Maturing male (gaining the blue pruinescence on the abdomen)
Immature male
Female (note broad body and black wingtips)
Immature male
Female
Monday, May 25, 2009
Scarce Chasers at Woodwalton Fen
Maturing male (gaining the blue pruinescence on the abdomen)
Immature male
Female (note broad body and black wingtips)
Immature male
Female
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Evil monkey face?
Don't meet the gaze of those dark eyes, or you could feel the wrath of those vicious teeth!
Kazakhstan Part 1
I'm just back from a few days in Kazakhstan. I know, it sounds good, doesn't it? And it certainly was. The nice people from Swarovski Optik invited me and a group of others to combine trying out their superb new lightweight magnesium-bodied scopes, their excellent new wide-angle zoom eyepiece and their innovative new digiscoping adapter, with a visit to the breeding grounds of the Sociable Lapwing, the endangered bird for which Swarovski are 'Species Champions' along with the RSPB.
It was an excellent trip to see some awe-inspiring birds in a dream landscape, and I will be posting much more on the trip later.
Meantime, here is one of the birds we found in the mountains of the south, a Lesser Grey Shrike, and a Himalayan Rubythroat, both digiscoped with the Swarovski ATM HD 80mm scope and the new zoom eyepiece.
Lesser Grey Shrike
Himalayan Rubythroat
It was an excellent trip to see some awe-inspiring birds in a dream landscape, and I will be posting much more on the trip later.
Meantime, here is one of the birds we found in the mountains of the south, a Lesser Grey Shrike, and a Himalayan Rubythroat, both digiscoped with the Swarovski ATM HD 80mm scope and the new zoom eyepiece.
Lesser Grey Shrike
Himalayan Rubythroat
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Broad-bodied Chaser
It was girt sunny yesterday, and aware of this we had the first emerging teneral dragonflies from our big pond: this Broad-bodied Chaser and a female, red-morph Azure Damselfly.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Stilt and co
I had a mad day of birding yesterday. Jo, Jaz and Ed were at a singing workshop for several hours, so I knew I was going to have a big birding window.
But naturally, I had to have a pre-workshop early start. I chose the Nene Washes where the highlights were:
Merlin, immature bird perched some 6 feet from my car,
Avocet, a colour-ringed bird, my first of the year, and hen later perched on ditch sides in the same area.
Wheatear, two early morning females, which I only saw on my way out,
Roe Deer, a straggly, moulting buck grazing on the washes.
This Redshank wasn't keen on having its nest trampled on...
During the songfest I was back at the washes, though now between Eldernell and March Farmers. Highlights:
Bar-tailed Godwit, 14, including 10 superb red males, year ticks,
Blue-headed Wagtail, 1 female-type (see below), among 20+ male flavissima-race birds
Two flavissima Yellow Wags
Hobby, my first of the year (and the fourth falcon species of the day)
Peregrine, hunting male disturbing all the waders including
Ruff, c20, including some superbly plumed males,
Greenshank, another year tick
Marsh harrier, a mad amount of breeding behaviour from several birds
After picking up the gang, we spent a couple of hours playing at Ferry Meadows. There were 42 Common Terns and a flockk of 15 early Swifts.
It was on the drive back from there that we got the call: "Drop everything, there is a Black-winged Stilt at Maxey!" said Chris Lines in a shakey voice.
What a great bird: PBC tick number 230. This pic is by Bob Titman as I didn't have time to grab my camera en route.
.jpg)
After, a bit of evening birding which went on till after dark, during the day I had added 6 birds to my year list, including 4 'elites' according to Weedonian PBC rules. My PBC year list now stands at 163 species.
But naturally, I had to have a pre-workshop early start. I chose the Nene Washes where the highlights were:
Merlin, immature bird perched some 6 feet from my car,
Avocet, a colour-ringed bird, my first of the year, and hen later perched on ditch sides in the same area.
Wheatear, two early morning females, which I only saw on my way out,
Roe Deer, a straggly, moulting buck grazing on the washes.
This Redshank wasn't keen on having its nest trampled on...
During the songfest I was back at the washes, though now between Eldernell and March Farmers. Highlights:
Bar-tailed Godwit, 14, including 10 superb red males, year ticks,
Blue-headed Wagtail, 1 female-type (see below), among 20+ male flavissima-race birds
Two flavissima Yellow Wags
Hobby, my first of the year (and the fourth falcon species of the day)
Peregrine, hunting male disturbing all the waders including
Ruff, c20, including some superbly plumed males,
Greenshank, another year tick
Marsh harrier, a mad amount of breeding behaviour from several birds
After picking up the gang, we spent a couple of hours playing at Ferry Meadows. There were 42 Common Terns and a flockk of 15 early Swifts.
It was on the drive back from there that we got the call: "Drop everything, there is a Black-winged Stilt at Maxey!" said Chris Lines in a shakey voice.
What a great bird: PBC tick number 230. This pic is by Bob Titman as I didn't have time to grab my camera en route.
.jpg)
After, a bit of evening birding which went on till after dark, during the day I had added 6 birds to my year list, including 4 'elites' according to Weedonian PBC rules. My PBC year list now stands at 163 species.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Which flava?
This wagtail was on the Nene Washes today. It has a blue nape, though greenish tones in the crown. I don't know if this is what female nominate flavas look like, but it'll do as an explanation unless anyone else has a better idea...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Brayka Bay, Marsa Alam, Egypt, Part 6
It was all the natty wheeze of Grandma Monika. Why not get the family together for a grand, blowout holiday – how about at the snorkelling paradise of the Red Sea coast of Egypt? So, in mid-April 15 members of the Weedon clan flew off to Brayka Bay resort, Marsa Alam, about halfway up the eastern coast of Egypt.
It is an all-inclusive style resort. Cross through the western gates and over the road and all there is is the endless Eastern Desert. Roll out of bed and across the lawn awaits the sea, the reef, the fish, the coral, the turtles.
The lawn and flowering bushes seem to be watered 24-7, the only greenery as far as the eye can see. The result? A literal oasis for migrating birds heading north through parched Africa to Europe.
Every morning I awoke early to carry out a 5 o'clock roll call of what had dropped in in the night. Every morning had one or two new treats.
In addition to resident White-crowned Black Wheatears, Cattle Egrets, Spur-winged Plovers, Brown-necked Ravens, Laughing Doves, Kestrela dn Sparrowhawk, Reef Herons and a few Spanish Sparrows, there was a fines spread of juicy migrants. We had Quail underneath our drying swimming costumes, more races of Yellow Wagtail than there are in the book, more Bluethroats (white-spotted and red-spotted) than I have seen before in my life, more Nightingales than it is is healthy to gather, a regular roosting flock of nine Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, plus passing Montagu's and Marsh Harriers, and more Lesser Whitethroats than breed in the whole PBC area.
I'll break down the migrants later.
For me the absolute highlight was taking the children out on individual hand-held snorkelling trips over wonderful reefs. But coming up second were my first ever sea turtle (a wonderful experience to watch it feeding over some 45 minutes); plus swimming over a white-tipped reef shark and seeing some superb puffer fish etc.
Between the 15 of us, there was only one hospitalization, one case of gastroenteritis requiring a drip, one near drowning of a five-year-old, one double ear infection, and only 15 or so cases of diarrhoea, so no real problems there.
But as Grandpa Barry and Grandma Monika would doubtless concur, the display of teeth in the gang was excellent!
Thanks very much for a wonderful holiday xxx
It is an all-inclusive style resort. Cross through the western gates and over the road and all there is is the endless Eastern Desert. Roll out of bed and across the lawn awaits the sea, the reef, the fish, the coral, the turtles.
The lawn and flowering bushes seem to be watered 24-7, the only greenery as far as the eye can see. The result? A literal oasis for migrating birds heading north through parched Africa to Europe.
Every morning I awoke early to carry out a 5 o'clock roll call of what had dropped in in the night. Every morning had one or two new treats.
In addition to resident White-crowned Black Wheatears, Cattle Egrets, Spur-winged Plovers, Brown-necked Ravens, Laughing Doves, Kestrela dn Sparrowhawk, Reef Herons and a few Spanish Sparrows, there was a fines spread of juicy migrants. We had Quail underneath our drying swimming costumes, more races of Yellow Wagtail than there are in the book, more Bluethroats (white-spotted and red-spotted) than I have seen before in my life, more Nightingales than it is is healthy to gather, a regular roosting flock of nine Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, plus passing Montagu's and Marsh Harriers, and more Lesser Whitethroats than breed in the whole PBC area.
I'll break down the migrants later.
For me the absolute highlight was taking the children out on individual hand-held snorkelling trips over wonderful reefs. But coming up second were my first ever sea turtle (a wonderful experience to watch it feeding over some 45 minutes); plus swimming over a white-tipped reef shark and seeing some superb puffer fish etc.
Between the 15 of us, there was only one hospitalization, one case of gastroenteritis requiring a drip, one near drowning of a five-year-old, one double ear infection, and only 15 or so cases of diarrhoea, so no real problems there.
But as Grandpa Barry and Grandma Monika would doubtless concur, the display of teeth in the gang was excellent!
Thanks very much for a wonderful holiday xxx
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Brayka Bay, Marsa Alam, Egypt, Part 5
Immature white-morph Reef Heron
Spur-winged Plover
Wheatear
Laughing Dove
Sunset over the Eastern Desert
Brayka Bay, Marsa Alam, Egypt, Part 4
Camels
Our room was one of those gold bougainvillea draped ground floor pads. The plants were full of Laughing Doves and Lesser Whitethroats, the undergrowth held Quail, the roof had White-crowned Black Wheatear and the lawn was draped in the world's Yellow Wagtails, Cattle Egrets, Wheatears, Nightingales and Bluethroats
Laughing Dove babby
Artist and pupil
Lawn Egrets
Two types of Jasminian Reef Fish
Red-spotted Bluethroat
Pied Kingfisher
Sunrise over the bay
Rock Thrush
Semi-collared Flycatcher
Crab tracks
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