Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Wagtails

Yesterday was a good one birdwise........ I say to my self often,  "one thing is for certain, you wont see anything sat in in your armchair".  So with this mantra in mind I went off for a look around.  Its hard for me though, I always like to avoid popular areas and other birders and photographers.  I get no pleasure whatsoever from jostling with other, albiet likeminded people, nothing personal, I just prefer it on my own. The pleasure for me is doing things on my own and finding my own birds and wildlife. There is an area near to home where I always see lots of Wagtails and as yellow Wagtails are on the move at this time of year, I thought it would be a good place to look for them.  I sat in the car overlooking the field and livestock.  At first it seemed quiet but once I had parked up, at least 10 Pied and White Wagtails were feeding around the cow dung and sillage feed put down for the cattle.  They came and went and I took hundreds of photos of the wagtails clse to me.  Then suddenly, there it was, an instantly noticeable and recogniseable Yellow Wagtail - Motacilla flavia. Unfortunately it stayed in the field probable too far away for a good photo but I did manage to record the bird to add to  my Devon Bird Gallery (now up to 163 species). 

The bird at the top, and this one here below, is probable a White Wagtail, it seems to fit all the criteria but at this time of the year it's quite hard to separate White Wags from Pied.
This bird (below) could quite easily be a White Wagtail but it is younger and still in moult so the jury is out as they say.

The bird below is obviously very young, you can even see the fleshy gapes at the edge of the beak. I would say that this is a Pied Wagtail based on the fact that it was probably hatched and reared sometime nearby, I think it is too young to have started any kind of migration.

Kestrel - Falco - Falco tinnunculus

The last week has been a difficult one for me since my return from Spain and the theft of my equipment.  It's been hard trying to get myself organised and to get my gear to work properly.  For example, I had the battery charger taken so once the battery on my camera had been depleted, I couldn't use my Pentax K5.  To make matters worse, Battery chargers were not in stock and it was going to take weeks to get a new one.  I decided on a "3rd party"  universal charger  (available from stock), and when it arrived it didn't work successfully. In the end I finished up adapting another charger by adding wire to the terminals and in the end managed to get some charge to my battery....... bingo!  So now I am up and  running again.

At this point I need to mention the fantastic service and help I have had from SRS MICRO SYTEMS my supplier of choice. They have bent over backwards to try and help me and I am so grateful for their help which was way over the norm and what you would expect.  

The garden has  started to see some birds again.  Over the last few days we have had Blue Tits and Goldfinches on the feeders and I have heard the first Robin of the Autumn. Hedge Sparrows are quite constant. Insect-wise, we have not seen half the amount of Hoverflies that we normally get.

I have continued to try and photograph the Barn Owls for four nights running but without success I am afraid. It is interesting to know that Kestrels- (Falco tinnunculus) require the same sort of habitat as Barn Owls,  fallow fields with longish grasses, hedgeows ets. that provides the correct habitat for field voles, the prefered prey of both species.   It's not surprising that I have seen them a few times when I have arrived before dusk,  The other night, from the hide, I took the phot above, of a female hunting just before the sun went down.  Feeding and other activity  at dawn and dusk is known as being "crepuscular". This female  was perched on telephone wires that crossed the field and from the chair hide that I have left set up in the field, near to the barn, I had a good view of her hunting and also managed a photograph.

 

 

 

Squacco Heron - Ardeola ralloides

Squacco Heron - Ardeola ralloides was a species, so easy to see during my photographic trip to Spain last week. The first one that I saw, at San Pola Salinas whetted my appetite and was a taste of things to come, but was too hard to get near enough for a photograph. At Pego Marsh they were numerous and being a bird that I hadn't seen before, it was exciting to see so many, and also to have such good photo opportunities. The Squacco Heron is a squat heron that in shape, reminded me of a Green Heron or even a Bittern, but is in fact, a pond Heron in the family Ardeola, and related to the Chinese Pond Heron. They are a pale bird with buff markings on a white background, like milky coffee. In flight, the white wings and tail contrasts nicely with the darker buff back. They have bright yellow legs and an even brighter yellow eye, and a dark blue/grey, sharp dagger-like beak. There is a strong hint of green on the lores, (the bare skin between the eyes and beak), which apparently gets even brighter and more blue when in full breeding condition. Adults, as is usual with herons and egrets, have long plumes on the head and mantle which are whitish, edged with dark chocolate brown. The ones that I saw, on reflection, seemed to be mostly juvenile birds. I am pretty sure that the birds above and below are juveniles.

These juveniles are much more heavily marked with striations on the head and neck and a have a yellowish beak. A bit of research has shown that Squacco Heron  are not particularly common in Spain. It is likely that they breed at Pego Marsh. They migrate to Africa in the Autumn but a few apparently remain in Spain. I watched one adult bird feeding in the late evening. The sun, in the photographer's "Golden Hour", cast a lovely light on the adult  bird that was feeding in a small pond formed by the irrigation to the nearby paddy field. The reflections from this bird as it fished, created quite a picture and it was relatively easy to photograph because the bird's method of feeding is to remain as still as possible and wait for the prey to come near. This bird fed in this way for at least an hour and well past sunset. When I returned the following morning, to take advantage of the good morning light, the bird was still in the same spot and fishing in the same pool.

This is an interesting image, it shows the bird creeping around the pool and the plumes on the head and mantle. After a few minutes it left the pool for a few minutes and posed nicely in the last of the evening light, giving me a great opportunity. Then it returned quickly to continue hunting.

Trip report to Southern Spain.

Last Wednesday night saw me sat on a plane on the way to Southern Spain, I had a few days gap and I had been thinking for a while that I would go if I had the chance.  It turned out to be a fantastic few days of photography ending in what can only be described as a "nightmare". But firstly the good things. After a good flight and a night at the Holiday Inn, I drove the hire car to San Pola and the Saltpans, south of Alicante. As soon as I pulled in to a little parking area next to the first disused pool I could see Flamingos, Curlew Sandpiper, Avocet, Squocco Heron, Little Gull and a few other potential goodies. 

I think it is quite amazing that you can travel two hours from the UK and see Flamingos in the wild. A longer trip at a different time of the year could have been more productive but I realised before I left home that it is not the best time of year to visit. Firstly, breeding season is over and migration has hardly begun, so August is probably the quietest month.  That said, as a photographer I enjoyed some great birds.

Black-winged Stilt, are always lovely to see and very common everywhere I went. The first "special" bird on the salinas was this smashing Curlew Sandpiper, a very common bird on migration, I was excited to see and photograph them and instantly I began to realise that my trip, even though it was quite an effort, had been worthwhile.

My next stop was The Cot De Giveny, reported as a special place "full of birds". it is a massive area of scrub and scattered trees with 2 pools, although I could only find 1 of them and this was nothing more than a muddy wallow, not deep enough for the ducks that are reported to be here. I am sure that at other times of the year it would be brilliant here but it was quite difficult to find much because of the very dry conditions and the early afternoon heat. I caught sight of both Grey Shrike and a lone Bee - eater as well as some other interesting warblers that were too quick to identify properly. I had a tantalising glimpse of what I presumed to be a Bonnelis Warbler here. At the dried pool Little Ringed Plover were present. I sat close to the edge and tried to conceal myself and then photographed them when they came near enough.
After the endurance of the walk in 34 degree heat, I headed back to the hire car and hoped that it was safe, it was, and I began my journey north to the town of Olive. The landscape around Alicante is nothing short of ugly, it's a dustbowl with a martian-like landscape. The few scattered shrubs are scorched and brown, there is no grass or greenery whatsoever and dotted amongst, what to me is a nightmare landscape, are ridiculous looking villas surrounded by just rocks and red dust. It's a mystery why anyone would leave England, our green and pleasant land, to live there as they do in their millions now. I must be missing something! Thankfully as I drove north, the landscape improved and the distant hills and mountains made it more attractive. The town of Olive was pretty and full of character and my B&B was just perfect, in a small dusty street adjoining an orange grove. The landlady Jill is the mother of Julian Sykes, a local expert and tour guide, he was away in the UK unfortunately, but left me directions and tips to good birding places, very good of him. Pego Marsh was 5 k away and just perfect for Herons of 5 species, it was easy to see dozens of Squocco Heron and Cattle Egrets and also watch them feeding. Hoopoe were really common as were Yellow and White Wagtail, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Red Rumped Swallow, Marsh Harrier and some other goodies that I will mention later. However, this is also an odd place. Hunting is allowed on the edges of the reed beds and rice fields and I found the dodgy gun toting characters that you encountered now and then, a bit worrying. Also the entrances to the marsh, from the main N332 road, was frequented by prostitutes plying their trade to the passing motorists, (even on Sunday morning) and I found this to be an unseemly and scary contradiction and it felt like I was running the gauntlet every time I drove by. But that apart, this is a tremendous place, rich with thousands of birds and a great place to photograph them...... especially Kingfishers..... my favourite bird.
HOOPOE

PURPLE HERON
An interesting Kingfisher - (Alcedo athis) with white pied markings on the chest.

 With Pego Masho being so rich in birdlife, a ringing station is in action every morning in August and September. A biologist from the University of Valencia was present.  She was a pretty dark haired girl called Monica who had a constant stream of interesting birds to deal with. This was mostly Reed Warblers but while I was there she caught and ringed Moustached Warbler, fascinating to see. This is a tiny little warbler, very similar to Sedge, very, very rarely encountered in the UK, the last time in 2005 I believe, and difficult to see in Spain also.

MOUSTACHED WARBLER . .

I have seen Bluethroat before, not in Spain but Portugal. Monica was as excited as me when she caught one, the first for two years so again, it was a thrill to see one so close. In fact, we caught two, both juveniles on migration, the second had more blue on the throat and was probably older than the first.

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On Friday I went to the town of Alcoy in the hope of seeing Griffin Vultures in this more mountainous area, inland. There is a feeding station for the vultures which was over an hours walk up hill in 30 degree heat...... that's too extreme without proper planning and preparation so I limited myself to watching them circling above at the tops of the mountain. Excitingly I caught sight of my very first Golden Eagle. It was being mobbed by a Raven, in it's self a massive bird. When you compare the size of these two birds in silhouette, you can get a good idea of the size of the eagle knowing that a Raven stands at least two feet tall and is twice the size of a Carrion Crow.
GRIFFIN VULTURE . .
GOLDEN EAGLE and RAVEN

On Sunday I made my way back to Alicante for my flight home. It had been 4 great days, albeit a bit lonely on my own. The local bar had served a nice pint and a good meal so that was taken car of. I had seen and photographed some fantastic birds including Squocco Heron, they are going to have a post all of their own because I took some great shots of them. Arriving back in Alicante, too early for the flight, I went on further south and back to the Santa Pola Salinas to finish the trip off nicely with some more Flamingo photographs........ and this is where the nightmare began. I had a vehicle full of suitcase and a flight case full of equipment including a Macbook Pro laptop as well as my Sigma 300 prime lens. To cut the story short, as my back was turned and attention drawn to the salt flats, the car was smashed in to and everything stole, leaving me with just the shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops that I was wearing. Now with £4000 worth of kit stolen, all my clothes and my passport, it had turned in to the nightmare that we all dread. I was close to tears to be honest and needed to be able to get home now. The police were shockingly unhelpful leaving me with the obstacle of getting on my flight without a passport. Amazingly I managed that hurdle and arrived back in to Exeter feeling sorry for myself only to be confronted by border control who would not let me back in to the UK. They muttered on about how I had broken the law by travelling without the correct documents and said that the airline will probably be fined £2000 for allowing me to travel without a passport. After a "jobs worth" lecture which was unnecessary and frankly I couldn't have given a dam, they let me in! Home to a loving wife who innocently asked "have you had a nice trip"?

Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis

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I visited a famous Yorkshire landmark yesterday, Flamborough Head near Bridlington, Yorkshire. It is very well known area for rare birds and passage migrants and the list of species is a long one.  The steep paths down to the beech are bordered by expanses of brambles and thick cover  and even though yesterday wasn't too fruitful, there was still enough activity to keep me interested. However, any Sunday in August is going to be busy and this was the case yesterday.   A few birds were active though, interestingly, House Martins were nesting on the steep chalk faces, the first time that I have seen them in this kind of habitat. Amongst the brambles were Linnets, Blackbirds and a Blue tits as well as Whitethroat which I managed to photograph.

Common Gull - Larus canus

We travelled up the M5 today on our way to Yorkshire. We usually stop at Michael Woods Services North Bound. I have noticed that Black Headed Gulls make their living by scavenging in the car park. In the past I have been pretty sure, but not certain, that a few Common Gulls (Larus canus) were amongst them. Well, that was confirmed today, I took my first ever decent photos of this species as two came in to scavenge crumbs from a sandwich. Pretty good to be able to do a bit of bird photography in the Motorway services, it broke up the journey quite well. 

Just as interesting was one of the Black Headed Gulls, wearing an aluminium split ring. I took as many photos of the leg ring, from as many angles as possible and was able to work out sequence of letters and numbers. Also, I could make out the words Hels which I am assuming is Helsinki and also 2001 which I am taking as the year that it was ringed. I will obviously send the information to the BTO and I look forward to having all of this confirmed.

August 10th

Today's post is  a collection of garden insects and a report from my Dartmoor pool.  The Butterfly above is a Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus female, a species that we have in the garden every year.  This year I have left a large patch of mint at the bottom of the garden,  it is flowering at the moment and is a big attraction to insects of all sorts including Honey Bees. It was this mint that attracted the interesting fly blogged about yesterday.

Today's trip to the pool was a bonus, I wasn't supposed to be in Devon today but a change of plan gave me the chance to get out there again.  It seemed as though everything was against me when I got there.  The weather was good which is always a plus but as I made my way down the little valley along side the stream, a Sparrowhawk -Accipiter nisus was chasing a Meadow Pipit.  I watched the hunt as they weaved in and out, the hunter chasing the prey and following its every twist and turn before they disappeared around the corner.  Then a few minutes later at the pool, I saw her (yes she was a female) again, very close by, she wasn't too worried about me really but continued on her way. Anyway, that put pay to all of the birds, but if that wasn't enough, a class of 20 kids from an outdoor education course invaded the area!!!! Can you imagine.  So eventually they disappeared and peace and tranquility prevailed.  Thirty minutes later I saw a shape not too far down stream......... it was worth waiting for, there was the Dipper who seams to have taken up residency in the area this last few days.

Tachinid Fly Nowickia ferox.

This is a new species for me and the garden. It's a Tachinid Fly with the scientific name Nowickia ferox. It is a harmless fly, about the size of a large Bluebottle but with an impressive yellow abdomen. At first I thought it was a Hoverfly,  I took photographs and then had it positively identified. It was feeding on nectar from flowering mint. However, what the photo doesn't show is the very interesting and ghoulish life-cycle. Tachinid flies are  "endoparasitoids", that is to say that the maggot stage of the fly develops inside the host, eating it from within and then emerging to pupate. This fly is  also Host Specific to a moth Dark Arches, I would have thought that this makes the very existence of Nowickia ferox precarius dependant, as it is, on the success of the moth which it is totally reliant on for it's very existence.  Again, all this is happening in and around the garden, a fascinating story well worth a lot more study and interest. 

A great day for photographs!

As soon as I arrived at the moor this afternoon, I noted more birds than normal. Then, once inside the hide the comings and goings were pretty constant. My birds today included, female linnets, Yellowhammers, a lovely little female Redpoll as well as Meadow Pipits and a Goldfinch.

A Barn Owl after dusk.

Imagine you are me, (just for a second).......... you are obsessed with birds and wildlife, and since the advent of digital equipment, photography.  So much so that you gave up painting because from time to time you take a photo that does it for you.  You've had a great life and the only thing that you regret is not being intelligent enough to have been a professional wildlife photographer, instead of a musician!  I came to the conclusion that the only thing that separates me from these professionals is opportunity and the time that they have to be patient!   So, I know where there is a barn used by Barn Owls, there's the opportunity, and now having retired as that musician, I just need to apply my patience which I have in abundance. I have learnt that the Barn Owls emerge at about the time when it's too dark to get a good close up photograph, as if they do it deliberately! But, they are stunningly white so a photo in the dark is a real possibility. At 8.30 I arrived at the site and sat in a hide that I have had set up for a week.  It gives a clear view of the barn and I am just hoping that eventually I will get lucky and a bird will perch nearby and give me a good shot, but you know what, as good as that would be it's just amazing to get just a glimpse, and terrifically exciting.   It was around 9.20 when, at the barn entrance, perched on a rotting part of the frame was a magnificent Barn Owl.  My eyes were adjusted to the gloom and my "night vision" was good enough to see it clearly. I quickly focused in, adjusted the camera and tried really hard to get a photo.  The settings were extreme to say the least. I adjusted the sensitivity of the camera with fumbling fingers, in an effort to be able to get some kind of photo. What you see above is exactly what I saw, a really beautiful elusive creature.

Swallows

My favourite garden centre, Orchard Nurseries is on the road to Tedburn St Mary from Exeter.  John. the owner is a great bloke who has always got time for a chat and a joke.  Swallows are nesting in his sheds and storerooms and there is a nest on a low beam in his wild bird food storeroom which is ironic.  At the moment, the birds are either incubating eggs or have very tiny chicks but when they are about to leave the nest or on the day they fledge, I am hoping to get some good photos.   At the moment though, I had to be content with this shot, taken with flash, of one of the adults sitting nearby.

A Devon Wheatfield

The other day I had walked around the edge of a very pretty field of wheat with wild flowers, bees, butterflies and birds in abundance.  This kind of "pastoral" scene is a big part of the English countryside. I had seen a Whitethroat in the hedgerow then and I hoped to get some photos of that bird  when I went back yesterday. I sat in the grass and concealed myself a little bit just to see what passed by.  It turned in to quite a pleasant 90 minutes, just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and pretty scene. Birds came and went, never really close, but interestingly, Linnets and Yellowhammers.  The latter are much more common this year than I can remember in recent times which is really good news. On almost every outing this last couple of weeks, I have seen them. I have taken quite a few close-up shots recently so this picture doesn't stand comparison with them but is just a record.

This little patch is obviously a glorious habitat with insects in profusion. Bumble Bees always interest me, because there are different species to be seen and it's an extra fascination to be able to identify them which for me is interesting.

 This lovely bee is a dead certainty, and easily identified as a male  Bombus Lapidarius feeding on thistle. Even the most common butterflies are attractive and this one, a Large White was also attracted to the thistle flower which must be a good source of nectar. 

Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus

It isn't usually easy to get near to Great Black-backed Gull. They are a massive bird, and at times, aggressive and violent. There are lots of photographs in the public domain showing them predating all sorts of other birds and even rabbits. Their diets include carrion, rotting fish and fish waste as well as more natural food. To this end they are performing an invaluable service. Take the beach at Budleigh Salterton, the fishermen empty the crab pots here and deal with them, the crab remains are then scattered for the gulls to deal with.      

A real surprise.

......... and there it was!  I was sat in my Dartmoor pool hide this afternoon and to say it was quiet was an understatement. A Yellowhammer had come and gone. I was glazing over......Suddenly a black and white shape fleetingly  appeared from down stream and then  hopped up on to the stones at the back of the pool..... a  Dipper.  The first one I have seen at this spot and quite a surprise.   It stayed for just 10 seconds or so before continuing on it's way up stream.  Just remember, the stream is  no wider than two feet, quite fast flowing and only 18 inches deep.  A quick glance at the pictures tells it all. Firstly, if you look at the bely, especially on the first picture, you can see dirty grey/white and also on the white breast, some dark markings.  This will be moulted out within the next few weeks and the bird will then have completed the post juvenile moult and look like an adult.  However there will still be some scallop like markings on the wings which will be worn away by the breeding season next spring.

Bullfinch - Pyrrhula pyrrhula

It's not often that I get close enough to a Bullfinch to see, let alone photograph. But today was a rare exception, albeit a juvenile without the distinctive black cap sported by both adults. The picture was taken at 6.30 this morning,  At 5 I went to sit in the hide near to the Barn Owls but regardless of the effort, and believe me, early mornings are not my favourite, it was a no show.  However, it was thrilling  to watch and wait and you never know with birds like Barn Owls.  Just as with Kingfishers, you are sat there thinking that there is no chance when suddenly..... there they are in front of you.  That happened repeatedly with my Kingfishers last year and the year before, (sadly not this year though...yet!)  Anyway, back to this morning, as the dawn brightened birds became active, there was an unusual cooing from wires to my left and a closer look revealed a male Stock Dove.  I was hoping for a Turtle Dove, that would have been too much to ask for! Then I heard a whistling call from in front of me and I thought I was seeing a Chaffinch...... but not with that call.   I realised straight away that it was a Bullfinch.  I heard more calls from behind me but of course, there is limited view from the hide, this would have been the parents which it would have been nice to see.  As the day became even brighter, my confidence began to wain and I came home for breakfast.

After a struggle to get going again due to lack of sleep, I went to have a look to see if there were any Godwits on the River Clyst. That was a negative but I  a Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper were feeding in the mud.

Barn Owls and other ramblings.

The weekend was hit and miss bird-wise, Saturday was my birthday and I got up at dawn to try and see the Barn Owls in daylight....... I did, but it was so misty that the bird, when it appeared on the post, was just a ghostly shape. As the morning light increased I was hoping for one to return but it didn't happen and I am aware of how important it is not to disturb them in any way. So I left agin quite early, at around 7.  Hence, I don't know if they are breeding or have bred. It's a catch 22, I would like to know if they are, but finding out might well cause some damage which is something I would be devastated to do. During the day on Sunday, I took a hide and positioned it next to a hawthorn with a good view.  I completely covered it with cut hawthorn branches, grass and other natural vegetation to blend in to the bush.  Later, I went and sat in there at 8.30 in the hope that, again they would come out during the fading daylight. Like before, I waited and waited and when it was completely dark, at 9.40,  I was disappointed when I hadn't seen one. Then, silently and spectacularly..... there it was.  What a real  thrill!  The magnificent Owl  sat there  as before, on the corner of the wall, bobbing up and down with it's piercing "coal-black"  eyes staring in my direction but I knew that it could not see me, how could it. If it had, it would have left immediately I am sure. Eventually, it did fly off, probably to hunt, and I quickly made my escape. I managed some ridiculously under-exposed pictures in the darkness.  At this size the picture looks half decent and you get the impression of what it looked like through the view-finder. But trust me, at any other size it is a very poor picture indeed.