Baggins on the Loose: Red Footed Falcon

Friday, 28 June 2019

Photo Therapy! 'Lifers' at Crowle & Norfolk; Life & death sorted by the long walk at Spurn.

Reflecting upon what has probably been one of the toughest times of my life during which I have witnessed first hand my father battle and eventually loose his fight with dementia, I've come to realise the true therapeutic value of having an absorbing hobby to turn to when the going gets just too much to bear. Support from family, friends and the various caring services has been crucial too of course during the past few months since I moved back home to help my long suffering mother cope and care with a once proud man who was challenging to the end.

All over now, bar the funeral - the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, especially for my mum. Looking back over my photographs for the period I was surprised that I found the time to take so many but maybe I needed that absorption, the space and time when nothing else matters except getting the right shot. I suppose you might call it photo-therapy!

A few days respite on the coast in Norfolk and Lincolnshire with good friends and fellow wildlife nuts was therapeutic too. I could and maybe should have stayed away longer but it was energising all the same and good for the soul.


Stifkey Marshes, Norfolk, 23/05/19

Burnham Overy, Norfolk, 24/05/19

Spoonbill, Holkham, 24/05/19

Birding highlights included my second UK lifer of the month, a pair of overflying Black Winged Stilts, 3 Turtle Doves, several Garganey ducks, Little Terns, Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, a Turnstone in full summer plumage and several of the Spoonbills that are now breeding successfully in Norfolk - several good views of them flying over but never seemed to get the camera ready soon enough so had to make do with a long range shot from one of the hides at Holkham.

Mediterranean Gull, Titchwell, 25/05/19

Little Tern, Burnham Overy, 24/05/19

Summer plumaged Turnstone, Frampton Marshes, 25/05/19

Curlew Sandpiper, Frampton, 25/05/19

Garganey, Frampton Marshes, 26/05/19

Red Footed Falcon, Crowle, 01/05/19

My second 'lifer' came earlier in the month after a tip off from my mate Mark - reports of 2 Red Footed Falcons on Crowle Moor, nr Thorne. It was a good opportunity for me touch base with me old mucker and Thorne / Crowle Moors rarely disappoint so off I went 'a twitchin'. Not sure if I ever saw 2 together but we certainly got at least one Red Foot amongst many more Hobbies. No full on 'in your face' photo opps but some useful record shots of this regular invader from eastern europe.

Red Footed Falcon, Crowle, 01/05/19

Hobby, Crowle, 01/05/19

Common Cranes, Crowle Moor, 01/05/19

The small breeding population of Common Cranes on the moor is not a secret anymore and I hope they do well this year. Whilst we were marvelling at the aerobatic feats of hawking falcons and trying to pick the Red Foots out from the Hobbies, a couple of Cranes drifted by some way off engaged in what looked like some kind of synchronised display flight.

Crowle Moor, 01/05/19

Spurn Point, 26/04/19

A day at Spurn Point on my own and a walk down the 3 mile peninsular and back has long been one of my 'escape valves', a good way for me to clear my head, get to grips with myself and make decisions. Not a particularly good birding day but I didn't care - it was good head cleansing and more photo-therapy. Setting off in some dull and blinding mist of anxiety and a dark mood, I returned with optimism and mental fortitude refreshed.

Spurn Point, 26/04/19

Cirrus clouds at Spurn Point, 26/04/19

Linnet, Spurn Point, 26/04/19

Wheatear, Spurn Point, 26/04/19

Barn Swallow, Spurn Point, 26/04/19

I remember my dad bringing me to Spurn once (I must have been 14 or so) along with a couple of mates, all of us budding birdwatchers. He dropped us off and picked us all up a week later! We stayed in one of several self catering Nissan huts (since condemned and taken down) with minimal supervision apart from a nightly round up of bird sightings with the warden and the observatory regulars - it was a great adventure!

Typical of my dad to do that and as I reflect on the whole experience of his distress and merciful passing I remember a happier man, the one who allowed me to wander free and follow my passion from an early age. He bought me my first pair of binoculars and although not an enthusiast himself I know he appreciated the great outdoors in his younger days and always enjoyed telling me about different birds he'd seen coming and going from his garden - including what can only have been a young Bittern by the way he described it - on the lake behind the house which he took a week to tell me about by which time it was long gone - took me ages to forgive him that one! So in his memory, both alive and kicking and now resting at peace, here's a final few from around York he might have taken a second look at ....