February Highlights, mostly in low light

February 29, 2016

Hmmm? I guess you can see a pattern forming here can’t you? And you’d be right too. Writing a blog was easy when I only ventured out once or twice a month birding but now, as a freelance chappie, I find I have quite a few pockets of time in my week and rather than watch Antiques Road Trip or other such banal TV or even do any housework, I find myself suddenly in a local nature reserve asking myself 'How did I get here?'

So my point is, I would have to use the pockets of spare time I have, to write the blogs that record the events of that spare time and thus, I wouldn’t have any spare time to write about anything other than writing non-existent blogs! See? So I save them up for moments like this.

The month kicked off in the Lee Valley on a dark mid-morning (a feature of most of my ventures out) and a 2 hour walk around the south part of Fishers Green covering Hooks Marsh and Hall Marsh. I had a low-flying Red Kite over Hooks but failed to focus the telephoto on it. My lens, which I love, has a real problem in low light. This is mainly because it’s a slow lens f5.6 and basically refuses to lock onto anything distant and moving when the sun don’t shine. It did wake up for the pile of Siskins that busied themselves in the alders a bit later on and the Little Egrets I came across on the path of all places! I managed to locate the sneaky Smew on Hooks Marsh which is an area of water dotted with small tree covered islands before it saw me and sped off behind one of the island never to be found again. I finished with the obligatory visit to the BIP to hope for Bittern but only managed a Cetti’s Warbler before heading home.

Siskin (Female)

Siskin (Male

Little Egret

Redhead Smew

Cetti’s Warbler

My next moment of escape came again at Lee Valley up at Holyfield Farm. The farm has a bit of a hotspot for birds near a hay trough which has a pool of deep mud surrounding it. The Chiffchaffs love the hay in the trough and the Grey Wagtails can always be relied upon to loop in with their tails wagging to find grubs and flies around the mud pool.

Chiffchaff

Goldfinch

Grey Wagtail

Long-tailed Tit

Dunnock

On Feb 8, a big day out was planned in North Norfolk with Brenda. This coincided with the arrival of Storm Imogen – just typical of my luck. The weather wasn’t as bad as it forecast with very little rain but the winds were gusting and the light was predictably dull.

We popped into Lynford Arboretum but missed the key species – Hawfinch and any photography was poor. We did see Nuthatch, Marsh Tit and Coal Tit through the gloom but decided to move on the Abbey Farm at Flitcham for the Pallid Harrier. It wasn’t showing but we enjoyed good views of a single Hen Harrier and a large flock of Brambling along the roadside bushes.

It was then off to Old Hunstanton to see the dead Sperm Whale but it had been turned into a giant whale sandcastle so we gave it a miss. We took a wrong turn and ended up at the golf club only to be met by a pair of Grey Partridge on the golf course so worth the detour.

Finally we tackled the windswept beach at Titchwell and saw many waders as they battled with the weather. Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Turnstone and Ringed Plover. On the reserve we got a flock of Twite, Brent Geese and Avocet. The occasional Marsh Harrier hunted over the marsh and Rock Pipits frequented the small pools. Another Brambling appeared on the feeder at the visitor centre just for good measure.

Brambling

Ringed Plover

Black-tailed Godwit

Common Gull

Grey Partridge

Rainham on the 15th was once again a grey day but one soldiers on you know. A good tick for the bird race showed up in the shape of a female Brambling. A walk along the river path had Black-tailed Godwits and a group of 50+ Dunlin. On the reserve, a Water Pipit skirted the edge of one of the scrapes from the Butts Hide and a number of Stonechats sat up on the fences but no sign of the Dartford Warblers once again.

Brambling

Dunlin

Black-tailed Godwit

Meadow Pipit

Redshank

Reed Bunting

Stonechat

Water Pipit

Wigeon

On the 20th, I was back in the Valley, volunteering. I finally managed to add a Yellowhammer to my valley year list. These brilliantly yellow buntings are getting scarce and the numbers in the valley appear to be falling if my records are anything to go by. I found a single male but had neglected to carry my camera due to...you guessed it...bad light.

Dunnock

Fieldfare

Grey Wagtail

Ring-necked Parakeet

Stonechat

Still no sign of a Bittern at the Watchpoint, it really hasn’t been a good 2016 so far and time is running out before they depart for their breeding grounds. We have started getting those parakeets on the feeders which make good photos but spell doom and gloom for a few of our tree-nesting species. Something will have to done to cull them down to a manageable level and soon.

On the 27th Feb it was back to Rainham. It feels a bit like having a mistress, me flitting between the Valley and here...only not as much fun...I guess.

It was another really grey day but brightened by the news of an Iceland Gull on the Kent foreshore. Although very distant, view through a scope the bird was clear to see. Near the Iceland was a Caspian Gull. For this I had to have an expert show me – I’m useless when it comes to gulls so whoever he was, thanks. In Aveley Bay, a pair of Avocet probed the London mud and around 20 Shelduck with Redshank running round them stood watching for danger. An Oystercatcher flew down river piping loudly and a poor old Grey Heron got mobbed by some kind of gull.

On the reserve, Golden Plovers with Lapwing and a few Dunlin scattered skywards as an invisible predator hunted overhead. No sign of any Short-eared Owls and another another no show from the Dartford Warbler.