New Year Bird Race 2006

2005 had been a relatively bad birding year on the Isle of Man, with no rarities and only a tiny number of scarcities.  Personally I only managed to see 149 species all year. This was 16 less than the year before so I was determined to do better in 2006. 

The best way to start the year would be to do a bird race so I tested the water to see if anyone was interested. 

Rob was away and Ian had already made arrangements (hmmm maybe I smell?) but luckily enough Chris was interested.  A two man team was not the preferred option with less “eyes on the sky” but two sets of eyes were better than none so we set about planning the day. 

The rules were that both of us must see or hear the bird in question for it to count.  That didn’t sound too tricky till I found out the previous record was 87 birds set by Chris, Kevin, Ian and Rob in 2003.  Chris said they were “going some” to get that too… ah. 

I set out a list and locations and worked out there were 80 birds we should get no problem (hah!) and 35 “tricky” birds.

To break the 90 bird barrier, would be extremely impressive, realistically though I was expecting around 81 and Chris thought around 84.

On New Year's Eve we had some good luck as I was out birding and found a Chiffchaff of the Eastern race and also a Great-crested Grebe.  If we could pick these up on the race they would be excellent additions.  The weather forecast was good so we were all set.

06.30

I woke to the sound of rain, stupid weathermen!.  I checked my mobile to see if Chris had texted me to tell me if it was raining up north but there was no word.  I took that as a good sign and got myself ready and left for the North (20 miles away) at 6.50am. 

07.30-08.20

I arrived at Close Sartfield just as Chris got there and I was amazed that it wasn't raining, our first bit of luck of the day. 

Close Sartfield is a large area of bog, rich in Willow scrub and dense vegetation, that is used by many birds as a safe roost. 

I piled all my gear into Chris’ Landy and we set off for the hide in the pitch black.  It was all ears to the ground (or sky) in the dark and straight away we got our first bird of the year, a flyover Curlew. (I thought I had heard a Mallard just before the Curlew but I found out / smelt a few seconds later that it was a “quack” from Chris!)  This was followed by a grunting Snipe and calling Blackbird, Pheasant and Moorhen.  We then got a stroke a luck with a calling Barn Owl!  This was our first “tricky” of the day.  In theory, seven “trickys” during the day and we should equal the record.  That was the theory anyway. 

The first hint of daylight was now showing and this brought a bit more activity.  First off were the wildfowl.  A few Mallard were flying aimlessly around and then the loud flock of Greylag appeared.  Suddenly we heard what sounded like a mini jet aircraft approaching, we turned around and nearly had our heads taken off by a flock of extremely low flying Teal.  We then heard quite a few squealing Water Rail, a calling Wren and a calling Robin.  With time ticking along we then saw a flock of Rook and Jackdaw and also heard a Hoody fly over.  We were started to think about a move when we finally saw a ringtail Hen Harrier.  With all the “should gets” from the hide we then moved off.  On the walk back along the path we saw a Herring Gull fly over and we heard a small flock of Lesser Redpoll.   Back at the carpark we had a look about in the bushes and found Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit and saw a Wood Pigeon and Magpie fly past.  We also heard a Tree Sparrow in the bushes and a Dunnock. 

Back in the car we headed off to check the nearby fields.

08.30

In the fields around Ballaugh we located the wintering Whooper Swan flock (after a false alarm of a field of sheep, Chris!).  While there we also spotted a couple of Fieldfare.  This took under a minute and we quickly headed off to the coast.

08.40-08.50

Next stop was Ballaugh Cronk.  This is a place where you can check the sea for divers from the comfort of your car.  In the stiff North westerly the sea was well up and it was tricky to see anything at all but we did pick up a Shag bobbing up and down.  On the tide line were a handful of Oystercatcher and above them were some Common Gull.  Further up the beach was a Greater Black-backed Gull and on the beach below us were a couple of Pied Wags.  Nothing else was there so we moved off but on the way out of Ballaugh we picked up a Collared Dove (not literally!)

08.55-09.00

Chris then took a detour and we visited Ballagharaghyn, another place to view the sea.  I’d never been there before but Chris said it can be good for divers/grebes/mergansers.  This was an inspired decision because as soon as we got there a pair of Red-breasted Merganser flew in and landed directly in front of us.  It took me to september last year to see a RBM so this was a great start to 2006.  Scratch another “tricky” too!

09.10-09.20

We then visited another seaviewing spot at The Lhen.  This is my favourite place for all three divers so it was a major downer to not see any diver at all!!

 Chris did however pick up a Kittiwake way out to sea and by using Scotland as a reference point he managed to put me onto the bird.  The sea was also too rough here to see anything else so we moved on.  Near the entrance is a feeding station so a quick check there and we saw Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet nearby.  We also saw Tree Sparrow here but had heard them earlier at Close Sartfield. 

At 9.20 I asked Chris what he thought we were on, he said 25.  To say he was shocked when I said 40 is a an understatement.  It was a great start to the day.

09.30-09.50

By now I was getting slightly worried on the diver front but my mind was soon put to rest as at Blue Point we had a blinder! 

Again, it's another place to view the sea but this time the viewing point is about 60-70 foot up.  This made the rough sea not a problem and within seconds of setting up the scopes Chris had found a Great Northern Diver.  I then found a female Common Scoter and while viewing it Chris spotted a beautiful Peregrine hanging motionless on the wind.  Behind that was a Raven moving up the coast. 

The head on wind was causing a slight problem on the headland so I moved to shelter on the left side of a derelict coastguard building and Chris moved 20 foot to my right. 

We then scoped different areas of the sea to try and be more efficient.  As I was scanning I spotted something unusual and my initial thought was a Grebe but the instant I saw it the bird had gone.  Slightly confused by this millisecond view, I was snapped out of it by Chris shouting he had a Slavonian Grebe flying right.  I quickly ran across to his scope and saw the grebe.  A great bird to get and one that wasn’t even on my list let alone on the “trickys”.  Neither Chris or I saw a Slav Grebe in 2005.  I trotted back to my scope but before I could get there Chris shouted he had found a Red-throated Diver.  While I was looking at it, we both spotted a large flock of Eider and Chris then found two Razorbill on the sea.  If that wasn’t enough, we then had a Black Guillemot fly past.

Back at my scope I spotted three grey waders fly right through my field of view.  I ran over and told Chris, he picked them up in his scope and managed to see enough to id them as Knot.

Blue Point had given an amazing number of birds so our confidence for the day was now on the up.

10.00-10.20

Further up on the coast is Smeale.  Before we reached the beach Chris had a trick up his sleeve.  Chris had been given permission to look in a farmyard where the farmer had told us he had finches visit the spilt seed in winter.  As soon as we got in the yard we spotted House sparrow and then we saw what we had our fingers crossed for.  Sitting on top of a bush was a Yellowhammer!  This was another unexpected bird which Chris then labelled as a “scribbler” (Meaning I had to scribble it down on the list).

At the beach we had a small flock of Golden Plover fly over and near the small pool were a couple of Turnstone.  Also on the beach was a Carrion Crow.  Again the sea was too rough for much else  so we walked back.  On the way back from the beach we picked up Stonechat. 

10.30

A quick check of another coastal site at Ballaghennie produced Goldcrest in the gorse bushes and Redshank in the pig fields.  There was nothing else of interest so it was a quick turnaround and we were off.

On my notes I now seem to have lost 25 minutes as according to me it took 30 minutes to do a 5 minute journey,  I know we were on Diesel power but it isn’t that slow! 

11.00

On the way to the Point of Ayre I nearly went through the windscreen as Chris tested his ABS after spotting a thrush on the wires.  Sure enough it was a Redwing (our only one of the day too!).  Nearby was a large flock of Starling. 

11.10-11.45

Stomachs were now a rumbling so a stop at the Point gave us the time to refuel.  At the Point we saw a grand total of nothing so our next move was a major gamble.  To get there we needed to go on a rutted track so Chris decided he was in the Paris-Dakar and I nearly ended up vomiting my lunch out before it had even reached my stomach!. 

On the Ayres are private flooded gravel pits that are full of birds but no access is allowed.  Luckily about 100 yards outside the fenced off area is a high sand dune.  Standing ontop of this dune with the scopes out we were able to view about one quarter of the pit.  If the birds were in that section we were laughing, if not we would be scuppered.  Amazingly our luck was in and in that far quarter of the pit we scoped Pink-footed Goose, Scaup, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Cormorant, Coot, Wigeon and to top it all a flock of Twite flew past. 

Back at the car Chris had done his usual gag and parked at an extreme angle to make it difficult for me to get in and out but this was to backfire here as when he turned his 4x4 round he got us stuck across a rut!!  The wheels weren’t biting and the 2 tons of 4x4 were sinking lower and lower.

Giggling away to myself I then thought “umm how much time will we lose here?”  Chris said “no problem I will just put the diff lock on”.  This would have been a great plan apart from Chris didn’t know how to put his Landy diff lock on!!!!  A bit of brute force managed to put the lock on (I’m not sure that’s the correct way of doing it though!) and all 4 wheels worked together to get us out.  Lucky we weren’t using my Golf or it would have been race over. 

On the way out of the Point of Ayre we heard and then saw a Chough.  Quite a strange place to see a Chough on the Isle of Man but we didn’t have time to sit and watch what it was upto.

By now we were at 70 species.  Only 18 more birds for the record, we knew it was going to get more difficult now but surely the record was possible.

12.00-12.30

Just before reaching Ramsey we had a quick check of Glascoe Dubh, every winter there has been Shoveler here, not this year though! Doh.  With no other new birds here we quickly moved on to Ramsey promenade.  On the way we picked up a field full of Black-headed Gull.  At the prom we picked up Rock Pipit on the beach but no sign of another bird who has wintered in Ramsey for years, a Black Redstart.  We then moved to Sulby River to look for two birds that can only be seen in Ramsey.  With no sign of either we were starting to get a little concerned but luckily Chris managed to find a Grey Wagtail on the bank to help to alleviate the concern.  Grey Wag was a bird I was quite worried about for the race so this was another stroke of luck. 

Chris then pulled another bit of local knowledge out the hat when he suggested checking Mooragh Park lake for one of our targets.  On the way there we also saw Canada Goose and Mute Swan which was nice.

We stopped in the car park and he said check that island, as soon as I put my bins up, there was the little flash of blue shooting about, a Kingfisher. Brilliant. Scratch one Ramsey target!

Next was our other important Ramsey target.  We stopped near the bakery

and Chris said they were here yesterday…………  No sign.  Uh oh...  A quick run up the path and there was the little blighter in the middle of the river, a Little Grebe.

Moving through Ramsey we also saw Feral Pigeon. 

Now at a feeding station we saw two handy birds Coal Tit and Siskin.  We were now at 80 birds!  Seven off the record and only ten from the amazing total of 90.

12.45-13.00

Next stop was a new place that Chris had found a Great-spotted Woodpecker at a few weeks back there were also some other gems here so it deserved a visit on the race. 

The Garey

is a small hamlet that has mixed woodlands, a river and various farm fields.  Straight away we located the large Linnet flock and loosely associating with them were a small number of Mealy Redpoll.  In a nearby hedgerow I relocated my ‘Eastern’ Chiffchaff that I found the day before.  At one point the Chiff flew up, looking like it was flycatching and when it did a Sparrowhawk came blasting over the hedge but luckily it just missed! 

We then walked along the road looking in the trees hoping for the Woodpecker but there was no sign.  Just as we turned back we both heard a high pitched squeek.  Chris then spotted the culprit on the side of a tree, a Treecreeper.  The Garey visit had paid off, our luck was definitely in or so we thought.

13.30

Next place to visit was another gamble.  It would take time out of the route but there was nowhere else to visit to see these birds.  At Peel we headed straight for Peel Castle rocks.  Unfortunately the combination of extremely high tide and the onshore wind meant the rocks were being battered and the Purple Sandpipers were nowhere to be seen.  We had also thought we had a chance of Fulmar here but again no sign.

13.50

On the way down south we stopped off at Eairy Dam.  Three out of my last four visits had produced a Ruddy Duck.  Not today though.   There also used to be a wintering Gadwall here too.  Again nope.

14.00

By now we had gone an hour with no new bird!  We were on 84 birds now, so near and yet so far! 

We had one last chance for a bird Chris thought we would really struggle to get.  A quick walk to Kionslieu reservoir and it was all ears to trees. 

There were tons of squeaks and chirps and I was adamant I could hear them from the left.  We walked left and I spotted something flitting in the trees further back.  I got my bins on them and YES there they were… I gave Chris pin point directions so was a little aggrieved when he said “I can’t see them”.   Arhgghghh  “There in the tree sticking up at the back.  You can see them with the naked eye man!!!”  Finally, when he looked without his bins he spotted them, Long-tailed Tit.

85 Birds and still Derbyhaven and Langness to go.

14.20-14.35

On the way to Derbyhaven bay we had a flyover Grey Heron.

At Derbyhaven we couldn’t locate the Great-crested Grebe that I found the day before but we did see the wintering Brent Goose flock.  Nearby were our first Shelduck of the day and the record had gone!! Woooooooooo. 

Now it was my turn for a spot of local knowledge and we headed to Fort Island for possibly the only place on the Isle of Man for this wader.  On the way we picked up a flock of small waders.  When they landed on the beach we saw Dunlin and Ringed Plover.  90 birds now!  At Fort Island it took a few minutes of scanning but Chris finally spotted our quarry, a pair of Grey Plover sitting on the rocks.

14.40-15.30
A quick manoeuvre across to Langness and we saw a flock of Lapwing flying over.  At Sandwick beach we had hoped to see some wintering passerines and we managed Meadow Pipit but no Skylark.  We had a look at Sandwick North in case a Bar-tailed Godwit had appeared like in previous years but nope.  Not to worry we went back to Sandwick to view across the saltmarsh.  Here we hoped to see Reed Bunting and Short-eared Owl but neither appeared.  Luckily a Kestrel made an appearance, hunting over near the dubh.  It would have been a disaster without a Kestrel in the day! 

We were now on 94 and the light was fading more quickly than usual due to the huge rain cloud that had appeared.  We scanned the marsh for a Reed Bunting and a few times I thought I heard one but I think by now I was hearing things. 

We tried a last ditch attempt for a new bird by moving across Castletown bay to Scarlett.  Here a Little Egret had been reported recently but the tide had gone out quite a lot and there were too many gulleys for it to hide in so we couldn’t find it.

It then started to rain heavily so we called it a day and headed back north.

16.15

Back at Close Sartfield Chris suggested we go back to the hide to try and listen for a Reed Bunting,  by this time I was so tired I think my brain had shut down so I accidentally agreed.  Arriving at the hide it was packed. 

It didn’t take long for Chris to scare everyone off and within 10 minutes the hide was empty!  (Not too sure they enjoyed your Mallard impressions Chris!) By now it was getting quite dark and it was a struggle to see anything. 

Suddenly from the left of the hide we both saw a largeish brown bird silently fly in then turn sharply and land in a tree.  I had got a quick view through my bins and was adamant it was an owl.  I could also see its shape sitting in the tree and was sure it was a Long-eared Owl.  Chris couldn’t find the shape in the tree but was also thinking it was a LEO. 

By this time though we were both so tired and the fact that we had saw 94 birds in a day I think we just couldn’t be bothered to decide. 

On the walk from the hide in the dark Chris said when we get to the field on the right just have a quick check on the fence posts.  So we did.  As I strained to see in the dark I thought why is that middle fence post longer than the others until Chris said Long-eared Owl!  It sat there quite happy about 20-30 foot from us until it decided to fly off hunting.  Seeing the flight action of that made me 100% certain that the other bird was also a LEO too.  A great addition to the list, a bird I hadn’t seen at all last year and now I had seen two in two in two minutes.

By 16.45 we were finished.  We had seen or heard 95 birds in total. A superb amount.  No recounts needed this year too! :)

We had seen fifteen “trickys” and saw three “scribblers” too.

By the end we had missed three standards.  Reed Bunting, Guillemot and Skylark. 

We had dipped on eight “trickys” that were resident, being Sanderling, Ruddy Duck, Merlin, Red-legged Partridge, Purple Sandpiper, Jack Snipe, Stock Dove and Short-eared Owl, which means a total of 100 is actually a possibility!

That’s the target for next year then :)

List of birds seen or heard in the day