Pied Flycatcher

A three day stay down in Canterbury gave me the chance to visit a few of the birding sites around the Kent area. It's always worth a stop at Scotney Pits on the way down to scan the geese and wildfowl flocks and this time I found the Barnacle Goose flock close enough to photograph. Although I did have to look hard to find one that looked a pure bred Barnacle. Most seem to be Barnacle/Emperor hybrids.

Barnacle Goose

Next stop was Dungeness and for once it did not deliver. All I had there were distant views of all the usual birds with the highlight being a female Red-crested Pochard. A disappointment as Dungeness usually manages to turn up something out of the ordinary. Leaving early afternoon, with the weather starting to cloud over and with only the pictures of the Barnacles in the bag, I was in two minds over giving up for the day. Fortunately I decided to take a detour via Dover and stopped off in Samphire Hoe.

For anyone that does not know about the Hoe, it is a platform created at the base of the cliffs to the west of Dover using the spoils from the digging of the Channel Tunnel. It covers about thirty hectares and is accessed by a tunnel through the cliffs from the east bound carriage way, when leaving Dover on the A20. Observers have recorded 230 species of plants, 30 species of butterfly, 150 species of moth, and 213 species of birds there. It's well worth a visit if you are down that way. It has easy access and the wardens are always helpful with any sightings they have made.

That was the case again this time and within a couple of minutes of arriving I had locations for a Pied Flycatcher, Redstarts, and Black Redstarts. It wasn't going to be easy in the rapidly fading light. Shutter speeds were around a 1/60 of a second at ISO400, and holding a 700mm lens combination steady at that speed is not easy. Still I got some shots and although they are a little soft I was quite pleased with them. Fortunately you do not have to look at all the ones that failed.

Pied Flycatcher

Redstart

The Redstart was very obliging and gave close views. The Pied Flycatcher was a bit harder and I only ended up with the one decent picture. By then the rain had set in and there was no point in looking for the Black Redstarts.

Needless to say I was back down there at 0700 the next morning when the site opened. The light was superb, bright but with a thin cloud cover, giving a very diffuse but clear light. Pictures were going to be really good and would have been if the birds were still there. The Redstarts had disappeared completely, the Pied Flycatcher was still there but it was now in a wooded gulley half way up the cliffs and beyond the range of the camera. I was gutted, I waited at the bottom for a couple of hours but there was no sign of it coming down.

There was some consolation in the Black Redstarts. I had been warned that they were hard to photograph. They did not allow close approach and a small black bird hunting over black seaweed covered rocks was not going to be easy. I did try concealing myself in amongst the rocks and waiting for them to come to me but they obviously new that I was there and avoided the area. On top of that it was uncomfortable and you do get some strange looks from passers bye, when they notice you lurking with a paparazzi style camera, apparently taking pictures of bits of seaweed.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

The pictures don't really do the bird justice. Here's one taken a couple of years ago under better conditions.

Black Redstart taken at Climping Beach Sussex - October 2012

I had another look for the Pied Flycatcher but it was nowhere to be seen. There were a couple of Ravens and a Peregrine squabbling around the cliff tops but they were too far away for a picture but I did managed a few other shots around the site.

Wheatear

Whitethroat

and there was an unusual visitor to one of the feeders. It makes a change from the usual tree rats.

Brown Rat

The route home was along the north coast of Kent with the main stop being at Oare Marshes There were thousands of birds there with some of the most spectacular being the Starlings. It's not just their synchronised flying that is the attraction, this time of year they have spectacular iridescent colours that make them look more like a tropical bird.

Starling

Apart from the wildfowl the majority of the other birds were Lapwings and Golden Plover but there were also Ruff and Curlew Sandpiper amongst them.

Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff

Ruff

Golden Plover with Starlings and what looks like another Ruff with its head in the water.

You can get close to the birds at Oare but the better picture opportunities are in the afternoon when the sun is over your shoulder. There is a path round behind the birds if you are there in the morning but you are further away from them.

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzels were the target of the day. We usually see them in the autumn on their way south, but one had been reported in a paddock field in Warners Lane Selsey and it had been there for eight days. Of course when we got there on the ninth day it had moved on but the field was still interesting with half a dozen Wheatears, two female and one male Redstarts, and assorted other small birds. The male Redstart looked really smart but he would not come close enough for a photograph. Fortunately one of the females was more obliging.

Female Redstart

There must have been a big fall of Wheatears overnight as we found them wherever we went on the peninsular including the unusual sight of eight sitting in a tree in Rectory Lane.

Wheatear

A walk up the west side of Pagham Harbour from Church Norton towards the Visitors Centre gave us plenty of views of Linnets, Whitethroats, and probably a Lesser Whitethroat, although we could not really get a satisfactory view of the latter.

Linnet

Then we managed to get onto another Ring Ouzel, this one a male with a bright white breast band. We watched it for a while but found it difficult to get a decent picture.

Ring Ouzel

We were then joined by Dave Smith, Bernie Ford, and Dorian Mason, and they spotted a second Ring Ouzel close by. We ended up with two in the same tree, but I was a bit slow and missed that picture. When we were left on our own we decided to stake out its favourite perch and wait for a better picture opportunity. All looked good, it was gradually coming closer......

.......and then a Magpie took exception to its presence and chased it off. Perhaps the similar black and white colouration led the Magpie to see it as a threat.

There goes my picture opportunity

Magpies have never been my favourite bird. They have now becoming public enemy number one.

We were also fortunate enough to get a flyby from a Cuckoo that we had been hearing in the distance for about an hour. I did manage to get a record shot but you would have to be a good birder to recognise it as a Cuckoo from the silhouette that I ended up with.

Pheasant - there are so many about that I thought I should include a picture.

We then headed round to the north wall. The water was very high in the Breech Pool so there was nothing much to see there but further along the path we saw Dave Shepherd who had another Cuckoo in his scope although this one was strangely quiet.

A couple of weeks ago we had photographed a Little Grebe sitting on a nest. Dave told us that she had hatched three chicks so we went along to have a look. Sad to say there only seemed to be one left, but it seemed happy tucked up under her wings.

Little Grebe on nest  - taken a couple of weeks ago

Safely under mum's wings

Happy that is until she started diving for food. He survived a couple of dips but then ended up floating on the surface whilst she searched for food below. He looked very vulnerable on his own, you can see why the survival rate is low.

Looking a bit lost

Mum's Back with food

When last seen she was back on the nest with the chick scrabbling to get back under the safety of her wings.

We also had a lot of Whimbrels past and I had a lesson from the others on what to listen for to be able to tell Whimbrel from Curlew as they fly over.

Then to finish of the day there was a Whinchat in the Horse Paddock at the end of the wall. It was a great looking bird but it just wouldn't come any closer and I only ended up with a record shot. So not the perfect end to a perfect day but pretty close.

Whinchat

Wryneck

Dave picked me up this morning. We had planned to go to Farlington Marsh to see the Wryneck and Osprey but an early morning report on SOS indicated that the Findon Wryneck was still around. This was closer and looked like the best option enabling us to move onto Farlington if we dipped out.

It also gave Dave the chance to drive by the Lloyd's building in Durrington and point out the Peregrines on the building. I drive past there regularly but had never managed to see them and had accused Dave of not knowing the difference between a Peregrine and a Pigeon. Previous attempts to prove me wrong had failed but this time I had to admit defeat it was definitely a Peregrine sitting on top of the black horse sign eating his breakfast.
.

Peregrine Falcon and breakfast - the close up is a bit gruesome

 On the walk through the gallops at Findon we spotted an obliging Whinchat. A bit annoying given how far I had walked the previous day looking for them.

Whinchat

The directions for the Wryneck were easy to follow but we were a bit surprised that there were not more birders searching the target area. We were starting to think that we could have made a mistake when we spotted Russ Tofts up ahead and he had already located the bird. It was quite close and we had the chance of a couple of quick shots before it retreated to the far side of the field.

Wryneck

 We then spent a couple of hours watching it sunning itself on the fence and dropping down to the ground to feed, all the while hoping it would come a bit closer. As we watched the heat haze was slowly increasing and the quality of the pictures gradually reducing until around lunch time it disappeared from sight, probably to find shelter in one of the bushes. The following are only record shots but they are the best from around one hundred and fifty almost identical shots that I took. Just as well that the we have moved on from film cameras.

Wryneck

It proved to be quite a good spot for birding. There were the usual Willchaffs on display and a number of Redstarts in the bushes. You just had to be prepared for inquisitive horses nudging you just as you are about to take the shot or trying to eat your rucksack or shirt.

Redstart

A successful day as far as a year tick for the Wryneck goes but I cannot help feeling that it was a missed opportunity on the photography front. Still if you got the perfect shot first time every time there would be very little to look forward to.

Redstart

Monday afternoon and it was back to Pagham Harbour to see if I could catch up with any of the birds that I missed on the Friday. First stop was the North Wall and I was greeted by hundreds of Hirundines gathering on the wires at the end of Church Lane. They were mostly Sand Martins but with a few Swallows amongst them and the size difference to the smaller Martins was very noticeable.

Sand Martin

The Yellow Wagtails were easy to locate this time but they were very mobile and difficult to get close to. I managed a few shots when the incoming tide pushed a few of them up against the wall adjacent to the sluice gates.

Yellow Wagtail

 There were also a couple of well camouflaged juvenile Little Ringed Plovers feeding in the same area.

Juvenile Little Ringed Plover

It was then round to Church Norton and it all looked very promising with a number of Spotted Flycatchers showing well as I arrived.

Spotted flycatcher

The flycatchers were very active and there was certainly no shortage of food for them.

No need to leave the perch

No sign of the male Redstart but this female was very obliging and easy to photograph whilst she was feeding.

Female Redstart

Showing the rusty tail colours

This Song Thrush watched for a while before it also flew down to get in the picture.

Song Thrush

There had been no sightings of the Wryneck all day but it was a nice evening and I felt obliged to have a quick look. I should have known better and gone home early. And, still no Pied Flycatcher.

Redstart

There are a couple of places in the Ashdown Forest where Turtle Doves have been seen in previous years. With this bird still at the top of my target list I thought I would spend a day wandering around the forest and if nothing else I should be able to pick up a Redstart at the Old Lodge Nature Reserve.

I tried a few different locations. There were birds about but they were mostly Willow Warbler types or the common Tits and the best I saw in the morning were a couple of Coal Tits and a fly over Buzzard.

The Butterflies were also thin on the ground. A few Speckled Woods and what I at first thought was a Large White. Its flight looked unusual though, so I checked it out and it turned out to be a female Brimstone. I had seen males before and they are  an easily identified sulphur yellow colour. This was a much paler greenish white and very difficult to spot once it landed in amongst the tree leaves.

Female Brimstone hiding behind a couple of blades of grass

On most of the tree leaves the camouflage was perfect and the butterfly virtually impossible to spot. It was only on the darker green and distinctive shape of the Oak leaves that I got a chance of a picture.

Not quite as well camouflaged on the Oak leaves

I was hoping for a picture of the top of the wings but checking it out when I got home I found that it never sits with its wings open.

In the afternoon I headed over to Old Lodge to look for Redstarts. I could not find any adult birds but there were a few young about.

Juvenile Redstart

A bit more colour on this one so it may be the female

 

Showing the rusty tail

I got a little bit confused when the next bird appeared in the shot as there was no rusty tail, but this looks more like a juvenile Stonechat.

Juvenile Stonechat

and there was an adult close by

Female Stonechat

I searched around for a while but could not find a male Redstart and walking around the perimeter there were very few other birds visible, although I was serenaded by a Peacock from one of the adjacent gardens.

On the ponds there were a few Dragonfly active and I managed to get a picture of an Emperor Dragonfly. Its a pity about the background but this is the first time I have seen one grounded so any picture is a bonus.

Emperor Dragonfly

No Turtle Dove again and I am running out of places to look. Probably find that if I give up looking, one will turn up on the feeders in the back garden.