A NEW YEAR SELECTION


 It's been a while since I've posted on here...about six months!, for no good reason apart from a large dose of lethargy on my part. So, I thought I'd better make the effort and start off the new year with a selection of images taken over the last month.

We've had a few crisp, bright and frosty days over the last few weeks and most of the local water bodies have had large amounts of ice on them, concentrating the wildfowl into smaller areas than normal...making life a little easier for the photographer...!


Gadwall taking flight...

Tufted Duck fly over...

 
 A pretty in pink Mr. Wigeon...

 There's quiet a few Goosander being reported in the area at the moment...

Still finding it difficult getting the contrast right between the iridescent green head and the subtle salmon pink tinged body of the male!

Plenty of 'winter' thrushes about at the moment too...

Fieldfare

Redwing

A male Reed Bunting... 

And in plain view, instead of using it's camouflage to 'hide' in the undergrowth, a fly over Snipe...

And my 'bestest' little birds of the year..so far!..a very showy pair of Stonechats...

 Female

Male

That's it...thanks for looking.

 

A Walk In The Sunshine

Just lately we haven’t had many sunny days but yesterday, after an early morning frost, the sun rose into a clear blue sky. So I decided that it was an opportunity that was too good to miss and set off for a walk around one of my local nature reserves.



I spooked a large flock of Yellowhammers that were feeding on the set aside ground by the footpath, fortunately they didn’t go far and settled high in the trees where they appeared like jewels sparkling in the sunshine.




A small party of Reed Buntings were making their way along the hedgerow and not giving too many photo opportunities as they kept low down amongst the branches. Eventually curiosity must have gotten the better of this female as she popped up for a quick and nervous look, maybe to see what the strange creature following along behind them was!




There were also quite a few Fieldfare and Redwing (and Blackbirds) feeding on the abundant berries along the hedgerow, unfortunately, they are so wary and skittish birds, they always managed to stay safely out of camera range. (After many attempts I’ve still not got any decent images of either Fieldfares or Redwings…one day!!)

Further on around the reserve and I came across a pair of Stonechats using a fence line as a lookout perch to spot and dive down onto any unsuspecting insects. They managed to keep, what they decided was, a safe distance ahead of me by moving along one post at a time. The male did sit still for long enough and allow me to fire off a couple of shots.




As well as the birds mentioned I also saw (unfortunately no decent photographs!) a large flock (50+) of Goldfinch feeding on Teasel heads, a Kestrel perched in a distant tree, an overflying and very vocal Buzzard also numbers of Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow,Blue Tit, Woodpigeon and singles of Wren, Robin and a Great Spotted Woodpecker ‘tapping’ away high up in a dead tree.

And finally… I was treated to a flyby by a fast moving green missile…or maybe it was a Green Woodpecker? I managed to fire off a quick burst of shots and this, massively cropped, is the best one.



If you look closely it appears to have it’s eyes closed…maybe it was scared at the speed it was going or perhaps it was just having a nap with the auto pilot turned on?!!

I was pleased that I made the effort and had a good three hour plus walk in the sunshine (although the breeze was a bit nippy at times) and got to see a good selection of birds. I also didn’t see another human being!!
Oh yeh!…I also saw and photographed quite a few different species of Fungi (wet and dirty knees and elbows time again!) which I’ve yet to properly sort ID’s for…I sometimes wish that I didn’t take so many photographs!

LOCAL BIRDS

I made the most of the warm and sunny weather (it’s raining now!) that we’ve had over the last few days and managed to get out and about and photograph some of the local birds.


A Corn Bunting glowing in the early morning sunshine.

I found this pair of very confiding Stonechats…

The male




The female




I was very lucky to catch up with, what was a lifer and the highlight of the show for me, a reasonably rare (although there have been quite a few reported around the country just recently) Great Grey Shrike.

Distant views at first…


It was very flighty but I did manage to get a little closer…


Over four days of ‘local’ birding I managed to see fifty two different species of bird, all within a twelve mile radius of home. It was a good and enjoyable few days birding.

Not what I was looking for…

…but a couple of nice surprises.
On Friday, but too late to visit, I saw the reports that a pair of Garganey were ‘showing well’ on a lake at a nearby nature reserve. So yesterday, hoping that they had ‘settled in’, I decided to go and have a look. It was a nice sunny/blue sky morning and I was up early and with time on my hands, the reserve doesn’t open till 9.30!!, I decided to stop off at a site where I’ve previously seen Corn Buntings…no luck this time though! I was however treated to the sight of a lovely pair of Stonechat, distant at first but, slowly getting nearer as I tried to make myself as invisible as possible by mingling my 16 stone bulk into a very thorny Hawthorn bush…ouch! But, as is the way of things, just as they were getting into decent camera range they were flushed by a group of walkers who were allowing their two dogs to race, seemingly uncontrolled, around the field where eventually they managed to scatter a flock of sheep with no discernable control or concern from any of their owners. I guess the dogs were just being dogs..but the owners….??


A distant male Stonechat.

It was nice to hear the songs of the many Skylarks as, still killing time, I sat in the car with the warm sunshine streaming through the windows and read the newspaper. Now, despondent and fully depressed at all the ‘news’ I decided to have one more look in the field to see if the Stonechats had returned…unfortunately I couldn’t re-locate them but what I did notice were the Skylarks they seemed to be everywhere, and a couple were in camera range…just!


Skylark

It was now time to make the five minute drive to find the Garganey. On entering the main hide, which was quite full!, the only conversation that I could hear was…”any luck with the Garganey?”….”have you spotted them?”…”seen ‘em yet?”…to which the replies were a rather subdued…”na”….”nope”….”not been seen this morning”… and then there’s always one smug smart arse who comes up with the most helpful and encouraging answer…” I saw them over in that corner of the lake yesterday and they were showing really well”…!!!
I eventually spent a couple of hours sitting in the, cold and draughty, hide watching the other birds that were on or around the lake…including; Wigeon, Tufties, Gadwall, Mute Swans, Greylag and Canada Geese, Lapwing..busy staking their claims to nest sites on the islands, Shoveler, one Oystercatcher, twelve plus Snipe..they’re good at hiding!! and the bonus of a new ‘tick’ for the year..a ‘bouncing’ Jack Snipe.
Oh!…and I almost forgot…..Saturday morning and half term school holidays = lots of noisy screaming kids…bah, humbug!!!

This notice, spotted on the way out, did manage to raise the mood a little…


…Is it just in case they should get the urge to do something really naughty?

And after all that…still no Garganey!

                                                                                                                                                            

AFTER THE HEATWAVE - PART 2

      BIRDS....

As I mentioned in my previous post once the saga of the shed was solved I managed to get out for a spot of bird watching.

I'd been reading on the local bird reports that a few migrants had turned up around Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire so decided to take a look.

 It was chilly and rather blustery  (as it invariably is around the beacon) with  some long sunny periods between the rather dark and threatening clouds. I soon located the birds exactly where they had been reported to be, unfortunately I came upon them rather abruptly and they took flight and went into hiding in the nearby bushes. I thought if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me and concealed myself as best I could with a good view over the area where the birds had been. I didn't have to wait long before they returned affording good if a little distant views.

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Juvenile Stonechat

Stonechat Female or Juvenile?

Wheatear

And finally.... a lifer for me, a Female Whinchat

Amongst some of the more common birds I saw where a large charm of Goldfinch feeding on thistle heads, a large flock of Meadow Pipits feeding in a recently tilled field, a Green Woodpecker and a hunting Kestrel. Also on the wing were Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Small Heath butterflies.

All in all an enjoyable, if rather blustery, few hours birding.