Hoopoe 10th May 2007.

Hoopoe. Bishops stortford.Herts.

This bird had been hanging around stortford for a few weeks and had set up on some playing fields and was showing very well at times. I went on the 10th of May and then again on the 16th but on the second attempt it was more elusive and distant. An absolutely stunning bird to see and one you never tire of looking at, i was able to grab some decent shots despite the dog walkers pets making a bee line for me as i was crouched low to the ground.

Wilsons Phalarope.May 4th 2007.

Wilsons Phalarope. May 2007.

Myself and sarah travelled to Grafham water in cambridgeshire to connect with this cracking summer female wilson's. This was a 1st for sarah and only my second, and it provided excellent views although a bit far for my camera lens hence the quality of the pics, but that didnt matter, a lovely bird to see none the less. When watching i noticed how it attached itself to a pair of gadwall, and fed in the wake of the ducks picking out what they had disturbed. Although the male didnt take kind to this and frequently chased it from the females rear! Oooh err!.

27th April 2007.

Iberian Chiffchaff. Colney, Norfolk.

I travelled with my dad to add this to my list, it showed very well and was continually vocal.Viewed from across the road and what with the size of the bird i was pleased just to get a few record shots.

April 2007.

April 2007.

Through april i visited my local patches in bedfordshire and just over into hertfordshire.I was looking for early migrants especially checking up on the dung heaps scattered around. And i wasnt disapointed either in bedfordshire i came across three Little ringed plover not long arrived, and after sitting it out for a few hours they came close enough to grab a few pics.

Across in hertfordshire the dump was proving to be excellent and i was in the doghouse because of how much time i was spending there. The yellow wags were showing well as they always do but the star of the show was a male wheatear which got so close i couldnt focus sometimes.

Saturday 31st March.

A trip with the rspb was cancelled today with news the previous night of a Red Rumped Swallow not far up the road at Brogborough lake in Bedfordshire. This was a bird id missed on previous occasions and so i could not miss the chance to get this one. And on arrival it wasnt long before it was showing, feeding overhead, i even got a couple of pics too which was a bloody marvel considering how hard it was to track it in flight. But a great morning and a new tick...

March 2007.

March was a busy month and i covered a lot of local sites. My first port of call was the local barn owls, and sure enough they were in the same area again but the light at this time of year ends very quickly and so i only had a small window of opportunity to photograph them. This was hampered also by a pair of kestrels which had set up territory in the same area, and on a couple of occasions i saw one of the kestrels take the food that the barn owl had just caught. So this seemed to make the owls come out later when there was less chance of a confrontation, but made photography out of the question. Hopefully later on as the summer gets under way ill get lucky.

A visit to a RSPB site in cambridgeshire for kingfishers drew a blank as there was a lot more area for them to fish now management work had been carried out on the reserve, so i decided to look for deer to photograph instead. And even though i found some deer and grabbed some record photos the highlight were a couple of buzzards soaring overhead trying to gain height on a thermal. It was a fantastic out of the blue chance and it wasnt long before my memory card was full and the birds had gained too much height and drifted away over farmland. And a couple of the results werent too bad either, capped off by a treecreeper staying still long enough to photograph i had had an excellent morning.

At a local site i visit some early waders had arrived , these were Ringed plover. So an early morning visit to avoid dog walkers was in order. I set up and kept low whilst camouflaged near to them and then waited in the hope that they would move closer to my position. After a few hours i got lucky and grabbed a few shots.

February 2007.
These are Waxwings, and eight were hanging around in the small village of Orwell in Cambridgeshire, not far from my home. So myself and sarah headed off and sure enough we found them not long after arriving. As in the past with waxwings they gorge themselves on berries and are pretty much oblivious to you, just worrying how many they can throw down their throats. A lot of the shrubs and trees they feed on are quite close to the ground and so I like to use the car as a hide and photograph from the window. They tend not to take too much notice of vehicles that are stationary. Even when they were spooked they would still return to the same place so long as there were still berries.
They are stunning birds to look at and very vocal as well, I was able to get a few shots although the weather took a turn for the worse and camera speed was not great once the cloud took hold. I tried after them a day or so later but they were more mobile as the berries were being cleared up and being in an estate it was difficult to find what garden they were in.