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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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First one Shortie was discovered at Holwell in fields by the crematorium and numbers have built up to three, possibly four birds. Despite the dull, grey weather it was too good an opportunity to pay a visit! The site looked ideal and after a tense hour or so of waiting two birds appeared behind me, then used both field to hunt, being joined by a third bird. All shots were taken with a very high ISO so not the greatest quality, but still fantastic to see them and my first in Herts for around 4 years.      One of the birds was a lot paler and at one point dropped in for prey, looking around after a failed attempt.  Just a few more images and because of the light, some context shots.         Without doubt, my favourite UK Owl and always a delight to see and photograph. Hopefully they will stay a bit longer and we get a sunny afternoon after all of this relentless grey murk!  
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A Jack Snipe was reported at Lemsford Springs, probably attracted as the water does not freeze there. It was difficult to see well so a year tick, but no photo's! I did however get some shots of Common Snipe.       And while there, you must take a few pictures of the famous Green Sandpipers.    Lemsford can also be a good place for Mandarin Ducks, and today I was rewarded with a pair. Firstly, the female.   And the slightly more colourful male!    Always a good place to visit.
A very cold, but dry day and a trip to Ashley Pit for the Goosander that Winter there. From the car park a Song Thrush was belting out its song.  It was so cold even the Lea Navigation was partly freezing over.  One benefit of the cold weather was that a good part of the pit was frozen over, containing the Goosander in one part, making it easier for shots, though the light was fairly poor.          A couple of Shoveler Duck flew in and were looking for somewhere to land.  A walk down to the Bittern hide failed to produce a Bittern which has not been showing well at all this year. However, a Great Crested Grebe fishing in the river was some compensation.   Crossing the river and walking up towards the farm provided a lovely surprise in the shape of this Fox, with a frosty background.     A great end to a cold but beautiful walk.
It has been far too long since my last blog, but other issues and the festive period have intervened! So, here we go with another year of birding which started with 50+ species at Amwell on the 2nd January. The next stop would be St Albans with the plan being to visit the Watercress NR for Redpoll and hopefully Bullfinch. Turning in to park at Verulamium we had Red-legged Partridge on the verge and Chiffchaff and Grey Wagtail as we walked along the river and up to the Abbey. Both Peregrines were up on the roof, firstly, the male.  At the other end was the female, a slightly larger bird.  She was tucking into prey, difficult to see what, but possibly a Pigeon.            And a little bit of video footage as well. A quick peek inside the Abbey revealed a surprise with a detailed model of the Moon!   The next stop was the Watercress NR with an array of common Tits and finches, including this female Chaffinch.  We had distant views of a male and female Bullfinch, so just a record shot of the male.  The Siskin were a bit more obliging!     Redpoll were also showing near the feeders and with patience I managed to take some pictures as they waited their turn. Lat year, I would have called them Lesser Redpoll, but with talk of lumping three species, probably best just to say Redpoll!      Time to head back, but one last surprise as we headed along the lake at Verulamium Park. A couple of people were photographing something in vegetation at the waters edge. At first, my first thought was Kingfisher, but low and behold it was a Siberian visitor, a Yellow-browed Warbler which had been seen before Christmas, but re-discovered by Murray Brown.          An amazing end to a fantastic day in St Albans!
A SE Herts RSPB trip to Elmley on a dull, but dry day and a new venue for many. Not a great day for photography but some good birds starting with a Barn Owl that had been roosting in a tree next to the old school building which gave us good views as it flew off. We had fleeting views of Bearded Tits as well as a few Stonechat and Marsh Harriers. Waders included Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Common Snipe and Redshank. Quite a few Brent Geese and Shelduck were out in the estuary. On the way back from the old school house we discovered this roosting Little Owl.       Some people had distant views of a Merlin, but nearly all of us had good views of a male Hen Harrier, ghosting across the marsh. Too far away for decent pictures, and to be honest I was more interested in just watching this superb bird! We than headed back to the car park hoping for some Short Eared Owls which sadly did not show. Slight compensation while waiting was watching the antics of the local House Sparrows.    An enjoyable day out.
The Essex Birdwatching Society were having a "Pop up" event on Southend pier so as the conditions looked good, it was time to head down there. A Rock Pipit under the pier was a welcome start to the day and a fairly large crowd of birders then walked to the end of the 1.3 mile pier. This is the view looking back.  A Cormorant was loafing at the end of the pier.  And a slightly arty shot for something a tad different!  The keen eyed among you may have noticed the bird in the background. While photographing the Cormorant, this Shag flew in to rest and preen. Quite an unusual visitor to the Essex coast.     It then flew off and landed close in to start fishing, allowing for a few more shots.    It fishes differently to a Cormorant, diving up and under, as in this shot.  A very unusual find and it was incredibly hard to resist calling this blog "A Shag on Southend Pier". Other good birds included a distant juvenile Gannet and at least three Red-throated Divers. Photographically however, the local Turnstones were very obliging.      And packed together at high tide.   The pier is also a great place to see Mediterranean Gulls.    And a few flight shots.      A great morning and huge thanks to Steve & Matt and all involved from EBWS and Bird Aware Essex Coast. After a bite to eat and the train back along the pier we decided to visit Rainham on the way home to try and see the Long Billed Dowitcher that had been reported. Sadly, it had flown off across the river about an hour before we arrived. Some consolation was found near the Cordite Store with this cracking Firecrest. As always, moving very quickly in poor light so I only manged a couple of record shots.   A brilliant way to end the day!
As it's fungi season I decided to leave my long lens at home and venture out with my 105mm macro lens and my 24-105mm zoom hoping to capture some Autumn colour. Hobbyhorse Wood is next to Balls Wood and is super at this time of year. Just a few landscapes to show it in all its glory.      I only managed to find a few Fly Agaric which were too decayed for shots, so here is a collection of other species.                And in Balls Wood a few plant shots.     Always a great place to visit at this time of year.
My last visit to Rainham earlier this year had me dipping a Woodchat Shrike, so while nothing exciting had been reported the weather was good and so worth the trip out. A walk along the river failed to deliver Rock or Water Pipit with just a few distant Redshank, Avocet and a lone Curlew. After a coffee it was time to spend some time in the Purfleet Hide. A Great Egret that was originally very distant decided to fly in much closer before being chased off by a second bird.          Waders were in short supply with five Common Snipe huddled together and this lone Curlew.  The Lapwing looked superb in the Autumn sunshine, sometimes taking off for a few minutes when disturbed.       Duck numbers were starting to increase with a few distant Wigeon. This male Teal however came a lot closer.  The Shoveler were also starting to look in good condition!    Rainham is always a good place to see Pintail and there were at least five present. This male, not quite out of eclipse plumage came in close for some shots.     Time for a wander and we soon bumped into this young Grey Heron trying his luck with the Marsh Frogs as well as doing some surfing!    And talking of Marsh Frogs......   And a slightly arty take!  Five Marsh Harriers and a pair of Stonechat were the other highlights of the day. A quick check of the WDZ area revealed a knot of people excitedly photographing a female Kingfisher perched close. I believe they had nested there earlier in the year judging by the many pictures posted. The drawback however, was you had to shoot through glass which is far from ideal as the outside area was closed off to prevent them being disturbed. So while the masses took pictures through the glass a few of us quickly moved outside to get uninterrupted views of this lovely bird.       Always something to see at Rainham!
A quick trip to Norwich to WEX Photographic was followed by a visit to Kessingland where four Shorelarks had been reported. They were quickly located and we were able to get reasonably close despite the birds being disturbed by dog walkers. Very tricky to photograph well due to the stalks of grass which always seemed to be in the way making focussing difficult.          Next stop was Walberswick just along the coast to look for Snow Bunting. Walking along the beach this Kestrel was hunting the shore.     A short way further on a Little Egret was trying its luck fishing on one of the pools behind the beach.   We came across the Snow Bunting fairly quickly, indeed it virtually flew up under our feet! As is usual with these birds it gave great views allowing us to get within a few yards.                   Such a great bird to end the day with!
A great weekend away with friends near Happisburgh and even managed a quick trip to North Walsham for a Hoopoe which even impressed the non birders! However, everyone loves Seals so a trip to Horsey Gap was a winner. There seemed to be more than previous years and it won't be long before they start pupping. So just a few shots from the visit.                               And a short video of a couple bonding. And no post would be complete without a bird, in this case a Great Black-Backed Gull.  A fabulous place to visit!
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