Blow's Downs, Dunstable: Ring Ouzel

This male Ring Ouzel has been showing regularly for a few days on the slope above 'Tesco' supermarket at Blow's Downs, Dunstable. The bird was on show for about an hour whilst I used a couple of small handily growing Hawthorn bushes for cover above the bird's chosen area. It gradually worked it's way up the slope halving the distance between us, however, with the 1.4x converter attached to the camera two 'stops' are lost resulting in lower light levels. I'm seriously thinking of digiscoping again as the Dslr performance is somewhat lacking with small birds at these distances in British lighting conditions !

Dunstable STW: Mink

A first for me - American Mink. An alien specie which has a cosmopolitan taste and will eat pretty much anything ! Here it has a dead Rabbit.

Dunstable STW: Black Redstart

A Black Redstart was found in front of the lagoons this afternoon and was present until dusk. This sighting is hot-on-the-heels of the first migrant two days ago at Blow's Downs, Dunstable (which only stayed one day). The conditions were gloomy with occasional fine drizzle which did not help photography !



Included is this very blurred shot showing the tail colour...

Dunstable STW: Thursday

A Common Stonechat was feeding off the dead Elms along the approach track and is probably the same one that was reported in the log over the last couple of days.



With the popularity of 'Alabaster' Mallards on the decline, these three Mallard have nothing to do ! :~)



A Muntjac Deer scavenges under the bird feeders.

Grovebury Quarry

A quick scan of this working sand pit near Leighton Buzzard this afternoon produced four Goosander. Unfortunately they were at the southern end of the pit - too far to DSLR. A female/1st winter-type Common Stonechat was more obliging. There seems to be a passage of these birds lately with six birds at Blows Downs, three at Harlington Bottoms, a 'flock' of ten at Pegsdon, and a few more elsewhere no doubt.

Eggington

No sign of the Barn Owl after an early start but did, however, find a fresh owl pellet beneath a post used by said owl, which, adding two and two together equals...?



Spring is in the air, but some winter visitors will be around for a couple of months yet. This Fieldfare was feasting, along with the local Blackbirds, on these haws.



Would you be offended if I posted yet another European Robin shot ?

Common Buzzard

A bright, sunny day that should have produced some good shots. However, there was a cold breeze which probably kept the birds hidden. I was glad, therefore, when I noticed this Common Buzzard close to the road just outside town. The car proved an effective hide, but a high hedgerow hampered the view.

South Bedfordshire

Although the light was reasonable (for winter) the birds refused to come close for anything other than record shots - two of the three Red Kite (as last year), a pair of Raven and Common Buzzard.











Ahh, yes - another European Robin image !

Norfolk Day Trip

The first two hours were spent in Cley Village waiting for the White-crowned Sparrow. It duly showed a couple of times, but didn't get a chance to photograph the bird. We then spent the rest of the day around the north Norfolk coast.

After leaving the sparrow at cley, a posse of birders (including us) then hit the local hotspots. At Salthouse, a confiding flock of Snow Bunting and a few Turnstone were feeding around our feet. Luckily, I didn't have to chase the Lapland Bunting as it set down, briefly, in front of the camera.









A Black Brant dropped in front of us with a few Brent Geese which was just compensation after paying £3.50 for access at Lady Anne's Drive, Holkham.





On the beach at Holkam there were more Snow Bunting, a few Meadow Pipits and a couple of Rock Pipit.







Finally, the last few hours were spent at Titchwell RSPB. The light was tailing off, but a nice Black-tailed Godwit fed close to the footpath.

Thurleigh

The promise of a sunny day after a few days of rain and gloom resulted in an hours drive up to Thurleigh. Compared to this time last year, the number of Yellowhammer, larks and finches were much reduced. However, a female Hen harrier was again present.



The setaside is ideal for Common Stonechat - at least two pairs were in evidence again this year.

Local Patch

The light was pretty good today, so a visit to the local patch was called for. An overwintering Common Chiffchaff briefly got the pulse racing - it looked very washed out to the eye. The camera, however, told a different story.

A male Great-spotted Woodpecker foraged half-heartedly on some dead Elms, eventually taking the easy option of peanuts from nearby feeders.



A Common Kestrel attempts to land.

New Year's Day and Partridges

A local mooch didn't produce much, but at least it stayed dry and the light was better than of late.

First up was a rather dark Common Buzzard just outside town.



This Muntjac Deer was feeding just outside the Paris House Restaurant, Woburn.



On to the 'Potsgrove Loop' where a couple of beds birders alerted me to five Grey Partridge behind a hedgerow. The birds had moved further in to the field when this shot was taken. A flock of twenty Meadow Pipit proved more difficult to approach. They're seen in most years at this spot.





At my regular local patch this Lesser Redpoll dropped down to feed briefly in deteriorating light. Six Red-legged Partridge stayed low in a nearby field, while a Blue Tit stopped en-route to some nearby bird feeders.

Peregrine

A Peregrine spooked the local avifauna for a few minutes this morning. It flew out of Houghton Regis Chalk pit - a regular wintering site in recent years.
This is the fastest animal in the world - it can reach up to 200mph. Its name means "Wandreing falcon".

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells ...

... but the Robin did not fly away ! (I won't write the rest of this childhood adaptation of a popular Carol)