Jack Snipe

The days are now noticeably shorter and coupled with the often dull & dreary weather it makes sense at this time of year to stay close to home.

This morning I headed up to Cathkin Braes for 09:30 and was soon enjoying at least 4 Tree Sparrows accompanied by a few House Sparrow and Chaffinches at the Windlaw feeding site.

Armed with my wellies, I waded as short distance into the Windlaw marsh in search of Jack Snipe. Jack Snipe when approached often crouch until the last minute and then fly often quite feebly and land a short distance away. I got into an area where I had already flushed several and stood and looked in an attempt to locate one to photograph. Each time I edged forward another one would flush from almost under my feet and yet I hadn't seen it. This happened several times until I gave up so as not to disturb them any more.

Jack Snipe.....though not today !

 


























After this I went round to Cathkin Marsh and enjoyed a large flock (>100) of Fieldfares & Redwings in the surrounding fields and hedges. 

Greater Yellowlegs !!!

The MEGA Autumn for North American waders just keeps coming with the discovery of a Greater Yellowlegs in Northumberland yesterday. Still present at dusk yesterday evening, I was out the house at 6:15 am this morning to twitch it.

Although it had been a reasonably clear night in the West, by the time I got to Berwick it was wall to wall fog & drizzle, just perfect for keeping it put. By 7:30 am the pager was reporting it as still present although given the weather I wondered what the view would be like.

I arrived at Low Hauxley around 9am to a sea of cars. I parked as best I could and followed the crowd towards the 'Wader' hide. Fortunately, it was quite a big hide but even so it was a bit of a scrum. Initially, 'The Yellowlegs' was not in view having gone round the corner out of sight just before I arrived. There was a tense wait before it appeared again, with a Grey Phalarope for good measure. Despite standing 3 deep at the window I somehow got the scope on it and managed some shots. Given the poor light and the vibration in the hide the shots are okay:

With 'The Phalarope'

Birds From All Points of the Compass

  

See 'Lesser' for Comparison



Lesser Yellowlegs on Mary's this October for Comparison

 















Given my recent exposure the Lesser Yellowlegs this Autumn, this bird was strikingly different. Being much stockier and when seen out the water has legs 'up to its armpits'.

Other notables today included Wigeon, Teal, Goldeneye, Snipe and Tree Sparrow.

On the way home I stopped off at Torness Power Station. As well as the 'resident' Peregrine I got an absolutely cracking view of the Yellow Browed that had been there for a few days. I watched it for about 10 minutes foraging in a Sycamore barely 6 feet away at times. Best view I've had of one of these little gems in years !

A Pleasant Late Autumn Afternoon

On what was a very bright and dry early winter day, I took the new DSLR up to Cathkin to attempt some shots of the woodland. I am slowly beginning to learn about some of the camera's functionality and am keen to put some of it into practice. I have been learning that the camera has several focus points and if you don't tell it where you want it to focus it is likely to pick the nearest point. I also learned a bit about exposure lock, that basically means taking an exposure reading from a small area of the scene, locking it, recomposing the scene without the camera being able to adjust its exposure again. Basically, I am on a very steep learning curve !



 Whilst blundering about with the camera a Crossbill flew over calling.

Also today at least 2 Fieldfare and only 1 Snipe seen at the marsh. I still need Jack Snipe for the year. should get it between now and 31 December.

Nice Day for Photography.............. Shame about the Photographer.

Some images from a beautiful day at Caerlaverock: