Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

A few more birds

This Common Yellowthroat is a skulking but attractive warbler this one seen at my favorite site, West Lake Park off Sheridan St along with the female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egrets are very similar to the Little Egret known to us in Europe and the UK. They are a species that suffered at the hands of the plume collectors in the 19th Century which led to the creation of the Audubon Society and n the UK the RSPB. Their numbers have recovered enough for them to be regularly seen in Florida but they are not the most commonly enountered species of heron in South Forida. Since my arrival in Hollywood Florida I have visited West Lake Park in Sheridan St most mornings and I consider it to be my "local patch" and somewhere that I am getting to know pretty well. I see this Snowy Egret on most mornings as well as a very nice Little Blue Heron and a Tri-Coloured Heron as well.

Limpkin

Traveling along the Hillsboro Canal in a 20 foot ganoe, a cross between a flats boat and a canoe was a great experience. Bass fishing was the main activity but it gave me the chance to be close to the wildlife on the water. Night Herons were seen, probably Black Crowned as well as Tri-coloured Heron and Ahninga. The most notable sighting though was a few Limpkin by the waters edge. This species is as big as a heron and like a large rail but is in fact more related to the cranes. It is one of the less seen water birds here. Fishing close to the bank near to trees we disturbed a Green Heron I havnt managed any decent photos of this species yet and we paused to try and get a good photo but the light was fading so that was going to be hard. Suddenly we noticed a nest over the water containing three wedgwood coloured eggs. Now we knew why the bird was reluctant to leave the scene. The nest was built of sticks and was placed precariously over the water for safety. The nest was not lined and interestingly unlike most other species of heron was not in a colony, I stepped ashore to try and get a shot of her on, or near the nest but then I couldnt find it again from the shore side. This proved to me what a great choice of site she had made. I dont often find nests, frankly because I dont look. This was though a great experience. My first reaction was to note how flimsy the nest looked and then how beautiful the eggs were. They were larger than a pigeon and smaller than a poultry hen, the size of a pheasant to be exact. Back at the dock and in the dark a couple of Black Crowned Night Heron were living up to their name and walking around the parking lot.

American Kestrel - Falco sparverius

The American Kestrel read about it here as well, is the smallest North American raptor. I travelled to Palm Beach County and specifically Dune Ridge Reserve to look for Florida Scrub Jay. Unfortunately no sign of this very rare bird which was a pity.

Royal Tern - Sterna maxima

Every day since my arrival I have been checking the beaches for Royal Terns because at this time of the year I have seen them resting during spring migration. Yesterday a small flock were on the beach at Dania close to the pier and amongst the sunbathers. A few were in full breeding plumage and remarkeably I was able to slowly and carefully shufle to within only 3 feet of them. I tried very hard not to disturb them too much as they were obviously resting from their migration. These are both Royals the one above being in full breeding condition and the one below has yet to moult through in to full breeding plumage. I am thrilled with this image below,  it's a cracker and one of the nicest pics of my trip so far. Or perhaps this one s even better!

American Kestrel and much more!

John U Lloyd State Park is a recreation area situated between Hollywood ad Ft Lauderdale. In the early morning after the gates open at 8 its a quiet place to be and very beautiful, next to the ocean with glorious white sandy beaches and sea the colour that you wished all seas were. I parked my car next to the mangrove fringed "Car Park Lot 1" and crossed the bridge over Whisky Creek to the dunes and the beach behond. Before I left the car I scattered some beef bones to attract vultures in! The plan was to entice them to the hide and then get some close up photos of the feeding activity. On the beach side of the dunes my attentions were diverted to this American Kestrel, the continents smallest raptor who was making the most of the tranquiulity, albeit in the strong breeze. A pair of Ground Doves flew in to the dunes for cover and then on the beach a small flock of Sanderling skittered to and frow, avoiding the surf but not me, magical! Back at the car now I was greeted by a dozen or so vulture who had obviously smelt and located the bones as soon as my back was turned. I had totally underestimated the reaction of the vultures and am disappointed that I missed the opportunity. Still there is always tomorrow and I will be repeating the excersise! Later on in the day we went out west again and found our way into Markham Park, a vast area of open spaces and lakes. On one of the playing fields was a another small colony of Burrowing Owls. I didn't stay too long amongst them, mindful that I would disturb them. It is the start of the breeding season and that would be totally wrong. Also seen in the fields there were several pairs of Killdeer but the highlight of the day has got to be a Marsh Harrier that drifted past me on the edge of the Everglades.
This is a femalw Boat-tailed Grackle wel and truly getting stuck in to her bathing.
I just think it is so amazing that once you get good light then you can get really good pictures. Look at the way this bird has closed her eyes , she seems in bliss.

Finally today this smart Red-bellied Woodpecker, a male.

Double Crested Cormorant

If you go west from the Soth East beaches of Hollywood and Ft Lauderdale you arrive at the wilderness area known the world over ..........the Everglades. As a visitor you can get a flavour of the area at the Everglades Holliday Park and Sawgrass Recreation Area, In the las few days we have had an extreme amount of rain and the drainage canals have a lot of water in them. The oxygenated water has created some excitement amongst the wildlife and today we watched a dozen or more Double Crested Cormorants fishing by a fresh water sluice gate that was pumping gallons of new water in to the system. Swirling amongst the fast flowing water were some massive Tarpon who from time to time breached like ocean going dolphin. As I watched a large Alligator, at least 10 foot long, slowly but surely moved in to the deep pool. The Cormorants exited in the other direction to a safe distance. There was a certain amount of regret that the 'gator didn't grab a 'take out' but I suppose that would have been expecting too much. Florida and Aligators go hand in hand and my annual trip to the Sunshine State is not complete without at least one sighting. Back to the Cormorants who before they were sent packing were not too worried about me and I got some nice shots of them swimming and bathing.  

I have been seeing Loggerhead Shrike since I got here but the opportunity for a good shot didn't really happen until today. If nothing else then this photo shows the importance of two basic principles of successful bird and wildlife photography. First, get as close as you can and then hope that there is enough light. Eentually if you are here long enough and you have a bit of luck you are bound to get mean and close up to an Osprey. This one was eating in trees by the canal at Sawgrass.

Turkey Vulture and female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

On this morning's early morning walk it was good to see a few species that I have seen already as well as one new one for the trip, a Red Shouldered Blackbird.
Turkey Vultures were gliding and soarng around in thestrong wind and eventually they settled on the ground to look for scraps. They do look a little bit like Turkeys on the ground. They have very ugly red bare skinned faces but their plumage is very nice. I saw the male Yellow -Bellied Sapsucker again this morning. He was on exaly the same tree as befor but not quite so approachable. There was also a female. This bird has no red o the throat unlike the male so it was easy to tell them apart. At one time they were together and flew away to a safe distance.

Brown Pelicans

These gready birds are icons of South Florida. This pair this afternoon at Haulover Park, North Miami.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

The Yellow Bellied Sapsucker is a bird that I have read about but not bumped in to before. They are not scarce but of course you have to be in the right place at the right time as they say. They seemed to have a problem comming up with good names for woodpeckers because for the life of me I can't see a yellow belly! There is always a story when I see something for the first time and this one was no excepotion. I could hear this light drumming in front of me but I suspecteded that it was comming from trees about 30 yards ahead. I started to make my way towards them and then the noise was comming from behind me. In actual fact the bird was hammering in to the palm tree right in front of me but on the blind side. I spotted it quickly and the usual excitement of a lifetime first washed over me. I don't think it is the most attractive species of woodpecker but never the less it certainly was confiding. It allowed me to stand and watch it for about an hour. At times I was only 3 feet away from it. (Obsessive I know, but thats me)! I took laods of shots and this one shows him, because yes it is a male, feeding on sap I suppose! All around the tree there was small bore holes which I have seen lots of times and now I know which species is responsible. Just a little earlier I had watched an Osprey fishing but he didn't catch anything. What a chance though to observe fishng behaviour. A Great Egret - Casmerodius albus flew in and settled amongst the picnic tables and Turkey Vultures were drifting back and forth in the strong winds.

American Ahninga - Ahninga ahninga

The Amercan Ahninga or Darter is a really interesting species that I have rarely seen close up. Today at the Morikami Japanese Garden in itself an amazing and gorgeous place, we were viewing the Koi pond when right in front of us, only 3 feet away, an Anhinga appeared with a trophy Sun Perch skewered on it's beak. Without any care for the gathering hord watching nature upfront and in the raw, it beat the fish to death on a rock before throwing back it's head and swallowing it whole.............wow! I grabbed Jenny's point and shoot and snapped a whole series of shots of the event.

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata

Day 4 of the trip and we woke up to another heavy rain storm. Unusual for this time of year apparently. I decided that I didn't want to get wet again, it's not good for the camera I am sure. After a while though it cleared a little bit and with the temps touching 70 I headed off, still before 9 o'clock to West Lake Park just up the road. I find this place is pretty good for all kinds of common Forida species. This morning was no exception but you need to be a little bit patient and have a keen eye. The really good thing about Florida though is the light which, even when the sun is in, is always good. In fact it is better whe the sun is shaded because you get more even light conditions. This morning as the showers stopped, the atmosphere became incredible. Glorious scents were in the air and a warm damp foliage smell. Exotic calls rang out, and little chips and calls from small warblers filled the air. Sounds good I know, but it really is!
The first birds that I managed to get my binos on was a nice little Palm Warbler, these are a smashing litle bird with bright yellows and a spanking chestnut crown. They are active and like most warblers everywhere not easy to photograph, they never stay still for long.
The exotic sounds were being made by a couple of Blue Jay. I was very pleased when I got a really good photo opportunity. Firstly in a nearby tree and then on the picnic bench. It hopped around and flew nearer to me, thats what happens if you stay still and quiet. I was so chuffed when I looked at the image here because I captured the bird in mid-air as you can see. Then it flew in to the tree in front of me and posed in this really classic way. Again the light has made this a great little picture.

Green Iguana

Green Iguanas are a frequently encountered lizard in this part of South Florida. They breed here in the wild but are non-native and the produt of escapees. They are pretty harmless but non the less impressive for their fierce looks and sze. This one was at least 3 feet long and basking in the evening sun on the edge of a car park. The bird count so far is around 30 species, not a massive amount but I have been spending most of my time with my wife and sister, and not specifically bird watching apart from an hour or so at first light in the local park. This morning was fruitful because I saw not only my first Norther Cardinal of the trip but also a Green Heron. The highlight though was an Empidox Flycatcher, probably an Arcadian but this small group of Flycatchers is extremely difficult to sort out do to the similarities of around 5 species in the Empidox family. I did manage a few nice photos though. If you are reading the blog and you are perhaps an expert in these birds then please email and suggest a species other than Arcadian?

North American Warblers

The New World warblers are a colouful group and I always enjoy looking for them in the USA. So far in two days I have caught up with Yellow Throated, and today my first Prairie.

Both of these species have brightly coloured yellow throats and breasts with a thick notceable eye stripe, white in the former and yellow in Prairie. I have photos which have been a great way to id them. The Palm Warbler is another that I always run in to out here. Again another pretty bid with a chestnt crown. Thisnext one was addedon Saturday 21st and taken at West Lake Park, I am adding photos here of Palm Warblers that I run in to often. This morning I had a nice view of this Palm Warbler in the same spot that I have seen them before. This time I managed to get a nice photo.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

The Oleta State Park is situated on the Oleta River and runs in to Biscayne Bay North Miami. It is a particular favourite haunt of mine because of the variety of habitats including Mangrove, scrub and seashore. Our weather is still a bit overcast but very warm never the less. Todays birds included a couple of my favourites. The bird above was a real treat. We sat under a Sea Grape Tree, suddenly this bird arrived and there was a real sense of excitement in the air. These birds are really exotic and I see them often when I am here. He was drinking from the underside of the broad leaves that you can see. A few minutes later a small brightly coloured warbler joined it. I struggled to get good photos of this bird but I have positively ID'd it as a Yellow Throated Warbler

Burrowing Owl

So here we are in the beautiful sunshine state of Florida and so far no sign of the sun today but inspite of that the temperature is a nice 80 degrees. Still a little jet lagged I decided to take it easy and just do a few recces  of places that I know and love. We live close to a dock which is  home to dozen or so Brown Pelicans who sit patiently waiting for fish scraps.They give great photo opportunities but I am going to wait for a sunny day o get some great in flight shots.

 

Thi is a Burrowg Owl and below a Momk Parrakeet. The former a rare endangered bird, threatened by human encroachment. The later and introduced species surviving and doing well but released carelessly.

The burrowing owl was one of a dozen or so pairs nesting at Brian Piccolo Sports Park. Once you know where to look they are easy to spot, & not easily spooked. This one posed well on the sand by his burrow, these can be up to 6ft deep underground. You can see in the picture, dung which these birds use to adorn the nest hole entrance. Recent studies have shown that the dung attracts beetles etc. which the birds feed on. A bit like an avian pizza delivery!!

Hello from the USA

After a 22 hour journey that took me from Manchester to Philidelphia and then down to Ft Lauderdale I have to admit to being jet-lagged and tired out. We awoke this morning to the first rain in South Frida since Christmas! Still with teperatures in the 70's and its only 9 in the morning , who cares.
As far as birds are concerened, from the beach side appartment balcony this morning I have already seen the local Osprey quartering the surf at first light and a flight of Pelicans passed over. Grackles are singing and Collared Doves, and European Starlings are very common.
On the Beach the Turtle Patrol has been by........... every morning  the beach is checked for any signs of nesting turtles and then the eggs are protected. More of this later, and now I have established full connection here on the net I will report later today.

Florida Bound

It's Sunday, the cases are packed. the camera is in it's flight case, and the tripod safely stowed  in the Pop-up Hide Chair bag. The insect repellent is at the ready and a Field Guide to Eastern Birds of the United States is in my hand luggage. We are ready! Today is an absolute cracker here in Devon but no doubt it will revert to a dreary rainy typical English late winter day pretty soon. There are a few interesting birds around as well. Spoonbill on Exminster Marsh for example, not time to go for a look at that bird though but it is typical. Last year when I was away in Florida we had the Spotted Crake on the marsh and I missed that bird... but eh, I would rather be in Florida and watching Burrowing Owl, nesting Osprey and the chance to see some migrating warblers, sandpipers and other waders. I love the terns in Florida, Forstens and Royal are a certainty on the beach in front o f my sisters's house........ I am getting excited. Check back on Wednesday for the first report of the trip! See you soon, 

Charlie

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos minor

If you read my entry for earlier today (here) then you will know that after seeing the Garganey this morning I was about to leave to try for the 5th or 6th time to see the Lesser Spotted Woddpecker at Dunsford woods. I am pleased to report that today I was successful at last!. It was quite an exciting experience and I saw firstly the male but only managed a shot from behind but I did get a good clear sighting of his head in another blurred image. I have to say that yet again I am really impressed with this lovely little species that is really quite something special and well worth the searching. After hearing him call from behind me I turned to see him fly across the river and perch in the tree opposite. I could see him really well and his red head showed clearly. In the photo you can just about make it out. The last time I saw this species was in Hampshire in 1972 so you could say that today was a bit special. 

After rattling off a few shots he flew off and I saw what I thought was him perched on the side of a tree to the right. On closer examination this turned out to be a female so quite a result I would say. It is just such a shame that this image is a tiny bit out of focus but never the less really worth putting up here. Now knowing whatt I was listening for I heard  at least two calls in different parts of the wood, that is not to say that it wasn't the same male but could there be several pairs?

Garganey - Bowling Green Marsh Topsham

I got up particularly early this morning as I planned to visit Dunsford Woods for one last time before my Florida Trip early next week. My weekend will be taken up by an exciting weekend of music making with my Brass Band, Lympstone South West Telecoms at the Regional Championships in Torquay so not much chance of birdwatching over the weekend. I checked for emails and there was a message telling me that there were 4 Garganey Ducks, 3 Drakes and a Duck at Bowling Green Marsh. I was up dressed, showered and on the Chinese Bike by 9 on my way. At the hide which was already quite busy I was immediately directed to the birds that I had come to see. This is a lifetime first for me and I am thrilled to not only see such a nice bird but also to get the chance to include it my lifetime list which is incidentally only in my head as I am not a great list writer. The camera was quickly brought in to action and I took a few shots. I left the hide after a few minutes because I was pretty sure that I could get a better and clearer shot from the road. This proved to be the case and I am pleased to add them here.

The Garganey is a rare British duck with an estimated 23 to 100 or so breeding pairs in the UK and as such the assembled "throng" as it was quickly becoming as the word spread on the grapevine, were justifiably excited at the presence of, not only 1 but 4 all in one morning. I wish the shots were a little better but all the usual problems, bad light and distance to the subject came in to play. But not bad for such a rare bird. After a while they waddled off out of the water and across the field giving me a chance for perhaps a better shot but again the distance was a factor. The duck was particularly attractive I think with such nice markings in a very subtle plumage pattern. So with the hide rapidly turning in to a scene remeniscent of a Tunisian market and with more people than at the average Exeter City Home game ( and noisier as well) I decided to beat a hasty retreat and see if I could make it home without police intervention today!! I was particularly impressed (not) with the rather large lady in the bright white coat who thought that she should fit her mammoth figure onto the front bench of the hide and then was surprised when all the waders, mostly Godwits, took this as the straw that broke the camels back and left. A real wildlife experience for her. I wonder if she scatters the birds where ever she goes ....oh I do hate it in public hides!!!! It could be that this is one of the rarest British Breeding birds so far on the Blog so this is quite a post today and its still only 1104 in the morning ......... still time for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Oh, and it was so nice to meet a couple of friendly faces today, both regulars to the blog and your comments are very much appreciated Nigel and I am glad that you found my police encounter so funny Mike.

Little Egret -

Late this afternoon with the weather reasonably bright I had the opportunity to go and do a bit of watching for a couple of hours before tea. I chose Cockwood mainly because I could travel via Powdeham and see if the Cttle Egrets were still around by the Church. The sheep have been moved out now but the field still held about 10 Little Egrets. I didn't see ay Cattle Egrets though. I notice that they were reported "west of Powderham" on the Rare Bird Alert web site so perhaps they are going to stay and breed in the park. I really hope so.
At Cockwood the tide was on the way in but still out quite a way. I walked  to the shoreline and sat in the Chair Hide. It wasn't ideal due to the tide rushing in much quicker than I was expecting. I re-positioned the hide further away from the waters edge, There was a few interesting birds around including Brent Geese, Greenshank and a few more Little Egrtets again. They really are very common here around the River Exe. When they are feeding in the water they are very interesting and I am always hopeful that they are are going to catch something worth photographing. I wa joined by a nice bird in front of the hide and after a bit of fishing he caught a really big mullet as you can see in the photo. 

He flew with it in the hope of making to "dry land" but before he could make the few feet he dropped it but not before I got a nice shot.
So back to the car and the short journey home which turned out to be an event to say the least. I went home by the back lanes and close to home as I was about to join the roundabout by the Devon Hotel a police car was parked up almost blocking the road. I wasn't sure if it wa parked or he was making a turn. It tured out he was parked and doing what policemen do. I sort of scowled at him as I went past, annoyed that I had been forced to divert around him. This was a mistake because now I was beig followed be this predatory beast who probably knew he was in the wrong and himself illegally parked.  Ayway, he stopped me and issued a fixed £30 penalty for not wearing a seat belt . I dont like being told what t do by anyone and tried to point out to him that he should be prosecuted for blocking  a junction. Like that worked, I even told him that I was going to make a citizens arrest which almost made him smile and he pointed out that it was not an arrestable offence.  It was fun anyway and almost worth the 30 quid to toy with him for 10 minutes. Money is the least imprtant thing in my life so fining me £30 is about as much use as hitting me with a feather.

In the garden today we have had the usual Chaffinches  and Siskins and a couple of Starlings flew over which is the first from the garden for a few days. Just around the corner there are a few large trees and a small colony of Rooks are nesting. Rooks are one of the earliest breeders in the UK.

Dunsford Woodland Birds

 

Another trip to find the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker this morning drew  another blank but I was almost successful. I waited for an hour in the spot  where it had been seen yesterday and had good views of Greater Spotted pairing behaviour which was really interesting. They were chasing around between the trees and putting on quite a show. I also watched a pair of Marsh Tits and almost got a good shot!. Half way through my wait for the Lesser Spotted I spoke to a couple who told me that they had seen it about 300 yards down river and they had kindly marked the spot by crossing some straws on the track and drawing in the mud. I hastily made my way there and stood for an age trying to see it but unfortunately they didn't show for me. There was an obvious nest hole and I have enclosed a photo but am not going to divulge the location for obvious reasons. Of course without seeing the birds at the hole I have no way of knowing who it belongs to but I think it would suggest Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Oh,.......  and here is a rubbish photo of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker male, when I first caught sight of this bird it had my pulse racing as I thought momentarily that it was going to be what I am looking for. Still there is always tomorrow!!!!

Garden Update

it's been a busy few days for me since my last post on Saturday. The weather has not been conducive to good photos and birdwaqtching and with my forthcoming trip to Florida I had a few business loose ends to tie up. My Birdwatching has centred on just casual glances around the garden and the odd photo opportunity from the bathroom. In addition I have been trying to sort out the resolution issues with the pictures on the blog. I always like to post as big a picture as possible on the site but at times if you are viewing on a PC then the pixel size of the displayed image makes it impossible to see the full image. This has now been resolved and from now on you will not see pictures with the right hand side cropped off,. Well at least I hope so. Thanks to my good friend Bryony who has sorted that out for me. Incidentally I work from Mac but have recently brought a Toshiba PC Notepad to enable me to post from abroad. I am rapidly learning the idiosyncrasies of the PC system! The Sparrow posted here today and the Collared Dove is really all about a test to check that things are now sorted. This afternoon I am off to see if I can find the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at Dunster so please check back later for an up-date. You have to admit that the eye of a Collared Dove is a smashing feature of this bird. This one is one of a pair that use my garden as their own and have well and truly paired up now. I suspect that it is the same birds that bred in the garden last year and successfully reared chicks .........squabs.... the proper name for young pigeons. On Saturday 6th, in the afternoon the Blackcap Warbler was seen in the garden.

Update at 1915s. This afternoon was not in the least bit fruitful as far as Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were concerned. This was  made all the more frustrating by reports from two seperate  birdwatchers who I met on my walk down the river. They both told me that they had had good views earlier on. I stood for at least an hour trying to get a look. I heard a few interesting calls and there was a bit of activity from tits including Marsh and Long-tail but no Woodpeckers unfortunately.

Greylag Goose - Anser anser

The Greylag Goose is the bird that all domestic geese are derived from. They are not necessarily all that common in the wild and most that are seen are the descendants of escaped feral geese.  This is quite a confused state of affairs and most birdwatchers do not take a sighting of this species very seriously. This is a shame because they are magnificent big birds and as far as I am concerned more worthy of note than the commonly seen Canada Goose which of course have no right to be here at all and are justifebly hated by most serious bird watchers.
This morning as I traveled through Exminster Marsh on the Chinese Bike I was distracted by the presence of a flock of geese close to the road and amongst the Canadas were two Greylag. They may be feral but as soon as I stopped and climbed of the Chinese machine, off they waddled. I took a few photos though. As you can see they really are magnificent with immaculate plumage and  subtle colours.
Later on as I watched a large flock of at least 300 Brent Geese, I heard my first Cettis Warbler of the year. I caught sight of a bird which was probably  a Cettis but as I am not 100% sure then it will not go down aas a sighting. I was searching through the Brent Geese because amongst them, apparently is a Black Brant, a sub species which should be on the Pacific coast with others of its type and not with our Brent. For the life of me I can not find this bird even though I see this flock of Brent Geese most days but there are, as I said, at least 300 and the Black Brant looks very similar and as they spend al their time feeding with heads down, well I just can't find it!
Back home and in the garden there was qite a variety of interest. The Siskins are still the predominant species in the garden. Who would have thought that I would say that. We have at least a dozen still in the garden now. The males sing costantly and the females are carrying mesting material around. I can't honestly believe that they are going to breed in the garden, surely not.  But it would be wonderful if they did. There certainly is enough cover for them and I am sure that they are being well fed.
From the bathroom window with the camera rested on a beanbag I spent an hour photographing the comings and goings. The Bluetit ringed in the garden in January, now with a mate in toe came to feed on the fat ball and at one time they were both haging from it. All the while the hen Blackbird was carrying her nesting material to an, as yet unfinished nest. Collared Doves were going through pairing rituals, chasing each other about etc. But believe it or not the best photo taken today was this one of a Wood Pigeon, probably one of the best pictures I have ever taken.

Goldeneye-Bucephala clangula

Yesterday afternoon was spent trying to get closer to a pair of Goldeneye that I had seen a few times just off the entrance  to Cockwood harbour. This is a remarkably quiet area particularly at high tide and very rich in bird life. I arrived just as the tide was beginning to go out and placed my pop up hide above the water giving me good views across the bay. There was hardly a bird to be seen but pretty soon from within the hide I saw a small dot get bigger and bigger as, what turned out to be a female Goldeneye made her way towards me.

 I was positioned right alongside the fresh water stream that runs into the Estuary from the inner harbour and as the day progressed I began to understand the attraction of this freah water source to the birds. In the picture I am pretty sure she is putting her head back to swallow. I took several photos of the female and was begining to understand the benefit of the hide. Without realising it the female was joined by a Drake. Please bear in mind that these ducks are truly wild, not the kind you feed on the duck pond! They are very, very wary and any sign of a human and they paddle quickly of or fly away to the middle of the estuary. I was veyr pleased to be able to get as close, some 25 yards or so because I had thought it through so carefully and hatched a plan and it is always really fulfilling if you then have success. This to me is real wildlife watching! You must admit they are very pretty and aptly named birds.

 Another reason that they are attracted to the fresh water source  is the opportunity to bathe and wash the salt water from their plumage. Along with other birds they were bathing and preening for quite long periods. In this photo you can see how the Drake is really getting stuck in and making sure that his belly is attended to. I really hate the thought of theses birds being shot at by duck hunters but believe it or not the Exe Wildfowlers have the right to shoot this species on the River Exe............. can you imagine anyone getting any pleasure out of that? 

A bit more about Goldeneye. They are a bird that is apparently doing quite well and breed  in Scotland. They readily accept a nesting box placed appropriately high in a tree and this has led to an increase in breeding pairs. Their range in Europe extends in to the Taiga which geographically is a an area of woodland and wilderness south of the Arctic Tundra. So our Goldeneye here in Devon are either Scotish birds, or birds from further North such as  Sweden, Finland and  Northern Russia. At two days old the young ducklings leap from the nest high up in in a hole in a tree. They form  creches with other ducklings from other nests and are cared for collectively in the creche by one "mother" duck. I should imagine that this allows the other individulas to go to nest again, but also it is probably a good strategy . There is safety in numbers in the same way that fish live in large shoals.  

Joining the the party was a small group of 7 red Breasted Mergansers made up of 4 males and three females. As you can see I got quite close to them as well.

I was thrilled when suddenly from nowhere a Slavonian Grebe appeared on the scene and  stayed around pretty much the whole afternoon. I don't know if this is the same individual that was in the Estuary all last summer in Summer plumage, I think it probably is, now though he is in winter

eclipse plumage.

 

 Then as the tide went out further the waders took centre stage. The most impressive being a nice Greenshank and I thought that this photograph would show the difference between the two species.

There are always lots of Little Egrets on and around the Exe Estuary. This one wanted to get as close to me as he could allowing me to get this really good head portrait.

Snow in March!

We woke this morning to a layer of snow in the garden, the second time this year but it's March! I went straight out to the hide to try and get some better photos with the very bright light it was going to be a doddle! More Siskins I am afraid but good ones and worth putting on the blog. The sun shines bright and I am about to leave for the little village of Cockwood on the banks of the River, yesterday when I was there had been Goldeneye ducks Here the male. 

Bar-headed Goose - Anser indicus

The Bar-headed Goose is a very common goose in it's native breeding range of Central Asia. In the UK it is a feral species that is known to breed here. I have never seen one before and I found it a fascinating encounter. They were very striking in appearance. 

They migrate by flying over the Andes which in it'self makes this an interesting bird. They are thought to be one of the worlds highest fliers and travel in the Jet Stream when on migration. 

There is no way of knowing where this pair came from but I would have thought it possible that they could breed amngst the flock of Canada Geese that they seemed so comfortable with. According to Wikipedia they are commonly kept in captivity and escapees are perhaps starting to become more established in the UK.

.  

They were not particularly worried about me and seemed very at ease with the 30 Canada Geese that they were with. However they were not in a park environment, they were very much living and feeding in the wild and free to come and go as they wanted. I think they have made a good addition to my sightings, photos and Blog entries for this year and even though the Birdguides web site classes them as a non rare bird, I certainly don't, as in 50 years of Bird observations in the UK this is my first sighting.

Cattle Egret-Egretta garzetta, Powderham Devon

I went out this morning with the hope of taking some photos in an around the mouth of the River Exe. On the way I called in at Powderham to se if I could see the Cattle Egrets that had apparently moved from the Roundhouse back amongst the sheep by Powderham Church. There were at least 10 liitle Egrets but I couldn't see the Cattle Egrets amongst them In the Estuary at Cockwood a pair of Goldeneye Ducks were near to the sea wall but quickly moved away when they knew I was around. I did manage a poor photo of the male but not good enough to post here. So on the way back home and back at Powderham I had a closer look amongst the Egrets and sure enough there amongst the sheep was a couple of Cattle Egrets. I couldn't get close enough to get a decent photo but I decided to try and find out who owned the Sheep and ask if I could get in amongst them with the chair hide. I traced the farmer, Ben who was a grand chap. We had a long chat and once he understood that my motives were sincere and I was not going to upset his really lovely Dorset sheep, it was agreed that I could place my hide near to them and hopefully get some near shots of the Cattle Egrets. 

So here are a couple of photos from a great session this afternoon which was a tremendous experience. I will tell you more about it tomorrow. 

As I looked through this one stood out as one of my favourites. It is quite hard to get two subjects both in focus and this one was almost there. It also pits our Cattle Egrets in a "place" and time and gives the whole thing some character. 

I have added this new image from a remote computor.

Siskin set up

Now we are in to March I am guessing that our Siskins will be leaving us pretty soon for their breeding territories. They do breed in Devon but I have no way of knowing where my Siskins come from. This lack of knowledge is very frustrating, I would love to know where they originated and where they are going back to. It is known that British Siskin populations are swelled by birds from Northern Europe and they are also known to be very mobile as a species and even though I have had so many with me this winter it is not to say that this will be repeated next year. At the moment all I do know is that they are seemingly moving around in pairs and the males are singing which is something I was not aware of when I first saw them in Decemeber. I decided that I would continue with my portrait "set-up". I thought it would be good to show how I took this photograph.

  This is obviously a "set-up" situation. I have a feeder placed amongst some nice photogenic perches. The feeder has been hanging from them for several weeks and the birds are well and truly used to seeing these photographic props near the food source. Near to the feeding station I leave my pop-up chair hide as you can see in the photo, again so the birds are well and truly used to it. By doing this you can literally put the hide inches from the feeder with hardly any affect whatsoever. However if you are very close the birds are spooked, or can be by the noise of the cameras motor focusing and also even the noise of the shutter can send them packing, but they soon return. The birds are used to the hide and even if I move it around it does not appear to have any affect whatsoever. At the moment the garden is full of spring flowers so I picked a few and placed the crocus on the branch in the most natural way possible. I then re-positioned the feeder to try to encourage any bird visiting to land on the chosen perch. It was then just a matter of waiting for a bird to oblige and then quickly focusing the camera on the subject having taken a few test shots before. As you can see it does work but there was quite a long wait involved until a bird eventually settled in the correct place. I was using a 90mm Macro Lens because I like the results from this lens if I can get close enough.