'British Birds'

Front Cover - February 2011

I have just received my February copy of 'British Birds' and was really thrilled to see my Long-eared Owl, taken on Fair Isle during October 2010 on the front cover! I have been busy of late producing work for a forthcoming exhibition (Sea Pictures Gallery, Suffolk) as well as 2 large photographic commissions based on Shetland. I have also been bird ringing locally with Phil and we have had a good success rate catching Redpolls with approx 100 birds caught since the new year. This year a good mix of Mealies and Lessers as well as a few British controls. Phil also ringed 5 Waxwings from a flock of 50+ in Melton.

A Rough Day in Paradise .
Friday saw intermittent showers & a cooler feel to the Island. Numbers of birds were down but the Little Bunting still frequented the Iris-filled ditches around the Haa & the Blyth's Reed Warbler was still enjoying the feeding frenzy with Chiffchaffs on South harbour beach. Friday also saw the arrival of friend's Lois, Martin Culshaw & Alan Bull :-)
Saturday was a superb day. It started with Phil tape luring in a whopping 67 Redpolls, the majority of which were Mealy but there were 8 Lessers amongst them. After ringing these fabulous birds the day progressed with a probable flyover OBP at double dyke just before news & then views of a harassed Rough-legged Buzzard which at one point hovered 15 ft above Phil at Setter! After lunch & photographing my first Waxwing of the Autumn along with a Yellow-browed Warbler in the Obs plantation, I walked to the back of Buness where I caught up with the King Eider ( a Fair Isle tick) before getting a lift to the south for the 2nd Rough-legged Buzzard of the day! I photographed a small flock of Siskin late afternoon which were very approachable & in beautiful light before heading to Busta for a smart Black Redstart. The highlight of the day however came with Simon's find of a stunning Red-flanked Bluetail between the airstrip & the mast! A knackering hike up the hill soon saw the assembled crowd enjoying great scope views as it sat looking back at us with the odd tail quiver & yawn on the hillside. A great way to the end day!

Waxwing Wednesday - 25th Feb

There were still 20+ Waxwings in Rendlesham today. Yesterday morning numbers reached a notable 50+. Also of note - we managed to catch & ring another 10 Waxwing in Rendlesham yesterday, taking our 2009 total to 21! We actually caught 12 birds, but 2 were already ringed. One had been ringed by us in Rendlesham and the other by us in Kesgrave in January. . . . 

More Suffolk Waxwings - in Sunshine . . . 

Sunday Sortie . . . 

A quick visit to Rendlesham for the Waxwings was unsuccessful as they were not present this afternoon. Drove about local rural Suffolk lanes looking for photographic potential and ended up a Shingle Street where I saw a Little Egret, 4 Stonechat and 1 Barn Owl before dusk. As I drove back into Woodbridge  at around 4pm I spotted a flock of 25 Waxwings at the roadside at the Melton/Wilford Bridge road junction. I managed a couple of grab shots from the car before the lights changed. Later I saw 40+ Waxwings high up being spooked by a Sparrowhawk over Woodbridge. Still not on the garden list though! 

A Berry Good Sunday . . .

Considering it did not stop raining all day and dark clouds swept over Suffolk from dawn until dusk, I was pleased to get another opportunity to photograph more local Waxwings at Rendlesham. Numbers here now stand at 17 whilst there is a larger flock of approximately 50 birds at Kesgrave. Both colour ringed birds from Aberdeen are still present in the flock at Rendlesham (see details on older posts below). 

Waxwings at Rendlesham - Suffolk. 4th January.

Following on from an unproductive mornings ringing, we decided to go and try for  the Waxwings which had been on the pager as being present in Rendlesham for the last few days but not today. After about  half an hours searching we successfully refound the flock of over 35 roaming individuals. What a pleasure to see such a good flock of these very vocal and stunningly beautiful birds just outside Woodbridge. The flock would not settle and proved difficult for photos as they roamed the urban gardens, though a few quick shots were obtainable. Of particular note and interest was the realisation that two of the birds had colour rings on, very likely from the Aberdeen/BTO Waxwing ringing project currently taking place.  Another bird also had a foreign ring on, but we could not see the ring details. . . . . a very enjoyable afternoons birding. Other colour ringed Waxwing records should be sent to: raymond@waxwing.fsnet.co.uk. . . . . 

Mainland Magic . . .

After a suprisingly smooth flight from Fair Isle back to mainland Shetland, we went on a twitching spree! First was Sandgarth for a very active Coal Tit which was busy removing peanuts from a bird table & stashing them in nearby vegetation before returning for more. This was our first Coal Tit for Shetland - a rare bird here! We then drove to Kirkabister where, after some searching & false alarms (Great Northern Divers), we located the White-billed Diver which has returned to winter here again & was a British tick for me. Our next stop was a very good fish & chip shop in Lerwick, followed by a visit to Clickimin Loch where we dipped the Ring-necked Duck (& the one at Tingwall Loch). However we found 8 Waxwings in Lerwick, in beautiful late afternoon light, gorging themselves on ripe rosehip fruits. Our last twitch of the day was to Fladdabister for another rare Shetland bird, a Blue Tit! - which showed well & again added another good bird to our Shetland lists!