13th October - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Back from the sunshine and the warmth and back on the A32 heading towards the south coast and Titchfield Haven.  It was a cold start after clear skies overnight.  It required a hat, coat and gloves when I arrived.  A report had come in that the Yellow-browed Warbler seen the day before was still calling in the area of Hammond's Bridge on the canal path.  I headed straight there, ignoring the sign that said the path was closed.  There was a group of Stonechats fly catching and chasing each other in the bushes at the start of the footpath.

There were plenty of tit flocks along the canal path and I wondered how mobile the Yellow-browed Warbler might be.  I reached the area of the the cleared trees and bushes about twenty metres south of the bridge and joined another birder who had seen the warbler and heard it, if only briefly.

There were plenty of Chiffchaffs around and they would show well at the bottom of the Willow Trees close to the canal.  But the views wee brief and you had to be quick.

The Yellow-browed Warble showed but was so quick as it flitted amongst the Willow Trees, hovering under the branches.  If only the Yellow-browed Warbler showed as well as the Chiffchaffs did.

I stayed for just under two hours getting short glimpses but nothing that allowed me to get the photograph.  There would be activity, then the trees would go quiet only for the Chiffchaffs to return after about twenty minutes.  The Yellow-browed Warbler though did not seem to associate with the Chiffchaffs.  Early on there was also a couple of Willow Warblers amongst the Chiffchaffs and long-tailed Tits.  There was also two fly pasts by possibly two different Kingfishers.

Then I managed to get a longer view of the yellow-browed and was able to get images.  This is the Yellow-browed Warbler please believe me!

Then once again it all went quiet and I decided to leave and come back a little later.  I walked back to the sea wall and headed for the reserve.  The tide was high, but with hardly any wind the sea was like a mill pond.

The water levels were high on the south scrape still and there was not much bird life close to the hide.  Gadwall and Shoveler were the most numerous duck, with many of the drake Shoveler now almost in full breeding plumage.  Many of the drake Teal were in full breeding plumage.  Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits could be seen around the island along with several Snipe and Lapwing.  

The Oystercatchers that were seeing out the high tide started to head out to the beach as they must have sensed the tide was starting to turn.  Flying low over the water of the scrape they reflected in the still conditions.

Whether there wasn't sufficient beach exposed, or, more likely, there were too many people on the beach, but the Oystercatchers returned to the islands on the scrape about ten minutes later.

With little going on I decided to move on, I was heading for the Spurgin Hide, but dropped in to see if there was anything better to see from there.  Well there wasn't aside from this Goldfinch feeding on the Teasel seed heads.

It was much the same in the Spurgin Hide, the Kingfishers seem to have gone quiet.  There was though several Gadwall.  An overlooked duck due probably to the grey colour, but look closely and there is hidden beauty.

Duck and Drake side by side.

I was beginning to get itchy feet when the female type Marsh Harrier appeared.  It was clearly interested in something in the reeds and circled above the same spot for awhile.

Then eventually it dropped into the reeds and stayed there not showing before I left the hide.

After lunch I walked back to the Canal Path, met Ian and returned to the spot where the Yellow-browed Warbler was.  The Chiffchaffs were still present and were still going through the periods of activity, then quiet.  There were four of us present so plenty of eyes and it was picked up, but still so brief views.  It was selective to reacting to the call, but at one point it flew to the top of a Hawthorn bush, showing ridiculously well for all of a second and calling with the distinctive "tsoeest".  It also flew to the bush on the other side of the footpath above our heads this time for say two seconds.

The good thing was that were getting views, but I was desperately hoping for a photograph.  I have seen several of these little gems, but have never got a clear photograph.  The yellow supercilium and wing bar stand out so clearly and they are smaller than the Chiffchaffs, with a stubbier bill.

Then I got on it once again and it decided to sit on a branch in the open.  Even then it had its back to me, but it showed the yellow supercillium and the wing bar.  Not a stunning photograph, but you can clearly see this is a Yellow-browed Warbler.  After four hours of searching and hoping for this little gem to play ball I was happy with the outcome.

I did stay on in hope for a little while after, but decided that I had the best view and set off back to the car.  It was lovely to catch up with this warbler, one that is becoming increasingly more common at this time of year.

4th - 11th October - San Lorenzo, Sicily, Italy

Back in June, Helen and I had a week in Sicily, the trip then had two objectives, one to visit the eastern side of Sicily, an island of Italy we had both always wanted to visit, the other to check out the area we would be staying with the extended family later in the year.  Fast forward and Friday the 4th October saw us setting off at an unholy hour to arrive at Gatwick around 5.00 am where we met the family and flew to Catania.  The morning was not without its struggles but we finally arrived at our beautiful Villa in a little urbanisation close to the fishing village of Marzamemi and about 25 minutes from the city of Noto, both of which we visited in June.

I didn't have my camera but was able to capture some of the wildlife around the garden of the villa with my phone camera and record some of the interesting bird sighting in and around the villa.

The days are much shorter than they were in June and the sun being lower in the sky meant that the sunsets were going to be quite spectacular and this was certainly the case on our first evening.

As the light of the day ebbed away the wailing of Stone Curlews could be heard from the adjacent fields.

The following morning the sun was rising at just around 7.00am, and very quickly things warmed up and the lizards came out on the wall in the sunshine.  These are Italian Wall Lizards, there is a sub-species known as the Sicilian Wall Lizard.

You could hear them as they scurried about below the bushes and as they dropped from their sunny spot on the leaves.

In this light they look brown, but in certain angles they could be seen as a green.

There were plenty of butterflies about, mostly blues flitting around the flowers.  But the first good picture I could get was of a Small Copper.

Finally managed to get one of the blues, this one a Long-tailed Blue.

There were also good numbers of Painted Lady butterflies.

Birds around the villa were mostly identified by song and call.  Behind and by the side of the villa were vineyards and Crested Larks could be seen singing from the fence posts and in the air, while Spotless Starling and Jays were around the wires and conifer trees.  I also missed a fly past by a Greater Flamingo.

The other blue butterfly in the garden were Lang's Short-tailed Blue.

The underwing is very distinctive, even if the picture is a little blurred.

The best image of one of the Italian Wall Lizards.

Late afternoon, Yellow Wagtail were calling and flying around the vineyard, while Swallows were moving through heading south.  The Stone Curlew were wailing once again after sunset and later in the evening there was a Caspian Tern calling overhead, curtesy of the Merlin app.

Here a 360 degree video clip of the garden and villa accompanied by the end of a "Certain Romance" by the Arctic Monkeys

The following morning the sun rise was challenging the sunset for the best colour.

I had hoped I would see a Swallowtail on this trip and I was duly rewarded when this individual arrived.

I was also able to get some video.

A Bath White had teased me for a few days but I finally managed to get an almost acceptable image.

Back in June we came down to the area to check things out, we also had lunch in the little fishing village of Marzamemi.  We went back for lunch with the family.  Walking around the square I picked out these two images.  A Prickly Pear Cactus that resembled a rabbit!

And a new piece of glassware mounted on the wall, the afternoon sunshine sending a nice shadow.

We had a couple of days on the beach, exploring the rock pools at low tide there were small fish and shrimps and hermit crabs amongst the rocks.  Around the beach and rocks there were also Wall Brown butterflies but they would not stop.

Our last day on the beach the sea was calm and warm, the colours in the sea really had to be seen as they were beautiful.

The last day saw high level dust in the sky that finally produced another stunning sunset.

So the end to another wonderful week in Sicily.  Our trip home was no less eventful, finally ending with one of our bags left in Catania, hopefully it will catch up with us soon.

2nd October - Titchfield Haven NNR, Hampshire

I was back at Titchfield Haven today, following the same pattern as the day before.  However walking from the visitor centre to the West gate I ignored the likelihood of anything on the beach behind the sailing club.

What did catch my eye was a Grey Heron, statue like, in a small inlet in the reed bed, waiting for something to pass by that could be food.

As I walked towards the west gate there was a Wheatear on the road, hanging around the wheels of a large car.

As I got closer it flew off over the sea wall and was lost somewhere on the beach.

As always, I dropped into the Meon Shore Hide, but for once didn't stay, there was nobody else there which is unusual for the time of day and out on the scrape the water levels were very high and there was hardly any birds on view.

So from the Meon Shore I walked around to the Spurgin Hide.  There were quite a few people in there when I arrived but I managed to find a place on the left hand side.  Looking out across the mere the view was much the same as the day before.  I settled in for the long run and hoped secretly that the Kingfishers would show today.

It was quiet to start with and the only thing of interest were the Jays flying to and fro, this one without an acorn.

Then the female / immature type Marsh Harrier flew past heading towards the scrapes where it was then lost from view.

Then, what most of the occupants of the hide were waiting for happened, a Kingfisher turned up and settled on the perches in front of the hide.

There some slight differences between the Kingfishers, while are all male the beaks and plumage has slight features that allow them to be separated.  One definitely has a ring, but the beak on this one appears to be perfect, while another has a slight white tip and damage to the lower mandible.  The white tip would indicate a juvenile bird.

The forecast was for it to be dry through the morning, with some showers in the afternoon.  The skies though from the hide appeared moody.

There was then a long spell when pretty much nothing happened, the harriers didn't show and the Kingfishers kept away.  One bit of amusement was this Grey Heron that dropped into the mere and decided to have a bath.

In this shot it looks like it is as fed up with the high water as a lot of us are here at Titchfield.

The first bird of prey flew from left to right, a Buzzard, it then returned with the wind and then hovered above the mere quite high up.

A lot of people think the Kestrel is the only bird of prey that would hover to hunt, but we saw it in the Osprey the day before and Buzzards can be seen doing it regularly, but will usually do so facing into the wind.

 

The hide then started to clear out and with the very long lenses gone the action started.  A Marsh Harrier came past the hide quite close and this was a different bird from the female / immature bird seen yesterday and earlier today.

There is a significant amount of grey in the wings around the tertials and secondaries, but still retains the orange buff markings on the shoulders and crown.  The other bird is mostly brown and orange with buff fringes to the tips of the feathers.

It took interest in an area beside a bush and dropped down.

Then it was up again and here as it banks you can see the differences in the feather colour on the upper wings.

Then it turned and twisted and went to drop but pulled out.

It then headed towards the scrapes with the wind, upsetting everything there and then drifted back with a large Lapwing escort.

Very much like a Russian bomber testing air defences over Europe and finding itself escorted out of the air space by fighters.

Then the Kingfisher returned and probably another different bird, this one having breast feathers that appear to be abraded and dirty, not the immaculate orange seen in the others.

It also has a little damage to the top tip of the mandible with a white tip.  Also some nice spider's web on the perch.

Showing off the beautiful colours on the back, the light refracting to produce the colour.

The clouds away to the east were building, some grey others snowy-white, giving the impression of a distant mountain range.

The duck were moving up the valley, first was a group of six Pintail and these were then followed by twelve Wigeon a sign that winter is not that far away.

The grey Heron returned and this time walked along the edge of the reeds as if it was looking for settled dragonflies.  Reaching the end it stopped and gave the chance for a nice portrait.

Another Kingfisher returned this with a white tip, it sat on the perch looking down into the water.

As I watched the Kingfisher through the camera I noticed with with my left eye a Marsh Harrier coming over.  I pulled away from the Kingfisher and caught the Marsh Harrier as it wobbled over the top of the perch with the Kingfisher on it.

The Marsh Harrier pulled away and headed off across the reeds towards the scrapes.  The Kingfisher was still on its perch unconcerned by the presence of the Harrier.

The Kingfisher flew off and with it I decided to move off as well.  Good to have the Kingfishers back and the Marsh Harrier were a definite bonus.