A morning in Lincolnshire

 

For whatever reason - poor research and homework or bad luck meant that today didn't go to plan. My hoped for Short-eared Owls and Barn Owl, didn't appear and the Long-eared Owls at Deeping Lakes were brown blobs obscured by the twiggy mess of the trees in which they were roosting.

However, it still turned out to be a pleasant morning. The drive along Deeping High Bank proved fruitless, and we parked up at the nature reserve. There were a few thrushes around the car park, and on the lakes a few Goldeneye and other ducks and Great Crested Grebe.

I saw a single tree creeper but failed to see any Long-eared Owl. Asking a local birder where the best place was to watch from, I realised I had over-looked them somehow and went back and only then saw the birds when they were pointed out to me by a guy with a scope. They were so well-hidden and I think I can be forgiven for missing them first time round (just). I might go back in the hope of seeing them perched out in the open.

Returning to the car park, the camera was kept busy by a Fieldfare playing peek-a-boo and a very photogenic Blackbird with his red berries.

Goldeneye (drake)

Fieldfare

Blackbird

We had a drive around the lanes in search of a Short-eared Owl, to no avail, but the day was rescued by stunning views of a Common Buzzard along Deeping High Bank and a Kestrel near Deeping St. Nicholas. I might try again for the owls in the New Year and get on site for dawn.

Common Buzzard

Female Kestrel

Highfields Park thrushes - 27-12-20

Having stumbled on a group of Redwings feeding on berries the previous day, I returned this morning with the light bright and crisp. There tree favoured by the birds was somewhat in the open, and it was impossible to avoid flushing the birds. However, I managed to use the cover of another tree and the birds soon returned and gorged on the berries. They were joined by a Fieldfare and a Mistle Thrush while I was there. I'm not sure I will ever get a better opportunity to photograph Redwings.

Redwing

Fiedldfare

Mistle Thrush

A little later, needing to go to the shops, I popped into the city centre and was pleased to see a Peregrine perched on the higher ledge of the University on South Sherwood Street.  I hope to get a bird in flight or on one of the lower ledges in the spring.

Peregrine Falcon

Boxing Day Walk - 26-12-20

Boxing Day was cloudy, but it was high white cloud and was therefore quite bright.

I had a Kestrel and a Lesser Black-backed Gull within 200 metres of my house, a nice start, I thought. The Kestrel was perched on a lamp post, but in silhouette. The bird took flight and I managed a record shot in the first proper light of the morning.

Kestrel

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Wollaton Park continued to be fairly useless with very little on the lake, and a sole drake Goosander was too far out to consider photographing. I've not seen the Tawny Owl since early March. A single Little Egret on the marsh saved the site from being a complete waste of time.

Highfields Park proved better, with an approachable adult Common Gull giving me a full mew, and around the park a selection of approachable common species. I particularly like the Iridescence on the Magpie.

Common Gull

Magpie

Black-headed Gull

Common Pochard

As I reached University Boulevard, I spooked a small flock of Redwing. I got a few record shots, but see my next post for some better efforts.

Christmas Day - An ornithological gift!

 

Christmas Day was cold, although the promised frost never appeared. None the less, I sprinkled some extra bird food on the path.  Two Robins and then a male Blackbird welcomed the dried meal worms and crumbled fat balls, and I watched these before making a coffee and turning on my camera in the hope of composing a Christmassy image of a Robin.

Armed with my Sony A9, I looked out of the kitchen to see a female Sparrowhawk staring at me from the Sallow. I rattled off a few shots and then went into the dining room in order to get more of a head on angle.

I had often hoped to get a 'Sprawk' in the garden but I had never dreamed of getting one this well. I'm just pleased that the windows had only been recently cleaned!

Sparrowhawk (female)

A day in Derbyshire

The first sunny day - well not predominantly dull - on a weekend, looked like a good chance to get out to Derbyshire before the Christmas break in the hope of photographing a Dipper. It had rained torrentially in the night and arriving at the spot, the river Dove was a torrent. Undeterred, I set off along the footpath, snapping a Mallard and a Grey Heron along the way.  I had progressed for a good half a mile without seeing a Dipper and this was a stretch that I had been told they were nailed on. 

It occurred to me that all the little stones where Dippers liked to perch were under water. I was pondering on whether to turn back and look upstream when movement caught my eye and with the naked eye I saw a flash of white, blinking against the rushing water. I looked through the bins and sure enough a Dipper was bobbing on a moss-covered log on the other side of the river. 

I edged towards the edge of the water, but couldn't get in a perfect position and struggled a little with the exposure, the bird in full sun. But I guess that's nit-picking.

Grey Heron

Mallard

Dipper

I needed to get back to Nottingham for noon, so we popped into Cromford in the late morning. I had hoped for some winter thrushes, but nothing was doing. However, a shot walk along the river produced a very approachable Little Grebe, the bird apparently accustomed to people feeding bread to the ducks. A super close image!

Little Grebe

Local Birding in November - fog, cloud, drizzle and a bit of sunshine

 

The shorter days of autumn after the clocks went back were characterized by dull and often damp weekends, with most of the sunshine confined to the week, when frustratingly I was in the office at home.

The 7th November began with dense fog, and I walked through Wollaton Park without seeing a bird. The forecast promised clear skies by 11am, but this unsurprisingly was not the case and continuing through the university, I decided to head for Attenborough Nature reserve, taking a taxi from Beeston. It was still foggy when I arrived at the reserve, so continued to the visitor centre for a coffee.

The fog cleared at 1pm, not gradually, but it just lifted as though a veil had been drawn away from the air.

A drake Eurasian Teal was swimming at close quarters on Church Pond and Lapwing were putting on a show in what was now lovely light.

Eurasian Teal

                                       

                                      

                                                                  Lapwing

Hearing of a pair of Stonechat that had been showing well on the Derbyshire border near the railway line, I had a five minute walk to the little corner of the marina, where the lake has an overgrown area of teasle and other seed-bearing plants in a marshy bit. I immediately located the Stonechats. Both the male and female performed remarkably well, the male approaching to within a few metres.

                             

Stonechats

I walked back to the village via Church pond and snapped a Goldcrest on the way. The bird played hide and seek for a while but eventually perched out in a nice pose in the last flush of afternoon light.

Goldcrest

Having a medical commitment with my Mother after lunch on 10th November, I was left with the remainder of the afternoon to myself, and opted to check out Highfields Lake as it was about the time that the first Goosanders should be turning up. I was right on cue, and sitting by the lake side managed to get a male close to the bank and also captured him mid flap. I really like that image.

Goosander

Friday 13th November turned out to be reasonably lucky. I had tried umpteen times to get decent views of a Great White Egret at Attenborough. As I was chatting to Simon Roberts, two birds flew over from the south and circled the reedbed on Church pond, before settling out of site. However, one bird then got up and proceeded to give us a close fly past. Great stuff!  A walk along Tween Pond produced an approachable Common Gull.

Great White Egret

Common Gull

Snatching what little sunshine there was became quite tricky, and this paid off with a walk to my local pond in Wollaton where some Goosanders briefly took up residence, occasionally coming ridiculously close. Word has it, that there were up to 11 birds over a few days but the one time I saw a drake, it was at the back of the pond in atrocious light.

Goosander (female)

A few parties of Common Crossbills had been noted on Budby South Forest in the middle of November, so I set off on the 21st and tried my luck. It was very dull, with just a little watery sunshine leaking through. However, after a bit of a run around I got some passable shots. There's something very absorbing and rewarding about crossbills - I rank them among my favourite birds. I'll get a shot of one at a puddle one day.

We dropped in at Rufford Park on the way back, which was like Skegness, with the World and his wife there. A few Goosanders were playing hard to get but I did manage a nice fly-by of a redhead.

Goosander