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Part 2 - 2013 in pictures (August to December)

7:50 AM | Posted by Unknown | | Edit Post

some of my favourite images and not so good images that depict my favourite moments of 2013

A month by month guide part 2: August to December.

Kruger Park - August:
Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill

Pearl Spotted Owlet

Lilac Breasted Roller

Southern Ground Hornbill

Hammerkop

Cheetah

African Fish Eagle

Orange Breasted Bush-shrike

Giant Kingfisher

African Elephants

September:

juvenile Dotterel - Great Orme (a twitch with a good friend, Phil)

October:

Glossy Ibis- Horwich (another localish twitch with Phil)

November:

Parrot crossbill - Holt CP (a long jaunt to Norfolk for this)
(I have had to cadge this image from Phil as mine were poor, cheers Phil)

December:

Lesser Redpoll - Winter returns .....Happy Days

Baikal Teal - what no image!
(however it didnt take away the feeling of euphoria when I got to see this mega rarity)

and (not quite) the last twitch of the year.....
Hoopoe - Abergele.

the last twitch of the year.... which also included the American Buff Bellied Pipit

Siberian Chiffchaff - Burton

To all my readers, thank you for dropping by over the course of the year, enjoy your festive season and best wishes for 2014

Dave

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Part 1 - 2013 in pictures (January - July)

12:10 PM | Posted by Unknown | | Edit Post

some of my favourite images and not so good images that depict my favourite moments of 2013

A month by month guide January to July.

January:

Hawfinch - Derbyshire

February:

Waxwing - very local and only a few minutes drive to see 120+

Twite - Flint Castle

March:

Black Redstart - Little Neston

Sparrowhawk - although he is a garden regular this was a close encounter

April:

Short Eared Owl - Cat and Fiddle

May:

Red Flanked Bluetail - Finland

Stellas Eider - Norway

Siberian Jay - Finland

Tengmalms Owl - Finland

Pine Grosbeak male - Finland

Pine Grosbeak female - Finland

Bluethroat - Finland (a chance find while stopping for a comfort break)

June:

was it really that quiet!!!!

July:

My first ever attempt at garden mothing produced this stunner - Buff Tip

and this one... Elephant Hawk moth

and into South Africa and an attempt here to keep it to only 7 images for July
African Penguin

Spotted Thicknee

Knysna Turaco

African Black Oystercatcher

Spotted Eagle Owl

Blue Crane

Part 2 to follow soon

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Lesser Redpoll - December 2013

6:40 AM | Posted by Unknown | | Edit Post

Pt 1

They are back in good numbers, 18 today. Hopefully the 40+ will be a daily occurrence as the weather turns colder during the winter.

Makes winter far more bearable with these fellas about the garden.

and not to be out done a Blue Tit got in on todays photo shoot

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Winter arrives in the garden

7:24 AM | Posted by Unknown | | Edit Post

Its un-officially winter in my garden when the Lesser Redpolls arrive, this week they came back....

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Mega Alert - Baikal Teal

5:03 AM | Posted by Unknown | | Edit Post

and a Long Tailed Duck.

Nearly a week had passed and the debate had receded from whether or not it was indeed only the 5th ever record of Baikal Teal in the United Kingdom or had it jumped a fence from somebody's collection. The bird was immediately guilty until proven innocent, only in the UK do we give murderers a better start than the birds..... anyway the conclusion is genuine BAIKAL TEAL in Lancashire, only 90 minutes away. Gonna go? you bet.

Chris and myself arrived at Marshside, Southport mid morning to news that it had been seen but the flock of Wildfowl that it had been with had been flushed by a Peregrine Falcon early morning. It hadn't been relocated. We set off in the general direction of the last sighting and quickly picked up a Long Tailed Duck. A UK lifer for me #235. I had seen flocks of 100s in Norway but had managed to miss any UK sightings, this was an unexpected bonus.

Long Tailed Duck

Arriving at the sea wall embankment overlooking a large marsh we were inundated with thousands of Wigeon, Teal, Lapwings, Pink Footed and Canada Geese and two bird watchers who were also looking for the Baikal Teal. As we approached the birders said that they thought they were onto the bird but it was proving difficult relocating it in the marsh ditches and ever moving flock of Wigeon. It took a while, but someone got onto it again, brilliant, but passing on the exact location to others was proving difficult, no obvious land marks were visible so it became something like this "left of the piece of dead grass pointing at 2 o`clock which is just right of the fattest Wigeon that is waddling towards us". "Which piece of dead grass pointing at 2 o`clock...... which fat Wigeon waddling towards us"

Anyway the flock was semi distant, (too far away for images, but now on reflection I really wish I had taken even the crappiest record shot I could have mustered) but we all got onto it. It rested with head half heartedly tucked in and an eye blinking constantly alert. Its head pattern and colouration stood out a mile, what a bird. We had 30 minutes uninterrupted views of it as more and more twitchers arrived eagerly asking where it was. We could now aid in others getting their scopes onto it..... one fella let me get him lined up and just as he acknowledged the sight with "got it Wow!" the flock had been spooked. The Baikal Teal raised its head, stretched its neck, it was on high alert and was about to take off......I was lucky enough to see the bird in full glory for a few seconds and as expected the flock took flight, we tracked it for a few seconds more in the mass of Wigeon and Teal but lost it as they all dropped even further back on the marsh.

We didn't relocated it during our next hours stay but we had seen it, it is a gem of a bird, and what a privilege. We left 20 twitchers desperately seeking further sightings of the Baikal Teal.

Life bird #1050, UK bird #236

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