Short-Eared Magic

At last, a weekend with a day of good weather forecast, though when I arrived in North Lincolnshire to find it shrouded in mist and drizzle, I have to admit to have uttered a few expletives. A new area for me though, and one that promised good things.

Initially I checked out the marshes where I'd be heading later in the day, and was pleased to spot a pair of short-eared owls performing some aerial acrobatics, albeit somewhat far off. And later, I spotted a marsh harrier heading by.

Nearby was the reserve Far Ings, and this location seems to pay dividends to locals, who bag wonderful shots of bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tits, plus occasionally the likes of a passing osprey. Sadly the weather dampened down anything that might have shone that morning, and my timing seemed out, as I arrived in the main hide to find I'd just missed a passing bittern (and later discovered after I'd left, I missed a merlin!).

Such is bird photography. The weather seemed to be brightening up a bit, and Stuart had now joined me for the remainder of the day, and hopefully the main event.

Readers of this blog know how much I adore owls, and any chance / excuse I have to photograph them, I try to take. Some of the very best short-eared owl shots I've ever seen had come from this spot, so I hoped my luck would change. The weather had certainly changed, and the sun was now out, with a light but rather chilly breeze.

After seeing the owls performing at the other end of the area from where we'd set up, we opted to wander down the road to both get a bit closer and also try to warm up a bit. Annoyingly, the owls refused to come closer, and the only chance for a decent shot when a lone bird flew over from behind us, left me cursing my camera when it wouldn't lock on. Stuart bagged some lovely shots.

As the light was fading and our cars were at the other end of the road, we wandered back towards the area we'd been originally stood, and it soon dawned on us that the gathered crowd had something rather special nearby. Unbelievably, a short-eared owl was perched only a few yards away from everyone, and didn't seem to be bothered by the excited photographers one little bit.

Needless to say we took advantage and joined in, getting shots from the other side of the road - I had to back off to fit the bird in the frame, and switch to portrait to compose the image.

What a stunning, gorgeous bird. Those eyes...

The slightest movement of the owl brought on a wave of shutter clicks, but it just sat there. Eventually, after a bit of a preen, scratch and ruffle, it moved away and down into the undergrowth, leaving everyone with huge grins and images of an unforgettable day.

Worth the 300 mile round trip? Oh yes!

Bits & Bobs, and a new Diver

Last weekend was rather bitty. Saturday I trundled over to see if I could see Little Grump, and did, when a passing car spooked it out of its hiding place and into the open, but the dreadful light meant shots weren't anything to write home about. The same could be said about a male kestrel I spotted nearby, but the image turned out okay in the end.

A brief spell at the Moors Pools later yielded little, aside from the usual, though I was pleased to see a fieldfare guarding the apples on the path again. Perhaps one to try for on a brighter day.

Sunday started with a browse through pics on various websites and resulted in me heading to Clayhanger Marsh, the spot where I saw a hoopoe last year. This time it was for a black-throated diver that had been seen on one of the pools up there.

After getting local info as to how to find the lake (handy!) I wandered down to the bank and set up, setting the camera up using a passing mallard. Good thing I did, as seconds later, the diver surfaced virtually right in front of me! Needless to say I grabbed a few shots - what luck!

The diver then glided behind an island in the lake, and along with some birders who'd joined me by now, we guessed that it would appear around the other side, so moved over to wait for it. Another wise move as it appeared pretty close again.

Disappearing beneath the surface, it reappeared in a small hole in the ice at the edge of the pool. Rather than dive under again, it seemed to panic somewhat, and flap / slide / scuttle across the ice back to the open water again, which was amusing to observe.

After a bit of a preen, it headed out into deeper waters, and I didn't take another shot. By then though, I'd already fired off 230 pics! Enough I thought, and opted to head 10 miles north, to Cannock Chase.

The cloud seemed to follow me, and despite there being sunshine back home, I had to endure gloomy conditions at the feeding site, but still bagged shots of great, willow and coal tits, nuthatches and a female bullfinch.

Not a bad end to the day, and enough images to keep me amused during the dark evenings of the following working week.

Venus Bramblings

Last Monday was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year, but I think this weekend beat it, given the 3 days of glorious sunshine leading up to it, only to find Saturday barely got light, with blanket cloud offering no sign of a let up. Had there been any hope of better weather, I might have been tempted to take up a kind offer of a trip to Hereford for some brambling shots, but I ended up sat in a cold hide at Venus Pools instead.

At least the grim weather hadn't put off the birds, who were feeding in their masses. Don't think I've seen as many chaffinches in one spot, and thankfully amongst them, were half a dozen bramblings.


I took a few shots of them initially, as they fed from the ground, but reviewing the shots showed it to be a rather unattractive setting, and so I started watching branches around the feeders in the hope that I'd see some making their approach, stopping enroute. Took a while but they started to favour this route in, and soon I was then shifting my bum around on the bench in the hide, to try to angle the camera to get a clear shot of the birds, as and when they landed.

Bramblings really are vibrant with their orange chest and shoulders, and flecks of yellow and white down the wings. Just a shame the light was doing its best to dull everything down. However, as with a recent trip to see the short-eared owls, I had set the camera up on full manual mode, and while a few shots came out dark, any shots against a brighter backdrop were fine without having to try to over-expose and hence guess what was needed each time.

It also helped having removed the teleconverter, meaning I was able to get the lens open wide (F4.5 and even down to F4), to get whatever light available, in the camera. Worked, as the shots, while noisy and a bit dark straight from the camera, came up okay after a bit of faffing in my image applications.

Sunday was spent on a golf course, and as usual, I found myself watching the woodland birds flitting around, though the best birdie of the day came when I chipped out of a bunker on a par 3, to see the ball bounce once and land straight in the hole!

Berkshire Birds

At the start of 2010, I saw my first glossy ibis over in the marshes near Holt. Since then I have wished I'd had my big lens to have taken better shots, seeing as it was so accommodating. Well, after seeing some shots of one down in Berkshire (Dave Hutton), I was tempted to head down for a look myself, especially with the threat of sunshine for the first time on a weekend in weeks.

The trip didn't start well, with my satnav taking me to the wrong village! I thought it was weird when approaching the destination, not to have seen a single sign for Hungerford, and I soon worked out something had gone pear-shaped. Fortunately, it wasn't miles out, and I found the place manually instead. Technology eh?

Parked up and wandered to the reserve, and as Dave had warned, it was very muddy. Unfortunately, after the overnight rain, the river was high and there was no sign of the ibis. I think if the drive had been shorter, I'd have left, but as it was, I was determined not to miss out and give it as long as possible, and as hope faded (no-one had seen it at all), one of the locals reported that it had been seen further up-river.

Trudging through the mud, I made my way as far along the river as I could, and having now been joined by two other togs, we all searched together. No sign. I was cursing my luck when it suddenly appeared, flying over head, and so began the chase. We tracked it down to the shadows of the other side of the river initially, where we managed some shots, though the light was terrible, before a dog racing by spooked it further down river again.

Here it was a bit brighter, and we watched it hunting about in the shallows for food. At one point it managed to catch an elver, which took some wrestling to subdue and bolt down.


It was so tame though - we were stood within feet of it, yet it didn't seem worried at all. If anything, I'd have been better off with my 100-400mm lens, which I'd foolishly left sat at home. Being close was one thing, but getting some light was another, and thankfully at about 1pm, the clouds finally parted, and the sun lit up the scene, transforming the black bird into one that shone.

In this light, it really lived up to its name. Iridescent colours. Stunning.

Needless to say, this made the majority of the hard-worked shots in the morning look dull and most have been binned, but I wasn't grumbling. To see one so close in such bright light was fab.

Eventually though, I decided to head off to find the other attraction locally, and thanks to directions from one of the togs there who kept me entertained during the day (Winston Churchill no less), I was soon parking up at a place called Great Shefford, and looking at a new bird. A great white egret.

Stood amongst half a dozen little egrets, it really showed the size difference, and was rather elegant when walking around. Stretching and ruffling feathers, it gave a good show for a few mins, and I was glad I had arrived when I did, as suddenly it decided to fly off down the field, and dropped into the river below, not to be seen again! Well, not by me at any rate.

Despite the sun being out, it wasn't warm, and I headed back before dusk to the warmth of home. A very successful day trip.

New Year's Owls

After the chaos of the snow followed days when it seemingly never got light. Mist and fog loomed and when that cleared, there was still no sign of the sun. And so ended 2010, with me hardly going out during December. The New Year brought an almighty hangover, and so on 2nd January, I dug out my camera, and inspite of the weather, headed out for a look at a new spot in Staffordshire, which had been producing some good short-eared owl shots lately.

At the end of December, I had ventured over to Willington Pits, in the hope of seeing the long-eared owl, but it never seemed to get light and my word was it cold. I did see 2 bitterns, a barn owl and as darkness closed in, a shortie, but no joy on the main target, and no photos worth airing. Took a couple of hours for my feet to defrost too.

I arrived a bit early, and after photographing the sign for the meadows (always handy, so you can refer back and not get lost), I trudged over to the area recommended for the birds. There wasn't much about, apart from a few crows and a lone kestrel, though I was soon joined by Ken, Ian and Stu, which raised my spirits.

None of us were entirely sure where was best to stand, so we picked somewhere with a good vantage point over the area and hoped. As usual, hawk-eye Ian spotted the first owl, and we were soon watching it quarter the fields. At some distance... and it initially stayed that way. Landing in a small tree, the shortie was caught by surprise by a kestrel, which knocked it off its perch, as these rather blurred pics show.


The bird soon disappeared into the undergrowth, and we didn't need to wait long for another to appear. By this time, I'd moved around from the others, gambling on a different spot, and it paid dividends. The owl flew right past me on a couple of occasions; too close to get it in the frame. Though me tripping over the tripod as I spun round following it, probably didn't help!

The owls seemed oblivious to people around, and at times looked like they were going to land on some of the walkers!

Sadly the light never really materialised, but using the manual settings for a change helped, and although the end results were a tad dark and noisy (it is a 50D!!), they were recoverable, and I got some reasonable images.

The owls were still hunting when we decided it was too dark for pics, and I stood nearby just watching one for a short while. Fabulous birds to watch and photograph. Just wish some would choose somewhere to winter, closer to home... or anywhere that doesn't involve the dreaded M6.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

As a child, snow was always exciting and somewhat magical. Before even peering through the curtains, you'd know it was out there, from the strange light and silence in the morning. It made the world look like a Fairy Tale and most importantly, usually closed school! As an adult though, it's a pain the neck as work is rarely closed, so I have to fight my way in. That said, the latest fall came late on a Friday night, so by Saturday morning, I knew I could try for some snow shots.

I'd liked to have ventured further afield, but reports of gridlocked roads, crashes and abandoned vehicles swayed me to leave the car alone for a change, and simply enjoy what nature could offer me, in my own back garden. Filling up the feeders and sprinkling food around on the ground (pointless exercise as it was covered in moments!), I opted to sit on the veranda of the summer house, as it's sheltered from the falling snow and hides me slightly from the birds.

Wearing several layers of warm clothing, and wrapped in a bag hide, I waited patiently for the local birds to spot the food. Didn't take long, and soon the feeders were being visited by blue, great and coal tits, chaffinches, goldfinches, house sparrows, blackbirds, starlings and for me the star of the show, bullfinches.

I was chuffed to see three males glowing in the gloom from the blizzard, and I expect they were pleased to see a pair of females also taking the free sunflower seeds. There may a fight in Spring though, unless a third lady arrives!

I found myself taking shots of even house sparrows, as they sat on the snowy perches, and who can resist a robin? Not me.

Most of the berries from the hedges around the garden have been eaten already, so the holly bush beside my conservatory is a welcome treat for passing birds, and before I even got outside, I spotted a song thrush and redwing poking about amongst the spiny leaves.

Eventually it got too dull and I was a tad cold by then too, so I retreated back to the warmth of the house, hoping that I'd get similar chances on the Sunday, when the sun was supposed to be shining.

Hmm, Sunday arrived, but the sun must have had a lie in. No matter, I relocated to the back bedroom, and grabbed a few shots of the winter thrushes feeding in the trees and hedges around the garden.

I had to laugh at one fieldfare, when it picked a bright red berry, and had a real game to get it down.

Almost dropped it a couple of times, but eventually forced it down the hatch, and sat looking rather smug for a few moments after.


A short spell again in the garden itself yielded surprisingly little - perhaps the birds had been tempted elsewhere. However, I did spot one of the nuthatches, and best of all, given the bad weather and risk for them, I saw a pair of goldcrests picking off bugs from the fir tree.

A good weekend of photography, albeit rather cold and no miles covered at all. Not sure what the neighbours think of me though...

Hunting Waxwings

What dreary weather we've been having lately. Not exactly encouraging us togs to venture out there, when the skies are grey, it's drizzling and not particularly warm either. Saturday was one such day, and despite seeing the bittern flying along the far side of the Moors pool, there was little else to note, though 3 water rails were mooching around near the feeders, scuttling across the iced edges of the lake.

Sunday promised to be better, and I first headed down to Warndon again, after seeing reports of waxwings on the Saturday. Set off in fine sunshine... arrived to find the estate covered in a blanket of thick fog, and no sight nor sound of the birds. Bugger. Oh well, checking on other sightings, I found myself down at Pershore, in even denser fog!

Over to Evesham next, and no birds and more mist. This was starting to annoy me, as the morning was almost gone, and I'd not seen a thing. Finally I decided to try to find the birds reported on an industrial estate over in Alcester, which turned out to be the same spot as I saw a black redstart earlier in the year.

Whilst cruising around the estate, I spotted something unusual on a factory roof, and did a double take... a red legged partridge! Fancy that! I did, and pulled over to get some shots. It seemed a bit confused to be up there and not in a pear tree at this time of year, but managed to show some seasonal magic by vanishing when I tried to reverse the car back for a better view.


Heading towards the River Arrow, I clocked a very encouraging sign. I say "sign", but really mean a person. Dave Hutton, who had been photographing the flock of waxwings for a couple of hours. Parked up and waited.

There were 28 birds (Dave counted, as I'm useless at flocks in flight) and they were initially on a small circuit between a tall tree beside the river, and several small berry trees by some flats. It was good because the berries were of different colours, allowing (when the birds descended) us to get shots on each.

As luck would have it, within about 20 mins of me getting there, the clouds amassed and the light rapidly left. Along with Dave, who said Stella was calling for him...

I stayed on for a while longer, chatting to locals and other togs, and trying to keep warm, though compared to recent weeks, it was almost tropical! Still cold after a while though, and the birds started to spread out around the estate, taking longer to return. That was my cue to leave, but not a bad day in the end. Fingers crossed that the sun will show itself one weekend soon, while these wonderful birds are still around for more pics.