Thursday 31 March 2011

Sightings this week.

On Tuesday I decided to head out in the car and see if I could add a few extra sightings to my year list and visit a few locations that I have not been to for some time.
First stop was Bouldermere Lake close to the M25 / A3 juntion where I followed the short boardwalk to overlook the water. Nothing new but I did log Mute Swans, Canada Geese, Mallard, plenty of Tufties, Teal, a pair of Wigeon, Gadwall, Pochard, Coot, Cormorant and Great Crested Grebes.
This male Tuftie was the only one close enough for a picture. I then strolled onto the old, deserted Wisley Airfield where I watched several Chiffchaffs and Wrens singing while apair of Red-legged Partridge easily evaded the lens. Standing on the deserted tarmack I was regailed with the display flight and beautiful song of numerous Skylarks but again they were not approachable.
A Pheasant strutted down the grassy slope while Dunnocks, Chiffchaff and a Blackcap sang nearby. 

One Blue Tit hung around for a brief photocall as a Grey Heron flew overhead. On my return walk back to the car I watched four Common Buzzards soaring upwards and westwards over the motorway. My final port of call was the open expanses of water at Staines Reservoir. Lots of Black-headed Gulls and I eventually  scoped a couple of Little Gulls.

Male Reed Bunting taking a rest on the fence with masses of recently hatched midges swirling around everything including my head!
Other species on the water, apart from the Tufties, were Shoveler, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Goldeneye and Great Crested Grebes. However the main purpose of the visit to this location was to attempt to catch up with a Great Northern Diver.

 Great Northern Diver.
Fortunately the water was fairly still and although my quarry was at some distance I managed a couple of shots that have been heavily cropped.

A very enjoyable few hours out the fresh air plus three additions to the 2011 list.  FAB.

25 comments:

  1. What a great outing with some nice shots. Thanks for taking us along.

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  2. I have never seen a blue tit or male reed bunting ... beautiful captures!

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  3. I love the colors of the bunting. Not seen one of those before. Surprising to see a partridge but pretty cool too. Carol

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  4. All the shots are wonderful, but the last 2 with the glass-like lake are beautiful. Glad you got pix of him!

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  5. Great captures as always. I haven't been able to get out yet - so much snow, and the backroads are just beginning to thaw, now everything's a muddy mess.

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  6. Lovely series Frank,nice to see Great Northern Diver, and three year ticks can't be bad.

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  7. Hi Frank,
    Sounds like a good trip! I don`t think there has been a sighting of Great Northern Diver on my local patch, but they are regular at Rutland Water which is just up the road. We do get Little Gull, indeed there have been 6 seen over the past week, with 2 turning up at `my` Maxey GP a couple of days ago.
    Great photo`s as usual.
    J
    Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES

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  8. That must have been an awesome day out. Beautiful shots of these lovely fellows!
    I don't even remember how it is to walk around in real nature,... *sigh*
    ;)

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  9. A good trip out. The Great Northern Diver is elusive to me, you took it with energy, well done Frank.

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  10. Hi Lois. Thanks for joining the recent outing.

    Hi Debbie M. Delighted to show you something new. Unfortunately you'll have to travel to see these in the flesh.

    Hi Carol. Both species are fairly common here but don't often offer themselves up to my lens.

    Hi texwisgirl. The initial sighting was a dark blob on the water so I'm doubly happy to have got a few record shots of the Loon.

    Hi Mona. I guess you are desperate for some good weather. Fingers crossed it appaers soon for you.

    Thanks Monty. I was chuffed.

    Hi John. Targetting a few species doesn't always work but I had a lucky day.

    Thanks Nicole. Glad you enjoyed this post. Take care.

    Thanks Bob. A few sightings over the years but this was the first time I attempted to get an image.

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  11. Frank, sounds like you had a nice bird walk. I love the tufted ducks. Wonderful photos.

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  12. Thanks Eileen. The Tufties seem to feature in a lot of my posts this year.

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  13. A very good day out there Frank and lovely photos too.

    Well done with the Northern Diver, They have been at Draycote in the past but unfortunately not when I have been there.

    By the way I very much enjoyed your excellent and informative post on the Common Snipe! Great photos of it too.

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  14. Thanks Jan. The Diver has been around for a while so felt lucky to catch up with it before it departs northwards.

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  15. Lovely day it seems and the Reed Bunting is quite a handsome bird. I am not sure which name goes with the image beneath the Bunting, yet those birds are gorgeous!
    Spring is upon each of our shores...yeah~

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  16. Looks like a good day. Beautiful birds!

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  17. Hi Mary. The last 2 images were of a Great Northern Diver (Loon) ... I'll insert a caption right away. Yeah everything is singing over hear now.

    Thanks Tammy.

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  18. You've spotted some wonderful birds, lovely photos!

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  19. Some lovely shots there, Frank.

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  20. I love birds, they are just so adorable! The bird captures are truly wonderful! Enjoyed watching them and taking this trip!!

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  21. A very good capture with the Northern Diver Frank. Skylarks, I have a job seeing them at the best of times but have heard a few already.

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  22. DiamondVVV1. Appreciate your visit and comment.

    Cheers Jeremy.

    Arti. Delighted you came along.

    Thanks Roy. Apparently we need to get up before dawn and lie in wait for the Skylarks!

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  23. What a great birding day you got, so many species and so many cool sighting... I would love to see a male reed bunting, I've seen it only once... your mother nature is well advanced compared to here.. Still very few species back!

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  24. Great sightings and I love both top pics in your mosaic.

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  25. Hi Chris. Yes, our Spring has definitely kicked into action. Hope you are on the mend so you can enjoy the returning species before much longer.

    Hi JM. Thanks very much.

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I hope you enjoyed your visit and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.

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