An unexpected bonus

It's funny, some of the places that you can find wildlife. You don't always have to be in the back-of-beyond to see some amazing species; as the sites we visited this weekend show.

The forecast for the weekend wasn't brilliant, but after my first full week in my new job, I was determined to get out and about to make the best of it. So, on Saturday morning, Lou & I headed down to South Wales for another look at one of the pairs of Dippers. Driving down through an industrial estate, you wouldn't expect to be coming across much in the way of wildlife, other than the ubiquitous seagulls & a feral pigeon or two. However, hidden behind is a secluded stretch of wooded riverbank, with lots of weirs and rocky islets - perfect territory for Dippers. 

We spent a pleasant couple of hours watching a pair zipping back & forth, taking beakfuls of cadis-larvae up to the nest under overhanging tree-roots. The chicks could be heard very loudly when either parent went in, so I wouldn't be surprised if they fledge this week. The light conditions weren't great, as it was dark clouds & drizzley, with a few heavy showers, but it's always interesting experimenting with different shots in more muted colours. As well as the Dippers, there were several pairs of Grey Wagtails - and a pair of Chiff Chaffs showing well.

Grey Wagtail

Last night, I heard that a Red-necked Grebe had turned up again at Farmoor Reservoir. I had great views of a bird in eclipse plumage in the autumn, but as this one was showing well and in breeding colours, I decided I had to go and take a look today - even if it was bucketing down! Thankfully, the day wasn't as bad as forecast & although it was very dull, we only had one shower. Farmoor is a bit of an odd site to me; you do get some really good birds turning up, but it's a huge, rather featureless concrete reservoir, so it's not quite as appealing as a more naturalistic setting. However, with a bit of patience, we did get some good views of the Red-necked Grebe, fishing & preening fairly close in to the bank. At one point it was only about 6 metres from me. It was vocalising quite a bit, so I wouldn't be surprised if it moves on over the next few days to it's breeding grounds. Having looked back at my photos from autumn, I strongly suspect it may be the same bird - although it's impossible to be certain!

Red-necked Grebe

While waiting for the Grebe to come in closer, we had a very unexpected bonus siting. We noticed a large group of gulls come up from around one of the huts, mobbing a large bird - an Osprey! Obviously on it's way North, it looked like it was thinking about trying to fish, but the gulls were giving it such a hard time it eventually flew off down to the far end of the reservoir & out of sight. Walking back, we had close views of some of the resident Greylag Geese, Little Gulls and a possible Sinensis Cormorant perched on one of the buoys. However, I'm not 100% sure on the identification! 

Osprey

Pied Wagtail

Greylag Geese

Sinensis Cormorant

Driving home, we spotted a fair few Red Kites floating above the fields, and a male Muntjac Deer grazing close to the edge of a copse. Pretty good for a dank weekend!