Roe Deer - 16th Feb

It was just over a month ago now, but I got a phone call from my dad early on a Tuesday morning as I headed to work that a Great Bustard had been seen quite a few times on a nearby estate. I had to get him to repeat it a GREAT BUSTARD!!!!! 

The bird apparently had been present for a couple of weeks and favouring a Stone Curlew plot in the middle of one of the ploughed fields. Being a Tuesday and with a full week of work, the weekend couldn't come soon enough. So armed with instructions and having promised the Gamekeeper and the Estates owners not to reveal its location to anyone I headed off in search of this giant bird.

Walking alongside some thick hedge rows plenty of Yellowhammer & Corn Bunting chirped away in front of me along with a few small groups of Goldfinch flushing up from the seed heads next to the hedge. I managed to get into a sheltered hidden position to view the area the Bustard had been said to have favoured. Not a thing, I was sure with the size of the bird I would be able to see it, but no, no sign anywhere!

A small covey of Red-legged Partridge flew into the belt to which I sat, and several Pheasants flew out as a female Sparrowhawk emerged from the fir trees but still no Bustard. So I sat and waited for a good hour or more, enjoying distant views of 5 Roe Deer mooching about on the ploughing. Then something caught my eye, a good 600-700 metres away a large bird rising high above the hedgerow.

My first thoughts were Short-eared Owl a bird that had roosted on this ground in previous winters, but no a look through the binoculars confirmed Great Bustard. It circled a couple of times in the distance dropping in height with every turn, eventually coming in to land on a game cover crop 3 fields over quite near the road.

Barely able to contain my excitement I legged it as quickly back to the car as I could not taking my eye of the spot I last saw it. 15 minutes later and I was searching the cover crop. Fruitlessly, whether the bird had wandered on down, or simply glided low over top of the road and to the fields the other side.

Gutted, I dejectedly wandered through a gap in the hedge and instantly come across 2 Roe Deer sat on the track 100 or so yards further down. Sticking tight to the hedge and getting as low as I could tripod and all I stalked as close as I could get to the young Doe & Buck, and was really pleased to get a lot of shots, some of which I think are my best yet of Roe.

So I left happy with my Roe Deer shots but not that I had some incredibly distant unrecognisable Bustard flight shots. But never fear, it was only Saturday and having guaranteed the bird was still in residence I headed back the next day, but I shall save that all for the next blog post.

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Grey Partridges & The Silhouetted Hobby

My apologies for the lack of updates in the past fortnight or so, I've been away in Pembrokeshire for a week and the few days leading up to departing seemed to be full of other things on the agenda. So whilst I spent all day yesterday going through various photos I took last week whilst away I remembered that I still had some encounters from the last weekend in may to share.

Whilst heading towards the Cricket pitch on the friday evening, I thought I'd have a drive through Apsley (the old home) its a bit of a divert from St Mary Bourne but a nice quiet single track road with open fields either side. Much to my delight as I rounded the corner to drive past a couple of freshly drilled fields a pair of Grey Partridge dusting / gritting in the road, they didn't at all seem bothered as my camera lens appeared out of the car window. In my opinion easily our most gracious of Game birds, and one you see all that often so I was happy with my first opportunity to get some shots I was pleased with, However no sign of any youngsters, so Im guessing she hasn't sat yet or if so they were unsuccessful.

Grey Partridge Male 

Grey Partridge Pair 

Grey Partridge Male

As always never far away was the Pheasant, a lone cock with his hareem of 6 hens strutting his stuff out on the dry maize sown ground. As majestic as ever in some nice soft orange light.

Cock Pheasant

As I headed down towards the cricket pitch, I had a quick scan over the water meadows, desperate to pick up a hunting Hobby, as Im still yet to see one that hasn't been miles away. I thought my luck was in as looking towards the sun a falcon shape silhouette headed straight towards me, I snapped off a lot of pictures and wasn't able to tell it was in fact a Kestrel until it had disappeared overhead. You cannot believe my excitement and then the disappointment when I found out it wasn't.

Hunting Kestrel

With cricket pitch mown, rolled & marked out, I headed back down the back road to Longparish, again finding the Spotted Flycatchers in the same spot, this time 4 showing well in amongst the trees. The light pretty poor in the shade I did manage one notable shot at least so you can tell what it is. Ignore the orange crest that makes it appear like a female Blackcap, this was intact the sun.

Spotted Flycatcher

Its pretty apparent to see why these migrants enjoy this particular area as about a 100 yards down the road, another fly hatch adorned the sky with various others from the spell of dry warm weather we had been having. I quite liked how they twinkled in the setting sun.

Blacksmith's Bridge

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Geese, Deer, Terns & More

My apologies for the lack of posts in the past week, Just haven't seem to gotten around to writing. So I shall write this and hopefully you wont be bored by the ramblings of a weeks adventures.

So after telling myself I wouldn't visit Rooksbury in the evenings to let the Otters have a little rest from one less spectator, I headed down last Tuesday lunchtime in some nice bright light, and had the pleasure of watching a pair of Common Terns fishing for a rather unexpected 10mins or so, before they disappeared rather as abruptly as they appeared. Not a species I've seen down at Rooksbury or in and around landlocked Andover for that matter. Noisy blighter's mind!

Common Tern

Rooksbury Tern

So still in the quest for Otters but some that might be a little more local and without the disruption of other voyeurs I sat up down on the conflux of the Half Water and the River Test (Once all of the Fishermen had gone home), Dad had been seeing the odd sign and it seemed like a good a spot as any. Perched on my stool facing downstream I could see in both directions, and a quick turn of the head back upstream, so whilst becoming increasingly distracted by the new river Mute Swan arrivals all 7 of them, I heard something behind me and a quick glance around upstream resulted in a Brownish shape swimming across the river nearly at the far bank a good 100 yards away, now I wouldn't like to swear on it being a Water Vole because it could well have been an Otters head, but the rather large splash that occurred a minute or so later confused me even more.

I did however manage to capture another unexpected visitor to the River bank, Just wish I hadn't been quite so exposed so the Muntjac Buck might have come a little closer. A good spot all in all, with Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Swift, Swallow, Kestrel, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit &  Blue Tit all seen too. As the light started to fade I caught sight of this little Roe Doe in the amongst the trees, who seemed quite happy to pose for me.

Mute Swans & Cygnets

Muntjac Buck

Roe Doe

Monday night in glorious sunshine, I headed up the river in pursuit in some recently spotted Hobby's, no such luck however I did add to my 2012 list with addition of 2 Spotted Flycatchers. Also quite abundant on the River bank along with the obligatory Chiffchaff was Bullfinches, 3 pairs spotted on one stretch alone. With nothing really playing ball for the camera, I thought I'd check up on the Greylags, the goslings are growing up pretty fast and there seem to be more there than before too. A Cock Pheasant was quite obliging on the way home too.

A small proportion of the Greylags

Spring Cock

With a lot dryer weather set for a few days, my evening job as groundsman for St. Mary Bourne Cricket Club is taking slightly more presidence than getting out with the camera, but why not merge the two I hear you say! Well I kinda did, a regular visitor to my square when the mowers going the male Blackbird.

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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