Thursday 30 November 2017

Parrot Crossbills




Difficult decisions to make this week. Do I chase after a Sussex Tick with the Black Guillemot at Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne or do I go looking for a decent picture of a Parrot Crossbill and a possible life tick in the putative American Horned Lark.

Unbelievable really. Having gone through nearly two months with little of interest in the Sussex area we get three good targets up on the same day.

It was a no brainer. The Crossbills and Horned Lark were a bit further to travel but either one was worth going for. Lets just hope that the Black Guillemot is a long stayer.

I would love to be able to show you a picture of the American Horned Lark. We did see it, feeding on the ground as we approached, about ten metres away, but it had flown before I managed to get the camera out. It returned later but this time to its favoured area of wall, on the western side of the  northern reservoir, about 200 metres away. You could make it out through a scope but there was no chance of even a record shot.


We were luckier with the Parrot Crossbills, a flock of sixteen or seventeen birds. They did at least give some close views although they seemed to be able to time it perfectly to arrive as the sun went behind the clouds and depart as soon as the light improved. We also had one spell of over two hours when the birds went missing. It was really cold waiting for them to return, take some extra layers if you are going to look for them.






The location was near Camberley at Wishmoor Bottom in the Swinley Forest, at the back of the Royal Military Academy. Park at the top of Kings Ride and follow the track north for about half a mile. When you see a black and white barrier on the left take the  right turn and walk about forty metres and then turn left. Another hundred metres on this track and you are in the right area. Look for the crowds around one of the pine trees.






Not so convincing as a Parrot Crossbill


















A touching moment - pity about the light



Challenging conditions and difficult birds to photograph but these are better than anything I have managed to get in the past. It's just great to be amongst the birds again.

On the downside, no record shot of the American Horned Lark. That brings to nine the number of birds on my list of seen but not photographed.






Friday 17 November 2017

Glossy Ibis





Went to Medmerry today, to have a look for the Glossy Ibis that has been present there for a few days.

It is frequenting a fenced off building compound, complete with workers and heavy machinery, on the Bunn Leisure Caravan Park just outside the South East boundary of the Medmerry Nature Reserve. It seems a strange environment in which to find the bird. There is a rough grassland area and a few puddles and it is obviously finding food but it is difficult to see why it would favour this over the vast wetland areas over the fence in Medmerry.

It seems to be completely unfazed by the work going on around it or by the birders and photographers that visit, so there are some good picture opportunities






This is a juvenile so it hasn't really had a chance to learn that it needs to be wary of people. Particularly as this is a popular dog walking area.









It spends most of its time searching for food in the long grass but we were fortunate to be there when it came out to drink at one of the puddles on the path outside the compound.









I am always surprised how large this bird looks in flight and in pictures. Perhaps we have a preconception based on the larger members of the Ibis family or perhaps it's all in the legs. It is actually quite a small bird but with large wings. Here is another shot taken a couple of years ago at Dungeness of a Glossy Ibis along side a juvenile Black-backed Gull.







Quite a few other birds around today but very little that was posing for a photograph.



Stonechat



Black-tailed Godwit



A good day out, nice weather lots of birds to look at and even a couple of decent pictures. Things are looking up.






Wednesday 1 November 2017

Pectoral Sandpiper





The birding and bird photography always seems to go through a bad spell when I come home from a trip abroad. You move from seeing new and unusual birds every day back to seeing all the home front supporting cast with just the occasional bird that raises the interest levels. Except, this past month, Sussex seems to be devoid of anything really interesting. Even regular trips up onto Cissbury Ring have failed to see me connect with the usually reliable Ring Ouzels up there.

I have been out and I have seen lots of birds but it seems as though, most days, I come home without bothering to take a single picture and it has been six weeks since I did my last blog post.

A trip to Pulborough today to see the Pectoral Sandpiper has motivated me to start blogging again. The pictures were not good, the Pec Sand stayed at the back of the pool and a distant brown bird against a brown background is not the easiest of subjects but hey, it was enough to get me going again.



Pectoral Sandpiper


The bird was to be found in front of the West Mead hide, on the mud at the back right hand corner of the pool. I watched it for about an hour and went back later in the morning for another go but it seemed to be faithful to this area and was not going to give a better picture opportunity.



Pectoral Sandpiper

There wasn't a great deal more to look at around Pulborough. Duck numbers were stating to build on the West Mead pool but the North Brooks were mostly empty of birds, with some major re-profiling work going on there.



Shoveler


Wigeon


Needing some more content for the blog I then looked back over the pictures I had taken over the past few weeks. Nothing special but not quiet as bad as I had remembered.



Black-tailed Godwit at Pagham North Wall



Chiffchaff at Brooklands Park



Common Sandpiper  in the Ferry Channel



Looking for somewhere sheltered to roost



Distant Spoonbills at Pagham North Wall



Wheatear  - Pagham North Wall



Wheatear - Pagham North Wall



Migration now seems to be well underway and the bird numbers are picking up. The clear, cold and crisp day of winter may be few and far between but they are by far the best for taking photographs. All we need now are some good birds.