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Wednesday 8 February 2017


TRYING FOR A POST,
BUT THE WEATHER'S WINNING.

We have had some abysmal weather to say the least, Richard and myself managed to get out last on the 26th of January and then the temperature was hovering around - 2 and -3 degrees C and when you stood in the wind it was like a knife. We only managed a few images on the visit out and they were of hardy Little Owls that had tucked themselves out of the wind. The following Thursday the forecast was poor so we opted to miss as it was going to rain all day and Richard was giving a talk at the bird club on the Friday so that was a non starter.

The next reasonable day was the Sunday the 5th of February,  but then by the time I managed to get out the sun had disappeared and the light was not good at all but I headed for Hinckley as some Waxwings had been reported in the Rugby Road, Brookside area. On arrival I had a drive around the area where the birds had been seen and eventually saw a gent with a pair of bins around his neck doing the same. We had a quick chat and he had seen some flying but that was all, so after about another 20 minutes I headed back to where I had entered the area and on the right I could see two gents with binoculars looking into a tree, so I found somewhere to park and walked round to the site. 

At last I had tracked some down but only five that sat in the tree feeding, these birds were not as confident as the birds at Loughborough and the gents who were on site had been watching birds in this area for several days. They said you could not get very close,in fact we were over double the distance away from what we had achieved at Loughborough.

I had not been on site very long and four of the birds flew away so I emained a little longer with the solitary bird on the chance the others may return, but after about another 20 minutes the last bird flew away so I headed for home.

I then went out this afternoon { 7th February } as the sun was shining and headed for the Lyndon Centre at Rutland Water. I visited Teal Hide and not much was about so I headed back towards the car park to walk down to Waderscrape Hide When I met up with a gent walking back up from the hides, this is a gent we see reasonably regularly at Rutland. and he said it was not worth walking down as he had seen very little.

So I headed for Eyebrook Reservoir and to the area where we see the Red Kites only to pull into the gateway and get the car hopelessly stuck in the mud, it took me 45 minutes to get the car out, this was being watched by three Kites and when I eventually got back onto the road they flew away. 



LITTLE OWLS 
26th January.




Little Owl Site No. 8.

This bird we are finding in a pollarded tree and was very difficult to get an image due to it having tucked itself away out the cold wind.








Little Owl Site No. 5.

Again this bird had got itself out of the wind in the tangle of some old ivy. 





WAXWINGS, HINCKLEY.
5th February.





On arrival I found five birds in the tree, non of which it was possible to get a clear shot at, with either berries or twigs in the way. These birds I was told would not tolerate you any closer than about thirty metres. 




Again not a clear shot. 



Slightly better, all the birds appeared to be females. 




 They just would not go onto the end of a branch for a clear view.








 This is when the four flew away and left the single bird.



At last getting better but not totally clear.








Tucked itself away again. 



And then returned to exactly the same branch at the top of the tree.




Just managed this image, and then she was away.


Sorry for the lack of posts but the weather has been a real nuisance, we are never satisfied with the light, its either too bright or dull.??

Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed the images as much as I did in the getting of them, even though it has been a struggle weather wise. 

27 comments:

  1. You did extremely well with the Waxwings, John, considering the distance. This dull weather is very frustrating, and it looks as if tomorrow might jeopardise our afternoon out again - dull and windy, with the wind-chill taking it down to zero by Oakham and -4 at home! Fingers crossed!!

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    1. Hi Richard and thank you for the visit, they would have made my life considerably easier if I could have got as close to the tree as we did at Loughborough, but it was still wonderful to see them. I think for tomorrow lets go for it and put two of everything on clothes wise. Hopefully see you tomorrow. Crossing everything. John

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  2. OH WOW, the Waxwings, you have got them beautifully John. And the Owls, fabulous.

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    1. Hi Bob, the Waxwings have been a real delight this Winter, so glad you you have liked them, please put a report on your site as they are still in Hinckley, plenty of Berries still to keep them about but the birds are very mobile. Little Owls are an absolute delight that we really enjoy watching and monitoring. All the best to you and yours, John

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    2. I think that is up to you John. I am pleased with the Waxwings, that made my day.

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  3. Hi John,
    This little owl really so beautiful !! I love owls and am therefore always intrested in these beautiful animals. I enjoyed anyway fullest of your photos.
    The Waxwing you also can immortalize all the beautiful with your camera :-)
    They were quite nice and the details are therefore nicely visible. My compliments.

    Warm regards, Helma

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    1. Hi Helma, thank you for your visit, as you can no doubt see, Little Owls are a favourite of Richard and myself, we enjoy seeing any Owls but the Little Owls are easier being out and about in daylight. The Waxwings are a stunning bird that I have really enjoyed chasing all over the place and finding and getting images. Look after yourself, Regards John.

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    2. Hi John,
      I also really love owls and it's also great to see them :-)
      I have a few pictures of owls and recently I have photographed eared owls. These pictures, I still need some editing and places.
      Great hobby, especially if you see owls.

      Warm regards, Helma

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    3. Hi Helma, they are such delightful little birds. Do you have Little Owls in Holland. We had a wonderful Winter last year with Short Eared Owls at a site not far from home, so plenty of posts from this time last year. Fabulous hobby, as you say especially seeing owls. All the best, John

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    4. Hi John,
      Yes, we have indeed little owls around here.
      Unfortunately, the pair of owls has lost its young. There was still one en young dead in the garden !!! The other I have not seen. The little owl woman is below not seen unfortunately. There is spotted a kite near the owls and I think it knows more. I need to put the pictures but that will come.

      Best regards, Helma

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    5. Hi Helma, Glad to hear you have the Little beauties. but such a shame to find a dead Little Owl, we usually find that Buzzards are the worst culprits for taking them. Look forward to seeing the images. All the best. John

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  4. Brilliant John! I would love to find an owl and I always tell Gregg that one of these days I will look up into a tree and find one staring down at me. I live in hope. They are amazing camouflage artists. The Waxwings are on my bucket list also. I haven't seen one in years. You have captured both owls and waxwings beautifully. Thank you so much for sharing them.

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    1. Hi Denise and thanks for your visit, glad you liked the Little Owls, I don't think you have them with you, they are an introduced bird in the UK. Waxwings I thought you had as well as the Cedar Waxwing. As for the Owls it really is a search job with the bins and always pays to ask a local, we usually ask any farmers we see about, they are always helpful. Always a pleasure to post a blog. You look after yourself. John

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  5. your victory over harsh weather is obvious through these AMAZING,FABULOUS photos !!!
    you are very good with your use of lenses ,Brilliant result and wonderful capturing.
    bearing such cold wind reminds me my native hilly village when we used to try to walk forward on the way to school and cold wind pushed us back .

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    1. Hi Bailli and thank you for your visit and comment on my blog. It is very cold over in the UK at the moment, not that I'm having to walk to school through it, neither is the wind that strong that it blows you back. Thank you for your kind words regarding the images. All the best to you, Regards John

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  6. Que suerte poder fotografiar al Bombycilla garrulus, por mi país solo se acerca cuando hay frío extremo y este año no ha pasado. Me ha gustado mucho este reportaje John, un abrazo desde España.

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    1. Hola German, y gracias por su visita, ha sido un invierna maravilloso para nosotros con Bombycilla. Acabo de tener un informe de mas de 100 dentro de 5 millas de casa. Ha sido muy frio en Scandanavia asi que hemos tenido suerte. Todod lo mejor de Inglaterra. John

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  7. Truly wonderful shots of waxwings! I love the colouring of the whole images, the birds blending with the berries and branches. Also lovely shots of Little Owl. Nice to know there are some about! Where are mine? !! Weather still cold and dreary , but have a good day Saturday. M

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    1. Hi Both, so pleased you liked the Waxwings, just had a report of 100 plus in Glenfield, but we have the VP's diner tomorrow so hope they hang on until Sunday. I must admit to being rather pleased with the Swan , it was about 50 metres away. The Little Owls are keeping low in this weather, only saw one yesterday, mind I stood out for about 3/4 of an hour and I was perished by then. Tell Eddie I will see him at the lunch. John

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  8. What beautiful bird the Waxwing.. Love it.. and love also the little owl.. Congrats for the pictures.. Cheers

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  9. Hi Ana, and thank you for the visit, Waxwings are such a beautiful bird that I'm sure doesn't come as far South as Spain. I'm hoping to get some more images if and when we see some sun, we have a flock of 100 about 4 miles from home. Loved your images of the Spanish Sparrow. All the best. John

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  10. You did well John, considering this dull and heavy weather we had in England and in France from December through now, more or less.
    To the point that I did not even bother to take my photo equipment with me as I went to Paris and for 2 whole months I did not even use it.
    I admire these Waxwings, you are so lucky to have them around!
    Warm regards and I wish you better luck with the weather!


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  11. Hi Noushka, and thank you for the visit. I had not realised you have had similar weather to us and had not been out with the camera for so long. We are very lucky however with the Waxwings, within a few miles we have a flock of up to 150 of them, I just need some sun to make the best of them instead of snow, sleet and rain plus today fog. All the best to you and hope you also have some improved weather and get out with the camera. Regards John

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    1. Gee... 150 Waxwings! A dream!
      I'll really have to make a plan to come and see you and Richard next winter!! ;-)
      I am trying my luck on the Atlantic coast for 3 days, from tomorrow but my friends there say bird presence is still very low.
      Thanks for your latest comment :)
      Keep well John

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  12. Hi Noushka, I was actually on site with these birds this afternoon we had one flock of about 70 birds and another that was far more mobile of about 90 birds, wonderful to witness. Hope you have a good trip to the Atlantic coast and look forward to the images. Lets hope that next Winter we get the Waxwings and then we can make plans to see you. Have a good trip and look after yourself. John

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  13. I was given to wondering the other day, John, whether anyone sees Little Owls with the regularity that you and Richard do. It really is a special privilege don't you think? I know that I will never forget my encounters with them.

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  14. Hi David, we are really passionate about these little birds and the added bonus being we can see them in daylight, so suits us down to the earth. We were both so pleased you both had such a productive visit seeing them. We are finding it very difficult to find any new sites at the moment. All the best John

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About Me;


Titus White:
Hi I am Richard Peglers friend Titus White, and those who follow Richards posts will understand the name and reason for it. I have been birding with Richard for 3 years and a volunteer at Rutland Water on the Osprey Project for 2 years. My early images were taken on a Nikon D80 with a 70 - 200mm lens. I updated the lens to a 70 - 300mm VR lens but still was not happy with the results. Eventually when Nikon announced the D7100 I decided to change so upgraded the camera and also invested in a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens.
I first met Richard through Arthur Costello as I was having the occasional visit from Little Owls on our land. We eventually found the Little Owls through another contact about 100 metres away. Photo's will follow on future posts.
I have recently upgraded my camera to full frame, this is a challenge I am at the moment enjoying trying to get the best out of the beast.
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