Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Variety is the spice of life!

In chronological order I have quite a variety of pictures today.  First thing this morning I went back the fields and scattered woodland where I had seen Treecreeper yesterday.  I was sure that I could get some better photographs.... unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.....but as I walked in to the meadow, there in front of me was a Roe Deer.  We all know that Roe Deer are much more common in the UK than they used to be but I am always very pleased to see one.  Like someone commented to me the other day, "do you realise that you are like  hunter, and you have the same skills"? Well its never that easy to get close to a Roe Deer, no matter how common they are.  They are incredibly wary and easily disturbed.  Roe Deer are native to the UK by  the way. Interestingly they have a 9 month pregnancy!  They mate in August and September and the fawns are born around about now. However, they have a strategy where the young feotus does not start to develop in the womb until late December.  If you look closely at the picture, you can possibly see a swollen belly?

My next picture is of a Bee Fly, at this time of the year I see them in my garden, a very interesting insects which looks a bit scary but is a harmless insect, well harmless to humans but they are a parasitic insect that uses a the nest of a mining bee as a host.

Its on a Primrose by the way and if you are not from the UK you would not know how common this flower is in the English countryside and English gardens.

We have seen this species on my Blog several times over the last few days, it's a Chiffchaff of course and I photographed it on Exminster Marsh where I wen to to try out my new latest gadget which is an eye piece that when attached to your photographic lens, turns it in to a state of the art spotting scope. It is made by Kenko, click on the link  to see a video about it.

While I was there on the marsh I saw a Hobby, apparently there had been at least 6 today. I didn't get a decent enough photo but almost.  I did see and photograph another couple of Shellduck.

All in all a very pleasant day spent looking for wildlife, rounded off by the evening spent conducting Lympstone South West Teecoms Brass Band

 

Treecreeper - Certhia familiaris

 

A typical pose as it ascends  the trunk. Once they get to to the top they will fly to an adjacent  tree, usually at the base and creep up again, never climbing headfirst down the trunk. The only species to do this is a Nuthatch.

Only very infrequently do I have the opportunity to photograph a Treecreeper even though they are one of Britain's common woodland birds but, as the name suggests, they do creep around  and are never still when you see them.  On top of that they usually make it difficult because they quickly climb to the top of the tree and then all you have is a silhouette.  As you can see, I did photograph one today and as well as that I heard it singing and calling which is something that I have heard lots of time before but not been able to put the call to the bird until today.

 

This picture shows how well they are adappted to their environment and it also shows  the key features of the species.  They have very long claws which they use to hang on to bark as they creep, always  vertically up the tree trunk.  As well as that they have  a stiff, specially adapted tail which they use for stability in the same way that woodpeckers do. If you look at the tail of a woodpecker they also have the same deep "V".  The plumage is cryptic, that is to say it  blends in perfectly to their surroundings.  Their beak is long, thin and pointed.  They use this to feed by probing deep in to bark for insects that other birds, tits for example, can't reach.   Another interesting feature is the white underside which usually  can't be seen as they rarely perch upright on a perch like the other "perching birds".  Quite why they have this snowy white underside is a mystery to me.

As an extra, I took a nice photo of a Chiffchaff again today.

Again note the dark legs..... usually much lighter in a Willow Warbler.

 

Buzzards in a freshly tilled field.

Where I live..... Devon. Sat on the side of the valley looking out over this tranquil scene, the epitome of English countryside. Need I say more.

You can always tell which ones of my photos are not my "strongest".  If I put a frame round a picture it usually means that you dont want to look too closely!  I have posted this one because it tells a story.  In a freshly tilled field I have been noticing these  last few days, that a Buzzard was sat in the middle of the field amongst the Rooks.  Firstly it was a shame to see that the farmer had shot two Rooks and then suspended them from frames to flap in the wind, a throw back to days gone by when this kind of cruelty was acceptable.  I am not sure of the legality of this practice but would suspect that there is an "open licence" which allows a land owner to shoot birds that are causing damage to his crops.  But it wasn't working because I did a rough count of the rooks in the filed and it was over 50, in other words the efforts of the farmer to keep the rooks off his field by shooting flock members doesn't work.

Amongst the rooks was a  Buzzard, it was running around like a chicken, obviously feeding on worms which I have seen them do before.  I took some shots from the car but they were not good enough so in the end I stepped outside and then of course off flew the Buzzard and thats what you can see in the photo

Today at the spot  where I had seen and photographed Tree Pipit yesterday and Wednesday,  weirdly there wasn't even a sign of a bird and if that wasn't enough, no Willow Warblers either. I am putting this down to the wind conditions which was strong and from the  north  which has obviously put the birds off their breeding for the time being. 

Willow Warbler feeding on a fly.

I was photographing Willow Warblers out on the edge of Dartmoor today when one bird seemed to focus on a small fly.  I quickly snapped off a few shots and was pleased when I saw that I had actually captured the action so to speak.  It must take a high degree of agility and skill to capture a fly in fight like this and one of the beauties of photography, particularly high speed photography, is the ability to freeze this kind of action that can't be seen with the naked eye.

In the last week or so, numbers of Willow Warblers have increased and they are singing to claim their territories. They have a rich tuneful song which is very pleasant to the ear.

I've said it many times before and I will say it again..... I really like Willow Warblers, such a massive part of an English spring and summer with their pretty song and elegant shape.

Tree Pipit, a short video.

 

I had another go at the Tree Pipits today, I was sure that I could a bit closer and consequently get a better photo or two.  It almost turned out that way but not quite.  For some reason, and I don't know why, the bird that I had seen yesterday constantly singing and displaying was far less active.  However it did show for me a few times and I did mange shots from a little nearer but there was always something not quite perfect.  A nice species  that sings beautifully and because they are not as common as Meadow Pipits, always nice to see and photograph.  This is a true migrant and they arrive  at this time of year from their wintering grounds in Africa.  Today I also saw my first Cuckoo of the year but just couldn't get a picture of it even though it was very close.

Buzzards were displaying to each other once the sun came out and they could use the thermals. Even though this picture was a bit distant it's well worth posting  to show what a spectacular sight it can be.  Again though, a lot of this action takes place very quickly and you can hardly see the twists and turns with the naked eye..

Tree Pipit in Devon

It's always nice to photograph something a bit different and my quest today was to return to an area on Dartmoor where I had seen Tree Pipits last year.  I have already been twice before this year but not seen any but today I had immediate success with first one bird and then another in exactly the same tree that I had seen them before. Unfortunately this tree, although only about  9 feet tall doesn't give a good background and even though I took photographs, I wasn't entirely happy with the background.  I walked down to another area on the side of the valley and I was very pleased to hear another bird displaying in the scattered low trees here.  The background was now perfect and I sat with my back to to a massive granite boulder hoping that the bird would perch and display from the nearest bushy tree just in front..... and that's exactly what happened. I couldn't tear myself away, trying to get the very photographs possible.  I am relatively pleased with the results today but I have come to learn that whenever I return to an area to try again I usually do better and hopefully when I go back tomorrow, as long as the weather isn't too bad, I should have more success.

Chiffcaff

This is the same male Chiffchaff that I have seen on two consecutive days on the Exeter canal near to my home. That's not a surprise as they are very common.  I really love these little birds, so tiny and so much a part of the English countryside.  Even recently on a drama seroes about the Tudors there was a Chiffchaff sinfging on most of the outdoor scenes!  It seems to be in high breeding condition and today I watched it fluttering it's wings in a display. Another bird came over to join it and was immediately driven away.

It's interesting to see that this male bird has not got black legs, quite often you will read that Chiffchaffs have black legs and Willow Warblers have flesh coloured. You could never describe this bird as having black legs.

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As I said, all of these photographs are of the same bird but it's interesting to see that the colour can vary depending on the light and background.

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My first half decent photograph of a Whitethroat

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From the Caravan Hide

My friend Dick constructed  a raised mirror pool to put in front of the hide. The effect is a mirror-like surface, perfectly flat and with the sky reflected back beautifully.  I wanted to photograph Jays when they come to feed.  It worked immediately, not Jays yet  but Nuthatches and the other small Tits but especially Nuthatches. Here's a selection of  images to show what it's all about.

I quite quickly saw the opportunity to photograph the Nuthatches as they flew in and out with this upside down reflections a real photographic challenge but the finished effect very appealing.

I really liked this, its a Nuthach departing, flying above the pool, reflected in the surface.

Robin in flight

There isn't a lot that I can add to this picture, it's obviously a Robin coming in to land.  I have been working for weeks trying to get  perfect flight shots of  small birds, it's a real challenge, they fly remarkeably quickly and you need a shutter speed of  at least 1/3000 of a second but preferably 1/4000, lots of luck and perfect light!  I had perfect light this evening, all I needed was a few birds and a lucky shot.  The luck is the shutter firing at exactly the precise moment that the bird passes through the sweet focus spot, an inch nearer or an inch further away andit would be out of focus. I am chuffed with this picture!

Bramblings in an Exeter Garden

.......... not mine but in Exeter never the less.  I spent the day photographing what can only be described as a "flock" of Bramblings in an Exeter garden.  They have been feeding on the offerings of Black Sunflower since last November and, much to the pride and joy of the house owners, Liz and Chris  their appearance has been a daily ocurrance.  Very surprisingly they are still here and today, although it was hard to estimate how many still remain, there were more than 6 individulas.  The males are coming in to breeding condition and I saw two that have almost solid black caps.  Apparently there is another male that didn't show up while I was there. This one has an entirely solid black hood.  Perhaps just as amazing was the presence of more than  3 pairs of Bullfinches all coming to the same feeding tray,  Of course, Bullfinches are not rare but they are bird that I dont get to see closely everyday of the week and it was a stunning spectacle to see them, especially the spanking breeding condition males.  Unfortunately, the light was far too harsh for perfect photos, I was slightly disappointed with the results in the end but I have some interesting photographs showing these males in breeding condition which is unusual in the UK.

One of at least 3 males seen (possibly even 4 or 5).  This one has yet to develop the black head.

This is one of the "black-hooded" males, a real spectacle and a very unusual sight in the United Kingdom. By now these birds would normally have departed for their northern breeding grounds, probably Scandinavia but we have had such a cool spring that birds that over-winter in the UK have remained for an unusually extended period.

A pretty female.

I would suggest that this photo is one of the most unusual possible. A male and female Bullfinch, a gorgeous Greenfinch and a spanking male Brambling in breeding plumage.

Grasshopper Warbler

I spent most of the day looking for Grasshopper Warbler, a species that I haven't managed to photograph yet.  I can't be sure but I heard glimpses of song which I couldn't be sure of and it therefore goes without saying that I was not successful but I will return to the area sometime again next week.

At the caravan hide, I popped over to check the feeders.  A piece of 'road-kill"pheasnt had been taken so I am assuming that a Buzzard is responsible. Fingers crossed.  For a while, the sun shone brightly and I managed the nest inflight shot of a Coal Tit so far.

Squirells are a real nuisance and no matter how hard I try I can't stop them from coming to feed on the peanuts.  I decided that perhaps there may some photo opportunity with them so watch this space.

 

Buzzard on the edge of Dartmoor.

I went out to the edge Dartmoor today where last year  I had photographed Tree Pipit and Garden Warbler on or around this date.  The weather, although dry was extremely windy and consequently anyl small birds were keeping very low rather than singing from the tops of bushes as I hoped.   I watched Ravens and the Buzzard above soaring on the breeze.  I have turned this rather poor photograph in to a picture just for the record.

In the garden before I left, I photographed one of the resident House Sparrows in my  garden.  House Sparrows are a much maligned and over-looked bird though rapidly and mysteriously declining all over Europe

 

More Jay's in flight.

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Morning birds from Exminster Marsh

A Grey Heron feeding near to the Canal carpark,

A drake Northern Shoveler  

Coot, showing the interesting feet of this species.

Jays in flight

With some bright sunny weather this afternoon I returned to my caravan hide where I was confident that I would be able to photograph the Jays that always put in an appearance to take peanuts that I put out for them.  There is a pair and I can recognise them both visibly and also by the noises they make.  One, the male is a great imitator and his favourite sound is a distant Buzzard call. They were taking the nuts today and stashing them in various places around the field.

At first I used the 500mm lens because if you have any success at all then you finish up with a better image, the quality of the optics in this lens is so much better.  The problem is though that it's very difficult to get the entire bird with wings extended, in the frame, it happened just once this afternoon. Quite good.

This one shows the epaulettes really well but it would have been so much better if I could have get the whole bird in the frame.  I switched to a smaller lens and took almost dozens of shots all with the bird in the full frame but as you can seen they are not as pleasing to the eye (in my opinion, or perhaps you don't agree).

A morning on Exminster Marsh

I spent two or so hours on Exminster Marsh this morning.  Birds were numerous and various. I heard Chiffchaffs singing loudly and my first Willow Warbler song of the year.  The most interesting birds for me was the first sing Sedge Warblers of the year.  it was so hard to catch even a glimpse of one  though they were singing from the reeds just feet from me.  I stood statuesque in the hope that I would be able to photogrph one but it didn't work.  I did however, photograph Willow Warblers and why wouldn't you be happy with that.  Also on the marsh were several Wheatears, believed to be of the Greenland sub-species but far too distant to get a good photo to post here. There was also Teal, Northern Shoveler and Sheelducks. 

Willow Warbler

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Willow Warbler

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Willow Warbler

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Shellduck

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Goldfinch

A few photos from this weekend.

A willow Warbler, part of the influx this last few days.

Jay

A Nuthatch leaves the feeding station.

I;ve been trying very hard to get a photo of a Coal Tit in flight, unfortunately, this last few days the light has not been quite good enough but hopefully, with patience all the elements will come together.

Willow Warblers

There was a small group of Willow Warbler feeding alongside my local brook today and I  found it interesting to note the colour of the legs which in my experience are usually lighter in this species compared to the Chiffchaff that, again in my experience, are normally black.  Also the wings in the Willow Warbler extend well beyond the tail in the Willow and not so far in the Chiffchaff.  These two individuals show that there is a degree of variation in the leg colour.

 

Darker legs than the bird below but not black!

The feet are definitely lighter in this individual, look how far the closed wings extend.

This is a Chiffchaff from earlier in the month. Note the different coloured beak and black legs.

 

Flying woodland birds.

Robin

Coal Tit

Red Throated Diver on the Exeter Canal.

I spent yesterday evening  talking to the Devon bird Watching and Preservation Society. I had been invited along to the East Devon Branch meeting to show some of my pictures and after a succesful evening .........I hope and as I walked back to my car, I wondered what bird species  would be next to add to my galleries and I have to confess that this thought  excited me.  Less than 8 hours later the question was answered!

I knew that yesterday a Red Throated Diver had been seen on the Exeter Canal on the Turf stretch.  So when the day dawned  I quickly got myself ready and well before 9, thats early for me,  I was walking along the canal bank towards Turf.   It was a  beautiful morning, misty but with a strong rising sun burning through.  It took me more than an hour to locate the bird even though I knew it had already been seen earlier.  The Exeter University Rowers didn't help but the Diver, amazingly wasn't concerned about the boats.  I have said it before and at the risk of saying it again, why cant they go and row their boats somewhere else and not along this environmentally sensitive stretch of the canal?  I said it wasn't concerned because I located the bird amongst the boats,  it was now down the canal where I had walked from.  I obviously hadn't been looking carefully enough. I crossed the canal at the Turf hotel so that I had the sun behind me and walked purposefully down the opposite bank to the Diver that was now preening and bathing, seemingly without a care in the world.   

Unfortunately the sun had by now given up the ghost and was completely hidden behind the misty clouds which probably made photography a bit easier.  Birds with strong white patches are not easy to photograph. I had the bird to myself for at least an hour before other birders started to arrive but the Diver didn't seem to care too much.

One thing that surprised me about the bird was it's bold red eye which you couldn't always see to good efect and even though this particular individulal was not in breeding plumage, it was still a very attractive and engaging bird to see in this unusual habbitat.  They are usually off shore tantalizingly too distant for a decent photograph. So all in all this individual has given the birders of Devon a real treat and close views.  Incidentally this species breeds in Scotland and furher north only over-wintering in our part of the world.

Marsh Tits and Siskin

Male Siskin

Out in the depths of Dartmoor today I had a nice surprise when, at a feeding station, a pair of Siskin were coming regularly to the feeder. It's not all that often that I get the chance to photograph them and I have to confess that they are one of my favourite species.  In the spring, males are very attractive, bright yellow with a solid contrasting black cap and th female is more sombre, hardlt yellow at all and without the black cap.  Their scientific name is "carduelus" which is the same family as both the European and American Goldfinch as well as Redpolls and Linnet, all are seedeaters.

Female Siskin

This is a Marsh Tit taking a mealworm from the feeding table. Marsh Tits are one of the less common tit species, the size of a Coal Tit but totally different in plumage  both in colour and pattern but both of these tits are devoid of yellow or blue in the plumage. you are easily  to seperate the two species by the lack of white on the neck in the Marsh Tit.  Coal Tits are much more common now and as common as a Blue Tit  and for every 100 Coal Tits seen you may see just 1 Marsh Tit!   Incidentally Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are very very similar and in actual fact,  Willow Tits are almost absent from Devon but they can be found in a few locations. 

 

More Ring Ouzel Photographs from yesterday.

Just before the bird was disturbed by a small child. Seconds later it flew high in to a tree calling as it flew. It then continued to "chatter" angrily from the top of nearby trees.

Ring Ouzel - Bystock, Woodbury Common

The Ring Ouzel has been an  almost mystical bird for me over the last 50 years or so.  I hadn't even seen one ever before  today and I am glad to report that I was able to put that right.  Not often a see a "Lifer" as the twitchers say.  As is usual with this kind of thing it was as though there was nothing to it whatsoever and you would have thought that it was really normal and routine to see one.  As soon as I parked the car and looked out over the meadow where it had been reported  I could immediately see a Mistle Thrush and a Robin and  there also, feeding just like a Blackbird, was the Ring Ouzel.  My first impression was that it was really bulky and sligtly, if only a tiny bit bigger than it's cousin, (the Blackbird). It was  feeding on the shorter areas of grass  just like a Blackbird or Thrush would be when looking for garden worms.  The bright white crescent on the breast shone out like a beacon.  It scurried around, cocking it's head on to one side and then quickly pulled at the grass and roots to try and expose the worm or what have you, beneath.  There were a couple of birders at the other end of the field and they immediately saw that I had it in my sights and they returned back towrds the car park and me.  It seems that I was lucky after all and the bird had earlier  been disturbed by children playing football and they hadn't been able to find it.  I took loads of record shots but didn't want to walk towards it, that would have been bad form.  In the end after the frustration of it being 50 yards away I just sat down with the camera low on the tripod and waited in the seemingly forlorn hope that it would walk towards me....... and it did.  At last it was showing amazingly well and scurrying closer and closer to me.  My luck was in but it was about to change!   A family came through the lower gate and started to walk back to their car and the route that they had to take would bring them right up to the bird that was literally feeding on the short grass of the path that they were on.  I cursed my luck at that pont but the bird got nearer still and I did manage some photos from  very close.  A small child, running ahead of the family party was the first to arrive and the bird flew up high and away to some tall trees to my right where it continued to curse noisily from the tree tops.  It never did return to the ground and I rushed home to have a look at my pictures confident that I had at least got a new species for my Devon gallery.

Closer to the Wheatears

I was glad that the two male Wheatears were still in the paddock by my hide this morning.  I had been thinking quite a lot of how I could get them to come near enough to me for a decent photo. I wouldn't call it drastic action but I thought it was time for the "gillie suit" , thats a jacket and hood covered in bits of material to look like leaves etc.  I sat tucked almost inside the brambles and surely now they wouldn't be aware of me.  Thats the way it proved and eventually as they ran around the field, hardly ever flying as they chased down their insect prey, one perched right in front of me.

Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe

When I returned to the caravan hide this morning I was really pleased to see two male Wheatears still feeding in the field. Of course I have no way of knowing if this was two new birds or if they had remained from yesterday. I tried really hard to get some good photographs. By creeping in to the field and by hugging the fence line I managed to get half way up the field. I then sat under a bag hide close to a bramble bush and waited....... and waited ..... and waited a bit more. It's a big area and it was always going to be hit and miss. Even though they were mostly too far for a good photo I did manage a couple of nice pictures that showed the birds, well one of them, in the habitat. As I alluded to yesterday, Wheatears undertake some of the longest migrations. The birds that I saw today are not necessarily going to remain in the UK, they are potentially on their way much, much further north. Every Wheatear spends the winter in Africa even though they may breed as far away as Canada, Asia and the very far North (as well as here in Devon and the rest of the UK). 

 

Chffchaffs come to drink at the Caravan Hide trough.

 

Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler are very closely related and difficult to tell apart. This is a Chiffchaff, the dark legs are the give away.

Again, Chiffchaffs are not the  rarest bird, in fact they are one of our most common summer migrants and we even have a small over-wintering population here in the West Country.  However, I was thrilled today when one suddenly arrived on the logs in front of the hide and then as I struggled to train my camera on to it, it paused to drink from the trough.  This water source has been in position since last September and it's taken until now for a bird to drink from it, this has been a big surprise to me but at least  birds are drinking from it now.  I am hoping that as the local birds get more used to it and eventually it will be a big attraction to the resident woodland inhabitants.  

 

There were lots of visitors to the feed today, a pair of Nuthatches being the stars of the show.  In addition, a pair of Chaffinches were feeding on the scattered sunflower seed  which I have been spreading to try and attract Bramblings but I think that we are now too late in the season for them.

 

A lovely female Chaffinch in breeding condition.

A male Chaffinch also in breeding plumage.

I have lost count of the hundreds of Nuthatch photos taken from my Caravan hide.

 

Wheatears at my Caravan hide

Not the best photo that I have ever posted here on the Blog but very interesting never the less. It's a female Wheatear of course, and one of 5 that were viewable from my Caravan hide today.  Wheaters spend the winter inAfrica and are one of the early migrants to arrive back on their breeding grounds in Europe. I saw one first, a spanking male, in the field to the left of my hide but it disappeared, in actually fact I just couldn't see it. Then as I started to walk back to the car I caught sight of more movement in the field and then suddenly realised that there was a total of five. 3 females and 2 males. They were feeding on the insects attracted to the fresh horse dung, (as you can see).  I tried to get close enough for  record shot and this is as close as I could get.  So, it's official....... spring is here!  If you read the post above you will see that they weren't the only migrants around the caravan hide today.