Common Rosefinch...

Monday June 6, 2024

The evening at the station started the same as any other with all the usual suspects flitting in and out feeding off the logs etc. when from nowhere I heard a call I was familiar with but hadn't heard for a very long time (on checking later it was seven years ago when I with Paul Joy on Skomer, an island off the Pembrokeshire coast).

The distinctive song which to me sounds like: "Very pleased to meet you", continued in the undergrowth, by now I believed it was a Common Rosefinch, but kept doubting myself.

The bird then landed in front of me and the R7 was in full-flow in short bursts, even then I wasn't entirely convinced as I watched the female eat happily away.

I then switched to video to get some footage of this rare visitor, I kept checking the bird and the back of the camera to make sure I had pictures & footage, I even googled Common Rosefinch for more confirmation in case I had made a mistake, there was some interaction with the other birds on the post and as quick as it came it flew off East over a now felled forestry.

The internet searches continued for even further verification before setting off for home.

I uploaded the images to my laptop, did a quick edit and sent in a report to the Gwent Ornithological Society Rarities Panel and waited,

County Recorder Darryl Spittle was quick to respond and confirmed the bird as a Common Rosefinch (I was later informed by Darryl he believed this to be only the second record for Gwent).

I went back to the station the next morning in hope more than expectation of the bird returning but no joy, I did likewise on the Wednesday, but a film crew, director, rapper and Ru (the landowner) and his Viking re-enactment friends turned up to shoot a video, but as they say that's another story.

What a Jay day.....

Friday July 28, 2024

When setting up the new station one of my target species was the Jay, in the early years at the Moorland Feeding Station they were back and forth regularly but for many years after I was lucky to get a fleeting glance!

Although a member of the Corvid family as a photographer you can but admire their beauty.

Within a week or so of sitting at the station it didn't take long to pick up their call but every visit when I was present they skulked around the outskirts and never ventured in.

As the time went past and after giving the Great Spotted Woodpecker their own post, I decided to do likewise with the Jay.

Soon there were four birds visiting the post as I watched them fly off in different directions not before they had been mobbed by the Swallows who were nesting close by.

As the weeks turned into months the birds gradually started using the GSW post and then came in to take food off the logs set up for the smaller birds taking no notice of me as I sat close by in the car!

Today was certainly the best day of photographing and videoing the birds, sitting around long enough for me to get slow-motion video as well as the pictures opposite!

Return of the Sprawk

A single sighting of a female flying by in October 2023 was the sum total of records until early August 2024 (a male tried and failed to take a Wheatear on a nearby tip in early May).

Friday August 9 was to change all that as a female circled high above the site and gave me a bit of optimism for the future, although she flew off after around five minutes it did prove they were in the area hunting!

The following day I sat in the car watching the Ravens flying high over the nearby quarry, only to realise a Sparrowhawk was high above them!

I grabbed the bins and watched the bird circle higher and higher, until with a few effortless beats of the wing was edging closer towards me, within the beat of a heart the bird descended at speed until two big talons were in my view, I dropped the glasses and saw a large female try to take a passerine not 20 foot in front of me, the raptor failed, but it gave me a detailed close-up view of the predator!

The station lay quiet for what seemed like an age until the bravest of the birds visited the perches!

Following a couple days break from the station I returned on Wednesday August 14, i drive the same route everyday with very little drama but today would be different!

As I headed down over the hill I could see a young Green Woodpecker moving around on one of the fence posts, this was of great interest as this was another target species for the station.

As I drove closer the youngster made a break for the nearby conifer trees, with my eyes fixated on the woody I failed to spot a female Sparrowhawk around four posts up; I sat in awe as the hawk followed the exact line of its prey before pursing up to fly through two branches.

I didn't see the outcome due to the darkness of the canopy, but in my minds eye I could only see one ending and wasn't in the favour of the juvenile woodpecker!

Following what seems to be two successful breeding attempts at my site and the barn close by the Swallows are certainly great hawk detectors aided by a flock of around 50 Goldfinch, quiet certainly descends into riot now when a hawk is in the vicinity!

The Canon R5 & Swallows

After much deliberation and research I finally decided it was time to upgrade the Canon 5D Mk 4 for the mirrorless Canon R5 (so glad Kirsty doesn't read my blog).

I have already made great strides in putting together a portfolio of work for my ARPS for which I've set myself a target of 12 months to achieve. but hope the R5 45mp full-frame sensor will help me achieve better images in the coming months.

The weather hasn't been great since my purchase and I was reluctant to use the camera without the protection of a silicone camo cover, so when this arrived Friday August 23 it was time to try it out!

After parking and setting up both Kyan with the 7D Mk2 and 70-200mm Mk2 and myself with the R5 and 300mm Mk2 I soon remembered i had lost the crop factor of the R7.

It was Kyan's first session at the station and he was happily firing away as bird after bird came in, but without realising I hadn't taken a single shot in almost an hour!

A Great Tit came in and perched up and after failing to change the settings since purchase I was shooting on One Shot as opposed to AI Servo, so single shots it was, I was happy with the result (which can be seen opposite)!

The following morning I returned for an hour just to check on a couple of things that had been set up the night before!

The Swallows were as usual on good form and the youngsters could be heard making a din in the shed at the back of the site.

It soon became apparent that today they would leave the nest and get out in the north Gwent sunshine as one by one they left the building, I was then lucky enough to have them flying around me before resting up on any nearby perches they could find.

One youngster seemed a little under-whelmed by the flying and chose to sit it out on the nearby fence, it gave me a great photo opportunity (picture opposite) to try the R5 with the Canon 1.4 Mk 2 extender attached!

The end of September....

At the Moorland feeding station the beginning of September had always been an exciting time planning ahead for the forthcoming autumn/winter activities!

The family holiday was always over by mid-month, the Terios had been through it's MOT and new perches had been collected, all that was left would be the sheep gathering which would allow me to start feeding the visitors!

This year has been completely different; the station has been set up all-year round (with some minor changes), no family holiday and the Terios has been replaced by the Vitara, the sheep are no longer a problem due to the perimeter fence, so feeding has been continual!

All in all the month was strange bird-wise, they were there but due to the mild wet weather were not great feeders, the Goldfinch flock seemed to increase daily, likewise the Starling, a couple of kills at the perches, but interestingly the loss of Gull, Crow and most recently Jay at the raptor posts!

An additional post for the Woodpeckers has been added, the GSW and Magpie have taken to it quite readily!

The lack of activity has enabled more security features to be added and the introduction of barbed wire will hopefully deter uninvited visitors!

The disappearance of the Swallows and Willow Warblers (who seem to have been a constant feature forever) has seen the emergence of a noisy Chiffchaff and likewise Stonechat, while the elusive Spotted Flycatcher still lurks around!

Onwards to October and the arrival of our Scandinavian friends!

The First 12 Months....

So after taking the plunge and leaving the Moorland Feeding Station after 14 years, it's time to reflect on the the first year at the new place which still hasn't been named!

The birds came in to feed quite readily in the early days and spending the early weeks at the site soon gave me an idea of what was in the area.

Too date I have recorded 64 birds (recorded below) in and over with a couple of unconfirmed species that may be added to the mix with more luck and research!

There are still many birds I would like to photograph and hopefully a change in the weather will aid this, even this week has thrown-up notable records, but they are still avoiding the camera.

I now believe the set-up is ready (though I'm still not 100% happy with the second woodpecker post), but I will take advice from the first coupe of guests over the coming weeks.

I don't think the Common Rosefinch will ever be topped as the rarest bird to visit, but what a 30 minutes that was!

I have learned many lessons over this first year none better than the station will open for customers from November until June after the success of this year and the opportunity to photograph the birds during the breeding season.

With 2025 in mind, work has already started on a pond with the hope of attracting the Dragonflies & Damselflies that flit about in the warmer months!

Species list:

Mallard; Goosander; Swift; Cuckoo; Stock Dove; Wood Pigeon; Collared Dove; Black Headed Gull; Herring Gull; Lesser Black Backed Gull; Cormorant; Grey Heron; Sparrowhawk; Red Kite; Buzzard; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Green Woodpecker; Jay; Magpie; Jackdaw; Carrion Crow; Raven; Coal Tit; Blue Tit; Great Tit; Long Tailed Tit; Skylark; Swallow; House Martin; Willow Warbler; Chiffchaff; Blackcap; Goldcrest; Wren; Nuthatch; Treecreeper; Starling; Sing Thrush; Mistle Thrush; Redwing; Blackbird; Fieldfare; Spotted Flycatcher; Robin; Pied Flycatcher; Redstart; Stonechat; House Sparrow; Dunnock; Grey Wagtail; Pied Wagtail; Meadow Pipit; Tree Pipit; Chaffinch; Brambling; Bullfinch; Common Rosefinch; Greenfinch; Linnet; Crossbill; Goldfinch; Siskin; Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting