Thursday, 12 July 2012
The not so Ugly Duckling
Friday, 6 July 2012
Four Days in Wales
Three weeks ago I was fortunate enough to spend four days in South-West Wales, with some birding friends from Bedfordshire.
Despite a day and a half of heavy rain we did manage to see some great birds including Glossy Ibis, Manx Shearwaters, Dippers, Pied Flycatchers, Wood Warbler, Tree Pipits and some others that managed to get in the way of my camera.
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Despite a day and a half of heavy rain we did manage to see some great birds including Glossy Ibis, Manx Shearwaters, Dippers, Pied Flycatchers, Wood Warbler, Tree Pipits and some others that managed to get in the way of my camera.
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| Puffin on Skomer |
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| Razorbill on Skomer |
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| Guillemot on Skomer |
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| Grey Seals on Skomer |
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| so nearly a good photo of a recently fledged Redstart at Gwenffryd Dinas |
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| Chough at Wooltack Point |
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| Raven at Wooltack Point |
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| Stonechat at St Davids Head |
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| Lesser black-backed Gull on Skomer |
Monday, 2 July 2012
Startops Sabines
I visited Pitstone Hill in the middle of the county yesterday.
Mainly because there had been four calling Quail there earlier in the week that had even ventured to show themselves on more than one occaision, also because I needed Corn Bunting for my year list and also to see what Butterflies were around.
Well I dipped on the Quails but Corn Buntings were quite numerous. The Butterfly situation this year though seems desperate, with half a dozen Meadow Browns and a single Small Skipper the only ones seen. It seems this wet spring has had disasterous effects as this place is normally alive with various varieties.
I decided not to visit the Tring Reservoirs as I normally do when in this part of the world but instead chose to have a look for the Ring-necked Parakeet that resides in the Southcott Village area of Leighton Buzzard - another fruitless exercise.
When I got home I saw that a Little Gull had been reported at Startops Reservoir and reflected that would have been nice to see especially as it was frequenting the Bucks section - Oh Well !
The big surprise today though was finding out that the bird in question was actually an adult winter plumaged Sabines Gull !! Someone had photographed it and forwarded the photos on to Lee Evans who i.d'd it as Sabines.
Amazingly the bird was still present today, so a trip after work saw me watching my first ever Buckinghamshire Sabines Gull. A super bird that flew elegantly over the water picking insects off of the surface, often interacting with the local Common Terns and several times coming so close that it seemed possible to touch it.
Mainly because there had been four calling Quail there earlier in the week that had even ventured to show themselves on more than one occaision, also because I needed Corn Bunting for my year list and also to see what Butterflies were around.
Well I dipped on the Quails but Corn Buntings were quite numerous. The Butterfly situation this year though seems desperate, with half a dozen Meadow Browns and a single Small Skipper the only ones seen. It seems this wet spring has had disasterous effects as this place is normally alive with various varieties.
I decided not to visit the Tring Reservoirs as I normally do when in this part of the world but instead chose to have a look for the Ring-necked Parakeet that resides in the Southcott Village area of Leighton Buzzard - another fruitless exercise.
When I got home I saw that a Little Gull had been reported at Startops Reservoir and reflected that would have been nice to see especially as it was frequenting the Bucks section - Oh Well !
The big surprise today though was finding out that the bird in question was actually an adult winter plumaged Sabines Gull !! Someone had photographed it and forwarded the photos on to Lee Evans who i.d'd it as Sabines.
Amazingly the bird was still present today, so a trip after work saw me watching my first ever Buckinghamshire Sabines Gull. A super bird that flew elegantly over the water picking insects off of the surface, often interacting with the local Common Terns and several times coming so close that it seemed possible to touch it.
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| Sabines Gull |
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
A wonderful Hobby
I'm really behind on my posts after trips to West Wales and Norfolk recently.
But last Friday I was fortunate enough to encounter this Hobby perched up at Gayhurst Quarry. He was totally unconcerned by my prescence, allowing me to walk right underneath the tree he was in.
A brilliant encounter !!
But last Friday I was fortunate enough to encounter this Hobby perched up at Gayhurst Quarry. He was totally unconcerned by my prescence, allowing me to walk right underneath the tree he was in.
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| Hobby |
A brilliant encounter !!
Monday, 11 June 2012
Willen Babies
Guess what it's raining again! So I thought I'd put a couple of pics of the cuter birds I saw on my latest walk around Willen yesterday.
Things have started to quieten down a bit now birdwise although 8 species of Warblers ( including Cettis) was a good score and a few Little Egrets are now nesting on the island.
Things have started to quieten down a bit now birdwise although 8 species of Warblers ( including Cettis) was a good score and a few Little Egrets are now nesting on the island.
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| young Canada Goose |
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| young Mute Swans |
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Some Menorcan Insects
A few pics of the insect life of Menorca. I'm afraid I don't know some of them so any help would be gratefully accepted
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| clouded yellow |
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| wall brown |
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| crimson Speckled moth |
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| Small Copper |
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| Bath White |
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| This moth must have been 5 or 6 inches across. It loked as though it had been attacked by a bird |
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| Blue of some sort |
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Menorca Birds
Our recent fortnight in Menorca was not strictly a birding holiday, but as ever whenever I got the opportunity I would go out for a wander. On a couple of occasions I hired a cycle and travelled slightly further afield.
Despite being so close to Mallorca - which we could actually see across the sea from the grounds of our hotel, the bird life was fairly different as there is practically no water on the island and species that are commonplace on the larger island are absent or rare on Menorca .Likewise some Menorcan birds are scarce in Mallorca.
We stayed on the West side of the island on the coast at a place called Cala'n Forcat near to Ciutadella.
This was fortunate as this area is home to a colony of Spotless Starlings, at least a hundred birds and this is the only place to find them on either island.
The area around the hotel was very rich in birdlife. Cory's and Balearic Shearwaters were numerous offshore and the Mediterranean race of Shag were commonplace on the cliffs.
A new bird for me was Tawny Pipit and these were everywhere along with Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Doves, Sardinian Warblers and Spotted Flycatchers
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A regular walk for me was along the cliff tops north of the hotel past the Pont d'en Gil, along to the water treatment works and the viewpoint of Sa Falconera. Here there were abundant, Tawny Pipits, Thekla Larks,Corn Buntings.I even stumbled upon a nesting Stone Curlew, that skulked away before taking flight when it thought it was far enough away. A pair of Peregrines were nesting on the cliffs as were some Kestrels.Continuing the Bird of Prey theme on one occasion I was fortunate enough to see an Osprey snatch a fish from the sea.
Five Bee-eaters visited one morning as did a Turtle Dove and eight Wheatears another day. At the Water treatment works a few Cattle Egrets and several of the local Spotless Starlings called in to feed..
My best birding day was when I hired a cycle and headed towards Ciutadella and then took the minor road along to the Punta Nati .Every couple of yards I was stopping to look at something, Tree Sparrows, Stonechats, Whinchat, Woodchat Shrike, Tawny Pipits, Thekla and Short-toed Larks Corn Buntings, Ravens, Red and Black Kites, Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vultures, a passing flock of Hirundines that included Sand and House Martins, Barn and Red-rumped Swallows. Nightingales and Cettis Warblers called from just about any wooded area.
One of the numerous highlights was a nest colony of Cattle Egrets right next to the road. The birds seeming to show very little fear of man as they just stood there looking down at me.
At the lighthouse itself I watched several Cory's Shearwaters skimming the waves just offshore, some following a boat with Yellow-legged Gulls.
Another cycling day out saw me travelling to Cala Morell, a resort on the North Coast, seeing very much the same birds as on the previous two wheeled excursion, but a group of nine large birds in a field near the Algaiarens turn turned out to be Egyptian Vultures that one by one took to the air and soared around.
My destination was the Punta de S'Esculiar just west of Cala Morrel which consisted of some very rough scrubland on top of very steep cliffs.
The expected Blue Rock Thrushes, Sardinian Warblers, Tawny Pipits and Stonechats were encountered but the highlights had to be several Pallid Swifts and a pair of Peregrines.
Other places visited were perhaps not as noteworthy bird wise as I would have anticipated, most notably the S'albufera Es Grau which is the only real wetland reserve on the island. Here a few Coots, Great crested Grebes, Little Grebes and some highly dubious Mallards accompanied 3 Black-winged Stilts and a couple of Little-ringed Plovers.
The Son Bou Marshes were very disappointing, with very little seen.
Cala Galdana only redeemed itself with a couple of Alpine Swifts and my only Little Egret of the trip.
If you are visiting Menorca to go birding I would suggest just get out there and find your own birds as there seems to be little information out there and what there is doesn't seem particularly reliable.
It's much for fun that way and a whole lot more satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed my fortnight out there. Sixty eight species doesn't sound a great deal, but so many of them were species you don't see every day back home.
Despite being so close to Mallorca - which we could actually see across the sea from the grounds of our hotel, the bird life was fairly different as there is practically no water on the island and species that are commonplace on the larger island are absent or rare on Menorca .Likewise some Menorcan birds are scarce in Mallorca.
We stayed on the West side of the island on the coast at a place called Cala'n Forcat near to Ciutadella.
This was fortunate as this area is home to a colony of Spotless Starlings, at least a hundred birds and this is the only place to find them on either island.
The area around the hotel was very rich in birdlife. Cory's and Balearic Shearwaters were numerous offshore and the Mediterranean race of Shag were commonplace on the cliffs.
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| Shag (mediterranean Race) |
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| Yellow-legged Gull |
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| Spotted Flycatcher (balearic race) |
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| Tawny Pipit |
A regular walk for me was along the cliff tops north of the hotel past the Pont d'en Gil, along to the water treatment works and the viewpoint of Sa Falconera. Here there were abundant, Tawny Pipits, Thekla Larks,Corn Buntings.I even stumbled upon a nesting Stone Curlew, that skulked away before taking flight when it thought it was far enough away. A pair of Peregrines were nesting on the cliffs as were some Kestrels.Continuing the Bird of Prey theme on one occasion I was fortunate enough to see an Osprey snatch a fish from the sea.
Five Bee-eaters visited one morning as did a Turtle Dove and eight Wheatears another day. At the Water treatment works a few Cattle Egrets and several of the local Spotless Starlings called in to feed..
 |
| Blue Rock Thrush |
My best birding day was when I hired a cycle and headed towards Ciutadella and then took the minor road along to the Punta Nati .Every couple of yards I was stopping to look at something, Tree Sparrows, Stonechats, Whinchat, Woodchat Shrike, Tawny Pipits, Thekla and Short-toed Larks Corn Buntings, Ravens, Red and Black Kites, Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vultures, a passing flock of Hirundines that included Sand and House Martins, Barn and Red-rumped Swallows. Nightingales and Cettis Warblers called from just about any wooded area.
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Thekla Lark |
One of the numerous highlights was a nest colony of Cattle Egrets right next to the road. The birds seeming to show very little fear of man as they just stood there looking down at me.
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| Cattle Egret |
At the lighthouse itself I watched several Cory's Shearwaters skimming the waves just offshore, some following a boat with Yellow-legged Gulls.
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Cory's Shearwaters and Yellow-legged Gulls |
Another cycling day out saw me travelling to Cala Morell, a resort on the North Coast, seeing very much the same birds as on the previous two wheeled excursion, but a group of nine large birds in a field near the Algaiarens turn turned out to be Egyptian Vultures that one by one took to the air and soared around.
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| 5 of the 9 Egyptian Vultures |
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| juvenile Egyptian Vulture |
The expected Blue Rock Thrushes, Sardinian Warblers, Tawny Pipits and Stonechats were encountered but the highlights had to be several Pallid Swifts and a pair of Peregrines.
Other places visited were perhaps not as noteworthy bird wise as I would have anticipated, most notably the S'albufera Es Grau which is the only real wetland reserve on the island. Here a few Coots, Great crested Grebes, Little Grebes and some highly dubious Mallards accompanied 3 Black-winged Stilts and a couple of Little-ringed Plovers.
The Son Bou Marshes were very disappointing, with very little seen.
Cala Galdana only redeemed itself with a couple of Alpine Swifts and my only Little Egret of the trip.
If you are visiting Menorca to go birding I would suggest just get out there and find your own birds as there seems to be little information out there and what there is doesn't seem particularly reliable.
It's much for fun that way and a whole lot more satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed my fortnight out there. Sixty eight species doesn't sound a great deal, but so many of them were species you don't see every day back home.
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| juvenile Shag (race desmarestii) |
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| Booted Eagle |
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| Audouins Gull |
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