What a Cracker!

When I was very young I remember seeing black and white photos of a Nutcracker perched on someone’s hat, and other colour photos of it showing well, from the 1980's sometime. There hasn’t been a twitchable Nutcracker since 1998, and even that was brief — in reality the early 1990s were the last real opportunity to see one in Britain.

The nature of Nutcrackers is that they are eruptive, and can turn up in large numbers if food sources fail in their native range. There have been plenty in the past, including over 350 in a single year in the 1960s — but nevertheless this is a real mega that anyone under 45 has probably never seen in Britain.

I can’t really put into words what a dream bird this has been to see. I tried yesterday with my pals Josh Jones and Paul Bolton. In the teeth of a hurricane, we failed. It reappeared an hour after we left, so we turned around — and failed again.

Had we seen it yesterday, Paul and I wouldn’t have returned today and seen it in the sunshine, flopping around the gardens it clearly loves. Missing it yesterday was painful, but it led to today’s incredible encounter. At one point it landed just a few feet away from me — and nearly took my head off several times. What a bird!

I didn’t get loads of shots as it was very mobile, and I haven’t had time to edit many anyway — so here are a few. More to come of course. 

How long before someone tempts to land on their head with some nuts?

Hunting Hobby

Hobbies are disappearing locally now as they head back south for the winter. They always do a bit of a disappearing act during the height of summer, busy feeding their young — but last week I finally caught up with some local birds, with noisy youngsters now on the wing and hard to hide! They weren't great for photos though, so here are some shots I forgot to post from last summer at Deeping Lakes. Views are usually very distant there — this was a rare occasion where they fed over East Pit.

Orkney Risso's

I can't believe I haven't posted some of my Risso's Dolphin photos yet! 

On our second full day in Orkney, back in August, my friend David Roche came to join us for a few days. A report of Orcas at the southern tip of South Ronaldsay had us hotfoot down to the island. We figured they might be on the west side, so stopped at a suitable viewing point — only to find two people with cameras standing in the middle of the single track road. Surely not?! For a moment it seemed like a yes… but we quickly realised this particular pod of cetaceans were Risso's Dolphins! 

And what a pod it was — twenty or more individuals, including lots of calves, a proper nursery pod. Dad and I had never seen Risso's before, and we enjoyed exceptional views before David and I ran along a headland to get even closer — and these photos were the result.

Woodpecker Tongue

 

Woodpeckers are famous for their incredibly long tongues, and the Freiston Wryneck was a proper licker! Hoovering up ants with its long tongue, it was incredibly efficient — sitting on ant hills until full before having a little doze on a nearby perch. What a bird! Still plenty more photos to come.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Whilst visiting my parents last week, this Hummingbird Hawk-moth appeared in the garden. They have become increasingly regular visitors to gardens here in south Lincolnshire — always a challenge to photograph, but well worth the effort if they hang around long enough!

Juvenile Sparrowhawk

This juvenile Sparrowhawk stayed in my parents' garden long enough for me to come and photograph it. Encounters with this common but always thrilling bird of prey are usually spontaneous, and they are more often than not hidden in a bush when perched up — but this one was pretty relaxed and gave some great views.
 

September's Otters

September is a great month to see Otters on the local waterways here in south Lincolnshire. I suspect it's a combination of when sunrise is, how old the cubs are, and the vegetation being less dense than in summer, that makes this such a good month to see these charismatic animals.

Earlier in the week I found a couple which I think are a mother and her large youngster — most likely a dog Otter. Otters are often remarkably fearless around here and these two were no different, as long as I remained still and patient. It was wonderful to watch them hunting through the shallows, searching for small prey among the rocks.

 

More Wryneck

The Freiston Shore Wryneck was an exceptionally confiding bird. On Tuesday, with just a few of us present, it would often fall asleep just a few feet away from us. Surely one of the most characterful birds on the British list?

Glowing Owl

I can't believe I forgot to post these shots from back in June. This is one of my favourite images of the juvenile Long-eared Owls from this spring. On this particular evening three of us watched it quarter a field up and down, and the setting sun shining through the wings gave them a beautiful warm glow.
 

Freiston Wryneck

Wrynecks are a very special bird to me. My first was on 1st October 2000, when I was on a walk around Bourne with my late Grandfather. As we walked on the edge of town — now firmly in the middle of the Elsea housing estate! — a bird flew up off the path onto the fence beside it. I knew what it was but couldn't remember the name, though I knew I had seen it in the bird books. We walked back to the house, looked it up and there it was — Wryneck!

We went back and the bird was still there, hopping about on the short grass and showing down to just a few metres. I did a few sketches and went home to report it on Birdline. One of the last ones I saw before this was at Ferry Meadows, found by my friend Mike Weedon — whilst I was round at my grandparents' celebrating my Grandfather's birthday! We talked fondly of the time we had found one together some 22 years prior.

Sadly, my Grandfather is no longer with us, but he was very much in my thoughts when I went to see the recent Freiston bird last week. After a short wait it eventually showed well, and at times the crowd was just two of us — which made the encounter all the better. It fed and slept just metres away, completely fearless. A fantastic bird, just like my first all those years ago.

More to follow!

 (lots more!)

More Wind Swept Puffins

A few more from the windswept cliffs of my favourite islands. I particularly like the dark backgrounds that the cliff shade provided — it gives the images a really dramatic feel.

Death's Head Hawkmoth

 

At the end of August, a Death's Head Hawk-moth was found in Deeping St James. I'd never seen one before, so it was great to have the opportunity to see this beast up close. They get their name from the skull-like pattern on their thorax, but they are so much more than that. As well as being a monster of a moth and genuinely rare in the UK, they also produce a remarkable squeaking noise — which this one did very briefly. Very cool indeed!

White Arse

One of the diagnostic features of a Curlew Sandpiper is its white rump! White rumps are a great feature for the novice birder to look out for, with only a limited number of species showing this characteristic. This juvenile walked up to us to within just a few feet though, so seeing this important identification feature was very much a bonus rather than a necessity!