Steve Blain presents "Bird Porn"

Tristis

2012-01-08T19:06:00.000Z

This interesting Chiffchaff was jumping around a bush by my car at the end of Meadow Lane, Bedford today. Its call instantly drew my attention to it - as it sounded a bit plain and monosyllabic. I got a pretty good view of it and it was fairly brown with the only green on the plumage being on the wings and on its tail sides. It had a scruffy cheek with a few feathers out of place but it did have a really nice flaring supercillium. The underparts were dull cream getting slightly brighter towards the centre. The upperparts were grey-brown - all in all it looks pretty good for tristis. Have a listen to the call (below) - mostly pretty even, but one or two calls were pushing towards the 'seoo' end of things. I wonder if its in the variation of tristis? More research needed but it does look good.
Chiffchaff at Meadow Lane 8th Jan 2012 by Steve Blain

Wol

2011-12-28T08:36:00.004Z

We went for a quiet drive round the lanes on Boxing Day night in the hope of seeing some Tawnies. In the two hours we were out we only heard one Tawny, but did see two excellent Barn Owls instead. Check out the finely feathers tarsi - if you see any Barn Owl pics without these hair-like feathers, the photos are probably of a captive bird.

Off out owling again tonight with Sam. Hope we find some Tawnies this time!

Sparrowhawk

2011-11-20T17:02:00.001Z

Sparrowhawk a photo by steve_blain on Flickr.

Spent a few minutes watch this Sparrowhawk rip apart a Feral Pigeon at Derek's this afternoon. I'm really quite pleased with the digiscoped shots I got too.

Murmuration

2011-11-10T09:03:00.001Z

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

I bumped in to this on Vimeo and though it was well worth sharing. Starling roosts are one of the most amazing bird spectacles we have in the UK. Make sure you make the effort and go and see one this winter.

Azorean type Gull video

2011-11-04T20:54:00.002Z

Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Some video of the second Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull at Stewartby Tip, October 2011

Another hooded Yellow-leg

2011-10-29T20:19:00.002Z

So, I'm not quite sure what to make of this gull. It's got yellow legs, a dark blue-grey mantle, not a lot of white in the wing tips, and a dark hood. I guess its an extreme michahellis? Or is it another atlantis type?

It was certainly striking when I picked it out of the melee on Stewartby tip this afternoon. On an open wing shot I have it has a band on P5, and appears to have quite a bit of black still in the coverts making it a third-winter type. My current best guess is a michahellis with an above average dark hood. Any other suggestions?

EDIT - some more images of this bird can be found on my Flickr here. These were taken Sunday morning in slightly better light.

Azorean in flight

2011-09-23T08:50:00.001Z

Some more shots of the Beds Azorean Gull - I hope Martin Palmer doesn't mind me using them! They show nicely the darker bar on the underwing, as well as P10 perhaps half grown, and P9 three-quarters grown. They also show the bar on P5 - but perhaps a little too fuzzy to see if there is anything on P4. You can also see the legs, but getting accurate colour is a bit tricky - but they don't look startlingly yellow!

Azorean teaser

2011-09-21T21:33:00.001Z

Note P10 still growing and with a small mirror. Impossible to see P9 here but that's still growing too

The Azorean type is at around 11 o'clock from the centre of the image. It's mantle is far darker than any Yellow-legged or Herring Gull, and yet paler than the surrounding Lesser BB's

It's big. And dark.

After finding what I thought then was a possible candidate for an Azorean Yellow-legged Gull in the Stewartby roost in August, I then bump in to this thing this evening. In my opinion it looks really good. When you compare this bird to the Didcot bird Ian Lewington found in October 2009, it looks extremely similar - I would even go so far to say this could be the same individual?

So what do I need to nail it? Better views and lots more video! I guess I'll be back at Stewartby again tomorrow...

Pure Azure?

2011-09-15T10:30:00.002Z

Very interesting bird! Does this Azure Tit look-a-likey have some Blue Tit in it? What's it doing in Buckinghamshire, in late August-early September? Do people keep them as cage birds? Lots of questions surround this bird however stunning it looks.

Edit - so it would appear, thanks to local birders investigations, this is an escaped Yellow-breasted Tit. Close, but no Arctic cigar!

See two Grey Phals, get a Sabs free!

2011-09-14T21:27:00.001Z

Big blow = wrecked seabirds inland. The Grafham haul included two lovely Grey Phalaropes, and a spanking Sabine's Gull - all together on the dam! What does Bedfordshire get? A Manxie under a bush.

The Big Year

2011-09-07T08:12:00.000Z

Here's the trailer for The Big Year - a film based on Mark Obmascik’s book of the same name. Will it be a hit? Will it make birding cool? I doubt it.

Defecting

2011-08-14T21:12:00.005Z

Not a bad evening's birding over the border in Cambridgeshire - juvenile White-winged Black Tern, female Garganey, three Yellow-legged Gulls, Ruddy Shelduck, 4 Ruff, Greenshank, and a Green Sand.

In Beds this morning, a long walk round Pegsdon Hills produced an elusive male Redstart and a good flock of c.150 Goldfinches. Later in Rookery 4 Ruff, and two Tundra Ringed Plovers were the highlights from the fast-disappearing muddy edged pool.

Turtle Dove, Devon Drive

2011-08-12T17:53:00.001Z

Turtle Dove, Devon Drive a photo by steve_blain on Flickr.

I've heard Turtle Dove purring twice in the four months we've lived in our new house, but hadn't seen it - that was until this evening when one landed on the fence! Stunning birds, becoming rare locally, and a wonderful garden bird to boot.

South African photos

2011-08-11T13:21:00.001Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I've been playing with Flickr recently and added a load of old photos to it. Here is the first in a series of sets I've added - South Africa, September 2005

Larid

2011-08-08T21:19:00.001Z

A thing of beauty. At least, I think so. This is the summer gull roost at Broom gravel pits. The roost generally starts to happen in mid-July and goes through to late October before dispersing. It's mainly a Lesser Black-back roost, but along with up to 2500 of these, are smaller numbers of Black-headed, Yellow-legged, and Common Gulls. Med Gulls are regular, Caspian Gulls are rare, and Herring and Greater Black-backed Gulls are virtually unheard of until late September.

Never found anything super-rare amongst them, but I live in hope. Maybe one day a Franklin's Gull will grace Broom with its presence? Just a juvvy Med Gull, 11 Yellow-legged, 1200 LBB, 400 BhG's, 2 Herring Gulls, and a Common Gull tonight. There's always tomorrow evening.

Croak

2011-07-24T10:30:00.002Z

I spent a few hours mothing at The Lodge yesterday evening (yes, I've gotten quite in to that dark art recently too), but while I was there was drawn towards the magic sound of croaking Natterjack Toads on the heath.

The sound below was taken with my Iphone 3G, IProRecorder, and Lupo mini mic, and the image above was a 4 second exposure looking from The Lodge over Biggleswade Common towards Biggleswade.

Natterjack Toad at The Lodge by Steve Blain

Teacher-weacher

2011-07-15T06:38:00.001Z

Common Rosefinch, Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

I have fond memories of singing Rosefinches. This was one of the 'stand out' birds for me from my very first trip abroad - to Russia, at the tender age of 13, in 1992.

It was a YOC organised trip, back when they had such things, to a conference for over 100 Russian kids, as well as a group from the States, and around 10 British YOCers.

A few things stick in my mind about the conference - lots of talks (in Russian, then translated to English) about Crows, an id quiz with bird skins, the smell of Russian disinfectant (or it could have been vodka?) around the canteen, and eating raw fish.

Obviously, the best things about the conference were the birds, and the place we stayed at was superb. It was a college campus in the heart of rural Russia, around fifty miles east of Moscow. The near-by village was full of wooden houses with nest boxes for Starlings, and surrounded by fields vibrating to the sound of Corncrakes. The woodland had exciting things too - fighting Golden Orioles which tumbled to the ground, hulking and slightly ghostly Black Woodpeckers, nesting Long-eared Owls with curious squeaky-gating youngsters, difficult to see Red-breasted Fly's and Greenish Warblers in the canopy. The river, with its rather deadly looking wooden bridge you had to cross, had breeding Common Gulls, with River Warblers, and Blyth's Reed Warblers singing from the lush growth along its edges. One day was spent in the marshes, a short bus trip away. These had hordes of White-winged Black Terns dipping over the pools, and I remember walking through a meadow with whickering Black-tailed Godwits shimmying overhead. A male Citrine Wagtail singing from an earth clod was blindingly bright, and a Terek Sandpiper scooted off a scrape of water as we passed by. It was an unbelievably top trip, and undoubtedly sparked my interest in foreign birding.

Oh yes, and there were oodles of breeding Scarlet Grosbeaks, as we called them back then. The Russians apparently called them 'Teacher-weacher' birds because of their lovely simple song. Hearing the, unfortunately rather dowdy, Fowlmere bird singing from its favourite tree brought all these memories flooding back.

Swiftly does it

2011-06-02T13:25:00.000Z

Swift over Broom, May 2007

Have you seen any Swifts over your town or village this year? Were they screaming, or diving under the eaves of a house? If they were, you can help the Swift Inventory by sending in your records.

Please help us help Swifts.

Wiggle it, just a little bit

2011-05-26T19:36:00.002Z

Displaying Wood Whites from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Spent a great few hours looking for these chaps in Northants last weekend. Wood Whites at Salcey Forest. The male does a great little display over the female - it wiggles its antennae and shakes its proboscis over the head of the female while occasionally flicking its wings. Totally absorbing to watch.

Spotted in Milton Keynes

2011-05-26T18:33:00.002Z

Spotted Sandpiper at Caldecote Lake, Milton Keynes from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

A lovely local bird, just a shame it was in Bucks. Wonder where it is now?

Rare breeder

2011-05-23T21:15:00.002Z

You don't see many of these in the UK, but can anyone tell me what it is? The only clues I'll give you are that it was bred in Bedfordshire, and there are usually less than ten breeding pairs in the UK...

Coot it be magic?

2011-05-19T07:25:00.002Z

It always pays to be vigilant. This colour-ringed Coot was on a drain next to a main path around Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB reserve. CV was originally ringed on 26th October 2005 at Radipole Lake in Dorset. It hadn't been reported anywhere other than there (but last seen 20th December 2010) until I found it at Fen Drayton on 24th April 2011!

Apparently its only the second colour-ringed Coot that has been recorded in East Anglia from Radipole, with the other turning up on the Orwell Estuary in Suffolk.

Many thanks to Terry Coombs and the Radipole Ringing Group for all the information.

Yellow bunting

2011-05-18T07:40:00.003Z

This Yellowhammer was holding territory at Broom GP earlier in the spring. It's interesting rufous moustascial stripe reminded me of some photographs I'd seen on Martin Garners blog here. However, looking through Google Images, this is perhaps just natural variation in male Yellowhammer plumage?

It's a mystery

2011-05-16T14:34:00.001Z

It's a mystery who posted this on my car windscreen while I was at Broom GP this lunchtime. I hope they weren't trying to tell me something...

A dead ringer

2011-05-16T07:34:00.008Z

Not actually dead, but a close call for a drake Ring-necked Duck. This bird is a hybrid Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck, Dunstable Sewage Works, 15th May 2011.

On first glance it shows the sweeping grey flanks, white edged base and ring to the bill, and the high crown of a Ring-necked, but look a bit closer and thing don't start to add up

The 'high crown' becomes a bit of a tuft
the sweeping grey flanks aren't sweeping enough, and don't end with a clear white stripe towards its chest
The bill pattern isn't strong enough, with a very weak sub-terminal band and white basal surround
A green sheen to the head

There are some good comparison photos on Flickr here, on RadioactiveRobins here, on Dave Browns blog here, and on the Birdwatch Irelands website here.

leucorhoa

2011-04-14T07:49:00.003Z

'Greenland' Wheatear, Biggleswade Common, 9th April 2011. This bold, bright bird turned up with a obviously more sleek and demour male. It appears that 2011 has seen a very early push of these apparent 'Greenland' Wheatears, with similar birds turning up all over the country during the last week. The (ropey) image below shows the difference between the two males - striking, isn't it!

Spot-it!

2011-04-04T16:09:00.001Z

There are few birds more obvious than a first-winter Caspian Gull in a winter roost! Stewartby Lake, 18th March 2011

Have you noticed

2011-03-17T22:07:00.004Z

British Chaffinch (left), Continental Chaffinch (right), Lesser Redpoll (front)

Have you noticed the difference between British and Continental Chaffinches? At this time of year they are at their most obvious. The British breeding males are peachy orange, slighter in structure, and have already started to stake their claim on a territory. The slightly larger Continental Chaffinches are deeper salmon pink colour in colour, and generally duller overall.

In the next few weeks the Continental birds will head back north and east, leaving the British birds in peace. British Chaffinches have been found (thanks to ringing data) to be incredibly sedentary. They generally don't move more than about five miles from where they were raised. Is Britain that good?

New or old?

2011-03-09T22:15:00.004Z

Instructive views of the Meadow Lane, Bedford, Coues' Arctic Redpoll over the last three days. The angle you view a bird at can be critical to getting the correct impression of it. When I initially saw it from underneath, and against a bright sky, it looked 'interesting' but far from conclusive (and of course all too fleeting). The next day, with better light and more prolonged views, looking down on the bird, really clinched the deal. Well done Martin Palmer for finding it and putting the word out.

The images above also give false impressions - the last image for instance makes it look like it has a long, spikey bill - compare that image with the one above!

After looking at these images this evening, and comparing them to the recent Coronation bird of last month, I do wonder if they are the same individual? They are incredibly similar...take a look for yourself:

http://steveblain.blogspot.com/2011/01/arctic-roll.html

Caspian Gull

2011-03-06T21:53:00.004Z

Second calendar year Caspian Gull, Stewartby Lake, 6th March 2011. Only the second Caspo seen so far this year in Beds.

Med Gulls

2011-03-06T21:52:00.001Z

Two Mediterranean Gulls, Stewartby Lake, 6th March 2011

Last chance to see

2011-02-20T13:34:00.001Z

One of the best moments of wildlife TV EVER!

BedsBirds 2010 DVD

2011-02-17T08:47:00.007Z

See what you missed, if you didn't buy the DVD or come to the meeting in December, in this minute-and-a-half long version.

Charcoal embered duck

2011-02-11T17:35:00.004Z

I do like Scaup. These two adolescent drakes are currently on Stewartby lake and have been showing quite well today. The juv Iceland Gull that I saw shortly after was the bird of the day though. (look up what the scientific name of Scaup means if you don't get my title)

Book Review: The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds

2011-02-09T20:00:00.010Z

The Crossley ID guide to eastern [US] birds is definitely a different kind of bird book. I wasn't quite sure I would like it, but after an initial flick through (and heading straight for tricky-to-depict species like Easter and Western Willets, and large gulls) my mind was already changing.

Its a heafty thing, so certainly one to have on your shelf, rather than take out in the field with you, but I think it demands that position on your shelf with its content. It's more of a coffee table book, than a field guide, but somehow I don't think you'd take this out with you anyway. Its a book to savour at home in a comfy armchair.

The focus of the book is definitely about identification, and although there isn't much text per species, it is consise and accurate. There is also a small distribution map for most too, zoomed in if the species has a limited range - also useful.

The books main feature, as to be expected, is the range of photographs of each species. Each species has only one plate, but it is packed with many individually photographed birds and digitally blended together. The photographed backgrounds are mostly of the species typical habitat, and the author has worked hard to make the birds look as if they fit in the photograph by using similarly lit individuals. I was staggered to read that almost all of the 10,000 photographs used in the book were taken by the author - an incredible feat in itself!

The range of poses on offer for each species is impressive, and makes the jizz of a species come over the page rather well - An excellent example of this is the Peregrine plate, with 11 flight shots showing just how diverse the shape of this bird can be in the air. No other photo guide that I have seen does this to such a high standard. Indeed, this is also where classical painted plates can also fail to deliver, especially when the artist can't quite capture some of those subtleties either.

I also like the use of blurred photos. This is definitely not a scarcastic critisism, as these have been deliberately put in amongst cristal-clear, sharp images. Some of them really add to pulling the jizz of the bird off the page. The one example that sticks in my mind is of a flying Blackburnian Warbler. The bird has obviously just lept off a branch and heading over the photographers right shoulder, so its facing at a slight angle. The image is blurred enough to really give you a flavour of what sticks out on this bird as it moves quickly from tree to tree - an orange supercillium, dark cheeks, orange throat and breast, and a large panel of white in the wing. These are invaluable visual tips when only poor views are on offer.

The bottom line - an impressive piece of work and one I fell in love with after a few minutes. It has set the standard for modern photographic bird guides. Buy it.

This is the first of a series of these type of guides from Richard Crossley. The next will be one for Great Britain, then one for western USA. Creating these books will only work for very well photographed avifaunas, so one for somewhere like Ecuador may take a few more years to accomplish!

To see a few examples of the pages, visit the Princeton University Press webpage:

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9384.html

To find out more about the author visit his website:

http://www.crossleybooks.com

Let's Get Our Larophilia On, Shall We?

2011-02-05T15:00:00.001Z

Love gulls? Love this.

I saw a rare bird

2011-02-05T14:56:00.002Z

Similar to the life of a County Recorder...

Arctic Roll

2011-01-27T15:31:00.006Z

Coues' Arctic Redpoll, Beds, Jan 2011. This is a second individual in Bedfordshire this year, coming straight off the back of the highly elusive Lodge bird. This one is with only around 40 redpolls and showed very well when I went to look at it. It's interesting to note how variable the flank streaking appears to be in different shots. In some it looks very light and almost not there, but in others it shows are heavier, darker lines. Similarly the undertail coverts look totally clean in some shots, but perhaps actually show a tiny streak in others?

These are fascinating birds, and ones that have been keeping me occupied all winter so far. Most of my lunchtimes have been spend walking round The Lodge in search of that individual. However in the 40+ hours I've amassed looking through hundreds of redpolls I've only seen the Coues' twice! Very tricky blighters.

Another hybrid quacker

2011-01-14T19:42:00.005Z

I thought this was going to be a female Pochard x Tufted hybrid, but by pure chance I happened upon this post on Dominic Mitchells blog, with what look like two identical birds. Keith Vinicombe thinks his are Pochard x Ferruginous, albeit at the Pochard end of the spectrum. I actually suspect my bird is identical to his top bird, so maybe it moved to Stewartby Lake from Alexandra Park in London? Stewartby Lake, Beds, 8th January 2011.

Bramble finches

2011-01-09T16:56:00.003Z

The upper shot was taken with a Canon 400d, and 300mm IS f.4, the lower shot taken digiscoping using a Canon S90, Swarovski ATS 80 HD, 20x eyepiece, and universal adapter. Both shot RAW and converted using Canon DPP, then resized in Photoshop. Pretty similar quality I would say. Bramblings, Southill, 9th January 2011.

Coues' Arctic Redpoll video

2011-01-06T20:20:00.000Z

More of an interesting Redpoll at The Lodge from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

An interesting Redpoll at The Lodge from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Coues' Arctic Redpoll

2011-01-06T18:17:00.006Z

The following shots show a Coues' Arctic Redpoll at The Lodge, 5th January 2011.

It was identified using the following criteria:

* Large size, with a bull-necked appearance

* Small bill which appears parallel sided

* Cream wash to head and chest

* Relatively light flank streaking, which does not reach beyond the wing-bar

* Broad white wing-bar, with no real hint of buff

* Large white rump, with little streaking

* Single, thin, under-tail streak

Appears thick-necked when compared to the (apparent) Lesser Redpoll in front:

Note the area of the white rump:

In this image it is next to a grey Mealy. Straight away you can see the different ground colour to the two birds. The flank streaking reaches much further down the flanks in the Mealy, and is heavier:

Here you can see the single, thin, undertail covert streak:

This bird is the culmination of around two months chasing the redpoll flocks at The Lodge. Observers of this bird (other than myself) included Mark Eaton, Mark Gurney, and Mark Ward. All helped in its identification and have spent many hours searching for these birds since they arrived in November.

Back garden Bittern

2010-12-29T17:25:00.002Z

Got a phone call this afternoon:

"I've got a Bittern in my garden"

And the gentleman did have! His garden backs on to the river Ivel at Langford and this amazing creature has been parading around his garden for around a week giving magnificent views. There are certainly perks to being the county recorder, at least sometimes.

Sprats

2010-12-29T10:35:00.003Z

Bittern eating sprats from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

In times of hard weather its been recommended to provide fish for wintering Bitterns. As most water bodies in Bedfordshire have been totally frozen over in recent weeks, Stewartby Lake has remained the only place with free water. Consequently there are six Bitterns wintering there!

Neil Wright and Roy Nye have been proving sprats for a while now and I managed to capture one bird taking them. At least they are surviving the monster freeze.

Wowl!

2010-12-29T10:16:00.004Z

Wow, an Owl!

Carrie and I went out for a quick look for owls last night. PH should have been coming over but has fallen foul of flu. We saw two Barn Owls and this Tawny. This one stayed long enough for a couple of quick digiscoped shots before flying off in to the fog.

I used an iso of 500 (ie fairly high) to try and get a reasonable shutter speed and stop blurring. We were about 15 meters from the bird so I could fit it all in my scope.

Kit used:

Swaro ATS 80 HD, 20x eyepiece, universal adapter, Canon S90, self-timer.

Bird is the word

2010-12-09T18:07:00.002Z

Bird is the word from The RSPB on Vimeo.

More weirdos

2010-12-08T17:19:00.000Z

I first found one, and now there are four birds that look identical! Are they really Wigeon x Gadwall hybrids, or are they the more common Teal x Gadwall hybrids? Blunham Lake, Beds, 8th December 2010

Tis the season

2010-12-05T22:48:00.003Z

'tis the season to look for Waxwings, tralalalala-lalala...

Woburn, 5th December 2010

What happens if you can't go birding

2010-12-03T20:59:00.000Z

This is a warning: Don't let the snow make you go as mad as this:

Of Pies and Birds: 2nd December. Snow Madness

Dodgy dabbler

2010-11-30T13:16:00.003Z

This is a strange looking duck. I first saw it at distance two days ago, and was a little confused. Now its come a bit closer I think its a female Wigeon x Gadwall hybrid. Comments welcome!

Merlin video

2010-11-23T20:33:00.000Z

Merlin at Broom from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

How to count

2010-11-22T21:29:00.003Z

5623 Starlings coming in to roost. How do I know there are that many Starlings in the photograph? I've counted them.

Actually I haven't counted them, I've used a fantastic piece of software called Dotcount. Very neat, and very customisable so it only counts what you specify. Give it a go yourself. Here is the link:

http://reuter.mit.edu/software/dotcount/

Going 'poll to 'poll

2010-11-17T08:39:00.000Z

This Mealy Redpoll was feeding outside my office window a couple of years ago.

So far its been a great autumn for redpolls. With a trickle of vismig records over the Pinnacle, hopes of a good redpoll winter were raised.

Yesterday lunchtime I thought it was about time I had a look round the Lodge. I haven't regularly birded the Lodge for a long while now, despite working there for the last four years. On my rare walks round the trails there is usually something interesting to look at - the last time the woodland was stuffed with Fly Agarics, it looked like a fantastic pixies playgound! On this particular walk I had redpolls in mind so I headed straight for the Sandy Ridge trail and its profusion of birches. As I walked away from the heath, and under the fizzing powerlines I could hear the 'chit-chit' of redpolls.

I had a handful of birds fly over, then found around ten in the top of a birch. All Lessers - slim, rusty brown coloured, with fawn coloured wing-bars. I moved along the trail a little further and found another flock, this time of around twenty birds. They were close too - perfect viewing, with some just above eye level. I spent a few minutes steadily working my way through the flock until I found a strikingly pale bird. It was only until it moved side-on that I could statify myself I was looking at a Mealy. This bird immediately stood out from the rest - a white basal colour, making the body look almost silvery. There was only a hint of brown in the plumage, with broad white wing-bars, and a large pale rump. Heavy dark flank streaking and a few pencil marks on the undertail coverts ruled out a Coues. It also looked larger and longer - maybe 20% bigger than the accompanying Lessers. All in all, a lovely looking bird. As time was pressing I headed back to work, leaving it happily feeding in the birches.

The next morning, and with further reports of over 100 redpolls in the same area, I got up early and headed for the same spot. This time the redpolls were much more active with perhaps over 50 birds whizzing around. As each flock landed I scoped it, and I gradually amassed at least four different Mealies, including two pink-flushed males. All were stunning silvery jobs with various amounts of flank streaking and pale rumpage. One particular bird, which I only got poor views of, had minimal flank streaks, very little on the undertail coverts and quite white-cheeked - it was definitely one to go back for...

YouTube brilliance

2010-11-16T18:02:00.003Z

Watch out for Lee and Gary (from Twitchers TV fame) busting their moves all over towards the end.

2010-11-11T18:06:00.005Z

Lapland Bunting in Bedfordshire from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Strange, isn't it. After my previous post about Bedfordshire Lapland Buntings I didn't expect to go out the next weekend and find one in a field!

It's all thanks to Darin Stanley really. He was the one who found the Shore Lark while out walking his dog on Galley Hill. I was quite happily watching the grand prix until then!

After wallowing out of the house, and with only very rough directions, I managed to park at the top of Barton Hill Road and start wandering towards the golf course. After speaking to LGRE (the only person with any sort of directions from Darin) I headed for the highest bit I could see.

Skidding and sliding around on the chalky mud, dodging sheep (and golf balls) as I went, I eventually found Martin Stevens and Chris Deary scanning a very large roughly tilled field. After a few minutes hawk-eyed Martin calls me saying he'd got the Shore Lark. Thanks to his directions I manage to get on it fairly quickly, and wow, what a bird! It was a bright bird, with the yellow face really glowing in the bright afternoon sun shine. I was well chuffed.

After all too soon the hordes started to arrive. Shore Lark is just as much a monster locally as a Lapland Bunting would be. It was a county tick for virtually everyone who saw it. However it could be a devil to see, as the field was huge and the birds a long way off for much of the time.

It was mid-afternoon when I was carefully scanning through the Sky Larks trying to re-find the Shore Lark when I saw something chestnut waddle through my view. "what was that!" I said to myself. Mark T heard me "have you got something, Steve?" he asks. "I'll tell you if I see it again" came my reply. I instantly knew what it was, but I wasn't going to shout it without a proper look first!

About thirty seconds later and I latched on it again. A spanking male Lapland Bunting was facing me! Its black gorget and white belly were startling. It shuffled again to show its rufous collar and wing panel, with two white tram-lines down its back. I took a deep breath and said "I've got a Lapland Bunting - it's a male!"

Instantly there was pandemonium behind me. Shouts of "where is it, Steve" and "Can I have a look?" came from all around and a que had already formed to look through my scope. Luckily I had my zoom right up at 60x and the bird was still in the centre of my view, so I stepped aside. One after the other about five observers saw the bird moving around through my scope. I tried to give directions as best I could, but the distance the bird was at, and the fact that I was now about five feet from my scope meant that I wasn't really sure exactly where it was! After a few minutes the bird was lost.

About ten minutes passed and Lee shouts "I've got it again" and gives better directions. Luckily a few more people get on to this bird, but its apparent that this isn't a male, but a female. Making two Lapland Buntings!

This bird isn't quite as bright as the male, but still has a good rufous wing panel, a brighter white area in the wing, and two good tiger stripes down its back.

Thoughts of trying to re-find the Shore Lark, which everyone had came for originally (and mostly already seen), were forgotten, as people concentrated looking for the Laps - another county tick for virtually everyone present. As new birders arrived and casually said "is it still showing?" the reply most often heard was "which? The Shore Lark or Lapland Buntings?!"

A good day indeed, and as I said in my previous Lap Bunt post - October, the time to find Lap Bunts in Beds!

Reeded Beardlings

2010-11-07T21:54:00.003Z

They are just awesome up-close and personal. Well done to MST for putting in the time and pulling this hansom chap out of his net. Bearded Tit, Broom GP, 7th November 2010.

Beardies on film

2010-11-01T20:01:00.001Z

Bearded Tits at Broom from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

SF

2010-10-11T21:05:00.002Z

Some more Spottie Flies from the summer...

Bounce, bounce, boing!

2010-10-11T19:50:00.003Z

OK, so they're not award winners, but as they're take on iso 1000 I don't think they're bad. Just imagine if it had a blue tail...

Common Redstart, Broom, 11th October 2010. Joint fourth latest record ever in Beds.

Buntin' huntin'

2010-10-08T09:13:00.000Z

This Lapland Bunting was in Cornwall in October, not Bedfordshire

Its certainly been the autumn of the Lap Bunt, hasn't it. There are monster numbers all the way from Shetland down to Scilly. There have also been some excellent inland records too.

Bedfordshire, historically, has done exceptionally poorly for Lap Bunts. Until this year there were only two records - the first was a flyover at Brickhill on 15th October 1966, and the second at Southmills on 18th October 1991 - both only seen by their finders. So it would appear that October is your best chance to get one of these 'prrrret'ty buntings on your county list.

Obviously vismig offers potentially a great opportunity to nail one - they have a very distinctive flight call, and even the silouette is eye-catchingly different.

So, there we were (Mark Thomas, Matt Burgess, and I) stood on the Pinnacle on 8th October, in fairly foggy conditions, wondering why we'd bothered - when all of a sudden "prrrrrt...tew!" A LAP BUNT!

We listen for it to do it again but nothing. And because of the fog we never even saw it. And what's even worse, Matt didn't knowingly hear it either. Bum. A little Bitter-sweet. It was definitely a Lapland Bunting, but none of us saw it, and one of us didn't hear it - very frustrating! We're hoping for a repeat performance, in clearer weather.

Amazingly (or not so), Andy Grimsey had another one fly over Pegsdon Hills the next day. So there you have it - October - That's the time to find your own Lap Bunt in Bedfordshire. Easy.

BNG

2010-09-12T16:12:00.001Z

Black-necked Grebe, Derek Whites Eggs pit, 12th September 2010. September seems to be a great month to find BNG's locally; I guess they are dispersing breeding birds moving south?

Dodgy duck

2010-09-08T20:26:00.002Z

This was rather of a surprise find on my lunchtime saunter around Broom GP today - a Marbled Duck!

Being found just a day or two after 20 Spanish Glossy Ibis have turned up in Devon, you might think this bird had potentially got good credentials? Initially it seemed very 'wild', keeping to the other side of the pool to us, and hiding deep in reed. However by the time I got back to the pits in the evening, it was rather more showy.

Aging this bird isn't easy. However, after some reading I think perhaps this bird is an adult female - based mainly on the small crest, prominent large round spots on its flanks, coverts, and scaps, and the fairly dark eye mask.

While preening on the bank it dropped a single feather. So when it swam out in to the middle of the pool I went and grabbed it. Wonder if I can get some isotope analysis done on it?

Crests of a feather

2010-09-04T20:59:00.002Z

Firecrest by Steve BlainGolden-crowned Kinglet, Vancouver Island by Steve Blain

Willowchiff

2010-09-04T20:48:00.002Z

Willowchiff at Hawkesbury Meadows by Steve Blain

Willow Warbler or Chiffhaff? From what I've read, these 'mixed singing' birds are probably late arriving Willow Warblers. Where from, I wonder?

A bird porn star

2010-09-01T21:05:00.002Z

No apologies. This is just such a good bird not to go back for fourth helpings. Red-backed Shrike, Biggleswade Common, 1st September 2010.

More shrike vid

2010-09-01T07:42:00.003Z

Red-backed Shrike on Biggleswade Common from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

As this bird is just around the corner from my house, it would be rude not to indulge.

Ding-dong!

2010-08-28T18:09:00.001Z

Bare-throated Bellbird from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

These surely have some of the biggest gobs of all birds? Bare-throated Bellbird, Brazil, October 2008

RBS video

2010-08-28T18:07:00.000Z

Red-backed Shrike from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

RBS

2010-08-28T16:25:00.003Z

Red-backed Shrike, Biggleswade Common, 28th August 2010. Adult female.

Honey Bee

2010-08-26T19:49:00.003Z

As I was wandering around in Abuko I bumped in to this sat atop a large dead tree. When I put my bins on it I was rather surprised see it was a young Honey Buzzard! Abuko, The Gambia, December 2009.

How to draw an owl

2010-08-24T15:20:00.001Z

A delicious cadence of song

2010-08-23T21:05:00.003Z

Willow Warbler at Broom from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

The sound picked up by the Canon S90 really is an order of magnatude better than the Nikon Coolpix P5100 I had before. Now my Willow Warblers sound like Willow Warblers, and my Groppers don't just look like they're yawning! This happy chappie was singing at Broom GP all spring, and just look at the vigour he puts in.

Not your average Bittern

2010-08-23T06:32:00.003Z

Bittern at Minsmere from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Even though I'd seen the Lesser Kestrel a mile or so away, this was the best bird of the day for me. Bittern, Island Mere, Minsmere, 31st March 2010. Some of my images can be found in this post.

The sound of the summer

2010-08-22T20:50:00.003Z

Nightingale, Sandy from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Make sure you have your speakers turned on for this one! Nightingale, Sandy, May 2010.

Baldie

2010-08-21T18:00:00.003Z

Bald Eagle, Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Bald Eagle, Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, Canada, June 2010.

Whistler, beer, and bears

2010-08-21T15:39:00.002Z

Did I mention how ridiculously easy finding Black Bears was towards the end of our trip to Canada? Well this was the view from the first restaurant we ate in, in Whistler. We were just lugging down out first pint and Mark glances out the window

"is that a bear on the hill side?"

They proceeded to wander down the slope and round the back of our hotel. Don't go looking for bears around Vancouver, they'll find you.

Big momma!

2010-08-16T21:29:00.002Z

We saw five of these chaps in Vancouver - Grizzly Bear, June 2010. We spent a long while watching this mother and cubs ambling around the river bank and showing their gentler side. Really fantastic.

Do bears shit in the woods? I don't care! When you're that size, in my opinion, you can shit wherever you want.

Autumnal colours

2010-08-16T21:10:00.002Z

A nice obliging young Wheatear was on the entrance track to Rookery at the weekend. Interesting to see the plumage tones change with a different background colour.

Is it cold enough?

2010-08-14T20:35:00.011Z

A very interesting bird. Unfortunately I didn't get much more on it than you can see in these images. There are probably more questions to be asked than answered with this bird, but if I see it again I'll be staying with it until it raises its wings and shows me its tail! Possible 2cy Baltic Gull, Broom GP, Beds, 11th August 2010.

Addition 16th Aug -
What age are those primaries? A few months old, a few days old, or a year old? The apparent hole in the wing when its preening in the video is worrying. Does it really lack those inner primaries? What does that mean? Well, it could mean those primaries are well preserved juvenile feathers = possibly an extreme intermedius or fuscus hybrid? If the primaries are actually new feathers, then its getting better for fuscus, buy why the hole? I wish I had taken more notice of it now...

Many thanks to Richard Millington and Peter Adriaens for their helpful advice and instruction about this bird.

The Zoothera hunt

2010-08-10T06:57:00.003Z

OK, I promised myself to move away from gulls for the time being, as I guess not everyone wants to read about them!

This Varied Thrush was a big highlight from our trip to Vancouver Island earlier in the year. Its one of those species we weren't sure we were going to see, especially as most trip reports for the area neglect to mention it.

As it happens they were common on the west side of the island - common by voice that is! I'd pre-loaded my iphone with some of the calls before we left England so I knew roughly what to listen out for. This birds call haunted the tall evergreen coastal forests, but it quickly became an enigma as we just couldn't see it in the huge growth. They would sing from the very tops of the trees and when they moved they'd go quickly without us noticing.

Several early mornings were spent creeping round trails hoping we'd catch one feeding on the ground. We failed. On our last morning in the Tofino area we had one last crack. Two hours later, and with breakfast and our girlfriends waiting for us, it was time to go. The rain that morning had been pretty persistent and loads of American Robins were feeding on worms along the road sides. A split-decision by me to 'try one last place' while driving back ended the agony.

As there so many Robins feeding on the roadsides I drove down towards a lovely little bay, and along a very little used road as it goes no-where. As we drove slowly along it there were Robins everywhere. We must have seen over 40 individuals coming off the roadsides. Mark and I were checking carefully as we inched along.

"VARIED THRUSH!" went the shout as Mark's sharp eye picked one out as it flew up to a bush by the roadside. I craned my neck to peer out of the back window and there it was, bouncing on a flimsy stem, then flicked its wings and in to the forest. Awesome!

A few minutes later, once we had calmed down, we moved along to see if we could find it again. Almost without believing our eyes we re-found it further along the road, but this time fully out in the open at the car park at the end of the road! We knew we were pushing our luck with the ladies, so we spent a few minutes absorbing this beautiful bird and comparing it to the Robins alongside, before heading back to Tofino elated.

If you want to know exactly where we saw this bird, click here.

J02P

2010-08-10T06:45:00.002Z

This Lesser Blacked-backed Gull (left black ring J02P, white lettering) was seen at Broom GP on 9th August 2010, but originally ringed on the tiny island of Rauna off the Norwegian coast on 4th July 2007. This is the second ringed intermedius I've seen from Norway, the other was a few years ago now though, but both were at Broom.

View Lesser Black-backed Gull J02P in a larger map

KY.AL

2010-08-10T06:20:00.006Z

This Lesser Black-backed Gull hasn't come very far - just across the water from Zeebrugge, Belguim. He (white on dark blue on right leg up KY.AL) was ringed on 6th July 2002, and spent most of last winter near Malaga, Spain. I saw him at Kempston, Beds, on 2nd August 2010.

View Lesser Black-backed Gull KY.AL in a larger map

Digiscoping art

2010-08-06T05:53:00.001Z

The Broom GP gull roost. Around 2000 birds were there this evening, with 7 Yellow-legged Gulls the highlight. 5th August 2010.

For larophiles

2010-08-04T11:49:00.002Z

Some interesting stuff here for those of us in to gulls.

Israel large Gulls fast identification guide part 1 5.9.09

View more presentations or Upload your own.

Israel large Gulls fast identification guide part 2 5.9.09

View more presentations or Upload your own.

F.AAL

2010-08-03T15:32:00.004Z

This lady Lesser Black-backed Gull was ringed on Texel, The Netherlands on 16th May 2009, and photographed near Kempston, Beds, 2nd August 2010.

She's hopefully the first of a few colour-ringed LBB's I've seen recently to get their life histories back on. The map below shows how far she's come. Many thanks to Kees Camphuysen for a very quick response to my email.

View Lesser Black-backed Gull F.AAL in a larger map

Tricky blighters

2010-08-02T21:38:00.006Z

Had this again tonight. This is the same bird from 28th July (see here) - what I presume is a second-summer->third-winter Caspian Gull. However, I don't like its legs. They're a bit too thick and chunky with a short tibia - are they in the range of a Caspian Gull? Everything else on it seems to be about right (but look at those new inner primaries too)...opinions welcome.

Edit - just found an interesting shot on Chris Gibbins' blog of a very similar bird. Its the tenth shot down.

A sexicola

2010-08-01T21:25:00.002Z

I'm thinking of autumn already. Whinchat, Salthouse, Norfolk, 24th September 2007

Canus

2010-08-01T20:47:00.000Z

Common Gull, Great Yarmouth, 25th November 2007.

Band of brothers

2010-07-30T22:02:00.003Z

I thought this was an interesting photo. At the back is the adult Caspian Gull from the other night, in the middle an adult Yellow-legged Gull, and at the back an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

All have red (or almost red) orbital rings, with the Yellow-leg having the largest eye of the three, and the Caspian the darkest.

The bills range from very bright in the Yellow-leg to fairly dull in the Lesser Black-back, with the Caspian in the middle.

P10 is also visible on all three, with the Caspian's being the longest and whitest tipped, the Lesser Black-back being in the middle, and the Yellow-legged having the smallest amount of white.

Fascinating.

'cachinn' a caspo

2010-07-29T06:24:00.004Z

Two Caspian Gulls Larus cachinnans amongst a nice late-summer party of loafing gulls in Beds yesterday. We don't see many of these things in summer, so they are always an education. Interestingly, the most common age we find during July and August is second-summer>third-winter (just like the bottom bird above).

Both birds are moulting their primaries quite heavily, which is a nice pointer towards Caspo this time of year.

Moffs

2010-07-20T20:18:00.004Z

I've been trapping plenty of moths this summer. They're not something I ever thought I'd get in to, but its fairly addictive. It's ok though, they won't take over from birds...

This is a Small Ranunculus Hecatera dysodea, a fairly scarce species in Beds, but was once extinct in the UK in the early part of the 20th century. Broom, 19th July 2010.

You lookin' at me?

2010-07-18T21:18:00.004Z

This little chap was defending a territory ferociously against all-comers near a lookout in the Pacific-rim National Park. Hummers are VERY cool. Rufous Hummingbird, Vancouver Island, Canada, 31st May 2010.

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 6

2010-07-11T16:21:00.000Z

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 5

2010-07-11T16:20:00.000Z

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 4

2010-07-11T16:17:00.001Z

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 3

2010-07-11T16:17:00.000Z

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 2

2010-07-11T16:10:00.000Z

Morocco 2010 - the film - part 1

2010-07-07T18:43:00.000Z

It's not a wasp...

2010-07-04T21:47:00.003Z

I've been wanting to see one of these beasties for a long time. Finally I found the time to go and look for them. Absolutely fabulous looking insects. Hornet Clearwing, Hatch, Beds, 4th July 2010.

Glaucous-winged Gull? video 1

2010-07-02T19:51:00.005Z

What I believe is the same bird as the one in this video, as been accepted as a Glaucous-winged Gull, the fourth British record.

The bird has been 'accepted' only from Beddington Farmlands on 21st-22nd April 2009. However, what is believed to be the same bird was also seen at Queen Mother Res, Calvert, Willen, Rainham, and Ware between 3rd February 2009 and its last date at Beddington. A remarkable looking gull seen at a remarkable set of sites.

More info can be found on Peter Alfrey's blog with plenty more chat from Peter here and here and here and here. Some more photos of this bird can be found on Birdforum too. Lee Evans also has a little to say here.

If you want to see all of my photos and video of this bird when it was at Stewartby Lake between 9th-11th March 2009, click here.