Shropshire - 23 - 24th Feb

Whilst in Shropshire for the weekend and prior to my trip across the border for Red Kites, I made an early morning jaunt up on to the Long Mynd in search of Red Grouse. The roads up were pretty icy and its always reassuring when the road signs read something along the lines of don't use in winter. But my new car powered its way up and around the single track bends on quite a steep accent no problem, and I reached the top in no time.

The temperature at the top was a good 4 or 5 degrees colder than in the bottom of the valley and a keen wind blew across the moorland, window down I drove at a crawling pace, ears pricked to pick up the call I was hoping for. Within about 50 yards of the gliding club entrance I soon heard the distinctive 'chut!chut!chut!chut!chut!chuttt....' call. A quick scan an I could see a Cock Red Grouse stood upright against some very similar coloured heather. A stealthy approach on foot didn't allow me any closer as the bird rocketed off from the heather with its fast-whirring wingbeats. 

Giving up on the foot approach I stuck to the car, seeing and hearing 13 or  14 cocks calling from fairly near the roadside. One did come close enough to the car for a shot through the window, but I left via the Church Stretton end feeling pretty unfulfilled  Plenty of Meadow Pipits and Skylark also on the top with the occasional Pheasant popping up out of the heather.

Red Grouse

After visiting Gigrin on the Saturday, Sunday morning we headed up towards Shrewsbury, to Venus Pool, the weather was bitterly cold and overcast so we never spent to long in the hides, the highlight being a pair of Great-crested Grebe displaying and sharing weed not to far from the hide. A pair of Shoveler slept on one of the islands along with c.40 Lapwing and c.60 Snipe, several pairs of Gadwall and Pochard on the water.

The woodland hide and feeding station was very busy as it was on my visit earlier in the month, plenty of Chaffinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Greenfinch and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpecker all visiting in the short period we sat watching.

All in all a fairly productive if not frustrating weekend with the weather.

Blue Tit

Great Tit

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Merlin Magic

Female Merlin

Its fair to say that encounters like the one I had on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd October, don't come around to often. Having sat indoors all morning, impatiently waiting for the fog to clear so we could pop out for a mooch. Destination the upload moorland of the Long Mynd, Midday passed and still no break in the fog, by this time my impatience had grown to rather frustrating levels, I hate sitting indoors at the best of times, especially when I've got time to be doing something I love.

As 1pm approached my frequent trip to look out of the window wielded some result, patches of blue sky appeared through the mirk, and the whole outlook looked generally brighter. The gear was packed and loaded into the car, and as we made the trip from Craven Arms up to Church Stretton by 2pm most the upper slopes appeared bathed in autumnal sunshine.

I said to Nat on the way, I'd be happy with one of 3 species today, Red Grouse, Ring Ouzel and most unlikely Merlin. Having seen Grouse up there earlier in the year, I favoured the odds on that result. And after half and hour of scanning the heather in various different spots, ears wide open for the call of a wild Red Grouse, we still remained Grouseless. As we crept down the road a little further, Nat spotted a falcon like blur cross the road in front of us. After a swift pull off the road, I picked it up again way out on the moorland perched in a low scrubby leaf less bush. After locking the big lens on it and a bit of checking on the phones Bird App I was pretty convinced it was a female Merlin. My first ever. And although a long way away I had a picture to prove it. (see below) After around 5 mins of having its back turned to us, she took flight, swooping low over top of the heather dropping down on some prey and disappearing off over the dip. So the most unexpected in the bag!

The first Sighting

So with Merlin in the bag I was feeling pretty good, a new tick for the year and a lifer in the process. We headed back in the other direction still on the look out for some Grouse. As the road descends off of the Mynd the moorland gives way to more agricultural ground, this usually signals the time to turn around and head back across the moor home.

Typically as the road is single track with passing places its a quite frequent occurrence to have to pull over for another vehicle. At this particular stop I happen to look to my right just before the coming car passed, and spotted a bird sat atop a bale of heather, slightly randomly atop of the Long Mynd several patches of heather have been cut and rolled into round bales. Praying the passing car didn't disturb the perched bird a mere 40 feet away, I readied the binoculars and the camera. Another Merlin, also another female, we had only travelled about a mile down the road so probably the same bird. Magic!

So down came the window and out popped the lens, I happily snapped away, all the while shaking like a sh**ting dog, I wasn't sure if it was the excitement of a fairly close encounter or just the fact I couldn't hold my camera steady with the car vibrating.

Spotted from the Car Window

Chancing my luck I told Nat to drive on very slowly up the road so I could get level with her, still she sat perched seemingly totally oblivious to the car. More shots taken and a lot more shaking, pushed me to make a decision, we parked in the next pull in a good 50 yards up the road, and I got out set my tripod up and slowly walked back down the road to see if I could get a little closer and a whole lot steadier.

It turns out I did get a hell of a lot closer, walking down the road till I was level with the bale 25-30 feet away. The falcon didn't appear at all bothered by my presence or the stiff movements I was making trying to get some different angles without spooking her. After about 15 magical minutes of watching and photographing she just launched off and was gone. A truly awesome encounter one I am sure will never happen again.

As I walked back down the road

The scene from the road

My favourite Merlin shot

http://www.facebook.com/MartinClayPhotography Up to date pictures and sightings, prior to me getting around to writing these blog posts, Look out for a free give away soon as well.

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Meadow Pipits Aplenty

Another weekend spent at the Girlfriend's in Shropshire, and I set off hoping for some migrants on the upper moorlands in the south of the county. Saturday morning we headed off to the Long Mynd hopeful for a break in the showers, first bird spotted as we reached the top of the hill from Church Stretton, a Meadow Pipit, I managed to grab a few shots thinking maybe this new addition to my species list might not be see again. How wrong I could be! Its fair to say Im not sure which was more numerous along the length of the Long Mynd, Meadow Pipits or People, hundreds if not a thousand or more Walkers and Cyclists seemed tp appear over every brow and in every gully, about every 50 yards along the road. The Meadow Pipits also seemed to be just as numerous rising and chasing each other from the heather.

Particularly Happy With This Shot 

Meadow Pipit

Other bird life was pretty scarce, Im guessing because of the invasion of people, all I noted were Ravens, 3 Buzzards, 2 Kestrels, 2 Red Grouse, and numerous Chaffinches, some of which the cock birds were very inquisitive, forcing me to retreat a little so I could focus properly.

Cock Chaffinch 

Hillside Ponies

Waking up to clear skies on Sunday Morning we headed off to Titterstone Clee, with the hope of a Ring Ouzel and Wheatear. The Wheatear was a confirmed tick as we saw 25-30 pairs all around half way up to the summit, and a few around the quarry. Even mixing in with a couple of Linnet. Unfortunately they all remained very flighty, and I couldn't get close enough for a shot I was happy with. We did also get a brief glimpse of a Peregrine in the gale force winds before it shot off out of sight elsewhere.

So compared to my last weekend visit not the most successful of trips, but 4 new species added to my list for 2012 so It cannot all be bad.

Long Mynd Grouse

I finished work at lunchtime on friday so headed off to Shropshire to spend the weekend with my Girlfriend, after beating the friday afternoon traffic and once refreshed we headed out for a drive in the gorgeous late afternoon sunshine. Having not explored the area to much in the last year, I had a rough idea of which direction we wanted to head in, so headed up the rather adventurous single track road, signposted unsuitable in Autumn & Winter, Over the Long Mynd which stands between the Stiperstones to the West and the Stretton Hills to the East.

With the car scraping the tarmac on a few occasions and the gear-stick not leaving first, it was pretty reminiscent of a Scottish mountain pass, the view wasn't to bad either as we rose to around 1500ft. A quick pit stop at the top of the hill to watch a Glider take off from the Midland Gliding Club who are based on the top, before a leisurely drive along the Spine of the hills, windows wound down in anticipation of something interesting. Im sure during certain times of the year the heath-land is brimming with Moorland wildlife but as the clock ticked round to 5.15pm it didn't seem to be present. (Usually the effect I have on places) When finally, with the late afternoon sunshine bathing the Heather in an orange glow, movement caught my eye. A Cock Pheasant miles from any trees or hedgerows, popped out on to the road swiftly followed by Buzzard swooping low over the brow to our left, soon vanishing from sight.

Nearing the end of the range I was beginning to get a little annoyed, 5 or 6 miles we had driven along the top of a quiet, peaceful natural wonderment and nothing moved for miles around, and then approaching the last bend before the decent into Church Stretton a bright red comb appeared out of the heather a mere 30 yards from the road. Ditching the car in the nearest pull in, I stalked back up the road and managed to get a load of shots of a pair of Red Grouse - another newbie for the 2012 list. But by this time the light was fading pretty fast so had to get a little closer and lower to shoot with the sky as the backdrop. The birds didn't seem bothered by my presence mooching about on the ground till a 5 Raven fly-by flushed them to the bank and thicker cover on the opposite side of the road.

Red Grouse Male

Red Grouse Male 

Red Grouse Male

Red Grouse Female

Red Grouse Male

Red Grouse Male

Red Grouse Female