images-naturally!: October 2011

Saturday, 22 October 2011

Red Deer on the high moors of Cornwall

Had a great afternoon watching and photographing truly wild red deer on the high moors here in Cornwall yesterday with acknowledged deer expert and good friend Ed Treverton.

We watched 2 good stags and were lucky enough to get some close photos of one of them in very nice light. Also saw 3 hinds and two calves so it was well worth the four hours of hiking in very difficult conditions and putting up with the aching knees this morning!

Red deer stag

Red deer hind

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Kestrel

Spotted this young kestrel hunting from the spindly tops of Christmas trees in the Davidstow plantation area this morning.

I reckon it was probably the same bird that Dibs had photographed a few days before.

It let me drive really close to it and continued to hunt. I got one shot as it crashed into the grass below the tree but it flew off empty handed.

Kestrel

Spot the Snipe

Snipe are masters of camouflage and the next two shots show 5 then 6 snipe on the edge of an island at Walmsley in the early morning.
You need to look closely to spot them all!
The third image shows one at Davidstow nestled down in the grass near a pool and one would think it stood out a mile! Not so, as I watched it come into land by the pool it then took about ten more minutes to re-locate it as it was motionless and so difficult to see.

5 Snipe

6 Snipe

Snipe

Saturday, 15 October 2011

Black tailed Godwits

There were up to 20 black tailed godwits in the shallows at Walmsley sanctuary this evening as the tide forced birds off the Camel mudflats.
As birds bathed in the fresh water I noticed their habit of wing flapping and jumping a few inches above the water to get their feathers in order. This was my cue to try to get the shot of a bird in action.

Black tailed Godwits

Black tailed Godwit

Friday, 14 October 2011

Great White Egret at Walmsley

This great white egret at Walmsley sanctuary is quite an impressive bird. Seeing it in flight being shadowed by a little egret was the best way of seeing the difference in size. The latter looking tiny against the new bird on the block!

The big question is whether this is a North American bird or a European one. We have had numerous vagrants blown across the Atlantic on the tails of the hurricanes but also we had one weekend of strong southerlies.

Wherever it's from it seems to be feeding well in the reserve so here's hoping it may stay around for a while.

Great White Egret at Walmsley sanctuary. Cornwall.

Saturday, 8 October 2011

Long billed Dowitcher at Davidstow

Knowing this bird was on the airfield has been driving me mad all day as I'd agreed to work today and I couldn't guarantee that it would stay around until Sunday so as soon as I finished work we drove straight up to Davidstow where we met Will who had just been videoing it and he put me right on the bird.

Just as well really 'cos it was in a totally different part of the field to where most of the waders had been pitching.

See Will's video of the Dowitcher at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTvRamg_Hls
and the Snow buntings at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCAM8Rzmqt0

It was typical Davidstow weather with thick mist and drizzle interspersed with dull light. I managed a few pics and was amazed to see how it fed, like a woodpecker with a long beak, striking hard at the ground in short bursts.

To round off the visit there were 2 snow buntings along the runway which I grabbed shots of in the increasing rain and decreasing light.

Roll on tomorrow!

Long billed Dowitcher


Long billed Dowitcher

Snow bunting

Thursday, 6 October 2011

Semi-palmated Sandpiper

I was traditionally late on the scene yesterday afternoon for this Davidstow special.
It was however very typical Davidstow weather with strong winds and variable amounts of fog, mist & drizzle.

Fortunately for me there were few waders on the airfield and this semi-p was very active and a bit of a poser for the camera. It even caught an earthworm and washed it in the pool near my car. In fact so close that I could get good views of the webbing between its toes which are a bit of an identification clue to this species.