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Galana's Fifth - The only way from here is UP!


Galana

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an excellent shot of the handsome stonechat.

 

thanks for the tips on the webcam. I'm watching them now although it's in the middle of the night there!

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@KitsafariYou are welcome. You will see the Peregrine has four eggs.

Two are from the previous female who sadly was killed. But "Archie" found himself  a new wife and the new  family is pending. It's the best Soap on TV.

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Today dawned bright and sunny (well to be correct, the Dawn came and then the sun followed a few hours later).

So I took myself off to check all was well in the area.

Warning. EBC alert.

First of the new stuff was this Cock Pheasant in the morning sun.

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076. Pheasant. Old English Ringneck.  Maughold Head IOM

 

Then I went off to see if our Sand Martins had arrived.

And they just had. No nests yet and whilst I was trying to train them to Hover I snapped off a couple of shots.

And when I got home I saw  the background.

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Forget the Sand Martins, Centre top are three Sandwich Terns.

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But I will get better ones so I just thought to put down a marker for the 'Reserve' team.

 

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Talking about Sand Martins, here are my humble efforts today.

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077. Sand Martin. Shellagh Point. IOM

 

And a nice locator showing the Scottish Coast on such a fine day. Ignore the birds.

What used to be called Kirkcudbrightshire but now is part of Dumfries and Galloway.

 

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Two more to end the set.

Another one that has eluded me for 3 months.....

 

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078. European Goldfinch. Ballakesh, IOM

and one that I knew would turn up eventually........

 

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079. Tree Pipit. Maughold. IOM.

Maughold was an Irish Monk, kinsman of Patrick, who was washed ashore just off the 'Headland' on which I am stood. He became a recluse and a small spring on the Headland is named after him. St. Maghold's Well. The village grew up around him and bears his  name and the churchyard contains many fine examples of Celtic Crosses.

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4 hours ago, xelas said:

Tree pipit photo is a wall hanger!

I know. I am so ashamed that I failed and let the side down.

But it was not all bad news..

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I can still succeed when I really put my best efforts into the shot.

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hmm your EBC standards are slipping with those excellent shots of terns, Goldfinch and pipit.

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6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

hmm your EBC standards are slipping

I know. I have no one to blame but myself. I shall endeavor to improve.

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Well freezing whether and lockdown compliance still in place for a few more days at least need not stop the Big Year.

Looking out from my Lounge window just now (NB. @Dave WilliamsLounge not bathroom. We do things better over here although the bathroom does have the same view.;)) and my attention was drawn to some Terns calling.

My lounge does have a Sofa but not as good as @mvecht's.

And the Sandwich Terns had come to visit me. How kind of them.

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080. Sandwich Tern. Ramsey Bay. IOM

 

And a slight product improvement on #52 was also observed.

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Full marital dress and no doubt ready to start ashore. I can probably see the nest site from my window but I doubt NASA's best lens would struggle at that distance. I will have a wander round later to get up close.

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To the woods, to the woods. Well a small section of Curragh any way.

I took my EBC filter and gave it a drop of oil before seeing what was about in the sunshine as temperatures nudged nearer springlike norms. I thought I may get a warbler or something.

I was right.

But first against the sun, when is it not, I braked hard at a Sparrow that did not look right.

True enough.

I took a few to ensure something useable and send belated apologies and thanks to the car that waited patiently behind me on the narrow lane.

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Not the best or worst that I can do but enough to show the brown crown and black cheek spot of a

081. Tree Sparrow. Not many on the island (not many trees) and probably still in single figures for sightings in 30 years.

So to my chosen venue. Close Sartfield Nature Reserve in The Curraghs. Preserved for the five or six species of Orchid that are due to flower soon. Farming practices leave the haymaking until after they have flowered.

And first up singing boldly up in  a tree was one bird I was not expecting just yet.

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082. Blackcap. We get a few every year but usually after the leaf is out so darned hard to see.

 

Read about Close Sartfield here. https://www.mwt.im/nature-reserves/close-sartfield 

while I find some more birds.

 

 

 

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Progressing along the boardwalk into the willow and birch woods I saw a nice male Wallaby but he was not being particularly sociable and took off at speed.

But then I heard a sound I had listened for all year. Teecha, teecha, my missing Tit. Just a glimpse as he was also shy.

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083. Great Tit. Close Sartfield. IOM.

 

Now I have a problem. with the low sun I was getting silhouettes or distant glimpses of both warblers. The usual suspects. Both singing their ditties so no doubt on aural ID but visuals less easy.

I am putting them up as I named them. You can see I have had to add light to get any features at all but overall shape of #84 is slenderer and indicative of Willie Warbler.

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084. Willow Warbler. Close Sartfield.  and his cousin..

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085. Chiff Chaff. Close Sartfield. To be honest I will get loads more from now on in better conditions so it does not really matter one way or t'other. Just thought to tick em off now while I remember to switch off the EBC filter..

 

 

 

 

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On 4/14/2021 at 4:41 PM, Galana said:

Both singing their ditties so no doubt on aural ID but visuals less easy.

 

the most reliable identifier for me - after the song - is the supercilium

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michael-ibk

You get so many cool species we are lacking here. OTOH, I always have to chuckle with your fascination with Tree Sparrows over there. Granted, they are the smarter looking of the two but so common here!

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Well despite some nice weather giving a mirror flat sea (so flat the AF gave up in disgust) there was nothing new to tempt me except a Bridled version of the Common Guillimot so I returned to a party of Wheatear I had noticed earlier.

There seemed to be a family meeting in progress with about 5 males and a single female around a Rabbit hole.

I don't know the collective noun for Wheatear?

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If there is not one can I suggest "an Indulgence?"  I love to see these come through each spring.

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1 hour ago, xelas said:

#3 photo above is überscharf!

Sorry yes!

Sometimes I just cannot help it!:(

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Another day after a blank weekend and a bit of practice with the EBC filter and some horrible 'improvements'.

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And as we were pulling in to the coast I wondered if the High Tide would yield me a Tern fishing close in.

No but a Northern Gannet obliged.

 

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Before flying off.

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Was that all I had to show for a mornings work?

NO. But whilst I won't keep you dangling like a certain Tortoise it is worthy of a tail of its own.

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So to the highlight of today. A bogey slayed. Whilst this bird has featured in my Big Years regularly I have never got it here on the Isle Man. Seen often but not caught on camera. Indeed this is only the 2nd usable shot I have even got of it here and the last one was SIX years ago. When my usable was perhaps more loosely defined. Well let's be honest. Forget 'perhaps!'

 

And it came about in one of those serendipitous moments we can relish for some time.

So share my glee or not....

Driving up to my patch, Ballakesh, this morning I slowed to study a few small trees and was asked by Lady G why? I replied well I sometimes find the occasional Cuckoo here and in April come he will. (And PJ has made it home to Suffolk this week.)

And blow me the words were hardly spoken when a Cuckoo whizzed over the road and into the Conifers of Ballakesh.

Rapid acceleration and breaking but whilst I knew to the inch where the blighter had pitched I could not make it out.

Banged off a couple of semi wide angles just in case as there was nothing to zoom in on. Parked up muttering rude words. Had a look on foot but it had gone.

Later it returned hotly pursued by crows but I missed it. Then the crows chased it back towards me and I had a go again at semi zoom just in case it flew into the view finder. It did.

Here is the EBC contender for April.:)

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Definitely a Cuckoo.:D

 

But what about that first shot into the trees?

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Well here it is. And THERE 'IT' is.

 

A bit of cropping and I have my Cuckoo. ON the Isle of Man.

 

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086.  European Cuckoo. Ballakesh Plantation, Isle of Man.

 

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That us a true birder's delight; ad a strategy to be remembered for next time.

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10 hours ago, Galana said:

European Cuckoo

 

Nice one. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive

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michael-ibk

Nice indeed, it´s always a happy occassion when I hear them for the first time in spring. Have not seen one yet - mind you, they never like beeing seen after all.

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1 hour ago, Soukous said:

Nice one. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive

Well I mentioned PJ arriving home to "his breeding grounds in the King's Forest, Suffolk. He is the first of our tagged Cuckoos to survive five complete migrations with his tag still functioning."

Coming to  a Forest near you!

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