Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Cattle Egret Friday

After a search today that went on for hours I finally located the Cattle Egret again late this afternoon. I stood around waiting for it to come a little closer to me. Finally the battery ran out on my camera so this was the best I got. Significantly better than yesterdays effort. They are very photogenic as well as rare so I am quite pleased with the results so far. Sorry but yet another Black-tailed Godwit photo, couldn't resist posting because it was such a nice one!

This is a Migrant Hawker Dragonfly, in the cool conditions there were several settled on the reeds trying to soak up sun but very inactive. If you watched carefully you could see them vibrating their wings in an effort to generate some heat.

Carrion Crow

I watched this Carrion Crow this afternoon. Not often do crows allow you to get close, as I watched it regurgitaded a ball from the throat the way that owls cough up pellets of indigestable food. If you look close you can see on the mantle, thats the are between the shoulders, new bluer feathers but still brown juvenile feathers remain. This would indicate that this is a post-juvenile bird about to go through it's first winter.

Little Egret

The Black Headed Gull was having a bath. Amasing how many birds bathe in salt water.

I stumbled on this Chiffchaff which is a juvenile. You can tell that by the bright plumage and Chiffchaff by black legs.

Whimbrel

A trip to the Marsh early evening was a quiet affair. There was no sign of the Sandpipers nor too much of real interest at first. As I was about to leave I noticed some largish waders at the back of a pool, in fact the same pool that had been the favourite of the Spoonbill which was with us for half of July. I expected them to be Black Tailed Godwits but a look through the binos told me that they were in fact Whimbrel. At first I was only aware of 2 then these were joined quite quickly by another and then another until there were seven in total. If you notice from the photo which I took on the 6 May you can see how similar to Curlew they are. But they are smaller. Whenever I see a bird like this I ask myself "Why have they suddenly turned up, where from and where are they going"? Well it turns out that they have probably arrived from their breeding grounds in Iceland. It is known that migrating Whimbrel, who breed in the arctic spend the winter in West Africa, Senegal for example. They have known staging posts where they stop on the way to feed and get some strength before they continue onwards and south, and of course in May they were doing the trip in reverse. Here is a link to a good site with lots of information about a staging post in the Derwent Valley, Yorkshire. Have a look, there is a good explanation about what is happening. Now this throws up a very fascinating scene. These Whimbrel observed today have just arrived here, as I said probably from Iceland but why fly further south to Devon, why not stay with the other birds in Yorkshire and other parts further North. It does illustrate just how important our little bit of reserve at Exminster is. If the weather holds tomorrow I may go and see if I can get a closer photo of this small flock which could be bigger by then.

Black Tailed Godwit

I have been observing Black-Tailed Godwits - Limosa limosa for the last two weeks and now we have a small flock of around 14 or so. These birds are adults and in lovely summer plumage. As you can see from the photographs they are extremely smart and well marked. But where do they come from, why have they suddenly arrived here earlier than other migrating waders? A little bit of research has indicated that these birds are probably a sub species Limosa limosa iclandica and as the name suggests breed in Iceland. They leave their breeding grounds in mid July and August and earlier if they are not successful breeders. The vast majority stay in Southern Ireland but others choose to continue on to Devon and other parts of the UK. I havn't observed any colour rung birds but I am on the look out for any such individual as this would be a way of confirming there origin. They are monogamous and even when over-wintering miles apart still return and breed with their lifelong mates. How amazing is that!

Migrant Hawker/ Green Sandpiper/ Black-tailed Godwit

The Migrant Hawker is an impressive Dragonfly. This one was photographed today in a lane, but close to water on Exminster Marsh. I was even able to pick it up without doing him any harm, and had a really good look at him before he perched on my hand and then flew off again safely.
Also today very good views of 2 Wood Sandpiper and a few Green Sandpipers, the photo is o a Green in flight as well as this photo of a Black Tailed Godwit coming in to join it's flock on a pool.

Spoonbill sketch

A quick sketch of the Spoonbill seen on Exminster Marsh over the last month.

Wood Sandpiper

My chase for the Wood Sandpiper came to a successful conclusion today. As I have been saying for a few days, there has been one around on the marsh for a week or so and I had not been sure if I had seen because I was not sure how much they differ to Green Sandpiper. Well the long and short of it is, no I havn't seen it before today. Again I bumped into one of those really clever birdwatchers who can not only spot a gnat at 500 mtrs but tell you what it had for dinner as well. It turns out that Wood Sandpipers are really quite different to Greens and I have a photo to prove that fact. The one on the left is the Wood Sandpiper and the one on the right a Green. Notice how chubby the Green is compared to the much more slender Wood. Also notice how white the undrsides are on the Green and also how there is no clear division between breast and belly colour. I am still quite confident that I can get a closer shot and that is my quest for the next few days or so.

Sandpipers at Exminster

I take my hat off to those birdwatchers who can accurately identify, with ease and certainty the difference between the various less seen Sandpipers. We have had the pleasure of a few Green Sandpipers and the odd Wood Sandpiper on the Marsh over the last week and I have been getting photos of them. I have to say though that even with reasonably good photos I find it hard to tell the difference between Wood and Green. I know that the first photo here is a Green because I have had it confirmed by the team at Rare Bird Web Site but if you look at the next photo you can deffinately see a difference in theses two birds. But, is this because one is a youngster/opposite sex or some other reason. If you know perhaps you can let us all know.

Spoonbill..... still here!

I was very surprised at around 5.30 this wet dreary evening when I bumped into my "old friend" or should I say young friend the multi-colour rung Spoonbill. I had been told that he was still being seen but it seems that he has settled down well now and rather than be lonely taken to moving around with a nice egret for company. He was in a totally new pool, not seen him there before, and was disturbed by some walkers on a path that runs nearby.He took to the air and even though he was in the distance I still managed to get a good shot of him up there. Later on from my quiet little corner I was watching Black Headed Gulls waiting for the Green Sandpipers to come closer and perhaps even the reported Wood Sandpiper when all the birds started to act in a strange way. There was a few odd calls and the gulls took to the air for no apparent reason. A quick glance around revealed a Sparrowhawk perched in the open on one of the wooden structures. I did get some record shots but the light by this time was very very dull and I was unable to get any kind of reasonable photo at all. So be content with another look at the Spoonbill and this interesting association with the Egret. It gives you a good idea of the comparative sizes if you have never seen them before. The bat recording was not so successful tonight with only a quick snatch of one bat sound and in fact I only managed to catch a glimpse of 2. This would indicate perhaps male Pippistrelle who roost in smaller numbers than breeding females.

Bat Sounds and Green Sandpiper

A brand new addittion to the blog today....... sound! Not just sound but a recording of a Pippistrelle Bat this evening on my brand new Bat Detector. We have had bats for as long as I can remember and as its my birthday tomorrow my family bought me a Magenta bat Detector. These little gadgets convert high frequency sounds made by bats into lower frequencies that are audible to humans. I am sure its a bit more complicated than that but roughly speaking thats what happens. It was quite a thrill at dusk to stand in the garden and hear the bats fir the first time in my life. Then by comparing previously recorded sounds on the net I am able to narrow it down to a particular species. As well as just the sound the Pipistrelle is the most likely bat to have in a suburban garden environment. My occupation is Audio Recording so with the software and equipment that I already own it was a simple matter to include it here. So watch or should I say listen to this space! Just click on the black box here and it will play. I will take the recorder and detector out onto the River and Canal so that we can have a listen to some other species to make a good comparison

In addition this evening the weather cleared for an hour at dusk so I went out onto the marsh and took this photo of a Green Sandpiper. Apparently there are Wood Sandpiper present as well. I met the warden who confirmed that this was a Green but I am sure if the Wood sticks around I will be able to post some photos of that. This Green Sandpiper was one of three tonight. I first saw them on Saturday evening but didn't manage a good enough photo. I guessed that they were not Common Sandpiper but wasn't absolutely sure to be honest. Tonight the light was fading but this bird did come out into the open for a while but with just a bit of sun this could have been such a good shot. It was very interesting in flight , very dark and almost arrow like with a contrasting white underside. The camo clothing did it's stuff as I am sure that this bird had no idea that I was near by.

Butterflies and a Spoonbil

Bird activity is a little quieter this week but still lots of insect activity and I have had a really good week for Butterflies and Dragonflies. probably the best sighting and photograph has been this White Admiral. My very first sighting of this Butterfly and I was pleased to get a few photos as well. Click on each thumb to open up a large image.
next is a Large Skipper, a daft name if you ask me as it is a tiny little butterfly. This one was on Dartmoor today.
The Silver Washed Fritillary was seen yesterday on the edge of a small wood. I had really good sightings and took some pleasing snaps.

Next a Comma.

Finally a Ringlet.
The Spoonbill is still on Exminster Marsh. I paid a visit tonight and II was very surprised to see it etill there. I am sure that other like minded people are not aware that it is still about. I hung around in the hope that it may come a bit closer but it stayed at the far edge of the scrape. Here is a photo taken today

Early morning

I decided to get up at sunrise to visit the marsh again to see if I could see the Spoobbills and get a good photo of them together. As I approached the pool at around 5.30 they were both still there along with 5 Little Egrets. Egrets are easily spooked in my experience and they immediately took exception to my presence and flew off. This seamed to disturb the Spoonbills as well and the adult bird left with them. After a while the original bird returned and I got this shot as it came in to land. It didn't stay long and flew off North, landing still inside the RSPB reserve but quite a distance away. Later, after 10 minutes or so it took to the air again and flew deeper into the reserve. At around 7 my patience was exhausted, not to mention my lack of coffee and breakfast! The weather was still disappointing and dull so I never did get that really good in flight shot that I was looking for. Never the less its been a great weeks birdwatching and photographing in Devon with Mediterranean Gull, Spoonbill and Ruff seen and photographed as well as a Southern Hawker Dragonfly and in Wales last Friday, Red Kite.

Spoonbill pair!

At 8 this evening I had a quick trip out to the marsh to see if the Spoonbill had reappeared. Not only was it there but now joined by another and as I watched them in the fading light another flew in as if to land but decided against it when it saw me, turning in flight and disappearing into the distance. The "new" bird is an adult complete with plumes on the head and yellowish tinge to the throat. I tried very hard to get a quality photo but it was so dreary these are the best I could get. What a shame that I wasnt set up as they came into land. This was hand held and at a slow shutter speed!

Spoonbill - Platalea leucorodia

Today has been one of those special bird days for me. My first Spoonbill and a Mediterranean Gull .... more about that bird tomorrow ....... all in one day. I will find it hard to portray in words the excitement at seeing my first Spoonbill, another one of those birds that has an almost mystical quality for me. If you haven't seen one then photographs and video just can't do them justice. To give a real sense of the moment I need to describe the event in detail. Exminster Marsh (click here for a map) is quite large and there are areas where birds as big as a heron could be for days or even weeks and never be spotted because the whole area is available to bird watchers only from the track and path that circles the perimeter. So, as I made my way at around 8.30 to the car park I scanned the pools and flooded areas close to the road and path for a noticeable large white bird! Almost immediately I could see a white shape in a pool very near to the road and quite close to the car parking area. I remember saying to myself that this was it and I was right because there it was as large as life and only some twenty yards from me .........well perhaps 25........ doing what spoonbills do. That is wade through the shallow water and very vigourously shake it's head from side to side sifting through the mud for invertebrates and what have you to feed upon. From time to time it would lift it's head and toss back some morsel into the throat. It seemed so natural in this environment and it was hard to imagine that it was such a scarce bird because it seemed so well suited here. The conditions couldn't have been better, clear air, blue skys and bright sun. Photographs were easy to take and I set the camera in a dozen different ways to make sure I had got at least one good one. There are some shots here on my Flickr galleries. After 20 minutes or so of feeding in this way it rested asleep for a while before resuming feeding again. This time my heart raced as it worked through water and got closer and closer to me and the road. This, as you can imagine gave me the chance for some really close photos. It became aware of me and casually, and comically made it's way back to it's original resting place.
Have a look at the VIDEO here to see the marsh and the feeding behaviour of the bird. The other birds in the video are Black Tailed Godwits in summer plumage, very interesting birds, not extremely rare but well worth a mention. This little flock has been around for a few days perhaps a couple of weeks. There was also an immature Ruff
A mention should go to the nice couple I met from Honiton ..... the Smiths .......... I hope you like the blog, it was nice to meet you please check back as often as you can and let me know what you have been seeing.

STOP PRESS: I have just been contacted by Steve Hinton via BirdGUIDES who recognises the bird (note the leg rings) as the same individual seen on the Ogmore Estuary, South Wales on 7 July 2008. Seems our bird gets around a bit!. As the spoonbill flies, in a straight line that is approximately 48 miles, I think it could probably do that in about an hour! Great to be able to contribute to science like this.