Little Birds on Show

I spent a few hours over last weekend walking around a lake in Chelford, Cheshire, which is about 20 minutes from home. It can be quite productive in terms of rare and unusual birds turning up in the winter months. Last winter it held Smew, Black-necked Grebe and White-fronted Geese. There is also a really good colony of Tree Sparrows in the area. 

There was nothing unusual around this time, but I thoroughly enjoyed wandering the new paths and woodland. It seemed the trees were dripping with Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits. Both make quite a noise when they are together and there is no background noise to block it out.

Long-tailed Tit, hanging around, as they do.

A little Wren. I've not zoomed in so as to give a sense of scale with the Silver Birch tree.

One of my best (worst) pictures of a Goldcrest. Lovely and sharp, just facing the wrong way, and it didn't turn around for me either. Europe's smallest bird.

A Meadow Pipit was preening. Look at the length of those long claws.

Always good to see and watch the Tree Sparrows. Sadly very difficult to find these days.

A look back to when it was nice and quiet.

 As I've not been out for a couple of weeks with the camera, I thought I would take a look back at some pictures taken during lockdown. This was a time when I felt that nature tried to take back a hold on it's surrounding environment. This was a time when cars were very few and far between for a good two or three months. The sound of planes overhead stopped, but footfall on the pavements increased. Birdsong appeared louder and activity more pronounced. Or was this just the perception? Maybe they are always that loud, but it is drowned out by the modern world around us. Either way, it was a joy to walk through their habitat during my lockdown exercise walks. Blessed with some glorious weather too, it was nice to reconnect with nature and proof that whatever happens to the human world, nature can survive and thrive, probably better than it does now.

Chaffinch

Golden Plover

Jays became very easy to spot during April

One of our smaller birds, the Wren.

Patch Birding

Saturday started off misty and gloomy, but I still went out armed with the camera. This sort of weather is never conducive to nice pictures.
In the gloom, I picked out a pair of Mandarin ducks on my local flooded field. Initially I thought it may have been a Garganey, with the white over the eye, but as it swam out of the mist it was clear it was a male Mandarin. Never mind, a year tick all the same.

Female (left) and male Mandarin

There was a very vocal group of 75+ Fieldfares. I was surprised that they were still around, but pleased to see them once again before they head off to their breeding grounds in the north.

One of the most vocal birds of the morning was the Wren. They're very active at the moment and they make it easy to see them at this time of year. 

Little Jenny Wren

For most of the year I find the Wren notoriously hard to spot. Usually in thick dense undergrowth, keeping out of harms way, whilst teasing me with its tick tick alarm call. Come the colder winter months though they are forced from their cover to forage more widely for food, or is just that there are less leaves on the trees and bushes? I'm not sure, but what I do know is that they give much better views when the days are cold. Such a loud song too for a very small bird.

Come on, turn round.

There's a good chap.

Woodford

Glorious weather at last. After so many grey or damp days, the sun and warmth have arrived. I've been on the local patch recently. There's not really been anything spectacular to report but it's just been nice to see birds moving around in good light. There have also been some Brown Hares around. It's usually just rabbits, so it's always good to see something different.

Cormorant

Lapwing

Dunnock

Wren in full song

Curlew on the golf course

Now, this little fellow thought I wouldn't see him if he lay as flat as possible in an open field just 10 metres away from me. Well I've got news for you Mr Brown Hare. I saw you, and saw you run away when you thought I wasn't looking. Busted!

Dawn Chorus

Another trip to Mum and Dad's meant I got to do an early morning walk around Roding Valley Meadows in Loughton. A nice cold frosty start saw a lingering mist over the River Roding, but a good list of birds were seen nonetheless. A Little Egret was close to the Oakwood Estate along with two Ring-necked Parakeets and a Green Woodpecker. Closer to the Buckhurst Hill end were Reed Bunting, Blackcap and Chiffchaff, with a single Kingfisher darting along the river. (Yes Wayne they are there!)
Lots of birds were in full song and a few of my pictures here show just that.

Song Thrush

Great Tit

Wren

Early morning mist over the running track and River Roding

Down on the Farm

I had the pleasure of spending a good five hours in a private hide yesterday in Glazebury, Warrington. The hide is set up superbly, on farmland well away from humankind and is perfect for peaceful birding. It was a cold start with thick frost on the ground, but the sun was up first thing and soon moved into it's perfect position behind the hide. We were then treated to some fantastic bird action, with Tree Sparrows a plenty, Gold Green and Chaffinches, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Jay, Pheasant, Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker and the star of the show for me, a male Sparrowhawk. Sure, these are not particularly uncommon birds, but the opportunity to photograph them at close quarters was where the excitement lay for me. Some of my best pictures are below, but to be honest I am so pleased with a lot of them that I may have to post more later. An amazing day.

I've waited a long time to get a decent shot of a Tree Sparrow. 

Nuthatch

Goldfinch

I love a Great Tit

A little Jenny Wren, as my Nan calls it.

My highlight of the day, a Sparrowhawk.