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.

2014 and a New Birding List

2014 is with us and for those of us that keep year lists it brings a fresh start. The need to hunt down those last few birds that you know you should have seen in 2013 has disappeared. You start again with a clean sheet and every bird counts.

We had planned to get the year off to a good start by being out birding on New Years Day but, given the poor weather, we had to defer it to the Thursday. We were after quality not quantity and had a list of target birds that we wanted to pick up early in the year before they disappeared. Top of that list was the Lesser Yellowlegs at Lepe Country Park, so we started our day there and worked our way back along the coast.

Lesser Yellowlegs in early morning light

Redshank and Lesser Yelowlegs

Although not chasing numbers we did still manage to see over sixty different birds on the day. It seems odd having to look out for the more common birds such as Tits, Robins, and Sparrows but this time of the year they all count and are all greeted enthusiastically. Although, having missed one earlier in the day and fearing that he had fallen behind, Dave's cry of joy at finding a Mute Swan was perhaps a bit over the top.

Long-tailed Duck was on our list with a possible stop off at the Hayling Island Oyster Beds on the way back. However, we were lucky enough to find one in the entrance to the Beaulieu River and it gave much closer views than you normally get with the Hayling bird.

Long-tailed Duck

With crab for lunch

The only real disappointment on the day came when we stopped off at Stokes Bay but could not locate the long staying Yellow-legged Gull. However, we had better luck with another long stayer at Walpole park in Gosport where the Ring-billed Gull "Waldo" has returned for what must now be its eleventh or twelfth year.

Waldo

There is always a bit of initial confusion in picking the Ring-billed out from the Common Gulls at the same location. The clincher is the yellow eye and slightly more aggressive look.

Common Gull

We spent the afternoon at Pagham North Wall ticking off some of the usual waders. There were thousands of birds there although with the tide high in the harbour and with the fields north of the wall flooded the birds were often distant. We were just starting to think of going home when we were tipped off to a pair of Whooper Swans on Ivy Lake Chichester. This is a bird that I missed completely last year so it was worth the quick diversion on the way home. We got there just in time to get a record shot before the light faded completely.

Whooper Swans and Canada Goose

After a couple of weeks away from birding due to the weather and Christmas commitments it was great to get out again. There is so much I want to see before the end of the month - I just need it to stop raining.





 

Lesser Yellowlegs & Long-billed Dowitcher

I came away from our last trip to Lepe Country Park happy that I had seen a Lesser Yellowlegs and happy that I had a record shot to prove it. It was a good result after the four failed attempts at the Cliffe Pools bird. However, the record shot was heavily cropped and there was scope for improvement

Looking at the map of the Dark Water area I estimate that it was taken from a distance of over 200 metres so I was lucky to get anything recognisable on the shot. The challenge was to get closer to the bird and with recent report putting it back on the Stansore Point pool the opportunity was there. So this morning Dave and I headed off into Hampshire once again.

It took a while to locate the bird. It was on the back of the pool and out of sight for most of the time so we had a long wait in the biting cold wind. Fortunately there were plenty of small birds around to practice on whilst we waited. My favourite being the Dunnock.

Dunnock

Eventually the bird relocated towards the front of the pool, a distance of about 60 metres. Still not ideal but at least we could get some better shots.

Lesser Yellowlegs

We waited to see if it would come closer but instead it took off and disappeared over the back of the pool. It was getting colder so we decided to relocate ourselves and went off to find the local cafe and a cup of hot tea.

Next stop was Pennington Marsh where I was hoping to improve on my pictures of the Long-billed Dowitcher. Another long wait in the cold wind but eventually we found it on the back of the Jetty Pool. I will spare you most of the pictures. It a shy bird and its nature is to stay well hidden in the reeds and today this one was living up to its reputation.

Long-billed Dowitcher in hiding

I would have liked to have got better pictures but you can't win every time. We were lucky. How often is it that you get see two rare American vagrants in one day?

Lesser Yellowlegs

Back in September we saw a Lesser Yellowlegs at Cliffe Pools. It was a long way off in poor lighting conditions and although there were experts present to confirm that I was looking at a Yellowlegs I could not make the identification. Frustrating but I did not feel that I could count the bird. I went back four times over the next couple of months to see it again but always managed to miss the bird. Then the reports stopped and I assumed that I had missed out on the bird for this year.

I have a hit list of target birds and with a Cetti's Warbler finally seen and photographed the Lesser Yellowlegs had moved to the top of the list.  So, when Dave suggested that we go down to Lepe Country Park to see the one reported there I leapt at the chance.

We set off with our usual ambitious plans, see the Yellowlegs, move on to Pennington to see the Long-billed Dowitcher, and then pick up the Red-breasted Goose. It rarely works out as you plan and by the middle of the afternoon we had little to show for our efforts except a few pictures of Pintails.

Pintail

We returned to Lepe for another go at the Yellowlegs and fortunately we then met up with a couple of birders, Keith and Roy, who we had talked to early in the morning. They had found the location of the Yellowlegs about half a kilometre to the west of where we had been looking and and were just heading off to see it, so we tagged along.

View through the 700mm lens - can you spot the Lesser Yellowlegs

The views were again very distant and at first I thought that I would not be able to confirm the sighting. However, a quick look through Keith's scope and a few shots in the camera that showed the identification points that we were looking for and I was happy that I had the right bird.

Easier to spot in this cropped version

 

and a distant shot of the bird flying away - again heavily cropped

I would have liked better pictures but there was no way to get closer. Are they worth putting on the blog? I think so - this is a record of where I have been and what birds I have seen and the Lesser Yellowlegs has played a significant part in my birding year to date (and cost me a bit in petrol).