nature spots

European Kestrel.

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

After a morning’s walk in the New Forest with little about. We headed back to the car park and spotted a Kestrel hunting. She was using a dead tree to eat her catch. This gave a photo opportunity.

Male and female kestrels are different.  How to Spot the Difference – Males and females have distinct plumage. The male has a blue-grey tail and wings, and a chestnut-brown back with black spots. The female has a brown tail and wings, with darker brown streaks on the feathers.

  • Length: 32–35cm 
  • Wingspan: 71–80cm 
  • Weight: 156–252g 

Raptor Centre.

/ Andy Finnegan / 7 Comments

Photo-heavy post.

Something a little different today, we spent the day at a local Raptor centre. So all photographs are captive birds.

https://www.libertyscentre.co.uk/about-us

Great Grey Owl.   This Owl is the world’s largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. The wingspan can exceed 5 ft, They breed in North America.

A smaller Owl, although not much smaller, is the Siberian Eagle Owl. However, they have a wingspan of 6ft.

One of our native Owls is the Barn Owl. Tiny compared to the 2 previous birds, the Barn Owl has a wingspan just over 2 & half feet. Normally, I have to get up at 05:00 hours to watch our local birds!

Barn Owl.

Harris Hawk.  They are native to the Americas. However, they are a popular species in falconry and are often used for pest control in the UK,

Hazzard, Hazzards are a very rare hybrid of a Buzzard and a Harris Hawk.

Golden Eagle. I have only ever seen a pair of Golden Eagles once in the Highlands at some distance away, so it was a treat to see this bird today. With a wingspan of nearly 7ft, they are a big bird.

First light.

/ Andy Finnegan / 1 Comment

An early morning walk up the Hamble River. This part of the river is tidal, so it is always good for waders. The light at this time of day presents some challenges in taking pictures with the sun low. As always, lots to see, Curlews and Greenshanks are regularly on the river here, and always a favourite to get photographs of.

Curlew.

Greenshank,

Blacktailed Godwit numbers are increasing on the Hamble as we move towards Winter; they are less colourful this time of year.

This lone Juvenile Ringplover came quite close as the tide came in.

This Curlew took objection to the approaching Godwit!

I have seen reports since the Lockdown of Seals on the river at this point, but until this walk, I had not seen one. Normally, what I think is a Seal turns out to be a mooring buoy.

Glossy Ibis.

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I have been seeing one or two Glossy Ibis at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve for a couple of weeks. Today, I was able to get some pictures as they came closer to where I was watching from.

Looking at reports on the news and online, there has been a huge influx of Glossy Ibis across Britain and Ireland, with large flocks appearing across a wide area.

The arrival breaks all modern records for the species, which has been increasing across Western Europe in recent years. They bred in Britain for the first time in 2022.

In early September, a minimum of 605 Ibis were recorded across Britain and Ireland.

Boats, Dog Walkers, Joggers & Birdwatchers.

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

A Sunday morning walk up the Hamble River from Warsash, with the tide coming in, and some good views of waders.

The well-made-up footpath is a Sunday morning favourite for many from Joggers, walkers, dog walkers and cyclists. The cafe in the boat yard at each end of the walk does a good trade in cakes and coffees. As the tide comes in, many waders move closer to the path and seem not too bothered by the people hurrying along the path. For bird watches, this gives us a chance to get some close views of birds that may normally be far off on the tide line.

Curlew. The Curlew is the largest European wading bird, found on estuaries in winter and moors in summer. 

Little Egret. 5 or so Little Egrets were along our walk today, a bird 1st recorded in the UK in 1989. Today, over 600 pairs breed and 4500 winter here. I still recall when they were a rare sight.

A Greenshank with a Spotted Redshank in winter plumage, fishing for small invertebrates.

Cormorants drying their wings.- As their wings are less waterproof than other waterbirds, they are often seen drying their wings.