Monday 15 June 2009

Reed Warbler






The Reed Warbler was photographed at Titchwell RSPB in front of the hide. I think that it is a youngster and love the punky hairstyle. The first picture is full size with the second a zoomed in version of the same shot.
I must just mention my birding day with the camera left in the car. On the Sunday we visited Weeting Heath NWT, it was raining heavily as we traveled to the reserve and the rain continued when we first got there. A bird club was there from the West Midlands so the hides were full and sure enough the speciality bird for the reserve was there over the ridge with sightings through your bins, distant but great a first for us.
We returned to the car after a while to have some lunch and then the magic happened, the bird club left in their coach! No, only half joking when we went back we went to the other hide and saw a stoat chasing and catching a young rabbit but it escaped and an adult rabbit set on the stoat and after a scrap saw it off.
No the real magic was we returned to a fairly quite hide where we had seen the Stone Curlew earlier and I managed to get my scope up, because now there was plenty of room, and after about ten minutes a pair of Stone Curlew flew right up in front of the hide. Pictures would still be ambitious with my 500mm lens but what cracking views, looked an attractive bird to me.
More stories from the selfish birder in due course with apologies to the West Midlands bird club that left on the bus and took their chatter with them!
If you have not been to Weeting Heath before make sure you do at this time of year.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That really is great Reed Warbler images Mike.

Chris said...

Hi Mike,
A gorgeous sequence of this nice Reed warbler. Well done, it is a bird species that we do not see here. If it was the case, then climate change would be worrying (not that it is not now, but it would be much more!!).

Linda Yarrow said...

Lovely pictures of the Reed Warbler. It is nice to go to places at a time when there is nobody around.

Mike Randall Bird Photography said...

Thanks once again Lyn, Roy and Chris.
With the Reed Warblers habitat requirements it would indeed be a worry to find them in Iceland.
Sorry, I do like ot relaively quite in bird hides rather than a host of tripod legs, etc.
If you have not seen Stone Curlew do so as soon as you can.

Unknown said...

Great shots Mike, can't have been easy shots to get. Love the funky hair style!

Mike Randall Bird Photography said...

Thanks Paul, not too bad with this one as it was directly in front of me from the hide. However, they do move fast ducking and diving and I only got a few shots.

Vince Cowell said...

Mike, I think I might have seen you at Titchwell. I was there with my wife on Monday morning till about 1pm and saw someone who looked like you. You didn't have a camera with you so I thought not. We had just left the Fen hide and the warblers were quite confiding in the morning. Not so much later on. Great reserve, will definitely go again.
Vince Cowell