Cetti's in the open!

This was so good I just had to write a post about it!  A Cetti's Warbler - digiscoped!  Broom's first Cetti's was only last october and now we currently have two birds singing around the site.  This was the first time I've really seen either of them well.  I just couldn't believe my luck when this bird paused in a flowering blackthorn just a few meters from me.  I had just enough time to rattle off about ten shots before it scuttled away again - this is about the best shot I managed.  Brilliant!

Panasonic GX7, 20mm f1.7 lens, Kowa 884, 25-60x eyepiece.

First shots with the Kowa 1.6 extender

Below are just a few of the images I've got recently using the new Kowa 1.6 extender on my Kowa 883 'scope and 25-60x eyepiece.  The quality of the new extender is impressive and very sharp.  More to follow...

Back to Chiffchaffs

I'm not going to say very much about this bird, other than to say it's a Siberian Chiffchaff, and that I got a great deal of satisfaction digiscoping this one!

Wild Shrike chase

As I've had a few goes at trying to connect with the Poppy Hill Great Grey Shrike I thought I'd make a map for anyone else interested in going for it.  It also seems to be staying in more or less the same set of bushes in recent days too, which makes things a little easier.  The map below details where to view from - the metal gateway overlooking the railway; see here:

Just to the left of the Network Rail sign, at the back of the field, are the bushes the Shrike has been hiding in.  For the last couple of days it has often been either at the very base of these bushes or buried within them - sometimes coming to sit on the outside.  Like this:

The bird does move around quite a bit but has tended to come back to these bushes regularly recently.  There is a track just the other side of the favoured bushes which cars and tractors use.  If one goes past keep an eye out as this often makes the Shrike move - often flying a little way before going back in again.  Best of luck!

Boxing Day Redpolls

I admit it, these things really do my head in. I find the 'subtle' differences between Lesser, Mealy, and Coue's Arctic Redpolls very difficult to master. I spent a good while watching a flock of 60 Redpolls at Broom this morning and although there were some clear Lessers in the flock, there were also a lot of intermediate birds too.  The birds above are some of those which weren't obvious Lessers (although the top two are perhaps rather debatable...)

(The images are straight from my GX7 via my iPad. I may get around to re-editing them, or I may not)