Another Osprey

Today we planned to just follow our noses, visiting local birding sites. First up was the Dulnain Bridge layby - sure enough a pair of Dippers in attendance but staying at a discreet distance. Also, both Grey and Pied Wagtails had nests close by - in fact the Grey Wagtail had nested a couple of feet below the parapet of the layby wall. Three Common Sandpipers were noisily moving up and down the rapids and one finally settled fairly close to me allowing several nice pictures.

Next we drove via Carrbridge and Aviemore to ********* where we checked out an Osprey nest that Dawn and Jim had put me onto last year. Viewing from the road, the nest looked abandoned, and down on the lakeside it looked even more forlorn and then Liz spotted a bird sat in an adjacent tree - another Osprey. I had left the camera in the car so it was a matter of a hasty return. There was no panic - the bird was going nowhere - in the following couple of hours it preened, snoozed, poohed and snoozed some more. Finally, excitement! It flew off on what I thought would be a fishing trip, I readied the camera for the return - disappointment, more nest material. At least the upside is that the returning pair are committed to breeding again.



Nobody home.

 

Because the bird was mostly in silhouette, getting reasonable shots was difficult, so we decided to withdraw and return in the morning when the light would be improved. Oddly, due to other developments we never went back so I do not know whether nest refurbishment was completed.

Out in the Cold

I thought that the little grey cells had come up with a masterplan, with below zero temperatures most freshwater would be frozen, resulting in wildfowl and waders galore being out in the open. Somwhat similar to Eyeworth Pond on Monday. Where to go? A posting on SOS about Pulborough Brooks having numerous Snipe showing along with a friendly Water Rail and a stonking male Bullfinch clinched it. So, just after 0900 we arrived at PB and set off for the West Mead hide. At the bottom of the Zig Zag we encountered several Bullfinches but none were willing to stick around and in Fattengates Courtyard I tried, unsuccessfully, to record a highly mobile Goldcrest. It was at this point that it dawned on us that, yet again, we had been misled by the BBC weather forecast. The promised sunshine was nowhere to be seen, in fact it was downright gloomy. Also, I have doubts that the little grey cells can be trusted - in an ornithological sense.

Onward to the hide, where the improvements to the scrape are paying dividends. Just in front  of the windows was a flock of mixed ducks, probably 400 strong. Shovelers, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal and Pintail were all present. Out in the grass to the left of the hide at least 10 Snipe that were slowly moving toward us.

 

Sadly after this it was all downhill until we returned to the top of the Zig Zag, Winpenny and Nettley's hides returning virtually nothing. Nice to meet Russ out and about on the reserve. On the path back to the VC I managed to record Greenfinch and finally a distant but cracking looking male Bullfinch.

 

 

 Cutting our losses we departed for WWT Arundel to see if we could find anything there. At least a chance for Martin to get the female Bullfinches that were close to the Sand Martin Hide. From the hide, close views of a Grey Wagtail kept us interested.

After several attempts to capture a Water Rail we slowly made our way back to the VC. Just before the main path the peace was shattered by much wailing - two Moorhens were disputing either territory, partners or both.

Nethy Bridge

This post is for Lindy who is my eighth reader, I hope she enjoys it. We met John and Lindy, a really nice couple, at the Mountview Hotel in Nethy Bridge. An excellent birding organisation with some great guides is based here and in the evenings the drawing room is populated with some serious avian observers. Probably the last thing a mini bus full of birders needs is a photographer saying "hang on I haven't got a shot yet" as they are keen to get the next species in the scope. So Liz and I took advantage of the self-catering bungalow situated at the rear of the hotel, this allowed us to do as we pleased at a fairly leisurely pace.

There are walks above and below the village bridge that track the river as far down as Broomhill Bridge. That there are Dippers here is well known and as my readers know it is a bit of a bogey bird for me - one I can never get close to. So we set off one morning to see what we could find, sure enough Dippers were present and as usual scarpered as soon as I showed my lens to them. Though I did manage to capture a record of some sort through the trees, we sat and waited in cover but of course they failed to return. We were delighted to discover a family of Grey Wagtails further downstream, again the light under the trees was abysmal so we drew stumps and decided to return at a later date.

Sure enough on our return, two days later- no Dippers and even worse the Grey Wagtails had moved. Then a pair of Common Sandpipers arrived on the scene and started what I thought was display prior to mating - how wrong can you be. We were enthralled by the wing flapping and loud calling, then from out of the rocky depths of the river bank a juvenile emerged. Doh! - all this cacophony was designed to warn us off, so we hastily withdrew - no Grey Wagtail shots then.

 

The walk above the bridge was more rewarding, a Grey Wagtail posed perfectly for me, just right to be on a stone in the middle of the river, I'm not really sure about the one on the branch. Chatting to a local resulted in advice to venture much further upstream where "Dippers abound". So it was camera and tripod over the shoulder and a long march upstream. Finally, on the far bank we found a lone Dipper, it remained motionless for the ten minutes we were watching it, the white eyelid that is seen when they blink the only indication that it was alive.  Then another, mid stream, perched on a rock and to top it all the sun came out. Click, click. click and I was happy.

 

After this we took the car down to Broomhill Bridge to watch the myriad of Sand Martins feeding above the river, darting between the trestles of the wooden structure on a feeding frenzy, the River Spey is certainly very rich in insect life. Having had a picnic lunch and a brew I decide to lug the camera down the river bank to capture some records of the nesting site in the mud cliffs. About 50 yards down I realised that I had made another error, a male Oystercatcher proceeded to scold me loudly and did his best to poo all over me. Sure enough, a close examination of the gravel island revealed a family of Oystercatchers waiting to be fed. Yet again a strategic withdrawal, perhaps some long distance shots of the colony would suffice. As I got back to the car the male was back in the field, catching earthworms and any available creepy crawlies I guess. Peace was restored.

Across the river is the old Broomhill station, or Glenbogle as it was called in "Monarch of the Glen". We had heard the whistle of a steam locomotive, time to investigate. When I was here in February I had photographed the weekend diesel railcar which runs between Aviemore and Broomhill - well you can't get the old steamers wet can you?  These photographs suffered the disdain of Kevin, a work chum of old, so I promised him shots of a proper choo choo. In the station a bright blue engine of the Strathspey Steam Railway and an ideal opportunity to get  some photographs from a nearby bridge.

Modern instrumentation.

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, as the puffing locomotive went through the bridge I was enveloped in a cloud of the most wonderful perfume known to man - coal smoke and steam mixed in quantities that whisk you right back to a 1950s childhood. A smell that is on a par with new mown grass and fresh baked bread. What a shame that modern cameras in capturing the scene cannot record the smells too. On reflection perhaps not, both Bempton and the Farnes had a strong aroma of rotting fish, a reminder of the fish quay in Grimsby on a hot Sunday afternoon in July.  For enlightenment, Grimsby trawlers would not "land" their catch at the weekend, no demand for fish on a Monday. In those days whatever was Sunday dinner provided the basis for the family meal on Monday - oh happy days! Thus a location that was usually covered in water and ice was allowed to dry out and any fish remains would create the pong that would reside in the nose forever.

And that was it - another holiday over - without undue effort we recorded some 116 species, giving 13 year ticks and some reasonable photographs, in what, for the most of the time, were difficult conditions. To cap it all whilst I was away my birding colleague has concentrated even harder on butterflies and I am now way behind.

A grey day

On a fairly miserable cold and grey day most of the birds we saw were grey by name or hue. Oddly enough the forecast was reasonable and as Martin and I made our way to Swanbourne Lake at Arundel we expected early morning sunshine. So, yet again, in the dark gloom we found ourselves feet away from one of the most colourful birds, a Firecrest, in fact several of them. It was most frustrating that there was insufficient light to get even a fuzzy record shot. Whilst waiting for better conditions I was distracted by a Grey Wagtail, which obligingly came close but could only be captured with high ISO and low shutter speed.

It was only a matter of time before we gave up and headed off to Hayling Island, this time exploring the land to the east of the Ferry Terminal. On the way we made the customary stops at both ends of the Hayling Bridge, this time just after high tide but with precious little to be seen. On to the ferry, stopping at The Kench where we found a friendly Grey Plover.

Just as we were getting into the car a bird flew across the road, as I stepped up into the hedge to scan the bushes I spied a perched Short-eared Owl amongst the gorse of the warren. The directions to find the owl are simple - find the sign pictured below, of course some wag has removed the word golf, and look over the fence.

 

At the ferry and out in the channel very little to be seen, on the far side we located the resident Shag that we had seen on the previous visit and further down the channel just two Great Crested Grebes.

Great White Egret

 

The forecast for today was perfect, clear blue skies and light winds. So an early start heading west towards Ringwood to find the Great White Egret that has spent several months at Bickerley Common. I parked at the old railway line car park at the Verwood turn off, leaving a short walk over the main river and past several flooded fields. I arrived at the bridge over the Bickerley stream and in the early light had great views of the GWE  at about 100 yards distant. Slowly the bird closed to within 50 yards and the with the sun rising in a clear sky,  I gained some reasonable shots. A Grey Wagtail perched on the railings  just a few yards away, asking to be photographed - duly captured. Having got the GWE shots I scanned the floods and found the reported Glossy Ibis - very distant though, not even a decent record shot.

 

I arrived rather early

Displaying rings but not readable

 

Feeling very pleased with myself I decided to head up into the forest north of the A31, turning right at Blashford, and doing my best to ignore the pits I made my way to Cadnam Pond,which was, of course, devoid of birds. Out on the grass there were plenty of thrushes both Song and Mistle intermingled with Fieldfares. On to another location to check for reported Goosanders but unfortunately they had gone. However, Marsh Tits abounded and some of them were very obliging.

 

 

The next part of the plan was to be Walpole Park in Gosport to find Waldo the faithful returning Ring billed Gull, as I passed the Eastleigh junction of the M27 I remembered that there had been a report of a red top Goosander at the Lakeview Country Park and as this venue often throws up a Hawfinch it was a quick detour. As soon as I arrived I found the Goosander on Beach Lake and managed to record a few good shots, of the Hawfinch there was not a feather to be seen. So I returned home early, very satisfied with the results of half a day birding.

Hardy souls