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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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After more rain, a brief few hours of sunshine. A walk across King's Meads gave up a pair of distant Stonechat and this Carrion Crow, catching a Worm!  Not everyone's favourite bird, but I love a Cormorant, and four of them were on the small island near the old Mill House. Stunning birds when seen at close quarters.     Again, a very overlooked bird - the Mallard. But just look at the wonderful colours of the male.  And the female caught in the reflections from the canal boats.  At the weir I spent some time trying to get an image of a Moorhen with a slow exposure so that the water was blurred. This was my best effort, and fairly pleased with the result. Taken at 1/5 second.  The heavy rainfall meant the river was full and murky. The Kingfisher was briefly spotted on a quieter stretch, but no pictures today. However while waiting, a number of Redwings were feeding and with a bit of patience, I got some close shots of this Winter visitor.         I was also treated to great views of the UK's joint smallest bird, Goldcrest. So tiny and very tricky to photograph as they are very mobile!             And the long staying female Goosander put on a great show by the weir. A quite aggressive bird, having a go at the local Mallards whenever they came close.          And a wave farewell!  Hertford never lets you down!
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The Brecks straddle the Norfolk/Suffolk border and are a great place to visit, especially in the Winter for some special birds. Our first stop was at Lynford Arboretum which was busy with birders. I always stop at the "tunnel" for a while as the pond attracts a number of birds. The best today was this Brambling, one of three or four. They tended to keep their distance, so just the one record shot.  On the other hand there was a large flock of Chaffinch who were much more forthcoming. First up, a female.  And the much more colourful males. I love the way they blend in with the fallen leaves.     It was also good to see some large clumps of Snowdrops.   One of our target birds was Hawfinch and we had a couple of distant sightings, but no photo opportunities. We had good numbers of woodland birds including Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Mistle Thrush. Another target bird was Marsh Tit, and I managed a couple of shots at the bridge, where small birds often come down to feed.   And while there, it would have been rude not to get some shots of the more common visitors, including this Robin.   And an often overlooked bird, Dunnock. Not brightly coloured, but very smart!   The final target bird at Lynford was Crossbill, and we were lucky to find this female bird, high up in the conifers.  Even better was this brick red male, perched in a hedge!    Time for a coffee and lunch before a quick stop at Mayday Farm on the way home. We had another distant small group of Crossbill and a couple of Woodlark as well as this lovely Coal Tit.   A really good day out with the regulars as well as meeting up with Robert Kitchen and having Steve Hughes join us for the day.
Finally! After what feels like a month of constant rain, a dry day and a bit of sun. So time for a morning trip to Amwell to see what was around. Crossing the bridge, I noticed a Cormorant on the Lea Navigation which was having a battle with a fish. Although distant, I took some shots and was shocked at the size of the Perch it had caught. Possibly around 3lb? It proved too much in the end, giving up and flying off!    The viewpoint was fairly quiet with water levels high. No sign of the two female Smew that had been around, but good to see a group of three male and two female Red-crested Pochard.   Walking down to the Bittern Pool there were a number of Buzzards and Red Kites circling, probably glad of the dry weather as well! One of the Kites came in close for a couple of photo's.   The Bittern Pool lived up to its name as I quickly spotted the Bittern hidden in the reeds before it quickly stepped back out of sight. It has usually been seen on the main pit especially late afternoon before going to roost. There are potentially two birds here, one at Rye Meads and one at Fishers Green. They use the Lea Valley to over winter before returning to their breeding grounds. Possibly Lakenheath which is their nearest breeding stronghold. Luckily, it decided to walk across one of the cuts before melting once again into the reeds!     A good morning and fingers crossed for some more dry weather.
A reasonable day weather wise so time to visit Fishers Green, starting at the farm. A flock of White-fronted Geese had been present for a couple of weeks and I soon found them in one of their favoured fields. I counted 32 in total, but quite distant.  And a wider shot. The spinning, brightly coloured ball is designed to deter geese from the field, but it did not seem up to the job!  It turned into a five Geese day as there were the usual Egyptian Geese dotted around.  Followed by a large group of Greylag Geese, flying in to join the others.    I could not locate the resident Barnacle Geese flock, though I did have one bird fly over. To complete the set, some Canada Geese.  There were also three Red Kites looking for carrion and I managed some shots of one putting on a bit of a display.    I then walked up to the weir along the road to the sailing club. Lots of Fieldfare and Redwing about, but all very skittish, and I just managed one image of a Redwing.  At the weir itself, I was rewarded with a Yellow-legged Gull, the European race of our Herring Gull.  Finally, it was time to visit the WDC. Whilst a Bittern had been seen for the past two days and indeed, first thing this morning, there was no sign while I was there. It has been a very poor couple of years for Bittern sightings there. Walking back to the car park I made do with a Cormorant.  The morning ended well with a group of one female and two male Goosander on the flood relief, near to the WDC.        Lovely to see them up close! Great to bump into Brian Anderson and Roy Balne.
A trip to the Fens and a frosty and sunny start to the day. We firstly popped into Eldernell, hoping to see some Owls. Whilst Long-eared Owls roost here, they are difficult to see and even earlier birders with thermal imaging equipment, failed to find them. Also we discovered that the Tawny Owl was no longer in its favoured site. We did however see a couple of Marsh Harriers, Great Egrets and this Fieldfare.   On the way to Deeping Lakes we decided to detour and find the Snow Goose that had been around for a while. The Sat Nav decided to take us down one of the worst, narrow roads in England and imagine our surprise when we met a bus coming the other way! Fortunately, Chris's car survived the journey. We dipped on the Goose as it was with around 500 Whooper Swans. They were very distant, and many were hidden in dips in the ground. Not the greatest of starts, but once at Deeping Lakes our fortunes improved. Firstly a Whooper Swan on one of the lakes.   And a smaller Bewick Swan with less yellow on the bill (it never goes past the nostrils).    We had seen a few Goosander earlier when driving along the River Welland, and a walk along the riverbank gave us views of this pair.  The light was starting to go, but I got a couple of shots of the male as they flew off.   There were also large numbers of Fieldfare and some Redwing coming in to roost. This is a shot of a small group of Fieldfare.  Long-eared Owls are the most difficult of our five Owls to see as their numbers are lower, they are nocturnal and roost in deep cover. The ears are actually not ears, but tufts of feathers. We saw one bird from the hide (another was present, but too well hidden to see). It was close, but so difficult to get a clear view as it was so well hidden! Hopefully these three shots will show you some of this beautiful, secretive bird.    Another great day!
The freezing weather had forced at least two Jack Snipe to visit Lemsford Springs where the old watercress bed rarely freezes over, allowing them to feed. Time then for a visit and lovely to see Rose Newbold and Chris Sharp already there. If you are not familiar with this HMWT site, here is a view of the small, but beautiful reserve.  The resident, ringed, Little Egret was on patrol.  A small flock of 15+ Teal had flown in as well.   As usual, there were a few Green Sandpipers, some starting to be somewhat territorial. Just a couple of pictures here as I have covered them in detail, in earlier blogs.   There were also a few Common Snipe around. A larger bird than Jack Snipe with a different head pattern and a much longer bill in proportion to their body (this one was doing its best to hide its bill!).     There were initially two Jack Snipe showing from the "In Focus" hide. One was very close but often obscured by the bank. The other was on the far bank and showed well, but not great for images. However, another bird was located out in the open in front of the first hide. Later in the day it became evident that there were at least six birds on site. Both Jack Snipe and Common Snipe bob, but Jack Snipe do it much more frequently. To start with, a quick hand held video. And a few still images.        And a final shot, showing the distinctive head pattern.  A super little bird to see, but there was more to come! While in the In Focus hide the local Fox ran down the path and stopped, looking up at the birders. I managed a couple of close shots before he went on his way. A superb looking animal.   A great couple of hours. Also good to see Steve Kiln, Andy Nicholls and a brief glimpse of Ian Conn!
Another cold day and the weather was meant to be fine, but halfway there we had a few flakes of snow and it turned into a dull day. The lake at Verulamium was almost totally ice covered which did not deter this Grey Wagtail coming within a few yards!   One or two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the main lake.  Most of the Black-headed Gulls were on the boating pond.   And also present was the long staying 2nd Winter Mediterranean Gull. In the next picture the bird on the left, showing much less white in the tail.  I did take quite a few images of this bird as it showed so well, but as not everyone is an avid Gull fan, I will just post a few!      Walking along the frozen lake we spotted a Little Grebe waddling along like a Penguin! After a while, it took off, flying low over the ice.     It was then time to head up to the Watercress LNR to be greeted by the local Robin.  There were also a number of Ring-necked Parakeets coming to one of the feeders.  There was a decent sized Siskin flock that stayed high up in the Alders, but no Redpolls, though we did have a brief glimpse of a female Bullfinch. It was very overcast at this point so just a couple of pictures of a female Chaffinch.   The Goldfinches were enjoying the Teasel's.     It was time to head back via the Cathedral. It took a while to locate one of the Peregrines, huddled up out of the cold.  Walking back along the Ver, it was time to photograph the Kingfisher. Indeed two had been reported for the past few weeks, showing really well. However, a Water Rail scuttled along the far edge with what looked like a Bullhead. I managed to grab a few shots before it disappeared.    A great surprise, and thanks to Chris for spotting it. I photographed both Kingfishers, but the one nearest the bridge showed better, so enjoy a few shots from the many I took.           A great day out, and you know when the Kingfisher has had enough!  Abberton is always a good place to get the year list off to a good start, which is why it is always the RSPB South East Herts Local Group choice for our first car outing of the year. We started at the Layer Breton causeway, where the western side was completely frozen. A bitterly cold, but sunny day. The Smew that had been there had moved to the other side and were very distant. We were however rewarded with a flock of around 18 White-fronted Geese on the water. Kingfisher and two Marsh Harriers were other good birds seen. The flock of Greylag Geese also held a couple of Tundra Bean Geese which a few group members managed to see before they were disturbed. No real photo opportunities as the majority of birds were distant, so it was round to the Visitor Centre for a quick coffee before visiting the Layer de la Haye causeway. The first birds of note we saw were two unseasonal Little Stints.    They were with a single Dunlin, a larger bird with a longer bill, but in Winter plumage, quite similar.  As always there were good numbers of ducks including Wigeon. This group got spooked allowing for a flight shot.  We had views of three Swans which for most of the time were asleep, but eventually revealed themselves as Bewick's Swans. This shot was from one of the hides on the EWT reserve, unfortunately into the sun!  From the causeway I managed a shot of a pair of Goosanders. There did not seem to be as many about as on previous Winter visits.  Other birds of note included Pintail, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Golden Plover and Black-necked Grebe. But from a photography perspective, this female Goldeneye showed really well in the sluice.       A great days birding and also good to year tick Alan Reynolds, Ron Cousins and Ron Baber!
A burst tyre on New Years Eve has left me car less for a couple of days so a walk into town to see how the local Kingfisher is doing. These pictures cover two visits including one on the 31st December. The lack of rain recently has provided slower and clearer water and therefore lots of food. Additionally, news has spread and there were lots of passers by who got a chance to see this bird, and for many, their first ever view of a Kingfisher! Lovely to chat to people, many with young children, and share some images.          The above images were from the 31st December. The following ones are from the 2nd January. At one stage he was about 5m from the bank!   Then a bit further along with a dark background.  A few more images.    And finally some images where I managed to get a bokah effect with highlighted leaves in the background.        What a fantastic bird!
A sunny morning and a quick walk through town. No sign of the Kingfisher, but I managed one shot of this Goldcrest as it moved through a bush.  On Hartham Common, this Little Egret gave some close views.  Tricky lighting, but I managed to underexpose some images to retain some feather detail.      A walk back through the churchyard, but no sign of the local Peregrine. However, a small flock of Siskin were feeding fairly low down in an Alder tree and with a bit of patience, I was able to get some decent shots.            Lovely little finches!
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