www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Lovely colours, Mark, and a sure sign that butterflies are behind us for 2018 (apart from those lucky few in favoured locations).

Let's hope for a cold and largely dry winter this time!

Merry Christmas everybody!

December is the quietest month of the year, and there has been very little to report. But, when the sun shines, even these very short winter days can produce a bit of magic. One such day was yesterday, 24 December.

The shore lark is a rare winter visitor to Essex, with only one or two sightings a year, and they are often seen by only one observer, before moving on. However on Mersea Island, on the Essex coast , one has been present for a couple of weeks and yesterday, I finally got the chance to catch up with this lovely bird.


The Brent Goose is now amber listed,so we are privileged to have big flocks on th Essex coast. These are the Dark bellied form which breed in Russia. However yesterday they were joined by a light bellied Brent which are much rarer, indeed this was my first Essex sighting.
The wigeon is, to my mind, one of the prettiest ducks to spend the winter on the coast. They are a grazing species, spending most of their time on grassy fields. Wigeon are very common, but that doesn’t stop me taking pictures of them.

Cracking shots of B.b.bernicla and B.b.hrota Essex You're just missing the B.b.nigricans now That Shore Lark is a cracking species, and one that is sadly lacking from my British List
Have a cracking Christmas
Have a goodun

Wurzel

essexbuzzard wrote:December is the quietest month of the year, and there has been very little to report. But, when the sun shines, even these very short winter days can produce a bit of magic.

I envy your interest in and knowledge of birds at times such as these, Mark. It fair plugs the gap when butterflies are absent. Okay, there aren't any Steller's Sea Eagles in your line up but you did indeed experience a bit of magic there.

Maybe if we ever get any truly cold weather there could be a few more moments like those?

Did we all get to see the lunar eclipse last night? My camera equipment is only marginally suitable for this kind of photography, but I’m reasonably happy with this picture.

Great shot, I got up at the godforsaken hour to have a go and was greeted by cloud, no sign of the moon

Great shot essex, I didn't get my shot until morning, when I looked outside at first I didn't see the Moon so I thought it was just cloudy until the news said it could be seen in the North West in-between clouds so I shot out side again and I'd to go out into the Back garden to see it, I'd been looking out the wrong side of the house Goldie

Great shot Essex I was in the Cloud Club with Bugboy

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Well, we are over halfway through winter now, and so far the weather has been fairly quiet- rather dull at times, but mostly mild, and not too wet or wind. Although temperatures have dropped a little recently, and despite what we hear in the press, there is, as far as I know, no signs of any significant cold snap. As the days lengthen, and the first daffodils start to open,we can soon start to think about the spring.

During some brighter weather earlier this week, I headed to the south Essex coast to see the birds-and there were plenty of them! Here are a couple of pictures of dunlins and knots at Two Tree Island, at high tide. Dunlins are slightly smaller and browner than knot, which are the greyer ones. And at nearby Southend, were these gorgeous little sanderlings, with a few turnstones as well. Further around the coast, at Shoeburyness, there were plenty of oystercatchers. Redshank were present in lower numbers. As the tide receded, plenty of Brent geese came in to feed on the mudflats.

Lovely shots of the Birds essex, Martin Mere was on the the news they were feeding the Swans that come in there every year from Ice Land, we went to see them once, what noise they made . Goldie

I’ve been there too, Goldie, and I intend to go again. It’s quite a trek from Essex to the Mere, but it is a fantastic place.

Cracking birding shots Essex Are there a couple of Grey plover hanging round at the back of the Dunlin and Knot, I'm a bit out of practice with my wader spotting? Love the Sanderling - they're very entertaining birds - as they run out and then run back in with the waves

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow! We get small numbers of oystercatchers on the Swansea coast but I’ve never seen a flock like that! It’s like ‘Attack of the Clones”!

Cheers Wurzel, you have eyes like a buzzard! Yes, there are a couple of grey plover in there.

Thanks David, it’s the biggest oystercatcher high tide roost I know of.

Well, it’s been a few years since I last went to Martin Mere, in Lancashire, but got the opportunity earlier this week. It was a bright, windy day and there was plenty of stuff there. This picture of the 3PM wild bird feed clearly shows this... In the collection there, I came across the Baer’s Pochard, which is critically endangered. At the wild bird feed, several ruffs were running around. I’ve seen ruffs before, but not this close or in these numbers. Unfortunately, there were no openable windows in the area, so the image is not the best quality as I had to take it through glass.

The London Wetlands Centre is an oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of west London. It is not just a sanctuary for people, it gets some pretty good stuff too. If we look carefully,we find something lurking in the reeds... It’s larger, greyer relative is much easier to spot, and they are much more approachable here than where I live. This is one of last years juveniles. This being Greater London, there were plenty of noisy parakeets present, they are different from the ones I see in Malaga.

essexbuzzard wrote:
Well, it’s been a few years since I last went to Martin Mere, in Lancashire, but got the opportunity earlier this week...

Been many years since I last went there, Mark (maybe as many as 35). It was always a great day out in winter as there were so many birds taking advantage of the mild climate in lowland NW England.

On the other side of the coin, it still remains quite a culture shock to see those parakeets in the UK. I reckon they couldn't have survived 40 years ago!

Great shot of the Parakeet - the Wetlands centre was where I saw my first They seemed totally out of place, but then I suppose so did Collared Doves in the 50's when they first arrived here

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I would never have thought to see a bittern in London, Buzzard. That's amazing - and congratulations of getting such a good shot of it.

Guy

That is a very familiar wide shot of the LWC. I was there last Wednesday and two Bitterns were lurking over on the far side of the reserve but back in December one was nice and close to the very hide you saw you're one from, obscured as always by reeds but clear as day through bins and camera lens so plenty of shots were achieved

Thanks David, the sheer numbers of birds at the Mere make it well worth the trek up. Yes, the parakeets in London do seem strange, but continue to increase, unharmed by the coldest weather. Recently, they have started to appear in Liverpool, Sheffield and other cities further north...

Wurzel, parakeets are here to stay. Being associated with the built environment, they so far haven’t done much harm, though they are rather noisy neighbours!

Guy, it is a surprise to see a bittern in London, but they do often to the reserve, in winter at least. It’s a bit different from Minsmere!

Hi Bugboy, I’m guessing you know the wetland Centre better than me, it just goes to show wildlife will respond to a bit of habitat creation, even in the most unexpected of places!