Barn Owl in the marshes. 12th Jan 2023.

 Wonderful to watch this female Barn Owl quartering the marshes in bright sunshine this afternoon.

This was after the surprise of putting a Bittern to flight as I approached....it saw me before I saw it!

This owl has either damaged it's alula (bastard wing) on it's right wing or it's dived into the vegetation and messed up its plumage and failed to preen it out.

It'll be interesting to check over the next few days on how it looks. However it doesn't seem to have affected its flying ability although maybe some of its finer flight skills will be reduced.

Here are a few more images both in the sunshine and as the light began to fade to dusk.

Bittern finally shows in the open at Walmsley sanctuary, Wadebridge 8.3.22.

 

After a few weeks of trying to get a decent photo of this elusive creature today it finally gave itself up to my trusty Nikon!

I'd seen it in the reserve a few times now but it was always distant. 

I'd even become quite proficient at finding it and pointing it out to visiting birders but today as they say was "something else!".

It skulked out of the reed bed and strolled across the grass towards the willows , occasionally stopping to pose and do a bit of sky pointing. The light was pretty good but there was a bit of rain swirling in the strong southerly winds so really all I had to do was get it in focus.

This was point blank range stuff and I was concerned it may pick up on the dulcet tones of the Nikon shutter but no need to be concerned it took no notice whatsoever....I add that I was in a hide.

Here are a few more images of it as it gave up its private world for a few minutes.

Glossy Ibis feeding on the Amble marshes, Wadebridge. 21.2.2022.

 

There were 9 Glossy Ibis feeding on the marshes today and when I first spotted them they were in bright sunshine but it was harsh & in my face so I knew that silhouettes were going to be the name of the game.

Fortunately as I was setting up my tripod they took flight and landed in a flooded field amongst a dozen Canada geese. This time the light was behind me so I gradually edged into the field and took the decision to lie flat in the wet & muddy grass and try to get some photos at ground level.

It worked and once I got settled they slowly edged toward me, so close that at times I couldn't get them in the frame.

They were very comfortable with my presence and I was wearing camouflage clothes and staying motionless except for my shutter finger....so I just let them do the stalking toward me!

Eventually I had to leave as I had an appointment so I sneaked away from them and they didn't flinch, just carried on probing the wet pasture for food.

Here are a few images.....

A White tailed Eagle on Bodmin Moor. 26th Dec 2021.

White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

 

Eagles are majestic birds and seeing one does stir your senses, but to see one near home in Cornwall is very exciting.

I kept seeing and hearing reports of a white tailed eagle around the Bodmin moor area and had 2 fruitless trips up there looking for it.

On Boxing Day morning I got lucky. I'd parked the car at the top of the lane that runs down to the Loveny reserve and hide, knowing that it was now out of bounds to people after a couple of issues with cattle had been reported.

However this spot gave me the best views of the North arm of the reservoir which is surprisingly low on water despite all the rain we've had. I'm guessing this suits the eagle as there are many suitable dead stumps & snags for it to perch on and consume fish.

After a an hour and a half I spotted it flying towards me at a reasonable height and thinking it was going to pitch up on the ground in the corner of the reservoir I started taking a few photos.

It didn't land but circled once almost over my head before disappearing over the hill toward the forestry of Halvana Plantation.

My first sighting of one of these birds in Cornwall & indeed in the UK I think.

Local birders think this is one of the birds that have been released on the Isle of Wight in conjunction with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation & Forestry England. As such I've logged the details on their website with photos and will await confirmation.

The bird does appear to have a metal ring on its right leg and also looks to have a GPS transmitter at the back of its neck.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATE from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation....

Dear Adrian,

Many thanks for taking the time to send in your Eagle sighting. I can confirm that the bird that you have seen is a female with the leg ring

G405 she was released from the Isle of Wight in 2020 so is in her second calendar year (1 year old in human terms). The young Eagles are very nomadic you can find out more about her movements here:

https://www.roydennis.org/category/sea-eagle/isle-of-wight-sea-eagles/

All records are useful and will be added to our database.

Best wishes,

Zoe Smith

Associate Ornithologist

Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

www.roydennis.org

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

 

My previous views have been in Norway, Poland, Hungary & a captive bird used for hunting by a falconer in the Czech Republic. 

Here are a few images from my archives.....

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Norway.

 

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Hungary.

A wild White tailed Eagle, Hungary.

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Poland.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

 

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Great White Egret at Trewornan & into Walmsley reserve. 8th Sept. 2020

 

This great white Egret was spending time feeding among the cattle in the fields near to Trewornan bridge, Wadebridge in the late evening.

At one stage it flew into Walmsley reserve for a while but as it got late & the light started to drop it came back out with the cattle & I managed a few flight shots and some nice close ups as it sneaked behind a bullock and then emerged really close to where I'd stood with my camera balanced on a fence post so that I could drop my shutter speed in order to lower the ISO for a better quality picture.

For those interested it was using a 500mm f4 lens on a Nikon D500, f4 at 1/80th sec under exposed by 2/3 stop at 250 ISO.

for the flight shots it was the same camera/lens combination but 1/1000th sec at f5.6 under exposed by 2/3 stop at 720 ISO.