'Boom Boom'

I think as Photographers we all have a nemesis species. Mine has always been the Bittern, I had great views of an over wintering bird at Slimbridge one year way in the distant past, before I took up photography to the extent that I do now. In the 4 or 5 years since I have been teased with glimpses and empty promises. Even the bird that flushed from the edge of the reed at the bottom of Mum and Dads garden didn’t hang around long enough for me to photograph. Maybe the fact that I almost stood on it and quite possibly almost s**t myself as it erupted from the riverside in front of me contributed to the fact it never got its picture taken. This also almost resulted in a very nearly broken camera lens as I almost lost grip of my tripod.

Locally seeing Bittern is a bit of a gamble, like looking for a needle in the haystack and various other cliches. Without any large areas of reed bed nearby the best to hope for is a flyover or flushing a bird passing through from the edge of the river. So the best place to head to see them every winter is Blashford Lakes on the south western edge of the New Forest. A bit of a drive from my local patch at about 45 miles but well worth it for the wide range of other diverse wintering wildfowl and woodland birds. The Ivy North hide overlooks a relatively small area of reed that fringes the quite large Ivy Lake. Each winter from November on wards reports usually appear daily of individual Bittern crossing the cut channels in the reeds. On a fair few occasions’ two birds had been reported so any time I am in that area during the winter months I always try make an effort to visit and spend a little time in the Ivy North hide to see if I can spot one.

Now as with most big reserves, hides that only have a few open windows are usually taken pretty quickly, with a photographer camped out in them day in day out for weeks upon end. The Ivy North Hide is most definitely one of those kind of hides. With only the two side windows opening, each are always taken. In the past 4 years I have probably visited at least a dozen times. Having to make do with peering through the murky tinted glass as the clear views are protected religiously by most usually extremely rude ‘Togs’. Most visits I have not seen anything nor has anyone else that I have spoken too, but on a few occasions you get the typical response oh you missed it by 5 minutes. I’m sure these campers take satisfaction in saying that to someone like me, just to ruin my day!

So fast forward to February 2016 and I still hadn’t seen a Bittern posing nicely in front of my lens. It was an extremely drizzly and murky Sunday. My girlfriend was at work, and I was sat at home bored off my t*ts. I thought I know I’ll go and have a look in the hides at Blashford, it was such a sh**ty day that I didn’t hold up much hope of any taking any photographs so I only took my 400mm lens, manily so I didn’t have to lug around my heavy tripod. As I drove down the M27 the light got worse, it was cold and I was generally still feeling increasingly more miserable. On arrival at Blashford I wandered off to the Ivy North Hide first and was shocked to find that it was empty, a luxury I had never encountered before. I perched myself down on the bench, got my camera setup and gazed out of the open window at the drizzle cloaked reed bed.

The whistle of hundreds of Teal and the odd squeak of a Moorhen the only noise to break the stillness of the day. A few brave souls came and went, eager to get out of the cold, but soon finding the hide didn’t offer much of a respite. Several times I considered moving on, but then thought to myself it’s not like I had anything else to do. The Minutes ticked by into an hour, I continually stared out at this gap in the reed bed where the reed was cut shorter. Nothing moving at all, more minutes ticked by and still I had the hide to myself when eventually I registered some movement. The gap was no more than 30 feet away but already halfway across it was a bloody Bittern. Finger to the shutter button I clicked away best I could as this skulker worked its way in slow motion across the small gap.

This was about the time I wished I had my big lens. Although the 400mm is perfect for handholding it hasn’t delivered the images I was expecting when getting it. Trying to shoot this prehistoric looking bird perfectly camouflaged against the dying reed was proving difficult. Even more so when it caught a fish, a fair size Jack Pike I think. I couldn’t work an angle to get a clear shot as odd strands of loose reed covered either the head or eyes, I guess that’s the restriction from photographing from a set position and a hide with only one window. Anyhow I got some great views of this shy bird and some photos to match.

It was even better to have the hide to myself and to witness the whole encounter on my own. Even if I had become one of those hide window hogging a**sholes I mentioned earlier! 

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'Among The Reedbeds'

Having only ever had a taster of the Somerset levels from a brief Saturday visit earlier in the year and with no autumn holiday previously booked, it seemed like a great place to get away too for a few days as a change of scenery without having to travel too far. My previous visit to the RSPB’s Ham Wall reserve had been late on a March afternoon and although promised much, the weather came in and sightings were at a minimum. So having the opportunity to visit again with a bit more time on my hands was a promising prospect.

Unfortunately the weather was very similar to last time with most afternoons grey and overcast, although this time the wildlife on show was a lot more obliging. Working a 9-5 weekday job doesn’t often bring the chance of visiting reserves during the week. But oh how I wish I could do that more often, there were hardly any people around and those that were, were there for the wildlife and not to walk the dog or keep the kids entertained like the usual weekend crowd I encounter.

It didn’t take too long as I entered the reserve before I got a glimpse of a Somerset levels specialist, a very brief flyover by a Great White Egret, always an elusive tick in north Hampshire. It seemed like I was gorging myself on reed bed dwellers as a few minutes later the first of at least half a dozen Marsh Harriers wheeled its way over the tops of the path side standing reed.

With Marsh Harriers in my sights and well within camera range, I quickly headed down to the Tor View hide, situated smack bang in the middle of the reedbed. With great views across the levels to Glastonbury Tor and almost a 360 degree vantage point, it was the perfect place to scan for Harriers.

As the afternoon went on Marsh Harriers of different ages both male and female glided effortlessly over the rows of reed. Hunting and hovering like beautiful angels of death, hanging motionless in mid-air as they sought out prey. I longed for some better light, it never came, but I really couldn’t complain about the great views these majestic birds of prey were giving, all just metres out from the hide.

As light levels dropped even more and the prospect of tens of thousands of Starlings starting to arriving to roost, the adult female was joined by a stunning creamed capped, slate-blue winged male, who happily alarmed the resident Teal as he joined the fray. Dropping down low enough on occasions so I could capture his cracking plumage.

The Marsh Harrier wasn’t the only species making regular flights over the stands of reed, Ham Wall is a great place to see Bitterns and I was not let down from the Tor View hide as several made extremely short flights from one stand of reed to the next. Appearing only inches above the cover as they swiftly disappeared amongst the next band, it was real if you blinked you missed it kind of birdwatching and It took me a little while to get a clear shot as anticipating the movement was the biggest challenge.

There was plenty of other waterfowl on display throughout the afternoon, with Great crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Mute Swan and plenty of Cormorants alongside the ever present background exploding soundtrack song of the Cettis warbler. I even managed to catch the thousands of Starlings coming into roost, unfortunately they didn’t feel too much like performing and dropped down into their roosting spots with minimal fuss. There is always next time!

All in all a nice couple of afternoons spent enjoying some of the levels finest species. I can’t wait to get back there again soon and hopefully in some better light to enjoy the awesome aerial displays of the Marsh Harriers and maybe catch a better view of the Starling murmuration.

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Early March - 2013

To say March started with a bang for me was a bit of an understatement, another Patch Mega found its way into my notebook on the 2nd during a sunny saturday afternoon walk along the river. Taking my time as normal and giving the reed edge a good scan I totally missed the Bittern that erupted from the water edge about 3ft away, scaring me out of a good 10 years of my life, I quickly tried to setup my tripod, fumbling with my camera as this awesome mythical patch bird disappeared across the water meadows. As you can see from below I didn't manage a picture worthy of posting, but what a bird to have wintering on the patch about 300 yards from the front door.

This weekend also signalled the return of the Barn Owls to the water meadows, maybe I had just missed them throughout the winter but I manage to see two different birds hunting the long grass a good mile or so apart on both saturday and sunday afternoons.  

Distant Barn Owl

With my workload during the day starting to pick up due to our Tradeshow event at the NEC in April, finding time to visit Rooksbury Mill at lunchtime pretty ceased to exist, a trend that I still haven't had chance to remedy. So the odd evening I could sneak out on the river proved crucial in discovering the comings and going of spring.

Plenty of Duck life on the waterways with the Mallard Drakes starting to loose a little of the stunning colour they've held for most of the winter, Gadwall seem to be present in a lot higher numbers than throughout the past couple of months, showing up in groups of 6+ on various parts of the patch.

Mallard Drake

Gadwall At Dusk

The Goldcrests still seemed to be present everywhere as I counted a whopping 13 singing birds one evening on a river circuit walk, with the now daily increasing addition of Chiffchaffs that also got into double figures. The local Kestrels seemed to be quite active showing up quite often, along with a pair of Buzzards one with particularly pale coloration's.

Chiffchaff

One evening on the way home from work, I was positive I saw a lone Hawfinch rise up with the flock of Chaffinches feeding on the edge of the main road through the village, a quick look back for the next couple of nights confirmed that it must have just been a bloody big Chaffinch.

By the middle of the month a lot of Fieldfare and Redwing were showing up in the garden and around the fields surrounding the house, maybe fuelling up for there journey onwards, with several Redwing venturing quite close to the front room window for a stunning view one drab morning.

On the 16th Nat was down for the weekend so we took off down to Farlington Marshes, with reported sightings of Spoonbill & Red-breasted Goose over the past couple of days I thought it was about time I got some slight rarities on my year & county list. On a pretty drab day with plenty of rain in the air we soon picked up a white dot feeding on the far side of the reserve, Spoonbill or at least what looked like a Spoonbill. At this stage of the month there were still plenty of Brent Geese around Langstone Harbour as small skeins flew this way and that landing out on the mudflats and then coming back in again to feed on the grassy meadows.

If Brent Geese were still present in their thousands, Shelduck congregated in their hundreds, I don't think I have ever seen so many in one place. As we walked around to the far side of the reserve we spotted a strange Cape/Ruddy Shelduck hybrid sleeping in amongst the more striking commoners. This also gave us a better view of the Spoonbill now feeding on the shallow lagoon, brilliant to see it working its head back and forth bill under the water sifting through for food.

Incoming Shelduck

We encountered plenty of other species, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Stonechat, Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Sanderling, Dunlin, Kestrel & Sparrowhawk, but two new year ticks came as we almost made it back to the car, a female/juvenile Marsh Harrier rising up from the reed bed and spooking the thousands of Brent Geese that were feeding nearby, quite the sight.

If one stunning raptor wasn't enough we caught a quick glimpse of a female Merlin zooming between bushes further down the path. No Red-breasted Goose but well worth the visit.

With stomachs rumbling, a quick stop in Pizza Hut replenished the energy levels as we drove around the expanse of Langstone Harbour to the Spinnaker Tower and the seafront at Southsea. Having seen the reports on going birding for most of the winter I suddenly had the urge to try for what would be a new lifer for me, having not taking the species of birds I've seen throughout my life to seriously until a couple of years ago, I still have no recollection of catching up with this species before, the Purple Sandpiper, a winter visitor to our shores and one that doesn't visit in huge numbers. 

With high counts of 21 and 27 recorded during the winter, but none posted for a couple of weeks I wasn't sure if my luck would be in or not. So braving the now brighter but defiantly blowier weather we wandered along the promenade right up to the castle and believe it or not just 3ft the other side of the railings, 3 tiny little Purple Sandpipers hunkered down in any cracks they could find sheltering from the bitter wind. 

I never once imagined I would see them so close, and had to admit I was shocked by how they were to find. So as usual another good days birding down on the south coast.

Purple Sandpiper

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My First Bittern

A dry day, a Christmas family day out. Cameras, Scopes, Binoculars & Warm waterproofs packed. Sat Nav programmed for Slimbridge WWT, A quick flick around the collection of ornamental birds and plenty of ducking a diving at the hoards of incoming Geese.

Incoming Greylags

And off towards the Kingfisher Hide, a quick pit-stop in the Van De BovenKamp Hide as the majority of foot traffic where headed towards the more exciting Kingfisher Hide, was well worth the stop, as after around 5 minutes of scanning the edges of various reed beds, my first ever Bittern spotted skulking along the edge of the water 100 yards from the hide, Magical! Interesting to see the Mallard on the water mirroring the Bittern as it stalked its way along the waters edge to a thick clump of reeds. Showing for a good 10minutes, Not the best photos, but definitely clear enough to tell what it is. Well worth the trip!

Bittern

The Kingfisher hide didn't show any Kingfishers, but a good outlook over the water meadows showed a lot of Curlew in the distance, the Bird feeders hanging from the nearby trees, had Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch and regular visits of scavenging Jackdaws a few sitting still long enough for me to shoot of a couple of pics.

Blue Tit

After parting with a small fortune for a Baguette in the Restaurant we got down to some serious Wildfowl watching, first stop over looking the Tack Piece, the Martin Smith Hide giving any visitor and serious birder a pretty breathless first glance. Ducks, Geese, Swans as far as the eye can see, Hundreds, Thousands all feeding on the flooded water meadows. Wigeon, European White Fronted Geese, Goldeneye, Pintail, Pochard, Bewicks Swans, Mallard, Common Teal, Tufted Duck, Redshank, Dunlin and Lapwing all mixing together.

Feeding Wigeon

Just A Small Number Of The Feeding Wildfowl

A Huge flock of Golden Plover fed on the far side of the water meadow often rising and re-settling again, getting us all excited in the hope of a Peregrine zooming through the middle of them, no birds of prey unfortunately other than two rather sedate Buzzards perched on matching fence posts. Also spotted on the Tack Piece a good view of a pair of Lesser Scaup a somewhat rarity for the country.

Common Teal

View Of The Tack Piece

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

A final stop at the Rushy Hide, gave some great views of drake Pintails, and a female Goldeneye.

Female Goldeneye 

Drake Pintail

So all in all a good day, with a couple of firsts the Bittern, Pintail & Lesser Scaup. And seeing thousands of wintering birds on the Tack Piece something I wont forget in a hurry. Definitely worth the trip!

Happy New Year Everyone!