Sand Martin - Wilmslow Park

I finally got round to doing something that I had planned on doing a long time ago, photographing the Sand Martin colony at Wilmslow Park. Just a short walk from home, these great little hirundines  make the sandy banks of the River Bollin there home each year. Not the easiest bird to photograph in flight, I wanted to focus on the nest holes and hopefully get a something better than a blur. I still managed lots of blurs, but also managed to get some of them whilst almost still.

The smallest of the hirundines feeds mainly over water, quite often chirping as it goes.

Spotted Flycatcher - Leasowe

One of the last of our summer migrants to arrive is the Spotted Flycatcher. I eagerly await these smart looking birds. I'm always wishing they'd turned up with the Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers, but it does mean that there is something else to look forward to. If only they were easy to find.
I know of a few spots, but even then it requires patience and some luck in catching them in flight. This is the main give away for me. Lots of other birds will flit about and dart across, or even hang up under the leaves. The Spotted Flycatcher though will often take a perch and then swoop up or out to catch a fly before returning to the same branch.
I searched in vain for an hour or so last Saturday night, but then returned to the same spot on Sunday morning and found one within minutes. I knew I was in the right spot, just needed to bide my time. Unfortunately now, the trees are in full leaf in most parts and so photographing these lovely birds is a bit trickier. Despite not many pictures, I enjoyed watching this particular bird for some time. I hope it won't be my last of the year.

Swallow

I had a lovely walk last weekend. The sun was shining and it was calm and warm. I was able to leave the jacket in the car and enjoy the delights of the Cheshire countryside. Lots of birds were busy feeding young and so making themselves obvious in flight and again on the ground.
The Swallows have not been back very long, but numbers are building up nicely and it's good to watch them gliding over the fields once again. Even better for me, is when they perch up on a cable or wire to allow me to take some pictures, and when the sun shines it's even better.

Pied Flycatcher

I'd seen a Pied Flycatcher a few weeks ago at Titchwell, but it was quite a quick glimpse and only one that confirmed what it was. I look forward to seeing them each year, but it requires a special trip out. Never a problem for me as it is on my favourite birdwatching patch. Gosh, what a bummer!
So, special trip made, and right on cue a pair were found. Took a bit of searching, but when found, I had a good amount of time spent with them. The male was in song quite a lot of the time by the nest site, and the female was busy gathering nesting material. Such good looking birds. So glad they make the trip from West Africa each year.

 The male Pied Flycatcher.

The slightly less colourful female, but a lovely looking bird all the same.

Along the river bank of the River Goyt there were a couple of pairs of Common Sandpipers. Not usually the most confiding bird, this pair were unaware of my presence as they gathered nesting material.

 

Fulmar - Sheringham

The cliff tops at Sheringham are a great place to look for birds. It could be Meadow Pipits, Stonechats or just recently Ring Ouzles. I like to look out to sea a lot of the time, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. I've seen all sorts, from Gannets to Red-throated Divers and Scoters.
Currently nesting in the rocks are are some Fulmars. I had tried for a few days to try and get some flight shots of them, but they always seemed to come out of nowhere at me and then off before I could get a focus on them.
These are the best I could manage, but watching them sore along the cliff tops was good consolation.

Once again, it came out of nowhere.

The Goyt Valley in Spring

I grabbed just over an hour today in the Goyt Valley. I've said it many times, but this is my favourite place to go birding near to me. I could waste so much time here just wandering around, listening and observing.
I had a few target birds for my year list today, and I got them all not long after leaving the car. Knowing where to look is a great help, and I've looked for these birds for many years now. They rarely let me down. A real bonus though was a fly over Osprey! I really was not expecting to see one, but what a thrill it was! Followed closely by a calling Cuckoo.

First up was a Common Redstart. I could hear one singing within a few minutes and tracked it down quickly. Sat upon a dead branch in full view.

While I was looking around I could see some small birds up in the canopy and a familiar call. A pair of Siskins. I was pleased about this as they had avoided my year list in 2018, and so far this. So it was good to get them on the 2019 list.

The Tree Pipits are great to watch and listen to. They parachute down and let everyone know they are around. Thankfully that makes it easy to spot them and then photograph.


I spent some time watching them feeding on the ground, and this one even burst into a bit of song for me.

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaffs have been in abundance of late. One of the first birds I notice on their return journey here for the summer. It's a welcome sound on a warm spring day. The first one always make me smile with joy and signals to me that the long dark nights of winter are behind us and that the summer is coming. Better than that, all the other migrants are on their way too.

Norfolk at Easter

I've just spent a week at my parents in Norfolk, which to most birders in the UK is birding Mecca. I saw lots of birds, added lots of year ticks, and yet I feel there was much more that I could have seen. Right time and right place was what it was all about. I missed out on a number of birds by minutes, and others by not quite being in the right place. That's birding, and tomorrow is another day. Just need to keep getting out there and see what turns up.
I can't complain really, I had some great early mornings and the weather was good too, despite a rather cold easterly wind. One bird that I really wasn't expecting to see was a Greenshank at Morston. It's a bird I usually have to make a concerted effort to see each year, so this was a real bonus.

Greenshank workings it's way through the muddy estuary.

Here with a Curlew. A good size comparison.

Never easy to locate, but this Grey Partridge popped up nicely on my walk.

A really good looking male Northern Wheatear. One of the highlights. They popped up everywhere.

Brambling - Elton Reservoir

Sunshine, and lots of it, has been the theme over the last week. Very few clouds and add to that a bit of warmth and this makes me a very happy boy. It meant I could get out at the weekend with the certainty that the light would be good for some better pictures.
I ventured to Elton Reservoir once again and got lucky with a few Brambling still around the feeders. Not the easiest of subjects, but as the light was good I have forgiven the unsightly branches and the feeder that one was sat on.

This very nice male perched nicely in the sunlight.

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.