quiet after the storm!

26/06/10
bar 2 highlights all was quiet at upton
a HOBBY flew over the moors into the education reserve.
At the flashes the 1st summer BLACK TAILED GODWIT was quickly located and watched, it shared its patch of ground with 5 green sandpipers, a lone common sandpiper and 8 curlew.

MB

Dirty,rotton, nasty ass twitching ;-D

20/06/10

a year since the upton red necked phalarope ( the fathers day bird)
a late get up, saw a text on my phone reading 'red necked phalarope, flashes. and i was out the house in 20 mins.
the female RED NECKED PHALAROPE shown better than last year feeding around the islands but as always in the AM the sun was shining into the hide so the images are backlit and not very good, but still a little improvement on last year, but ohwell, theres always next year.


12 avocet were feeding around the flash as was 5 LRP.

a stunning bird, in summer clothes of the best type, what a bird.




MB

ANOTHER KITE

12/06/10
i really cant remember how today went so here is the highlights
RED KITE- 1 over flashes with severly worn tail (3rd year in a row i have seen a red kite the week after coming back from wales)
14 avocet
1 reshank
MB

GREAT WHITE EGRET!!!!!!!

3/06/10

the lawrenny area and estury. pembrokeshire

after tim jones had informed me of a great egret that had been found not far from where i was staying i had to go for it.

what i was hopeing would be an easy tick turned into a major search of the surrounding estury.

we first checked where the bird had been found at cresswell key, about 30-40 mins of no sign and we moved over to carew castle, where a pair of shelduck were resting but still nothing on the egret.

another stop at cresswell failed again so with the day drawing to an end, we decided to drop into lawrenny picnic area,

on the enterance road we saw a gap from where a lot of the estury was viewable and decided on the way back out we would have a scan from here, at the picnic site a load of powerboats were on the water so no egret here.

so the last shot of the day:

stopping at the vantage point we stopped and i got my scope out, loads of shelduck and GBBG, i panned the edges and found a WHIMBREL probing the soft mud, and then an egret!!!!

the little egret was feeding with the whimbrel and was joined by another bird later, so as a last hope i scanned the far end of the estury, and there standing out like the sun in the sky, the GREAT WHITE EGRET,

the bird was so distant i only took 1 confimation shot with my camera on full zoom through my scope

the evening was spent on a high in the pub (as was every night really :-D).

5/06/10

the journey back home was more productive for raptors with my buzzard theriy being trown out the window with 23 noted ( including a single flock of 10!!!! on a single thermal)

a low 13 red kite were counted, but they did show slightly better then on the way there.

MB

Stackpole Head

31/05/10

across barafundel beach and up the track through the woodland, to an head completly covered in walkers etc, and many of the 'common' birds were keeping down, but a plethra of year ticks followed,

a female wheatear flew along the cliff edge while another female stuck around just long enough to get one photo:

, which although not a year tick was still very nice, but on looking down onto the water, a SHAG was perched on the rocks:

the usual rock pipits, meadow pipits and skylarks were singing but all were extremly wary, but then i stumbled uppon this bird at very close range and just stood there, well untill a pair of dickwad walkers casually strolled past forcing the bird into the air, even though they saw me photographing the lark:

on looking down the cliff edge the GUILEMOTS were breeding again on their usual ledge giving superb views, anong them was a number of RAZORBILL which also showed very well, and i got perhaps my bet views of a pair ever!!!!!

the usual gull's (Actually 'sea' gulls) were constantly on the move, with all the common birds noted, and i got this shot which for some reason i am particullarly drawn to:

Loads of FULMAR were flying along the edge with the occasional one perched on the rock face:

But of cause the real reason for being up on this beautiful cliff face in stunning weather was to see the CHOUGH that are here, and they didnt dissapoint which despite not reaching the flock leval as last year reached a nice 4 birds including a pair which shown very nicely with a male wheatear:

throughout the time up on the cliff we could hear oystercatchers, but were unable to locate them, untill my dad was scanning the cliff when he saw a pair of OYSTERCATCHERS at its NEST 100+ ft up a cliff face!!!!!!!!

i mean is this normal behaviour, cause i have never heard of it???????

MB