Grey day

An early start at the weekend in the hope of catching redstart and/or pied flycatcher before the showers closed in. Caught the sun and had enjoyable, but distant views of a redstart singing his little cotton socks off at the tp of a tall tree.

The clouds had closed in by the time I reached Cannop ponds, but the grey wagtail and Mandarin ducks down on the stream were some recompense.

I found the perfect perch for a woodland bird to display against the bluebell carpet, but unsurprisingly none did.

The siskins had brought a juvenile to the feeders at the stoneworks - just a shame the portacabin background is a bit utilitarian. Pass me my photoshop ..........................

Wetland warblers and a home birth

My first trip for a while to Newport Wetlands. I'd heard that the numbers of Cetti's warbelrs was down, and certainly there seemed to be a lot fewer than last year, presumably due to the harder winter? The whitethroats seemed to be making up for it however. I gather they can be a boom and bust species, and this year they seem to be doing pretty well.
There were still some unpaired sedge warblers singing their little hearts out. Earlier in the year I thought how attractive the flowering blackthorn was with the mass of white flowers on the leafless stems, but now the hawthorn with flowers and leaves at the same time just looks so much more ...... well, more.
Down at the cafe the goslings were looking suitably cute, and almost made up for the fact that they've stopped selling bacon butties. I was offered a bacon and something panini, but come on guys. They'll be putting doilies on the tables next. Thank goodness they still sell black coffee.
At home we had the first fledgling sparrows on the lawn - hopefully one of our broods from the nest boxes, but I haven't had a chance to sit and watch them to confirm this.

I try, but the birds don't read the script!

On Saturday I headed back to Marshfield, still hoping for a decent corn bunting picture. Despite previous plans it was a struggle again. They are quite wary birds, quick to see you. They still use the bush to sing from, but hide on the far side. I did notice this one use these teasels a couple of times though. There wasn't any cover, but the next morning I was back early with some camo net and positioned myself (lying down)on one of the piles of topsoil dumped nearby. Whatever I might have looked like it wasn't a person! As you can see the light was from the right angle and the view should have been ideal. After what seemed an age (certainly well over an hour) the bunting flew in, swerved, and started singing just out of view. A quick adjustment and there it was, 3 feet off the mark. You can see what the shot could have been ............................
Sadly it didn't reappear despite another long wait- the motocross event and all the traffic probably didn't help. Que sera sera. after a few days I'm starting to wonder if it's worth just one more try. For. Glutton. Punishment. Please feel free to arrange in your own order.
Chastened at the time, on Monday I headed for the Forest in search of 1) Wood warbler and 2) anything else that came my way. Not brilliant warbler pics - grey day meant high ISO, but they'll do for starters - this is a new species for me.

When I was a kid I remember reading a description of the way small birds will mob a roosting owl. Chris Grady had told me about finding an owl that way, and finally it happened to me. I could hear several different species making a row in the trees away from the path, so in I went. Narrowly avoiding a broken ankle as I stumbled along I found the source - and was delighted to find it was indeed an owl. My first ever roosting tawny. Very high up and no good for pics, but I was still chuffed.

As usual some better quality pics in the 'latest pictures' web album HERE. I've also added some more shots to the USA blog HERE.

Florida shots

For those who are interested I've set up a separate blog to post my (too many) Florida snaps. The first new post, and links to some old ones is now on HERE.

An imperial mistake

There are still times when I think I've taken a good snap, but when I get back to the PC I'm disappointed. If I've misjudged the light, or struggled with marginal wobble from a handheld exposure it's easier to see it as a learning point. When it's because I've simply cocked up it's harder to bear. For the second time this year I went in search of hawfinch. Makes about 8 or 9 hours in the hide. And finally a lovely female arrived, and posed quite well. On very first glance shots not too bad, but then I realised the quality wasn't right. In messing about with my (fairly)new camera, trying to read the small screen I'd set it to take 2.5MP RAW shots. Why on earth would they set the camera to even be able to do it!! I've learnt the lesson alright, but it's a real shame. Still she's pretty enough .........

.... if you like your birds to have a big pair of mandibles! Just look at that frontage!I'll stick the shots on the 'latest pictures' web album anyway - anything looks better than the blogger shots (although I may make some progress on that front soon, thanks to some guidance from Rich Steel. Now there's a man who does know how to take a good photo - just look at these fabulous grasshopper warbler shots HERE).

In Search of a Corn Blob

Ever since I 'found' Marshfield last year I've been hankering to try and get a better shot of a corn bunting (corn blob is the Yorkshire name). You just don't see them most places these days, but the website revealed they were being consistently seen. They're not really exciting to look at - the name bunting originally described a plump or thickset person, which is apt - and colour-wise they are streaky brown. But I wanted to snap one, so back it was to the high ground.
On Saturday I saw a few, but realised the problems that the light was going to pose. All the perches I found where I felt I could wait in sufficiently close ambush were on the south side of the accessible land, and the fact that we did have some sun meant the lighting was all wrong. I did manage a rather distant shot, and took great pleasure in seeing my first wheatear and swallow of the year, but photo-wise it was basically yellowhammer and a rather tame chaffinch.
I stuck a branch in the end of a hedge where I'd seen one showing a couple of times - the books say they like to sing from elevated perches - and resolved to come back for a couple of hours the next day.
I arrived in fog. The buntings were there, the light wasn't ...
and when I first got out the car one was on the branch. Success. Not!
Despite a long wait I couldn't get it to use the branch again. Maybe I was too obvious, but later in the day the same bird happily sang from a few feet over my head. It sat on the hedge near the branch, but never went back up. A goldfinch in cliched teasel pose felt scant reward.
Eventually I got a few shots (from the portable hide I have made by Honda) and the light although quite harsh and awkwardly directed turned out to be better than I feared when I got the shots on the PC.
I know I can get better, and now think I know (probably) the two potentially best places to try. But that's for another day.

As always better quality shots in the 'latest pictures' album HERE.

Chiffs Chaffing

After a couple of weeks away in the Florida sunshine the first bird I heard singing in the car park at Gatwick was a chiff chaff, and somehow it didn't seem too bad to be back after all.

Some pics of his transatlantic cousins to follow when I'm a bit more sorted. I have to admit this little fellow is a touch drab compared to a painted bunting, but at least I got a decent view of this one.