Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites

Friday 13 May 2016

Bitterns in flight and a VERY showy Cetti's Warbler!

Yesterday I popped into RSPB Ham Wall during my lunch, the weather was glorious and as a result the reserve was packed with people!
  I chatted with a young lady sat on a raised seat overlooking a reed bed, she was doing a Bittern count for the RSPB. As we chatted, a Bittern did a fly past, and I managed to grab my first pic of the day! Better was to come though, as it made a return flight a few minutes later, but this time came right over my head! I saw another one flying low over the reeds from one of the hides in the reeds.
Very lucky!
   My luck was to continue.... when I came across a VERY showy Cetti's Warbler!
Obviously no-one had told this bird that Cetti's Warblers are supposed to be very hard to see let alone photograph! It sat reasonably out in the open, although it was in the shade, and didn't mind a jot that I was hovering about less than 6 feet away trying to angle a position through the foliage to get a clear shot.... in fact it looked at me with pure disdain!
    Now I don't regard Cetti's as 'shy'.... they're just naturally a skulking species, they're not bothered by humans at all!

   Below are some pics of the Bittern and the posing Cetti's, plus a few other bits and bobs from my short visit to Ham Wall;


Bittern in flight





^Above^ - Bitterns in flight!

































^Above^ - The Cetti's Warbler.... so many pics because they rarely pose so well! :)


^Above^ - Goldcrest.


^Above^ - Garden Warbler.




^Above^ - Whitethroat.


^Above^ - Great Crested Grebe with young on it's back.....was a distant pic unfortunately!


^Above^ - Hobby high overhead...


^Above^ - Young Heron in it's nest.


^Above^ - Great White Egret.


^Above^ - Snails in love!


^Above^ - Brimstone Butterfly


^Above^ - Pretty wildflowers in the Ham Wall car park.



Sunday 8 May 2016

Cuckoo at Greylake, Garden Warblers at Ham Wall!

I popped to RSPB Greylake yesterday for a couple of hours as the weather was glorious!
  I've been waiting for a new lens to arrive for the last week, but it's taking it's time, I think it has been sent by tortoise..... so again I took my Sigma 150-600mm with me.
  A male Kestrel spent most of the time I was there hover hunting in the grassy field next to the car park, it went down a number of times but never seemed to come up again with a catch!
  I walked down the path past the first pond and heard a Cuckoo very close by! Looking through the trees I saw it land in a tree the other side of the pond! I ran up the path til I was by the floating seats and the Cuckoo was still sat there, though it had definitely clocked me!! I fired off a few shots before it flew off..... I was thrilled to get my best ever Cuckoo shots! What a great bird!
   Earlier in the week I popped into RSPB Ham Wall (I always seem to 'pop' places....I rarely get any decent time at these places I love!) There were loads of Warblers singing, especially Blackcaps!
 Near the first viewing platform a Garden Warbler was singing. These are elusive birds, like most Warblers in fact...I've only ever seen them a handful of times, and never had a decent shot of one! I managed a couple of ok shots this time.....there was in fact at least 2 birds here, possibly 3 or 4!
  I also managed more shots of the nesting Cetti's Warblers, now these are the kings of elusiveness in the Warbler world!!

Below are some pictures from the last week;

Cuckoo







^Above^ - The Greylake Cuckoo!



















^Above^ - Hunting male Kestrel at Greylake.



^Above^ - Heron with assorted farm animals at Greylake!


^Above^ - Male Gadwall at Greylake.


^Above^ - Female Shoveler at Greylake.




^Above^ - Mute Swan at Greylake.


^Above^ - Swift at Greylake.


^Above^ - Dunnock at Greylake.


^Above^ - Carrion Crow at Greylake.









^Above^ - Cetti's Warblers at Ham Wall.





^Above^ - Garden Warblers at Ham Wall.


^Above^ - Male Blackcap at Ham Wall.


^Above^ - Whitethroat at Ham Wall.


^Above^ - Blackbird at Ham Wall.


^Above^ - Dunnock at Ham Wall.


^Above^ - Linnet near Hambridge in Somerset.





^Above^ - Chaffinches from earlier in the week at Greylake.




^Above^ - Dunnocks at Greylake.


^Above^ - Great Tit at Greylake.


^Above^ - Male House Sparrow at Greylake.



^Above^ - Male Reed Bunting at Greylake.



^Above^ - Robin at Greylake.