LAKE DISTRICT SWALLOWS, MARTINS & SWIFTS

   Although commonly thought of as Hirundines this term only really applies to the swallow as the Martins and Swifts are from different family groups but for ease of description many people generalise all three into this category. From my own observations the Lake District seems to have reasonable populations of most of these birds indeed just a bit downriver from our cottage a colony of Sand Martins has set up home in a sandy cliff on the bank and there are some 30 plus holes most of which seem to be occupied. I don't know how the birds will fare this year as the weather has been so cold many birds seem to be struggling to catch many insects which must impact on the number of young they successfully raise to fledge.
   Swallows obviously face the same problem but it is always a joy to watch them flying low over the grassy meadows and fast flowing streams and at least there are a multitude of farm buildings and outbuildings for them to nest in. I am hoping to get some decent images from around here if we ever get to see the sun for any length of time!
   The birds that are very few in number up here in the more rural areas are House Martins which may be due the fact that there are many more suitable nesting sites in towns with more houses. Hundreds of years ago before we humans started building all our houses House Martins, Swallows and Swifts all nested in cliffs, caves and rocky outcrops so their populations must have limited in flat areas such as East Anglia.
   The species that seems to do very well in Cumbria are the Swifts and indeed in one of little hamlets close to our cottage most of the houses are constructed from stone which when used leave lots of cracks and crevasses that the Swifts use very effectively to nest in. Swifts are amazing creatures that hardly land from leaving the nest until returning to breed in their 4th year even sleeping on the wing. Birds that become grounded find it just about impossible to take off again because of their tiny feet and very long wings in proportion to their bodies and I can recall several occasions where I have come across birds on the ground and have had to throw them up in the air whereupon they have flown off. Because of their speed of flight and constantly being in the air their migration down to Africa takes no time at all and indeed the time spent in this country is quite small with many birds arriving in mid April and departing by the end of August.
   We were sitting outside a cafe enjoying a toasted sandwich watching the Swifts flying around in groups screaming and then coming into their nest sites at amazing speed before disappearing into the cracks to feed the young and emerging to fly off again so I managed to get a few shots before my 2 year old daughter became too impatient and we moved on.

DIPPERS AGAIN

   There is a small river than runs almost at the bottom of the cottage garden and its always worthwhile sitting here for a while beneath the trees as you often see Dippers,Wagtails and occasionally Kingfishers. The trees were coming out into leaf so the light underneath them was a bit dark but I was lucky on several occasions to get some pictures of the Dippers. This patch of the river must have been on the border between two Dipper territories as I saw two birds regularly chasing each other and fighting whilst shouting at each other loudly. I don't know how much river each territory consists of but I do know that one pair of birds was nesting under a bridge about 1 mile downstream which you could reach by walking alongside the river on a footpath that has been restored in the last year after being swept away in floods up here in 2009.

RED SQUIRREL COTTAGE

   Our holiday cottage really is an amazing place this is about the 6th time we have stayed here and we love the seclusion and the fantastic views in all directions. We always keep the bird feeders well stocked and this means we get to see species that we don't get at home. This year I decided to keep a record of the species seen from the cottage windows and was pleasantly surprised to reach a total of 41 which I thought was quite good. However I think the best thing about the cottage is the good possibility of seeing a Red squirrel; in the last couple of years they have become a rarer sight here due to an influx of Grey squirrels but this year we hardly saw a grey whereas most mornings we were visited by at least one Red who would sit under a tree beneath a bird feeder or climb onto the feeder to try and retrieve the nuts held within it. They never stayed for any length of time and to get any pictures you had to stay very quiet as they would disappear at the slightest sound or movement but with a bit of patience I did manage to get a few shots.

GREY WAGTAILS AT WEST BURTON

   After spending some time with the Dippers we moved downstream a little way where we came across a pair of Grey Wagtails who were repeatedly making their way back and forth to a certain patch of river before filling their beaks with insects and returning to their nest to feed their brood. Once again these birds were very confiding and didn't seem to mind us being there at all only disappearing when somebody walked by with a dog in tow but they would soon return when the dog was out of sight. You could see the insects flying just above the river in the warmer temperatures of the afternoon in the sheltered gully through which the river flowed and it was fascinating to watch the wagtails expertly swoop and catch the insects before alighting on a rock filling their beaks to bursting point.
   Here are a few of the hundreds of images I took during the afternoon and I once again must thank Simon from Wild Dales Photography for an interesting and varied day in the Yorkshire Dales.

WEST BURTON DIPPERS

   In the afternoon under slightly brighter skies Simon and I made our way over to West Burton where we both knew there were Dippers to be seen. Arriving at a beautiful waterfall popular with tourists we soon spotted a pair of Dippers nesting up on a cliff next to the waterfall and they were obviously feeding chicks as they were constantly in and out of the nest down onto the rocks in the river and diving into the water. The river must have been alive with aquatic insects as the Dippers never went very far along the river before returning with beak fulls of food for the young.
   Photographing these birds wasn't easy as they never stayed still for long and the light was very harsh either in full sunlight or deep shade making exposure of the black and white plumage not simple at all. These are a few of the many images I took as the birds were quite used to people and very tolerant of us

MORE FROM THE MOORS

   We continued to look over the moors for more upland birds especially Golden Plovers but most birds were sheltering from the strong cold winds but while driving through an area of rocky outcrops we spotted a male Ring Ousel which typically for the species was very timid and did not approach us close enough for pictures. There were quite a few Lapwings around and we came across a female that appeared to have many legs but when she moved you could see that she had been sheltering her chicks but when ever she moved the chicks followed and dived under again!

   Amongst other birds seen were Meadow Pipits and Wheatears which I did manage to picture but I couldn't help but notice the lack of birds of prey but as Simon explained to me most of them are not welcomed by the gamekeepers who shoot or even poison them as well as the land based predators such as Stoats and foxes.

YORKSHIRE GROUSE

   Spent the last two weeks in the Lake District on holiday so had the chance to take loads of pictures of species not normally encountered around here. The cottage we stayed in was set in a lovely valley with very few houses around it and plenty of wildlife on the doorstep pictures of which will follow in later posts. On Tuesday the 14th I got in the car at 3am and drove over to North Yorkshire through a mixture of rain and snow showers to meet Simon Phillpotts from Wild Dales Photography who guided me up onto the moors to find the Red Grouse and maybe some other upland birds that should have been nesting. However we realised fairly quickly that because of the cold (2 degrees centigrade) and wind it was going to be difficult to find many birds willing to show themselves so we decided to spent the morning on the moors and then in the afternoon go down to a river and try and find Dippers and Grey Wagtails.
   In the early morning light we drove through the moors looking for obliging Grouse who were willing to show at close enough distances to photograph in the gaps between the showers. We saw quite a few Red Grouse and even a couple of the much rarer Black Grouse but unfortunately they were at a much further distance and were not worth photographing. Black Grouse are much more timid than their red cousins and after the mating season are not easy to find although if you get up early enough you can find the males at traditional sites known as leks were they display to the females especially in the spring and autumn. The Red Grouse pair up in the spring and each male occupies a territory of about 1 acre which they defend against intruders. Sometimes you get a male who fails to attract a mate and who becomes very aggressive in defending their territory even chasing cars and attacking people.
   Eventually we came across some birds that were close enough to picture although all the photographs here are of male birds with bright red eyebrows which become more prominent the more aggressive the bird is feeling.

NO PURPLE HERON BUT GARDEN SURPRISE

   Following reports in the last couple of days of a Purple Heron at Minsmere early this morning I was to be found sitting in the South hide on the lookout for the heron. Plenty of common Grey Herons and the odd Bittern flying but no sign of my target so I turned round to look at the scrape and pretty quickly spotted 10 Little Terns sitting on one of the small islands but they were at such a distance that there was not much chance of a photo. For the next couple of hours they moved around the scrape sometimes mixing with Common Terns and a small flock of Dunlin. Waders were quite scarce today but I did spot a couple of Bar Tailed Godwits and a few Curlew one of which I did manage to get a decent couple of flight shots.

   On the way out of the reserve I stopped and walked a little way up the bridle path where I could see in the distance a Stone Curlew but once again too far away to picture. Slightly disappointed I made my way home but later on after tea I got a bit of a surprise when looking out of the kitchen window at about 19.30 there was a Sparrow Hawk sitting under a tree in the gloom with an unlucky bird in its talons. The hawk was only about 30 feet away so I grabbed the camera and managed to get a shot through the window before it flew off with its supper; popping outside and examining the feathers I think the victim was a House Sparrow which are quite common in my garden. Here is the picture I took, not too bad considering the dirty window and the bad light.
   Note to myself: You must clean the windows!

BEAUTIFUL BITTERNS

   This morning at minsmere was bright and breezy and on the path to Island mere hide I could hear many birds singing including Blackcaps and Whitethroats as well as Robins and various Tits and Warblers. On arrival at the hide I was struck by how few birds there were around but after a while several Marsh Harriers drew closer and I was treated to some short bouts of 'sky dancing' which is when the male harriers wheel and tumble in spectacular fashion to impress the females.Shortly afterwards a male Bittern appeared from the reeds to the left of the hide to hunt on the area of cut reeds where he was seen to catch several small fish. This bird kept appearing for short periods all morning providing many of the visitors with good close views.
   Another Bittern flew into the reeds on the right of the hide and after 30 minutes or so it walked out of the reeds into sight but this was a much more flighty bird and quickly retreated back into cover where about 2 minutes later it took off and enabled me to get some really good shots in the sunshine.
   The rest of the morning passed in similar fashion with more Harriers making regular appearances and the occasional Bittern keeping me on my toes. Other notable sightings were the many Swifts flying over the mere which were my first of the year and a pair of Hobbies hunting over the reedbeds and levels.