Category: Blog

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When we set off this morning it was very foggy but by the time I dropped Wendy off for a Textile Art Workshop at Midsomer Quilters in the Mendip Hills it was very sunny. However, to my disappointment as I dropped back down on to the Somerset Levels the fog returned and stayed with me until midday when, fortunately, the sun burnt through the mist.

I was lucky to get a photo of this dunnock as it was really misty – the magic of editing.

RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve (which are adjacent to each other but run by different bodies) are usually abundant with birds and are my favourite local birding areas;  but it was much quieter today. Surprisingly there weren’t many people around either.

Great crested grebe

Great crested grebe

Shoveler

Shovelers

Pochard

However, I did manage to see a blackcap, which the Nature Notes in today’s Times newspaper described as “the king of the warblers” and which are coming back in to the country in their hundreds of thousands: the article stated that there are over a million nesting pairs in Britain. This one certainly lived up to its reputation with a very cheerful and loud song.

A very melodious blackcap

I was so dazzled by the pinkness of this bird’s breast that I couldn’t work out if it was a bullfinch or a chaffinch but sure it’s a chaffinch

I was surprised how much pink there was in this wood pigeon too

I saw several butterflies but only managed a photo of this one – a Green-Veined White

The other highlight of the day was seeing great crested grebes courting, although I didn’t manage to see them dancing!

These two great crested grebes started the courting in the open and then coyly disappeared behind the reeds

Another joy was hearing bitterns booming across the reserves; they didn’t show their faces though.

There were plenty of sightings of great white egrets but I only saw one little egret.

Great white egret at RSPB Ham Wall

Great white egret and little egret at RSPB Ham Wall

This great white egret flew overhead at Shapwick Heath as I walked back to the car

From Noah’s Hide at Shapwick Heath I could just make out in the distance my first swallows of the year; but I didn’t manage to see the glossy ibis that had been reported.

 

 

 

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The English language is full of weather lore and the  proverb that says that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” has certainly been true this year: today was another superb day with wall to wall sunshine and plenty of warmth in the sun.

The adders in The Forest of Dean (where I went with a birding friend) made the most of it and came out to bask in the sun. We also saw a slow worm and a common lizard but not too many birds (except for a distant goshawk).

Adder

Adder

2 Adders

2 Adders

Slow worms

Common Lizard

Common Lizard

Common Lizard

Common Lizard

My friend, who has a good knowledge of the area, showed me all the different birding spots but I think I had a jinx on him and I returned home with not too much editing to do. Nonetheless, we had some good walks through the beautiful forest and I came home richer for the experience.

Song thrush

Song thrush

Wren

Nuthatch

Coal tit

Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Nuthatch

Blue tit

Robin

Great tit

Not quite The New Forest

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We had an early (early for us anyway) morning walk in the park in beautiful sunshine. There was very little until we reached the lake and then a pair of grey wagtails, a kingfisher and a cormorant made our day even better. We were home by 10 and then got ready and went out to Clevedon as tourists!

Clevedon Pier was opened in 1869 to receive paddle steamer passengers from Devon and Wales. It is the only Grade 1 listed pier you can visit in England.

We enjoyed watching the kingfisher fishing and then I took this poor (out-of-focus) shot …

Grey wagtail on the lake

Grey wagtail strutting his stuff on the weir.

Were these two the same grey wagtails we had seen on the lake, this time on the weir?

Head for heights?

The robins are heard and seen everywhere

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On a most fantastic spring day we had a wonderful trip to the Red Kite Centre at Gigrin Farm which is located in beautiful countryside, in the heart of Mid Wales, overlooking both the Wye and Elan Valleys,  just half a mile from the market town of Rhayader.

The view from Gigrin Farm

The 2 hour drive  was a sheer delight through this beautiful part of Wales. We arrived in good time for the kite feeding which takes place at 2 pm (or 3 pm in summer as the Red Kites don’t understand about the clocks going forward).

I anticipated that it would be very easy to take photos of the birds and was quite surprised how difficult it was to focus on the swooping kites and how exhausting the whole exercise was. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the results.

The drive back was just as interesting although we failed to find a café open on a Sunday afternoon to break our journey.

There were rather a lot of photos to edit but these are some of my favourites:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It was very gloomy in the park this afternoon but quite mild. I could hear lots of bird activity but saw very little.

The best of the (poor) photos was a grey heron coming in to land.

Grey wagtail

Robin

Blue tit

Grey heron

Grey heron

Grey heron

Grey heron

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I had an hour to kill between appointments in Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol  and so went on to Durdham Down (an area of public open space in Bristol) for a spot of nature watching.

I had intended to look for peregrines but only managed a short walk (more like a scramble really) through a gully in Avon Gorge.

I saw lots of robins but, to my frustration, didn’t get a single shot, However I did manage a few shots of a song thrush (hiding between two trees) and a nuthatch which was at some distance.

Song Thrush

Nuthatch

Not great photos, I know, but good for the record.

I also saw the wild goats which have been introduced into the gully to restore wildflower-rich  grassland and help rare plants by controlling scrub, bramble and ivy.

A few of the wildflowers were already in flower.

 

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I have learned over the years (I’m  a slow learner) that if you want decent photos you need decent light. Well today I went down to the Severn Estuary in the most dismal light because I had seen reported that there was a Little Ringed Plover on the Pilning Wetlands; and LRPs are one of my favourite birds. Although, I’m probably going to change my mind about “favourite birds” as a fellow birder said that to me this morning that his favourite bird was “the next one” – a very good adage indeed.

Well I did manage to see it but, not surprisingly, I did struggle to get a decent photo.

Little ringed plover

Little ringed plover

I started at Aust Warth to see if I could see a short eared owl but had no luck. There was a kestrel but it only ever showed me a rear view.

Rear view of kestrel

When I arrived at New Passage the tide had already gone too far out for me to really record anything of interest. I could see redshank, black-tailed godwits and  turnstones. Others saw a ruff.

I’ve included this photo of redshank to show how dismal it was!

Redshank

I walked out to Pilning Wetlands and soon saw my little ringed plover. I also enjoyed watching pied wagtails flit about and I made feeble attempts to photograph them at a distance in poor light.

Pied wagtail

The previously mentioned birder helpfully pointed out with his telescope a male merlin and, although it was quite some way away, I did manage to get some shots.

Merlin after heavy cropping

In fact this is what it looked like (if you look hard) with 800 mm lens:

Little grebe

Shoveler

Teal with pied wagtail for size comparison

Meadow pipts having a bath

Not a brilliant day for photographs but I met several friendly birders and saw quite a few birds; and so, quite a successful morning.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The wind and rain have let up for a moment and, although it was a dismal morning, I enjoyed getting out for a short walk across to Stoke Park.

I was hoping to see some stonechats and a little grebe which had been reported but I didn’t even get a glimpse.

Duchess Pond was full to the brim and there were mallards, moorhen, coots and Canada geese. Rather menacingly 4 buzzards circled overhead and squabbled and mewed amongst themselves but they didn’t bother anything else. I could see ravens in the distance over the woods. A green woodpecker also flew over and a solitary black-headed gull swooped quite close to me.

The best of the morning was a chiffchaff – my first of this year. A few people on Twitter have suggested it is a Siberian Chiffchaff and this has now been confirmed.

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Siberian Chiffchaff

Buzzards

Black-headed gull

I have spent some of my time in the last few days (whilst the wet and windy weather has not been conducive to getting out and about) cataloguing the birds I have seen on recent trips to Southern Africa. None of these trips have been specifically “bird watching”  trips but I have found plenty of time and opportunity to keep me fulfilled.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Gallery of some of the birds I have seen recently in Southern Africa

Here are some of the links to pages I have created (which are also on the menu system under Additional Links):

My catalogue of Birds of Southern Africa.

Gallery of birds of the Western Cape

Slideshow gallery of the birds of Namibia and Zimbabwe

I have even found some photographs from 2011 (when I was not particularly interested in bird watching) – see Birds in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – March 2011

I am sure I have misidentified many birds and I even have a section of birds which I am still to identify. If you are able to correct me or assist me I would be very pleased to hear from you either through this WordPress Blog or by email martintayler@hotmail.com

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After days of strong winds and rain it was a pleasure to get out this morning. Although the wind was still quite fresh it was very pleasant in the sun.

The highlight of this morning’s walk around the park was a treecreeper. I had a good few sightings of a kingfisher but didn’t manage a photo. There were a pair of grey wagtails, a wren, a grey heron and robins everywhere. The Canada Geese on the lake were quite tetchy as they begin to pair up.

Wren

Robin

Grey heron

Grey heron

Canada Geese

Pair of grey wagtails

Treecreeper

Lesser black-backed gull

Grey wagtail

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Following the incredibly (unseasonable) warm spell last week we were blasted by Storm Freya over the weekend. I thought I was being rather brave this morning going down to New Passage on the Severn Estuary (between the two Severn Bridges) but in fact it was not too cold or blustery and I had an enjoyable hour or two watching lots of waders feeding and flying around as the time ebbed.

Oystercatcher

Dunlin

Shelduck

Redshank one way

And then redshank the other way

And then redshank on the ground

… and close ups

Wigeon

Turnstone

2 turnstones

Teal

Curlew

Wigeon

Turnstone and redshank

Dunlin and redshank

Black-tailed godwits

Lots of waders

A lone gull

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With the last of the amazingly unseasonable weather forecast for today we decided to go to the seaside. Not the normal sort of seaside but the lovely peninsula of Sand Point on the Bristol Channel (only 30 miles from home).

The National Trust website describes it as follows: