A Tree Trunk Delivery!

More nest highlights, here with a very wide angle view down a tree trunk cavity to a nesting Tawny Owl which has just had 2 fluffy white chicks! You can see one chick clearly visible here. Also of note in the moth trap the other night, 2 Hawkmoths, a Lime and an Elephant, both the smallest I have ever seen!

A lot of nest hunting going on at the moment! Nests found and being monitored so far include Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Robin, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Linnet and as of yesterday, a Nightingale! Here are images of a brood of Robins which we ringed in their tree trunk nest cavity and a beautiful clutch of Blue Tit eggs. . . . . .

'Two Men in a . . . . . . .Zodiac'

I visited Minsmere late afternoon yesterday for a long walk and it turned out, a spot of bird photography! It was a little windy but bright spells broke through the cloud briefly enabling me to get a few nice 'duck' shots. I was particularly pleased to see Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall move in to feed very close in to one of the hides, so after a short wait, I was full framing these gorgeous birds in warm afternoon sun with a constant Bittern booming backdrop.

The images of 'two men in a boat' just about tie in with the 'duck' theme. This is my partner Phil and our good friend Deryk attempting to catch ducks (well one in particular but we won't go there!) a couple of years ago in North Haven, Fair Isle. Deryk has a great new blog - post FIBO and here is the link so you can follow his new birding, family and crofting exploits! The Burkle Birder

Staying Local

Here on the Suffolk coast the weather has really changed over the last week producing borderline 'balmy' T-shirt & BBQ April days and clear blue skies. Winter seemed to last sooooo long, I don't think I've noticed the change to Spring so dramatically or enjoyed it so much before! The 3 Blackbird chicks have now fledged and often come into the garden for food fully independent of their parents and of course sporting the BTO bling they were given as nestlings. One of our ringing site Nightingales has returned, being re-trapped on the 10th April a day later than it was seen and re-trapped on it's return last Spring. An Osprey floated over the Deben Estuary this morning being chased by every Wader frequenting the estuary it seemed! (Phil). We now have over 50 nests being monitored locally, mainly Blackbird and Song Thrush but with the odd Chaffinch, Long-tailed Tit, Tawny Owl and Buzzard boosting the nesting species find list! Moth trapping began at the end of March with the usual suspects including small numbers of Common Quaker, Powdered Quaker, Hebrew Character, Herald, Early Grey, Satellite. . .still the cold nights are keeping the numbers down for now. The images shown here are of a Herald and Early Thorn.

The image of the helmet above is from the local Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon King Burial treasure, found in one of the burial mounds over looking the Deben Estuary back in 1939.

"The Sutton Hoo helmet has become possibly the most enigmatic and well known image of Anglo-Saxon Warrior Kingship. It was discovered in 1939 within the Mound 1 ship burial chamber and lay broadly level with the dead man's head. When the chamber roof collapsed the helmet shattered into tiny pieces. Its construction and design suggest it was a battle helmet capable of protecting its wearer from blows to the head. Attached to the iron skull cap is a face mask, with hinged cheek pieces and neck guard. The decorative feature on the front of the mask is made of gilded bronze in the form of a bird or dragon with outstretched wings (which cover the wearer's eyebrows)and tipped with gold and garnets. The body of the bird lies over the nose-piece, with tail feathers above the mouthpiece".

'A Fair Isle Season' Illustrated Talk

by Rebecca Nason

Date:

29th March 2011

Place:

Nar Valley Ornithological Society

Barn Theatre

Sacred Heart Convent School

SWAFFHAM

Norfolk - PE37 7QW

Time:

7.30 -9.30pm

ALL WELCOME!

Look forward to seeing you there!

Local Magic . . .

Caught up with a couple of very good birds locally on Friday 25th March. The highlight was seeing the Short-toed Treecreeper at Landguard amongst the Holme Oaks in the compound. Photography was difficult so only managed very brief record shots, but it was great to see it busily feeding and even calling a couple of times. Also got my first Wheatear of the Spring (saw 3 at Landguard) so pleased to get one in before April! Before Landguard we popped to Hollesley and saw the Great Grey Shrike. Also of note, on the 24th I got us another garden tick as a Yellowhammer flew calling overhead late afternoon . . .total still a fairly low 74 (since Jan 2009).

Scallop Sculpture - Aldeburgh Beach

I came across some shots I took one very cold November day back in 2009 whilst out birding with my Auntie along the Suffolk coast. I really like this huge 4.1 x 4.6 x 4.25 metre stainless steel sculpture by Maggi Hambling which stands proudly as a permanent feature along Aldeburgh Beach between Thorpeness and Aldeburgh. It occasionally gets graffitied by idiots which is a shame, luckily it was at it's best in gorgeous warm November light when I saw it for the first time.

Minsmere Magic

Yesterday Phil and I visited Minsmere RSPB reserve to see the adult Caspian Gull which had been reportedly frequenting the scrape area. Eventually we had good scope views of both an adult and 2nd year Caspian Gull before heading to the cafe for a cuppa and toasted sandwiches. Later we headed back onto the reserve where we had a smart male Hen Harrier towards Sizewell, several Marsh Tits in the woods and half a dozen Red-throated Divers at sea. I also photographed a few Common Snipe which came in shooting distance, I really love photographing these birds. The highlight of the day however, came with a large male Bittern who silently appeared through the reeds next to one of the hides and spent 20 minutes or so totally out in the open hunting for fish. Although it was a cold, overcast day and the light was fading in the late afternoon, the conditions made for more pleasing natural tones in both the reed habitat and the cracking Bittern plumage. I was pleased with the results. A first for me was seeing this Bittern drop into the water and swim off to fish in another area once he had worked the area near us. . . .quite something!

Also of note yesterday (18th March) we ringed 3 Blackbird chicks in the nest we have been monitoring in Woodbridge, Suffolk. The chicks were 9 days old and perfect for ringing. Quite an early nest and both the male and female (see previous post about 'our' ringed garden Blackbirds) have been frantically feeding the chicks on soaked mealworms we've been sprinkling about the patio. . . . .nothing like a bit of supplementary feeding to help these early birds!

Felixstowe - Suffolk Sunset.

Thank you to the 70+ members and guests of the NW Bucks RSPB group who turned out last night to see my 'A Fair Isle Season' illustrated talk near Milton Keynes. I had a great night and was delighted with the turn out and so many positive comments made - a warm, friendly group who made me feel very welcome! I look forward to seeing some of you on Fair Isle sometime!