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My blog will predominantly feature a selection of photographs and reports of recent wildlife photographic trips, mainly in the UK
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The recent very hot weather has now broken, replaced by sun and heavy local showers. I decided to take a risk and pop down to Rye Meads, where there is plenty of cover if it rains. And rain it did! Thunder and lightning which didn't stop this Coot going about its business.  Here's a short video as well. Before getting to the Kingfisher Hub I spotted two Red Crested Pochards at the Draper hide and another two at the Gadwall hide. Here's one of them.  Before the rain started, there were a number of Dragonflies on the wing including Hairy, Emperor and lots of Norfolk Hawkers or Green-eyed Hawkers as they are now known. Fun trying to get them in flight.    This female came in close to lay her eggs, gradually reversing into the water.  Back at the Kingfisher Hub, the Kingfishers successfully raised their first brood with the youngsters now dispersed. I believe the female is now back on eggs. The male made an appearance, perching briefly on the middle perch. For a male it does have a little bit of red on the bill.    Typically, I had packed my gear away and was just leaving when the male reappeared with a fish. The female came out onto the perch, but refused the fish offering and they both departed! However, before that, the resident Grey Heron had taken up position in front of the new nest bank and caught a Newt.   And one final update - The Kestrel chicks seem to be doing well, I believe three in total. The parents were keeping an eye on them, with the female favouring a tree to the left of the pylon.    A lovely couple of hours! Most people will already be aware, but the RSPB are pulling out of the reserve and handing it back to the owner, which is Thames Water. An incredibly short sighted move which reflects badly on the organisation as not only is it their only reserve in Hertfordshire, it is a wildlife lifeline for lots of people in London who can easily access the reserve by public transport.
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A late evening trip in the heat to try and see Barn Owls on the Meads. This ended in failure, but I know at least one has been seen there recently. This was the viewing area.  One of the local Rabbits seemed to be in no hurry to make way!  The New River held a fishing Cormorant.  A nice surprise was seeing the long staying female Goosander on The New River. It has been around Hertford for months and seems incredibly settled as well as affording great views.     As it got darker a Cuckoo flew past and then I heard the unmistakable sound of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler, just like an angler's fishing reel. With a bit of patience I figured out roughly where it was located and waited for it to show as they are incredibly skulking birds. These were my first views.    It then moved to a slightly more open position and I took some hand held video, sadly just as a train was going past! However, you can just about hear it reeling. And then some time for some stills. It was starting to get darker so I had to push the ISO up, but worth it for such a great bird.          A great time seeing this secretive bird and a lovely sunset on the way back!  Very temperatures at the moment so a fairly early start before it got too hot. The actual Dragonfly trail at Amwell was buzzing with Four-spotted Chasers and Hairy Dragonflies, but not willing to land for shots. However this Red-eyed Damselfly was more obliging.  A Coot had decided to nest very close to the boardwalk. Three eggs still to hatch and already at least two young.   Time therefore to walk back to Tumbling Bay and before looking for Dragonflies I found this Thick-legged Flower Beetle that clearly been working out in the gym!  The high temperatures clearly contributed to a number of Dragonflies emerging, in this instance, a Black-tailed Skimmer.    There were also quite a few Four-spotted Chasers.    With the day getting hotter, it was time to head home. It won't be long before we start seeing some of the other species on the wing.
The churchyard at Wallington has always been a good place for Spotted Flycatchers, a sadly declining species in the UK. The church is worth a shot of its own.  Swifts, Buzzards and Red Kites were overhead and Blackcaps calling in the bushes. I was hoping one of the Flycatchers might perch on one of the gravestones, but had to settle for this Robin.   Grey Squirrels seemed to like the barn in the garden next door!   But more unusual in North Herts, especially around Hitchin are a black version of the Grey Squirrel. I managed to get some shots of one individual. It is worth looking them up on-line.     The Spotted Flycatchers mainly showed in the conifer trees in the garden adjoining the churchyard.   The next two shots show one perched at the top, eyeing up an insect, and then intercepting it!   One came a bit closer, landing on the roof of the barn.  And finally, venturing into the churchyard.   Always a lovely place to visit. An interesting footnote is that George Orwell lived in the village for a while and wrote "Animal Farm" there in 1944!
A lovely sunny day and a planned trip to RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk. It's a bit of a journey, so big thanks to Chris Gibson for driving. The first thing you see after passing through the Visitor Centre is the sandy bank which was buzzing with Sand Martins. Always tricky to photograph them, so just the one shot.  There were lots of Butterflies on the wing, including Painted Lady.  And Small Copper.  After the North hide, where we heard, but didn't see Nightingale, we walked down to the beach with Sedge and Reed Warblers everywhere. A couple of Common Terns flew over to try their luck fishing in one of the small pools.    There is a small population of feral Barnacle Geese at Minsmere, mostly on the scrape, but also flying in, sometimes with the Greylag Geese.    A few of the commoner duck species were on the scrape including a number of Shelduck.  However, a real surprise was a pair of Garganey. We spotted them from the beach lookout but got slightly closer views at the South hide. Still fairly distant, so just a couple of record shots.   Waders were ins short supply but included Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwing and three Bar-tailed Godwits, pictured here.  And of course, a couple of shots of the many Avocets!   To complete the wader round up, a couple of Redshanks. It was amazing to see the male displaying, and then mating. Here is a sequence of images which captures the event.             After all of that excitement it was time to head off for the Bittern and Island Mere hides after a quick stop for coffee and cake at the cafe. We saw a few Hobbies over the reed bed and some fleeting views of Bearded Tits. This female Marsh Harrier came in quite close at one point.   But the star of the show was this Bittern which was showing as we entered the aptly named Bittern hide. I believe it's a male as it has a hint of blue on the bill. Probably the best views of one I have had at Minsmere, so please excuse the photo overload.               What a great way to end the day!
A walk around King's Meads, but the Wood Sandpipers had moved off on their journey North. Warblers were calling everywhere and this Greater Whitethroat was singing loudly and showed off well against the blossom and the blue sky.     The Cuckoo was calling again, but I couldn't spot him today. However, I did take a picture of Lady's Smock, which is otherwise known as Cuckoo Flower as it blooms as Cuckoo's arrive in the country.  My target today was trying to find the male Mandarin Duck that has taken up residence on the Lea Navigation. An introduced species, they now have a healthy breeding population in England. Their exotic appearance somewhat different to our usual wildfowl! I tracked him down under the A10 viaduct where the reflections on the water from the graffiti on the bridge made for some interesting shots.        What a stunning bird! Keep an eye out for him when walking along the river. Good to bump into Joe Aggio, keeping watch over the swans.
It had been a while since I had made the short trip to Coopers Green GP on the edge of Hatfield and the process of turning the gravel pit back to farmland is rapidly progressing. Sadly, this will limit the number and variety of birds present, but it still attracts some good birds. The first of these was this male Wheatear, probably the Greenland race which arrive a bit later.  The many posts and wires make ideal perches, firstly for this Greater Whitethroat.   And of course the Skylarks!   The birds I had really come to see and photograph were Yellow Wagtails and there were probably six birds chasing each other and setting up territories. At first they were distant as this shot shows, which also gives an idea of the amount of work that has been done.  This female was more confiding, perching up high, more traditionally.   And then on a gate!  This super looking male choose barbed wire instead.       Always great to have these birds back for the Summer and good to have a chat with patch birders Rupert Evershed and Steven Pearce.
After a morning at Rye Meads news broke of a Hoopoe in the grounds of the old Briggens Hall Hotel just off the A414. A 15 minute drive later and a short walk soon had me there where already a few familiar faces had gathered. The bird was on a lawn in front of Briggens Lodge and we were able to observe it from the public footpath. It was feeding happily, flying into a tree when a delivery van turned up.  This was my 2nd Hertfordshire Hoopoe (after the Hinxworth bird) and fourth in the UK. Despite seeing lots in Spain and Portugal they are a real treat here. A few more shots taken from the footpath.      A great way to finish the day and special thanks to Laurence Drummond for his excellent directions!
Five Wood Sandpipers had been reported on the flood on King's Meads late on the 28th. As they are one of my favourite waders I popped down at 5.50am to see if they were still there. Luckily they were, and feeding up before moving on to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia. There were actually six birds present which increased to eight the following day. The most I had ever seen before together was two. The record for Hertfordshire is 13! Apologies for the photo overload!              What fantastic birds! But while waiting, this Sedge Warbler was very showy.     A grasshopper Warbler was reeling behind me and this female Reed Bunting put in a brief appearance.  A pair of Gadwall were expected.  But more of a surprise was the long staying female Goosander which flew over, heading for the river.  And the final treat of the morning was a Cuckoo passing overhead.    It's so good to have this precious place on my doorstep!
Just a brief blog following an RSPB SE Herts Group coach trip to Stodmarsh. Great weather but the heat haze made photography very difficult so not too many pictures! We had some good birds including singing Nightingales, Cattle Egret and two Greenshanks. The air was filled with the sound of love sick Marsh frogs as well. I did have my first Hobbies of the year though.   A distant Common Tern was another year tick and it was good to capture the often overlooked Mallards flying in.     There were quite a few Marsh Harriers on site and here are a few shots of one of the males.    A great reserve at this time of year.
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