating group of around 140 White-fronted Geese with a single Shoveler trying to keep up.  Firecrests have again been very conspicuous, and I even got to see one male flaring his crest, which does not happen very often.  My visit there last Friday produced 49 species; nothing really unusual but it was nice to see 7 female Teal lined up on a submerged log.  One doesn't usually give these ducks a second glance as, apart from the green speculum, they appear very drab.  It's only when you get up close, you realise how wonderfully and intricately vermiculated their plumage is.

New horizons

I've moved to the leafy suburbs of Ixelles, where my new apartment has a lovely balcony overlooking Parc Tenbosch.  After 14 years in my old place in the centre of Brussels, I'd managed a birdlist of just 18 species, which in itself is pretty good considering the only greenery I could see was a few potted plants in our concrete courtyard.  I thus spent most of the first weekend in my new place on the balcony watching migrating Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Meadow Pipits and one Buzzard passing directly overhead.  At one point, I think I even had a Snipe on migration but I spotted it too late to be sure.  I have a view of lots of trees, too, so local birds I've seen so far include Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper and Goldcrest.  After just one weekend, my new balcony list is already at 25 species!  My new neighbours include Jays, which I've seen every day so far collecting acorns (above) and, of course, the noisy parakeets (below).  If you look closely in the lower right-hand corner, you can see the face of a Monk Parakeet, which have built several of their communal nests in the park.

Spoonbill September

I've been to the coast twice over the past eight days, first to Nieuwpoort last weekend together with a couple of visiting birders.  We saw three Spoonbill and several Little Egrets on the estuary there, with a nice little fall of migrants providing a Whinchat and Stonechat perched side by side for comparison.  We also had a late Turtle Dove in flight and got great views of a female Firecrest having tracked her calls through the bushes for a good 20 minutes or so.  The day before yesterday, I took another visitor to Uitkerkse Polder, having started early with a few hours on the edge of the forest in Brussels.  The polders themselves were very quiet and exceptionally dry, one of the most productive ponds now being a flowering mass of Michaelmas Daisies instead!  It was a good day for Spoonbill migration, however, as we had two groups of around 50 and 30 birds within 15 minutes of each other, plus this lone juvenile feeding succesfully in front of one of the hides.  We didn't do too badly for raptors either, seeing Kestrel, Buzzard, two Marsh Harriers, a Peregrine and two Sparrowhawks, one of which we watched trying to catch a Goldfinch.  It was a long day but the combination of forest in Brussels and coast produced a day list of 67 species, which is not bad considering most of the breeding shorebirds had gone and the only geese to have arrived were a flock of around 70 Barnacles.

Giant tit attack!

This time last week, I tried some seawatching at the coast.  We'd had strong north-westerlies the previous weekend producing lots of goodies including Sooty Shearwater, Storm Petrel and dozens of skuas yet, despite similar winds, there was just nothing flying. 
After an hour and a half, all I'd managed to see was one Mediterranean Gull, one Little Gull, a few Sandwich Terns, and one juvenile Gannet.  For some reason, I always seem to pick the wrong day for my infrequent seawatches, except for the phenomenal day in September 2004 when I had my lifer Sabine's Gull and Leach's Storm Petrels (five of them!), as well as several Pomarine, Arctic and Great Skuas, Fulmar, 3 Manx Shearwater and a Grey Phalarope all battling their way alongside the pier in Ostend.  That day seemed like centuries ago, however, and I had to make do with this portait of a Lesser Black-backed Gull instead.

 

The biggest surprise of the day was waiting for me when I got back to Brussels and suddenly noticed this huge wall-painting of a Blue Tit on my way home.  Brussels is well-known for its wall-paintings and all sorts of things have been popping up lately but I was amazed to discover this magnificent, brand new piece of artwork just around the corner.  Kudos to the artist, Steve Locatelli!

Pretty in pink

Earlier this week, I had a walk around Kalmthout Heath.  It was very hot and quiet apart from a family of Black Woodpeckers which were making a lot of noise.  I also got to see Crested Tit, a migrant Whinchat, and several Grayling butterflies which are very localised in Belgium, being found only on sandy heathlands and in the dunes along the coast.  For some reason, there weren't many dragonflies around, forcing a juvenile Hobby to have a go at catching a White Wagtail instead.  The heather was in full bloom, however, producing these wonderful expanses of pink and purple carpeting the heath in every direction.

Pots of gold

No rainbows today but I did manage to connect with the pot of gold that remained hidden last time; a group of Dotterels! 
Numbers in this particular field in Flemish Brabant had been building up to a maximum count of 34 during the rainy weather of the past few days but today was my first chance to go there.  It also happened to be the first morning with clear skies so I was worried they may have left on the next step of their migration before I got there.  Sure enough, I arrived at the location to see no other birders at all, which is not a good sign.  Still, I began scanning and rescanning and turned up four Wheatears but nothing else.  I thus decided to to do a big loop of the field and eventually saw several other birders, none of whom stopped for more than five minutes.  The signs were not good at all.  I even convinced myself I heard them at one point but the faint calls were actually coming from an extremely distant parakeet in the nearest village!  Furthermore, the loop turned out to be a lot longer than I expected, taking me well away from the original spot so that, after an hour and a half of searching, I'd still not even circumnavigated the entire field but had already given up and decided to head home.  Just as I sped up, however, I caught a movement of something running in the field out of the corner of my eye, and got on it straight away to find a Dotterel, then another, then another!  After a quick scan, I'd first counted eight, but then I looked up the slope and found more; now there were 16 of them.  At this point, several Skylarks flew up from my feet so I briefly took my eyes of the Dotterels but then looked back only to find they had gone.  I was sure they hadn't flown off as I thought I would have noticed that but they were nowhere to be seen despite repeated scans of the same area.  I stayed put, though, hearing a Tawny Pipit, a scarce migrant in Belgium, passing over, and getting a good view of this juvenile Hen Harrier.  The photo isn't great but it does show the typical bulging arm and five-fingered wingtip which help differentiate this species from the other harriers in flight.

Suddenly, after half an hour, the Dotterels were there again, all sixteen of them, in exactly the same spot!  I was starting to believe Dotterels used the same teleporters that antpittas use in the Amazon to move around the forest without being seen when the mystery unravelled itself.  One by one, the birds crouched down, blending in so well with the mud and stubble, that they disappeared before my very eyes.  I knew where they were and was looking right at them but I could no longer see them.  Now that is what I call camouflage!  I waited another ten minutes or so, but again, they remained invisible as they weren't moving, so I left them to it, very pleased at having located them and adding another species to my Belgian list.  None of the other birders even bothered to check that end of the field as they'd not been seen there before so I was the only one to see them today.  Here is a very heavily cropped photo of two of them; for some real Dotterel pictures, have a look at these taken by a Polish birder last week.