It was quite odd yesterday evening. I decided to go out to the moor yet again just to see if I could get more photos of Whinchat that had been showing so well just a few days again. I made my way down to the area that I had seen them before and it was disappointing now when I realised that there was no sign of them whatsoever. Just 5 days ago there seemed to be 5 pairs at least and now there were none! Quite odd. Later I did discover one pair but well away from the place where they had been almost numerous. As I wandered around I caught sight of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies, at last I photographed the underwing and I was able to confirm the ID.
The weather was incredibly hot and humid, very unusual in the UK. I walked very slowly and quietly as usual and caught sight again of a Snipe that is obviously breeding in a little pool and marshy area close to the track. I have seen these Snipe on 4 different occasions now and always in the same place so they must be breeding I would think. On my way back up the path I had a real treat. As I looked up the hill on my right I saw a small Fox sitting up like a little dog just watching out for anything that caught his/her fancy. I quickly got the camera ready and took a few shots but from a distance. It hadn't seen me yet and I took steps nearer and got a few more. As I watched him I could see how intent on looking for a meal it was and it took little notice of me even though I was quite close.
Having now taken a few reasonably good shots I tried to get even closer but the fox was having none of it and immediately got up from his relaxed position and disappeared down off his little lookout spot and in to the bracken behind. What a lovely animal it was, very appealing and attractive with piecing dog-like eyes and a rich red coat. I looked around at the sight it would be getting and thought how lucky he was to live in such a nice place. Lots of food around with a Rabbit warren below, berry laden bushes beetles and the odd bird now and then. I would guess that they are not particularly persecuted now that the hunting ban is in force and hope that farmers don't go out of their way too much to shoot them. Surely it would be worth the odd lost chicken to share your environment with a beautiful creature like this.
The last few days, since last Thursday in fact, have been a bit hectic for me and I have been out of the county and visiting my Son and Daughter-in-Law in the county of Yorkshire. I obviously made an effort to see and photograph a few things when we were there. The highlight was my first (UK) sighting of a Tree Sparrow. I have seen them in the Far East, Singapore to be exact where they have been introduced and they are the common sparrow there. In the UK they are very scarce now and populations have plummeted by a ridiculous percentage in the last 20 years..... 90% or there abouts. This is a bird that I possibly took for granted when I was a boy in Derbyshire and overlooked, but of course I will never know that for sure. They are now absent from Devon and Dorset. A small colony, somewhere in North Cornwall is our nearest population.
In Yorkshire there are a couple of sites where they can be seen. Bempton Cliffs was the first that we visited and on top of the RSPB visitors centre I caught sight of my first. I have to say that I was very disappointed with the Bempton Cliffs RSPB Reserve and it is all that I dislike about RSPB reserves all rolled in to one. Frankly it was/is a Zoo. The RSPB have taken ownership of the land there and the birds that breed there, and now charge an admission to view the wild birds on the cliffs..... what right have they to do that? There were facilities and cafes and, of course the inevitable gift shop. It was crowded to say the least with at least 500 people milling around the view points, to be honest I have been to Exeter City home games with fewer spectators. Surly, brusque "volunteers" were at the designated viewing points with their spotting scopes permanently focused on the odd unfortunate Puffin that was clinging to the cliffs and they would call out........ the blokes, not the Puffins ....... "Puffin in the scope". There would then be a melee and scuffle as people clamoured to peer at the bird. Birdwatching, this aint!!!! I have to say that even though I am now a member of the RSPB something should be done to tone down the take over by the society because Bempton Cliffs has bee totally ruined. I was appalled by it all. I just hope that they do not acquire the land on the Cliffs here in Devon between Budleigh and Sidmouth, imagine the horror of that with a gift shop, fence and toilets and then the inevitable hordes that would throng in like lemmings.
So RSPB, you have ruined Bempton Cliffs!
Now Old Moor RSPB Reserve in the Dearne Valley near Barnsley is a success story and even though there is an admission charge they have done a good job in creating a wildlife haven in the midst a typical Northern Landscape of houses and failing industries close to the MI and very busy trunk roads. A chat with Steve, (don't know if he was the manager but if he wasn't he should be), convinced me that they were actually protecting the birds here as well as providing good educational facilities and inspiration for local children. The focus was on Tree Sparrows and they were everywhere. Didn't agree with the children's adventure play area, it's a wildlife reserve for heavens sake and the family hide was better than my house. Is it really necessary to have such well appointed hides? This shows what a rich organisation the RSPB is. This does little to "Protect" birds which is surely the RSPB's aim (hence the title). But all in all I was pleased to see the efforts to protect and encourage the Tree Sparrows and I guess, without the shop, cafe and carpark then there would be no reserve and the Tree Sparrows would continue their decline. So I paid my money and joined the RSPB so I can moan from within!
Having made the effort to get up before 6 I am glad to say that today's ringing session was a special one. We met before 6.30 and travelled to a new site (to me) in East Devon . Birds were few and far between in the nets due to slightly windy conditions and only 5 in total were caught. but two were very special. 2 Wren, 1 Dunnock, a lovely Marsh Tit and a Garden Warbler which was very interesting to say the least. Garden Warbler are very closely related to Blackcaps and I was very interested to get the chance to examine one in the hand. As Warblers go this is a big species not a lot smaller than a Dunnock for example and significantly larger and more bulky than a Willow Warbler. They are said to be "featureless" when seen in the field, with no wing bar or eye stripe nor white in the tail, in fact it is said that this lack of diagnostic features is in it's self a feature. First impressions led me to be surprised by the size and then a white belly as well as a faint eye ring.
Regardless of the small amount of birds the quality made up for it and I was very impressed to be able to see both these two species so closely. The two Wrens were almost forgotten even though they are such gorgeous little birds and in the hand equally as interesting as they are in the field. One was a juvenile and the other an adult. I am not surprised that we caught a couple because they were singing constantly with lots of individual territories identified..... too many to count really. If you are interested in identifying Marsh Tit in the hand here is a nice close-up of the underside of the tail which is crucial apparently.
Leaf hoppers are a hard to identify and there are 250 species of them in the UK so I am going to find it hard to put a name to this one. But I have to say that when you have a really good look at them they are fascinating. The one here is only about 1.5mm long and very hard to get a good photo of..... don't I say that about most things?
If this little bug doesn't look like the inspiration for ET then I don't know what does. And below he looks like dangerMouse in a cape!
Leafhoppers can be pests in agriculture but in a normal garden I can't imagine that they would do much harm. They suck the sap from plants so if there was a large infestation I am sure that there would be a big impact. Regardless of that I am pleased to see them when I do because they are interesting and make good macro photo subjects.
I took delivery today of my new lens, purchased specifically to try and improve the quality of images from the garden hide at short distances I have to say that so far I am impressed with some of the results. It feels incredibly high quality and the auto focus is so silent and quick. I sat in the hide and managed a few shots and have to say that the end results are really pleasing.
The next image is a House sparrow perched in a Bottle Brush bush at about 15 foot away and then cropped in Photo Shop. I have to say that I like this image as well and it is still quite sharp and quite acceptable.
House Sparrow
This evening was a bit of a disappointment because at around 5.45 it absolutely poured down which is no big deal. But at 6 I met Dr Ian to have a look at the Sand Martin colony. Had the weather been acceptable, that is, no rain or high winds we would have ringed some Sand Martins at the colony on the nearby river Exe. . This has now been delayed until next week. I must say that I am looking forward to this very much. It is going to be good to put rings on "my" Sand Martins and then se what/who returns next year. When you consider the immense distance that they travel on their migration it is amazing that they then return again to the same spot on our River. Next week there will be photographs and a report of the session so don't forget to check back to see.
Today has been a good one in the garden for Tit species. I decided to take some experimental photos using a 200mm lens that came with my first camera and am pleased to say that it worked quite well, the final results are a little on the "soft" side as you would expect from a very cheap lens but the principle worked well. I have ordered a high quality 200 mm lens which will be with me tomorrow. This should improve the images taken in my garden even more. I am looking forward to using it. In the meantime I have posted these two images so that we can compare them when I post images with the new lens in the near future. These birds are both juveniles, the first is a Blue Tit and the second a Great. As I sat in the hide waiting I got very excited because I could hear Long Tailed Tits in the apple tree and I was really hoping that one at least would come down on to the feeders and present its self for a photo.......................................................... but no luck and eventually they left the garden. I note that this time last year I had Long Tails in the garden so I can see a pattern there.
Later on in the early evening the weather cleared and the sun shone so I decided at the last minute to go out to the moor to continue my Cuckoo study. I heard at least 5 different males calling but didn't have the look of one visiting the tree which I had decided to concentrate on.
I did waste a little bit of time though pursuing a pair of Whinchats, the second sighting this year....... and well, you can't resist that can you. I noticed that there was a true pair and it might just be that I have never actually seen a male in true breeding plumage before. As I arrived at the cuckoo tree there he was right at the top and I tried to get as close as I could to him. After a while he flew back over my head to his mate and it gave me the chance to study them both together and note how much more brightly coloured the male is. As I sat in the hide some 30 minutes later he came back on to the top of the tree and I was waiting for him to turn his head in a good photographic pose but unforunately he never did and I cursed as he flew off knowing that I had missed a really good photo opportunity.
A completely flightless, very long-legged cricket, the "Speckled Bush Cricket" is virtually wingless, apart from the tiny brown flaps on the top of the male's body. It is bright green, conspicuously spotted with very dark red speckles. Its song is very high-pitched and barely audible to the human ear.
It is well camouflaged among vegetation and usually only seen as it hops to bright outdoor lights or windows at night. It lives on well structured vegetation, tall grasses and shrubs, being found as an adult from mid-July through to the autumn. Eggs are laid in bark and the young nymphs hatch the following spring. A common species throughout southern England and the East Midlands, it is absent from the North.
Young hatch from mid-May onwards and mature through 6 larval stages to adult, with about one week for each state and one week for the adult to become sexually mature. Males appear to have a shorter adult life than females. Females can still be around in early November but we do not believe that any survive the winter. I last saw them in my garden on the 20th May. I can say that the ones seen today, several in fact were slightly larger than those 2 weeks ago. I find them very photogenic and am looking forward to seeing adults later in the summer.
Out yesterday at the Sand Martin colony as blogged here I had an interesting and great sighting. I stood talking to a dog walker who's Staffordshire Bull Terrier had disturbed my photographic session. We were just casually glancing in to the water when a large, odd looking fish appeared in the shallows. At first I thought it was a Salmon and then an eel but after just a few seconds I realised that it was a Sea Lamprey. It was large, at least 3ft long and it was very blotchy in appearance with a strangely large and odd shaped tail. here is a description that I downloaded.
I had a great, great day yesterday. The weather was absolutely glorious and in the afternoon I decided to go out to Dartmoor to look for Redstart and Whinchat. I spent around 7 hours, yes I know I am obsessive but I just cant get enough and always want just one more sighting and photograph which hopefully will be better than the last.
At present there is an eruption of painted Lady Butterflies in the UK. I have seen them twice today, once this morning and then tonight on Aylesbeare Common there was several. Here is a quote explaining all about this occurrence.
Even though it was pouring with rain this morning I sat in the hide trying to get some interesting shots of the Blue Tit family. I notice that Nina and Shaun, my nice neighbours had filled their feeders and the birds spent some time feeding from the new feed source. This is good as it gives them the chance to see the comings and goings. Here is a nice photo of one of the babies suffering a bit from wet conditions. I hope that it stops soon, it cant be good for such small and delicate birds to be wet for too long. I notice that this time last year we had hardly any bird visitors in the garden so the feeding that we have provided this year has certainly encouraged them. Just to repeat, we have had 7 species of young birds in the garden so far this season, a great result! No Robins? We haven't had one in the garden for several weeks, I wonder why?
On the 11th January we had a ringing session in my garden. A Blue Tit was ringed, a male as it happened. This can be told for certain by measuring the wing length which is longer in male Blue Tits than females. The last couple of days has seen the return of this bird sporting his ring and now with around 6 young baby Blue Tits and a mate. This morning I took a few photos of him with his youngsters.
I have found that the Wren is a bird not that easy to get a good photo of, they are quick and keep low, and have come and gone before you realise. They are very common though and I knew that I would get a decent picture sooner or later. Over the last few days I have been exploring the Alphin Brook which flows into the my "village"and joins the River Exe very low down on the Estuary via. the Exeter Canal. This is a wooded valley very, very close to the City and a favourite of dog walkers, (where isn't). The adjoining fields contain horses that belong to the local riding stables. It really is a nice quiet area and the home of breeding birds, Tits, Robins, Blackbirds etc. Kingfishers are reported and there are some nice butterflies to be seen. Wrens were singing their territorial songs as usual and as I stood quietly I watched one carrying food to feed youngsters hiding away in the brambles and nettles. I thought that there was nest quite close to the path but as I stood and watched it became obvious that there were several youngsters calling out and being attended to mostly by the male bird.
Issus coleoptratus in the garden.
I had a walk alongside the Exeter Canal this morning in the hope of seeing some interesting insects. I spotted a few of the usual Hoverfly species and Large Red Damselfly as well as these interesting Caterpillars. The first is a well grown specimen of "The Drinker" named because of the habit of dew drinking by the adult moth. I am really pleased with this picture because it has brought together all the elements of my new equipment and approach to photography. I am striving to Blog the very very best of photographs and it isn't just a case of pointing the camera at your subject and "hey-presto" there is a good shot. First find your subject and then set about planning the photo with the help of the firm tripod, good light and fill flash.
Birds are getting quite hard to photograph elsewhere other than from the garden hide. I put this down to breeding activity, now that pairs are well established breeding and the inevitable secrecy is the order of the day. It is frustrating though to hear Whitethroats singing loudly and Blackcaps but not be able to see them. I noticed a lot of activity on my garden feeder today so I positioned my hide close and waited to see what all the commotion was about. The first thing I saw was the young Goldfinches and a young Greenfinch which I was pleased to see. Then the perches next to the feeder were full of very newly fledged sparrows begging to be fed by their mum who was enjoying the Sunflower hearts and feeding them to her young.

The Whinchat is one of those birds that you feel you ought to see more often but the truth of the matter is, they are not that common and you have to be in the right habitat to see them Even then you need to be quite vigilant and know where to look. But with most species once you get used to what to look out for then they are not too hard to find. We live close to the famous Dartmoor National Park and yesterday evening I went specifically to go and find one or two. As you can see from the photo I was successful but only just.
As dusk approached and after a couple of hours wandering, I had watched, in the distance, Green Woodpecker, Cuckoo, Sparrowhawk and a bit closer, Stonechat. There were frustrating songs from Whitethroat, Wren, Willow Warbler, Reed Bunting and an occasional song that I was not sure of. Then as I made my way back up from Sousons Plantation I heard an interesting song, have a listen to one here. I had been hearing it all day as it happens but it had kind of just "mashed" in to the background. The sun was low now and caught the white stripe of the bird and I knew, in fact I said out loud....... Whinchat. I took this photo quickly before I tried to get closer. This one is a male and as I took a few steps forward the female who had been closer to me all along took to the air. This post is really intended to help you locate your own Whinchat and I will use my Dartmoor experience as an example. So, this part of Dartmoor is at the bottom of a valley, it is sheltered and the grass is closely cropped by sheep and ponies but as you can see in the photo there are low heathers and the occasional small Hawthorn or Rowan tree dotted amongst the heathers. The Whinchats that I have seen have always been perched on the tops of Heathers very prominently. This one did not allow me to approach but last year they were much more confiding and not been too quick to fly off but as it happened this was because they had newly fledged youngsters nearby and they were reluctant to leave them.
I would say that if you see a female Stonechat and you think it may be a female Whinchat then look for any stripe that goes way way back and if there is any doubt whatsoever then it is a Stonechat for sure. Once you see a Whinchat then there is no doubt whatsoever. Also if you look at the RSPB images on their Web Site here you will see that they have an illustration showing the Stonechat and Whinchat having the same basic reddish breast. This is so totally misleading and you should ignore it. Their illustration shows some kind of different species totally unlike any Whinchat I have ever seen either in photographs or real life. (How weird that the RSPB could get something such as this so wrong). At Sousons/Warren House you need to look up on to the heather covered shallow slopes either side of the path and any bird perched, singing on the tops of the heather will be either Whinchat, Stonechat or Meadow Pipit. There are several pairs of Stonechats in this are and my experience is that you will see the Stonechat before the Whinchats show themselves but just keep looking, learn the song by listening to the sound clip before you go out.
Apparently this insect is common in the South and South West of England. That may be so but I certainly have not seen one before let alone in my garden so I was thrilled when I spotted this tiny, and I mean tiny nymph this morning. It wasn't a lot bigger than a greenfly and when I had a really close look at it I was amazed at how lovely it was. The young hatch in spring and reach maturity in July. Now I am aware that we have them in the garden I will keep a good look out for adults later in the summer. Imagine if I were using insecticides in the garden? Great little insects like this one would be killed in an instant. Perhaps if you are one of those well meaning people that does spray your greenfly then think about what else you are killing in the process, and does it really matter that you have a few greenfly? It's easy to understand how people can develop an interest in entomology when you can discover such gems as this only feet from your front door.| Description: I have to say that I was very pleased to discover this insect today and it has been identified as a bumble bee mimic, Cheilosia illustrata. The body is mainly covered in very pale hairs, but usually displays a well-developed band of black hairs across the thorax, and another across tergite 3. The tip of the abdomen often has a visible covering of reddish orange hairs. The black hair bands can be much weaker on some specimens, especially males, so that entirely pale-haired forms are less-recognisable, apart from the wing cloud. There should be little chance of confusing this species with any other, though dark maleLeucozona lucorum look somewhat similar because of the dark wing cloud. It is a widespread and fairly abundant midsummer species on umbellifer flowers in hedgerows and at woodland edges throughout Britain and Ireland, wherever hogweed or angelica are present. |
Unfortunately it was dead!
Oxe-Eye Daisey Leucanthemum vulgare
A Short walk along the Exeter Canal at Turf was not particularly fruitfull as far as wild life is concerned. There were Cettis Warblers singing as well as Reed Warbler and lots of low flying Swifts, the odd House Martin and a few Swallows. Apart from that the only thing that caught my eye were a few wild flowers that seemed to be calling out to have their photographs taken. The first one is an Oxe-Eye Daisey, I like this plant, it reminds me of the time spent in New York State last year where they are very common even though it is an invasive "pest" plant there.
Who could fail to be impressed by Flag Iris, this just happens to be my mother's name so I always look out for them and am reminded of the great days I spent as a young lad fishing with both her and my father on the water courses around my local area of Derby.
..................... and finally a bird photo, no entry on the blog would be complete without one! This bird needs no introduction. Lets hope that it stays that way because House Sparrows are under serious decline in Suburban Gardens. Once they were the dominant species along with Starlings but now you are pleased when you have one or two in the garden unlike the 100 or so ten years ago with as many Starlings. I can only remember one starling in my garden so far this year.
Finally just a mention that one of my pictures was given 'notable status on the Birdguides web site and was shortlisted as there photo of the week. A great honour............... one day!!!! . Have a look at it here.
I am pretty sure that this is a sow and that you can see teats in the photos. This may explain why she is eager to feed and risk being out in the open and at risk. She probably really needs the protein if she is a feeding mother. After around 10 minutes or so and with the time getting on I emerged from the hide and she didn't immediately run for cover as I would have expected but stood up and had a good look at me before moving off from the direction that she had come. What a great experience and one that I will repeat I hope. I have deliberately not disclosed the location at the request of the home owner who does not want any harm to come to her precious nightly visitors.
I am glad to say that things have brightened up a bit later today bit we did have rain and really overcast conditions earlier. Therefore I am pleased to be able to post any kind of photos at all The baby Golfinches are still here and this morning there were 4 on the feeders and oddly no sign of the parents. The Great Tit youngsters are still being fed in the garden and today we had fledgling ~House Sparrows as well so that is 5 species of young bird in the garden so far this year.
We had a visit from a greenfinch today, a male who I haven't seen before.
The highlight though was the return of the badly mauled Blackbird hen who has managed to grow back feathers on her back and survived the ordeal with broken tail and wing feathers. She is looking so much better than she was even a few days ago.
This evening I am out to take photos of Badgers in a garden on the outskirts of the city. I am looking forward to this not only for the photo opportunity but also to have the chance to see Badgers at really close hand should be quite something. Check back for the photos tomorrow.
Also today I have been shown the site of a Barn Owl nest. I am pretty certain I could hear young chicks in a nest but didn't catch sight of an adult. I collected some pellets which I will photograph for you and post later. Obviously I will not disclose the nest site nor will I be taking any pictures of the Owls at this site as the Barn Owl is a schedule 1 bird and protected by law.
We are experiencing some dull, damp and overcast weather today which is due to be with us for a few more days. I used the opportunity to study and photograph the birds in my garden with the new "Metz" flash gun. I must say that I am very pleased with the results now that I am starting to get my head round it. It has enabled me to take good pictures in conditions where photography would have been almost impossible without the flash. The first thing that I saw this morning on the garden feeder was a young Goldfinch, obviously newly fledged from a nest somewhere nearby. I am pleased about this. We have now had the young of 4 different species of bird in the garden this year so far which is pretty good. They are Blackbird, Collared Dove. Great Tit and Goldfinch. So in order here are a few photos of the 'creche", starting with Goldfinch:
The sun came out and I thought that it may give me a good chance to improve on my Whitethroat photos. As I stood watching and waiting I began to have a better understanding of what was going on. For starters, the Whitethroat has now been joined by, or attracted a mate seen acting furtively at the bottom of a bramble. She is acting the way I know that Whitethroats do and is really hard to get a good look at. Meanwhile he is still singing away and giving really good views.
As I stood watching this Blackcap came and joined in which was a bit of a surprise and he lingered long enough for a photo.
From time to time the Whitethroat male changed perches and I still haven't managed to get a good shot of him, close and low down. Not the same with Sparrows though, even though they are nowhere near as common as they used to be they will always let you get quite close. We took them so much for granted!
I am constantly told that Whitethroat are a common bird and who am I to disagree. But all I would say is that it is a bird that I have not had much luck with over the years. I am glad to say that this year has been different. I saw my first just a few days ago, close to home, by the Exe in bramble and willow trees that border the river. Every time I have been back since I have seen one. I am not 100% sure that it is the same bird but probably. Contrary to popular theory this one is very prominent, singing his head off mostly from the highest branch, then sometimes at head height on the top of the brambles. They nest in just such a place, low down in thick brambles and stinging nettles. This male is singing to attract a female so I suppose when he is successful he will quieten down and be a lot more difficult to see.
This is a very picturesque pose with the lovely background, this shows the birds features beautifully. I am addicted to him already and I have been trying really hard to get a good shot. I must say, even though this is not the sharpest photo, it is a really nice picture, almost like an Archibald Thorburn watercolour. I have done a fair bit of painting in my time and would have been very pleased to replicate the background in this picture. Just look how this species got it's name, the white throat is very prominant in this picture. I wonder if this is our nicest warbler species? It certainly makes our little brown Chiffchaffs look a bit dowdy and even the Cettis is dull in comparison.
His eye is particularly attractive and his flesh coloured legs are a real feature too.
So after attending to some banking issues and a bit of personal admin I went back at 3 to see what else I could achieve. I had only been there for a short while when the Pied Wagtail appeared in my lens just a few feet ahead of me and I took a few quick shots then suddenly a Common Sandpiper appeared right alongside the Wagtail, 6 feet or more away. As you can see I did manage a good shot which I am very happy with even though the light could have been better. I couldn't believe my luck as I have never been that close to one in the UK before. It bobbed its tail as they do and I took about 6 shots before it moved away and then disappeared behind the foliage ahead.
I had a walk up alongside the River this afternoon in the dull and almost wet weather on this awful but typical Bank Holiday Monday. I was checking to see if the Sand Martins had returned to their nest site and I am glad to report that there are around 30 pairs nesting on the vertical banks of the River Exe only a mile or two from the centre of the City. Watch this space because I will keep you informed of progress. I watched, as well as the Sand Martins, this Pied Wagtail that was obviously breeding somewhere close. The Martins were intent on hole digging and I watched from a distance the buiding/digging activity. This is a taster of things to come. A hole with bird to follow soon!

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