Finally - a whinchat!

Well it's only taken about 1 1/2 years for me to see my first ever winchat...three days ago I finally saw my first Saxicola rubetra at Canon's Farm, Banstead (Surrey). And what a lovely little bird! It was perched on a fence most of the time but a bit distant so I only got a couple of record shots. But I'm not complaining! I can finally say: I've seen a whinchat! :)

Wheatear saves the day

Last Sunday, we went to Church Norton. Some good migrants have been turning up there in the last couple of weeks, including wheatear, whinchat, pied flycatcher and even a wryneck. Unfortunately it was very windy so any small birds that might have been around were all hiding - I only saw one chiffchaff. While watching a lot of swallows, I missed a sandwich tern that was flying right above my head (would have been a first for me!) - I saw a photo of it later that my partner took who was stood next to me. Oh well, a great start! Was this going to be another frustrating day? A trip to Seaford Head and Pulborough Brooks last Wednesday had been fruitless - I saw no migrants at all apart from two VERY distant wheatears.

On the beach, there were a few turnstones, curlews and oystercatchers - they were not willing to pose for a few photos. Great. And SO windy! Makes it VERY hard to handhold a heavy camera and lens!

When I was just about to give up, I scanned the beach for about 5 more minutes - and finally, there was some movement. A lone first-winter wheatear!

So the next few hours were spent trying to get closer to it without chasing it. It seemed to be getting used to me after a while, and I ended up just standing in the same place for a long time, after finding out which spots it preferred for feeding. And it eventually came to me, sheltering from the wind nearby, looking at me. The best shots I got when it was feeding behind the sea defences. I tried to duck & hide - it would only have seen my lens. It was SO cute - when it heard the clicking noise it came running (!) right up to me - it was only about 2 metres away from me - looking at me as if to say 'What ARE you doing there, silly - I do know you are there! Go on then, take a few shots.' :) Made my day!


Who are you?

For more photos of this wheatear and others, click here: Wheatear photos

Crested Tits

I haven't manged to get out and see whinchat, wheatear or any other migrants since I saw the hoopoe, mainly due to the fact that I was away visiting family in Germany for 10 days (and now that I'm back the weather is rubbish of course!).
I didn't take my camera or bins or anything but that didn't stop me looking out for any feathered creatures that might fly my way when we went for a walk in the very very green and beautiful "Sauerland" woodland. I heard and saw some goldcrests, chiffchaffs, treecreepers, great and blue tits, robins, a buzzard, 5 woodpeckers (I'm still not sure which - it just didn't sound like GSWs so could have been families of either middle spotted or lesser spotted, all of which can be found there).
When I was pointing out a goldcrest to my family, I all of sudden noticed a bird that I had been wanting to see again for ages: a crested tit! I only got a very brief view so returned to the same spot the following day (just can't help being a birder!). :) I was lucky, I found at least 4 crested tits feeding in the tree tops. At one point, one was feeding right above my head and then landed on the ground about 2 metres away from my feet. So even without bins, camera (or my glasses!!) I had fantastic views of this beautiful little bird and was a very happy bunny indeed! :)
Unfortunately my mobile was useless....these are the record shots I got - probably the worst record shots in the history of birding!

Not great...nevermind. I did do a quick sketch for you!

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! :)

The new generation

Spring is my favourite time of year - first all the migrant birds come back and sing, and then the new generation appears.
In my own garden, I have had two juvenile dunnocks, at least six baby house sparrows being fed by their parents and, since yesterday, three lovely and cheeky young starlings. They beg for food the whole time - they even tried to get a blackbird (also busy collecting food for fledgelings) to part with its food. A joy to watch!!

When I heard about two little grebe chicks that had successfully hatched not too far from here, I just had to go and see them. They are SO cute (so are adult little grebes!). I had also been after a shot of a little grebe riding on the adult's back for a long time - but obviously not an easy photo to get. Little grebes can be rather secretive and are very fast swimmers.

When we arrived at the site, the grebes were nowhere to be seen. No shortage of baby birds though!
There were two pairs of greylag geese with several goslings



Greylag geese



Mallard duckling

Also plenty of mallard ducklings, young moorhens and coots.

Coot feeding chicks

After a couple of hours I finally spotted the two little grebe chicks. Interestingly, no adults in sight but a black-headed gull that showed too much interest in the little ones...luckily, they managed to hide in the reeds and the gull flew off. Phew!

Here's a shot of the two grebe chicks, one doing a penguin impression.

Oh and I've also got an adult grebe for you doing a balloon impression! :)

Anyhow, a few minutes later, an adult grebe appeared with a big fish. No idea how the tiny chicks managed to swallow it!


Little grebe with fish (record shot!!)

The adult then swam off and returned with another, much smaller fish a bit later. And this time the chicks followed the adult and tried to climb up on their back (you can't tell whether this adult is actually a male or female). I think they are getting a bit too large now to be doing this but I was lucky - one did manage and I got a couple of shots. The light wasn't brilliant, either too dark or - when the sun came out - it was a bit harsh. Well always something wrong with 'the light' isn't there. ;)

Isn't this cute?? :)

What you think is the adult grebe's rump is actually the second chick's bottom - it didn't manage to climb up onto Mummy or Daddy's back!

So I'm really happy I got to see this special behaviour and got a couple of shots to look at and share with you as well.

Kingfishers!

We had a lovely afternoon yesterday watching kingfishers and chatting with like-minded bird and photography enthusiasts (hello Julie, very nice meeting you!). :)

I love kingfishers - they're such beautiful, colourful birds and a joy to watch.

I also got a few nice shots. When I looked at my photos this morning, I decided to edit the background- something I don't usually do. I like to show a bird in its typical habitat, so I feel the background should be left alone...I only clone out the odd twig or leaf that might distract from the bird. This time however, I wanted to bring out the kingfishers' beauty and specifically emphasize their amazing colours by contrasting them with the background. I used the colours that were already there in the original shots (almost black, green and brown) and basically softened them. I quite like the result - a bit like a photo session with kingfishers in a photo studio. I hope you like my shots too!



Kingfisher with fish



Male Kingfisher



Male Kingfisher preening

Female Kingfisher

Nightingales, Osprey and Wryneck at Pulborough Brooks

Long time no speak! My temporary silence was not caused by a lack of birds though!

Pulborough Brooks has been our favourite birding spot of late - there's just so much going on with all the warblers back from Africa and singing their little hearts out, record numbers of nightingales performing well and the odd rarity...

Warblers such as the whitethroat, my favourite...

Peek-a-boo!

or the garden warbler:


Also blackcaps, lesser whitethroats, chiffchaff, willow warbler...so lovely to watch and listen to.
I was also looking forward to hearing the nightingales at Pulborough and maybe catching a glimpse of one. I was in for a real treat - I didn't just catch a glimpse of one or two but got to watch several perch right out in the open and sing. Magic!!!!

Another highlight last week included a totally unexpected osprey flying over the reserve. I even got a shot of it! Not a bird you get to see every day....

This morning, a wryneck was reported at Pulborough Brooks - a very rare visitor, especially in spring. Again a bird I'd been wanting to see for ages. I kind of expected it to have disappeared by the time we got there and the first birder we met on our way to the field where it had been spotted told us he had not seen it. Oh well...
However, when we arrived at the field in question, there was a mini twitch going on with birders in the field and along the fence, pointing scopes and cameras at a hedge that the wryneck had apparently disappeared into. Too far away really for my 400mm lens...so I tried to get closer to the fence, despite nettles and bramble (ouch - you should see my legs!!)...the breeze didn't help either. But the bird was still around so I was quite happy to wait...when people behind me shouted out 'there it is!' I couldn't spot it at first (typical!) but then it came out into the open, feeding among cattle and rabbits. Phew! It was almost impossible to get a sharp shot of, it was just too far away. It then flew up onto a fence post posing nicely for the few birders that had been patient and a green woodpecker perched behind it. Quite a sight!

It was then spooked by a rabbit and flew into the hedge. Yay, I'd seen it!

We then walked around the reserve and had great views of a pair of whitethroats looking for a nesting site (at least I think that is what they were doing) and saw three lapwing chicks (awwwww!) and a greenshank from West Mead Hide. Unfortunately there are two wasp's nests in the hide and I didn't like the wasp that decided to buzz around my head. I wasn't able to spot the little ringed plovers, yet again.

 When we returned to the place where the wryneck had been, there was no-one else around. I had a good look around the field and finally managed to relocate it! It was also a little closer to the fence so I got a couple more record shots. What a beautiful bird!!

Wryneck

Wood Warbler, Redstart and...Ashdown Forest Fire!

After reading about the sighting of a rare wood warbler on Ashdown Forest yesterday (and a kind fellow birder who shared its location, thank you, if you're reading this, you know who you are :) ), we decided to try and see it before heading over to Old Lodge Nature Reserve.
When we got there, we couldn't hear the warbler singing but after a while I did hear its call and finally spotted the bird high up in an oak tree. I got a very poor record shot before it flew off after only a few seconds. But hey, we saw it! We did hear it singing briefly a couple of times but weren't able to relocate this little beauty. A lifer! Such a shame they don't breed on Ashdown Forest anymore.


Wood Warbler on Ashdown Forest

We then headed to Old Lodge NR but there wasn't much about apart from a fantastic male redstart, the first we've seen this year.



Male Redstart

We then noticed smoke rising above the trees and thought it might be a fire in someone's garden. Wrong!! The fire seemed to be spreading rapidly... my partner phoned the fire brigade immediately. Luckily, they were already aware of the problem and a few minutes later we heard the sirens approaching. The fire was right next to a car park up the road from Old Lodge and most likely caused by arson or carelessness (barbecue, cigarette...). Very sad...birds are nesting on the Forest, so many small animals live in heather and gorse...I really hope the fire is under control now and no animals were killed in the flames. Apparently 8 fire engines were sent out to put out the fire.

Ashdown Forest Fire

Whitethroats!

Couldn't wait so popped down to Pulborough Brooks yesterday afternoon. Sunshine, bird song and the bluebells are out...beautiful!
The first bird that greeted us when we stepped out of the visitor centre was a swallow (I did get a  fantastic shot of one of its wings *lol*) and lots of chirpy house sparrows.

I really couldn't wait to finally see my first whitethroat 2011 (they are my favourite migrant warblers after all!) and I didn't have to wait much longer.
So this pretty little guy is officially my first whitethroat of the year! :)
 

Common Whitethroat (male)

Many more whitethroats were singing cheerfully around the trail - and how I had missed their grumpy-sounding alarm call! Just love it! :)

I then heard a bird singing in a clump of bramble but couldn't identify it at first. It was a repetitive warbling sound, a bit like a football rattle and I remembered a fellow birder mentioning exactly this to me last year - could it be a lesser whitethroat?? Sure enough, I soon spotted the bird - and indeed it was a lesser - but it flew off before I could take a photo. I'd only ever seen one lesser whitethroat before so this was a lovely surprise!

We'd only been walking for about 5 minutes when I heard the first nightingale (well, my second of the year  - I can hear one singing every night now when I'm in bed!). We listened to it for a while and although we knew which bush it was hiding in, we couldn't spot it...but its song was magical!

 More signs of spring included a male bullfinch feeding a female, chaffinches mating right in front of us and whitethroats collecting nesting material. Here's a rubbish shot of one:

 

Whitethroat with nesting material

 Walking along 'adder alley', we heard our first cuckoo of the year. Yay!

When I heard the sound of a 'football rattle' again I knew what to look out for! And indeed, a beautiful male lesser whitethroat showed surprisingly well - unfortunately he was backlit so the shots I got are quite poor (but still better than the only shot I managed last year!). Here's one:

No sign of the grashopper warbler that was reported a few days ago but we saw a nightingale flying into cover, a striking male reed bunting, a willow warbler, singing dunnocks and several goldfinches:

A crow alerted us to a bird of prey flying above - it was a peregrine carrying what looked like duckling prey.

More whitethroats, nightingales and blackcaps were singing beautifully when we walked back to the car.

A lovely afternoon's birding in the sunshine!

Back!

Got back last night from a week away visiting family in Germany. So while this visit was not about birding, there were some lovely garden birds that I got to watch every day, including a fantastic pair of bullfinches - never had views that close before! Also got myself a couple of books about German birds - should be interesting.

I'm looking forward to seeing some spring migrants this week that have returned in the meantime, such as whitethroats and nightingales. But guess what - I have already heard my first nightingale, within hours of getting home - lying in bed at about 3 am I could just about hear one singing in the distance. :)

One of the nightingales I was lucky enough to watch last year

At last - wheatears!

A few days ago we decided to go to Pagham again - still hoping to find a wheatear. With more and more sightings all over the country (and indeed at the exact places we have been visiting) it was actually hard to believe we still hadn't seen our first Oenanthe oenanthe of the year!

We first stopped off at Pagham Spit - there were a few lovely linnets and the pair of ringed plovers was still in front of the hide, along with a few turnstones but nothing much else around. Any wheatears anywhere? Nope.

Ringed plovers (female left/male right)

So on to Church Norton! On the way up to the beach, we had a chat with a nice couple who had also spent the morning birding. Had they seen anything good? Not really, just the usual waders and a few warblers (sounds good to me though!). Any wheatears? Oh, yes, they saw quite a few a couple of hours earlier, around the visitor centre at Sidlesham. Right...ok then, maybe pop over there later (but what were the chances of the wheatears still being there...whenever we arrive somewhere, they've moved on!). So we decided to check out Church Norton first, as planned.

Male linnet

Lots of linnets around again, singing from the gorse bushes and also quite a few greenfinches. There appear to be more in West Sussex this year than ever before which is great! I'm actually just looking at one on one of my bird feeders as I type this, happily munching away on sunflower seeds! A male in breeding plumage...stunning! So we walked up to the beach, scanning the shingle and shoreline for birds but the tide wasn't out yet so not many waders around.

Back on the path, I all of a sudden noticed movement on the ground, between two gorse bushes. I really had to stop myself from shouting out loud: a wheatear!! And: a MALE wheatear at that, exactly what I had wanted to see the most (the wheatears we saw last autumn were all females so I really wanted to see a male as well)! The bird was on the shingle, busily feeding on insects. It wouldn't let us come close so we just took some record shots and watched it for a while. We soon realised that there were at least one other male and a female, also busy feeding. Fantastic! Finally. :)

Male wheatear We soon left them to feed in peace. Walking towards the severals, we heard a Cetti's warbler singing and willow warblers & chiffchaffs were busy hunting insects.

Willow warbler Chiffchaff While taking photos of these beautiful little warblers, we heard the Cetti's again and were amazed to actually see it flying into a tree right in front of us! Not a bird you get to see very often! I managed to get a couple of shots - not perfect ones, as the warbler was trying to hide behind a twig but I'm still chuffed to bits that we saw it and got a photo or two to prove it - definitely better than my previous record shot. :)

Male Cetti's warbler Two mute swans were flying over only to return a few minutes later and eventually landing on the beach. I have to say that it was a rather unusual sight! A swan on the beach!

Other birds of note were five sand martins in off the sea, redshanks and oystercatchers. I was actually sure that the first hirundine I saw flying above us was a swallow (or possibly a house martin) but it disappeared too quickly; the distant shot I did get of another bird following the first one shows a sand martin.

Do swallows ever travel together with sand martins? Or would house martin be more likely? Anyway, lovely to see any hirundines!

When we arrived at Sidlesham later, there were no wheatears there at all - so just as well we'd spotted our own on the beach! :) Two beautiful male linnets posed for us - quite unusual really, they tend to be so shy.

Male linnets (if you look closely you can see they are two different individuals!)

A smart looking blackbird

A wonderful day's birding indeed! :)

An afternoon visit to Pulborough Brooks a couple of days later produced our first (definite!) house martin of the year, a swallow, a wren collecting nesting material and lots of singing chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap. Swallow House martin One of a pair of robins catching flies - there are probably some chicks waiting for dinner somewhere! Busy wren

Male blackcap singing

I was hoping to see my favourite migrant warbler, the whitethroat - two were reported a few days ago and also the first nightingale. Very early! We didn't see (or hear) either so I shall look forward to our next visit there! :)