Shoreline twitters

Photographing shorebirds is, it seems to me, mostly dependent on getting in the right place before the birds. If you know a spot they go and can get positioned in advance they often come into range. However when the birds are few in number and the feeding area potentially large this doesn't work. A trip to Severn Beach on a day with sun between the clouds held some promise, but the large number of anglers meant that the spots I would usually look at were not options.
I did find a few birds, but then had the fun of trying to get near enough to take some pictures. In the end, after a bit of crawling and narrowly missing some dog guano I got a spot and the birds, now hemmed in by the high tide, decided to put up with my presence. Ringed plover, turnstone and a solitary dunlin.
High tide is a time when the birds have a break, at least it is here where the tide was high enough to cover any feeding areas. My mind wandered a bit, and I got to thinking about Twitter. You see I just don't get it. My blog is, let's face it, a piece of vanity. I infrequently put into it things that might be deemed 'educational'. Most of it is a diary with pictures, that I'm sufficiently arrogant to think people will look at. And some do (thank you).
But Twitter allows you to type only 140 characters. Really, how interesting can most people's lives be to expect others to read 140 characters? Twitter says the question is 'What are you doing'? The answer might be 'Who cares'. But then I don't get all this 'texting' either and that's much the same I suppose. It's probably middle aged male communication that lies at the root of the issue (Mars and Venus and all that). I'll say something if there is a purpose, but otherwise the words blood and stone come to mind. Or so I'm gently reminded on a not infrequent basis!!

Anyway it struck me that the pictures above are a record of the sort of Groundhog Day life these birds lead, with a high tide Twitter that might be:

Tide came in. Feet getting wet so moved. Preening and stretching. Waiting. Snoozed. Waiting. Having a walk. Waiting. Waiting.

Did you notice the clever way I didn't type snoozing, but snoozed? You see the bird couldn't type while it was actually snoozing could it?

Drivel over. As always better views in the Latest Pictures web album HERE

I could get into this ................

For my birthday last year (a notable one) Kay bought me, well us, a day doing something I'd always fancied - falconry. This week we finally got to go - waited for the weather to settle again you see -and I wasn't disappointed. We went to the Welsh Hawking Centre at Barry, and had a really enjoyable and relaxed day. In the morning a chance to see some of the birds, ask loads of questions, tie one handed falconer's knots, etc. After a good lunch we watched one of the two displays they do each day and then had a go ourselves.

At first it has to be said Kay was a bit apprehensive - this was one of the more relaxed looking shots! -
but by the end of the day she wasn't phased at all.
In fact not only did she get used to the birds she even held bits of chick over my camera while I was trying for some flight shots of ................ well let's not get ahead of ourselves.
The eagle owl was a beauty. Big enough to photograph easily in flight
and who could resist those eyes.
Next up for the display was a young Harris Hawk - not even in mature plumage yet (compare it to the adult shown above and later), and displaying after only a few weeks of training. I guess it helps to know what you are doing.
The highlight of the display was the superb flying skills of the member of staff, Chris, with his radio controlled plane (what..............?)
and the peregrine that Griff sent after the lure it was towing. This could only work with a skilled pilot, but it was breathtaking to watch. I didn't manage to get any good enough shots of the one stoop it made, but it was much nearer for views of the planned level flight 'hit' - the lure was on a release mechanism and small parachute. In the second and third shots the bird looks as though it's surfing!
It landed right in front of me and immediately reacted to protect it's prize. Griff then tempted it onto something more edible.
Back to the centre to rest
and then a bath.
Finally our turn. Over lunch we had been talking barn owls, so when we were offered the chance to fly one I didn't hesitate. He was gorgeous
but so much slighter than you might think.

In flight he just glided, buffeted a bit by the wind but so graceful. Kay's kind mashed chick holding helped to get this shot, but more practice is needed here on my part. The bird knew what to do though, and kept landing on the camera.
Onto Griff junior's glove for a feed
after a bit of a detour. Brilliant. Loved it. Want one.
[A rare shot - I'm in it - perhaps even a first for the blog? Look - my six pack has migrated forwards 6"!]
To finish we went for a walk with a Harris Hawk. Bit like walking a dog! It flitted through the trees and bushes, coming over now and again for some tidbits. Again great fun.
When it was being fed at the end it showed very well the 'mantling' pose they learn as youngsters to guard their food from their siblings. Possibly more exaggerated in this Harris Hawk as they hunt in groups in the wild.
As he relaxed his table manners left a bit to be desired though!

So there we are. If you've ever thought of giving it a go I'd say go for it. I really don't think you'd regret it.

As always bigger and better views in the web album HERE

Make up your own!

A combination of painting the house and 'gardening' (a bit slash and burn in truth!) has limited time in the field recently, but did have the advantage of getting the garden birds more used to our presence. The following shots were taken standing in full view of one of our feeders. The light was a bit tricky, but a few worked enough to post.

I'm no oil painting but ..........

News of another black redstart - a female this time - on the local shoreline had me down at Caldicot Pill last weekend. I knew roughly where to look, and sure enough after walking up and down a few times she appeared and proceeded to 'show well' as the birders say.
At first glance in these blog-sized pictures she's fairly cute looking, but if you click HERE and look at the larger versions you will see that a) she's mid-moult and pretty dishevelled and b) this is my third bird this year with a crossed bill. Like the others (robin and mockingbird) there was no indication she was failing to thrive, but it has to be said she is not the prettiest specimen!

I was playing around on the interweb trying to find an angle for this post - for example looking at definitions to see if anything came up:

Ugly: Offensive to the sight; contrary to beauty; being of disagreeable or loathsome aspect; unsightly; repulsive; deformed. [1913 Webster]

when I found this website about bizarre looking creatures http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/. These aren't deformed animals but, as the website says, as nature or their owners intended. It's worth a look. As an example the video on this particular post caught my eye.

http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/2009/08/velvet-worm-vs-beetle.html#links

Spots 'n stripes

Recent pictures seem to be stripey .......

Sparrowhawk
Sedge warbler
Wren
or, the 'star' of the show - spotty.

Spotted crake at Greylake RSPB reserve.
The crake was a tricky one to snap, not just because of the reeds and the backlighting, but because (like my efforts at photographing brambling) the head just never seems quite sharp.

As always better quality, and a few more, pictures

in the 'latest pictures' web album HERE

Back to birds

I've quite enjoyed turning my hand to some other subjects in recent weeks, but it was good to be back on the bird trail with a trip to Slimbridge.
Last year I had a good moan about the summer weather. I know this year has been pretty wet too, but from my perspective the weekends have been better, and the rain has largely been more showery than continuous.
Slimbridge isn't the best place for photography. Most of the hides are a bit distant from the birds, or face into the sun for large parts of the day, but the hides on the Holden walkway are a better bet. The aim yesterday was to try for some pics of green sandpiper, but only one was on the pool, and for a long time it seemed happy to wander the far banks. There was a brief flurry of excitement when it took to the air and headed broadly in our direction, but it came down to a small island, well out, and had a preen. And then a stand.
Then it flew back to the far bank.
Eventually it strolled across the shallow water to the channel in front of the hide. The barbed wire fence did cause some problems (I ask you - why a barbed wire fence across the nearest water to the hide?), but the cloud even more. This could have been a lovely close up. As it is no amount of tweaking can give it that sunshine glow. Of course after it walked away again the sun appeared enabling a shot of .............. the black-tailed godwits. At first I thought this one was exercising, but then, as the cloud cover rolled back in, I realised it was doing a rain dance.
Sun

Cloud

But, good things come to those who wait (and I can assure you we waited). The green sandpiper did reappear, and in some sun. In my eagerness I didn't even let it clear the reeds before I was grabbing some shots (the BTG was still dancing you see - get something in the can). Then a second appeared, but you can only focus on one at a time!
As always a few better quality versions and a few more pics in the 'latest pictures' web album HERE