After 4 plus years I've decided to call time on this blog. Its been great fun and I'm not about to stop posting about my stuff - I did think about it but I've got the blogging bug now and its a wonderful way of recording and sharing ones experiences. Here's the link to the new Blog
BAGGINS ON THE LOOSE - my brand new Blog
Not a Hobbit, but the old nickname I like. Just a man with a camera, lucky enough to be let loose in the countryside! A birder in the main but all nature attracts me. North Yorkshire based but I get around.
Monday 30 November 2015
Grey geese and Starling flocks
A tramp around the fields nr the river Idle (S. Yorks/ N Notts) with top mate Mark P, kicks off the new blog - pretty much the same format but with a slight change of emphasis - I'm looking to get more into video footage and whilst my wildlife experiences in both the UK and abroad will be the major focus, I'll be giving up some room for a bit of music too. All my old posts dating back to 2011 remain available here Old Posts
No wild goose chase this, we knew exactly what we were doing, but there sure was a lorra lorra geese! Mainly of the Pink Footed variety and none of the rarer like Bean or White Fronted but the sheer numbers in some of these fields was good to see (wonder what the farmers think?) - here's 3 of an estimated 1500!
a few more....
Just as numerous on the day and indeed right across the UK at the moment is the humble Starling. There's many a 'murmeration' to be had and in this neck of the woods Potteric Carr nr Doncaster is a good bet for a good evening roost experience. This flock of maybe a 1000 or so however were on a local pig farm and getting well stuck in to the porker's feed!
Northern thrushes in evidence too with circa 400 Fieldfares and half as many Redwings. Always skittish but these Fieldfares coming into roost made a pleasant image even though the light was pants!
So, lots and lots of Pink Footed Geese, Starlings, Redwings and Fieldfares, just 4 of the 60 or so bird species that choose to spend their winters in the relatively mild climes of the UK. So where've they all come from dude?
Pink Footed Geese arrive here in their thousands from their breeding grounds in the Arctic circle, mainly Greenland, Iceland and Spitzbergen.
Starlings breed here in the UK of course but our own population is massively swelled in the winter by migrants from Scandinavia
Fieldfares breed widely in western continental Europe but the vast majority of our winter visitors come from Scandinavia and north west Russia. A handful of pairs sometimes breed in Scotland.
Redwings have a similar breeding range to Fieldfares, again with a very small and dwindling Scottish population, but interestingly they have a strong Icelandic population and many of our wintering visitors come from here as well as Scandinavia.
Been quite a while since I've managed a good Redwing pic and had to trawl the old blog for this one ..now there's a challenge for the next few months!
Starlings are somewhat easier of course and close up they really are beautiful birds, especially caught in good light.
This is one of many that are roving around my local patch here in Fangfoss. Maybe not quite as 'glossy' looking in their winter plumage, its undeniably smart and this one reminded me of a similarly posed bird I took a picture of in the Algarve a couple of years ago but that was a Spotless Starling, the species that takes over from our own in southern Europe... spot the difference?!
Oh to be in the Algarve right now, with the rain pelting down on my caravan and the wind playing havoc with the awning, I'm tempted to book a flight right now!
No wild goose chase this, we knew exactly what we were doing, but there sure was a lorra lorra geese! Mainly of the Pink Footed variety and none of the rarer like Bean or White Fronted but the sheer numbers in some of these fields was good to see (wonder what the farmers think?) - here's 3 of an estimated 1500!
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| Pink Footed Geese, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
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| Pink Footed Geese, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
and here on the deck with some heavily outnumbered Whooper Swans of which there were a mere 30 or so all told
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| Pink Footed Geese and Whoopers, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
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| Starling flock, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
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| Starling flock, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
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| Fieldfares coming into roost, Idle Valley. 18/11/15 |
Northern thrushes in evidence too with circa 400 Fieldfares and half as many Redwings. Always skittish but these Fieldfares coming into roost made a pleasant image even though the light was pants!
So, lots and lots of Pink Footed Geese, Starlings, Redwings and Fieldfares, just 4 of the 60 or so bird species that choose to spend their winters in the relatively mild climes of the UK. So where've they all come from dude?
Pink Footed Geese arrive here in their thousands from their breeding grounds in the Arctic circle, mainly Greenland, Iceland and Spitzbergen.
Fieldfares breed widely in western continental Europe but the vast majority of our winter visitors come from Scandinavia and north west Russia. A handful of pairs sometimes breed in Scotland.
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| Redwing, Fairburn Ings. Dec 2012 |
Been quite a while since I've managed a good Redwing pic and had to trawl the old blog for this one ..now there's a challenge for the next few months!
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| Starling, Fangfoss. 20/11/15 |
This is one of many that are roving around my local patch here in Fangfoss. Maybe not quite as 'glossy' looking in their winter plumage, its undeniably smart and this one reminded me of a similarly posed bird I took a picture of in the Algarve a couple of years ago but that was a Spotless Starling, the species that takes over from our own in southern Europe... spot the difference?!
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| Spotless Starling, Algarve. 03/13 |
Oh to be in the Algarve right now, with the rain pelting down on my caravan and the wind playing havoc with the awning, I'm tempted to book a flight right now!
Friday 9 October 2015
Hunting Kestrels, Ring Ouzels and first winter thrushes in at Flamborough,
Got some great pics of hunting Kestrels the other day whilst I was scouring the hedges and bushes at Flamborough for migrant warblers. Bright morning sunshine always helps but with a family party of 4 that were continually stooping for prey along the cliffs I couldn't fail!
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
A little trickier once the birds were against the cliff-side but one or two came out well including this one -
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Ring Ouzel, Buckton, 06/10/15 |
I failed abysmally to see any of the dozen or so Yellow Browed Warblers that were present on the headland but to my credit I did see a Barred Warbler (hopeless pic unless you like hawthorn bushes!) and there were passage thrushes everywhere, especially further up the coast at Buckton (adjacent to Bempton RSPB - mainly Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, the odd Redwing, 3 Fieldfare and the undoubted highlights - 5 Ring Ouzels. Damn difficult to get close but a passing Sparrowhawk flushed one and enabled me to get some half decent 'in flight' shots.
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| Ring Ouzel, Buckton, 06/10/15 |
Very reminiscent of our common or garden Blackbird, Ring Ouzels are a tad bigger, males sport a distinctive white crescent across their breast and they have silvery grey wings. Fab birds, they breed in mountainous, hilly regions (there's a healthy population in the NY Moors) most of these however are likely to have come in from central Europe. Some excellent info here if you want to know more about these birds - Ring Ouzels
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| Ring Ouzel, Buckton, 07/10/15 |
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| Ring Ouzel, Buckton, 06/10/15 |
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| Ring Ouzels, Buckton, 06/10/15 |
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| Fieldfare, Buckton, 06/10/15 |
I got lucky with the Fieldfares I think - they just appeared after a bit of mizzle and then flew off south. To my knowledge, although there have been a few at Spurn, these are possibly the first records this Autumn for Flamborough.
Footnote re the Ring Ouzels - the next day and well tuned into their call, I had another of these birds at Fangfoss, no pic sadly but a mega record and the 80th species for my local patch. Well done me!
and here's that bush with a Barred Warbler in it - I think maybe I should stick to photographing Kestrels!
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| Barred Warbler, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
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| Barred Warbler, Flamborough, 06/10/15 |
Saturday 26 September 2015
September ins and outs down my way, young swallows venture south and the finches move in.
September .. the summer crops are gathered in and wild flowers are blooming their last. Nights are drawing in, temperatures are dropping, cricket's days are done and rugby takes centre stage, and small birds of many species are moving south .....
Almost all of the Swallows around Fangfoss Park have now departed, slightly earlier than last year when I had good numbers well into the last week of September and then the odd late straggler into the first week of October. Their long and often hazardous flight down to sub Saharan Africa must be a daunting one for all this year's young ones and, although many other birds undertake the self same amazing journey, there is something endearingly magical about the annual departure of these vulnerable looking wee birds.
These youngsters were 2 of many that were massing together on Strensall Common a couple of weeks ago and obviously getting ready to go. They'll be well on their way now, their journey time south to Africa is a lot more leisurely than the dash back north in the Spring and these 2 can be reasonably confident of catching flies under South African skies within a couple of months but my they look so fragile!
Departure time from Europe for many other birds too, including many warblers using the UK as a convenient stop off point and feeding station. The many hedgerows around my local patch here in Fangfoss have held many Willow Warblers, ChiffChaffs, Whitethroats and Blackcaps over the past few weeks and even a couple of Lesser Whitethroats ... sadly not able to photograph the latter but as with my Whinchat of a couple of weeks ago a welcome new species for the area.
Spotted Flycatchers bred here this year and this may be one of the youngsters but could equally be another individual on passage ... it was in amongst a roving group of tits and warblers.
There's a lot of fruit laden hedgerows around the countryside at the moment and all worthy of a look if you're looking for migrants (and I don't mean Syrians!). Just as the warblers, chats and flycatchers feed up on this seasonal feast before heading south, other birds are arriving on our shores either to stay or in transit - Blackbirds, Robins and assorted finches have all increased in numbers of late and a small flock of Lesser Redpolls in amongst the more numerous Goldfinches is a sure sign of the changing season ...
No Redwings or Fieldfares have made it this far inland as yet but a steady increase in Blackbird numbers, like this one gorging on Elderberries.
Good to see some healthy flocks of Lapwings back in the fields too ...
I'm glad my Aug 24th Honey Buzzard sighting finally made it onto the Flamborough bird observatory site here - http://fbo.org.uk/category/sightings/ It was the highlight of my day too, even though I had to study the pictures before I realised what it was!
Back here in the Yorkshire Wolds our own Common Buzzards seem to go from strength to strength with up to 8 in my immediate vicinity.
Lucky shot of this one calling as it swept past me!
Almost certainly I'll be heading out to the coast soon to catch some more visible migration ... maybe an October trip out to Spurn when the winter thrushes start coming in, but in truth I'm more than happy walking the lanes and hedgerows of my own patch!
Almost all of the Swallows around Fangfoss Park have now departed, slightly earlier than last year when I had good numbers well into the last week of September and then the odd late straggler into the first week of October. Their long and often hazardous flight down to sub Saharan Africa must be a daunting one for all this year's young ones and, although many other birds undertake the self same amazing journey, there is something endearingly magical about the annual departure of these vulnerable looking wee birds.
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| Barn Swallow, Strensall Common, 10/09/15 |
These youngsters were 2 of many that were massing together on Strensall Common a couple of weeks ago and obviously getting ready to go. They'll be well on their way now, their journey time south to Africa is a lot more leisurely than the dash back north in the Spring and these 2 can be reasonably confident of catching flies under South African skies within a couple of months but my they look so fragile!
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| Barn Swallow, Strensall Common, 10/09/15 |
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| Blackcap, Fangfoss, 21/09/15 |
Departure time from Europe for many other birds too, including many warblers using the UK as a convenient stop off point and feeding station. The many hedgerows around my local patch here in Fangfoss have held many Willow Warblers, ChiffChaffs, Whitethroats and Blackcaps over the past few weeks and even a couple of Lesser Whitethroats ... sadly not able to photograph the latter but as with my Whinchat of a couple of weeks ago a welcome new species for the area.
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| Willow Warbler, Fangfoss, 22/09/15 |
Spotted Flycatchers bred here this year and this may be one of the youngsters but could equally be another individual on passage ... it was in amongst a roving group of tits and warblers.
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| Spotted Flycatcher, Fangfoss, 15/09/15 |
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| Lesser Redpoll, Fangfoss, 21/09/15 |
There's a lot of fruit laden hedgerows around the countryside at the moment and all worthy of a look if you're looking for migrants (and I don't mean Syrians!). Just as the warblers, chats and flycatchers feed up on this seasonal feast before heading south, other birds are arriving on our shores either to stay or in transit - Blackbirds, Robins and assorted finches have all increased in numbers of late and a small flock of Lesser Redpolls in amongst the more numerous Goldfinches is a sure sign of the changing season ...
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| Lesser Redpoll, Fangfoss, 21/09/15 |
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| Goldfinch, Strensall Common, |
No Redwings or Fieldfares have made it this far inland as yet but a steady increase in Blackbird numbers, like this one gorging on Elderberries.
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| Lapwings, Fangfoss, 15/09/15 |
Back here in the Yorkshire Wolds our own Common Buzzards seem to go from strength to strength with up to 8 in my immediate vicinity.
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| Common Buzzard, Fangfoss, 16/09/15 |
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| Common Buzzard, Fangfoss, 16/09/15 |
Lucky shot of this one calling as it swept past me!
Almost certainly I'll be heading out to the coast soon to catch some more visible migration ... maybe an October trip out to Spurn when the winter thrushes start coming in, but in truth I'm more than happy walking the lanes and hedgerows of my own patch!
Friday 18 September 2015
Scrapping Spars!
Searching the Yorkshire coast again for passage migrant birds last week brought us precious few ... a smattering of Redstarts, 'WillowChaffs', Whitethroats and a Lesser Whitethroat but the undoubted highlight was a couple of scrapping Sparrowhawks at Buckton. Quite why they were being so aggressive to one another I'm not sure - maybe they were looking for the same prey as us and similarly frustrated took it out on each other! More than likely though one of these birds is just an intruder on the others patch; whatever the reason it was great drama, went on for a good 5 minutes and I'm reasonably pleased with these captures....
All started out quite tame ... just a couple of Spars out a hunting
..... all going so well and then it got kinda nasty!
Not sure if this was the winner or the loser but with normal service resumed after all the commotion it was the sharpest pic!
I've never seen Sparrowhawks being so aggressive with one another, in fact not common to see this much interaction between birds that are more often than not seen as lone hunters.
All started out quite tame ... just a couple of Spars out a hunting
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
..... all going so well and then it got kinda nasty!
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
Not sure if this was the winner or the loser but with normal service resumed after all the commotion it was the sharpest pic!
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| Sparrowhawk wars, Buckton, 11/09/15 |
I've never seen Sparrowhawks being so aggressive with one another, in fact not common to see this much interaction between birds that are more often than not seen as lone hunters.
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