Marsh Harrier Over Braunstone Frith

I was over at the old British Shoe site this morning checking on my baby seagulls when all of a sudden pandemoniom struck. Gulls came rushing towards me from the recycle centre and hundreds took off from the remaining part of the roof. Often when something like this happens there is no obvious reason for it, but I spotted a largish bird of prey. I rattled of a few photos and then checked what it was with my binoculars.

I was well impressed when I realised it was a juvenile Marsh Harrier. It was perhaps attracted to the site by the gulls, but they gave it one hell of a telling off and it just kept heading north.

I managed to at least get a poor record shot of it, but you can make it out as a juvenile Marsh Harrier.

Colour Ringed Caspian Gull Returns

I took a ride over to Shawell last night, as its now time to start searching for juvenile Caspian Gulls. There wasn't much happening at the lagoons, so I decided to see if any gulls were viewable in the sand quarry next to the landfill site. There were plenty of gulls, but they were too distant. A single gull was resting on a mound of earth about half way between me and the main gathering. I learnt along time ago that it is always worth setting up your scope for a loan gull, as it just might be a good one.

It was indeed a good one - a colour-ringed sub-adult Caspian Gull - get in there!

I couldn't read its colour-ring, as the ring was facing the wrong way and the code was not visible. It then decided to fly and join the main group. I watched it land and as it walked I could see it had an injured leg. Could it be the bird I saw it 2014, as that one had an injured leg.

Something disturbed the gulls and they flew south towards the lagoons. Before going to the lagoons I checked another part of the site and there was the Caspian Gull sat amongst about 500 gulls. In 2014 it spent more time lying down than standing. After about 30 minutes it stood up and I was able to read its colour-ring - green XNDJ.

I First found XNDJ back in October 2014 at Shawell A5 Lagoons. It was great to see it is still around.

XNDJ went to Earlswood Lakes, Warwickshire during the previous two winters, so it will be interesting to see if it goes there again.

XNDJ was still around on Saturday the 30th at both the landfill site and the lagoons.

Third-Summer Caspian Gull XNDJ

Third-Summer Caspian Gull XNDJ, July 2017, Shawell A5 Lagoons

Second-Winter Caspian Gull XNDJ, October 2014, Shawell A5 Lagoons

Video of XNDJ:

Don't forget if it doesn't do it automatically, change the video quality to HD

Male Emperor Dragonfly

I was over at Brascote Pits on Sunday and a male Emperor Dragonfly was on patrol. It hovered occasionally, which gave me an opportunity to photograph it. At first I couldn't quite keep it in focus long enough to fire the shutter, but after a bit of experimenting I came up with the right technique and managed to get some good results.

Male Emperor Dragonfly, Brascote Pits, 16/07/16

Male Emperor Dragonfly, Brascote Pits, 16/07/16

Male Emperor Dragonfly, Brascote Pits, 16/07/16

The Invasion Gathers Momentum

Every July Britain gets invaded by visitors from the south. Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis) are what i'm talking about of course and 24 were at Shawell yesterday. As I've already said the real prize is a fresh juvenile and there were three at the lagoons.

By the month's end up to 50 YLGs will be present if last years totals are anything to go by.

I wonder what encourages the young birds to fly so far north?

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, Shawell A5 Lagoons, 16/07/16

The Proof is In the Picture

If like me you enjoy getting away from the crowds then taking images of the good birds that you find is very important. There are three reasons for capturing images of the rarer birds you find: firstly it helps to prove your ID, secondly it backs up your claim if your a single observer and finally a photo is a great souvenir. I think it's a must for any up and coming birders to take photos. I pride myself on having a very high percentage of my better bird finds either being seen by other birders or being photographed. Occasionally a mobile bird is not photographable but if you get enough credit in the bank you will be forgiven for occasionally not getting a photo.

Digiscoping is a great way of capturing record shots, as you can get images of distant birds. Most scopes these days have adapters to allow you to attach a range of cameras. Even smart phones can be connected to scopes. Basic images can be created without needing to spend a fortune.

Some bird species need to be photographed for the records to be accepted. In Leicestershire the record committee insists that Caspian Gull submissions include photographs.

Compact cameras probably offer the best flexibility for digiscoping. If you can get a camera that the zoom range works with your scope you can just hold it against the eyepiece. At present I handhold a small Sony compact with a 3.6 x zoom straight on to my scope. The focusing is done using the scopes focus wheel.

Another great solution is one of the modern super zoom bridge cameras. These take really good quality video and you can take a screen image of the paused video and turn it into a photograph.

Photographs help to keep you on the straight and narrow as the camera generally doesn't fib. I have found it invaluable with my interest in gulls, the images allow me to study the more difficult gulls again when I get home. It also allows my peers to have a look at my identifications.

The photo below was taken today using my Sony compact RX 100 handheld against my scope. It's at the better end of the quality you can get without having an adapter to fix your camera to your scope. Most images captured with a digiscoping set up are good enough to prove what you saw, but good quality images are possible if the subject is quite close and the light is good.

Corn Bunting Taken with a Sony RX100 Compact Camera handheld to Scope Eyepiece