Whilst driving between Mopani and Shingwezi, Kruger park we were lucky enough to come across the beauty very close to the roadside.
Friday, 12 August 2016
Sunday, 12 June 2016
Eurasian Spoonbill - Platalea leucorodia
I missed these 4 birds at Leighton Moss RSPB the previous weekend whilst driving to Scotland but managed to catch up with them on the way back down a week later. Thy showed very well even though they were at the back of the main scrape. Superb species and was great to watch them for a few hours.
Bass Rock
A spare evening whilst in Edinburgh so I decided to take a nice coastal drive to see Bass Rock just of the North Berwick coast. Safe to say I got the Gannets in extremely good numbers, over 150,000 birds make the rock their home for the breeding season.
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Old Man of Coniston
Mike, Steve, Kim, Liz and myself enjoyed a family Bank Holiday weekend of walking, horse racing and music........ Simply Red, Jools Holland, an afternoon of horse racing at Cartmel and a rather strenuous but enjoyable walk to the summit of the Old Man situated in the Southern Fells.
Based in Blawith at the lovely Middlefield Cottage, we set off in glorious sunshine.
Steve, me, Kim and Liz
and Mike
The Old Man of Coniston is the 38th highest peak in England and stands at 2,634ft.
We followed a well worn and popular route which started at the Sun Hotel in Coniston village and took the route through the Coppermine Valley via Foul Scrow, Crowberry Hawes, Colt Crag and Low Water.
Leaving the village and passing the first landmark at the Sun Hotel (an essential stopping point on the return to rehydrate)
Liz , Mike and Steve at Church Beck Waterfall
Looking into the Coppermine Valley
The Coniston Range looms large in the distance
Liz approaching the Slate Mine at Colt Crag
Derelict mine buildings
the track that leads to nowhere
Winch and Pulley.......
no point in taking them down when you abandon the operation.
The Rust in stark contrast to the tonnes of slate discarded over the mountain side.
Looking back down into the Coppermine Valley from the Old Mans Breast
Just about half way, Enjoy the breather!
Climbing on past Low Water.
Just to the far right corner are dozens of people who were tempted to paddle or swim the Tarn.
Coniston village and the famous Coniston Water sits below the range.
its a bit cloudy this high up.....
no amble in the countryside now, the mountain gets steeper towards the summit
Who's that in the daft hat? the summit Cairn comes into view...... at last
Liz at the top and the two lakes below
Windermere can just be seen towards the skyline and Coniston below
Group shot!
Where's Mike?.......... behind the camera
Liz and I at the Trig
Incredible scenery
The Fallen cable tower at Colt Crag
Back down to Low Water
its a little busier now as Liz reaches Colt Crag on the way back down
the fallen cables lay across the path
Looking towards the Southern fells from Blawith Common
Wednesday, 4 May 2016
A day trip to the East
An early start with Phil picking me up at 04.00am and a drive across the country to the East coast. A loose plan to go as far south as possible and work our way back. We had a few targets, some easy some were maybes......
We arrived at Weeting for the Stone Curlews and possibly Woodlark. Sure enough we got to see a single Stone Curlew, although it was incredibly distant and refused to come closer. We didn't hear any Woodlarks so we made the decision to utilise our time and continue our whistle stop tour. Next up was Cley, or to give its full title Cley Next The Sea. We spent an hour in the Fen Hide which gave stunning close views of Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits, Gadwall, Shelduck and other regulars, while the highlights came with a female Marsh Harrier that made a few sorties over the far side Reed beds. Although it was a sunny morning the freezing wind whistled through the hide, an hour in here was certainly enough.
Plenty of spring migrants were on show that added nicely to the year list, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Common Whitethroats are always in good numbers here.
After a trip to Cley Spy Optics to upgrade my tripod head and to replace a lost Binocular eye cover we headed to Choseley Barns for a few regular visitors and a flock of rarer birds that had been reported.
Sure enough Yellowhammer, a single Corn Bunting, Red Legged Partridge and Grey Partridge all showed well, but the flock of Dotterel gave us the run a round for an hour or more. After circumnavigating the large expansive field a few times via B-roads we eventually caught up with a flock of 17 that were now on the very far side..... they had been flighty and hadn't been seen for a few hours before they reappeared. They were in view but were miles away so another trip back to the far side and after some car \ tractor \ Twitcher congestion and a few bumped cars!! and insurance numbers being exchanged (not ours!) we were able to now see 7 of the flock fairly well. We had lost a little time and made a decision to miss Titchwell and head out of county and go to Frampton Marsh for a couple of rarities. It turned out to be a great idea as the next 2 hours were epic.
Along the way we were given stunning views of a Male Marsh harrier whilst I managed to get a quick glimpse of two Muntjac Deers feeding on the edge of a wooded area.
The reserve visitor centre was surprisingly closed (16.00hrs) but we were told of a great viewing point at the back of part of the Marshes to view the target birds. We arrived to find a couple of other helpful birdwatchers. We got onto the Black-winged Stilt very easily even though it was distant and only really viewable in the scope.
This bird was a UK lifer for me, so made the trip all the more satisfying..... of course a record shot is the minimum that I wanted.....
Garganey, Greenshank, at least nine Whimbrel, Whinchat, Yellowhammer were all brilliant birds but we needed to wait a while longer until we at least heard the Turtle Dove. After an hour we eventually got great views of a pair displaying on the same branch of a tree. They came and went for the next hour giving great scope views.
We arrived at Weeting for the Stone Curlews and possibly Woodlark. Sure enough we got to see a single Stone Curlew, although it was incredibly distant and refused to come closer. We didn't hear any Woodlarks so we made the decision to utilise our time and continue our whistle stop tour. Next up was Cley, or to give its full title Cley Next The Sea. We spent an hour in the Fen Hide which gave stunning close views of Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits, Gadwall, Shelduck and other regulars, while the highlights came with a female Marsh Harrier that made a few sorties over the far side Reed beds. Although it was a sunny morning the freezing wind whistled through the hide, an hour in here was certainly enough.
Avocet
Gadwall
Black Tailed Godwit
Shelduck
Its fair to say that this Barn Owl was a highlight of the short stop at Cley even though it made a very quick flyby and then out of sight.
Plenty of spring migrants were on show that added nicely to the year list, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Common Whitethroats are always in good numbers here.
After a trip to Cley Spy Optics to upgrade my tripod head and to replace a lost Binocular eye cover we headed to Choseley Barns for a few regular visitors and a flock of rarer birds that had been reported.
Sure enough Yellowhammer, a single Corn Bunting, Red Legged Partridge and Grey Partridge all showed well, but the flock of Dotterel gave us the run a round for an hour or more. After circumnavigating the large expansive field a few times via B-roads we eventually caught up with a flock of 17 that were now on the very far side..... they had been flighty and hadn't been seen for a few hours before they reappeared. They were in view but were miles away so another trip back to the far side and after some car \ tractor \ Twitcher congestion and a few bumped cars!! and insurance numbers being exchanged (not ours!) we were able to now see 7 of the flock fairly well. We had lost a little time and made a decision to miss Titchwell and head out of county and go to Frampton Marsh for a couple of rarities. It turned out to be a great idea as the next 2 hours were epic.
Along the way we were given stunning views of a Male Marsh harrier whilst I managed to get a quick glimpse of two Muntjac Deers feeding on the edge of a wooded area.
The reserve visitor centre was surprisingly closed (16.00hrs) but we were told of a great viewing point at the back of part of the Marshes to view the target birds. We arrived to find a couple of other helpful birdwatchers. We got onto the Black-winged Stilt very easily even though it was distant and only really viewable in the scope.
This bird was a UK lifer for me, so made the trip all the more satisfying..... of course a record shot is the minimum that I wanted.....
for the record
Garganey, Greenshank, at least nine Whimbrel, Whinchat, Yellowhammer were all brilliant birds but we needed to wait a while longer until we at least heard the Turtle Dove. After an hour we eventually got great views of a pair displaying on the same branch of a tree. They came and went for the next hour giving great scope views.
Yellowhammer
Goldfinch
Whimbrel
We finished off with close views of 100s of Brent Geese but no Spotted Redshank
A great trip that added 18 new year birds and a new UK bird to my lists.
Thanks to Phil for driving and making the last minute decision to go to Frampton Marshes.
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