Yellow-browed Warbler

Tuesday saw me up on Cissbury Ring for the annual pilgrimage to see the Ring Ouzels. It's always one of the most frustrating days of the year. The birds were in the large Yew tree as usual and you could see them flying in and out, but once in the tree they were completely hidden. Getting a picture is virtually impossible and this year I came away again with just a few out of focus shots of the birds through gaps in the branches. They seem to be a lot easier to photograph when they come through in the spring (see here) but of course a lot harder to find.

Perhaps I should be grateful though, at least the Yew tree is still there. It looked for a time as though the National Trust were going to cut it down. So much for National Park status and protecting the countryside.

Today, Thursday, had all the makings of another difficult day. I was over to Selsey to see if I could find the Yellow-browed Warbler that had been reported there. Armed with details of its location from the Seley blog it did not prove  too difficult to find. Getting a picture though, proved a lot harder. The bird was very mobile and very fast moving and after a couple of hours I did not really have anything to show for my efforts. Birders came and went, happy just to have seen the bird and got their tick, but I had to have a picture.

In the end the effort paid off but it was hard work

Yellow-browed Warbler

A quick walk around Church Norton found it unusually quiet so I decided on an early finish and spent the next hour sitting in traffic jams as the schools emptied out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Long-tailed Skua

I have been tempted by the attractions of the Dark Side (butterflies) for most of the summer and the force is strong but the thought of spending the winter counting butterfly eggs was too much for me. So today it was back to birding and a very successful if somewhat disappointing day. Successful in that I got a decent picture of a Turtle Dove, something I have been trying to get for a long time and also a picture of a Long-tailed Skua. The Skua is a life tick for me, I have probably seen them before but I only count them when I have a good record shot. Disappointing in that both birds only really gave us one pose before flying off. I got plenty of shots but they all looked the same. The Long-tailed Skua was my own fault in that it changed positions once and I missed it and then when it flew off I failed to get a single flight shot.

First stop of the day was Woods Mill Nature Reserve where the Turtle Dove has been showing well and does not seem to be disturbed either by groups of exited children running about or by the local Great Spotted Woodpecker with whom it disputes some of the best perches.

Turtle Dove

I was a bit disappointed with Woods Mill when I visited earlier in the year. Cleaning out the pools seemed to have drastically reduced the insect populations which would have a knock on effect with Dragonflies and other creatures higher up in the food chain. However, recent visits have shown a much more vibrant environment.

We had a quick stop at the Steyning rifle range as I still need to see a Brown Hairstreak but with the wind picking up and frequent showers it was soon clear that it was not going to happen. Reports were still coming in of the Long-tailed Skua on the beach between Church Norton and Selsey so we decided to give that a go.

Parking up on the east beach we had about a half mile walk eastwards to where we fond a couple of birders observing the Skua roosting on the beach. It had apparently just relieved some of the local Terns of their catch and it was now happily sitting digesting its hard won meal.

Long-tailed Skua

The bird seems healthy enough, feeding and flying well, but it seems strange that it should be hanging about on a beach in Selsey for five days now.

On the way home we stopped off at the Ferry Pool to have a look at the Black-winged Stilts. The family of two adults and three young were present so they seem to have abandoned Pulborough Brooks and returned to the Selsey area. They were showing well but with back lighting on them and with a strong wind still blowing it was not worth taking any pictures. It is strange how a bird that I had not seen until a few months ago is now so common place that it's not worth a picture. Not entirely true though, if they stay I will be returning on a better day to improve on my existing record shots.

Rose-coloured Starling

It was located with a flock of Starlings on the Selsey seafront but don't expect the bright pink of an adult male. This was a juvenile so it looks a bit like a washed out Common Starling but with a pale yellow bill and showing some contrast between a pale body and darker wings. That is, if you can see the body and wings in my pictures, as the bird stayed well hidden in bushes where the rest of the starling flock was feeding on the blackberries.

Thinking of coming out into the open

But happier staying in deep cover

If I was just a birder I would probably have been happy going away with a life tick but as a bird photographer you are left with the feeling that there was a better shot to be had. The trouble is that I will probably see it on other people's blogs over the next few days.

It's funny seeing something exotic like the Rose-coloured Starling alongside our plain old common Starling. Sometimes we don't see what is in front of us. Perhaps we should look a little harder at what is one of our most colourful birds. Shots below from the same starling flock.

Brilliant colours at this time of year

Looks more like a bird of the rain forests than the British lawn

Returning from Selsey we stopped off at Pagham North Wall. It seemed quiet although we did manage to find around ten Snipe on the back of the Breech Pool. Dave also spotted a Barnacle Goose in amongst the Canada Geese.

Barnacle Goose showing white face and black breast

There were also some Barnacle/Canada crosses on the pool with what appeared to be part of the family group.

Two black breasts at the back suggesting Barnacle - one with Canada Goose face one more like Barnacle

It has been a bit slow on the rest of the birding front. I am still chasing Ring Ouzels. I caught a glimpse of one as it was flushed from the Yew tree on Cissbury by a Sparrowhawk but there was no chance of a picture. Hopeful there will be a few more through soon. As always there was a consolation and this time it was Mistle Thrushes in the same tree.

Mistle Thrush

Kestrels are also easy to photograph on Cissbury. This one was taken looking straight into the sun. A bit more artistic than record shot and it would have been deleted without the bokeh effects in the background.

Kestrel with bokeh effect