Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Tristis and colybita Chiffchaffs

I managed to photograph at least one "tristis" AKA Siberian Chiffchaff today. It's hard to separate tristis from the colybita birds though, colybita is the nominate species and the birds that we are familiar with. On my session today, at first I saw, heard and then photographed a colybita bird, in fact there were several, (having said that this is a bird that takes a bit of looking for and finding in the winter). I was pleased to see them but expected to see at least one Siberian bird as I had seen them here on my previous visit. I decided to play a trisits taped call to see what reaction I got and almost immediately another bird appeared and instantly I could tell that it was subtly different although the photographs that I took are not as dramatic.  (See photos above and below, both depicting a tristis Siberian bird based on their reaction to the  "tristis" call).

In the next photographs I include photographs of a "colybita" Chiffchaff,  there is more colour in the beak and legs and I heard the bird calling in the normal, familiar Chiffchaff way.

This next one is a bird that I am not sure of but it appears to be darker than the others so could perhaps indicate a "tristis" and it's inclusion proves how hard this subject is.

Goldcrest and their feeding habits.

I have never seen so many Goldcrests as I have this winter, I have seen them  on almost every photographic trip this last couple of weeks. I went out to try and photograph the Chiffchaffs again in the hope of learning more about Siberian (tristis) birds. I am almost certain that I saw and photographed them today but when I got home it wasn't as easy as I hoped it would be. It's all to do with sunlight and the way that  the light strikes the bird.  The  colour can look so different depending on the strength of the light.

As I waited, a female Goldcrest came through the bushes to feed on the same insects that the Chiffchaffs were feeding on. I say female because the crest on the little bird was yellow and there was no hint of orange which you get in the males. It must have been a really good breeding season for them. I can well imagine that the populations of Goldcrest could rapidly increase because they can have a clutch of more than 10 chicks. At the moment, in very early winter we have yet to have any real cold weather and consequently the tiny Goldcrests are surviving the cold long nights by finding enough prey during the day. I have just read that Goldcrests can lose 20% of their body weight in one night. Obviously that 20% has to be replaced every day if the bird is to survive the next night so you can image that if there is a prolonged cold spell, a tiny Goldcrest is going to find it hard to find enough food, day after day.  A Goldcrest weighs around 5.5 grams, which is more than a 10p piece,  (which I have just weighed at 6.5 grams). This is just marginally heavier than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird by the way.  Never the less, if we realise that a Goldcrest may lose 20% of it's body weight each night, just try and visualise how many tiny midges and green fly the bird will need to find every single day to make up 10 grams. But that's not the whole story of course because during the day, the bird will also lose energy and weight in the very activity of hunting for food. This will explain very simply why Goldcrest seem to be constantly searching for food. I have no way of estimating the weight of one small midge but I would suggest that hundred and hundreds would not add up to much. 

I would suggest that the forward looking eyes are very useful when looking for prey and the shape of the beak would indicate that this bird is an insect eater of course.

Mandarin Drake in Devon

Can you imagine what a big surprise it was when this lovely bird suddenly hove in to view today.  I was standing by one of the pools in Clennon Valley, Paignton after travelling down there to try and photograph a Yellow Browed Warbler. I did see the little bird but I didn't manage a photograph which was a disappointment as you would imagine. But on the pools amongst the usual Mallard were several Tufted Duck which I stopped to photograph. It was getting a but dreary and dim as sunset approached but the Mallards were now joined by 3 Shovelers. Suddenly, there it was. It is hard to imagine a more exotic looking bird than a Drake Mandarin.  This species is now established as a breeding bird in the UK havving originally escaped from captivity.  I have seen them a few times here in Devon, notably on the River Dart at Buckfastleigh and oddly, also on theTiverton Canal.  Oh.... I would have been very happy with the Tufted Duck by the way.

The first two photos are an Adult Drake then the next is a Duck followed finally by a first winter Drake.

Chiffchaffs again.

You may remember that the other day I posted pictures of a Chiffchaff that we queried as a Siberian Chiffchaff. Feedback from several experienced, informed and talented experts has led me to believe that I did in fact photograph a "Tristis"…… (that's the second part of the scientific name of this sub-species).  I went back to the same site today to see if I could photograph it again and did photograph another bird. I was struck today by the colour of the legs and of this bird which had noticeably more colour than the bird photographed before which had solid black legs and a solid black beak. When I looked very carefully at today's photographs there was a noticeable yellowish patch which extended (albeit subtly) up the lower mandible. In addition, the legs of today's bird were brownish rather than the solid black in Saturday's bird.  You can clearly see this  in the picture of today's bird, pictured below.

You can hardly call the legs and beak black. Another feature of the "Siberian" type bird is a very subtle and feint yellowish colour just where the wings emerge from body. Here's Saturday's bird again, thought to be the Siberian bird with black beak and legs.

The plumage colour could be the product of several factors, that is: age, sex and probably the most important factor of all, sunlight.  In addition, colour can be unintentionally altered depending on the "white-balance" setting of the camera.  So, I hope you agree, this is a difficult subject.  However, one factor that is always reliable is the calls of both birds.  Today's bird was definitely attracted in to view by the playing of a Colybita Chiffchaff call, whereas Saturday's bird was attracted to the Tristis call.  Looking at the two photos again, to my eyes they do look different.  Interesting!

An interesting fact, if you Google the word Tristis you can see that the literal meaning is smelly or foul smelling..... how weird.

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Black-headed gull fishing for small plaice.

I sat on the beac for several hours today waiting for the Bonaparte's Gull to show up which it had done most days this last week but I hadn't been lucky enough to get a photo (until today).  I amused myself by watch a Black - headed Gull that was bobbing away in the surf just in front of me.  Every now and then it would take to the air and dive beneath the surf.   This was a good photo opportunity of course but I hadn't realised what it was actually doing?  It was spying very small flatfish on the sea botton and then diving to catch them.  This is obviously a technique that it has developed and it was very successful catching several during the time that I watched it.

Bonaparte's Gull

It eventually took me 5 visits to find this bird, obsesive I know but gulls are a particular favourite of mine, not that I am very expert at identifying them by the way but when there is a rare(ish) North American Gull around then you really ought to try and find it and take some photographs.  I have had some fleeting glimpses of it on a couple of my previous trips but never good enough views to get a photograph.  When I eventually did see it, perched on Groyne 1 as it happens, I was quite surprised at the similarity with the Black-headed Gulls that were also in the area. Apparently, smaller but not immediately noticeable to me to be honest.  When perched, it could easily  be told apart by the black beak which in Black-headed Gulls at this time of year is red with a black tip. I decided that my best plan of action this time was to sit on the beach and wait until it put in an appearance.  To amuse myself I photographed the Turnstones and an amazingly talented Black-headed Gull that has learned to catch small flatfish in the surf. I took hundreds of shots of the bird doing this and you can view some of these images on this Blog Post here....... But back to the Bonapartes. This is a North American bird  that breeds in the far north.  It is unique in that it is a tree nesting gull,  so obviously not too far north!  In the winter they disperse to the Pacific where they spread south feeding out at sea apparently, as well as coastal regions.  The bird here in Devon is thought to be the same one that spent the winter here last year. It is not known where it disappeared to in the summer months but it would have flown north and obviously lost, it seems as though it just made it's way back here to Devon for it's second winter.   In flight the pattern on the wings is noticeably different.

 

 

Common Crossbill, Haldon Hill, Devon

Some people will say that I am a lucky person, well I certainly am having a great life so I suppose that's lucky in itself but I always think about the quote by Garry Player who said, "The more I try, the luckier I get". No truer words have ever been spoken as far as I am concerned. Yesterday we had gone to Haldon to try and get some photographs of Common Crossbill, and apart from a quick glimpse of a small flock, we weren't successful. I put that down to two factors, an element of luck and when we did have luck, too much noise by other birders. You really do have to be quiet when you are birding in any form be it just general birding or trying to get a photo and the few birds that we did see moved off immediately because of one particularly noisy old man who I won't name here but he really should know better. In the past he had told me, when I wouldn't divulge the whereabouts of a Kingfisher nest, that he had been birding all his life and I had no right to keep information from him……… oh really!  

I had been disappointed yesterday when we hadn't managed a photograph and I gave it a great deal of thought.  I thought  about my ringing training when by 11or 12  in the morning we only caught 10% of the birds that we had caught from first light until then.  Birds are feeding in the winter for the first few hours of daylight because they have gone for 16 or so hours without food, it makes absolute sense really. So this morning I rushed down there as soon as I could get going and I got there quite early (for me that is).  It was deadly quiet, almost frighteningly eerie  apart from a lovely Roe Deer on the path in front of me.  I had been literally in the woods  for 5 minutes when I saw some movement in trees just a bit further on  down the track.  Then I saw more and then more, birds were feeding and they were quiet by the way, not calling and they never did.   I got myself in the best position that I could and waited for them  to come out from the middle of the tree, where they were feeding.  They would  fluuter out to the outer branches, bite off a cone and then take it back in to the midst of the tree to feed.  That's why you can't always see them because they are hidden in the middle, in thick  cover.  As I stood there watching and waiting, I could see and hear cones falling all around me  from the other trees.  That was birds dropping them once they had taken the seeds out.  I hadn't even been aware of these other birds but they were all around me in the trees.  Something spooked them and about 20 left the tree that I was watching but I had only been aware of 3!  After a few minutes I noticed that a few individuals remained and that's when I got my best shots.

It was still hard to get a good photograph because of the "back light" and the position which required me to hold my camera pointing skywards.  I used a tree for support.  I realised that the birds were, in actual fact, feeding in this tree as well, just above my head.  It was quite an experince made all the more special by the sudden arrival of two  Goldcrest.

……oh and of course, the Roe Deer.

Curlew - Numenius arquata near to the Exe Estuary

The Curlew is our largest wading bird, often seen and heard but really hard to get close to. For some reason they are very wary.  They breed on the moorlands of the UK, here  in Devon, Dartmoor for example. I have also seen them on Saddleworth  Moor  between Oldham and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. You can often hear them in these moorland areas in the summer and when I do I am always surprised because I associate their call with the estuaries and seaside in the wintertime.  In the picture above you can see how far they will probe with their very long down curved beaks.  They are probale feeding on earth worms, a food source to many birds. Earthworms are extremely high in protein.   They are abe to feed on grass lke this when the ground is very soft and I would imagine that they feed in the same way during the summer when they are breeding on the peat moors.  This makes them a very adaptable bird.  I have also seen them catching and eating small crabs in the estuary.  In the photo below you can  get a better idea of the length of the beak and obviously you can also estimate how far they are probing in to the earth.  The fact that wading birds have different lengths and shapes of beaks means that they can all feed together in the same habitat without competition.

 

Female Long - tailed Duck, Dawlish Seafront.

Today's star turn was a female Long - tailed Duck, this time at Dawlish. Like buses, you wait for one and then two come along together. When I got up it was very bright and sunny with a heavy frost but the forecast was for an overcast day. You could see a very low blanket of cloud hanging over the distant East Devon Moors (I can see them from my house by the way). I thought I should get on my way quickly to make use of the available light. I decided to go to Dawlish for the female Long - tailed Duck because I had read that it was feeding quite close to shore. By the time I had parked my car and started to walk along the seafront the cloud had caught up and then after a few minutes we were blanketed in cloud. The duck was visible and I started, almost immediately, to photograph it. It was feeding constantly, diving and staying under the water for a minute or so at a time. It was quite hard to predict where it would emerge on the surface but each time it did , it was a race to photograph it before it dived again. On one occasion it appeared with a large prawn in its beak and it it was a great photo opportunity.   When I looked through my photos later I could see that it was quite successful and had caught quite a few  largish prawns.  Have a look at my blog entry for photos of the   Male Long - tailed Duck that I saw and photographed  last Wednesday on the 20th on the main pool at Bowling Green Marsh.  It will be good to compare the two birds.  

Goldcrest - Regulus regulus and potential Tristis Chiffchaff?

What a lovely treat it was today to get really close views and some good photos of one of the tiniest of European birds, the Goldcrest.  Small, feisty and beautifully marked. ..... I absolutely love them with a passion. It's always a special day when I see one.  Today there were at least 3 moving in a small group and my friend Dave and I were priviledged to get some nice photos of one of them. Heres a selection of some of the nicest, a lovely "golden day" and a lovely "golden crest".   the leg colour of this little bird is not often mentioned but it is a very nice shade of yellow.

I had actually been out to look for a possible Siberian Chiffchaff.... or Putative Tristis Chiffchaff.  We did in actual fact encounter 2 likely candidates but they are incredibly difficult to seperate.  I played a normal Chiffchaff call when one of them was present but didn't get a reaction, this could indicate a Tristis but hardly conclusive.  I am told that bright sunshine is not the best light to photograph them in because it makes the  bird look more yellowish, What you are looking for is a bird that is more grey than olive. Look at the pictures below under the Goldcrest pictures  to see for yourself.

 

Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita ......... or is it???

I am not certain of the sub-species of this bird, it's more than likely a Phylloscopus collybita Chiffchaff and not Phylloscopus collybita trisitis. Unfortunately it didn't call nor as I said, respond to a call so I can't bee certain either way. All I can say is that the colour represented here is a true reflection of the colour of the bird as witnessed. One certain fact though is this is a Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes.

 

Common Starling - Surnus vulgaris

It's hard to imagine that some  consider this a pest species.  I speak often of birds being taken for granted and often not given a second glance and this is one of those.  When you look at a Starling in full sunlight the full irridescent qualities of the plumage can be appreciated. No other bird can match it.

Brent Goose

Wigeon in flight at Bowling Green Marsh

My Photo of the Day is a Peregrine Falcon. Heres a thumbnail, click on the link here to see it in all it's glory.

The Long-tail Duck wasn't performing very well today and kept well away from the hide apart from one period of a few minutes when it came down the channel but decided to turn back again in to the main pool. This was quite a disappointment for the assembled birders who had been waiting, some for 4 hours, for it to come close like it did yesterday. It was a weird day really, the birds were definitely not coming as close to the hide as yesterday. It was quite noisy at times though, perhaps that was why the birds kept their distance. I continued trying to get the very best flight  photos possible and I had a bit of success.

Excitement was created by a Peregrine that came in for the Godwits at one point. The air was suddenly thick with waders and ducks, totalling a thousand or more, quite a spectacle. ....................(Having mentioned Peregrine, I decided that Peregrine should be my photo of the day for Friday 22 November, click on the link here to see one of my best ever photographs. It took real stealth and field craft to get the photograph and I am very proud of it.)

 

The Peregrine was not successful. On top of that, no less than 3 foxes were also present, one stalking along the fence right at the back of the marsh.

A funny coloured Wigeon was amongst the flock of grazing birds, it had green on the head.  At first the other birders were talking of American Wigeon but it definitely didn't fit the bill for that species, any comments please?  (Fit the bill....... excuse the pun).

 UPDATE: This interesting Wigeon with green on the head is apparently not a rare phenomenon and is more common than we realise. It is not an indication of hybridisation apparently.  In Japan where the Eurasian Wigeon is very common up to 20% of drakes show this feature.  I will certainly look out for it in more birds.

Flying Black-tail Godwits

Long-tail Duck - Clangula hyemalis, Bowling Green Marsh.

Update…… Pinkish bill is indicative of a first winter male.... Thanks for your input Dave Smallshire. 

I had the pleasure of photographing a new species of bird today, a Long-tail Duck, Clangula hyemalis. Firstly a bit about the scientific name "hyemalis" which means "of the winter". Obviously a reference to their sudden appearance in the winter months which would not have been easy to explain in the days when scientific names were being decided. It seems odd though that this bird, amongst many other species that suddenly appear in the UK in winter, should be named after this phenomenon. It could be something to do with their plumage which is remeniscent of a snowy landscape.  In actual fact they are whiter in the summer when they are breeding in the arctic in exotic places like Svalbard, Spitsbergen and Churchill, Mainitoba….. all of these places are home to Polar Bears. It could well be that the bird pictured above has spent part of the year in the company of one of the world's most dangerous carnivores. In fact, that is probably a certainty.  They sometimes nest  quite a distance from the shoreline, often in the company of Arctic Terns who protect their nests vigorously from predators such as Arctic Fox and the ducks benefit from this association. They are the deepest diving of ducks, capable of submerging for several minutes to a depth of 200 metres, thats a massive depth if you think about it. They feed on crustaceans and shellfish but obviously they are very adaptable as far as diet goes. So, just a funny looking, admittedly rare duck but so many interesting facts.  

I have seen Long-tail duck before but not close enough for a photo. As I said in my post yesterday, I had been disappointed to miss the opportunity to photograph this one when it moved in to the channel that flows near to the hide. So today, even though it was wet and windy, I decided to go back to the hide to sit it out until it came in to the channel again.  I thought, "well if you can travel all the way to Australia to photograph something new, why not do what it takes to et a new species in my galleries".  It took a couple of hours but I was prepared to wait for the entire day if thats what it was going to take. As it happened, it moved in to the channel and gradual swam strongly towards the hide. I was worried because it was a bit noisy in the hide and I hoped that the loud voices wouldn't scare it too much.  As it moved nearer and nearer,  people focused and thankfully it went quiet and it wasn't too disturbed. It swam down the channel, turned when it had gone as far as it could go and then on it's return, moved to the shore opposite and climbed out, grabbing a mouthful of grass. Quite an exciting session in the end.

The weather wasn't too good and I could have done with a faster shutter speed but I am reasonably pleased with the end result.

This species of duck breeds in the Arctic and can dive to 200 metres, a remarkable bird.

 

It stood for a few minutes on the opposite bank as though it wasn't sure what to do next.

Anas penelope.

Yesterday I had moaned about the dull and dreary weather so when the day dawned today the sunshine seemed brighter and even more bright than normal. Perhaps the contrasting weather here in the UK is what makes it such a nice place to live, you never get fed up with the weather, it's so changeable. I couldn't wait to get out with my new Pentax K3 camera in the bright light, I wanted to get some in-flight shots.  This new camera seems to be easier to use for this kind of photography. After a brief visit to the marsh where, apart from 3 birders telling me of a distant Short -eared Owl and a nearby hidden but "squealing" Water Rail, (I've heard this bird several times recently), there wasn't a lot going on. I decided to go to Bowling Green Marsh where a Long-tailed Duck female has been reported for several days. This is a bird I haven't photographed before and it will be good to put a picture on my Devon Bird Gallery ( now up to 184 Devon species).  I photographed the ducks and Godwits from the comfort of the hide and other birders told me that the Long-tailed duck was over the far side in the pool but very distant. A small group of Godwits were very close...... here's a picture of one.....

……….. I continued to focus on this bird with my head down and one eye peering through the view finder for several minutes, perhaps even 10.  I was waiting for it to take flight. Eventually it did and afterwards I looked up,  to be told by the other birders that the Long-tailed Duck had been in the channel just in front of us and they all thought that's what I was photographing….. very disappointing. Never mind though, hopefully I will get another chance tomorrow. It was about this time that I was able to photograph the Widgeon above, one of my best ever flight shots, I just love my new Pentax K3.

The beak of this bird looks as thoughit's been painted, especially the black tip.  Hope you agree that they are such lovely birds.   Their scientefic name is interesting Anas penelope, well the first part is easy, Anas is a family of ducks which includes Mallard and Shoveler but the second part is the same as the  Greekk mythological charachter who was married to Odysseus and I have done a bit of research and see that the name Penelope is associated with marital faithfullness.  Well thats interesting because you often see them moving around in true pairs but research seems to indicate that they do not mate for life so who knows how they got such an attractive name.

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa islandica

Please have a look at my new feature    My Bird of the Day     by clicking on the link here.

Awful weather here today in Devon, UK, a typical dull and dreary day that could be depressing if you let it. I went out anyway and I remember, as I stood there, thinking that it was cold and wet but then I wasn't going to see anything sat on the sofa at home. Thats the way it turned out, nothing particularly special for this part of the world but when it's quiet, Black -tailed Godwits do feed in the long grass and close enough for a photograph from time to time. I have a soft spot for Black-tailed Godwits, they are very photogenic even in their non-breeding plumage. They feed by probing in to the soft earth and with an obviously very sensitive beak tip they find earth worms deep in to the sod. They feed in the same way in the estuary mud. You will also see Curlew feeding in this way however Curlew have a curved beak and are rarely as confiding as Godwit for some reason. These Black-tailed Godwit are of the "islandica" race that breed in Iceland.

 

This is a bird that we take for granted here in Devon, you can locate them on every birding trip if you have a mind to and like all things that you see regularly, you quite quickly take them for granted……………..but not like me, especially when you can achieve good shots like this with relative ease and a bit of patience.  In the shot below, one of the best features of this species can be seen, that's the attractive markings on the wing that you can clearly see in flight.  This is a good way to seperate them from Bar-tailed Godwit.

Shovelers again on Exminster Marsh

Please remember to look at my Bird of the Day, click on the link.

I said yesterday that I really enjoyed photographing Shovelers and other ducks on the marsh at Exminster yesterday.  I wen t back today hoping to improve and while I am not sure that I did that, I certainly had an interesting and fruitful session.

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When I look at this image (above) it makes me ask the question, is this a male? Could it be a first winter bird.  Interesting and I must do some more research to find the answer but I think this is very likely. Like I said yesterday, our ducks are very photogenic and well worth trying to get close enough  to photograph.  Even the females are very photogenic and easier to photograph than the males.

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As a helpful tip if you are a novice photographer, any bird with bold white patches will create difficulties. For example, Magpies are very hard, Shellduck are another species and of course male Shoveler.

 

It was muddy and cold but I stayed as still and quiet as possible, just watching and waiting and that strategy paid of as it often will. Suddenly I saw that a Teal duck was in the water filled ditch and quite close, they are usually much, much more wary than this and it was good to get the chance to get a close photo. I had the teal in the viewfinder and then just behind it was a Little Grebe, quite a good spot. Unfortunately the grebe dived immediately, they always do that and the next time I caught sight of it 20 minutes later it was much further away and had a large stickleback which it struggled to get down.

The duck Teal (above).

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Coot are another hard species to photograph, again because of the white beak and head"knob" When they are in the water you need to over expose the camera to get any detail whatsoever but you need to be so careful that this doesn't burn out the white area.

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To finish today's post, here's anothe picture of a certain  female. As I said, the  one (above) is potentially  a first winter drake?  This is what I love about bird photography and wildlife watching, every day there are things to learn and discover for yourself.  By the way,  if you know can you please let us know. 

Photos with the new Pentax K3

Please remember to check out my BIRD OF THE DAY but clicking on the link.

Eventually my new Pentax K3 camera arrived this morning, I was keen to find out if any of the new features were going to make noticeable improvements. I made my way out to Exminster Marsh in the hope that there would be some ducks to photograph. I parked up and immediately I could see Northern Shoveler feeding in the flooded fields and reasonably nearby. I noticed an immediate and unequivocal difference which amounts to a significant improvement from my previous camera, a Pentax K511s. There is apparently a brand new sensor onboard, there are more focus points, 27 as opposed to 11 previously and on "burst" the K3 shoots just under 9 frames a second. Immediately the camera came in to it's own and…. well you decide?  It can't be a coincidence that this is one of my best ever flight shots and in dull light as well.  The Northern Shoveler breeds in small numbers in the UK but 18000 birds overwinter here.  I happen to think that they are one of the most attractive of our birds, particularly in flight with very striking patches of colour icluding poder blue on the wings.  Their beak is weird, no other word for it, it's spatular shaped and looks too big for it's body.  The "duck", thats the female of course, has strange black blotches on the brown beak, (males "drakes" have black beaks) which I haven't read about before but I could clearly see them today.

Looking at this image again you can clearly see these striking patches of colour which surely make this bird one of the most colourful of our birds.

As you can see, the "duck" is quite a plain looking bird, in the photo above it is feeding in typical fashion sifting through the debris under water with it's "shovel" and below you get a better idea of the beak size and shape.  All of these pictures are quite considerably cropped and the quality is quite well preserved.

They are a largish duck and significantly larger than teal and widgeon and possibly just a tad bigger than a Mallard. The one above seems to have a much redder bill, possibly an adlult?

The yellow eye is a particularly attracive feature.

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A morning on Exminster Marsh

Please click on  the link here  "PHOTO OF THE DAY SATURDAY 16th NOVEMBER"  to find out what the featured bird is today.

Stonechats yet again and a new camera on the way.

Female Stonechat taken with just a few minutes of daylight remaining.

Just a reminder to check my new feature....... "Charlie Fleming's  Photo of the Day" .... please click on the link to visit, bookmark and check there daily, I am selecting my best pictures from my Galleries of 6000 species from all 5 continents.

I am between cameras at the moment having "written-off" my Pentax K511s the other day when the tripod fell over. I had used the camera daily for a year so I suppose that I did get some use out of it and  in fact, it has cost me less than £15 a week, not too bad I don't suppose, but it was desperately disappointing to smash it like that. However, there is always a silver lining and I have ordered the newly released  K3 camera from Pentax  which is their new "flagship".  The K3 has many new advances, the mega-pixels have been almost doubled,  it has an improved sensor as well as shooting at  8.5 frames a second. I have seen comparative images of the K5, Canon 50D and Nikon. In image quality, the Pentax out performs them all so again, I will be able to improve my photography which for me, is what it's all about.  One of the fantastic new features of the camera is the use of a wifi enabled SD Flu-card.  In short this 16gb card not only stores the images as a normal card but once connected wirelessly to your iPad you can then see the images in real time on your iPad.  Even more amazingly, you can view what the camera is seeing but on your iPad and then adjust settings, focus and finally take the shot from the iPad remotely from the camera. This is going to be a fantastic feature and I can't wait to use it. 

But now there is a disappointment. I am waiting for Parcel Force to deliver the camera but have just found out that in stead of sending the parcel to the South West for distribution, the good people at Parcel Force has sent it to the North West, surely everyone knows Exeter is in the South West ?  So having wasted the best part of the day sat in waiting, it still won't get here until Monday now.  Of course, I will have to sit in and wait yet again on Monday.  A simple mistake on their part of course but pathetic service really and probably explains why they are struggling to survive as a carrier. So I can't recommend Parcel Force to you at all!!!

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Dartford Warbler

I had some magnificent views of a pair of Dartford Warbler today.  Dartford Warblers are weird little birds, very small, weighing about the same as a wren at 10grams, they are tiny and vulnerable being at the most northerly edge of their European range here in the UK.  They are roughly the same size as a Long tail Tit and with the same kind of long tail of course. However they frequently cock their tails.  In common with other closely related members of their family  "Sylviidae"  such as Sardinian Warblers, they have a bright red fleshy ring around the eye.  They always look fierce especially the more strongly marked males who also raise the head feathers in to a kind of flatish crest.  In the photo below, that I took in June 2008,  you cam see this.  Please don't disturb these birds if you know where they are. 

Heres a list of their main diagnostic features.

• Yellow legs. Red Eye ring.
• Yellow base to the  bill, tipped with black.
• Wine red underbelly which matches the colour of heather flowers.
• Long ragged, often cocked tail.
• Small like a long tailed tit.
• Found on heathland where they often feed and sing from the tops of the gorse.

They are  schedule 1.  bird and therefore afforded very special protection especially at their nest sites. Please don't disturb them.  It was interesting today to see them in a pair, I could clearly make out the difference between the sexes.  I haven't read before that they stay in pairs throughout the non breeding season but it certainly appeared that way.  Another interesting fact is that they are frequently found in the company of Stonechats and so it proved today with the pair definitely moving down the strip of gorse on the edge of a track,  with a pair of Stonechats.   I was pleased to see them today but only post the photos out of interest and as a record, as you can see from the photo above when I was much closer, todays pictures are not as good as they could be.  I hadn't deliberately set out to photograph Dartfords but when I saw them as I waited for Stonechats to pop in to view, it was a nice surprise to see them as they have been decimated in the last few years.

Murphy's law dictated that I could get a good shot of the Stonechat but the Dartford's were much harder to get close to.

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Stonechat and Reed Buntings on Woodbury Common

Stonechats on Woodbury Common

Pied-billed Grebe and other Florida birds

I am going through my recent photographs from my recent trip to South Florida, I am comming across some nice pictures.  This is a Pied billed Grebe, I think this one is a in it's first winter.  I like to make sweeping statements, is this one of my best ever pictures? Maybe?

This is a juvenile Little Blue Heron, white as you can see until they attain their adult blue plumage.  This was a very interesting encounter, it was almost dark as we left the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and the Herons were comming in to roost.  This young bird was perched right next to the walkway and I could see instantly that because of the different light, I was going to end up with a special image.  This image is not cropped at all and the only work I had to do in photoshop was to remove a little bit of noise.

 

Great Grey Shrike East Devon Commons

I almost got a great shot of the Great Grey Shrike on the common today.  I went again this morning knowing that I had to be home in the P.M.  U  My attention was immediately drawn to a bird, larger than a Meadow Pipit perched on a low solitary branch near to the path and I struggled with the camera as I tried to put it on to the tripod before my chance for a photograph had gone.  A lady dog walker walked right past  and still it remained.  I realised that it was a Skylark, a bird that I haven't photographed properly, apart from some awful shots way back in 2009 so I was keen to get this one.  I didnt get it together in time and before I could get the shot, it had gone.  But I need not have worried because now the one Skylark was joined by 3 or 4 more and they were displaying to each other in low flight and very close.  Now I suddenly knew where the expression "it was a bit of a skylark" comes from because they were playing around just in front of me.  I noticed that one bird was favouring a low branch on a fallen dead tree and I was now in a position, with the light from exactly the right place, to get my best ever Skylark images. In fact I doubt if I will be able to better them.

If that wasn't enough, I was able to achieve really high shutter speeds and then get some photographs of the "Skylarking"  as the birds chased each other around in the mid-morning sunlight.

It had already been a good session but I still waited for the Skylarks to return which they did from time time. Gradually, as I stood there  seemingly with my camera trained on to something special, I was joined by first one and then more and more fellow birders who thought that I was "on to" the Great Grey Shrike which evryone was looking for and I was so pleased that they had joined me because suddenly Kevin Smith and Dave Land discovered the Shrike way in the distance where Dave had seen it yesyerday.  With that we were off to get a bit closer.  It was feeding on exactly the same patch of land that Dave had seen it yesterday and in fact, using the same trees as hunting perches.  We got closer and closer and managed some much better images than I had managed the other day.  As with most of these situations, disappointment was to  follow.  No sooner had we got ourselves in a spot where the bird was not worried about us and had just in fact flown closer, a dog walker arrived on the scene and walked right past it.  It was just after that that my tripod fell over and totally wrecked my camera! So in the end good photos at quite a cost!

.......seconds before the dog arrived.

Stonechat and Reed Buntings.

On Friday I had been out on the East Devon Commons looking for the Great Grey Shrike that has been here since last Tuesday.  I went out again this morning after a phone call to tell me that it was there.   This was my 3rd visit to try to find it.  When  there last week I was quite struck with the Stonechats and the photo opportunities that they were presenting.   I have to be honest when I say that I wasn't confident of finding the Great Grey Shrike but as it turned out, I did manage a glimpse and a few quick snaps of the bird, right where it had been seen before by local birder  Dave Stone.  It is a very wary bird and even though I was at least 100 yards away, as soon as I walked carefully nearer and only a few feet, it immediately flew strongly away to trees several hundred yards away. I think this explains why it hasn't been seen by everyone on every visit.  At that point, I turned, slipped on the wet ground and tore a muscle in my calf......ouch! Dangerous activity this bird photography.  With a bad leg I struggled back to the car park, 400 yards away and came home for dinner and a coffee.  I went back later in the afternoon, with my leg heavily strapped.   I just knew I could get nice photographs of the Chats and so it turned out.   This is a good time of year to photograph birds because the light is so subdued, not strong and hard to deal with like the summertime or, for that matter, in the tropics.  I  managed to get some nice shots of a male Stonechat today, now in eclipse plumage for the winter, well thats not strictly true.  To be exact, what will happen is the tips of the head feathers will wear and by next spring the black feathers will be revealed.  

Light is a massive factor in photography, it's interesting to see photos of the same male in different lighting....... the one above and the one below.

I stuck around the area for quite a while waiting in one spot where the track separates in to three,  An endless procession of birders came by to search for the Shrike, all unsuccessful this afternoon.  I wasn't surprised because the Common is a massive area, I think the last thing that particular bird could tolerate is a crowd!   I was surprised when a couple of Reed Buntings put in an appearance and a happily photographed one of them.

It nice to get back to some good photographs again.  I am  sure there are going to be more from this spot, hopefully a nice Dartford Warbler very soon.

Stonechats on the East Devon Commons.

I have lost count of the opportunities that I have had  to photograph Stonechat,  a nice bird to see here in Devon at all times of the year.  In the breeding season they are easy to find on Dartmoor and I have had endless hours of entertainment photographing them.  This Autumn I photographed a pair in flight when the male was in attractive full colour but at this time of year the males are in eclipse plumage and while still smart, not quite so distinctive.  However, the females looks the same year round.   In my experience they seem to stay in pairs all year and if you see one,  it's mate will usually  be nearby.  In the winter they can be found in areas nearer the coast such as the East Devon heaths and marshes, still in their pairs. Here they seem to find enough to eat in the bracken, heather and gorse as well as from time to time launching themselves in to the air to "hawk" for flying insects.  They conveniently sit on exposed perches making them easy to spot.  I was on Woodbury Common today looking for the Great Grey Shrike  that has been seen, on and off since last Monday.  All in all I counted 9 or 10 different birders there,  all searching for the  bird but no one could find it.... and my friend Dave and I were there for 4 hours!  However we did see Stonechat pairs almost all afternoon and one bird just kept  flying nearer and nearer to us as we stood on the track.  It presented a great photo opportunity which we gratefully accepted. 

So there we are on the common and  one or two of the other birders started to tell of the Dartford Warblers that they had seen and photographed both today and recently.  I saw a Dartford Warbler,  It's not the best photograph  that I have taken but its the first time since 2008 that I have seen one close enough to photograph.  I really do hope that we have a mildish winter and that they survive to breed next spring. 

.............. Dartford Warbler.  This looks to be a female I think.

 

Golden Plover

Golden Plover is not a bird that I get the chance to photograph all that often and It excited me yesterday to see a flock of 50 birds or so.  We were on Exmoor and had just got back to the car after photographing Red Deer, the sandwhiches came out and we were enjoying the view when suddenly a flock of waders came over, circled and the settled on the moorland not far from us.  I immediately went to see if I could see them and then  get a shot.  it was quie an impressive sight, they are a pretty bird, especially the adults with their golden heads. 

Red Deer - (Cervus elaphus) on Exmoor

A Red Deer stag and his hinds.  They could sense us but  the wind was blowing in our direction.  They were uncertain of danger.  Red Deer do not have great eyesight and therefore if they can't pick up your scent you can approach them if you are very careful.  A Red Deer  Stag is the UK's largest mammal.

I am told that, comparitively, this is not a very impressive Red Deer stag but his 3 hinds are quite pleased with him.  Yesterday I went to Exmoor,  home to find one of the few wild populations of Red Deer in the UK. I was perhaps a week or so late for the full rutting season but with a bit of searching we did manage to find stags alongside their hinds.  It turned out to be a very rewarding day.  At first when we arrived, we couldn't see deer anywhere and the narrow roads that lead through the moor, were very quiet leading us to realise that the rut was over.  Eventually we caught sight of a big stag sitting quietly in the bracken.  It was at least 400 metres away on the hillside opposite.  We decided to see if we could get close enough for a photograph and using some stealth we walked closer and closer to the small group of deer which comprised 2 Stags and several Hinds.  The wind was blowing in to our faces and consequently we were able to creep close enough. When e eventually got closer we could see evidence that the rut had ended because two Stags were together and  very tolerant of each other.  They both grazed as they nonchalantly moved up the hillside with 20 or so Hinds in tow. We were still quite a distance away  really and consequently photography was hard work.  These are wild deer and as such are hunted both by Hunters with hounds and shooting, conseguently they are wary and very sensitive to approach. I have to say that it was very satisfying and rewarding to be able to get reasonably close to them.  Had I been a hunter, both legal or otherwise, I was close enough to shoot.  

He roars to proclaim his ownership.

An adult male stag that fails to grow antlers  is called a Hummel.  It was interesting yesterday as we walked quietly towards the group in the distance, we disturbed a deer to our left that appeared to be a "Hummel". This can be seen by the large neck and mane, features that are not present in hinds.

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Severed stags' heads dumped at roadside

Tufted Duck, Roadford Lake.

I really like ducks, they are so pretty and very photogenic.  This afternoon I went over to Roadford Reservoir, I haven't had the opportunity to get out as much this last few days and I have missed a few good opportunities so I was keen to make the best of it. First of all, in the forenoon, I went to try and find the Bonaparte Gull that has  been seen and photographed at Teignmouth.  Once I had parked up I started sorting through the flocks of gulls but inspite of an hour or so of searching I couldnt find it, a "needle in a haystack" springs to mind.  So next,  I went to Roadford Reservoir where there has been a Grey Phalarope   for the last week almost........... I didn't think it was going to be too difficult.  But it was!  I had reallly good directions to where it had been seen, (even this morning).  So when I started the walk along the water's edge, I thought I would find it easily.  The weather, unfortunately, had started to deteriorate and it just got worse and worse. But, I had made a big effort, so I carried on, quite confident that I would find it.  I wasn't dressed for it, I got very wet and muddy but still I couldnt find it.  It got wetter and wetter and with every drop that trickled down my neck, I repeatedly  asked myself  "was it was worth it".  Never the less, it was good to get some excercise and fresh air.  It wasn't a complete waste of my time though, not only for the good walk, but as you can see from the picture above, it turned out to be very successful in the end.....oh , and I still didn't find the Phalarope!

Its not a Bonaparte Gull, (it's a Herring Gull of course),  but its always good to keep my hand in when it comes to flight photography.

 

A Wood Pigeon feeding on Sunflower.

 

If this was an exotic rarety then we would be saying what a lovely image.  I am pleased that I have been able to produce a nice picture of such a common bird.

I have spent the last week enjoying the company of my 4 year old grand daughter, what a treat.  This has obviously prevented me from going about my usual " very selfish" obsession with birds and bird photography.  However, I always talk to her about birds  and I took her to the bird hide at Darts Farm to let her look through my binos. She was excited and did actually enjoy the idea of being able to see things nearer.... (her words).  We saw a nice Little Egret and then she remembered later  that it had black legs with yellow feet and also that it was white and that it was looking for little fish.  Not bad for a 4 year old I don't think.  She can identify a Kingfisher from paintings and photographs and  when she was  only 2 years old, we sat in a hide and watched a Kingfisher from just a few feet away, she is well and truly brainwashed!!  As we drove back up the muddy track past the field of sunflowers, a massive free meal for all the birds with the wit to find them, we saw several Wood pigeon that were balancing on the flower heads and making the best of the feast.   We stopped the car and took lots of nice portraits.  We should all applaud the owners of Darts Farm for putting the hide there and allowing free access  and also for planting the sunflowers, if only every business had the same green ethos.  I haven't been asked to do it but I recommend that you visit Darts Farm, let your wife shop then you go to the hide, or obviously, the other way around and then you both use the cafe, chip shop or restaurant,  a nice way to spend a few hours.  There's even an RSPB shop.  The RSPB will give you the impression that they are responsible for the hide here but that is not the case. 

 

 

Bella's Egret.

 On the trip  to the Midlands today we travelled up the M5 and at Michael Wood Services, yet again there was a small flock of Gulls.  It was just brilliant to see,  amongst the very familiar Black-headed Gulls, there were 3 adult and one first winter Common Gull. My grand daughter took great delight in feeding them with crisps and cake from the car window.  I was disappointed and angry with myself that I hadn't taken my camera because I would have got some great photos of this bird, called  "Common Gull" but to be honest, you will normally not get this close to them  this easily, but I have photographed them previously, in 2011 for example..... click here to see photographs

 

I have just seen an amazing piece on the BBC about trees cutting air pollution.  Having recently lost the 25 year old 30 foot high large apple tree from  the adjoining  garden which was a tragedy and then even more recently,  a massive Torbay Palm from the other adjoining  garden it makes me wonder even more, why would they do that? Also sadly, I haven't seen a finch  in the garden so far this Autumn,  whereas in previous years the garden had been full of bird life. It's very, very  sad.