In, Around and Above the Stew Ponds.

It has been many months since I posted any information about the bird life on my local patch so here are some images of a few of the 50 or so species I have seen so far this year frequenting the Stew Pond and surrounding area.

 Grey Herons are daily visitors, patiently waiting for a tasty meal to swim within their reach.

Cormorants turn up fairly regularly to fish the Great Pond often spending a lot of time sitting around doing nothing!

I have recorded Tufted Ducks annually over the last ten years. Evidence of breeding over that period has been spasmodic and the youngsters rarely survive due to predation ... there are some extremely large fish in the pond!

Again the Mandarin Duck has been an annual breeding species with sighting from January through to August. Until two years ago it was not uncommon to record up to 15 males courting just one or two females through January into March but I believe increased  disturbance from dog walkers has affected this and other species greatly in the last two years. This year I only saw one male on 5 April.

Egyptian Goose is a very infrequent visitor but a pair turned up on the island on 5 April. Unfortunately the pond plays host to quite a few pairs of breeding Canada Geese who are extremely territorial so other geese species don't tend to hang around for long like pairs of Greylag Geese who dropped in briefly between the 8th and 15th May.

 Common Buzzard nests locally so it is not unusual to see at least one or two flying around.

A selection of migrant warblers can be found in the surrounding area including good numbers of Chiffchaff. Others include Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and I have recorded Willow Warbler on the common for the last 6 years during April into early May but they don't seem to stay. Just one male seen and heard singing close to the Stew Pond on 1 May this year.

The Jay is not the most common corvid locally but certainly the most colourful. Typically very wary of humans this individual was very confiding ... for a few minutes.

Linking to:

Saturday's Critters

Pagham North Wall.

A week ago we decided to drive to the south coast and took a very leisurely stroll along the North Wall overlooking the expansive waters of Pagham Harbour.

One of a number of Swallows taking a rest from chasing insects above the horse paddock behind the harbour wall. Other insect feeders on the wing were Sand and House Martins plus a few Swifts high in the sky.

Unfortunately our arrival coincided with the high tide so most of the bird life was somewhat distant but we managed to spot various waders including Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin, Turnstone and Grey Plover.

A few areas of vegetation remain visible at high tide and one held 26 Little Egrets waiting for the waters to recede.
It is interesting to remember that back in the 1980's I would have been fortunate to catch sight of just one of these delightful birds anywhere around the harbour; such has been their breeding success during the last 25 years.

One Little Egret was still working the reed edge for food on one of the inland pools. We heard the distinctive call of Cetti's Warbler and followed its flight from one hidden perch to another deep within the field edge vegetation where a Common Whitethroat (below) was also located.

 Common Whitethroat.

While listening to the calls of Reed Bunting and Sedge Warblers, that typically failed to show themselves, we watched a number of Grey Herons (above) erupt from their heronry site before resettling a few minutes later followed shortly thereafter with the fly past of a Little Egret (below).

The final photo capture on our return walk was of a Roe Buck in the field beyond the harbour wall. Despite the distance between us he was very aware of our presence.

Linking to:

I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'
Wild Bird Wednesday.

Grey Heron.

The current inclement weather has meant few new wildlife opportunities so I delved into the early spring archives for these shots of a confiding Grey Heron looking for lunch at a local lake.

Linking to:
Wild Bird Wednesday

Grey Heron.

A recent visit to WWT Barnes provided a few views of our Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea).

The first individual (above) was just chilling out whereas the other one (below) was patiently waiting for something to eat.

Not sure if its utterance was an impatient reaction to its failure to find a mid morning snack or the fact that it was being watched but it quickly returned to focusing its attention on the task in hand.

Linking to:
Wild Bird Wednesday

Fuzzy Focus.

Blue Tit hanging around.

Above is a prime example of not being ready with the right camera settings when the action happens AND this is also the fuzzy, out of focus, image that I have been seeing through my left eye for some time ... actually it is much worse than this!

I am booked in for cataract surgery early on Monday Tuesday morning so if all goes well without any unforeseen complications I am hopeful that my clarity of view with both eyes will soon be nearly as good as my camera's auto-focus.

March has arrived with a few more sunny but cold days interspersed  between the continuing blustery showers but this week I have not ventured very far from home. So here are just some of the birds that have come within range of the lens.

My first sighting of a Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) this year during a wander in Bushy Park on Thursday. Another species whose conservation status in the UK has been upgraded from Amber to RED! 

Close by its slightly smaller cousin the Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) was joyfully singing.

As usual any opportunity to spend time with a Grey Heron (below) will always grab my attention and I have a few other images to share in a future post.

During a late morning walk on Friday around Horton Country Park I finally added another species to my local patch and current year lists, the Siskin (Carduelis spinus), one of our smallest finches. This was definitely a case of identifying them initially by the colour and pattern of their under bellies before spotting the single adult male with his black cap. They certainly tested my patience and focusing skills while acrobatically moving around the top of an Alder some 50 or so feet above my head seeking out the ripe seed heads. 

I logged a much smaller number of the overwintering Redwing (Turdus iliacus) feeding in the horse paddocks and only one individual (below) came close enough for a quick snapshot. Surprisingly this winter I have seen very few Fieldfare and only located one individual amongst the Redwing flocks on Friday.

Linking to:
Saturday's Critters
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'
Nature Notes 

Mirror Image.

During a walk on Thursday, for once in bright sunshine, I came across this Grey Heron patiently stalking for a snack in small pool. With the dappled light on the water I thought it might make a decent subject for this weeks edition of  Weekend Reflections.

Goodbye 2015.

A final wander around my local patch for 2015. While trudging the very muddy paths after an overnight deluge I watched mixed parties of Long-tail, Great and Blue Tits busily foraging together with a couple of flighty Goldcrests; a Nuthatch tapped busily overhead; Wren, Blackbird and Robin made a brief appearance  and a group of Redwings flitted from tree to tree. Not much to see on the ponds apart from a single Coot and Moorhen plus 20 Mallard and a pair of Cormorants soaking up the winter sunshine.

Very few photo opportunities apart from a Grey Heron patiently watching alongside one of the ditches.

So as we say goodbye to 2015 and look forward to 2016 I leave you with a recent image of a young Fallow buck and wish everyone a HAPPY and wildlife rich NEW YEAR. FAB.

Grey Heron.

For this week's edition of Wild Bird Wednesday a few images from a previous session with of one of my favourite subjects, the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea).

Sometimes they can be very vocal but most of the time they just watch whoever and whatever is happening around them.

 

Got an itch!

So why not scratch it!

From a brief session with one of the resident Grey Herons in Bushy Park.

The Stealth Hunter.

Around the pond on my local patch all the Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) are extremely wary of any movement even when the watcher is nearly a hundred yards away but on Heron Pond in Bushy Park most of the individuals are far more tolerant.

So here are just a few of the many images taken last September of a  2nd year bird nearly into its adult plumage (distinguished by the almost white forehead and still some grey on its upper mandible) as it went about the task of searching the algae covered waters for a snack. Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.

Its ability to stand motionless for ages is legendary but once the eyes lock on the prize the action is over in moment ... far too quick for my reflexes or maybe lack of concentration!

I think it is saying "Ok, your time is up ... now move on".  FAB.

A Mixed Birding Week.

A mixed week weather wise with dull overcast skies and the occasional sunny period. So here are just a few of the species that found their way in front of the lens.

Following on from my earlier post 'Visit to Warnham L.N.R.' a few more species seen that day including one of the many Blue Tits.

A female Chaffinch.

Mrs Pheasant strutting her stuff! (I have some close-ups of the feather patterns that I'll share in a future post.)

Later in the week I took a quiet stroll around the ponds at Bookham Common which played host to 10 Gadwall who were disturbed by other walkers before I could get any shots, but two of the 6 Tufted Ducks were more obliging.

Don't I look smart?  Male and female Tufted Duck.

A pair of Mute Swans enjoying time together.

Nesting time has begun. The local Grey Herons were flying back and forth about every five minutes collecting appropriate material. It will be interesting to see how many nests are occupied during the breeding season.

And finally a Robin in our garden letting the opposition know that it has taken up residence.

On Sunday, weather permitting, I hope to visit the coast to see some over-wintering waders and my favourite geese, the Black-bellied Brent.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.