Last Wader Day

24.9.18 - Salinas de San Pedro

I'd seen an odd Black Tailed Godwith a few days earlier in the corner of the first stop off pool but I was never successful in getting near for some decent images, today its again in the same location but the sun angle is wrong so I'm not too interested, in any case the last time I'd tried to get a low angle shot I landed up in an altercation with a reserve staff member so I'm still looking to keep in the good books with the reserve, I decide to move on.

Now I'm at the location where Little Terns breed during the summer I decide just to sit, wait and enjoy the sights and sounds of the salinas, then in fly's a Black Tailed Godwit from further down the pool probably the same one seen earlier, this time the Godwit lands on its own terms quite near with the sun angle being just about right.

Not having to use stealth creeping about too get close the Godwit happily carries on on feeding, it slowly gets closer and closer, I amazed that the occasional jogger docent send the bird scuttling to the other side of the salinas which always seems to be the case when I'm wheeling about a big camera lens. From time to time lorries pass on the adjacent road casting the colour red on to the water, in one or two of the other images the reflection is green, not photoshop or anything sneaky like that.

After a very slow start to the morning I get some decent images of a wader that has always seemed to have evaded me in the past by being too distant.

Time to try my luck further on

Black-tailed Godwit

The next four images show some interesting behaviour. 

As the Godwit was feeding, another Black Tailed Godwit landed quite close further down the pool, as it got nearer this particular Godwit started calling and displaying by hunching down in the water lower and lower until it was almost submerged. 

Eventually the other Godwit was seen off by a jogger and normal feeding activity resumed 

Return to Murcia - September18

After the quiet period of the long hot summer (it’s still hot !) it’s a return to Murcia for some bird photography of returning summer migrants that have bred in northern Europe on route back to their winter locations in sub-saharan Africa. 

One area I visit often being a short drive away is the salinas de San Pedro. A working salt industry still occupies one end of the salinas, but the remaining area of extensive lagoons along with the adjacent sand dunes now all form part of a large nature reserve that extends right down to the sea. 

In summer the area is particularly good for breeding Little and Gull Billed Terns and during spring and autumn migration a magnet for passage migrant waders. Winter time can also be productive favoured by Black Necked Grebes which congregate in their hundreds, normally very skittish I can regularly photograph these grebes at distances as close as ten metres. The whole area has something to photograph year round but its also a welcome warm weather retreat from the UK's wet cold winter...it's win win !

Salinas de San Pedro - 18.9.18

My first visit of the trip and you've guessed it's too the salinas at San Pedro. Stopping at my number one spot it all looks very quite not what I was expecting or hoping for...autumn wader migration in full swing. After a couple of hours the only the waders to show for my efforts are Ringed Plover, Little Stint and a couple of Black Winged Stilts, time to have a look over the road.

A solitary Black Tail Godwit along with a Ruff are feeding in the corner of the muddy bay, slowly I get into position but the Godwit and Ruff move further away amongst the reeds, not much chance of getting an image here then, and move on.

Now at the second pull, the location being just about ok for photography I spot a small group of Dunlin feeding along the waters edge next to the path but its not a cleen shot, one of the Dunlin is in summer plumage probably having just arrived from the breeding grounds in norther Europe so this is my target bird.

After shooting a number of images it's evident there's too much clutter so I move round to the small bay then, my target Dunlin appears this time clutter free at the waters edge all be it the light angle is not the best. I get as many images at the Dunlin remains at a distance down to four or five meters something you don't often get in the UK

As a bonus a Little Stint and a Black Tailed Gotwit drop in, may be it's the Godwit seen earlier as there doesn't appear to be many about. The shutter's has been non-stop and my memory card is full with the battery on one bar, my others are in the car twenty metres away, if I move the waders will fly so the sessions over. For the remainder of the trip I will carry replacements in my pockets....tip !

After a very quite start it's good to finish with good encounter, you just never know with wildlife photography just how your day will turn out, perseverance.

Dunlin - summer plumage

(This appears to be the "alpina" race with the richest rufous colour and longer bill length that can been seen better in the fourth image, winters in Western Europe and Mediterranean)

Dunlin - juvenile

Black Winged Stilt

Black Tailed Godwit

Ringed Plover

Little Stint

If you look closely at the image you can just about see the wader has a ring on it's right leg, never close enough to read the number, the first ringed bird seen in Spain.

Day Out at RSPB Leighton Moss

RSPB Leighton Moss - 5.9.18

This morning I'm heading up the M6 to RSPB Leighton Moss Reserve, a mixture of managed reed fringed wet lands amongst the countryside just west of the small village of Yealand Redmayne and further west an area of salt marsh on the edge of Morecambe Bay.

Leighton Moss has changed massively in the thirty years since my first visit, in the early days where once you would visit a caravan to access the reserve, now has some impressive facilities including disability facilities, shop, cafeteria, toilets, carpark and a range of modern hides.

One of my favourite locations is the salt marsh, not as "managed" as the rest of the reserve it mainly attracts geese, waders with the occasionatal visiting bird of prey such as Peregrine and Sparrowhawk looking to grab an unsuspecting wader, but anyone visiting the salt marsh hides is advised to arrive early as the sun angle swings around after about 11.0 am making it difficult for photography and bird identification in good light.

Arriving later than intended my first stop is the Allen Hide, quick scan I pick up a few hundred Redshank, maybe five Greenshank, three Godwits, Little Egret and a solitary Dunlin, then with it's flappy flight a Sparrowhawk sends panic amongst the waders all disappearing to other parts of the marsh, time to move on before the sun swings round.

At the Eric Morecambe hide there are already few already birders already enjoying their current stressless occupation not having to work. The best location in this hide for light is always the right side, Redshank probably about a hundred are resting and I try to pick out an unusual shot but opportunities are few, then there's panic again, this time a female Peregrine tries unsuccessfully to grab a wader scattering all this time on to the main reserve.

Now early afternoon in some great weather I'm going to give the popular Causeway hide a visit, stopping on the way at the Bearded Tit feeding trays I not the reserve have been busy building a new viewing platform. The Causeway hide is chocka..not even one seat, eventually it's my turn.

Two Great Egrets are flying towards me with a Grey Heron in hot pursuit intending in seeing off the egrets, it's all action for ten minuets with the egrets determined to land and the heron equally determined to ensure there's no completion on it's patch, I grab  some images but as usual the camera struggles to lock on preferring the background as a subject....dose anyone have some good flight settings for Canon?

It's now late afternoon and although I didn't get the wader images I was after I've have enjoyed my day, it seem's a lot of other people have also I never seen the reserve so busy, and it's a week day !

Redshank

Black Tailed Godwit

Little Egret doing some maintenance.

Great Egret

Great Egret..."incoming"

Greenshank in flight, this image would have been a lot better if the water had been as calm as it was earlier in the morning, I'm also a little late on the shot.