Cold Comfort For Change

Right, where are we? August. I've not been anywhere far afield lately, due to a cough and cold, and also due to the amount of travelling I've already done this year. That said, it won't hold me back later in the year. Locally though, there have been some gems turning up.

First of all, Little Grump. Earlier this year I finally spotted a second little owl in the oak tree and since then have been hoping that the pair would produce some even littler owls for me to see. A little owl addict on Bird Guides advised me on how to listen out for the calls of the young, and so, whenever possible I've been parking up next to the tree and listening.

Nothing in general and I was beginning to lose hope, until one morning towards the end of July, I heard the hissing. Within moments, I'd spotted a ball of fluff, a little owlet.

I still grin even now thinking about it sat in the tree, glaring at me like the adults, but less camouflaged due to the downy feathers. It soon scurried off before I could get a shot, when a pair of joggers went by, but persistence paid off, and I bagged some shots.

Needless to say, I went back the next day too, and was rewarded with better views of the owlet and also realised that there were two of them! Amazingly, they could already fly a bit, and bounced around the tree like a fluffy monkey.

Amusing to watch and photograph. At one point, it pulled some strained yawning expression, which it held for several minutes. Too hot, perhaps?

Another treat I received was in the woods near Chaddesley, where I'd originally gone to see spotted flycatchers that had been reportedly seen there. I failed to see them, but did encounter a family of treecreepers, who had made a nest in the woodshed. This made it slightly easier to capture one, though they move so quickly, when trying to get a full-framed shot, you still needed to be lightning fast with the shot.

I was intrigued to see the amount and type of grubs being brought back each time. Looks like earwigs are popular!

Finally kingfishers. I've not really set out to get any shots of them since acquiring my 500mm lens, so when I saw Stuart's pics of one from Feckenham Wylde Moor (Worcs Trust) I thought it would be worth a go. I'd not been out at all since picking up the cough, so perhaps this would provide something of a welcome break from the misery of blowing my nose all the time and coughing.

The sun was out when I arrived at the hide and I settled down next to a pair of gentlemen already there. One soon left (perhaps concerned about Lurgy Boy's cough) to look around the rest of the reserve, leaving the pair of us on kingfisher watch. It hadn't been seen for about an hour. I took that as being a good sign, in that it ought to show up soon.

It did. And my word was it close! Had to turn the camera to portrait mode to get the bird in the frame. The bird being a juvenile female, and a prolific fisher too. Must have taken 5 fish on the first visit, and another 3 or 4 on subsequent appearances.

A lot of my previous kingfisher shots are cropped a fair bit, so it was superb to get some full frame shots, and in good light too. Even bagged some with a stickleback caught.

After about 90 mins, the phone rang and I was invited to the pub by some friends. Seeing as I'd taken a good few shots by then and the light was fading, I took them up on the offer. I think I've got my fill of kingfisher shots now, at least for the time being. I don't ever seem to get tired of getting my fill of real ale though!

Some Like It 'Ot

Getting used to normal bird photography after the trips to Scotland and Skomer has been quite a come down. There seems to be very little around at the moment, aside from gulls, which if you read this blog you know I'm not exactly one to get excited by such birds. Sure, I could go to Brandon Marsh and add to the numbers of 'togs getting shots of the kingfishers performing there (still might) but I wanted something a little different.

I'd been to RSPB Otmoor earlier in the year but there was little about that I could see (dipped on the garganeys), though the new hide looked promising, albeit unfinished back then. And I'd got drenched there too, when the heavens opened as I was at the furthest point away from shelter. However, at this time of year there should be hobbies present, so I set off with these wonderful agile birds in mind.

On reaching the reserve the sun was out and it was quite an effort to walk to the gate without sweating profusely. I walked along the bridle-way, towards the military range and chuckled at the warnings on the Gate. There was a warning about not picking up debris as it might kill you. Another than cows with calves can be aggressive and a third saying that there was a bull loose in the field. With this in mind, I turned back and returned to the main part of the path again!

Scanning the skies as I went, it became pretty clear that there were no hobbies present. Just a sole kestrel, hunting way out over the marshes. I was about to head along the path to see the hide and what it looked out on, when a bird shape caught my attention. It looked brown and pointy, and was sat on a bar of a fence of a cattle enclosure. Bins out in a flash and I had clocked a cuckoo. And a juvenile one at that. As with the adults though, as soon as I'd fired off a couple of shots, it flew off.

Unlike the adults, it stayed in the same sort of area, and I moved position to get a better view of the enclosure, from the gate on the reserve. I did expect it to take flight, but it was far more interested in the caterpillars around, and wasn't bothered by me at all. In fact, it flew a lot closer, and sat on a post, yards from me.


From here it would then swoop down into the undergrowth, and return with a caterpillar, knock the insides out of it, and consume. Then look for another. This took it to different perches, while I waited patiently, taking shots as it went about its business. What a cracking bird though.

Eventually, it was spooked by someone walking along the path, and took flight further into the reserve, but by then I had bagged a load of shots and had all but forgotten about the lack of hobbies. And with the light fading as dark clouds rolled in, I opted to head back home, as I had a flight for work in the morning, meaning a get-up at 4am.

While there is no hope of seeing eagles or puffins when out and about locally, the trip had proved that you can still dig up gems and had raised my spirits no end.

Skomer Island

After seeing my first puffins at Bempton Cliffs last year, I jumped at the chance of joining some friends on Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, famous for having a huge puffin colony. The trip was all arranged via a forum I use (Talk Photography), so all I had to do was pay and ensure I was prepared for the stay on the island. Fortunately, others had been before, so they knew what to take.

Before going to Skomer, we arranged to meet up at Gigrin, to hire out the new tower hide for the red kite feeding session. This also gave me the chance to mooch around the rest of the farm, and as usual it yielded some gems. After last year's find of the spotted flycatchers, I was pleased this time around to find common redstarts and also treecreepers.

The new hide is spacious, allows you to set up easily, and gives a fine view over the field. That said, trying to swing a lens on a tripod fast enough to track an incoming kite isn't simple, and a lot of shots resulted in blurred images of sky and grass! Still, I kept trying and managed a few keepers, including some better shots (than before) of the buzzards that also enjoy the free feast.


We'd opted to camp overnight before getting the boat to Skomer which was amusing, though sleep was at a premium given the snoring from neighbours! And then it was on to the boat in the morning, and tackling the baggage being taken. My goodness! It was like we were going for 6 months, not 3 nights! Ridiculous amount, but several chains were formed, and we carried the luggage on to and then off the boat, and up the steps of Skomer's harbour.

By this time I'd already seen hundreds of puffins though. They were everywhere! Fan-puffin-tastic! Ahem, sorry. After unpacking and waiting for the kind volunteers to bring up the luggage in their tractor, it was off to the cliffs to try for the puffins, in flight of course. The lads were right. They said it was hard to photo them, as they fly so fast and they certainly do just that! Like feathered missiles hurtling in from their trips, beaks filled with sand eels, being pursued by gulls, until the last seconds when they apply the air-brakes, and land near their burrows, ready to bolt down underground, to deposit the catch for the chick.


Then it's off out to sea again, a relentless quest for the next generation. Couldn't use the big lens, so my trusty old 100-400mm came into its own again.

Over at the Wick, I was amazed at how close the puffins were to us. Stood right at our feet, waddling past, grumbling and croaking, dashing to and from burrows. Such amusing little characters. I even glimpsed a chick!

Puffins aside, there are plenty of other attractions on the island. Little owls live in one of the old stone walls near the accommodation, and they proved to be a challenge to view and photo, as they hid on rocks, amongst ferns and in dips in the ground. They had a pair of chicks though, so I grabbed a few shots of them too.

Whilst photographing these, I was chuffed (sorry) when a family of choughs landed nearby, allowing me to get some images of these rare corvids into my collection. Similar size and behaviour to jackdaws, but the call is more of a whine, and the red on the legs and beaks is so vivid. Great to see them.

Another rarity I got to see, although generally in tragic circumstances, were Manx shearwaters. They appear to be top of the menu for gulls, as most of the time all we got to see was a trail of feathers ending with a pair of discarded wings and feet. We also saw a dead one that must have hit a wall when flying in at night. Did see a couple of live ones, as they landed in the dark, and hurried to their burrows. Not evolution's greatest achievement I think! And whilst waiting in pitch black for them to come back, we spied a glow-worm too.

Best of all though, and for me equalling seeing the puffins, were the short-eared owls. Not only did we see an almost fledged chick sat in amongst the ferns, but also a couple of fledged birds, trying to hunt, and landing really close by in doing so.

Looked quite sad as they bobbed their heads around in search of a meal, though as the parents weren't too far off (hunting) I doubt they'd have gone hungry.

Given the rabbit population on the island I was amazed to only see one pair of buzzards during the trip, though we did see several peregrines around, including youngsters which was encouraging. A safe haven away from pigeon-fanciers and their poisons.

Down at the shore again, I tried my hand at capturing razorbills and guillemots landing, and discovered I was as bad at them as I was at puffins, though being close to the sea allowed me some pics of them on the water, including some more puffins, of course; be rude not to!

When it came to leaving the island I was pretty tired. Had made the most of all the time on the island, including the hours of darkness, and had taken thousands more pics. It's definitely a very special place to visit, and more so to live upon it, albeit for only a few days. I just hope I get the chance to repeat the trip.

Bluethroat?

After seeing countless wonderful shots of the bluethroat at Welney, I decided it was high time I made the effort to see it for myself. Another early start and at just before opening time at the centre, I rolled up. Sun was shining and it looked to be a perfect day to be spotting rarities.

Paid my entry fee and hurried down to the hide where it was usually seen from, set up camp in one end of the hide (where swallows were nesting bizarrely) and scanned the area with my bins. I was soon joined by many more eager birders and togs alike, one allowing me to listen to the call, on his MP3 player.

So, on to my hatful of pics of this showy bird then. Hmm. Slight problem. In 4 hours of standing around, listening and scanning the area, I failed to see it. One birder and his son claimed to see it fly over, but I didn't and even my patience eventually ran out. All I'd seen that morning was a reed warbler, a pied wagtail and a pair of swallows going in and out of the hide. Typical. Ah well, I was in Norfolk and in no rush to head back. Hence I set SatNav to Cley and aimed for a favourite spot.

It didn't initially look great there either, when I arrived. The 3 main hides looked out on to rather barren lakes; sure there were avocets, but I can see those at the Flashes. Wandering back towards the centre, I was in half a mind to head home. Then someone I stopped to chat to mentioned that there was a spotted redshank over at the other hide.

Worth a bit more of a walk I thought, and sure enough, there it was pottering around in the shallows, although the light wasn't in the best direction. So I decided to stay a bit longer. It was a lovely afternoon afterall, and you never know at that place what might show up.

While nothing rare showed up, a most welcome sound caught my attention... a pinging sound, and soon I was trying to "spot the beardie" in amongst the reeds. Had to wait a few hours before any showed other than in flight, and even then they were distant, but I got some decent views of a male, then a female and finally a fledgling.



Cley had, as usual, cheered me up.

Cannock Redstarts

As usual I'm miles behind on this blog, so I'll try to be brief before my next main entry. After Scotland I had (still have) a huge pile of photos to process from the trip and this surely meant I'd stay in to sort them. Erm no. The middle of June is usually the best time to see common redstarts, especially at Cannock Chase, so this meant a trip out that way one Saturday.

Turning off the main path too early, I managed to end up about 2 miles from where I wanted to be, and on a hot day with a heavy camera, I wasn't best pleased, but the 2 hour walk around eventually yielded results when I heard the familiar call, and subsequently located the female returning to her nest in the base of a tree.

Moments later I clocked the male, and he was busy feeding fledglings that were hopping around below the ferns, calling for food, constantly.

The light wasn't great and as ever, midges fed on me, but I managed a few reasonable shots, including a couple of one of the juveniles.

Lovely birds and I always make time to see them.

Scotland: Mull

I probably ought to point out that I've not been living north of the border since the start of the month, but have been battling to get the images processed from the fortnight spent in Scotland, and as a result this Blog has been a bit out of date. We actually spent a few days in the Aviemore area first, then over to Skye for 2 more, 4 more in North Uist and finally, the last 4 days at the start of June in Mull, which is my last entry for the trip report.

Mull. A beautiful isle, slightly more accessible than the Uists, so more folks on it and more in the way of civilisation. After Ian's promises that there would be birds galore here, we were full of hope and optimism, especially given the glorious weather when we arrived. The Uists reminded me of the moors of Cornwall, but at sea level, combined with the Cornish beaches. Mull was very much like Scotland, with mountains and lochs, and a rich variery of habitats. So pretty in fact, that I had the "scenic" lens almost permanently attached to my 40D.

As with Uist, we then proceed to drive in convoy around the isle, to spots where Ian knew to be good. Unlike Uist though, there was surprisingly little around. Sure, the white-tailed eagle was sat on the nest, viewable from the RSPB watch-point, but with the warm weather and heat haze, the photos weren't ever going to compare to those from Portree. Good to see though, and the Live View on the cameras aided us, as you can focus in, switch on, and then digitally zoom in to see the birds much more clearly than through your binoculars.

Oystercatchers, common sandpipers, eider ducks and hooded crows were common though, as were herons, which seemed to be on every stretch of water. No sign of the tourist eagles that Ian said were everywhere when he's been, albeit in August. Which was a shame, as despite the obvious awe-factor of seeing a proper eagle, I still love to see buzzards and try to photo them.

So what did we see? Well, on the Mull boat trip, we saw almost nothing. A real disappointment, as we had hoped to have WT Eagles overhead. And the peregrine was MIA too. We'd seen it before from the cars though, and knew if it was about it'd be miles up the cliff face.

It wasn't a total loss though, birding wise. We spotted a cuckoo out hunting caterpillars early one evening, and that was fascinating to watch and photo. It was hopping down fence posts towards us and was about to become a frame-filler when Rob managed to lose grip of his lens and it bounced off the door frame, sending the cuckoo the opposite way. Easily done though, when these lenses are so awkward to manage in a tight area such as a car.


I took advantage of the swallows one evening as they perched on ferns near their nest - made a change to see them on natural perches, instead of wires or fences. And a hooded crow mooched around in the shallows of a loch, which made for some interesting shots - much prefer these crows to the "all blacks" we have back home.

No Mull wasn't great for birds this time around. But it did have another trick up its sleeve and was arguably more special than anything witnessed during the whole trip. I know this is a Birding Blog but these stars have to be mentioned.

Otters. Ian had an idea where we might find some and he was on the money from evening one of the trip. Initially we encountered a dog otter, as he munched a crab on the shore of a loch, glided effortlessly along in the water, slipping under and over the seaweed, and rolling around on the rocks, possibly marking his territory and drying off in the process.

Subsequent nights (and one morning) yielded sightings of a mother and cubs, though they were almost as large as she was. Fabulous to watch. The highlight for me though, came on the last night of the trip when we were parked along the lochside, CBs on, covering as much area as we could. Ian spotted the pair seconds before I could say anything on the radio, and they were headed my direction. "What the hell" I thought, as I donned my hat for what little protection from the midges I could get, grabbed the camera and bean bag, and scurried down to the lochside, lying prone on the rocks.

Midges descended like a swarm and were in my eyes, all over my hands and face, even in the viewfinder of the camemra, but I wasn't going to let them ruin the opportunity. Ignoring the feeling of needles on my face, I was delighted to see the pair of otters clamber out on to the seaweed, about 40 feet in front of me, for the mother otter to consume something she'd caught. Messy eaters - quite comical as they crunch and lift their head up to toss back the food into their mouth. Seemed to be a real effort to eat, but must have been worth it as didn't hold back, nor did she offer any to the cub.

A truly unforgettable moment and one I shall treasure, captured on camera too. The pair eventually moved off and further down the loch, at which point the pain in my face became unbearable and I retreated to the car. As I write this now, I can still feel the tiny bumps on my face from the 40+ bites which left me looking like a monster the next day for the drive home. Worth it? Oh yes. No doubt about it.

So the trip was over. Several thousand images taken, fabulous memories and a new set of target destinations for future trips.

Scotland: Uists

Skye was a 2 day pitstop enroute to the third destination of the trip, North Uist. Seen recently on Monty Halls' Herbridean programme, this set of isles promised a lot, even though his series failed to show much wildlife. And we didn't see much when Ian and I arrived, as it was chucking it down with rain. Poor Rob had been delayed as his BMW had failed completely on Skye, so was awaiting a hire car.

The first day, given the weather looked to be a wash out, and we tootled around the undulating roads, waving at traffic which had stopped (all very civil over there) and hoped to see something interesting. Stinky Bay (named after the foul stench from the seaweed) proved interesting, though the rain failed to cease and we watched the waders on the shoreline from the cars. Numerous sanderlings, dunlins and ringed plovers scurried around, plus the now obligatory oystercatchers (they were everywhere) and out on the water, several eider ducks. And snipe sat on fence posts, though they flew off as soon as they saw the car slowing up.

A drive along a very narrow road on the north east of the island yielded distant views of a golden eagle perched on the top of a hillside, looking as fed up with the wet weather as we were. And I doubt the dive-bombing antics of a kestrel improved its mood.

The afternoon improved though, with the torrential rain easing to drizzle, and allowing me to leave the comforts of the car and go for a walk along the grassy scrubland behind the beach at the RSPB Balranald reserve. More little waders were on the shore, which I have to stop now to comment on. The beaches are breathtaking. White sand. Turquoise (when the sun is out) waters and deserted. Just stunning. The waders - more dunlins and ringed plovers, yet more oystercatchers and above us were Arctic terns, showing us that it's not only kestrels that can hang in the air when hunting. Everything went up when a skua went through, though it was too wet at the time to get a shot.

Noticing the numbers of ringed plovers around me, I opted to lie down on the grass, set the tripod up almost flat, and hope the birds would come to me. Didn't take long for a pair of ringed plovers to scurry over, and I was soon getting shots of them in amongst the daisies. Rather pretty, even with the rain.

Having checked into the B&B already (a very nice place called The Rowan Tree) we heard from Rob that he was set to join us by getting the later ferry, and we opted to meet him at about the only "pub" on North Uist, the Loch Maddy Hotel. Enroute from the reserve though, I spotted a corn bunting singing away on a fence, and wasn't about to refuse the shot. Parked too close initially, and had to reverse back to get it in the frame!

Just then the CBs we were using crackled into life - Ian had got a corncrake making its noise in the field by the entrance. Slowly driving alongside, we could hear it "creking" away, but just didn't have the time to search for it. Another time perhaps?

Our first full day of the trip was to be spent with a tour guide (Steve Duffield) who I'd spotted on the internet and offered personal tours of the isles based on his local knowledge. And what a tour it proved to be. He'd asked before we got there about what we wanted to see and boy was he determined to get the results. Given that we were based on North Uist, he suggested that we get a look around the other isles to see what they had to offer. That said, before we even reached the meeting point, we toured down Committee Road for a look, and bagged some shots of a short-eared owl as it sat out in the drizzle, so that got the day off to a good start.

The first stop was to see the red necked phalarope, though unfortunately this was at a fair distance, and I didn't even attempt a photo - would have been confused with a dust bunny on the sensor! More interestingly, we saw another short-eared owl nearby - that was about the 7th of the day - they were everywhere.

Driving along, we also spotted a distant golden eagle being harrassed by a buzzard and several cuckoos, which of course flew off before we could get a decent shot. A walk around a rather scenic loch proved to be productive, seeing an otter on the other side. A redpoll sang to us as we wandered along, and a pair of cuckoos bantered at each other up the hillside. On the loch itself was a red throated diver - such a shame the weather was so gloomy, but we could make out the red patch and I got some record shots. Also nearby was a black guillemot, fishing near the shore, showing off those bright red legs when it dived. And on the hills behind the loch, yet another SEO flew along, hunting for breakfast.

Another short drive and another loch - this time we were treated to views of 2 pairs of hen harriers. By now the weather had improved dramatically and the sun was out. This gave us (moaning) photographers another issue - heat haze. The distance to the harriers simply meant we couldn't get a decent sharp shot, though I was just as happy to watch them to be honest.

The day ended with Steve desperately trying to get us a view of a corncrake. He tried all over the place and admitted we were actually a little late in the season, in that most would be on a nest by now. That said, he still delivered the goods. Pulling over sharply, he'd spotted a head poking out above the grass - a corncrake! Calling away. It was then that Rob did the unthinkable, and instead of staying hidden in the car, decided jump out and go for a closer shot. Ian, Steve and I were somewhat surprised by this as we expected the corncrake to bolt, never to be seen again.

It didn't. It stayed put and seconds later, when we decided to join Rob (what did it matter now?) we spotted 2 other corncrakes in the same patch of ground. Probably a male and female, and the one we'd seen first was defending his territory, and chasing the female. We were then treated to views of the 2 flying over a fence (none of us reacted to take a shot!) and the lone male strutting his stuff out in the open. I have to admit, the birds are highly amusing. They resemble those velociraptors on Jurassic Park, but with mechanical flip-up heads as they call. And so loud! No wonder folks moan about being kept awake by them.


Steve's day tour was certainly that - he ended it early evening sort of time. We thanked him for his time and company - definitely worth the small cost if you're visiting the isle.

We promptly went out again, in search of raptors on Committee Road. Oh to have a camper van on this stretch of moorland. Hen harriers, golden eagles, short-eared owls a plenty, not to mention the possibility of merlin, and dozens of pipits and wheatear too. I could spend a fortnight on this patch alone!


After seeing the delights of the Uists, we generally did our own thing for the remainder of the trip, with Rob desperate for hen harrier shots, and Ian and I more content to tootle around seeing whatever came our way. Another couple of visits to Balranald gave even more glorious views of the beach, and some brighter shots of the waders and terns. We even ventured across a few causeways, to get scenic shots (why not, it was so picturesque!) plus a few more common species such a skylarks and redshank. Committee Road never seemed to fail to deliver, and we got some decent pics (in the end) of short-eared owls, including a chick, nestled in the undergrowth, hen harriers and a distant golden eagle, which defied all tradition and perched on a fence post.


If there's more than one of you going in separate cars, I recommend taking these CB radios that Ian had brought along. Decent range and were invaluable when it came to watching large areas for subjects. I dread to think the number of opportunities that we'd have missed between us had we not been able to communicate from afar.

Leaving Uist was sad. We'd only been there a few days but wanted to stay so much longer. The only thing stopping me from getting too downbeat was the prospect of Mull next.