Seeswood Pool & Beyond

22nd January 2012

2012-01-23T13:36:00.005Z

A chance for a day up North & picking good mate up Rich Dawkins from Barton,Lincs on route had us for the 2nd time in 6wks heading for Bempton Cliffs RSPB,E.Yorks for the Desert Wheatear on arrival the breezy weather forecast had turned into a near gale & with no sign we decided to head for Tophill low for the Cattle Egret which was reported as showing well in the compound (It was but what they don't tell you is that its only viewable thru a 7ft metal fence,hence no pics) then a msg from Birdguides had us doubling back to Bempton for the Wheatear which was now showing well on the footpath!!! After finding the bird at Staple Newk we decided to seed (Robin insect food) a favourable place nearer to the RSPB centre & sat & waited with a few other birders where we were rewarded with great views (just a pity the light & weather were against us for most parts) after having our fill of the bird we headed down to Worlaby for the S E Owls but no luck with the only bird seen being a ring tail Hen Harrier (not a bad end to the day!!!)

21st January 2012

2012-01-23T13:24:00.005Z

With news of a Night Heron on the canal at Atherstone reaching me during the week (which was being kept quiet due to access restrictions),but being on nights decided that Sat morning i would head over for a look! Sat morning & a cpl of msgs from John Judge & Tom Perrins saying that the news was out in the public domain & was showing!! had me getting my gear together & heading over after about 1/2hr the bird was located roosting in a tree on the opposite bank & showing well,i set about getting some photos when the bird put its righr foot down revealing a ring (always bad news!!) a cpl of shots using a converter & we were able to read the details (Burgers' Zoo,Arnhem,Holland 12730) a quick phone call by Mark Maddox revealed it had been sold to an British Zoo (Prob Twycross hopefully we will find out with the ring number!!) a nice bird all the same!!!

15th January 2012

2012-01-16T11:00:00.001Z

A cold start this morning with good friend Andy Jones,destination Calshot,Hants for the Spanish Sparrow (A British tick for both of us) a good journey down with 2 Woodcock over the car just before dawn & a probable Long-eared Owl over (that or a S E Owl but habitat suggesting LE Owl) on arrival at Calshot we had about an hour wait before the bird showed with brief flight views before it showed well in the garden hedge (No photos but a cracking bird) the large crowd started to disperse & Andy took the chance to have better views from inside the house as the home owner was allowing access (I really should have gone in judging by some of the pics on the web) after about 2 hours we decided to head for the Dark-eyed Junco which was only 15mins away in the New Forest!!! the bird showed a few times but was distant so only a cpl of record shots taken with a few Crossbills being an added bonus!! 3rd stop of the day was to Gosport for the ad winter Ring-billed Gull at Walpole Park which showed very well with an ad winter Mediterranean Gull & made for a great end to the day............

13th January 2012

2012-01-16T10:44:00.002Z

Finally decided to head out for a cpl of hours today having not really done any birding for the last month & no photography at all!! I was meant to be heading to the east coast but just couldn't be bothered with the drive so a quick trip out to Staffs for the Great Grey Shrike at Upper Longdon a good start to the proper year listing! the bird showed well but always distant for any decent shots!!

10th December 2011

2011-12-12T13:26:00.002Z

Travelled upto Bempton Cliffs RSPB,E.Yorks for the male Desert Wheatear stopping off at Barton to pick Rich Dawkins up,however the bird just didn't want to play ball & only had distant views all day so concentrated on getting some photos of Tree Sparrow instead also had a cpl of flyover Snow Buntings & a Short-eared Owl which was a nice end to the day!!

3rd December 2011

2011-12-09T15:47:00.001Z

Yet another trip down to Titterstone Clee Hill,Shropshire for the Desert Wheatear with not much else on offer apart from the Semi P/Western Sandpiper in Norfolk the Wheatear won hands down at least this has been ID'd & is photogenic,yet again it was rather windy with a big chill factor the bird was also very mobile until late afternoon but gave some cracking views at times.............

27th November 2011

2011-11-28T12:26:00.001Z

With the forecast for bright weather the lure of the Desert Wheatear again was the only option having Txt Pete Walkden & Steve Seal the night before about going,Pete was up for it Steve has been stuck at work for the last cpl of wks so hopefully the bird will stay long enough for him to connect? anyway met up with Pete at 11am in the carpark with the wind still blowing a gale but at least the sun was shining, an even bigger crowd today with many of Y'days togs having the same idea!!! The bird showed well at times & would come to you if you sat still long enough unfortunately some decided to stand up & walk towards it when it was coming to us WHY? just can't fathom some people out! still an enjoyable few hrs & a cpl of bonus birds with Peregrine over & a Short-eared Owl being mobbed over the Clee!!!

26th November 2011

2011-11-28T12:15:00.001Z

With news of a prob Pied Wheatear in Shropshire breaking on Fri night i put myself on standby for Sat morning by 10am the news was that it was a female Desert Wheatear,even better having only ever seen 1 in Britain,so car packed & within 1 1/2hrs was on site in what can only be described as difficult conditions with poor light & a very strong winds,with quite a crowd there the bird at times performed really well (But where's the light when you need it?) A lot of familiar faces on site from Warks & neighbouring counties with myself & Chris Cook taking the chance the bird would come onto the summit we were soon rewarded with fantastic views before the rest of the crowd caught us up!!

19th November 2011

2011-11-20T14:29:00.001Z

Early start this morning for the long trip north to Northumberland for the Greater Yellowlegs at Hauxley NR & the Eastern Black Redstart on Holy Island! With Andy Jones arriving at mine for 4:30am a quick packing of the car & we were on our way! on arrival at Hauxley we had cracking views of the Yellowlegs but due to the amount of birders in the hide no pics of note were taken but a great start & a lifer for myself & Andy,with satisfied views we decided to head upto Holy Island for the Redstart stopping a short distance up the road with Leicester birders John Hague & Dave Gray for the European White Fronted Geese with Dave picking out flyover Snow Bunting & about 20 Twite heading south,nxt stop Holy Island where we had cracking views of the Eastern Black Redstart & several Pale Bellied Brent Geese padded out the list for the day!! A great day out superb weather,good birds & a lifer in the bag!!!

6th November 2011

2011-11-07T16:29:00.005Z

The plan was to travel upto Spurn for the Isabelline Wheatear today with a stop at Attenborough NR for the Squacco Heron again where i was hoping to get some better pics whilst waiting for news! so picked Andy Jones up at 7:30 & we made our way upto Notts,the weather was cold but bright ideal for photography!! on arrival i was amazed how many birders were on site (Again!!) I stood on the bridge & made a quick txt to Darren Chapman who was with John Dickenson down the bank to see if there was room for another a quick hand gesture & i'd joined them which seemed to open a tidal wave of about 10-15 others following suit! the bird then put on a cracking show & with negative news on the Wheatear at Spurn spent the nxt 3hrs getting fantastic views & some rather pleasing shots............

2nd November 2011

2011-11-03T11:03:00.005Z

Up & about early after my Niteshift (about 2hrs sleep!!) Picked John Liggins up & headed upto Cannock Chase,Staffs for the Great Grey Shrike,the weather not as good as the other day with the wind a lot stronger but the bird showed well but for a lot shorter periods also at least 10 Crossbill over,decided then to head up to Attenborough NR,Notts for another look at the Squacco Heron which was again very popular with it seems more birders etc than the average rare bird twitch!! no photos of the Heron as i only took my bins down!! cpl of pics below with the Squacco photo from Mondays visit........ It seems that Blogger are blocking any links on the posts wether its on a label or direct on the post so Link on the right hand side of the homepage to my NEW WEBSITE...............

31st October 2011

2011-10-31T15:41:00.002Z

A quick trip up into Notts today for the Juv Squacco Heron at Attenborough NR only my 2nd in the country a seemingly popular bird with plenty on site today & the bird performed well if a little distant for any really good shots & eventually flushed by a dog walking birder who just looked at us all & said 'well u've seen it' before walking off (Luckily the bird did come back but by that time i'd already left as the weather was closing in )

30th October 2011

2011-10-31T15:29:00.003Z

After dipping the Pied Wheatear on Sunday i'd decided to stay local today picked Andy Jones up about 8ish & the weather was dull with drizzle however a quick call from good friend Steve Seal had us heading for Cannock Chase in Staffs where Steve assured me the weather was going to brighten up into a nice day & that the Great Grey Shrike was going to show well (He was right on both!!) The Shrike was soon around its favoured tree & we spent the next 3+ hrs photographing it More Photos can be found on my Website. Link at bottom of the page!!!

25th October 2011

2011-10-26T12:16:00.002+01:00

With the weather forecast terrible for Norfolk i'd planned to stay local however after seeing some of the images on Birdguides of the Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike at Horsey,Norfolk i just couldn't resist telling myself it would be the weatherman who was wrong!! No such look about 50miles before i got there the rain started & by the looks of the roads had been very heavy! I didn't arrive on site till 1pm but the weather was bloody awful & to top it off the bird was distant,I spent the best part of 2hrs getting reasonable images before giving up & heading for the car,on the walk back which was a good mile or so i got chatting to 1 birder & was convinced the Shrike
had just flew past us & landed nearby & sure enough it had & what's more it was giving fantastic views. Some record shots from earlier in the afternoon for the best pics go to my New Website http://www.davehutton.zenfolio.com/ also had 2 Common Crane on the walk back to the car!!!

18th October 2011

2011-10-18T16:37:00.005+01:00

With the weather bright but blowy decided to try for the White-rumped Sandpiper at Rutland Water a welcome year tick & my 1st for a few years!! on arrival at the hide i could see that it was going to be a challenge with the sun at a horrible angle & the bird distant & when it did come closer the noise from some of the locals in the hide was out of order!! After about an hr i gave up with no sign of the bloody foghorns shutting up or buggering off !! maybe another day........... record shots below

17th October 2011

2011-10-17T18:16:00.002+01:00

Headed over to Draycote water again this morning with the weather turning,hoping something might have dropped in stopped to speak to Richard Mays on Farborough bank as he'd already walked down to the spit (nothing doing) when suddenly he shouts up Short-eared Owl just dropped out of the sky & headed into the country park where it seemed to drop,a quick dash & i'd soon located it sitting on the deck where it soon huddled up into a large tuft of grass with only it's head showing,we decided to wait for Bob to join us from the other side of the reservoir but unfortunately it was disturbed by a dog walker even with Richard trying to shepherd her away from it!!! Oh well so only a cpl of distant record shots below also had 11 Ringed Plover,8 Dunlin on the inflow with a (Greenland) Wheatear also present & 19 Grey Heron

15th October 2011

2011-10-15T18:51:00.002+01:00

Back to Draycote this morning but the Spoonbill departed high at 09-30 1/2hr before i got there did find 6 Dunlin on Hensborough bank & a nice Brambling (my 1st of the Autumn in the picnic area) so off to Napton hoping that the grebe would show a little better? after 2hrs the bird finally ventured over for a 1/4 of an hr allowing some shots!!!!

14th October 2011

2011-10-15T18:45:00.000+01:00

Well a trip round Napton Res was the plan this morning (whilst the car was in for repairs & with the courtesy car being limited to 100miles a day) I'd just arrived when the phone rings Kevin Groocock "an out of breath there's a Spoonbill at Draycote followed by i'm on my way" only my 2nd county record & my 1st since 1988!! 640 photo's later & i headed back to Napton but the long staying Black-necked Grebe stayed well out of range!! but theres always another day!!! Spoonbill pics below...........

October 3rd 2011

2011-10-03T20:42:00.002+01:00

The chance of a lifer in the form of Sandhill Crane in Suffolk had me calmly waiting for news this morning & sure enough positive news at 8ish had me packing my gear & making my way east to Suffolk (with negative news coming thru on route just as i hit the A14 i headed back home intent on a days local birding at Draycote however after getting to Rugby news filtered thru that the bird was again showing so another u-turn had me on site for early afternoon a cracking bird but very distant & pics were a waste of time also had a lifer in the form of 2 Willow Emerald Damselflies!! Spent a few hrs on site but the bird stayed distant for all but 1 very lucky photographer!!! Love to know how he got there!! was i jealous!! like heck i was but hey i got the bird!!

September 24th 2011

2011-10-03T20:18:00.001+01:00

Well not seen Steve Seal in a few months but we arranged to meet up again today at Grafham Water, Cambs for the adult Sabine's Gull & Grey Phalarope good views were had but not brilliant as we were on the dam wall looking down on them but hey who's complaining 2 good birds just over an hr from the house!! also good to meet up with various photographers from my travels inc Jon Evans & Jim Almond (Top blokes & a pleasure to spend time in their company) cpl of pics below but most on my new website.....http://www.davehutton.zenfolio.com

September 23rd 2011

2011-10-03T20:06:00.002+01:00

Been a little lazy in updating my blog due to work etc but last week saw me up in Lincs at Covenham Res for the Juv American Black Tern (my 2nd in 3 yrs but better views this time around!!!!) met up with my old wing man Steve Seal & had a cracking few hrs on site with 2 Little Stint also giving good views................
More photos can be found on my new website http://www.davehutton.zenfolio.com/

September 12th 2011

2011-09-13T19:43:00.000+01:00

Decided at the last minute to head to Belvide Reservoir,Staffs for the (Juv) Sabine's Gull,with the wind really strong but the light quite good it was going to be a challenge,on arrival i was met by an ever increasing wing straight into my face but the target was close in making for some fantastic views with over 500 photos taken but only about 50 worth keeping shows just how tricky it was!! I'd just finished when i had the call from J.Judge telling me there was a (Adult) Gannet at Draycote water (a much needed Warks tick!) an hour later i was on Farborough bank watching the bird at distance but still a great sight with the bird even plunge diving!! (Warks tick No 236) 1 Photo below of the Sabine's Gull & 2 of the confiding juv Northern Wheatear at Draycote & record shot of the Gannet......

Many more photos on my New Website http://www.davehutton.zenfolio.com/

September 8th 2011

2011-09-09T11:16:00.001+01:00

Ater finishing my nightshift i managed a cpl of hours sleep before a cpl of txts from J.Judge & T,Marlow alerted me to the fact the Manx Shearwater was still present at Draycote & a further text to say also plenty of waders along Farborough bank soon had me packing my gear!!! On arrival the Manx was soon picked up flying just of the spit (My 2nd for Draycote) Between Farborough bank & Toft Shallows i had at least 18 Dunlin,1 Juv Curlew Sandpiper,1 Ruff,1 Knot,1 Juv Little Stint,3 Greenshank,2 Little Ringed Plover,1 juv Turnstone & several Ringed Plover also 2 juv Little Gull,1 Common Tern,Swift,2 Wheatear,50+ Yellow Wagtail & 2 Hobby a cracking day & some decent photos of some of the birds on view!!!

Curlew Sandpiper

Dunlin

Ringed Plover

Knot

Little Stint (juv)

Manx Shearwater

August 31st 2011

2011-09-01T12:38:00.000+01:00

With a night off work i headed back over to Draycote Water to see if anything new had dropped in since the weekend,the weather was dull & certainly not really good enough for photography but any day off work is a waste unless i'm out & about!!! 1st stop was Farborough spit where there was 5 Ringed Plover & 5 Dunlin along Toft Bank were 3 Greenshank & a juv Wheatear,Hensborough bank had a cpl of juv Little Ringed Plover with a single Greenshank in Rainbow corner!!

August 28th 2011

2011-08-29T09:34:00.000+01:00

With the heavy rain overnight & with the wader passage starting to gather pace it was another trip to Draycote water this morning, heading anti-clockwise around along Farborough bank to the spit where i had 4 Dunlin,2 Little Ringed Plover & several Ringed Plover onto Toft where there were 3 Greenshank & a cpl of Common Sandpiper, a full walk round & i was starting to wander if i'd made the right choice when i caught sight of a small wader with 4 Little Ringed Plover just off Hensborough Bank a fine adult Little Stint!!!

August 21st 2011

2011-08-23T16:16:00.000+01:00

After doing the Birdfair on Saturday & meeting up with some old & new friends Sunday was to be a relaxing few hours up in Lincs again doing dragonflies at Crowle Moor,the only downside was a camera van on the bloody M180 that i went past (No doubt the 3points & fine are in the post even though i were only doing about 76mph max!!) but the Dragonflies showed well to make up for the pain! with Common & Ruddy Darter,Black Darter (which was the target) Migrant,Southern & Common Hawker all giving good flight views!!

Black Darter (male)

(female)

Common Darter (imm male)

Southern Hawker (female)

Migrant Hawker (male)

August 19th 2011

2011-08-20T19:59:00.000+01:00

Decided to head up north again today after seeking permission to gain access to Toft Newton Reservoir for the Juv Temminck's Stint (with great thanks to Dean Eades for all his help & Andy the bailiff for his warm welcome) A cracking day with over 700 photos taken (most deleted) a cracking place but difficult due to the suns position in relation to the bird for most of the morning untill late afternoon by which time i'd left to avoid the W/E traffic!!!

August 9th 2011

2011-08-09T20:07:00.000+01:00

Well i finished my night shift & couldn't sleep (prob due to the fact they were outside resurfacing the carpark with the Wacker plate & drill in full flow i decided to head out for the day (good job it just happened to be my night off!!!) destination Draycote again!!!!
On arrival i headed straight for Farborough spit & was soon watching ad Sanderling (fresh in) 2 Ringed Plover,3 Little Ringed Plover & 3 Dunlin (1ad 2juv) a few pics taken then a call from Bob Hazell had me off around to the Picnic area by the sailing club where y'days Blk-tailed Godwit had relocated! Other birds seen today inc The Wood Sandpiper in Toft, 2 Green Woodpecker,1 juv Wheatear,Yellow Wagtail & 1st summer Yellow-legged Gull............

Dunlin

Sanderling

Little Ringed Plover (juv)

Sanderling

Little Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Black-tailed Godwit

Green Woodpecker

August 8th 2011

2011-08-09T19:18:00.000+01:00

Typical 2 wks off work & all quiet on the birding front locally & nationally 1st day back & i get a txt of JJ (John Judge) letting me know that a Wood Sandpiper is showing on Farborough Spit,Draycote water,thankfully ive got a cpl of hrs to spare so off i shot off & quickly connected with the bird thanks to Bob Hazell & Bob Duckhouse who pointed me in the right direction having forgotten me bins!!! Just as they were leaving Bobby D informed me that a summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit was at the inlet (Bugger only about a 1 1/2mile around the water) couldnt resist so off i went having good but distant views a short conversation with the boys & we came to the same conclusion this was of the form Islandica & with time not on my side had to leave ready for my shift!! cpl of pics below...........

Wood Sandpiper

Black-tailed Godwit (Islandica)

August 1st 2011

2011-08-01T17:41:00.000+01:00

Well i thought i'd better get out & do a bit of birding before people start to think i've given up so headed over to Draycote Water to have a look for the Red-breasted Merganser Kevin Groocock had found the previous day! a short while later sure enough the bird was perched up out of the water with the Canada Geese off Farborough spit (a nice eclipse male) also seen were 6 Dunlin,3 Little Ringed Plover & several Yellow Wagtail & 2 Juv Wheatear...................

July 31st 2011

2011-08-01T17:28:00.001+01:00

Headed upto Lincolnshire today to Crowle Moor,my target today was Black Darters a short diversion to Barton upon Humber to pick Rich Dawkins & Mandy West up & we were away. A cracking reserve with good numbers of Black Darter seen a few Common Darter a few Common Hawker (only the 2nd time iv'e seen these) Brown Hawker a freshly hatched Migrant Hawker found by Mandy,Beautiful Yellow Underwing (moth) found by the trickster,a Adder found by myself which had the blood pumping when it shot across in front of me!!! The only downside to the day was the bloody Horse flies! dropped Mandy & Rich off & picked up Campion (moth) as a lifer thanks to Rich keeping some of the previous nights trap!

Black Darter (female)

(male)

(Imm male)

Migrant Hawker (Teneral female)

(Exuvia)

Common Lizard

Campion

July 30th 2011

2011-08-01T17:13:00.000+01:00

Headed back down to Aston Rowant for another crack at the Silver-spotted Skippers taking good friend Andy Jones down with me.......... Had good view again of Chalk-hill Blues,Brown Argus,Marbled White & the Skippers were observed doing their dance which was a sight to see with upto 5 males dancing around a single female..

Chalk-hill Blue (male)

Marbled White

Silver-spotted Skipper

July 27th 2011

2011-07-28T10:54:00.000+01:00

A trip down to Oxfordshire today for some Butterflies 2 of which were new for myself,Picked John Liggins & Alvin Burton up on route then took the leisurely drive down to Jnc 6 of the M40 to Aston Rowant NNR where we were soon having great views of our first target species Chalk-hill Blue next on the list was Silver-spotted Skipper which were a little more tricky to pin down but as it warmed up more & more appeared!! other species seen were Marbled White,Brown Argus,Small Heath & some of the more common species...

Chalk-hill Blue (male)

(female)

Brown Argus

Silver-spotted Skipper (male)

(female)

Small Heath

July 23rd 2011

2011-07-25T19:34:00.000+01:00

I headed back down to Shropshire Saturday morning hoping to add Keeled Skimmer to the year list & also photograph them & hopefully the Golden-ringed Dragonflies!! with at least 30 Keeled Skimmer found & 6 Golden-ringed Dragonfly about 500yrds away from Cramer Gutter on Catherton common i set about trying to get pics the Keeled Skimmers were far easier than the Dragons which wouldnt allow close approach at all, Also had 1 (Teneral) male Emerald Damselfly & a male Black-tailed Skimmer along with at least 6 Common Lizzard whilst the best birds were 3 Common Crossbill over & a Common Redstart & Tree pipit.

Keeled Skimmer (male)

Imm male

Female

Male

Female

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (male)

Emerald Damselfly (Teneral male)

After a few hrs on site i made my way back home ready for the moth & nosh night at Windmill Hill NR,Nuneaton,which attracted maybe 20+ people but as always most of these drifted off leaving the few hardy soles to continue on until about 2.30am,the cool night & strong wind hampered the trapping but still produced a lifer in the form of Annulet (caught bt MPK) hence no pics & my favourite a female Drinker (very rare they come to light) alongside a male. A few photos from the night below.......

Straw Underwing

July Highflyer

Swallow Prominent

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Ruby Tiger

Burnished Brass

Small Phoenix

Common White wave

Early Thorn

Buff Footman

Drinker (male)

Drinker (female)

July 3rd 2011

2011-07-04T14:19:00.000+01:00

Headed off down to Cramer Gutter,Shropshire for a chance of a lifer in the form of Golden-ringed Dragonfly (a species iv'e wanted to see for years!) arrived on site just after 10-30 & was soon having superb views of a female also had a bonus with 4 Dark Green Fritillary on the wing along with 2 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary,searched around for Keeled Skimmer but failed!! Broad-bodied Chaser & my 1st Emperor Dragonfly of the year on the small pool in the corner of this small reserve.... photos of the day below..........

Emperor Dragonfly

Small Pearl-bordered Fritllary

Dark Green Fritillary

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

June 24th 2011

2011-06-25T12:14:00.000+01:00

Headed down to Norfolk today hoping for some pics of the Red-footed Falcon at Horsey which had been performing down to 20 odd feet but just typical for me the bird had departed overnight so decided to concentrate on Dragonflies at nearby Strumpshaw Fen RSPB & it turned out to be well worth it with at least 3 Norfolk Hawker (new for me) 2 Hairy Dragonfly,2 Black-tailed Skimmer & 4 Four-spotted Chaser along with Azure,Blue-tailed & Emerald Damselfly! A few photos from the day below....

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

Large Skipper

Common Lizard

Black-tailed Skimmer

Norfolk Hawker

June 11th 2011

2011-06-11T17:23:00.000+01:00

Well i was supposed to be heading north this morning with Tom Perrins & Jules Allen for the White-throated Robin but like so many rarities before it, it went on a fri nite (why do so many rarities do that?) so back home picked up my macro gear & headed off to the river at Caldecote for Banded Demoiselle pics there must have been a recent hatching as theyr'e was 100+ on the reeds alongside a few Blue-tailed Damselflies,2 Large Red Damselfy & amazingly another 2 White-legged Damselfly (1imm 1ad male) not had them in Warks before now 3 in 2 days!! Photos below

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Banded Demoiselle (male)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

White-legged Damselfly (ad male)

June 10th 2011

2011-06-11T16:50:00.001+01:00

Another trip upto Windmill Hill Community Nature Reserve looking for Dragons & Damsels had 2 Broad-bodied Chasers,1 Southern Hawker,plenty of Azure Damselflies & a presumed 1st for the reserve in the form of a White-legged Damselfly (Imm male) photos below

Broad-bodied Chaser

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

White-legged Damselfly

June 5th 2011

2011-06-06T11:49:00.000+01:00

With it all quiet on the birding front i decided to head out looking for Dragonflies at Windmill Hill NR,Nuneaton the target some photos of Broad-bodied Chaser,but on arrival no sign i had a walk around the small pool & was just about to leave when i spotted a Dragonfly Larvae on a reed stem on closer inspection it had already hatched & just left the Exuvia but there was another which was still attached to a reed stem nearby & this was gettin ready to hatch,i set the camera up & spent the next 4hrs watching it emerge,a fantastic sight & the 1st time ive ever seen this happen.The Dragonfly Larvae was a Southern Hawker also seen were 3 Broad-bodied Chaser,Four-spotted Chaser many Azure Damselfly & a few Large Red & Blue-tailed Damselflies. A few pics from the 600+ taken below

June 3rd 2011

2011-06-04T16:42:00.000+01:00

A chance to catch up with my good friend Steve Seal & photograph Little Ringed Plover over the border in Staffordshire,yes wev'e got them in Warks but all on breeding grounds these birds are just feeding before returning to the breeding area with Steve driving & using the car as a hide i was well pleased with the results although i'd have preferred the weather not to have been so bright with the sun blazing down making it tricky!!

Oystercatcher

Dunlin

Little Ringed Plover

June 3rd 2011

2011-06-04T16:31:00.000+01:00

Another good night on the mothing front with my 1st Hawkmoths of the year with 2 Poplar Hawks in the trap along with other goodies like Small Angle Shades & Pale Prominent (photo highlights below)

Small Angle Shades

Freyer's Pug

Poplar Hawkmoth

Pale Prominent

May 30th 2011

2011-05-30T18:54:00.002+01:00

With the weather being poor for bird photography over the last week or so i turned my attention to a spot of moth trapping with last night being the best in a long while despite the rain from 1am onwards with 25+ species caught inc a few new for the garden (Highlights below)

Brown Silver-line

Grass Rivulet

Dark Arches

Light Arches

Dot Moth

Small Clouded Brindle

Brimstone

Green Carpet

Broad-barred White

May 18th 2011

2011-05-18T22:05:00.002+01:00

Gave the Night Heron at Earlswood Lakes,Warks a 2nd go tonight after missing it last night & well worth the effort with the bird flying over giving distant views but still a Warks tick putting me on 235 for the county!! also seen 1 male Mandarin & at least 6 Common Tern.The Heron was then picked up showing better in the Springbrook area to the South of the lakes & gave great views for the small crowd...

Mandarin

Night Heron

May 16th 2011

2011-05-17T10:28:00.000+01:00

Went over to Weedon Bec,Northants on Sunday afternoon for the adult Black Stork & was rewarded with good flight views but no pics,but only the 2nd iv'e seen in Britain with the last being in 1990. Spent most of today at Shustoke Reservoir photographing the Black-throated Diver which after givin Kev Groocock & myself the runaround for several hrs finally came in & fed just ft from the shoreline!

May 14th 2011

2011-05-15T10:01:00.000+01:00

The op went well & with good birds around i wasn't gonna waste the chance when good friend Steve Seal offered to come down from Stoke & drive me to the Great Northern Diver at Carsington Water,Derbys but 1st we had to try & get some images of the Black-throated Diver at Shustoke Reservoir,for over 3hrs we tried but the bird wasn't playing ball & at 1 point we hadn't seen it for well over an hr,the only added bonus for me was 3 Sanderlings flying low thru (shame they didn't land) Anyway we decided to sit it out at the east end of the Reservoir when the bird just slowly swam towards us & proceeded to feed very close in giving cracking views

A well earned cuppa then we were on our way North,on arrival with the weather not looking to good & the wind increasing the chances didn't look good,after a while Steve went up to the visitor centre & the Staff couldn't have been more helpfull a few calls on the radio & we were sent in the right direction,the bird was showing off Lane End Hide where we had reasonable views of this stonking Summer plumaged Great Northern Diver (Many thanks to Steve for the driving & also the staff at Carsington who were fantastic)

May 13th 2011

2011-05-15T09:04:00.000+01:00

Well only got an hrs sleep after my nightshift,i just wanted to get out & about before my op in the afternoon the target was the 1st summer Black-throated Diver at nearby Shustoke Reservoir found by Steve Hayne's the previous afternoon,on arrival i scanned the water for 20 mins or so with no joy so decided to walk down to the far end (east side) when i got there 1 photographer was already set up but hadn't seen the bird in the hr or so he'd been there!! so we had a chat for a while when from nowhere the diver popped up right in front of us!!!

May 12th 2011

2011-05-12T13:10:00.000+01:00

Well did another moth trap last night about the 3rd this month & was finally rewarded with my 1st macros of the spring after drawing blanks,nothing spectacular but it's a start (Looks like my birding & photography will be taking an extended break from Fri as im due to have a small Op on my right hand,fingers crossed not to long before i can drive & pick my gear up again)

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Rustic Shoulder-knot

May 7th 2011

2011-05-07T16:20:00.000+01:00

A walk round Draycote Water this morning in the pouring rain produced 1 Little Tern (My 1st in Warks for over 20yrs) 3 Black Tern,41 Common Tern,2 Common Sandpiper & 1 Dunlin also good numbers of Swift

May 3rd 2011

2011-05-04T19:51:00.000+01:00

Started off at Napton Res this morning hoping for Hobby but no such luck so made the short hop over to Draycote where there was an impressive movement of both Common & Black Tern with Common Terns being into the mid 30's & Black Terns were coming & going all the time but was probably well in excess of 100 birds also a large movement of Swift,Northern Wheatear & Little Gulls also seen before heading for Shustoke on route i had a txt from Tom Perrins to say there was 5 Black Tern on site also 1 1st sum Little Gull (Which was joined by 2 ad in the evening)

April 30th 2011

2011-04-30T19:15:00.001+01:00

Decided to head upto Staffordshire today,having seen some of the Common Whitethroat photos from Brown Edge on Birdguides & not much being seen of note nationally! You might think a 160mile round trip is a tad far for a Common migrant but it also gave me chance to meet up with ex Warks birder & photographer Steve Seal,1st stop was to Steve's locl patch of Knypersley Res where i soon had a good year tick in the form of Pied Flycatcher (a superb male in full song) we then carried onto nearby Marsh's Hill NR where we had good views of the Common Whitethroat,Willow Warbler,Grey Partridge (2) Green Hairstreak butterfly & Latticed Heath moth

April 28th 2011

2011-04-28T18:13:00.003+01:00

Back up the pool this morning with the 2 Common Tern still present,2 Reed Warbler,2 Common Whitethroat,1 Lesser Whitethroat & plenty of Swallows & Martins,whilst photographing the Common Terns they took to the air & chased 6 Arctic Terns off which dropped in briefly (my 1st on the pool for a few years) If Arctic Terns are on Seeswood then there was bound to be some at Shustoke so off i set & sure enough i was soon watching 3 birds which were busy feeding over the west end also at least 10 Swift

Common Tern

Arctic Tern

April 27th 2011

2011-04-28T18:01:00.001+01:00

A walk around the pool today produced 2 Common Tern,3 Reed Warbler,3 Common Whitethroat,30+ Swallow & good numbers of House Martin with the odd Sand Martin thru,I then popped into Draycote which was pretty quite with 7 Common Tern & a 1st summer Little Gull & my 1st Swifts of the year.

April 25th 2011

2011-04-25T12:12:00.001+01:00

A tip off from Kay D last night had me searching closer to home today for probably my favourite warbler (Grasshopper Warbler) I'd decided that if i couldnt find them locally it would mean a trip upto Attenborough Pits, Notts where a cpl have been performing well for the last few days,but no probs the local birds showed very well although only briefly but long enough to bag a few shots!

April 24th 2011

2011-04-25T12:03:00.000+01:00

With work commitments over the last few wks iv'e not really been able to get out with the camera so any spare time has been used to catch up with local summer migrants,but with news of a potential British tick (A bogey bird of mine) in the form of Purple Heron in Lincs i decided to have ago (Having dipped so many i was less than optimistic) Having picked Andy Jones up at just gone 7 we headed upto Huttoft Pits,Lincs on arrival we were met with the dreaded words no sign,with the hide being full i stepped out only for the call to go up i dashed back in but to late the bird had dropped back into the reeds! Bugger or words to that effect i stepped back outside only for the bird to fly past giving superb flight views as it flew across the water towards the back of the pit where it gave distant but cracking views for at least 1/2hr after getting a few record shots we headed upto Tetney Lock for the 5 Dotterel which were present with 1 a stunning female in full breeding plumage but sadly to distant for any kind of shots.

April 10th & 11th 2011

2011-04-11T20:10:00.000+01:00

A couple of days patch working for summer migrants & enjoying the weather,I started off doing Seeswood with the pooch early Sun morning & was rewarded with a singing Sedge Warbler at the back of the pool with Swallow over Blackcap,Chiffchaff & Willow Warbler all in residence,a quick stop at Brandon produced very little apart from the resident Cetti's Warblers I then carried on to Draycote where i was rewarded with 3 Year ticks in the form of 1 Black Tern 8+ Common Terns & a single House Martin.
Mon morning on the pool produced a nice female Northern Wheatear & Yellow Wagtail but little else

Common Tern

April 8th 2011

2011-04-09T18:37:00.000+01:00

A trip up to Water's Edge CP,Lincolnshire for the near SP Slavonian Grebe where i met up with Dean Eades & his dad & spent an enjoyable few hours (many thanks must go to Dean for all the info before & during my drive north) more photos on my other blog

http://dave-hutton.blogspot.com/

April 3rd 2011

2011-04-03T21:12:00.000+01:00

Early start this morning with my destination World's |End,Clewd,N.Wales but 1st stop was to pick me old wing man & good friend Steve Seal up from Stoke,by 5-30am we were on our way picking up both Barn & Tawny Owl on route on arrival at World's End we parked up in the rain just hoping for the best! nothing then about 8ish we got out of the car for a stretch where we were then rewarded by a stunning flypast bt a male Black Grouse quickly followed by a female (smiles all round!!) even better views later of birds still lekking at 9am,whilst waiting up on the footpath for the target bird of Dartford Warbler which showed down to feet at times we were then rewarded with a male Blk Grouse sat in a tree which i'd ignored for the best part of a few mins thinking it was just a corvid (gave me & Steve a good laugh when i suddenly realised!) Photos below....

Black Grouse (top 2 female bottom 2 male)

Dartford Warbler

April 2nd 2011

2011-04-03T20:20:00.000+01:00

A walk out with the pooch this morning produced Chiffchaff,5 Sand Martin & a Redshank on Seeswood this morning (The Redshank my 1st on the pool for several years) Next stop Draycote Water where i was soon onto Yellow Wagtail (2) along Farborough bank with 2 Little Gull also seen, the rest of the day spent mooching around when the phone lit up with Sandwich Tern at Shustoke Res,20 mins later i was at the carpark & was soon enjoying only my 2nd record in Warks (Many thanks to Tom Perrins yet again for the heads up)

March 28th 2011

2011-03-29T07:48:00.000+01:00

First stop this morning was Brandon Marsh for the Spotted Crake at East Marsh,no sign since 1st light & with the hide soon becoming full & standing room only decided to head over to Draycote for the Black Redstart again no sign although it was reported on RBA & Birdguides as showing well (Funny that as it was thick fog at the time & with at least 6 of us in the area at the time,we certainly didn't see it or any other birders!!) Anyway decided to head over to Wappenbury woods with Bob Hazell & Richard Mays & joined up with Steve Valentine in the search for Light Orange Underwing (National Scarce B Moth) where we had at least 35 a new Moth species for me,Bob then disturbed another moth which turned out to be a Early Tooth-striped another new species for me,i ended the day back at Brandon just for a year tick of Willow Warbler.

Light Orange Underwing (top 3 Male Bottom Female)

Early Tooth-striped

March 27th 2011

2011-03-28T08:27:00.000+01:00

Decided to have a day out on the Suffolk coast today & try & get some reasonable images of the wintering Twite & Shore Lark at Dingle Marshes! what nobody said that it was a good yomp of about 1 1/2 miles from the carpark! At least 4 Northern Wheatears seen along the shingle ridge fresh in from their wintering grounds was a good start,when we finally reached the feeding area we were rewarded with at least 10 Shore Lark & upto 20 Twite with the odd Reed Bunting,Skylark & Linnet feeding with them! Next stop was Dunwich Heath where we had reasonably good views of several Dartford Warblers & a few Red Deer on the heath.

March 26th 2011

2011-03-26T18:15:00.001Z

Dull cold & overcast today so didn't bother with the camera,just had a quick check at Shustoke,Kingsbury WP & Wishaw for migrants but apart fron Chiffchaff all was quiet,popped into Coton lakes & was rewarded with upto 50 Sand Martin (a welcome year tick) also Cetti's Warbler calling from the hide!

The rest of the day spent working on my new Blog which will concentrate on the Rare & Scarce Birds ive managed to photograph over the last few years to the present day!!

Link Here http://dave-hutton.blogspot.com/

March 20th 2011

2011-03-26T18:07:00.000Z

An afternoon spent at Whitacre Heath in the company of Pete Walkden,basically photographing anything that came within range!

Marsh Tit (Notice the duller cheeks & the white spot on bill)

Willow Tit (Cleaner cheeks & all dark bill)

Lesser Redpoll

Mealy Redpoll

Bank Vole

March 19th 2011

2011-03-19T18:48:00.002Z

Another chance to get out locally this morning despite only getting to bed at 7:30 am this morning i was up & out by 10ish not wanting to miss out on the good weather,destination Whitacre Heath again gettin back to basics with the commoner species + the Mealy Redpoll (again makin the most of the extension tubes!)

Willow Tit

Lesser Redpoll

Mealy Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

March 17th 2011

2011-03-18T14:55:00.001Z

A chance to get out local this afternoon to test out my new Extension tubes on the camera at Whitacre Heath
which worked well & allowed me to photograph the birds from the hide at a closer range than would be possible using my standard set-up! At £150 a set not cheap but cheaper than buying a new lens.

Mealy Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

March 8th 2011

2011-03-13T17:11:00.000Z

Stayed local again today with a few hours spent at Whitacre Heath NR photographing some of the woodland species coming into the feeders with the usual suspects at least 2 Mealy Redpoll (Photos below) & a superb Sparrowhawk a bird ive never managed to photograph up until now,the added bonus was having a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker feeding in the trees above us

March 7th 2011

2011-03-13T16:34:00.000Z

A txt from John Judge alerted me to the fact a Avocet was out in the centre of Draycote Water (Only my 3rd record in Warks) despite spending hours waiting it kept it's distance so had a walk around picking up the male Smew of Farborough bank & the 1st winter Drake & female Scaup off Hensborough bank

March 6th 2011

2011-03-13T16:24:00.000Z

Yet another trip up North,this time the destination was Scarborough with a short diversion to pick Mandy West & Rich Dawkins up from Barton-upon-Humber,1st stop was Filey Brigg but the tide was in & high but managed Eider,Common Scoter,Bar-tailed Godwit,Knot & Rock Pipit,next stop was Scarborough for the Mediterranean Gulls with at least 3 ad Summers a quick check of the harbour produced 25+ Purple Sandpiper,last stop of the day was back at Worlaby Carrs where we had 3 Short-eared Owls & 1 Barn Owl ending off the day!!

March 5th 20011

2011-03-07T18:12:00.003Z

Finally after my 3rd attempt i managed to see the Oriental Turtle Dove at Chipping Norton,Oxfordshire & what good views,even better getting some decent photographs but thanks must go to Mr Stephen Akers & his wife for allowing so many of us into their kitchen to view the bird, their hospitality was fantastic & much appreciated.

March 4th 2011

2011-03-07T18:03:00.003Z

A pleasant few hrs at Draycote today with Bob Hazell & Bob Duckhouse photographing the 2 Greater Scaup (with the male now moulting more into adult plumage) & a Continental ('Sinensis') Cormorant told from our Cormorant by the angle of the Gular patch

Continental Cormorant ('Sinensis')

Greater Scaup (1st winter Drake & female)

Teal (Drake & female)

February 27th 2011

2011-02-28T20:09:00.002Z

Well the chance of some Long-eared Owl photos had me heading North for the 3rd time this week,destination Blacktoft Sands,East Yorks a slight detour on the way to pick Rich Dawkins & Mandy West up from Barton-upon-Humber & we were on our way by 9:30 we'd had good views but very hard work for photography with all the branches etc in the way but mustn't complain! drove back down to South Ferribt dipped the RL Buzzard then onto Worlaby Carrs where we only had 1 Short-eared Owl (very distant) in about 4hrs of watching leaving a lot of birders/photographers rather fed up & just a little cold!!

Long-eared Owl

February 24th 2011

2011-02-25T19:17:00.005Z

Well i just had to go back up to Lincs for the Owls the weather forecast was good so an earlyish start had me up at Barton-upon-Humber for about 9:30 picking up Rich Dawkins on the way 1st stop was to the local pits where 2 Long-tailed Ducks were still present also good numbers of Tree Sparrow in the hedgerow,nxt stop to South Ferriby for the Juv Rough-legged Buzzard which showed well but a little to distant for anything more than record shots!! We reached Worlaby Carrs about 12ish & were joined by Mandy West,Darren Chapman & about 50 other photographers from all parts of the country! The birds must have been enjoying baskin in the sun as apart from a cpl of distant flight views the action didn't hot up till about 4:20 when old faithfull came & showed off!! Ive never seen so many happy & relieved faces in a long time (Photos below)

Short-eared Owl

Rough-legged Buzzard

February 21st 2011

2011-02-22T11:40:00.006Z

Well the chance to get out & test my new toy (Canon 1D Mk111) came up today so a cpl of hrs trip up to Barton-upon-Humber to collect Rich Dawkins & Mandy West alongside Andy Jones & a tour around Rich & Mandy's local patches soon produced the 1st yearly tick in the shape of 2 Long-tailed Duck quickly followed by at least 50 Tree Sparrows (A good start to the day!) A short trip then onto South Ferriby for the Juv Rough-legged Buzzard by the cement works (Dipped) then onto Worlaby Carrs for the main attraction the Short-eared Owls,no sooner had we got on the approach rd & Rich had picked up a bird flying alongside the rd,we passed the 1st photographer who looked familiar but nobody else commented so carried onto the end of the rd where we soon had another Owl (which was so confiding!) altogether we had at least 6 birds also a female Merlin posed for us at a distance but flew directly over us giving great views,by now the wind & the rain was gettin the better of us so a quick check for Corn Buntings (at least 10) then it was bk to the car for a warm,by now the other photographer had pulled up along side us & got out for a chat! Yes he was familiar none other than Warwickshires Steve Valentine who hadn't managed to get any birds perched so after putting him onto a roosting bird in the grass we left him be! (Glad to say Steve finally got the bird perched up & posing aswell!!) A fantastic day which ended with us back at South Ferriby where we had superb views of the Rough-legged Buzzard hopefully i'll be doing the trip again in better weather!!!

February 12th 2011

2011-02-13T10:38:00.004Z

Well call me obsessive but i just had to make the 350 mile round journey again for the Long-billed Dowitcher at Poole Park,Dorset! Knowing the weather was gonna be sunshine it was just gonna have to be done so 6am found me on my travels,it didn't look promising on the way down with light rain but by the time i arrived at 8:45 it was blue skies & with the sun over my shoulder just perfect ,after rattling off nearly 700 shots & being very happy i headed for home!!

(just a few of the shots below & my now obligitory head shot above!

More photos on my website http://www.davehutton.fotopic.net/

February 11th 2011

2011-02-13T10:20:00.007Z

Had a trip over to Draycote Water Friday hoping for some better photos of the female Scaup but just as she was coming into range the motor launch came out & spooked the birds! Had 8 Raven over the outflow (a good local count) 15 Goosander by the inflow but photographic chances were ziloch so myself & Bob Hazell headed back to the old visitor centre to check for Moths,we were delighted to find at least a dozen Dotted Border(Light & Dark versions) 2 Spring Ushers (New for me) 3 Early Moth & 3 Pale Brindled Beauty! so a good trip in the end (Thats if you like Moths of course?)

Spring Usher

Pale Brindled Beauty

Early Moth

Dotted Border

10th February 2011

2011-02-11T20:31:00.009Z

Long-billed Dowitcher
Ring-billed Gull

Well finally made it down to Poole,Dorset for the Long-billed Dowitcher & Ring-billed Gull (both 1st winters) & the weatherman just for a change got it wrong (It promised rain till 6am) by 11am totally soaked i gave up! 2 cracking additions for the year & both photographic ticks (Digitally anyway!) A cracking site with Godwits,Redhanks,Oystercatchers all real close for photography (so def a trip back in better weather?)

Long-billed Dowitcher

Ring-billed Gull

Black-tailed Godwit

February 6th 2011

2011-02-06T20:24:00.003Z

Well i was hoping to get down on the South coast this W/E but the high winds put me off so just had a lazy few days! ending up spending a cpl of hrs at Draycote Water sun afternoon in search of the female Greater Scaup (Year tick) soon found the bird in Rainbow corner & she showed well just a pity about the weather! also seen was a very flighty female Smew.

January 31st 2011

2011-02-01T10:19:00.004Z

Went back over to Clayhanger Marsh,W.Mids for the Black-throated Diver, arrived in glorious sunshine but was left with only distant views & no chance of any photos as the pool was 9/10 frozen with only a small patch open by the island,so a few more from Sundays trip below

January 30th 2011

2011-01-30T21:03:00.007Z

Out early this morning with my old friend Andy Jones destination Clayhanger Marsh,Walsall,W.Mids for the Juv/1st winter Black-throated Diver,after seeing the mutterings on Surfbirds & questions being asked on it's ID & some even going as far as saying Pacific Diver (I just had to go & have a look) the last 2 days the bird has been called as Great-northern,Pacific (by some) & Black-throated (which is what it is,a bog standard BT Diver) The bird is small but with all birds there's always a marked difference male/female runt etc!! Anyway the bird showed well in the early light but having to get Andy back for a prior appointment we left early & headed back to Nuneaton,on route we had 3 Waxwing on Castle Rd,Hartshill (a welcome year tick for Andy) After dropping Andy off i headed straight back over as a 2nd Winter Iceland Gull had been reported at Stubber's Green (Many thanks to Steve Evans who came across & pointed me in the right direction) after having good but distant views decided to have the last hr at Clayhanger with the Diver which showed well in the sunshine (photo above,3 from this morning below)

Black-throated Diver (Juv/1st Winter)

Iceland Gull (3rd Winter ?)

Tufted Duck (female above,male below)

Common Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

January 25th 2011

2011-01-25T12:45:00.002Z

A walk out with the dog this morning & a quick check of the local rowans produced no Waxwings so headed upto the woods on the way back though the distinct sound of Waxwings could be heard with at least 50 birds feeding on Thorntons Way on Rose hips by the old subway,the same place as back in Dec,popped into the local shop & 5 birds were back on Kingswood Rd briefly! A quick check on Seeswood produced the 1st winter White-fronted Goose with Greylags in the field 1 back from the fishermans carpark! Driving back from town & a single Waxwing was on telegraph wires on Tomkinson Rd just up from the Cock & Bear jnc.

January 24th 2011

2011-01-24T16:47:00.004Z

Still at least 60+ birds present on Kingswood Rd this morning apart from when Max came went just 1 bird was present but showing very well (just a shame about the light) still quite a few people coming to visit the birds from as far away as Stratford so pleased that the birds are putting on a show! Took a trip up Seeswood Pool to have a look for the 1st Winter White-fronted Goose with mssrs J Liggins & A Burton & sure enough the bird was still present,went back in the afternoon where i met up with Terry Southgate,Mo & Dennis Woodward & the conclusion is that this is the recent Marsh Lane bird going on the bird showing a juv belly plumage but 1st winter face!

White-fronted Goose

January 23rd 2011

2011-01-23T15:47:00.003Z

Seeswood Pool

Decided to check on the pool this afternoon,been a birdless place for the last few months & i seem to have neglected it,so a friendly word in my ear Fri night (Thanks Steve) that i might miss something if i didn't keep a check on the place had me up there with the dog!! straight away 6 Goosander (3m 3f) a good site record along with 9 Pochard a quick scan thru the Greylag Geese & bingo a 1st Winter European White-fronted Goose,only the 3rd record for the pool (1st record 1/3/1960 2nd record 15/4/1990) So well worth the visit! took the pooch home then went back to get some record shots above.

January 23rd 2011

2011-01-23T12:52:00.007Z

Waxwings Galore!!

Decided to stay local today,checked out my local Waxwings at 08:30 when 30 birds were present by 09:30 upto 148 birds were present!! A superb sight & sound!! It also produced probably Grove Farms 1st mini twitch with at least 10 birders at any one time!! Hopefully they all went home happy!! Photos above from Y'days session as the light is not really good enough today!

January 21st & 22nd 2011

2011-01-22T09:33:00.006Z

Upto 90+ birds present this afternoon & the sun even came out for 5mins!

At least 51 Birds present in trees this morning 22nd but being kept at bay by a single Mistle Thrush.

After finishing my nightshift i decided to have a lazy day recovering,at about 3pm decided to head out to visit friends just as i was getting into the car,the familiar sound of Waxwing could be heard & right above me was a single bird (nice garden tick)a quick run down to the main road produced at least another 70+ birds coming down to the 3 rowan trees (fantastic the most ive had in my home town) the birds took flight & all ended up in the hedgerow outside the front of my house!! cpl of record shots in the dimming light above

January 16th 2011

2011-01-17T10:15:00.005Z

Decided to have a day out in North Norfolk with some good year ticks on offer! 1st stop was the East bank at Cley where i soon found the Shore Larks an impressive 11 birds on the shingle bank between the East bank & coastguards,next was the American Wigeon on Pope's Marsh which showed well in the scope but just to far for any pics! Next stop Salthouse for the Snow Buntings which showed well but were very flighty also seen were thousands of Pink-footed Geese,Brent Geese a flyover Ross's Goose (I presume an escapee,unless it was the Holkham bird?) final stop was at Thornham marsh for the Northern Harrier,on arrival it didn't look good with many birders on site for over 4hrs & not a sighting,so i sat in the car scoping the marsh when the crowd started moving towards me & there it was coming low over the coal barn,a cracking looking bird but in my haste to grab me bins & camera i somehow caught a can of Cherry cola which exploded everywhere much to a few birders amusement!! A brilliant end to the day birdwise but a sticky 2 1/2hr drive home.

Redshank
Turnstone

Pink-footed Goose

Dark-bellied Brent GooseShore Lark

Snow Bunting

January 9th 2011

2011-01-09T20:04:00.004Z

Well i was planning a trip into Norfolk today but chronic backache & being up most of the night forced a change of plan! so a shorter journey down to Berkshire was the order of the day,with the light the best so far this Year the chance of some more pics of the Glossy Ibis at Freeman's marsh & the nearby Great White Egret proved to be the right choice!!

Great White Egret

Glossy Ibis

January 6th 2011

2011-01-07T15:59:00.004Z

Headed back over to Bretford for some better photos of the Bewick's Swan (well better light at least!) but the bird was a lot further away but picked up a year tick in the form of John Judge who put me onto the fact the Lawford Pink-footed Goose & Greylags had just dropped into Draycote,so off i shot hoping to get some pics!! bumped into Bob Hazell on the way rnd who'd watched the bird come in & had got some nice shots of it!! I carried on around to the outflow but the birds had already flown (Bugger or words to that effect!!) so made my way back rnd to Farborough bank for a few shots of the drake Smew in far from perfect light!

Smew

January 5th 2011

2011-01-05T18:35:00.003Z

Despite the awfull dull weather again,ventured out for the Bewick's Swan just out of Bretford on the A428 mixed in with the flock of Mute Swans after a few record shots i dropped in at Draycote water which was cold,wet & very quite bird wise,best bird being the fine drake Smew off Farborough bank,dropped back into Bretford on the way home where the Bewick's was still showing & then onto Kings Newham rd for the Pink-footed Goose in with the Greylags & Canada Geese also present 1 Barnacle Goose with a heavily stained (yellow)face! 2 Good Warks Year birds so not a bad morning

Bewick's Swan

January 4th 2011

2011-01-04T20:02:00.003Z

Having got up early this morning intending to have a full days birding out & about i was put of with the snow coming down thick & fast,so a quick walk out with the dog a look on the web decided to head down to Berkshire for the Glossy Ibis at Freeman's Marsh,Hungerford,Berks! hoping the weather would be better down south (It wasn't it was freezing cold dull with drizzle)but the bird showed fantastically well!!

Glossy Ibis

January 2nd 2011

2011-01-02T14:58:00.003Z

My 1st day out in 2011! I decided to head out to Coton Lakes as there was some good county ticks to be had!! 2 Smew (redheads)1 Water Rail,2 Common Snipe & a superb Bittern which showed well briefly despite the cpl who banged around & made as much noise as possible just as it was coming right out into the open!!!
Bittern

December 26th -30th 2010

2010-12-30T14:52:00.004Z

December 30th 2010
Took another trip over to Kingsbury this morning but didn't even stop the car as the fog was that thick on Bodymoor Heath Rd,however this afternoon it seemed to have lifted quite a lot!! but not at Kingsbury where the birds had departed,no sign of the Bewick's so i dropped in at Coton where Archie Archer had them flying in several mins before,a few quick record shots & the birds were off again (no doubt back to the grazing fields!!)

Bewick's Swan

December 29th 2010
A txt from Tom Perrins alerting me to the news of 55 White-fronted Geese & 1 Pink-footed Goose in with the mixed flock of Canada & Greylag Geese at Kingsbury on the 28th had me leaving it till the nxt morning due to the thick fog,not much better but 2 good Warks birds & popular judging by the amount of birders coming & going!! spent an hour along the River Anker in the afternoon picking up Kingfisher & a fine drake Smew near Mancetter!!

White-fronted Goose

December 26th 2010
Still 9 birds on Thorntons way feeding on Rowan trees & fallen berries on the floor by late afternoon upto 50 birds were being reported!!!

Waxwing (Thorntons Way 26/12/10)

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-25T10:46:00.003Z

Travelled over to Hillmorton,Warks for the 18 Waxwings by the A428 on Xmas eve but the birds were difficult as the road was so busy but a nice sight!! Yet again out with the dog Xmas morning to find at least 6 birds 5mins from the house on Thorntons Way (A nice start to Xmas day)

Waxwing (Hillmorton,Warks 24/12/10)

December 22nd 2010

2010-12-22T17:22:00.004Z

A quick visit over to Kingsbury today for the 8 Bewick's Swans present with Mutes opposite the water park,8 birds present(4ad,4juvs)but the birds are spread out & distant.

Bewick's Swans (with Mutes)

December 19th & 20th 2010

2010-12-20T17:09:00.002Z

A quick check of Vale View produced at least 15+ Waxwings perched up in the trees behind the flats but by the time i'd gone back to the car & phoned around locally the birds had yet again dispersed!! a quick check this morning produced nothing so headed back home & spent an hour on my carpark photographing Treecreeper from the comfort of the car!!
Common Treecreeper

December 17th 2010

2010-12-17T16:15:00.005Z

Well lightning does strike twice! this morning whilst walking the pooch i heard the distinctive trilling of Waxwings but no sign so carried on,after the pooch had his walk i decided to go & have a look around & sure enough found 8 birds perched up by the Community centre on Kingswood Rd,by now the snow was really coming dwn so yet again no pics (but they were there honest!!)Anyway a cpl of hrs later Bob Duckhouse had ventured onto my patch & we spent 1/2 hr searching(Nothing)after a quick cuppa Bob decided to head off,within 10mins he was phoning me to say he'd got several opposite the Cherry Tree pub (Whittleford park) so a quick dash up there & sure enough 5 birds present but very flighty (cpl of pics above & several below whilst waiting)
Redwing

December 16th 2010

2010-12-16T13:15:00.002Z

Well thats just typical,I'd held off travelling outside of Warks for Waxwing then last Sunday headed down to Alcester (near the border)where i had great views & some nice photos also a Year tick!! Then i walk down to my local shop this afternoon (less than 30 secs away & have 3 birds perched up)Only about the 4th time ive had them in my home town & 2nd time on the Rd where i live!! No photos as i'd only popped out for a paper but a cpl above from last Sunday

December 12th 2010

2010-12-12T17:18:00.002Z

Finally caught up with Waxwings today in Warwickshire,i was determined not to travel out of Warks for them & the chance of some in the southern part of the county (87mile rnd journey!! even though theyve been a lot closer but in diff counties!!)got me on the move to Alcester,in the 3hrs i was present the birds built up from just single No's to about 28 birds,always a delight to see & good to catch up with a cpl of familiar faces (Pete Walkden & Vince Garvey)
Waxwing

December 9th 2010

2010-12-11T10:09:00.007Z

Had another brief visit to Draycote Water for another go at the 1st Winter Sanderling as the light yesterday was burning out the colours slightly so with it a little more overcast was hoping for better!! The bird performed well but the biting wind son had me heading back to the car,where i spent 1/2hr watching the Redwings at close quarters!!
Redwing

Sanderling

December 8th 2010

2010-12-08T19:47:00.005Z

A call from Steve Seal (tellin me to get me arse in gear & get out & do some photography 'again'this morning had the desired effect!! 1/2hr later i was at Draycote Water (this time bathed in warm winter sunshine (well sun anyway still -2) as soon as i pulled up the Redwings were showing so used the car as a hide (well chuffed with the results!)after an hr or so i got out to be met by Kev Groocock we walked to the valve tower & back enjoying cracking views of Sanderling & Dunlin & good views of the drake Smew!!

Sanderling

Dunlin

Redwing

December 7th 2010

2010-12-08T19:35:00.008Z

(Star of the day 'Grey Tree Rat') yeah yeah i know it's a Squirrel!!

Willow Tit

Jay

Nuthatch

Had a day out with me old buddy Steve Seal today (Old by i mean long time friend!!)-8 when i set out & stayed about -3 all day but a superb day indeed & the time flew by!! a cracking area Knypersley Reservoir,Staffs & well worth a visit or 2!!

December 6th 2010

2010-12-06T19:51:00.005Z

A txt from my old wing man Steve Seal encouraged me to get out & do some photography today (as Steve put it get out in the fantstic light!!)Well 3/4hr later i was at Draycote Water where it was -3 & thick fog (Oh well!!!) decided to have a look anyway fog fog & more fog couldnt even see the water but moved down to the shoreline & was rewarded with Sanderling & Dunlin (which showed well,typical no sun hardly any light & the birds are performing!!) after 1/2hr i gave up & went back to the motor where a cpl of Redwings were showing well (never really had the chance to photograph them properly before & yep the fog was getting worse,so can't grumble bout my shots!!)
Redwing

Sanderling

Dunlin