Yes it's been a long time and my blog hasn't been used for years.
Life gets in the way, but after picking up a spotting scope in December, I've been keen to get back to birding. Now that lockdown has begun to lift I've been able to visit Longham on a few occasions with aims to see the Ring Necked Duck there. I managed it this week, so here's a record shot of the bird in question. I'm going to try a little my scoping over the next few weeks and post my findings here.
Saturday 20 March 2021
Trying my hand at phonescoping
Sunday 1 October 2017
Cattle Egret - New lifer and tick for the patch.
I visited Longham Lakes on 30th Sep as they were having an open day. It was amazingly bush, with a rammed car park and lots of friendly faces and it was my first chance to catch up with Dominic Cousins, who has been recording birds at Longham since 2002. He was there to take birders around and sell signed copies of his book, A Patch Made In Heaven, which I can recommend.
Just some of the Lapwings resting at Longham. I saw 28 birds, the most I've seen there. |
It had been spotted in the rear fields at the back of the causeway but it had long departed when I got there. Crestfallen I headed off with Alice around South Lake, marvelling at the insane amount of birds that were congregating there. I counted close to 30 lapwings and about 50 Canada Geese, along with countless coots and mallards and a fair number of Shoveler. My first sighting of these handsome ducks for the year.
A fair few Shovelers as well as returning Wigeon. |
Martin returned and within five minutes had a text from Dominic stating the Cattle Egret had returned. Grabbing Alice were virtually ran up the causeway and desperately started scanning the fields. When I couldn't find it Dominic kindly lent me his scope and put me onto the bird.
A record shot of the Cattle Egret. My first ever sighting. |
I'm now on 85 birds for the year.
The Cattle Egret puts my photographed birds for the blog up to 154.
This crop isn't too bad. |
A rather harsh crop. |
And another of it foraging. |
A final shot to highlight just how far away it was. |
Friday 1 September 2017
Ruff - A New bird for life and for the patch
I saw it a few days later of course, after meeting up with Martin and his son. Luckily it was still there, but it was far out in the middle of South Lake, making me once again regret not owning a swanky spotting scope.
It's a poor shot of a Greenshank, but it's a first for Longham. |
I headed off to Longham for my birthday on the 31st of August, but aside from a fleeting glimpse of a Jay (my first for the year) it was relatively quiet. I watched a Kestrel hunt for a few moments, but a momentary swell of rain saw us all running for the car. The Garganey would have to wait.
Kestrel, hunting over the lakes. Lovely looking bird. |
I did find the Ruff though, as well as a Willow Warbler, which was another new bird for me.
Here's the Ruff, with some Black-Headed Gulls for scale. |
The Ruff now puts me at 153 photographed birds for the blog :)
A rather fuzzy Wood Warbler. |
One of several Chiffchaff I saw. |
One of the farm cats was on the prowl. |
Sunday 16 July 2017
Last Year's Record Beaten - 78 birds
Well that's not bad, just over halfway through the year and I've beaten last year's record of 73 birds.
Of course it helps that I've been out a lot more this year, but I'm still pleased and there's only the chance it will grow as I pick up more migrants in the Autumn.
Anyway, I headed down to Longham in the hope of seeing the Common Terns that Martin had spotted on the Friday. While they were no longer on the North Lake, the fledgling had moved to one of the buoys on the south lake and I was able to take a few photos of it, as well as the adult fishing.
I then met Steve Smith who runs Birding Poole Harbour & Beyond. He was out looking for the Lesser Emperor and other dragonflies and stopped for a little chat about why there had been so much interest this year at Longham for the insects.
Leaving Steve to his search I walked up the causeway seeing the usual Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings, but very little else. There were Coots, Tufted Ducks and Mallards on the North Lake and a large number of Coots and Canada Geese along the back.
The island on South Lake was empty aside from a Mute Swan, Lapwing and Grey Heron, so I moved to the back of the lake where I saw 4 Greenfinches, a lone patrolling Kestrel and several more Reed Warblers.
It was otherwise quiet so I headed back along the causeway stopping to take some photos of a Green Woodpecker. As I got to the end of the causeway I heard a commotion in the sky and saw a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by Swallows, my first view of the raptor this year.
I then caught up with Steve who was heading home and Martin, who was just arriving and had watched the Sparrowhawk from the car park.
So I'm now on 78 birds, which beats last year's record by 5. Let's see how many more I can get.
Of course it helps that I've been out a lot more this year, but I'm still pleased and there's only the chance it will grow as I pick up more migrants in the Autumn.
Anyway, I headed down to Longham in the hope of seeing the Common Terns that Martin had spotted on the Friday. While they were no longer on the North Lake, the fledgling had moved to one of the buoys on the south lake and I was able to take a few photos of it, as well as the adult fishing.
The juvenile was quite far out, but I'm pleased with this image. |
The adult landed briefly on the closest buoy, allowing for a nice shot. |
Coots and Canada Geese taking it easy. |
Mute Swan and Grey Heron enjoying the quiet of the South Lake island. |
Sparrowhawk being mobbed by Swallows. Next time it will hopefully be a Hobby. |
So I'm now on 78 birds, which beats last year's record by 5. Let's see how many more I can get.
Green Woodpecker on the causeway. The Great Spotted still eludes me. |
Massive crop of the Common Tern hunting. |
Another heavy crop, but it's an unusual pose which I like. |
Sunday 9 July 2017
Hobby Spotted At Arne + Patch Update
4th July
Yup, it's that time of year when I'm swamped with work and I simply can't find time to get out. It also doesn't help that my local patch is incredibly quiet at this time of the year.
Still, I'm on holiday this week and I kicked it off by going to Arne as Ospreys were regularly showing there. I arrived with my wife eager to see the birds, only to be told that they don't tend to show up until the afternoon. Damn.
Sadly it was a pretty quiet day and there were few birds around. We reached the first lookout point where the ospreys could be viewed from and started scanning the area, but there was nothing to see. My wife then pointed out a bird to me and said, what's that?
It was too small for an Osprey but I excitedly blurted out Hobby. I couldn't tell because the light glare was so harsh, but I couldn't think of what else it could be. I started having doubts that it was a Kestrel, but the wings didn't look right.
We walked down to the hide where we saw a pair of Sika Deer and a large number of Shelduck, but it was otherwise quiet and we headed back and went to Wareham river. It was relatively quiet there as well, although I saw plenty of Reed Warblers and around 20 Swallows that were perched in a bush in a bid to escape the rising heat.
Highlights for the day was a glimpse of my first Kingfisher of the year, around 70 Starlings that were hanging around the industrial site and a lone Sandwich Tern, my first record at the sight, which was a rather pleasant surprise.
6th July
I went down to Poole Park today because I'd seen a Swan Goose and wanted to get better pictures. It's a weird looking goose and very distinctive due to its large heavy bill. It's typically found around China and Russia, so this one was most likely an escapee. The big surprise is that as I was watching it blend in with a small flock of Greylags and Canada Geese it was soon joined by a second!
I headed down the lakes again this evening but it was another dull day, most likely due to the insane heat. Highlights were 9 Lapwings on the small island (the most I've ever seen there) and around 120 Starlings in the car park when I first rolled up. I also saw 5 Song Thrushes bounding around the car park.
7th July
Another trip and this time I went with Martin Wood, who also has his own blog. It was easily the quietest trip out of the three, with the only real excitement being provided by a Roe Deer which was grazing in the bushes at the end of the causeway. Oh and we saw a Tufted Duck with a staggering 17 chicks.
I've had a pretty quiet week, but that was through my own choice. I was tempted to got to Nottingham to see the Bee-eaters, but travelling around the UK for birds is a dangerous game that I'm not prepared to play just yet. I'm simply happy pottering around Dorset.
Yup, it's that time of year when I'm swamped with work and I simply can't find time to get out. It also doesn't help that my local patch is incredibly quiet at this time of the year.
Still, I'm on holiday this week and I kicked it off by going to Arne as Ospreys were regularly showing there. I arrived with my wife eager to see the birds, only to be told that they don't tend to show up until the afternoon. Damn.
Olly Frampton identified this as a Black-Tailed Skimmer. |
It was too small for an Osprey but I excitedly blurted out Hobby. I couldn't tell because the light glare was so harsh, but I couldn't think of what else it could be. I started having doubts that it was a Kestrel, but the wings didn't look right.
My first ever Hobby, such a handsome looking bird. |
One of the deer we spotted from the hide. |
Swallows are a lot easier to photograph when they land! |
Several of the Swallows that were resting. A bad pic as sun was directly in front of me. |
5th July
I headed to Longham in the late afternoon, but it wasn't the best time of day as it was absolutely sweltering. It was also a pretty unexciting walk around the lake, although it was nice to see a large number of baby Tufted Ducks on the two lakes.Highlights for the day was a glimpse of my first Kingfisher of the year, around 70 Starlings that were hanging around the industrial site and a lone Sandwich Tern, my first record at the sight, which was a rather pleasant surprise.
A very distant Sandwich Tern and my first seen at Longham. |
I went down to Poole Park today because I'd seen a Swan Goose and wanted to get better pictures. It's a weird looking goose and very distinctive due to its large heavy bill. It's typically found around China and Russia, so this one was most likely an escapee. The big surprise is that as I was watching it blend in with a small flock of Greylags and Canada Geese it was soon joined by a second!
One of two Swan Geese that I saw at Poole Park. |
I headed down the lakes again this evening but it was another dull day, most likely due to the insane heat. Highlights were 9 Lapwings on the small island (the most I've ever seen there) and around 120 Starlings in the car park when I first rolled up. I also saw 5 Song Thrushes bounding around the car park.
I love how natural this Song Thrush looks. |
Another trip and this time I went with Martin Wood, who also has his own blog. It was easily the quietest trip out of the three, with the only real excitement being provided by a Roe Deer which was grazing in the bushes at the end of the causeway. Oh and we saw a Tufted Duck with a staggering 17 chicks.
I've had a pretty quiet week, but that was through my own choice. I was tempted to got to Nottingham to see the Bee-eaters, but travelling around the UK for birds is a dangerous game that I'm not prepared to play just yet. I'm simply happy pottering around Dorset.
Whitethroat hiding in the reeds at Longham Lakes. |
I quite like this reflection shot of a Great-Crested Grebe. |
Sunday 14 May 2017
Brand new lifer seen on patch (07-14 May) 73 birds
I'd been invigorated by the many new birds that had been seen and was eager to find more so I took my 600mm prime lens as it gives me the best chance at record shots.
The car park was relatively full when I got to the lakes, but it didn't register really as I was quite late in the morning and model boat enthusiasts were normally there. Wondering around I casually walked up to a man and asked him if he'd seen anything of interest. "Well the Black Terns are over there".
Several Swallows and a House Martin on the right hand side. |
Shaking with excitement (because it is exciting when you find a brand new bird I thanked the man for his help and hurried off to the far side of the lake, notifying my rival Martin as I went.
The Black Terns were resting on a bouy, but a high crop and heat haze stopped me getting anything better than this. |
No matter how I tried I simply couldn't lock onto the birds with my camera. I couldn't work out whether it was poor technique, the dull weather or my lens, but I was struggling to get any sort of decent pictures.
Not the greatest of shots, but it does highlight what beautiful birds the Black Tern is. |
Still I'm now on 73 birds for the year on patch and now have a total of 151 birds for the blog.
This juvenile Herring Gull highlights just how small the Terns are. |
Another shot of the Black Tern in flight. |
I'm glad I have a prime, as I wouldn't have got this shot otherwise. |
And here's a non-cropped shot to highlight just how far out they were. |
I had no problem locking onto fast-flying Swifts in the evening, so I think the poor light was against me. |
Sunday 7 May 2017
Patchwork Challenge Trip 12 (01 Mayl) 71 Birds
Headed off down the patch again today as I heard that rare Black Terns had been spotted the previous day. I never saw them, but within moments of getting to the patch I heard my first Cuckoo of the year calling.
The reeds were absolutely thriving with singing Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings and I must have counted close to 20 birds of each as I spent a couple of times walking around the lakes.
I found a Pheasant in one of the back fields and then I caught up with Martin at the far end of South lake and chatted with him and his son as we walked the remaining section lake. We didn't see anything of note, other than a fox carrying something which looks like a small badger from the photo I took.
Once we reached the small island Martin found some Shelducks (my first at Longham) giving me three new birds for the day. I'm now very close to beating last years record so I'm going to make a lot of effort as I'm still missing a fair few relatively easy birds, including Kestrel, Sedge Warbler, and in total there's still 29 common to uncommon birds that I've not seen yet.
Total birds = 71
The reeds were absolutely thriving with singing Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings and I must have counted close to 20 birds of each as I spent a couple of times walking around the lakes.
Cetti's Warblers are a right pain. This is the best I could manage! |
Not the greatest shot, but it will do. |
Total birds = 71
Here's the fox Martin spotted. Opinion is divided on what it's carrying. |
A Carrion Crow trying to trick me into thinking it's a Raven. |
I really like how elegant this Mute Swan looks. |
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