26th August - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Back at Titchfield Haven today and as I walked around to the west side of the reserve I was wondering what the water levels would be like on the south scrape when a flock of Cormorants flew in from the sea and headed up the valley, probably to the Frying Pan.  Interestingly the lead bird has its mouth open and the gullet full of, probably, air.

Into the Meon Shore hide and a first look showed the levels to be a little lower, there was mud visible and of course the Common Sandpiper on the island in front of the hide.

Another wader on the island was a single Black-tailed Godwit, and at first sight it did not look well, lying prone on the ground, head and neck out stretched and the eyes closed.

Initially thought it might be another victim of the avian Botulism that has been killing birds on the two scrapes.

But then it stood up and seemed to be fine.

Then it was seen to walk across the island and into the water on the other side of the island, and initially started to feed inthe shallow water.

But then a chance to preen so it appears all was well with the bird.

Feeding close in front of the hide, a Lapwing showing some nice reflections.

It was a surprise to see a Common Gull on th eperches in front of the hide, but welcome.

The gulls and terns all went up as they seem to do for no reason, but they alos took quite a few duck with them and it was nice to see these two Shoveler flying around the scrape.

These duck are in eclipse plumage, which can confuse at this time of year, but you can see two features here with these duck, the large 'shoveler' bill and the sky blue speculum.

It won't be long until the males are looking resplendent in their breeding plumage.

Scanning through the Common Terns on the scrape there was this Sandwich Tern, one of four present.

Things seemed to be quiet around the scrape, but as always seems to be the way, something happens and from nowhere a Cattle Egret appeared and it had perched on one of the posts in the water in front of island D, which happens to be a favourite perch site for the Common Terns.

As a result the terns started to dive bomb the egret and the Cattle Egret was seen to be taking evasive action with its bill.

Ducking down showing off the remains of the orange brown breeding plumage on the crest.

The Common Tern though never coming close to the egret's bill.

But a chance to get close to the Cattle Egret and to see the eyes that take on a binocular view rather than being on the side of the head.

Lovely punky crest.

The Common Terns kept coming.

Eventually the Cattle Egret had enough of the attention from the terns and flew off, heading up the valley towards the meadow and the Highland Cattle.

There was also activity amongst the Common Terns themselves, the squabbles continue, despite the end of the breeding season and this produced some wonderful aerial interaction

Here it looks as if the bills have actually touched.

And it continued.

There were a few Mediterranean Gulls around the scrape, several juvenile birds and this sub adult, showing the black edges to the primaries.

Another Common Gull bathing in the fresh water of the scrape.

I had seen the Sandwich Terns earlier but I was listening out for them to be able photograph in flight.  One duly delivered flying around the scrape and in front of the hide.

Sandwich Terns look much whiter as well as being a little larger in the air than the Common Terns, the call is also very distinctive.

A lovely background.

Looking for a perch.

And settling down.

But then heading out, past the hide, to the Solent.

There were two Common Sandpipers around the scrape and one returned to the island in front of the hide and it settled in the water just off the island.

And then a bathe in which it completely submerged.

A Snipe appeared on the right hand side of the hide and then flew into the bay and out of sight, but then flew across in front of the hide and settled in front of the reeds on the left hand side.

Snipe have been far and few between this late summer, so it was nice to see this one out in the open.

Once again if you are prepared to sit it out something will happen here and that was certainly the case today.

25th August - Wheatear - Brownwich Cliffs, Hampshire

On Saturday when photographing a Wheatear At Hook Links I commented on the bird being extremely photogenic bird but didn't expand on the reasons why.  This morning I walked up on to the cliffs at Brownwich and then across the field that had recently been burnt.  There was scorched ground and plenty of stubble, in an effort to control the fire the farmer had dug a line across the field and this formed a ridge of dark dry soil.

There were at least six Wheatear in this area and could very well have been many more.  As I arrived there were four along the soil ridge.

Most of the birds were female or immature birds.  Here two together on what looks like a Martian landscape.

So what about the reasons for these birds being so photogenic?  Well it has a lot to do with their striking, high-contrast plumage and distinctive 'bandit' eye masks.  Also they have a very distinct appearance, usually are very and have a preference for preference for open and  beautifully lit landscapes.  These two images go some way to demonstrating this, but missing the 'bandit' like eye mask.

Fortunately there was a male bird on hand to demonstrate the eye mask.

But they don't always stick to the rules when they headed off to forage in the stubble.

A small bale of straw provided a suitable perch to demonstrate the proud stance. They switch from a plump horizontal resting pose to an ultra-erect vertical posture when alert.

They will look for vantage points that will allow them to scan for insects on the ground.  This one perched on a larger hay stack.

But they came back to the ridge of soil and this allows me to describe some of the other reasons.

They actively seek out prominent, elevated lookouts like rocks, posts, and low walls to survey their territory.

While these final photographs go a long way to including all the reasons, Lovely clean backgrounds because they avoid dense forests and instead like to inhabit wide-open, barren terrains like rocky coasts, pastures, moorlands fields exactly like this one.

These open habitats mean rarely do you have to deal with harsh tree shadows or cluttered backdrops, allowing for smooth, isolated bokeh.

And once again the lovely proud stance.

A bird worthy of it's own post, beautiful in the dry landscape provided by the long hot summer.