A memorable June weekend

No time for words, so I've summed up my long weekend with in photographs.

male Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Acres Down, Hampshire, 13 June

male Cretzschmar's Bunting, Bardsey Island, Gwynedd, 15 June

male Melodious Warbler, Hampton in Arden, West Midlands, 15 June

Desert Wheatear

Arriving from the second half of October onwards, Desert Wheatears tend to mark the conclusion of the autumn period in Britain. There have already been three this early November, including the extremely tidy male pictured above at Reculver, Kent.

With Sunday free and having not seen a DW in Britain since the female I ticked while dipping Chimney Swift on Holy Island in 2005, I met up with Rich and headed down to Kent for an hour or so in the company of this bird. The light was grey and flat but the bird made up for it, despite the seemingly endless procession of lens wielding admirers parked flat on the beach about ten metres from its favoured rocks. This species has a habit of being pretty fearless and so it proved; though not bothered by humans, it wasn't quite as ridiculous as the Lowestoft bird looked! You'll notice that the DW is facing left in every shot - all thanks to a light but persistent southwesterly.

More wheatear pics on my Flickr pages:

Having had our fill and taken enough photos to add to the ridiculous total already taken by others, we headed down to Dungeness for the afternoon. The best bird was a brief first-winter Yellow-legged Gull but we did speed by a Great White Egret, which was mincing around in the usual corner of ARC Pit.

Brief (shite) Desert Wheatear vid:

Isabelline Wheatear

We spent a couple of hours around the expansive plains near Urim on our penultimate afternoon in Israel, although predictably we were a tad late in the season for huge flocks of sandgrouse and assorted raptors. That said, we did see a couple of Merlins and a pair of particularly showy Isabelline Wheatears which, in the evening light, provided an irresistable opportunity for photography. Utilizing some pretty good team tactics, we all managed some pleasing images. I must admit I've never really understood the difficulty in seperating these things from Northern Wheatears - particularly with good views. There's just something about their bulk and demeanour that is instantly recognizable. Anyway... great birds.

Cyprus Wheatear

This Cyprus Wheatear was probably the pick of grounded migrants observed at k76 during the week. These photos were taken in the heat of the day hence they're a little hazy and the light is harsh; the bird also proved incredibly difficult to get close to - even in the car! Nice bird though and the first I've seen since my dad showed me them on family holiday to Cyprus in 1996, so more or less like a lifer. Note the tail and rump pattern in the fourth shot down.

Morocco Trip Report, June/July 2012

You can view and download my Morocco trip report at your will below:



Apologies for the mix-up last night; I've moved the PDF to scribd which seems to solve the problem. Hope it comes in handy to others on future visits!