Moving towards winter 2016

The leaves are falling, the daylight hours are getting shorter it can only be late autumn. Although there are probably less bird species to see they are easier to spot with less foliage on the trees and if the paths remain reasonably dry some great days can be enjoyed.

We had a long weekend up in south west Scotland with our friends John and Karen, a lovely cottage near Dalbeattie was booked for three nights and we met up with them at RSPB Mersehead for an afternoon's bird watching before heading off to locate the cottage.

Many thousands of barnacle geese arrive from northern climes at this time of the year but our first bird was a lovely greenfinch...

The barnacle geese were all around in the fields...

Shoveler duck (male) out on one of the lagoons...

Easy to see how they gained their name!

The geese came in close now and again...

...and then as often happens with recently arrived migrants, something would spook them and thousands would circle round before landing again!

As you can see the weather was not too photo friendly!

Returning the next day the skies had brightened and a sweet robin posed nicely...

A yellowhammer too

If it wasn't for the intrusive twig!

Out at sea the sky was interesting...

Reed buntings showed well

A male pintail duck

Ken Dee Marshes is another great RSPB reserve in the area and we always pay a visit when we are in the area.

Plenty of common species show well and a the now uncommon willow tit has a stronghold here,

Blue tit

Nuthatch

Coal tit

Great tit

Willow tit

Nuthatch again

And another blue tit

Fieldfare in flight

Rather than head straight home on our day of departure we called at a little nature reserve near Lockerbie, red squirrels thrive here and come amazingly close with a little bit of patience. It is amazing how close the world of wildlife photography can be and within minutes of being there I realised two great Facebook friends were there, great to meet Stuart and Gill and we had a good chat between snapping away at the squirrels. Another gentleman who was using the hide introduced himself and so the circle of like minded wildlife photographers increases! Great to meet you Tony!

Anyway squirrel shots...

As usual a great trip with dear friends, virtual friendships made a little more real and a new friendship too.

Back home and reports of waxwings all down the east coast and heading our way, I got a report from a mate of them near Silsden and we dashed off to find them. We do not get these visitors from Scandinavia and Siberia every year, how true the stories of them being a sign of a cold hard winter to come are I don't know, but they are stunning birds.

Just my luck a grey and murky day but at least we had sightings and photographs.

I kept a routine check on the waxwings hoping for a brighter spell of weather

Finally a bright day arrived!

A red kite from my raptor watching...

More waxwings!!!

 

Although we have had some great sightings at my raptor watchpoint including, goshawk, hen harriers, peregrine, merlin, red kite, sparrowhawk, buzzards and kestrels recently not much has been close enough for photographs.

Some small birds are really comfortable there and one of my favourite photographs was this blue tit.

 The sun is usually setting when I leave the watchpoint giving me the opportunity to stop off on the way home to get a shot or two.

Splendid ends to splendid days, me and nature seem to get on quite well. The love of being out there in natural surroundings enjoying what the day brings is calming, peaceful and relaxing. The company of my friends at the raptor watch is treasured, learning is never over and I still have a long way to go to reach the levels of knowledge I aspire to...plus we enjoy a fair few laughs!!!

Many thanks to all who read the blog, don't forget if you do comment that they come to me first for moderationn

Dumfries and Galloway October 2015

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, other wildlife projects have kept keyboard time to a minimum. The appalling weather of late now means outdoor activities are limited so I have time to catch up a bit!

Back in October last year we had a family holiday in the beautiful area that comprises Dumfries and Galloway in south west Scotland. We were not blessed with bright skies for the large part but we were out everyday and had some memorable sightings before meeting up with the younger ones for joyous, fun filled family meals.

The visit was to RSPB Mersehead, a good reserve with plentiful and varied sightings, our first was a teal.

Then a pintail

The area is noted for the large flocks of barnacle geese which over winter before heading back to northern climes.

Yellowhammers can be spotted around the visitor centre

Another reserve at Loch Ken Dee Marshes and a coal tit

A wren had become trapped in one of the hides and despite us opening every door and window it continued to fly in a panicky fashion eventually collided with a wall and stunning itself. Cupping it in my hands I was able to provide it with some necessary warmth and also darkness which calmed it. After a couple of minutes it was fine again and after I placed it by the path it flew to the hide roof and posed for a photograph as if to say thanks!

Nuthatch visited the feeders

Bullfinch in the car park

There is a red kite feeding station in the area and car journeys or walks without sighting them were rare.

Corsewall Point is at the north western tip of the peninsula and offers views out to the open ocean where migratory birds often pass closeby.

A gannet flew by...

A red throated diver came in fairly near to our rocky watchpoint

Rock pipits were around us

And a guillemot bobbed and dived in the lively water...

The lighthouse

We tried a few beach walks when the weather allowed, redshanks are fairly easy to spot.

Common gull

Curlew

and another redshank

More red kites

Small flocks of redpoll were fairly common in the area

Some scenic drives were enjoyed on the damper days, the autumn colours on the hills were superb.

A buzzard having a scan round from the vantage point of a tree top...

We went back to Mersehead as there were reports of a male hen harrier being seen, this beautiful bird is really hard to see in England mainly due to persecution on the grouse moors. I spotted it as it flew in over some reedbeds.

The contrasting effects that water can create, each beautiful.

The last wildlife activity was a group outing to a small nature reserve where we hoped to see red squirrels, success!

With a bonus of a great spotted woodpecker!

An excellent week really, the light wasn't great but the sightings were and quality time with our family was wonderful.

Once again many thanks to all who read and if you do add a comment please do not forget they come to me first for moderation.