Eleonora's Falcon

This super smart looking (light) Eleonora's Falcon is without doubt the best view I've ever had in Europe. I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time for this brief view as it powered towards a small group of Swallows and Red- rumped Swallows that I was photographing in the hotel garden of Grande Eleon Spa. The falcon made a unsuccessful ambush but gave me a superb view of its rusty brown underparts and dark coverts as it went over head.

The images below are in sequence as to my favourite first.

Red-rumped Swallows in Zakynthos

I arrived back to the UK on Friday evening having spent 10 days with family and friends on our summer holiday in  Zakynthos ,Greece. Although this wasn't a birding holiday I still racked up a few species just around and in the hotel grounds. Most evenings I would just do about 1 hours birding when the temperature dropped as it was very hot during the day and most birds wasn't seen until then anyway, about half six normally.

These stunning Red-rumped Swallows were always seen at this time feeding above the many Olive trees that are around the Hotel grounds of Grand Eleon Spa. A nice Hotel by the way.

They wasn't easy to photograph as they preferred to feed over the Olive trees, so it always felt like I was poking the lens into gaps of the trees instead of say getting a panoramic view over the pools for example, which would of been much easier BUT I did enjoy the challenge and will miss seeing them everyday now back in the UK.

Great White Egret at Dagenham Chase

Apart from a few Green Sandpipers at the valley this week, birding has been quite but when Vince went and found the Great White Egret at the Dagenham Chase on Saturday (a site first) a mini twitch of local birders flocked to the Chase NR.

Good views from the wooden fence over the scape. See image below.

Used the x2 converter again for this record shot.

Wood you believe it

Well, after years waiting for Wood Sandpiper to be added to my Ingrebourne Valley patch list, I've now seen three this year. Dave Mo and Paulboy found two yesterday at the back of the viewing area in the same place as the spring bird!.

They both showed well all day and even got our highest amount of birders seen at the valley this year. Two Green  Sandpiper were still hanging around with six being there mid-week. Also Common Tern and a young Water Rail and a very smart Juv Black-headed Gull were present in the evening.

Lapwing on the left and one of the Wood Sandpipers on the right. I used the x2 converter for this record shot at f11.

Barn Owl

I payed another visit to see the superb Barn Owl due to the light being better than before. I spent 1 hour standing in the field waiting and wasn't disappointed with the views and even managed to get 13 frames off the camera. I set the camera up at ISO 400 1/1000 -1 STOP. These two images are my favourite from the short session.

In the fading light

With the light fading all to quickly last night, I was still able to get some images of this Barn Owl. I did have to ramp up ISO to a 1000 though. Light is everything in photography but good views are worth their weight in gold too.

Twitching in the slow lane

It's fair to say that twitching isn't my main artery for my birding due to the fact that I personally prefer not being sat in the car for long periods of time or I just haven't got the spare time to twitch. Therefore it's taken a long while to get to 400 BOU CLUB and to be honest it's not a race and I enjoy my birding/photography how it is. 

So yesterday I enjoyed having some spare time with Martin Blow at Church Norton Pagham watching the Hudsonian Whimbrel in flight and the very smart Terek Sandpiper which were both ticks for me. Ok, the Whimbrel wasn't much to look at but nice to see the No white on the rump as it banked round in flight. The Terek Sand though was something else for me, bright yellowish small legs a banana shape bill, dark stripes down the scaps, really nice.

The Hud was my 400th and the Terek being my 401 BOU, I've waited a long time to get there but quickly passed the mile stone within a hour as it was a small walk from one to the other. Sounds easy? well, half hour before we arrived the Terek had flown off and Martin thought he had just drove me over two hours to see the Hud  he saw last week again but while we were looking for the Hud news broke again that the Terek came back to the same bit of spit as before. Martin left me to find the Hud as he went to see the Terek. I was dead lucky to pick it out in flight and still managed to get others onto it too. A quick stroll back to where I started from and the rest is history. A piece of piss as they say!

Record shot of the Terek Sandpiper with a Oystercatcher in the foreground for size comparison