A squirrell chewed on a banana skin nearby:
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| Grey squirrell |
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| "Here, Dad! Go and catch us some breakfast!!" |
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| "Right, this one's for me!" |
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Sutton peregrines - Sunday 12 June. Dad is active.
Rather quiet this morning. Weather was dull and calm. There was no wind to assist the youngsters.
A squirrell chewed on a banana skin nearby:
When I arrived there were 3 chicks all together on the edge but by the time I had taken my camera out they had moved. Two chicks look at the male on the ledge below them:
The male peregrine flew twice but the female just relaxed! The male brought back something both times. First it was a medium sized bird and he threw it to the chicks. The second time he caught a swift and ate it himself!!
A squirrell chewed on a banana skin nearby:
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Sutton peregrines nearly ready to fledge!
The 4 chicks born to the peregrine falcons on the roof of Quadrant House, Sutton are in the news. They're on the front page of the Sutton Guardian this week.
On Friday, 2 of the chicks were trying out their wings while running along the parapet but the adults weren't taking much notice. They were doing the same today:
Today, the adults were more active, flying round the building and calling to encourage the chicks. This shot shows the parents. The male is on the left. He's considerably smaller than the female but the angle of this shot doesn't show the female at her full size.
Here is the female in flight to encourage the chicks. They didn't all hatch at the same time (because the eggs were not all laid at the same time) so only the first ones to hatch are nearly ready to fly. The others will take a few days longer.
At one point both adults went after a pigeon. The chase was very exciting for about 200 metres before the pigeon got away by plummetting into a tree!
Later the male caught a small bird (perhaps a sparrow) and dropped it to the female without landing:
I'll keep you posted as the young birds fledge. Watch this space!
On Friday, 2 of the chicks were trying out their wings while running along the parapet but the adults weren't taking much notice. They were doing the same today:
Today, the adults were more active, flying round the building and calling to encourage the chicks. This shot shows the parents. The male is on the left. He's considerably smaller than the female but the angle of this shot doesn't show the female at her full size.
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| Male peregrine left - female right. |
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| Peregrine falcon - female |
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| Peregrine falcon - female |
Later the male caught a small bird (perhaps a sparrow) and dropped it to the female without landing:
I'll keep you posted as the young birds fledge. Watch this space!
Friday, 10 June 2011
Birdwatching in Poland May 2011
I was really looking forward to this trip but not to the mosquitoes!
Sunday 22 May 2011
On arrival at Warsaw, Trevor Hatton and I waited for the guide and the other two in the party, Edward and Mandy, to arrive. Then we set off for the Białowieża Forest. It was clear as we got nearer that this was an immense expanse of forest. On the way we saw wild European bison and a singing ortolan bunting! I was excited for the next day.
Off then to another bridge over the river to the nest of a middle spotted woodpecker and the perch of a collared flycatcher, again, both lifers.
After lunch we saw a lovely common rosefinch in full breeding plumage.
We also came across several nuthatches. Note how pale the underside is, almost white compared with our nuthatch with its rufous underside.
We also heard another river warbler in the village park but it was keeping a very low profile! In the park we saw a lesser spotted woodpecker and a pied flycatcher. We also saw the enormous black woodpecker; as big as a crow but rather shy. I saw this bird about three times but I was never to able to get a picture.
Later that day we visited the restricted area of the forest. Entry was with a qualified guide only and we were let in by one of the rangers! We enjoyed close views of another middle spotted woodpecker's nest.
Later, we waited quite a long time near the nest of the rare three-toed woodpecker. The female poked her head out once or twice but the male did not appear!
On the way back to the pension some whinchats were soaking up the last rays of the setting sun while a solitary corncrake called from the meadow. Meadows in Poland are not the green sterile affairs we have in England but rich in wild flowers giving them a green, red, blue and yellow tint.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Next day we were up early and were rewarded by a lesser spotted eagle flying over:
Then it was off to find a grey-headed woodpecker in the local park. Here he is at the nest:
We made a stop hoping to find citrine wagtail (at the Westerly limit of its range). It wasn't there (although I had seen citrine wagtail in Israel in February). There were, however, hundreds of marsh terns including all 3 varieties, i.e. black tern, white winged tern and whiskered tern. Great! They were distant but we were due to go to the other side of the marsh later so I wasn't worried. On the other side we had a spot of lunch by the railway line to Belarus and saw a lovely penduline tit, a little crake and a pair of golden orioles.
We had an early dinner because we were due to see pygmy owl at dusk. We suffered the many mosquitoes and saw a silhouette of the pygmy owl against the pale sky for a few seconds only. We then had to pack for the early start the following day.
Wednesday 25 May 2011
We headed off towards the Biebrza Marsh, the second centre for our tour. On the way we started to see red-backed shrike, which had been strangely absent until then. Great grey shrikes were also to be seen reasonably often.
At some fishponds we saw a juvenile rosefinch, a red-necked grebe, several great reed warblers and a great crested grebe.
Further on a Montagu's harrier hunted for about 15 minutes and a pair of marsh warblers appeared briefly.
Further still on more fishponds, seven white-tailed eagles fished over our heads. They're not the most handsome of birds but they were certainly striking and impressive!
We could not tarry however and we pressed on to the house which was a gem. Set almost in isolation in the heart of the marsh was our agri-tourism house. It was fairly new and with an unrestricted view out over the marshes. After dinner we went out to explore.
It's difficult to describe the feeling of being in a place so isolated that there is no mechanical noise at all. It's wonderful, and allowed us to hear the sounds of the countryside. This included bitterns booming from what must have been miles away. The same was true for hoopoes. A pair of red-backed shrikes prospected for a nest in the back garden and a pair of black redstarts had already made their nest and hatched their young in the rain guttering on the left of the porch. We watched them bring food to their young while we drank a cool beer!
Thursday 26 May 2011
We went to a wet meadow which was a stronghold of a vanishingly small population of aquatic warblers. A savi's warbler reeled unseen in the corner. We stayed for an hour or so but the warbler did not want to show. The others wanted to go and look for lady's slipper orchid. I decided to stay and let them pick me up later. When they had left I walked back along the boardwalk. My eye was attracted to some movement in the reeds and there, sure enough, a small warbler with pronounced eyestripe was moving through the reeds. I managed a few shots and, further on, more experienced birdwatchers confirmed that it was an aquatic warbler. I quickly sent off a 'grip' text to the others.
While I waited for the others to return I staked out the savi's warbler. It was reeling almost constantly and I saw it once briefly but I was unable to get a picture. The others picked me up. They hadn't seen the orchid. They decided to return in the evening. In the meantime we drove to the centre of the marsh where we hoped to see marsh terns flying near.
We lunched at a spot where the terns were swooping near and it should have been possible to get good pictures. I hadn't bargained for them being so fast, and my camera's autofocus system did not work very well unless the terns were against the sky. If there was any sort of background, the camera would focus on that! After several hundred photos it was possible at home to choose just a handful that were acceptable.
On our way out of the marsh a lovely garganey fed close to the road.
At yet another stop we were treated to a wonderful show from a thrush nightingale, which has to be one of my favourite birds of the whole trip.
There was also a nice blue-headed wagtail.
We tried at another spot again for citrine wagtail but to no avail. I was lucky enough to see bluethroat but it flew away before the others could get to it!
Back at the house a common buzzard flew over.
Before dinner I sat down to watch the pair of red-backed shrikes do a little flycatching in the garden. This is the female:
After dinner we went back to the aquatic warbler which did appear on cue this time! Finally we went back to a site not far from the house for nightjar which flew around us.
Friday 27 May 2011
We packed up for the journey back to Warsaw. On the way at a small pond we saw turtle dove and I finally got a picture of a golden oriole. They are quite fast and elusive.
Further on Przemek noticed a river warbler from it's call. Unfortunately, he wound down the window and threw his arm out causing the bird to seek cover!! It did circle us a few times and I was able to get a record shot.
We stopped at a bridge for sandwiches. A great reed warbler was singing nearby. I went down to get closer. Patience was rewarded. The warbler took about 15 minutes to climb higher and higher, singing most of the time. Gorgeous! By the road, Przemek was trying to coax a corncrake out with a recording. These are shy birds but when one appeared close he waded into the meadow with his recording at full volume! Needless to say we saw no corncrake!
The trip back to Warsaw was slow as there is a large road building programme going on in Poland.
If any of you are thinking of going to this area of Poland, we saw 132 species in the five days with 13 lifers for me. We needed insect repellent all the time. The cost of living is quite reasonable.
Sunday 22 May 2011
On arrival at Warsaw, Trevor Hatton and I waited for the guide and the other two in the party, Edward and Mandy, to arrive. Then we set off for the Białowieża Forest. It was clear as we got nearer that this was an immense expanse of forest. On the way we saw wild European bison and a singing ortolan bunting! I was excited for the next day.
We had dinner soon after arrival at the modest lodge in Białowieża village itself, and then settled down for a good night's sleep after the journey.
Monday 23 May 2011
All the best houses have a white stork's nest on the chimney. Here's one a couple of doors away from our pension:
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| White stork We set off to just a couple of km. down the road where the day started well with barred warbler, thrush nightingale and a common rosefinch (all lifers). We heard great reed warbler and pale backed woodpecker too. |
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| Barred warbler |
On to the next bridge where we saw redstart, white wagtail and linnet. Cruising around we also came across ictarine warbler and spotted flycatcher.
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| Ictarine warbler |
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| Spotted flycatcher |
At the next forest stop we saw wood warbler and red-breasted flycatcher in breeding plumage. We were to see several more red-breasted flycatchers. Wood warblers are rather common birds in Poland.
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| Red-breasted flycatcher |
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| Wood warbler |
Off then to another bridge over the river to the nest of a middle spotted woodpecker and the perch of a collared flycatcher, again, both lifers.
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| Middle spotted woodpeckers changing duties in the nest |
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| Collared flycatcher |
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| Common rosefinch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Lesser spotted woodpecker |
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| Middle spotted woodpecker |
Later, we waited quite a long time near the nest of the rare three-toed woodpecker. The female poked her head out once or twice but the male did not appear!
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| Three-toed woodpecker |
On the way back to the pension some whinchats were soaking up the last rays of the setting sun while a solitary corncrake called from the meadow. Meadows in Poland are not the green sterile affairs we have in England but rich in wild flowers giving them a green, red, blue and yellow tint.
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| Whinchat |
Next day we were up early and were rewarded by a lesser spotted eagle flying over:
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| Lesser-spotted eagle |
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| Grey-headed woodpecker |
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| Penduline tit |
Wednesday 25 May 2011
We headed off towards the Biebrza Marsh, the second centre for our tour. On the way we started to see red-backed shrike, which had been strangely absent until then. Great grey shrikes were also to be seen reasonably often.
At some fishponds we saw a juvenile rosefinch, a red-necked grebe, several great reed warblers and a great crested grebe.
 |
| Red-necked grebe |
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| Montagu's harrier |
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| Montagu's harrier |
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| White-tailed eagle |
It's difficult to describe the feeling of being in a place so isolated that there is no mechanical noise at all. It's wonderful, and allowed us to hear the sounds of the countryside. This included bitterns booming from what must have been miles away. The same was true for hoopoes. A pair of red-backed shrikes prospected for a nest in the back garden and a pair of black redstarts had already made their nest and hatched their young in the rain guttering on the left of the porch. We watched them bring food to their young while we drank a cool beer!
 |
| Black redstart with food for chicks |
We went to a wet meadow which was a stronghold of a vanishingly small population of aquatic warblers. A savi's warbler reeled unseen in the corner. We stayed for an hour or so but the warbler did not want to show. The others wanted to go and look for lady's slipper orchid. I decided to stay and let them pick me up later. When they had left I walked back along the boardwalk. My eye was attracted to some movement in the reeds and there, sure enough, a small warbler with pronounced eyestripe was moving through the reeds. I managed a few shots and, further on, more experienced birdwatchers confirmed that it was an aquatic warbler. I quickly sent off a 'grip' text to the others.
 |
| Aquatic warbler |
While I waited for the others to return I staked out the savi's warbler. It was reeling almost constantly and I saw it once briefly but I was unable to get a picture. The others picked me up. They hadn't seen the orchid. They decided to return in the evening. In the meantime we drove to the centre of the marsh where we hoped to see marsh terns flying near.
We lunched at a spot where the terns were swooping near and it should have been possible to get good pictures. I hadn't bargained for them being so fast, and my camera's autofocus system did not work very well unless the terns were against the sky. If there was any sort of background, the camera would focus on that! After several hundred photos it was possible at home to choose just a handful that were acceptable.
 |
| White winged tern |
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| White winged tern |
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| Black tern |
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| Whiskered tern |
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| Garganey |
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| Thrush nightingale |
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| Yellow wagtail (blue-headed) |
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| Bluethroat (white-spotted) |
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| Common buzzard |
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| Red-backed shrike - female |
Friday 27 May 2011
We packed up for the journey back to Warsaw. On the way at a small pond we saw turtle dove and I finally got a picture of a golden oriole. They are quite fast and elusive.
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| Golden oriole |
We stopped at a bridge for sandwiches. A great reed warbler was singing nearby. I went down to get closer. Patience was rewarded. The warbler took about 15 minutes to climb higher and higher, singing most of the time. Gorgeous! By the road, Przemek was trying to coax a corncrake out with a recording. These are shy birds but when one appeared close he waded into the meadow with his recording at full volume! Needless to say we saw no corncrake!
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| Great reed warbler |
If any of you are thinking of going to this area of Poland, we saw 132 species in the five days with 13 lifers for me. We needed insect repellent all the time. The cost of living is quite reasonable.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Israel trip with Birdfinders - Final days 6 and 7. Sunday & Monday.
Sunday 27 March 2011
This was our last full day. A brief trip to Shulamit Park produced the usual mixture of migrants.
This is a yellow vented (or spectacled) bulbul, a common bird in Israel but a lovely one.
After an ample breakfast, we headed up to the mountains where there was a good chance of a large raptor passage. Our guides' hunch was correct. In about 75 minutes we enjoyed a constant passage of several hundred raptors. There were many steppe buzzards but also a number of black kites, steppe eagles, booted eagles, a long legged buzzard and an osprey.
Our next stop was Holland Park again. Whilst we were let loose all over the park, our 2 guides headed up to the far end. With hindsight, I can only imagine they had prior information which they wanted to check before calling the group. At some point Martyn had to come and find everybody, giving them instructions to make for a particular bush at the very far end of the park. This seemed rather inefficient and an example of poor communication.
Anyway, the bush in question was alive with small warblers. It gave me my first views of Ruppell's warblers, subalpine warblers and, very briefly, Menetries warbler.
After Holland Park we headed again to Yot Vata for lunch. Then we split into 2 groups. I was loosely with a group looking for Caspian plover whilst the others looked for greater hoopoe larks. The Caspian plover hadn't been seen for a few days and I thought the chances were very slim. I stayed in the same place mainly photographing a northern wheatear beating the living daylights out of a beetle!
I also came across a woodchat shrike. . . .
. . . an isabelline wheatear. . .
. . and a red-throated pipit.
Subsequent, we split up again. Some of the group went looking for the reported Oriental turtle dove whilst others, including me, went to the salt pools looking for greater sand plovers. We did eventually see one very distantly, but the Oriental turtle dove was not to be seen. At the end of the day we watched a pair of very unselfconscious little crakes which came right out into the open about 10 or 15 m from us.
This happened while we were waiting for dusk and the arrival of some Lichtenstein's sand grouse . They did eventually arrive but they landed on the far side of the pool instead of near us. We could just make out their silhouettes on the other side of the pool.
Monday, 28 March, 2011
This was the day of the 350 km drive back to Tel Aviv. However, we did make an early visit to a site close to Eilat in search of a hooded wheatear. It was not to be found but we did see a white tailed wheatear, a common cuckoo, some blackstarts, an eastern Bonelli's warbler and a very pale short-toed eagle.
Some of our number were keen to see long billed pipit. As we got closer to Tel Aviv we stopped at a nature reserve in the southern Judaean hills. The guides left all of us at the top of the valley whilst they drove most of the way down again, leaving unclear instructions. As a result I didn't see spectacled warbler and only saw long billed pipit in flight rather than being able to see it perched. This was another example of poor communication.
Nevertheless, I was very happy overall with the birds I had seen on the trip. James and Martyn used their experience and truly astounding call recognition ability to find many birds that I would never have seen. I would certainly recommend Birdfinders.
After the usual strict security at the airport, our flight was on time and arrived at Luton a few minutes early. It was quite chilly while we waited for the minibus to take us to the off-site car park. We finally got to bed at about 2 in the morning, exhausted but exhilarated by the trip.
This was our last full day. A brief trip to Shulamit Park produced the usual mixture of migrants.
This is a yellow vented (or spectacled) bulbul, a common bird in Israel but a lovely one.
 |
| Yellow-vented (or spectacled) bulbul |
Our next stop was Holland Park again. Whilst we were let loose all over the park, our 2 guides headed up to the far end. With hindsight, I can only imagine they had prior information which they wanted to check before calling the group. At some point Martyn had to come and find everybody, giving them instructions to make for a particular bush at the very far end of the park. This seemed rather inefficient and an example of poor communication.
Anyway, the bush in question was alive with small warblers. It gave me my first views of Ruppell's warblers, subalpine warblers and, very briefly, Menetries warbler.
 |
| Ruppell's warbler - male |
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| Subalpine warbler |
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| Northern wheatear - here he is about to start on the beetle! |
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| Northern wheatear - "I'll have these legs off!" |
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| Northern wheatear - the fight continues! |
I also came across a woodchat shrike. . . .
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| Woodchat shrike - lovely bird |
. . . an isabelline wheatear. . .
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| Isabelline wheatear |
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| Red-throated pipit |
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| Little crake - female (sorry for the quality of this shot in the half darkness. It was taken at ISO 6400) |
Monday, 28 March, 2011
This was the day of the 350 km drive back to Tel Aviv. However, we did make an early visit to a site close to Eilat in search of a hooded wheatear. It was not to be found but we did see a white tailed wheatear, a common cuckoo, some blackstarts, an eastern Bonelli's warbler and a very pale short-toed eagle.
Some of our number were keen to see long billed pipit. As we got closer to Tel Aviv we stopped at a nature reserve in the southern Judaean hills. The guides left all of us at the top of the valley whilst they drove most of the way down again, leaving unclear instructions. As a result I didn't see spectacled warbler and only saw long billed pipit in flight rather than being able to see it perched. This was another example of poor communication.
Nevertheless, I was very happy overall with the birds I had seen on the trip. James and Martyn used their experience and truly astounding call recognition ability to find many birds that I would never have seen. I would certainly recommend Birdfinders.
After the usual strict security at the airport, our flight was on time and arrived at Luton a few minutes early. It was quite chilly while we waited for the minibus to take us to the off-site car park. We finally got to bed at about 2 in the morning, exhausted but exhilarated by the trip.
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