Venus Pool - 24 Feb 19

Another visit to the Shropshire Ornithological Society (SOS) Reserve at Venus Pool. Very misty and foggy for part of the visit. All photos taken from public accessible hides and areas.

A drake Shoveler. Quite why it was holding one wing at such a strange angle I have no idea. Did not notice it at the time and did not impede it.

Little Grebe are well-named: compare the size with a drake Mallard.

Very much in to breeding plumage with a very obvious white – even yellow – mark at the base of the bill.

Another view.

A Common Snipe. I have never seen so many as there were today.

The accepted collective noun is a “wisp of Snipe”. Seems it should be a “huddle”. Nine birds here.

(At least) 12 here. The back-right bird is showing the orange-brown in the tail as it stretches.

Of course a Blue Tit. This one has been ringed too, so it is not just at Belvide.

This one looking for inspiration.

A Great Tit showing the edging to the feathers. What we cannot see here are the outer tail feathers which have white edges – the tail is held closed here.

The back of olive-green.

The trickiest tit to photo. As bottom of the pecking order it is usually a quick in-and-out to the feeders. This one paused to ‘case the joint’.

Long-enough for a couple of shots. Note the buff tone in the shoulder. This bird is somewhat whiter beneath and greyer on the back than the books illustrate for the British race and I am wondering whether this is a Continental migrant.

Here we see the grey back clearly. Also note the white nape patch – looks twisted here because the bird has turned it head.

Long-tailed Tits are not really tits at all, being more closely related to babblers of Asia.

This one won’t win any prizes for neat appearance. Even the tail looks a bit ragged.

A splendid Dunnock. This bird shows unusually obvious white tips to the greater coverts.

Another Robin included here because this bird shows a thin rusty-yellow wing-bar. This is usually only obvious on immature birds after their first moult from spotted juvenile plumage.

A male Chaffinch (with an out-of-focus foreground twig across its belly).

I thought I ought to concentrate on female Chaffinches for a change. Somewhat understated but still attractive.

Interesting marks around the eye. Not shown in my bird books.

The same bird in a different pose. Note the brown on the upper back behind the grey shawl.

I had a lot of trouble with this species. I was trying to photograph in to the light and in fog. Tweaking the result produced this Linnet face-on.

It was one of a very large group, only some of which are seen here. That means that only one bird needs to get spooked and they all fly away.

On this view we see the distinctive white flash in the folded wing.

More obvious on this bird, while its companion shows how the tail is more deeply forked at rest than, for instance, a Chaffinch or Greenfinch.

Over-enlarged to show these features as best I can”.  

(Ed Wilson)

Belvide Reservoir - 23 Feb 19

Back for another visit to Belvide today.

Here a trio of Shelduck landing. These were part of a group of four drakes – all these are drakes – and one duck which made for much chasing and splashing.

Here two drakes having a set-too with the one duck sideways on to the right – a smaller and less colourful bird, perhaps a first-year?

As with many ducks ‘head-throwing’ is used in display. These are both drakes so it is as likely to be a dominance pose as much as a direct mating display.

A good opportunity to see the upperwing pattern.

As usual some Gadwall photos: here a duck wing-flapping: upperwing.

And underwing.

Must get a better camera. Bridge cameras do not do flying birds too well. Here we see the upperwing of a drake Gadwall.

A ‘one-hand-clapping’ drake Goldeneye. How? Why?

A stately Grey Heron.

An illustration of how the angle of the light can affect perception of plumage tones on gulls. This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull’s wings were in fact the same colour.

And seconds later the same bird looks very different. Are those legs yellow? Well they are certainly not red like the accompanying Black-headed Gull.

They look rather more yellow here but I would hard-pushed to argue against ‘flesh’ coloured.

Not quite my usual chirpy Blue Tit. It seems to be in rather a poor state and may only have one leg.

This Marsh Tit stayed lurking in the vegetation to eat nuts taken from the feeders.

A slightly better shot here, again a bird with a ring. Note the pale edges to the secondaries which is supposed to mean it is a Willow Tit rather than this very similar species. Voice, the most reliable identification feature, said Marsh Tit. It is perhaps not surprising that the two species were not separated until around 1900. Willow Tits are not supposed to visit bird-tables in winter but beware: I have seen them on tube feeders: perhaps they are learning.

A handsome, if that is the right word, female Blackbird. At this level of detail we see many pale fringes to feathers and a real variety of brown tones.

Dunnocks are the archetypical ‘little brown job’. However their markings are subtle, specially the speckled area under the eye. And their mating and nesting behaviour makes Jackie Collins’ books seem tame. Note: as most small birds here it is wearing a ring.

Needs must: this female Brambling did not stay around to allow it to be photographed in the surrounding natural vegetation so a shot at the feeder was all I could manage. The head markings are similar to a female Chaffinch: the orange in the wings, very pale on this individual, separates. So too would the white rump – if we could see it.

(Ed Wilson)

Belvide Reservoir - 20 Feb 19

A few photos from the West Midland Bird Club Reserve Belvide today.

A trio of Canada Geese departing from the WMBC Reserve at Belvide. Just about retracting their undercarriage.

And a quartet likewise.

There must have been news of a good food source: another takes flight.

A pair of Goldeneye touch down showing the very different plumage between the sexes in the breeding season.

A better view of the drake’s upper wing pattern.

Managed to restrict myself to a single drake Gadwall shot (more or less).

Belvide is home to breeding Black-headed Gulls on several specially constructed shingle islands. These are incredibly noisy places. Even though few of the birds are yet in breeding plumage they have started pairing up and reserving space. Here one seems to be unhappy with the presence of the Lapwings.

A pair displaying with typically part-open wings. Not much ‘black head’ on either of these two.

The pair again in display. It is unlikely we will see this behaviour at Priorslee.

This pair even manage to display while on the water.

“Any room at the inn?” Gull colonies can be crowded as well as noisy.

More ‘large gulls’ to get to grips with. This first-year Herring Gull is quite easy to ID with the paler inner primaries. Note too the pale base to the bill – most show an all-dark bill only until the turn of the year.

The same bird flying by.

A different first-year Herring Gull shouting. This bird still has an all-dark bill ...

... And is incurring the wrath of one of the Black-headed Gulls.

I don’t think the summer plumaged Black-headed Gull is complaining about this first-year Herring Gull – which does not look at all impressed.

What bird can do a bill-stand? This is not really a trick by another first-year Herring Gull: it was diving to immerse and have a wash.

And here a trio of first-year Herring Gulls bathing. The right-hand bird had what appeared to be a pebble in its bill for ages.

The pebble is perhaps more clearly seen here.

Well we’ve all heard of “water off a duck’s back”. Seems to apply to Oystercatchers too.

Five-in-one. At the back a drake Gadwall: in front from left to right a Lapwing, and adult Black-headed Gull, a male Starling and an Oystercatcher. How do we know the Starling is a male? In the breeding season the base of the bill is ‘blue for a boy’ and ‘pink for a girl’ – honest!

A group of seven Raven flying at some distance. Compared with Crows and Rooks (apart from size) note the well-separated wing-tip feathers (primaries), the large curved bill (shaped like a Bowie knife) and the puffed-out throat area due to shaggy feathers (called hackles).

(Ed Wilson)