Recent Images from London WWT - Jan & Feb 2012

Cormorant:

Carrion Crow:

Goldcrest:

Grey Heron:

Lapwing:

Ring-necked Parakeet:

Tufted Duck:

Stonechat:

Ringed Sanderling Washed Up in Wells

At Wells beach on Sunday 12th February I noticed a lone colour ringed Sanderling. Subsequent enquiries show this to be a frequently observed bird.  Chris Kelly from one of the Wash Wader groups kindly sent me a history of sightings of this bird.
 

First ringed in 2007, this Sanderling has spent most of its time in the UK around The Wash in Spring and Autumn. The sighting at Wells may solve the mystery of where it goes in the Winter:

18-Apr-07 Heacham far north beach (Colour ringed on this date)
5-May-07 Ferrier Sand
15-Jul-07 Snettisham SC
4-Aug-07 Snettisham SC
13-Aug-07 Heacham far north beach
25-Aug-07 Styleman's Middle
29-Aug-07 Heacham far north beach
30-Aug-07 Heacham far north beach
31-Aug-07 Heacham far north beach
1-Sep-07 Heacham far north beach
2-Sep-07 Heacham far north beach
8-Sep-07 Ferrier Sand
8-Sep-07 Ferrier Sand
9-Sep-07 Seal Sand
29-Mar-08 Titchwell
30-Mar-08 Titchwell
6-Apr-08 Titchwell
20-Apr-08 Heacham far north beach
22-Apr-08 Heacham far north beach
6-May-08 Heacham far north beach
7-May-08 Heacham far north beach
8-May-08 Heacham far north beach
10-May-08 Ferrier Sand
20-Jul-08 Snettisham north beach
23-Jul-08 Heacham far north beach
1-Aug-08 Heacham far north beach
4-Aug-08 Heacham far north beach
1-Sep-08 Heacham far north beach
2-Sep-08 Heacham far north beach
3-Sep-08 Heacham far north beach
10-Apr-09 Heacham far north beach
Lost Red ring between these sightings - presumably on the breeding grounds.
5-Sep-09 Snettisham SC
29-Mar-10 Heacham far north beach
2-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
16-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
18-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
19-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
27-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
28-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
29-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
30-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
21-Jul-09 Heacham far north beach
23-Jul-09 Heacham far north beach
24-Jul-09 Heacham far north beach
30-Mar-10 Heacham far north beach
18-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
29-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
30-Apr-10 Heacham far north beach
3-May-10 Heacham far north beach
23-Apr-11 Heacham far north beach
13-Feb-12 Wells (This sighting)

Chris also kindly sent some more information regarding the short periods, evident from the above dates, that the Sanderling spends on the breeding grounds to the north:

"There is only a small window in summer when Sanderlings are not present
on the Wash - the last spring migrants (mostly African birds) are still passing through to the end of the first week in June and the first returning birds appear in mid-july. So the short period on the breeding grounds is not unusual even for adult birds. I think some of the early returning birds may be failed breeders although it is possible that one sex deserts once the chicks hatch and return to the wintering grounds. This is known to happen in Knots for example where the female leaves the care of the chicks to the male. As with most arctic waders breeding starts as soon as they arrive back on the breeding grounds which will be in late May or early June for for Greenland birds (later for Siberian dones). So by early July the chick will be hatching and one sex could desert. Every year the first returning birds appear in mid-July and the first juveniles around 12th August. Some Sanderlings lay two clutches of eggs and the male and female each incubate a clutch."

Thanks very much Chris for this fascinating insight.

Some Images from Frozen Norfolk - February 2012

An early morning drive up to Norfolk for a winter weekend was spectacular; a freezing minus 12 all the way and a beautiful scenery of spectacular frost, snow and mist.
We arrived at Titchwell to find it in full sun; while it was still well below freezing, the sun was warm and conditions were perfect.

A Spotted Redshank was feeding close in on one of the tidal pools:

A reflective shot in the still blue water:

Down at the beach their were numerous waders, including some nice Grey Plover:

Dunlin were as numerous as ever:

Knot:

Sanderling:

On Sunday at Kelling, the Coues' Arctic Redpoll was easy to locate, coming to the feeders on a regular basis:

Fieldfare at Holme Dunes:

A wintery scene at Welney:

Spanish Sparrow at the Hampshire Festival of Birds

With several rare birds in Hampshire, it seemed like a good destination for a day out.  Saturday started early with a drive down to the south coast in the dark to be there for dawn.  Despite a freezing morning, the wait wasn't a long one as the Spanish Sparrow at Calshot flew straight into the predicted bush just after dawn, before allowing some better views as it crossed the road before flying back into the houses.

After a much needed warming drink thanks to the terrific locals in the village centre, the Sparrow performed again, not at all bothered by the crowds only metres away in the centre car park.
I then walked around the village and out onto the marshes, in search of a Black Redstart at the power station.  Having found it straight away, a beautiful dark plumaged individual, it dissapeared again and couldnt be relocated.

A pair of Stonechat were also present:

As with most others in the area, the next stop was into the New Forest to see the Dark-eyed Junco that had been present for most of January.  The bird was showing straight away in a clearing, it never came particularly close:

A number of Crossbill were also in the area:

The only dissapointment of the day was a failure to find the Siberian Chiffchaff at a location near Gosport.  However, while so near it would have been rude not to pay a visit to Gossi, or Waldo as he is sometimes known - the long staying Ring-billed Gull, the North American bird that has frequented Walpole Park in Gosport for at least the last five winters.
I managed to locate him straight away, on the far bank.  However, some people arrived to feed the Swans, at which point all the gulls, including Gossi, decsended for a feeding frenzy.

The gulls were particularly friendly, this Black-headed content sitting on top of a woman's head while she fed the others:

A Little Egret rounded the day off nicely, posing by the boating lake and occaisionally plunging in to pull out a minnow:

Winning Images in the WWT Photography Competition

I am delighted to find two of my shots have recently won the in the Autumn leg of the WWT photography Competition 2011-12, for the London Centre.

The following shot of  a Black-headed gull won in the Wetland Wildlife category.  I was particularly pleased with this as it was a shot I had been trying to get for some time.

The gull shot also featured in The Daily Telegraph in late December, and The Mail Online:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079892/Swooping-conquer-Dramatic-shot-gull-diving-lake-running-wildlife-photo-competition.html

The following shot of a Ring-necked Parakeet won the People & Wildlife category:

Thanks very much to WWT for selecting these shots (and for sending me a copy of the BH Gull image after my recent laptop and tea collision disaster)!

Punk Is Dead - Steve Ignorant, Crass Songs - The Last Supper, For the Last Time - Shepherd's Bush Empire November 19th

After an accident involving a collision between my laptop and a cup of tea, this blog has taken an unscheduled break.  A new hard drive later, it's back with a few shots of a recent gig by the great Steve Ignorant.

Steve has been playing his Crass songs since getting a band together in 2007. After taking it around the world, this was the final time Steve was to play Crass songs with the band.

So to the Shepherd's Bush Empire.  An undoubtedly emotional Steve doing these songs for the last time, but this wasn't evident as the band launched into some classic numbers starting with Do They Owe Us A Living?

A superb set featured all the classic Crass songs.  Carol Hodges on vocals was terrific. Former Crass band members Penny Rimbaud and Eve Libertine joined in.

Steve now lives in Norfolk with his partner Jona.  He volunteers for the Sea Palling Search & Rescue team - the crew were present and did a great job of emptying the pockets of some old punks.  They even made it onto the stage!

More songs, more memories: Punk Is Dead, Banned From the Roxy, So What, Bloody Revolutions and the little kids on for the opening of Big A Little A, and what a crowd!

A great band and a great evening.

Where are the Steve Ignorants of today?

More Steve Ignorant information at http://steveignorant.co.uk/