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.

Cetti's Warblers are a right pain. This is the best I could manage!

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.

Not the greatest shot, but it will do.

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

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.

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.

Patchwork Challenge Trip 1 (2nd January) 37 Birds

While I enjoyed last year's Patchwork Challenge, I found myself flagging at certain times of the year and I eventually trailed a long way behind local birder Martin Wood, who also patches at Longham Lakes and has his own blog.

This year is going to be different though, so I made a concentrated effort to get out of bed early and I was at the lakes for 8.20 in the morning, which is a pretty good effort for me.

Things got off to a cracking start in the car park with the lovely trill of one of many, many Robins that I would see on my 2 and a half hour walk. A quick walk over to the adjoining horse field got me three Carrion Crows and two Mistle Thrushes, which were patrolling a second field for food.

After a few worrying minutes I found the Great White Egrets

Of course, my real target for the day were the overwintering Great White Egrets, which would mark my first two-pointers for the year. I rapidly crossed the car park to the lakes, passing a couple of Magpies and Blackbirds, and spying a fair number of Coot on the North Lake.

As I walked up the causeway I could feel my breath quickening as I couldn't see any sign of the egrets. I spied Little Grebes, Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Tufted Ducks, and Mute Swans, but the Egrets weren't where they normally were. Just as I was starting to think I'd missed them for the year, a call up above alerted me to a Little Egret, which was quickly followed by one of the Great Whites!. Following its trail, I soon spotted the remaining two birds, and carried on with my walk.

There were lots of Robins on patch. This image made it onto the official Springwatch twitter feed.

The hedges along the back of the lake yielded fiery Wrens, a small party of Great Tits, a lone Chiffchaff and a Blue Tit. I walked down to the far corner hoping for Bullfinch, but they weren't to be seen. I did find Wood Pigeons and a small flyby of Feral Pigeons though.

Mallards where on the far side of the North Lake and I also discovered around 16 Pochard, with several red-headed males amongst them. Walking back behind the south lake I met some birders who suggested combing the trenches for waders and rails.

Cormorants were everywhere. You can see the Pochards and Great Crested Grebes in the background.

I didn't say any, but I did find a couple of Redwings, a small party of Long-Tailed Tits and a lone Starling and female Chaffinch. I also spotted some Song Thrushes in the back field as well as a flock of Canada Geese, a smaller group of Mute Swans, and a smattering of Black-Headed Gulls and Herring Gulls. There were plenty of Jackdaws in Samual's Wood, but I saw no new passerines, which was a little disappointing.

The small island at the back of South Lake yielded 3 Gadwall (I'd later see a total of 17) but my walk back to the larger island was largely uneventful. A small number of Teal were roosting, as well as around 4 Snipe. Pleased with my total, I headed back to the car.

A pretty lousy image of one of the many Redwings I saw.

I spotted a Pied Wagtail probing around in the car park and decided to try the adjoining field one more time. There were a large number of Redwings around so I decided to walk along a smaller path to see if the group held Fieldfares within it. It wasn't easy traversing the path, but I found my first patch Coal Tit, Goldfinch, and a pair of Greenfinches too. I met up with yet another birdwatcher who confirmed that the flock didn't hold any Fieldfares and that they typically arrived in February.

All in all, a pretty good start for the year and I'm currently ahead of last year's record of 24 birds by a comfortable 13.

Current patch total = 37

Here's the list in full
Robin
Carrion Crow
Mistle Thrush
Blackbird
Great White Egret
Magpie
Coot
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Tufted Duck
Mute Swan
Cormorant
Little Egret
Wrens
Great Tit
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Mallard
Pochard
Redwing
Long-Tailed Tit
Starling
Chaffinch
Song Thrushes
Canada Geese
Black-Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Jackdaw
Gadwall
Teal
Snipe
Pied Wagtail
Coal Tit
Goldfinch
Greenfinch

End Of Year Blow Out. 3 New Birds

First off, apologies for the complete lack of updates.
It's been a difficult few weeks, due to terrible weather and lots of freelance, and all of a sudden it's the end of the year. I'll try and get some more regular updates going forward and will most likely rethink my strategy, as it's proving difficult to get away to see the birds I need to see.

Anyhoo, you don't want to hear about that, you want to see the new birds. Well here they are :)

Slavonian Grebe
I headed off to Blashford Lakes today in the hope that I would see the Ring-Billed Gull. It eluded me, but I still got some crackers.
First up is strictly a record shot, but it's a great finish to the year. The Slavonian Grebe is arguably our most beautiful Grebe thanks to its gorgeous summer plumage that makes it look like a more majestic Black-Necked Grebe. Sadly, this one was in winter plumage and proved incredibly tricky to spot due to being on the other side of a huge lake. It was kindly pointed out to me by some more experienced birders. Just over a 1,000 birds are thought to winter here, with a handful breeding (typically in Scotland). This one was on its own, diving for fish and other goodies.

LOL, here's the original uncropped shot.

And here's a cropped shot. Thank goodness I have a decent lens!

GoldenEye

Next up was a GoldenEye. This is a fantastic looking duck, but I missed every single one that showed up this year. Annoyingly, the drake was on the other side of the lake, so it's strictly a record shot again, but luckily a nearby female proved to be slightly more photogenic.

GoldenEye are medium sized diving ducks that spend the winter months with us (although they are more common in Summer in Scotland where they breed). They are very distinctive looking birds thanks to their piercing yellow eyes and white head patches (on the drakes). They are lovely looking birds and I'm pleased to see these ones, even if they were really far away.

He's very far away, but you can see the distinctive patch.

This female got slightly closer, but was constantly diving!

Brambling

Every time a Brambling appeared at Arne last year I missed them. Luckily, I saw one of Blashford, although I had to go to lengths to see it. Because the Woodland Hide at Blashford is used for children, only the two side windows open. And annoyingly, the Brambling wasn't visiting the feeders near either window. Luckily for me, my new lens has decent reach with the teleconverter added, so I was able to take shots from a side fence about 50 foot from the feeder. Something I couldn't do with my old set up.

Anyway, the Brambling looks like a more beautiful Chaffinch, with lovely markings and colours. It typically appears in the UK from September onwards and likes to flock with other finches. Typically a ground feeder, I was unable to see it in its natural habitat, so settled for when it landed on the feeder.

What a smashing bird it is. I love the colours on it.

And here's an uncropped image to give a sense of distance.

So that's it for the end of the year. I've now spotted a total of 143 different birds, which I feel is pretty good going. I may restart my list next year as it keeps you fresh for identification, but I'll see how it goes. I was going to include a Redpoll, but it appears to be a Lesser (which I spotted last year). Still, it's a much better shot mind :)

Coot enjoying a swim in the rain.

A distant Tufted Duck.

A Robin, with cropped feet :(

A gorgeous Lesser Redpoll. This one's a male I believe.

A Greenfinch contemplating whatever Greenfinch contemplate.

A Bank Vole, which I've never seen before. It was after seeds from the tables.

Goldfinch crop. Too harsh?

A very fluffy Blue Tit.

I love the detail on this Chaffinch.

And here's a female Chaffinch.

Happy with this Great Tit :)

Love this male Siskin.

And here's a female Siskin.

More Goldfinch love.

A Kestrel which received over 10,000 views on Flickr!

This was on the same feeder as the Brambling, so not bad considering the distance.

Possibly another Bank Vole. There were four of them in total.

Lesser Redpoll hiding behind a branch. Boo!

Another close Robin.

And a Blue Tit.

Week 29 02-11-2014 Birds Spotted: 2

I've been on holiday this week, so I've managed to visit a few places and see some new birds. Sadly, the weather hasn't been fantastic, meaning my shots aren't the greatest. Still let's take a look at the two new birds I spotted this week.

Pheasant
I've obviously seen these gamebirds in the past, but not since starting my blog. Anyway, we were taking a walk at Hengistbury Head when we discovered one in a bush tucking down on berries. We ended up seeing three in the end, but this male was arguably the most impressive.
It's found over most parts of the UK, and is introduced so there are plenty to hunt during the relevant season. In fact, over 2 million females exist, meaning the population shouldn't go into decline any time soon. It feeds on seeds, greens and shoots and is typically found in hedgerows, and open countryside. It's one of our largest game birds and is unmistakable due to its long tail.

I think this one was moulting as it looks a little scruffy.

And here's another shot of it. Tricky to get in focus due to the branches.

Goosander

I've been wanting to see a Goosander for a while, because it's one of our few saw-billed ducks. While I was lucky enough to find some over at Blashford Lakes, they were quite a fair distance away, meaning record shots only.

Anyway, Goosanders are handsome ducks with serrated bills designed for catching fish. They are on the RSPB's green list with around 3,000 breeding pairs and are found in most parts of the UK. They are often confused with Mergansers and are unpopular with fisherman due to their love of Salmon and Trout. Like many other ducks they happily winter in the UK, meaning that up to 12,000 will arrive. There were a handful at Blashford, mainly females. They stayed on the spit for for entire duration, meaning I'll need to go back for better shots in the future.

Here we have three Goosanders. The male is the bird in the middle.

Another record shot, this time showing the male preening.

So that's it for this week. I've now up to 122 photographed birds, with another 150 left to find!

Despite the weather being poor, I was still able to visit a number of different locations. So let's take a look at each one in turn.

Hengistbury Head

Always a favourite of mine, with lots of different environments and the possibility for rare birds.

Spied a Magpie at the golf course.

A passing Jay. Seeing lots of these at the moment.

Hunting Kestrel. Again, terrible weather.

Blashford Lakes

I've never been here before, but it's only 25 minutes up the road, so I'll certainly be returning.

Lots of Great-Crested Grebes were about.

Little Grebes were also plentiful.

A Cormorant dries off.

Saw a number of ducks including Tufted...

Mallard...

Pintail...

And Wigeon. There was rumoured to be a Ruddy Duck, but I didn't see it.

A flock of Lapwings were at the Goosander hide.

While Greylags and Egyptian Geese were far off on the spit as well.

Highlight of the day was a Kingfisher, that kept posing for pictures.

This is the closest he got, about 17 feet away. 

Heavy crops, but they will do for the moment :)

Truly stunning birds. Here's hoping I have more light next time as 1/100 is too slow!

Longham Lakes

I was hoping to see the Black-Necked Grebe, but it continues to elude me. Still it's a great location with lots of birds.

Seeing Cormorants resting on pylons is very odd. They were everywhere.

Managed to catch one on its way to fish.

Coots were plentiful, although I saw no Moorhens.

There was one lone Little Egret that kept the Mallards company.

Hopefully this shot is sharp enough!

A size comparison shot!

A Mute Swan plays peekaboo.

A Buzzard was on patrol.

I was surprised at how pale it was!

There was a single pair of Canada Geese.

And I disturbed a Shoveler!

Discovered a hunting Kestrel.

I think it's a male, but I could be wrong.

Stunning looking falcons.

I also spied a Pied Wagtail as I was leaving.

Hengistbury Head

Went there again today in search of the Lapland Buntings that had been sighted but didn't see them :( It was really windy and overcast, so there wasn't much about.

Starlings by the golf course.

More Pheasants were about.

Spied a Stonechat.

And also this male.

And a very noisy Wren.