Bromfield - Black Redstart

Having ignored the Bromfield Black Redstart on Sunday, I had a couple of hours free today to check it out. The weather wasn't helping with intermittent rain but there were a couple of 'dry' moments when the bird showed half decent?

The first occasion was with cloud cover. I'd have settled for this and gone home happy?

But with a moment of sunshine, the light went up as gear!

Always good to have a bird running towards you!

 

Constantly in search of small morsels.

And a fitting end to what could have been a 'no show'!

I still preferred the setting and challenge of Sunday's bird amongst the rocks on Titterstone Clee but I'm not exactly grumbling about this one!

Titterstone Clee - Black Redstart on the rocks

Lady luck was ensuring that a Black Redstart would be featuring in the viewfinder today? Not at Bromfield however, Clive Biddulph had chanced upon one in the quarry on Titterstone Clee!! So rather than a pint at the Clive Arms, it was Black Redstart on the rocks!

Whilst never coming that close, we preferred this setting by far! A flash of the tail finery too...

 Then a limitless supply of rocks to launch from!

Not a bad day at all, 1 Snow Bunting, 2 Black Redstarts and at least 3 Stonechat, my first for the year!

Titterstone Clee - Snow Bunting

After a brief stop at Bromfield to welcome Black Redstart to the Shire yearlist, instead of fetching the cameras from the car, Dave Chapman and I immediately called it a day!  A more important quarry hopefully awaited us at Titterstone Clee in the form of a smart Snow Bunting found by Dave Stafford the previous day!

Just as well we did, as a five minute mid morning encounter was to be the only decent snow-show of the day! So, courtesy of Dave Western, who refound it, here's a few pics of this smart bird...

No matter what angle you view them from, always a firm favourite...

Feeding like crazy in what to us was a icy gale force wind. For a Snow Bunting, pretty balmy conditions?

The biggest struggle was dealing with the wind and trying to hold the kit steady!

But worth it in the end. Thanks to all three 'Daves'!! There was another distraction too - a second Black Redstart for the day was about to command our attention in the quarry...

Venus Pool - Redpoll and Brambling

Some quite showy Lesser Redpoll males were in evidence at Venus Pool today...

Plus this smart male Brambling...

Time to make the most of them as they wont be here much longer!

South Shropshire - Goshawk

A second encounter of the year with Goshawk in South Shropshire was memorable due to extended views and even an image or two, albeit 100m + distance!

Beady orange eye standing out despite the distance...

Retracing its flight path...

Final image shows the pale underwing and bulging secondaries nicely..

Colemere - Scaup

Old habits die hard but with January over, the need to see all the better winter visitors like this drake Scaup still persists. Dave Chapman and I chanced the Sunday morning free range dog mayhem at Colemere for distant views (it never strayed from the middle of the Mere!)

There was not much more to show from the morning.  The Whixall floods Little Egret was still in town but the Cetti's kept its head down in the freshening breeze!

Venus Pool - Sparrowhawk

It's not very often I sit in the feeder hide and after 20mins or so both Dave and I were getting itchy feet. I'd actually got out of my seat and heading for the door, when...

This 2CY Sparrowhawk scattered all the small birds in the area!

Not a look I would care to receive, if I was a small bird!

And whilst agonising how I was going to fit head and tail into the frame? A sideways shuffle helped!

Taking the weight off his foot!

Now is this a flight shot of 100% concentrated Blue Tit or Great Tit?

Or both??