New year Barnie

First of all can I wish all the readers of my blog a happy new year & lets hope 2013 is a bit drier than 2012.
Today was to be my first session of the new year, bad weather, crap light whatever, I was still going out! I decided the "newt ponds" on the road to Steart would be a good area to try due to the Barn Owl that has been seen regularly hunting over the rough banks there. Twitter had reported no sign in the morning apart from a brief spell at around 8AM over towards Stockland. Having parked up in a gateway & set up my 600mm lens on my window mount, I settled down for what could be a long wait.  As it happens the Owl appeared after about an hour or so. The light was appalling but it was great to see & the shots below are the best of the bunch.

Below are a few from my first session a week or so ago.

Barn owls can be seen hunting during the day at any time of year, but especially in the winter months. Settled periods after heavy rain or strong wind are usually quite good as they are unable to hunt in stormy weather & have a bit of catching up to do. This of course means that they should not be disturbed when hunting & anyone who fancies a go at photographing them should bear this in mind & put the birds welfare first & foremost. Give them space!

*Barn owls are schedule 1 birds & should not be disturbed (including photographing them) at or near the nest site during the breeding season without a licence from Natural England. 

Public vote

I have had the honour of one of my entries into the Somerset wildlife trusts photographic competition short listed into the final 10. The final 10 entries are now open to a public vote to find the winner of the peoples choice award. Please take a couple of minutes to visit the voting page here & pick your favourite. The winners of the peoples choice & judges choice will be announced in february.

Waxwings at last!

Waxwings have invaded the country. Some huge flocks have been seen stripping berries in Scotland & the far north. Birdguides birdmap has been "pebble dashed" with markers denoting where they have been spotted, everywhere it would seem but down here in Somerset. Over the last fortnight, small numbers have been spotted in Weston-super-mare, Avonmouth & Bristol. This week they have been turning up locally at Shapwick NNR (18), around Taunton & Westonzoyland. The latter is where I ended up this morning after a post on Twitter from Roger Musgrove (thanks mate!) where he had spotted 3 in a small suburban street. By the time I had got there the total was now 6. They were favouring a Rowan tree with its ample supply of pink berries.

Stint at Steart

A Small flooded field at Stockland reach near Steart in Somerset has turned up another quality wader, this time in the form of a Temmincks stint. An arctic breeder, this bird should now be wintering in Africa. Much less common than the Little Stint but as likely to occur in spring & autumn on passage. I have seen them before at Meare heath & at Titchwell in Norfolk but both those birds were a long way off & still dots even with a scope. This one was only 35m away & came as close as 20m on occasion. The sun even came out briefly!

Colourful day

This morning started with a trip up the M5 to Sand bay near Weston-super-mare, to try & catch up with the Hoopoe that has been there for nearly a week. The rain clouds cleared just as we approached the beach & the sun shone down. After a short 10 minute wait, in it flew & landed in front of the few waiting birders & photographers. We all then spent the next half an hour or so snapping away & most of the dog walkers steered there charges away from the small happy crowd. What happened next I could not believe. A lone woman walked towards the group, staying behind the forest of tripods only to then walk across the grass towards the bird & flushed it! She then after walking on for a few metres walked back from where she came from! Most of the crowd then disappeared off home or followed the bird up the beach, leaving me alone & dumbfounded wondering what had happened to common sense. I must point out that she was neither a birder or photographer & did walk behind the group. But surely she must have clocked all the optics pointing in the direction of her travel after she had passed the group? If she had stayed on the path, all would have been ok.

 Earwigs seem to have been its favourite nosh today!

This afternoon I visited Noahs lake hide at Shapwick heath NNR. After a couple of fruitless freezing hours a Bittern dropped into the small reed bed in front of the hide, too quickly for me to get on it & a Kingfisher fished from a reed stem.

Carrying a big lens

One thing that I have hated about my 600mm lens since I have had it is the really annoying carrying strap. For those that do not know, the strap is attached to the tripod foot & to a fixed loop on the lens body near the camera mount. Now the trouble is that I hate to have dangling straps when the lens is fixed to the tripod. They are either flapping around in the wind or getting in the way. Also because of the way the strap is attached, one end swivelling & one end fixed, it always manages to get twisted up beyond belief.
There are alternatives of course. I used to use an Op-tech strap on my old Sigma 500 that had quick release clips, the type that you squeeze the sides together to release them. This was ok until I accidentally grabbed hold of the clip when loading the car & the clip released allowing the lens to hit the deck. Fortunately the lens hood took the brunt of it & the lens was undamaged (the hood regained its shape after a bit of fettling). After this, I no longer trusted the Op-tech strap.
Other alternatives include offerings from Kirk & Black rapid. These both appealed as they have a single mount that screws into the tripod foot. That is ok until you want to fit the lens to your tripod. You need to unscrew the strap.
A variation on the same theme had a small Arca-swiss type clamp attached to the screw on the end of the strap, giving a secure quick release system. Just what I needed! These type of straps are around 80 quid.
While searching the old faithful ebay, I came across a small clamp with eyebolt screwed in for £25 delivered. Hunting through my camera gear, I found a thick padded strap that came with my Lowepro lens bag complete with the type of clips used on dog leads. More than strong enough for the job. Delivery of the clamp was fast & tonight I attached it to my strap & then to the lens. To say I am pleased is an understatement. Comfortable, secure & true quick release. Perfect!

Link to the clamp on ebay

Please note that I have in no way any connection  either personal or financial to the seller on ebay. I am purely a satisfied customer.

Brean down Wryneck

A couple of shots of the Wryneck that has been at the walled garden at Brean Down for a few days now, much to the delight of many birders both local & visitors. A Ring Ouzel was also present although when i seen it last, it was being harrased by a Sparrowhawk. Pretty sure it got away.

A member of the woodpecker family, it is usually hard to see due to its cryptic plumage. This one however frequently fed on ants out on the open grass & allowed these long range record shots to be taken with the 600 & 2x converter.