The bees and the birds

After the relative quiet of winter, action builds through the period of migrant passage into the frenzy that is Spring. 
The bees were a cracking and totally unexpected local find whilst walking the dog.  Not the buzzy, busy kind, but one of my favourite plants - bee orchids.  Taking snaps with the dog isn't ideal, as plant photography is, I find, quite hard, needing much more time than you might think for something that doesn't fly or run away.  The problem with bee orchids is the 'depth' of the flower which calls for a good depth of field.  this, however makes it hard to establish a nice blurred background, without a substantial amount of pruning!  I took quite a few shots, of which I liked these two in the evening light.

But it's the birds that remain the focus of attention project-wise.  In a local wood (near the orchids and also on the dog walking route) we had got permission to put up some nest boxes.  It's a young and poorly managed woodland (a future practical project we hope) so we are not talking big three woodland migrants, but we did manage at least 3 blue tit nests and two great tits.  In one sense I lost a mornings photo time, but it was good to get a record of our village wildlife group's first practical successes.

Walking the dog also resulted in the finding of a natural blue tit nest in a tree stump, whilst in the garden our starlings and sparrows have fledged.  Noisy garden at present!

A couple of visits to the Forest of Dean.  First a trip to view my favourite tree - in past years home to pied flycatcher, spotted flycatcher and lesser spotted woodpecker nests.  This year ...... a flicker of movement, anticipation builds .........

yes - another blue tit.  Only interesting feature here was the entrance hole which required a vertical approach.  Might be a challenge for the fledglings!

The tree along the track - again past home to pied flycatcher - caused a double take.  The old hole, surprisingly large in a main branch, had shrunk to about a quarter the size.  Only one answer - nuthatch nest, confirmed shortly afterwards.  They were a bit shy, but the remote trigger meant I could set up the gear and walk back, taking snaps when I saw movement.  A bit far away, but you can just about see the bird and the original hole.

During the first visit, apart from a brief view of golden ringed dragonfly,

the other find was a possible redstart nest.  Wasn't sure, but a visit a week or so on confirmed the nest site.  A prolonged and careful approach allowed some shots of the birds at the nest with natural food.  Not the ideal angle but the best spot to 'hide'.  I didn't linger too long, but was pleased with the outcome - just a shame I missed the flight shot which I've included just as a form of self-punishment.

Pied flycatchers and wood warblers will have to wait another year.

Projects

In recent years I have found that if you want to get decent pic's you really need to know the location and/or the targets.  Not new, it's what all the books say, but it is generally true.  This means you have to put some time in.  So far this spring my projects haven't quite met expectations, perhaps reflecting the weather as well as the undoubted impact on free time of having a dog join the 'family'.  Fair share of walking and all that.
I wanted some decent wheatear snaps, especially a nice male.   A couple of weeks ago there seemed plenty around and a dog walk on the Saturday morning (forecast to be cloudy, but actually sunny) saw a couple of nice males at my local spot.  Back the next morning (forecast to be sunny, but actually cloudy) saw no males, and when the female did pop up nearby as planned the dull weather rendered the snap a disappointment.  A slightly brighter, softer looking snap later was scant reward in the greyness.

As previously noted the foxes are around, but not yet showing in the light.  Like last year I probably need a couple of youngsters to find the peanuts.  You never know though, and as the adults are around I will have the odd evening down there.

The other project, again hampered by work, free time and the weather was to get a decent shot of the local whitethroats.  I knew the spot, as they frequent it each year.  Trouble is the high hedges are now growing quite fast and the lovely isolated perches I see in other's snaps just don't exist.  The sheer number of possible perches means they don't really have favourite spots.  So I hatched a cunning plan.  I recently found a nice branch, almost walking stick shaped, with a 'handle' that looked a bit like a dragon's head (OK eye of faith!).  Fastened to a fence post I positioned it just above the twig line, perfectly positioned where I could park in the only space on the narrow lane, and catch the morning sun.  Frustratingly the only chances I was getting were in the evening, but nowhere to put the car, or any other sort of hide, that would work with the light.  So here are a couple of hedge-bound snaps, complete with twiggy intrusions. 

There was one bird that sometimes used the branch, but only fleetingly.  I persevered and finally on perhaps the fifth visit, got the snap I had envisioned, although not quite as full frame as I hoped, as the car just had to be that bit further back for the bird to settle.  Still the picture looks fine on the screen.

I may have missed all the spring migrants in the Forest - just possibly a chance of a redstart next weekend if the weather holds...... 

Fox hunt

After the fun I had snapping some young foxes last year we have been intermittently been putting down some bird food and dog food in a couple of spots to see whether I could get some more shots this year.  We've seen the odd one around (Kay more than me), but as usual I used the trail cam to find out what was happening.  The first diners were no more than a magpie and squirrel ......

 but sure enough after dark, and on several occasions one or more foxes came through.

The spot I used last year also revealed some foxes on the trail cam, but again after dark, so I wasn't surprised when an evening proved relatively uneventful.

Then one evening on the way back from dropping off some peanuts what did I see on the recently mown field ......................

 A good way off, but wonderfully relaxed in the warm evening sun.

Local patching

The weather and other commitments have kept the photo trips down, but I have grabbed a few hours here and there.
At Black Rock on the salt marsh I was hoping for a skylark or wheatear, but the odd meadow pipit was the best I found.   That said a view of a fly past merlin was a first for me here.

Back at the car park / picnic area the mistle thrushes are back, appearing to listen hard for worms, whilst the flowering trees framed some of the more common birds.

At Caldicot Castle the jackdaws have been building their ungainly nests again, sometimes leaving you wondering how they squeeze in over the top - I plan to go back when the young are near fledging, but I might visit again before then just to see how the pair in the archers slot actually get in and out!

Even nearer home I finally got around to having a first go at the local rabbits.  One showed quite well for a while, but managed to find the one plant stem to sit next to, so the second shot is cropped.

The first fledgling blackbirds are around, and the blackcaps are ever more vocal.  I've kept an eye on this tree for the last couple of years.  Can you see the nest hole?  Actually it turned out not to be the large one on the upper right, but the small one on the lower left being topped up by the blue tits, apparently tying bows in the nest material.

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 A few more pics in the web albums

Keep trying!

In the end I'll get a decent shot of a corn bunting, but the venue continues to frustrate, so it might be a while.  Too many multi-stemmed twiggy bushes on the wrong side of the road!  Factor in my ineptitude - grab the camera on arrival to dash off a few shots of an unexpected clear sighting, then remember you didn't reset it after the last outing - and sad to say not the first time I've failed to learn that lesson.  That said it looks like what it is, an early morning shot and I quite like it.  Didn't seem to be an oft used perch though, but an earlier start, some good camo and who knows.

There are still a few buntings around, but frustrating to get full frame shots, so these are all crops.

The linnets were a bonus.  I just wish the site was a bit nearer to allow me to get a feeding station running.

Talking of camo I have taken quite a lot of shots in full view, but lying down, for example at my woodland puddles, and a bit of patience can bring surprisingly close views.  However I have felt that softening the outline further might help, leading to the purchase of a ghillie suit.  If you have ever seen one you would realise that it is quite easy to feel a prat in one!  I put on the hood and jacket when snapping the linnets, lying on the ground.  I didn't have time to move the camera when I saw a bird glide effortlessly along the hedge bottom.  It landed no more than 8 feet from my head and spent the next couple of minutes looking round, and at times having a good peer straight at me.  No alarm though.  If I can fool a sparrowhawk maybe it really does work.