Video Experimentation

It's been a very wet couple of days, so I've been going through my photos and videos. I've only just started video editing and it's going reasonable well, so I've added a video into the blog just because I've learnt how to. Be sure to have your speakers switched on to enjoy the sounds of Craignure, Isle of Mull. The music at the beginning wasn't added in, there was actually a chap playing a penny whistle type thing close by.

Best viewed at this size, as the file is too compressed  (if that is the correct technical term) for full screen.

Otter, Isle of Mull

Blogging Contest

A younger member of the Bag Clan has joined the blogging fraternity. Rabz the Rabbit  has gone global with his exploits and tells tales of his expeditions into the wild and the realm of fantasy.


From the Sugar Bowl Car Park and Back Again: A Rabbits Tale 
It may well put a smile on your face it did mine. 
A Quiz at the Wentworth

Patch Work

Croft Hill

Fosse Meadows

There are only a few wildlife sites in my corner of Leicestershire that are particularly noteworthy, but with a bit of effort there are rewards if your prepared to put in the leg work. The most well known sites are Brascote Pits, Burbage Common, Croft Hill, Fosse Meadows and Frolesworth Manor Lake. I keep threatening to compile a list for the area, but it's difficult to define the actual extent of it. I will attempt to do it this year as the list is pretty impressive for an area with only a few small bodies of water.

I'll also add some more pictures so you can get an idea about the sites, but for now enjoy a few bird photos.

Oystercatcher, Brascote Pits

Common Buzzard, Brascote Pits

Avocet, Brascote Pits, May 2011

Hiding - but not very well

Morning, I've just settled into my photogaphic hide in front of a tree where a pair of Little Owls sit on a regular basis. Hopefully they will emerge sometime this morning from the hole they should be roosting in. I will update this post if they appear. 


First showing at 08:45 when a single owl appeared from out of the hole, but it flew straight off. Hopefully it will be back soon.


Little Owl in tree opposite but partially obscured - it will probably sit there now untill I leave.


Dog walker appears and the dog starts barking at my hide. The dog keeps barking for about five minutes until owner gets it to follow him. I think I've been sussed.


A couple of cows and their calves arrived to inspect the hide.

It's that Fool with the Hide Again

 Its time to give up and get some dinner and dream up a new plan!


I did see my first Swallow of the year from the hide, so it wasn't a complete failure.

Ring Reading

Glaucous Gull, JX012, Longyearbyen

Gulls are not everyone's favourite group, but every now and again I like to delve into the complexities of gull identification. After enjoying the white winged spectacular in Scotland in February (still searching) I have become a regular visitor to Shawell A5 Lagoons near the village of Shawell. Leicestershire. The lagoons are close to a landfill site and are a good place to view gulls bathing and preening. The site attracts a great many gulls during the winter and so far this year it has scored with five Iceland Gulls and I've been lucky enough to see them all. Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls are regularly seen amongst the commoner species. The site has also attracted Mediterranean and Glaucous Gulls plus a much rarer Ring-billed Gull. 

Researchers have been colour-ringing gulls for a number of years now, and amongst the daily gatherings at Shawell there are usually some birds sporting colour rings. A small group of birders have been attempting to read these rings, which is not easy at a distance of over 100 meters. This has been going on for a few years and is quite interesting as I've found out. Once the ring code has been read, the colour identified and the leg (left or right) noted it is time to try and find the project. This is done by visiting various websites such as http://www.cr-birding.be

Many of the gulls have been ringed in the UK, but some are real globe trotters. My highlights so far include a Herring Gull ringed in Norway (2186 km away) and a Lesser Black-backed Gull ringed at Badajoz, Spain.

CR-Code Black ring with white code: J3924 LBNW(J3924);RBM
Ringing Centre Stavanger Museum (Norway) Ring number FA32867
Species Herring Gull  Larus argentatus
Sex Unknown Age Pullus

Date	Place	Coordinates	Observers	Days/km/°
07.07 2011	Ørndalen, Tromsø, Troms, Norway	69°42'12"N 019°00'31"E	Lorentzen, Nils Helge	-
17.03 2012	Shawell A5 Lagoons, Leicester & Rutland, Great Britain	52°24'50"N 001°12'52"W	Baggot, Carl & Lister, Steve	254/2186/218

Some of the birds ringed in the UK have been seen in other countries including France, Germany, Norway and Spain.

So far this year, between us, we have read colour rings on 102 different birds involving seven species.

The Glaucous Gull pictured above was ringed at Longyearbyen, Svalbard. It was still more or less in the same place that it was ringed when I photographed it just over 60 days later. I am hoping it will be spotted somewhere else so I can get an update.