EARLY MORNING RED DEER STAG

   On Friday morning I made an early morning trip to Minsmere hoping to see the Bearded tits but very soon after arriving at Island mere hide I quickly spotted a magnificent Red Deer stag on Whin hill behind me so grabbing the camera I carefully exited the hide and crept along the path leading back to the hill. It is unusual to see a mature deer stag here as they tend to stay towards the north of the reserve property especially now the rutting season has just about started and because of this they are very difficult to approach and photograph. They can see and/or smell you from a long way off and any movement will give away your presence and cause them to move but luckily for me the wind was blowing straight at me so using the trees, bushes and long grasses for cover I managed to get into a position to take some pictures.

   The stag was well up on the hill but very quickly he spotted me and moved down towards me in a very alert fashion and it was only then that I could see a small group of females just the other side of the long grass behind which I was hiding but fortunately they too sensed me and began to move up towards the stag. Because the stags are so full of testosterone at this time of the year they can be very aggressive if you come between them and the females so care should always be taken when trying to see them. I managed to grab a few more pictures before they disappeared over the brow of the hill but it certainly made a good start to the day. Unfortunately the light was very poor because it was so early and the sun had not risen properly and so the pictures you see here have been brightened up a bit in Photoshop.

ARCTIC SKUA

   On the beach at Sizewell by the outflow I came across a very confiding Arctic Skua which has been entertaining photographers for the last week or so. The bird spends a great deal of time on the pebble beach allowing quite close approaches before flying out to the outfall to harass the gulls and terns trying to get them to drop or disgorge their fish prey. This is how the bird feeds and it can fly very fast in pursuit of them although it will also scavenge for dead birds and mammals given a chance.

   They resemble a medium sized dark gull but with central tail feathers which are longer than the outer ones. As a breeding bird we are at the southern end of its range with only a limited number nesting in the north of Scotland; the vast majority of birds nest in the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, North America and Iceland and mainly spend the winter off the coast of South Africa. They are quite a long lived bird with some managing 25 years or so but their future in the British Isles is entirely dependant on a good food supply (mainly Sand-eels) which is the main food source of the sea birds that the skuas hassle.

WATER SHREW

   Last week while out with my camera walking next to a reed bed movement caught my eye on the ground in the shadow of the vegetation and closer examination revealed it to be a Water Shrew. I was delighted to see this as I had not seen one for several years but unfortunately the only lens I had with me was my 500mm which has a closest focusing distance of about 4m which meant I had to retreat to a distance with a clear unobstructed view before taking any pictures.

   The Water Shrew is our largest shrew with a body that can reach nearly 10cm in length without the tail but it is largely nocturnal which means it is not seen regularly in daylight. They only live 18 months or so and breed between April and September  managing 2 or 3 broods after which the adults die. They hunt both underwater by diving and also on the ground and their diet includes Caddis Fly larvae, Water Shrimp and terrestrial insects, beetles, worms etc. Because they are on the move constantly they need to eat half their body weight in food every day even during the winter as they don't hibernate. Unusually for a mammal they have venomous saliva which stuns their prey and indeed if you are unfortunate enough to be bitten by one then it will remain quite sore for several days. Unlike other shrews which appear a brownish colour Water Shrews are very dark on top (almost black) and whitish underneath with a clear demarcation between the two.

LESSER GREY SHRIKE AT LEISTON

   Since the start of the week reports had been coming in of a Lesser Grey Shrike that had taken up temporary residence in some horse paddocks behind Halfway cottages at Leiston in Suffolk so today I made my way over to try and see this bird that is very rarely seen in this country. The Lesser Grey Shrike is normally found in south east Europe and migrates to Africa in the winter because it prefers warmer climates.

   Arriving in the general area the bird had been seen I could see a collection of 5 or 6 people looking out into the paddocks and I very quickly spotted the bird hunting insects on the ground and then hopping up onto a perch to consume them. The shrike seemed to be doing a circuit of the paddocks and luckily for me came quite close to perch on a fence post where I took a few pictures, then it swooped down into the grass, caught an insect and flew back to the post allowing me to obtain a couple of flight shots.

   The bird was a juvenile which would help to explain why it was so far away from its normal migrating route, the adult has a more pinkish breast and a much larger and more prominent black mask on its head. A super bird to look at and as far as I know the first to be seen in the area for 6 or 7 years so I count myself fortunate to have seen one.

LACKFORD LAKES KINGFISHERS

   Last week I spent some time at Lackford Lakes which is a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve that is re known as a good site to photograph Kingfishers. The weather was not brilliant so the light was far from perfect but after a little time a female bird arrived and spent a little time fishing but she was not the most spectacular looking specimen I had ever seen being very tatty in appearance. I was informed by regulars at the hide that this was because she had just finished raising a brood of youngsters, had chased them off when they had fledged (which is normal for Kingfishers), and was now chasing and fighting off all trespassers into her territory including males (which is also normal behaviour). I observed the bird catching small fish from the water in front of me and then taking them to a perch she would beat them against the wood and then swallow them headfirst. In one of the pictures I took of her you can see her throwing the fish in the air and catching it again in order to turn it round ready to swallow.

   Later when the female bird had disappeared a male showed up and did some fishing too. He was a much more attractive bird whose plumage was bright and immaculate and you can tell he was a male because his bill was all black whereas the female has an orange underside to the lower bill. This bird spent quite a while fishing and caught several, but more spectacular was his hovering above the water before diving, unfortunately he was too far off to photograph when doing this but its definitely worth another visit to try and capture it. I was told by the locals that the best time of the year to photograph them is between June and the end of August when many birds may be seen but usually at least one bird is present all year.

GEESE, SWANS AND A FISH TAKE AWAY

   A few other photographs taken this morning none of which are particularly unusual but I think they look good in the early morning light. The first at the top of the page is of a small flock of Canada Geese coming in to land on Island mere. The second, below is part of a flock of about 200 Greylag Geese that also came in to land on Island mere early today after roosting away from the reserve. You could hear them coming from miles away as they were making such a racket! The birds stayed on the mere for an hour or so before splitting up into smaller groups and moving onto other parts of the reserve.

   The third picture is of a male Mute Swan posturing with its wings fluffed up seeing off an intruder on the flat water of the mere and last is a Grey Heron who having caught a fish in a pool near the hide decided to take it away to consume far from prying eyes.

EARLY MORNING GREAT WHITE EGRETS

   The last couple of mornings have involved early starts to try and get some decent photos of the Great White Egrets in good light. The trouble with taking pictures of these birds in strong daylight is that because they are totally white the pictures are easily over exposed and appear 'blown out' so to get better images you need either some cloud cover or an early morning start. I couldn't help but include a photo of the fantastic sunrise over the misty reed bed that was taken yesterday as the colour was amazing; for the technical among you the photo is an HDR image so the detail in the reeds came out against the rising sun.

   This morning the light was very good for photography but unfortunately the 3 G W Egrets were at the far end of Island mere at Minsmere but eventually one of the birds did a flyby allowing some pictures to be taken before landing in the reeds.

   Later the same bird took off from the reeds and flew close to the hide enabling me to get a few more photos. A very graceful bird and to see three in one place giving good views is exceptional!