Spain birds - The best of the rest.

26th September 2017.
 A few more of the commoner species photographed on the recent trip to Spain.

Serin. Only seen a couple in the U.K.,but always seems fairly common in Europe.

Serin

Coal Tit

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Great Tit

Grey Wagtail

Mistle Thrush

Red Legged Partridge

Tern (Little)?

Tern (Little)?

Black Winged Stilts

Greater Flamingos

Mouflon-Spain.

26th September 2017.
Mouflon are a species of wild sheep which inhabit mountainous areas of parts of Europe, resting up by day and feeding early in the mornings or in the evenings. I found them very wary and any movement from inside the hide would send them running,  so waiting until they were settled before attempting any photos was the best policy to adopt .Gorgeous animals.

Crested Tits

17th September 2017.

More photos from the Spanish trip, Crested Tits are delightful to watch and were common in the pinewoods of the region ( not far from Alicante), coming to feed and drink at the various feeding stations on the reserve. A bird I have seen quite often in Scotland but never managed to get any decent photographs. Not particularly easy as constantly on the move.

Bad hair day

Lovely little birds.

Spain Crossbills

26th September 2017.

Crossbills photographed on the recent Spanish trip, not a common species at all down here in Cornwall/Devon ,I see them once in a while, but where we were in Spain one of the first to arrive at the pools, usually hearing them before they come down to drink and mostly in small groups. There crossed tipped mandibles are an adaptation for extracting the seeds from conifer cones. Super birds and great to watch and photograph them at close quarters.

Adult male Crossbill

Adult male Crossbill drinking

Adult male Crossbill at drinking pool

Male Crossbill drinking

Female Crossbill

Crossbill Bathing

Female Crossbill drinking

Juvenile Crossbill

Golden Eagles in Spain

24th September 2017.

A great week with five friends from Cornwall in the Spanish countryside, based in the old town of Bocairent,( not to far from Alicante) for the annual congress of the International Federation of Wildlife Photography.
The highlight of the trip had to be close views of Golden Eagles, seeing them in their natural habitat  like this is  a dream come true for me, and very exciting watching two adults and a juvenile. The juvenile stayed in front of me for fifty minutes  devouring a Rabbit before the female came in and finished off the leftovers (fur and all). Lots of frame filling photos ( a bit too close for my 500mm lens at times), but hey just to watch these magnificent birds would have been enough.

I used my 150mm macro lens for these last two to try and get a little of the environment included

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

17th September 2017.

Buff Breasted Sandpiper must rank as  be one of my favourite birds, and Davidstow airfield in Cornwall is probably one of the most reliable sites in the country to catch up with one during September. Three birds have been present this autumn and I managed a few nice photos of one on a sunny evening

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

Glossy Ibis and Cattle Egrets

2nd & 6th August 2017.

Two visits to Walmsley sanctuary at Wadebridge to see the recent arrival of both Glossy Ibis and Cattle Egrets. Fourteen Ibis have been seen here (I saw seven of them) and it looks like the Cattle Egrets have bred here or nearby as two juvenile birds have been observed along with seven adults.

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret flyby

Cattle Egret -a little closer to the hide

Cattle Egret- odd posture something  must have flown over

Cattle Egret

Gadwall family

Gadwall family

. Who knows what might be visiting and nesting here in a few years time? The birds were all a little distant for decent photos but nice to just sit and see what turns up ( like the family of Gadwall which swam by).