Near the Bottom of the Barrel - mid-January, 2018

For the first couple of weeks of this year, it seems that I've either had commitments or the weather has been on the grim side. I have, therefore, managed little in the way of photography. However, I feel I need to keep my hand in with blog posts, so stand by for some less-than-inspiring photography!

Thursday 28th December, 2017 

A visit to Kelham Bridge at the end of last year resulted in great company, but virtually nothing in the way of bird sightings and photography. The water was frozen over, and I'd been hoping for Water Rail to come out onto the ice. The nearest to 'exciting' was a distant Kestrel with a vole!

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) (female) - Kelham Bridge

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Kelham Bridge

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (female) - Kelham Bridge

A visit to Oakthorpe Colliery later that day just resulted in the disturbance beside the car park, caused by four shooters with dogs, upsetting the people in the car park. This was reported to the police who, as soon as they were told that we weren't being threatened, weren't interested, in spite of this being a nature reserve and a police notice in the car park asking for reports of possible poachers with dogs!

Tuesday 2nd January, 2018

We had quite a good day in our garden that day, with 19 species visiting us, including the two Redpoll which featured in my previous post which you can find here. However, on this day, which was very dull and wet, I only photographed our visiting Woody.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (male) -our garden

Monday 8th January

We were lucky this day to have one of the rare visits to our garden by a Brambling - sadly I didn't manage any decent images. It was dull and extremely cold that day and I was struggling to keep the water from freezing so that the birds could drink - you can see some ice from the drinking station in a couple of the images below.

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (male) - our garden

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - our garden

That evening I went out to see if I could find any owls. I nearly failed, but happened on a Barn Owl after it had already got dark.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - Leicestershire

Friday, 12th January

Lindsay and I fancied going out for lunch together, and Lindsay chose Launde Abbey as our lunch venue. This suited me just fine as we'd pass some of my Little Owl sites en-route. Unfortunately we were soon travelling in thick fog! We didn't stand a chance at the first few sites we passed as we'd not have seen a bird if it had sat there and shouted at us! However, we were able to see a bird at my Site No. 23. It was still quite foggy and my images were extremely flat and grey. However, I have found by past experience that images in foggy conditions are relatively easy to enhance, purely by winding up the contrast compensation in post-processing. Although not a good image, the following is considerably better than the original!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.23

Lunch was very enjoyable and the fog lifted as we were eating. This prompted us to take a scenic route home. A little Owl was seen at my Site No.53 - almost 100 metres away!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.53

By the time we got to LO Site No. 37 the light was dreadful and the owl was in a hopeless position for photography. However, it did mean that I'd had my first 3 Little Owl day for many months! - and that is why I'm happy to post these rubbish images!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.37

Saturday, 13th January

I mentioned in my previous post that I was concerned that we'd seen a Hedgehog out at the beginning of the month, and that I'd monitor the situation. The header that is current with this post is a screen grab from one of my trail cameras on 4th January. Until 13th January there was no further sign of a Hedgehog. However, on the night of 13th January, the Hedgehog reappeared. I'm not overly concerned at this stage as Hedgehogs will occasionally awaken in the winter, particularly if they feel the need to change sleeping location. I am continuing to closely monitor the situation. If you are knowledgeable on the subject of Hedgehogs and think, for example, that this one looks underweight and needs help, please let me know.

Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) - our garden on 13th January, 2018

Garden List - Week 02 - 08/01/2018 to 14/01/2018

2018, Week 02 - 8th to 14th January

We had another quite good week in the garden, in spite of the continued building works out back.

It was a different mix than the previous week. Brambling showed for the first time this year - they usually appear a bit later in the winter. However, the real surprise was a couple of corvids. Although they are not rare birds, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw are quite rare in our garden, and we consider ourselves lucky if we get one in the year, so to get both this early in the year, and on the same day, was exciting. Sadly I missed getting any photos.

I am pleased to say that the pair of Redpoll is still visiting the garden.

At the current rate of progress I, once again, have no idea what the subject of my next post will be. Hopefully I will not have to scrape the bottom of the barrel too hard!

Thank you for dropping by.

 

The Best Laid Plans - 1st to 18th December, 2017

With Mrs. P. going away with our daughter and granddaughter for six days for a stay in a 'crafting hotel' in Devon, I was looking forward to some wall-to-wall birding - but more about that later!

December tends to be a busy month for most people, and we are no exception, with the preparations for Christmas, and meeting up with family over a good lunch taking up a significant amount of time. Apart from the 3-owl day on 3rd December which was the subject of my previous post, it had been a slow start to the birding month. In fact, most of the excitement (for want of a better word!) came from the garden. Here's how the first half of the month panned out.

Friday 1st December - our garden, Oakthorpe Colliery, Packington, and home again

The month got off to a good start with a Goldcrest visiting the garden. Sadly, I only managed a record shot through the glass of my study window at a range of about 14 metres.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - our Garden

Later that day I paid a quick visit to Oakthorpe Colliery. Most of the birds there were relatively common and quite numerous, but it is always a treat in these parts  to see a Willow Tit - they're becoming worryingly scarce.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Oakthorpe Colliery

Blue Tit (Cyasnistes caeruleus) - Oakthorpe Colliery

Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) - Oakthorpe Colliery

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - Oakthorpe Colliery

From Oakthorpe Colliery, I moved on to a farm near Packington. Here I found a Buzzard on a fence post, and later a Kestrel.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) (juvenile) - near Packington

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) (male) - near Packington

I was back at home by early afternoon, and a racket from outside caused me to look out. A Buzzard was being hassled by a Crow. I only managed a few shots before they went out of view.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - from our garden

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) + Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) - from our garden

Sunday 3rd December - travelling eastward in Leicestershire

This was the previously mentioned and posted 3-owl day. However, I have one other image to share with you from that day. A small downside of heading out into the countryside in these parts at this time of year is the amount of filth on the road. It's not unusual to come back after an afternoon out to find the lower half of the car thick with mud and other detritus. Fortunately there is a car cleaning operation close to home where I can get the car washed for £6. However, I think these people will be retiring soon on the money I'm spending with them!

Just to give you a taste of what I'm faced with, this is a shot from my car window as I waited on the verge for this group to pass.

Here's a slightly different shot of one of the day's owls, given a different treatment to those in my previous post - I quite like the result!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.41

Saturday 9th December - our garden

Nothing much happened until this day as I was very busy with other commitments and preparing for my wife's departure on holiday. However, on this day, we had Goldcrest and Grey Wagtail visit our garden, neither of which I managed to photograph - nor did I get a photo of the male Sparrowhawk that visited. Here are a couple of photos that I did manage to take.

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - our garden

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Sunday 10th December - our garden, and Baggrave Hall

The original plan was for Lindsay to go over to our daughter's in her Smart car in the late morning, and then for the three girls to head on down to Devon in Melanie's car. However, heavy snow had been forecast for the Saturday/Sunday night and so we put a contingency plan in place. We woke up to a good covering of snow, and so the contingency plan was implemented - I was to drive Lindsay to Melanie's in our 4x4 Yeti.

Before we departed, we had a Fieldfare briefly stop in our garden, shortly after another visit by the Sparrowhawk. The Fieldfare only stopped for a few seconds as our berries had all now been consumed, and I only managed a record shot - we don't usually get Fieldfare visit the garden more than once or twice each winter. 

The 25 mile (40km) journey to Melanie's place took two and three quarter hours (instead of the usual 35 to 40  minutes) with very icy roads. A large part of the delay was caused by a large rig belonging to the Walkers Crisp company. The inconsiderate driver of this rig spent from 10h00 to 11h30 shunting backwards and forwards on a gradient on a dual carriageway trying to get traction, holding up all who were behind him. He could have just rolled back to the side of the road and allowed everyone through. I'm amazed that no one went and hauled him out of his cab. One comment from the bus driver two vehicles behind him was that he was probably empty and so did not have enough weight to get traction, but I suspect that a full load of crisps (potato chips to some of my non-UK readers) weighs the square root of bugger-all and would have made no difference.

Having, eventually, dropped Lindsay off at Melanie's I headed off into the countryside with the hope of finding owls in the snow and finding a nice location to enjoy my picnic lunch. I soon found some nice snowy scenery, but I was not seeing many birds at all.

Although there was far less snow here than there was at home, the road was very icy and, having stopped for that second shot,  I struggled to get traction - even with the 4x4! After about five minutes I managed to get up the hill, but decided that I'd find a place nearby for my picnic, and then head straight home again, avoiding single-track country roads!

Monday 11th December - our garden

On the Monday I'd had to go to a nearby village to post letters and parcels, and found the roads to be still quite difficult, and it was apparent that, no matter how careful one was, there were too many idiots on the road who were driving without due care (as witnessed by the ones that were already in the roadside ditches!), so I spent most of the day indoors. We had one of our occasional visits by Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (male) - our garden

Tuesday 12th December - our garden

By the Tuesday I realised that I was going down with a cold, and that going out in the cold was probably not sensible.

This gave me another opportunity to observe the birds in my garden. As well as a second Fieldfare (missed the shot!) I had my first Garden Redwing of the winter. However, I only got 'record' shots as I was looking up at it through the double-glazing of our conservatory at an angle of 45°, though intervening branches. Here are some images from that day.

Blackbird (Turdus merula) (female) - our garden

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (female) - our garden

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (male) - our garden

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (male) - our garden

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) - our garden

Thursday 14th December - Cropston Reservoir

On the Wednesday I'd been out in the morning to the south of my home dropping cards in to some of my owling hosts. There was still plenty of snow around. I'd taken my camera, but didn't see any owls and didn't take any photos. However, I did have the good news that a Little Owl was seen only three days previously at my site No.03. By that afternoon I was feeling decidedly off-colour so did very little.

On the Thursday, I still had a card and present to deliver to a farm some way from my home, so I set off in the morning, taking a picnic lunch. We'd had more snow in the night, and the roads close to home were worse than they'd been on the Sunday morning. On one bend I found four vehicles off the road. Fortunately, by the time I got to the outskirts of Leicester you'd never know that it had been snowing, although there was a little more snow when I neared my destination. As I was seeing virtually nothing of interest during my travels, I set off back homeward.

An enforced diversion due to a road closure sent me past the end of Cropston Reservoir. Determined not to get home with nothing in the bag, I stopped when I saw a space in the lay by.

There was little to see that was identifiable through my binoculars, but at least I took some shots, even if they were of common birds, and into the sun!

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Cropston Reservoir

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Cropston Reservoir

Since then, I haven't managed any photography, so I suspect that this will be my last blog post before Christmas. I, therefore, take this opportunity to wish my readers a peaceful and happy Christmas, and the best of luck and good health for 2018. Thank you for your kind support in 2017, which has been much appreciated. 

In Search of Chalkhill Blues - on 10th august, 2017

This is another post with me in catch-up mode. It features a visit to a favourite location in early August. At that time I was still only using the Sigma 50-500mm lens.

My destination was Hills and Holes by Barnack in Cambridgeshire, and I set off late morning when it seemed that the weather had a chance of working in my favour.

Things started to look promising when I spotted a pair of Wheatear close to my Little Owl Site No.41 - although no owl has been seen here for many weeks. Here is one of the pair.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) - near my LO Site No.41

Further on a Kestrel momentarily remained on a post while I wound down my window and poked the camera at it.

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) (male)

I stopped to have a picnic lunch by my Little Owl Site No.34 in the hope of seeing an owl. I haven't seen one here for a while. They seem to have left the area and have possibly fallen victim to a Buzzard that was hanging around at the time of their disappearance.

I arrived at Hills and Holes at around 13h00, and set off in search of may target butterfly species - the Chalkhill Blue. I'd been twice before to look for this species - once in 2016 when John and I had visited rather late in the season when all the specimens seen were rather worn and tatty, and then again earlier in the season (probably a bit too early) this year when only males of the species were seen. John would have been with me again on this latest visit if he'd not been ill. 

I soon saw a male Chalkhill Blue which had settled on the path ahead of me. Then a little later another one, then a pair of males interacting but all were settling on the path which was not the best of situations. My real target was females of the species and, as usual , these were somewhat more elusive, although I did, eventually, manage to find some.

There were other butterflies too, the most interesting to me being the Brown Argus. This species can, at a glance, be difficult to tell from the female Chalkhill Blue when in flight because their size isn't immediately apparent - the Brown Argus is somewhat smaller.

On the odonata front, I didn't bother with the Common Blue Damselflies, several Brown Hawkers were seen but didn't oblige for a photo, and plenty of Common Darters were seen and a couple were photographed.

Here are some of my shots from the session.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Barnack Hills and Holes

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) - Barnack Hills and Holes

Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) - Barnack Hills and Holes

Note that the dark spots on the forewings of the Brown Argus are somewhat variable in these parts. The norm elsewhere, I believe, is for the spots to be plain black. Hereabouts they tend to have white either side of the black, sometimes almost obscuring the black - tending to make them look somewhat like the Northern Brown Argus.

As previously mentioned, my real target was the female Chalkhill Blue. Here are some images of some that I found that day.

Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) (female) - Barnack Hills and Holes

There's no getting away from it, however - the male of the species is remarkably handsome!

Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) (male) - Barnack Hills and Holes

 It had been quite a rewarding day, from my point of view, and I went home a happy man!

Thank you for dropping by. I'm undecided, at this point in time as to what my next post will feature.