Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Red-backed Shrikes

cracking birds -- seems a long time since I watched a nest in Suffolk in 1971!








Aquatic Warbler records

always a bit disappointing to be able to see a bird really well through the scope but not get any decent photos but even with a 2000mm lens these birds would have been too far away and in fading light -- never heard or saw them early in the morning and all of the photos I saw taken of them at close range were Sedge Warblers!
Listening to them with a backdrop of Thrush Nightingale, Marsh warbler, Corncrake, Grasshopper Warbler, Cranes and displaying Snipe was a pretty special experience and I didn't end up running away from the mossies











Icterine Warbler

yet another fabulous vocalist competing for attention 






Wryneck, Grey-headed and Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Must thank Steve Mulligan for furnishing us with lots of info on woodpeckers etc around Bailowieza site info was invaluable; though how O2 have set up a system where you cannot even receive texts unless you turn on data roaming is beyond me! -- the woodpeckers often looked a bit worse for wear after weeks of passing in and out of nest holes







Lesser Spotted Eagles

again obviously never got a close one but see above--







Thrush Nightingale, Sprossers,

the backdrop to almost every location was the sound of singing Thrush Nightingales; we heard 3-4 singing on arrival at our first digs at 12:40 in the morning - a nice intro to Poland - always hard to see and when you did get one close invariably in rubbish light -- another time