Strong Winds bring on a Challenge. Bev's. 9th May 2013.

 Will the weather ever settle? There was not going to be a chance of mothing for the rest of this week due to the high winds now upon us. I headed to Bev's (DWE), but the atmosphere was very quiet compared to the last visits, I endeavoured to get some images anyway but the strength of the wind gusts made it a challenge to keep the tripod still. It seemed most birds were keeping their heads down too as it proved quiet all round.

 One of the Lesser black backed gulls took some bird for a snack, I only just caught the sight of 2 legs disappearing down its throat! How many more will succumb to these monsters?

One of the Oystercatchers decided to freshen up with a bath, and even though a tad too far I snapped a few shots, if only to keep me active.

 There were however large numbers of Martins, Swallows and Swifts feeding over the main pit. The Sand Martins were the most numerous followed by the Swifts which was great to see. The weather was becoming cloudier and rain moving in, with no ease up in the wind so my next challenge was to try capturing the birds skimming the waters surface....ha ha ha...what was I thinking! 

 A few choice words but I had fun in proving how badly I was coping. I tried to pick out the birds as they skimmed the water heading towards my position, the track them and hopefully grab a shot or two, the speed as they flew past was immense, even against the wind!

 This set of 3 record images show one Swallow skim the surface then crash dive into the water, then emerge and fly off as nothing had happened, whether this was intentional or as an outcome of the strong winds downing it? Perhaps it happens a lot more than is seen, perhaps a high speed car wash effect!

 The Sand Martins sometimes grouped together making it easier, if possible, to pull focus on a bird before they left my field of view. The tracking in high winds, and to a certain extent in normal conditions, is more luck than anything, and these little missiles gave me more deleted images than keepsakes and most of them only record images, as the first drops of rain fell, and a downpour imminent the birds seemed to vanish, keeping just ahead of the rain. I decided to do the same and just got into the car as the heavens opened.

Challenge Over. 

Mothing at Home. May 2013.

 I thought it was about time that I got the moth light out, the weather had improved a lot lately and the temperatures had risen so I expected to trap a few. A few was not far off, I stayed out till the early hours and  was a tad disappointed to get just 10 moths. The best species for me was stunning V Pug with its vibrant green colouring, and I think maybe a new one for the garden, I still haven't got round to compiling a list of moths seen!

 I like the prominent moths too, and I was glad to get a pair of Pebble Prominent.

 I think the patterning on the Waved Umber is very striking, a lovely moth.

 A coincidence that the moths caught were nearly all in pairs and of the same colouring, here I was able to pair together a Waved Umber and a Pebble Prominent, mind you it wasn't an easy task posing them and took a lot of time and patience! 

Still it was nice to get back to the moths, I just hope the weather improves, as of writing, to trap some more. The wind has increased and more rain is on the way...wonderful!!(Not)

Best of the rest, now the Spoonbill's gone. Bev's (DWE). May 2013.

 This is a compilation of images taken over the last 3 visits in May 2013, obviously the Spoonbill stole the limelight, this lot just took a back seat till now. The above image of the Common Tern was on the 1st May, on arrival my Dad and I were faced with a thick fog which took just over 3 hours to lift before you could see clearly enough. I liked the barely viewable scene and couldn't resist a shot, also capturing the Spoonbill in similar effect (although not on the post).

 There were probably 3 different Common Whitethroats holding territory, and as usual not wanting to show themselves for the camera on most occasions. 

 The resident pair of adult Lesser Black Backed Gulls were still around although not present on the island as much, probably due to the harassment from the terns and resident nesting pair of Mute swans calling the island home, the first nest among the juncus grasses seemed adequate but was then abandoned for the island?, perhaps the water drying up around the original nest moved them? Back to the gulls, there seems to be a lot of younger Lesser Black Back's frequenting the site recently, but never staying for long.

 The pair of Little Ringed Plover were still present, moving from the small scrapes to the island. No sign of Ringed Plover this year though.

 A great new addition for the site was a Lesser Whitethroat, which I noticed moving along the hedgerow and being harassed by a Sedge Warbler. I patiently watched and waited until it came to the outer edge and snapped a couple of shots. 

 A very slow and obscured approach bagged me a couple of shots of a Green Woodpecker, this flighty species is normally long gone before I even attempt at a distant record shot, so this was a bonus getting so close, and looked nice against the carpet of purple.

 This Oystercatcher was seeing off a 3rd bird which ventured too close to its partners nest, mind you the main worry for the Oycs' is the Mute swans as they clumsily move around their nest, I hope that doesn't end in disaster!

Other waders still present were 3 Common Sandpipers, Redshank, Lapwing and the odd appearance of a Dunlin.

The butterflies had been quite numerous, mostly Peacocks and a couple of Small Whites. It wont be long before the macro lens get some use. 

Spoonbill moves on after a weeks stay. May 2013.

 Well it looks like the Spoonbill has now left. On the 1st of May I took my Dad along to see it and despite the thick fog not lifting for over 3 hours, he got some good views. It was spending most of its time sleeping on the island in the main pit every day, often being awoken by mobbing gulls or the resident Mute swan that did not appreciate his company next to him. It was last seen nearby at Broom, flying off South on Sunday (5th) night.

Early Start Bags a Local Rarity. Bev's 27th April 2013.

 Am I glad I made an early start to Bev's (Derek White Eggs) today. I was hoping for maybe Black Tern or that the Whinchat was still around. The weather started good but there was plenty of cloud moving in, and it didn't feel too warm either. As I got out of the car I took a quick glance across the lake as I do before getting kitted out. Lots of Swallows and Martins low down so a good sign rain was on the way, what looked like a Little Egret from a distance, resting up in the marshy area, time to get sorted and start my walk around. Well it didn't take long to notice that on nearing the lake, that little egret had thick black legs and now at a different angle wasn't that little....Spoonbill, I've got a bloody Spoonbill, so I said to myself again as I clicked off a record shot of it sleeping, I've got a bloody Spoonbill! 

 I carefully made my way around the side and slowly made an approach with cover in front and behind me. It didn't even wake up or move, obviously too early for it. I then let Steve Blain and Bev know it was here, and it wasn't long before Steve had arrived and was viewing the bird from the gate, Bev returned my message and came down to connect which was good. For nearly 2 hours I stood in one spot gaining some shots and getting very cold, wet feet. I carefully backed off and met up with Steve, Mark and Jim among others before heading around the site to check on the other areas. 

 As I returned some time later the Spoonbill had become more awake and was feeding along the southern side. I made a slow approach and kept up against the hedge line, then the rains came and the birders disappeared, leaving just me getting soaked to the skin. The Spoonbill headed off along the waters edge feeding so I took the opportunity to move to where it had originally been in the hope it would return, it eventually did and I grabbed a few shots before it moved in between the nearby grasses to rest up again. What a morning, and with another Swift seen and a Hobby to the list I squelched my way back to the car and home to warm up.