Dabchick.

The name 'Dabchick' is synonymous with the Little Grebe (Tachybabtus ruficollis), often described as a shy, small, rounded or dumpy grebe which has a fluffy or 'powder-puff' rear end.

During a visit to the London Wetland Centre at Barnes on Monday we saw several at long distance, constantly diving and often moving further away but eventually located one individual from one of the hides who stayed afloat long enough for a few images.

I had to use the digital zoom capabilities of the PowerShot SX50 HS but by using the hide window ledge as a steady I'm fairly pleased with the cropped results.

Eventually the bill will darken; the cheeks and foreneck will attain its adult chestnut hue plus the prominent and distinctive pale yellow fleshy gape (see image below taken later in Sept 2010 and in the blog header).  FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

UK Tribute for WBW.

As a tribute to Stewart who has so ably hosted Wild Bird Wednesday for the past year I thought I would share some images from my blog archives of just a few UK species I'm sure he was well acquainted with before he travelled down-under.

 Skylark.

 Blue Tits.

 Robin.

 Chaffinch.

Little Grebe.

Great Crested Grebe.

Reed Bunting.

Congratulations on the 1st Anniversary of Wild Bird Wednesday and long may we continue to appreciate all the species shared from around the globe. If you haven't previously participated why not click the above link and join in.   FAB.

Little Grebe.

Although the sun is shining the high winds have meant that many of the local avian species are staying under cover so I have dipped into the recent archives for this weeks submission for World Bird Wednesday and Watery Wednesday. 

A recent encounter with our smallest member of the 'Podicipedidae' family ... the Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), also known as 'Dabchick'. This species is normally very shy and traditionally keeps to the reeds and sedges that surround its watery home but on this occasion it showed the inquisitive side of its nature.

During the winter the Dabchick wears a coat of dirty brown-buff and grey but as the breeding season approaches the adult colours change dramatically ... the cheeks and fore neck adopt the rich rufous hues plus that prominent pale yellow gape. 

Just a brief encounter ... after a splash and a shake it was time to depart.

 

Eventually its whole coat will become much, much darker but one thing it does retain is that distinctive 'powder-puff' behind.  FAB.

Barnes WWT bathed in sunshine.

Earlier this week (Tuesday) I enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine at WWT Barnes. 

Whilst the centre was alive with school children enjoying various activities including pond dipping the hides were very quiet probably because most of the birds were fairly distant. 

After half an hour in the hide overlooking the waterlogged scrape the only close visitors were a pair of Canada Geese who settled for a few minutes before taking flight.

and a couple of male Tufties.

The view from the Peacock Tower over the grazing marsh was somewhat similar so I headed towards 'Wildside' on the other side of the reserve.

Coot with some damaged feathers strutting across the grass.

Moorhen enjoying a cool drink.

I stopped for a while to capture some of the 'collection' species including Red-crested Pochard, a male White-headed Duck and the Goldeneye with a red head Smew in tow. As I wandered the pathways the striking call of a Cetti's Warbler pierced the air and Goldfinches twittered above my head.

Once again there was very little activity from the furthest hide apart from a couple of Dabchicks (Little Grebe). On my return route there was a small collection of people staring across one of the water channels at the distant reedbed. A search through the bins (I'd decided to leave the scope at home!) and I eventually located the distinctive brown camouflaged outline of a BITTERN well hidden in the reeds. It maintained its station while occasionally preening for some 20 minutes but then decided to move out into the open.

Unfortunately it was really too far for the 70-300 lens and the overhead sun didn't help focussing but I managed a cropped record shot that will have to do for the time being. Within a few moments this elusive species was out of sight .... until another day perhaps.  FAB.

2011 Initial Sightings.

As usual the New Year started off with a bit of window watching and in the last seven days the garden list has already risen to a decent total of 18 species. House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Robin, Magpie, Starlings, Parakeets, Blackcap, Chaffinch, Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll plus a very brief fly through by a Sparrowhawk.

 House Sparrow waiting its turn for a meal.

 Just four of the 30 Black-headed Gulls that circled above the garden for an hour or so.

On 2nd Jan we travelled to Kent to meet up with friends and paid a visit to Dungeness RSPB and clocked up around 50 species including Goosander, Smew, Goldeneye, Chiffchaff, Marsh Harrier and two Bitterns in flight - one crashed into the reed bed 50 yards in front of us and disappeared! The light was poor so the camera stayed in the bag most of the day but here are two shots taken in late December.

 Male Goldeneye.

 Female (Red-head) Smew.

A brief stroll alongside the Wey Navigation on 4th Jan produced tantalising views of several Little Grebes as they constantly dived to feed and always reappeared in the shadows on the far side of the water! Activity on the lake was mainly Coot, Tufted Duck and a few Mallards plus numerous Canada Geese on the grazing meadow with the usual large roost of gulls (Black-headed, Common and Great Black-backed). 

 Adult Little Grebe in winter plumage. 

Male Tufted Duck.

Coot - admiring its own image.

A visit to Barnes WWT on 5th and my first local patch walk today added a few more sightings bringing the month total up to 68. Interesting to note that in previous years a visit to the coast on the 1st Jan regularly exceeded this figure in just one day!   FAB.

Final Farewell.

Today will be a difficult day when I and the rest of my family say our final farewells to PJB .... I have no idea how I will react but at least there will be the comfort of friendly faces around me and memories of better days.

So here are a few images of the birds PJB would have seen, some more frequently than others.

 Grey Heron in waiting mode.

 Dabchick (Little Grebe) fluffed up against the cold.

 Mrs. Mallard.

 Mr. Mallard in a flap.

 His garden regulars ... House Sparrow, Blue Tit and Magpie

Farewell PJB ... we'll meet up again sometime .... FAB.

A Very Grey Day.

As the morning slipped by the light was not really conducive for photography but undaunted I drove to Riverside Country Park for a stroll along the towpath and this was the scene that greeted me ... dull and overcast.

 However it wasn't all a lost cause as there was some wildlife to test the camera and the 'watcher' ....

 Egyptian Goose.

 Grey Heron hoping the reeds would hide him from any prey.

Tinkling sounds very high above in the waterside Alders alerted me to a flock of 20+ Goldfinches feeding together with a few Siskins who regretfully alluded the lens.

 A Jay also perched high above only permitted an undercarriage shot!

Four Little Grebes were seen on the river and tested my patience to get some reasonable shots as they constanty dived underwater leaving me to guess where they would resurface.

Other species seen were Canada Geese (40), Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Green Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Wren, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Teal, Shoveller (20), Black-headed Gulls, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Crow, Starling, Mute Swans and Pied Wagtails.

  Robin Redbreast is also hoping that the weather improves very soon.   FAB. 

Barnes WWT.

On Wednesday I visited Barnes WWT around midday. The bright blue sky reflected in the colour of the water but out of the sun the cold northerly breeze quickly chilled the fingers. The buildings in the background are on the other side of the River Thames which forms part of the boundary to this urban wetland reserve acknowledged to be the best in Europe. So here are a few images of some of the species that were around.

 A Little Grebe continually pointed its behind towards the sun

 Only spotted a few Common Pochard but I guess more will appear as winter approaches.

 A female Tufted Duck taking a midday nap.   

 A male Northern Shoveller with its distinctive spatulate bill and puffed out white breast. 

 Time to tidy up those feathers.

 Mrs. Shoveller floats by totally unimpressed by the males.

Shortly after entering the Dulverton Hide I surveyed the distant reeds on the northern side of the main lake through the bins and eventually locked onto a brown shape ... one of the two Bitterns that arrived, probably from Norther Europe, about a week ago. Sorry, no photos as it was far too far away!  Other sightings included Mallard, Teal, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Common, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls, Starling, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cetti's Warbler (heard only), Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Jackdaw, Crow and Parakeet.

After some patient waiting a couple of Common Snipe appeared from the vegetation on a nearby island and spent a short time feeding before disappearing again, probably for their afternoon snooze. (Not the sharpest of shots as these guys were really too far away for the lens so original cropped.)

Finally from the first floor in the Peacock Hide I watched these Highland Cattle, which are being used to graze the grassland, slowly move to a fresh feeding location. Certainly no indication that they were feeling any effect from the biting wind!   FAB.