Author: martintayler

As we didn’t get out at all the day before, due to the wet weather, we decided to have a trip down to Somerset. It was a murky start to the day but quite mild for November.

We started at WWT Steart Marshes and went in search of spoonbills which had been reported. The tide on the River Parrett was very low which didn’t push lots of interesting waders up on to the marshes but we were able to walk along the banks of the river and saw plenty of grey herons, little egrets, gulls and a few redshank. It was very grey but quite atmospheric.

The River Parrett looking towards the sea.

The River Parrett looking towards Bridgwater.

From along this path we could see the pool behind the Quantock Hide. There were three spoonbills but they were not being very cooperative and were hiding their spoon bills.

Spoonbills

Throughout the reserve their were large flocks of birds such as wood pigeon, linnets, goldfinch, starling, and lapwings but with the poor light they were not easy to photograph.

However, every now and again it was a little brighter and I did manage some shots of individual birds (and other animals).

Pied wagtail
 Linnets

Chaffinch

Reed bunting

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Pied wagtail

Pintail

Grey heron with shipwreck

Lapwing on the River Parrett

On the way home we called in at Westhay Moor Nature Reserve in the hope of seeing bearded tit but we had no luck and the best we saw was a great white egret and great-crested grebe.

Gadwall

From the hides we did get lovely views of the Somerset Levels/

In the fields all around we saw lots of little egret, grey heron, buzzards and masses of starlings.

Little egret

Grey heron

Grey heron

Buzzard

Buzzard

And starlings everywhere

It probably would have been a great evening to see murmurations of starlings but by this time we had had enough and were glad to make our way home.

Click below for gallery of today’s photos:

I was so encouraged by my kingfisher photos from two days before (taken with a bridge camera) that I decided to return with more serious equipment, lugging a tripod too. The kingfisher was very compliant and presented itself in lots of different poses in the best possible light. I was very excited with the results and showed lots of passers-by in the park. However, when I got home disaster struck as the memory card became corrupt as I tried downloading the photos to my computer. I tried all sorts of ruses to convince my computer to recognise the card but not even the camera would recognise it; I had no option but to re-format the card.

I even tried returning to the park to take fresh photos but I never saw the kingfisher again. I had to content myself with taking photos of cormorants, a grey heron and a swan in odd light.

Cormorants

Grey. heron

The resident mute swan

Initially I was devastated but I am old and wise enough to realise that much worse things happen in life; and even if I had got the “perfect”shot I would be back again to try and take more kingfisher photos. I imagine it’s a bit like fishing really.

 

I had a few jobs to do this morning and nearly didn’t go for a walk but, as it was such a beautiful autumn morning, I decided to do a quick lap of Eastville Park.  I was so glad I did as I had magnificent views of a male kingfisher throughout the park. The trees also looked wonderful and so I took far too many photos and unfortunately not all the jobs got done.

My walk:

Oh yes I nearly forgot – the kingfisher.

This is what most of us generally see of the kingfisher

Click below for a gallery of some of the photos I took this morning:

It was a bitterly cold morning at New Passage on the Severn Estuary and even though the sun broke through it remained cold. However, testing my constitution and my stoicism I spent a happy morning watching the waders on Northwick Warth. I did walk along to see what was on the Pilning Wetlands but I was looking in to the light (the sun hadn’t really broken through by then) and didn’t see much.

Regular birders spotting from New Passage probably didn’t even feel the cold

This Brent goose caused most excitement amongst the savants

There were huge flocks of wigeon and sizeable numbers of curlew, oystercatchers, dunlin, redshank and Canada geese. The regular birders were very excited by a Brent Goose (the first there this year) and some Whooper Swans which flew over.

Large numbers of curlew and oystercatchers

Redshank

I was pleased to get some close ups of wigeon in flight which I doubt would have impressed the local birders.

Plenty of Canada geese 

Wigeon (whistling) everywhere

Oystercatchers

Dunlin

Wigeon in flight

And if everything seems rather far away there are always house sparrows to photograph.

Click below for gallery of photos from this morning:

 

The day before the clocks go back and its gone bitterly cold to remind us that winter is just round the corner. We were well rewarded in our walk around Eastville Park by the sight of 2 grey herons, 2 kingfishers and a grey wagtail – oh and a cup of coffee and a bacon butty in Park One Café on the way home.

Click below for gallery of photos from this morning:

Another beautiful day. We had a trip to see if we could see the deer rutting at Dyrham Park (National Trust) and were lucky to get a few glimpses of them before heading off for our walk and our picnic.

 

 

Following a walk in Stoke Park we dropped down to come home via Eastville Park.

Stoke Park

With the benefit of the keen eyes of our young companions we spotted a kingfisher. As this was a non-birding walk (i.e. I didn’t have a long lens with me) I tied to capture its beauty with the wide angle that I had with me.

 

It’s always a soul lifting moment to see this beautiful creature.

Not really a birding day today: we had a trip to Southwold and then a walk down to the pub for lunch and back along the River Blythe. Sorry about all the boats but I’m sure the river comes under the category of “nature”.

We haven’t seen many redshank this week

My close up photos always make little egrets look quite large

The gull gives it some perspective

As it does with the gull and the turnstone

The ferry is very busy with the closure of the foot bridge further along

A visiting ship through the sand dunes on Walberswick beach

Male house sparrow

Female house sparrow

Male house sparrow

Starlings scarpering

Bath time

Meadow pipit

Maybe the same redshank

Honeysuckle and blackberries

These flowers are very popular in local gardens

Click below for gallery of today’s photos:

It was another beautiful autumn day in Suffolk today but slightly fresher in the morning than previous days and certainly a much cooler wind in the afternoon.

We made another trip to RSPB Minsmere and the day started well with a beautiful pheasant in full sunlight in the fields and a muntjac deer in the dark shade of the woods.

A common sight in the countryside of East Anglia at this time of the year

Muntjac deer

We walked out to the Island Mere in the hope of seeing larger birds and were rewarded with good displays of marsh harriers, great white egrets, grey herons and just one bittern; but all a bit too far away to satisfy me as a photographer.

Marsh harriers

Great white egrets

Cormorant

Grey heron

We then visited the North bushes and woodlands in the hope of seeing some smaller birds but saw absolutely nothing. Perhaps the earlier ringing activity had frightened them all away.

Not much bird life but plenty to please the eye

The woods at RSPB Minsmere

Before coming home we went back to Westleton Heath and saw a stone curlew, a stonechat and some distant red deer.

Westleton Heath

The very secretive stone curlew

Red deer which attract lots of visitors to Westleton Heath to see the stags rutting at this time of the year.

 

Another beautiful morning and we just had time (before entertaining friends) to have a brief walk around the village of Walberswick and the nearby marshes on the Suffolk coast. There wasn’t much in the way of bird life to report but I would like to record how this favourite destination of ours has got even better with the construction of a new bird hide just a few hundred yards from where we stay.

The hide has been mainly conceived and provided by local resident Pat Lancaster in memory of her husband Tony who passed away recently. The hide is a superb facility which looks north over the marshes from the village of Walberswick towards the river Blyth and beyond towards Southwold. This week we have visited the hide on a couple of occasions and the main attraction has been large flocks of Canada and Brent geese but Pat Lancaster has already recorded over 90 species from the hide.

The new bird hide taken (from the ferry to Southwold) earlier in the week

View westwards from the hide

View from the hide towards the River Blythe with Southwold in the background

The hide is comfortable, bright and well equipped.

Definitely a bucolic scene from the hide today

Large flocks of geese (seen earlier this week) are regular visitors.

Our walk this morning took us along the sand dunes behind Walberswick beach and then through the marshes.

Looking back towards Southwold

The only bird life we saw were three mute swans which took off from the river which runs through the marshes towards Dunwich, although we did hear bearded tits.

 

 

 

 

It’s been an amazing day in Suffolk today; not so much for the birds but for the wonderful weather which has been hot (well into the 20s) and sunny all day. In fact it has been quite hard work traipsing around with heavy camera equipment. Not that I am complaining as we were treated to the sight of some very secretive birds –  stone curlews.

We had looked for them on Westleton Heath on Sunday in dismal conditions but had had no success. We returned again this morning and found that we had been looking in totally the wrong place. This time we could see at least seven. However, it was very difficult to get decent photos as we were looking directly in to the sun.

Stone curlews in to the sun

We then went on to RSPB Minsmere where we had probably the least productive time in all of our numerous visits to this great reserve. The only real success was seeing 2 bearded tits (no photos), the first winter ferruginous duck and a quick glimpse of a stonechat.

The ferruginous duck when it wasn’t diving

A rear view of a stonechat

The stonechat makes its exit

Brent geese chased by cormorants

Brent geese

Shelduck

Wigeon

Grey heron

On our way home we decided to return to Westleton Heath for the stone curlews as the sun would have moved around. Full of anticipation we arrived in perfect conditions only to find that the stone curlews now wished to camouflage themselves as well they can. Who said birding was easy anyway?

Our view of the stone curlews in the afternoon sun!

On closer inspection

Click below for gallery of today’s photos:

 

It was good to be back at RSPB Minsmere. The forecast for today was not at all promising but we managed dry weather until mid afternoon and it was surprisingly warm with very little wind (very different from the stormy weather as we left the West Country the day before) and although generally dull there were a few patchy bright spells.

We only managed to do the tour out along the North Wall to the East Scrape and then on to the Sluice and back via the South Hide. The bitterns and marsh harriers will have to wait for another day!

There was less bird life than we are used to here but certainly enough to keep us entertained.

Some of the birds we saw (in the order we saw them):

Female pheasant

Lapwing

Green sandpiper

Teal

Avocet

Shelduck

Wigeon

Black-tailed godwit

Mallards in flight

First winter Mediterranean Gull (which have been breeding at Minsmere)

Robin establishing its territory

Robin

Brent geese

Stonechat

Blue tit in flight and a Dartford warbler in the bush

Blue tit

I nearly missed this stonechat in flight

Ferruginous duck (a first for me)

Ferruginous duck

Konic ponies

Click below for gallery of my photos from today: