Short-eared Owl Revisited

Whilst we were taking pictures of the Short-eared Owl yesterday Dave thought he caught a glimpse of a Great Grey Shrike. We were unable to confirm the sighting but a couple of birders we spoke to later had also seen it. Today I was passing through Arundel and with a bit of time to spare I thought I would go and have another look.

Despite a good search there was no sign of the Shrike but I did come across a Short-eared Owl perched up on a post by the railway. A second great opportunity in two days. I did feel a bit guilty as there was a sizeable group of people down by the wooden bridges waiting for an owl to appear, but I soon got over it.

An unexpected find - searching for food from a post

Food is the first priority

Checking me out to make sure that I was not a threat

Note that in the shot above, with half the face in shadow, the pupils are a different size. The problem is that when you manoeuvre around to get the whole of the face into sunlight, the light is too bright for the owl and it keeps its eyes half closed. Not only do you need the perfect opportunity but you also need a day with high thin cloud to give a nice soft diffuse lighting. Then of course your speed will be too low and you will get a blurred shot. The joys of bird photography in the UK.

This bird had very contrasting plumage with pale buff white and heavy dark streaking. It is probably the first bird seen yesterday, the second one being a less contrasty rufous colour.

Stay outside the birds threat zone and when you go make sure that it is left peaceful and undisturbed.

It looks happy enough but I guess it was still listening out for any noise that I made just in case I become a threat. I tiptoed away with out disturbing it, only for a train to come thundering through less than ten foot away from it. Even then it seemed reluctant to take to the air.

Short-eared Owl

Another lovely day for bird photography but initially very little to photograph. Fortunately it all came good at the end of the day.

We had started off at Warnham LNR hoping to see Redpolls and the Brambling that had been reported there over the weekend. Neither showed and we were left with a couple of Siskin and the usual range of birds on the feeders. The highlight was probably this Bank Vole putting in an occasional and very fleeting appearance.

Bank Vole

And a quick visit from a Jay.

Jay

With Reed Buntings making up the numbers.

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

We moved on to Pulborough Brooks which proved to be a slight improvement. We saw Bullfinches and Ruff but the former were feeding deep within a hedge and the later were too far away for a picture. A pity really, as one of the Ruff looked to be showing a white collar, perhaps the start of its display plumage.

There were also Fieldfare and Redwing feeding in the fields but I only had this one picture opportunity.

Redwing

We decided to finish the day at Waltham Brooks looking for Owls. As it turned out, it was a good decision. There was no Barn Owl but we did have two Short-eared Owl quartering the brooks. The pictures never really do justice to the magic of seeing the owls but it is still nice to get them.

Short-eared Owl

The second Short-eared Owl

The lighting is different in these two pictures but the wing markings suggest that these are two different birds. The first bird showing much more contrast in its plumage whilst the second is the more usual rufous colouration.

Eventually one of the birds settled in a tree about one hundred and fifty metres away and seemed content to stay there a while.

Too good a chance to miss

Having made sure that none of the other birders present objected I decided to try to get a little closer. Yet another photographer trying to spook the bird I hear you say. Well I did get a lot closer and I did get some good pictures but when I backed off the bird was still sitting in its tree looking quite relaxed. The birders were probably more upset as they would have liked to see it flying again.

The sad thing is that I have delete around a hundred pictures that are arguably just as good as the ones above.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

If you have already looked at Dave's blog Friends of Groyne No 4 then this is going to look very similar. We had a very limited agenda today. A quick look at Waltham Brooks on the way through to Pulborough Brooks where we wanted to see a Nightingale. The rest of the day would then be spent in pursuit of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Sightings of a Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler got us off to a good start and gave me a couple of year ticks. We had seen them both previously but I had said that I would not count them until I could get record shots and that had proved harder than I had expected. Even today the pictures are not good but you can at least you can see what the birds are.

Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Walking back to the car we came across a Nightingale. There was no problem hearing it but seeing it and getting a photograph proved a lot harder. So I now have a set of three partially obscured birds from the mornings birding, better than nothing I suppose.

Nightingale

The good news was that we no longer needed to visit Pulborough Brooks and could make an early start on looking for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Clouds were starting to cover the sun, it was getting a lot cooler, and there was rain in the air as we approached our intended search site. The conditions did not look good, however, luck was with us and we were straight on to two of the butterflies. The cool air then played into our hands. We managed a few quick shots but then as the butterflies settled we managed to track one to its resting place and had forty five minutes to take pictures before the sun came out and it started moving again.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Waiting for the sun

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Paler and slightly bigger so this could be a female

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The Pearl-bordered Fritillary was a life tick for me. Strangely there were no other butterflies of any type to be seen in the woods but there were a few other insects about and some of them quite photogenic.

Bee Fly

Green Tiger Beetle

Little Gull

The water levels at Waltham Brooks may be dropping but they still have a long way to go. Good for the ducks and geese but not so good for the owls and raptors, nor as it happens for birders.

Female Scaup

Finding the female Scaup was not too difficult. It could be seen on the flooded fields on the western side of the river and north of the road. Getting close to it though was impossible. There is a bridleway there but a few steps along it and the water was over the wellies. So I had to make do with a record shot taken from the road about about a hundred metres away.

Plenty of Tufted Ducks and Pochard there along with a few Canada Geese, although the following shot was taken at Swanbourne Lake on the way up to Waltham Brooks. The birds there are just a little bit easier to approach.

Pochard

I did not fancy wading through the mud to search for birds so I decided to return to the coast and spend some more time on the Gulls. First stop was Brooklands and the chance to improve on the Little Gull shots in my last blog.

Little Gull

Not too difficult when it is sitting on the water but in flight this is not an easy bird to capture. Their flight is more like that of a Tern and they seem to have a sixth sense that enables them to execute a ninety degree turn just at the instant you press the shutter.

Flight shot

Underbody shows a slight rosy tinge in this picture

About two thirds of the size of a Black-headed Gull and a bit more agile.

I then moved on to Littlehampton for another go at the Glaucous and Kumlien's Gulls. They were both there and giving good views as usual but by then the light had gone.

Kumlien's Gull

Going back a few years I would spend hours producing sepia toned prints. Today I could get them for nothing. Sepia toned birds against a sepia toned sea and sky. It may work on landscapes but it doesn't do much for birds.

Kumlien's Gull

At least you could see the eye on the Glaucous Gull. It makes all the difference.

Glaucous Gull

Middle of the afternoon and I decided to head for home. The birds were good but without the light the pictures were hopeless.

Great Grey Shrike

I managed to get out late afternoon and with nothing visible on the sea I decided on a quick trip up to Waltham Brooks to have another look for the Great Grey Shrike. As I got out of the car I was greeted by Dorian Mason saying that he had the bird in his scope and did I want to have a look. Birding does not get much easier than this. Distant but clear views and just close enough for a record shot.

Great Grey Shrike - still a bit distant

I did have a few pangs of guilt when I realised that some people had been standing around for four or five hours waiting to see the bird but I tried not to let it worry me too much. Things got even better when a Marsh Harrier flew through putting all the ducks up from the flooded fields.

Two good sightings in less than ten minutes, I should probably have gone home then. The trouble is you always hope for better and even with rain and clouds moving over I still thought there might be a picture to be had.

Coming Closer

The bird did come closer but with shutter speeds down to 1/40 sec and with the branches being blown in a strong wind it was pure luck on getting a shot that was not blurred. These are the best two out of about forty attempts.

But not close enough

I photographed another shrike in the same location back on the 15th November but on that occasion I had it all to myself and was able to get good close up pictures without disturbing the bird. The picture below is from my 15th November blog. It was taken in early morning light which gives it the softer colours but it does look like a younger and fresher bird. The bill and mask markings are different and I doubt that it would have aged so much in just two months.

   



All I needed then was a Barn Owl to finish off the afternoon but it didn't happen. I will just have to go back and try again another day.

Great Grey Shrike

Thursday afternoon saw me over at Waltham Brooks looking for the Great Grey Shrike. Both birds had been seen in the morning but neither seemed to be present whilst I was there. Having returned empty handed yesterday I was up early and over at the Brooks by 07.30 this morning.There was little point in viewing from the road. The early morning sun is straight into your eyes and photographs would be impossible. Instead I took the footpath to a point south of where I expected the bird to be and hid in one of the bushes.

Fortunately I did not have to wait long before one of the birds turned up. First views were a bit disappointing. It did not look like the sleek hunting bird I had remembered from Thursley Common. Instead it looked like a cute cuddly child's toy.

Great Grey Shrike - seems pretty relaxed

I am sure it knew where I was standing but it did not seem concerned and sat for a good ten minutes whilst I took pictures of it. It was quite a chilly morning so it was probably happier sitting under fluffed up feathers than having to fly around.

At one point It saw something that interested it and seemed about to take off but then thought better of it.

Looking more like a mini polar bear

After a while it started to get a bit more active, moving around between various perches and starting to look more like the Great Grey Shrike I remembered.

Looks more of a hunter now

By about 0915 there were a number of birders starting to gather on the road and it seemed like a wise move to withdraw from the position I was holding. As I left the bird headed over towards the road. Perhaps it was interested to see who its next group of admirers were.

I was pleased. It had been a good morning. I would be back home by ten with some decent pictures and I had also had good views of at least another twenty species.