Showing posts with label Barn Swallow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barn Swallow. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Hobby Times Two

The Hobby is still something of a scarcity in this part of coastal Lancashire known as The Fylde. The sighting of a Hobby adds more than a smidgeon of excitement to an often mundane day. Even better when a single sighting of the will o’ the wisp raptor becomes a double whammy. 

The Hobby, a Schedule One Species, breeds inland not too many miles away, just a car ride away, a location already subject to  interest from too many bird listers.  It would be easy to add to the database  of visitors and potentially draw attention to a breeding locality but how much better is it to meet and to enjoy a Hobby or two in the course of a normal day's birding?  
  
My latest encounter of this pacy raptor came about today while Andy and I were out bird ringing over Pilling way, catching the bits and pieces of a normal day.  A quiet spell had us sitting in the sun watching Meadow Pipits surveying a walk-in trap placed about 40 yards away on the farm track. We’d had some success with eight Meadow Pipits caught but frustrated by the sight of two Yellow Wagtails not finding their way into the metal maze while pipits had no such problems.

From the north and east came two Hobby (is that Hobbys or Hobbies?) in close unison, playing in the breeze like the juveniles they were as they drifted over the nearby sea wall and continued their leisurely way west. It was yesterday evening when the farmer Richard told me of his sighting while tending livestock of a “large swift” - “going like the clappers”, one of those sightings that goes into the memory hole to often resurface another day. 

Hobby
 
We caught other species in a single, slightly blowy mist net and ended up with 14 ringed – 8 Meadow Pipit, 3 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Whitethroat and 1 Pied Wagtail. 

Meadow Pipit

Reed Warbler

Whitethroat

Pied Wagtail

Birds that got away or didn’t come near the nets included 70 or more Swallows,40 Meadow Pipits, 4 Wheatear, 25 Pied Wagtail, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 8 Goldfinch, several Linnets, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper. 

Linnet

Wheatear

Wheatear

Goldfinch

Yellow Wagtail

Swallow

Swallow

Yes, it was a very young Wheatear that has quickly joined in the action, already setting off  on the long journey to Africa. 

While the sun shines I’m making hay too.

Weekend is not looking good but two more days of bright weather means more news, views and photos on Another Bird Blog. Don't miss it folks.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

 

Friday, July 14, 2023

Out And About

Blackbirds took every single cherry in garden and didn’t bother waiting until the fruit was red ripe. And then they came back for the next tree along, the rowan berries just turning from green to orange, nowhere near the final glossy red that completes a winter landscape. 

Blackbird

Thursday evening was warm and sunny in our sheltered back garden. I watched a male Blackbird drop down from the rowan tree into a dried up patch below where thirsty berry trees had made for a  dusty piece of ground. 

The Blackbird spread its wings and tail, opened its bill and settled down into the dusty ground and began to sunbathe and perhaps to also “ant”. I have seen this behaviour on a number of occasions from different species of birds and this time managed to both observe and to photograph the activity. 

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blackbird

Birds in various climates all around the world indulge in sunning. This can be anything from simply standing with their backs to the sun, with feathers rustled up to expose the skin below, to a full sunbathing posture with wings and tail feathers spread out to maximize the area open to the sun. Obviously, in many cases the birds get warmth from the sun, which reduces the amount of metabolic energy they have to expend in order to maintain a constant body temperature of around 40 degrees C. However, some birds sunbathe in spots which can be quite hot. In such circumstances, sunbathing appears to leave them over-heated as they can be seen panting. 

From Wiki - “Anting is a maintenance behavior during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting). The insects secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, which can act as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide. Alternatively, anting could make the insects edible by removing the distasteful acid, or, possibly supplement the bird's own preen oil. Instead of ants, birds can also use millipedes. More than 200 species of bird are known to ant " .

This week has been quite windy with no chance of a ringing session. During Thursday a quick runaround a local patch resulted in a few expected birds and a Green Sandpiper.  Green Sandpiper is a shy species, one of the earlier returning migrant waders and can be seen in a variety of muddy margined places like ditches, farm middens and similarly secluded locations.  For these early returnees from north and east it is autumn, even though for us in England it is still summer.
 
Green Sandpiper
 
The same stream held 3 Little Egrets, a Grey Heron and 2 Redshanks. 

Little Egret
 
The waterside margins seemed quiet except for a couple of Sedge Warblers and a single Reed Bunting both of which have been in their same spots for weeks now without any sign of having youngsters out of nests. Not so the pair of Moorhens with 5 youngsters in tow and probably their second brood by now mid-July. 

Moorhens

Reed Bunting

Sedge Warbler
 
I recently heard that the dry spring and lack of moisture of 2023 has not been good for egg production or breeding success of both Barn Owls and Kestrels. Whether this is the same for other bird species we do not know: it is a subject for research probably beyond the average birder, me included. My own observations at least are that local Swallows have had a better year, and not before time. There was a single youngster on a gate, waiting for a parent to arrive with food. 

Swallow
 
I called at our Sand Martin colony to see 100+ Sand Martins still around, despite the quarry face suffering from a degree of natural erosion, a combination of the Sand Martins’ own constant toing & froing combined with the vagaries of weather. The gulley left of centre formed by water run-off from above is a concern for the remainder of this year and next year when the martins return from their winter in Africa.  Imagine having to move home every 12 months! 

Sand Martin colony

Sand Martin
 
Friday morning. Rain arrived bang on the XC Weather forecast of 1000. The decision to leave the Sand Martins for another day was the correct one. 

Join Another Bird Blog soon to find out what happened next. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Anniversary Blog.



Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Candid Camera

Old age combined with bird photography in all sorts of weather in many parts of the world finally caught up with my now rough around the edges Canon EOS 80D. I listed it on Ebay as needing “tlc and attention” and it sold quickly for £200, enough dosh to kick-start the search for another camera. 

Now was the time to check under the floorboards for spare cash towards the new investment. Well there’s no point in keeping money in rip-off banks with their paltry interest rates is there? And in any case, and just this week, if a customer doesn’t conform to many banks’ increasingly odd world view they will simply close an account. Whatever happened to “The Customer is Always Right”? 

As luck would have it I found a stash of notes that Sue had forgotten about and then set to Googling digital SLRs. 

Mirror-less cameras are the new trend and destined to replace digital SLRs. I already have a mirror-less in the shape of a pocket sized Sony SLR used for street and landscape holiday shots, a camera that performs incredibly well. But I needed a camera to which I could seamlessly switch without learning a whole new set of function buttons and complicated menus, a feature in which the Sony excels. I love the little Sony with a passion but could never use it as a tool for bird photography, an ability that demands rapid changes of ISO, f numbers and zoom settings, mostly all at once, with one hand. 

Sony A Series
 
The upgrade had to be a camera that would take Canon and third party EF/EFS lenses, more especially an 18-55mm for birds in the hand and a Sigma 150-600mm telephoto for longer shots. Choices were limited but I settled on the next Canon up, an EOS 90D, probably the last of Canon’s digital SLRs before their recent move to a number of mirror-less cameras. 

The main reason for going for the 90D was extra megapixels, 33MP as opposed to 24MP, plus the aforementioned familiarity with Canon’s user friendly menus together with the layout of the camera back plate and the top buttons, both of which are satisfyingly similar in both cameras. I used HDEW Cameras who supplied me a grey import at £200 less than most retailers, and it came with a 3 year warranty. 


Canon EOS90D versus Canon EOS80D

It didn’t take long to get used to the 90D where a few shots in the garden confirmed the upgrade worked well until I could get out in the real world when the winds drop and sunny days return. 

Swallow

Blackbird scoffing the cherries

Collared Dove

Woodpigeon

And whilst on Ebay another camera sparked interest with memories of how cameras used to be: my old dad’s Box Brownie, the Kodak Instamatic, a useless Polaroid, and a pre-digital 35mm film camera, a Pentax ME Super. 

Loading a film camera
 
Those were the days - not. Open Up Your Camera. 

The first step is to open the back of your camera. ... 
Step 2: Prepare your film. Take your film out of the little container. ... 
Step 3: Secure the film leader in place 
Step 4: Wind the film forwards...ensuring your sprockets are aligned 
Step 5: Close the camera and take some photos! 
Step 6: Wind the film to the end and pray that the film captured half decent images that fully display your expertise as a photographer 
Step7: Put the film back in the little container and take it to Boots or a High Street photography shop where it will be sent off to experts who will transform your film into printed images. Hand over a large amount of money for the service 
Step 8: Pray again for about 7 or 8 days until the prints are ready 
Step 9: Save the one or two acceptable prints and bin the rest 
Step 10: Buy another roll of film and start all over again. 

The little camera on Ebay reeled me in. An Italian Job from 1953 - £15 including postage. What a find, a Bencini Comet “like new”.  Thanks Stuart.

The Bencini Comet was the first of a series of cameras made from 1948 into the 1950s. They were made by CMF Bencini in Milan, Italy. 

“Solidly built from polished metal castings with a sheet metal back. A viewfinder camera fitted with a 60mm meniscus lens and instantaneous & time shutter. The time function operates as 'Bulb'. The shutter release, which is on the body, is threaded to allow for the connection of a remote shutter release cable. The shutter function selector is unusual in that it is a tab that is pulled out from the lens barrel. The camera is capable of capturing sixteen half frame exposures (3 x 4 cm) on 127 film by the use of two red windows. It is a front focussing camera giving focus down to 3ft. A tripod mount is provided. The viewfinder is very small, the eye piece being only 3.5mm across.” 

Bencini Comet

Bencini Comet

Bencini comet

I have no intention of using this little gem. Cameras of this period and Art Deco looks can never replace a modern digital SLR. But it sure looks good on display in the lounge and provides a great talking point for visitors. 

Back soon with more news, views and photos from Another Bird Blog.

Linking on Saturday to Eileen's Saturday Blog.



Wednesday, May 18, 2022

May Days

Apologies to regular readers who perhaps realised I had gone AWOL without leaving a forwarding address. I promise to get back to you all very soon. Yes, it was holiday time in Greece.

This was our eleventh time in Skiathos and our first visit to the island in spring. Sue and I missed out in both May 2020 and May 2021 due to Covid but at last we made it, despite the best efforts of TUI and Manchester Airport.  

Skiathos runway

Spring was only slightly different from late September trips when the landscape is parched following a typical Greek summer and when many summer birds have gone south. In early May the weather was initially cooler but by the second week scorching sun and a familiar twenty five degrees. Once again I was the only birder on the island, birding as much as possible, if you get the drift. When is a birder not birding is the question?

Skiathos
 
Our usual hotel The Ostria at Agia Paraskevi opens in late May so this year we stayed within a stone’s throw at Spiti Oneiro, a Greek title that translates as ‘Dream House’. It’s an apt name for so many homes in faraway, relaxing Skiathos. 

Dream House - Skiathos

We know Dream House well as one of our welcoming watering holes and places to eat during September stays. It’s a little off the beaten track so very quiet, a friendly, laid-back sort of place with just nine apartments, bed & breakfast if required or room only. Proprietors are Dad Kostas and daughter Efie, two wonderful, helpful and kind people who go out of their way to make guests feel at home. 

Kostas Stergiopoulos


We reserved a room via Efie and book flights directly. This makes for a more personal experience as well as ensuring our money goes into the local economy rather than a percentage into commission to third parties.

Courtesy of Magda of Mustang Motors https://www.skiathosrent.com we picked up the Jimny jeep at the airport and filled it with expensive petrol, fuel that lasts a while on quite tiny Skiathos Island. At Euros 25 a day the jeep works out as both convenient and cost effective when a couple of trips to other parts of the island by local bus costs about Euros 8 each time, e.g into Skiathos Town or the opposite ends of the island Koukounaries, or Troulos. 

The furthermost north part of the island is in any case accessible mostly by car, sometimes a 4x4, more so after a wet winter. It was in January and into March this year that Skiathos had several bouts of snow followed by a legacy of soggy roads and tracks.


Skiathos Life - Facebook January 2022

Two weeks of uninterrupted sun and zero rain made for lots of photos of Skiathos if not too many bird photos as early May proved a little late for heavy migration and in any case Skiathos has a quite small bird list. 

The "best" and most unexpected bird proved to be a Little Bittern which I saw on and off for two weeks in a reedy ditch where stream frogs Rana gracea were probably the reason for the bittern's presence. Most of the time I glimpsed the thing climbing through the thick reeds and only once did I get a decent photo. My sighting may be the first recorded sighting of this small bittern species  on Skiathos where birders are rare even non-existent but I imagine the Little Bittern is pretty common in Greece as a whole.

Rana gracea

Little Bittern

The first week included Bee Eaters, Black-headed Buntings, Red-throated Pipits, Richard's Pipits, Yellow Wagtails, Red-backed Shrikes, Woodchat Shrikes, Whinchats, Red-rumped Swallows, Barn Swallows, Marsh Warblers & Reed Warblers, Hobbies, Buzzard, Olivaceous Warblers, Scops Owl and a good number of daytime singing Nightingales. Sea birds consisted of the ever-present Yellow-legged Gulls, European Shag and numbers of Cory's/Scopoli's Shearwaters searching the mill pond Aegean Sea.


Barn Swallow

Black-headed Bunting

Red-rumped Swallow

Woodchat Shrike

Yellow Wagtail

Red-throated Pipit

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Yellow Wagtail feldegg

By the second week the birds dried up with the increased temperatures and we were left to enjoy the sunshine, deserted beaches and the company of Hooded Crows and Yellow-legged Gulls.   

Hooded Crow

Yellow-legged Gull

There are lots of photos of Sunny Skiathos below. Enjoy and don't forget to "click the pic" for a better view.

Skiathos Town

Skiathos Town

The Bourtzi 

Skiathos Town

The Bourtzi

Rural Skiathos

Above Skiathos

Essential Shopping in Skiathos

Skiathos Town

Skiathos Boatyard

Skiathos Boatyard

In the Boatyard

View from Mylos Taverna

Ligaries

Ligaries

Ligaries

Back soon with local news and views.

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.




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