Gt. White Egret
202 nd  British bird species on this site

Sunday 9th November

Having not seen a Gt. White Egret before, I was pleased to see this bird at Saddington only about ten miles from where I live.
I will return again to see if I can get any better pictures as it was very distant hence these heavily cropped images.

Egret web page

Friday 31st October

I have been looking forward to seeing the Short-eared Owl's returning for the winter.  Although it was a bit dark for great pic's, it was great to see them and I was reasonably pleased with a few snaps.

for larger picture click here and other previous Short-eared Owl

Friday 5th October

I have been looking at lens for some time and finally decided to splash out on a Canon 70 - 200 2.8 IS L.
This picture was taken on the day it arrived out of a window at home.  Looks like a good start to a lens that has received good reviews elsewhere on the web.

for larger picture click here

Red-necked Grebe

Sunday 28th September

This lovely bird at Switherland Reservoir in Leicestershire was showing very well and was a species that I had not photographed before, so I very pleased to end September with a set of Red Neck pictures.
Like many, I am Hoping for some equally good arrivals in the next few weeks.

Monday 15th - Monday 22nd September

A weeks walking in Deeside was a welcome break from work.  This time we took mountain bikes to speed up the walk in to the mountains.  Great for saving time, but I decided against carrying the SLR along.

All the usual suspects were seen, some such as Red Grouse and Ptarmigan in large numbers, indeed we saw over 50 Red Grouse on some days on some of the more remote mountains between the A9 and Braemar.

Sightings included:
Red Deer, Red Squirrel, Red Grouse, Ptarmigan, Snipe, Buzzard, Golden Eagle, etc.

Black Tern

Grey Phalarope

A very Black Grey day at Shustoke in Warwickshire bought up the 199th and 200th bird species pictured on this web site

Saturday 6th September

These were aptly named birds : Black Tern and then Grey Phalarope.

Although the weather was grim, and the light was bad, the birds were not close in (and all the usual moans....) I was pleased to see and get pictures of two new species for this web site.

I had already seen and got pictures of both the Wilson's and the Red-necked Phalaropes so was after the Grey to complete the "Three British Phalarope species".

The Black Tern is a small bird and the picture was taken about 50 meters away.  As a result the picture is not a classic bird photograph, but it is reasonable until I get a better shot.

Two pictures from a previous
visit a long time ago

These are all from scans of slides, I am going to add a few more of these pictures to my
web site as time allows

Now my British wildlife digital pictures are beginning to take shape, it may be time to think about a few more destinations further from home.
That opens up a huge list that is obviously cut short by two things.
Money & Annual Leave

So where do I start:

Well first list the things that I want to see,  I then need to see if I can fit in a visit or two realistically each year

 - Ocra's - I feel a winter visit to Norway coming on

  - European Birds :  Woodpeckers - Owls - Eagles
I would like to see and photograph all the species of European woodpeckers
so I guess the following countries would be worth a visit : Poland, Sweden, Finland, perhaps even Belgium, so that's several trips.

 - Africa - it's been a very long time since I went on a safari so that is also on the list.

 - Then there is the Tigers, Penguins, and Polar Bears, blimey the list grows but so does the list of countries as many can not bee seen on the same trip.

Female Common Darter

Silver-spotted Skipper

Some August bank holiday thoughts

It's been very quiet in terms of birds for the past 8 + weeks, nothing much about, a look online at some of the birding sites still shows a few things interesting, but all are to far away to comfortably travel to.  But I still hope to catch up with a few bits n bobs in the next few months.

It's a good job I have decided to make a concentrated effort on Butterflies recently.

Next Year

Almost 2/3 rds of the way through 2008 and I have decided to NOT keep a tally of birds seen in 2009.
Hopefully I will improve on my 208 seen so far in 2008 and then that will do for year lists for

On the numbers game, I will still try and add to my British life list and number of species photographed on this site. 

But I want my main focus (no pun intended) to be concentrating on seeing new stuff and on improving my wildlife pictures

I would like to concentrate on seeing more butterflies in 2009 as well as targeting some of the harder to photograph other things such as Owl's and chasing numbers does not fit with this approach.

Saturday  2  August

I was very pleased to watch three young Hobby chicks being ringed in the Forest of Dean.
These birds certainly had the "cute" look although they within weeks they will grow into adult birds which are amongst the most agile of our birds of prey and the long flight to Africa for the winter will begin.

Hobby chicks

Wed  29  July - Fri  1 August.

A few days on the South coast produced several more pictures of  British Butterfly  species along with a couple of moths, and wild flowers.
One of the target species was the young Hooded Merganser which was seen in Weymouth.

Lulworth Skipper

Chalkhill Blue

Brown Argus

Adonis Blue

Silver-washed Fritillary

Saturday 19th July

I have now photographed (in some circumstances not very well) half of the 58 species of British Butterfly.

I am sure the second half will be harder, it's taken roughly 12 months to get to 29 but I expect the second half to take longer.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Also a few more Small Skipper pictures added.

While pictures of Ringlet
taken in Northamptonshire

A visit to two raptor watch points in Norfolk produced the goods with Montgau's Harrier and Honey Buzzard both seen.

Roseatte Tern & Lesser Yellowlegs at Cley
took the 2008 tally to 206.

Again in Northamptonshire this Banded Demoiselle was seen

Red backed Shrike

Wild Flowers - I now have 25 species online
- yes I know it's low...
but it's a start

Twite

Red backed Shrikes where numerous during the week, including this male and female that were caught and ringed together.

More Red backed Shrike pictures

Fair Isle Wren - which is a sub species of the British Wren

Artic Skua is a common species on Fair Isle although Great Skua is the more numerous of the two.

Fair Isle - A view from "the bird watchers Hilton" 

31st May - 6th June

Saturday – After arriving and settling into the observatory we went for a walk around the island for a few hours before the evening meal.  Not many of last weeks rarities around but we were pleased to see a few Spotted Flycatchers around along with several Red backed Shrikes

(indeed the notice board of sightings in the observatory stated “Red Backed Shrikes – Lots !!!) which was certainly no exaggeration.

Sunday – No birds caught for ringing during the early morning round, but we continued to see several more Red backed Shrikes – indeed we must have seen a double figure number during the day.  We also got reasonable views of Puffin, Raven, and Artic Skua.

Monday – No birds in the ringing traps again so we walked around the island visiting various cliffs and settlements.

Tuesday – Another early morning walk around the bird traps, but this time there were two to be ringed, a Garden Warbler and a first year male Sparrowhawk.  Another walk around the island produced the usual Skuas’s, and sea birds.
After lunch we got brief views of a Common Rosefinch feeding on nuts in a garden until it flew away.  It gradually turned to an afternoon of rain.

Wed – Woke up to find rain, so passed on the walk around the nets to see what had been caught for bird ringing.  The weather closed in and the fight off of Fair Isle was cancelled.
In the afternoon it cleared up well so another walk around the island looking for flowers and birds.
Various birds ringed including Icterine Warbler

Thurs – Two more flights cancelled so another day on the island in improving weather.  We went to see the Puffins which had decided to spend the day out at see.
A walk down south saw more Red Backed Shrikes and a Marsh Warbler was ringed.

Fri - We managed to get a ride on the community boat off the island and across to Sumburgh Head.
It was a calm crossing with 1 Manx Shearwater and a few Storm Petrel's as  the only thing of interest.

Our Luck - We finally managed to leave Fair Isle at 10:30 am and shortly after lunch a male Citril Finch was found on the Island . A first for Britain.  So very near - but so far, it might have well been at the other end of Britain at the Scilly Isles over a 1000 miles away.

BTO ring used for ringing

Part of the work of the Fair Isle BO is to ring and record birds.
While we were on fair Isle two Sparrowhawk's were ringed.

I have got a few Pictures on this on my Sparrowhawk page.

first year male Sparrowhawk

Both Shetland and Fair Isle were both great places to see wild flowers including Orchids.
Therefore my online flower pictures have dramatically increased.

I have also added a "Wild Flowers" page and an "Orchids"  Page.

Great Skua commonly known as "Bonxie"

Red-necked Phalarope at the RSPB reserve on Fetlar

Shetland - 60 degrees North

24th May - 31st May

Saturday – after leaving Heathrow’s terminal five with no problems other than a wait on the plane for a man with spanners to fix our plane.

So after going 100 miles south to T5, we soon found ourselves on Shetland.
A late evening visit to Mousa Island saw the European Storm Petrels which we enjoyed seeing flying around the Brooch. It was gone 1:00 a.m. when we returned to the hotel and was still light.

Sunday – Straight to Sumburgh Head – our first seabird colony of the trip was good but the high winds kept many of the birds away from the camera lens.
First of many Puffins and we saw our first Shetland Wren which is a sub species of the Wren.
A few more sites on mainland Shetland visited with a Tawny Pipit being the best bird seen during the day.

Monday – The highlight of the day was the boat trip along the coast of Noss where we got excellent views of many seabirds and the huge Gannetry. Good views of Bonxies, and very pleased with the close views of Black Guillemot. 

Tuesday – North to the Islands of Yell, Fetlar, and Unst where the highlight was the Red-necked Phalarope at the RSPB Fetlar reserve where we also had good views of Dunlin in summer plumage.

Wed – We spent the day on Unst where the highlight was watching an Otter playing for 20 mins, at a range which was just a bit to far for good photos.

Thursday – Hermaness on Northern Unst was very good but again very windy.  A few Puffins braved the wind, but good pictures of Bonxies and Golden Plover.
Four species of Orchid in the same field at Keen NNR along with a few rare plants such as Shetland Mouse-ear.

Friday – A quiet day in terms of wildlife.  We saw the rare Oysterplant.  In terms of birds, there were several rarities around Shetland, but we did not manage to see any, other than a extremely brief views of a Thrush-Nightingale (only a few seconds).  We did get some good views of Raven.

Saturday – Went back to the Thrush Nightingale and it was not seen today.  Back to the hotel and views of a Red-backed Shrike and Icterine Warbler in the hotel garden before we transferred to the airport and took the flight across to Fair Isle. 

Ringed Plover was seen  frequently during the week.  My final photo's from Shetland were of very obliging Twite at Sumburgh Head.

We saw Otter on two occasions, the best of these was at Baltasound on Unst where we got good views for 20 minutes of an Otter swimming and resting on rocks.

A visit to South Stack on Anglesey produced reasonable views of Chough.  Apparently there are currently 14 pairs on the reserve.
South Stack is a great place for walking, flowers, and other sea birds such as razorbills.  Chough

more Gargany pics soon

In my opinion the RSPB cafe at Conway serves the best coffee in Wales.

It is also good for small waders such as Ringed Plover, and Dunlin.

I was also pleased to see a drake Gargany.

more Ringed Plover pics

Orange-tip

A day in Gloucestershire visiting several reserves produced 4 of our target butterflies.  Many Many thanks to my friend Roger whose expert knowledge enabled us to actually find these 4 species.

The most productive site was Edge Common, near Painswick which produced the Duke, Copper, and Dingy Skipper.
The Orange tip is a common butterfly that is hard to see and even harder to photograph at rest.  We saw it at rest in the Forest of Dean at Cinderford linear park and at Brierley.

Dingy Skipper

Duke of Burgundy

Small Copper

This male Cirl Bunting was one of several seen.

American Golden Plover and Cirl Buntings

A visit to Devon produced a few good additions and several new species photographed for this web site including American Golden Plover and Whimbrel at Exeminster Marshes RSPB.

However my highlight of this Devon visit was 6+ Cirl Buntings at East Prawle.  (also Wall Brown butterflies at the same site)

Egrets page updated with some new pictures from Kingsbridge in south Devon

As a result of recent sighting which apart from those mentioned in the blog below, include: Wood Sand, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, I am now at 158 bird species seen in 2008.
After 105 in January, I have added approximately 18 per month which is pleasing.
However at this rate that will give 280+ by the end of the year which is not possible.
Perhaps 200 by the end of 2008 is back on target.

The butterflies are beginning to show, I saw a Orange Tip (no photos) and look forward to several more butterflies in May

This male Pied Flycatcher is one of the new species added during April making 186 species  now pictured on this website

Wood Warbler

Redstart (female)

Pied Flycatcher (Male)

Tuesday 22 April – Has Summer Arrived Yet?

It's not getting dark so early, so with more daylight, should we be able to see more ?

With the fact that it doesn't get dark until 8:30, I arranged to meet local birder Paul Riddle after work and have a look at nearby Thornton reservoir.

As a result we saw some great birds including my first Yellow Wag and first Cuckoo of 2008.  Has summer arrived yet?

I don't usually declare summer until it's warm enough to sit and eat my evening meal in the garden in shorts and with a glass of wine in my hand.

But a Cuckoo and Yellow Wag seen on the same day within an hour was very pleasing, even though neither was close enough for any pictures.

As I did not get any pictures of the Yellow Wag or Cuckoo,

I have instead added this Egyptian gentleman that I also saw today.

Friday 11 – Friday 18^th April – West Coast Mountain Birds

A week’s mountain walking in very cold weather with plenty of snow on the high tops produced some good sightings.
Amongst the birds seen in large numbers were: Hooded Crow, Buzzard, Snow Bunting, Siskin, Meadow Pipit, etc.
There was also the odd Dipper, Red Grouse, Golden Plover, and Grey Wagtail. 

There was also plenty of deer about including huge numbers of Red’s, some Roe, and the occasional Muntjack

My Munro count:
Is gradually rising with 170 now bagged.
Sue has now bagged 146 (which is now passed 50% of the Munro's)

“Proper Snow Buntings”
It’s always good to see Snow Buntings but to see them in their white winter plumage flitting around while walking along a snowy highland ridge is in my opinion so much better than seeing them on the East coast of England in summer plumage.  During the weeks walking, we saw double figure numbers of white winter plumage Snow Buntings most days.  However I don’t walk up Scotland’s Munro’s with my telephoto lens, so have no pictures to add to this site.

Thursday 10 April – Visit the King

On the way North for a walking week in central Scotland, a visit to Girvan near Ayr to see the King Eider was rewarded with good views and some pictures despite the choppy seas.
The bird was with a group of 20+ “regular Eiders”
Other species seen included: plenty of Gulls, Gannets, Ringed Plover, Merg's, etc.

King Eider in Girvan, Ayr

Several Little Ringed Plovers also at Eyebrook

many Swallows and Sand Martins at many sites

I am also very pleased to see 4 Ospreys at two separate sites in Leicestershire this month all on the same day
and on a day when we had plenty of snow....

I don't think I will keep a tally next year

more Mandarin photos

A few days in Dorset with a few excellent places visited in very high wind produced some excellent birds.

the highlights being:
Marsh Tit at Arne
Cattle Egret (x2) at Radipole with Little Egret's in the roost
Spoonbill (again x2) at Lodmoor
 

While at Radipole lake in Dorset, we also saw plenty of Raptors, including:  Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Marsh Harrier, and Kestrel.
There was also a double figure number of Med Gulls

Another highlight was the huge number Sika Deer at Arne at least 300+ including one herd of at least 150 Sika Deer

Egrets

more Spoonbill pictures

A few days ago, Sue was playing with my telescope and some of our old compact cameras, and seeing what could be used for "Digiscoping"

I thought perhaps I should suggest we go to Eyebrook and try to get the first digiscoped picture for this site.
The reason being in April 2007, I saw the GW Teal at Eyebrook but it was very distant on very choppy water.  It has been reported back at Eyebrook and I thought this may be a chance to get a picture.

But while at Radipole lake in Dorset, we saw a Buzzard on a distant tree so Sue had a go and Sue's result is pictured here.

Digiscoped Buzzard

Click for bigger image

Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike is a bird that I have been after for a while and I was very pleased to get some pictures of a long staying Gloucestershire bird.

Three Owl & Four Raptor Species in a day

Whilst driving by Eyebrooke Reservoir, I saw a Little Owl in a tree where it often sits (the first for the year).   Then a  GS pecker that was seen and heard high in a dead tree drumming, a good start to the day.

Plenty of Kestrels most places and the occasional Buzzard whilst driving.

A Peregrine Falcon sitting in a field at Frieston Shore.

Later  while on the A16 a couple of miles south of Spalding we saw two SEO's covering large areas of field and a Barn Owl hunting in the fading light.
Just as we were packing the cameras away in fading light a Merlin flew through sounding it's call.

"Hello from Spain"

The Spanish ringed Glossy Ibis (ring number 6PJ) was showing well at Holden's Pullover near Salthouse in Lincolnshire  allowing for reasonable pictures to be taken.
A small flock of 9+ Twite were mobile but reasonably close at times.

Great Grey Shrike

 Great Grey & Red-backed Shrikes

Barn Owl "hunting the A16"

Glossy Ibis
"on it's winter holiday"

February is racing by and the bad weather has really hit Leicestershire with very cold icy weather.  Certainly no early butterflies this year.  The list of bird species seen this year is very good with some excellent birds seen so far.

Some species have been seen many times, there seems to be a lot of Buzzards about including one in the fields as seen from my bedroom window again this morning.  I  Have seen Barn Owls on quite a few occasions but so far no Little Owl.
I am also surprised that so far in 2008 I have yet to see a Sparrowhawk or a Nuthatch.
Indeed I have only 8 new additions to my 2008 list during the past 20 days.

Curlew at Slimbridge WWT
earlier in February

I have been after the opportunity to photograph Bohemian waxwing (to give it it's proper name) for some time.

An afternoon visit to Allestree in Derbyshire and I soon found the reported bird was showing well.  This resulted in a collection of pictures that I am very pleased with.  More at Waxwing

A first time visit to three sites proved very productive.

Lynford Arboretum - 6+ Hawfinches (another new bird for me) in the Hormbeam trees in "the Paddock" sadly to far away for a picture.
But a White-fronted Goose that was very obliging for the camera.

Wicken Fen - Marsh Harriers and plenty of ideas for a future visit.

Woodwalten Fen - an excellent reserve with three hides although we only visited the North hide.
2 Barn Owls hunting over the reed beds, a Hen Harrier came into roost.
Chinese Water Deer at the entrance to the reserve, from the hide, and on the walk back to the car.  This is another of the "British deer species" that I am targeting photo's of.  They also have Muntjack but I did not see any.
I shall certainly return to this great reserve and attempt to get some better deer pictures.

White-fronted Goose
and
Chinese Water Deer

Two visits S.W. in early and mid February saw Cornwall, Devon, and Gloucestershire, all visited
not many new birds for the year apart from:

Cattle Egret at Fretherne
and Great Bustard on the Fosse way
 

However both are excellent birds - quality not quantity

(The Bustard was "Orange 15" and a different bird from the untagged bird that I saw on Curry Moor, Somerset in October 2007)
More info on the UK Great Bustard at:  www.greatbustard.com
 

more info that I have found out about  "Orange 15" on my  Great Bustard page

Cattle Egret
and
Great Bustard

Late additions to January sightings are Goldcrest, Firecrest, and Treecreeper

Well 105 British bird species is my tally by end of January,
and.... it is a total that I am very happy with.
and with 6 more species pictured on this site during the month, bringing the total to 172 species pictured is a great start to 2008.

A few more plans for the rest of the year:

a weekend in Dorset for Spoonbills, and hopefully Dartford Warblers in March and perhaps the odd early Butterfly

a weekend in North Wales / Anglesey in May for Sea birds and hopefully a Chough at South stack.

Little Egret at Thornham

I certainly would like to see more species in 2008 than I saw in 2007 (Who wouldn't?)
But I don't want to (or give the impression on this blog) that all I am interested in is chasing rarities and progressing numbers.
I would rather see a species and be able to get good views and a picture, than see a species at 1km away through a telescope, tick it, and then go on for my next bird.

Possibly I might join the 400 club (400 species seen ever)
but I will never want to be one of the mega year listers with 350 + species seen in one calendar year.

Indeed I will not get anywhere near as somewhere around 400+ species are recorded in The British isles each year.

There were 435 different species were recorded in 2007

Not even sure if a lifetime target of 400 is realistic.
Still some way to go then ..........

The Snow Bunting flock of 50+ birds at Salthouse was excellent viewing
as well as being my
102nd species of 2008

more Snow Bunting pictures

A day on the North Norfolk coast proved very productive with 13 new species for 2008 including the White-crowned Sparrow another new bird for me.

Amongst the other species seen
Thornham Harbour: Little Egret, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover
Cley village: White-crowned Sparrow
Cley Marshes: Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Brent Geese
Salthouse: Turnstone, Snow Bunting (a large flock over 50+ birds)

Like many people I don't like the circus of a national rarity.  As such I decided not to go and look for this bird during the first few weeks after this bird was first reported when there would be between 250 to 2500 people out trying to view this bird each day.

Therefore I waited for the fuss to die down a little (and take the chance that the bird would not stay around).  This resulted that when I went, there was around 20 people viewing.

This was a small bird for photographic purposes and it was a windy day and the view was far from perfect, however I got a few record shots.

White-crowned Sparrow

Caerlaverock and Martin Mere:

Making the most of my newly purchased WWT membership, a weekend up north visiting two reserves, first Caerlaverock mainly to see the winter population of Barnacle Geese.   More Pics on the Geese page
Several other good birds around such as Curlew, winter thrushes, Whooper Swans, Yellowhammer, and both Tree & House Sparrows. (see below)

A visit to Martin Mere on the way home produced some very good birds, GS woodpecker, Kingfisher, Tawny and Barn Owl's, all 3 swan species, and a Red-breasted Goose amongst a much smaller Barnacle flock.

Very bad weather every day saw us dodging rain, it was very windy conditions that made it hard but worthwhile as a total of 60 species seen at both sites.  This was very pleasing although the number of new for 2008 was obviously a lot smaller.

Local birds

A visit to a local patch just a few miles from home was very productive with my first S.E.O.'s of the year.   They were reported a few times but this was the first time I managed to see them (or get some pics)
Like many people, I have got some pictures of SEO, but also like many people, I am not happy with the quality.  Hopefully I now have a good local site just 10 - 15 mins drive from home where I can attempt to get better pics before they return North to breed.

Short-Eared Owl Gallery

Also at Rutland Water I saw a flock of 20 - 30 Egyptian Geese and a several flocks of Siskins some of which had over 50 birds.

I may need to split some of the of the "general species" pages as my site grows, such as  Geese,  Finches etc.  It's easy to add a picture here and there and before you know where you are, you have a large page that is slow to load.

Gallery Pages

Like quite a few wildlife sites, and after looking at some old pictures in Photoshop,
I might play with some of my older but better images them to produce a bigger "gallery pictures"

Certainly if I do, then this GS Woodpecker will be there
In the meantime, click on image left for a bigger "gallery sized" picture in a new window

Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk

Ouse Washes RSPB: was fairly quiet and extremely flooded , quite a spectacle, not huge numbers of birds, but a close Heron (pictured)

Manea: produced a Barn Owl but not long enough for a picture

Welney  WWT:
A visit to Welney for the wild swan feeding produced some good birds, plenty of Swans  Whooper, Mute, (but no Berwick) and Wigeon and a Stonechat on a post along the approach road.  Although the Rats that were stealing the feed were not quite as photogenic 

click on the yellow links in the text to the left for bigger pictures of these thumbnails

Leicestershire birds
More for the January 2008 list while walking and driving around

A afternoon visiting a few sites in Leicestershire proved very enjoyable, nothing great seen but enjoyable none the less.  I met up with Paul Riddle a local birder I had met a few weeks ago and together we had an enjoyable afternoon despite the weather.
Fosse Meadow produced a Willow Tit pictured right.
Bagworth CP was quiet with only a Green Woodpecker flying over for interest,
and Cossington produced a few winter thrushes, a Green Sandpiper.  The reported Water Pipit did not show itself enough for a positive id.

A walk around the Leicestershire / Northamptonshire border added a few more species for Jan (Red legged Partridge, Red Kite, Yellowhammer, etc.

A second short visit to Cossington Meadows in much better weather proved more productive with the Water Pipit showing (to distant for a photo).
There was plenty of other birds around including the Pied Wag (right), Meadow Pips, Gadwall, Teal, Tufted, etc.
and a Black Swan on the river.

and the total for Jan is now approaching 60  (yep it's low for many people but I am still happy with it, and still confident of 100 before 1st Feb.)

Willow Tit at Fosse Meadows

larger picture with the other
Tits

Pied Wagtail at Cossington Meadows
Larger Pic: Wagtail's