mandarin duck epping forest

On the way to work thought I would stop off in the forest at a lake I often pass and to my suprise found a pair of mandarin duck with a dozen or so ducklings . No luck getting photos of the female and ducklings . But some good shots of the male .

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lea valley redfooted falcon

I thought I would go for a female this time .Sounds like there getting quite common !!It was getting a bit late in the day and the light was fading but what a different looking bird to the male , a very pale head which made it easy to ID .

redfooted falcon female

redfooted falcon female

redfooted falcon female

reed warbler.

My local patch

Some photos I took from my local patch Northweald common .
songthrush

linnet

whitethroat

whitethroat

blackwinged stilt

Hare


Redshank

Marsh harrier

black winged stilt

Elmsley Kent was the site , my son Jake and i went to see them it was a long walk but worth it .We also had good views of Marsh harrier , Redshank and Brown Hare .

spectacled warbler / redfooted falcon

stonechat

little tern

This was a big dip with over 50 other birders maybe next time . I was in Suffolk with two other birders Shaun & Martin and decided to have a walk round minsmere . little gulls were in there breeding Connolly , reed & sedge warblers every where . We heard on the pager of a red footed falcon in bedfordshire and decided to leave but not before taking some shots of the resident birds .




reed warbler

sedge warbler

On arrival in bedford we got to village where the bird was last seen , we found a car park which looked good as there was lots of cars and a birder walking to his car we parked up and got out the car hoping this was the place . It was as shaun who got on the bird first .
We moved on down the track for better views over coranation pit and saw at least 15 hobby's , 3 buzzards and amongst them was the male redfooted falcon . Great bird and some good views .

redfooted falcon

redfooted falcon.

lesser whitethroat

After talking to my friend Shaun Harvey ( An excellent birder on bird songs) he suggested I track down a lesser white throat on my local patch Northweald common as he said the chances were good . I new i could find lots of common white throat but to get lesser white throat would be a challenge .On a Saturday morning I set off early to see if I could succeed .I started looking in the scrub where I normally find the common white throat and willow warbler there was a single bird singing high in the tree it didn't seem to mind me there so decided to put on my x2 converter ( = 600mmf8 ). I managed to get some great shots and then moved on to hopefully find my first lesser white throat on my patch.

I probably see 20 or so common white throat and soon came across some linnet & yellow hammer , I was walking when i caught a view of a raptor never knowing straight away what it could be I had my camera to the ready. A sparrow hawk always a pleaser to see and some good shots showing its golden eye.

Finally i have been out for an hour or so thinking I never got what I went for I could not believe it . I heard it a lesser white throat bins to the ready yes not a great view ,quiet a bit darker then i thought it would be, but the song was just as i heard it on my computer , I managed to get a quick shot and it went.It was still a very good find and was very pleased with myself .