It's been a while coming, but finally the summer migrants are making their way onto our shores. The cold weather has seemingly delayed birds such as Swallows, House Martins, Redstarts, Ring Ouzels and Wheatears, to name a few, from making their way to Britain for the summer months, but now these are all coming, in their droves!
The past couple of days have been a bit crazy in the Peterborough area, with several Redstarts being seen, we are lucky to see more than a couple in the Spring, but this year up to 8 individuals have been present in various sites. Common Terns have started patrolling the lakes at Ferry Meadows and Deeping and huge numbers of Wheatears have been present at a couple of locations. 14 of these birds were seen in a field close to the village of Yaxley and yesterday there were 17 in a field close to the village of Ailsworth where there was also the only Ring Ouzel to be reported so far this year.
At Maxey/Etton gravel pits there were 3 Wheatears present (the male in these photos), a female and a Greenland type male. Also present were up to 6 Yellow Wagtails with one showing signs of being from the flava race, or Blue-headed Wagtail if you prefer and a Common Sandpiper.
I suppose all good things come to those who wait!
What a beautiful bird this is! No migrants here in Wiltshire yet, look forward to the Swallows and House Martins, and then the Swifts returning at last.
ReplyDeleteThere are lovely, photogenic birds Minerva. I haven't seen a Swift yet, although a couple have been seen locally. Time will tell, I am sure they will appear on your patch soon :)
DeleteJ
Very pretty bird and beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen, they are extremely photogenic, especially at Maxey!
DeleteJ
Great shots of the Wheater John. In the usual spot on the slopes I guess. Brilliant images.
ReplyDeleteThanks Roy! Yes, on the slopes on the south-east of the site!
DeleteJ
Lovely photos John. Good to hear they are starting to arrive- I heard our first cuckoo earlier this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks CT! Haven't heard a Cuckoo yet, but surely that can't be far off?
DeleteJ
Wheatears are such elegant, haughty looking birds I think, they always look like they have been to a posture finishing school ;-)
ReplyDeleteJohn, your photos are beautiful! As I'm still considering buying a Canon Powershot may I ask how far away you were?
They are indeed Jan, the Greenland ones are even more upright!
DeleteThank you, as ever about your kind comment about my photos. The Canon sx40 is a nice little camera, but I still had to be about 20 feet away in order to get half decent images, with the lens at full 35x zoom. The new model is the sx50, which has a 50x zoom, which I would definitely take a look at!
J
Thank you for that John. It is the sx50 I've been looking at but am still not sure it would get me as close as I would like. I don't want to make any expensive mistakes so will probably carry on agonising/dithering for a while ;-)
DeleteI don't think there is a lens out there that can get really close, unless the bird is stuck to the floor, or you sit in a hide for hours. My camera does not give the quality of photos that you get from a DSLR, but the prices for camera bodies and lenses are so prohibitive that this is the only option for a cash strapped me!
DeleteJ
Hi John
ReplyDeleteThese are great shots of the Wheatear. I just wish I could get this close to one and photograpj it. I have just started blogging 2 months ago and you may like to see my blog. www.birdingforpleasure.blogspot.com
I hope you enjoy it.
Margaret
Hi Margaret,
DeleteMany thanks for your visit, your kind words and your 'Follow'. When the Wheatears first arrive they seem to be more interested in feeding than looking out for people, although having said that, I still had to stay low down, crawling at one point and still didn't get overly close!
I will check your blog out shortly. Thanks again, hopefully you will come back. :)
J