Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros (Beer)

  I have been trying, off and on, for a few weeks to see Black Redstarts here in Devon this winter. There has been reports regularly from Beer, one of my favourite places. This morning, in bright sunshine, off we went in the hope of success....... I almost deserved it or so I thought! As soon as I got there I saw "Bun", a local chap who works for the council. I went for a chat and he told me that he had seen them on the beach just a few minutes ago. Looking down in that direction we both saw them so I knew that today was going to be OK. There were three, all females unfortunately but with a bit of chasing around I managed a few photos before I thought they had had enough of me. They were either on the Beach huts or boats at first but a little more wary than last year.
This one was at first on the beach tide line with Rock pipits but then flew up on to the side of the chalk cliff. I am pretty sure it was keeping it's distance from me and after a short while I decided that it was best left alone to carry on feeding.
On the way home I stopped off in Sidmouth to see if there was any sign of Friday's Purple Sandpiper but no, the tide was wrong as I had guessed. It is quite usual with birds that are in 'marine" habitats, to have the correct combination of tides and sunshine. So back home by early afternoon, I still had time to visit Topsham for the chance of better Spotted Sandpiper photos. The bird was there but I had the devil of a job to improve on earlier photos with the sun almost smack in to the lens at this time of day. However the bird was very accommodating and gave me, and others the opportunity to deal with the ambient conditions. I failed miserably I have to say. This bird is now a bit of a celebrity and it is going to be very hard to see it when it is quiet. It is really unfair to try and get close to this bird when other people are just as keen to see it as I am. You always run the risk of driving it to a safe distance and depriving other people the opportunity for a relatively close view. I have to say though that other peoples ethics are not as sound as mine and it was particularly galling to be shown good photos by other people who didn't share my sense of fair play......... lets put it that way!

Blackcap returns!

Today was absolutely fascinating because at around 1045 I was called by my wife from the kitchen to be  asked if I had seen Blackcaps in the garden this year. She had seen one very close to the kitchen and  then brought it to my attention. I was very pleased that they have returned to my garden yet again. But, even more amazing is that it was exactly this day last year, the 28th November when they had first been observed last year. Can you believe that, where were they before and how can they be so regular in their migratory patterns?  Their story is very fascinating and you can read about it here which is an extract from an entry from the corresponding weekend in 2008 .

 "I have learnt so much about Blackcap warblers this last 48 hours. Their presence here in the UK, in the winter has always fascinated me and when ever I am lucky enough to see them in my garden it is always a particular treat. Friday was the first sighting this winter and I was seeing them up until about March before they left. It turns out there is lots going on with this species that is simply fascinating. The winter population here in the South West is made up of German and Scandinavian birds who instead of migrating to Spain and North Africa, like some of their fellows, and the UK summer birds, choose to migrate a more northerly course. This first came to light in 1961 when a bird wearing a ring was caught by a cat and the ring traced to a breeding study in Austria. This led to further, more detailed investigation which proved that a proportion of the Austrian/German Blackcaps were choosing to winter in Southern Ireland and the South West of Britain. Further studies have shown that the English wintering birds are genetically programmed to migrate here. Migrating this shorter distance is of real benefit to UK wintering Blackcaps because they arrive back on their breeding grounds some 7 to 10 days earlier than their more adventurous "southern wintering" counterparts thereby gaining two advantages. Firstly they have the pick of the best nesting sights and habitat. Research has shown that this leads to better and more successful breeding and secondly females arrive back having expended less energy and fat resources. This leads to a larger more successful clutch of eggs and a higher success rate. The outcome is that the UK wintering population is growing and out-doing the Southern migrating birds. Today I caught sight of both male and female Blackcaps quite early on and took some pictures from the bathroom before hurrying down to the shed to wait it out to try and get a good shot of a male. It didn't take more than 20 minutes or so." 

Here is a link to my Blackcap gallery of the best shots from last year. Have a look, you will not be disappointed I am sure of that.

So the fun begins. Winter bird photography in the garden is going to be very rewarding for the next 4 months if last year is anything to go by. I am going to get some great Blackcap photos and that is a promise!  So far, I have not seen the new visitors properly apart from a very quick glimpse. However, I have heard them/it  calling  and the garden is baited with apple, dried fruit and a fat ball. This is all food that these  birds enjoyed last year. The apple is a particular favorite  and is good because you can see how much has been taken and this gives you a gauge of the birds presence if you have not been around to watch.

I plan to make a short HD quality video of them in my garden over the coming months and this will be available commercially in the coming months........... watch this space.

 

Purple Sandpiper - Calidris maratima

Purple Sandpipers are a very rare breeding bird in Scotland with only a handful breeding in secret locations. In the winter, migrating birds from the Arctic Tundra spend the winter on the East Coast, Devon and Cornwall. They are often in the company of Ruddy Turnstone and  in fact feed in much the same way, that is, close to incoming waves. They can be seen precariously scurrying clear of waves as they crash on to rocks on the surf line. Today, I watched and photographed a small group on the beach by Jacob's Ladder at Sidmouth. The rain was teaming down and this kept dog walking disturbance down to a minimum. The birds were feeding on mussels that were being washed in and smashed open by the strong surf. They are described as very "tame" and easily approachable which certainly was the case today. I got a great deal of pleasure from watching and photographing them and I think I managed one or two half decent shots.

 

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularia (Topsham)

The Spotted Sandpiper. First Winter juvenile A North American breeding species, a rare vagrant to the UK

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The Spotted Sandpiper is described by "Birdguides" as a very rare bird. Therefore after the postman had delivered my new lens I was off to the very near location of Topsham where one had been reported yesterday. As Murphy seems to have a hand in most of my bird photography exploits of late, I was hopeful and optimistic but prepared for disappointment as well. I parked the car easily and made my way past the rec towards a couple of "tooled-up" characters. One turned out to be Dave Stone and the other another gentleman that I see if ever there is something worth chasing. I knew I was in the correct spot. Pleasantries were shared and then as if by magic our bird flew to a spot just to our left and quite close. I scrambled to get myself set, fixing my lens to the camera and then lying prone to get the shots I wanted. Murphy was on hand and had by now put a cloud over the sun which 10 minutes earlier was blazing down. So with poor light getting worse I snapped away.

Observations proved it to be a first winter bird showing characteristic baring on the wing coverts. I was impressed by the yellow feet and pinkish bill. It would be very easy to miss a bird like this in bad light, not look properly and imagine you were watching a Common Sandpiper. I will post more pictures here later when I have had the time to develop them, please check back.

 

 

Having done a bit of research it seems that the last Spotted Sandpiper in Devon was on November 22nd 2006 when a bird was seen for the last time on Upper Tamar lake after spending 45 days there. The bird at Topsham is therefore, very notewarthy and an extreme rarity for the County and the first sighting for the River Exe. I can't emphasise how easy it would be to overlook t a bird like this being, in this stage of plumage very similar to a Common Sandpiper only obviously different by the yellow legs. I am pleased to have been able to contribute a few photos for Rarebird.

Almost disaster!

This morning the weather was so bright and sunny it was one of those days that you just had to be out in. During the night the rain had been so intense it was like being with Noah on his maiden voyage! 

My plan was to sit in a portable hide for an hour or so and wait for the ducks and perhaps waders to come to the pool at the far end of the Marsh, "legally" of course, on the track. I had reasoned that in the flooded conditions there would be hardly, if any, other people out and about. On a walk the day before yesterday I had seen Widgeon, a beautiful duck species in a pool by the track  and I wanted good close photos. Well I still do because it all went terribly wrong. I was amazed that the tracks were as flooded as they were. With waders on, I had no trouble negotiating the deep puddles. Until that is, I slipped and almost totally submerged myself. I was holding the camera at the time and managed to keep it out of the water apart from the 50-500 lens which got a dunking. The lens is  now in the  airing cupboard, hopefully drying out.I am doubtful that this will do the trick but I am praying.  My  waders were full of water and I was wet  up to my chest which was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. I waddled back down the track to the car, about a mile. The water was sloshing around my toes and my wet jeans chaffed my thighs...... ugh! I hardly saw any birds at all apart from Redwing again and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 

Later on in the afternoon I sat on the lawn in my hide. There was  very little light in the garden by now, the sun was almost setting. We are lucky to have a flock of Collared Doves with us now, sometimes as many as 17, well that's the record, but usually 9 or 10.  Also Goldfinch numbers are starting to build up so I was confident of giving the Pentax 200 a work out. This is good lens for low light conditions because you can open it right up to f2.8 and with an ISO of 800 you can get an almost passable image if you are close enough. 

I really hope you like this Collared Dove image because I have emphasised the contrast between the dark, dim conditions and the brighter bird. I gave the Goldfinch the same treatment and I quite like the results. I know that in the height of the winter  we will be almost over-run with Goldfinch and this picture will not be anywhere near good enough to compete with those to come. But for the time being, it's the first of the winter season and I am pleased to have something to photograph. 

 

Cormorant over the garden -------- and in the Canal!

 

Today's weather is abysmal! But it is expected to clear by the afternoon. A walk in to the garden revealed an absence of the usual birds, it was eerily quiet with a noticeable lack of our Collared Doves. I mentioned this to my wife who then casually replied that there was a big brown bird sat there about an hour ago. "Could it have been a Sparrowhawk' was my reply.  "Yes" was her answer.  "That's what I thought it was". "Why didn't you call me"? I said,  "I was waiting for it to turn around" she replied....... ugh?  So we probably have had a female Sparrowhawk in the garden today. A notable new "fly-over" was a Cormorant, and this is a certainty. This is the  first in 24 years, we are not far from the sea or river so it is no surprise that eventually one would be seen from the garden sooner or later. I wont say that this Collared Dove was actually singing in the rain but it wasn't particularly worried about the raindrops pelting down either. 

 

Later in the day, and by early afternoon, the weather had cleared up quite considerably and I went out to the marsh to look for the Grey Phalarope seen at Turf. Unfortunately no sign but in the strong sun and even stronger wind there was lots to see. This included Redwing, Fieldfare and lots of waterfowl. There is always a Cormorant to be found fishing in the canal when it is quiet and as I mentioned them this morning I took a few photos. Here is the best. You can see from this just how windy it was, even the canal had "white horses" on it. I got this  photo by laying down on the tow-path. The low perspective of the shot makes it a bit more interesting than the normal water bird shot. It is quite hard to take shots of birds on the water successfully.  The brightness reflected from the water can cause all sorts of difficulties. I have to say that I am fond of this image. There is a lot to catch the eye and particularly the water movement is very interesting.

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I posted a Nuthatch picture the other day and I had also posted to Birdguides, a great sight for birdlovers and lovers of bird photographs. They have a weekly contest and I always hope that one of my pictures will be in the reckoning, it has happened (a Sand Martin in the spring) but not recently. I was really hoping that my Nuthatch would make it last week but, no it didn't. However it is the most popular Nuthatch photo ever posted on Birdguides from the 650 or so. This is very rewarding indeed.

Update

The last few days have been hectic ones. Friday would have been  a great day for birdwatching as it was bright and sunny, but I was at home, in the office preparing for a talk I gave that evening. I had nearly 300 slides prepared and they all needed checking and titling etc.It took ages to arrange good transitions and a bit of care taken was taken with planning and presentation. I think the  talk was quite successful in the end.  My only fear, apart from being boring and uninspiring, was to run out of things to say. Well I needn't have worried unduly because I had to think on my feet and cut a massive segment from the middle. If not, we would have still been there at midnight! I quite enjoyed the experience, I am used to talking but to be honest I have done more enjoyable things. It was nice to show some of my best images and it was almost a learning experience for me to have a good look at the great things we have had in the garden in the last 2 years or so. 

As I said Friday was a great day weather wise and I was amazed to see how much insect activity there still is in the garden. There was 3 different Hoverfly species including a Marmalade Fly and also 2 red Admiral Butterflies. They were all attracted to the flowering Ivy which is a massive source of nectar at this time of year.

As well as the butterflies here is a nice example of both a Drone Fly, Eristalis tenax, and Episyrphus balteatus.

Marsh Tit - Poecile palustris

The Marsh Tit is on the Red List of UK birds, those that are in decline and in need of special concern and are on the list because of one of the following factors:

Globally threatened

Historical population decline in UK during 1800–1995

Severe (at least 50%) decline in UK breeding population over last 25 years, or longer-term period (the entire period used for assessments since the first BoCC review, starting in 1969).

Severe (at least 50%) contraction of UK breeding range over last 25 years, or the longer-term period

Therefore when ever I see one it is a treat and a real pleasure and to get the chance to get good photos makes it even more special. Today, in true obsessive style, I returned to Chard because yesterday I had seen a pair visiting a feeding station placed on the edge of the wood.  Because of the poor light I hadn't managed to get a decent photo. Today I did! I took my flash unit which allowed me to get a shot in the low light conditions. It is not the most photogenic of settings but still a nice piccie! 

Another bird which I like but funnily enough, I haven't seen many of so far this year, is the Coal Tit. They  have been almost absent from my garden so far, whereas last year they were without doubt, the most common visitor to my feeders during November. They are a very quick little bird, smaller than a Blue Tit and some would say not as pretty, but I do not agree, I adore them!

Then of course, there are the Nuthatches seen and photographed yesterday. Today it was a bit more of a struggle with me having to juggle the flash unit and get the bird in frame. Coupled with that, my lens is now faulty. The internal motor is not connecting properly. It has really got to me. I will have to replace it at great expense, which I can hardly afford. But, at the same time I can not afford to put my life on hold until I scrape the money together. I did manage a nice close up of them though despite the difficulty. On the reservoir its self, there was no sign of the Red Throated Diver for me although I had been told by several people that it was about somewhere. I visited the opposite end of the Reservoir and had a pretty good hour watching the Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe and a Yellow Wagtail. I really must return with the chair hide and sit it out in the bushes to get some shots of the Grebe which are a "great" bird not just in name! I got this tremendous opportunity to take an in flight shot and did pretty well considering my lens was playing up.

Nuthatch - Sitta europaea

My trip to Chard Reservoir proved to be a lot of fun. The sun however disappeared almost on our arrival and as I made my way to the Hide  I was hoping to get a glimpse at least, of the Red Throated Diver. It  was unfortunately, in the distance at the opposite end of the lake. I had no chance of a photo let alone even a sighting and that was the end of that. But, on the way in I had seen a feeding station that was like an aviary!  Marsh Tits, Nuthatches and all the usual common garden species were coming and going in profusion. I was like a child in a sweet shop as I snapped away and managed great Nuthatch photos. These are such lovely birds, every time I get a close look at them, when ringing or watching them visiting feeders, I am always really impressed. 

 

Tawny Owl

The last few days have been seriously wet and windy apart from yesterday when it was clear and sunny. I have been rather busy this last few days as well with a concert in our local "Great Hall" where where as the conductor of my band we played in front of 1200 people. I spent yesterday getting over it!

 On Thursday night last, I heard a Tawny Owl from the garden at around  30 past midnight. This is the first heard here in Alphington ........ by me that is .......... in 24 years. I was pleased and surprised! Birds have been pretty constant, mostly Goldfinch, a few Blue and Great Tits, Sparrows and a massive flock of Collared Doves totaling 17.

The Brook is still flooded and I doubt it has been any good for the Kingfishers to fish in. I am looking forward to a return to normal levels and then I will be able to continue my Kingfisher studies. It will be interesting to see if they return to their successful fishing ground or have they moved on to another area where fishing is easier?  Even worse have they perished? Mortality rates in Kingfishers is really high with a large percentage of fledglings dead in the early months of winter. 

We are about to travel to Chard Reservoir in Somerset where a Red Throated Diver has been resident for the last 10 days, hope it is still there. Good photos have been taken from the hide and I am hoping, in this bright sunshine to get the same. Check back later to see! 

Magpie - Pica pica

Magpies are hard to photograph! It's as simple as that. Firstly they are very, very clever and hard to sneak upon. The combination of Black and Whit means that you have to be a bit more skilful with your photography than normal because the camera really struggles to cope with the intense white and the contrasting black, either colour is correspondingly over or under exposed. I have been trying, on and off for a week or so to fool our local mob of Maggies who breeze around the suburb as though they are in command of everything around them. So, imagine my pleasure today when I fooled one at last. I have been baiting with small chicken pieces and today I sat just 4 feet from the baited log with a camo cover over me and then suddenly here he was, oblivious of my presence so near by. He quickly gobbled up the chicken and left the seen but not before I had grabbed a shot! I used my Pentax 200 lens with the very quiet motor so that I could focus without him noticing. I am sure he will be back! Check back later because I am going to improve on this photo with a bit of luck and a bit more patience. it's now later and yes he did come back but he fooled me this time by just fly in, grabbing a morsel and then leaving again without a pause. He did this until he had taken it all.

Stonechat - Saxicola torquata

As I have said on many occasion, I am fond of Stonechats. There is a pair very close to home at the moment living on a small stream feeding on the insect life attracted to clumps of Bullrushes and reeds. They are quite easy to get close to but soon move in if you don't! The male always seems to be less approachable than the female and I have found this to be the case with other pairs before. The best strategy for a good photo is to position the portable chair hide close to the reed clump, and well, just sit it out. Eventually they will come and perch on the reeds giving a grand show and having no idea of my presence I usually get some nice photos as well. Today, in the afternoon the sky cleared to reveal glorious early winter sun and with that at my back it was a great opportunity to go and see if I could get a better shot than previously. I will let you decide but I think, probably yes.

In winter plumage they are not quite as well marked as the summer, but a nice attractive bird never the less. As I sat there trying to get a good shot I became aware that there was a Reed Bunting perched very close to the chat. It was a male but the photos of him didn't really come off. Suddenly I noticed the female just behind and she showed her self really well. Here she is.

 

Carrion Crow - Corvus corone

November 6th 2009 was a wet one! It was a day to stay at home and prepare my slides for a talk I am giving on the 20th of this month. Entitled by the organisers, "Wild in the Wear" .......... after the name of the Exeter suburb, Countess Wear where I am presenting....... the theme is how to encourage wildlife in to your garden and how to observe it. I will also talk about visits locally and what can be seen, with slides and photographs as well as video to accompany it all. It will be a fun evening! Last night on the BBC TV programme, Autumn Watch Unsprung, one of my images of a Jays eye was used in the competition which was nice. I had been contacted by a researcher who had seen the picture on the Internet and said that it was ideal for the competition. A fee was negotiated and last night, as I said it appeared. The presenter made a comment about what a great image it was which was nice. Here it is if you want to have a look.

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Sat at home and working quietly, things were happening in the garden! For the last week or so I have been putting little bits of meat onto the bird table. I wanted to see if I could get the local Magpie closer and get some photographs of him. I quite like Magpies, they are extremely beautiful to my eyes but hated by people for their intelligent behaviour. They will eat a wide range of food, that is, they are "omnivorous". Carrion, birds eggs and chicks in the nest are definitely on the menu and this is why they are despised by people. Since a more liberal attitude and perhaps control of Gamekeepers, who used to, and still do to a lesser degree, shoot and trap them, they have become much, much more common. They are blamed for the decline in the garden song bird population. The RSPB however does not agree with this, and neither do I. Hey, I agree with the RSPB on something........ weird!!!!! 

Anyway, back to the story. I popped in to the kitchen and a glance outside surprised me when I saw who was responsible for the meat eating. This magnificent, (yes I really do think this), Carrion Crow. I went up to the upstairs window and got some shots to record the event. We have Crows on the roof regularly, but I have never in 24 years seen one feeding on the lawn. They are extremely intelligent and this one had worked out that I was providing regular meals for him. I put a broken hens egg out later and he came back and ate that as well, this is when I managed ahalf decent photo. The Magpies are also becoming accustomed and at one time there was 3 all at once and here is one of them.

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Sitting in the hide in attempt to get really close, the first garden Robin photo of the season was possible.

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Rock Pipit - Anthus petrosus

Rock Pipit are a commonly encountered bird on any suitable shoreline here in Devon. As the name implies this is usually Rocky shores where they feed amongst the sea weed exposed at low tide. They will leap to catch flies and are resident throughout the year which provides some interest for bird watchers and photographers when other species are hard to find. Yesterday for example I went to Beer to look for Black Redstarts reported and had to be content with these more than adequate photographic replacements.(I did find a nice hen Black Redstart  but just at dusk and as the rain lashed down).

For what it's worth I enjoy seeing Rock Pipits and find them very photogenic. More photos of yesterday's outing here on my PBase Gallery.

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There can be some confusion with Meadow Pipit as they can at times be seen in the same locations, or more to the point Meadow Pipits may come into the more usual habitat of a Rock Pipit, on the shoreline. here is a photograph of a meadow Pipit taken in the summer and it makes a very useful comparison. It is quite easy to understand why confusions could occur. frankly though, I think that this is in reality unlikely as they are quite different if you see them alongside each other. However they are obviously very closely related along with Tree Pipit and Water Pipit, the two rarer members of the group.

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A note about the Flag Counter on the left...................... that's the display of flags. You might find it interesting to have a look. If you click on any flag you will be directed to an area that shows the list of visitors to the Blog from other countries. So far that list stands at 105. The latest Country to visit is Costa Rica. Having visited there myself in the past I know what a lovely country it is and what great birdlife they have. A country worth a visit and that's for sure.

Stonechat - Saxicola torquata

I discovered a new area to watch wildlife today. It is close to home but very quiet and unexplored. I am going to keep the exact spot to myself because it would pretty quickly become spoiled if it became busy. It is nowhere near Exminster Marsh but has as much potential and to be frank is a little gem. Also, it is very private and just what I like. Whilst there, just for an explore I did not have my camera with me and I bumped in to a lovely little pair of Stonechat that were perching on the top of these........... (well I have always called them Bullrushes but I don't think strictly that is the proper name). I came back home and got my hide and camera because there was also at least a dozen Snipe. When I returned 1 hour later the Stonechats were in exactly the same place and with the sun over my shoulder, but low in the sky, the lighting was just great. I took quite a few shots reasonably close and this is image is cropped to make it a better. I am going to return of course because there is so much to see. For instance there was Reed Bunting, Snipe, 6 Little Egrets, Kestrel, Buzzard, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Mallard, Magpie,Grey Heron, Crow, a Raven soaring high and Meadow Pipit. Quite a haul in just 15 minutes or so.I have a plan for both the Buzzard and Kestrel and also I am planning to sit it out in the hide and wait for one of the Snipe to come in to view. I would not be surprised to see a Water Rail either. I did my log turning trick to look for mammals and also found a lovely little nest and a Vole rushed out for cover. I quickly replaced the log because it is the Voles that are providing food for the Kestrel of course. In my garden today, a Magpie is becoming increasingly more common and I have actually seen him/her come on to the lawn and the log which serves as a bird table, to take chopped ham which I have put out for him. I am hoping to be able to get some close up photos of him feeding which will be good. On the Brook, the water level is still very high and I doubt that the Kingfisher is in the part of the territory where my hide is. The hide is still half submerged and we have just had another downpour so I suspect it will be days and days before the level goes down to what it was. I can then get back to some more Kingfisher study.
This picture didn't quite come off. I hadn't set the camera properly and unfortunately took this shot with a high ISO. When you then crop the image you are basically magnifying everything which also means that the grainy/noise on the image is also magnified and spoils what would have been a nice shot to say the least.