Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Welcome to Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Click on the button above, welcome to the Blog.

Scroll down to read the daily blog and listen to the daily PODCASTS. 

To see hundreds of Kingfisher photos, then please have a look at my Galleries here

You can see my latest photos         here.

and my "photo of the week"          here.

To use any of the content from the Blog,  including photographs and writings, please seek my permission, which will almost certainly be granted.  However,  I do own the intellectual copyright of anything published on my Blog. The Blog contains more than 1000 pages and contains more than 4000 images mostly of birds and wildlife in and around Exeter, Devon, UK. From time to time I am lucky enough to travel abroad and there are hundreds of enties from these trips from Australia, Portugal, Spain and the USA. To see galleries of these images then search my GALLERIES HERE. 

February 25th

No visit to the hide today, other pressing things to do. But not entirely without news to report.  I have taken delivery of a wireless remote unit to replace the one nicked in Spain, along with my laptop and lens if you remember?  I have some plans to set up a camera remotely at water surface level hidden inside a "papier mache" rock that I have been making, this looks good and would fool anyone let alons a bird. I need to make sure that there is absolutely no disturbance whatsoever.  With the right lens it should be possible to freeze some action,  I am very excited about this.  Yesterday, I took so many pictures that I have several pearlers that I didn't post, here are a couple. 

This is the female Dipper who arrived at the  teritory to add some material to the nest.  You can clearly see that the female has a slighter less "cobby" body. Compare to the male below which also shows the white eyelid and lower white orbital ring.When the eye is closed this white eye lid flashes and is thought to act as a signal to other dippers in the area. Another very interesting feature of this species. 

 

 

 

 

February 24th

 

Amazing close up view of a male Dipper.

 

This is a minute by minute account of my session in the hide today which turned in to the best of the year so far.
........I was set up today by 9.40, a little later than I would have preferred. It's quiet with no sign of Dippers! The weather is bright with clear sky and scattered clouds, it's unusually warm for the time of year. The water level has dropped slightly and returned to normal, important because some of yesterday's submerged boulders are now exposed again. These boulders make ideal perches for Dippers and Wagtails. I saw a pair of Grey Wagtails on the walk down and now other birds are singing loudly around the hide. It is almost spring after all. 20 minutes or so later and a pair of Goosanders have just flown upstream and past the hide giving me extremely close views of this interesting fish-eating duck. They are known as sawbills because of the serrated edges to the bill which enables them to hold on to their slippery fish prey. They are reviled by game anglers because of their preferences to the same kinds of habitat and water that is also preferred by Salmon and Trou so you can guess the conflict issues that arise. When Goosanders flew past me last week in the same manner they eventually made their way back to me in front of the hide but unfortunately I wasn't able to picture them. I am hoping this isn't going to be the case today. At 10.24, still no Dipper which is quite normal, I will sit it out until some action happens. At 11.06 still no Dipper but I have had an interesting few minutes never the less. I watched a Grey Squirrel digging up and eating his buried treasures on the bank opposite. It made for some good photogenic shots with the 500 lens doing it's stuff very well. We also had a female Wagtail on the waterfall....... where are the Dippers?
The time has moved on to 11.27 and at last I have a Dipper in my sights. Not actually with me yet but about 200 metres down stream. This usually means that it will make it's way to this favourite area of river........ and hopefully the nest site! When it does, I am ready, the light has improved a little. I can actually see the bird feeding now. It has just flown from its backside perch and flopped in to the water to feed in the usual fashion. I can only see one but just lately they are never too far from each other. Its now much closer to me sitting on a favoured midstream boulder and at the moment dealing with something it has just found. 1135 and I have lost sight of it........ but there it is again now even closer........ just as expected.

 

The male Dipper arrived on the log just below me.

 

 

He preened trying to make out that he had no interest in the nest.

 

 

 

 

He started to get excited.

I stopped writing at that point because It was starting to get interesting. Suddenly the one was joined by his/her mate and then the male flew on to the branch as you can see. He spent a few minutes nonchalantly preening and trying to make out that he wasn't interested. Then after several minutes the female suddenly came in to view very close behind with a beak full of nesting material.

 

He got very excited when he saw her and greeted her with a display.

They then both flew to the boulder even nearer to me and then she was up in to the nest to deposit the nesting material. He immediately left the nest site and she disappeared yet again without me seeing her leave. A few minutes later a Dipper flew from upstream and back down river, probably to join up with it's mate. What a thrill, nest building which is said to take up to three weeks to complete is going well. I have no idea if this is earlier than last year. In 2011 the first eggs was laid on March 26, a month off yet.

 

February 23rd

I arrived at 8.50, conditions were dull and overcast.

I set up the gear, using  the new AV to Digital converter for the first time. This is a piece of kit that connects a Video camera to a Laptop giving you the chance to see the "live" images remotely and then the opportunity to take snapshots of this live feed on the desktop. It was  time consuming and fiddly to set up but it looks promising inspite of the low resolution of the images.

At 1003 the male appeared from upstream and landed on the waterfall. He sang for 30 seconds or so and then continued down the river. 10 minutes or so later, the female followed, also calling in-flight which is the first time that I have been certain that  females  call on the wing  like this.  Now I knew that they were down-stream together, I  expected both birds to eventually  make their way back up towards me  and in front of the nest.  This is exactly what happened but it took more than an hour. Both birds suddenly appeared and with a flurry of musical chatter from the male, there they both were on the favourite boulder at the foot of the nest.  The female immediately flew up in to the nest and the male seemed to slink away on foot down stream.  It seemed to me that he deliberately tried to keep a low-profile and this is an obvious ploy so as not to attract interest in the nest site from predators.  I never did see the female leave the nest nor the area, obviously she is even more covert than the male. About 30 minutes later they both retuned to the waterfall area right next to the hide and opposite the nest.  This time they totally ignored the nest, they fed and the female bathed.

 

The male slinks away from the nest area.

Later, they both arrived to feed and bathe, here's the male feeding opposite.

The birds don't appear to have any difficulty in finding food.

The male has a much more brightly coloured belly. than the female. He is stouter with a more solid beak.

This is the female, look at the duller plumage, much more slender shape and slighter, less heavy bill. However, without two birds to compare you would be hard pushed to seperate them.

A male Grey Wagtail coming in to breeding plumage. This bird was singing constantly all day and landed only a few feet from the hide looking for a nest site.

 

 I saw both male and female Grey Wagtail very close this morning but because I have so much kit I was  not been quick enough to take advantage of the good photo opportunities until the male perched on a clump right in front of the hide, very close. I daren't  poke the lens out of the hide for obvious reasons but managed to lock on to the bird and get some reasonably good close-ups.

 

 

A great development on the Dipper front!

 

 

What a tale I have to tell today!  It all started when there was a threat of rain for this afternoon so I decided to go to the Dipper territory much earlier than normal to spend the morning while it was still dry.  It was just after 8 when I made my way out of Exeter past the lines and lines of cars full of people coming in the other direction to start their drudge and here was I going out to sit by the river....... you have got to love that.  I was in the hide by 8.46, a couple of hours earlier than normal and I was expectant and then pleased to see, after only a few minutes, a Dipper feeding in what appears to be a favourite spot.  I say that because I see them feeding there often.  It came nearer and nearer but was still too far to bother with even a snapshot. It wasn't long before it flew to the favourite midstream boulder and I was just focusing the camera  when it flew towards me. As I peered around the camera, protruding from the hide, I was thrilled to see it land right next to the hide and now just a few feet from the nest.  It was on the boulder where I had seen it, numerous times last year when they were breeding.  At first I just watched him as he began to sing and get excited, he looked up to the nest but didn't fly up, then off he went just a few feet away and around a little bend in the river, 15 feet down stream. At first I was a bit disappointed but never anticipated what would happen next. He returned, now very excitedly with the female, they both landed on the boulder and she immediately flew up and in to the nest. The female was almost covert, she shyly kept away from the nest before quickly coming to the nest site and slipping up in to the nest. When she left he nest, she very quietly slunk away. I was joyous, I think that is the only word to describe it.  Suddenly all the thought and planning of the last 12 months had come together.  My pessimism was unfounded. What was really interesting was the way that the male had come to the nest first to check if it was safe. Then he went towards the female to call her to the nest and they returned together.  It seems that the  carrying around of nesting material is either a distraction ploy or perhaps when birds are in high breeding condition they  simply "carry' nesting material around by instinct.?

I managed to get some great photos as the male stayed on the  boulder but for most of the time both birds were too close to me and the 500 fixed focul length lens.  I will need to go equiped with anothe lens on the future to make sure that I have everything covered.

 

He moved off to call to his mate.

 

Here he has returned to the boulder to watch over the female who is in the nest.

 

 

Dipper by the bridge.

Things are not going too well at the Dipper territory at the moment.  It is a bit frustrating,  I am still not sure if they are using last years nest or if they have another nest somewhere else nearby.  What I do know is that I can't find the new nest if there is one.  This morning just didn't go right at all. I made my way to the hide and sat in there without seeing Dippers on the walk down. This usually means that they are around the hide area, but not today.  After sitting and waiting for a few minutes I came to the conclusion that the pair must be further down stream and I planned to go and sit and watch and then see them carrying to the nest.  I walked another 50 yards and could see a Dipper on a favourite rock which I suspected was the male, this was confirmed when I could hear him singing. I crept close and started to watch him.  I am absolutely certain that he didn't see me but then he flew upstream and past me and then past the hide. I saw this behaviour last year when he flew up and down his territory noticeably patrolling. With the male now well away, I set about searching the bank for the nest, if the female was around I would have seen her but there was no sign of her and I didn't find the nest either. On today's evidence there is asolutely no indication that they are not going to use last years nest, so again fingers crossed.

My frustrations were added to when, as I sat covered in the camo cover that I bought in the US, a very good lightweight piece of cam material by the way, a couple of Goosander drakes appeared literally 15 feet from me. I was looking in the other direction and even the movement of my head under the cover was enough to put them up in to flight. Had I  been in my hide I am sure I would have been able to get great shots, quite disappointing!  To compound the mystery, when I eventually went home, there they were, both birds quite a way upstream. There was a certain amount of displaying between the two which was interesting to watch and the photo that I took is a bit different. Quite an "arty" photo with the back light effect.

Dipper latest

 

Th male Dipper feeding just in front of me this morning.

 

The white eyelids of Dippers are thought to be a "flag" to other dippers.

A big disappointment this morning at the nest site.  I tried to arrive a little earlier than normal, aware that there is always a bit more activity around the nest area in the mornings.  Within a few minutes of being inside the hide a Dipper could be seen downstream not too far away. I kept my fingers crossed hoping that it would fly back up to me and then I got quite excited to see that it was carrying nesting material.  My heart sank when it fly over the river and then further away from me.  It seems that the nest in use is not going to be the one only a few feet from the hide. That's really disappointing if that turns out to be the case.  I sat waiting for it to reappear but it didn't and I am not too sure whether the bird seen "carrying" was a male or female? S  As males are known to do the majority of the nest building then it's likely that it was the male, the female was nowhere to be seen. I am assuming she was in the new nest somewhere?  On top of this disappointment my camera threw a "wobbly" and wouldn't focus. 

After half an hour when the Dipper hadn't reappeared, I could picture the bird sitting keeping watch over the nest and the female so I went for a look.  Sure enough, there he was in an area where I thought he would be.  He had nesting material in his beak but didn't fly to the new nest site.  My plan will be to use some camouflage and sit in that area tucked away out of site and see if I can discover the new site. In the meantime the bird flew back up stream and I went back to my hide.  It didn't take long before the male Dipper was on the rocks right in front of me and I took some nice photos. Unfortunately the camera was really struggling so it's a miracle that I took any pictures at all.

 I assumed the worse and decided to come home and see if I could sort things out.  Thankfully, the camera wasn't broken. It was just a case of tightening a couple of tiny screws and things were back to normal!  

 

My Dipper project continued.

Still feeling a little under the weather today, I staggered back to the hide on the river to pursue, what some would consider to be an obsession. But that's me!   As soon as I sat down and tucked myself in, I was comfortable and ready for the inevitable wait.  Wait I certainly did, after an hour or so I got out of the hide and walked down the river only to meet the male Dipper singing loudly as he made his way towards my position. I had got it wrong, if I had stayed in the hide for just a few more minutes he would have been there in front of me.  This is a bit hard to take when you have been waiting for so long but a lesson well learned…… patience is a necessity!

I sat for a couple of hours more and was just about to leave when a Wagtail appeared down stream working the bank towards me.  I wanted to experiment with flash so I waited until it was close enough to photograph. When the Wagtail had gone I was just about to pack up again but at last a Dipper was in view down stream. Like the Wagtail before, it eventually arrived there right in front of me and I had the chance that I had been waiting for. The light had started to go by now though,but I did get a smashing shot that made it all worthwhile.

The last photo of the day turned out to the best!

Dippers again

A male Dipper close to my "Dipper-hide" 15 February 2012.

I hear other photographers talk in cliches quite often, especially in the USA. They talk of "keepers", pictures good enough not to delete that is,  and today I can see what they mean.  I am absolutely thrilled by these two "keepers' .  Looking at the results after quite a bit of effort, it fills me with satisfaction, and my own favourite cliche springs to mind, "I love it when a plan comes together".  Dippers are hard to get good photos of. Every year I make an effort to photograph them , trying to improve on the pictures already taken.  But, these images don't even begin to tell the story.  When I got back from the USA at the end of last month I almost immediately set about building a hide on the river next to a nest site that I had found last year. Dippers are known to be early breeders so I needed to get on  and build the hide before the birds started to go to nest. I have seen Dippers on every visit but today is the only time that I saw just one, previously I have watched a pair of birds.   The hide is a comfy, well camouflaged structure which is almost completely hidden by natural vegitation, bracken, moss and leaves etc. I sat in there yesterday for several hours and was really surprised that no Dippers showed by the hide although I did see them upstream. So today, I couldn't imagine that would be the case again and it wasn't, but you wouldn't call it busy to say the least.  I sat waiting and waiting, most of the time taken up by adjusting the hide, making it more robust and a better place to photograph from.  If it was just a case of something to hide in everything would be perfect but the problem is having the room to secure a large  camera lens without a tripod. Suddenly a Dipper arrived on one of the favourite midstream boulders and started to sing, I smiled to myself, today was going to be worthwhile after all. It got even better when it flew towards me and landed on the waterfall just 10 feet or so away. I really struggled with the camera, there just wasn't enough room but I did get the results of course, as you can see. It stayed with me for a few minutes and then was gone. I decided that enough was enough with he hide. The squinting through the lens at a ridiculous angle and balancing the camera precarously just wasn't an acceptable solution. I set about enlarging the interior of the hide simply by pushing up on the roof and sides and then using strong sticks to take up the slack, and that seemed to work.  Of course, all this disturbance had ruined  the external camouflage which I spent another hour attending too.  In the end I was left with a larger space internally and from the outside it was totally invisible yet again. Hopefully now when I get some activity in front of the hide I will be able to get even better shots and enjoy the experience without the need to be a contortionist.

Grey Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

 

Female Grey Wagtail by the River Teign, 14 February 2012

 

At last I am starting to shake off the horrible stomach bug that I have had since last Thursday. Thankfully, this evening I just about started to feel a little bit better but not normal yet. Working on the assumption that if you are going to sit in the chair doing nothing for hours on end I thought I may as well sit in my hide and watch the Dippers. So off I went. The walk down the river wasn't too bad. I got myself tucked inside and spent the first hour or so doing domestics from the inside and by the time I had finished it was starting to take shape. It is a really cosy hide with a great view down stream and across to the adjacent waterfall, and very picturesque. I am sure it's going to give me great views of the Dippers once they start breeding. Today though, there was no sign of them for the hours that I watched. I was just packing up to come home when I saw this female Grey Wagtail making it's way upstream towards me.I took a few photos, just for the record really. Then on the walk back to the car and 300 or 400 yards from the hide, there they were again, both the male and female Dippers.

Where have I been?

Sorry I haven't posted for the last few days, I have been suffering from a "norovirus" type bug.  I haven't felt capable of doing much let alone lug heavy camera gear around with constant nausea a temperaure etc. etc. feeling a little better today but only marginally. 

This weeks Podcast

 

Waders and Dippers around Exeter, Devon

Click on the link above to listen to a summary of the week. This will hopefully be a weekly event. The weather today has been so bad that it was literally impossible to get out. It rained continually and the temperature was around zero celcius for most of the day, yuk!  I contented myself with a good rest after a hectic few days.

Here's a nice photo from yesterday.

 

The male Dipper dips for food in the usual way.

 

Breeding dippers 2012

Thursday 9th of February and a Dipper Pair

 

I don't remember how many times I have said that I love it when a plan comes together and so it proved again today.  I described  yesterday how I had built a hide close to a last years Dipper nest in the hope that they use the same site again. I had then seen a pair of birds together so I am certain that they have already paired up.  When the day was sunny and bright today I couldn't wait to get back to see what else I could discover, would they be around the "hoped for"  nest site?  The hide was still perfectly hidden when I got there, and I slithered inside with a real squeeze.  I had already seen one Dipper from quite a distance so I was confident that I would see one again before too long and thats exactly the way it happened.  Last year I had noticed that the male preferred a mid-stream boulder not far from the nest and there he was, perched in the bright sunshine and singing away. (Yes Dippers sing beautifully.) It was just so thrilling to see him and know that my hide was working, no disturbance had been caused and I am pretty confident that they are going to nest somewhere nearby even if they don't use last year's nest. It wasn't long before the one bird was joined by his mate and she began to "dip" for food in the shallows.  I lost sight of them from time to time, I hope that they are not building somewhere else, I'll just have to hope for the best. It was interesting to realise last year how secretive they were and how  they tended to avoid the area in front of the nest for feeding so I am encouraged that they didn't use that area today.Like I say...... fingers crossed. After a while the male bird came midstream to a shallow area right by me but to my left and I excitedly took photographs.  By now it was past 1 o'clock and the birds had moved away somewhere.  I remembered that last year they had been totally absent in the afternoon and that's the way it seemed to be today so I packed up the gear and walked back to the car.  As predicted, there they were up stream about 400 yards

 

 

Preparing for Dippers

 

Podacst- Building a hide to photograph Dipper

Listen to the Podcast recorded out by the river. 

I have to say that I am excited about the coming breeding season. Last year had been so good and for me, it's the best part of the year by far.  The discovery of a Dipper nest  had been a really good find and I had really enjoyed the experience. I have literally spent the last 8 months thinking of a way to get close to the birds without any disturbance.  I decided that the best way to do this was to build a hide close to the "potential" nest site...... the one they used last year, and then to build it before breeding activity began  Dippers are known to use the same nest sites year on year so there is a really good chance that they will use last years nest again.  Believe it or not the hide is in the photo below  so  I am pleased that I have been able to conceal as well as it turned out.  It was built with natural poles hammered in to the 4 corners, then I wrapped the whole thing with camouflage material as usual and left a little hole to slide my way in. Finally, the whole thing was covered with leaf litter and other woodland debris to match in with the bank side. I had been thinking this through ever since last April when I left for Australia and then even on the plane to and from the USA last month, so it was good to get it sorted.  I sat inside for a bit hoping that a Dipper would show but that didn't happen. On my walk back to the car up-stream I saw a Dipper ahead of me. I sat down, got the laptop out and recorded the Podcast for the Blog (see above). Then the one Dipper was joined by another.  This is obviously a pair.  I was thrilled not only to see one but to see two together couldn't have worked out better.  Hopefully they will breed in last years nest and if they do, I will be set up and ready.  

The riverside hide ready for the nesting Dippers.

 

 

As I record the Podcast by the river,  I watch a Dipper flying down stream towards the nest area.

A young Dipper photographed in June. This is the kind of photo I am looking forward to geting again once the Dippers start nesting again very soon......... I can't wait!

 

 

Reed Bunting close ups

 

A valuable lesson and how I got these close-ups.

Click on the button above to listen to a Reed Bunting call.

 

 

Today I learnt  two lessons, firstly, according to my educated "headmistress" friends Jan and Annabelle, you can use either learnt or learned and that is perfectly acceptable either way. I also learned that you get much better photographs when using a good tripod! I damaged my tripod in the USA and it has taken me until now to eventually replace it and to be honest, I had been quite pleased with my photos recently. But when I went out with my now mended tripod to the same place as yestarday and Sunday to photograph the same birds with identical conditions, I was amazed at the significant difference in the sharpness of my images. So leson leaened or learnt!!!  At the Reed Bunting site on Powderham Marsh I positioned myself in a good spot close to the reed bed. This was chosen using the experience of my previous two visits, with the light over my shoulder and knowing which reeds and brambles the birds prefered.  Once I was concealed, It wasn't long before birds were flying in and  showing really well.   It seems that the birds are using the safety of the reeds and bramble thicket and then feeding on the nearby stubble field.  On return they dive in to the safety of the reeds and then climb up the stems of the reeds.  Once relaxed they will stay there for a considerable time preening and "sunbathing" in small groups of both sexes. This is proving to be a real opportunity to study this nice species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Eared Owl again

 

 

 

Monday Feb 6th Podcast

Clink on the button above to listen to today's PODCAST

 

Long-eared Owl. Exminster Marsh (shame about the annoying bramble leaves)!

When I  first arrived this morning I was greeted by a worrying scene and I knew immediately that the Long - eared Owl was back in it's roost. The tree in question had begun to draw a little crowd of onlookers who were pointing and making quite a "kerfuffle". They were far too near and I asked them to move back and "give it some space".  Grudgingly they moved on and away leaving the Owl to it's peace. It might look as though I was close from the photos but these are cropped and I was in fact across the car park and  at a safe distance.  All in all it was a good successful day.

An adult female.

A first year male coming in to colour.

An adult male coming into breeding plumage.

My day today has been spent mostly looking to try and improve the photos of Reed Buntings that are numerous, in a small group on the Powderham Marsh area of Exminster Marshes. This group of birds has been interesting to observe for a few hours because I have been able to see adult females, older males that are almost in breeding condition and other first year males who look like females with the emergence of black feathers starting to show around the head. I have posted some pictures of these "new males". I spent about 3 hours trying to get close  enough to get some professional looking photos and I still have a bit to do.

 

Reed Buntings on Powderham Marsh

 

 

Back home in "my office" after a great morning on Powderham Marsh

Female Reed Bunting, Powderham Marsh Exminster 5 February 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am trying to move the Blog on to more of an Audio based blog, so when you visit be sure to listen to the daily Podcasts by clicking on the link.  Today I talk about getting the photos above so....... go on....... click on the Podcast button (just below) and listen to me talking.

 

 

 

Sunday on Powderham Marsh

 

 

 

Looking back down the track towards the Swans Nest Pub

 

Goldcrest

 

Goldcrest

 

Click on the button (GOLDCREST) above to hear the song of a Goldcrest - Regulus regulus.

 

Podcast about Goldcrest and finding a Water Rail.

I had a the rare opportunity (for me that is), to photograph a Goldcrest today.  This is a great little bird, tiny of course, and along with the Firecrest, Britain's smallest breeding species. It was freezing when I saw it this early afternoon, there were two of them constantly foraging in trees, on the hunt for tiny insects. I haven't managed to get a good shot of oneof these before and today's image can be improved upon, hopefully I wont have to wait another four years before that happens.

 

 

 

A winter Goldcrest

I had been down on to Exminster Marsh, I dont know what I expected to find that was different than the last few days, but there was a slight sprinkle of snow and I thought that would make any picture taken, a bit more inteesting.  Well that proved to be the case, there were a few well known birders around, all of them declined to make a comment on the podcast...... cowards...... but I chatted o them anyway and found out that they had not long seen a Water Rail, very close as it emerged from a ditch.  I was a bit interested in that and started to make a plan to go back there, then another chap arrived and started to tell us in an excitable voice, that he had been watching a rail close to the carpark by the canal. This is a well known area for them.  Andy Bond offered me a lift up there and I hopped in to his car, worried about messing up his carpet with my dirty boots. As soon as we got to the ditch before the carpark Andy said,"there it is" and sure enough a Water Rail, my first of the year....... well I have been away..... was there just as described only feet from the path. I junped out of his car, I really want a good photo of this species, and of course, I was too noisey and off it scurried, thats the only way to describe the way it ran over the ice and away from me.  Andy told me not to worry, it would soon be back as soon as it went quiet and thats exactly what happened and I got a couple of poor photos of it.  For anyone who hasn't seen Water Rail before, they are smaller than you imagine, with a long noticeable reddish beak, long legs and nice markings on the flanks.

Just for those who enjoy to see my pictures, here's a few photos of the Widgeon that I enjoyed  this morning.

 

A pair of Widgeon roosting on the ice.

 

 

 

 

A spanking Drake Widgeon, how beautiful is he?

 

Podcast........ Out at the Marsh and an interview with John Waldon

 

An afternoon on Exminster Marsh

Please click on the link above to hear today's Podcast where I chat with local birders about their day on the marsh which was a lot of fun.  This is a new feature for the blog and will take us in to a whole new area. 

But first a bit about the afternoon and a few photos.  After fixing my flat tyre (spelt tire in US)..... weird! I made my way out on to the marsh in glorious sunshine, it was slightly warmer but it was still frosty and the canal was frozen over. The birds were still feeding on the grass as you can see from the photos.  Please listen to the Podcast for more details.  There was a sizeable group of Black-tailed Godwits and Dunlins together and I took photos through my car window.  Looking at the images later, most were ruined because the engine was running and the imperceptable vibrations caused was enough to ruin the images, a healthy lesson learnt.

 

A pair of Avocet on the Exe Estuary Devon

Black-tailed Godwit

Long Eared Owl

 A brand new feature for the blog from today.  From now on most posts published will have a Podcast included. That is to say, you will be able to play a version of me reading the post while you sit back and look at the pictures.  From time to time I will record "out on location" and you will be able to get a feel of actually being there with me.  I also plan to interview other wildlife enthusiasts out and about..... it's going to be fun.  So click on the link below and have a listen. 

LEO podcast

 

 

The day before yesterday, on the 1st of February, I was fortunate enough to catch up with the Long Eared Owl that has been on Exminster marsh, on and off for the last month.   I deliberately didn't post about it until today because of the harrasment that the publication here would cause. It's now safe to publish because the bird has moved on again so no damage can be caused by disclosing it's presence now.   It was good to see the bird, photograph it and add it to my gallery af Devon birds but it was also distressing and worrying to see how little regard other people had for it.  I am sad to say that in the short while that I watched it was pestered continually by people around my own age, that is to say, newly retired and reasonably fit pensioners who enjoy a walk and carry a pair of binoculars and take a casual interest in the birds.  It was as if they hadn't seperated the idea of this being a wild bird and not a Zoo exhibit.  In a zoo you would be noisy and get as close as you could, you would peer and possibly shout to your wife that "you can see it better from this angle".  You might walk right up to it and then say "I needde to do that because my camera isn't very good"....... yes that happened. So when I went to look yesterday andit wasn't there, I was pleased that it had chosen to roost elsewhere.

The problem was that it had picked a roost literally feet from the main RSPB Carpark and therefore the busiest spot on the whole marsh. Quite why it would do that is a mystery, probably because of an inbuilt instinct that it's camouflage was it's best defence and an assumption that it couldn't be seen.  I was struck with how cat-like it seemed and also how small, only the size of a wood pigeon, if that. 

 

 

Widgeon pair - Anas penelope

Widgeon etc

 

A female Widgeon crosses the ice.

This is a female Widgeon photographed today on Exminster Marsh. This is possibly one of the most atttractive of female ducks.  They are a very wary bird under normal conditions and not easy to approach but today I got lucky when this pair were feeding close to the road by an icy ditch.

 

A Drake Widgeon feeding on grass late this afternoon.

I posted yesterday about waders on the river and told of the plan to get some photos today.  It was cold, very cold and I struggled to keep warm in the really unusual conditions.  I built a cover amongst the rubish on the shore and waited for the tide to bring the birds close to me.  I hadn't realised, but today was a neap tide and the river didn't get high enough to reach my position.  As well as that, the mud was fozen solid and the birds were feeding on the fields instead. However, a few birds came close and I snapped off a few shots. On my drive back over the marsh a few birds were feeding very close to the road and with the late afternoon sun they were showing perfectly.

 

 

This Redshank flew in front of me. It started to forage and I got some great close ups, Eventually it wandered out of range and I continued to wait for a better opportunity but today, it didn't happen.

This is another Grey Plover, one of the few birds that came close to me.

I really love Black-tailed Godwits and try not to take them for granted because they are so visible on Exminster Marsh but they are very attractive particularly when the large flocks take to the air. A beautiful flock were probing deep in to the ground and seemed to be finding something to eat. I slowed he car to a stop and quickly took some shots before I obstucted any of the traffic.  It's not often that you get the chance  to get really close with the sun coming from the right direction and I made the best of it. I am chuffed with this photo!

 

Photographing waders on the Exe

Grey Plover

 

Redshank

 

Curlew (part of a large flock crossing back to the River from the marsh.

Now that I am back from the USA and jet-lag is behind me, I set out today to carry on with photographing the waders that are so abundant here in Devon during the winter. Getting close to them is the problem though. Today's outing  was really just a reccee rather than a photographic session and even though it was about as cold as it gets here in the UK,  I made some real progress.  Yesterday I posted a photograph of a Grey Plover on a warm Florida beach and it was especially nice to see this species again on the Exe and so close to home.  I have a plan to get the birds close to me without disturbance and tomorrow I will try and put my plan in to action.  There are some areas on the river where the tide has carved out some areas in the bank where it is possible to get concealed. With the help of some camouflage I should be able to hide myself completely, then at high tide when the birds come close in to roost it should be possible to get some really good close-up photographs with patience, care and above all quietness.  Even though it was cold it was also extremely bright and clear with blue sky and no cloud whatsoever. Exminster Marsh was alive with birds, mostly too far for a decent photograph but I did see quite a few Golden Plover as well as all the usual ducks and geese. The Red-breasted Goose had apparently been seen but I didn't bother to hunt for it, preferring to keep away from the other birders and casual observers which is my normal way.

A Grey Plover from my US trip

 

Grey Plover (Black-breasted Plover)

 

One of the advantages of bird photography in Florida and similar places is the amazing light, especially late in the evening and at dawn. Mostly, the sunshine is so intense that the camera almost gets confused by the harshness of bright and shadow. I have seen on numerous occasions that people struggle with the intense light and I can include myself among them. This picture was taken during the late afternoon when the sun was setting in the East (of course) and with the sun over my shoulder, it was hard, but not impossible to freeze the action of this fast flying species. The bird is a Grey Plover, known in the US as a Black Bellied Plover. This is a very widespread species that can be found wintering not only on the beaches of Florida but also here in the UK as well as Australia too. I saw them on the beaches of Broward County whenever I looked, and in the winter that is always the case. By April and May they are not so easy to find, by then, adult birds have returned on the long distant migration back to the Arctic and their breeding grounds but first year birds may remain "down-south" until their second year.

On the way home.

Here we are sat in the departure lounge at Fort Lauderdale International Airport....... holiday over!  What a great morning though, lots of tales to tell and dramas to recount.

Jenny and Chas after a great holiday.......... and Chas in the  bar

I was up before dawn this morning, eager to take full advantage of the last few hours before we left for home. I drove out to the Everglades, specifically one of the first receational stops which can be accesed from the highway that disects the State and cuts through the wilderness.  When I had berecreationalen there twice previously I had seen a Kingfisher on both occasions and I was really ken to try and improve on the photos of this species already taken. I am glad to say that I had some success!   I followed this bird all around the parking lots and launch areas until eventually I managed to sneak up on him.

 

A few great birds from the last few days.

 

A Black Vulture, skulking around the car park.

 

Blue Heron

 

Blue Heron

 

Belted Kingfisher

 

Day 18 Eastern Pheobe

Eastern Phoebe

It's been so busy this last few days that I could hardly keep up with  the bog, the editing of pictures and of course, the trips out.  Tomorrow is the end of the stay and I will be very sorry to leave. I have had a tremendous time and the surface has only been scratched. The Eastern Phoebe has been a bird seen on this trip more than I have on other visits and I am assuming that at this time of the year they are common. They are also a difficult bird to get a good photo of due to their colouration. Basically smokey grey and very faintly yellow but mostly white on the belly.   This one was perched on a low barbwire fence surrounding a paddock by the roadside on Sheridan Street way out west. I was able to photograph it from the car as it fed in typical "flycatcher" style which of course is what it is.  It is also a pretty, quiet unassuming little bird that when I have seen them, seemed focused on the search for prey.  An update to this post, having just returned from my usual early morning walk, I photographed a pheobe dealing with a nice juicy spider and it makes quite a shot.

 

Eastern Pheobe with spider.

 

 

Day 17 Orange Crowned Warbler and Mockingbird

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

 

I photographed this warbler yesterday at Plantation Preserve. My attention was drawn to the contact call which wasn't like a Palm Warbler. It didn't flick it's tail like a Palm Warbler, nor does it have either a rust coloured crown or striations  on the flanks. I am unable to give it a name and would appreciate anyone telling me what species it is. Is it perhaps, a female of the rarer Eastern form of the Palm Warbler?  (Since I posted Ii have received a comment from Drew Weber....... thanks Drew........ who tells me that it is an Orange Crowned Warbler, I had almost come to that conclusion my self. I think I am correct in saying that this bird is one that has very few diagnostic features, no wing bars, no supecillium or othe distinguishing marks.  This in itself is the way to identify it). It was feeding on tiny seeds or it could have been the egg of some unknown insect, in low bushes very late in the afternoon in golden, but still intense light.   

One bird that I am certain of is of course, the Florida State Bird, the Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird

 

Florida day 16 and a Red - shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus

 

Red-shouldered Hawk

 

 

Red - shouldered Hawk

It was hard to choose which Red-shouldered hawk picture to post today. Yesterday morning at dawn, I had been out on Geoff's small boat, this time alone. I drifted in the stillness of the dawn and approached birds up to just a few feet in glorious light and perfect conditions. We were at Loxahatchee reserve, a massive wilderness area and the small boat had been towed out deep in to the reserve and away from the slip before I climbed aboard and drifted away on my own. The Red-shouldered Hawk hardly even contemplated me as I approached him to just a few feet. At one point as I photographed him, he flew to the tree that the boat was tied to, aware but oblivious of me. He was at that point, so close I couldn't get him all in the frame as he peered down looking for early morning prey.

Red - shouldered Hawk, so close to me that I could only get the head in the shot.

The presence of the hawk meant that other birds were a little hard to find as they would be on the menu, but a Loggerhead Shrike was calling and showing well as were Mockingbird, Purple Galinule and the usual heron species. All in all this was an outing of a lifetime and an immense privilege to have the chance to photograph in a wilderness all alone.

 

Florida Day 15 and time for a rest.

I spent the entire day yesterday devoted to getting the best photos possible of Painted Buntings so today, even though I had my usual early morning outing, I had a rest and spent the day doing normal touristy things.   In "downtown" Fort Lauderdale by the New River, a small noisy flock of parrots were in the trees but Jenny (my long suffering, beautiful wife), said that even looking up was forbidden!! My early morning stakeout of the Osprey  proved to be a no show as well, so all in all it was a blank day photographically, except for just one photograph taken at sunset as the male Osprey passed over the creek unsuccessfully without his supper.  He seemed to glide over the water dipping  his legs as he went several times and at intervals of a few seconds, each time  being unsuccessful. 

Osprey dives for a fish just in front of me and then landed in a tree upstream about 50 yards away.

It's been quite a task to Blog daily while I have been here in South Florida.  The opportunities are so great that at the end of the day I have finished  with hundreds and hundreds of photographs to sort through.  Then of course there is the job of writing about the day and about the photographs.  Consequently I haven't always been able to put as much information as I normally do, there simply isn't enough time in the day.

From yesterday here is a Raccoon that was just as interested in the birdseed as the birds.  Even though I was sat quite close to he feeder he assessed hat I was not  threat and as long as I was still it continued to feed.  I thought this pose was interesting, he seems to be praying.  We don't have a Raccoon equivalent in the UK, perhaps urban foxes have filled that niche? However Racoons seem to be be much more tame and common for that matter.

A raccoon prays for his dinner.

 

This was when he first appeared out of the undergrowth and deciding whether I was a threat or not.

Squirrels are a pest and invasive species in the IK, they damage trees, eat birds eggs and make a nuisance of themselves at birdfeeders and in gardens.  They were introduced to the UK from the US in the 19th century.  I hate them in the UK but here in the US  where they are native of course,  things are different and I enjoy seeing them and of course taking pictures.

This Grey Squirrel was one of several feeding on the scattered bird feed.

 

Florida day 14 and my best photo of the trip so far.

 

A male Painted Bunting, probably the most colourful bird that I have ever photographed. This is not a common species in the USA but can be found easily once you know where to look.

I returned to Palm Beach County today hoping to improve on the Painted Bunting photogrphs that I took the day before yesterday.  We had been told of another area where you can get really good close up views and so it proved. Whats more, it was quiet, very quiet and for the afternoon I had the Painted Buntins to mysel. I am even more amazed with this species now that I have seen them so close up.  They were coming to a feeding station and if I remained still they were not all that concerned about me sitting on the ground very close to them. The bird above is an adult male in full colour, one of at least 3 in the new place. In adittion there were females and youngsters as well. I amquite sure that the bird below is a juvenile but females are also this colour.

 

 

This is almost certainly a juvenile bird. You can tell this by the presence of light coloured "fleshy gapes" at the corner of the beak. This proves that not only was this bird bred close by but also that it is around 8 to 10 weeks old which proves that breeding took place as late as October 2011.

 

Florida day 13 and a Belted Kingfisher

 

Belted Kingfisher hovering above the water just in front of me.

 

 

The hovering went on for around 10 seconds.

This was a great opportunity to get some good in-flight shots of this species.

When I looked through the results I noticed the bee which joined in!

Here it is turning to dive.

One of the species that I have been anxious to photograph on this trip is the Belted Kingfisher. I am extremely interested in Kingfishers and hoping to eventually have a book to publish on the subject. I have now photographed 6 different Kingfishers, only about 84 to go!. The Belted Kingfisher is a hard one to get to grips with because they are alert and easily put to flight. Males are less colourful, the females sport a tan/orange belly band.  They are not the most attractive of birds but in flight they have attractive barred markings on the wings and tail.

 

Florida day 13 and a magnificent Osprey

A quick update to include these shots of the Osprey that I have been watching since I got here in the US. I have learnt that between 9 and 10 most mornings it perches on the same exposed dead tree trunk. This morning I concealed myself under the bridge close to the stump and waited......waited and waited some more for it to come. Eventually after around 2 hours there it was. Very quickly it flew from that perch to another and in absolutely perfect light. I have been trying to get that glory shot as it dives in the water. It almost happened today but not quite. She..... I just have a feeling that she is female...... left the perch after seeing something and plunged in to the water just behind my line of sight and then she emerged and flew past me carrying a large mullet. It was a magnificent, awe inspiring sight and one that I will never ever forget.She flew past me with the fish and then shook herself in mid-flight like a dog would shake to dry itself. A wow is in order at this point! I managed a shot as she left the branch and I am so thrilled with it I couldn't wait to share with the world! When she had had gone to a mystery perch to feed on her fish and the dust had settled, I realised that the adrenalin surge had made me tremble and in an almost emotional state, I smiled to myself with the satisfaction that success, after planning and patience brings.

Florida day 12 and Painted Buntings

I have to confess that I was excited when I saw this bird. There is a feeder at the Green Cay Wildlife area in Palm Beach County and I had been told in previous years that they come to feed  close to the entrance. When we got to the magnificent wetlands and approached the feeders, there was no sign of them at all but a "birder" had his binoculars on one, deep in the bushes. After a while one flew up to the feeder, what an absolutely exquisite bird and I had a tingle of excitement like a boy on Christmas morning.  With a bit of patience it became almost busy with at least 4 pairs coming and going.  A Red Cardinal was also present and they were happy to feed together.

The females are a greenish yellow, still an attractive little bird but totally overshadowed by the stunning male.  Apparently they are under threat because residents of Florida with "latin American" origins who trap the birds for the bird trade!

 

Florida Day 11 Pelicans and Doves.

Yesterday afternoon I went to Haulover Park and inlet.  It is a really good place to photograph the Brown Pelicans that are such iconic birds of this region.  One of the advantages of visiting a place like this regularly is that you get to know the "hot-spots" for various species, For example Purple Galinules at Holiday Park, west on State Road 84, Osprey at John U Lloyd State Park (as we have already seen) and of course the Pelicans at Haulover hwere they congregate to fish in the inlet where it rushes in and out with the strong tides. 

I took what turned out to be a really evocative shot and here it is.

Even though Morning Doves are really common in the USA, like I say, to me they are an interesting bird and one that I don't see very often of course.  I therefore never over look them because they are very photogenic to my eyes and yours too, I hope.  This one was feeding amongst the picnic tables in the late afternoon sun.

The same can be said of Sanderling, called a Sandpiper by just about every American that you meet, they are always scurrying along the beach amongst the feet of the "vacationers" as they call themselves.  They are a pretty little bird never the less.

Florida Day 11 and real up close to wild Alligators!

I posted on Friday about being out in a small boat with my nephew Geoff.  Today, thanks to Martin Lunther King, it's a public holiday in the USA.  Geoff and I had a 7 o'clock start and travelled out deep in to the true Everglades, Geoff was fishing for Largemouth Bass but I just went along, perched precariously on the back of the boat.  We travelled slowly down a water course, dark and mysterious, bordered on each side sparsly with a few shrubs and the odd tree. The wildlife was incredible, prolific and interesting. 6 species of Heron, and White Ibis to name just a few.  Right at the slipway I had my first exciting species of the day a Black Crowned Night Heron -  Nycticorax  Nycticorax.  Surprisingly this is the second most widespread heron the USA but although I see tham on every trip here, they are not as common s the Yellow Crowned Night Heron or indeed, the other more obvious heron species.

 After the Night Heron a Purple Galinule showed it's self and also an Eastern Pheobe.

Further down the canal system the wildlife came thick and fast.  A pair of Red Shouldered Hawk were nesting in a lone pine 30 yards from the water.  I really adore this species, beautiful as well as deadly.

 Green Herons were everywhere along with Tri-coloured Heron and Little Blue including this great little juvenile, they don't aquire their adult blue/purple colour until the second year.

 Alligators were the highlight though.  At first a smallish one around 5 feet just laying log-like down streaam from us, then others were seen sunning on the banks.

 One particular big specimen was oblivious to us, or though it seemed.  I put that down to the coolish temperatures because on the return an hour later, when he had warmed himself out of his lethargy,  he scurried back in to the water when we approached.   The trip finished with a close encounter with a  Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Florida's only kingfisher species.  They are twice the size of Europe's Common Kingfisher (Alcedo athis) and frankly nowhere near as attractive but their habits are pretty similar. This was the closest that I have ever been to a Belted Kingfisher but it was unfortunate that we approaced it in to the sun and therefore it was almost impossible to photograph, however minutes later the bird was senn again in a more advantageous position and I managed to get at least some kind of shot.

 

 

Florida Day 10

Yesterday, late afternoon, we were on the way back home to Hollywood Beach and my sisters house. As we drove past  a large cleared paddock whhich is being prepared for development, I caught sight of a Wood Stork stood motionless in the middle amongst the plant vehicles. .  I immediately turned the car and went back to see if I could get close enough to photograph. As I approached it didn't seem too concerned and  eventually, using the diggers and tracters as cover, I got within "range".  Theses birds, once in serious decline in Florida are now doing a little better.  They are three feet tall and ugly as hell.  They have a massive beak with a bald head and neck which is covered in crusty skin.  They feed on fish so quite why they have evolved the kind of head that a vulture would be proud of, I dont know.  All inall, yesterday, with temperatures that didn't reach 70, in fact it was low 60.s was the coldest that I have experienced in South Florida. It was however, a very productive day for birds.

Florida Day 9 and a handsome Mockingbird.

The Northern Mockingbird is a common bird in this part of the USA, they sing beautifully and as the name suggests, immitate other birds.  They perch in conspicous places aand are therfore often seen and enjoyed. Whenever I photograph them I am always pleased with the results and so it proved today.  My photographs this last few days have been taken  hand held because of a problem with my tripod so it has pleased me no end that I have been able to get anything like sharp pictures in this way.  I knew that this was going to be a good one because the background is in actual fact the painted side of a building just behind.

Florida Day 9 and I am obsessed with Osprey

Believe it or not, it's chilly today.  Well, if you can call 59 degrees chilly, but for Florida that's a cold one. Resorting to actually wearing a jumper but still shorts no socks and flipflops, (my kind of attire), my early morning trip led me back to look for the woodpeckers again. After no sign of them I headed back to the National Park to see if there was any sign of the young Osprey, it turned out to be a wise move. I parked the car and rushed over the bridge, excited like a little boy, but didappointment, it wasn't on the dead tree where it had been on previous mornings at this time. So I stood and studied the creek, Ibis and a young heron where around then I caught sight of an Osprey perched a few hundred yards away.  Suddenly swooping towards the favoured perch was the Osprey, as usual his magnificence thrilled me.  But today was different, it left the perch quite quickly and I got photos of it circling around again, they were all failures but as it approached again, I got the shot above.  It left again very quickly, catching me out, but perching even nearer and in a brilliant place for photos.

The second wow of the trip was in order!  But then it left that perch again and flew strongly away this time.  As I watched it from very close by I heard an Osprey, I turned back to see an absolutely glorious adult Osprey perched where the youngster had been.  Obviously he had left the perch because of a threat from the older, stronger andmore experienced dominant bird.  Now with an adult so close, I just enjoyed the spectacle and took magnificent images before it imperiously flew off and away to a safer distance.

Florida Day 8 and glorious White Ibis

This morning I travelled with my nephew Geoff to an area south of Miami.  Geoff has a great little boat which is a cross betwen a canoe and a "John-boat".  The canals in this part are full of Peacock Bass, an introduced predator species  which is a popular sport fish for residents and visitors alike. The canals were not ony full of fish,  there was also a great deal of wildlife on show including snakes. Drifting along on the tiny boat meant that some of the birds allowed us to get quite close but obviously it was extremely difficult to take good shots with a heavy long lens camera with no tripod and no real way to hold it steady either. As the day heated up, the birds became more active,  not numerous species, mostly White Ibis, Green Heron and Morning Doves. The Ibis were showing beautifully and as we rounded the bend in the canal, I was really taken with the spectacle of Ibis flying low accross the water in front of me. The snowy white plumage of this ibis contrasts with black wing tips and scarlet beak and legs. To me they are the iconic Florida bird and I always enjoy seeing them.  I set the camera to try and picture them flying accross the canal in front of us as we got nearer, they flew off as I expected and I got some really great images.

 

Florida Day 7 and 3 different species of Woodpecker in one tree!

My early morning outing was a great one today, imagine 3 species of woodpeckers in the same tree?  Well that was the main event.  Not only that, 2 off them are new birds for me in Florida, at least photographically. "Yellow-shafted  Flicker", "Hairy Woodpecker" and the ubiquitous "Red-bellied".  It's hard to decide which was the most memorable but I think probably the Flicker.  There is a puddle of fresh water on the road by the park and in good light, there was great reflections.  This pool of fresh water is the product of the early morning lawn sprinkler system, this is part of the interesting story.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 

As I drove past, a Boat-tailed Grackle was bathing and I stopped to take pictures which were good. Then suddenly I became aware that in a puddle nearby, another bird was bathing and it wan't a bird I had seen so far this trip. I quickly positioned the car for a better view and was thrilled to see that it was a woodpecker. I fired off shots and right there, my Florida trip was made worth it. As if that weren't enough, when the Flicker left the pool I followed it's flight to a nearby tree and saw that there was a female Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I climbed from the car and crept slowly towards "my quarry"  only to focus my camera on to a little woodpecker which proved to be a Hairy Woodpecker, common apparently, but not a bird That I have been able to photograph nicely before. As if that wasn't enough, in the same tree was a Red-belied Woodpecker.  Quite why they were all in the same tree is a mystery, they didn't appear to be feeding so I have no idea why?

Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 

Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus

So it was a great morning and then on the way home I called in to John U Lloyd to see if the Osprey was there again……. bingo!!!!!!! It was in the same exact spot as yesterday morning.  Now the light was better and I also had the time to stand and wait for it to fly off the perch.  Today I watched from 8.45 until 1015 when it eventually dipped in to the creek just like yesterday.  It circled around me and landed back on the perch…… my first wow of the trip!!!!!.  I  took some photos of the flight but I disappointed with myself not to get the actual plunge…… still mustn't complain, a couple of good-uns in the camera. Just a shame about the distracting background.

 

Florida Day 6 and an amazing Osprey experience.

John U Lloyd State park is an area close by that I always enjoy visiting. I went there first thing as my early morning outing and finished up having the best Osprey encounter of my whole life with no exaggeration. I had parked the car close to a path that led to the beach, over a small wooden bridge that crossed the creek. My mind was not focused as I walked but my daydreaming was shattered by a massive splash. In the same instant I caught sight of the culprit...... a young Osprey which was by now pulling clear of the water to circle again before landing on a trees stump just feet from me. I rattled off some shots and waited to get that shot of a lifetime of it diving in to the small pool. It didn't leave the perch while I waited for the next 45 minutes. I had a deadline to be home by 10 so I sadly and reluctantly left the bird, still sat there. Never the less, what a massive thrill. Another "in your face" shot.

Florida Day 5 the highlight, Ibis and Egrets

One of the things that I try to acheive in my photographs is a full-on in your face image.  I try and put the viewer closer to the subject than you would normally be able to get.  Today I had three opportunities to get that close, all without any distress to the subject of course.  The Cattle Egret (above) was part of a small group of five that I photographed from the car window.  I draped a piece of cam net over the door to conceal myself and then waited for the Egrets to come very close, they continued to feed right next to me.  I was hoping to get some shots with prey but it just didn't happen unfortunately, but the head shot portraits are really special and will make a great addition to my galeries. They were feeding on large spiders oddly enough.

.

.

As I photographed the Cattle Egrets, a White Ibis came along by  the edge of the road feeding in a totally different way, probing in to the earth with it's long pointed beak.  Like the egrets, it was oblivious to my presence and it was mostly too close to get it entirely in the frame of the camera.  The photographers, not cropped at all, get right in there to the centre of the feeding action.

These photos were taken at Brian Picollo Park, we had gone there to have a look for Burrowing Owls,  this is a well known nesting area for them.  We are a bit early in the year for breeding though, and there was no sign of them today. In the late afternoon we returned to the beach and East.  It was a lovely surprise when on the beach I was confronted with some waders!  To be specific some tiny Sanderling and more interestingly, a small flock of Grey Plover, known in the US as Black-bellied Plover. With the sun now very low in the sky, the light was just perfection!

Florida Day 4 and an American Kestrel

Today started a little more cloudy than the previous ones  and in a way, that made it a little easier to get better photos . Bright sunshine produces harsh light which really tests your skill.  I hoped to carry on photographing the common birds that I have seen since my arrival.  To my mind, it's no good searching out rarities if you you haven't managed good pictures of the common birds. Blue Grey Gnatcatchers have been far more noticeable than in previous visits, but being a tiny little bird, they are hard to get photos of, but more of them later on. The warblers have been keeping me interested and as you will see below, I did get some nice pictures of them today.  There was some real excitement as I walked back to the car, a "tiercel", (that's a female), American Kestrel swooped down and seemed as though she was really interested in grabbing a warbler, at least that's what it looked like.  I took a few photos and then tried to get a bit closer to her, but as expected……..off she went.  The warblers were very agitated by her presence and suddenly they were calling from everywhere. What a lovely bird, when I see them I always love them.  This was the closest that I have ever been to this species.

It seems as though I spend all of my time photographing birds but that's not the case. I ws back home by 10.30. But in my short session I finished up seeing aan Eastern Pheobe, Palm Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Great White Egret, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated Warbler, White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Coot, Blue Jay and of course  the Kestrel. A nice little session!

I am in Florida staying with my sister and her family and today was fun as we celebrated Christmas again with opening of presents etc. It eems strange with the temperature touching almost 25c.

Blue - Grey Gnatcatcher
This is an Eastern Pheobe, a flycatcher species, by all accounts a common bird in Florida but not a bird I see that often but I probably should. Now some Palm Warblers, in one the bird flew down to grab a small damselfly and you can see it disappearing "down the hatch".

Having done just a bit of research I have discovered that this is the western race of Palm Warbler  Dendroica palmarum palmurum.

Day 3, a Turkey Vulture does it's stuff!

Turkey Vultures are not in the least bit hard to see in South Florida, they are in fact one of the most noticeable birds. Never the less I have rarely been as close to them as I was today.  Being Sunday and a really nice day to boot, the beaches and beach car parks were very busy. As we drove down one of the main roads close to home, I noticed...... well it was impossible to miss...... a Turkey Vulture feeding on a dead racoon.  It wasn't going to be distracted by me and I got really close, too close really because the smell of the rotten carcass was almost too much  too much to bear. It may be an ugly bird around the face but the plumage is impressive. They are doing a great job keeping everything healthy and clean by eating road kill and other rubish.

Florida day 2...... Blue Grey Gnatctacher and Warblers

 

The second day of "Florida 2012" was pretty special. I tripped out to West Lake Park not really expecting to have the session that I enjoyed. Firstly the day had begun with a special sunrise, a golden glow that grew from the horizon out of a turquoise ocean, my attention was interrupted only by a small group of iconic Brown Pelicans that drifted by on the light balmy breeze from the direction of Miami Beach. Yes it was as good as that! Until you have experienced a Winter's morning on a South Florida beach you can't begin to imagine. The sun is warm without being hot, the sky is blue and cloudless and the air feels clean and pure. Th Morning Glory is as glorious as the name suggests and the prospect of reacquainting with the local exotics is more than tantalising. At the park you could be in a wilderness, at least for the first hour, that is before the dog walkers and fitness freaks take over. The flowering shrubs always impress me, everything seems more attractive in good light. Yesterday's Racoon was out foraging and vultures glided by and I caught sight of an un-named hawk. I was in to small warblers immediately in the shape of a Palm Warbler, the air was alive with the sound of other small tantalising calls and I gravitated in their direction. A female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker was doing her stuff on a Royal Palm trunk. This is a really interesting species. They feed by drilling holes in to tree trunks and the palms here in the park are peppered with holes. The wound "bleeds" sap and is then a food source, not just for the Sapsucker but also for Red Bellied Woodpeckers. The sweet sap also attracts insects and then other small birds come in the feed on them in turn. I kept seeing small birds in an uncultivated area behind the park, always a good area for birds and as I stood quietly there I managed pictures of the Prairie Warbler above. There was a Black and White Warbler, and a Blue Grey Gnatcatcher. Then a pair of Red Breasted Woodpeckers flew in to take advantage of the Sapsuckers labours. Then with the presence of an Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), it was quite a result.
Prairie Warbler

.

.
Black and White Warbler .

.
Blue-grey Gnatchater .

.
Red-breasted Woodpecker-(female) .

.
Red-breasted Woodpecker (male)

Just outside the the beachside appartment, when I came home for breakfast, a large flock of Red-masked Conures (Aratinga erythrogenys) was a in a tree.  They flew noisily from me.  These birds are well known here in South Florida where they have established themselves after escaping from captivity. 

Day one and a Coot attack!

We arrived here in Hollywood Florida, eventually last night. This was after a hold up at Philadelphia when, in spite of making our way between terminals as quickly as possible we missed the connection.  Not too much damage done as we jumped on the next plane to Ft Lauderdale 3 hours later and enjoyed a beer at the  Airport bar.

in spiteToday arrived with alovely glorious sunrise over the ocean and then settled in to a totally cloudless day with temperatures reaching lovely 76 F. We called in to a few of my favourite places.  At West Lake Park the first thing I saw on the lake was a struggling coot, I immediately waded in up to my knees and pulled the bird from the jaws of the biggest wild turtle that I have ever seen.  The poor bird was being eaten alive and not only was one leg hanging by a thread, intestines were  exposed and chewed. Nature could arguably have been left to run it's course and perhaps I shouldn't have got involved. To cut the story short, Broward County Wildlife rescue came along to take the bird which would have needed to be euthanised.

I saw an attractive female Racoon, she was foraging at the edge of the park and disappeared in to the mangroves when I took too much interest in her.

Then at the beach and specifically Oleta State Park I photographd a Laughing Gull and a pair of Red Breasted Merganser brown heads and an adult White Ibis.

Manchester Airport

 

For those who may be following my exploits and my trip to South Florida, heres the latest update. Here we are at Manchester Airport.

 

We spent the night in the Raddison Hotel at Manchester Airport. After  an early start and  struggling with the ridiculously cumbersome cases....... bad back already...... we  are now having a "full English" at the airport. Flight leaves soon for Philadelphia and it's only 7 hours something, anyone visiting the States, I can fully recommend this way of accessing the US. Always a pleasant and comfortable experience, no hasstle, and flying with US Airways means that you are straight in to the US experience as soon as you start travelling...... and it's always the best price available. More from Philadelphia. 

On the way to Florida and Dendroica warblers

I am fortunate enough to have realatives in South Florida which gives me the opportunity to visit most years.  For 20I2 I decided on January as my prefered month, that way I will be back home in the UK at the height of the migration and then breeding season. There are some good birds to be seen in South Florida in January. For example the Heron and Egret species are already nesting and I will enjoy photographing some of this activity as well as a few warbler species that spend the winter here. Ospreys are very common and I am looking forward to improving on photos previously taken. As well as that of course, it's always nice to walk along a sunny beach in the middle of winter. I am on the way to Manchester Airport today to fly out early tomorrow so check back regularly to see what I have been photographing.  Here are a few pictures to whet the appetite. I really like the family of "Dendroica" New World Wablers.

Black-Throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens

 

Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor  paludicola

 

Blacpoll Warbler - Dendroica striata

 

Yellow-throated Warbler - Dendroica dominica

 

Palm Warbler - Dendroica palmarum

 

 

 

My bird year reviewed.

I have a had a successful year in 2011 with some really good photographic opportunities  from both abroad and from here at home. I visited Australia for 5 weeks with a 24 hour stopover in Singapore.  The whole experience was as good as anything I have ever experienced. Summer here in the UK was tremendous as well. Then in August I enjoyed a few days in Spain which ended in a disaster with the theft of about £5000 of gear including lenses, binoculars,  iBook, cash, Passport, driving license and all my luggage. I managed to put that behind me and due to a combination of other good fortune and a positive attitude, I was able to carry on and start to gradually replace things.

Here is the year represented by some of my most enjoyable memories, captured in photographs.  I wonder what 2012 will bring?

The start of the year was very cold and icy and we were lucky enough to have Redwing visitors in the garden who were taking advantage of the Holly and Cotoneaster berries in both the front and back of my house. 

January isn't a bad month in my neck of the woods mainly because I live near to  internationally recognised wetlands, Exminster Marsh, a winter home to thousands upon thousands of waders and ducks. The garden always provides good photograph opportunities in the winter in the shape of Blackcap Warblers and this female was a regular in the garden in the beginning of January.

December 2010 and January 2011  was a good period for Bohemian Waxwings.  This is an irruptive  species, that is to say that they are, in some years, very common but in others hardly even seen.  Winter 2010/11 was a great season for them and they turned up in my own village of Alphington and also on the nearby trading estate where they took up residence in a tree adjoining the main Renault dealership!  This photo benefits from a lovely background created by the stop lights of a passing van as he bird finished up the last few berries on this Rowan tree.

Nuthatches are a favourite species and always so lively, lovely and photogenic. I know of a feeding station on Dartmoor where they come down to the feed along with Tits and finches. I created a good "outdoor-set" with a large seed tray lined with moss and dead leaves.  I scattered sunflower amongst the vegetation and from the car, waited for the birds to come and go.

This particular session was a good one and I also photographed the Blue Tit above. Later on in the year I returned to use High Speed Flash and got a few shots of Blue Tits in flight that were very rewarding.

I took lots of photos of Little Egrets during 2011 and possibly the best, at least the one that was the most appreciated by others, was this male in breeding plumage.  I took the photograph in the harbour of Lympstone village. I stood amongst the boats and equipment on the morning of a  strange eerie day.  The light was diffused by massive white clouds and  this really helped to define the feather detail  as the wind momentarily "tossed" the plumes around.  This added to the exciting feeling of movement that I was thrilled to capture. 

In the early part of the year I discovered a Dipper territory on the River Teign. Eventually I found the nest and with the use of good camouflage, I managed to watch the comings and goings of a pair as they visited the nest to lay a clutch of eggs. The birds would approach  and then enter the nest, oblivious of me just 6 feet away. It really was a magical experience.  Unfortunately,  this coincided with the trip to Australia which meant that I couldn't follow the whole event through to the conclusion, but more about this later.

I just adore this photograph I love the way the head ctaches a shaft of light. Everything works for me, its sharp and in focus with a good depth of field. I always strive to capture good detail in the eye and this has worked as well as I could have hoped for.

 I'm lucky enough to be able to stay with my son and family close to the Penine moors and specifically a habitat that is one of the last breeding strongholds for Twite in England, Britain's rarest finch?  I have been trying over the last 3 years to photograph them and eventually, just before departing for Australia, I was successful.  I took advantage of the feeding station set up to attract the birds which is part of the Penine Twite Study.

I had only been in Australia for a few days when my wife and I were invited to accompany the Townsville Bird Club to the village of Paluma high at the top of a mountain range.  This is  a well known destination for birders. Amongst the great birds seen was this amazing species, the Eastern Spinebill.  What a beauty! We were sat eating a packed lunch when it flew down to feed on the exotic flowers in a planted border of one of the houses in the village. It was just one of more than a 100 "lifers" that I photographed..... that is birds seen for the first time in my life. What a trip.

Of all the birds seen on my Queensland/Australia trip, the incredible Rainbow Bee-eater was the most sumptuous and exciting, well worth the 27 hours flying time alone!  Not only impressive but common as well. One of the big advantages of being somewhere for more than a few days is the opportunity to really get to know an area. I set about trying to get good photos of Bee-eaters almost as soon as we arrived.  The local cemetery was an amazing place to see and photograph them especially in the mornings. The birds used the headstones to hunt from. The retained warmth of the stones meant that the insect prey  was on the wing earlier and the Bee-eaters took full advantage. Every morning I watched the incredible spectacle of these iconic birds swooping back and forth. I was sad when I left for home.

What a country Australia is, if Bee-eaters were not enough, every morning at dawn, peace would be shattered by exuberant, gaudy Rainbow Lorrikeets. They would arrive in small groups to feed on a flowering shrub close to our bedroom window, an alarm clock was  definitely not required.  But what photo opportunities every single morning and from your bed almost! 

The same flowering tree attracted Honeyeaters and the Blue Faced Honeyeater was a bird that I really enjoyed.  Here it is feeding at first light on the same tree as the Rainbow Lorrikeet.

This is a Blue-winged Kookaburra. Near to Townsvile is an attractive beauty spot called Alligator Creek. I visited a few times and each time the resident Kookaburras entertained us. Not only do they have amazing personalities but they are very photogenic.  They would wait patiently until they spotted the chance to grab a sausage or piece of meat from the picnickers, even stealing in flight from the barbecue grill.

 One morning when I arrived at the cemetery there was a Black Kite perched on one of the headstones.  I snapped off hundreds of shots as I waited for it to take off and when it did I was ready to capture the moment.  I suspect that it was waiting for lizards to appear on the stones.

On another morning, just after dawn I went to the hide on the town common reserve near to our house in Townsville. I was thrilled when I was immediately rewarded by the presence of a family of Olive Backed Sunbirds very near to the hide.  Capturing the iridescence of the bib was a real challenge.

On the subject of iridescence, Victoria's Riflebird was an even greater challenge.  This is a species of Bird Of Paradise, and a staggeringly attractive bird and for someone from the UK, a real wonderful bird to see let alone photograph and get close to.  On one trip I put my hat on the front of my car and a Riflebird came to look in the hat thinking that I had hidden food in there!

I could have posted hundreds of images from Queensland and it was hard to choose just a few to post here but if you want to see more have a look here. 

On my return to the UK I quickly set about my annual quest to photograph Cuckoos. This is a real challenge and I wasn't to know how successful I was going to be this year. Just a day or so before I tracked down the Cuckoo pictured below, I stumbled upon a lovely baby Wheatear (above).  This was on Dartmoor in an area that I visit regularly and had recently left a nest that I was lucky enough to discover.

 What can I say about Cuckoo's. I just love everything about them.  Not only are they handsome but they are elusive and almost mystical. After lots and lots of study and planning with hours of sitting and watching, it was just luck when I eventually found this bird's territory and routine. It was only in the mornings that I saw him, always in the same place and always feeding in the same way. By the middle of the afternoon, he had always gone! Then the following morning he would be back again! After talking to other birders I now realise that in the afternoon he would have been away from his feeding territory and with his "ladies" who would be actively searching out the nests of their hosts in the late afternoon and evening.  The photo above is the most appreciated photograph that I have ever taken. On the Birdguides web site, out of  209559 images this is the 10th most popular as voted by readers. Here is a link to Birdguides.

What made watching and photographing this Cuckoo easy in the end was the presence of a good food supply. The Cuckoo would position himself in one of several Hawthorn trees around an area of cropped grass. He would use his perch to sight large caterpillars, sometimes from 30 feet or even more and then gliding down to pick them off the grass before flying back up to his perch. 

My way of getting close to this bird was to hide myself behind an ancient stone wall that adjoined the grassy area.  I could hide myself quite comfortably, dressed in a "gillie suit" including a hood and in this way be almost invisible. This suit has been instrumental in getting me real close to some special birds.  Very close to the wall there was a dead, and very photogenic log and while I was waiting for the Cuckoo other birds would come and go, all feeding on the same caterpillars. 

This Whinchat was one such bird that popped in to view one morning.

In spite of being  one of the UK's most common breeding birds, this year I found my first Willow Warbler nest. I sat watching a pair over several days at a spot on Dartmoor....... my favourite place on earth!!!  I knew that they were feeding youngsters somewhere very close but it still took me ages to find the nest even though I saw both birds bringing food constantly.  Again, I took some great photographs and you can view more here.

I mentioned earlier that I had been watching Dippers at their nest before I had left for Australia in late April. Although of course, I was pleased and excited about the trip I was disappointed to be leaving the breeding Dippers behind. So, after my return home I went back to their nest site to have a look to see if they had been successful after all. I was really excited to see this youngster in the territory and finished up with a photograph or two to prove their success.

Back out deeper on the moor I continued to watch the spot where the cuckoo had been seen and photographed. A pair of Stonechat were feeding their youngsters, recently fledged and gave me some good photo opportunities.

I have another favourite spot on Dartmoor where I have built a little hide/cover on the edge of a pool.  It is very productive.  My strategy is to sit in this little hide by the pool, totally concealed. Hot days during dry spells are best because the birds come in to drink and bathe in the pool, especially when conditions are dry. I photographed a whole list of birds at this pool, the most exciting being  this Lesser Redpoll on July 4th. This was possibly the height of my year. 

My short trip to Spain, birdwise, was a good one. Unfortunately some of the best pictures were lost when I had my gear stolen but I did manage to save a few pictures which were still on an SD card in my camera.  I took very nice pictures of Hoopoe that I was gutted to lose. Squacco Heron were common, here is one of the best ones taken.

Grey Phalarope are annual passage migrants through Devon and I caught up with this one on Upper Tamar Lake in North Devon.  Although they are a great bird to see, it wasn't my best wildlife moment to be frank.  I like to find my own birds and wildlife moments, preferring to be alone even if the birds you find for yourself are not quite as notable. Its much better to have them to yourself and far more rewarding.  But a great bird for all that.

In September my wife, myself and two others traveled to Lundy Island off the coast of Devon.  One of my  pictures from 2010 had been placed first and the prize was a trip for 4 to the island. Unfortunately the weather was awful on the day. It rained constantly and was grey and desolate.  I have no great desire to return to Lundy again in the future, the whole experience was pretty dire to be frank!  The only birds seen were species that I could have seen at home  and kept dry as well! But I did photograph this nice little Swallow as a memento of the day.

 

Grey Herons are  common in Devon and being the UK's largest predatory bird, pretty impressive to say the least.  I love getting close to them and this autumn one particular bird on the Exeter Canal was the most obliging Grey Heron that I had ever encountered.  I got to know it's habits well. It had a lot of success fishing of the surface of the canal and once the water had warmed up and the fish moved to the surface it could catch small pike and perch constantly.  This provided some really amazing photo opps.

You wouldn't imagine that Grey Wagtails are capable of catching small fish but I was as surprised as you when I photographed this from my Kingfisher hide on the Alphin Brook close to home. It certainly isn't a fluke because over the course of a week or two I observed this regularly.

From the same hide I had a regular visit from this Wren who would come down to the waters edge to bathe every afternoon (that I was there at least), at around the same time. It pleased me to get a photo that was more than just a portrait.  I try hard when I take photographs, to capture something just a bit different than a simple pose. The reflection achieves that in this photograph.

Snow Buntings have been quite easy to find in Devon this winter and we have had them both in North Devon near to Bideford at Sandymere where this picture was taken in October, and also a nice bird on the beach at Budleigh Salterton.

Also back in October I discovered that Goosanders use the Devon Reservoirs as roosts and feeding grounds before the winter sets in.  During a visit  I noticed that there were a few females on Venford Reservoir. They were not approachable and quite quickly, when disturbed flew accross the reservoir away from the disturbance.  I reasoned that it wouldn't be too hard to "stake" out an area of water close to the edge and wait it out for one or two to come close.  So camouflaged and concealed I sat for a couple of hours and waited for one or two to approach as I hoped.  On this particular day the sun was shining very brightly and when eventually one did venture near, the light was just perfect. This is a "brown-head" female of course.

This Blue Tit was taken with high speed flash. using multiple flash guns set at 1/16th power the duration of light is very short and the action can be frozen as you can see. I am thrilled with the result of this "high-speed flash" and can only expect to capture some better and better photographs with luck and patience.

Almost finally, a Kingfisher.  I have a hide on my local brook where I photograph Kingfishers.  This year, up until late October was nowhere as productive as in the two previous years. But suddenly a female decided to use the territory and that is so exciting. Imagine being 3 feet from a Kingfisher, well I have been closer and very regularly.  On one session in December I knew that a bird was around but just couldn't see her from the hide. When I eventually got up to leave I realised that she had been resting on the camera lens protruding from the hide!  I have hundreds if not thousands of Kingfisher photgraphs, and at the end of the year I wa able to add to my collection with some great shots like the one above.

Right at the end of the year I photographed Waders at a high tide roost on the River Exe. It was the shortest day of the year and the sun began to set at aroud 3.30.  A lone Dunlin came in and rested on a rock, it was very close!  Gradually the water got higher and higher until it was surrounded.   

 

It's now 2012 and whats in store for this year?  It gets off to a great start and  on the 5th I fly out to South Florida. Watch this space!

 

 

Garden birds.

A few photos from the garden today including this photogenic female Blackbird feeding on pyrocantha berries.  I plonked myself on the top of my flat roofed garage and sat in my chair hide.  I was waiting for one of the Redwings that have been feeding in the garden since Christmas Eve.  Redwings are a European thrush species that winters here  in the UK.  They are feeding on the berry bushes in my garden at the moment.  This is an anual event when they join the resident Blackbirds, local Song Thrushes  and migrant Fieldfares in a berry feast. It is worth mentioning a few facts about Blackbirds - (Turdus merula) because  I have lots of visitors on the blog from the USA and Canada who are probably not familiar with our European Blackbirds.  Unlike your New World  Blackbirds, the European  Blackbird is a "thrush" and as you can probably tell, closely related to the American Robin (Turdus migratorius). In fact the probably fit the same niche as your American Robin.  They are about the same size  and as the name suggests, the male is a jet black bird with a yellow beak.  Females are brown with just a hint of a speckled breast like the Song and Mistle Thrush. Males sing a beutiful lyrical song which is an evocotive part of England, particularly at dawn and dusk in spring and summer. 

 

I never did get a really good shot of the Redwings, but there is always tomorrow! In addition to the birds already mentioned we had a nice Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes  in he garden as well as another male Blackcap, to read about my garden Blackcaps this year and their story, click on the link here.

On the same theme; that is, birds who may or may not be familiar in both Europe and North America,  the House Sparrow - Passer domesticus is a worrying bird for British and European ornithologists.  This species is just as common in the US as it is in Europe and maybe even more so because they are in massive decline here in England. At one time they would have been present in English gardens and Cities in pest and plague proportions but are now absent from most English and Eouropean cities where they were once numerous. There are lots of theories as to why this is but as far as I can discover, no one seems to be doing anything about it.  I am, however, quite lucky because they are still common in Exeter, Devon and we have them daily in my garden. 

Christmas Eve and Redwings come in to the garden.

I would have liked to be able to post lots of glorious pictures this evening and  it's a rare day when I haven't, but with the house full of Christmas visitors it wasn't possible however, I have a few nice garden birds  to report. December last year was a cold Arctic affair and the winter Thrushes came in to garden at the end of  November.  By Christmas the Holly berries had been stripped from the garden tree. Today we had our first Redwings feeding in the Holly and then at the bottom of the garden, 2 Redwings were perched high on the conifer bush. The usual Blue Tits were on the feeders throughout the day as well as a Robin and two Dunnocks.  But the highlight was a nice male Blackcap at lunchtime, and then presumably the same one at dusk.  Blackcaps have not been as frequent in the garden this winter so far, so nice to have a male again.  In the early afternoon I went and sat in the hide on the brook, hoping to get a couple of Kingfisher photos but strangely enough she wasn't there today but after a while a Grey Wagtail came along. Something spooked her unfortunatley so the picture I took is not very good but I have posted it because it clearly shows the female Wagtail that I photographed back in October. She has a white feather on her head so it's possible to recognise her. Glad that she is surviving the winter so far, will be interesting to see  if she stays to pair up with the male that is in the territory. 

 

Here she is back then.

Whereever you are in the world, (and the blog has had visitors from 140 different countries), can I wish you a Happy Christmas and lets hope that we all, wherever you are, have a peaceful 2012.  I have done a great deal of travelling in my life and the one thing that is common amongst ordinary people is a quest for happiness and contentment. It's just politics, greed and religious fanatics that spoil it for us all. (Oh and shame on you nasty thieves that stole all of my equipment in Spain in August which was one of the low point in the year for me).