Birds of Prey – Stephen's Wildlife

Half Marathon – 4 weeks to go

Buzzard (Buteo Buteo) watchfully at rest

I am tired. My legs feel like lead. The training is taking a toll on my body. I did a long run yesterday evening: 9 1/2 miles. My mind is also filled with doubts. I will be competing with much younger runners. Those in my own age bracket (I was 65 last birthday) will be serious runners. The years will have weeded out other runners like me. My PB for the half marathon was set in 2010. My last half marathon was seven years ago and was significantly slower. What makes me think I can do this?

Well, its not all about me. Macmillan Cancer Support have contacted me this week. They are sending me one of their green running vests for the race. They have been encouraging. Their fundraising target for Bournemouth is £117,000 which will be used to fund 3,500 hours of specialised Macmillan nursing care; provide 4,600 people living with cancer a session of emotional support with a Macmillan buddy; run the Macmillan Support Line phone service for 10 days, dealing with approximately 2000 calls and web enquiries from people who need their support.

My own fundraising target is far more modest, but combined with others will make a significant impact on people at a very vulnerable stage of their lives.

Finally, I haven’t lost sight of the fact that this is a wildlife blog. On a walk this week I spotted a buzzard perched at the top of a leafless tree. I took a few shots from a reasonable distance before he/she launched into a leisurely paced flight.

Kestrel in a clear blue sky

I love to visit Badbury Rings. Today was a chill 4 degrees. The sky was cloudless. The sun was low even though it was close to noon, casting long shadows. The kestrel landed in a tree, but I was on the wrong side. The bird was silhouetted against the sun. I carefully changed position, hoping not to spook it. It was a male bird, slightly smaller than the female, but slightly more colourful. I was rewarded with a series of photos with the sun illuminating the glorious colours: chestnut brown, grey, black and yellow.

Suddenly, the kestrel launched itself out of the tree into the open sky.

The low sun lit up the side of the kestrel including parts of the outstreched underparts of the wings. Its ferocious yellow talons were clearly visible. It swept slowly over the farmland, stopping periodicaly to hover over a particular patch.

Interruption

Crow trying to muscle in on Kestrel snack

It’s always the way. You just sit down to a good meal and there’s a knock at the door.

Buzzard taking to flight

Winter had denuded the deciduous tree of its foliage. Long, spindly branches reached toward the grey, cloud covered sky. On one of the uppermost branches sat a buzzard, still and silent, surveying the surrounding scene. The only movement was the head rotating, presenting a profile first one way then the other of its dangerous hooked beak. Suddenly with one powerful beat of its outstretched wings it was airborne. It circled overhead a couple of times and then was gone disappearing eastward over a hedgerow heading east toward a mix of woodland and open farmland.

Power

The electricity pylons that run alongside Longham Lakes are hard to miss, but they do not over power (pardon the pun) the beauty of the landscape or the wildlife which just accept their presence.

Temperatures begin to drop

Temperatures have taken a tumble this week.

Even though it is close to mid day, this is December and the heat emanating from the Sun, low in a clear blue sky, is insufficient to melt the ice and frost pictured here.

The woodland path draws us in and the light quality, so different from mid summer, is bright and dazzling with long shadows and silhouettes.

A kestrel rests patiently in a leafless, deciduous tree before taking to the air and circling its territory once again in search of the next meal.

Saturday redeemed

Miggy, the cat, unimpressed with the flooded garden

It really did not look promising. The back garden was under water and the rain did not look like it was going to stop, ever. A pyjama day with the TV remote in one hand and a snack in the other was the most likely scenario. But, the forecast offered a glimmer of hope. Filled more with hope than confidence in the met office prediction my son and I headed out on a 20 minute drive to Stanpit Marsh.

We arrived and the rain stopped! A lot more of the nature reserve was under water than usual. It was difficult to see where the land finished and Christchurch harbour started. The light was both fascinating and challenging. There was cloud cover one moment followed by bright sunshine casting long shadows. Every photo needed a different set up and we were fighting with the controls all afternoon.

We were rewarded with a joyous two and a half hours of exploring the accessible parts of the reserve. We saw waders, egrets, herons, ducks, geese, pipits, wagtails, sparrowhawks, kestrels. It was noticeable too, I don’t think I imagined it, that the birds were noisier than usual.

Back at the car park we compared sightings with another birdwatcher. He used binoculars rather than a camera and was enthusiastic to hear what we had seen. He had seen a hen harrier, which we missed. We had both heard reports of a glossy ibis on the reserve, but neither of us got a sighting this time.

Satisfied, we got back in the car and headed home. We got as far as the first roundabout a few hundred yards and I had to turn on the windscreen wipers as the heavens opened again.

Pintail takeoff against a backdrop of redundant beach huts

Sparrowhawk causing panic among the smaller birds

Curlew landing – a very distinctive call

Male Kestrel – competing with the Sparrowhawk

Oystercatchers walking (do these birds fly?)

Oystercatchers flying (oh yes, they do – always together)

Walking with a purpose

Most of my walking is without a camera. I probably clock up 20 miles a week just doing the school run. Its part of my fitness regime, which I missed out on during the first UK lockdown when schools were closed. Joe Wicks did a sterling job with his online HIIT workouts during that time, although the ‘High Intensity’ element was a bit challenging.

Most days I will join Jacki and Pippin on the daily mid morning exercise walk. I may take my camera on this. I love the countryside of East Dorset. We have an amazing diversity of habitat: woodland, heathland, farmland, riverside walks, lakes, beaches, cliffs and gardens. We also have quite diverse wildlife. One can never be sure what one will see.

The season has an impact on the light, which is quite important for a photographer. I was out over the weekend and the light was constantly changing: bright sunshine one moment and cloud cover the next. I was changing camera settings for every shot and making further adjustment for whether the subject was light on a dark background or dark on a light background.

For the past two years I have focused my photography on wildlife requiring fast shutter speeds, a lot of patience and a sudden flurry of activity lasting only a few seconds. More recently I am trying to introduce more landscape photography. The fundamentals are the same, but the technique is quite different. The landscape isn’t moving so slower shutter speeds can be used and a tripod. The lens is different too. Instead of a long telephoto lens, landscape photography uses more of a wide-angled lens. I am still getting to grips with the technique and will try and share some of my efforts in the blog over time.

This blog post includes some recent shots from heathland walks. First are a couple of landscape shots of Holt Heath in the sunshine. Followed by an excited Pippin. Then we have a few birds: peregrine falcon, yellowhammer, blackbird, thrush and dartford warbler all from heathland locations. As the nights are now drawing in and sunset is about 4.30 pm, there are a couple of moon shots. And finally, a rainbow; we’ve had quite a few of these recently reflecting the changeable nature of the Dorset weather at the moment.

Buzzard

I see quite a lot of buzzards. They are usually soaring and gliding effortlessly on thermals circling slowly over farmland and open grassland. Normally they exude the calmness and strength of a raptor near the top of the food chain. Occasionally they can be seen to be slightly more flustered, such as in this exchange with a crow.

This picture was just above the river Stour near the Pamphill area just north west of Wimborne Minster. The crow continued to harass the Buzzard until it had moved on from its territory. The crow was feisty, but stayed clear of those talons.

Kestrel

November 2020. The weather is overcast, with an occasional ray of sunshine peeping through the cloud cover. The wind is blowing with the sea looking decidedly choppy. Several cruise ships are just visible at anchor in the bay off Hengistbury Head. The car park is full. People taking exercise and walking dogs. And then I see her. Absolutely unmistakable hanging in the air no more than 15-20 feet above the grassy bank next to the car park. Fearing that she will be spooked by my presence I walk slowly toward her. She is completely unphased. Her head remains quite still as her wings and tail flutter just enough to keep her motionless in the wind. Her focus is solely on the ground beneath her. She permits herself a momentary glance in my direction, before resuming her search.

I absolutely love this photo taken by my son on a visit to Badbury Rings in August 2020. The chestnut brown wings with black tips, the grey head and that beak and black eyes circled in yellow are all so clear. It is the grey head and slightly smaller size that distinguish the male bird from the female. The bird is at rest and is aware of our presence, but allows us time to get this photo.

Another of my favourite sites is Stanpit Marsh on the other side of Christchurch Harbour from Hengistbury Head. On a visit in October 2020 this male kestrel was the star turn. He was on the hunt and very nearly caught this stonechat, but not quite.