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! 

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

Seeing red

The Red-necked Grebe we saw last weekend has still be hanging around at Farmoor Reservoir, so as the weather was a bit sunnier on my day off on Thursday, I decided to pop back for another look at it. 

While it didn't come quite as close this time, I'm not about to complain. In the sunlight, it was looking quite stunning in full breeding plumage.

Displaying its small crest

 Joining him were large number of Great Crested Grebes;  the fishing is obviously good! There were also quite a few Swallows zipping around, and several terns - although only distant views of these. Down on the watermeadows by the river, a big mixed flock of geese were feeding; there were a mix of Barnacles, Greylag and Egyptians all present. 

With wall-to-wall sunshine forecast, we decided to visit Brownsea Island again today, for another go at getting Red Squirrels before the canopy blocks most of the light from the forest floor. 

It was an absolutely glorious day; we couldn't have asked for better weather. More of the summer-breeding seabirds have returned since our last visit a couple of weeks ago. We saw Sandwich, Common and Artic Terns - as well as lots of House Martins and Swallows flying in. The Oystercatchers are looking rather dapper at present, too.

Oystercatcher

However, the Red Squirrels were very definitely the #1 target for the day, so we spent most of our time in the woods , armed with lots of hazelnuts! After meandering around for a few hours & staking out a few spots, we'd seen several squirrels, but not had much luck getting any foraging on the ground. Sending Lou ahead to scout proved to be worse than useless, since she merrily made sure she got her own shots ( full-frame, beautifully posed on a mossy tussock, no-less!) before alerting us! 

 Around lunchtime, we struck gold; finding a trio foraging on the ground along the crest of a ridge. Two of them were amazingly tolerant of us, especially once they realised that we were bringers of nutty goodness. Slightly aggravatingly, the most bold & cooperative beastie had a big lump on his nose - so I was mainly focusing on the other. However the manky-nosed one was hard to ignore, since he was practically running up our legs - and investigating our bags! 

Lump on its nose - Its best side

We had a good hour or more with them, so as normal, I was trying to think of different shots. I rather like this cheeky one of him peeking over a mossy hillock.

Back at the pier, the little flock of Turnstones kept me amused while we waited for the ferry. I always like watching these funny little birds scurrying along the strandline.

Turnstone

To finish the day of nicely, this evening Lou saw the first of our local bats hunting in the park. 

Sun, sea and squirrels

I've been out and about a lot this week, trying to cram in as much wildlife watching as I can before the new job starts on Monday.

Spring is now well and truly underway, with the hedgerows heavy with blossom and lots of tender green shoots bursting from every branch. The local wildlife is also in full-on preparation for the breeding season. On a repeat visit to the Water Vole stream, I spent some time watching a pair of Wrens shuttling to and fro bringing lots of nesting materials to their chosen site.

Wren

I was also really pleased to get a slightly different shot of one of the voles, peeping out from within some tree roots.

Water Vole

I've also been back to check on my pair of Little Owls a couple of times - the female hasn't been showing at all, hopefully suggesting she may be on eggs.

On visiting one of the local lakes, I was really pleased to see that a lonely Great Crested Grebe that I've been observing for the last 2 or 3 years, has finally paired up with a mate. It was lovely to watch their courtship dance.

Great Crested Grebe

The pair of Little Grebes on the same site seem to be on the nest already, so I'll be keeping an eye out for their chick appearing in a few weeks' time. The Tufted Ducks also seem to be paired up now, too.

Great Crested Grebe - Pair

On Friday, my friend Phil & I went looking for Dartford Warblers, on a commons near Newbury. However, the weather was against us, and we only got a brief view of one in flight. We did also briefly see a Wood Lark on the ground. Lots of Skylark present, all singing away loudly!

Since our visit to Jo McIntyre's dark-morph Red Squirrel hide earlier in the month, I've been really fancying getting some shots of the 'standard' Red Squirrels in sunlight. As the forecast for the weekend was stunning, Lou & I decided to pay a long-overdue visit to the National Trust's Brownsea Island. In the middle of Poole Harbour, Brownsea is one of the last populations of Reds in Southern England - and it's also an important site for waders, terns and other seabirds. So, it's always a great place to spend a day, especially in the Spring and Autumn. We often combine a trip to Brownsea with a dawn visit to the RSPB reserve at Arne, on the other side of the bay - however today we opted for a fairly civilized departure time of 7.30am instead!

Driving down, we passed a family of foxes, basking in the early-morning sunshine on the embankment on the side of the M4.  Lots of Buzzards and several Red Kites patrolling along the motorway corridor too.

As we drove along the edge of Poole bay, we spotted a flock of 9 Brent Geese very close to the promenade, so I just couldn't resist pulling in to get a few shots of these elegant fowl.

Brent Goose

Fortified by a bacon-roll, and armed with pockets full of hazelnuts, we hopped on the first ferry of the day over to Brownsea. We were greeted by a drip-drying Cormorant, right by the landing dock on the island.

Cormorant

We started off with a visit to the Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve on the North End of the island, which includes the man-made lagoon, now an internationally important site for wintering and breeding birds - particularly waders and terns.  Many of the winter migrants have now left, while it's still slightly early for some of the more unusual summer visitors to have arrived yet. However, there were still lots of good birds to be seen; albeit a little too far back from the hides for much in the way of photography. We saw many Shellducks, Greylag, Canada and Brent Geese, Gadwall, Teal, Mute Swans, Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and large flocks of Black-tailed Godwits, now starting to colour up nicely. Other waders included Avocets, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshanks & Spotted Redshank and Greenshank. Apparently a couple of Sandwich Tern have returned earlier this week, but we didn't spot them; at the moment, the nesting scrapes are mainly occupied by very vocal groups of Black-headed Gulls and some Mediterranean Gulls.

Walking round towards the Villa, I spotted a Water Vole swimming through the marsh; Brownsea is actually where I saw my first ever Water Vole, a few years ago now! At the bird feeders in front of the Villa, we had a good range of woodland/garden birds, including Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit - and a Siskin. We had a quick look at the Salt Marsh hide, but the reeds and rushes are not yet high enough in front of the hide to attract the Bearded Tits etc, so we didn't linger.

Moving back to the National Trust side of the Island, we went into squirrel search and photograph mode. Things started off a little slowly... While we quickly located four foraging in a valley close to the visitor centre, our efforts to coax them closer with a judicious trail of hazelnuts were completely foiled by the attentions of one of the island's Peacocks! Having wandered over to see what we were up to, he quickly sussed that we had food and decided that we were his new best friends. He quickly hoovered up most of the carefully-placed nuts and the squirrels scarpered - while Mr Peacock seemed to be insisting that we should instead be taking his portrait!

Male peacock - Taken with my phone

Wandering on through the woods, we saw at least a dozen Red Squirrels, but didn't get anything more than record shots! We also saw several pairs of Green Woodpecker, all of which seem to be staking out nest holes. 

Eventually, in mid-afternoon, all of the hazelnut strewing-around finally paid off, when we got a pair of very tolerant squirrels foraging along a fallen tree. Sadly, by this point, the sun was largely off the area, but you can't have everything. We were both having fun snapping away - attended by the same Peacock, who'd clearly decided he was onto a good thing! We also made several families very happy indeed by helping them get a close view of the squirrels; maybe one of those excited little boys will be the next Chris Packham?

Waiting for the ferry back, we spotted a group of Turnstones zipping around on the rocks. Always nice to watch these funny little clock-work birds in action. All in all, a most enjoyable day out.

To finish the day off, Lou rescued a pair of Toads from a busy road while walking the dog this evening, so we released them back into the marshy woods behind Coate Water, where hopefully they'll have a better chance of not ending up laminated to the tarmac...

Black(ish) squirrels in the borders

We're currently off up North of the border for a week of visiting relatives - and hopefully, a bit of wildlife watching - before we need to bring a passport to come back to Scotland!

We decided to break the journey - and tick off one of my target species- by taking the opportunity to spend a day in the borders, visiting Jo McIntyre's fantastic Red Squirrel hide. What really attracted me to Jo's hide was the fact that it's visited by several squirrels with increased melanin pigmentation, giving them very dark coats. Always on the lookout for something a bit out of the ordinary, I decided a visit was a must-do this trip (not to mention that Lou is a big fan of 'squiggles'; always sensible to keep the photographer's assistant happy!).

Red Squirrel - Black

The comfortable hide is very nicely set up just on the edge of a mixed pine & broadleaf woodland. You know it's going to be a good session when you arrive & there are not only three squirrels in view already, but also one actually inside the hide itself! It's a very attractive setting, with lots of mossy, weathered logs & stumps for the squirrels to clamber around on.  The light conditions were a bit challenging, as today was rather grey & overcast - but actually, I enjoyed experimenting with different effects.

Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel - Black

The squirrels came thick & fast all morning - and Lou was sent out regularly to replenish the hazelnut supplies to keep the wee beasties happy.  We were visited by up to six individuals at once; at times it was difficult to decide which one to point my lens at! Although dark morphs of animals are normally a recessive trait, there is clearly a strong population with the genes in the area, as four of the six we saw had blackish coats, and only two were the classic red. We had great fun watching their antics and snapping away like mad for several hours.

Red Squirrel - Normal

As well as the squirrels, we also had some great views of a female Greater Spotted Woodpecker, plus Coal Tits, Great Tits - and a very dapper pheasant named Tony! 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

 Jo had told us that a 300mm lens would be more than big enough today - and she's absolutely right. However, I'm a great believer that when it comes to lenses, bigger is almost always better! So, I did switch to my 500mm at times too & I'm pretty pleased with some of the results. I've popped a few up here to give you a flavour of the day - these are basically as they come out of the camera, so please be kind! I'll be doing a proper edit of this week's pictures once we get back home.

Red Squirrel - Black

By mid-afternoon the wind was blowing a hoolie, which meant that the squirrels were sticking mainly to the treetops, with only one making the very occasional and fleeting foray down to snatch up a nut and bound away with it. So we headed off a little earlier than originally planned to drive the rest of the way up to Edinburgh, where we are spending a few days with my folks. On the way up, we had our first sighting of Curlews this year, feeding in a marshy field outside Carlops. We also passed good numbers of Lapwings, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows and, oddly, a large flock of Kittiwakes sitting in a field. 

Tomorrow, we'll be heading to the coast in search of Scooter, Slovenian Grebes, Eider Ducks and other seabirds.