Elton Reservoir - White-winged Black Terns!!

Birding wasn't on the agenda for today, I've got so much to sort before an impending trip to Scotland :-) It wouldn't take much to get me in the car however and from the moment news of two White-winged Black Terns came out, the feet were getting itchier.... All morning in fact - would they fly off or stay? With everything that couldn't wait done by 1.00pm , I was on my starting blocks to Elton Reservoir!

Never trust a post code - I dutifully followed it and ended up in a 'no go' area, crossing a railway bridge constructed of sleepers and scaffolding poles - ending up  below the (wrong) bank of the reservoir!

Never mind, the Terns were on view within seconds where they stayed until dusk with me plus a few local birders making the most of 'the biggest Twitch Elton res has had'?? Here's the sequence of events.....

Purely year tick territory but nice to see two adults - they were a tantalising mix of too far vs too close at times and for me on the wrong bank - in the wrong place! Nevertheless with parking at the sailing club nigh on impossible, I stuck at it.....

Remember 'spot the ball' - using your skill and knowledge of birding - where's the Tern all these birders on the correct bank are eyes glued on?

Maybe I could refresh my skills at dinghy sailing and get closer?

I walked up the bank trying to improve on the light, I wasn't alone!

And got two lucky moments - here's the first.....

The only time I got reasonably close to the two 'in the frame'!

Plus one flying off!

(I'll finish the post with the other lucky moment!)

This was the only other decent shot......

By 5.00 pm I opted to drive the couple of miles around to the sailing club (it was only 200m as the Terrn flies!!) Crossing another Heath Robinson, fence post bridge!

Wishing I'd done this much earlier :-( Instantly getting more chances!

Difficult photography with the autofocus seeking out the background - many of these were focussed manually!

I trekked up to buoy no 8.....

Only to see a wingflap and away!

In all, the shutter clicked well over 1,000 times with many of the manually focussed rejects chimped away during the quieter moments! The local birders were a great crowd too - enjoyed the company!

Was it worth the trek? No question about it - birding is all about going to see, then enjoying good birds - summed up nicely by that second lucky moment (on the wrong bank) when it was too close! The autofocus managed to cope and somehow I got away with this near frame filler......

Yeah it was worth it...... And I'd do it all over again :-)

Wall Farm - *** Grey Plover **

Just when you think nothing of note is going to materialise locally - it does!! A 2nd Shropshire lifer no less and I joined quite a longish list of local birders who also needed it! Well done Pete Jordan - a cracking find and thanks to Ian and Martin Grant for getting the news out swiftly!

Yet another feather in the Wall Farm cap too! I was waxing lyrical about the site only a few posts before and quite frankly with Venus Pool and Wood Lane underperforming, it seems to be place to see waders! You aren't going to get up close with anything here, scope is pretty much essential to check it out properly but I have to say at one stage - the Plover was as close as it is possible to be here - viewed from the lane!

Oh well, words over - here's one or two shots 'for the record' which took a while to come by....

Feeding up - here today and gone tomorrow?!

The heat shimmer was crazy - is that meant to be a reflection?

Hmm no better.....

 The sun momentarily disappeared - it did help a bit?

And I was right - it was gone the following day.......

Venus Pool - Dunlin and locals

Two Dunlin were present at the pool today. Free ranging and often apart - it took me ages to coax them to be together in the frame and still in focus!! Just about anyway :-)

Not exactly 'talking' here?

That's more like it!

Both smart in their summer plumage with one bird particularly dark!

Beautiful light for a  a Little Ringed Plover....

And the Mute Swans which don't normally get a second glance from me! Conjures up a 60's slogan??

Make love :-)

Not War :-(

A decent wader would be nice?

Beverley Hoopoe - flashing the crest

Considering I had less than 40 mins of exposure time to the Hoopoe, the number of opportunities for raising the impressive crest were always going to be limited! Nevertheless, with a Sparrowhawk on the prowl, one or two flashes were forthcoming!

A response to threatening behaviour..... Certainly no triggered by the small number of watchers and photographers!!

Nearly there?

Yessss, the full display!

Which deserves a close up.....

A head on opportunity too - not an angle which would win favour?

But crouching down.....

And a turn of the head.... Maybe my favourite of the session?

Sadly, after a late afternoon shower, the Hoopoe did not reappear. It was not seen on subsequent days either and hopefully didin't fall prey to the Spawk??

Beverley Hoopoe - Grub time!!

Bird or gardening blog? Well today we are looking at the subject of lawn pests and how to control them? Leatherjackets and Chafer grubs can cause considerable damage to a lawn and the best control is to import a Hoopoe!! Incredible how this bird skilfully first finds and then deals with them in a matter of seconds.....

A healthy lawn? All may seem OK on the surface but beneath the turf a myriad of chomping larvae of Crane Flies and Beetles are lurking.....

After probing with the bill and locating 'grub' quick as a flash, it's amazing how quickly the grub pops down the throat! Remember when you used to do this with peanuts down the pub? You still do....!!?

Large ones.

Little ones......

 And middle sized ones.

Down they go......

 Note the eye to grub coordinhation!

Despite this 'miss', there is probably no escape!

A change of angle?

Then showing his best side.....

The final moment?

All these images came from a 20 minute blitzkrieg on the bugs!

The rear view for a change?

And finally, this is where we left part 1 - the Chafer larva meets its doom!

This is taking quite a bit of sorting - all we need now is a raised crest......