Deerie me -WARNING Contains Spaiders

Hello strangers! Many apologies for the long silence; work has been absolutely crazy the last few weeks, with 12 hours days the norm & days off a bit of a rarity. Compounding that, it's been a bit of a funny time of year for wildlife in the local area; the summer migrants are by & large departing, but winter arrivals haven't put in an appearance just yet. Vegetation is still very high in most sites, so the few occasions I've managed to get out for an hour or two, there hasn't been a huge amount to see!

On the plus side, I have recently upgraded my main lens to the spanking new Canon 500mm f/4 IS II, so I've been itching to give it a proper test-drive! Thankfully, the last week or so, I've managed to get out and about a little bit & I'm pleased to say it's performing very well!

I spent a few hours one afternoon on one of the local private lakes, watching a pair of Little Grebes fishing. I really enjoy working with these entertaining little birds. The female seems to have a particular penchant for eating newts  - while the male tends to stick to minnows & sticklebacks.' 

Little Grebes

Sadly 'Lonesome George' - a male Great Crested Grebe I've been watching for the last few years, is once again an eligible batchelor. I'd hoped that, after he paired up with a female this spring, he'd succeed in raising a brood. Unfortunately, after two failed clutches, his mate seems to have disappeared & poor George is all alone again. Hopefully, better luck next year.

Lonesome George

I was also pleased to be able to spend a couple of hours watching the resident pair of Hobbies catching dragonflies over the lake at Coate Water - although the site was otherwise very quiet for this time of year.

Hobby

Common Darter (Lunch)

Last weekend, Lou & I spent a few hours in a hide in the Midlands. It's a site where I've previously had good luck with Muntjac Deer, but no joy this time around. For the first 90 minutes or so, a Buzzard was perched close to the hide, which meant that very little was stirring, apart from a few rather handsome pheasants. Once it left, the bird life picked up a little, with a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and one of their juveniles spending some time on the feeders. Although we didn't see any Muntjac, we were rewarded with a pair of Fallow does and their fawns, which were very nice to see.

Fallow Deer - Fawn

Now that some of the hay fields have been cut, it's starting to get easier to see hares again. I managed to get fairly close to one more or less at eye-level through the stubble. They seem to have had a good year - we saw over a dozen in one field, albeit rather distantly. 

Brown Hare

One of my local pair of Little Owls have also had a successful season; I was delighted to spot two owlets out and about on my last visit to their territory.

Little Owlet

This morning, we made the decision to get up mega-early and head down to the lovely RSPB reserve at Arne, on the edge of Poole Harbour. We especially like to visit during the autumn, when the Sika deer are rutting. It's still a little bit too early for that yet, although we did hear a few of their squeaky bellows this morning. We arrived just before sunrise, and spent several hours wandering around the heathland and mixed woodland. An unexpected bonus on the way in was coming across a Nightjar sitting on the entrance road; I'd thought that they would have all made their way across the channel by now. We also spotted a Little Owl flying off a fence by the side of the road. 

Little Owl - Not from Arne

The Sika deer were out in force. We saw around 50 over the course of the morning; although mainly does and fawns/ juveniles. Unusually, we only came across a couple of stags. They seem to be mainly congregating under the chestnut trees, and appreciating the windfall nut mast - as were the multitude of Grey Squirrels! 

Sika Deer - Doe

Sika Deer - Fawn

Green Woodpeckers are also abundant at Arne - although tricky to get close enough for a decent shot. However one did pose quite obligingly for a few minutes on a dead tree limb in the sun's first rays. We also spotted a Wryneck flying through the glade, but couldn't quite see where it had landed. 

Green Woodpecker

It was a good day for raptors, with distant Ospreys out in the channel, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzards. On the Salt marshes, we also saw 9 Spoonbill, Cormorants, Little Egret, Shell Duck, Greenshanks, Herons, Curlew and various gulls.

Small birds were also out in force; highlights were the resident Dartford Warblers, but we also saw Treecreepers, a female Stonechat, Long-tailed Tit, Great-Tit, Coal-Tit, Gold Crest, Gold Finch, Chaffinch, Swallows, Housemartins and  Wheatears (in flight).

Stonechat

For me, the invert life was a particular highlight; we found a nest of hornets, which were quite something to watch, as they carted caterpillars and other insects into the chambers at a great rate. I also saw my first Raft Spiders today - a big tick, after several years of looking for them. We saw at least 10 spiderlings (which are still big enough to make most people feel rather uncomfortable!), but no adults today.

Hornets - Trying to be a bit arty

Hornet Nest

Raft Spider

Think that's probably enough for now - I promise not to leave it so long between posts in future! 

Little Owl family values

Sorry for the radio silence over the last couple of weeks; while the weather has been pretty glorious, a really hard stint at work has left me completely shattered, so days off have been mainly recovering!

We have managed a few short excursions to some of our local sites, with varying results. I got really frustrated when, after I'd spent several hours patiently in position waiting for the water voles to visit a particular spot I'd lined up with a series of shots in mind,  an extended family of noisy kids appeared, just as the male was climbing out where I wanted him. I'm all for kids getting interested in nature & wildlife -after all, that's how I got started - but needless to say, I was not best pleased with their grandparents for encouraging them to run over to see what I was looking at! Nevermind - next time. We did get to see 5 different individual voles while I was waiting - my 'usual' male, plus a female with two youngsters, and interestingly another huge male which I haven't seen before. I hope I get to catch a closer view of him again soon.

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I'd been really pleased to see the lonesome male Great Crested Grebe I've been observing for the last 2 or 3 years on a private lake had finally found a mate. Sadly, when we paid the pair a visit at the weekend, it appears that their eggs have either failed or been predated. However we did witness them doing a short courtship dance, followed by the female getting into mating position and they seem to be constructing a new nest, so hopefully they may succeed with a second clutch. There are also two pairs of Little Grebe nesting along the same stretch, who were having a massive barney, as one of the more distant pair kept trying to cross the near pair's territory & they were not having any of it. The mute swan pair are doing well, with half a dozen signets all growing strongly at present. Also lots of moorhen & coot chicks of varying sizes keeping their parents very busy.

Great-crested Grebes - Ready to mate

A quick early evening drive around the Aldbourne area gave me a fairly close encounter with a lovely Roe Deer buck, now looking rather splendid in his russet summer coat. I'd also hoped for a few hares, but the difficulty is that the grass & barley crops are now so high in their favoured fields that it is nigh on impossible to spot them! We saw a couple towards the field margins, but too much in the way to be any good for photos.

Roe Deer - Buck

I also checked out my local Little Owl sites at the weekend- we had good views of one of the birds from a pair nesting in a hollow oak, but no sign of any owlets out & about yet. 

On the subject of Little Owls, on Tuesday evening I was lucky enough to be able to do a session at a private hide with a breeding pair and their youngsters. I spent the whole evening there, and had both parents visiting a post in front of the hide throughout the evening - and was able to play with a few different settings, particularily as the light changed as the day wore on. I got some great views of the parents feeding the youngster in a nearby tree. The 3 owlets were very active, hopping up and down the tree with lots of energy, so I'm sure they'll start exploring the wider world very soon. A great session with one of my favourite birds to photograph - I had a whale of a time, & already wondering if I can squeeze another visit in over the next few days. 

Female one of the Owlets

Woodland wildlife

We had been half thinking about a trip down to Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire today, to see the Puffins & other nesting seabirds. However, a poor forecast last night, coupled with general over-tiredness & a lack of appetite for a 2am wake-up call found us a bit closer to home this morning. 

After a slightly more civilized start, we decided to head over to a small woodland hide in South Woscestershire. It's usually good for a wide range of woodland birds, and for me, the main attraction is probably Muntjac deer, which are fairly regular visitors.

On the drive across, we had quite a few raptor sightings, including the inevitable Buzzards, several Kestrals and a possible female Red-footed Falcon. We also saw several Jays flying across the road, as we passed through wooded stretches.

While we didn't have any Muntjac during our session today, it was still a pleasant way to spend the morning. I very much enjoyed watching the antics of a pair of Red-legged Partridge, and a rather dapper Pheasant - accompanied by a veritable harem of females. 

Male Pheasant

Red-legged Partridge

Red-legged Partridge

The hide is particularly good for Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and today was no exception. We had a pair, plus an additional female visiting frequently throughout the morning. They seem to be still on chicks at present, as they were taking lots of food off; presumably to their nest. A number of over-ripe pears had been left out for the wildlife, and these seemed to be particularly appreciated by the females.  

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Lots of other woodland birds came & went - including Jackdaws, Chaffinches, Dunnock, Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Collared Doves, Blackbirds & Goldfinches. I was particularily pleased to be able to get some shots of a pair of Stock Doves - not an easy bird to get a close view of! They are quite distinct from the more numerous Wood Pigeons when you take a closer look.

Stock Dove

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Lots of Grey Squirrels were busy scampering too & fro, including one rascal who carted a whole apple off by himself. While we didn't get the Muntjac, a rather shy yearing female Fallow Deer did grace us with her presence - although she was clearly very nervous and didn't stay in the clearing for long. 

Fallow Deer

Lou also took the opportunity for a quick bit of garden centre & farm shop retail therapy - always good to keep the editorial staff on side! I'm slightly horrified by the stinkiness of the cheese she has come home with; it may possibly qualify as a new species in it's own right.

This afternoon, I went to check out a Treecreeper nest in one of the local parks. I always love watching these cute little birds hopping up trunks, like little wind-up mice! While I was there, I was lucky enough to see one of the two chicks fledge. The attentive parents were still kept busy stuffing it & it's sibling full of food. Lovely to see it taking it's first steps (or flaps?) into the big, wide world.

Treecreepers

(Un)common Crane chicks

I'm still pretty tired after a busy few days at work, straight off the back of my short birding trip to Southern Spain last week. So, I was half-tempted to have a bit of a rest on my day off today.

However, a beautiful sunny morning, combined with the lure of the newly-hatched wild Common Crane chicks at WWT Slimbridge proved irresistible. After all, with what are probably the first wild-born Crane chicks to survive in Southern Britain in the last 400 years on my doorstep, it would be positively rude not to pay them a visit!

We'd been to see the pair on the nest a couple of weeks ago, so it was a real delight to see them now with their two babies. 

Chris(tine) coming back after a 20 minute break!!

Over the course of the day, the family spent much of their time in the shelter of the reed beds, however I did get some great clear views of the chicks as their parents led them around the fringes of the back of the pool. 

The adults - Monty & Chris(tine) - are amazingly attentive parents, constantly feeding their chicks. Mind you, considering that these fluffy little things will be almost the same size as their parents in only 6-8 weeks, you can see why a steady stream of food is needed! The adults are also very protective of their chicks, chasing off any other birds that ventured too close by. They seemed to have a particular hatred of Jackdaws, which they drove off very aggressively, yet strangely they didn't seem that bothered by Rooks, which I'd have thought might be more of a threat. They also saw off some menacing Lesser Black-backed Gulls, which were showing rather an unhealthy interest.

There were also lots of other waterfowl & waders raising families around the same pool, including Lapwings, Shell Ducks, Grey Heron and a pair of Mute Swans nesting just in front of the hide. It was also nice to see the water vole pass by on a couple of occasions.

Grey Heron

Lapwing

Mute Swan on the nest

I really hope that this brood of Crane chick marks the start of a sustainable recovery of a wild population of this beautiful species in the UK. I'll be following their progress with great interest over the coming weeks.