Wednesday 25 March 2015

Owl encounter

There's not been much to talk about recently, Sandwich Bay has been the most productive, the Scrape has had good numbers of ducks over the last few days and I did get a Wheatear, one of the first to arrive this year. Also my first ever Firecrest, in the Elms at the Bay, more a record shot but as it was my first I was pleased to have seen and photographed it.

Today, 25th March, the weather was supposed to deteriorate to rain by the afternoon so I went out in the morning more in hope of something interesting than expectation. I visited the Scrape but it was surprisingly quiet, a few Shoveler over the back and an occasional Coot or Little grebe swimming by, but very little to point the camera at. I walked along to where the Wheatear had been on Monday but no sign. I walked back to the Elms for another go at the Goldcrest and Firecrests I'd seen on Monday, they were nowhere to be found. In fact I hardly took a photo really, certainly nothing worth keeping. I returned home for my lunch rather disappointed with how little I'd seen.
As it turned out, the weather didn't deteriorate, in fact it was marginally more sunny in the afternoon than perhaps it had been in the morning. I decided to go out again and ended up back at the Scrape having convinced myself something might drop in if I was lucky. Well, it was 'busier' than it had been in the morning, one Goosander had returned and things were nearer to the hide than they had been in the morning.
A Little grebe spent quite a bit of time fishing in front of the hide, and lovely specimens of both male Gadwall and Shoveler came in very close.
Little grebe
Male Gadwall
Male Shoveler
Something caused the ducks on the bank to enter the water and a couple of seconds later a 'ringtail' Hen harrier flew around the left hand side and back edge of the Scrape before disappearing over the bund towards the Elms, everything quickly settled down again. I took two shots but both are hopelessly out of focus - it is just possible to see the white rump on both images but not worth the space to post here. One other bird that made frequent appearances but I have found difficult to photograph was the Moorhen. Rather like photographing a Coot, the overall dark feathers are difficult to get any detail in without blowing out the paler colours in the bird. The one below was one of my better efforts.
Finally, on to the Short-eared owls. I left the Scrape hide at just after 4:00 pm and drove up to Dickson's Corner (I was intending to sit in the car and wait and also to warm up, the temperature had dropped anyway in the NE wind and now the sun was behind cloud it was positively chilly). As I pulled over into the small lay-by where the pile of road chippings are being stored, I spotted something on one of the metal posts the other side of the Ancient Highway, it was a Short-eared owl {SEO from now on]. I couldn't believe my luck but it was a bit distant and there was no obvious way of getting any nearer without being in full sight of the bird. I took a few shots, standing against the car, using the roof as a rest. 
The owl seemed unconcerned by cars and bicycles passing on Golf Road but I didn't try to get closer for fear of scaring it off. After a few minutes it glided off the iron stake and flew a few meters - towards me, and landed on a fence post quite a bit nearer. I stayed behind the car and took a few more shots, but as the owl was now much nearer Golf Road, where the occasional car or bicycle was passing within ~20 m of it, and it was showing no sign of being scared off, I took a few tentative steps towards it, it basically ignored me but I didn't want to frighten it away so didn't go far. 
The two shots above have been cropped to the same extent to show how much nearer the owl came.
After a further couple of minutes it took off and started hunting in the long grass to the south of the yacht club, finally diving onto something and staying down for a short while. I walked around to join the Ancient Highway and shadowed the owl as it hunted along the sea wall heading gradually south towards Deal. The light was poor and those who have read earlier blogs will know I've moaned about how poor the little Canon can be at flight shots, but I continued to take some anyway in the hope a few may be OK. Well, OK is about all any of them were, most were a smear of pixels across a blurry background.
One of the less blurry flight shots.
I walked along the Ancient Highway towards Deal and watched the owl hunting, a second SEO joined the first and I was torn as to which to watch but they went their separate ways after a while. As the sun slowly re-emerged from the heavy cloud so two microlights flew in over Worth Marshes, putting up hundred of gulls and waders, and scaring off the SEOs. My earlier good luck had run out, I'd been banking on one of the owls being around by the time the sun re-appeared which would give me a much better chance of a flight shot when I could get a reasonable shutter speed. The microlights slowly made their way off towards Thanet and relative peace descended again and the afternoon sun was lighting up the golf course. One of the owls appeared from behind a hillock and flew within 20 m of me and off into the distance before settling on a post beside the track. Not daring to hope I'd be able to get to it before it flew off again I set off towards it, taking shots once I was within range then moving a few more meters and taking another few shots. By doing this I managed to get very close, it sat on the post with the sun on it and I reckon I got within 10 to 15 m of it. All memories of the dull and uneventful morning had gone, I took about 50 shots before it decided to try hunting again, what a result. 






Tuesday 10 March 2015

Success on the Scrape

4th to 8th March
Reports of a Pink-footed goose [PFG] on The Scrape at Sandwich Bay tempted me, I'd not knowingly seen and had certainly never photographed one before so I headed there to take a look.
The Scrape can be very good especially for photography, the hide is near to the water compared at least to hides at places like Pegwell Bay and Oare. There is nearly always something to point the camera at. During the winter months it is mainly Teal, Gadwall, and Tufted duck, Greylag geese and lesser numbers of other ducks together with Little grebe, Moorhen and Coot. However, if you are there long enough just about anything can drop in, as was the case for me.
Having been unable to resist taking what were only ever going to be poor shots of species I'd already got - mainly because they wouldn't swim near the hide, an Egyptian goose landed on the water close to what is showing of the island. It swam around for a few minutes, climbed out onto the island to preen then took off.
Egyptian goose
It only remained for about 15 minutes so if you weren't there at that time you would have no idea it had been there, so very much a case of 'right place, right time'. I'd photographed these before at the Cotswold Water Park but not in Kent, so that was a County photo tick for me. The Pink-footed goose didn't appear however so I'd have to try another time. A pair of Gadwall drifted past the hide and the 'resident' Pochard went for a little paddle but wouldn't venture very near.
                    
                         Gaddwall ♀ left and ♂ right,                                          Pochard ♂
I wasn't able to return until the weekend and I made the effort to get there early which was worthwhile but the light was poor. The 3 Goosander which have been hanging around now for nearly 3 months were all visible and for a change, active. They did a lot of swimming around and preening but most of my early morning shots were poor - too little light and lots of blurred images. Several Greylag geese were swimming around but I couldn't see the PFG, then, with much honking a small flock of ~15 geese flew in and one was the PFG. Again, the early photos I took were poor, it remained quite distant and was often partly obscured by the Greylags, I did get one record shot as it stood on the bank on the far side of the Scrape, the difference in bill colour is quite obvious here but when the birds are swimming around it can be very difficult to pick out the PFG, especially if it is facing away from you.
Pink-footed goose and 3 Greylag  ~70 m from the hide.
The sun did eventually come out and after another period of rest, the Goosanders went for another swim around. I returned the following day in glorious sunshine and basically had a repeat performance with the PFG coming in around 11:30 and the Goosanders (now 4) putting on a good display, the photos below are a mixture from the two days.

Pink-footed goose - my 19th new photo tick since November 




I managed to get some close shots of the Tufted duck, always difficult as the contrast between the white belly and flank and the black of the back plays havoc with the exposure - under expose for the white or over expose for the black? Anyway, the results can be seen on my Flickr page along with larger images of the birds mentioned here.
Tufted duck and other Scrape photos backwards from this photo.

Just before I departed, a Lapwing landed on the grass immediately in front of the hide, I took half a dozen shots before it flew off and an Oystercatcher took its place.



I also got some nice shots of Shoveler, Little grebe and a Coot which can been seen on the Flickr site, link above.


Monday 9 March 2015

A mixed bag.

3rd March


I've lots of catching up to do, with several days of bright sunshine during the last week I was out quite a bit so very little time to write the blog.
Having been very lucky in finally catching up with the Short-eared owl at Sandwich Bay on the 2nd I was keen to try and improve on my success. The weather was bright and breezy so I had to decide where to go until it was worth heading back to the Bay for the SEO at around 15:30. I weighed up my options and decided on Hampton yet again. I'd previously got some reasonable shots of the Purple sandpipers but wanted to better them, and they wouldn't be around much longer. If you catch the tide right (high tide or just either side of it) Hampton can be very rewarding. I did a 10 minute detour to see if the Buzzards were displaying again, which they were, I've still to nail a decent Buzzard flight shot but I think this is an improvement on the earlier ones, but it still lacks the detail and sharpness I'd like.
I got to Hampton around 13:00 just after high tide, the tiny bit of beach near the groyne was just beginning to show, which was ideal, the birds were anxious to feed as the water receded. There were upward of a dozen Turnstone running around the beach and a lone Redshank, but it took me a couple of minutes to locate the Purple sandpipers feeding beside the blocks of stone sea defenses. I sat on one of the lower stones and waited for them to pass me as they ran back and forth along the tideline. This time I think I got the shots I wanted, the birds practically filled the frame and the light was good. The top one is one of my favourites and a larger version can be seen on my Flickr site:-
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/bignick58/16709091975/in/photostream/


The breeze and the bright sun gave me a good opportunity to practice taking some flight shots of gulls as they remained suspended in the air above me - not really flight shots as they weren't really going anywhere, but good practice all the same. The sharpest of the lot was on one that I'd not managed to get completely in the frame - I'd be better zooming in less and getting the full bird.
3rd winter Herring gull I believe
As the tide dropped the number of birds increased, it was the usual Redshank, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, and the 2 Purple sandpipers  together with Black headed, Common and Herring gulls. I didn't sea the Med gull this time.
Click on the images for a larger view.
Leaving Hampton I drove back to Sandwich Bay and waited for the owls to make an appearance. Two were seen flying out over the golf course but at best we only got distant views and the 2 shots below were the best I managed.


This was my last opportunity to try for the owls for a few days and it would seem I'd been lucky in seeing them at all as they haven't been around much since, and although the shots above are very distant, it does give the atmosphere of the evening and is how most people would see the birds hunting. 

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Short-eared owls at last

Monday 2nd March.
Despite reports of 3 Short-eared owls at Sandwich Bay and 7 at Blakehill Farm in Wiltshire where I'd been last week, I'd not managed to see any of them let alone photograph them, so they were high on my list of targets for the next decent weather.
Monday was that 'decent weather'. The owls at Sandwich tend to be seen in the late afternoon so that left me the morning to find something to photograph. With no real plan I set off and drove part of my 'Buzzard route'. There are never any guarantees with birding but I usually reckon on being able to find a Buzzard within a few miles of my home and today was no exception. Two were performing some amazing aerial displays over Sangrado's Wood off the A256. Fortunately there is a little lane running parallel where I was able to park and try to photograph them.

I wasn't able to catch them in their fast dives but managed a few shots as they flew past. I have probably mentioned before that the Canon SX50 isn't the camera of choice for flight shots, finding focus on a moving target is very tiresome and the subject is usually quite a way off before the camera focuses, so it really is a case of taking lots in the hope that some will be OK. The birds drifted away after a little while so I did as well. Staying local I walked around the area near Betteshanger business park. A few birds were moving about and I soon found a small group of Long-tailed tits (not sure of the collective noun!). I was able to stay a few paces ahead of them while they worked their way along the hedgerow and they largely ignored me as long as I didn't make any sudden movements.

From Betteshanger I went to Sandwich Bay to see what was around at the Scrape. There were still good numbers of Fieldfare in the sheep field along Guilford Road, although they are not easy to photograph as they are quite timid if you get out of your car - the one below was photographed from the car, I pulled on to the concrete field entrance opposite Old Downs Farm, giving me those extra yards.
The Scrape was very choppy because of the strong ~ NW wind and most of the ducks were hunkered down on the far side. The Pochard was swimming around and feeding but remained steadfastly far away from the hide only really just coming into range when it took up it's normal position on the island.
With not much else to point the camera at I practiced my BIF (birds in flight) shots on passing gulls, the best of the bunch was a 3rd winter Herring gull which floated on the the stiff breeze long enough for me to focus.
I went home for a spot of lunch before returning at around 3 pm for the owls, I was surprised to see six or seven cars parked up between Dickson's Corner and Mary Bax's Stone (for those that don't know, the stone is a memorial - "On this spot August the 25th 1782 Mary Bax, spinster, aged 23 years was murdered by Martin Lash, foreigner who was executed for the same.") The Owl paparazzi were out in force and I was joining them. 
Everyone waited for ~1.5 hours but the consensus of opinion was that they would have arrived by now if they were coming and they were probably hunting elsewhere so everyone left. I, along with Bernie [one of the few readers of my blog so he deserves a mention] went back to the hide at the Scrape for a last look. A lone Snipe was feeding on the front of what remains of the island but otherwise things hadn't changed much since earlier.

Deciding on one last look for the owls I drove slowly along Golf Road to the far end and equally slowly back again, nothing, not even the ever reliable Grey partridge. I was about to head for home when I spotted Bernie crouching behind a fence pointing his camera. I followed his line and saw the SEO on a fence post - it was a long way off but at least I'd seen it. I quickly covered the ground to where Bernie was standing and we walked very slowly towards the owl, taking shots every few yards. Eventually we got within 40 to 50 yards, by which time the owl started to take notice of us. 


The first two shots were at quite a distance across the corner of the fenced field, the last one was the nearest we got by walking along the path following the fence line. The owl departed and started hunting below the bank of the sea defences, drifting ever further towards Deal, we followed on foot but never got very near and the light was failing fast. I took a few very distant flight shots but most of them were nothing more than a smudge of light brown! The one below was the best of a bad bunch but recognisable as to what it is.
 We spotted a second owl hunting near the road but it was too dark for photography - certainly with my camera anyway.
I  went home a happy man, room for improvement but the SEO was the 17th new species I'd photographed since my end of year tally and although I'm not doing it for the numbers I still find it astonishing to think that I'd seen and photographed (of variable quality, admittedly) so many birds, mostly in Kent.  
Full sized images on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/bignick58/
Thanks to anyone who is reading this and comments welcome.

Monday 2 March 2015

Duck scaring in Gloucestershire and an absence of owls.

21st to 25th Feb 
I had a few days visiting family in north Wiltshire and Oxford but I got out with the camera when the opportunity arose. The weather was generally grey with some rain and a few sunny spells, so not that good for photography. It is difficult to decide where best to go when you have limited time, one place on my 'to do' list was visit Blakehill Farm nature reserve just outside Cricklade for another chance at the Short-eared owls, I'd been there in January but only saw one owl at a great distance. They were best attempted in late afternoon according to the reports of sightings, so for the daytime I decided to revisit my usual haunts in the Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire, a series of lakes and lagoons, mainly disused gravel pits. With over 150 bodies of water in 40 square miles of countryside it is still difficult to decide where to go.
As I mentioned above, I'd been there in January and at that time there were reports of at least 4 Smew in one of the gravel pits, I'd found them but they were so timid they flew off the moment they saw me which I hadn't expected - nor had the chap who'd been hiding on the bank for 4 hours waiting for them to come closer - I didn't know he was there until I'd scared off the ducks and he emerged from the undergrowth. [I later discovered he was someone who I was following on Flickr - sorry Dave!]
So, armed with the knowledge that the Smew were timid, I returned to the same lake to see if they were still there. As I drove along the road running alongside the lake I saw them on the far side. I parked and walked back along the road hoping for a view through the hedge, I did get a view and a photo, see below :-
I couldn't believe it, even from that distance the Smew saw me and flew off the moment I got to the gap in the hedge. Rather miffed by my failure I headed off to Coke's Pit, a nature reserve further along the road. This had a few more birds on but unfortunately the path around the lake is right on the waters edge for much of it so anything within camera range soon moved away. I did sneak up on a Great-crested grebe for a couple of shots.
Assuming you haven't scared everything away, there is a hide around the side of the lake, things were a bit distant but a Red-crested pochard swam just into camera range, and I spotted two male and one female Goosanders on the far side of the lake, far too distant for anything other than an ID shot unfortunately.
A pair of Great-crested grebe were performing their courtship display on the far side of the lake which was great to watch but difficult to photograph in the fast failing light, and a raft of Tufted duck drifted past just out of range.
As the light was getting bad and rain threatened I decided to head back to the car. I noticed that the path continued around the back of the lake in the direction of the Goosanders, it was worth the few hundred meters to get nearer, but just like the Smew, once I was in view of the Goosanders, they departed very quickly.

The rain soon set in and that was that for the day, I'd have to hope for a decent afternoon for the Short-eared owls during my remaining time there.
24th Feb was a lovely sunny day for the most part and a trip out gave me a missed opportunity for some good shots of Buzzards. I'd not seen this before, there were four or possibly 5 Buzzards together with lots of BH Gulls following a tractor ploughing a field.. The Buzzards were landing behind the plough and presumably collecting worms or other invertebrates,  as the tractor turned the whole mass of birds would take to the air and settle again once the tractor had moved on, the gulls were braver than the Buzzards so they were nearer the plough.



It's a terrible photo (they all are!) but there are 4 if not 5 buzzards here, I can't decide on the one flying in, top left.
I returned to a church in the village of Clanfield, Oxfordshire, where last year at about the same time of the year I had seen several Bullfinches.. I was in luck, two males and a female were on the grass in the churchyard feeding on Sycamore seeds as they had been last year. I was very fortunate as there was a low wall that I could hide behind to take some shots.

Very satisfied with my shots of Bullfinches I was confident of seeing the Short-eared owls, the sky had cleared completely and it was a lovely late afternoon as I headed the short distance to Blakehill Farm. I walked from the car park to the viewing point, it was bright and sunny but bitterly cold on the exposed former airfield which is the reserve. I met up with someone who'd seen the owls previously and he to was confident of some good sightings. According to the chalk board there had been 7 seen recently (unless someone was just having a laugh). As the sun dipped below the horizon some one and a half hours after my arrival, all we saw was a Kestrel and a couple of foxes. There were three of us hoping for an owl and none of us wanted to be the first to leave but in the end we admitted defeat and headed back to the relative warmth of our cars.