Birders in Boxers

Black-throated Diver - Barry Dock : 29. December 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 14:40:00 +0000

My last venture of 2024 was a visit on 29th December to Barry Dock to see and photograph another juvenile Black-throated Diver which had already spent a couple of days in the dock. This is a great location with good parking and over the years I have seen and photographed a number of Great Northern Divers there.

The only drawback is that one is photographing from an elevated dockside position which is not ideal.

I was on my own searching for the bird until Mark Hipkin from Neath turned up followed closely by Carmarthenshire 'toggers' Richard Cleobury, Mike 'Trim' and Neil Fermandel.

Mark had spent 2024 concentrating on an attempt at breaking the Glamorgan Year List record jointly held by Dean Bolt and Barry Stewart of 222, finishing frustratingly short on 218, still a magnificent effort.

Mark had the idea of phoning Dave Pritchard who now lives in Barry/Rhoose who had already seen the bird and Dave advised that the diver favoured the north-west corner of the dock which was not visible from our viewpoint.

We all therefore jumped in our vehicles and headed for the location and low and behold upon arrival the bird was showing really well and coming in as close as 20' or so to the dockside on occasions.

John Wilson then turned up and we both agreed that we had never got such great views of one of the diver species, this was only the third occasion from memory that I have seen and photographed a Black-throated Diver on an inland water body.

We all filled our boots and I came away with just over 200 images which I whittled down to a couple of dozen when home.

We all then said our goodbyes and headed for home, here are some images from a very pleasant afternoon.......

Black-throated Diver - Llanishen Reservoir, Cardiff : 12. December 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 14:03:00 +0000

Back on 12th December I made a visit to Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs in Cardiff to see and photograph the juvenile Black-throated Diver which had recently taken up residence on Llanishen Reservoir.

The weather was dry and very overcast with not great light which seems to have been the case throughout December and the bird was found fishing in the centre of the reservoir from which it barely moved.

I bumped into old friend Rob Mitchell who was just leaving and a fairly new birder/togger who introduced himself as Nick Perry from Cardiff and we kept each other company for 25-30 minutes hoping that the bird would come in to shore a little closer but it never came closer than about 100m.

We both tried our best to get some photos given the gloom and distance of the bird and I was reasonably pleased to get some detail in my images before heading off home........

Willow Tits - Maesteg : 13.November 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 13:56:00 +0000

On Wednesday 13th November I paid a visit to our local feeding station in the Llynfi Valley to top up the feeders following Colin Gittins' visit the previous weekend.

We have been fortunate to have a small number of Willow Tits present in the area since 2020 and they appear to still be holding their own despite being the UK's fastest declining bird species.

After topping up the feeders birds came in quickly to feed and amongst them were 2, possibly 3 Willow Tits.

Also present were Blue, Great and Coal Tits, M+F Bullfinch, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Robins, Chaffinches, Jays and Magpies.

The Willow Tits come in and depart so quickly that it is quite difficult to get a photo of one perched on a branch and not on a feeder which is easier, I did however luckily manage just the one perched shot.

Here are some photographs from a very enjoyable morning......

Snow Bunting - Burry Port, Carms : 30.October 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:34:00 +0000

On my way to our caravan for a few days on 30th October I took a slight diversion in order to have a look for and photograph a Snow Bunting found a couple of days previously just east of Burry Port beach.

Having parked up and with my dog Timmy in tow we enjoyed the 15 minute walk to the bird's location which had been well documented on the Carmarthenshire Birds WhatsApp group and BirdGuides.

Fortunately there were two birders already present one of whom was Paul Stephens who I have got to know in recent years.

The bird was showing well in the tussocky dune grass and I proceeded to get several images that I was quite pleased with despite the gloomy conditions, the wonders that Lightroom is capable of !!

I just can't resist a Snow Bunting, such beautiful little birds, here are some images from my visit.......

Little Crake - Bosherston Lily Ponds, Pembs : Sunday 13th October 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:28:00 +0000

It has always irked me that I didn't 'twitch' the Little Crake that turned up in October 2005 at WWT Slimbridge, from memory Wayne made the journey, can't think why I didn't go, maybe I was on holiday at the time ?!!

I don't think I fully appreciated at that time how rare they are and how difficult they are to see.

I was therefore more than pleased that a 'twitchable' bird had turned up at Bosherston Lily Ponds in Pembrokeshire a couple of days from the end of our holiday.

It was still present after we had returned home and so on Sunday 13th October myself, good friend and fellow 'togger' Dave Gilbert and his grandson Jenson met up at my house early morning and we proceeded to have a clear run to the bird's location.

Unfortunately for us the bird which had been showing well in front of the Grassy Bridge had by the time we arrived flown across to the far side of the pools.

Friend and top birder Arfon Williams was also present and he kindly let us view the bird through his 'top end' Swarovski 'scope, what brilliant views.

It proceeded to make it's way along the shoreline feeding as it went and occasionally walked across the lily pads.

We had to be satisfied with distant 'record' shots of the stunning juvenile bird which whilst we were present showed no sign of returning to it's favoured spot which would have allowed really close views and 'frame filling' shots.

As the temperature dropped we decided to leave at 4.00pm and after a 20 minute drive news broke on BirdGuides that the crake had returned to it's favoured spot and was giving 'blinding' views from the Grassy Bridge.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some, at least now I can tick the bird off the list !!

Golden Wedding Anniversary Cruise : Sept - Oct 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 14:43:00 +0000

On 28th September 1974 Teresa made me the happiest man alive when we married at St Cynfelin's Church, Caerau, Maesteg.

How the fifty years that we have been together since have flown and in the intervening period we have had two wonderful daughters, eight fabulous grandchildren and to date one fantastic great-grandchild, who could ask for more !!

We decided to mark our Golden Wedding Anniversary with a 14 night MSC cruise on Virtuosa from Southampton to Southern Spain and back stopping at various ports of call, the furthest being Palma the capital city of Mallorca.

From a birding perspective it was a month or two too late to catch the build-up of seabirds and cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay but I wasn't too disappointed and picked up four species of shearwater (Cory's, Great, Sooty and Manx) and some Common Dolphins although the only sighting of a whale was a very distant 'blow'.

Here are some of the photos that I managed to capture.....

Red-backed Shrike (Juvenile) - Llansantffraed, Nr Aberaeron : Monday 23rd September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 16:03:00 +0000

A juvenile Red-backed Shrike was found at Llansantffraed north of Aberaeron late on Saturday 21st September, however the weather on Sunday was not conducive to birding or photography.

Information on the Ceredigion Birders WhatsApp group advised that the bird was favouring a hedgerow viewable from the coastal path.

I therefore hoped that the bird would still be there on Monday as myself and Teresa were staying at our caravan until yesterday and luckily it was reported as still being present on Monday morning.

I immediately phoned good friend and local birder/togger Paul Mahiques who I have got to know over the last few years, Paul was up for the 'twitch' and we agreed to meet at mid-day at the Tesco car park in Cardigan which is handily located for the A487 coast road.

The weather was quite gloomy when we left Cardigan but as we passed Aberaeron the light improved and was far better for photography than we could have envisaged.

With myself at the wheel we arrived at our destination at 12.50pm and made our way to the location that we had for the bird picking up some waders and gulls on the beach on our way.

These included a leucistic Oystercatcher together with a first and second year Mediterranean Gull and a few Bar-tailed Godwits.

Paul advised me that the white Oystercatcher had been first seen in 2023.

We arrived at the field where the hedgerow was located and after a minute or two I picked out the shrike with my bins and Paul got swiftly on to it.

It was a stunning looking bird and the most colourful of the few that I have seen in the UK, its chestnut back and flanks really standing out.

It performed beautifully perching on fence posts and brambles and several times dashed to the ground preying on insects.

My only regret is that I didn't get a diving shot of it although it always kept a tolerable distance from us as shrikes do.

We both 'filled our boots' taking a couple of hundred shots each and Paul also captured a nice video clip on his phone through his 'scope.

This was only my 4th Red-backed Shrike in the UK all of which have been juveniles, it is however a Ceredigion 'tick' as the other three have all been at or near Kenfig in Glamorgan.......

Wader Roost - Newton, Porthcawl : 11th September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 14:09:00 +0000

Some photos of the various waders present with the Sandwich Terns during my recent visit together with a couple of really nice Mediterranean Gulls.......

Sandwich Terns - Newton, Porthcawl : 11th September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:58:00 +0000

After being a little disappointed with my visit on the 9th to Pembrey Old Harbour I headed to Newton Beach, Porthcawl on Wednesday 11th September hoping to photograph waders at the early afternoon high tide roost.

Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find 4 Sandwich Terns also present although 2 flew off not long after I arrived leaving the other two to join the wader roost.

I positioned myself on my small fishing stool at a reasonable distance and let the birds come slowly towards me as the tide approached.

This opportunity more than compensated for my disappointing visit to Pembrey Old Harbour and I came away with probably my best photos of Sandwich Terns that I have managed over the years.....

Great Place For Terns - Pembrey Old Harbour : 9th September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:30:00 +0000

On Monday 9th September I made my way west to Pembrey Old Harbour, Burry Port which in late summer can be a great place to observe and photograph various terns as they move south on their migration.

Sandwich Terns are always the most numerous but on this occasion there were also small numbers of Arctic, Common and Little Tern and a single Roseate Tern present at high tide which is by far the best time to observe.

Unfortunately unless in flight the terns are always a little too distant to get portrait type shots so most of my photos taken during this visit were of groups roosting.......

Little Owl - South Glamorgan : 1st September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:36:00 +0000

Upon leaving Llanishen Reservoir myself, Dave and Jenson moved on to a location in South Glamorgan which is home to a pair of Little Owls which over the years have become my favourite owl species.

The site is on private land for which I obtained permission to visit some time ago for monitoring as long as I phone or text prior to visiting.

The two birds were present if only for brief moments, but the three of us managed to get some nice images........

Black-necked Grebe - Llanishen Reservoir, Cardiff : 1st September 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:25:00 +0000

My first birding venture of September was a visit to Llanishen Reservoir in Cardiff for the one remaining visiting Black-necked Grebe with good friends and fellow birders/toggers Dave Gilbert and his talented grandson Jenson.

We met on the outskirts of Cardiff at Longwood Drive near ASDA and leaving my X Trail made our way to the reservoir in Dave's van.

Upon arrival we were informed by another birder that the bird was showing at the opposite end of the reservoir to the visitor centre so onwards we marched and quickly found the bird which was a well received 'lifer' for Jenson.

The bird came within 20-30m from the bank and the three of us 'filled our boots' taking photos..........

Teifi Marshes, Cardigan : 29th August 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:07:00 +0000

During a week at our caravan at Poppit Sands at the end of August I didn't manage to do a lot of birding other than spending a couple of hours late one afternoon at the Curlew Hide at Teifi Marshes hoping that Osprey 7H6 would put in an appearance as it was still being reported into the 4th week of it's stay.

Unfortunately for me it didn't show, I wasn't too disappointed though as I'm really pleased with the images that I've previously obtained.

A female Common Kingfisher kept me entertained for about half an hour whilst I waited and as the tide ebbed and the muddy river bank became exposed a few Curlews flew in allowing me some photos........

WWT Llanelli + Tern Watch - Pembrey Old Harbour : 22nd August 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:51:00 +0000

I spent a few hours at WWT Llanelli on Thursday 22nd August hoping that the Red-necked Phalarope that had been there for a few days would still be there, unfortunately for me it had departed.

It was generally quiet and I didn't have the patience or a 'scope to try and pick out the Spotted Redshank amongst the numerous Common Redshanks in front of the British Steel Hide.

A few nice Black-tailed Godwits did drop in at The Observatory lagoon which were transitioning from summer to winter plumage and posed nicely for some photos.

I then moved on late afternoon to join the Carmarthenshire Bird Club at their tern watch at Pembrey Old Harbour near Burry Port. It was nice to bump into Mike 'Trim', Gary Harper, Chris Onn, Bernie Beck and Rob Hunt and chat.

There were numerous Sandwich Terns present with a single Roseate Tern, one Common Tern and a few Mediterranean Gulls, unfortunately they were all too distant for individual photos so flock shots were the order of the day........

A visit to The Great Bustard Project - Wiltshire : 15th August 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 17:40:00 +0000

Although I'd seen both Great and Little Bustard in Portugal as far back as April 2003 I had never seen either species in the UK so a visit to Wiltshire to see the introduced but now self sustaining and breeding population of Great Bustard was way overdue.

This I accomplished on Thursday 15th August in company with good friend and fellow 'togger' Dave Gilbert and his grandson Jenson Gilbert-Jones, both are great photographers but Jenson shows real promise and at the tender age of 13 has plenty of time on his hands to hone his already significant skills.

We met early at Longwood Drive, Cardiff and with myself at the wheel rocked up at our meeting point of Enford Village Hall after a fairly clear journey.

We were a little early which gave us time to stretch our legs before being greeted by our guide for the morning Phillip Tryner in his Land Rover.

We were the only guests on this early morning visit which meant that there was ample space in the Land Rover as we trundled along the country lane to the elevated viewing hide adjacent a local farm.

The hide was very comfortable and we were afforded excellent if a little distant views of as many as 24 mixed male and female birds.

There was already a 'scope set up in the hide and with Phil also sharing his 'scope fabulous views of these iconic birds were achieved.

Whilst watching, eagle-eyed Jenson spotted a couple of Grey Partridge just moving into cover, they were a little too quick for me though and I missed the shot.

I did though get on to an 'English' Red Kite and also a very strikingly marked juvenile pale Common Buzzard both of which were hunting the field in front of us.

It was all too soon that we were leaving the hide and then we were treated to a tour of the 'reserve' and the Visitor Centre as we made our way back to our meeting point.

What a fabulous morning, the cost of £25 each for the visit was a bargain and Phil was an excellent host providing us with lots of informative and interesting information.

It is an amazing project that has been developed by a group of very hard working and keen members and I wish them every success for the future.

This was my first visit but will certainly not be my last with another visit in the Spring of 2025 to watch and photograph the birds 'lekking' is already being discussed.

Leaving Enford we headed for Avebury in search of Tree Sparrows but were unsuccessful, it is many years since I have been there and I struggled to find a location where I had seen them previously, that said they have probably reduced in numbers quite significantly.

We did though manage to photograph a Yellow Wagtail on the roof of a barn.

By mid-afternoon the wind strength had really increased and as photography was proving difficult we decided to head for home making good time to Cardiff and just beating the rush hour traffic.

Osprey Blue 7H6 returns - Teifi Marshes, Cardigan : 5th August 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:48:00 +0000

Having returned to our caravan during the last week of July I was thrilled to hear that an Osprey had returned to the Afon Teifi at Teifi Marshes and was fishing at the same location that had been used by the visiting Osprey in the first week of June, was this the same bird I asked myself ?

I spoke with a visiting birder/togger during my first visit of 2nd August who had managed to photograph the bird and upon examination of his photos you could just about make out the characters of the left leg Blue ring which indeed were 7H6 meaning the bird from early June had returned !

This was great news which I reported to Wendy James of the Teifi Ringing Group for onwards transmission to the Osprey Foundation.

I then made several visits over the ensuing week on the 5th, 7th and 10th August at various times but generally at high tide which the bird seemed to favour getting some great views and pleasing photographs.

Having posted on Facebook my posts were picked up by the Keilder Osprey Group in Northumberland and I was advised that Blue 7H6 had intruded at Nest No 4 at Keilder back on 15th June after he had departed from his first short stay on the Teifi on the 6th.

Here are a few images from my visits including some diving/fishing shots although I am yet to photograph him with a catch, perhaps I'll get lucky when we return to the caravan shortly..........

Birding Gwbert : 31st July 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 13:28:00 +0000

We returned from a brief spell at home to our caravan at Poppit Sands, Cardigan towards the end of July and on Wednesday 31st July I decided to visit Gwbert on the opposite side of the estuary hoping to catch up with some returning passage waders. I first visited the headland the other side of The Cliff Hotel only managing to pick up a single Rock Pipit.

On my way back to the caravan on a dropping tide I stopped at the seawall where four Black-tailed Godwits retaining some summer plumage were feeding in the mud.

As I watched and photographed them a single Whimbrel flew in and started feeding, a nice end to an otherwise quiet afternoon.......

Celtic Deep Pelagics : 26th July + 17th August 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 13:03:00 +0000

I absolutely love a pelagic and although I was booked on one of West Coast Birdwatching's trips on 17th August a drop-out by someone gave me the opportunity of taking a spare place on the first of the season on 26th July.

The weather and sea state were perfect and we quickly steamed out about 35 miles SSW of St Ann's Head to a position where we recorded 3 Wilson's Petrels in 2022.

On the way out we encountered 100's of Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars, Gannets and the usual Auks.

Upon reaching our destination Dave Astins our trip leader started chumming which quickly brought birds into the boat and it wasn't too long before the first of several European Storm Petrels arrived.

When we were thinking that we were going to be out of luck after 90 minutes of chumming the first Wilson's Petrel arrived and in the next 40 minutes four separate Wilson's were identified which has become a new record for Welsh waters.

I managed to get some reasonable images but not as good as I'd achieved in 2022, not complaining though !!

Lots of Common Dolphins were also seen but no whales on this occasion.

Whilst conditions were similarly excellent on my second trip on 17th August no Wilson's were seen amongst several European Storm Petrels, no large Shearwaters either.

Never mind, there's always next year to look forward to........

Teifi Marshes + Afon Teifi : 8th + 9th July 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 13:13:00 +0000

A few images before we came home from the caravan so that our granddaughter Holly and her little family could use it for a week.

Nice to see wader passage underway with Curlews returning and 3 still summer plumage Black-tailed Godwits stopping on passage on the Afon Teifi at St Dogmaels......

Yet another practice session - Common Kingfishers - Teifi Marshes, Cardigan : 29th June 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 09:55:00 +0000

My final session for June with the two juvenile Kingfishers including an ejection from both ends of a bird at the Kingfisher Hide, Teifi Marshes......

More practicing - Common Kingfishers - Teifi Marshes, Cardigan : 28th June 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 09:47:00 +0000

Another day - another Kingfisher, a practice session with some of the other creatures present including my first two returning Curlews........

More Common Kingfisher action - Teifi Marshes : 23rd June 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 09:37:00 +0000

Myself and Teresa have spent a large portion of June at our caravan at Poppit Sands, Cardigan, hence I've spent a fair amount of time at the Kingfisher Hide at Teifi Marshes honing my skills at capturing Kingfishers diving and in flight, 2 juvenile male birds have been regular visitors, I think I'm getting there slowly........

Common Kingfisher action - Teifi Marshes, Cardigan : 10th June 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:10:00 +0000

Myself and other 'toggers' had been waiting patiently for the parent Common Kingfishers to bring their young to the pool at the Kingfisher Hide at Teifi Marshes to teach them to fish and fend for themselves and this finally happened on Friday 7th June, a little later than 2022 and 2023.

I managed to catch up with them on Saturday 8th and Monday 10th June before heading for home later on the 10th.

There were three youngsters present with the male parent on 7th but I managed to see only two with their dad on the 8th and only dad on his own on the 10th.

I imagine that they'll produce a second brood which will surface in July but in the meantime here are some recent images.......

Osprey - Afon Teifi at Teifi Marshes, Cardigan

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 10:19:00 +0000

An Osprey was spotted on 31st May on the Afon Teifi perched on a branch about 70m up river from the Curlew Hide at Teifi Marshes by one of the volunteer group carrying out works.

The bird showed well if a little infrequently up to 6th June when it disappeared and favoured the same perch where it proceeded to eat it's catches after fishing.

I was lucky enough to catch up with the bird three times always at the same location, on it's perch and in flight.

The bird was ringed with a Blue ring on it's left leg which meant that it was a bird of Scottish origin.

I managed to make out the ring details from some of my photos which read 7H6 and passed this information on to Wendy James of the Teifi Ringing Group who contacted the Osprey Foundation.

Within a day or two we received feed back that the bird was one of a clutch of three from a nest on the Moy Estate located 10km south of Inverness and was ringed on 1st July 2022 by John Brain.

This would probably mean that this was it's first return migration.

We were informed that the nest is quite prolific and the parent birds produce three young most years.

Also there have been several sightings of birds from the nest over the years including one in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

It was such a privilege to watch and photograph this fantastic bird at relatively close quarters and was made even better by receiving the feedback of it's origin.

Here are some images taken over the three visits I made except for the two at the start of the post which were provided by John Brain the ringer taken on the day the three young were ringed.........

General Wildlife - Teifi Marshes + Afon Teifi, Cardigan

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Slocombe) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:28:00 +0000

A few images taken of general wildlife whilst concentrating on Kingfishes etc......