Hodbarrow Nature Reserve,Cumbria

[christineredgate]

Hi,everyone,I am a new member of your forum,and very much an amateur digi scoper.I live near the Hodbarrow nature reserve on the west cumbrian coast.A very small reserve,run by the R S P B.but an area of renowned beauty,and well known for flora and fauna,bee orchids and natterjack toads etc.
These enclosed pix are only my 3rd attempt at digi scoping,but to me they are the ultimate of what I am happy to achieve with a digi scope.That little something extra which cannot quite be reached by the usual camera techniques,whether digi camera or the older trad method of film(does anyone remember those days.)
So I hope you can all spot Grebe Junior as he has a free ride from Mum!!!.
Christine
the captions say kestrel nest,but that was only because the main shots were of a kesrtrels nest with young,but were not plain enough to be shown and for obvious reasons not always a good idea.

[birdman]

A very BIG Welcome to BirdForum Christine,

I hope you have a great time with us!

I certainly remember the "traditional" method... as that's what I still use!

But you are right, the results that can be achieved digi-scoping are on another level.

If this is you're 3rd attempt, I think you'll find some very impressed viewers - myself included.

Great shot, and don'tcha jus' love those stripey grebe chicks!!!

[pauco]

hi christine.
welcome to BF and yes I do remember those days, as like
birdman I still us the old kit. call me a purist but I am still to be fully convinced digi is all. still must say good shooting.
bert

[Geoff Pain]

Hi Christine welcome to the Forum.
Hodbarrow is a nice little reserve with usually plenty to offer,I usually make a couple of visits a year as its only a couple of hours drive away.

[christineredgate]

Thankyou Geoff,all encouraging comments are most welcome.I just enjoy birdwatching,studying their habits and devotion to each other esp during the breeding season.If i can take a passable pix to record something special i am more than happy.
Christine.

[Johnny1]

Hi Christine, I was at the Hodbarrow reserve last Friday and apart from some prat on a motorcycle riding round and round the pond area all the time I was there I had an enjoyable couple of hours there. I was surprised to see the colony of Little Terns there as the RSPB didn't mention these on the website. I'd definately visit Hodbarrow again... the scenery on the drive up there was worth it alone.

[christineredgate]

Johnny,hi,I posted a reply to your message earlier on,but when i tried to add a pic it all went haywire,then i could not get back to the site.but thanks for getting back to me,i will have another try tommorrow.
christine.

[Johnny1]

Hi Christine, I hope you manage to sort out your gremlin, I think you need to click on the green "post reply" box if you are attaching a pic or smilies etc. instead of the grey reply box at the bottom. Good luck!

[christineredgate]

Johnny,thanks for your message.yes everything went haywire yesterday,even though I re-sized the pics,i was told they were satill too large.so i had to reurn to Photoshop,re-size and re-name,then find my eay back to this forum site,it took ages!!.
I have been out photographing this afternoon.Went to the hide yesterday,no camera,no scope,and there were masses of chicks.lapwings,oystercatcher,little tern,and a swan swam past with 6 cynets,so i went back today to see what I could capture.I hope to have picked up a little tern chick,but i think for my first foray into digi photography i have picked one of the most difficult subjects.Nothing stays still.every time i found a little tern ,put the camera on the scope,was unable to see which was bird and which were stones.They blend in so well.Also the poor little terns were never still as they were constantly chasing predators.Apparently only one chick survived last year.anyway am going to have a look to see what is what,and I will get back to you.It is the Haverigg annual raft race tommorrow.It is in aid of the inshore rescue team,and Barry(hubby) has been part of a raft building venture,like little boys with a new toy!!.So I have to be there tommorrow with camera,just to catch on film as they all fall in!!.incidentally do any of you clever technophobes out there know if it is possible to re-size groups of pics at once.it will make it much simpler for sending off to these forums etc.I have tried something called batch processing,but had not a clue as to what was going on.I could not find the pictures,I was in the middle of files etc.
Christine.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Hi Christine,

Good to see you have kept up the birding and photography since we exchanged e-mails a while back.

The attached poor quality photo shows a summer Long-tailed Duck at North Walney last month. As this is a short hop across the Duddon from Hodbarrow you might want to keep an eye out for it.

Best wishes,

Stephen.

[christineredgate]

hello,Stephen,good to hear from you.Yes I am quite engrossed in this digi scoping now,but out of over 100 pics taken today not very many okay for actual showing.I was desperate to take a little tern with chick.I did manage to take one.every time I found one,then fixed the camera,i could only see the the stones ,they blend in so well.Quite rightly,as there are so many predators.They spent lots of time seeing off the grey lag geese.it seems so unfair as they as such tiny birds.But will enclose the only pic i actually took of mum and chick.The chick is to the far left of the pic.
regards christine.ps i don't reckon much of the Cumbrian birding site.Only two pics on it,seems to be impossible to download any,and a few months ago there was this heated discussion re storks!! do you remember?.this site is much more friendly,and as you can see i have put Hodbarrow on the map.
yes I will keep an eye open for the ducks.

[christineredgate]

sorry stephen only the grebe has been shown
Christine

[christineredgate]

I'll get thi s pic on here if it is the last thing i do.About my 3rd try
Christine.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Hi Christine,

I wouldn't want to bore the world at large but as this is in the Cumbrian section of Bird Forum why not! I think the Birding Cumbria newsgroup is generally a welcome development, as like Bird Forum it gets you in touch with people you wouldn't be able to contact otherwise.

There is a North Cumbria bias to Birding Cumbria simply because the active subscribers are mostly up there (says he down in Lancashire!). Yes there aren't many pictures but there aren't many digiscopers involved. The only problem I have with the newsgroup is the tendency of some members to put out information on sensitive breeding species.

Tristan who moderates Birding Cumbria is on Bird Forum so maybe he will chip in. Anyway keep up the good work Christine, I always like to see your pictures and if I ever get beyond Walney to Hodbarrow I will give you a shout.

Stephen.

[Johnny1]

Congrats on the Little Tern & chick pic Christine, it must have been difficult getting the shot. I must admit I didn't even see any chicks while I was there, I was just pleasantly surprised to see the Little Terns, they made it well worth the visit. I've only ever been to two other sites where they breed - one in north Wales and the other in Norfolk. I can't help you with resizing groups of pics I do mine individually as I usually only post one pic as a time. I hope you have plenty of fun tomorrow and hubby doesn't get too wet!! You never know there may be some birds there too photograph as well.

[christineredgate]

Thanks Stephen and Johnny,yes the pic was difficult,perhaps not a work of art by photo standards but i was chuffed to little bits to manage to take it.I wholly believe in content as opposed to the what is regarded as a work of art re the poto world.I have not put that vry well,but you know what I mean.Johnny if you ever come this way againlet me know and we could meet up and you could give the the benefit of your bird watching experience.
oh,stephen,you should be receiving from me during the week a filled in form re the Bto.Small world.!!.I believe you are the regional rep for this area.Have not had time to read the info pack yet,but will do so this week.
regards christine.

[HelenB]

Hi Christine,
Welcome to BF from a native of Cumbria, now residing in Texas! Hubby & I enjoyed visiting Hodbarrow a couple of years ago when we were over to visit our families in Penrith. The Foot & Mouth epidemic had closed many of our favourite birding spots, but Hodbarrow NS was open, so we gave it a try.

Is the Birding Cumbria forum like this one? I'd like to check it out for when I plan our next trip over the pond.
Thanks...

[christineredgate]

Hello,Helen,
I find the Cumbria birding website not very help ful.They give sitings on the various birds ,but have only 2 pics.I came onto this site by chance ,and put Hodbarrow in here as it is a birdwatchers paradise.If you would like a few more pics of the chicks i have taken i will gladly re size some.On Friday,i took some lapwing chicks,an oyster catcher chick,and a little tern chick with its mum.Very difficult and not very clear,but they are plainly visible.
I am waiting for the herons to go down to the bay,and then hopefully can take some really good ones.this site is really good,as everyone keeps in touch and it is really friendly.
Many thanks for your message helen,do keep in touch
Christine.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Helen - if you are wanting a feel for places to go the Cumbria Bird Club website is best, you can look at prior years for the time you would be over here. As I've already said Birding Cumbria has a northern bias, but if your folks are in Penrith that shouldn't be a problem and this would tell you up to date news. If you want more info on either / both let me know.

Christine - good to know you have joined the BTO. Fancy counting gulls on the Duddon this winter!!

Regards,

Stephen.

[christineredgate]

Hi,Stephen,sorry i was not being negative re the Cumbria birding site,It does give good info re the species passing to and fro,i personally did not find it very user friendly.Surely you are joking re counting gulls over the Duddon!!!.It is impossible to count each gull!!.Would that mean differentiating between the various species?.I will send you my form this week and i think you will find that I am classed as only being able to recognize the most basic of species.
Christine.

[christineredgate]

Helen,please take notice of Stephen,rather than me.He is a very experienced birder.I am very much a novice,I just love birds and am able to identify the local birds at Hodbarrow.Stephen is the BTO rep for the area,and if he says that the Cumbrian website is okay,the be guided by him.
but keep in touch.
Christine.

[HelenB]

Christine and Stephen,
Thanks for the replies. Did a search on Google and found both the sites mentioned. The Cumbria Bird Club looks very good - I checked it out a few years ago when it was just started and didn't have much on it. Here's the URL for anyone else interested:
http://www.cumbriabirdclub.freeserve.co.uk/

I didn't try to join the Yahoo Cumbria birding site, so couldn't view the posts, but will later.

Thanks...

[Stephen Dunstan]

Christine,

Yes it was a gentle leg pull about the gulls. They do have to be counted this winter as part of the national survey, but you told me you aren't a big gull fan some time back and I was referring back to that.

Regards,

Stephen.

[christineredgate]

helen,Hi,i'm afraid i got rather muddled.One does at my age at times!!.I was mixing up the Cumbrian bird club,with the birdingCumbria site.Two totally different sites.Stephen will put you in tune as to which does what.But yes i did go to the Cumbrian bird site club a few months ago,it was recommended by Colin Gay(you should know him Stephen,he knows you) he is a mine of info re birds etc,i have learn't an awful lot from him,but the site i was actually thinking of was the Yahoo groups Birding cumbria.that site tells one of all the latest birds and sitings etc.
Stephen I do like gulls,and when I send you my BTO form,I have actually got around to reading it today,will fill in tommorrow,i will be more than happy to indulge in gull and wader surveys.But to count all the gulls in this area,and for me to differentiate between the various species in mid flight except for the black headed will be no easy task.i think my forte would be more up to sitting in the hide counting the reserve species.
reagrds Christine.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Christine,

Yes I think the point was that you didn't fancy differentiating gull species. I wasn't saying you didn't like gulls, though many people don't.

Even Black-headed Gulls can repay study. We have had several from all over Europe around Blackpool over the last year or so, it helps to be at a site where they roost on land rather than water at least some of the time so you can read any Darvic rings on their legs. I don't know what they do at Hodbarrow but if they are usually in the water it is worth a look at them when the ice freezes.

Stephen.

[christineredgate]

thankyou Stephen,but I may have to pass on sitting outside in the ice and snow!!
Christine.

[Johnny1]

Thanks Christine though it'll probably be a long time before I'm up Hodbarrow way again, I usually don't get much further north than
Leighton Moss...come to think of it I havn't been to Leighton for a few years.
If you're ever down Martin Mere way I'd be glad to show you around. I've just been reading about a White Winged Black Tern amongst the Little Terns seen at Gronant today!!! So keep your eyes peeled !!

[christineredgate]

Thanks for message Johnny 1.I think we are going to be in the Martin mere area on the 20th,with the NWNG..They do have a website by the way.WWW.nwng.co.uk.I found them on the e-photozine website,on the forum.A really nice bunch of guys.They seemed to be based in and around the Martin Mere area,but allowed me to include Hodbarrow as a nature reserve for the North West.But they are i think more into flora and fauna,although they did put my little Canada goose chick,on the Hodbarrow gallery,and say that when there is not much in the way of Flowers and stuff ,that birds and mammals will then be included.I wouldn't know a natterjack toad if it jumped out and hit me on the nose,but it is all quite interesting,and the group are very friendly,and patient.I think we are going to Mere Sands,Rufford ,it is a photography day.But haven't a clue as to where it is,hoping some one will send me directions..thanks again.Johnny 1,yes let me know when you are next in this neck of the woods.
Cheers Christine.

[Johnny1]

Hi christine, Mere Sands Wood is about a mile from Martin Mere and don't worry there are plenty of birds there to photograph.
Mere Sands consists of several small "lakes" surrounded by woodland you can expect to see Great and Little Grebes, Little Ringed Plovers used to breed there (probably still do), you'll also find the usual woodland birds Blackcap, Willow and Sedge, Reed Warbs breed there as well.
I'd make sure you come equipped with a flask and sandwiches, although there is a visitor center they don't sell refreshments.
If it's raining there are several hides to shelter in!!
If you're coming in from the North via Preston along the A59 Preston to Liverpool road, when you reach Ruffordtake a right onto Holmeswood Road (this is the Rufford to Southport road) after about a mile you will come to the entrance to Mere Sands on your left.
If you need any more info let me know.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Johnny,

Not sure if LRPs breed there any longer, I think probably not. Sedge Warblers don't breed, one of the truly amazing things about the reserve in 2002 was that it had a Surf Scoter but not a single record of the humble Sedge Warbler!

Regards.

Stephen.

[Johnny1]

Thanks Stephen, I'm ashamed to say I havn't been to Mere Sands for a year now even though it's the nearest reserve to me, I didn't even go to see the Surf Scoter!!! I'm determined to make the effort and pay a visit shortly.

[christineredgate]

managed to catch this heron in the water at hodbarrow.difficult to take as it was quite a distance away and the scope was sort of angled around a corner.he was so well camoflaged with the grey stones.
Christine.

[christineredgate]

ringed plover at hodbarrow

[christineredgate]

Johnny1,i seem to have got lost somewhere in these forums,i could not get back to your previous message,anyway,hopefully here is the swallow chick as mentioned earlier.Hope you have a good weekend.
Christine.ps Thankyou for the instructions re mere sands.

[christineredgate]

a pic of a heron taken at the Hodbarrow reserve.I actually manged to spot this one in a tree.There was in actual fact a family of them.Due to the distance and weather conditions(lots of bright sunlight) the pic is of not the best quality.
Christine

[christineredgate]

The parent herons were waiting in the water underneath the trees for fish so they could feed the offspring.
Christine

[christineredgate]

a ringed plover chick learning to fend for himself,and investigating the big outside world.
Christine

[christineredgate]

this young gull was standing on one leg in the sun,one eye open,one eye shut ,and he really posed for the camera.
Christine.

[christineredgate]

just a pic of a heron on the hodbarrow reserve.Not very clear and not easy to take as it was a distance away,and was very hot and hazy.
Christine

[christineredgate]

Hi,Silverstreak and Johnny1 also jenygard,I seem to have lost touch with you as I now cannot put ant more pics on the Pipit critique forum.
Anyway here is a pic of the herons at hodbarrow.Not terribly good due to distance and the sun.

Christine.

[christineredgate]

This young heron was perched in his tree ,whil'st mum and dad were in the water below catching his fish dinner
Christine

[RayGil]

Just a quick hello, is this still an active forum?

Ray

[Grousemore]

Just a quick hello, is this still an active forum?

Ray

Hi Ray,Welcome to Birdforum from the Moderators and Staff.

Slightly puzzled by your question...all Threads are open and active for anyone who wants to add to them;have a look round for yourself and ask any questions you like.

[RayGil]

My question was, is this an active forum, because I noticed the dates on some of the postings and they are last years, there is very little for 2004?
Hence my question.

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Ray,

Welcome to BirdForum!

All the threads are stored for posterity, you just happened to pick an old thread - yes, BF is very active, there's usually between 100-150 threads active every day. Actually, it can be very hard to keep up at times!

Michael

[Stephen Dunstan]

Why not drop Christine a private message, I'm sure she'll tell you what she has seen at Hodbarrow lately.

Stephen.

[christineredgate]

Stephen,I think I know who Ray is.He has designed a website for Millom and Haverigg and it is rather good.It is just unfortunate,he found this thread which has some pretty grim pics of the Herons,my earlier attempts.I will send him a message.