Saturday 28 February 2015

Boardwalk Birding.


On Tuesday I made another visit to Thursley Common in the hope of catching up with the over-wintering Great Grey Shrike. After an unsuccessful  two hour search around 'Shrike Hill' under an overcast sky and a strong westerly wind with very little avian activity apart from a noisy Carrion Crow and disturbing two Woodlark I returned to the car for a rest.
After a while the clouds gave way to afternoon sunshine so I decided to have another search and eventually added this species to my year list but unfortunately it never got close enough to the lens!

On my return journey along the boardwalk a male Stonechat (above) obliged the lens by perching in a bare Birch and then a brief sighting of a Dartford Warbler as it headed for deep cover in the Gorse just before a female Reed Bunting (below) also made use of the flowering Gorse for a perch as the wind ruffled her feathers.



On Friday under a much calmer, sunny sky I visited Riverside Country Park, on the outskirts of Guildford where I logged Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Coot, Lapwing, Kestrel, Green Woodpecker, Blackbird, Robin, Starling, Crow, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Treecreeper, Wren, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and added Grey Wagtail plus Cetti's Warbler to my County year list.


An immature Mute Swan (above) changing into its adult plumage flying up the Wey Navigation and (below) a male Reed Bunting seen singing from its flimsy perch as I slowly wandered across the boardwalk.

Wishing everyone, wherever you are, a glorious wildlife watching weekend.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen.

18 comments:

  1. wonderful little and big birds. like your blue skies and blooms, too! :)

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  2. That boardwalk looks inviting to walk on, love your bird shots!

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  3. Lovely images Frank and a good selection of species as well,Green Woodpecker seems to be my bogey bird for the past two years an Treecreeper are few and far between down here.
    Hope your keeping well.

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  4. Lovely sunny day you got to photograph this nice selection of birds. Love the Swan in fight shot. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  5. Hello Frank, the boardwalk does look like a nice place to do some birding.. Great captures, I love the swan shot.. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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  6. Amazing photos Frank, I loved the Reed Bunting, beautiful.

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  7. Heerliik om er nu op uit te zijn je hebt toch hele mooie momenten Frank.

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  8. Stonechats are not found on my semi urban local patches, sadly

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  9. Enjoyed your shots. They're all such great creatures. But even if you never catch a bird, it's great being outside, isn't it? Ahhh. Nature.

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  10. Lovely scenery and pretty birds. A great day even if you didn't get any photos of the shrike.

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  11. Not only a beautiful area to go and do some serious birding...but wonderful birds sighted as well!!!

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  12. Beautiful shots!

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  13. My goodness - you saw a really good variety of birds - Nice photos, FAB!!

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  14. I wish we could go birding with you in real life ... You have the best days! Virtual is second best though. Thanks for taking us along.

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  15. Sounds like a good trip, love the swan in flight.
    ~

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  16. A boardwalk with no snow on it looks very inviting right now! Nice photos Frank! I would say FAB- but refers to a brand of laundry detergent over here!

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  17. What a lovely place with beautiful residents. :)

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  18. Oh how nice your pictures are.

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

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