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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:

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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

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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.

 

 

 

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

 

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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:

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Record temperatures for February were recorded in Britain today at over 20 degrees. I only had a brief walk across to the local park and there was lots of evidence of an early spring with the blackthorn looking really special.

I didn’t see many birds but I saw later in the day that lots had been spotted. I must have been idling in the sun.

It looks inviting, doesn’t it? You have to walk under a motorway though.

It’s hard to believe it is only February.

The blackthorn blossom is beautiful

The bull rushes were spreading their seeds in the gentle breeze

The Canada Geese were enjoying the sun too although they were occasionally agressive to each other.

The trees know it’s only February – no signs of buds yet

 

 

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Rather excited by spotting a Sparrowhawk in our local park we decided, as it was such an amazing day for February (or indeed any month), that we would go further afield and try to see some other raptors. And so we went in search of peregrine falcons or goshawks at Symonds Yat on the edge of the Forest of Dean. (As I said in an earlier blog the removal of tolls on the Severn Bridge will entice us across the Severn Estuary more and more).

Even at 10 o’clock in the morning it was beautifully sunny and quite warm. However, as we descended towards the Severn Estuary we were suddenly shrouded in fog. It was very foggy as we crossed the bridge but as we drove up through the Wye Valley the fog started to lift and we stopped for a while at Tintern Abbey.

Tintern Abbey in the fog

The River Wye in the fog

The fog began to lift on the River Wye

Yet when we got to Symonds Yat Rock, even at a higher altitude, the woods were totally enveloped in fog. We could see nothing other than very atmospheric woods.

The woods at Symonds Yat Rock

Just as we were leaving Symonds Yat Rock the sun broke through for a moment and we were rewarded with the sight of a small number of coal tits.

Coal tit

Back down in the Wye Valley it was really sunny and we stopped again at Tintern Abbey (indeed it was warm enough to sit outside a café and have an ice cream!). There were a few birds around (robins, dunnock and blue tits) and much to my surprise I spotted a couple of Goosanders fishing in the River Wye.

The remains of Tintern Abbey

Robin

Dunnock

Goosander

We stopped at Aust on the way back to see if we could see short-eared owls but there was nothing to be seen.

Not many birds, and certainly no raptors, but a wonderful day out.

 

 

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It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of photographers in the park this afternoon but we all decided that it was not going to be our day (no kingfishers, no grey herons, no dippers, no grey wagtails). And then just as I was heading home I caught sight of a beautiful sparrowhawk in Fishponds Brook. It was quite happy to provide me with full and side profiles and I was quite happy to snap away.

The best of the rest were a long-tailed tit and a pied wagtail.

Long-tailed tit

Pied wagtail

Blackbird

The black-headed gull has got its black head back