Sunday 17th June 2007
After the late night looking for Nightjars we had no plans for today, but as the weather was nice we decided to go down to Keyhaven to see if the Little Terns were back.
I have to say I was fairly tempted to get the boat over to Hurst Castle, but it was nearly 2pm when we arrived at Keyhaven so thought it best to leave that for another day.
We walked along the sea wall to Pennington and saw some Common and Little terns.
Crossing the field to the Inland Road we saw some whitethroats and one Lesser Whitethroat and heard a Skylark.
Then as we were walking back to the car a Cuckoo flew towards us and landed on a post further along.
123. little tern
124. lesser whitethroat
Wednesday 20 June 2007
Tuesday 19 June 2007
Nightjars
Saturday 16th June 2007
It was a warm dry evening so armed with a torch and some insect repellent we headed to the New Forest in search of Nightjars.
The sun was going down as we arrived at the Shatterford car park and I did wonder if my love of birds was now something of an obsession! What on earth was I doing walking across the heath in the dark?
And then at 22.15 the heath came alive with the magical sound of churring Nightjars...........wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
I only wish we had seen one of them, but it became pitch black so we headed back to the car.
Still, it was worth going there just to hear that wonderful churring, I would definitely like to hear that again!
It was a warm dry evening so armed with a torch and some insect repellent we headed to the New Forest in search of Nightjars.
The sun was going down as we arrived at the Shatterford car park and I did wonder if my love of birds was now something of an obsession! What on earth was I doing walking across the heath in the dark?
And then at 22.15 the heath came alive with the magical sound of churring Nightjars...........wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
I only wish we had seen one of them, but it became pitch black so we headed back to the car.
Still, it was worth going there just to hear that wonderful churring, I would definitely like to hear that again!
Thursday 14 June 2007
Surely Knot....
Sunday 10th June 2007
My nephew was over from Norn Iron for a few days and called for supper on Friday evening and then called in for a cuppa on Sunday before catching the train down to Brighton. He put some extra memory on my laptop for me and is sorting out a problem I am having with my photos so a big THANK YOU to him!
Last week I decided to give my living room a lick of paint so we are now camping out in the back room, but in between the coats of emulsion we did manage to get down to the Titchfiled Haven Reserve on Sunday morning.
They were having another optics weekend and this time had invited Swarovski, Leica, Minox and Kowa reps to come along and show some wares. This was our second go at trying out scopes and we have decided to go for the Swarovski but will have to order it from Warehouse Express as they are a wee bit cheaper.
black tailed godwit
blue tailed damselfly
We had a walk through the reserve and heard some Cetti's warblers and saw lots of other birds. A Jay seemed to be following us along the path. Then from one of the hides we saw a Knot in summer plumage, which according to one of the volunteers should be in Scandinavia at this time of the year.
knot in summer plumage with black headed gull and chick
122. knot
My nephew was over from Norn Iron for a few days and called for supper on Friday evening and then called in for a cuppa on Sunday before catching the train down to Brighton. He put some extra memory on my laptop for me and is sorting out a problem I am having with my photos so a big THANK YOU to him!
Last week I decided to give my living room a lick of paint so we are now camping out in the back room, but in between the coats of emulsion we did manage to get down to the Titchfiled Haven Reserve on Sunday morning.
They were having another optics weekend and this time had invited Swarovski, Leica, Minox and Kowa reps to come along and show some wares. This was our second go at trying out scopes and we have decided to go for the Swarovski but will have to order it from Warehouse Express as they are a wee bit cheaper.
black tailed godwit
blue tailed damselfly
We had a walk through the reserve and heard some Cetti's warblers and saw lots of other birds. A Jay seemed to be following us along the path. Then from one of the hides we saw a Knot in summer plumage, which according to one of the volunteers should be in Scandinavia at this time of the year.
knot in summer plumage with black headed gull and chick
122. knot
Monday 4 June 2007
Baby birds - update
Monday 4th June 2007
The birds are all doing well and are now feeding themselves. I haven't seen the mother bluetit lately but I'm sure she needed a rest after all her hard work.
When we got back from Titchfield Haven on Saturday we were greeted with seven bluetits in the garden and four goldfinches on the roof !!
The birds are all doing well and are now feeding themselves. I haven't seen the mother bluetit lately but I'm sure she needed a rest after all her hard work.
When we got back from Titchfield Haven on Saturday we were greeted with seven bluetits in the garden and four goldfinches on the roof !!
Sunday 3 June 2007
Wood Warblers
Sunday 3rd June 2007
We knew yesterday would be hard to beat so we decided not to go looking for birds for the list, instead we popped to Milkham Enclosure to see if the Crossbills were there again.
We did the right thing as the wood was very quiet with only a few others out walking.
crossbill - a terrible photo I know!
It wasn't long before we saw some Crossbills, two young ones and an adult Male and there were more of them in the trees behind.
Mind you it really is difficult to get even a record photo as the trees are so tall!! If we ever get a scope then we can try digiscoping and maybe that will be better.
Other birds at Milkham were Chaffinches, a Buzzard, Wrens, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and then just like magic a pair of Wood Warblers appeared which was a bit of a shock to me as I somehow hadn't expected to see Wood Warblers in Milkham Enclosure. Just shows how little I know!!
A male crossbill - honestly!!
121. Wood Warblers
We knew yesterday would be hard to beat so we decided not to go looking for birds for the list, instead we popped to Milkham Enclosure to see if the Crossbills were there again.
We did the right thing as the wood was very quiet with only a few others out walking.
crossbill - a terrible photo I know!
It wasn't long before we saw some Crossbills, two young ones and an adult Male and there were more of them in the trees behind.
Mind you it really is difficult to get even a record photo as the trees are so tall!! If we ever get a scope then we can try digiscoping and maybe that will be better.
Other birds at Milkham were Chaffinches, a Buzzard, Wrens, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and then just like magic a pair of Wood Warblers appeared which was a bit of a shock to me as I somehow hadn't expected to see Wood Warblers in Milkham Enclosure. Just shows how little I know!!
A male crossbill - honestly!!
121. Wood Warblers
Saturday 2 June 2007
Titchfield Haven NNR
Saturday 2nd June 2007
It was a glorious sunny morning so where should we go? Lots of places to choose from and in the end we decided on the Titchfield Haven Reserve near Lee-on the Solent, arriving there at 10am.
We went mainly for the Sedge, Reed and Cetti's warblers, and today we saw all three of them. If you haven't heard a Cetti's Warbler then I urge you to go and find one as they really are something else, we are so lucky to have them in our local area.
It really was a perfect day with a good variety of birds and lots of chicks, gooslings etc., plus various damsel and dragonflies.
canada geese with gooslings
When we were here back in March, three Avocets had arrived and the staff were hoping they might stay and breed. Well, I counted eight adult Avocets today, some with chicks, so it looks like the electric fence that went up to keep the foxes out has worked.
avocet with chicks
beautiful water lilies
black tailed skimmer dragonfly
Then as we were having lunch outside, a Kestrel appeared close by and we watched as it dived down for some prey.
Next thing we know it is perched on the fence opposite us (on a busy road), where it totally ignored the traffic and pedestrians and happily ate it's prey, a lizard I think!
We saw a couple of yellowhammers and also saw a female Cuckoo flying down into the reeds, no doubt to lay an egg in a Reed Warbler's nest.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on the opposite side of the reserve and the next thing we knew we were being asked to leave as it was 5pm!! What a shame, I was enjoying myself so much I could have stayed for another couple of hours.
All in all a great day out with some new birds for the list.
117. reed warbler
118. yellowhammer
119. cetti's warbler
120. cuckoo
It was a glorious sunny morning so where should we go? Lots of places to choose from and in the end we decided on the Titchfield Haven Reserve near Lee-on the Solent, arriving there at 10am.
We went mainly for the Sedge, Reed and Cetti's warblers, and today we saw all three of them. If you haven't heard a Cetti's Warbler then I urge you to go and find one as they really are something else, we are so lucky to have them in our local area.
It really was a perfect day with a good variety of birds and lots of chicks, gooslings etc., plus various damsel and dragonflies.
canada geese with gooslings
When we were here back in March, three Avocets had arrived and the staff were hoping they might stay and breed. Well, I counted eight adult Avocets today, some with chicks, so it looks like the electric fence that went up to keep the foxes out has worked.
avocet with chicks
beautiful water lilies
black tailed skimmer dragonfly
Then as we were having lunch outside, a Kestrel appeared close by and we watched as it dived down for some prey.
Next thing we know it is perched on the fence opposite us (on a busy road), where it totally ignored the traffic and pedestrians and happily ate it's prey, a lizard I think!
We saw a couple of yellowhammers and also saw a female Cuckoo flying down into the reeds, no doubt to lay an egg in a Reed Warbler's nest.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on the opposite side of the reserve and the next thing we knew we were being asked to leave as it was 5pm!! What a shame, I was enjoying myself so much I could have stayed for another couple of hours.
All in all a great day out with some new birds for the list.
117. reed warbler
118. yellowhammer
119. cetti's warbler
120. cuckoo