Week 40 18-01-2015 Birds Spotted: 0

It's been a pretty poor week this week for two reasons. 1 I've been unable to get out much on Sunday and 2, my camera lead is broke, leaving me with no way to get my images onto my computer.

Because the weather has been extremely cold I decided to head to Avon Heath to see if any Bramblings had been attracted to the feeders there. Unfortunately the hide was a complete bust for several reasons. There was no food out, so birds weren't coming in. Many of the trees had been destroyed and lots of them were dumped in the pond. In short it looks a mess and is doing more harm than good.

I spent a good 40 minutes there and saw at least 6 groups of families come in, see nothing was there and immediately leave. It's a vicious circle as the hide won't get support if it's not being used, but the kids won't want to use it if there's nothing to see there.

Here's hoping that things pick up in a couple of weeks when I return. I understand that some places don't like to leave food out all year around, but it's still pretty treacherous weather at the moment and birds need all the help they can get.

Due to my camera lead not working I'll simply post some images that I've been tinkering with in lightroom recently.

House Sparrow.

Mute Swans (messed up the clone tool).

Curlew resting.

Robin.

Chiffchaff.

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.

Week 37 28-12-2014 Birds Spotted: 0

I won't lie it's been a pretty disappointing week in terms of birding recently.
The inevitable pull of Christmas has meant that there hasn't been a great deal of time to get out and about, so I've very little to report.

So I'm still on 127 photographed birds with another 145 left to find.

I think in the new year I'm going to have to start going to specific places in order to see the birds I need to tick off my list in order to get back into the swing of things. I've still had a great day today heading off to Longham Lakes for an early look around, but it's not the same when you can spot something new or interesting.

Anyway, here's what happened when I headed off to Longham this week.

I left around 9.30 which is the earliest I've headed off to the Lakes. Unfortunately, it wasn't well-timed, because of the position of the sun. All the action typically takes place on the far side of the lakes, and the sun was directly in front of me, meaning sun glare was a constant issue. By the time the sun was behind me, the birds were on the far side of the lake, which meant taking photos quite problematic. Still, it was a great walk regardless and I saw a fair few interesting birds. The black-necked grebe continues to elude me and I lucked out on seeing any Fieldfares and Redwings, but I'll try and get out again in a few days time.

One of the first things I spotted was this Greenfinch. He got relatively close, so I was able to catch a fair amount of detail on him.

I then spied a Kestrel in a tree. Well actually, I missed him originally, and caught him as he flew to another. The tree was obscuring him, so I waited for him to have a poo. Sure enough, as soon as he made his deposit he took off and I was able to capture this shot of him.

Cormorants were everywhere, but this one got closest too me and he was still a good 50 odd feet away. Still, managed to capture some nice detail and you can see he's still wet from a swim.

Unfortunately, I didn't see this Heron as I had my back to him. It would have been nice to get a shot head on, but that's the break with bird watching sometimes. Your eyes can't be everywhere.

Mallards where everywhere, and were always open to a photo opportunity. I quite like this one as it shows off the brilliant green head and that lovely yellow beak.

Not a bad shot, but Little Grebes are tremendously shy and this one refused to get within 50 feet of me. It's not a 100% crop, but it's not as sharp as I'd like.

Forgot my exposure here meaning there are blown elements on the bird. I guess the composition is okay, but it's not as good a shot as it could have been. There weren't too many Mute Swans around, so I'm guessing they were in the nearby fields.

It was quite far off but I liked the extreme splash landing this Cormorant made as it came in for a rather clumsy little landing.

There's a little island about 40 feet from the sore and this Grey Wagtail was there looking for food. The island was largely deserted, so he had the place to himself.

I now had the sun to my back, but the tall reeds meant I couldn't see birds until I disturbed them. This Gadwall looked rather pretty as the sun really brings his colouring out.

A Tufted Duck, but a lousy shot. Still I like Tufted Ducks, so up it goes.

I wanted to get a Christmas Robin and I was rewarded with this little fellow. It's three days late of course, but a nice touch all the same. I'm impressed with how much better the 7D is at picking out birds in branches compared to my old Canon 600D.

This is when I feel I could do with a teleconverter. There's a nice selection of birds here, including Shoveler, Cormorants, Lapwings and a Black-Tailed Godwit. It's a good 70-odd feet out, meaning this is a 50% crop.

Spotted this Pochards as I was on the way back to the car. I love their red eyes, it gives them an almost alien-look. They were a good way out, but I'm still pleased with the composition.

Caught this Rook as I was heading back to the car. I saw plenty of Magpies, Carrion Crows and Jackdaws, but only this Rook got near enough for a photo opportunity.

The final bird of the day was another Grey Wagtail that I was able to get extremely close to before some other walkers scared him away.

Week 35 14-12-2014 Birds Spotted: 1 New Camera Test

So this week was rather good. Not because I saw lots of new birds, but because I got my hands on a fantastically priced Canon 7D. I've already seen an improvement in some of my distant shots (although the focus is more sensitive in poorer light) and I'm sure things will only get better with practice.

So anyway, let's take a look at the new bird I saw this week.

Turnstone
The place was Poole Quay. I'd taken a wrong turn going into the park, and instead ended up a short distance from Poole Quay. As I was wandering around I saw a small group of waders that I first thought were Purple Sandpipers. Upon closer inspection I realised they were Turnstones.
Interestingly, these birds were actually scavenging on the ground, which I didn't expect to see. This tiny dumpy wader has mottled plumage with a white underside and is easy to mistake with many other waders. It gets its name as it likes to shift small pebbles and stones with its beak as it searches for food along the UK's rocky coasts. It's on the RSPB's amber list and around 51,000 birds winter here each year. None appear to breed here though.

These birds were incredibly tame, allowing me to get within 17 foot of them.

Here's another having a forage.

So that's it for another week. I'm now up to 127 photographed birds, with another 145 to find.

I'll leave you with some of the other birds I saw around the Quay and Poole Park. While I did see a Fieldfare, it flew by to fast to get a shot.

A selection of Black-Headed Gulls. One in a car park.

One admiring it's reflection.

Perched on a post.

There was a group of Brent Geese in the fields.

And one flew overhead.

Egrets were out and about as well.

Pleased with these flight shots.

Light was a little harsh though :(

I got very very close to a Black Tailed Godwit.

I caught the back end of a Carrion Crow.

Who hooked up with a friend.

A feeding Oystercatcher.

One playing hide and seek.

Another flying by.

Blackbird in the undergrowth.

Moorhen is hungry.

A blurry Rock Pipit.

A Mallard.

A perched Egret.

A very heavy crop of a Buzzard, which hopefully proves my lens isn't broke like I first thought.