A good weekend photographically

The bad weather this last week brought many good migrants to ground. Sadly, I had to work so missed them all! Aaahh!

Well, on Saturday, I went to Beddington where ring ouzels, and all manner of rare migrants had been seen in the week. I saw none of them! After a walk round the whole site, I decided to go to Barnes WWT. Here I saw sand martins, sedge warblers and reed warblers. Also, a kestrel caught something and came down on a nearby post to eat it. I never got to see what it had caught, but I managed to fire off some of the closest and best shots of a kestrel before he flew off. Here is the best picture:

Male kestrel, Barnes WWT.

On Sunday I went to Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey and then to Oare Marshes near Faversham. Elmley is great because during the 1.25 mile drive from the road to the car park you often see more than at the hides (which involve another 1.25 mile hike). Also the car is a perfect hide. By waiting patiently, I got a lovely yellow wagtail at close range....

Yellow wagtail (male), Elmley marshes.

.....and a pair of skylarks - one shown here, displaying .

Skylark, Elmley.

Shortly afterwards, a redshank appeared. With the sun behind, his red legs appeared an even more vivid red.

Redshank, Elmley

I started on my walk to the hides but, after about 500-600 metres I met another birdwatcher who had already been down there and pronounced that there was very little apart from avocets and shellducks. I decided not to put in the effort of a long walk and turned back to go to Oare. On the way back I heard the distant call of a corn bunting. Scouring the middle distance revealed it on a gatepost, but too far for a shot that I could dare to post on this blog.

At Oare, there was a single little stint and a whimbrel on the mud in the Swale, again too distant for any decent shots. There was a nice drake garganey at the back of the lake, and I managed some practice at flight shots when a mute swan made a couple of circuits of the lake.

A little egret afforded some close views while touring the lake in search of fish.

Little egret, Oare Marshes.

All in all, an enjoyable weekend photographically even if I didn't make much headway into David Campbell's formidable lead in the year list.

Now, here's a riddle for you. Whose face is this Disney looking character? Those Goofy eyes, that black hair, that funny bearded mouth like the bully in Popeye (I can't remember his name). Who can it be?? Answers on a postcard please...... Well, you can email the answer to me if you can guess. Answer in next week's posting.

Whose face???

Gatton Park Heronry

On Thurs 16 April I went to Gatton Park Heronry. This island heronry is the largest in the Sout East. Glyn Sherratt, the warden, kindly let us in. The Park is home to a school and is only open to the public on the first Sunday in the month. Unfortunately, on the day of my visit the weather was pretty appalling - rain and overcast, very poor light. Here is a shot of one of the nests showing an adult and three chicks who are already nearly as big as their parents. I have never seen heron chicks before. Many thanks indeed to Glyn for his kind hospitality.

Heron and chicks, Gatton Park.

White-throated sparrow at last

OK, so Sunday was supposed to be the best day of the holidays weatherwise wasn't it? I thought I would go and see the American White-throated sparrow at Old Winchester Hill Fort. I decided to leave early and I was there by 7 a.m. The weather was really misty and visibility was bad. It was also drizzling. Great! When I arrived there were already about 20 people there!! Someone said it had just been out in the open singing from a very exposed bush (as people are apt to do in these situations), but was now nowhere to be seen. Great!

There was some very thick undergrowth where the bird was. I didn't blame it for not coming out where only rain, mist and about 21 eager birdwatchers were waiting. Soon someone spotted it deep in the thicket. Not ideal for photography at the best of times. Shutter speeds were ludicrously low at normal ISO, so I had to increase it more and more till, even at 3200 ISO, the shutter speed was about 1/25 sec!!! Photographers will know how bad that is. I had to wait to be able to get in a position where I could get a reasonably clear view through the undergrowth and I was finally able to get a few shots of the neat but pathetic looking sparrow cowering in the middle of the bush. We could hear its call, a repeated single note, which was really rather plaintiff. I was pleased to have seen it and got a record shot, but after a cup of coffee, I moved on.

White-throated sparrow. (f5.6 at 1/30 sec. ISO 3200!!)

Next stop was Birdham near Chichester, where the call of a lesser whitethroat was a nice surprise. There were plenty of yellowhammer, and I got a reasonably close picture of a female.

Female yellowhammer.

A short hop to Church Norton by Pagham harbour produced ringed plover, house martin and swallow for my year list. On the way home I popped in to Pulborough Brooks, which was very quiet, with no waders to speak of. There were plenty of blackcap, whitethroat and so many rooks. One came quite close to the hide and there are a couple of pictures below. You can see what a strange looking bird it is close up. I don't like to speak ill of birds, but there are more attractive ones out there. They can look like some hooded monks. What is that funny bulge under the bill?? Who knows.

Rooks.

That American Sparrow

Well, before I get to that, let me apologise for not posting anything for the last four weeks. Lots of things going on at work caused by the credit crunch, etc. I have been out there in the field, but no time to put everything on the blog.

On 28 March went to Beddington SF to see if there were any early migrants. Saw tree sparrow (Beddington is the place to go for tree sparrows), green sandpiper, and blackcap but nothing more exciting.

The following day I went to Farlington mashes for the spoonbill. I did see it distantly but had to cut short my visit when my son rang to say that my daughter had had an accident (now fine, nothing serious).

On 5 April went to Dungeness with David Campbell, who was confidently predicting at least ten year ticks and a couple of lifers for both of us. As it turned out we got a few year ticks and no lifers (which would have been Common redstart and velvet scoter).

We did enjoy fairly close views of a male garganey in breeding plumage and some even closer views of a pair of slavonian grebes, one in breeding plumage.

Garganey, ARC Dungeness.


I got my camera out and while the grebes were diving we moved 50m down the causeway to just about where they would come up close to shore. It worked. they surfaced and didn't move. I had put my tripod down but, while I had carried it on my shoulder, the lens had swivelled round so that it was looking the wrong way. I swivelled the lens round the right way again but too fast it seems. The slavonian grebe in breeding plumage took off like a rocket, half flying, half running on water as they do until it was at least 50m away and the other one joined him. Ah, well!

Slavonian grebe putting a lot of distance between me and him!!

Also that day we saw a male black redstart and a flock of c.25 linnet.

Linnet, Dungeness.

The next day while waiting at the bus stop at Sutton station on my way home from work I looked again for the Peregrine which used to sit regularly at the top of the Reed Building. No sign again. Then I looked at the building to the South of it. There on the rail at the top was what looked like a Peregrine. I pulled out the small monocular that I now carry with me all the time just in case. Sure enough it was the peregrine. I tried to phonescope it but my bus came before I could manage it.

I want to get this posted so I'm going to do another post about that sparrow. Watch this space!

Lesser Spotted Wodpecker - Nonsuch Park

I finally saw these elusive birds today for the first time in my life. David Campbell had told me roughly where they were. I wandered round the mature wood listening intently for their calls. I met two others with the same intention. They had seen one fly in but had then lost it. After scanning the tops of some very tall trees for 10 mins I saw one fly briefly from one branch to another.

Lesser spotted woodpeckers are really quite small and unobtrusive. It's no wonder their nickname is 'never spotted woodpeckers'!! I saw male and female birds but my shot of the male is out of focus. Here is the female working quietly under a branch.

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Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Nonsuch Park

Oare and Dungeness for rarities

Took Lynne, my wife, to see her parents in Kent. We both went to Oare where the tide was low and the water level in the East Flood was high. Quite a nice selection of ducks: Tufted, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal, Widgeon and Mallard. NO waders at all except three distant snipe. Very quiet in the reedbeds too. Two Reed buntings and a stonechat, plus a Cetti's warbler nearby. Stayed an hour and dropped Lynne off before going on to Dungeness.

David Campbell had arrived an hour before me and we met at the seawatching point (David having already looked at the rest of RSPB Dungeness and pronounced it 'dead'). We looked in vain for black redstart near the beach. David was getting depressed and grumpy at the lack of action. We decided to walk to the observatory. Finally we saw a female Black Redstart, a year tick for both of us. David's spirits lifted. We saw a particular race of stonechat on the way back to the car (don't ask me what) and then went to Pannel Valley to try and see the Great Grey Shrike which had been reported.

We had no idea where it was, but we found a path along the ditch. After about 500m we saw the Great Grey Shrike on top of a tall bush 75m ahead. Took some pics before sneaking a little closer. Got to about 50m when it flew to another favourite bush much further off. Watched it for a while and then went back to the car where we saw a barn owl in an adjoining field.

Remember, the picture below was taken from quite a way off.

Great Grey Shrike.

It was getting late so I had to go and pick Lynne up from her parents. In all, a modest day. Three year ticks, the Cetti's warbler, Black Redstart and the Shrike.

Saturday, 7 March 2009, South Coast

Went to the South Coast today with David Campbell. Our target birds were the great grey shrike in the New Forest, the purple sandpipers at Southsea Castle, the red-breasted goose at West Wittering and the white-fronted goose at Tundry pond.

After a 1 hour 45 min circular walk there was no sign of the shrike! We did, however, see a nice pair of Dartford warblers, a pair of grey wagtails and a lovely male hen harrier. The harrier landed, which gave me a chance to get my camera out. I switched on and pressed the shutter. Nothing happened! I'd taken the battery out last night to charge and it was still on the charger at home! I did have spares in the car - half a mile away!

On to Southsea Castle in Portsmouth where we had better luck. We instantly found the six purple sandpipers on the shore at low tide. This bird was a lifer for me and for David, so we spent some time observing and photographing them. They were quite tame and allowed us to get to within a few metres.

Purple sandpiper, Southsea Castle.

After lunch at the local tea rooms and seeing a goldcrest, we pressed on to West Wittering for the red-breasted goose. We were again lucky. We found the goose very quickly amongst the 1,000 or so Brent geese and it was fairly near the front of the mass so it was possible to see it largely unobstructed by the brents. Another lifer for me.

Red-breasted goose, W. Wittering.

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At one point it took flight, did a circuit, and landed much further back. I was not so quick to get some flight shots and it was already quite a way away before I got focus lock on it.

Red-breasted goose in flight.

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We noticed that there were no reports of the white-fronted geese that day so we decided to try for the ring-necked duck I had seen at Bordon in January. We arrived at the gravel pits but I wasn't sure of the way. We strayed from the public footpath and the quarry owner (no less) chased us in his tractor to tell us off. Our apology was, thankfully, accepted and he then directed us to the pits where the duck might be. It was there, albeit rather distant. After a few minutes we walked back to the car and came home. I had four year ticks (total 131, or 132 including a barnacle goose) and two lifers.

Ring-necked duck.

Tawny owls in central London!

On Saturday 28 February, went to look for the roosting tawny owls. It's amazing that such birds would live in the centre of London. After some additional instruction as to the location, found one adult and three chicks roosting high up. Busy though the park was, the owls high up slept unnoticed, their camouflage making them almost invisible even to someone who knew they were there.

Tawny owl, central London.

Then went to Millets to buy some new walking boots. My old ones are years old and losing their tread. On the way, saw a Mediterranean gull and a very strange gull, completely white but acting like a black headed gull. It must be a partial albino black headed gull. I wonder how it develops in breeding plumage.

Albino Black headed gull.

Birds seen while skiing in France

My week in France in February 2009 was not intended to be anything birdy, but the Alps came up trumps with a few lifers. As soon as we arrived I saw two or three alpine accentors on the balcony. A first for me but they turned out to be very common. At first they look like dunnocks, but when you see them first hand, you notice the rufous flanks, the distinctive bib and the much more marked back and sides. Altogether a much more handsome bird than a dunnock. These differences do not always come out in the field guides.

Alpine accentor

There were also blue, coal, great and willow tits, jay, great spotted woodpecker, blackbird, raven and buzzard visible from the chalet.

A trip to Tignes would assure us of some snow buntings according to our host. The 'snow buntings' turned out to be much larger than expected and the colouration wasn't right at all. These were no snow buntings! I took a few photos with my wife's Canon point-and-shoot so I could look at them later. I wish I'd had my camera but it is heavier and, after all, this was a skiing holiday, right? Also I had no binoculars or scope.

After our refreshment stop I noticed two large black birds on the roof of the restaurant. Closer inspection showed they had yellow decurved bills, so they were alpine choughs. Thank goodness for the large image magnification on the camera to see such details as the bill. I still haven't seen the 'normal' chough with the red bill, which are rarer!

Alpine chough, Tignes.

Back at the chalet, the 'snow buntings' turned out to be snow finches, as my friend, David Campbell, had correctly guessed. Both the alpine chough and snow finch were lifers for me.

Snow finch, Tignes, France.

On the final day I went for a walk in the woods. I'd heard there were crested tits about but the first nice surprise was some treecreepers which were surprisingly tame. I hoped they might be short toed treecreepers but I can't really tell. Any experts at telling these two species apart are very welcome to comment on this photo. I thought that the slightly creamy belly and the slightly more marked white wing bar might be distinctive.

Treecreeper - Short-toed??

Just as the light was fading the crested tits appeared (another lifer). They were not so tame however and I managed to get only one distant record shot before having to go back to finish my packing before leaving for the return trip, ten hours overnight on the Eurostar, not good even First Class!

Crested tit, France.

Anyway, four lifers on a non birdwatching trip without binoculars, telescope or my digital SLR is not a bad haul.

Green woodpecker digging up my garden.

Yesterday, I went to Canons Farm and Banstead Woods with David Campbell. He was hoping to see marsh tit and brambling. I was just hoping to see anything in the snow which is stopping most birds from feeding on the ground. We didn't see either species but we did see treecreeper, nuthatch, skylark and little owl, all four are year ticks for me (125 for the year). I took some shots of the little owl and used both my 1.4x and 2x converters to get closer. I regretted it later when I looked at the photos on my computer. They were not very good at all. This photo was taken using only the 1.4x.

Little owl, Canons farm.

When I got in I noticed a green woodpecker under the large branch which had broken off the pine tree under the weight of snow, 30cm in one day. He was digging up the lawn looking for something to eat. I got my camera and took some shots through the double glazing. They weren't bad as record shots, but I was then able to open the window and take some straight views. These came out rather better.

Green woodpecker, garden

Green woodpecker has seen something to jump about!

This morning, Sunday 8 February, I went briefly to Bookham common to see the hawfinches which are usually to be found. I stopped to photograph some redwing at Great Bookham, arriving late at the Common, where the hawfinches had already been seen. I had to leave at 12.45 as we were going to lunch with the neighbours and Lynne had told me I had better be home by 1.20! I was leaving to go back to the car when someone said there was a hawfinch in a distant tree. It really was distant and against the bright sun of this lovely morning. I quickly took a few pictures before it flew off and then left. I just made it home in time. The pictures are recognisable as a hawfinch but much worse than last time's record shot (see 27 December 2008 post). So bad that I can't publish it here. I just managed to get home in time not to incur my wife's displeasure!!!