Chasing Waxwings

My second twitch of 2017 (150 Birds seen)

I've always had a fascinating with Waxwings, ever since first discovering them in my books when I was a younger birder. It's arguably my second favourite UK bird, after the Hoopoe and I've always wanted to see one.

When I was a youngster I would desperately crane my neck skywards whenever I went out bird watching, not realising that both birds are fleeting visitors to the UK and normally seen at very specific times of the year.

The Waxwings were high up in the trees, making photos quite a difficult task.

So when I heard that Waxwings had been spotted a short drive from my house I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to see them. Nomadic by nature, they typically move around in large flocks, breaking up into smaller groups as food becomes more scarce. Annoyingly, the birds where nowhere to be seen the afternoon I had off, so I missed my chance to see them.

As I've been off on holiday this week I decided I was going to head off to Weymouth in search of the Bitterns that had been spotted at Radipole Lake. I changed my mind when I found out that a small group of six Waxwings had been spotted at Corfe Mullen, some thirty minutes from my home.

A half decent shot, took from the other side of a busy road. 

I set off early in the morning (well 8 is early for me) and located the birds relatively easily thanks to great directions from the ever helpful Ian Ballam. There were a small group of photographers there when I arrived, so I quickly set my camera up and waited for the birds to move.

They were flitting between two locations, staying to peck at berries for a few minutes, before heading off to a larger tree. Sadly, the light was atrocious so it was extremely hard to get shots that would do the birds justice.

All the shots were with my 600mm prime lens and 1.4 TC. Expensive, but worth it for getting close.

And they really are quite magnificent to look at. Beautifully coloured and with amazing erect crests, they get their name from the small red marks on their wings that look like candle wax. They have a weird, almost sculpted look to them compared to many other birds, giving them a very unique looking appearance.

I managed to spend 30 minutes with the birds before they flew off. We headed over to a second location where they had been feeding previously, but they were nowhere to be seen. After waiting for nearly two hours, the general thought was that the birds had found a more suitable food source and were feeding there instead.

I love the bottom bird shown here.

I'll try and connect with these birds again this year, but it's been a particularly busy season for them, so it's unclear if we'll see anywhere near as many this coming winter. I'm certainly glad I made the effort to see them, even if my shots weren't the best. 

Oh and it's my 150th bird since starting my blog nearly three years ago, so that's worth celebrating, too.

I wasn't fast enough to get good shots when they were on the berries.

And here's a shot showing off how the Waxwing gets its unusual name.

I've whacked up the vibrancy here, I don't think it ruins the shot too much.

Year Two Week Five - Birds Spotted 1

This weekend I decided to head to Blashford Lakes because there were some young Little Ringed Plover there. I was able to spot them thanks to some helpful birders, so here's this week's entry :)

Little Ringed Plover
Unlike the Ringed Plover, which sticks to the coast, the Little Ringed Plover is more of an inland bird, preferring to inhabit gravel pits and the like. Key identification points to separate it from the Ringed Plover includes, a yellow circle around the eye, pale legs (Ringed Plovers have orange) and a single colour bill.
The two I spied were fledglings and tiny ones at that. They were also extremely fast, so it was hard to get good shots of them. They are summer visitors, typically arriving in March, before heading home in July. I was clearly lucky to spot these two then as another weekend and they could have been gone.

I think this is one of the adults.

A fairly heavy crop.

Here's a size comparison next to some Tufted Ducks.

With the Little Ringed Plover I'm now up to 135 photographed birds with another 137 left to find.

Here's a selection of the other birds I saw at Blashford.

A baby Oystercatcher was one of the highlights.

Here it is feeding with its parent.

The parents were always near by.

The young were rarely out in the open.

And were great at hiding when they wanted to.

There were plenty of Common Terns about.

There were several nests, but they were in the distance on man-made rafts.

Baby blue Tits were using the feeders.

Or simply sitting pretty.

Baby Great Tits were also out in force.

Chaffinches were happy to use the feeder.

A scruffy Blue Tit.

Gold Finch stops by for some seeds.

Cut off this Collard Dove's tail. Doh.

Happier with this one though.

Could do with losing the branches on this one.

A Sparrowhawk crashed the party but I was so excited I couldn't get a non blurred shot :(

Grebes were on the lakes with young.

Coot young were out and about.

The adult soon took over the nest though.

Mute swan goslings were out and about.

Another Little Ringed Plover shot.

A Great Crested Grebe after a dive.

Little Grebe with snack.

A Kingfisher finished off the day.

Week 38 04-01-2015 Birds Spotted: 2

We start off the New Year with a bang in the form of two new birds. They're really record shots due to the long distances and generally poor light, but I'm pleased I made the effort to get out to Blashford Lakes today.

Black-Necked Grebe
I've gone to both Longham and Blashford several times and have always missed this bird. Now I know why, it's extremely small, and not that much bigger than a Little Grebe. For some reason I always thought it was Great Crested Grebe size.
This one was kindly pointed out to me by a nearby gentlemen who was intently studying all the gulls on the lake. While I was able to get a decent viewing through my binoculars, the following shot is for record purposes only :)
Only 130 birds winter in the UK, making them relatively rare. They're a lot more noticeable in Summer, due to their bright plumage, but outside of breeding their quite dull, save for their bright red eyes. They feed on a variety of foods, from small fishes to crustaceans and will also take insects. This one was continually diving, making him quite a challenge to spot.

Not the greatest shot, but the white cheek patch is very recognisable.

Green Sandpiper

About 10 minutes before we were due to leave the Goosander hide, we heard a high pitch piping that I initially mistook for a Kingfisher. It was actually a Green Sandpiper, which was being chased by a Sparrowhawk. The raptor quickly gave up on the bird though, leaving it to perch down on a stand about 60 feet from us. The light was failing, so it's not the best of shots, but is more than recognisable.

It looks quite similar to the Wood Sandpiper, but it lacks the conspicuous strip that runs from the eye to the back of the neck. The Green Sandpiper rarely breeds in the UK, but up to 1,000 birds winter here each year. It's on the amber list and is typically seen in the UK between July and March.

Here's the Green Sandpiper, minding its own business.

And here's a harsher shot of it. Sadly the light was fading badly.

All in all it's been a good start to the year and I'm now at 129 photographed birds with 143 left to find.

I'll finish off with a selection of shots from both Blashford and Stanpit Marsh.

Wigeon on the lake at Ivy Hide south.

Roosting Cormorants.

The Goosanders continue to stay distant.

Female Blackbird taken through glass at the Woodland hide.

Blue Tit.

Make Chaffinch.

Female Chaffinch.

Redshank and Black-Tailed Godwit at Stanpit.

Curlew going for a walk.

Green Woodpecker, taking a break from eating ants.

Little Egret flyby.

Rock Pipit.

Redshank and Starling.

Stonechat.