To Hel and Back

Monday 23rd Feb found me heading towards Gdansk and then, via train and bus, to Jastarnia for a 50 mile walk along the Hel peninsula. My plans went awry to begin with as I didn't arrive at Wladyslawowo with enough time to start the walk, so I carried on to Jastarnia by train.
After a large meal and a couple of Polish beers, I returned to my super accommodation before an early start the following morning. I planned to walk the road to Hel and back to begin with, some 20 miles via footpaths, beach and cycle tracks. Most of the way was through conifer forests, so crested tit, siskins, crossbills, great spotted woodpeckers were all noted. However, the highlights were on Gdansk Bay where 100's of goldeneye, goosanders, red breasted mergansers, mute swans, mallards and huge numbers of long tailed duck. All in superb plumage.

2 male long tailed ducks

3 drake and 1 duck red breatsted mergansers

diving long tailed duck

Bewick swans

The last mile to Hel

Jastarnia harbour and long tailed duck

Great spotted woodpecker

A couple of pints in Hel and then a walk back along the Baltic side of the peninsula. The weather remained overcast for most of the day, but not too cold, just above freezing. That evening, another good meal and another early night.
I awoke before first light and headed off to check the harbour. The sun was rising brightly and it looked like being a much better day, light wise. I then set off for Chalupy and back, the middle part of the walk. Again, same habitats, with added interest in a few open areas holding large numbers of skylarks. Overhead, there was a regular passage of both tundra and taiga bean geese along with a common buzzard and plenty of siskins and crossbills. A nuthatch made the list but no hoped for crested tits showing well for a photo. The sun was bright for most of the day, so better photography but not so many birds. Out on the Baltic, more long tailed duck, herring and black headed gulls, common and velvet scoter along with an occasional great crested and black necked grebe.

sunrise over Jastarnia

mute swan movement

common buzzard

herring gull

early morning black headed and common gull

3 bean geese migrating north east

flyby greylag goose

Distant velvet scoter

grey herons

crossbill

I eventually returned via Kusnica to my room. I had time to pop around to the local woodland and reed beds I had birded successfully last April. All very quiet but ticked chiffchaff, willow tit, fieldfare and more bean geese over. Another evening visit to the same restaurant as it was the only one open! Being a holiday destination, all bars and pizzerias etc were boarded up, so off to the shop for a few bottles of beer and back to my room.

WW2 gun implacement. Plenty of military history left in the woods

chiffchaff

acorn eating jay

hooded crow

pair of goosanders

white wagtail

The final morning dawned and I planned a train trip to the end of the peninsula for 2 reasons: 1. to walk to Chalupy and back to complete the 50 mile return journey and also to get into the docks and see if I could find the black scoter. Typically, the coldest and foggiest day but after 20 minutes of scoping the sea from the port breakwater, a scoter with no white and a bright yellow bill, more so than the reasonably regular velvets. My first black scoter. I shot off endless photos, through the fog but none were of any value. This poor shot of a velvet, half the distance away gives an indication of how poor they were.

Not a lot of use, but at least you can make out what it is, just!

 Disappointingly, I deleted the lot otherwise I would have been tempted to save them for no apparent reason as not one gave enough for a positive i.d. Peeved, I set off for the final walk. I arrived back at Wladyslawowo ready for a coffee and the train back to pick up my rucksack. I had not, apart from the rare black scoter, added any new birds, so headed off once more in search of black woodpecker and crested tit. No joy, so off to Gdansk for my flight home at 16.20hrs. I arrived at a very foggy airport at 7, checked in and the flight was eventually cancelled at midnight. 6 hours queueing to get rebooked, on a flight from Wroclaw, some 310 miles south on the Sunday.
I did eventually make it but travelling took so long, no more birding was possible, apart from a few hours in parks around Wroclaw.
A super trip and, although the weather conspired against my photography, a list of 54 species is certainly not bad for this area in February. I now intend to return in autumn for the migrant passage, maybe early September. Lovely part of the world.

raven

whooper in fog

black headed gull

female long tailed duck

flyby ltd in misty conditions.

From the breakwater at Wladyslawowo, I managed this pleasing shot of diving long tailed ducks.

updated year list. 22.02.15

After trips to Amwell and Dungeness, just past the 100 mark for 2015

95: raven
96. scaup
97. black redstart
98. barnacle goose
99. cattle egret
100 great white egret
101 chiffchaff
102 gannet.

pied kingfisher. Negombo, Sri Lanka Jan 2015

Dungeness: Monday16th Feb

My first trip of the year down to Dungeness was well worth the visit. Arriving before 8.30 saw me in the sea watch hide. 41 red throated divers past in the hour and half I was there, along with 48 brents, + gannets, 2 pintails, several shelduck and oystercatchers and a more unusual species: 3 pink footed geese.Also, a black redstart showed on the power station wall.
Popped the key back to the bird obs and headed over to the ARC pit. Here, a red head smew and goldeneye, but too much water for waders. On the Reserve were 6 more smew and a great white egret near the entrance, a couple of marsh harriers and a kingfisher, but nothing else too noteworthy.
Off down Denge Marsh Lane where 2 cattle egrets were next to the cow shed. 1000's of starlings wheeling around along with lapwing, golden plover and Greylags. A quick check on Scotney gave views of barnacle geese, hundreds of wigeon and shoveler and a solitary scaup. Another check on the ARC pit before heading home added goldcrest and chiffchaff whilst the regular tree sparrows were at Boulder Wall Farm.
A great day out and timed well as the rain fell just as I was leaving about 3.00. Light not too good for photos, a few examples here.

female kestrel RSPB Dungeness

great white egret

gwe

In flight on a grey morning

great crested grebes

coot portrait

distant Denge Marsh cattle egrets

 gull, greater black baketufted duck

red head smew

Species list: year listers in bold.
red throated diver, little grebe, great crested grebe, gannet, cormorant, cattle egret, great white egret, little egret, grey heron, mute swan (10 sp) pink foot goose, greylag goose, brent goose, barnacle goose, canada goose, shelduck, mallard, gadwall, pintail, shoveler, (20 sp) wigeon, teal, pochard, scaup, tufted duck, goldeneye, smew, marsh harrier, common buzzard, kestrel (30 sp) red legged partridge, pheasant, moorhen, coot, oystercatcher, avocet, golden plover, lapwing, curlew, black headed gull (40 sp) common gull, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, greater black backed gull, kittiwake, wood pigeon, stock dove, collared dove, kingfisher, green woodpecker,(50 sp) pied wagtail, wren, dunnock, robin, skylark, black redstart, stonechat, song thrush, fieldfare, blackbird, (60 sp) chiffchaff, cettis warbler, goldcrest, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, magpie, jackdaw, rook, carrion crow, (70 sp) raven, starling, house sparrow, tree sparrow,chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, linnet, reed bunting
79 species in total. Not too bad for a shortened, grey day in mid February.

Quick local wander. Year list up date.

Yesterday afternoon, a brief wander to Hadham Hall lagoon to collect some owl pellets for a school show. Very little about apart from a male kingfisher, too fast for the camera and this resplendent great tit. However, the evening was marked by a stunning sunset.
88. song thrush
89. Jay
90. sparrowhawk
91. kingfisher
92. Fieldfare
93 smew
94 mistle thrush

great tit

mallards

2015 Year list

Time to get a year list up and running. With 2 weeks away and only a single trip to Norfolk and another, today to Amwell Reserve, not too lengthy at present.

Stansted Abbots little owl

Amwell duck goldeneye

1. red throated diver
2. little grebe
3. great crested grebe
4. cormorant
5. little egret
6. grey heron
7. mute swan
8. pink footed goose
9. greylag goose
10. canada goose
11. brent goose
12. shelduck
13. egyptian goose
14. mallard
15. gadwall
16. shoveler
17. wigeon
18. teal
19. pochard
20. tufted duck
21. goldeneye
22. smew
23. goosander
24. red breasted merganser
25. red kite
26. marsh harrier
27. hen harrier
28. common buzzard
29. kestrel
30. red legged partridge
31. grey partridge
32. pheasant
33. moorhen
34. coot
35. oystercatcher
36. avocet
37. ringed plover
38. golden plover
39. lapwing
40. sanderling
41. turnstone
42. dunlin
43. redshank
44. black tailed godwit
45. curlew
46. snipe
47. ruff
48. black headed gull
49. common gull
50. herring gull
51. lesser black backed gull
52. greater black backed gull
53. wood pigeon
54. collared dove
55. tawny owl
56. little owl
57. great spotted woodpecker
58. skylark
59. meadow pipit
60. pied wagtail
61. wren
62. dunnock
63. robin
64. stonechat
65. redwing
66. mistle thrush
67. blackbird
68. great tit
69. blue tit
70. coal tit
71. long tailed tit
72. bearded reedling
73. magpie
74. jay
75. jackdaw
76. rook
77. carrion crow
78. starling
79. house sparrow
80. chaffinch
81. linnet
82. twite
83. goldfinch
84. bullfinch
85. greenfinch
86. reed bunting
87. yellowhammer