Warnham Nature Reserve - again

Earlier this week, we went to Warnham Nature Reserve yet again; it's just a lovely place and you know you'll probably get some nice photos of woodland birds (in winter anyway). However, it was very busy, Woodpecker hide was quite crowded so I couldn't sit/stand in my favourite spots and didn't stay very long.

I did get a shot of a long-tailed tit feeding...been after that for a while! :)

Also photographed one of the reed buntings...almost in full breeding plumage now...

Not too keen on the feeder in this shot but I really like the look on the little siskin's face...

 On the way back to the car park, a male dunnock perched right in front of us and sang his little heart out. Brilliant! Such beautiful little birds - not "dull" at all! - and fabulous songsters.

Spring is in the air!

With reports of many new arrivals in the country - including the first few hirundines, chiffchaffs and wheatears (loads reported yesterday and today!) - I just cannot wait to get out there.
Hopefully Monday...I hope there'll be some male wheatears waiting for me somewhere...I'm still hoping for a really good shot of one before they move on to their breeding grounds. To hear the first chiffchaff, spot the first whitethroat...you know what, I'm childishly excited!!!!! :)

Warnham LNR

As this photo I took of a beautiful male lesser redpoll at Warnham LNR last week won 'notable photo' on birdguides.com today, I realised it was time to update my blog!

Not done much birding recently - went to Warnham a couple of times and today finally decided to go and see the Paddyfield warbler that has been at Pagham North Wall since November. Well, what can I say - it didn't show. It was seen several times this morning and also at lunchtime and then disappeared just before we arrived. Oh well, typical. ;)

We did see a few reed buntings, plenty of teal and wigeon, pintail, redshank and a snipe that I spotted in the distance next to a few sleepy mallards. By the time I had made my way down the steep bank, trying to get just a LITTLE closer...yeah well, you guessed it, it had disappeared. So I ended up with just another rubbish record shot (the over-exposed reeds tell you that my settings were totally wrong as well) - then again, probably slightly less rubbish than the first one I got last year.
Spot the snipe...

I also met "Pagham Birder" whose blog I've been following for quite a while so that was lovely!

Apart from that, a rather disappointing afternoon for obvious reasons.

So...back to Warnham! It's really one of my favourite places for bird photography at this time of year. March is the best month really because the numbers of winter finches build up and you can take lovely photos from Woodpecker Hide. It's also where I found 'my' mealy redpoll a year ago! I reported the bird to the West Sussex rarities committee and I'm pleased to say that it was accepted a few weeks ago!
I didn't see a mealy last week but plenty of lesser redpolls - and got my best shots to date. Here's another one, this time of a female:

For more shots of this beautiful little finch, please click here: Lesser Redpolls

Another favourite of mine is the siskin! Here's a lovely little female - they are so beautifully marked!

I even saw a singing male - which is rather unusual, they don't breed at Warnham after all.
More shots of this great - and surprisingly tiny - finch can be viewed here: Siskins

Reed buntings can also be seen around the feeders. Some of the males are really coming into breeding plumage, their heads already almost black whereas others are still in winter plumage.

Two males: Almost in breeding plumage above, still in winter plumage below.

A water rail made a brief appearance - just like last year, fabulous!

I also enjoy watching and photographing the resident "common" woodland birds. Nothing common about them, really - each and every one of them is a little beauty.

Robin

Chaffinch

Nuthatch

Wren - I still haven't managed to get a really good shot of a wren...but...getting there....watch this space!

Same with fieldfare and redwing - but I did get a nice shot of the former at Warnham a few weeks ago!

A cheeky blue tit

Soon the winter finches and thrushes will be leaving...and the summer visitors will return. A few sand martins, swallows and even a wheatear have already been reported. I SO can't wait to spot my first whitethroat of the year!!!! :)

Ashdown Forest - Old Lodge NR

The weather is not exactly brilliant at the moment, especially if you're a bird photographer. In fact it's been a pretty rubbish 'winter' for photography!
The only sunny afternoon last week was spent at Old Lodge Nature Reserve. Quite a bit of bird activity although I didn't manage to spot woodlark, the great grey shrike (which remains a species I have yet to see for the first time) nor the Dartford warbler that a lucky birder had watched the previous day.

But as you know, I don't desperately "need" a new or rare species to enjoy my day out birding. I'm happy to watch any bird.


There was a lovely fieldfare (or probably more but I only spotted the one) and I managed a shot that is much better than my previous 'record' shot of this beautiful winter thrush.

There were three bullfinches - two males and a female - in the same bush but they weren't willing to pose for a photo.


We saw robin, blackbird, chaffinch, great spotted woodpecker, siskin, crow and - to my suprise - a flock of at least 10 reed buntings.

I watched plenty of goldcrests feeding, along with coal tit, blue tit and great tit.
20+ redpolls (mostly lessers but I am fairly certain I spotted a couple of mealies) were very active flying from tree to tree, feeding and taking off again. Lovely!

On the way back to the car, I spotted two or three crossbill with a beautiful male on the look-out.

What I enjoyed the most was listening to numerous coal tits and great tits singing their little hearts out. Spring has officially arrived!

Still birding!

Wow! Have I really not updated my blog since September?! Very embarrassing. But in case you were wondering, no, I have not quit birding and yes, I still enjoy bird photography as well! 
There'll be more blog posts in 2012, I promise. :)

Some of the birding highlights I didn't tell you about last year include more whinchats (seen around Cissbury Ring) and a beautiful grey phalarope at Prinsted in West Sussex:




More shots of this confiding little bird can be found here: Grey Phalarope

Then, in October, I finally saw crossbills on Ashdown Forest. Beautiful and fascinating finches! I really enjoyed watching them in the autumn sunshine, along with lots of siskins and lesser redpolls. Finch Fest!!



More photos: Crossbills

Also enjoyed the many wheatears - always good to see those little beauties. One juvenile bird allowed me to walk right up to it (very slowly of course) and get my best wheatear shots to date! More pictures can be found here:  wheatear photos.




In November, lots of short-eared owls were reported in Sussex. Would I get to see my first ever wild owl? YES! At Waltham Brooks, I was able to watch up to four owls hunting at the same time. What a privilege!

I did get a few shots as well. :) More here: short-eared owl photos.


 
In December, two snow buntings were reported on the beach at Shoreham (Widewater Lagoon) and as I just LOVE snow buntings, I had to go and see them! We did find them but they were spooked and flew off after two minutes. We went back twice but could not find them. Last week, we were lucky - the birds are still around (in fact were joined by a third snow bunting a few days ago) and we got to watch the pair for over an hour. Here's a shot of the female:


More shots here: snow bunting photos
 
We also had a lovely time watching the beautiful firecrests at Pulborough Brooks (in December and also a few days ago) - not easy to photograph though! Always moving about, always hyper! Check out my firecrest photos

While I'm looking forward to some 'lifers' in 2012 (still loads of 'new' birds to see!), I am not a twitcher and I do not keep a year list. I just love to watch birds, their behaviour and, if possible, take a few nice photos. I can't wait for the summer visitors to return - the first swallow, the first whitethroat and I am always happy to watch and photograph 'common' birds. I just love them all!



I'll tell you about my birding adventures here, so make sure you'll check back soon! Also, my latest bird photos will be published here.



Happy birding, everyone!

Finally - a whinchat!

Well it's only taken about 1 1/2 years for me to see my first ever winchat...three days ago I finally saw my first Saxicola rubetra at Canon's Farm, Banstead (Surrey). And what a lovely little bird! It was perched on a fence most of the time but a bit distant so I only got a couple of record shots. But I'm not complaining! I can finally say: I've seen a whinchat! :)

Wheatear saves the day

Last Sunday, we went to Church Norton. Some good migrants have been turning up there in the last couple of weeks, including wheatear, whinchat, pied flycatcher and even a wryneck. Unfortunately it was very windy so any small birds that might have been around were all hiding - I only saw one chiffchaff. While watching a lot of swallows, I missed a sandwich tern that was flying right above my head (would have been a first for me!) - I saw a photo of it later that my partner took who was stood next to me. Oh well, a great start! Was this going to be another frustrating day? A trip to Seaford Head and Pulborough Brooks last Wednesday had been fruitless - I saw no migrants at all apart from two VERY distant wheatears.

On the beach, there were a few turnstones, curlews and oystercatchers - they were not willing to pose for a few photos. Great. And SO windy! Makes it VERY hard to handhold a heavy camera and lens!

When I was just about to give up, I scanned the beach for about 5 more minutes - and finally, there was some movement. A lone first-winter wheatear!

So the next few hours were spent trying to get closer to it without chasing it. It seemed to be getting used to me after a while, and I ended up just standing in the same place for a long time, after finding out which spots it preferred for feeding. And it eventually came to me, sheltering from the wind nearby, looking at me. The best shots I got when it was feeding behind the sea defences. I tried to duck & hide - it would only have seen my lens. It was SO cute - when it heard the clicking noise it came running (!) right up to me - it was only about 2 metres away from me - looking at me as if to say 'What ARE you doing there, silly - I do know you are there! Go on then, take a few shots.' :) Made my day!


Who are you?


For more photos of this wheatear and others, click here: Wheatear photos

Crested Tits

I haven't manged to get out and see whinchat, wheatear or any other migrants since I saw the hoopoe, mainly due to the fact that I was away visiting family in Germany for 10 days (and now that I'm back the weather is rubbish of course!).
I didn't take my camera or bins or anything but that didn't stop me looking out for any feathered creatures that might fly my way when we went for a walk in the very very green and beautiful "Sauerland" woodland. I heard and saw some goldcrests, chiffchaffs, treecreepers, great and blue tits, robins, a buzzard, 5 woodpeckers (I'm still not sure which - it just didn't sound like GSWs so could have been families of either middle spotted or lesser spotted, all of which can be found there).
When I was pointing out a goldcrest to my family, I all of sudden noticed a bird that I had been wanting to see again for ages: a crested tit! I only got a very brief view so returned to the same spot the following day (just can't help being a birder!). :) I was lucky, I found at least 4 crested tits feeding in the tree tops. At one point, one was feeding right above my head and then landed on the ground about 2 metres away from my feet. So even without bins, camera (or my glasses!!) I had fantastic views of this beautiful little bird and was a very happy bunny indeed! :)
Unfortunately my mobile was useless....these are the record shots I got - probably the worst record shots in the history of birding!

Not great...nevermind. I did do a quick sketch for you!

Hoopoe - Farthing Downs - Coulsdon

Wow, long time no blog! The breeding season's come and gone...migration is in full swing. Time flies!

The lack of blog posts doesn't mean that I haven't been out and about watching and photographing birds whenever possible.

Stonechats, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers and Sand Martins were some of the highlights during the summer and, as always, it has been a great joy 'meeting' the new generation, such as the young blackcap pictured above.
More new shots can be found  here (including a couple of nice shots of a female bullfinch that I'd been after for years!): New Bird Photos

So maybe no 'unusual' birds since the wryneck at Pulborough Brooks in May (there is in fact one present again right now!) but I love watching house sparrows and finches and all of the 'common' birds - I don't need a rare migrant in order to come home with a smile on my face after a day's birding.

Having said that - while I'm not a twitcher - I do of course want to see 'new' birds whenever I can. When a hoopoe was reported at Farthing Downs, Coulsdon (Surrey) - which is only about 45 mins from here - I obviously really really wanted to see it. It's such an unusal bird with its long bill, brilliant crest, pink/orange plumage and black-and-white wings that it really is a bird that any birder wants to see. It was first reported on Sunday 14 August and then relocated on the Wednesday. I wasn't able to go until Friday and was very lucky - it was still there! A lifer for me and what a FANTASTIC bird. It wasn't very confiding but seemed fairly happy to be watched from a sensible distance. It was spooked by dog walkers, joggers and  a very territorial kestrel every now and then but kept returning to its favourite spot along the main path. A magpie appeared and seemed very interested in the unusual visitor, just like us birders! It kept edging closer to the hoopoe until they both seemed to be exchanging greetings before feeding next to each other. Brilliant behaviour to watch! Here's some of the shots I got of the hoopoe:

More shots can be found here: Hoopoe photos.

Still haven't seen a whinchat - and they're all over the South Downs at the moment (there was one at Coulsdon but not when I was trying to find it!). I have HEARD a grasshopper warbler but not seen one. Oh well, I WILL see these birds and many more I haven't seen yet despite trying to. Something to look forward to! :)