Wind Swept Puffins

 

Puffins were apparently late back to Shetland this spring, which meant our family holiday in mid to late August to Orkney and Shetland was blessed with plenty of them. We visited Sumburgh at sunset on a few evenings to watch them fly in, and even saw a Puffin pop out of a cave. One day we visited Eshaness — quite simply some of the most stunning cliffs in Shetland, and possibly the world.

I watched the Puffins hurl themselves into the cliffs at high speed at Eshaness. I waited above one geo where they flew into the shade of the cliffs, but would often miss their landing and have to go around again because of the wind — which gave me just enough time to track and grab a few shots. I barely got any keepers, such was their speed. But it was great fun to try, and a truly stunning setting.

Don't tell my wife I was on the edge of the cliff…

More Curlew Sandpiper Portraits

Last week I enjoyed a great evening with this Curlew Sandpiper on an old brick pit in the middle of a housing estate south of Peterborough. Quite a random site, but I can well imagine something rarer turning up here if anyone checks it regularly. Tame waders are always special, and this one walking right past us at just a few feet was pretty mega!

Orkney Hummingbird Hawkmoth

We had a wonderful couple of weeks in Orkney and Shetland. Orkney was a new set of islands for me and I really enjoyed exploring them. One of the big differences from Shetland was the number of butterflies — Painted Ladies and Small Tortoiseshells were present in big numbers, especially at Deerness. 

Whilst out birding with my friend David Roche, who lives on Papa Westray, I came across this Hummingbird Hawk-moth — not exactly what I expected to find in Orkney! Whilst at Deerness we also had an American Golden Plover fly over our heads calling — a fantastic bonus. It seemed a great spot for migrant birds and is certainly somewhere I would revisit.

Curlew Sandpiper Close Up

 

There is something truly special about tame juvenile waders, fresh off the Arctic tundra. The first humans this Curlew Sandpiper had ever come across were probably standing at a Peterborough brick pit — which is completely bonkers when you think about it. It didn't just show well, it actually walked up to Mike Weedon and me, coming to within less than two feet at times, feeding happily and completely unperturbed. The first photo shows the rarely seen tongue — long like a woodpecker's!

Wood Warbler in Shetland

I'm not long back from a family holiday to northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland. We promised ourselves we would take it easy in Shetland, but as usual things didn't quite turn out that way. There was a small fall of migrants last week, so I took Dad to Quendale to see a Wood Warbler — a lifer for him. It gave the best views I've ever had of the species, showing remarkably well despite the strong wind.
 

More Juvenile Long-eared Owl

I've been watching juvenile Long-eared Owls for many years and it's always entertaining to watch their head bobbing and turning as they work out where to fly next.

Long-eared Owl take off

I had a very narrow window of opportunity to grab a few shots of this Long-eared Owl as it took off from the branch I had been photographing it on. Luckily the focus remained on the bird!
 

Dancing Egret

Little Egrets are fantastic to watch when they are fishing — so alert, perfectly still one moment and charging about the next. I was patiently waiting at the edge of the Welland at Deeping Lakes when this bird landed nearby. It was mostly walking away from me, but suddenly caught sight of a fish and leapt up, doing a little dance in the water — which I was rather pleased to capture!

Roosting juvenile Long-eared Owl

This juvenile Long-eared Owl roosted in the same willow for several weeks, sometimes alongside one of its siblings. On one of the best evenings, it was already sat out in the open when I arrived — quite a sight to come across. I am fairly used to finding Long-eared Owls roosting in willow trees, but rarely out in the open like this.

Barn Owl again

 

More Bank Vole

 Bank Voles are just too cute aren't they?

Little Egret

Whilst waiting one evening at water level on the River Welland, adjacent to Deeping Lakes LWT, I was lucky enough to have this Little Egret fly by and land not too far away. It fished in the shallows quite successfully and was in absolutely stunning condition. I'm so used to seeing egrets just loafing in the trees at the lake, or dozing on the islands of East Pit, that it was great to watch one so actively in action!

More Long-eared Owl

A few more of an adult Long-eared Owl from back in May.
 

More Flying Young Long-eared Owl

More shots of the young Long-eared Owls learning the ropes. Watching them develop their hunting skills over the course of just a few evenings was quite remarkable — from unsteady first flights between branches to hovering confidently over the grass below. You could almost see the instinct switching on in real time. More to follow, of course!

Juvenile Long-eared Owl Portraits From June

Having watched young Long-eared Owls for long enough to recognise them from adults, this bird seemed to change from looking really young to almost adult-like in just a week. At this point it was still squeaking — perhaps only to its siblings? Hard to know with such a nocturnal species. These photos were taken after sunset — in fact the last one was taken over 30 minutes after sunset, such was the lack of cloud and the strength of the moonlight! A truly magical evening that I won't forget in a hurry.

Flying Juvenile Long-eared Owl

Sometimes the stars align with birding and bird photography. This young Long-eared Owl and its siblings were wonderful to watch as they started to learn how to fly and practice hunt. These photos were taken quite early on in its flying career. Occasionally it would stop and hover, presumably after hearing a rodent below and instinct kicking in — a remarkable thing to witness. This brood offered a rare chance to watch and photograph young Long-eared Owls in flight at length. A true privilege.

Red Belted Clearwing

Our garden is relatively new, sitting on a housing estate that is only about 15 to 20 years old, with our house being one of the last built around ten years ago. Like all new housing estates, the gardens are small and essentially started as green concrete — but in the six years or so we have been here, I have worked hard on turning it into a little oasis. 

We now have a hedge at the bottom, two apple trees, a pear tree and a plum tree along the side, a wildflower area and loads of flowers for bees and butterflies. The hedgerow and fruit trees have matured nicely, and now when I put a lure out I can expect ten or more Red-belted Clearwing moths. A species that would have been completely unseen here just a few years ago — proper proof that if you build it, they will come. 

I took this back in June, during a family BBQ of course!

 

Blue Tit Bath

 

More Long-tailed Shrike Action

 

A few more shots of the Long-tailed Shrike from last week. It was quite active, hunting grasshoppers and the like whilst we were there. I love shrikes and this bird was tremendous value in the short time we were there.

Barn Owl with prey

 

The Barn Owl is of course one of the nation's most beloved birds, and around here we are incredibly lucky — in a normal year I can usually find one within a mile of my home. This is the same owl as in the previous photos, as you can tell from the damaged ringed leg. On this occasion it flew incredibly close past me as it headed back to the nest. What an absolute privilege!

More Long-eared Owl Portraits

On a windy May evening I was watching this Long-eared Owl hunt from a tree stump (see earlier posts) when it decided to fly off — which was fine, as I had a pretty full memory card with about a thousand shots of the owl looking in every possible direction. 

To my surprise it didn't go far, landing nearby on another exposed branch and again listening intently for rodents below as the wind made hunting difficult. We often think of owls struggling in periods of prolonged rainfall, but prolonged windy spells can be just as challenging.