Return of the Mike

It seems an age since I last reported on what Earth vibrating wonderments are happening in my world, and in fact it has been a while. Things that have changed since last I typed.



Male Blackie, with almost bare larder (Amwell NR)



1, My flu left

2, My Sinus unblocked

3, My cough relented to what you would hear a polite lady do when trying to stop her husband saying something he shouldn't

4, I broke the camera, and Bins out of storage

5, It got cold

So dealing with these things in order.

Items 1 - 3, thank you all for the outpouring of concern for my ill health, and the parties and jubilations that have occured since to celebrate my return to fine fettle. You know who you are (And believe me there's not many of you).

4, It was a joy to charge up my batteries, get a fresh memory card, clean my lenses and head out into the world.



Pretty in Pink (Amwell NR)



I started at Hainault Forest on Feb 1st, following on from an appointment at the hospital, which I will return to later. Hainault was rubbish. Not really sure why I went there as I knew there wouldn't be much about. Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest were about as good as it got, and photography wise a bit of a waste of time, but to be honest my mind wasn't really on the job (due to the hospital thing) so I packed up, grabbed me Dad and took him for a pint (or 4).

Hainault if anything was a tester to see if I felt ok, and when I was confident I did feel ok I followed it up with a trip to Amwell NR, Herts on 4th Feb. As it had been cold and there was plenty of ice about I was hoping to see a Bittern. I'd researched where best to go and pointed my lens in that general direction, now although I didn't see the Bittern, I did see a load of other birds, and importantly got a few decent shots. There were some notable birds in there for me with a good set of thrushes, with Mistle, Song, Blackbird, Redwing and Fieldfare all showing nicely. Followed by a good set of tits (tee hee) Blue, Great, Coal, Long Tailed and Marsh (I'm calling Marsh over Willow, didn't get a great look, but more where I would expect to see a Marsh Tit). Water bird wise, there were plenty of Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Wigeon, and Teal etc, but the best of the day were a couple of Goldeneye. Quite distant, but displaying and looking beautiful. Siskins, Bullfinches, Treecreeper and Redpoll, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Buzzard plus many, many more made it a really good (if very cold (item 5)) day out.



Cold Winter Morning Sun



I packed up and headed home in time for the kick off of the Six Nations Rugby, and after the rugby looked out of the window as the snow began to fall. Thinking to myself "That's beautiful", "Then thinking "Hold on a Mo, I'm going out for dinner tonight!", then adding "How the Bloody Hell am I getting home tomorrow!!", then relaxed, opened another beer and continued to watch the snow... Beautiful.

Oh and that Hospital appointment that shook me up a little? Nothing bad, it was my wife's first scan... Baby due August 14th, I'm going to be a Daddy again!!

At least you've got your health, or perhaps not...

So... I suppose, Happy New Year?!?!

Well for me, it's not really been so happy, I've been a little poorly. Nothing major, and I don't want to appear to be like all other men (according to women) in overplaying illness to something much much worse than it is, but I have been poorly.

I saw the year turn and all of my contemporaries flew out the door to hit the 100's on their year lists before sunset on the first of January, I settled for looking out the window at my back garden (I hit 13 species, pretty good for my garden). Tales of Shrikes, Juncos, Senor Sparrows etc filled me with a yearning to get out of the house, perhaps not to twitch as that's not really me, but at the very least to see something different, exciting or new, and hopefully take a few passable snaps.

I managed a couple of excursions, a very brief trip to Rainham Marshes on 2nd January, but I only managed half an hour before I had to accept it's easier to walk around if you can breathe at the same time. I also broke free for a full day at Rainham for my birthday (10th January), although there wasn't really a lot there for me, or anyone else for that matter. Highlight being a Stonechat.

I have been getting over to Fairlop Waters as much as I can, which has not been a lot, but I was pleased to see a flock of Siskin on the 8th January. So a couple of weeks into January and I'm feeling better right? Wrong, I got the flu. Not man-flu, a little sniffle, but proper full on flu. You know the kind that can create a lot of vacancies at an old folks home, really, really smashed me for six. My body is destroyed, but there is a bright side... I'm feeling a bit better. I have a feeling of wellness beginning to descend on me, if I can lose this cough and this F******G BLOCKED F******G SINUS!!!!!! I'll be fine.

So that's why I'm now writing, because I can feel a happy New Year on the horizon. I have booked a day off work for Wednesday to break the camera out of storage and have planned a day in Herts shooting and birding on Saturday. I rattle when I walk with all the pills I've taken, I've lost half a stone in weight (bet not many others did that over Xmas) and I still feel a bit like what falls from a camels bum, but I am sure it's coming to an end, and I will once again be in the field with my bins, camera and a smile on my face. Hopefully see a few of you there!!

Sandy, Sorry it's taken so long...

It's been a while since I jotted down what I've been up to, but I've been a bit busy. Not busy birding as I would like to be, but working (Boo).

Sandy at Sandy... Strangely by the Bird feeders

So let me take you back in time (wobbly hands wobbly hands) to Saturday 19th November and my annual trip to RSPB HQ The Lodge, Sandy in Beds. There were reports of an Osprey that was still hanging around. Possibly confused with the unseasonably warm weather we experienced in November, or possibly not strong enough to make the flight to Africa, either way it was there. So I packed up the car with all the important stuff, Bins, Camera, Lenses, Extra Batteries, Extra Memory Cards, Sandwiches, flask of tea, Oh and I took the Wife too.

Last year I took her to Sandy, and it so happened that the weekend we chose fell on the weekend of the Xmas Fayre, so we thought we'd try and return the same weekend. For her it was for Xmas rubbish, for me it was so I could draw a comparison by returning to the same site 12 months apart and see how different the conditions are, and the resulting bird population. In 2010 Sandy had reported Redwing, Fieldfare, Redpolls of varying types and a few sightings of Waxwing, 2011 heralded pretty much none of the above, just a confused Osprey still thinking it's summertime!

Grey Waggie, with bling or possibly an ASBO tag

Bird wise it was quiet, almost a limbo. Migration was happening, but not here. There were none of the usual Autumn / Winter types about, and the highlights for me were a Green Sandpiper at the hide, and a Grey Wagtail that was very happy to perform in front of me for a good 10 minutes. My Wife, not known for being much of a birder was impressed with a pair of Raven that seem to have moved in there. Every time she saw a Crow I heard "Is that a Raven?", when she saw the Raven she said "Bloody hell, it's massive!!" Not something I've heard her say before. So all in all a strange day, not a great one for birding, but a pleasant day to walk about and enjoy the sunshine... In November?!?

PS - No sight of the bloody Osprey either!!

Crisis averted, and Ghosts a plenty

 CRISIS... Averted...

Firstly to deal with my earlier crisis of identity. I decided I don't really care about whether I am a photographer, or a birder, or both, or neither. Sometimes I enjoy taking pictures, sometimes I enjoy just watching birds. This was proven to me on Saturday when I spent an hour sat in my garden watching House Sparrows flitting into my tree before grabbing a snack from one of my feeders. I think sometimes when I'm out in the field I grab for the camera, when there isn't really a shot on, and miss the enjoyment of just watching the birds, so if anything I need to learn restraint. Bins first, lens second. That said I did take a few snaps of the Sparrows even though it was a very, very gloomy day, some of them came out quite nice. This is mostly due to the setup I now have being able to deal with those conditions, so to change away from this would be a bad decision.



My "Pet" Sparrows



I can never see myself with a scope watching the seas in the hope of catching migrants, and Patch ticks, year lists don't really have a place in my life. I do keep a record of what I've seen, when and where I've seen them etc., but this is more for a record that I can revisit these places in the future and compare. For example I'm off to RSPB The Lodge in Sandy at the weekend. This time last year there were Waxwings (which I didn't see), Redwings and Fieldfares, Redpolls and Bramblings (which I saw none of), however I did see a Nuthatch and a Goldcrest, both of which I have rubbish photographic records of so to improve on these would be great. So I will continue as I am, but who knows what the future holds.

There be Ghosts

I had the privilege of visiting the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition in Shoreditch yesterday, and I was blown away. A couple of things really surprised me, for me the diversity of artforms from Painting to collage, Sculpture to musical installations were incredible, but the real surprise was that my wife was taken aback at the treatment of birds, and the way that humanity is careless in the way we treat the diverse range of lifeforms that share this planet with us. I think the destruction portrayed in birds killed in Malta really shocked her, as it did me. The form of a bird on the floor created from a border of photos of birds, filled in with spent shotgun cartridges was particularly powerful.

Albatrosseseseses

There are some extinctions that we have caused, and can't undo but to allow it to continue is appalling. The Dodo you could say we knew no better, but the Albatross? Surely now we know the dangers that we create for these creatures, and to not change the actions that cause their unnecessary deaths is careless in the extreme. Animals will naturally die out, and extinctions sometimes just happen, but when that extinction is caused by Humans then questions need to be asked.

Ralph Steadman Room

Anyway, back to the art and what stood out for me was the Ralph Steadman room. Floor to Ceiling, 4 walls covered in paintings. They laid out binoculars so that you could see the ones at the top of the walls, it was incredible.

The exhibition won't be there for much longer, but I urge anyone to make the effort, you will not regret it.

Crisis! I've lost my way!

About 18 months ago now I rediscovered my love of birdwatching. As I wasn't sure if this was just a temporary fad (of which I have had before) I didn't go crazy with kit. I decked myself out with some cheap binoculars, and a cheap scope and I set off in pursuit of all things feathered. As an amateur birder I wasn't 100% sure what I was looking at, so decided a camera would help me ID the birds I couldn't initially identify. After a bit of research I went for a cheap dSLR, a Sony. The kit lens with it wasn't so great, so I upgraded to a larger 75-300mm zoom lens. This was fine, until I decided to upgrade the body, which in turn broke the lens, so I upgraded the lens again to a 150-500mm zoom.

This new setup was rubbish, the body I now had (dSLT A55 and Sigma 150-500) was no good at all for what I now thought I wanted, so I eBayed the lot, and bought a Canon EOS 40d, 300mmLf4 prime lens, and after a while a 1.4x TC to give me an extra bit of reach. And here is where I have reached my crisis. What happened to the birding?

My initial use of a camera to help with ID'ing birds, has led to me being completely involved in the photography, and I've forgotten about the birding. Now I've never really fancied myself as a twitcher, but my skills as a birder have not developed at all. I read a tweet earlier from Dominic Mitchell of a Brambling being spotted in a finch flock, I wouldn't have seen it, and if I had I'd have been too busy getting my camera ready for a shot, and not actually looking at the birds. And where next with the kit? I'm not a millionaire, I'm not an award winning photographer, nor will I ever want to make a living taking photos so how can I justify that the next lens I want is £5000, or the next camera body over £1000. I've already spent loads on Cameras, lenses, bags, batteries, tripods, monopods, memory cards blah blah blah, when all I really need is a GOOD pair of binoculars, possibly a compact bridge camera with decent zoom, and a whole lot of practice.

So there's the crisis. I need to put some serious thought into it and decide if I want to be a birder, with a camera, or a photographer, with a penchant for shooting birds. I have a feeling I know the way it is heading, so you may want to start looking on eBay soon if you want some decent second hand photography gear.

On another note I will be going to the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition in Shoreditch tomorrow, followed by a trip to Hamleys with my 4 year old daughter. I am looking forward to one of these, I'll let you guess which.

Autumnal Sunshine

Saturday morning had a few things in store for me. One thing unexpected was the slight hangover I felt from possibly one small Brandy too many, and another totally expected, 4 hours at work. Every third Saturday I have to work, I do not like this. As previously mentioned I love my job, but not so much that I want it to get in the way of the rest of my life. However, I begrudgingly downed the paracetamol and headed into, what turned out to be a very busy morning at work. Fast forward 4 hours...

Pulling up at home just in time to see a Green Woodpecker flying over my house. I've seen them before in Barking and at Hainault, but quite surprised to see one in War Torn Dagenham. With my hangover now passed and a tummy full of bacon sarnie I was happy again, and cheerfully loaded up the Family into the Volvo and away we sped to Sunny Hertfordshire, to spend the evening with the In-Laws.

After relaxing my Wife with a couple of glasses of Vino on the Friday night I broke the news that I would be doing my usual "dropping them off and then going for a walk somewhere" once we arrived so she wasn't surprised to see me loading my Camera and Binoculars into the car. After a brief chat to the In-Laws she waved me off with a tear stained hankie (yeah right) and away I went for a rare trip to RSPB Rye Meads. I used to go there a fair bit, but since discovering the habitats on the doorstep of my Wifes family in Ware and Amwell End I usually stay closer to home, but tales of a recent Osprey at Rye Meads, and the hope of seeing a Bittern (which I didn't) were enough to make me take the short drive.



The sun was beautiful, but as is usually the case with Autumn sunshine it was too bloody low. Wherever I walked it seemed the sun was glaring right into my eyes. Photography was therefore difficult as trying to find anywhere to shoot from where the sun was at your back was rare. Rye Meads, if any of you have been will know, is a Hide based Nature Reserve. There are trails, but the main focus is the hides, named after what you can expect to see from those hides. The Kingfisher hide being most popular as you have a very good chance of seeing a Kingfisher or 2, provided you have the patience to wait. I'm not a great one for hides personally. I get more enjoyment from actually moving around a bit and seeing and hearing what's around you, but when in Rome and all that so I found myself in one of the hides for maybe 30 minutes watching what turned out to be 4 Snipe. They were like London Buses. A guy to my left said "There's a Snipe there", I looked where he was pointing and said "There are 2, one behind the other", before we realised that what he was pointing at, and I was looking at were totally different, so there were 3, and another on a distant island made 4. They were all quite open, enjoying the sunshine until something spooked them and they all hid (quite badly really, I could beat them all at Hide n Seek) behind stones they were near. This was my cue to walk on.



Marching Snipe



I enjoyed the walk along the Otter trail, although it didn't yield many more birds, a quiet day in all. Apart from the Snipe and a Juvenile Great Crested Grebe eating a MASSIVE fish there wasn't a lot about. And it wasn't until I was getting in the car that I saw my first raptor of the day, A Kestrel which was a fair distance away (No Osprey for me). Looking forward to a bit more Autumnal weather, and my first Fieldfare, Redwing and hopefully Waxwings of the year.

Bird list: - Black Headed Gull, Coot, Moorhen, Shoveller, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Snipe, Lapwing, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Wood Pigeon, Pheasant, Green Woodpecker (another one), Kestrel, Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe

Free at Last

Worked double hard this weekend to make sure all the jobs that are associated with being a husband and homeowner were completed by Saturday. Who knew that agreeing, in front of a Priest and a congregation of my friends and family, to wear a little gold ring for all eternity would turn me into a painter, decorator and whatever you call somebody who replaces gutters... A Guttereplacerman possibly. In doing so I left myself an opportunity for some birding / photography. Knowing I only had a few hours I thought I'd best stay local and headed to RSPB Rainham Marshes.

Close up of one of the Swans

The weather was good, beautiful sunshine, unseasonably warm and just perfect for a stroll. I had heard the Bearded Tits were back, with a report of 6 on Saturday so I made this my first target, but as soon as I arrived Howards voice came over the radio with a report of a Male Marsh Harrier and looking up there he was twisting and turning over the pools in the centre of the reserve. My first Marsh Harrier so I was really pleased to start my walk with a big tick. I then headed off to where the Beardies usually reside, but was disappointed that they were not showing for me. I knew they were there as I could hear them intermittently calling, but the song was from too far back and after half an hour of standing still I decided it best to try again another day. As I was leaving a woman told me of a couple of fellas at the next pool who had taken some shots of a Water Rail, so thought this would be where I head to next. After speaking to the guys I thought I would hang around for a while to see if the Rail returned, and after a few minutes I could hear it moving through the reeds just to the side of me, and this is where I got a bit annoyed. You see I have a daughter. She is gorgeous, bubbly, fun, everything you want a 4 year old to be, and as much as I really want her to take an interest in Nature, I know she is too young to behave in a manner quiet enough so as not to disturb other birders at a reserve. So when I was stood silently staring into a bunch of reeds, seconds away from the Rail giving me a great photo op I did not appreciate the 2 little girls that, at that second ran screaming, singing and stamping onto the boardwalk. My thought now was do I wait and let them pass or do I move on. My decision made for me when the loudest of the girls shouted "Mummy this is a perfect spot for our picnic!!" Grumpily I moved on.

My last shot of the day!

So I arrived at the half way point of the reserve with 2 nearly, but not quites of 2 birds that I dearly want a chance to photograph. I've seen them both before, both this year in fact, but never got a shot I was happy with (not a shot at all when it comes to the Beardy). So although grumpy I consoled myself with the memory of the Marsh harrier, and then the Peregrine. He was bleedin miles away, right at the top of an electricity pylon, but sure enough there he (or she) was. My hopes were now on for a raptor hat-trick. There wasn't really an awful lot else about. Some Swans with their Cygnets, a Little Grebe, a Little Egret fishing away happily, and plenty of ducks, Geese and Gulls on the main pools. But the one thing that stuck with me was the sheer amount of Goldfinches there were. Everywhere I looked there were flocks of them. At the feeders there were fights, which is great to see. Such aggression in such a small bird, is something you really have to see. Popping into the Ken Barratt hide There was a very poorly Greylag, probably not long for this world and some Wigeon that were quite close to the hide, but by this time the sun had gone, and it was getting quite cold. A couple of circuits of the Woodland area and I thought it time to go when I saw a familiar shape in the sky, the completion of the Raptor Hat-trick thanks to a Buzzard soaring above. Just had time for the final shot of the day, which I think was my best Goldfinch shot of the lot.