Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipits are a species that spends the winter in Africa and returns to the UK in spring to breed. I have absolutely no difficulty in  finding them at this time of the year because they always sing and display when they first arrive and they are very easy to see. Their song is attractive and, in the right habitat (see picture below),  a real feature of a bright sunny day.

I am really fond of this area, look how beautiful it is, the scenery is stupendous, it's unbelievably quiet and the whole area is full of bird song. As I sat there this afternoon, in perfect peace with the sun shining and  the air as fresh as it could be, I could hear birdsong constantly. Several Tree Pipits, a Whitethroat, Linnets, Yellowhammer and Willow Warbler.  There was a pair of Stonechats that obviously had a nest somewhere nearby and probably with quite well advanced youngsters. Buzzards were soaring overhead and I could hear a Green Woodpecker from time to time.

Having checked my calendar, I realised that the Dipper nest that I had found last month should contain young birds about to fledge. When I got there it was obvious that everything had progressed really well and the young dippers were still in the nest and being fed by both parents who were visiting the nest every few minutes with beaks full of food. Items included small fish, and various invertebrates.

I have photographed a Dipper with a small fish before so I wasn't surprised to see small fish being brought to the nest. I can't see what species of fish this is.

Great spotted Woodpecker

I have had a very mixed week this week, some amazing things and a few real disappointments so to get to watch Great spotted Woodpecker at it's nest has been a real treat. I have to confess that this has been something that I have been trying to achieve for the last few years so the other day when I saw a woodpecker disappearing in to it's nest hole, I was thrilled. I positioned a hide overlooking the nest and then retreated for a few days to leave the birds in peace. When I went back today I trained the camera on to the hole, and with the camera in live view, I sat back and waited. After only a short while I heard the distinctive call of a woodpecker and sat real still, watching the LCD screen on the camera intently. Suddenly there was the bird on the bark of the tree, creeping up to the hole. Unfortunately there is a fee leaves and twigs closer to the camera than the tree and this has caused a bit of ghosting on the image but I am sure once I am there with the sun shining, I am going to record some action. This is the male bird by the way. Males have a red patch on the nape as you cane see. Female's have no red on the head but newly fledged Woodpeckers have red on the head. I have seen some pretty spectacular photos of woodpeckers at the nest over the years and I know that I am going to be able to add some of my own as the season continues.

 

Crossley Guide

I came accross an interesting piece on the BTO website today.  It shows a page from the Crossley Field Guide of British Birds.

Crossley Field Guides are a new innovative guide series which shows photographs of birds in their natural habitat in the way that you would see birds in their natural habitat.

I was pleased to see the inclusion, and why?  Because a few of my photographs of Dartford Warbler are the main images of the Dartford Warbler page. I remember taking the photographs, in fact the actual moment in time, so to see them now published and being shown not only in the guide, but online and all around the world is very satisfying to me. Incidently the author Mark Crossley contacted me to ask if he could use my images and then sent me a signed copy, so all in all, a nice thing to be involved in. Here is the page and beneath is the original image.

 

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Tawny Owls in Devon woodland.

I had a remarkably successful day today, simply wonderful. It isn't often that I even see a Tawny Owl let alone photograph one but today was a special day. As if owls were not enough, I had discovered an active Great Spotted Woodpecker nest and spent 2 hours sitting watching this nest while my friends, who own this spectacular property were watching the  owlets that they had discovered high in a tree earlier, in the morning. They came to try and find me in the woodland but because I was camouflaged, they just couldn't discover whee I was tucked away. I returned to my car to find a note on the window to tell me to come quickly. The owlets were pointed out to me and I eventually spotted them, much bigger and much higher up in the tree than I had expected. Once I locked on to them, they sat still while I took some portraits but it was hard with the back light not being ideal for a glorious shot. When I got home I could see that I had something to work with.   Tawny Owls are our most common Owl, heard more often than seen due to their nocturnal habbits and their amazing camouflage.  Once you are lucky enough to see one in their day roost, in common with other owls they will remain on the perch, confident in their own camouflage. I have had a quick "surf" around the net to try to learn a little more about this species and have read several times, the same information which is one of the dangers of the internet, information whether correct or not gets recycled constantly. I therefore try to only report and write from my own personal observations. I can accept that incubation may be 30 plus days and fledging around the same length of time but the constant suggestion that egg laying commences in April and May is patently incorrect.

I read a very interesting piece from the British Trust for Ornithology about early breeding in Tawny Owls which you can read here.The parents of these newly fledged birds must have commenced egg laying as early as late February at the very latest.  Either this is very early for the species or is this  the norm?  My friends, as I have said before, maintain their land to create a wildlife haven which is the perfect habitat for owls. 2 species of owls breed on the property and recently a Short Eared Owl, present, on and off for the last month or more has been seen (as recently as the 23 April). These birds feed on voles, the fields and paddocks are especially maintained to provide perfect cover for voles even down to the correct species of grass. Numerous nest boxes for owls, kestrels and song birds are placed strategically around, as well as bat boxes. I was thrilled to see how excited they both were to see the owls even though they have had owls breeding here, both Barn Owls and Tawnies repeatedly for year upon year. Obviously when you put so much effort in to something... in fact your life..... and then see the fruits of your labours, it must give you a massive thrill. All that hard work and planning paying off. As if the owls were not enough there are several ponds and a lake left to be a perfect habitat for dragonflies and pond life. The lake had very recently attracted a Common Sandpiper and the deer, judging by tracks in the mud by the water, use the lake to drink. Salt licks are put out for the deer!  The grasses are supplemented by wildflowers, specifically chosen to encourage butterflies. Stoats, Foxes, Badgers and Grass Snake are all seen regularly.  A true wildlife haven. 

But back to  the owlets!  As I photographed these three beauties, one of the adults called from opposite the small copse. It then flew in to the tree and then away again, the owlets followed on one by one to cross the copse which confirmed that these young birds can fly and quite strongly too. This gave me great views of the adult bird. I saw where it had perched by visually following the direction of the youngsters but even though I searched the trees opposite for an age, I still couldn't see it, proving what great camouflage they have.

 

Treecreeper - Certhia familiaris

Treecreepers are a species that I do not get the chance to photograph very often so when I heard one singing in a wood today, I lingered for a while in the hope that I would be able to grab a picture or two. This proved to be the case and after a lot of patience, I managed my best ever photographs of this species. Treecreepers have a very interesting beak, long, curved and finely pointed which means that they can extract food from deep crevices and cracks beneath bark and moss on tree trunks. Their plumage is interesting as well, it's cryptic, that means it's camouflaged and blends in perfectly with tree bark. They also have an interesting tail which is heavily forked. But if you look at the tails of woodpeckers, you can see that there are similarities. The tail is used to support the bird by stiffly pressing up against the bark as it ascends the tree. They also have a habit of working up a tree from the bottom to the top and never climb down the trunk, unlike Nuthatches for example that will do that.  Just look at their sharp long claws that will help it to hang on while it creeps up the tree.  The claws are also interesting because the species of Treecreeper here in the UK is different than continental birds. The species there is the Short Toed Treecreeper.  You might be interested to know that the Treecreepers on the Chanel Island of Jersey are  the Short toed Treecreeper,  where there are  thought to be around 500 pairs there.

This Blog

The astute readers of my blog will know that I use Typepad as my Blog server. It seems that they have been coming under attack since last Thursday and they only been able to offer a limited access to users like myself. This last few days have been very frustrating because I have not been able to post as normal, but thankfully I am on line at the moment, as normal, but for how long, nobody knows..  My Blog has been active since 2008 and has thousands of pages and thousands of photographs and it would be a travesty if all this information was lost.... I certainly hope that doesnt happen.

Chiffchaffs

Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler….? The perennial question but it's not hard to tell the difference with a bit of experience. The more you see them the easier they are to separate. They just look different and usually they will be singing and then there is absolutely no likelihood of confusion. In my opinion, Willow Warblers are a more delicate little bird and usually they have flesh coloured legs whereas the Chiffchaff as you can see, has dark legs. But beware because this is not always the case and it is not a certain way of making sure.  The stripe above the eye is called the supercillium, a word often used by ornithologists and serious birders.  Both Chiffchaffs and Willows have a supercillium.  

Heres' a Willow Warbler that I phoographed in Gambia earlier in the month. It was a nice surprise to see this bird in Africa, (where they over winter),   when I know the species so well in the UK.  You can see how easy it would be to confuse them but look carefully, the suppercillium is more pronounced and the legs are fleshy coloured and the bird as a feel of being longer whereas the Chiffchaff is a little bit stockier.  Beware though, light conditions play a massive part in the colour of a bird when they are photographed.

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) Exminster Marsh Devon

I went back  quite early to Exminster Marsh this morning, in the hope of getting a better photograph of the Lesser Whitethroat that I had seen yesterday. I did see and hear this little bird again  but unfortunately, today I couldn't get close enough for a  photograph. It spent most of the time in the trees and bushes opposite and over the railway line.  I listened to a Linnet singing from the brambles just opposite as well and in the really gorgeous early morning light, I photographed It as it sang.   I used my Pentax Prime 300 lens with a new 1.4 convertor.  This gives me an equivalent of 420 bout the quality is very good and there is the added bonus of being able to focus down to just a few feet, unlike my 500 prime lens which is a good lens but only focuses down to 15 feet. I just loved the early morning golden light which was about as perfect as it could be I think.

 

As I walked back down the track there was a pair of Long tail Tits that had a territory somewhere near the path. They kept returning to the same area and I took some lovely photographs of them when they were very close to me.

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Twite in West Yorkshire

I have family in Huddersfield and a couple of times of year I make a visit. I was only there for 24 hours over the weekend but still long enough to go out for a short session late on Sunday evening and also a dawn visit on Monday before we started our epic journey back to Devon later on Monday. I am aware of a spot on the Penine Moors near to Meltham where at this time of the year you have a good chance of seeing Twite, a very vulnerable and now rare finch. They are unusual in that they are strictly seed eating birds (along with linnet). They are very dependant on the right kind of habitat which provides them with the correct and specific seed diet. Changes in farming practises has led to a recent 90% decline in their numbers. They are not often photographed compared to other species because they are not that easy to see let alone get close enough to.

Lesser Whitethroat Exminster Marsh Devon

I was chatting on the telephone to my friend Dave Stone yesterday evening after I had just returned from Yorkshire…..I had photographed Twite there by the way….. Dave asked me if I had seen his photograph of lesser Whitethroat? This is not a bird I have seen very often and I certainly haven't photographed one before so I suggested that I meet him in the early morning today and we would go and see if we could find it again to get a photograph. I am glad to say that we were successful and I am grateful to Dave, in my opinion a brilliant birder. We traced it by call and and when it perched on an elder tree in the open for just a few seconds, I managed to get a photograph. I can now add yet another species to my Devon Bird Gallery which now numbers 205 different species. I have some notable absentees from the gallery such as Wryneck, Puffin, Yellow Browed Warbler and most of the Skua species so I am confident to get to 250 eventually. You can look at the gallery of Devon Birds Here

Dartord Warbler

While the rest of Devon was out at Beer Head either "twitching" or photographing the Great Spotted Cuckoo seen there today, I had already left, as soon as the sun came out, to see if I could find Dartford Warbler at my Schedule 1 License site. I was pleased to see Datfords but when I got home, disappointed that I had missed such as special bird. The last time one had been in Devon was 20 years ago. Lets hope that its still there tomorrow.

Short-eared Owl, Mid Devon

I returned, just after dawn, to the site of yesterday's Short-eared Owl, however it was raining and quite hard at times, I wasnt hopeful and so it proved becaue after 2 hours sat in the rain, it didnt put in  an appearance today.  I have added more pictures from yesterday now that I have had time to sort through them.

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Short-eared Owl, Mid Devon

I know that this picture is going to be a little controversial but I simply can't divulge the site where it was taken because it is private land and the owner would be most unhappy if I did. Having returned home from my West Africa trip I was just settling down to relax for the late afternoon after doing a bit of gardening and other domestics. I had an email from my friend telling me that there was a Short-eared Owl feeding in the paddock very close to their farm house and asking me if I was interested. "Of course" was my reply and I quickly got myself organised and left in a hurry, full of anticipation. When I got there I was told that the bird had been seen throughout the day and only half an hour before it had been on it's favourite perching post, close to the hedgerow. he field hard been prepared over the years to provide a perfect habitat for Barn Owls and is left at the optimum length to make it an ideal habitat for voles. It seems that this was perfect for Short Eared Owls as well. I got myself settled in a Gilly Suit and covered with cam netting to wait it out, I had already been there for an hour and had decided that I was going to sit it out till dusk if that's what it was going to take. Then suddenly, there it was, a brilliant sight and I tingled with excitement. I couldn't believe how glorious it was. It left the post and was quartering the field in front of me, I could see everything really well. I had a grandstand seat!