Not-spot birding

Over the festive period I had the rare privilege of being off -grid  most of the time.   No phone signal, no wifi, no interweb, nothing.  Try it, you might like it.

That will be Devon then

On the first day I found that there were birds kicking about outside the window.  Three of them were Bullfinches, and two of them male.  Here is a snatched shot through the window.

As I was going to be there for a while, and I assumed that the Bullfinches would be too, I put some food out.  The Bullfinches were not seen again.  But other birds enjoyed the food, and I enjoyed them.

Nuthatch...

...Chaffinch...

...Robin, well it was Christmas...

...Bluey...

...Coalie...

...Greatie...

...Marshie...

...oh, and a Peacock.  They like fatballs.

Black Redstarts again...

 While I'm talking about Black Redstarts (which I was but AGES ago), here are a few more from 2014.  Three from the summer, and one from the autumn.

And if you like photographs of Black Redstarts there are plenty more on this page of my website

Norfolk Bird & Mammal Report 2013 - Black Redstart photograph

My copy of the Norfolk Bird Report for 2013 came through the letterbox this morning.  Along with the usual quality that you would associate with such an esteemed organ, I was chuffed to see one of my photos within the esteemed covers!

This one!

Juvenile Black Redstart in the Norfolk Bird Report

There are a fair few Black Redstart photos kicking about on my hard drive, but due to their breeding status they don't get circulated much.  Nonetheless, while we are on the subject, here are a couple more from the session with the now famous bird...

Juvenile Black Redstart

Juvenile Black Redstart 

Juvenile Black Redstart

Got to be one of my favourite birds.

Migration, then not, then an Owl. Weekly highlights 19/10/2014

The beginning of the week was filled with migration, which is brilliant, even when everything is grey.  Thousands of Brent Geese moving past, thrushes overhead, finches coming in off the sea and a couple of out of place Robins to name but a few.

This Wheatear wasn't doing what the usual Wheatears do where they normally do what they do.  Which may or may not be significant, but I suspect it was due to its very recent arrival that it just sat about for a bit.

The next day the sun came out and another Wheatear did much the same thing somewhere else.

And the migrants continued.  This little fellow was still damp from his exertions across the North Sea but seemed very happy with the local fare.

The local population of Meadow Pipits was also swollen by newcomers.

And then the wind turned direction and it all stopped.  Which was rubbish.  So at the weekend I went to see an Owl with long ears.  Didn't manage to get shots without something in front of its face, but nonetheless it was a cracking bird and had views that bettered anything I have had before of one of them.  It was big too.

I dare say that if it hangs around for a couple of days some obliging chap(s) will clear the bracken, put a suitably gnarly perch out with a smorgasbord of freshly killed small mammals available for the bird in order for it to perform for the big lenses gain sustenance in view of all this horrible weather what we are having. 

Oh, and I saw a Phalarope too.  I like Phalaropes.  Anyway, here is a picture of a feather.

Some Geese, a rainbow and a rare bird - weekly highlights 13/10/2014

A funny old week, for various reasons outside the scope of the blog, but with regards to pictures and birds, two things stand out.

Firstly, I took a picture of some Brent Geese and distant waders flying through/past/in/by a rainbow.  This has proved to be very popular.

Secondly, on Sunday I went to see a rare bird, which did a poo and ejected a pellet.

Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton

My poo list now stands at 42 or thereabouts and is quite eclectic in its contents.  My pellet ejecting list stands and one, and is currently awesome.  Here are some more pictures of a rare bird that I took in poor light, and one of which was taken at 1/80 second.  Don't listen to everything you are told with regard to photography...

Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton

Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton

Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton

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)!

In which I actually find a rare bird - Weekly Highlights 28/9/2014

The bird of the week, certainly in terms of ubiquity, was Meadow Pipit.  Everywhere.  Regardless of what I was hoping to see, there was another Meadow Pipit.  Here is one that posed long enough for a decent photo if the foliage hadn't interfered.

Wheatears still regular and plentiful, but evading the range of the lens by being generally flighty.  When I was fortunate enough to have one in range, it was raining.

So I was sitting in a pub garden with the wife, mulling over the menu while keeping an eye on the nearby saltmarsh (like you do) and this bird flies past.  Slowly.  Crikey, I thought, that is a chuffing big Egret and it isn't really flying like the normal ones do and look at its legs and its neck and its beak and its everything really actually.  It then landed in a nearby field an it was HUGE!  I notified my long-suffering wife that the bird wasn't a Little Egret and that the pleasant time in the pub garden was henceforth brought to a close.  In two short words.

Great Egret, Salthouse 25/09/2014

It was then seen to fly from Salthouse, over the East Bank and over Cley Marshes - I do wonder how many people missed it due to the height it was gaining.  It was subsequently reported in Wells and Stiffkey (?).  But fly on it did, hence the record shot that is before you.


I saw other birds on Friday and Saturday too, and did other stuff too.  Here are some of them.

Lapwings!

A Grey Plover!

A duck!

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.

Leucistic Herring Gull, 10/09/2014

I saw a gull yesterday and it seemed to have white wing tips.  I dismissed this as wishful thinking and that the sun was behind it and I was hungry, and being silly.  Then it started flying about.

'Crikey' I said.  

More than once.  

Once viewed with an optical aid, it was quite obvious what it is/was and I managed to snatch a few photos which larophiles will enjoy.  Instructional they will say. Stroking of chins they will do.

Anyhow, here is a leucistic Herring Gull that  I found yesterday.  Enjoy...

Flying...

...flying with some plastic in it's gob (seems to be the norm these days)...

...more flying...

....hmmm, tailband - yummy.


I have more photos of this bird, but four is enough isn't it?

If this isn't quite enough gullage for you, feel free to click here for some more...