Hunting Bittern

Sunday started with a hangover - a rare lads' night out at the Peacock, and a skinful of Davenports IPA. By about 10am, the sunshine had gone and it was raining, and I found myself sat in the lounge, boots on but not laced up, looking out at the weather, and wondering if it was worth the bother of going out. Why not? Nothing better to do, other than Spring Cleaning. Upton Warren was the target, after reading that one of the bitterns had still been seen there on Saturday.

Looking chilled to the bone, Pam, Emma and the gang were just getting ready to move elsewhere, and they also confirmed the bittern had been seen, but not by them. The hide looked full, but I wandered in anyway. Within minutes of me entering, 2 of the chaps left (must change my aftershave!) but that left me with a mate, and the search for the bittern.

Took a while, but when we did see it, it was worth it. Initially we caught glimpses of it fishing in one of the channels, and it is very interesting to see how they hunt.

Herons hunt by stalking their prey, standing over the water, almost motionless, suddenly striking violently to catch it. Little egrets walk around in the water, swishing the bed with their feet, disturbing small fish etc which they then pick out, much like the herons.

Bitterns are quite different. When fishing, they seem to put their beak half into the water, almost as though they're drinking (what I previously thought), and wait patiently for a fish to get swim close enough to strike. They also eat frogs and toads, much to the dismay of the breeding ones, in front of the hide. I had got some pics of them, but it was fantastic to watch the bittern approach.

Firstly it got within range, and then stood still, but lifted its head up. Then, with its head still, it made its neck move in a wave-like manner, presumably immitating the reeds, Doing this, it then moved in for the kill, and in the blink of an eye, nailed one of the toads. But not without a fight! It had to flip it and get a better grip, with the toad's leg flailing desperately against the bittern's head and eye. Disappearing into the reeds again, we missed it consume the poor toad, but we did see the bittern wander off, back to the reeds again, to its favoured fishing spot.

So I was very glad I bothered to go out, as I witnessed yet another wonderful birding moment.

Whitacre & Kingsbury

After Friday's Spring-like sunshine, Saturday was supposed to be gloomy, so it was a pleasant surprise to awaken to sunshine. Reading about siskin and redpoll being seen over at Whitacre Heath tempted me over that way, but not this time into the woods. No, the birds had been seen at the car park feeders, so I could be sat in comfort for once.

Parking alongside the feeders, there were a few birds already around, including blue and great tits, chaffinches, robins, dunnocks and a few reed buntings. It's a good spot for photos actually, as the sun is behind you, and lights up the branches of the tree and the ground. Whilst waiting for something "good" to arrive, I decided it'd be rude not to photo the reed buntings, as they're such well marked birds.

Alas it wasn't to be my day for the target birds, as I saw neither siskin nor redpoll. However, I did get to see several greenfinches, which despite being present in my garden, have managed to avoid the aim of my lens to date.



A couple of hours sat in the car were enough to move on, and over to Kingsbury Water Park. I've not been there for a while, and wanted to have a nose at the Middleton Hall RSPB reserve too, as well as Richard's Meadow. The latter is apparently good for hen harriers and short-eared owls, though only sheep were present when I was wandering through it.

In fact the whole area seemed pretty quiet on the bird front. There were a few gulls on the lakes at the RSPB bomb site - that's what it looks like! And along the canal were a few long-tailed tits, and a great spotted woodpecker, but all at a distance.


What wasn't at a distance, and disturbingly close to the new reserve, were American Mink. Caught sight of one swimming along the edge of the canal, causing the water to froth as the fish leapt out of its way. It surfaced with a huge fish in its mouth, and, as I followed along the other side, made its way along the water's edge to somewhere it could eat in peace. Undeniably cute in their appearance, I hope the RSPB have some traps ready, because they're a real pain the **** for conservation.

Bramblings & Black Redstart

Saturday was set aside for another day over at Worcester Warriors, where they hosted London Wasps. We expected Wasps to wipe the floor with Worcester, with their squad of top players, including some current and ex England stars, but the Warrior's defence was superb. Scoring the only try of the game, Worcester then stole the show and the points with a brilliant drop goal seconds before the end.

Sunday would be the birding day, and the sun shining through the curtains managed to encourage me out of bed, despite having a hangover from the day before, and out on to the road. Targets for the day were bramblings and perhaps if I had time, the firecrest and black redstart.

Several bramblings have been seen at the feeders at Belvide, so that's where I headed, dodging the potholes down the country lanes, and eventually finding the car park. Mooching through the woods, I bumped into a couple of 'togs, stationed by the woodland feeders, hoping for a shot of the nuthatch, though the gloom and spots of rain weren't helping! It took me about 5 seconds to guess that one of them was Martyn, one of the chaps I "chat" to on the forums, and after some introductions, I left them to it, and headed down to the waterside.

Along the path were a few lesser redpolls, though they wouldn't allow me near, and soon flew even further away when another birder came along. Nice to see though. In the hide, there was just enough room for me to squeeze in, but no-one had seen the bramblings.

Plenty of other stuff around though, such as tree sparrows, dunnocks, robins, pheasants, blue, great and long tailed tits, nuthatches, chaffinches and several noisy greenfinches. Out on the lake were numerous tufted ducks and a few goldeneyes. The clouds had also parted, and the sun was providing a bit of early spring warmth.

Just as the hide emptied, the first bramblings appeared. Straight into the caged feeder though, and when they left, it was via a dense bush. Someone needs to prune that a bit, I reckon! Over the next couple of hours, the bramblings came and went, frustrating us each time by their reluctance to pose for a shot. The only saviour was a male, who chose to feed off the grass beneath the feeder for a few moments, though the light had just deteriorated to vex us further.

After one more visit, the slight breeze had started to chill my cockles, and I decided it was time to head back to Warks, to aim for the other birds.

Stopping first at Hams Hall, I was disappointed not to see the firecrest, though a calling chiffchaff cheered me up, and I had a pretty close encounter with a goldcrest. Long tailed, blue and great tits were seemingly everywhere, and down on the river side, a pair of grey wagtails bounced off the bank to catch flies.

So over to Coleshill, for the black redstart. And a bit of luck. The gates were open, and there were two 'togs already inside, so locating the bird was easy. what followed was me creeping ever closer to the bird, which bobbed on various perches, occasionally flying off, though it did allow me very close at times. A delightful bird, lit up beautifully in the sunshine and a very good end to a day's shooting.

SEOs, Firecrest & Black Redstart

Choices. Saturday was supposed to be sunny, so I had the choice of either going to find the 2 local birds of interest, the black redstart and the firecrest(s), or meet up with the lads down at Milton Keynes for the short-eared (and barn) owls. Took me about 10 seconds to decide that the others could wait, as I find watching and photographing owls a magical experience.

As with the last time, I awoke early through excitement, and was soon enroute, though this week the lack of black ice allowed me to pick up the pace somewhat. Parking in the same place, I was soon plodding through the field, and in need of a tinkle. The trees at the bottom looked like a good spot - they smelled of fox wee anyway, as I found out last time, when lying down. Mmm - lovely. Looking around, as you do when peeing, I spotted something up at the top of the field. A short-eared owl... already quartering the fields... before 9am!!

What followed consisted of me trying to sneek alongside the fields, or under trees to get as close to the birds as possible, though they kept at a decent distance, mostly. I did have some joy with the paler one, that chose to sit in one of the trees, and I also witnessed at close quarters, one hunting over the field next to me - getting some decent shots as it flew towards me, through the trees. Stunning birds - breathtaking.

By about 10am though they had decided to take a late sleep, and dunked down into the fields. This was when Ian, Joe, and then later Richard and Ben arrived. Ken was out on deliveries, and I know he's gutted not to have made it. The owls then didn't really show very much - rather disappointing. I managed to get one in a tree again, though two birders spooked it from its perch after a couple of minutes. They (the owls, not the birders) just kept dropping down into the grass, and with their camouflage, virtually disappeared doing so.

The barn owls stayed well away, so I again missed the chance of a decent shot of them, though a little birdie has told me where to aim for next time I'm in Norfolk (cheers Richard!).

Sunday started with processing the SEO shots, and I would have been content to stay sat in front of my PC, nursing a headache from the Davenports IPA the night before, but the sunshine on the window tempted me out, and over to Coleshill to see the black redstart. By then though the clouds had rolled in, and it even started to rain. Spirits were lifted though, by the arrival of Kay and Max, and also Jo (lovely to meet you!), all three wrapped up against the "mild" conditions.

The black redstart then made a very brief appearance, looking as happy with the weather as us, before disappearing into thin air, not to be seen (by me) again. Ah well, it encouraged me to head over to Hams Hall for the firecrests.

What a little oasis of wildlife! Wrens, goldcrests, long-tailed tits, chiffchaffs, robins, blue and great tits, and a distant buzzard, all spotted within 10 mins of being there. The star though, was the firecrest, and despite its "dodgy leg", it still performed acrobatics, and after a few rubbish chances, came down low enough for some pics. It was dull though, and I was glad that ISO 1000 on the camera still allows me to get "keepers"!

BMC Guide

Just a quick note to say that the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) have published the Green Guide To The Uplands, as a PDF from their website.

See: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Download.aspx?id=350


This free publication features a couple of images I took; a Raven from Gigrin and also a Sparrowhawk from my garden.

I'm credited for the shots on page 30, with a mention of my gallery too.

Long-Eared Owls

After Saturday's adventure, Sunday was supposed to be a rest day, and started as such, with me finishing off the remaining SEO pics. After a spot of brekkie, I opted to head to Upton Warren, hoping to see the bittern. It had been sighted on the North Moors already. Arriving at the car park, I tried my best to run over Pam and Emma, but alas missed ;-) and parked up next to them for a natter. They were leaving, heading for a Maccies, after a pretty eventless visit. They were going to try their luck on the Flashes after.

I tried my luck in the car park hide, but aside from a lone male shoveler, there was nowt about. So when my phone buzzed, I hoped it was Wode, asking if I wanted a beer. It wasn't. It was something else...

It was Kay, and she had news of a pair of long-eared owls over in Walsall. Did I want to see them? Does the Pope poop in the woods? Err.. well, I did want to see them, and after a short conversation, I was blasting up the M6, praying they'd still be there.

Another call later, to confirm where I was supposed to go, and I was amongst a small party of birders, all admiring the two owls, perched in the trees on the canalside. One couldn't really be seen, as it had the light behind it, but the other, busy preening when I arrived, could be seen in its wonderful colours, albeit somewhat shaded in the tree.

The people there helpfully advised me where I could stand to get a clear view, and I'd soon filled a card on this wonderful bird. The slight breeze along the canal caught its tufts, and they really stood up on the bird's head. The one silhouetted by the light, alas decided it didn't like the attention, and burst out of the back of the trees, not to be seen again. Apparently there had been four of them! Imagine that sight. But the remaining one was enough entertainment for me, and I carried on clicking until the light had faded too much, and I had to head home.

What a weekend though. Two days, three species of owls. Fantastic.

Owl Hunting

Far too early for a weekend morning, I found myself driving down to Milton Keynes, for the first owl trip of the year. The sun was rising and made for some stunning wintery views across the snow-covered fields, though I couldn't afford more than the occasional glance, as the roads were covered with black ice. Parking up at the site, I was buzzed by a low flying sprawk, and watched it hurtle off across the road at a suicidal pace.

The sun was up by now, and everything had that golden light on it... pity there wasn't much about for photos. A kestrel darted from one of the trees as I wandered by, and a moorhen slid about on some ice. Along the hedgerow, I saw fieldfares, reed buntings, robins, great, blue and long tailed tits, and a few chaffinch dominated the dawn chorus, though they all kept well hidden in the branches.

On time, Ian and Joe rolled up, and it wasn't long before Ian's amazing sight spotted a barn owl. He must have been a buzzard or something in a previous life, as I could hardly see the barn owl with binoculars! Too far away for pics; it was something to watch while we waited for the shorties to show, and also for Ken to arrive, after his morning deliveries.

By about 11am, Ian was becoming apologetic, though why is anyone's guess. Birding is always about luck and timing. He had been to the site during the week and managed to get some stunning shots of a short-eared owl hovering near his car, and had recommended the site to us. But today, we'd not seen any, yet. As impatient as ever, I decided I would waddle on over to the area where the barn owls were (yes, another had appeared) hunting, and see if I could get anything from there.

There was one barn owl perched in a tree, so I tried to creep along the edge of a field, to get a bit closer. In doing so, I managed to spook a short-eared own from one of the trees next to me, and suddenly it was game on! It flew over to the barn owl, then back again, and perched in another tree nearby. Superb. Needless to say, Ian was soon scurrying over to get some shots from the same location, while Ken and Joe opted for a different angle. This SEO was rather pale in colour - almost ghostly.

The day then transformed from a quiet, distant view of birds to being surrounded by them. We had barn owls hunting on one side, and short-eareds (possibly up to 4 there) on the other, occasionally crossing paths and performing aerial tricks to avoid each other. Both would arc suddenly to drop down on prey, though the camouflage on shorties is so good, they effectively vanish if you take your eyes off them for a second.

After a couple of hours, me chasing them around, and the others favouring a more static location (something more to do with their kit being so heavy to carry!), we met up again and decided to celebrate the day with a pint. This gave them a chance to rest their weary legs, and me to go through some of the shots and make room for the next session.

Sadly, the light had really faded with building cloud when we got back, and while we saw both barn owls and a couple of the shorties quite close, it didn't favour good pictures, so we opted to head home. A fantastic day out, in good company and at a place considerably more accessible than the other owl haunts I've been to.