Goshawk, Hawfinch Spectacular...plus a small review of the last few weeks

Being my birthday week I decided that I should do something special. I received a special invite to spend a week in the Masai Mara, unfortunately due to date clashes I wasn't able to head out. Joys of a full time job ;)

So what to do???? As the time drew nearer Scotland was calling me back for Black Grouse in the snow but hearing of a new Goshawk hide in Spain it seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. So almost at the last minute and with thanks to my good friend Felix dates were made available for me and on Wednesday morning I headed out of Gatwick, destination Madrid. The 150 mile drive to the village was spent dreaming of a possible Goshawk showing and observing the migrating raptors, white stocks etc. Love watching hundreds of mixed raptor groups consisting of black kites, booted, short-toed eagles along with various smaller species including Lesser Kestrels.

Arriving early afternoon I was taken to  hide for a couple of hours. Great opportunity to get my bearings and thinking of what shots to get. Always recommend that you spend some time observing your surroundings and thinking of the shots you want rather than shooting everything that's around.

What a couple of hours.....flocks of Hawfinch descend to the feeders with numbers reaching 38 at one time. What a sight and pointing the lens was a bit of a challenge as I didn't want to miss any of the action. Fights, displaying, signing but no copulation...possibly too early. 

Hawfinch - Female

Hawfinch - Male

Back to my earlier point....good to have a few shots in mind, as situations like this fill you with excitement and confusion.

Hawfinch - Fight

Hawfinch - Male

Other species included much loved Crested Tits, Great tit, Long-tailed Tits, Siskin, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Crested Woodpecker, a stunning Short-toed Treecreeper and a couple of Cute Red Squirrels.

Short-toed Treecreeper

Goldfinch

Greenfinch

Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

After a couple of hours I headed back to my room as now I had been awake for over 20 hours and was knackered but happy. Start times where finalised as news hit me the Gos visited 15 minutes after I left.......I better not repeat the word that left my mouth!!! So an early start  would be best, as it didn't make a kill.....phew!!!

At the crack of dawn we met up with Felix and hopes were high that we would have a silent assassin turn up early in the day.

After set up and almost straight away the Hawfinch arrived. After about a hour and out of nowhere and as silent as a feather dropping a huge raptor maneuvered through the trees and bang.....One dead pigeon....shouldn't fall asleep in the open....or is that should!!!!

Goshawk

Now...... 'PPPPLLEASE stay'......'eat it and don't take it away' was going through my head as we composed ourselves at the sight of this stunning juvenile male Goshawk with an almost black face. (Later I would find out it's possibly a new bird not seen before)

Goshawk - Pluck the feathers before eating

Interestingly he removed the spine and neck first

He stayed for about two hours eating its prey.....bones and all!!!! During this time a common buzzard was calling from behind us but the Gos didn't give a hoot.

The stare is so evil I wanted to enhance it by increasing the shutter speeds

Full frame portrait - sometimes not so evil

However what is that circling just above the tree tops.....now it is nervous and starts to mantle.....could it be?????

Goshawk - Mantling

Yes a sub adult male having a look but deciding to perch in the distance for a short while. Hopes of a fight was being whispered by us both....not to be as we know this male was injured at the weekend....possibly by this large new male or one of the adults a short distance away.

After the distant Gos left our new companion relaxed and continued to have its breakfast. Only a partial head on mantle as the buzzard flew past obviously deciding there would be no scraps. What was surprising to me was how vocal he was throughout his meal. 

Goshawk - Partial Mantle 

When all that was left was the ribcage off he went straight over the hide taking it with him for afters. 

All that was left after two hours

We spent the rest of the afternoon photographing the various small stuff and also had a quick visit from one of the squirrels this time for a quick drink as the heat was building up.

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Hawfinch - Do you think we should nest here???

Hawfinch - Looks Good To Me!!!

Crested Tit

Hawfinch

Late in the afternoon and again out of nowhere a juvenile female Goshawk made an appearance but no pigeons to be had..... the Hawfinch were a little too quick or more likely too many as she was spotted......alarms calls went out as everything fled in all directions.

She decided to hide in the bushes. Due to the alarm calls being heard every couple of minutes this wasn't fooling anyone.

She then decided to have her photo taken and perched towards the back of the clearing before heading off not to return.

Goshawk - Juvenile Female

The day came to an end and possibly one of my most memorable birthdays to date. For years Goshawk have been on my wish list and up to now not been able to photograph them. I was heading back to my room happy and looking forward to beer or three.

Happy Birthday to me....couldn't get any better I thought......or could it???

'Fancy seeing eagle owls?' Came from my host........'What?' I know he was checking two nest sites but didn't want to ask too much. 'Fancy seeing eagle owls?' Was repeated and double taking Felix, simultaneously looking at each other 'YES!!!!!'

On route we were being told a couple had hatched at another site, which I hope to visit in the coming weeks. On arrival at this nest and in the twilight were three stunning 1 week old chicks. A quick record shot from distance is all I could manage in my excitement of seeing my first nest. The adults are huge and one day I will get some photos of them.

Eagle Owls - Chicks 

On our way there and back we could see why this is a good place for the Owls. Hundreds of rabbits everywhere and when I say hundreds I mean hundreds!!! Also a stunning Short-toed Eagle was perching in a nearby pine. Too dark for photos though.

Thank you to Felix and my host for a great couple of days. I will be back with guests for sure!!!!

I have been asked what I have been up to for past couple of months. So a quick recap.

I am currently scoping the local area for the rare Wiltshire Wild Red Deer. Unfortunately only seen a dead doe but have it on good authority where they are and hope to catch up with the small numbers soon.

While in the area I have seen a possible Rough-legged Buzzard. The jury is out but a couple of good raptor chaps think it is. Just wish I hadn't deleted the photo of the white un-barred tail as this would help in identifying.

Rough-legged Buzzard

I have also been lucky on the Owl front. All 5 UK species sighted within 10 minutes of my house. New Little Owl pair, Long-eared, Short-eared, Barn and Tawny all seen hunting. Just can't locate the Long-eared roost but more than happy to see my first Swindon sighting.

Little Owl

Short-eared Owl

Also had a quick visit to the Borders of Scotland for a fantastic session in Alan's Kingfisher hide. Unfortunately in extremely bad weather but still came back with some nice shots. Will be back in May for another go.

Kingfisher - Male

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