Birding & Beer

Saturday morning had me out in the Landie before dawn, my target species was Tawny Owl. This particular site is not conductive for good photography because of the direction of the sun (straight at you) apart from that is at first light, hence the reason why I was in situ very early. 

The other reason why I was out very early was the small matter of sport......... Both the teams I follow (Leicester City FC & Leicester Tigers RFC) were being televised back to back on the television starting at midday. They were both massively important games that could well decide their respective fortunes for the rest of the season and I just couldn't miss them!

Once I was positioned up near the Tawny tree it was then a matter of waiting for a "show". Sadly the period of good light came and went and no owl was seen. Even though I'd missed the best light I was being treated to quite a show by a number of other species. To my left there was a small flock of circa 10 Tree Sparrows, never seen them here before, straight on was a Green Woodpecker that was busily tapping out a new nest entrance, over to my right a pair of Little Owls were calling & mating and behind me two Buzzards were making repeated visits to a tall tree with twigs and small branches, spring was definately in the air.

Eventually I was rewarded with a brief showing from a single Tawny, great views and an image I am happy with but still the good light evades me!

The Tawny didn't show for long, so I moved on a tried for some Green Woodpecker shots. These are fantastic looking birds and a species that so far I haven't managed any images of. The Landie was positioned near to the tree, I gave it half an hour and during this period it didn't return, consequently no images. However  I am very confident that once it has chicks in the nest there will be plenty of opportunities, watch this space!!

All the time whilst waiting for the Woody to return to it's tree I was constantly being distracted by the very vocal Little Owls. This pair (my site No 214) have made home in a very unusual place? Their nest tree is a very old and large pollarded Willow in the middle of a pond! I was compelled to drive over and try for some images of them, this action obviously disturbed them as they soon disappeared out of sight once I was in position. 

As I have never managed any "decent" images of the owls at this site I was prepared to invest some time to see if they would re-emerge? The wait wasn't too long, around 30 minutes before the first owl (the male) came out of hiding. Initially it kept hidden as it must have been suspicious of my presence, but in time it ventured further out and a few images were canned.

I was very lucky as the hen owl soon followed suit and came out of hiding, she seemed the most confident of the two as much better and closer views were had of her.

Whilst with them they didn't mate again, which was really the image I wanted, but I did get this image of both of them together.

My time with the owls was all too short, I needed to depart as the games I wanted to watch were soon to be on the TV.

Overall it was a great day, a good few hours birding followed by a gallon of larger. And to round off the complete day both of my teams win, oh it doesn't get much better than that!

Box maintenance.

Not much to report on from the last week or so, I have been dedicating what free time I've had to checking out my owl nest boxes. Col and have have decided that for the foreseeable future we are going to concentrate on box repairs and maintenance rather than putting up more new ones. Although the majority of boxes we already have up are in fair condition there are a number that are starting to rot on the roof. Luckily we recently acquired some old slate (from a derelict barn) and this is now being used as extra protection and should extend the life of the boxes considerably. Here below is the "team" including the two new recruits, Joe my son and Patch the Labrador doing the slate collection.

Here below is a typical example of what one of the boxes looks like once it has had its retrofit slate roof fitted. The two pieces of slate fit perfectly on top of one and other without the need to trim down the size. It is secured in position with silicon and should give the extra protection and longevity we are looking for.

   

Part of the box maintenance procedure is to check out the inside for any signs of owl activity or if any unwelcome squatters have moved in. It appears that other critters apart from owls have taken a liking to our boxes with Jackdaws and Squirrels being the main culprits. Here in this image below Col can be seen clearing out an old Jackdaw nest.  It is a very dirty task and precautions must be taken so as not to inhale the dust, I think that Col just likes being a gimp!!!

Hannibal Lecter????

During this particular weekend we had to clear out five separate boxes, two from Jackdaws and three from Squirrels. But on a positive note we came across pairs of Little Owls roosting in three separate boxes and the icing on the cake was a pair of Barn Owls roosting in another.

Whilst out one evening I managed to locate another Tawny Owl site, it was almost dark when this image was taken (which has effected the quality somewhat) but I was pleased to have captured a record shot of it. I don't know yet whether this is a roosting or breeding site, I do hope the latter.  I guess time will tell as I will be keeping an eye on it from now on.

New Tawny Owl site?

And of course no post would be complete without a couple of Little Owl images, would it? On our travels several birds were seen out and about. These two separate birds were encountered, both not too far from our nest boxes!

The next few weekends (and evenings where possible) will be spent checking out yet more boxes, we have well over a hundred up now! But time is definitely against us as the breeding season will soon be with us again. 

And finally, and as a reminder of the up and coming breeding season I will leave you with this last image of a juvenile Little Owl hiding behind a log. I have just found it on an old memory card and really like it as it's different. It was taken a couple of years ago and from memory I don't think it was ever posted on my blog so here it is.

Thanks for stopping by, see you all again soon..........

More little un's.

The weather is starting to improve and the days are starting to draw out, spring is definitely in the air and the new breeding season is just around the corner. Getting out in the Landie at this time of year is very rewarding (almost a privileged although expensive!), especially early morning just as the day is dawning. 

Every thing is great, so what could improve matters?? I'll tell you what, a new Little Owl site (No 243) and with a very showy resident pair too! 

This latest site wasn't just accidentally stumbled upon, I have had my eye on this particular location for a while now but nothing was ever there, or at least I never saw them before. It compromises of a couple of isolated farm buildings/sheds that are only really accessible in the Landie, but unlike on previous fruitless visits this time I hit the jackpot! 

After staking the area out for an hour two birds showed in the gap at the end of the brick barn.

Initially they expressed caution and checked out the Landie from the relative security of their little hidey hole. After a while I think they realised there was no threat and they dropped down onto a lower wall. They were now very close and I had to stay as quiet as a mouse behind my camo scrim so as not to spook them. The only noise being made was from the camera shutter, they could  obviously hear it as they would occasionally turn and look right down the lens, it didn't scare them though, in fact I think they were inquisitive?

As the time passed they grew in confidence and started to use a variety of different perches. By now they almost totally ignored the Landie, just the occasional glance was made.

Although mild it was still very windy, this played into my hands as the grey clouds were soon blown away leaving an almost cloudless sky and brilliant light.

It was amazing just how blue the sky was at times, although I had to be aware of not blowing the whites in the now brilliant sunshine.

The good light also allowed me a few opportunities of capturing a few "flighty" shots, this particular aspect of photography is dammed difficult and I messed up a couple of chances but luckily I did nail a few in the end.

 

The "head on" shot of an owl in flight has to be the hardest particular image to attain, the camera and operator have to work in total synchronization,  oh and the setting have to be spot on!

The flight shot of an owl moving across (eg from left to right) is I suppose a bit easier than when one is coming straight at you, although still a tough one to capture. The light has to be really good allowing for a greater depth of field without the loss of the much needed high shutter speeds The final ingredient to capturing the perfect image is of course a lot of luck!! 

It is not often that when a new owl site is located some half decent images are captured in the same visit. Usually there has to be plenty of planning and re-visits but I guess on this occasion I just got lucky?

Thanks for visiting and catch you all again soon...............

Still not satisfied!

I made yet another visit last night to see my latest found Tawny Owl site, sorry I know these posts are getting a bit repetitive but I still haven't as yet attained an image that I am entirely satisfied with. With the crevice facing northeast the sun sets behind the tree putting the owl into almost blackness.  So I made this latest visit later in the day than on previous occasions after the sun had set, which was good as I didn't suffer from horrid lens flair that reduces contrast and makes the image look all washed out, maybe I need a filter of some kind?? Anyhow, that then gave me other issues to deal with like lack of light! I know I don't have a very high quality lens but when the light levels are low it really comes into its own, I opened up the aperture to F3.2, (didn't go all the way to F2.8 because it goes too soft) dialed in a high ISO which still enabled a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second. The camera/lens was held rock solid on my beanbag and luckily the owl held a statue like pose, the result was definitely my best effort to date although still a bit noisy/grainy and washed out.

I WILL still be making another visit to see this owl(s) at this site as I think an early morning visit could pay dividends? I have calculated that if I was in situ at dawn there may be just a slither of sunlight on the crevice for 5-10 minutes when the sun rises. If this is the case it will make the whole task of getting an improved image much easier. All I want then is for both the owls to show together, mmmmm I don't want much then do I?

Whilst driving over the fields to see the Tawnies I passed my Little Owl site No 214. I have not seen a bird here for nearly a year. So you can imagine I was chuffed when a pair flew from low down in the Willow Tree and perched up at eye level not far from the Landie. So just to give this post a bit of variety here below is a heavily cropped image of one of the Little Owls in the setting sun.

Thanks for visiting, see you all soon!

Sitting Pretty!

The lure to go back and visit my latest found owl sight was just too much, even though I was suffering with a hangover (a heavy stag do the night before) I battled through feeling lethargic and ignored the pounding head and went out. As it happens the fresh air did me wonders and once the owls showed all evidence of my self inflicted aliments were soon forgotten. 

Although it was late in the day and time was of the essence it proved to be a short but successful trip. Unlike on the previous occasion where I had to wait nearly three hours for the owls to show this time I waited only 30 minutes and then I was blessed as both owls showed side by side in the crevice.  

Getting the correct exposure proved very tricky indeed, the sun was setting low behind the tree which put the birds in almost complete blackness, but a bit of over exposure, high ISO and some post editing made the final image a bit grainy but one that I am more than happy with, oh happy days!!

Two for the price of one!

On more occasions than I care to remember I have come away from a particular location (usually an owl site) after investing many hours without even a sighting let alone any images. I thought that was going to be the case again on my most recent excursion out, I went and set up near to a new Tawny Owl site that was first located only last week. My time in wait was exactly 2 hours 57 minutes but I was well rewarded when the action finally happened, not one but two Tawny Owls showed in the crevice. 

I am well chuffed with this latest contribution to my Tawny Owl portfolio, not very often you get to see two together! It won't be long before these guys get down to the business of breeding, I do hope they use this particular location as it is very quiet and off the beat and track which will make the viewing superb.

Unleash the beast!

This particular post title makes reference to the "beast" being my Landrover! After 6 long months standing idle on my driveway (no tax!) it has now passed its MOT and is now legally back on the road, and raring to go. It is an exciting time for me because the landie allows me to go to places that otherwise would not be accessible and haven't been visited for well over six months! If they are accessible the intended quarry doesn't usually get to be seen because the element of disguise that the landie offers is just not there!

My very first outing in the landie was over to one of my favourite Little Owl sites near to the village of Enderby. This site has a proven track record of being very reliable for owl sightings but one has to be in the landie otherwise nothing is ever seen! And right bang on form, after being parked up for no more than five minutes the resident pair of Little Owls showed themselves. They didn't venture away from the nest entrance but good to see they made it through the winter, again! 

The hen owl, site No 88.

The male owl, site No 88

The male owl again, site No 88. Being quite vocal.

During my first venture out in the landie of 2014 I was not alone? Keeping me company was my new (and very excited) buddy. He is four years old and his name is Patch. He was acquired a few weeks ago from a couple who had just retired and were moving back to America. Patch is a very obedient and well trained  dog and has settled in very nicely. I think he and I are destined to spend many hours together out in the landie and no doubt he will be featuring on my blog again!

Patch, in his mobile kennel. What a handsome chap!

So Patch and I made our second site visit to an area near to South Wigston. I was eager to re-visit this area because during my last visit back in September 2013 disaster had struck? During high winds the nest site was destroyed rendering the Little Owl's at site No 105 homeless. This was my first visit since then and I was eager to see if the owls were still holding their old territory? 

Firstly we visited the old nest tree, my fears were confirmed when the damage was witnessed, even worse than I recalled. A huge limb had fallen from high above smashing the nest entrance wide open leaving nothing more than a gaping hole that a space hopper could fit into. Do you remember the space hopper? Amazing how much fun you could have with a big orange ball with antennas!. 

After further inspection of the carnage there was no evidence of any owl activity, had they survived the ordeal and if so where were they now? There were two other likely nearby trees that could be candidates for a re-location, so they were checked out. The landie was relocated adjacent to the first tree and with good light behind I checked it out through my binoculars. BINGO!!! After five seconds of scanning the tree a Little Owl was spotted. Now this owl didn't seem to be fazed out by the presence of the landie, it appeared to be quite relaxed. This was excellent news because the male owl from the decimated site was one of the most confiding owls that I know. He was use to the landie and at times would allow me to drive within just a few meters of him! I was confident that this was the same owl, so a quick manoeuvre to a nearer and more advantageous position for a photo was undertaken, the owl remained in the same spot, (presumably the new nest entrance) I am now very confident it was him!

Male owl - site No 105.

Although the male owl at this site is extremely confiding the hen owl is totally the opposite. She has always been shy and usually keeps hidden away. For this reason I pulled back and observed from a position further away, after a while she too showed herself (too far for an image). So both owls had survived the ordeal of the previous nest site being destroyed, excellent news.

After leaving the owls I decided to have a drive around this particular area, it seemed an age since I was last here and it's always nice to reacquaint yourself with a favoured area. During this drive about  I spotted a Green Sandpiper flitting along an old storm drain. Because I don't have any "decent" images of this species I decided to invest some time and give it a go. I positioned the landie paralell to the storm drain near to where it was being bathed in glorious morning sunshine. 

Whilst waiting for the Sandpiper to come close I was entertained by a trio of Grey Wagtails, a couple of images were captured, but the quality has been lost somewhat because of their relative small size and heavy crops.

Grey Wagtail

 

Balancing act - Grey Wagtail

 It was a long wait, but finally my two hour endurance paid off when the Sandpiper finally settled on the wall right in front of me!

Green Sandpiper - South Wigston

Green Sandpiper

Without doubt the best ever Green Sandpiper views I've ever had, well worth investing the time waiting for it to come close, using the landie as a hide paid off yet again!

Patch and I then moved on, he'd been a good boy and never made a murmur all the time we waited, he was well overdue a comfort break and a bit of a run. Here he is again enjoying having a splash about!

 

My next planned visit out in the landie is to start my monitoring all the owl nest boxes, some of them are now looking worse for wear and desperately in need of some maintenance, but Col and I have a plan, but that will be next time........

See you all soon!

Buzzing!

Sorry but nothing to report of late regarding the local owls, any free time I have had recently has been spent with the now long staying Buzzard. A brilliant and very confiding individual that strangely just doesn't seem to be afraid of humans? Luckily it is only a short drive from my home so just "popping" over early morning is no major chore.

Upon arrival the Buzzard was to be found in it's usual place perched up in the roadside tree. I parked up and poked the camera out of the car window took a few portrait shots and then waited for something to happen...........

After a while of watching it do nothing it eventually drop down into the field and started to feed on the remnants of what I can only presume was a recent kill. On a previous visit I witnessed the Buzzard drop down from its usual perch in the "petrified tree" and fly at full speed head first into the bottom of a Hawthorne bush?? There was a right commotion as it flapped and twisted about? It then re-emerged seeming none the worse with a small rodent in its talons, I have no idea what it was feeding on this time but it was significantly bigger than a rodent, a rabbit maybe?

It was a cloudless sky and full early morning sun, consequently the light was excellent which allowed for some higher shutter speeds and a bit of flighty action.  

 

I do hope this guy hangs around for a while yet as I just can't get enough of it, I've never had views of a Buzzard quite like it before and to honest I don't expect to get them again, so it a case of making hay whilst the suns shines. A brilliant experience, a real buzz!.

Up close and personal.......

I have been doing this bird photography lark for a while now, and one species that has eluded me for any quality views and images is the Buzzard. Their numbers have exploded in recent years so they are seen on an almost daily basis, sometimes 5 or 6 together but getting close to one has proven an almost impossible task.I have had to be satisfied with distant views and record images only as they are always too far away for my 300mm lens, until now!  

A single bird has been located not too far from where I live that just doesn't seem to have a fear of humans. I have made several visits now and it is always located either perched up in the dead roadside tree or occasionally on the ground doing a bit of "worming". I can pull up alongside the tree and shoot from the open car window, the views and photo opportunities are brilliant but they are limited. Because the location is situated on a single track country lane every time a car comes along I have to shunt out of the way to let them pass, a real pain in the backside!

On Sunday morning the light levels were just perfect (the best since the bird was located) so I nipped over to see the Buzzard again, I was only there for around 20 minutes before I got completely fed up with the continual stream of passing cars, but it was a 20 minutes of time well invested.

As usual the bird was located on one of it's favoured perches in the dead tree.

 

It wasn't too long before it took flight, luckily I managed to capture this bit of action (below) before any cars came along!

 Once landed on the ground it was a matter of only a few yards away!

     It then proceeded to search out the worms in the mole hills. 

During the small amount of time that I spent with the bird it repeated its sequence of flying to and from the tree on a few occasions, this gave me the opportunity to capture a couple of diving images.

It would quite happily feed without any fear, it only seemed to take flight when yet another car came along and papped at me to move out of the way. 

This last image if easily my favorite of the morning, by a country mile my best Buzzard shot ever!

The continual stream of cars coming down the lane really spoils what could be one of the best wildlife encounters I've ever had. However I have now gained permission from the local land owner to take my Landrover into the field, but because it is so boggy at the moment I've got to wait for it to dry out, I hope the Buzzard hangs around until then?

New owl site - 242

I'm still not getting out anywhere near as much as I'd like to, it's the same old excuses really, limited time, no cash, too cold etc etc. The solution is quite simple really, a huge lottery win and a bit of sunshine!! 

Anyway, my most recent excursion out was at the weekend, a few more year ticks where made and my annual list keeps creeping up nicely, nothing special just Kingfisher, Marsh Tit and drum roll please.............House Sparrow!!!! My tally is now on 70 different species, 43.75% of my original target of 160, however I am not doing that well if you were to ask Col Green who decided that my target should be increased to 175 species, mmmmm that means I am only at 40.00%, the cheek of him!

It was all very nice seeking out these different species for my year list, it makes a refreshing change from spending nearly all my time with the owls but I have to admit it is always good to get back to watching and searching for them. And late in the day when on my way home I got my owly fix, and in the form of yet another new Little Owl site. The bird in question was first picked up in the car headlights as it swooped across in front of me and landed on top of a hedgerow. It was a very quiet country lane so there was no issues with just stopping in the middle of the road. The camera was soon plucked from the passenger seat and after a quick change of the setting the image below was attained.

Little Owl site No 242

The conditions as you can perhaps make out were not good! This was no time to be arty farty, it was just a case of trying to get a usable record shot, and I managed it just! It was 5.51pm and almost pitch black, the auto focus just kept hunting back and forth and just wouldn't lock onto the bird. The ISO was pumped up to 2000 and with the aperture opened up to F2.8 I did managed to lock on just the once and grab an image, albeit at only 1/20 of a second shutter speed.

That is it for this post as nothing else to report, roll on the nicer weather, oh and that lottery win!!!

See ya all soon.............

  

Squeaking them in......

Hi all!

I know my updates have been a bit thin on the ground just recently, it has not been a case that I can't be bothered to do a post its just a case that I just haven't got anything to report. Crappy weather, crappy light (before & after work) and what with the Landrover being off the road they have all contributed to not going out! 

However, last week I did make an effort to have a drive around, it was a drab and very dreary day, not that conductive for owling you would think? But because of the fact there wasn't a breath of wind (very rare nowadays!) I suspected that there could be a Little Owl or two to be seen, and there was!

I stopped off at five known Little Owl sites and sightings were made at all five but they were too far away for any images though.  I suppose I could have made more of an effort and got out of the car and got closer but as the conditions were terrible for photography so I stayed put! There is no doubt about it, a windless day is perfect for owl watching, it just seems to bring them out to play.

Later in the day I made contact with owls at another two sites, this time I made an effort to take some photographs as I'd never seen an owl at either location before, they are now my new sites No's 238 & 239.

The owl at site No 238 was firstly heard before I saw it, I was at a very well know local reservoir just doing a bit of general birding when I hear a call come from a scrubby area to my left. It only called  the once and lasted no more than a second but it was undoubtedly a Little Owl. It wasn't going to show whilst I stood there on the bridge so I returned back to my car, wound down the window and poked the camera out of the window. It then took about an hour of waiting before I got my first glimpse, it was perched up deep in the undergrowth and no chance of a shot!  I did my mouse impression (a sort of kissy squeak) and that got its attention. It emerged from the relative security of the scrub and rose high and landed on a bare branch, it stared straight at me for a few seconds before flying off, I did however managed the image below during its fleeting show.

Little Owl site No 238.

On my way home I stopped off at an old farm building where I have on the odd occasion previously seen a Barn Owl. As it was now starting to get dark I was hoping the timing would be about right to see one yet again? I pulled up and opened the window, again it was time for my secret weapon, "the kissy squeak". Unfortunately it didn't attract a Barn Owl, but instead a pair of Little Owls were attracted! I couldn't believe my luck when they flew in and landed on top of a small bush. Luckily I already got my camera ready so capturing a couple of images was done so with ease.

Little Owl site No 239

I think that "squeaking" them in worked so well because there was no wind and the sound carried so much further than normal. As you can see from the quality of the images the light levels were terrible and not conductive at all for good photography. Never the less, it was still good to find a couple of new sites and a perfect reason for me to make a re-visit when the weather is better.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully we'll catch up again soon.........