Bluethroat (Luscinia Svecica), Rossall School,Cleveleys,Lancashire. 30th May 2008

Having seen and photographed a (white spot) Bluethroat at Aldcliffe near Lancaster on the 8th April, the news of a (red spot) Bluethroat down the road at Cleveleys, certainly whetted the appetite. I wasn't at work, but had no vehicle. I had to wait for Hazel to come home from work before we could set off.
Everything was ready, (as I'd left me wellies at home a few weeks earlier), nothing was left to chance.
We set off, and got to the site for about 1800pm. On arrival, a group of birders were stood watching an area of scrub, in the corner of a field. We walked down to the crowd, and the bird could be seen from where we were all stood, albeit partially obscured by the various branches in front of it.
No chance of any images, as we were too far away, and the branches were everywhere. I walked away to set up me camera, in the hope it might come out into the open.
We both stood watching from afar, when I saw the Bluethroat fly over towards the sea wall. Everyone else stood staring at the bush it had left!!
I called over to say that the bird had left the bush, and was now near to the sea wall. It was now in the open, but 30 metres away. The birders walked towards the bird, but it went even further away.
No worries I thought, it'll come back. (I hoped).
Within ten minutes and everyone gone, we watched the Bluethroat fly down to the long grass by the footpath, down from the original bush it was seen in.
We walked over slowly, and the bird just sat there, singing its heart out.
I managed a few record images and we went home happy.

Bluethroats aren't very common in the North West, yet in the last five weeks, I'd caught up with both red spot and white spotted Bluethroats.

Bluethroat (Luscinia Cyanecula) Aldcliffe Marshes,Lancaster,Lancashire. 8th April 2008

I was at work today when I was about to hand over a patient when me phone started vibrating in me pocket. Obviously I couldn't answer it.
Again, and again it kept going off, but for what reason?
I handed over me patient and exited the building and checked me phone, and their were numerous missed calls.
I checked the history and they were from Ian Corbett. It was obvious that a decent bird was about. I immediately rung Ian back to see what all the fuss was about.
'Where are you?' he said,
'Im at work why?'
'(White spotted) Bluethroat near you'
'How near?'
'Aldcliffe Marsh' was the answer.
Now from where I was at the hospital, Aldcliffe Marsh is approximately 1 1/2 miles from where I was stood.
I explained that I couldn't get there as I was at work, and the earliest I could get there was after 1900pm.
I had some planning to do.
I rung Hazel and asked her to put all my camera equipment in the car for when I get home. I explained I would be home, change vehicles, then shoot off for a Bluethroat.
I did just that. I finished work, dashed home, changed vehicles and was at Aldcliffe for  1930pm.
I walked (briskly) towards where I thought the bird was. In the distance a lone birder stood scanning the area. As I approached him, I realised it was Mark Prestwood. Mark hadnt seen the bird, but there was still time.
It was at this moment that something was missing. Wellies!
I was stood on the marsh in a pair of trainers upto me ankles in water. (Must remember wellies next time).
No worries, as as I was thinking, the bird popped up on a piece of driftwood. I knelt down to keep low, and fired off some images.
It had been a bit of a rush, and I was soaked up to me knees, but well worth it.

White Crowned Sparrow, Cley-next-the-Sea,Norfolk. 14th January 2008

Ive been down to Norfolk today to finally see the White Crowned Sparrow that's been thrilling the crowds down there. Shifts have been in the way of me going, so to catch up with the bird this morning was fantastic.
I set off at 2200 hrs last night as traffic would be quiet and I could have a sleep before first light. I arrived in Cley at 0230 hrs and reclined the car seat and had a snooze.
Man was it cold!
It was obvious where the bird had been, as the opposite grass verge from where the previous hundreds of birders had stood, had turned into a quagmire.
The first birder to arrive was Richard Millington, editor of Birding World magazine, which is based in Cley-next-the-Sea. He suggested that as there was no one about, I should stand by the gate of the garden the sparrow had been frequenting and a photo opportunity might arise.
I crossed the road, and set me stall up!
A few other birders arrived, some stood by the gate, others on the road. The sparrow showed briefly at the end of the driveway, a little to far away, even when stood at the gate! It is my first American sparrow and a superb bird to see in Britain.
I decided to leave my position and see how it went later in the day.
I had a short drive through the village to the beach at Salthouse where another bird I hadnt seen before was coming to seed thrown onto the pebbles. A Lapland Bunting was coming into the seed with a large flock of Snow Buntings. Ive never seen as many Snow Buntings and it made a great spectacle. I managed a few images and decided to drive back to Cley, to see if the Sparrow was showing.

On arrival, the White Crowned Sparrow was on the gravel path with the resident Chaffinchs and Sparrows feeding as if it had been there all its life.
Steve Gantlett, editor of Birding World magazine arrived and came and stood with me at the gate, whilst the Sparrow went along with what it was doing.
Its been a great day with a superb little bird and good company. The drive home was a bit ,ore hectic due to the traffic, but the journey home couldnt spoil my day.

Desert Wheatear, Burniston, North Yorkshire, 19th December 2007

An early morning dart across Yorkshire saw me arrive at 0800am to look for the Desert Wheatear. I walked onto the headland and scanned the area looking for this cracking little bird and in the ploughed field opposite, a Greenland Wheatear scurried around in and out of the furrows. All of a sudden, within feet of me, the Desert Wheatear showed. It was too close to focus on, but eventually moved around allowing images to be taken and performed superbly.

Mourning Dove, Clachan a Luib, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland 6th November 2007

Its always great when your at work and a text goes off in ya pocket and there's nothing you can do about it. Mike and Jane Malpass had texted me to say that they were on their way to North Uist, as a Mourning Dove has been found on some farmland up there.
Typical, two more days on shift before even a sniff of a chance of going.
I got home from work and mentioned it to Hazel, who was laid up having had an operation, but I said we would go in two days and that she could sleep and rest in the car travelling up. She was up for it.
Two days later, we were heading for Uig on the Isle of Skye, to catch the ferry to North Uist. Whilst driving up, we had a break at Fort William, and spoke to Jane on the phone. They'd connected with the bird, albeit in driving rain, and that the forecast up there was poor. Tom Tams was up there, as well as many more 'big hitters'.
We carried on north and drove over the Skye bridge onto the island, and headed up to the ferry port at Uig. Whilst waiting, we watched Ravens bullying White Tailed Eagles over the harbour. A brilliant spectacle in a beautiful setting.
We boarded the ferry, and eventually arrived at Lochmaddy on Uist. The light was fading and we had to find some digs.
After a good nights sleep, we were up early, had our breakfast, then set off the Clachan a Luib to look for the dove.

We arrived at the area, and a blue VW Golf was parked up, with the owner still sat in it. Hazel wound down her window, and I asked if this was the right area for the dove. Indeed it was, as it was sat behind a small rock for cover.

I immediately took two images as a record from inside the car. I took two, and no more. My camera battery was flat, as my camera had been switched on for the whole journey!!!!!!!!!!!
We had to go back to the guest house we had just left, so that I could charge my battery up. By the time it was charged, the weather had set in, so I decided we would push the boat out, and stay in the Lochmaddy Hotel and try again tomorrow.
The next day it was sunny and after breakfast headed back to the farmland where we had been the previous day. A female Hen harrier was gliding around as we approached our destination.
Fantastic, no one around and the bird was still around, even if it seemed a little more flighty than yesterday.
I sat by the road, waiting for it to arrive back in its usual place, which it eventually did, just as a Range Rover pulled up to ask what I was doing. I explained and the occupiers told me the Dove had been there over a week. They sat in the car as the Dove landed right on cue. The Range Rover was now between me and the bird, so I used the car as a hide and got the images I was after.

After a great day it was time to catch the ferry back for the long drive home to Lancashire. The first thing I did when I got home was buy a spare camera battery.
You live and learn!

Eagle Owl, Whitendale, Trough of Bowland, Lancashire 5th May 2007

Hazel was away on business, so on the Friday evening I rung me father in law, to see what was happening on his farm. The usual. He then asked me if I'd ever seen Eagle Owl. I said I'd seen them in Finland and France. He said his close mate Geoff thought he had one on his farmland in the next valley and had ruled out Short Eared Owl, due to the size, and also the fact it had attacked him!!
I said we'll be through tomorrow to see whats happening up there.
The next day, Hazel and me travelled up to Whitendale, to try and connect with the 'Eagle' Owl.
Geoff showed us the lacerations on his neck, and it was obvious that it had gripped him hard. He said he would drive to the area on his quad bike, and that we could follow in the Land Rover.
He pointed over the valley, and there it was, an Eagle Owl sat on a boulder.
Geoff explained that he thought the female was on our side of the valley with two young.
My camera was set up, but the bird was nearly 100 yards away.
We watched from afar for a while, when Geoff's young son arrived on another quad bike.
He asked if id photographed the owl, and I told him it was too far away.
His response surprised me, saying, 'Ill be back in a few minutes'.
Five minutes later, he arrived with his sheep dog sat behind him.
'Watch this'.
He let his dog off the bike, and straight away, the Eagle owl flew across the valley like a Lancaster Bomber, and landed on a fence post right in front of my camera. It couldn't have happened any better. The owl sat there for a while before dropping into the long grass.

The Eagle Owl is a fantastic bird, but unfortunately its smack bang in the middle of where Hen Harriers breed, and it remains to be seen, how much damage this bird could do to the local Harrier population.

Harlequin Ducks, River Laxa, Lake Myvatn, Iceland, April 2007

If a poll was compiled to find the most handsome
duck that breeds in the Western Palearctic,
Harlequin Duck would surely top the list. In April
2007, Hazel and me flew to Keflavik, Iceland, for a week’s
bird photography holiday, with Harlequin Ducks
as our main target. Iceland is, of course, the
only place in the Western Palearctic where
Harlequin Ducks breed.
Keflavik airport lies about 50km southwest of
Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. From there, we
drove north on Road 1 to Borgarnes, and then
took Road 54 over to the peninsula of the Snaefellsnes
mountains and down to Froda. We
obtained our first views of Harlequin Ducks
here, looking distantly from Road 574, north
and seaward to Breidafjorur.
We stayed overnight in the small north-western
town of Olasfsvik. The following morning, we
visited the cliffs at Onverdarnes, where Brünnich’s
Guillemots could be seen, and then drove back
to Borgarnes on Road 1, and onwards across
towards Akureyri, eventually arriving at the
famous Lake Myvatn, far in the east.
Our base while staying in the Myvatn area was
the Sel Hotel, Myvatn, which is situated on Road 1,
only about a mile from the area where Harlequin
Ducks are most easily viewed.
In April, male Harlequins start to head
towards their breeding grounds, towards fresh
water, having spent the winter on the sea (where
they can be easily seen in the Reykjavik area).
The males then remain in the breeding areas
until about late June, whereas the females and
young stay there until August. Lake Myvatn
holds probably the densest population of
breeding Harlequin Ducks in the world, with
more than 10,000 birds. These birds can be
seen later in the year than April and early May,
but beware the dark clouds of midges that
congregate around the lake in late spring and
summer! According to local people, this is how
Myvatn gets its name: Myvatn means ‘The Lake
of Midges’!
The best viewpoint for Harlequin Ducks that
we found was by the bridge on Road 848. Head
west from the hotel to a right turn over a bridge
which spans the River Laxa. This is Road 848,
which heads north before meeting Road 1 in a
loop to the east of the lake. There is a layby by
the bridge in which to park.

In the early morning hours, Harlequin Ducks
were actually quite difficult to find here –
Barrow’s Goldeneyes were the predominant
birds – but, after spending a couple of days
visiting the area, we noticed that the Harlequins
were beginning to congregate around the bridge
area in the afternoons, after having travelled
west, downstream from Lake Myvatn.
During the subsequent mornings, we spent
our time nearby, watching Gyr Falcons divebombing
the resident ravens, and then we headed
back to the bridge area for the afternoons. Then
we were able to watch the Harlequins fighting
their way through the fast-flowing torrents of
the Laxa. They were approachable and quite
easy to photograph. Each evening, they went to
roost in the long grass on the banks of the river.
Apart from the Harlequins and the Barrow’s
Goldeneyes, other birds that we saw easily in
the Lake Myvatn area included other sea ducks,
Slavonian Grebes, Merlins and Snow Buntings,
as well as the Gyr Falcons.
We thoroughly recommend a trip to Iceland; it
is totally unspoilt and naturally beautiful. The
weather can be cold (on our April trip, daytime
temperatures at Myvatn were down to about
–7°C, with snow and wind at times), but this will
not spoil your visit.