Patchwork Challenge - Entry 1

So here it is, my first entry for this year's Patchwork Challenge.
The aim is to choose a spot no more than 3kms in size and spot as many different birds as you can in the course of a year. There's a point system too, although I doubt I'll use it as it seems a little complicated. I just thought this was a good opportunity to start over as it's hard finding new birds for the Great British Bird Hunt.

My first trip to Longham Lakes was interesting as all the back fields have flooded. As a result all the geese and swans were very active and a lot nearer than they usually are. I saw a few ducks, but not as many different species as I'd expect to see and Mallards were very thin on the ground. While I heard plenty of passerines, I didn't include them as my ids aren't too hot. I also saw a few gulls which I didn't recognise, and therefore didn't include.

It wasn't a bad start though and I saw a total of 24 different species
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Cormorant
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Kestrel
Coot
Lapwing
Black-Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Woodpigeon
Magpie
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Blue Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Blackbird
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Goldfinch

The Redwing was particularly interesting as I only saw my first a day previously, and here was another small flock of around 5 birds.

I'm including a few pictures but they're taken with my bridge camera. The weather was so poor I didn't want to risk my big lens.

Cormorants

A closer crop.

Great Crested Grebe which was very close to the bank.

And another shot of it.

The fields were heavily waterlogged.

A distant Long-Tailed Tit.

Male Little Grebe.

A hidden Redwing.

Great British Bird Hunt - 2 new birds

I kick off the New Year with two brand new birds I've not seen before.

Redwing
I was hoping to see Redwings when I went to Wales as they typically move around with flocks of Fieldfare, which I did see. Sadly, they eluded me and I thought my chance of seeing them ended there. Luckily, I got a call from my Aunty on January the 2nd saying she had a pair in her garden and would I like to see them. Normally I don't drop everything at the drop of a hat, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
The shots aren't the best as I was using a bridge camera, but I'm still happy with them. Rredwings are Scandinavian thrushes and a lot smaller than I was expecting. There were about 5 in total, but they were typically getting chase off by Blackbirds and proved to be quite timid. It's distinctive for a line above its eye and the red patches under its wings. Nearly 700,000 birds typically visit each year, but only a handful tend to breed.

The birds loved the ivy berries.

The white eye stripe is very distinctive.

Easily the best shot I took.

Blackcap

While we were looking for the Redwings I spotted a Blackcap but in my excitement couldn't get a good shot of it. We continued to look for another 20 minutes but the male didn't show. Just as I was leaving I followed what I thought was a Robin to the other side of the garden. I soon realised that it was a female and within seconds a male was with her too.

Blackcaps are migratory warblers, but more and more spend all year here. In the past I've heard them in hedgerows while out in the countryside (they have very melodious songs) but I've never spotted one long enough to get a photo. It's probably far too early for the birds to think about breeding, but they were certainly spending time together.

He's obscured by bushes but you can see the distinctive black cap.

Shot one of the female.

And a harsher crop. Would love to get one of these in my 600mm lens.

So that's all for this week. I'm not at 145 birds in total!

New Year, new rules

Hi everyone, just a quick update to say that I'm still carrying on with the blog, but am also making a few little changes.

I'm still carrying on with the Great British Bird Hunt and still looking for lifers to add to my list, but I'm also going to be doing The Patchwork Challenge, which you can find out about here.

Hopefully, it will get me all geed up for a new year, as it's quite disappointing to not see any new birds when out and about (although it's not the only reason I bird of course).

As a result I will now go ahead with two types of updates. One entitled Great British Bird Hunt, the other entitled Patchwork Challenge.

See you soon.

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.

New birds spotted!

I'm just doing a short update this week, mainly because I've had teething problems with my new lens and am not too happy with the shots I've been getting (it turns out it needed some micro adjustments).
As a result I'll simply be posting the two new birds I saw, which should bring my total to 140.

Fieldfare
I saw a Fieldfare for the first time last year, but I was unable to get a photo of it.
I saw this one in Wales, while visiting my sister. It was part of a fairly large flock and a few Redwings were there as well (again, I missed images).
Fieldfares are thrushes and typically live in countries such as Scandanavia. They travel to the UK in October, typically staying until Mar-May. They are gorgeous looking birds and are easy to pick out in the field due to their grey heads and distinctive spotted breasts. They love berries and fruit, and will typically strip any bushes and trees they come across.

This fellow was high up in a tree, meaning this was the best shot I could get.

Common Gull

I headed off to Radipole Lake in search of Bearded Tits. While I did see some, they were too far out for good photos. The hide was also a wasted trip due to workers scaring all the birds away. Oh well, there's always next time.

Common Gulls are so named, not because they are exceedingly common (they're not) but because they favour common ground. They look quite similar to Herring Gulls but has gentler looking features, a black eye and greenish legs. This one was swimming, which made it harder to identify, luckily, a fellow birdwatcher pointed him out to me.

An uncropped shot of the Common Gull.

A trip to Hengistbury Head

Freelance meant I didn't have much time for birding, but I was able to get out for a while on sunday to visit Hengistbury Head. It was pretty quiet and I was continuing to practice with the new lends, which is proving extremely difficult for birds in flight. Still it wasn't too bad to spend a couple of hours out, even if I didn't see anything new.

I think this is a Herring Gull, but I could be wrong.

Most of the birds were very distant. Here's a Carrion Crow.

A Meadow Pipit out for a forage.

A Little Egret takes off.

Another Gull I'm not too sure on.

A Stonechat which landed about 15 feet from me.