I Love my HOBBY!

Decided to go and give Digiscoping a blast today as the weather was sunny and low winds. I set off up into Chopwell Woods, walking around a couple of the fields on the way produced 2 Red Kites and 2 Common Buzzard and a female Pheasant with 4 chicks.

Moving into Chopwell Woods I pass around ten Cherry trees so I checked them for Hawfinch with no joy, no harm in looking. As I was walking along a Weasel ran across in front of me. I stopped and tried to squeak it out but it was gone! That technique never works for me.

I went up to what I will now call my Raptor Viewpoint. It overlooks part of the wood and also part of the Derwent Valley. While setting up the scope and camera I had an obliging Robin singing so I started to practice scoping on that with mixed results, most of my shots were over exposed though.

Robin singing away

There was also a Willow Warbler further down the plantation and I got some pictures of that as well.

Things got a bit quiet for a while so started faffing on with focusing on out really. Seen a small bird land miles away on top of one of the firs so a got one snap and then had a proper look through the scope. Spotted Flycatcher! It didn’t stay long and by the time I went to get another picture, it flew off up the valley.

One word...Mint!

A group of people came shortly afterwards and started bombarding me with questions about what I was doing. So, I kindly told them and carried on birding, I looked down the valley to see a hawk in the distance chasing Hirundines. I took the camera off the scope and picked up something I didn’t expect, a HOBBY! After the swallows evaded the bird it then had a direct flight path straight over my head, the barring and the rusty red undertail coverts in clear view looked the tits!

I headed down to the river to try and get some dipper shots and while I was there I found a Kestrel nest mid way up a pylon. The nest had 3 newly fledged young hopping about doing small flights.

Also down at the river I had nesting Chiffchaff, Willow Tit, Grey Wagtail and Bullfinch. I also found hundreds of tadpoles in the river, never seen so many in the small pool made by the river.

On my way back home I found a superb Nuthatch nest with the adult coming in, right on cue to feed the young and on the exit a faecal sac was carried away. At the bottom fields at Lintzford I had 3 Red Kites for company and found some Small Tortoiseshell Caterpillars.

Absolutely mint days birding and some great new patch ticks, just last week I was complaining about the lack of good birds on the patch. I take it all back!

Oh and later on I found this large moth sitting on a wall looking very camouflaged, any ideas???

????

A Little Bit Marshy

Well this is my first blog entry in a while but I have a good explanation. I was in a pretty bad car accident just outside Carlisle on the 16th April. I was on way home from a great day out at Bassenthwaite then the rest is history really. Tractor drivers who don't indicate and think they own the road need an old fashioned talking to! So the car is a write-off and I am very lucky to be alive. Loads of stitches later and 2 operations and am on the road to recovery.

My Poor Saxo...

Anyway I went out Birding properly since the accident. I went out with (Cain) Holywell Birder. We decided to go up and see the Nightjars near the Derwent Reservoir. I went up the week before on the 21^st April and got 2 males and a female. We drove to the spot and I had the great idea of bringing some deck chairs to enjoy the show. after setting up the chairs and chilled with the Midges in Luxury we heard our first Nightjar of the night at around 22:00. About 2 minutes later we got a male Nightjar landed about 30 foot away from us in a tree calling, absolutely mint views of this fantastic species in decent light as well!

Nightjar from last year

We walked along a forest track and picked up 2 more males calling. over the whole night we had 3-4 males and one Female Nightjar. Also 3 Roding Woodcocks, Cuckoo and a Barking Roe Deer was a funny sound I have never heard before. Oh, and a young Red Fox scranning on a Badger carcass.

On the 8^th June me and Cain headed out again, this time at stupid o'clock to go and try and mini twitch the Marsh Warbler which was found at Druridge Pools the day before. I arrived after my 40 minute drive at about 06:45. I was stunned to see a few dog walkers up at this early hour and I think I also seen Dusty Bins leaving?

A quick listen and a scan near the footbridge only produced a Sedge Warbler and some Reed Bunting. We headed up to the top hide and had a scan of the pond and after about 2 mins we picked up a ‘different’ warbler singing. Down to the footbridge we went and listened. Basically straight away we heard the Marsh Warbler. After a bit scanning and watching 2 Reed Warbler the Warbler in question sat on top of a reed giving great views of the bird. A Life tick for me, however it was basically impossible to tell apart. The song did have alarm calls of blue tit and blackbird as well as a swallow. many other bird calls were in the song and was great to listen to the mimicry.

To make the most of the day we stopped off at Chevington where not far away we had a Female Marsh Harrier spotted by Cain. Another great bird to add to my year list and we also had a Barn Owl for company. On the main pool at East Chevington we had 4 1st Summer Little Gulls in with the Sandwich Terns. Another long awaited life tick.

Feast your eyes on this beast of a shot!

We headed back down to Cresswell Pond for a quick scan to see if any late migrants were refuelling. Didn’t get much there apart from an obliging sedge warbler and a not so obliging Grasshopper Warbler at the front right of the hide. Got a snaparoo of the sedgie through my scope with my camera phone and am pretty impressed with it, for being a crappy 2 mega pixel camera that is.

Sedgie singing away...

Last stop was back to Cain’s for his Holywell Pond keys. It was the first time I have been to the pond and was well impressed with the set up and was treat like a King in the hide with some luxury seats! The normal Pond breeding birds were there and Cain did a count/record of the birds seen. In addition to the birding Cain told some great story's about the ups and downs of the pond, sometimes getting a bit agitated by some people hammering poles into the ground and disturbing breeding birds.

We then walked a big loop around part of the Deleval Estate where you go through so many different types of habitats which will definitely hold a rarity or two in years to come, and already have too.

A great couple days Birding and a couple new life ticks were definitely called for and I got them.