Monday, May 29, 2006

Nightjar side show



lots of Tree Pipits in song flights again this am in the forest perhaps suggest a loss of first nests in the recent appalling weather---I managed to find one 4 spot chaser in asheltered spot before the rain showers arrived

worth the loss of a night's sleep




it often takes a bit of effort to get out of bed early, meaning early here 02:00hrs, to go and do a Nightjar survey and with the recent run of poor weather I was less than optimistic that the wind would have dropped enough and it would be clear skies to allow for some sunrise photos but with little prospect of better weather in the near future I made the effort and was in the forest by 02:45 and heard a singing Nightjar immediately; it was fairly calm and only about 3/8 cloud---by 03:45 I had located 4 possibly 5 males and it was getting light but also a bit breezy--at 04:08 I was surprised to heard a male churring although it was by then quite bright--at 04:12 I picked up a male and a female Nightjar in a courtship flight with the male following the female about 1-2m off the ground, the male wing clapping every few metres as they flew in tandem around the heath; an amazing sight and in such good light unlike the typical late evening views--by 04:20 the male had settled in adense clump of young birch but he was still singing---after five minutes the song became a low churrtle and I assumed he was going to roost there--a very delicate approach and ground scan typiclaly revealed nothing and then he churtled again and was right there in front of me on a dead pine branch!--shots at 800ISO were replaced later when I went and got the tripod and returned to find him still in the same spot and very obliging--needless to say I returned to the site at 10:00 when the sun was on the perch but the Nightjar had moved---what an experience though to be able to watch and photograph this amazing bird from close range in broad daylight--click on the images for bigger pics--for the technical minded photos ISO 200 25th second at f5 EOS30D and 300mm f4 lens on tripod

Friday, May 26, 2006

one good tern




a few more terns






in better? light usually looking into the sun the bird was present all day 25th---with evening being the best time for light it seems to be no coincidence that I have been working every evening this week

perched tern



a couple of heat haze affected perched shots of the WWBT digi-scoped with the trusty old 880

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

a few more






more WWB Tern shots

WWB Tern






after missing the White-winged Black through work on Tuesday evening I was down at the local pits at 05:30 this morning and amazed to find it still there--the light was terrible often using 1600ISO and the bird typically distant so the images are poor but what a great bird for the local patch

Sunday, May 21, 2006

local birds




trying out upgraded software on conversions of some local Swifts and the most beautiful baby around---

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

fishing tern


I came across this Common Tern fishing in a small pool late afternoon in the rain--although light levels were poor it was predictable and close so I took a few shots trying to capture it catching a fish but in the event my reactions were a bit slow---here it is after a dive

2


going in

3


submerged dive

4


a successful catch

LO



although I search the trees along this quiet road close to home at least once a week I seem to see a Little Owl about once a year! I guess they must be somewhere nearby--I like the composition that this bird has made in its chosen knot

O tip




it seems to be a great year for Orange-tips in N Lincs (when the sun gets out) with good numbers at all local sites

Rufous v sprosser



dropped in for some amazing views of Nightingale (Rufous to some) on Sunday evening but the light was pretty dire as it has been of late--the images compare with the sprossers from Sweden below

Monday, May 15, 2006

Sweden May


thanks are due again to Daniel Green for excellent guiding on a recent 4 day trip to central Sweden--more highlights than shown below---also thanks to our other guides and to Elizabeth for amazing hospitality and voluminous amounts of superb food--

chiddy ock






how brilliant to not only enjoy the outstandingly beautiful song of the sprosser in an audibly pollutant free area but also to see a songster so well for so long--a lasting image from the Sweden trip

whoops





nice to Whoopers where they nest