Goldie M

[Goldie M]

On Monday 23ard we went back once more to Pennington Flash CP. It'd just started to rain but we sheltered inside the hides as we went along. I sat next to a very ardent Bird watcher who pointed out differant ones to me, I found it hard to keep up to his commentary and fix my camera to take photo's at the same time, needless to say I think I got the names wrong, plus my pic's are abit rubbishy The man was very interesting though, by the time he'd finnished I knew what kind of food they liked, their habbitat, I just couldn't remember their names Anyway if anyone can help out Goldie M Incidently I do know the LTT the first pic, just thought i'd add that so you wouldn't think I was totally dumb

[FISHiEE]

Pic 2 has what looks like a Male reed bunting in the foreground, female chaffinch top right, wood pidgeon bottom right.

Pic 3 Male reed bunting again.

Pic 4 Male reed bunting and possibly greenfinch in the foreground.

Pic 5 female chaffinch.

I never knew reed bunting came to bird tables!

[Goldie M]

Thanks Fishiee, I don't know much about birds really, i do like to go in the Winter months and watch them and Pen-Flash seems to get quite a few unusual ones. The man also mentioned a Linnet ("i think, my husband said it could have been Pipet) he said it had some red under it's chin ,if thats any help, I must have missed that though, I think I got the Female Chaffinch instead The Reed Bunting is quite an hansome bird I think. Thanks for answering I won't forget that name or the bird now, i must go back to pf again and see if i can find the other bird or discover others I don't know. If I get some good photo's I'll put them in my diary and hopefully I'll get some better pic's of the RB.
Oh! before I forget, PenFlash was formed when the waters rose after the coal mines closed, it's now a lovely area with lots of off shoots for wild life,(Reed beds etc) lots of hides too and Otter's. Thanks again Goldie

[FISHiEE]

I wouldn't claim to be an expert myself!

A Siskin does look similar to a Greenfinch in a lot of ways, so it could well be a Siskin rather than a Greenfinch in that image. Can't see the area that would be red if it were though.

[Paul Wetton]

FISHiEE all correct except female chaffinch with its back to us on the bird table.

[MikeOxon]

Goldie,

I can recommend 'The Birdwatcher's Pocket Guide to Britain and Europe' by Rob Hume (Author), Peter Hayman(illustrator). It's an easily pocketable size and draws attention to key i.d. features on the birds you see. (£6.99 from Amazon).

Small birds, especially females, can be quite tricky but you eventually get to know the key characteristics of each species, if you keep looking. Once you know the common ones, you have a chance of spotting the rarities! Pennington Flash is a good place and has some remarkable records over many years. Good luck!

Mike

p.s. I agree that Reed Buntings are very handsome

[Goldie M]

Thanks Mike for your recomendation but my husband bought me a book this weekend. I'll certainly take a look at the one you said though. This one is "Collins Nature Guide", I've been back to PF twice this week , the weather was cold, the Sun warm though. I saw lots of birds I'd never seen before like the Red Wing and the Red Poll. One I thought was a Willow Tit , I heard someone call it a Coal Tit, so I'm not sure about that, I've included it to see what other's think
I still get mixed up with the Green Finches and the Siskins, I'll get it sorted eventually Also like you said the females. (I've written all this before and lost it for some reason when I tried to down load my Photo's so here goes once again )Goldie M

[MikeOxon]

You seem to be getting the birding 'bug', Goldie!

I believe your latest set of photos show:
1. lesser redpoll (the commonest member of the group in UK)
2. marsh/willow tit and bullfinch (marsh/willow tits are both at PF and your photo can't separate them)
3. long-tailed tit and marsh/willow tit

(C)Barry Hudson,2009 - Marsh.Willow comparison

Coal tit has a distinctive white patch on the back of the head. There are photos of both Coal and Marsh tits on my website at
http://home.btconnect.com/mike.flemming/birds2.htm

Mike

[Goldie M]

Mike, your photo's are brilliant, you put my effotrs to shame Thanks for your info . I've been taking photo's today of the garden birds. It's good to know the differances, I've put your photo's into my favorites(if thats ok ) so I can study them more closely. I have a photo I took at PF, the sun was shining very brightly, and this bird was very yellow, it semed in every way. I was a good distance away from it, I'm curious to know what it's called, sorry my pic's aren't better The 1st pic is the Red Wing, I took today (hopefully) the 2 is the Yellow Bird . Also I have a pic of a Coal Tit I took yesterday in the BG, after reading what you said about the differances, between that and the Marsh Tit/Willow with it's white flash on the back of it's black head, It's got to be. I'm just sorry It was too quick for me and the Photo blurred so i've not put it in. At least I'm getting to know more by asking. Thanks again Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Thank you for your kind comments on my website, Goldie - I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

My instinct is that your lower photo is a female Chaffinch, looking golden in the Winter sun. The beak is a finch beak, not a warbler, and it's the wrong time of year for those.

I see from the EXIF data attached to your photos that you used a Coolpix P90 in 'normal' exposure mode. A lot of compact cameras tend to over-expose a bit and, therefore, I usually set exposure compensation to -2/3 stop. Try it and see if it helps. You could also try the 'vivid' colour setting. I noticed too that you used 1.4X digital zoom. It doesn't help - yes, the image is a bit bigger but there is no more detail so, for best quality, keep digital zoom 'off'. Practice getting closer to the birds - always better than a long zoom - you can use bushes and so on for cover, as you creep up quietly.

Main thing is to keep shooting and try different settings - nothing beats experience!

Mike

[Goldie M]

Thanks Mike, I'll try that with my camera and see what happens. Do you think i should try this when taking pics of Butterflies, I may be able to sneak up on them better With birds i'm usually in a Hide or take their pic through the garden window. I have tried the Vivid mode with Butterflies, to tell you the truth i have a small samsung camera with no zoom and if i get up close it takes better photos than the Nikon, the only trouble with that camera is the fact you can't see in bright sunlight what your taking. I've given it to my Husband I'm not mean, he's just not into photograthy, he goes every where I go and just enjoys the countryside and fresh air. Goldie
PS If you don't mind me asking what type of Camera do you use If you were buying new, What would you recommend

[Gibster]

Hi Goldie M,

Pennington Flash is well-known for it's bird table visiting Willow Tits. Thankfully for visiting birders, Marsh Tits don't occur anywhere near Manchester so that species can be merrily ruled out!

If you want to read up on differences between Marsh and Willow Tit, and visit a helpful and (for you) local website have a peek at http://www.manchesterbirding.com/myster ... ry2011.htm A second key feature on Coal Tit, other than the white nape patch, is the presence of two white wingbars on each wing - a unique feature in the British tit family and handy to know if the bird is above you and resolutely NOT showing it's nape!! (But beware Goldcrests which also have 2 wingbars and often frequent similar habitats - *sigh* and just when you thought it was getting easier )

Also, regards your Redwings, listen out for their quiet subsong, given most frequently during warm sunny spells as the winter progresses. Have a listen at http://www.xeno-canto.org/europe/browse ... _nr=bkjjwi You could also tap in Willow Tit and Marsh Tit for samples of their calls and songs?

Cheers, keep up the birding!

Gibster.

[Goldie M]

Thanks Gibster, I'm just hoarding lots of information on birds from everywhere at present. I've added yours to my Favorites so I can read them at my liesure I thought certain Butterflies were hard to identify ,I must admit Birds are harder Goldie

[Goldie M]

Great day out last Wed 15th Feb, we went to Martin Mere Bird Sanc. We saw 1900 Whooping Swans being fed, what a sight and what a sound that was. It was truely amazing. One half of MM is for wild fowl, the other half is for birds on the danger list , these birds have their wings clipped. We walked round and saw, White Headed Ducks, diving . A couple of Cranes the Male in particular delighted us all with his courting dance At the bottom end of the reserve you can watch the Marsh Harrier, a special hide over looks all the Marsh, we didn't see any ,although some were there. The rangers said there's alot more in Summer time. Beavers have also been introduced, they come out alot at night the ranger said. Otters also frequent the reserve, they were keeping quiet when we were there I think these were on the Tele in Spring Watch LY.

We saw lots of differant birds like the Red Breasted Goose, Wigeon, to name a few, I asked about Butterflies in Spring and Summer, (I felt foolish with all these fantastic birds around) but seemingly they have planted lots of wild flowers to attract them and made certain walks for this pursuit so ,we 'll certainly go back in Spring.
The Ranger said the Whooper Swans only stay here until the middle of March, i'm glad we didn't miss them. Goldie M

[Goldie M]

Another great day out today, the Sun helps of course We went to Mere Sands near Southport where I hoped to get some pics of King Fisher's, no luck ,I did manage to get picture' s of a Bittern though. There were so many people in the hide all wanting to take pics, there was no room so I had to squeeze my camera in to get anything no one was for moving I hoped the weather might entice something to fly, no Butterflies only birds Goldie

[Goldie M]

Yesterday in my garden while clearing up, I found a small green caterpillar on my Rose trees. I chased a couple of Blackbirds away and decided the Caterpillar might stand a better chance of surviving if I took it inside and put it in a box with some greens. I'm not sure what it is but suspect a White of some kind or a Speckled Wood. Time will tell!

It's green in colour but abit too small yet to get a good shot of. I've loads of For-get-me-knots on the BG and some Purple Violets on the FGarden, the Small Tortoiseshells like these in Spring, also my Crocus. I've had to put plastic mash down to keep the cats off, it's proved great, however, we still get some damage on occasions. Today the the Crocus looked great,
yesterday they seemed distressed, it's supprising what abit of Sun and dry weather can do.Goldie M

[Padfield]

Hi Goldie,

Unless you know what the caterpillar is it would be far better for it to go back on the rose tree where it came from! Many are extremely fussy about what they eat and will die of starvation unless they get the right plant species to feed on. Most greens are toxic to most butterflies.

I'm very jealous of your bittern! What a lovely bird!

Guy

[Goldie M]

Guy, I've given the Caterpillar some green cabbage leaves, I don't mean the dark kind, their called "Sweet Heart" cabbage, it seems to be doing ok. At first I gave it Lettuce, then I thought (after reading a book about White Butterflies) that maybe the cabbage was better. It certainly seems to be from this origin because all the other BF except the "Speckled Wood" have coloured caterpillars. It's certainly eating well! I'll keep an eye on it though. Thanks for telling me I thought I was doing it a favour.
Has for the Bittern, we were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time We'd never seen one before so it was very exciting. I also found these bird watchers to be very helpful to an amature photographer, they pointed it out , then showed me the best way to take the pic with my camera. But it was a very tight queeze in the hide. so many people wanted to take pic's, it was still click and hope for the best
In the garden today a Bumble Bee flew over my head, it was great to hear the Bee's again, even the Blackbirds have started to build their nests. Talking about Bee's, I took a photo last year of two Bee's, I'm still puzzled with it, any Idea's :?:Goldie

[Mikhail]

What an interesting picture! The "bee" on the top, to judge by what I can see of the eyes and antennae, appears to be the hoverfly Volucella bombylans in the form that mimics the bumblebee Bombus hortorum. The other insect is probably the bumblebee B.hortorum. I don't know why it's lying on its side.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Goldie M,

I don`t know i thing about Bees, but the photo is excellent

Nick.