Local Patching II

A trip to Newport wetlands started with a quick look at Caldicot levels and the little owl again. I missed a much better shot of this pheasant, as seconds before the sheep had bent it's head down and given it a good sniff!

At the wetlands it was mostly just the usual suspects. The hawthorn was in full leaf - much earlier than last year, meaning the chances of seeing the many Cetti's warblers in full view were much reduced.

My favourite footy arses - both little and great crested were around, but I suspect I've missed the courtship displays of the gc's.

This reed bunting was in full song, though, but not quite so tame as in times past, hence the somewhat distant view.

There was one bird that stood out though. In many days of walking around the reserve in the last couple of years I've only seen the bearded tits once. Last Sunday I saw them on 5 different occasions, 'pinging' away just like the calls on my birdsong CD! One pair seemed to be working repeatedly over a lagoon - hopefully nesting there and giving the chance of better pictures in the future.

This, sadly, was the best shot I managed - and this is heavily cropped! Still as a record shot it does show the male in classic pose.

Local Patching

After going on about Florida and Powys I decided it was time to get back to some more local wildlife - why say it's a blog about Monmouthshire and beyond if it is all beyond!

We've had a few walks recently, and whilst there hasn't been anything stunning it's lovely to see signs of spring everywhere. The blackthorn lights up the hedgerows - you can tell it from hawthorn because the blackthorn flowers on bare stems.

Primroses and dog violets abound this year

and this patch of bank was covered with celandine and violets, with cuckoo pint in the lower left of the shot - yet to flower.

We wandered through various local woods - I was trying to see if there were any nest holes obviously in use - and the anemones carpeted the floor, frantically getting their growth in before the leaves above unfurl and take away all their light

In one small area we found several patches of what the Americans would politely call 'scat' - or shit as a shovel man might say. After some puzzling it dawned on me that these must be badgers dung pits - communal latrines often established where two or more territories meet. No sign of a sett, but something worth exploring over the coming weeks.

Venturing slightly further afield I paid a visit to Northwick Warth, just over the old Severn bridge. Some Merlin had been seen fairly regularly over the rough grassland, but none were in view. There was a male wheatear in the distance, but most of the action was in the hedgerows.



The bullfinch played their usual game of hide and seek, with this sadly being the best shot

but the chiff chaffs were back with a vengeance, singing their little hearts out from any natural spire they could find

Small flocks of linnets twittered past, occasionally pausing, but usually out of range for snaps.

They seem to be a bird widely ignored on on the sightings lists - too common and unspectacular I guess, but I like them. Last year in the same area I caught one in the evening sunlight framed by blackthorn. Technically it could be a better and sharper shot, and the bird is too far away, but in terms of the glowing colours and background it is a favourite still.

The rookery at Pilning is in full flow, although the birds were twitchy even when I was shooting pictures from the car

Back to Monmouthshire and I made an early morning run down to the Caldicot levels

When I first started this blog I wrote about little grebes and their reported habit, when startled, of diving into weed and hiding with just their bill sticking up. I've still never seen it, but this moorhen did something similar, staying buried mostly underwater for probably a minute before it emerged to swim away, tail flicking in what I took to be an avian V sign.

The fields mainly contain sheep

but one given over to arable contained something that caught my eye. I never got a better view than this shot through the scope, but from the behaviour and size I presume this was a hare that had found a form to lie up in for the day

Again the hedgerows chiff-chaffed away, and wrens and tits were everywhere.

A lone wheatear kept it's distance

but the highlight for me was my first ever sighting of a little owl. It kept a beady eye on me, but still seemed quite relaxed and would pause in it's stare periodically for a little preening.

Nice to be reminded that the grass can be green on your own side of the fence as well as further afield.

A Good, Good Day

Every so often you get a day that just ticks all the boxes, and last Saturday was one.

Having been given the day off for good behaviour, I arranged to meet up with Chris Grady in Powys. The county emblem is the Barcud - a red kite - and Chris promised he could show me kites like I had never seen them before.

I've seen a few in my time; spiralling above roads on the Black Isle, or en masse at Gigrin Farm, Rhayader (which is in Powys). Gigrin is worth seeing - the spectacle of dozens of kites, intermingled with buzzards, raven and other corvids, even herons and sparrows coming in to feed on the beef put out for them is a jaw dropper, but it does seem artificial.

Some of the kites have large labels attached,

and although it is fun it is a bit like a trip to a safri park, even though these are wild birds. Go, take your camera and enjoy, but it will leave you wanting something more.

And that was what Chris delivered. Watching a pair of perfectly conditioned red kite soaring, feeding and, to cap it all, mating, was a mesmerising experience. In terms of pictures the range was just a little on the edge for my kit, although if you look on Chris' website - see links - you can see shots that really do the views justice. I get carried away with photographs at times and it does you good to remember the pleasure of just watching birds for their own sake.

I did get some pictures I was happy enough with, especially when one bird had the good grace to perch in a nearby tree.

I tried a few digiscoped shots, but as usual pushed the magnification too hard, and spoilt the optics - never mind, they still give a flavour of what I could see through the scope.

This last one was particularly odd - at first it seemed the male had flown in with some food, but it turned out just to be a talon-full of wool. He fluffed up a few times, then flew swiftly to the nearby female, and without any pleasantries mounted her. Chris has a cracking shot of the act, if you are so inclined!

Later we toured the Elan Valley, where spring was also in the air.

A mix of upland moor that reminded me of picnics from my Scottish childhood,

reservoirs with crows and wagtails

and towering crags,

complete with peregrines we later saw mating - a somewhat aggressive looking affair conducted down on the valley floor. How often do you get to see red kite and peregrine mating on the same day. I told you it was good.

Dave Slater describes how to photograph upland birds on his website:

'One of the best places to photograph these upland birds is along moorland roads with roadside fences. Beanbag on the car window with a close eye on the traffic, a slow roll up to them is often the trick.'

We tried just that, and I did get a nice shot of this meadow pipit, but the stonechat were still very flighty, with males in constant runnning battles for territiory, meaning they rarely settled. Still plenty time later in the year when the wheatear and whinchat will be there as well.

To finish we spotted a pair of goosander on one ofthe rivers, drifting with the current, often with their heads in the water. Nipping ahead we tried for some closer shots but as always they were very nervous, meaning that the best I managed was this shot of the female.

Who cares .......................... it had been a good, good day.