Watching a White throated Sparrow in Hants

A couple of days ago my friend David phoned me to tell me that a WHITE THROATED SPARROW (a very rare visitor from America) had been spotted on my favourite wildlife reserve; Old Winchester Hill. I knew there was no way I was going to miss this bird and my dream came true when mum offered to take me to see it today! I was expecting good views after having a quick look on Birdguides at Gary Thoburn's amazing shot of the Sparrow (Click here it see it).
Upon arriving we were greeted by lots of Swallows and House Martins...



... and I was reminded at just how beautiful this SSSI really is. Old Winchester Hill is home to many vulnerable and endangered species of butterflies, wild flowers and landscapes.

The White throated Sparrow was actually first seen on the hill back in November but because the site is so vulnerable and delicate, the warden decided that the bird's presence there was to be kept a secret for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, it's cover was blown and we now have 100s of birders visiting the site everyday. Sadly, a few twitchers fail to understand the real importance and delicacy of the hill and cannot see why they weren't told about this 'mega' sooner.

The Sparrow wasn't very hard to find (just look for the crowd of birders!) but because it was showing so well, it was very hard to get a good view, let alone a good photo. Lucky, a very kind twitcher gave up his spot at the front for me and I was able to get these shots of it as it perched on the brambles.

Eventually the fun had to finish, the Sparrow flew into the undergrowth and it was time to let someone else enjoy the moment.

But the birding wasn't over yet... oh no. Yellowhammers were just about everywhere; feeding in the grass and singing in the trees. This bird was very obliging and let me get quite close...

He then flew into a nearby tree and certainly showed his stuff...

There were at least 10-11 pairs of Willow Warbler around the reserve and I was lucky enough to find a pair building their nest in some brambles.

Spot the warbler...

A closer view...

Also on the hill, I heard a couple of Sedge Warblers and 3-4 Bullfinches were singing in the trees near the Sparrow.

Linnets were also very abundant and the males were looking superb...

The hill is home to most of Britains butterflies but today only a Brimstone and a couple of Clouded Yellows were flitting about...

If your thinking of going to see the Sparrow, good luck... you won't be disappointed!

Bees, Bee Flies and Birds

The weather is slowly deteriorating but a break in the clouds mean't we could finally get outdoors to the Isabella Plantations; a great little garden in Richmond Park.

Spring is now well underway and bees were happily feeding in the evening sun...

I then decided to get a MEGA close up to see how and what bees are actually feeding from; it's quite graphic so if you don't like close ups of hairy, sticky, insecty insects, look away now- oops, too late!

Feeding alongside these bees was this alien creature; a Bee Fly. This is a first for me but after reading about it recently in a field guide, I could ID it straight away. It looks a bit like a Hedgehog with wings... no? Nah, actually it looks nothing like a Hedgehog with wings.

Now for some bird life. A pair of Treecreeper were... well, creeping up a tree with what looked like nesting material in their mouths- I'll be keeping an eye out for them as spring progresses...

This Goldcrest was singing from a nearby Alder giving great long views to all who watched it...

But by far the wierdest thing that happened today was spotting this Mandarin Duck perched up a large Oak tree!!

Buzzard on my doorstep

Just last week I found a small urban fringe literally on my doorstep with woodland, wildflower meadows and a hill. Don't ask me how I never noticed it before but somehow it has managed to conceal itself from me! The late summer evenings mean't I could wander down there after dinner; so thats exactly what I did.

The most exciting find of the evening was a Buzzard which cirled above the hill before gliding off in the direction of our house... not bad considering its the second time I've been there!

Walking up the hill which has no name- maybe I should call it 'The Hill'... yeah, that sounds good. Ok, walking up 'The Hill' I spotted a lone Daffodil in a field, apparently the site is renowned for its wildflower meadow and holds such species as Cuckoo flower and Pyramidal Orchid... never hear of them!

View from the top of the hill...

Then it was into the woodland where everything suddenly came alive; at least 5 or 6 Chiffchaffs were chiff chaffing away and 2 Blackcaps were singing their heart out. I watched Blackbirds, Mistle thrushes, Long tailed tits and Great tits as they explored possible nests and even a Nuthatch blasted out that wierd call from somewhere high in an oak tree.

One of the many Chiffchaffs present

What a great evening and here's to a great new local patch!

Butterflies and Birds in Bushy Park

It's yet another sunny day today... 'hmm, just right for butterflies' was the thought going through my head as I did some revision for the Yr 10 exam when we get back. After lunch (nope, sadly today I didn't see a Swallow whilst eating my sandwich), I decided to go to Bushy Park (what a change!) and look for some butterflies, especially as I know a favoured haunt of the Speckled Wood.

Upon arriving in the park, I was greeted by these 2 bad boys as they stared at passers by.


It wasn't long before I found my first butterfly of the year... a Speckled Wood, resting on the leaf litter in a small area of woodland...

... and a shot from the side- those elaborate colours make great camouflage as this butterfly spends most of it's time on the woodland floor.

As I watched the Specked Wood, I noticed I was being watched by a Nuthatch. How ironic- a birdwatcher being watched by a bird!





On to the main lake and many of the Coots were busy building their nests.






A very protective husband keeping away potential predators...





The Great crested Grebes have been forced to build a new nest as their old one was taken by a Coot, their new nest is right on the bank of a busy path with dog walkers and young kids being frequent.
My first proper views of the Bushy Park Grebes...







Whilst trying to pinpoint a singing Skylark high above me, I flushed this Grey Heron, which did a quick circle of the lake and suddenly dived into the water in an attempt to catch a fish!

The First Swallow

Whilst eating a sarny in the garden this morning, I heard that unmistakable 'chitter' 'chatter' call above my head. Looking up... yep, my first Swallow of the year! The shot's rubbish I know!

A quick post from Wisley

Landscape gardens like RHS Wisley have never really been my cup of tea, I much prefer wild and untouched landscapes. However, if there's the chance of seeing wildlife there, I'll happily go!
The first thing we saw was a Pied Wagtail, closer inspection revealed the poor little guy had a problem with one of his eyes- maybe an infection? It didn't look too good and wasn't moving...


To my relief, the bird soon perked up, began to move about and act like colourful male Pied Wagtails should.





So... I've got Pied Wagtail and Grey Wagtail, all I need now is Yellow Wagtail!
Whilst waiting for the Yellow Wagtail to turn up, I watched Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Siskins, Coal tits, Jays, Lapwings and much more as they enjoyed the sun.
I was quite surprised and pleased to find 3 Buzzards circle above the Temperate House. They were very high up but I like the colours on this shot of the sky as the light faded.



A Kestrel was also hunting in a nearby field


The clocks have changed and its now getting dark at 8pm instead of 3pm, so make the most of these light evenings... I know I will; just found out I've got a nature reserve near where I live. I'll definitly check it out and report back to you how I get on.

Happy Birding!

A afternoon in the Bush

After being told by a fellow blogger Tricia (see her great blog here) that a pair of Grebes had decided to use the main lake in Bushy Park, I decided to go and watch the 2 birds for a while (plus, Grebes in summer plumage make great photographs!).

Today however, the Grebes had decided they didn't want to show themselves and so I only managed an empty nest shot!


.... and a record shot

To cheer me up, I watched 3 Grey Wagtails flittering about and doing all those jumpy things only wagtails can do. This guy hasn't quite developed those lovely black markings on it's throat yet.

This colourful male Reed Bunting showed very well; shame my 300mm lens is jammed a 250mm!

Eygptian Geese and other foreign wildfowl still seem to be going by their foreign timetable and are giving birth to young very early in the year, it must be hard work for mum.

It then started to rain and mum signalled for her gooslings to shelter under her wing... arrrrr