Ring Ouzels lower down in the bad weather.
09th April 2013
Normally at this time of the year Migrant Ring Ouzels are high up on their breeding grounds such as Craig Cerrig Gleisiad in the Brecon Beacons. These birds like boulder strewn slopes on the high mountains, hence their old name of 'Mountain Blackbird'.
However, this year because of the bitterly cold weather we have been experiencing their normal breeding grounds are either frozen solid or covered in snow and consequently they are reluctant to move up to this higher ground. This 'Spring' they are being seen feeding in fields much lower down, just waiting for the weather to improve. These birds are inordinately shy and are very unapproachable so getting a photograph is very difficult indeed!
I have been looking for them for the last few weeks and I have only had a fleeting glimpse of a 1st winter bird. However, yesterday I was walking on a local moorland near to where I live and in the distance, when there was a lull in the wind, I could hear what I thought was an Ouzel singing, although a very distinctive song it is something you don't hear very often, but the further on I went the more convinced I was it was an Ouzel. There was a small limestone outcrop and a gully below it, a perfect situation for a bird to shelter during this bad weather.
I stayed low and crept closer until I could see over a small rise in the ground, then much to my delight there she was, a beautiful adult female Ring Ouzel. She saw me but she looked away and continued feeding, a very good sign that she wasn't too bothered about me. I kept very quiet and stayed low to the ground and moved a little nearer until she was in range, she stopped feeding and looked at me again and then she moved up onto a grassy mound so she could get a better view, this was perfect for me and I shot here straight away.
It's quite a privilege to get that close to a very nervous bird like an Ouzel when they are up on a mountain, it is a bit easier when they come in off the sea and land in coastal fields, they are more approachable then.
Then she became restless and just flew off onto higher ground and out of sight, a very pleasant experience with a lovely bird.
However, this year because of the bitterly cold weather we have been experiencing their normal breeding grounds are either frozen solid or covered in snow and consequently they are reluctant to move up to this higher ground. This 'Spring' they are being seen feeding in fields much lower down, just waiting for the weather to improve. These birds are inordinately shy and are very unapproachable so getting a photograph is very difficult indeed!
I have been looking for them for the last few weeks and I have only had a fleeting glimpse of a 1st winter bird. However, yesterday I was walking on a local moorland near to where I live and in the distance, when there was a lull in the wind, I could hear what I thought was an Ouzel singing, although a very distinctive song it is something you don't hear very often, but the further on I went the more convinced I was it was an Ouzel. There was a small limestone outcrop and a gully below it, a perfect situation for a bird to shelter during this bad weather.
I stayed low and crept closer until I could see over a small rise in the ground, then much to my delight there she was, a beautiful adult female Ring Ouzel. She saw me but she looked away and continued feeding, a very good sign that she wasn't too bothered about me. I kept very quiet and stayed low to the ground and moved a little nearer until she was in range, she stopped feeding and looked at me again and then she moved up onto a grassy mound so she could get a better view, this was perfect for me and I shot here straight away.
It's quite a privilege to get that close to a very nervous bird like an Ouzel when they are up on a mountain, it is a bit easier when they come in off the sea and land in coastal fields, they are more approachable then.
Then she became restless and just flew off onto higher ground and out of sight, a very pleasant experience with a lovely bird.