MicroGoose and Friends

Got to Grafham Water to see the dark-bellied Brent Goose which has been touring the district. As reported, it was at Marlowe car park, along with some beasts of dubious origin - Greylags, Swan Geese and colossal domestic geese. And a Greylag x Swan Goose hybrid.

I approached with caution in case it was a bit jumpy...

So far, so good. Could I get a bit closer?

Yep.


photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Flava flava

We stopped at Grafham Water on the way home tonight, to see the 'Blue-headed' Wagtail which had been present all afternoon. Here's a photo of it. It's a Yellow Wagtail of the continental race Motacilla flava flava.

There had been a hatch of flies from the water and this bird had gathered, along with a decent-sized group of other wagtails - Pied, 'White' and Grey - to enjoy something of a feeding frenzy.

It's great to see Yellow Wagtails again - they're as much a sign of spring as daffodils are.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece

Inland birding

A jaunt southwards this morning to take in some of the delights that inland birding brings. What, Mallards, Great Crested Grebes and Green Woodpeckers? I hear you ask...



For once, no... Above: Great Northern Diver at Diddington Pit (part of the Paxton Pits complex). A rather too obliging bird that came too close to the shore and disappeared from view. Sometimes you just can't win.



Then, off to Grafham Water and the angling lodge at Mander CP. Superb views of a smashing little bird. The male Long-tailed Duck was also showing very well and diving all too frequently. In days gone by, I'd have been happy with getting really close views of a gorgeous seaduck, but now I WANT PHOTOS! Sadly, this record shot was all I could manage.

We could have driven the short distance to Needingworth and the drake American Wigeon, but opted instead to visit a site in an adjacent county, where we enjoyed some splendid Short-eared Owl action. Four birds were present, with two getting involved in some aerial claw-to-claw combat with each other.

To sum up, a good day's birding... I mean twitching...

digiscoped photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece