Red-throated Diver

I had great views of the Red-throated Diver at Arlington today. Winter plumage of course, so no red throat at the moment but still a great bird to photograph. I had about fifteen minutes with the bird all to myself, until a dog walker turned up and walked too close, resulting in the diver heading out towards the centre of the reservoir, out of range of the camera (and the dog).

heading off out of range

A great set of pictures but what to do next. There was a big flock of Redwing in the fields south of the Reservoir but they were all a bit distant.

Redwing

So I decided to try the Black Redstart at Tidemills again. It was there but if anything it was even more distant than last time I tried. There is a lot of building work going on in the fenced off compund so the Black Redstart was out in the reptile translocation area most of the time. You can get good telescope views but it is really out of range of the camera and to get a shot you are photographing into the sun. 

I would not normally have bothered with these pictures but there is one new development, it looks as though there is now a female in the area. She seemed interested but I think he needs a bit more encouragement.

Male - keeping his distance

Female - with the male out of focus in the background

I would really like to get a picture of this male but he is proving to be hard work.

Out of interest is anyone aware of what is happening with the reptile translocation area? Have any reptiles been translocated or is this just a cover to support the expansion of the east docks. I would have thought that the two areas were quite different environments?

I finished off the day at Newhaven west. I could not find the Iceland Gull that had been reported there but that may just be a reflection of my gull identification skills. It was worth the visit though just to see the Fulmars setting up their nests on the cliffs.

Fulmars always look like devoted couples.

but aggressive in defending their nest sites

A friendly Turnstone on East Pier - probably use to being fed by the fishermen

A good days birding with some decent photographs to show for it but I have dipped on getting a decent photograph of the Black Redstart yet again.

Snow Bunting

The title should have read Brambling which was yet again our target for the day with Friston Forest car park being the location we had chosen. We did actually manage to see two female Brambling this time which is a big step up from our last few failed attempts but there was no chance of getting any pictures.

It had looked promising as we drove into the car park with a large Chaffinch flock moving through the area. After studying them for a few minutes we came up with at least two female Brambling. Unfortunately the cameras were in the back of the car and our attempts to retrieve them saw the whole flock take flight. We watched for about another two hours but they did not return in that time. I should be happy at getting the year tick but without a record shot or better it does not feel like a success.

We aborted a plan to look for Kingfishers on the Cuckmere and decided to head back to West Sussex but a last minute decision (about ten yards from the turning) saw us heading into Tide Mills. We were telling ourselves that these last minute impulse decisions always come good, and it did. Two young birders Gideon and Caleb had located a Snow Bunting. We might well have missed it but the two doing a commando crawl across the shingle suggested there might be something worth looking at. They already had a few good shots and, hopefully without spoiling it too much for them, we also managed to get some pictures.

We then tried the pier looking for Purple Sandpipers. Unfortunately by then we had missed high tide and the birds had gone back onto the concrete supports below the pier. Light levels were low down there so I only managed to come away with one decent shot but I was grateful for that given that the speed setting was only 1/40 sec. Its amazing what you can do with image stabilisation.

Purple Sandpiper

We went back to Friston Forest and had one more search for the Bramblings. There was a Chaffinch flock feeding there but we could see no sign of the Bramblings this time. A couple of Jays were threatening to give good picture opportunities but I could not get them down sun of me so I had to settle for a backlit shot.

Jay

To finish, here are a couple of shots of the Tundra Bean Goose taken on Sunday at Cuckoo Corner. The lighting was poor but the bird did allow a reasonably close approach whilst it was out on the river. I was surprised to see it still there by itself. There was a fox about, a number of dog walkers,  a few bird watchers and at one stage it was even harassed by one of the local crows. Having to keep a constant watch for threats takes a big toll on feeding time. It would be better off in one of the the Greylag flocks where it could share sentry duties.

and there is always someone trying to gatecrash the picture

I wasn't aware of the Kingfisher at the time it only came to light whilst I was checking the pictures at home.

Tawny Pipit

Reports of a juvenile Tawny Pipit over at Tide Mills got me up and out early on Saturday morning. The weather forecast didn't look good but the idea was to pick Dave up, get over to see the bird and then get under cover before the next downpour hit us.

It all looked promising as we headed towards a small group of birders over by the compound. A couple walking away from the area told us that the Pipit was showing well but of course as we arrived we were told that it had just gone into cover. Fortunately we only had to wait about 15 minutes and it made another appearance.

It was clear that we were not going to get very long to get our pictures. The sky was darkening in the west and we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. The bird was showing well but was being flushed regularly by people walking past with dogs. It used to be that people only had one dog but now they all seem to have three or four and have no ability to control them.

We got our record shots and there were probably better shots to be had if we had been prepared to wait and get soaked. In the end we settled for what we had and made a quick retreat towards the car.

It was a pity to have to leave as there were a lot of birds about. I could not resist taking this shot of a Stonechat as we hurried by. It just such a different background to the usual gorse and bramble bushes.

We made it back to the car just as the heavens opened up. A life tick for me so a good mornings birding.

Would I have spotted it as a Tawny Pipit if I had not been told it was there or would I have passed it off as just another Meadow Pipit? I'm not sure. It's clear now, looking at the pictures, that the Tawny's distinguishing features are there, but you have to be looking to see them. Still, I learn with each bird that I see and the Tawny should be a lot easier to pick out in the future.

Grey Phalarope, Snow Bunting, and Kingfisher

Travelling back from Canterbury Sunday afternoon I stopped off at Tide Mills to see the Grey Phalarope that had been reported there. I was on site between 2.00 and 3.00 but saw nothing. It was only when I got  home that I found reports of sightings at both 1.30 and 3.30. Perhaps it had flown out to sea whilst I was there or perhaps I was just not looking hard enough. What ever the reason I was determined to have another go.

Monday morning, I picked Dave up, and we headed back to Tide Mills. Bit of a risk really. Dave has dipped a few birds recently and we were starting to think he was turning into a jinx. Fortunately everything went well this time. A couple of birders had already located the Phalarope when we arrived and we soon had good views.

Grey Phalarope

We watched it for a couple of hours. The bird spent most of the time feeding with occasional rest periods spent in the shelter of small rocks. Most of the feeding was in shallow water with the bird walking rather than swimming and finding huge numbers of worms. If its only interest is food it could be staying for a while.

actively feeding

finding lots of worms

The species spends the summer in the high Arctic with Iceland being its southernmost breeding location. They then migrate to the South Atlantic for the winter rarely visiting land.

Known as the Grey Phalarope in this country where it is seen in its non-breeding plumage most books refer to them as Red Phalarope on account of their stunning red breeding colours.  The female has brighter colouration than the male. They are also unusual in that the male takes responsibility for incubation of the eggs and care of the young with the female either mating a second time or starting migration early.

Easy to photograph - they seem unconcerned about people being around

As the tide came in and the mud was covered up the bird gradually moved away and we decided to move on.

We did find a Bar-headed Goose in amongst some Canada Geese. Interesting but probably an escapee. I saw one earlier in the year on the Arun and there have been a few other reports recently.

Bar-headed Goose

However, most of the afternoon was spent watching and photographing an obliging Kingfisher. I thought the pictures were going to be fantastic, but maybe we were a little bit too far away, the lighting was not quite right, or the photographer was not quite up to the job.
I came away with some good record shots but they could have been so much better.

Kingfisher on perch

Looks like a female with the red base to lower mandible

Successful dive

Note the way the wing and back colour change from greenish through to bright blue dependant on lighting conditions

I tried to capture a shot of it diving into the water but ended up with dozens of empty frames. Even flight shots proved difficult. I know I should be using shutter speeds of a round 1/2000sec to freeze the action but the high ISO required to deliver these speeds would give an unacceptable level of noise in the picture.

Taken at 1/800sec but still too slow

And to finish off with a couple of shots of the Snow Bunting on Worthing beach at the end of last week.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Another good days birding. We really seem to have left the doldrums of the late summer behind.