Man Orchids at Copper Hill, Lincolnshire!

Man Orchids are one of my favourite species of British orchid, and having last seen them flowering nearly ten years ago, I thought it was time I made a trip back to take another look and get some improved photos of these fantastic plants.

With Man Orchids enjoying a decidedly southerly bias in terms of distribution in Britain, I returned to the same site I visited in 2009 to see them – the botanically rich roadside verges of the Copper Hill reserve in Lincolnshire and the most northerly site in Britain where Man Orchid occurs. 

The Copper Hill roadside verge

Situated just outside Ancaster, the roadside verges that fall under the reserve’s boundary are protected under Lincolnshire’s Protected Roadside Verge Scheme, and as such a particularly rich and diverse mixture of limestone flora is allowed to thrive, including the endangered in Britain Man Orchid.

Benefitting from an escape from the vastly overused council lawnmowers, the Man Orchids, along with a whole smorgasbord of other wildflowers, seem to be doing exceptionally well here, and we counted at least 34 spikes of these unusual orchids along the short stretch of the eastern verge (although the Wildlife Trust volunteers counted an exceptional 50 spikes a few days earlier!). 

Man Orchids are one of the most fascinating species of orchid in Britain (along with the rest of the often-extravagantly decorated Orchis genus) and a closer inspection of the flower spike reveals a column of delicate banana coloured human shaped flowers washed with a delightful rich red and bronze hue, each one impressively mimicking a tiny little man. 

Apparently the flowers also give off the scent of fried onions, although I didn’t sniff them to confirm whether or not this is just a rumour! 

Man Orchids are one of the taller species of orchid in Britain, often growing to around 30cm high

With our native wildflowers in decline over here in the UK, it would certainly be good practice to allow all of our roadside verges to flourish like is the case at Copper Hill, instead of the current trend for our councils to be obsessed with neat and tidy short-mown grass, completely bare and devoid of any floral character at all. 

Man Orchid in situ!

The tank the Man Orchids are next to

Man Orchids in situ!

Parking at Copper Hill reserve is off King Street (NG32 3PY), and the end of May/beginning of June is the best time to visit.

BANANABILL - White-billed Diver makes landfall in Lincolnshire!

When reports surfaced of a juvenile White-billed Diver photographed on the River Witham 20 miles inland in rural Lincolnshire, it was certainly an early contender for one of the strangest records in 2017. Relocated further up river late on the Saturday evening, my car breaking down couldn’t have come at a worse time, and I subsequently had to see through a rather agonising week in work bombarded by the hundreds of breath-taking photos of this stunning Arctic diver at point blank range.

White-billed Diver on the River Witham - an incredible record!

By some miracle however the following Saturday saw the diver remarkably still present on the same stretch of river, and with my car now (hopefully fixed) I dragged Alex out of bed early and made the 3 hour journey down to Lincolnshire.

Arriving at Kirkhall Bridge near Woodhall Spa just after lunch, we made the long treck north along the river bank, the fog from earlier in the week thankfully abating (I didn’t much fancy trying to pick out the diver in thick mist!) and the sun shining down. Luckily the diver hadn’t ranged as far north as on previous days (it was often up near Stixwould several miles away) and after around 20 minutes we caught sight of a group of birders on the edge of the water which could only mean one thing – the White-billed Diver must be close by.

Sure enough, upon approaching the river a large shape surfaced among the ripples and the ghostly figure of this majestic Arctic species came in to view. 

Sporting a mammoth dagger-like bill in beautiful pearly white hues of pale ivory, the sheer size of the bird was striking, living up to its reputation as the largest species of diver and sailing imposingly down the river. With the slightly upturned bill and delicate pale lemon colouration it was clear to see how it got its “Bananabill” nickname – it was truly an impressive sight and sure to strike fear in the hearts of fish as it stalked them in the murky depths of the river.

The big beefy neck was instantly apparent, as was the diver's size, being slightly larger than a Great Northern

Regularly diving down under the surface and only staying afloat for minutes at a time, we were surprised to see just how much ground the diver could cover while under the water, often re-surfacing much further away than expected and covering a huge stretch of water during the time we were present. 

The White-billed Diver was constantly diving, often staying under for over a minute

Often coming to within several metres, its lack of shyness towards people was also apparent, and such close up and incredible views of this species are a once in a blue moon experience!

The strong northerly winds the UK experienced a couple of weeks ago have more than likely brought the White-billed Diver to Lincolnshire from its usual Arctic home.

In a rather remarkable coincidence, another White-billed Diver (and the only other inland river bird) frequented the exact same stretch of the River Witham back in March 1996, unfortunately meeting a sad end after tragically ingesting a fishing hook and line discarded in the water.

Having not made it down for the Devon bird at Brixham Harbour a few years ago and not having travelled for the far out to sea distant dots off Portsoy where White-billed Divers can be found miles offshore in the summer months, it was great to unexpectedly catch up with what was a much sought after species for me and certainly a bird that I had been left wondering exactly when I’d get the opportunity to see in British waters.

At one point a canal boat flushed the diver, causing it to swim rapidly down river at speed

Sadly however and mirroring the bird found 20 years ago, the diver seems to have got the remnants of a discarded fishing line caught in its bill, often seen to be gathering algae after dives and sometimes trailing from the birds mouth. 

With fishing lines undoubtedly come hooks however, and it would be an extreme shame if this beautiful bird met a sad end after ingesting unwanted fishing tackle discarded by humans – a stark reminder to keep our riverside locations free from fishing debris.

With the diver still going strong however after at least a two week’s stay on the river -  it was last seen flying off 7km south of Kirkhall Bridge on the 1st - fingers crossed it will survive and somehow dislodge the fishing line – a truly incredible bird that I was exceptionally glad I made the trip down to see!

Blue-winged Teal at Donna Nook

Sunday saw us head over to Donna Nook on the east coast in Lincolnshire so Alex could catch up with the drake Blue-winged Teal that had been present there for a couple of weeks now. Arriving at the main car park we were met with considerable negativity, with a group of birders telling us the bird wasn’t about that morning, that the pond was extremely hard to find (with us needing to wade through thick reeds and quick sand to get to) and that the walk was horrific with the pool miles away from the car park! Not fancying our chances, we made the walk over to the pool, which in all honesty was no way near as bad as everyone made out – merely a 30 minute journey along the beach!

After following the directions we had been given, we tracked down the pool the teal had been favouring, and we joined the 4 or 5 assembled birders on the large grassy bank who had already located the bird on the island in the middle of the water just in front of us, well hidden and camouflaged in the vegetation.

Spot the teal!

After a while, this attractive American visitor swam out on to the open water where it proceeded to feed around the other side, venturing to the left and right of the trees and giving good views as it dabbled in the small reeds.

Having seen a drake already at Inner Marsh Farm in Cheshire back in 2013, it was nice to catch up with a second, and with a cast of gorgeous showy Yellow Wagtails and my first Lesser Whitethroats of the season trilling happily and flitting around in the scrub, a good day’s birding was had.

For anyone going, the pool has seemed quite hard to find for some – see directions below:

Blue-winged Teal map at Donna Nook

Parking at Donna Nook car park (LN11 7PD) off Marsh Lane, take the walk to the right on the boardwalk and follow the gravel track past the salt marsh to Point A. Once the track runs out, turn left through the wooden fence and onto the sand, following the beach right. MOD debris and a broken down helicopter will be on your right, with a dead seal further up the beach to the left. Continue along the beach and follow the path where stated on the signs due to the MOD Firing Range. You will need to count the tall brown Quad Towers on the right hand side in the dunes – once you reach the third one at Point B, turn right in to the dunes and immediately left there is a large, rusty gate to stop the cattle leaving the field (Point C). Enter this field walking along the flat grass, then head right at Point D through the small dune scrub until you reach a large grassy bank, with a large pool and several smaller pools adjacent. The Blue-winged Teal can be found on either the large flat pool on the right, or one of the smaller pools to the left with the small shrubby islands, where it can hide in the vegetation on either side. If wanting a close approach and to cross over to the other bank on the seaward side of the pools, wellies is advisable as the surrounding mud can be quite sticky!

Crake or Break - the quest for 300

With a whole host of goodies available in East Anglia, we decided to head down to Norfolk and Suffolk for the weekend, making the long drive down to Kings Lynn on the Friday night ready to hopefully connect with the confiding Steppe Grey Shrike the following morning that had taken up residence in a hedge at nearby Burton Norton. Found the weekend prior, shrikes have a good reputation for sticking around (just take a look at the much-twitched Masked Shrike at Spurn) so we were pretty confident it wouldn't be a wasted journey.

Sure enough, the first two birds on RBA after waking up were the shrike and the Little Crake (our other target for the day) so we headed to the site in high spirits. As soon as we arrived at the viewing area we caught up with our target, perched obligingly in one of the nearby Hawthorn bushes and showing particularly well. It soon became evident that locals had been scattering mealworms on the freshly turned earth, as a few minutes later the shrike dropped down and began to take advantage of the abundance of food, at one point stationing itself on a conveniently place bramble bush in front of the crowd.

Steppe Grey Shrike in the Hawthorn bush when we arrived

There was a little confusion as to exactly the status of Steppe Grey Shrike, and this website illustrates the taxonomic background with the Lanius genus perfectly. A subspecies of Southern Grey Shrike (the Iberian race of which I have seen in Spain) Steppe Grey (pallidirostris) is the only form of Southern Grey Shrike to have occurred in the UK. This particular form usually occurs in Central Asia, with the last previous record for Britain being an individual that took up residence in Shropshire back in 2011.

The Shrike quickly moved to this bramble perch

Satisfied with our views, we left the shrike to enjoy its mealworm brunch, before heading south to our next target of the day – the Little Crake that had been fairly regular at RSPB Minsmere throughout the week. Whilst a long way from Cheshire, Minsmere is a cracking reserve and I won’t turn down a twitch there – on our last visit we were lucky to catch up with the Collared Pratincole that had taken a liking to the pools back in the Summer.

Upon arriving at the hide, we were told that crake hadn't been seen since 10am, and now, 3 and a half hours later, we (stupidly!) assumed it was due a trip out of the reeds. And so we waited…….and waited…..and waited…..

With a false alarm of someone mistaking a shadow for the crake (?!) and a sighting of an otter or mink dubiously emerging from the reeds where the crake was last seen, it eventually became clear that we were fighting a losing battle and as dusk swiftly approached we had to admit defeat. The distinctive calls of Cetti’s Warblers and patrolling Marsh Harriers were our only consolation for over 5 depressing hours spent staring at the same patch of reeds…..

After staying the night in an amazing hotel that actually turned out to be a Chinese restaurant (with some of the best Cantonese chicken I've tasted) and early news that the previous afternoon’s Arctic Warbler was still at Donna Nook, we headed back up North to try and catch up with the bird (Alex’s random target for the Autumn that I had all but written off for this year). Luckily the bird was showing well on arrival, and the mass of scoped and long lenses that greeted us on the reserve path quickly betrayed the bird’s whereabouts.

We soon locked on to the warbler, and for the next hour or so enjoying cripplingly close views as the bird flitted about feeding in the Hawthorn trees running alongside the path – completely undeterred by its ever increasing crowd of admirers. Quite a large looking warbler, the ID can be clinched by the long primary projection and the exceptionally long supercilium which unlike Greenish, stops short before the bill.

The Arctic Warbler in one of the rare moments it kept still!

The bird was often obscured in between the branches where it fed on flies.

After lunch, we strolled round the reserve, on the lookout for any more migrants lurking undetected in the bushes. After contemplating how the Arctic Warbler was my 299^th species of bird in the UK and wondering what number 300 would be (I was hoping for a mainland Rubythroat – why not aim high!) we were greeted with an excited birder exclaiming he had just found a Radde’s warbler a little further down the path. Following him to the patch of shrubs he had seen the bird in, excitement began to creep in as after weeks of speculation as to what number 300 would be and a year long target to achieve that milestone before the year was out, we were finally there.

Approaching the Blackthorn shrubs where the bird was last seen, everything was still – no movements or sounds apart from the eerie cries of the distantly feeding Brent Geese on the adjoining saltmarsh. I waited, baited breath, my eyes sharp and seeking out any small movements, any tiny flutter of wings. Then, out of the corner of my eye, a brown bird quickly darted across the track in to the nearest bush, instantly catching my attention. My binoculars instinctively raised, I called out to the others to alert them, and watched as the bird revealed itself to the three of us, perched in full view on one of the lower branches – an unmistakable Radde’s and my number 300.

The obvious supercilium was plain to see, reaching from the bill and extending to the back of the nape, slightly diffused before the eye and with a slight kink to the rear.

The birds prominent supercilium was plain to see, even from a distance

Annoying piece of grass!

The bird swiftly disappeared as quickly as it materialised, doing what Radde’s do best and skulking in the undergrowth – keeping close to the floor (a more characteristic behaviour of Radde’s than the very similarly marked Dusky Warbler).  As news got out, the Arctic Warbler was seemingly forgotten as the masses of birders on site got wind of this find and headed towards where we were viewing, the assembled crowd soon able to enjoy brief views when the bird made its presence known when flitting from bush to bush.

The olive back was now clear to see, with a small bronze patch on the closed wing, and as the bid dashed through the shrubs, the buff/rufous undertail covets more apparent – another key feature when separating these two species.

The buff/rufous undertail covets

As more and more people arrived and being satisfied that I had captured this personal milestone with some record shots, we left the warbler in peace, making the journey back West after a satisfying weekend. Not even the news that the Little Crake had reappeared that day and was showing well – quashing my theory that it had in fact been eaten by the otter - could spoil it (what a menace!!!!).