Hawfinch

A quick turnaround at home and we were off again for a couple of days photographing Hawfinches in the Forest of Dean. Last year we had thirty two of them on the ground just a few feet in front of the hide. I was surprised by the numbers but I thought this was going to be the norm. Sadly that wasn't the case. This year the flocks seem to have broken up a couple of weeks earlier and the Hawfinches had already dispersed to nesting territories.

We did see some Hawfinches, probably eight on the first day, three close and five distant, but none on the second day, with just one heard in the trees above us. Compared with last year picture opportunities were a bit limited. You can only see this as a missed opportunity. Last year we managed to get some great pictures and were also able to pass on a lot of valuable ringing data to our local contact. It would have been good to get a similar result.

Still, before we move onto the Hawfinches a couple of shots of Reed Warblers. Checking my records I didn't record seeing one last year so this was an early target. We had stopped off at Slimbridge on the way to the Forest of Dean. There was not much to see, very distant views of Common Cranes plus two or three of these chasing each other through the reeds.

Reed Warbler

Thursday, on location with the hides up, the first Hawfinch appeared just before six . I took a couple of shots but the light levels were just too low. By seven they had improved a bit and I was up to 1/160 sec at ISO 1600 and f5.6. Far from perfect but at least I could get a picture provided that the birds came close and stood still.

 At nine we had a third bird close enough to photograph. The light had not improved but this one did stay around for a while and gave some good picture opportunities.

We stayed in the hides for another three hours but there were no more birds on the ground and only a few calling in the trees. Six hours for three birds is a meagre return but it was at least better than the Friday where at a second site we had one bird calling in the trees and none visible on the ground.


I enjoyed the trip, the results were a bit disappointing but we live off the success of last year. The pain of sitting for six hours on that little stool in the hide is disappearing and we are already planning a return trip for next year.



To finish - Perhaps it makes him look a little less attractive to a predator?

Hawfinches

We had a great opportunity over the Bank Holiday weekend, a chance to photograph Hawfinches in the Wye Valley. I had never been closer than twenty five yards to a Hawfinch, so to be sitting in a hide with a flock of thirty just twenty feet in front of us was truly memorable. It was also a little daunting. How do you get a decent photograph out of the melee of feeding birds that we were looking at.

Fortunately it did quieten down from time to time and we did manage to get some decent pictures. The light levels were a bit low so we ended up having to use high ISO levels and it also rained for a couple of hours during the day but I can't really complain. If the sun had been shining I would probably be saying that there was to much contrast and the highlights were getting over exposed.

The trip was courtesy of Jerry Lewis and my thanks to him for allowing us access to his sites. The payback was that we had to record as much data as we could from any ringed birds that we saw. If anyone is interested there will be a follow up blog containing this information but be warned it contains a lot more pictures of Hawfinches and not all of them are good quality.

We did get a few shots of the birds perched in the trees prior to landing in the feeding area but usually they flew straight in and most of the photographic opportunities were whilst they were on the ground.

The females are not as colourful as the males but are still an impressive bird. They are also just as feisty and quite capable of seeing off the male birds. They are now probably feeding up in preparation for egg laying so will become even more dominant over the next few weeks.

It was a really great day. Seven hours sitting in a cramped hide, and for a lot of that time with water dripping from the roof, and the time just flew by. I really didn't want to leave at the end of the day. Getting a good picture of a Hawfinch had been on the top of our list for a long time. These may not be perfect but they are a lot better than I had before.

There were flocks of around twenty birds on the ground on a number of occasions and there was a lot of interaction between the birds but with the low light levels it was difficult to freeze the action. Our biggest problem during the day was a woodpecker. She did not seem that interested in feeding but she did seem to enjoy landing in the middle of the Hawfinches and putting them to flight.

We did have a second day planned but we were a bit unfortunate with the timing. We arrived to set up just as a lot of heavy duty forestry equipment was being unloaded and put to work on an adjacent piece of land. We gave it about three hours but only saw three or four Hawfinches in that time and they only stayed on the ground for a few seconds. It was unfortunate but then you always get good and bad days. No Hawfinch pictures but there is always someone around who appreciates a free handout.

Was the trip successful? Well I think so, between us we photographed and identified over twenty ringed Hawfinches. This included one that had transferred between the Dolgellau and Wye Valley populations, only the second time this had been identified. However, the best bird of the trip, was one that Dave photographed and this subsequently proved to be a bird ringed in April 2007, making it a new UK longevity record at 9 years.

A useful set of ringing data and we got some good photographs.

Hawfinch

I had two targets today, the first Hawfinch which was successful, the second Penduline Tits which was a bit of a disaster. For the Hawfinches I went to Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh. I had seen them here in previous years and sure enough they were frequenting the same area again this year. That is, the trees just behind the cafe and next to the miniature railway line.

You can get good views through the binoculars but it is difficult to get close. They tend to stay in the tops of the trees and will fly off if you get too near. I was also having the added problem of them always appearing to land so that I was photographing into the sun. Still, I shouldn't complain, they are always a great bird to see. Two record shots are shown below.

For the Pendulines I visited Titchfield Haven and had decided to sit in West Hide and wait for them to come to me. That is exactly what I did for four hours. The birds of course went to Meadow Hide on the other side of the river. It was a long cold wait for birds that decided not to show.

There were lots of other birds around Lakeside. Repolls, Siskin, and an assortment of finches but again they were all in the tops of the trees.  This Wren made a couple of appearances. It seemed lively enough but seemed a bit on the thin side for this time of year.

There were a few Fieldfare in the trees but no Redwing that I could see.

With the long wait in the hide at Titchfield I saw very few birds but I at least managed to pick up shots of a Blackbird and Song Thrush to give a bit of variety to the blog.

The only other bird of interest was this Black Swan in the Harbour. It seemed to spend the whole day chasing a Mute Swan around the boats. I am not sure if it was feeling amorous or whether it was just trying to drive a rival off its territory.

The Black Swan is breeding in the wild and seems to have a self sustaining population. I wonder how long it will be before it is accepted as a British bird. Alternatively, I suppose, it could go the way of the Ruddy Duck and be wiped out in this country to stop it interbreeding with the Mute Swans.

Loose Ends

I have been out birding a lot lately and have managed to see many good birds but the resulting photography seems more like quantity rather than quality. I needed some good pictures and that would mean revisiting some of the locations again. Top of the list were the Hawfinches at Romsey. I picked up Dave early Friday morning and we set off for Hampshire confident that with a sunny day we would get the pictures we wanted.

 It rarely works out as you planned. Our visit on a dull overcast day had produced dozens of birds, some good picture opportunities, and a lot of dull, out of focus, and blurred shots. Our visit on a sunny day produced a lot more  walkers, children and  dogs. There were fewer birds, they were being disturbed regularly, and they were not coming out into the open. I had one lucky shot, shown below, but even this was a bit distant and does not show the true colours of the bird. However, it's a good example of what you can get away with if you get the eyes sharp.
 

Hawfinch

We spent about three hours trying to get that illusive close up but eventually we had to move on. Fortunately I also had a Goldcrest paying regular visits and a Bullfinch hiding in the bushes.

Goldcrest

Bullfinch

We moved on to Blashford Lakes in the hope of catching up with the Green Winged Teal. No luck with that but we did see a pair of Black-necked Grebe on the Rockford Lake. Again a bit distant so this is more like a loose end created than one closed. Still I will save the good picture for when I see them in full breeding plumage.

Black-necked Grebe

Another loose end was my failed attempt to see the Snow Bunting on Ferring Beach. I had in fact been searching the wrong part of the beach and stopping about 30 metres short of its location. An early rise this morning and it proved easy to find as it had already been spotted by a couple of other birders. As with previous Snow Buntings I have seen it was quite confiding, seeming to show little concern for people and often landing very close to their feet. It had, however, chosen one of the busiest parts of the beach so was regularly being flushed by dogs and by joggers running through.

Snow Bunting

 

 To cap a good morning I returned home to find my first ever garden Blackcap. The garden has been virtually bird free for about a month. The big garden bird watch resulted in a total of one Pigeon for me and I had not filled any of the feeders since Christmas. Snow seemed to make little difference, apart from an influx of Fieldfares. In the past couple of days it has all changed. The birds are back and the feeders are being emptied at an alarming rate. Long may it continue.

Blackcap

With both a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap in the past week it feels as though Spring has arrived early.