News

Susan and I were out again early yesterday morning up on our favourite area of common land. This was we thought the last chance before the poor weather forecast for this weekend came in, the weather at the moment is not suitable for walking these areas, they are too exposed and you would get wet, and your photographic kit would get wet which is much worse.
Few people visit this area, just locals usually, so it’s free from the masses of people that are drawn to the usual ‘Hot Spots’ of the Beacons. I can’t rationalize the mentality of these people who repeatedly walk up to Pen y Fan e.g. - as if it’s a badge of honour. Presumably It’s to do with their social media exposure, and I really can’t explain how much I detest those platforms. In addition, I don’t want to walk in a queue, and seeing the people on the path leading up there from distance reminds me of a colony of marching ants.

I digress sorry;

A chilly wind blew under a grey sky as we left the car but it wasn’t too bad and as we walked up a slope the cloud cover broke up and blue-sky and sun appeared, transforming the morning. Skylarks now sang from on high, Meadow Pipits and Linnets darted for cover, Willow Warblers sang their descending song and a nice family of Stonechats sat atop a gorse bush.
As we reached the top of the slope, we were greeted by a wide expanse of common, a picturesque panorama bathed in warm sunshine. We walked on to a group of flat stones where we stopped and enjoyed a cup of coffee from my little flask - a Cuckoo called distantly, perfectly complimenting the scene.

Little did we know that wasn’t the only contact with a Cuckoo we would have that morning!

We resumed our walk; a few Painted Lady butterflies were on the wing and good numbers of Small Heath butterflies flitted around our feet and we watched a vocal Tree Pipit singing as it parachuted down to perch on a tree top. It was a most pleasant morning now and as we carried on to the end of the common, we could now hear the Cuckoo much nearer, but he remained frustratingly out of sight.
We had reached the half way point of our walk so we turned around and made our way back, the Cuckoo’s call, almost mockingly, became distant again.
As we approached a block of deciduous woodland, we could now hear another Cuckoo - much nearer this time. Suddenly he appeared being pursued by a string of birds, reminiscent of a child’s kite with streamers trailing behind, this is the life of a Cuckoo that most people don’t see.
Surprisingly I could now see it was coming straight at us and it zoomed right over the top of us. This is what happens sometimes when Cuckoos are being harassed by small birds, ordinarily they won’t go anywhere near people, but they just want to escape their tormentors.
As usual I had my little Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens slung over my shoulder, and I managed a few shots, it’s not easy when a Cuckoo is flying fast and remarkably close indeed - as little as twenty feet away! He was also up against a now white sky which is not good for exposure, but all you can do is try.







It’s extraordinarily difficult to get these up – close shots with a big prime lens. The field of view is so narrow and to hand hold them is so difficult because of weight and size. This is where these little manoeuvrable zoom lenses really come into their own.
He disappeared into the woodland and I thought that was it, but no, I could now see him flying low along this woodland edge, surprisingly close. This is the ultimate test for a camera and lens because when you have an uneven background behind a subject in flight the camera’s auto focus tracking system can become easily confused and jump around looking for focus.
Having said that the combination of my Canon R5 Mk2 and Canon Rf 100 -500 zoom lens is remarkably adept for these scenarios, and I could lock onto him as he flew quickly and erratically across me. Again, this is far from easy, but I managed a few shots before he disappeared for the last time.





















Canon R5 Mk2 + Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens - Handheld.
500mm / f7.1 / 2500/sec / ISO 2000

We were both shocked but ultimately very pleased at this encounter as we contentedly made our way back to the car.

A nice walk had been unimaginably enhanced by a charismatic bird.

Susan and I were out walking early this morning trying to avoid the showery weather we have been having lately. It still looked unsettled but we were hoping the showers wouldn’t be too frequent. As we strolled along a track with a conifer plantation on one side and a steep mountain on the other, we could hear a Cuckoo calling in the distance. Cuckoos like to perch up in conifer plantations; they like to call from the tree tops and in addition it’s also a good place to shelter from the weather and roost at night.
As we moved further along the track Spotted Flycatchers flitted around in the low tree branches in front of us, three Song Thrushes looked for food on the track and a Common Redstart sung from the woods. However, a big grey cloud appeared ahead and we had to take cover under a tree while a heavy shower passed through.
The call of the Cuckoo got nearer and I could at last see him perched in a dead tree on the side of the track. Typically, when he saw us, he retreated back up high into the conifer belt. This was from a hundred yards away; these are nervous birds at the best of times.
When we got to the dead tree, we could hear him calling from the top of the plantation but he couldn’t see us from where he was perched. Opposite this dead tree there was another Hawthorn tree in flower on the other side of the track, only about fifteen yards away. Cuckoos are faithful to their favourite perches so I thought I'd give it a go, so Susan then tucked away out of sight under some overhanging branches up against the plantation. My theory was that if after some time he came back out looking for food he might perch in this dead tree and because I was hidden behind the live hawthorn tree when he flew out, he wouldn’t see me below him.
However, out of nowhere another Cuckoo came flying past being pursued by a Meadow Pipit – two Cuckoos, it was getting better! I took a quick record shot as he flew passed.



Advantageously for me Cuckoos don’t like other Cuckoos in their territory and this second bird prompted the first Cuckoo to come flying out of the plantation. It chased the second bird way but then as I hoped came fluttering over to its favourite perch – the dead tree – perfect!!
I had chosen to hide behind the live Hawthorn tree because when I first looked across at the dead tree the top branches were below the sky line, so there would be no silhouetting. If the branches were above the skyline I wouldn’t have had a good shot – it’s important! When you see a Cuckoo slowing down it flutters its wings like a giant butterfly, if this doesn’t happen then you know they are going straight over the tree top.
It landed on the highest branch of the dead tree right in front of me hidden fifteen yards away. I had my little Canon 100-500 lens resting on a branch and I shot him straight away – great feeling.











I shot him in a few poses before he was inevitably mobbed by a Meadow Pipit, causing him to fly away. Very soon another rain shower came in and we were forced to shelter again. After it cleared away, we walked the couple of miles back to the car before more rain came in. It was worth dodging the showers to get some nice views of one of my favourite birds.

Canon R5 Mk2 / Canon RF100-500 / Handheld.

Sombre Tits are similar in looks to our Willow Tit, although with a very sharply defined white triangular cheek patch caused by their black cap extending down into the sides of their head and meeting a large black bib, this feature is very noticeable and therefore diagnostic.



Similarly, they are also cavity nesters, inhabiting typically Juniper, Willow and Poplar, amongst other native trees.
They have a remarkably extensive range and are found from Slovenia and Romania, to as far as Crete, into Turkey and the island of Lesvos. They also inhabit Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Israel and Lebanon.
Their diet consists of insects, grubs and other larvae, the feed around low tree branches and on the ground.

Sometimes referred to as the Black Capped or Black Crowned Jay, this subspecies of the nominate race – Garrulus glandarius, the Eurasian jay (which we see in the Uk) is seen across Lesvos. Garrulus meaning talkative and glandarius a reference to their principal diet of acorns succinctly describes these birds’ behaviour.
There are many subspecies of the Eurasian Jay, probably in double figures. However, based on geography, birds seen across Lesvos, which is only five miles from the Turkish mainland, are probably the Garrulus glandarius – anatoliae sub species, which inhabit the Anatolian region of Turkey.

Black Storks are quite shy, much more so than their white cousins. They are also more closely tied to water, feeding on fish and other amphibians. White Storks are a much drier habitat bird feeding largely in meadows on beetles, grasshoppers, locusts and other small animals.
Both species are large gentle birds, but the Black Stork prefers quieter situations away from human activity, a world apart from White Storks that nest in the middle of towns and villages across Europe.



They are a very attractive bird on the ground or in flight.

Night Herons are different to other Herons, insomuch as they, as their name indicates, operate between dusk and dawn. Their genus name, derived from the Greek is Nycticorax or Night Raven, this is because of their nocturnal habits and also their barking call like a corvid.
They are very widespread birds and exist on every continent except Antarctica. They possess very good eyesight, especially in low light and they are also very clever and are known to lure fish and other amphibians by baiting the water with light coloured sticks and other material that attract their prey.
Sometimes they can be located roosting in tree tops or alternatively low down in riverside vegetation. They often roost in large numbers, as many as fifty to a hundred birds. Unfortunately, they are usually in cover and as a result obscured from view, but sometimes you can get lucky.



One bird asleep and the other half so.

They are one of my favourite Herons, probably because of this behaviour.

Short Toed Eagles are impressive birds and they can be seen in the skies of Lesvos from time to time. On the odd occasion they can be seen at quite close quarters and that’s always a bonus.



Normally they are at height, often up to five hundred feet, scanning the ground, primarily for snakes and amphibians but also for other small animals.

Nightingales can be frustrating birds to see, they usually sing from dense cover, sometimes from as little as a few feet away, but still remain hidden.
There are always exceptions to the rule they say, and outside our hotel room was an overhead power cable and for some reason, despite a wide choice of suitable habitat to sing from, a nightingale, every afternoon around the same time, appeared on this cable and sang for five minutes.



This oration was as little as fifteen feet from me as a I sat on the patio sipping a cold one. A cold beer and a nightingale serenading me was a most pleasant way to spend time relaxing.

Masked Shrikes are a delicate little bird, the smallest shrike found on the island of Lesvos, favouring semi-open woodland, scrub and particularly olive groves where they can be quite difficult to see. They are much less conspicuous than the other shrikes found on the island. They have a scratchy song which can sometimes be mistaken for an Olive Tree Warbler, a notoriously difficult bird to see which also inhabits olive groves.
These little birds don’t perch as openly as the Woodchat e.g. so when one pops up on a branch it is always a welcome bonus.



Taken handheld from a car while driving past an olive grove.

Long Eared Owls are difficult to see in the UK, especially in the Brecon Beacons where a birder will go years, perhaps decades without seeing one. This is because they are quite nocturnal in their habits and they also like to roost, usually in dense cover by day, and in addition to this they are not particularly numerous.
On the island of Lesvos, they are still not easily seen by any imagination, but they can be found at roost with a bit of effort. This will usually be in towns and villages in conifer and particularly eucalyptus trees. It is also surprising how low down they can be found at roost, as little as ten feet off the ground.
Having said this, they can still be quite unobtrusive, preferring to have some foliage in front of them as cover. However, now and then they can be found out in the open and this is always a welcome bonus.

Pratincoles are strange birds;
Behaving like a Swallow/Swift but also like a wader. These birds spend most of their time, including foraging and nesting in damp meadows and sometimes on shorelines. Conversely though, they are also very accomplished fliers, consummately catching insects on the wing which form an important element of their diet.
Originally, they were indeed classified in the Swallow and Swift genus - Hirundo or Hirundine, however, they were subsequently placed in the genus Glareola, Latin for Gravel, a reference to their wader - like habits.
To extrapolate further - The species name Pratincola means an inhabitant of meadows, from the Latin words Pratum, Prati – Meadow and Incola - inhabitant.
If you are ever looking for these birds this is where they will be found.



When not hunting insects on the wing.



Collared Pratincole.



A somewhat enigmatic but rather attractive bird to find in either of these situations.

Undoubtably the most difficult shrike to see on the island of Lesvos is the Lesser Grey Shrike. They are much less common than the other three shrikes likely to be encountered, these being Masked, Woodchat and Red-backed. These birds spend less than four months on their breeding grounds in Southern Europe before returning to their South African wintering quarters.
I’m always on the lookout for them, usually without much success, but while driving along a long straight road I could see a bird on the top of a roadside bush in the distance. I thought Woodchat or Red backed because Masked are usually in much denser habitat than that.
I stopped the car and I could now see it was a Lesser Grey. I stopped some fifty yards short because these birds are usually very flighty and I fully expected it to fly off as soon as I exited the car, but it stayed put – unusual!
I shot a few frames then very slowly walked towards it taking a few shots before walking nearer. This is a technique I have always adopted, because if the bird flies away at least you have something. However, this bird exhibited total indifference to my approach and unbelievably stayed perched in the same place when I was as little as ten yards away, quite unbelievable really - behaviour I have never encountered before with this species.

I wasn’t complaining and I had a real close-up experience with this lovely bird.

Note the pinkish wash to its underparts.

Smart birds.

Although the most numerous species of shrike on the island of Lesvos, the Red Backed Shrike remains my favourite. I have always had a soft spot for these birds, because a male was the most difficult for me to see in the UK. I kept getting females and juveniles but the male eluded me for years, and although this was about forty years ago the great sense of satisfaction at finally seeing a male 'red back' still endures to this day.
These birds are very beautiful, as are all shrikes and these are one of my favourite family of birds. On a beautiful drive up the valley from the coastal town of Eresos towards the old Pithari monastery these lovely birds adorned the bushes all along the track and I stopped counting at fifty birds.
One of their favourite perches were dead Alexander plants which grow in abundance in these areas.
What attracts me to these birds are the contrasting colours. I love the delicate pink wash on the breast and flanks, the powder blue/grey head and that sharply defined rusty coloured back.

Just gorgeous!

There is an old bridge at the bottom of a valley on the Greek island of Lesvos under which a river flows just before it enters the sea, and Alpine Swifts have historically favoured this spot for hunting insects and drinking.
These birds are not at this location all the time, they move around a great deal because covering large distances is not a problem when you possess their aerial capabilities. They are magnificent on the wing, heavily built, supremely fast and amazingly agile.
Alpine Swifts are much larger bodied and longer winged than our Common Swift, with conspicuous white underparts.
These birds are also strongly migratory, breeding in Southern Europe and Asia and spending the winter primarily in South Africa - This is a 6000-mile journey undertaken twice a year.
Attempting to photograph these very fast and erratic flying birds in flight is quite problematic, and photographers must position themselves appropriately to have any chance of success. When they approach someone front on, they just look like a large crescent cutting through the air.



Therefore, a photographer has to be in a position to loosely predict their flight path coming towards them, this is not easy though because they approach from slightly different directions every time, however, there is some consolation and that is there is an overall general pattern to their flight.
High shutter speeds are paramount to have any chance of freezing the action and this involves unfortunately, correspondingly high iso numbers. However, the bright light in this location is a great help in these matters.
A primary objective of flight photography of this nature is to ‘lock onto’ these birds very early, this is fundamental for successfully tracking them, reacting at the last moments is very nearly impossible.
I always pick one bird, never jumping around from bird to bird, this is not always the right choice because it may come to nothing – the bird may choose to suddenly move away and then you have to start again.







When these fly across you it's even more difficult because there's less tracking time to play with.







The worst situation is when they drop below the skyline because other obstacles may confuse the auto focus.





Having said all this, the Canon R5 Mk2 has a superb autofocus tracking system and when coupled with the Canon Rf 100-500 f7.1 lens (which is lightweight and manoeuvrable) is an ideal combination for the above-mentioned photographic scenario.

Modern high-end mirrorless cameras have revolutionised flight photography of birds. Superb auto focus tracking systems, massive frame rates combined with blackout-free viewfinders, superb quality back-lit stacked sensors providing high quality images and capable of very high ISO management and very fast processors providing ultra quick readouts allowing virtually continuous shooting - all these features combine to make it possible.

All these shots taken with Canon R5 Mk2 + Canon Rf 100-500 f7.1 lens.

Apart from auto focus and eye tracking, 'Manual' mode is used for all other settings.

Namely; Aperture / Shutter Speed / Iso.

500mm / f7.1 / 3200sec / 1000 iso - Handheld.

Susan and I returned late last night from two weeks on the beautiful island of Lesvos in the North Aegean Sea. Although the last two days were more like the weather in the Shetland Islands. May 1st bank holiday there, was the coldest for seventy years. We always pack fleeces for the evenings anyway, but I had to wear two for those days because of the biting wind. However, almost all of our time there was warm and sunny.
We decided prior to going that it would be a low-key affair in terms of birding and we would just enjoy the food, wine and scenery.
We did manage some birding and photography but there was no chasing around after species. Realistically though it’s almost impossible to come away from a place like Lesvos without some images and I will post a few blogs regarding birds in the coming days.



Alpine Swift in flight hunting insects.
Canon R5Mk2 + Canon Rf100-500 f7.1 lens.
500mm - 3200/sec - iso 1000 - handheld.

Spring has finally arrived in the Brecon Beacons after what has been a miserable, grey and often wet winter. Migrant birds are arriving now, Sand Martins, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and the odd Common Redstart. My favourite the enigmatic Ring Ouzel has been reported here and there in the south of the UK, but it takes a little time for them to arrive on their breeding grounds high up in the Brecon Beacons. However, this spell of very nice weather will have encouraged them up onto higher elevations. With this in mind I checked out a rocky environment which is very remote, quite inhospitable and little known to most people. Ring Ouzels like the above terrain, quiet, awkward to get to and not visited by the hordes of walkers that swarm all over other parts of the area.
It was a struggle to walk to this site carrying my Canon 600mm prime lens, heavy tripod and gimble head, but Ouzels are nervous birds and you need all the focal length you have at your disposal to avoid disturbing them. When I finally got to the site, after an hours walk, I set up using some large rocks as cover, whilst sitting on a smaller flat rock on a kneeling pad I had brought with me. Sitting on hard rocks is Ok at first but it soon becomes uncomfortable. I had brought a small flask of coffee and biscuits because a bit of comfort from food and drink makes a potentially long wait more bearable.
After about ten minutes I could hear that tell-tale ‘Peep Peep Peep’ call of a Ring Ouzel, it’s usually delivered in ‘Threes’. It’s one thing though to hear that lonely call, but another to see them and quite a different proposition altogether to get them in front of your lens. Patience, keeping very quiet and remaining still and as unobtrusive as possible is fundamental.
Sometime later a bird perched on an elevated rock and started to call out across the valley, this is typical behaviour for Ouzels – so there was hope. I took some shots which I knew would have to be cropped in later, but never mind I had something.





A second bird flew overhead and landed a little nearer to me, I didn’t rush things, I waited. Sometimes this is very difficult but years of experience have taught me to be patient.
There was a small depression in the ground within which rain water had accumulated and the second bird started feeding around it’s muddy margins.



Before then hopping onto a small stone in the middle of this water. This was my cue and I shot it while it perched there for a few seconds – a nice pose.



These two birds started to grow in confidence and began perching on different rocks and coming ever closer to me.



Even displaying at one point.



This confidence was, I’m sure, because of my behaviour described above. It’s not complicated, but some people just can’t adhere to these criteria and that’s where their problems occur, if you want success, you must be disciplined!
Both birds showed reasonably well for about an hour perching on various rocks obviously very tolerant of me being there.









One bird now unbelievably flew over towards me and began feeding in the grass literally thirty feet away from where I was sat.







I have never experienced a Ring Ouzel being that confiding before. In all my years of watching Ring Ouzels it was unique behaviour, and one which I’m sure very few people are privileged to experience.
I was enthralled by these shy, usually very unapproachable, enigmatic but beautiful birds, all set in panoramic mountain scenery with glorious weather on an inspiring spring morning - it doesn’t get much better!

A very cold wind still endures and frequent wintery showers persist in the Brecon Beacons.
Yesterday morning I went for a short walk along the River Usk which is near to where I live. I was sitting under a tree on the banks of one of the small tributaries that feed the above river, trying to shelter from the wind when I could hear a Dipper singing downstream – they have a surprisingly pleasant song.
The song then changed to a flight call, which is a series of sharp peeps, uttered every couple of seconds as they fly.
Dippers, like Kingfishers have short wings, built for the job, and they fly low over the water in a direct line from A to B so to speak. Finally I could see it coming in my direction landing with consummate ease on a large wet rock some twenty yards away.



I always marvel at these little birds, they are so dextrous in the way they navigate their way around fast flowing water, and they are so waterproof, much more so than a Kingfisher e.g. which looks bedraggled after exiting the water. Dippers never look wet - except for a few beads of water on their feathers which quickly run off.
It stayed on the rock for about ten seconds, surveying the area before flying off upstream, disappearing from view.



Lovely birds, a privilege to see.

Difficult at times, unless of course you are seeing them regularly.

Most of them are relatively easy but two are slightly more difficult.

The problems are with the iridescent nature of their plumage. Light plays a strange game with the identification of these birds sometimes.

Straightforward is the Long-tailed Glossy Starling - it has an obvious long tail and a conspicuous white eye.



Purple Glossy Starling again is quite easy, it’s the biggest of the bunch and is overall a very glossy purple even around the head.



Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling has a very conspicuous red eye.



The two problematic birds are Greater-Blue eared Starling and Lesser-Blue eared Starling. The greater is the bigger bird but if you don’t have a comparison then it’s more awkward.
A main identification tool according to field guides is their voices, but if you don’t hear these nasal calls, you obviously can’t apply this method, and if the birds are in a flock, you don’t know what bird is making a particular call.

However, there are other differences, the Greater Blue-eared is listed as bigger, but only by about two centimetres and it also has a bigger beak.

Diagnostic differences plumage-wise are the head patterns, notably the ear coverts;
The Greater Blue-eared pictured below has quite poorly defined ear coverts which tend to blend in with its mask.

Beak does look quite large.



The Lesser Blue-eared pictured below has much more sharply defined ear coverts forming a much narrower and more contrasting mask.

Much smaller beak.



There is also Splendid Glossy Starling which I didn't see but has a conspicuous creamy white eye with a normal length tail so not confusable with the Long-tailed Glossy starling.

Also a Chestnut bellied Starling which is really obvious to identify.

Here is a group bathing.


Below is a comparison with what I see from left to right Lesser Blue-eared / Bronze Tailed / Purple Glossy.



However, it isn’t always so straightforward and my analyses of these birds identification shown here may well be incorrect.

You will have to go some to find shrikes in this country as obliging as these birds. In the U.K Great Grey Shrikes e.g. don't tolerate people very well, if at all, and you nave to work really hard or be extremely lucky to get close to them. This shrike, however, seemed to be inquisitive towards me, although in order to get this close I was being very quiet and also moving extremely slowly towards it one tentative step at a time, then taking a shot and repeating the process.

This is the result.

Huge birds with a massive bill and appetite to match. They are widespread in the region but are still quite a spectacle when they appear in the sky, seemingly out of nowhere as they come in to land like a squadron of large planes.