It's been a long time

Well not been feeling up to putting anything in my blog I decided it was time to dust myself off and continue.

I have been out and about but not too far apart from Blashford Lakes again last week where I enjoyed watching the Goldcrest's and as usual they prove difficult to see and photograph.












The Nuthatches were not so Skittish so despite the bad light I did manage a couple of half decent shots.

 The Shoveller with its long beak, it was a distance shot but I rarely see them so it was a nice addition.

The sweet little Wren I saw flitting around our garden, enjoyable to watch as they don't normally come out into the open so much.

It is an important time of year for feeding the garden birds now so if you do buy the fat balls and they have netting on then please remove it as it is dangerous for them. For the Greenfinch I use black Sunflower  seeds and they do seem to enjoy them, the Goldfinch love the Sunflower hearts as do the Sparrows and many other birds.  The Pigeons, Doves, Dunnock and Starlings will sweep up the remains from the floor.  I also make up my own fat balls using 1 part Lard to 2 parts dry mix. That can be anything including Porridge Oats, Raisins or Sultanas (chopped), small amount of grated cheese and ordinary bird seed.  A yoghurt pot with a hole in the bottom to feed a piece of string does well and pack the mixture around keeping the string as near to the middle as you can.   If no Yoghurt pot then a piece of greaseproof  moulded inside a cup does just as well, that way you can choose to put string in or leave as a fat ball.

The Robin will generally feed off a table but the one here does come to the feeder albeit for a split second but I do have a table feeder at the other end of the garden that it likes and the smaller birds don't get swamped by the Starlings as they go crazy for the fat balls etc. If you have a known bush that the smaller birds like to frequent then put a fat ball in there, it's great to here the twitterings of delight when they find it.

A time of plenty

 All around there's the noise of young fledglings and juveniles and out on my forays into Tichfield reserve and our garden I have managed to capture the odd one or two.
I watched for quite some time as the Chiffchaff flew back and forth to feed its siblings.

Then there's the lovely female Blackcap singing atop a small tree. The male was around and he is similar but with a black cap instead of brown.

 The juvenile Robin didn't want to feel left out so popped out from the undergrowth so I could take a quick shot.

 This is from a place called Lakeside near Eastleigh, The Gadwall decided to chase off another that got too close to his family, he then rushed back only to be greeted with a wife that was certainly not impressed!

These juvenile Long Tailed Tits are sooo cute as they posed nicely for me while they were on a feeding expedition.

A few days away

I had a few days off to visit a friend of mine in Lincolnshire, our main aim was to chill out and do some bird watching. Frampton Marsh was the first place we visited and sadly we dipped out on the Great White Egret which had flown the morning we arrived. Skylarks were in abundance as were Reed Bunting, in fact it was a long list of birds/waders with a few I had never seen before, including the Tree Sparrow

Our next days adventure was Far Ings, we had been there on a previous occasion and enjoyed lovely views of the Kingfisher. No Kingfisher this time but we were rewarded with a pair of Great Crested Grebes, they did do part of the courtship but we didn’t see the finale where they run across the water. Not as many birds here but the Grebes made the day despite it being windy.

Our final day was Gibraltar Point and boy was it windy! Having spent my childhood going to Skegness for holidays I knew about it being ‘bracing’, this went beyond that and didn’t see many new birds, they were probably all tucked up somewhere out of the wind. Each reserve had its good point to remember and I would love to go back there in a month’s time when a lot of the migrant birds will have arrived but it is doubtful really.

To top off the holiday was seeing the birds that frequent my friends’ garden, each morning she goes out to feed them and they remain so close to her while she chatters away to them all. The Blackbird was very close while patiently waiting for its food. The female Great Spotted Woodpecker has been visiting for many weeks now and it was a pleasure to finally see it and manage a photograph. Time to head home but with a special stop on the way to see my sister and her husband before they flew off to visit our other sister and family in Australia, Oh how I wish I could have been with them...

Blashford Lakes

Preparation is the key when going on a bird watching foray and as I sadly lack it at times it can be quite entertaining if I even find the place I intend to go to! So with a bit of prep I set off towards Blashford Lakes, not the first time I have been here or should I say that area. Oh yes I got lost the first time I tried it and unknowingly had been so close but I ended up going home.
This time I googled everything and pretty soon I was there going up the very uneven lane to the cen-tre. The hazy sunshine was a bonus especially in February but still that nip in the air made me grateful I had a warm coat on. Siskins galore! I had never seen them before and how bright the male is, all this as I got out of the car. Some people told me to go to the hide just down the lane where I would see even more, oh what bliss!
Even more feeders along the way and it was such a short walk which is ideal for me. Windows all around in the hide and with special glass so the birds are not disturbed by us, it does create a mirror effect inside but to see Siskins, Bramblings and Chaffinch close up make it worth while. Two win-dows either side do open but they were taken up with people and their dinner plate size lenses. Not having a great deal of time it was nearly 11am when I arrived so after my attempts of taking pictures from inside a darkish room I decided to have lunch. This was easier as I had parked near the feeder and Siskins obliged quite happily as I sat in the comfort of the car.




















I have been again since I prepared this blog so I am incorporating the Redpolls I dipped out on last time. If ever you are this way its worth a visit, they do have buggies to help with getting around and as my walking ability is not good I shall be booking one of those so I can visit all the lakes and not just the centre.

Lakeside Eastleigh

The weather man said it was going to be a good day on Tuesday so after scraping the ice off the windscreen I set off for a few hours in the shop; the usual birdsong hadn’t started yet despite it becoming light. Along the woodland stretch it was misty in the fields and to my left a lone Deer slowly made its way across the field, which set me up with a smile for the morning!

Work done I hurried home, flask sorted and camera all ready, my destination was Lakeside near the Airport. Taking a short stroll my ears were full of Robins, Bluetits, Great tits, Wren, Gulls, Coots and two Song Thrush, I tried to locate the latter but it meant dropping down into a little gully so that was a no no. Long Tailed Tits joined in as they foraged at the top of the trees and became an unsuccessful attempt to photograph them.

The Great Crested Grebes wouldn’t come close and they were constantly heading for the direction of the sun so it was difficult to catch them properly. I just wish they would do that special courtship display! I managed to creep up on the Geese, they soon realised I was there but thankfully didn’t fly off so was able to watch as each one took a drink from the lake.

Back at the car park I was enjoying a cuppa and grated cheese sandwich when a Robin came up close, first bursting into song then some posturing, I assumed there must be a potential mate somewhere but couldn't spot it. On a stump I placed some seed and a couple of pieces of the grated cheese, it soon swooped down and enjoyed the cheese. Just then another Robin flew onto the stump but I was too quick taking the photo and sadly its not in focus. They both went off together into the trees.

With the weather these last two weeks not being walker friendly I haven’t been out much so here’s a few from Tichfield Haven reserve. Around the centre’s feeding station I was pleased to see the Reed Buntings still around, I had seen them there is previous weeks but the light has been too dark to get a reasonable photo. The male, that’s the one with the Blacker head, was not alone and two other males were vying for the female present, not sure which one won but they are nice to see.

Spring is definitely in the air as I took a gentle stroll into the reserve itself, two Robins were playing the ‘chase me’ game, then one stopped on a fence post close by and proudly showed off to the on looking Robin in the background. I have no idea which is male or female but either way it was nice to witness.

Back at home the ever present Starlings were doing their usual fighting amongst themselves; this feisty one with the bigger opening managed to keep the others at bay till it was sufficiently full. There are so many Starlings around here and as yet I haven’t discovered just where they roost. It would be nice if the did the murmurations close by. It’s such a shame they are declining in numbers.

This Greater Spotted Woodpecker was very close to the kitchen door and searching under the bark for grubs, the shot isn’t too good as I had to take it from behind the kitchen window, going out would have just scared it away.

Pagham nature reserve

Its been a busy but nice week, travelling into work is always a lengthy process and as I sat in the traffic jam the other morning I was greeted with so many Robins singing as I crawled 1 mile in 20 minutes, then came the sound of 2 Song Thrush and just as I was getting to the end of the wooded area an Owl hooted. At lunch I was free to go so went to Pagham nature reserve, no sign of ‘George’ the resident Pheasant but the Kestrel was hovering above, quite higher than normal. As I walked on a small bird flitting around a tree took my attention and I was pleased to manage a very long shot of the Goldcrest.

The lone Redshank and Little Egret braved the raw wind as they searched for food.

Large flocks of Lapwing flew over heading for the scrape, and then a flock of either Whimbrel or Curlew came into view as they too went towards the scrape, much too fast to take a photo.Heading back to the centre I watched while the birds enjoyed the nuts and seeds with a slight difference of opinion between 2 Great tits. I sat outside at one of the picnic tables while I had a late lunch, a Robin sat in the bush alongside chattering away so lightly it was difficult to hear, I had a small amount of grated cheese left so I threw that down and whoosh it was gone! By the time I had packed everything up it was starting to rain so headed off home after just one and a half hours of peace and tranquillity..

Some wildlife in and around Lee on the Solent

Since moving here it has been a renewed interest in bird watching, forever being told to keep mobile I have found the easiest and less boring is to watch God's animal creations. Here's just a few pictures. This is one of a pair of Meadow Pipits that came searching for food during the frozen part of our winter, what a cutie!

I found this place on a chilly but sunny day, its the view from Apple Dumpling Bridge at Gosport. Simply Stunning!