Some more Merlin shots

More Merlin

Merlin

More of this to come...

Leucistic Carrion Crows

It is not unknown for Crows to demonstrate the effects of Leucism.  Perhaps, like Blackbirds, it shows up more because they is black.

This year my patch has had some Carrion Crows raise a brood.  Don't know where exactly and they may have done this before but I hadn't noticed to be honest.  My 'patch' is a disparate area that isn't always accessible and I tend to focus my attention on a particular species that the regular reader of this blog will know all about.  This year however, the Crows have produced a brood of three, and two of them are showing Leucism that is almost identical and pretty distinctive.

They've been displaying this from when they were much browner but I haven't been able to get a lens close to them.

Who needs a fancy Flycatcher when this kind of quality is going on?

Wheatear

Yummy.

How to write a blog post about birds.

I was sitting there and this bird lands by me.  

So I took a photo.

And then it flew off.

So I sat there for a bit more, and another bird lands by me.  

So I took a photo.

And then it flew off.

There.  Your bird blogging masterclass is complete.

No, thank you.

Patch Kestrel

Here's a Kestrel that is hanging about the patch at the moment.

A couple from the last week

A couple of  photos from the last week, it hardly constitutes a weekly highlights title but here they are...

This little critter is elusive.  He is easy enough to find because he doesn't shut up.  But he is camera shy.  But I am patient...

The early Wheatear season has been dogged by uncooperative birds.  Where I am, they are not.  Where they are, I am not.  Occasionally the Venn diagram of fate allows us some brief seconds together...

Weekly highlights - er, a dead Auk?

Last week was pretty quiet.  The camera didn't come out very much, and neither did the birds. The 'Lazy Fox' picture...

....was the EDP Reader Picture Of The Day on Monday.  They don't pay, but with a circulation of 40,000+ I'm not grumbling.

Later in the week, as if to illustrate my earlier point, an Auk turned up in the patch.

Still no Wheatears.

But a consolation of a showy Ringed Plover.

Weekly highlights - Lots of rufous tones and redness.

Started the week looking for Foxes.  Found a Stonechat and utterly forgot all about Foxes.  This is normal, especially with a male bird that is occassionally breaking into song.

Stonechat

Stonechat having a sing

Stonechat looking rather splendid

Looked for Foxes on another day, but instead found that the pair of Ringed Plovers had returned to the Patch. They will nest and produce food for the Foxes soon.

Ringed Plover photos just must have a reflection in the eye

Later in the week I found a Fox that was sleeping in the sun.

A Fox, sleeping.

It woke up. And did lots of scratching and stretching.

A Fox looking like it had just been sleeping

A Fox, stretching

A Fox that has been scratching

On Friday, whilst fruitlessly looking for a fox I saw a Black Redstart in the distance.  It was kind enough to come closer before retreating into the distance again!

Thank you very much!

Later on Friday I got pooped on by a murmuration.

Norwich Starling Murmuration

Back on the Black

First Black Redstart of the year is back in the patch, and what a cracker he is!  Bit distant for a decent shot so a heavy crop, but this will change as the season progresses.

Plenty more Black Redstart photos by clicking on these words...

Juvenile Black Redstart

Looking forward to the return of the Black Redstarts to my patch.  Here is a juvenile from last year.

Snow Bunting

My lunchtime treat at the moment is half a dozen Snow Buntings. Especially when the Sun comes out...

Wheatears and after dark twitchering - weekly highlights 6/10/2014

That 'work' thing has been getting in the way of things.  Those things are birds in front of my lens.  This is not good.  At the beginning of the week, before the getting in the way of things was in full swing, Wheatears did do what I had been waiting a couple of weeks for them to do.  Come close, sit still and pose.

Then on Saturday, after things that had been getting in receded far enough for there to be a not getting in the way for a bit window, I made a reckless dash into Suffolk to see a bird.  The only reason I went was that I know the area, it had been there for ages, and people kept saying 'confiding' when discussing it on my internet.  The combination of these things adds up to my kind of twitchering - i.e. EASY.  Unfortunately I had, in my haste, omitted to remember that it is now October and thus the sun don't shine until bed time no more.  So there I was, sitting in a dodgy car park, next to a fish finger factory at the most easterly point of mainland UK looking for a small brown bird in a large selection of brown bushes. 

In the dark. 

However, just I had accepted my folly and had decided to leave, guess what happened? A bird appeared at the top of a bush - the little cracker decided that feeding under a streetlight was quite the most apposite thing to do, and I couldn't have agreed more.  It then proceeded to 'show well' and was, as it was hoped, 'confiding'.

And here he/she/it is...

Red-backed Shrike, Ness Point, Lowestoft

For those that like the nerdy settings details stuff - ISO2000 f6.3 1/10s  - yes one tenth of a second (and no tripod)!

Passage passerines, prey and plover. Weekly highlights 21/09/2014

Plenty kicking about this week but not necessarily in front of the camera.  The overnight rain on Monday left a puddle big enough to interest the local Wagtails (those not terrorising the local Tesco of course).  I ordered a nearby Wheatear to join them. It flatly refused.

Other birds appeared that I don't normally see.  Chaffinches for example.  Two Kestrels.  A Skylark.

A Skylark

Oh, and what is that funny looking thing over there?  Cor blimey, it's another bloody patch tick - they just keep on coming!

Ropey Record shot of patch tick Yellow Wagtail

That bird (or another) was good enough to stay for a couple of days although remaining elusive while kicking about with the ever growing number of Meadow Pipits.  

The Meadow Pipits and Linnets were the main attention of this belter on Thursday...

Still had a few Wheatears knocking about, Reed Bunting briefly, Black and possible Common Redstart and I was pleased to see that the Kingfisher is still about.  There are gulls too, but nothing noteworthy unfortunately.  A Ringed Plover was feeding with the Wagtails on Friday, here's a picture of an identical bird taken around about this time last year...

That is what last week on the patch was about, all going well next week should produce another patch tick!  I reckon that one of those stripey warblers would do it nicely....

Plenty more pics here!

Patch tick, supermoon, funny gull. Weekly highlights 14/09/2014

Patch ticks are brilliant.  They are so good that they are probably better than life ticks.  There I said it.  Patch ticks are better than lifers.  

Last week, Pied Flycatcher.   This week, a bloody Kingfisher!!

Yes, a bloody Kingfisher - sitting in view of a camera!

My best ever Kingfisher photos, but not great Kingfisher photos. With it sitting in deep shade and then shooting down at the bird meant that the DOF is too shallow for the whole bird to be in focus.  Had the aperture been more suitable, the shutter speed would have been to slow.  For me this was an interesting lesson in photo-taking.

Little critter stayed until Friday at least.  Doing fishing and hiding and all of those Kingfishery things.

Had a conversation with a man.  

"What exactly are you looking at?" said said man. 

"A supermoon" said I.  

"Yes it is, isn't it" said the said man.

"Literally," I said "this is a Super Moon blah blah blah blah"

"Oh, I see.  I'm from Croydon".

"Do you know Paul?  He's from Croydon."

"Er..."

Moon

Moon

Sea, moonlight.

And if you hadn't seen the post the other day, there was a funny gull kicking about too.