Sat the 5th April was marked in my diary as a day for some local patch birding, with the intention of showing a friend the area before moving onto Jesmond Dene, two or three miles away. The forecast was for showers so I put my water proof on top of my fleece and was concerned that I would be far to warm. I needn’t have worried as by the time I had reached the lake I was searching for my hat too, as it was so cold! The gloves stayed in my bag but only just! I knew the lake would be fairly quite at this time of year and that the Goosanders had all disappeared. We had a few species never the less. There were no anglers about, possibly too cold, but there were at least three Cormorants on the water. Other birds on the lake were Mute...
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Well, my new lens arrived yesterday lunchtime.
I didn't have a lot of time to play with it as I had to cut the grass - back and front! I was very happy with the way it handled and the "photographs" I took with it through the window showed that it was going to produce the goods.
This afternoon, I nipped out into the garden at half time in the FA cup semi-final. (WBA were robbed). A Dunnock was singing in the apple tree and I was able to approach to within about five metres. I had the Kenko 1.5 converter on and was pleased to see that both auto focus and IS worked. The sun was trying to shine, but the sky behind the bird was pretty grey. The shots I got were pleasantly sharp. Not bad for hand-holding what is the equivelant to a 720 lens...
Back out on Powerline road for the first time in nearly 3 months! The weather was cooperative. We saw/heard 2 'akepa and 2 Hawai'i creeper in about 4-5 hours in the usual kipuka 3 miles out. We tried to locate 'akiapola'au in kipukas along the way back and in the first 2 miles of Pu'u O'o Trail, with some wandering through the kipuka 'ainahou forests, but no luck. Japanese white-eye were very scarce. (yay!) There has been a light-phase 'io gliding low over the tree tops on each of my last 2 visits to kipuka 'ainahou. I checked one of my dwarf melicopes in the furthest kipuka on Powerline Road, and it was flowering - nice photos for the gallery. I also took some photos of the native raspberries along Powerline Road that look like...
3rd April and the numbers of Chiffchaff have built up and can be heard form various areas of the local patch. No sign of Willow Warblers yet. Blackbirds, Song Thrush and Mistle Thrushes were very active. One Stock Dove in field with Wood Pigeon. Unusual, as not often seen locally.
Some very flighty butterflies too, including Small White and I am sure Red Admiral
Two interesting plants found today Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara (i d'ed with some help on B F) as described in fieldguide flowerering long before there are signs of the leaves and Spring Squill Scilla verna
My name is Mat Paulson from Moorhead, MN. My kids Ashlyn 8, and Tanner 7 and I have entered an environmental project to the Nim's Island Reel Thinking Contest and we need more votes.
My kids Great Grandpa moved into an assisted living home and really missed his yard and seeing the birds that came to visit. We set up a birdfeeder by his window of his apartment and after doing so saw a change come over him. He always has stories now of the birds that visit his new home and it keeps him occupied and alert.
In doing this my kids and I thought how nice it would be to do this for more people. The Nim's Island Reel Thinking Contest may let us do this if we win. The prize money will be used to buy feeders and seed so that we can set them...
I've had a couple of frustrating days. I ordered a Canon 70-300 USM IS zoom and was told it would arrive on Tuesday. I waited in all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday, but no lens. I emailed the shop and they assure me it has now been dispatched and I will definitely get it by 1pm tomorrow.
What was also frustrating was I couldn't do any photography in the hide, as my wife Billie was out and I had to listen out for the delivery.
From the window I sat and watched the goldfinch sitting on my baited perch and the wren sitting on the fence singing away. I also saw a linnet for the first time in the garden, although I wouldn't have got a photo.
After tea this evening I thought I would do some test shots to work out the exposure settings for...
The kolea are all suited up in their breeding plumage, ready to fly off to Alaska for the summer.
I checked the native plantings at Pu'u Huluhulu. Some are gone, some are browsed, but a few are doing quite well. Several 'akoko are looking like little trees already. Schiedea, 'anunu and stenogyne angustifolia are sprawling around. Oddly, the sandalwoods are looking a bit stressed. I need to go back in better light to look for others.
Visiting crete this spring see www.cretewww.com
Pallid Harriers etc.
3rd April: first Greenshank, Woodchats arrived.
The 31st of March for several reasons saw my first walk around the local patch for sometime. It was a wonderfully warm and sunny spring day and unlike today, 1st April, which has brought a return of the strong winds.
Most noticeable to day was the amount of Lesser Celandine Ranunculus ficaria , new buds and blosom on the hedges and the sound and sight of my first Chiffchaffs of the year. This was in stark contrast to the last time I had walked this path in late winter and counted the still large numbers of Redwings. Today Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnock were in full song and Pheasants could be heard calling. I still haven't managed to track down the Grey Partridges.
Well, the sun is shining at last and spring seems to be in the air. The birds must have other things on their mind apart from visiting my feeders as I've hardly seen a bird all day. I spent two hours in the hide after lunch, without one bird coming down.
I decided to just walk around the garden with a hand-held camera equipped with a 70-300 Sigma zoom lens. The idea is to see what quality images I get with the Sigma on a typical sunny day. I will then be able to compare them with the Canon zoom (IS) that I have just ordered.
I must say, I enjoyed "stalking" the birds instead off sitting in the hide and even though the only birds I "grabbed" were a blackbird and a blue tit, I was happy with the results.
Perhaps I shouldn't tell Billie...
The Ka'u Forest Bird Survey is less than two weeks away, and I need to acquire a better sleeping bag, new silnylon tarp, and a few other items. Hopefully the ash plume from Kilauea doesn't cancel our helicopter drop. To prepare a bit I went up to the "Kipuka 'Ainahou" area off of Pu'u 'O'o Trail for the first time in two months, to listen to some of the rare birdies - specifically Hawai'i creeper. I was unable to locate the Hawai'i creeper that was hanging around the area from mid-fall through January. I saw only one female 'akiapola'au. I'iwi counts were up significantly, and 'apapane and especially 'oma'o were way down. Japanese white-eye were almost absent, but red-billed leiothrix were fairly widespread.
The parking area...
I took somebody on a tour of the wet forests at the upper end of Stainback Highway. The weather was absolutely fabulous. The 'io has not been present at the end of Road R for a couple of weeks now - must have moved on. I checked all my usual plants for flowers etc, and adored the little busy little snails on my favorite cyanea. I found out that I was a dummy, and had been walking under a flowering opuhe on one of the trails all month without realizing it! There was much rejoicing and many photos... The big clermontia montis-loa trees were also flowering nicely on Army Road.
Thursday was rainy. I went out on Army Road in Pu'u Maka'ala NAR to look for new tree species, and for the fabled 'anunu. I didn't see either, but did find a few other things along the way. I saw one kamakahala (labordia hirtella), but it had unfortunately been smashed by a fallen tree fern frond. I saw one 'Aiea , but with no flowers. I explored a short hunter trail that went into a terribly pig damaged area. Took out a lot of himalayan raspberry, and did a few bird counts along the way. The weather was foggy, rainy, comfortably cool, and very atmospheric.
Today I went to one of the two reserves we have down here, Ghadira. I came around 45 minutes too late to see a very scarce Spoonbill:C! Well I saw my 1st Hoopoe of the year and a female Lesser Kestrel soaring over the garigue area behind the reserve.
Inside there were a Pochard with 2 Ferruginous Ducks ;) all adult males! There were also a Black-winged Stilt, 8+ Little Ringed Plovers which breed in the reserve and 3 Little Stints. I added the scarce Marsh Sandpiper and the more frequent Wood Sandpiper to my list.:t: (123 now) Around 6 Yellow Wagtails flew about and the resident Moorhens.
Around 10 Swallows flew overhead with a House Martin. There were a few Willow Warblres, 2 late Robins, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 adult male Blue...
As we are going to be home for the next ten days, I decided to put my hide up in the back garden this morning.
My "hide" is, in effect a fishing "bivvy". It is made up of a large fishing umbrella that tilts back so it rests on the ground. Over this is placed a overwrap which is pegged down, converting it into a tent. It makes an excellent hide and is quite easy to set up.
After doing the weekly shop (hate it!), I spent an hour watching the baited perch.
Nothing!
The main problem I have at the moment is the cluttered background. I have the hide set up to get the best light, but it means I'm facing the garden shed and the rubbish I have been meaning to clear away. I am always experimenting with different ways of producing a good...
Today I did my first unofficial "Bigby" run. A "Bigby" list is a list of all the birds one sees from walking, biking, or from mass transit (I have to check on the details of the mass transit part though, because buses and ferries are big pollutants!).
Mass transit is a common way for me to go birding, especially inside Manhattan. Actually I don't think I've ever ticked anything besides pigeons when driving in Manhattan (which is rare). I know I have seen most of the eastern migrants from Bigbying in Central Park plus common winter stuff, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl and one Great Horned Owl. Then this week I visited the New York Botanical Garden, and added Brown Creeper and 2 more Great Horned Owls.
Today I was inspired to get air in my bike...
Heard a cuckoo loud and clear in the Foret de Belaire today. (111th species of this year) Lots of blackcap were singing as were song thrushes and nuthatch. Watched a firecrest at close quarters. The wind is still cool though and there are plenty of showers--not really settled weather for southern migrants. The flooded rivers are disappointing compared to this time last year but i did see my 1st greenshank of the year yesterday and its always a bonus to find waders so far inland and away from real wetlands. the most numerous are still the green sandpiper; there wer 6 yesterday on the flooded Bandiat. But no migrating garganey yet!! ---the 1st time I have not seen several around this time for many years.
We've given up at the caravan at the moment. while we were warm in the van, the weather has meant we have been stuck inside with little to do. We decided we might as well be at home for a while.
It's frustrating because I felt I was beginning to get somewhere with both photography and fishing. I sat out fishing for a few hours yesterday and set my camera up on a tripod at the side of me, focussed on a branch. Pinned to the back of the branch was a tiny plastic pot (about 1.5cm diameter) with some maggots in. After an hour, I got bored with photographing the robins (2). Then a wren paid me a visit. He (or she) wouldn't sit on the branch, but kept coming down on the ground, right by my feet. I tried manouvering the camera and tripod to...
I forgotten all about it. There were a few videos which I took from my digiscoping unit while guiding a birder from southern England.
Check out the followings:
Common Flameback
Crested Serpent Eagle
Black-capped Kingfisher
Every so often I think I've found the best place ever...and then a couple weeks later I find an even better place. I headed down a sketchy fresh hunter's trail today, and found myself in a huge ancient forest with an amazing lack of weeds and ungulate damage. There was a good variety of common native plants and trees. Oddly, there was a conspicuous lack of lobelioids, despite being adjacent to some of the best lobelioid areas. There were a number of 'ohe mauka. Looking forward to returning thursday to explore more and get some wide-angle photos if it isn't raining.
TNC volunteer work day. There were hardly any weeds to pull. Didn't see anything new, unfortunately. Plenty of nice big ho'awa trees there.
Since it was a short volunteer day I went over to visit Manuka Natural Area Reserve for the first time. It's quite a bit different than anywhere I usually go. Dry leeward forest, with a lot of olopua, papala kepau, alahe'e, 'akia, ho'awa, kopiko, hame, etc. Also far more mosquitoes than I've ever encountered anywhere else on Hawai'i - it was very unpleasant. I found one exclosure with some rare seedlings planted inside, but didn't have time to fully explore.
It's not quite the weather I've seen on the UK forecasts but we've had hail showers here today and it's not got above 8C. Managed to check the flooded fields this morning though and there was a smattering of passage waders--11 Greensand , 2 ruff, 6 snipe, 3 redshanks and the first LRP of the year . No wildfowl today except for a few mallard which nevertheless will be genuine migrants. A black kite was flying around--perhaps the same bird as earlier in the week The swallows were managing to find some insects over the water despite the cold.. On the way back from the river there were 5 hen harriers quartering the fields.
Today's rain meant no birding but it should help swell the many rivers around here. A few such as the Bandiat are already over their banks and this is good news for the migrants especially waders and wildfowl which stop over for a few days. These mainly seasonal rivers reurn to cultivated land by early summer but for a few weeks some unusual species for these parts can turn up. This week there were a few redshanks and green sandpipers paddling on the edge of a flooded road, and on Tuesday a pair of shoveler stopped for a while as did a ruff. A black kite was flying over one of the floods on Wed.
That day also gave me my best ever views of a merlin which sat on a small rock by the side of the road and remained there unperturbed as I...
Paid my first visit to Slimbridge in about 20 years today - and it was brilliant, a thoroughly enjoyable day out and some nice new species to add to my list (which now stands at 38...!)
Not counting the more unremarkable species (or the ones that weren't actually wild!), we saw plenty of Teal and Shelduck, four Lapwings, about five Greylag Geese, a few Canada Geese, five or so Tufted Ducks, and a load of Wigeon. Also saw one Shoveler, which was good (quite close to the hide). Waited in vain to see the Kingfishers, but to no avail unfortunately. |:(|
We did get a great view of a Great Spotted Woodpecker on one of the feeding stations, which was really nice - as well as a Goldfinch.
The most frustrating part was the fact that we spent...
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