Lesser Yellowlegs

I have a few record shots of the Lesser Yellowlegs from the one that visited Lepe Country Park last January. That bird was very flighty and kept its distance. I was happy with the shots I had but when I heard that there was another bird down at Pett Levels that was much more confiding it seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. I picked Dave up and we headed down to darkest East Sussex.

On arrival we quickly located the appropriate spot on the edge of the eastern most pool. It was bitterly cold so we sat in the car surveying the birds, but we only had about a five minute wait before the Lesser Yellowlegs put in an appearance. It was very close and we were concerned that we might flush it getting out of the car and getting the cameras from the boot. To our surprise it then flew even closer ending up probably no more than twenty feet from the watching birders.

Lesser Yellowlegs

These are a big improvement on my existing record shots but I didn't get that real showstopper shot that I was looking for. It's a delicate looking little bird and it was being buffeted by a strong wind. I was also having difficulty holding the camera steady in that wind. There is a better shot here somewhere and if it hangs around I will have to go back for another go at it.

We moved on to Scotny Pits where Dave soon picked up the male Scaup and we had the usual problem of trying to find something that looked like a true Barnacle Goose from the assortment of hybrids in the flock.

Barnacle Goose

Next stop was Dengemarsh road where Dave had photographed a pair of Cattle Egrets a few days ago. He had promised me close views of these as well but when we arrived they were some distance away. I thought I would have to make do with distant record shots but as we headed back towards the car they both flew up and landed within a few feet of the fence. It is rare that I complain about birds being too close but I was having real problems this time. I had too much lens on and I could not get the birds in the frame.

A damaged bill on this individual

Next stop was the ARC Pit at Dungeness where we picked up year ticks on Great White Egret, Goldeneye and Bittern. They were too distant for record shots but we did have good views of one of the local Kingfishers, a couple of Chiffchaffs and a rather fine looking Great Tit.

Kingfisher

Chiffchaff

Great Tit

After a bit of searching we also found a few Tree Sparrows but we could not find any sign of the female Smew.

A great days birding and some good picture opportunities. The new year has got off to a flying start.

Green-winged Teal

Seen but unfortunately not photographed.

We were down in Hampshire at Sopley Cemetery overlooking the flooded fields around the river Avon. The Green-winged Teal was the main target of the day and at first it looked like an impossible task. There were probably more than a thousand teal spread out over the water in front of us and they were all very distant. You could not pick out the distinguishing features using binoculars so it fell to a tedious inspection of each individual bird using a scope. Perhaps not too difficult if they are all lined up giving a side view but not so easy when they are all milling about and often have their backs to you.

So what were we looking for. Well, at the distance we had, the only thing you can really pick out is the vertical stripe in place of the horizontal stripe on the common teal.  Fortunately Dave likes to get stuck into these difficult tasks and eventually he found it. He managed to get a couple of other birders onto it but I just could not see it. I was 99% sure I had the right bird but it had its back to me and I could not make the identification. After a long wait and with my eyes streaming from the cold and my refusal to blink in case I missed it, the bird turned and I had a clear view of the vertical stripe. Life Tick.

Unfortunately the rest of the day turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. We went to Blashford lakes. We found the housing estate and the hole in the fence through which if you were lucky you could get a distant view of the Ferruginous Duck. But it felt more like voyerism than birding so we quickly abandoned that search.

Blashford always looks promising but the wildfowl is usually distant, very few of the windows in the hides open, and one of the hides uses blue tinted plastic for the windows. On top of that the light was going. Not ideal for taking pictures.

Coal Tit

Great Tit

Siskin

Juvenile Siskin

 

A few shots of the usual suspects and we moved on to the Eyworth Pond at Fritham. There are usually Mandarin Ducks at this site but they can be difficult to find. After a bit of searching we thought we had five or six hidden deep in the bushes on the far side of the pond. It was only when they were spooked and took to the air that we realised that there were between twenty and thirty present.

Mandarin Duck

This is also a good site to see the smaller birds. A few handfuls of bird food on the fence posts and the bushes were alive with half tame birds. Good for photographs but nearly as bad as having shots of them on feeders.

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

Marsh Tit

Nuthatch

Real manners - sitting down for lunch

To finish off the day we drove along the Warningcamp road to see if the Bewicks had returned to their usual feeding ground. No sign of them but I did manage to pick up a Red Kite and Grey Partridge as year ticks. I think we probably had Corn Bunting as well but in the fading light it was difficult to be sure.

Grey Partridges