A Great Day on the Dorset Coast

Gosh i had a job rousing myself from my stinking pit on Sunday morning, after the seasonal innebriation of the night before. So what's new,,,, i fed the birds and got out about 9.30am. I decided to have a shot at the Glossy Ibis that's been hanging around Radipole, near Weymouth. Beautiful morning, but i didn't have too much expectation of good shots. Generally these 'drop in' birds have gone elsewhere before i get there. Quite a surprise then to get there, and find this bird posing so well.

Well chuffed with these shots i decided to try for a really rare Guillemot that has been hanging around Portland Harbour. Had a long sit on cold, hard rock that played havoc with my 'Chalfonts', with Chris (Roly) Rowland, for most of the mid-day and early afternoon. Eventually we were rewarded and i got fairly good shots of Brunnich's Guillemot, a rare event indeed, on the south coast.

Ha ha,,,, icy water,,, i think i'll stick me face in that.

Just a couple of shots from the last month.

Top shot a Snipe, and lower is a Common Sandpiper. Sadly i've never taken a decent Common Sandpiper shot,,,, but hopefully i will soon.

An Hours Sun at Loddy

Saw a glimmer of reasonable light this morning, so i trickled over the hill to Lodmoor. Took my lighter gear that i can 'hand hold', and really didn't expect to see much. Alighted daintily from the car, and the sun came out. Bounded onto the reserve, and a hundred yards later i was frantically taking pictures of the Spoonbill, that had wandered quite close to the path. That made my day in an instant.

Great to see just the one, but i wish it hadn't 'FLUFFED' :--)))

Drama in the Garden, and Winter Plans

Great piece of wildlife action in my pocket hanky wildlife garden this morning. A Sparrowhawk took a Greenfinch off of the bramble tops. Of course i didn't have a camera at the ready,,, what with a house full of grandkids and all. I didn't disturb it,,,, Sparra' Hawks gotta eat too.
    Well,,, its on days like this, when the light levels are impossible that i start to dream, and plan my winter togging. I expect that many of you have looked at your pics after a day out,,, and thought 'i gotta get better ones than that', well i do,, on a regular basis. As the winter sets in proper we might get some Lesser Redpoll in on the heaths, and at Blashford Lakes, where i usually go to get them. I definitely need better pics of them. Now is the time when the Dorset heathland greets a few quite scarce birds. Crossbills, and Great Grey Shrikes are on my most wanted list. Hoping for some brighter weather soon.

Blandford and a Crazy Crane Chase

Had a day out with Mark (Radar), and Chris(Roly) yesterday. Split the day between Blandford and Crane hunting. Not an otter to be seen at Blandford, but did manage an Egret, some distant Kingfishers, and a Kestrel (see Flickr link on right). We managed to get closer to the Cranes than previously, but the light failed us miserably. I had previously thought that the attraction of this field for cranes was bare soil for worming. On inspecting the middle shot closely, i could see they were picking up spilt maize. So maybe they like a bit of sweetcorn like me. I had wondered why they  returned to this field repeatedly. These two are juveniles.

Chasing Cranes

Spent a few hours this morning with Chris 'Roly' Rowland, hunting two Cranes out in the wilds of Dorset. After an hour of scanning fields with bins, we located them on a distant hilltop. Nice to meet a few fellow togging enthusiasts, and some birders, who were also at the scene, although in two locations.  The Cranes took off and headed down the river valley, and did not return while i was there.The local hunt appeared too, and there must have been an accident because there were ambulances in the air, and on the road. Maybe someone fell off their horse,,, don't know for sure. It started to rain, and i left the area at 1.00pm. This record shot is all i got,,, but that's the way it goes.

Photo opportunities Scarce

Had three hours at Loddy today and it was really dead. The light was brilliant, but not a lot showing for photography. I photographed a couple of Teal synchro swimming (See Flickr link on the right). Otherwise not a lot,,,, well this Carrion Crow, and a Chinook. Pretty dire really.