PeterHG's eighth BY

[Galana]

I agree. the Hobby's poised wings really show the bird well.

[BRACQUENE]

Congrats on your domestic century Peter ; a considerable achievement especially with the weather conditions this year !

[Zim Girl]

Fantastic picture of the Hobby!

[Kitsafari]

21 hours ago, Zim Girl said:

Fantastic picture of the Hobby!

\x2

[PeterHG]

Thank  you @xelas @michael-ibk @Galana @BRACQUENE @Zim Girl @Kitsafari. I must say I am very happy with the Hobby photo, too! Fortunately I saw it coming from some way off, so I was prepared for the shots.

 

Some more additions from the Isle of Texel.

216 / NL 106. Pied Avocet. Texel, May. They are pretty common, but somehow I felt there were not as many as previous years.

 

217 / NL 107. Skylark. Unfortunately we have only 5% left of the numbers of Skylarks we had in the seventies of last century, but at least numbers are fairly stable. You can't miss their song when out in the meadows, but they are surprisingly difficult to spot in the sky. Well, for me at least...

 

218 / NL 108. Curlew. Texel, May. We heard their vibrating calls a few times when walking in the dunes and it's a wonderful sound.

 

219 / NL 109. Little Tern. Texel, May. The nesting site near the sea is fenced off, fortunately, and quite distant, but with. a little patience we could see a few terns much closer as they flew past us. 

 

220 / NL 110. Common Ringed Plover. A common little wader on the island. The nest in the same fenced off areas as the little terns. I decided to try and take a low-angle shot, by lying down on the sand. This can give you a nice intimate perspective, but I only try this when there is someone close at hand to help me getting up again  I'll post two photos: the first when I was still standing and the second when I was flat on my belly. The difference is subtle (with water this would be clearer), but it's definitely there.

 

 

221 / NL 111. Sandwich Tern. Texel, May. Numbers were decimated last year because of the avian flu, but they are making a slow come-back. The large colonies we visited in previous year are still unoccupied for the greater part, but we did seen some individuals again. Last year I did not see any.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

and some duplicates. All in all a very enjoyable trip.

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

Great additions Peter: Who should be a bit jealous ? 

[TonyQ]

@PeterHGwonderful photos!

[Galana]

5 hours ago, PeterHG said:

I only try this when there is someone close at hand to help me getting up again

 

That's when I get home to a beating for having dirty/torn knees in my trousers until I explain myself.

Great shot of the Ringed Plover. A well deserved reward.

[Peter Connan]

Seems every time I visit this thread the quality has improved another notch, and another milestone has been achieved!

[michael-ibk]

Agree with Peter (Connan), fantastic shots. You just know I am jealous about the Oystercatcher. 

[PeterHG]

Thank you @BRACQUENE @TonyQ @Galana  @Peter Connan @michael-ibk!

On 5/24/2023 at 12:05 PM, michael-ibk said:

You just know I am jealous about the Oystercatcher.

I don't do it on purpose, honestly....;)

 

 

[PeterHG]

The Blue Tits in our garden managed to raise 6 little ones. I spent an hour or so watching them leave the nest one by one. Already counted, but adorable duplicates...

 

 

[PeterHG]

In the east of the country I unexpectedly encountered a Red-backed Shrike, scarce breeding bird in our country.

 

222 / NL 112. Red-backed Shrike. Ommen, May

 

Due to foot problems I did not get to make my usual walks in the local wetland area. Well only a few anyway.The first was on a sunny evening when the wind looked right to have a go at the Swifts. Always a nice challenge and I did not have to walk, just choose a good position. 

223 / NL 113. Common Swift. Arkemheen. June.

 

And the second time was this morning when I heard a song coming from the reed beds I recognized as the varied tones of a Marsh Warbler. It took a little time before it showed properly, but I was quite happy to see it. It is not exactly rare, but pretty unusual in this area.

 

And now I'm off to Iceland next Wednesday. Not a country for a great variety in species, but I do hope for a few lifers.

 

[Galana]

I am sure that you will do well. Safe journey.

[xelas]

Enjoy Iceland! Whatever it misses in wildlife, the landscape is spectacular.

[Dave Williams]

Fabulous stuff Peter, Enjoy Iceland , I loved it. Not that many different birds to go for but a couple that are unique to Iceland as far as Europe goes. 

Even just outside the the airport you'll hear the Snipe flying. Amazing!

[Zim Girl]

Great pics of the Blue Tits leaving the nest box.

Have a lovely time in Iceland!

[michael-ibk]

Have a great trip Peter, looking forward to hear about it - and see your excellent photos of course. 👌

[Dave Williams]

Forgot to mention the Ringed Plover shot....definitely better bokeh lying low down ( but as Fred says, getting up is the problem!). You'd notice it a lot more if it was on grass as sand is not that obvious anyway. The only time I have ever thought really constructively on depth of field and aperture was when I was photographing the Badger on a water  trough using an automatic trigger from an infra red beam. The aperture was calculated specifically to focus on the beam (the point it crossed anyway) which from memory was 3m from the camera with a margin of error on either side so as much of the badger would be in focus as possible.Having established that  target zone and the aperture I could then decide what shutter speed I could get away with without blurring the image. Then it was left with just ISO that could be flexible but the price to pay was "noise" . As an amateur I'm pretty certain that most of us don't think long enough about aperture and it's effects.

[Kitsafari]

caught up now but I'm guessing you're already back from the land of Melting Ice, or on the way back. Hope you had a good trip!

[PeterHG]

Thank you all for the kind comments!

 

We're back from our Iceland trip. We spent a fortnight there, primarily to see its unique landscape with waterfalls, glaciers and beautiful coastlines. Of course we threw in some birding, where we could, if only to see a few species that cannot easily be seen anywhere else in Europe. We thoroughly enjoyed our Iceland experience. I'll post the birds in chronological order and mix them with some scenery photos. I hope you don't mind there will also be duplicates among the birds. They will be added to the Iceland score but not to the BY total. but it's fitting to show them as they are really a part what we loved about the country. And they also make up for the limited number of species we managed to see. Iceland only has just over 70 breeding species, so that was to be expected.

When making a tour of Iceland many people start by driving round the so-called 'Golden Circle, starting near the capital Reykjavik. If one's time is limited that might be the only thing you do, to get an idea of the country. It is a scenic drive, leading past beautiful views, an enormous waterfall, some geysers and a crater lake. We had solid rain the first few days, but even so, the Gulfoss Waterfall was impressive to see.

 

Only a handful of birds. Already seen this year, albeit not in this plumage'

-/ I 01 Golden Plover. Common al over iceland. We did not get many close views, though

 

- / I 02 Dunlin. Seen a few times, but probably missed a fair number.

 

- / I 03 Whooper Swan. Also common and seen daily. No other swans in the country.

 

 

[PeterHG]

Driving along the south coast more birds could be added.

225 / I 04. Northern Fulmar. Iceland, June. Nesting wherever cliffs were to be found, so the most common bird of the coast.

 

226 / I 05. Arctic Skua/Parasitic Jaeger. Iceland, June. Seen daily, though never in great numbers. The dark phase (first photo) was more common than the light phase (second photo)

 

 

227 / I 06. Arctic Tern. Iceland, June. Also very common ( and very fierce when approaching their nesting site). As there are no Common Terns here, confusion between the two species is mot possible.

 

After the first two days the sun came out and it made a dramatic diffence in the landscape. This is the fjallsárlon glacier lagoon, a truly magnificent sight.

 

And this is the Vestrahorn Mountain. Also an impressive location.

 

I know this is not the Big Scenery Thread, but I just can't resist showing some of the environment we birded in. And as it was not really a birding trip I don't think I'll do a separate trip report. 

 

 

[Soukous]

33 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

I know this is not the Big Scenery Thread, but I just can't resist showing some of the environment we birded in.

 

It is appreciated

[pedro maia]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

 

It is appreciated

 

much appreciated