Finally shriking it lucky!

Excuse the pun! ;)

Last weekend, when some sunshine was forecast, we decided to visit a pair of Dartford warblers on one of the smaller Surrey commons. Waiting patiently on the footpath, close to some gorse bushes that they had been seen in, we soon heard the male saying hello to us (well, more like "rrrrrrrrrrraaaaa" - I love a Dartford's contact call, sounds a bit like a grumpy raptor to me!). He duly appeared on top of one of the gorse bushes...a very beautiful sight especially now that the gorse is coming into flower.

The female was also seen and flew towards us, calling, before she disappeared in the mature heather next to the path. We then waited another hour or two and saw nothing apart from a pair of stonechats...and lots of clouds coming in. Grrr! The wind was freezing and it actually started snowing. We had just decided to leave when - rather unexpectedly - the sun came back out and the light was just about perfect! And believe it or not, we were rewarded for our patience (which is not always the case, as most birders and bird photographers will be able to confirm!)...the little bird perched on top of the gorse again and started displaying. I could not see the female anywhere - it was as if he was displaying to US, calling, doing a little dance and showing us his beautiful tail feathers.

WOW! I have seen Dartfords in Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey but never witnessed this behaviour before.

Little beauty.

Such a treat to see these little beauties, they're so vulnerable. This is also why I cannot disclose the exact location of this pair of Dartfords. Every single bird is important for the survival of the species...let's hope they'll be able to hang on in England for many more years to come!

I thanked the 'Darties' for showing so well and allowing us take some lovely photos (yep, I really do that!). We then moved on to Thursley Common. I still hadn't seen the great grey shrike! At least one shrike spends the winter there every year, hunting small mammals and birds. As the title of this blog suggests, I got lucky that day - again! First the Dartfords, then the shrike. Not bad!
While watching a large flock of meadow pipits, a great spotted woodpecker-sized bird flew into one of the few large trees on Shrike Hill (yeah, where else). We first thought it was probably a GSW - we had seen one around - BUT I was fairly certain the bird had looked a little more compact, with a longer tail and greyish plumage. However, as it was the bird I was hoping to see, I didn't trust my first impression...wishful thinking can make you see amazing things (that then turn out to be something completely different and rather common)! So we waited for the bird to show itself...and guess what, when it flew towards another tree it really was the shrike! Lucky or what! While it is no secret that it can be found around Shrike Hill, it is very mobile so it is rather hard to predict where it might turn up - and the area is massive. 

A fantastic day!

Hoopoe - Farthing Downs - Coulsdon

Wow, long time no blog! The breeding season's come and gone...migration is in full swing. Time flies!

The lack of blog posts doesn't mean that I haven't been out and about watching and photographing birds whenever possible.

Stonechats, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers and Sand Martins were some of the highlights during the summer and, as always, it has been a great joy 'meeting' the new generation, such as the young blackcap pictured above.
More new shots can be found  here (including a couple of nice shots of a female bullfinch that I'd been after for years!): New Bird Photos

So maybe no 'unusual' birds since the wryneck at Pulborough Brooks in May (there is in fact one present again right now!) but I love watching house sparrows and finches and all of the 'common' birds - I don't need a rare migrant in order to come home with a smile on my face after a day's birding.

Having said that - while I'm not a twitcher - I do of course want to see 'new' birds whenever I can. When a hoopoe was reported at Farthing Downs, Coulsdon (Surrey) - which is only about 45 mins from here - I obviously really really wanted to see it. It's such an unusal bird with its long bill, brilliant crest, pink/orange plumage and black-and-white wings that it really is a bird that any birder wants to see. It was first reported on Sunday 14 August and then relocated on the Wednesday. I wasn't able to go until Friday and was very lucky - it was still there! A lifer for me and what a FANTASTIC bird. It wasn't very confiding but seemed fairly happy to be watched from a sensible distance. It was spooked by dog walkers, joggers and  a very territorial kestrel every now and then but kept returning to its favourite spot along the main path. A magpie appeared and seemed very interested in the unusual visitor, just like us birders! It kept edging closer to the hoopoe until they both seemed to be exchanging greetings before feeding next to each other. Brilliant behaviour to watch! Here's some of the shots I got of the hoopoe:

More shots can be found here: Hoopoe photos.

Still haven't seen a whinchat - and they're all over the South Downs at the moment (there was one at Coulsdon but not when I was trying to find it!). I have HEARD a grasshopper warbler but not seen one. Oh well, I WILL see these birds and many more I haven't seen yet despite trying to. Something to look forward to! :)

Ashdown Forest

The weather was so lovely yesterday that we decided to spend the afternoon on Ashdown Forest, hoping to find a Dartford Warbler. One of my favourite birds! Always a special treat to see one - check out some of my DW photos here:

Dartford Warbler photos

While we couldn't spot any Dartfords anywhere (boo-hoo!), we did see a couple of croaking ravens, a buzzard, a kestrel, a pair of stonechats and several skylarks.


A male skylark was displaying and singing beautifully high up in the sky.

Another two skylarks were feeding on the path in front of us, giving us lovely views. One then flew up and perched on a gorse bush for a few seconds. Beautiful birds!