To celebrate my birthday I decided to go to Arne as I heard that an Osprey was currently in residence there while it stocked up on reserves to get it back home. I went out eager and was not disappointed...
Osprey
Okay, I was disappointed because my shots are terrible :). I was fighting heat haze and an incredible long distance, so these shots are strictly record shots.
What an incredible bird though. It's huge in size, and has been a big success story for the RSPB, thanks to numbers continuing to increase in Wales and Scotland. It''s also started breeding in England, supported by large stretches of water. It feeds primarily on fish and is famed for grabbing them, in its long powerful talons. Unfortunately this one was quite happy to spend all his time on a feeding station, meaning I didn't get to see it fly. It's unclear how long it will stay in Arne, (it's residing on Midllebere Lake) so I feel lucky to have spotted it, even if my pics aren't the best.
Not the greatest shot but you can clearly make out the white head and underbelly.
Another shot of the Osprey from the Canon 400mm
And one using my powershot SX50.
Whimbrel
I uploaded about 12 photos of suspected Whimbrels to Birdforum.net. So a big thanks to Nutcracker for confirming the one I suspected to be this rare migrating bird. It typically breeds in Scotland each year, flying through during the sping and winter. It's identified by darker wings, a slightly shorted bill and (this is my own personal identification tag) a more serious look than the Curlew. Up to 500 pairs breed each year, but it's still on the RSPB's red list. Like the Curlew it eats molluscs, invertebrates and even tackles crabs. If you don't leave in Scotland or the Orkney islands then you need to get lucky and hope one flies through your local patch.
It's call is a good way to identify the Whimbrel. The head markings are quite distinctive too.
And another passing shot, making it a little easier to identify.
Here's a Curlew for comparison. Look how happier and lighter it looks.
This is another migrating bird that is typically seen on passage. I knew it was about due to its piercing call, which is impossible to mistake. Unfortunately I couldn't see any on the ground, but managed to get a couple of shots in flight. Again, they're not perfect, but do identify this wader. It gets its name thanks to its long green legs and is a medium-sized, fast-flying wader. This one is possible a passage bird, but they do apparently winter in the area according to the RSPB's website.
You can just about make out its legs in this shot!
A better shot of its distinctive white rump.
A second bird I saw a little later.
This was an absolute piece of luck. I didn't notice the ducks until I enhanced the photo in lightroom. Even if I had saw them first time around eclipse plumage meant I wouldn't have recognised them. Teal are small dabbling ducks, typically found all year around in most parts of the country. During the summer males have very distinctive chestnut heads with green eye stripes, but they're not seen in this shot. Most of the North Wintering popular from Europe is found in the UK, so the RSPB has awarded it amber status.
I was looking at the Egrets and didn't see the Teals fly past.
Sandwich Tern
I've already spotted Common Terns, so it was nice to get this one before it headed home for another year. It's another amber status bird, with small breeding populations in certain parts of the UK. One such site it Brownsea island where these birds must have come from. I saw a juvenile and an adult. You can recognise them over other terns due to their black bills which finish with a yellow tip. Around 12,000 pairs breed in the UK and it can be seen from March to September, meaning these must be soon flying home.
Here's an adult Sandwich Tern.
Diving for some tea.
The young wasn't having as much success.
Another shot of the adult. Lovely bird.
So that's it for another week and I felt like it's been a good one. I am now up to 108 birds with 164 left to find. Something tells me it's going to start getting tougher!
Redshank looking for food.
A Stonechat was having a fight with an unidentified warbler.
Little Egrets were flying.
Swallows were still flying around as well.
With this one being particularly acrobatic.
A Vulcan from the air show that was on in Bournemouth.
More planes I don't recognise.
A flock of Redshanks.
A flock of Curlew.
Curlew were everywhere.
Eating crabs...
Flying...
And pretending to be Whimbrels...
A fuzzy Buzzard via the Powershot.
Fuzzy Black-Tailed Godwits.
And a Green Woodpecker stopped by.
A possible Greyling Butterly.
Spoonbills. I need a tripod for stronger shots.
A shot to highlight how far away the Osprey was.
Possible Fallow Deer.
A Sika Deer.
A group of fuzzy Shelduck.
Another excellent set Darran and a good read. Clearly starting to get some seriously good results with the lens .
ReplyDeleteYes I'm certainly getting happier with the flight shots. I'm disappointed with the spoonbills, but they're apparently beyond the reach of the lens according to some.
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