A Quick Visit to Deadman's Hill

29th April 2014

I was in Stevenage and had an hour to kill so decided to pop up to Deadman's Hill near Baldock. Deadman's Hill is well known for its raptors during the winter months, but they are very thin on the ground at this time of the year. However, it is still a very special place with lots of species that are becoming scarcer further south in the county such as Linnets, Corn Buntings and Grey Partridges.

It was a relatively calm day and when I got out of the car I was met with a barrage of Sky Lark and Corn Bunting song. Whoever said that Sky Larks are declining, because wherever I go they are numerous and still sing each summer over my garden? There were also small flocks of Linnets flying around but too distant to photograph.

A quick scan with the bins revealed a singleton Hare crouching in the grass not too far from the car. I never quite understand the population dynamics of this mammal as if you come here in late winter or early spring you can see up to 100 over the area from Wallington Road to Coombe Road, so where do they all go? Also in the field were a pair of Grey Partridges which unfortunately kept their distance.

In the field at the top of the hill by the A505 a mysterious fence has appeared. It is too high for a sheep fence, but probably not high enough for a deer farm. However, it transpires that the fence has been erected by the owners of the nearby dog kennels and is to be used as a dog training area. As I was leaving the site I drove back up the hill with the fence on my left and there sitting on top of the fence was a singing Corn Bunting.

I pulled up on to the verge and walked back with my camera and started taking a few photos. The bird then flew from the fence to a nearby bush and over time I was able to edge closer and get some more photos in a more natural setting. Wonderful!!

Garganey and Black Tern at Amwell

29th April 2014

A pair of Garganey had arrived at Amwell and had taken up residence on the spit in front of the White Hide. There had also been a pair of Garganey at Rye Meads for 10 days, so it is possible that this was the same pair that had flown the 1.5 miles between sites.

Fortunately they were in the open but, as is often the case with Garganey, were asleep. Eventually they woke up and went for a wander and a feed in the muddy shallows allowing a number of shots to be taken. Opportunities like this are rare as your views of Garganey are often distant.

During this time the Black Tern was spending most of its time out in the middle of the lake and so I turned my attention to the Common Terns that were fishing in the bay to the right of the hide. With a little patience it is possible to get reasonable shots of Common Terns in flight as they often fly a repetitive circuit and can come quite close.

Then, much to my surprise, the Common Terns were joined by the Black Tern which was far more difficult to photograph, keeping to the other side of the bay and hugging the reed bed making focusing more difficult. However, after taking about 100 shots I did mange to get a couple of reasonable mementos of the occasion.

A Quick Visit to Amwell

22nd April 2014

A quick afternoon visit to Amwell produced rather more than expected. I walked rather briskly up the lane only stopping briefly to photograph a Dunnock that didn't show any inclination to move. Fortunately for us photographers, a number of birds seem oblivious to humans when they are singing or staking out their territory.

Onwards to the viewpoint and all the usual suspects on show with both Redshank and Little Ringed Plovers feeding on the mud immediately below the rail.

I was busy photographing one of the Little Ringed Plovers when I noticed that a second Redshank had appeared although seemed to be keeping to the emergent vegetation in the water . A quick check through the bins revealed that this was in fact not a second Redshank at all, but a rather splendid female Ruff, a Reeve. Not a rarity, but a rather scarce migrant in the Lea Valley. I wish every day had surprises like this.

A Day at Titchwell

19th April 2014

After the successful day at Hunstanton Cliffs photographing the Fulmars, spending the next day at Titchwell was a must. Arriving at about 10.30am I took one of the last places left in the car park, and headed straight to the first hide. As would be expected, the water levels were high at this time of year so there was no exposed mud and no waders right in front of the hide. That is apart from Avocets. Avocets feed by sifting and are therefore just at home walking around in the shallows or swimming and up-ending to sift the water. Unfortunately, this latter behaviour makes them very difficult to photograph as they spend most of their time with their heads under the water.

However, with a little patience it is possible to get some shots when they are resting, or when for those few precious moments they have got their head above water.

Now on to a rather unusually deserted beach, deserted by people that is. In fact the probable reason that it was deserted by people was that it was also deserted by birds. However, as the tide continued to recede there were signs of movement with a few small flocks of waders appearing. First up were the Oystercatchers which seem to spend much of their time commuting to and fro from feeding and roosting areas. Also a few Sanderlings appeared hurrying around at the water's edge as though time was running out. This one was still in its winter plumage.

But the spectacle of the day was the arrival of a sizeable flock of Bar-tailed Godwits which flew in and started to feed quite close to where I was standing. Just one or two of the birds were now in their stunning orange full breeding plumage and stood out from the rest of the crowd as they were illuminated by the sun.

With a little patience it was possible to get quite close to the flock allowing some nice group shots to be taken, with a Knot interloper being evident in the last photo.

The Hunstanton Fulmars

18th April 2014

Each year I like to spend a day at Hunstanton photographing the Fulmar Petrels. Up to now I have stood on top of the cliffs and photographed them as they soar above the cliffs. Unfortunately this is not easy as, for safety reasons, there is a fence which stops you getting too close to the edge and the birds only fly above the cliff occasionally and soon drop down from view. Therefore opportunities are few and far between and relatively short-lived. So today, for the very first time, I walked along the beach and stood at the base of the cliffs.

This was so much better as the Fulmars are in view all the time and, in addition, you can see the birds on the nests. Better still, the cliffs are not very high and therefore whether you are photographing the birds in flight or on their nests they are never more than 30 yards away and sometimes a lot closer.

I thought I would start with the easiest and photographed some of the birds on their nests. This was more entertaining than I thought because, while some birds just sit and watch the world go by, others are quite animated, not only with themselves but also with interlopers. Some of the nests are quite attractive as they are among Wallflowers of which there are numerous plants on the cliffs, making it a blaze of yellow, orange and red.

Then came the real challenge, photographing them in flight. Its easier than on the top of the cliff in some ways as you can always see them and know when they are coming. The difficulty comes when deciding the camera settings as one minute they are against a cliff background and the next minute against the sky. However, practice makes perfect and I eventually got some shots and as I have said before, it is more exciting than fishing.

Don't forget that for better reproduction of my photos, see my photo gallery at flickr.com/photos/seymourbirdies

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Fowlmere and Lynford in Early Spring

17th April 2014

An early spring visit to Lakenheath although probably a little too early for some migrants and particularly one of their specialist birds, the Hobby. However, imagine our elation when as we stepped out of Stuart's new car as we were treated  to a flyover eagle. WOW!!! Well actually it was not of the Golden or White-tailed variety, but an F15 Eagle of the United States Air Force based at RAF Lakenheath just down the road. Following my career in air defence I must say it sent shivers up my spine.

As we walked up the river bank a Kestrel was working its way along, frequently hovering to try its luck. A bit further along what I assumed was the same bird was once again out over The Wash, but I thought I would check it out just in case. Just as well that I did as it was a Hobby, which turned out was the first record of the season for Lakenheath and possibly for Suffolk. Unfortunately, it was a fly-through and slightly too far away for a decent shot, but without this record shot it would not have been accepted!!

We then reached the bus shelter at New Fen when it soon became obvious that a pair of Marsh Harriers were building a nest in the middle of the reed bed. No opportunities there, but it was noticeable that they were collecting most of the nest material from the other side of the river and were commuting from one side to the other, So the obvious place to stand was on the river back so they would have to fly past to get to the nest. Unfortunately, at that time, only the female was on duty but still a magnificent bird.

As we were in the area we decided to finish off the day with a visit to Lynford Arboretum. The main attraction here at the moment is the Crossbills that are coming down to drink from a puddle in the yard. First up was a smart male Siskin which alighted quite close to where we were standing, but then a female Crossbill also came down for a drink. Unfortunately by this time the light was poor and so it looks as if it will require another visit for some decent shots.