Bird project 9 - Knot

9/101.
Calidris canutus Knot

Location: Mudflats just north of Knott End, on the southern edge of Morecambe Bay, Lancashire.
Conditions: Pure blue skies, sunshine, mild - mid afternoon, just after high tide. Some haze and heat shimmer.
Photograph quality: 3.

Comments: I went up to Knott End to do the Wyre Way walk south along the river estuary to Poulton. However, when I arrived, I walked up to the north shore, just to see what was there. The tide had just turned, and most of the waders were still close to the shore, so I set up my tripod and shot at 1400mm. There were plenty of shelduck and redshanks (the larger birds in the picture above, with bright orange legs) close in, and large flocks of sanderlings further out. But as I looked, I found there were larger grey birds with yellow-grey legs, which I knew were a new species, though I didn't know whether they were knot or dunlin at the time.

Morecambe Bay is a major wintering ground for this species, and the UK as a whole hosts several hundred thousand at this time of year.

Bird project 8 - Pintail

 8/101.
Anas acuta Pintail

Location: Marton Mere, Blackpool.
Conditions: Strong, low sunshine towards sunset; mild, light breeze.
Photograph quality: 2.

Comments: On my fourth trip to try and see the pintails recently reported on the mere, I finally succeeded. I had nearly given up, but at last, as the sun shone strongly not long before sinking below the trees, I saw this male. It was considerably larger than the teal around it, around 200m away, near the north shore hide. Fortunately, though it remained distant, it didn't move very much, just turning and drifting, so I was able to use Live View to focus (using stacked extenders means only manual focus was available), and take many shots. I suspect the bird to the right, below, is a female of the same species, but since this is the only shot I got of it, and its face is hidden, I can't be certain.

Bird project 7 - Stock dove

7/101.
Columba oenas Stock dove

Location: Wires and barn roof 200-300 metres northeast of Marton Mere, Blackpool.
Conditions: Hazy sunshine, late afternoon; cold easterly wind.
Photograph quality: 3.

Comments: There are still a few species commonly found within walking distance or a short ride on public transport that I haven't yet photographed. Stock doves are seen regularly on farm buildings and power lines just east of Marton Mere, but perhaps because they look so similar to feral pigeons, I have overlooked them. I got a proper camera bag this month, so I can carry my tripod with much less difficulty. This allows me to spend much longer scanning for birds at a distance, using my camera, long lens, and two or three teleconverters as a spotting scope, and photographing anything notable.

I was also hoping to see a little owl, which is found in the same location, but it was not to be seen on this occasion. It took me some time to be absolutely sure the pigeons I photographed were stock doves, as the most obvious distinguishing feature (the green metallic neck) was not visible on any of the individuals. However, the general colouration, and especially the black eyes, are I believe conclusive.

The bird perched on the wire in the first photograph above is certain. The others, which seem similar, but were further away, are less definite, but still probably the same species. I've included a photograph of one yawning - something I've never seen before! Note, these photographs were taken at the limit of my equipment - at 2800mm focal length.

Bird project 6 - Waxwing

6/101.
Bombycilla garrulus Waxwing

Location: Highfield Road, Blackpool.
Conditions: First sighting (07/02/2013) overcast, very thick cloud; second sighting (08/02/2013) bright sunshine, blue sky (both mid afternoon).
Photograph quality: 1.

Comments: One species I hadn't really expected to see this winter. There has been a much greater number of these birds in the UK over the 2012-13 winter, reportedly due to failing food sources in Scandinavia - an irruption. Flocks of dozens of birds each have been seen in most parts of the country, but no significant numbers had made it to the Blackpool area until this month (Preston - the next large town inland - has seen a lot of waxwings though). A flock was sighted on the first of February, and I tried to find it the next day - but it was gone. I assume this was the same flock, which reappeared less than a mile away, and was seen in the same location for several days (as of writing, it is still there).

The first sighting was in a low tree by the main road. I was able to set up my tripod and take a large number of images, and some video, but the light was very poor. However, the following day offered perfect conditions, and the number of birds had increased from 17 to around 35. I only got a couple of minutes with the flock this second time, but it was enough to get the shots I wanted. Check out my Flickr feed for some of the best shots of these birds.

Bird project 5 - Long-eared owl

I went down to the mere, hoping to see the pintails sighted there yesterday. I started at the feeder hide, where all the common birds were having a riot. The only unusual thing was a sparrowhawk swooping in, but it was so fast I barely saw it. I met a friendly guy with a camera and scope, and it turned out he was the local council wildlife officer, whom I've been in contact with for nearly a year. He's been very helpful, but we'd never met, so it was nice to put a face to a name. It started to snow. He accompanied me round to another hide, but sadly neither the pintails nor an Iceland gull that had been seen the day before were present. Lots of teal, wigeon, mallards, coots, black-headed and herring gulls, cormorants - even a little egret flew in to roost. But then he offered to take me to the long-eared owls. A pair winter in the scrubland north of the lake each winter, and draw quite a large number of curious enthusiasts. Despite looking each time I've been in the past few months, I had failed to spot them.

I was grateful both for the expert advice, and a lift in a car the mile or so round to the opposite shore. Several other bird watchers were there, with scopes and binoculars, and he showed us where to look. As I suspected, there was no chance of seeing them without expert advice - even having them pointed out, the rest of us struggled to see.

5/101.
Asio otus Long-eared owl

Location: Hawthorn scrub, north of Marton Mere, Blackpool.
Conditions: Very poor light - thick cloud, late afternoon. Cold, snow turning to sleet.
Photograph quality: 2-3.
Comments: These birds are masters of camouflage, as you can see from the picture. If I hadn't had expert advice, and confirmation after I took some photos, I would never have known I'd seen one. The second bird was not visible from where I stood. As it is, the face of this one is obscured, as is much of the body, but you can make out some feather markings and its general shape.

I started with a 1.4x extender on my 500mm lens, although autofocus tends to fail when there are lots of fine branches in the way of a bird. I added a 2x extender as the subject was, thankfully, stationary. This meant I could mostly fill the frame, but sadly none of the shots were perfectly focused - conditions were hard, with the viewfinder and screen foggy and splattered with sleet, and the twigs fooling my eye as well as the autofocus. Still, it's quite clearly an owl in the photograph, and a little contrast and white balance adjustment have helped a lot. Just a very few thousand of these winter in the UK each year.

Bird project 4 - Treecreeper and nuthatch

A bit of sunshine was forecast today, so I planned a longish walk, taking in several locations. I wasn't actually expecting any new species, but there are a few that I might still encounter locally, and I got lucky - twice. I was actually seeing where I might pitch a portable bird hide - I'm hoping to get one in a month or so, and wanted to find nearby locations where I could site it. I'm hoping this will allow much better close shots of familiar birds that don't frequent feeders, and maybe help me find less common species too. I found a handful of places - far enough off the path to not attract the attention of passing dogs, in or next to undergrowth or low trees, so it will blend in, and with a long enough view to give me a good chance of seeing a range of birds.

Cutting through the park first, I almost immediately stumbled on a new species. On a tree by a busy path, with families and dogs all around, a treecreeper. I followed it for a while, and watched a second nearby. A little later on, in a slightly wilder area of woodland (though still busy), high up on a tree a nuthatch. I had just enough time to get a few ID shots, before noisy dogs disrupted my work, and the bird flew off. A good day!

3/101.
Certhia familiaris Treecreeper
Location: Stanley Park, Blackpool.
Conditions: Light cloud, low sun in the southwest, cool.
Photograph quality: 1-2.

Comments: Amazing to see such a relatively unusual species in such a familiar location. Actually, these are common enough in the park for an information board to feature them - yet in all my years of visiting, I've never seen them before. I hope this means I'm getting better at noticing birds - I certainly feel I am.

Sadly, I had my ISO a stop too low, so most shots were blurred due to having too long an exposure time - these birds move quickly. But I was able to approach to within a few metres, and they seemed oblivious. Beautiful birds, fascinating behaviour. In one shot, it appears to have found a hibernating ladybird to snack on.

4/101.
Sitta europaea Nuthatch

Location: Salisbury Woodland Garden, Blackpool.
Conditions: Deep shade of woodland, clear sky, near sunset.
Photograph quality: 2.

Comments: The species I thought I might see in the park was the nuthatch. They are used to people, and will come down and eat bird seed left in a specific location. However, I had no food, and wasn't inclined to linger. But a few minutes later, a couple of hundred metres away, I saw one, high up on a tree. I had just enough time to swap from my macro lens to the telephoto, and get half a dozen shots, before misbehaving dogs came along and disturbed me. I will try to get better photographs at some point, but for the purposes of this project, these are good enough.

Bird project 3 - Long-tailed duck

2/101.
Clangula hyemalis Long-tailed duck

Location: Fairhaven Lake, Lytham-St. Annes, Lancs.
Conditions: Good. Light cloud, some warm-toned sunlight, fairly low in the southwest (early afternoon). Mild.
Photograph quality: 2.
Comments: A lone female that had already spent several days on the lake. Stayed far out, diving constantly, so manual focusing with extenders (up to 2800mm) was very tricky, as was relocating the bird each time it resurfaced.

Another uncommon species. This location gets a lot of interesting birds, being a locally rare (artificial) freshwater lake by sand dunes and an important estuary (the Ribble), whose tidal mudflats attract large numbers of migrants in the winter. I was fortunate that there were several other bird photographers there, who pointed out the duck, as I couldn't see it at first. Unexpectedly small - much smaller than black-headed gulls that were dotted across the open water - and quite elusive. I rather used a sledgehammer to crack a nut, putting all three extenders onto my lens, so I could get a reasonably close-up shot, rather than running round to the other side of the lake. The quality was therefore impaired, but the light was good enough to raise the photographs to level 2 quality, after considerable cleaning up.

The RSPB reports a wintering population of 11,000, but they aren't usually found in this area, so this was a bonus.