Saturday's Critters #201

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

If you love critters like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

These are some birds and critters I have not shown,  seen during our Washington Trip in May. We stayed overnight in Ocean Shores and walked on a few of the local beaches. We saw some shorebirds like the Semipalmated Plover, Dunlins, lots of gulls and a hummer and possibly other shorebirds mixed in.

I believe these are the Semipalmated Plovers

A flock of Dunlin, see their black bellies.

Is this a Crow or Raven? My field guide says Raven's have thick bills. Do you think this bird's bill is thick?

Semipalmated Plover.

American Pipit seen on the coast, walking along side the sandy road to the beach.

Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird.  I am not an expert on any hummer except for my local Ruby-throated Hummingbird. This bird was seen flying around the nearby flowers and like to perch on this pine tree.

Sorry, for the picture quality, the bird was a distance away and it was a cloudy day.

Neighborhood deer, near the beach. I think this is a Black-tailed Deer.

There are way too many gull species for me to id, my guess a  Western Gull.

I am not sure if this is a big flock of Dunlins or mixed group of shorebirds. What is upsetting is seeing the cars driving on the beach where these birds were resting.

I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments! I hope you enjoy my post and photos too!

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Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Dunlin

Happy Monday, enjoy your day!

My wild bird this week is the Dunlin.  These images are mostly from my trip to Washington State but I have seen the Dunlin in Maryland, Delaware and Florida. They are shorebirds with a short neck,  bright red back and a black belly. The black belly appears during the breeding season. Their legs and bills are black.

Their foraging has been compared to a sewing machine, with their bills going up and down picking up small food and insects.

I have seen large flocks of the Dunlins, they can be found on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.

As always I thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.


Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Feathered 'Selection Box'

Christmas is upon us once more. I am sure the years grow shorter as I get older as it seems like only a blink of an eye since the last.  I thought it was time for a seasonal selection box. However, this one is not filled with sticky spiced chocolates but some recent images of the local bird life. Typically the winter weather has not been particularly kind recently and in fact at times it has been bordering on very grim with frequent strong winds, plenty of rain and dark blankets of grey clouds above. As such, light, the essential element for photography, has been in relatively short supply. So it has been a question of being at the ready with camera and snatching odd moments when the light and free time have put in a combined appearance.

I have also been working on a small unexpected winter bird photography project which I will reveal in a future post. The delay in posting is mainly to protect these birds from unwanted attention and potential disturbance.

So lets not waste any more time and dip into the avian selection box. I will start off with a scarce bird for this area, the Long-tailed Duck. I asked a good friend of mine if he wouldn't mind looking in on a lake local to his home whilst passing, to see if there were any Goldeneye present. There were none but he sent a picture text to my mobile and said he had seen an unusual duck but was not sure what it was. I immediately recognised it as a Long-tail duck and more interestingly it did not seem to have been reported anywhere. Unfortunately not one of the stunning drakes but it was too good an opportunity to pass by, a scarce bird that the crowds of bird watchers and photographers had yet to discover. A quick visit was in order. I found the bird easily as it seemed to be staying away from the other birds up one end of the small lake and managed to get close by the old 'move when it is underwater' routine. After a few photographs it was slowly making its way along this small lake when I noticed a patch of reflected reeds that were turning a patch of water golden and this was the result.

The shortest photography session ever was recorded when I decided on a bit of flight practice with some Black-headed Gulls on the local marine lake. Despite a large patch of clear winter blue sky above, the low sun stubbornly refused to lift from behind the only bank of cloud except for about 2 minutes. This was the best I could muster on this icy, blustery day in 120 seconds.

We are still on the first layer of the selection box and this time a brief sunny morning session looking for some winter thrushes. In the distance I saw two birds feeding on a grassed area and assumed that these were my target. However, as I got closer I could see one was a blackbird and the other looked slightly odd, only revealing itself properly as I approached to be a Green Woodpecker, as it  flew up to a nearby tree. After a short while waiting and predicting where the bird might appear, I got the opportunity for about 2 seconds to get a couple of photographs of this beautiful shy female bird before it was gone.

The winter thrushes I was seeking I typically only found a flock  about 10 minutes before I had to leave. The Fieldfare has to rate as probably our most attractive visiting winter Thrush species. This one showing showing a typical drooped wing pose.

The flock was accompanied by a single Mistle Thrush that was also picking out fallen rowan berries from a gravel area. The birds having already completely stripped the tree above its fruit.

Let's dip in to the layer below of the selection box and see what lurks there. Ahh...seems to be a wading birds.

The first was taken on the way home after a wholly unsuccessful session with the small winter project I mentioned earlier. As I swung into the 'home straight' which takes me along the coast I noticed it was high tide and decided to check one of the regular roost for wading birds. They are not always there and I thought may be absent that morning as it was a fairly large tide but was pleasantly surprised to find around 50 Redshank, and a similar number of Turnstone perched high on the rocks. However, what really drew my attention were three Purple Sandpipers and so concentrated on those.

My next encounter with some waders was on a day when I decided to head out for some Red Breasted Merganser on the local marine lake. I like to photograph swimming birds on either very calm surface or the dynamic conditions of rough water. The forecast was for strong westerly winds but it turned out to be blowing much harder and much colder than expected. The marine lake resembled the North Sea in a storm and so there was little chance of seeing, let alone photographing the Mergansers. However, the first light visit coincided with a rising tide which would see the wader flocks coming into roost. A good number of Redshank, Turnstone and a few Dunlin and a solitary Knot had gathered.

I took a few photos and noticed spray being blown into the birds from the crashing waves driven by the punishing wind which created an interesting effect backlit in the first light of the day. I thinks this photographs gives a great impression of the harsh weather we were all enduring that morning.

After I while I decided it would be good to head home and get my hands round a warm coffee, leaving the tough wading birds to sit it out. I took a route home that would see me pass an area that curlew often use at high tide when the sand banks are covered with water. I have always liked curlew. They may not be the most colourful birds but are beautifully patterned and surely possess one of the most evocative bird calls. The birds were across the road from their usual area and seemed to be getting disturbed by the Sunday morning dog walkers. Fortunately one dog walker pushed the birds right over to where I was waiting.

With that the bird selection box is now empty. For those of you interested, all of the above with the exception of the Purple Sandpiper were taken with a Canon 7d Mk2.

So I would like to take this moment to wish you all a Very Merry, Healthy and Peaceful Christmas with a suitably tacky e-card.

Well-timed Waders

When you live by the sea, you seem to become very tuned into the rhythm of the tides.  This is particularly the case as a bird photographer as you learn where various wading birds will be at both different states and heights of tide during the winter. As examples there are some beaches where large accumulations of mixed flocks of waders can be found on spring tides, the gathering of Bar-tailed godwits on a local beach during neap tides or the gathering of curlews on a field the high tide period.

The majority of wader photograph tends to be done towards the top of the rising tide as the birds are pushed towards the waiting photographer. Also the bigger tides tend to be favoured as it reduces the area of beach for the birds to use and make them easier to photograph.  However, having said that on the very big spring tides, rocks where the birds typically roost may be inundated and empty. The other key consideration is light direction. For example the beach (a generous phrase for estuarine mud and rocks in the River Mersey channel at the end of my street) can only be photographed during the afternoon a two to three of hours after high tide.

Living by the sea allows you to learn these patterns and use the knowledge to undertake short productive sessions for photographing the birds. This does not work all the time as on occasions the disturbance by other beach users put the flocks to flight.

On the big spring tides at the beginning of the month the appearance of some low late afternoon winter sun in conjunction with the peak of the tide saw me grabbing the camera and taking the 5 minute journey to a beach on the north of the Wirral peninsula. As I hoped there was a narrow strip of beach remaining with one of favourite waders to photograph, the Sanderling, dashing around foraging along the foamy edge of the waves.

 It was just a question then of sitting quietly nearby and letting the birds come to me which is always the best approach. I soon had the birds literally running around close to my feet speeding along the shore looking for marine morsels brought in by each new wave.  The often made comparison of sanderling to clockwork toys as they run around the beach is a very good analogy. They are great fun to photograph as they sprint up and down the tide line.

I had a good 30 or 40 minutes with the birds until a dog walker thought it was hilarious to let his dog rush around and generally terrorise the flock until all the birds departed.

Wading birds, particularly in the winter, are often on a tight energy budget and disturbance of this sort does nothing for their general welfare. However, you cannot expect the majority of people using the beach and coastal footpaths to realise this and all you can do is try and educate where possible.

As I made my way back to the car I spotted a couple of Dunlin together with a few Redshank standing on the rocks, in the diminishing light trying, to avoid the spray of the waves crashing against them and so a took a few photographs before returning home.

So the total length of this session from leaving home to my teabag landing in the mug when I returned was about an hour. An hour well spent in my opinion, as is any time with waders, and such a short session was only possible due accumulating local knowledge from experience.

Swirling Masses

It has been a very good year for waders along my local coast. The birds overwinter here having bred in more northerly latitudes in the spring and early summer. They spend these cold months probing the rich muds that accumulate around the peninsula from the two large rivers that border its sides and discharge into the Irish sea.   Huge flocks, mainly of Knot, mixed with less numbers of Dunlin and Sanderling, have been present and have attracted bird watchers, photographers and the general public to watch the spectacle. Count estimates have been up to 40000 birds gathering together. The best times to watch this are on the big spring tides where beach space is limited by the high water levels for the birds to roost over the high tide period.

The birds gather in tight groups on the shore and are constantly on the move as they jostle up the shore to escape the advancing sea. Periodically they will take flight, sometimes due to a marauding bird of prey looking for an easy meal. The spectacle and sound of these enormous flocks as they lift-off is a memorable experience.  The birds will often then go a short distance out of the sea and swirl in tight formations, flashing dark and light as they twist and catch the light. To capture this amazing sight with still photographs can barely do such a wonder of nature justice.

In the photograph below the island behind is Hilbre Island that sits in the mouth of the Dee Estuary.

The flocks became a popular attraction over the last couple of months and always put on a superb display for onlookers the look on in awe.

The roosting periods are important for the birds as they operate on tight energy budgets during the winter months. Unfortunately they do not have exclusive use of the beach and are frequently subject to disturbance by walkers and dogs. There has been a concerted effort by the local the bird watching community and photographers, combined with a warden scheme to educate the public on the importance of allowing the birds some space and peace. However, there are still people who pay no attention and happily let there dog run in to the flocks or bird watchers or photographers from outside the local area who seem to think walking up to birds will somehow not disturb them. If you visit on the large tides there actually is no need to step on to the beach at all as the birds are brought right up to you by the incoming tide allowing plenty of photo opportunities.

The photograph below is part of the flock, tightly gathered, and waiting for the advancing tide. As the beach is so flat the tide advances with dangerous speed on these large tides and a few minutes after this was taken the sand was covered.

I do not often bother photographing flocks as I prefer to target individuals or small groups. I find flocks quite difficult although that may be down to lack of practice. With flocks of this size it is more like landscape photography that includes a large flock of birds. I suppose you could call them 'birdscapes'. The photographs in this post are a selection from two visits that I made, one in December and one earlier this month. The weather conditions during the January visit were beautiful with the rare winter treat of clear skies and light winds.

On the beach the birds gather into extremely tight flocks and occasionally there will be a wave of movement through it with all the birds lined up and facing the same directions. This creates waves of patterns through the gathered birds which is a delight to watch.





Places to land are always at a premium. When the flock lifts off at close range there often seems to be more wings than air in which to flap them. These are photographs that are asking to be made in to a very difficult and frustrating jigsaw puzzle.

I know these photographs really have not done the dynamic nature of these a flocks justice but hopefully will give you a small impression of this amazing gathering of nature. A real treasure to have on your doorstep.