Goosander Glory at Painshill

Goosander Glory at Painshill...

Goosander is a good record for Surrey, so after hearing about Tricia's great find of 5 Goosander at Painshill Park in Cobham (just down the road) I decided to try my luck and see if I could find, and photograph, the 4 males and 1 female that were found the other day.

On entry, I scanned the trees for Lesser Redpoll, and although there were Goldfinch and Siskin about, there didn't seem to be any Redpoll. There were plenty of very photogenic Robins about, as well as a few Nuthatch (not so photogenic)
After a while, I found the Goosanders, but they were very shy and timid, and would fly to the other side of the lake as soon as I got close. After about half an hour of crouching patiently with the tripod, they finally plucked up the courage to make their way back to my side of the lake, although they still stayed far out in the middle, allowing me to get a group shot of the stars.

Goosander

Two males fighting over a female

Robin

A very acrobatic Nuthatch high in a tree

All in all, a successful afternoon, with five brilliant Goosanders twitched and some okay photos to prove it. I think I'll do the Big Garden Birdwatch tommorow.

Hide Photography

Hide Photography...

I recently bought a load of camouflage gear from WildlifeWatching Supplies including a sort of camouflage coloured blanket that you throw over yourself... basically, a cheap version of a hide. As I haven't been bothered to make it past the back garden these last few days, I decided to set up the camera equipment in the garden, and throw the camouflage coloured blanket thing over me.

The birds didn't seem too bothered with me, but neither did they seem too bothered to sit on the perch that I had focused on, just above the bird feeder. In the end, only a Great tit came into the viewfinder... I guess it's not a bad first attempt.

I guess it's early days yet, and one things for sure, I'll be doing much more garden hide photography in the near future. It seems a great way to get close to the birds without disturbing them.

Hardcore Moth

Hardcore Moth...

A few days we were only just recovering from the recent snowfall, and temperatures couldn't have been above freezing. However, one species of moth has managed to survive the cold spell of weather, the Winter Moth (yep, you can tell the person who named this moth was really thinking creatively at the time), and I was lucky enough to find one of these tough guys in the porch the other night...

Just makes you wonder how on earth such a small moth managed to survive the recent cold spell.

A Shy Song Thrush

A Shy Song Thrush...

An increasingly rare sight in the garden, and proof of a much larger national decline, a Song Thrush visited the garden yesterday morning. This very shy thrush has been absent in the garden for over 2 years, and whilst photographing a Redwing, this guy appeared out of nowhere. He stayed for literally 1 second before seeing me and bolting away.

A Striking Scandinavian Surprise

 Striking Scandinavian Surprise...

Schools was closed yesterday, and again today but the snow has finally stopped falling. However, this hadn't stopped the number of thrushes feeding in the garden from increasing, and Redwing numbers have reached an all time high of 25.

The harsh weather also brought in yet another Scandinavian speciality yesterday, the beautiful Fieldfare, one of my personal favourite birds, so you can image my delight when one bird suddenly flew down onto the fence perch I had the camera focused on...

Your probably all Fieldfared out at the moment, so I'll finish the post with something a bit different... A very timid Robin has also been foraging in the garden, but after a lot of patience he began to feel more at ease with me.

Garden Snow Birds

Garden Snow Birds...

Throughout yesterday and today SE England has had its fair share of snowfall, and our garden is no exception. I wasn't about to go out photographing in this weather, but instead chose to more comfortable vantage point of the bedroom window.

Redwing are used to this kind of weather in their Scandinavian breeding grounds, so the garden had a steady flow of these small thrushes throughout the day, making good subjects...

A few darker birds dropped into the garden during the morning, with noticably heavier streaking on the breast, and a darker, less defined supercilium on the face. Presumably just plumage variations, although I understand these features are also shared with birds of the Icelandic race.

Blackbirds are also enjoying the plentiful supply of berries in the Pyrancantha bush, and we've seen an increase in numbers recently, suggesting some birds might also be of Scandinavian origin...

Bittern Bonanza at Barnes

Bittern Bonanza at Barnes...

Bitterns have always been on my list of birds that I would like to photograph They are so elusive and extremely weird looking birds that would make a interesting subject in amongst a reedbed, where they tend to stay hidden. Encouraged by the recent sightings of 4 Bittern on the London Wetland Centre sightings page, I headed over there late morning to see if I could get any shots of them with the new lens.

On first inspection, the reserve seemed pretty quiet in the way of birds. In the surrounding hedgerow, a Great tit perched in front of the camera...

... and a Cormorant was fishing in the main lake...

On the way back to Dulverton Hide, I caught news that a Bittern had been spotted over by Headley Hide. I quickly rushed into Dulverton to check if the Bittern was viewable from there, but it was too far away to see properly.

I raced over to Headley Hide and sure enough, a Bittern was showing excellently (for a Bittern). Just as I entered, the Bittern began to emerge from its hiding place, allowing me and many other photographers in the hide, an opportunity for a shot or two...

Before quickly moving back into the cover of the nearest group of dead reeds...

On the whole it was a very successful day and I got what I came for; some shots (even if they are distant!) of a very beautiful, albeit strange species, the Bittern. A great way to end the Christmas holiday and start 2010!

New Year, New Lens

New Year, New Lens...

Went into town yesterday to buy a new lens for my D60 after a very long time of saving up. In the end, I went for the Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-f/5.6, which was the cheapest and, in my mind, the best value for money.

Where better place to start practising with the lens than with the 20 or so Redwings that are currently feeding on the berries in our garden...

No sooner had I started when I heard a crash and the noise of wingbeats. My subject Redwing flew off as did the rest of the flock. I panned around to find a Sparrowhawk down by the feeding station with something in its talons. What a way to start the New Year!

I decided to take the lens on its first proper outing to the Rick's Pond in Home Park; where 2 years ago a Grey Phalarope turned up. No Phalarope today, but its was brilliant evening light for photography...

This Grey Heron was cleaning itself, each individual toe at a time...

... And then went back to fishing...

So far so good. I had VR turned on as the light was fading and shots were handheld, and the results are very sharp even though I was shaking it was so cold. Lets see how we get on tommorow, as I've got plans to go to the London Wetland Centre.