Hiding in the Woods.

On Thursday Phil invited me out to try out his new woodland hide. This hide has the benefit of being in a private woodland, so disturbance was at an absolute minimum.

With the sun shining most of the time the lighting was a little testing at times as shadows from trees behind us caused problems some of the time as the sun moved across the sky.

It was certainly interesting though with lots of small birds keeping busy on feeders, and a couple of times it suddenly went very quiet and we assumed a Sparrowhawk was in the vicinity. One of these occasions a Nuthatch was perched up near us and it just sat totally still for a couple of minutes. 

It certainly was a great session and good numbers of Tits were very busy feeding, with the most numerous species being the Coal Tit, with Blue and Great not far behind. Marsh Tit was another species seen several times. With regular visits also from Nuthatch and Great-spotted Woodpecker there were very few dull moments.

Coal Tit.

Coal Tit on Larch.

Marsh Tit on Larch.

Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Nuthatch keeping very still.

Great Tit on Larch.

2019 Butterfly Season Starts Early!!

Most Winters I try to do some scrub clearance on my patch to slow down the loss of the all important grass downland that is so essential for the insects that I study there.

During a session yesterday, as the sun was really quite warm, I decided to have a quick hunt for Wall Brown larva. As it was a week earlier than I had found them before I wasn't that hopeful. However, the first tussock I searched I found one of these very tiny young larva. At a little under 1 cm it certainly has a lot of growing before it becomes a butterfly next April. I carried on searching a little more but only found one more.

A tiny Wall Brown larva on my middle finger.

Wall Brown larva (just under 1 cm long).

With various commitments as well as some very poor weather lately, I haven't managed to get out much with the camera. On one much better, sunny day I did go over to Dungeness with David. Unfortunately it turned out to be the worst day we have had over that way for birds with only a hovering Kestrel and a Great White Egret photographed, and not much else seen either!!

Kestrel.

Great White Egret. 

Great White Egret in flight.

The valley near my home has seen huge numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare this Winter and several of my walks have been made much better by watching them. The only one I managed to photograph was on a very dull day, so very little sparkle. On the one decent day that I set up a hide near a bush full of berries, most of the birds had moved on during the previous clear night!!

Fieldfare in the gloom.

Jay and Kingfisher.

Earlier this week Phil and I had another attempt at a Buzzard. As usual the bird did not appear, but all was not lost as there was plenty of other action on the bird front. 

Jays again stole the show for the number of appearances, as well as quantity of birds, with 5 being seen together several times as they hunted for Acorns and also bathed in the rather large puddle that had gathered in front of the hide overnight. Most of the time we had cloud cover, that seems to help with Jay pictures, and a few birds posed quite nicely for the camera.

Jay sitting pretty.

Reflection of a Jay.

Jay and Great-spotted Woodpecker eyeing each other up.

Jay on a flimsy perch.

We also had several visits from the female Kingfisher. The pond is slightly too far away for photography, but we saw the Kingfisher dive a few times and we saw her catch a Stickleback on one attempt, and on another 2 she caught Dragonfly larva. To get these her eyesight must be amazing. After catching one of the larva she flew and landed in a small bush quite close. As I was in the middle of changing lenses I had to quickly change back, managing just a single grab shot before she flew on again.

With the large puddle in front of us though, she did settle a couple more times quite close.

Kingfisher with Emperor Dragonfly larva.

Female Kingfisher sitting pretty.

Other smaller birds were also coming and going with great regularity, so after taking too many Jay shots these kept us busy and took our minds off the cold day.

Coal Tit.

Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Goldfinch on Teazle.

Ringtail Harrier.

Another stroll with Nigel today over the brooks produced my first Hen Harrier of the Winter. Having said that, it didn't feel at all like Winter as it was decidedly warm in the sunshine.

We started off with seeing a late Peacock looking for a spot to hibernate as well as several Common Darter dragonflies basking in the sunshine.

It was then many Buzzards and Kestrels before Nigel spotted an obvious Harrier in the distance. Watching it through the binoculars the white rump soon showed as it turned and headed towards us confirming our thoughts that it was a Hen Harrier. It was following a tree line and it continued flying straight towards us, although not quite as close as I would have liked, but a few shots were managed before it changed direction.

Ringtail Hen Harrier.

Typical Hunting over the reeds.

A very smart Marsh Harrier was also seen in the area, as well as small numbers of Fieldfare.

On some Ivy several Red Admirals were taking advantage of some late nectar.

Red Admiral and Wasp.

Common Darter and Fly.

November Wall.

I was cursing this morning as the weather was fabulous and I had to take Pen for a hospital appointment. However, when we got back home Pen was tired and wanted a snooze so she told me to clear off, in a roundabout way!!

I decided to head up to High and Over to see if I could find what would almost certainly be my final Wall Brown of the year.

On the way up there I saw a Red Admiral, followed by several more. This is certainly our most numerous Autumn butterfly. At High and Over a male Common Blue was a surprise, and at the same time a Clouded Yellow flew past.

After checking all but one of my most regular Wall Brown spots I was on the point of giving up, when I suddenly spotted a female Wall Brown which appeared to be looking for places to lay its final eggs. In between the short flights it settled in sunny spots to keep warm.

Female Wall Brown.

All the way around the walk Common Darters were very evident. Although they are now well past their best it does brighten up the day seeing these acrobatic insects.

Common Darter.

Towards the end of the walk I had one final check in a sunny spot where Wall Brown were seen in numbers earlier in the year. Although I didn't see any Wall Brown my eye was caught by some Wasp Spider egg sacs in the gorse. 2 were right next to each other and almost looked like Christmas decorations. These sacs are normally deep in the grass and low down, so it was good to find these that were more easily photographed.

2 Wasp Spider Egg Sacs.

With the Wall Brown being spotted it means that the 3rd brood lasted a day over 8 weeks, and if any more are spotted this could be extended further!! It was also good to see one in November.

More Hiding.

Following last weeks successful session with Phil in the hide, we decided to have another go, especially as the weather was meant to be a little better with less of the harsh sunlight and patches of light cloud promised. This is particularly helpful when photographing birds with white patches that can get burnt out in full sunshine.

We started again with the Jay, and once again they did not disappoint with several visits as they hunted Acorns. It is amazing how many Acorns they can fit each time in their crop, and the way they throw the Acorns about to get them in the right position for swallowing.

Jay juggling Acorns!!

The shot above was taken in full sun, but the promised light cloud soon appeared which gave a more balanced light.

I want more Acorns.

That's better!!

Down the hatch.

Despite many more visits from the Jays we then concentrated on some of the common small birds that were also busy near the hide.

Blue Tit on Spindle.

Blue Tit on Blackthorn.

Goldfinch on Blackthorn.

Great Tit on Blackthorn.

Once again. Many thanks to Phil for a fabulous morning.

Autumn Jay.

It has been such a long time since I had the camera out for a decent session, so I was really pleased when Phil suggested an attempt at photographing the Jay.

This Autumn has been very poor for Acorns, this is a food source that the Jay particularly likes, and it is a sure fire way of attracting the birds. Pete recently found a tree that was producing plenty of Acorns so I collected up a few to help the session succeed.

It wasn't long to wait before the birds started to show well, as they collected several Acorns up to store nearby. Although they are members of the Crow family, they are so much more colourful than most of its family members.

Jay hunting for Acorns.

During the session a Fox came reasonably close and a couple of shots were fired off in the short time it was near.

Red Fox.

Meanwhile, the Jays continued to perform for us.

Jay with Acorn.

With the sun shining brightly, but moving round so much that shadows started to show too much we decided to call it a day. A fabulous morning as ever in the hide. It is never dull here, so many thanks as ever to Phil for a great morning.