June 2019 Grassland flowers and new hedgerow doing well

Its really great sometimes rather than travelling around to see various wildlife, instead to have a drive around my own patch. It's nice when the effort shows signs of results.  The new hedgerow is now in its fourth year and seems to be well established.  The grassland is full of wild flowers.  I love this birds foot trefoil  because it looks so beautiful and is the food plant for many insects and blue butterflies.

Lovely bank of birds foot trefoil 

An old name of "ham and eggs"!

The new hedgerow was planted with nine different native species and should now hopefully be able to look after its self.

Growing well

Roe Deer doe hidden in the grass

Female Linnet

And what you give its what you get!

May 2019 A morning at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire

I had not been for a while so it was great to have an early morning at Slimbridge WWT on the River Severn in Gloucestershire.  There are many distinct seasons at Slimbridge and my very favourite is the Winter Months, but it is also good to go there during the breeding season.
Avocets have only arrived here in recent years, but they are already colonising well.  It was great to observe this one turning the eggs before settling back down to incubation duties.

The eggs have to be turned regularly

On the "Rushy" there were a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and with a bit of patience I waited for them to get within range, as they are quite a small bird to photograph.  I was so pleased when they came right in front of the hide.

Male Little Ringed Plover

I had only ever photographed these before on one other occasion so it was great to fill my boots (or memory cards) with these beauties.
At first glance there did not seem to be much activity in the "Martin Smith" hide but then this beautiful female Kingfisher appeared.  She caught three fish in rapid succession before going on her way.  They have got to be one of the most colourful birds found in the UK

Female Kingfisher

The female can be easily distinguished from the males by having an orangey red lower mandible. It's also easy to remember as you can think that the females where lip stick!  (well in my day!).
That was a great morning and I must do it again real soon.

May 2019 Treecreeper a fascinating little bird

Climbing up a tree trunk like a small mouse you may notice a Treecreeper.  They have white undersides, but have a very camouflaged rustic top side that blends in with the tree trunk.  They always move up the trunk and then descend to the bottom of another tree before beginning the climbing process again.

A large juicy mouthful for the nestlings

Beginning the accent 

They are a beautiful little bird and can often go unnoticed but I always enjoy watching them.

April 2019 Local Sparrow Hawks busy building their nest

I love these birds and it is such a great thing to be able to watch them as they go about their breeding activities.  There is a lot of calling and backward and forwards to break off nest material.  Every sighting is so exciting.  They always nest late and have evolved to have their young when there are plenty of young inexperienced fledglings to feed them on.

Male Sparrow hawk breaking off twigs 

I was so pleased with this shot as it captures the intensity with which he goes about his work.
During my observations it was the male doing most of the nest building. The female tended to hang around and do quite a lot of calling.

Vocal female Sparrow Hawk

In a break from the nest building I managed to capture this pleasing portrait of the male

Male Sparrow hawk at rest

The male can be distinguished by his smaller size, and has a blue grey top of the head and chestnut cheeks and barring.  A truly handsome bird!

April 2019 Local Kestrels performing in the high wind

It was a very windy day and I guessed the local pair of Kestrels would be out over the fields.  They seem to love this weather as they need to use very little energy to move around or simply hang motionless.  They have old fashioned names of Stand Gale, and Wind Hover and you can see why.  They are one of my favourite birds and who could ignore them when they hover in close proximity.
The Male has a slate grey head and tail that make him a very handsome bird.

Male Kestrel

 On the image below the male was being mobbed by a pair of Carrion Crows and showed great agility to easily out manoeuvre them.

This really is the right way up!

The female is also a beautiful bird and came even nearer to give me some special views

Female Kestrel

Shear concentration!

These being around together for so long are obviously a pair and it will be great to see how they get on in this new breeding season.  I hope later on to hear that high pitched screaming as the young beg for food.  That would be great!  Good luck to this beautiful pair!

April 2019 More Great Colours from Costa Rica

It's been dull and overcast now for a few days in the UK so sometimes it's great to go back over some of the beautiful and colour encounters from Costa Rica.  It's a really enjoyable thing to do.  I always remember in detail where each image is taken and it always helps to bring back the great memories.

Great Green Macaw

Scarlet Macaw

Shining Honeycreeper

Mealy Parrot

Scarlet-Rumped Tanager

 That's an enjoyable reminisce but as always it is also great to look forward to the Spring sights and sounds in the UK.

April 2019 Costa Rica what a colourful and beautiful country

I have just returned from Costa Rica and discovered what a truly beautiful country it is.  The people are really welcoming and friendly and are very proud of their country and the natural places within it.  Twenty five percent of the country is protected national parks.  They also produce over 95% of their energy needs from renewable resources.  There are rainforests and cloud forests with amazing wildlife to see.

Primary Rain Forest

It is really uplifting to experience a primary rainforest and know that is one of the most bio diverse eco systems on earth and has survived intact for millions of years.

Chestnut Billed Toucan

Collared Aracari

The birds are amazingly colourful and noisy.  There are three types of monkeys that can be seen in the forests.

White Faced Capuchin

The most familiar and confiding are the White faced Capuchins.  The Howler Monkeys are very noisy and dominate, and their calls can be heard across the canopy especially in the mornings.  What a great natural and thrilling sound.

Howler Monkey feeding

We also saw Spider monkeys on our trip.
There are many reptiles to be seen, Lizards, Iguana's snakes and crocodiles.

An Iguana

American Crocodile

Wherever you go people always point out if there is a Sloth in the trees.  Everyone seems to love them.  They are very slow moving animals.  We had ongoing laughter when a guide told us that they only come down from the trees once a week to go to the loo.  (Apparently they have a week to think about it!)

Three Toed Sloth

 We ended the trip on the pacific coast and the trip ended in glory when Scarlet Macaws landed in the nearby trees.  I have enjoyed birding for most of my life but I think these are the most beautiful birds that I have ever seen.

Scarlet Macaw

What an amazing trip with so many memorable sights and sounds.  I will never forget it.