Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Water Rail composite

I can't decide if the pattern white stripes on the flanks shown in these photos show that there are four birds here, or can they vary substantially with, say, preening. I will keep an eye out at King's Dyke and see if any of these patterns repeat. If so, perhaps it will be possible to recognise individuals and make a more accurate assessment of how many birds are present at the site...

Monday, December 09, 2013

Fieldfares at the waterhole

Another Water Rail

This is the third time I have posted photographs of a Water Rail in front of the hide at King's Dyke NR. I had kind of asumed it was the same bird each time. But having looked again at my shots, I think you can tell from the pattern of white stripes on the left flank that they are all different. There was another bird still photographed there yesterday, so there at least four birds coming to the seed under the feeders by the hide. I wonder what the total number there is...

Monday, November 25, 2013

Reed Buntings at King's Dyke

Marsh Harrier at King's Dyke

Otter at King's Dyke NR

Highlight by far of my first visit to the hide at King's Dyke Nature Reserve, was a young Otter which we were able to watch over a period of about 45 minutes. In this digiscoped shot, it was mid hunt in some dense Crassula. Eventually, its target prey was revealed, a gigantic eel, which you can just about see in one of these shots...
Highlight by far of my first visit to the hide at King's Dyke Nature Reserve, was a young Otter which we were able to watch over a period of about 45 minutes. In most of these shots, it was mid-hunt in some dense Crassula. Eventually, its target prey was revealed, a gigantic eel, which you can just about see in one of these shots...

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Great Grey Shrike, Holme village, Cambs

Today, I managed to catch up with the shrike just outside Holme village, near the level crossing, and got a few digiscoped shots near the little abandoned building, plus one DSLR shot from the car (last photo here). I also popped up to the other part of Holme Fen where the 'Trundle Mere' Great Grey Shrike was also showing. I don't remember ever seeing two Great Greys in a day in the UK, and certainly not round here!
The village bird was pretty successful catching grub, including a large rove beetle (of the devil's coach horse type) and a small mammal which may have been a shrew or vole which it appeared to take to larder in a thorn bush...