Back Home & Off Again

Scottish Boarders - 19.05.23 -21.05.23

I'm heading out on another trip in two days time so this will be a short blog post, in the mean time here's some text and a few images which will add too when time permits. 

No sooner than I'm home I'm back on the road again this time up to the Scottish Boarders for a few days to photograph a variety of species both at night time and during the day. First up it's a couple of hours with an otter that's making a regular appearance near a river, it dosen't spend long but long enough hopefully to get some images.

Otter

Whinchat - male 

Now the following day I'm up on the moors specifically to concentrate on Stonechat and Wheatear may be even a Whinchat a summer migrant to the UK, and a big plus I'm going to remain in the mobile hide (car) which also saves all the walking about.

During the visit the male and female both put in an appearance.

Stonechat - female

This female was in the process of rejecting an unwanted food pellet.

Stonechat - male

Stonechat - fledglings

Nice to see these recently fledged Stonechat chasing the parent birds begging for food, posed nicely for this shot.

Wheatear - male

I didn't expect to see this male Wheatear which poped up on a post, having said that I had another on a wall further down the track.

Badger

It's my final day or in this case my final evening so its a couple of hours with some badgers, nothing new at this location as I've been here several times before but it's always great just to watch and connect with nature.

This particular animal was a lot smaller than the others, I guess could be last years offspring.

Most of the time the badgers were nose down, not so good when your trying to get a shot !

Another Short Drive

Lo Romero  Reserve - 4.3.20

It's another short drive to Lo Romero Reserve around six mile from the sea comprising two small reed fringed lakes in agricultural land that were formally part of a current working water works, can for me be a bit hit and miss for me but I guess the more time you put the better dividends it pays. Whats evident when I arrived was there are masses of Chiffchaff, resident in winter but the numbers seem greater than usual some even belting it out in full song.

Making my way to the second hide which has been the most productive in my past visits, several passerines are drinking from one of the only shallow pool amongst the tall reeds, Serin, Goldfinch and a few Chiffchaff take the opportunity to have a wash and brush up but its not really a clear shot, nevertheless I get some images of a "chiffy" perched on some reeds.

Chiffchaff

Serin

Several Serins take the opportunity to drink from a shallow pool but they are a bit wary as they can see me in the hide, Spanish reserve hides don't have rears wall so the birds can see your silhouette...pointless really.

Stonechat - female

This Stonechat is probably moving through the area, not your typical bird you find amongst the lake reeds.

Goldfinch

Another drinking from the shallow pool

Bluethroat

Out the corner of my eye a bird dives for cover, at this time of year it can only be one bird....a Bluethroat, now I would dearly like to get another shot of these usually skulking birds, anyway it wasn't for coming out but I did mange this record image.

Respite From The Rain

Laguns de Lo Monte

With all the grey and rain in the UK I've decided to head back out to Murcia for some milder weather and more importantly some sun. When in Murcia my first location to visit is usually the salinas down at San Pedro so yesterday as the norm I headed off down to do a rece minus the camera. It looks pretty quiet probably about three weeks early before the spring migration is visible, picking out the usual resident Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Black Winged Stilt, Avocet amongst others on the main pans, along the channel a Kingfisher is doing what it dose diving from a palm tree its not the wader action I was hoping for so with no obvious photo opportunities I'm glad I hadn't made the early morning effort with all the gear and head back.

This morning I'm giving the salinas a miss and heading to the nearby Lagunas Lo Monte a small reserve with three large reed fringed lakes my only concern is it's weekend so reserve might be busy with local visitors. Usually I opted to use the crop sensor camera with the 500m and a 1.4 extender for long range targets but today I'm going to try using the full frame 5D4 with the 500mm and a 2.0 extender giving about the same magnification, on previous occasions using the 2.0 I have been a little disappointed but with good light this morning I hoping for better results.

Lo Monte for me can be a hit or miss but I guess you have the take it in the round and one of the main reasons is the reserve hides which the Spanish don't seem to have quite got it right, three sides and the back remaining open, any bird can easily seeing your silhouette quickly do a U turn and their off.

I've decided to remain in the second hide and see what turns up managing some shots of the few passerines coming down to drink, I must be honest I'm a little disappointed using the 2x extender as I was expecting better results using the 5D4 but you live and lean. Chiffchaff are everywhere some in full song, over the pools a large group of Swallows and Sand Martins are feeding after the long journey north, spring time in Murcia has arrived.

Goldfinch

Image was taken with Canon 5D4 with a Canon 500mm mkII and 2x mkIII extender, the image is soft and lack detail and is a real disappointment

Serin

Slightly better results with the same setup, perhaps more care focusing is required

Purple Gallinule

At the top hide there's a right old din going on as a Gallinule clambers up some reeds only the long toes preventing this chicken size bird plunging into the water...comical to say the least

Chiffchaff

Few more images with the 500 + 2x, again the images look a little soft, I thought I'd post the images for reference

Stonechat

Local Birding

Lo Romero - 12.11.19

Lo Romero Golf being quite close you would imagine gets quite a bit of coverage from me when out in Murcia which can be full of small passerines in the scrubbier undeveloped areas easily photographed with the aid of a mobile hide...a car.

It's a five minuet drive to the golf coarse but on route there's a few locations I like to check out on the way at various times of the year, the Sand Martin colony at the end of the road and the Orange groves that can have quite a few Stone Curlew that congregate during winter months, but thats for another day and another post.

Driving around the golf coarse I always like to get the camera ready mounted on the bean bag out through the car window driving at a slow 5 mph, you just have to make sure don't drop the camera ! Waiting for a photo op first I more often than not missed the shot so I try to avoid this more relaxed (lazy !) approach.

Between the seasons it can be a little quite but there are a few resident birds that you can always rely on to provide some action.....Stonechats and marauding groups of finches. The undeveloped areas with its low scrubby bushes flanked orange groves providing some great even colours and shooting wide open isolate the subject perfectly as shown in the first image of a male Stonechat perfectly.

Stonechat

This male Stonechat liked to use a tree support cane as a perch, and of course anything the male can do so can the female.

Linnet 

Return To Murcia

Lo Romero Golf Course - 20th January 2019

Its the day after my arrival in Murcia and the weather is cloudy with the occasional drizzle so I don't fancy venturing particularly far hence I'm going Local. First stop is only a kilometre down the road amongst the orange groves where Stone Curlew winter in numbers of up to fifty or so, but they are so aware of your presence you have to remain in the car or enter "commando mode" to get any shots at all. Time to head for Lo Romero Golf Course

Lo Remero Golf Course being still in construction has quite a lot of scrub area anything can turn up such as squirrels, woodpeckers, finches and shrikes all being common. Oddly even thou the majority of housing is still under construction the roads are all complete giving easy access around the golf coarse and ideal when using the car as a mobile hide.

Entering the course it always best to setup before you move around the course, windows down and the camera mounted on a bean bag, hold on to the camera and drive slowly which is easily done as this part of the course is deserted.

My first target is an Iberian Red Squirrel busy collecting pine cones, twenty or thirty shots and its gone. Within fifty meters I next encounter a Grey Shrike sat on a fence it's using as a lookout, then flying to the ground and grabbing some insect and returning to the fence, plenty of photo ops here.

In the scrub area a male and female Stonechats are flitting about, I've always found them to be less approachable than in the UK so remaining in the car is always your best option. As I'm photographing the chats I spot a grey blob thats gone my attention, bins up...its a Little Owl. I grab some shots and it gone....you get the idea ! why its always best to be ready with the camera hanging out of the window.

Giving the grey damp condition this has been one of the best first bird photography days to date giving plenty of photo ops.

Looking forward to the rest of the week.

Little Owl

Female Stonechat

Male Stonechat

Iberian Red Squirrel

Stone Curlew

Southern Grey Shrike

Odds & Sods

Whilst photographing waders at the salinas I often see passerines that I’m not set up to photograph, on one such occasion a Stonechat was flitting on some dead reeds just out of range of the lens behind where I photographing waders so I decided set aside an couple of hours and try and get some shots.

A Stonechat had set up territory adjacent to one of my favourite wader locations but it meant  positioning myself more in the open where theres was absolutely no chance waders were going to come anyway near, not that I fined Stonechats that approachable.

I'm in position with camo scrim over me and the gear and wait, heaven knows what the local Spanish are thinking of my antics. After a period of time the bird seems to accept my presence not to concerned about the odd shape in the under growth, not too close but close enough to the bird to get some images.

Back at the carpark amongst the Tamarisk bushes there are quite few Chiffchaff scuttling about frantically feeding on the abundant insects, the background clutter isn’t particularly good but I get some close shots of a bird at close quarters that seem to elude me back in the UK. Also an shot of an immature Greater Flamingo that was paddling around in the shallows, nothing special but it did make me smile with its sticky up plumage

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Stonechat

Chiffchaff

Greater Flamingo