December Picture Of The Month

San Felipe Centre, El Hondo, Elche - January 2018

New feature for the blog in which I will post a stand out image from my travels on the first of every month. December's image is a White Spotted Bluethroat that I came across in the garden at San the Felipe Centre, El Hondo Reserve.

It's January and I'm enjoying warm break out in Murcia away from the cold, rain and snow back in the UK. Saturdays mornings is a regular meet up with the expats amongst others at El Hondo's North Gate, after the 11.30 am kick out some like me continue on to the reception centre which forms part of the west side of main El Hondo reserve.

San Felipe in January is quiet, a little different to the summer when it was a cacophony of sound. After doing the regulatory reception lake I'm walking through the garden when I spot what looks like a Robin, scarce in Murcia, but it isn't....it's a White Spotted Bluethroat, my first ever sighting of this bird and a first in Murcia.

Sitting on the ground I spend the next thirty minuets or so photographing the Bluethroat happily hopping around feeding below tamarisk....one of my memorable visits.

White Spotted Bluethroat

Return To The Bolton Sea Duck

High Rid Reservoir, Bolton - 26.11.18

It wasn't my intension to make another visit to view the Scoter after yesterday grey and bitterly cold day, but after seeing the weather forecast this morning for the remainder of the week I thought I'd have another trip especially with glimmers of sun light making an appearance early morning.

Conditions today are quite different from yesterday, it's still cloudy but windless with flat calm water almost mirror like in its reflection and useless for photography, add to that the Scoter isn't doing much either sleeping with its head under its wing. looks like its going to be a waiting game.

Surprisingly for a weekday there maybe fifteen non workers viewing not a lot of action. The odd camera shutter clicks but I'm not interested having already images in better conditions from yesterday so I'm happy just to watch and chat. Now around midday the cloud has cleared showing that there is some blue up there after all, it also seem's to have prompted the Scoter in to action as it starts diving eventually moving to the road side of the reservoir. Time to change location.

Now on the opposite side of the reservoir the light conditions are the best they've been at any time on my two visits, slowly the Scoter move towards the awaiting clicking cameras presumably having a preference diving closer to the reservoir edge. For the next thirty minuets or so the Scoter happily dives surfacing in water now with some great colour of greens and yellows and a big contrast to yesterdays grey and flat light.

All too soon the Scoter moves back out into the middle of the reservoir, coupled with the sun dropping lower in the sky it looks like the best of the conditions might be over before the Scoter next comes close enough photograph.

With some eight hundred images in the bag in the best light to date, I'm happy I made the effort to revisit again today. Time for home and keen to see the results in computer.

Until the next time..

Velvet Scoter

Bolton Sea Duck

High Rid Reservoir, Bolton - 25.11.18

Female Velvet Scoter found on High Rid Reservoir Saturday, the word is out !

High Rid Reservoir a new venue for me even thou I know the area quite well located between Bolton and Horwich. The last notable time I was in Horwich was to play a North West Counties league squash match, one of the opposition players later to go on and be the British Open and World Squash Champion, but I digress.

The local inter network airways are buzzing that on Saturday evening a female Velvet Scoter had be found that day on a moorland reservoir in Bolton, being quite near to home and the fact that I hadn't seen a Velvet Scoter in Greater Manchester since the one found at Debdale Park way back in 1978 I thought I give it a go.

As I set off on the short drive over to Bolton I'm pleasantly surprised the sun is trying to make an appearance on what was supposed to be a grey day...but by heck is it cold. Parking up right next to the reservoir I can see several people already looking at a group of maybe six Coot and in tow is the Scoter, not bad I've only been on site ten minuets !

The Scoter is a little skittish moving away easily getting lost in the large waves whipped up by the strong wind only then to dive to take another ten or so minuets to find again. Again loosing the duck we relocate to the far end of the reservoir where it is eventually found, this time happy to dive and feed reasonably close to the side.

For a brief period we enjoy the appearance of sun which improves the images a little, but they still lack colour on a cold grey day that maybe would be better spent indoors. There's now quite a crowed either watching or trying to get an image of this scares interloper that should be way out at sea rather than appearing on an inland reservoir.

Having managing to get as good a shot as I'm likely to get on the day, I call it a day just as the last of sunlight disappears behind another blanket of grey.

Time to head home warm up with a nice hot drink

Velvet Scoter (possibly juvenile - see last image)

This image below not the best, shows the white underside of the scoter which is a characteristic more often seen in juvenile birds

Day Out To The Seaside

Brickfield Pond Nature Reserve, Rhyl - 22.11.18

Over the last couple of days there's been a number of Slavonian Grebes appearing in locations across the North of England and North Wales with one such bird appearing not so far away on a lake in Rhyl. Checking Google maps I try to establish the size of the lake and whether it was possible to get some reasonably close images, the worse case scenario always being a large lake with the bird sat in the middle looking like an unrecognisable dot in the distance. With the indicators all looking positive and with a weather forecast of some reasonable light a trip was organised for the following day. It's always emotional when I cross the border back into Wales, the land of my fathers...Cymru am Byth !

Slavonian Grebe, a scarce bird in the UK with an estimated 30 pairs breeding in Scotland (RSPB) albeit UK numbers increase in winter to over 1,000 individuals with arrivals from Iceland and Scandinavia for the UK's less harsh winter. Not to be confused with the Black Necked Grebe in winter plumage the Slavonian's stand out feature being its flat head being.

As I set off on the hour's drive it's cloudy only soon to become foggy the further west I travel thinking this might turn into an abortive trip. Now nearing the Welsh boarder all my concerns disappear as it's all blue sky and sunshine....what a great day.

Arriving at the Brickfield Nature Reserve carpark it's turned into a great day and I'm keen to see what the day has to offer. Already there are maybe fifteen people on site viewing the grebe on the small reserve lake but the sun angle is low and shooting directly into the light, there's no use relocating to the other side as the lake as the grebe is to far away, nothing is ever straight forward.

Over the next three hours it's a case of waiting for the opportunity where the grebe to moves close enough and into a position for the optimum sun angle, not the best of options, but at least the shots I think are acceptable.

Happy I've made the best of the conditions with a great day out, it's time to call time.

Slavonian Grebe

Ghost On The Wye

Wye Valley - 17.11.18

Over the last couple of weeks I've noted reports of a very unusual rare white crow that's appeared down on one of my favourite parts of the river Wye. As a regular visitor I was surprise I hadn't see it and can only assume this was one of this years birds that has now set up territory in this popular walking area. Reading through the reports it took a little while to work out where the bird was located but with all the clues and my local knowledge it was ultimately an easy task.

I had planned a visit and try for some images last week, but due to the torrential rain I decided to give it a miss until today. Not wanting to arrive too early as this part of the Wye with its steep sides isn't likely to get any decent light until mid morning so after the drive last night it was a welcome lie in.

True albinism whereby the melanin pigment is missing resulting in a pure white bird with pink eyes is rare in adult wild birds. This is because those affected usually have some or severe eyesight problems and don't survive very long once they are independent from parental care, of course they are also more conspicuous to predators.

More common but still a rare condition where the feather pigment is missing is a bird with normal eyes, theses crows are still vulnerable being white, but crows being bigger have few predators apart for maybe the resident Yat Peregrines and the lucky to see Goshawk.

Driving towards the carpark, I can see in the distance standing out like a beacon the crow sat in a tree now devoid of all it's golden autumn glory. No time to waste I get the gear out as there's always a chance the crow will disappear up into the canopy

I'm now on the river bank level with the crow sat in tree opposite calling and displaying to another black crow that on occasions interacts with the "white ghost" It's so preoccupied that it remains stationary which helps lowering the shutter speed in the not so great low light, on occasion the bird even obliges by perching on a dead branch which make for better images with it's uncluttered background rather than the tangled mass of finger like brown tree branches.

Now some sixty minuets after my arrival the bird departs to upper parts of the Yat gorge, but I've managed nearly 2k of images so confident there's one or two "keepers" and decide head back the short drive to enjoy a nice warm breakfast, now that's how I like it birding with a three mile travel distance !

Carrion Crow (albino)