TWO DAYS AT SLIMBRIDGE.
I am a member of The Wetlands Wildlife Trust and I choose to support them. It pays me back by allowing me to see great wildlife, often very close up.
On a sunny Monday morning with a cold wind keeping the temperatures down to a low of three I started to enjoy myself. A short walk to the South Lake Discovery Hide took us to where we saw:
Avocet
Black-headed Gulls in large numbers
Eighteen Black-tailed Godwits
Cormorants
Goldeneye
Great-crested Grebes
Grey Heron
Lapwing
Oystercatchers
Redshank
Shellduck
Shovelers
Teal
Tufted Duck
Wigeon
Herring Gull
(Also a juvenile gull that I have yet to identify)
And when we returned in the late afternoon a Sparrow Hawk spooked the water birds and flew twice past the hide. In the hides leading to the Holden Tower, on the other side of the reserve, there were some great close up views of Pintail that were looking very elegant. These observation points provided views over the open grassland where we saw several varieties of geese:
Barnacle
Brent
Canada
Greylag
Pink-footed
White-fronted. (The Greenland were still there but too difficult to pick out. Maybe next time.)
Cranes (a single, a pair and three flew by and all giving good views)
And a Peregrine Falcon was see flying over the edge of the estuary.
A Buzzard had been seen too and two Lesser-backed Gulls were in competition with two Crows over a duck carcass. Also I saw Rooks and Jackdaws were everywhere.
At a feeding point there were
Blackbird
Blue Tits
Great Tits
Long tailed Tits
Chaffinches
Dunnocks
Robin
House Sparrows
Collared Doves
Wood Pigeons
Coot
Moorhen
In the pond close to the reception centre there were a variety of ducks, a multitudinous quantity of Mute Swans and four Bewicks that I think are resident. All of the wild ones together with the Hoopers had all flown during last week. Also many other species had gone towards their breeding grounds. I think an early winter visit would be much better.
This morning we walked to the far hides - the furthest being Kingfisher Hide - and saw nothing exceptional. However there was a very busy Rookery with about 45 nests and evidence of nest building. Amongst the Oaks a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was heard and then flew. Robins were very evident and fearless and so good to see close up.
Our new birds here were Wren, Dunlin and one Pied Wagtail with hundreds of Wigeon grazing nearby.
Herring Gulls added another one to the list and that was it for this trip and a total 43.
I have not mentioned anything that I had seen when walking through the enclosures where there were the non-indigenous birds. Another day, warmer weather and with more time to spend these enclosures would be very worthwhile, but I do prefer to see my birds in their wild state.
All sightings can be seen on their web site.
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
San Pedro del Pinatar
Tuesday morning was the first time this year that I heard a Great Tit sing in San Miguel. I know that they are known to sing in late winter, but this does seem early?
I had already decided to visit the salinas at San Pedro and this was to be a fairly quiet morning. The water by the car park only held Yellow-legged Gulls with no wader in sight until seven Turnstones flew in. However in the corner by the boardwalk leading to the beach where there were bushes I saw Chiff-chaffs with Sardinian Warblers being very active. Also Serin and Linnets flew. There usually are Kentish Plovers here, but not today. A Black Redstart caught my eye and I needed to check the book for this one as I did think that it was a female, but it appeared a bit drab and the mantle did not seem quite right, and so a first year male? A female Stonechat flew and I needed to look closely as the eye stripe was not that clear. I was hoping that it would be a Whinchat, but had to decide for the former.
There was a very good number of Avocet and Black-necked Grebe in the distance, some Shelduck and a single Godwit. A few Sanderling flew and I only saw one Common Sandpiper. There were the usual Black-winged Stilts and Flamingos and very little else. However spring is on its way and soon there will be much more to see.
I had already decided to visit the salinas at San Pedro and this was to be a fairly quiet morning. The water by the car park only held Yellow-legged Gulls with no wader in sight until seven Turnstones flew in. However in the corner by the boardwalk leading to the beach where there were bushes I saw Chiff-chaffs with Sardinian Warblers being very active. Also Serin and Linnets flew. There usually are Kentish Plovers here, but not today. A Black Redstart caught my eye and I needed to check the book for this one as I did think that it was a female, but it appeared a bit drab and the mantle did not seem quite right, and so a first year male? A female Stonechat flew and I needed to look closely as the eye stripe was not that clear. I was hoping that it would be a Whinchat, but had to decide for the former.
There was a very good number of Avocet and Black-necked Grebe in the distance, some Shelduck and a single Godwit. A few Sanderling flew and I only saw one Common Sandpiper. There were the usual Black-winged Stilts and Flamingos and very little else. However spring is on its way and soon there will be much more to see.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Parque Naturel El Hondon
Another Saturday morning with the temperature at 5 degrees, a slight wind and in not a good light, but that never matters here as there is always something to see.
I decided to take the right hand boardwalk and within seconds a Kingfisher flew, perched and flew and perched again. Another good view and they are always to be seen in this wetland. There were a flock of White Wagtails and Chiffs were flitting around almost in every bush. Then 'the big one flew - the Spotted Eagle (Moteada) flew from my left towards the line of the trees on the far right. Within a few minutes I heard two loud bangs, probably gun shots, and then it flew to my right into the line of trees along the long road leading from the gate. These sightings were excellent as it flapped unhurriedly away. It is big.
I spent most of the time in the large hide and had a good sighting of a male Penduline Tit. I even managed to view it through binoculars. I knew that Moustached Warblers were an ever present at this site and even by now I could hear a male singing but not yet showing.
Purple Gallinules were easily seen. Little Bitterns called and one flew. A Southern Grey Shrike perched in a tree. It was a peaceful morning with only a small number of watchers. The sun eventually broke through and the temperature rose to a mere 15 degrees. Thus is not a complete list of what can be seen here.
I decided to take the right hand boardwalk and within seconds a Kingfisher flew, perched and flew and perched again. Another good view and they are always to be seen in this wetland. There were a flock of White Wagtails and Chiffs were flitting around almost in every bush. Then 'the big one flew - the Spotted Eagle (Moteada) flew from my left towards the line of the trees on the far right. Within a few minutes I heard two loud bangs, probably gun shots, and then it flew to my right into the line of trees along the long road leading from the gate. These sightings were excellent as it flapped unhurriedly away. It is big.
I spent most of the time in the large hide and had a good sighting of a male Penduline Tit. I even managed to view it through binoculars. I knew that Moustached Warblers were an ever present at this site and even by now I could hear a male singing but not yet showing.
Purple Gallinules were easily seen. Little Bitterns called and one flew. A Southern Grey Shrike perched in a tree. It was a peaceful morning with only a small number of watchers. The sun eventually broke through and the temperature rose to a mere 15 degrees. Thus is not a complete list of what can be seen here.
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Yecla - Friday 29th January
On Friday 29th January I again travelled to Esteppes de Yecla with Michelle and Bryan Thomas. Previously there had been seen both Little and Great Bustard and these would be two of our target birds.
It was cloudy with poor visibility, and only ten degrees with a light breeze. This got a tad stronger later and with the temperature being a mere 10 degrees, it felt colder. It did not look promising at all and with a hint of rain in the air at times we had to remain optimistic. We worked at it and although there was bird song around us there was not that much to be seen.
Eventually we saw a buzzard flying and then a Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew and landed within our view. We had to wait a lot longer for any more and then six flew and landed in sight. A poor reward really, but that is birding for you.
We had travelled well into this valley when we saw a tractor scuffling the ground between rows of dormant vines. Our luck was about to change to make our day much more interesting. Here we saw flocks of White Wagtails and Linnets. Over and around the tractor where the earth had been a stirred up were three Kestrels, flying, hovering and facing into the wind to dive down and apparently feed. We all concentrated on these and there were two cameras clicking constantly. The question Bryan was asking was 'are these Lesser Kestrels'? His suspicions had been aroused in the last two months when he suspected that some of the Kestrels were not all common ones, but possibly Lesser ones that had stayed longer than normal! But now in January were these Lesser ones? We had superb views for about an hour with good close up ones, which were ideal for the photographers. The proof is in the photos shown in this blog where the distinctive features can be seen of the male and also in one of the female. The details are there to be examined and in the Collins Bird Guide too. A super hour well spent. It does go to show that attention to detail is so important. I am learning on every trip.
Earlier, in a bush, two birds flew into it and these were two Great Tits - our first ones for here. All three of us had a first for Spain when a Redwing was viewed and photographed in an Almond Tree.
Our list for the day was not great, but the views of the Lesser Kestrels more than made up for it and no Bustards. It is as follows:
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Blackbird
Black Wheatears - two
Calandra Larks - a flock
Collared Doves
Common Buzzard
Common Kestrel
Corn Bunting
Crested Larks - some singing
Crows
Eurasian Starling
Goldfinches
Great Tits
House Sparrows (no Tree ones this time)
Lesser Kestrels
Linnets - flocks of them
Magpies
Mistle Thrushes - a good showing
Redwing
Rock Sparrow
Skylark
Southern Grey Shrike
Spotless Starling
Stock Doves
Stonechat - male
White Wagtails
Wood Pigeons - a good number
All photos taken by Bryan Thomas (Copyright Bryan Thomas 2016)
It was cloudy with poor visibility, and only ten degrees with a light breeze. This got a tad stronger later and with the temperature being a mere 10 degrees, it felt colder. It did not look promising at all and with a hint of rain in the air at times we had to remain optimistic. We worked at it and although there was bird song around us there was not that much to be seen.
Eventually we saw a buzzard flying and then a Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew and landed within our view. We had to wait a lot longer for any more and then six flew and landed in sight. A poor reward really, but that is birding for you.
We had travelled well into this valley when we saw a tractor scuffling the ground between rows of dormant vines. Our luck was about to change to make our day much more interesting. Here we saw flocks of White Wagtails and Linnets. Over and around the tractor where the earth had been a stirred up were three Kestrels, flying, hovering and facing into the wind to dive down and apparently feed. We all concentrated on these and there were two cameras clicking constantly. The question Bryan was asking was 'are these Lesser Kestrels'? His suspicions had been aroused in the last two months when he suspected that some of the Kestrels were not all common ones, but possibly Lesser ones that had stayed longer than normal! But now in January were these Lesser ones? We had superb views for about an hour with good close up ones, which were ideal for the photographers. The proof is in the photos shown in this blog where the distinctive features can be seen of the male and also in one of the female. The details are there to be examined and in the Collins Bird Guide too. A super hour well spent. It does go to show that attention to detail is so important. I am learning on every trip.
Earlier, in a bush, two birds flew into it and these were two Great Tits - our first ones for here. All three of us had a first for Spain when a Redwing was viewed and photographed in an Almond Tree.
Our list for the day was not great, but the views of the Lesser Kestrels more than made up for it and no Bustards. It is as follows:
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Blackbird
Black Wheatears - two
Calandra Larks - a flock
Collared Doves
Common Buzzard
Common Kestrel
Corn Bunting
Crested Larks - some singing
Crows
Eurasian Starling
Goldfinches
Great Tits
House Sparrows (no Tree ones this time)
Lesser Kestrels
Linnets - flocks of them
Magpies
Mistle Thrushes - a good showing
Redwing
Rock Sparrow
Skylark
Southern Grey Shrike
Spotless Starling
Stock Doves
Stonechat - male
White Wagtails
Wood Pigeons - a good number
All photos taken by Bryan Thomas (Copyright Bryan Thomas 2016)
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Stanza Mar Menor
On this entry I speak of some of our own work and speak very clearly about the winning entry in last year's Ledbury Poetry Competition.
This is what was said at our last meeting on Monday last.
The poets of Stanza Mar Menor met again for the third time this month to discuss a plethora of writing which did include four that Douglas had written since last week. He is prolific and that is something I need to be, but I (John) have been concentrating on other matters.
Douglas had previously paid tribute to Bowie, Mr Rickman and now we mourn Mr Glenn Frey. I am sad that another person has left us having given the world so many lyrics that we can hang on to. Douglas was able to remind us in his lines of some of those titles.
He then introduced 'On Being Scottish'. For me the one theme that came out clearly was the simple fact of 'him never leaving'. He knows where his roots are. There was one line that stood out ' We seem to be the artist's first macquette' and then he proclaimed in another line 'We are the nation that the world forgot'. Well, how could we?
Then he was 'Dreaming' and back to the sixties with a nostalgic trip into a world that had never really been! His words go deep and it has to be read line by line and picking one line, to quote here, is not effective.
Heather who read her poem Hello Dementia at TORREVIEJA WRITERS CIRCLE last week had sent us a hard copy so that we were more able to give feedback. We had a very full discussion on her work and sent her our comments. It was poetic and we liked it. What a subject to choose and she is to be congratulated on achieving some very beautiful lines. She has a way with words. We await her response from what we had to say about it and await her next offering.
Discussions have carried on from the early part of the month regarding what we see, as a group, those competitions that award prizes for something that we do not consider poetic. It is an ongoing item for us and David has already sent a well worded article to the manager of the festival, Phillipa Slinger. We had already examined Jane Satterfield's winning entry 'Forfeit' and decided that it was not poetic and was no more than words aligned in lines that contained no rhythm and had nothing to commend it.
We see that a single judge awards a fellow academic the kudos of winning and we note that almost all of the winning entries are female. What is going on, we ask?
Douglas had already written a unique response to Jane Satterfield's winning piece which goes to show what a good writer can achieve in only a few lines. He knows his Hamlet too! His last one 'Versifying' echoes in poetic form our contempt at writing masquerading as being poetic. He says in there that ' I want to write my own true verse' and then his final line is 'But, sadly, I have landed out of time'. He has not and when his writing is viewed it will stand the test of time unlike other much poorer offering.
Okay, now to examine a piece of writing by Deryn Rees-Jones who was the sole judge and we looked at her published 'poem', 'After You Died'. We would prefer to be kind in our comments, but we cannot be. It left us wondering what it was really about. We can accept the fact that a poem should linger on in the mind after the last line, but this one was not clear as to it's message.
If this sounds critical of what Ledbury is doing then we can say that we have listened to the recording of their Poetry Salons and this is a terrific idea. We enjoyed listening to Adam Horovitz reading his 'House built from Cloth' for it contained some wonderful pleasing lines. What a difference. He is currently Herefordshire's poet in residence.
In attendance, apart from Douglas, was Margaret, Robin and myself. Unfortunately Heather could not attend.
We recorded our event and it means that however scattered we are, we can remain in contact. We have yet to set the date of the next meeting, but I intend that we should meet again in February.
This is what was said at our last meeting on Monday last.
The poets of Stanza Mar Menor met again for the third time this month to discuss a plethora of writing which did include four that Douglas had written since last week. He is prolific and that is something I need to be, but I (John) have been concentrating on other matters.
Douglas had previously paid tribute to Bowie, Mr Rickman and now we mourn Mr Glenn Frey. I am sad that another person has left us having given the world so many lyrics that we can hang on to. Douglas was able to remind us in his lines of some of those titles.
He then introduced 'On Being Scottish'. For me the one theme that came out clearly was the simple fact of 'him never leaving'. He knows where his roots are. There was one line that stood out ' We seem to be the artist's first macquette' and then he proclaimed in another line 'We are the nation that the world forgot'. Well, how could we?
Then he was 'Dreaming' and back to the sixties with a nostalgic trip into a world that had never really been! His words go deep and it has to be read line by line and picking one line, to quote here, is not effective.
Heather who read her poem Hello Dementia at TORREVIEJA WRITERS CIRCLE last week had sent us a hard copy so that we were more able to give feedback. We had a very full discussion on her work and sent her our comments. It was poetic and we liked it. What a subject to choose and she is to be congratulated on achieving some very beautiful lines. She has a way with words. We await her response from what we had to say about it and await her next offering.
Discussions have carried on from the early part of the month regarding what we see, as a group, those competitions that award prizes for something that we do not consider poetic. It is an ongoing item for us and David has already sent a well worded article to the manager of the festival, Phillipa Slinger. We had already examined Jane Satterfield's winning entry 'Forfeit' and decided that it was not poetic and was no more than words aligned in lines that contained no rhythm and had nothing to commend it.
We see that a single judge awards a fellow academic the kudos of winning and we note that almost all of the winning entries are female. What is going on, we ask?
Douglas had already written a unique response to Jane Satterfield's winning piece which goes to show what a good writer can achieve in only a few lines. He knows his Hamlet too! His last one 'Versifying' echoes in poetic form our contempt at writing masquerading as being poetic. He says in there that ' I want to write my own true verse' and then his final line is 'But, sadly, I have landed out of time'. He has not and when his writing is viewed it will stand the test of time unlike other much poorer offering.
Okay, now to examine a piece of writing by Deryn Rees-Jones who was the sole judge and we looked at her published 'poem', 'After You Died'. We would prefer to be kind in our comments, but we cannot be. It left us wondering what it was really about. We can accept the fact that a poem should linger on in the mind after the last line, but this one was not clear as to it's message.
If this sounds critical of what Ledbury is doing then we can say that we have listened to the recording of their Poetry Salons and this is a terrific idea. We enjoyed listening to Adam Horovitz reading his 'House built from Cloth' for it contained some wonderful pleasing lines. What a difference. He is currently Herefordshire's poet in residence.
In attendance, apart from Douglas, was Margaret, Robin and myself. Unfortunately Heather could not attend.
We recorded our event and it means that however scattered we are, we can remain in contact. We have yet to set the date of the next meeting, but I intend that we should meet again in February.
Writing
There is much more about writing to come on my blog as we have looked at winning entries in competition masquerading as poetry.
I have just posted on TORREVIEJA WRITERS CIRCLE a 'flash fiction' which I have taken from a theme they had been listed by them to write about. I have stretched the truth, just a little. Here it is.
THE FONDEST KISS
'You will never see her again.
You're a fucking bastard and
you can kiss my arse' she screamed.
The neighbours heard. Curtains twitched.
He left.
Her foot kicked the door shut.
Shattering another pane.
Prejudice in the court room.
Two boxes of legal papers
held the pain and shattered hopes.
Now, a fatherless daughter.
I have just posted on TORREVIEJA WRITERS CIRCLE a 'flash fiction' which I have taken from a theme they had been listed by them to write about. I have stretched the truth, just a little. Here it is.
THE FONDEST KISS
'You will never see her again.
You're a fucking bastard and
you can kiss my arse' she screamed.
The neighbours heard. Curtains twitched.
He left.
Her foot kicked the door shut.
Shattering another pane.
Prejudice in the court room.
Two boxes of legal papers
held the pain and shattered hopes.
Now, a fatherless daughter.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
AN EAGLE OWL EVENING
A quest to see to see an Eagle Owl for the first time saw myself, Nick and Steve go in the direction of Torremendo for the sole purpose of allowing Steve to have the first sighting of Spain's largest owl.
We took the canal road out of San Miguel de Salinas to check on the reservoirs. These, and the surrounding areas, provided us with sightings of:
Collared Dove
Common Sandpipers
Coot
Cormorant
Eurasian Starlings
Goldfinch
Greenshank
Grey Wagtail
Linnet
Moorhen
Serin
Shelduck
Southern Grey Shrike
Spotless Starlings
Teal - male and alone except for the Moorhens.
White Wagtail.
We arrived at the owl site about an hour before sunset. There was very little breeze and it was strangely quiet except for the sound of construction work being carried on about a mile away.
Soon we heard the distinctive call, but we had to wait sometime before we saw any sign of it. Up on the ridge we identified one Buzzard and possibly another one perched in a tree. This highlighted the major difficulty of this site - distance from where we could see and where the birds can be seen. Then there was movement amongst the trees. Steve got his first glimpse and then Nick again saw some flight with enough of the bird to be seen to know that he had seen an Eagle Owl. We knew where it had flown to and there it was perched on a branch, with a fairly light background and in clear view. It was Steve's first sighting of this fantastic bird. Nick and I were both delighted for him and for Nick it was his best sighting. Then this bird flew and reappeared further along the ridge. We worked hard for over an hour with scopes and binoculars and then we had success. Patience generally is rewarded.
The previous morning at La Zenia I saw a bird flying low over the water. When it landed I could see the long legs and curved bill. I had to work hard at getting a good view as the sun was very low but through the binoculars I could see the distinctive white of the supercilium. Whimbrel for me and now Estepes de Yecla on Friday.
We took the canal road out of San Miguel de Salinas to check on the reservoirs. These, and the surrounding areas, provided us with sightings of:
Collared Dove
Common Sandpipers
Coot
Cormorant
Eurasian Starlings
Goldfinch
Greenshank
Grey Wagtail
Linnet
Moorhen
Serin
Shelduck
Southern Grey Shrike
Spotless Starlings
Teal - male and alone except for the Moorhens.
White Wagtail.
We arrived at the owl site about an hour before sunset. There was very little breeze and it was strangely quiet except for the sound of construction work being carried on about a mile away.
Soon we heard the distinctive call, but we had to wait sometime before we saw any sign of it. Up on the ridge we identified one Buzzard and possibly another one perched in a tree. This highlighted the major difficulty of this site - distance from where we could see and where the birds can be seen. Then there was movement amongst the trees. Steve got his first glimpse and then Nick again saw some flight with enough of the bird to be seen to know that he had seen an Eagle Owl. We knew where it had flown to and there it was perched on a branch, with a fairly light background and in clear view. It was Steve's first sighting of this fantastic bird. Nick and I were both delighted for him and for Nick it was his best sighting. Then this bird flew and reappeared further along the ridge. We worked hard for over an hour with scopes and binoculars and then we had success. Patience generally is rewarded.
The previous morning at La Zenia I saw a bird flying low over the water. When it landed I could see the long legs and curved bill. I had to work hard at getting a good view as the sun was very low but through the binoculars I could see the distinctive white of the supercilium. Whimbrel for me and now Estepes de Yecla on Friday.
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