Scotland

I have just returned from a walking trip to the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland with a group of friends. Fortunately they are all Munro baggers and so under the pretext of not wanting to slow them down I was able to opt out of the longer walks and do a bit of bird watching.

The journey up there stopping off at Martin Mere and Leighton Moss was a little disappointing. There were plenty of birds around but nothing very interesting and all too distant for a decent photograph. The highlights were a Little Ringed Plover and a Ruff that was showing the start of its summer plumage.

The first days walking was also a bit of a failure. I had done my research and set off through Glen Muick in search of  Capercaillie and Black Grouse. It was a nice walk but by the end of the day I had seen a Jay, Common Sandpiper, Common Gulls, Willow Warbler,  Wheatear, and a couple of Chaffinches. A disappointing day even if I was birding from home. To add insult to injury that evening my friends were happy to tell me all about the birds they had seen on their way over Lochnagar. I think we eventually decided these had been Red Grouse and Red-legged Partridge.

Stung into action I was out by four thirty the next morning and off along the Tomintoul Road to check out a possible Black Grouse Lek site. No luck again but I did at least close the gap on them by finding Red-legged Partridge and Red Grouse.

Red Grouse

Superb camouflage - you only see them when they come out to take a look at you.

Red-legged Partridge

The three pictures above demonstrate the vagaries of using high ISO speeds in low light. It was a dull wet morning with dawn just breaking and these pictures are hand held on the car window using a 700mm lens, ISO 1600, F8, and low shutter speeds. The first picture is at 1/80sec and has come out well, the second also at 1/80sec is just about acceptable, and the third at 1/320 sec has an unacceptable level of noise even after working on it in Photoshop. It would be nice to know what really works but like most people I end up taking as many combinations as possible and hoping that I get at least one good picture out of it.

I had another day searching Glen Tanar for the Capercaillie and Black Grouse but even with a tip off from a local birder I came away empty handed. I knew this was also a good area for Dipper but was not having any luck with those either, until one of the group, Alan, who is a bit of a closet birder, said he had seen them at a location I had already searched four times.

A quick trip the next morning and I had some superb views.

Dipper

Must have a nest nearby

With my friends returning home I headed off to Fowlsheugh, a seabird colony just south of Stonehaven on the Aberdeenshire coast. 

Where there had been a shortage of birds up in the Cairngorms there were plenty to see at Fowlsheugh. The cliffs had Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmar, Rock Pipits, and Rock Doves. Out to sea there were Eider and Gannets and on the cliff tops hirundines, Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits.

Guillimot - including one bridled variety

Kittiwakes

Razorbills

Meadow Pipit

Yellow Hammer

Next stop was an overnight at Musselburgh and a look around the estuary and lagoons. The lagoons have been filled with ash from the nearby Cockenezie Power Station and the remaining shallow pools attract large numbers of roosting waders, terns, and gulls - or so my research had told me. In fact the lagoons had now been completely filled with ash and the site was left with what looked like a series of slag heaps. There were still a few scrapes but these only held a couple of Shelduck. Fortunately the estuary was more interesting with both Velvet Scoter and Eider Duck present and with a number of waders moving around.

Female Eider

Eider

Velvet Scoter

Again the views are a bit distant but as this was the first time I have seen either of these in the wild they were worth including.

The journey home then crossed the border into England but read the second part which will be in the next blog and covers Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Head, and Paxton pits.

Whitethroats

Last week it looked as though the spring migration was really under way. Bonelli's, Reed, Sedge, and Grasshopper Warblers, Corncrake and Nightingale and all showing well. This week it's all quiet again. The weather has been good for photography but the cool northerly wind has deterred movement of the birds and those that are here seem too be staying undercover.

The exception is the Whitethroats that appear to be around in large numbers. So the following is a summary of my birding for the last few days over a variety of sites.

Whitethroat - Pagham Harbour

Whitethroat - Waltham Brooks

Whitethroat -Arlington Reservoir

They are a nice bird, both to hear and to photograph, but I was even happier to get a photograph of the more elusive Lesser Whitethroat.

Lesser Whitethroat - Pagham Harbour

Lesser Whitethroat - Pagham Harbour

Not much else to report really. My first linnet of the year........

Linnet - Pagham Harbour

and a Blue Tit with a punk hair style.

Blue Tit - Pagham Harbour

Arlington Reservoir proved particularly disappointing. Common Sandpiper and Yellow Wagtails had been reported there but I could not find either. The only consolation was that I could look in on Seaford Head where I would be guaranteed Kittiwakes.

Kittiwake

Kittiwake

Kittiwake

 Nesting on a cliff gives good protection from predators but it is difficult to see how the eggs and chicks can avoid being knocked over the edge.

High rise communal living

or a more exclusive penthouse

Grasshopper Warbler

Today I thought I would have a look around some of the commons at the north of the patch. Last time I had visited, there was very little flying or singing, but perhaps with spring coming on I would have better luck and pick up a Dartford Warbler, Crossbills or some other rarity. No such luck. Having walked four of the commons and with quite a few kilometres under my belt I had very little to show for it.  Chaffinches, Crows, a Woodcock flushed and a few buzzards flying overhead but not even a Stonechat on the gorse. My best effort was this quickly grabbed shot of a Treecreeper as it disappeared from sight.

Treecreeper

My next stop was Pulborough Brooks to see if I could improve on my Nightingale shots. It was just after midday when I arrived so perhaps not the best time for viewing birds. There were a few singing but mostly from within dense bushes. A couple did make brief flights but none felt like posing for a picture. I can understand why, there were a lot of people standing around waiting for them to appear. It felt a bit like a twitch and I was keen to move on. I can't complain though, everyone is entitled to see the birds, it's just that we all feel that we would like to keep them for ourselves.

Fortunately I was saved by a call from Dave Potter to tell me that he had located a Grasshopper Warbler at Waltham Brooks.

Red Kite

 

A quick walk through the RSPB site, stopping only for a picture of a circling Red Kite, and a short drive got me to the brooks in time to get some pictures of the Grasshopper Warbler.

Grasshopper Warbler

and in full song

This was a singing male establishing his territory and far more colourful than previous birds I had seen. He looked wonderful in full song and people tell me how good the trill sounds but it is too high pitched for me. I see the bird open its mouth but there is no song - very sad.

As always the pictures could be better. This is the birds natural habitat but it would be nice to get it against a plain background.

Long-eared Owl and Bonelli's Warbler

Birding doesn't get much better than this.

I had seen the reports of the Long-eared Owl close to the  Pagham Harbour RSPB Visitors Centre but had not expected it to be there for a second day. However, with no other plans I decided to head off in that direction and see what was about. First stop was the north wall. Perhaps I could get that picture of a Cetti's Warbler that I have been chasing for so long.

Cetti's were singing but not showing so I had to make do with an obliging Sedge Warbler.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

The waders and ducks have mostly moved on but there were still a few Black-tailed Godwits about. It would be nice if they hang around long enough to see them in full summer colours.

Black-tailed Godwit - Needs a few more weeks for full Summer plumage

And there were a few Swallows collecting mud from the Horse field and sunning themselves on the fences.

Swallow

Looking a bit wind swept

When I eventually moved on to the Visitors Centre I was not expecting too much. If the Long-eared Owl was still there it would probably be in the middle of a thick bush with just its ears or eyes showing. They never sit out in the open.........

but this one did

A once in a lifetime opportunity

When I arrived the owl had its eyes closed but I still managed to take over a hundred pictures. Then it opened them and I took another hundred pictures. They are all very similar and it was a complete waste of time but you just felt the need to capture the moment. Or as it turned out hundreds of moments. The Owl seemed to be totally unconcerned by our presence, about 30 foot away on the path, and we were able to watch it like this for a couple of hours.

 I moved on to the car park at Church Norton thinking I would have a quick look around for any migrants. As I sat in the car eating a sandwich I noticed a couple of the local birding grandees hurrying by. If it was worth them breaking into a sweat then it must be interesting. If in doubt follow at a discreet distance.

Surly the day couldn't get any better - but it could, they had their scopes on a Bonelli's Warbler. I could see that it was not one of your normal run of the mill warblers but I would not have had a clue without their expertise. There was some discussion as to it being a Western or an Eastern Bonelli's but I was not really to bothered. Bonelli's was good enough for me.

No great pictures this time. It was too far away and did not hang around for long but at least I got some record shots.

Confirmed as a Western Bonelli's Warbler

Non stop feeding and very fast moving

 The bird was later confirmed as a Western Bonelli's Warbler a rare vagrant to this country. I will probably have to go back to Pagham harbour tomorrow just in case it returns. There is always a better picture waiting to be taken.


Addition

I went back the next day but did not get to see the bird again. I have had to resort to tidying up the best of my record shots.

First picture above with obstructing vegetation removed

How much tampering with the picture is acceptable?

Corncrake and Tawny Owls

Thursday and Friday saw me making two trips down to the Beachy Head area, making a couple of really stupid mistakes, but overall coming out of the two days with a decent result.

Thursday morning I was at Shooters Bottom just before seven o'clock looking for the Corncrake that had been reported the previous day. The wind was really harsh over the head and it was difficult to maintain your footing let alone hold the binoculars or camera steady. The gorse and scrub offered little shelter and worst of all there was no sign of the Corncrake.

By half past eight I was ready to give up and go home but fortunately the day was rescued by Mick Davis. He had seen the bird the day before and managed to relocate it again some way from the area that most of us were watching. All credit to Mick for putting us onto the bird and for ensuring that we all had good views. I managed to get off about a dozen shots of it foraging along the edge of the ride before it disappeared into the thicker cover.

I was feeling really pleased until I looked at the images and realised that they were all badly over exposed. Somehow I had managed to nudge the controls from aperture priority to manual. Worse, this has happened before, and I have lost valuable pictures. Even worse than that, I had stood there for two hours and not once checked that the camera was set up correctly.

Corncrake

Photoshop gives you some recovery options so I ended up with the picture above but the detail has been lost and I cannot enlarge the picture any more. I did wait around for a couple more hours and saw the bird a few times but pictures were always difficult with most of them being backlit.

Corncrake heading for cover

My second mistake was in not checking what else was about in the area. I did call in at Belle Tout wood on the way back to Birling Gap but when I opened the car door and was hit by the wind again I got back in and drove home. I checked when I got home and saw that two Tawny Owls had been reported at the wood. Another missed opportunity.

Friday morning and I decided to return to see if I could get a better picture of the Corncrake and also to see if I could locate the Tawny Owls. The Owls were first and despite them being well hidden I located them both quite easily. Looking at the pictures now I am not quite sure how I managed it.

Well hidden

Close up it looks like a Grey Morph variant

Second bird - more familiar Rufous Morph

Obviously been watching me from a long way off

but not going to loose any sleep over it

I had great fun photographing the Tawny Owls, which was just as well, as there had been no sign of the Corncrake when I finally arrived at Shooters Bottom. I gave it another hour but with the birders gradually drifting away it looked as though it may have moved on.

So, a bit of a messy couple of days birding with a number of silly mistakes but at the end of it I had seen the Corncrake for the first time and had also found the Tawny Owls.