Four Plovers from Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is a queer place, well Maspalomas especially. The resort is situated right next to the Dunes that incorporates a nature reserve. A fresh water lake lies within he reserve and is adjacent to the Hotels etc, so if you wanted to take the wife on holiday you can leave her on the sunbed and sneak off every so often to satisfy the need to twitch. Although my advice is to take her with you as there is a nudists area within the dunes. To be seen there with the bins and camera on your own might cause a stir. All joking aside, you do get a fair amount of passage migrants there as it is on the route down south with a fresh water body close to the coast.

Grey Plover
Kentish

Little Ringed

Ringed

Woodchat Shrike at Nanquidno

I understand this bird has been around for a few days, I noticed that its right eye is closed most of the time and suggests an injury.

Water Rail and Heron at Marazion

The Water Rail as you know is a shy bird and is generally difficult to photograph, however this bird did show quite well. The problem I had once again was photographing through cover and into a shaded area. The Heron should have been the last photo was uploaded as I like the flight shot.

Little Stint

The follow up of my previous blog these are what I think are the best shots of the little stint on Marazion beach. Feisty little waders, this bird wasn't going to be pushed around by the Dunlins at all.

Bairds Sandpiper

I know I'm two scats behind but I have got a lot of catching up to do. I have been down to Marazion and with the help of Dave Flumm the RSPB Warden with the ID of the species, I managed a few shots (Two Hundred and Twelve to be precise) of the juvenile Bairds Sandpiper and Little Stint. The weather was poor overcast and drizzle so I had to push the ISO to 400 and 500.

Raptors

I had a walk down to Kenidjack Valley for an hour last night and encountered three Raptors within the space of thirty minutes. The Juvenile or sub-adult Peregrine had hit a Magpie and made short work of eating its quarry. Photographs not impressive as I was photographing the Peregrine through a hedge so as not to disturb it feeding. It is amazing what you see when out for a short walk.

Peregrine leftovers, not sure if I quite got the eye glint.

Canaries

Lisa and I have just had a holiday on Gran Canaria and it was hot. The area was Maspalomas, in Maspalomas (as those who have been there will know) there is an area of natural Dunes, the area was created by sea currents bringing in and depositing Saharan sands over thousands of years. On the dunes there is a natural Lake and is a designated Nature Reserve. It is a staging post for migratory species migrating from Africa to their Northern breeding areas. The following photographs are of a male and female Sardinian warbler taken on the Dunes.