Great Bustard - 17th Feb

So if you read my previous post from Saturday the 16th Feb you would know that I was hot on the heels of a wintering Great Bustard on a nearby estate. And that although I saw the bird the previous day it was miles away and I couldn't really photograph conclusive proof. So with some nicer weather on Sunday and a call from the local Keeper to say he had seen the bird heading back to its favoured spot, I headed off again just after lunch determined to get a photograph.

I found my way into position a lot stealthier than the day before, and instantly I could pick out the bird huddled down on the far side of the Stone Curlew Plot. Bingo some rather distant grainy pics at 500 yards or so, but definitely a Great Bustard. A couple of times over the next hour or so the Bustard stood up went for a short wander grazing a couple of times before heading back to the one large tuft of grass on the open ground.

It was clear to see no wing tags, Having seen the bird earlier in the week the estate called the Great Bustard group out from Salisbury Plain to see if they could shed some light on its being here. The guy came out pretty quickly and having located the bird with the landowner seemed to think it was one of their released birds and around 2 years old, having lost both wing tags. Although this seemed most definitely the most plausible explanation as Salisbury Plain birds have showed up in Somerset from time to time, North Hampshire being the same kind of distance away. It seemed strange to me that a bird this big that is tagged with some pretty large wing tags would just so happen to loose both. (Maybe I just hoped it was a wild one and I had the discovery of a lifetime)

The one thing that was clear to me however was, I wasn't going to get any closer to the bird. It appeared so skittish, every time it did venture out from behind its tuft, a slight noise, movement from the nearby Roe Deer and even on one occasion a Woodpigeon sent it strutting back to its tuft. Whilst savouring the Bustard a falcon shaped bird darted quickly over my head and landed out on the ploughing, having my lens focused on the Bustard it took me quite a while to find the bird in flight and missed out on a good angle. It landed on a furrow and sat and sat and sat. It was still perched there by the time I left, and I concluded that it was juvenile Peregrine, slightly browner in colour than any I had seen before. Another awesome patch tick to go with the weekends Bustard.

Eventually the Roe Deer rose up from the furrows they had been led down in, making their way towards the fresh foliage atop the curlew plot. The Bustard didn't appear to be too tolerant and was soon up on its giant drumsticks and wandering across the top of the field to a nearby plantation. This allowed me my only decent-ish ID shot I was happy with as the bird kept to the skyline. The below pic is quite a heavy crop but beggars cant be choosers right?

Satisfied I headed back to my car parked out on the road, leaving the Bustard heading for new cover, and the Peregrine perched motionless on the furrow. I got some great views of fleeing Skylark, Reed Bunting and Linnet in the warm afternoon sun as I head back down a game cover crop topping off a cracking afternoon.

You just never know what might turn up on your doorstep! Wild, released or totally unexpected.

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Pennington Marsh - 13th Jan

From Bickerley Common we headed down to the coast, after finding Lower Pennington Lane we arrived in the middle of the reserve at Keyhaven & Pennington Marsh. Positioned nicely on the South Coast over looking the Solent and the Isle of White.

Driving up to the car park it was apparent that we would be in for a real wildfowl treat, with Teal, Shoveler, Pintail & Wigeon covering the flooded ground for as far as the eye could see. As we headed through the reserve towards the sea wall, the first excitement of the day arrived as several thousand Lapwing errupted from the marsh with a Peregrine hot on their coat tails. This proved to be a regular occurrence as the Lapwing flock rose high in the sky before returning to feed again, the Peregrine would appear about 5 minutes later as regular as clock work flushing them all again.

Brent Geese, Snipe, Grey Wagtail & Raven where all seen on the way down to the Sea wall and coastal path. Arriving on the coastal path it was clear to see the tide was in and this would reduce the numbers of waders out on the mud flats, luckily there was a small 25ft area left alone by the high tide, and it was smothered in Turnstone. Around 35-40 picked through the washed up seaweed, allowing me to get down low and quite close for a couple of shots.

Turnstone 

Part of the huge Lapwing flock

The next spot was quite pleasing, as it gave me an opportunity to photograph as species I hadn't previously, on the lagoon the reserve side of the Sea Wall, 2 pairs of Red-breasted Merganser fished, although distant the light was very nice and shows exactly how stunning these saw-bills are. Unfortunately they kept diving so often trying to catch a pair together proved impossible.

Red-breasted Merganser Drake

Red-breasted Merganser Drake

The remainder of the walk around the reserve didn't bring to many photographic opportunity's but did however bring some cracking birds. Fly bys from a lone Curlew and several Cormorant out at sea, 5 Redshank wading at the edge of the lagoon, 2 female Goldeneye on the sheltered sea lagoon at Oxey with 2 Great-crested Grebe. With no beach to land on Ringed Plover flew rapidly low over the waves to a spit of land further out. I counted 42 but they moved so fast it was hard to tell.

As we headed back into the reserve I am positive I saw a female Black Redstart, but I was looking into the sun and as I upped the camera to take a record shot, a couple appeared behind me and flushed the bird out of sight. An opportunity missed as I was 98% sure of my ID skills.

The walk back through the flooded marsh added Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Dunlin and feeding quite close to the path Bar-tailed Godwit.

Also totally oblivious to us was a Chiffchaff, hoping around on the ground 2 feet away, it looked healthy enough but surprised me as to its total lack of intuition for danger.

Chiffchaff

A cracking visit and some much needed new additions to the year list, and I would recommend a visit to anyone who is in the vicinity of the South Coast, stunning surroundings and some stunning birds.

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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.