With the bait of the Bluetail, Dave, Jon & Kirsty took little persuading. After being picked up on the way we arrived soon after 9am in bright sunshine. There were plenty of others already there including several familiar Northants faces! It took next to no time before we were getting fleeting initial glimpses of the 1st winter male Red Flanked Bluetail flitting about from bush to bush. It then sat largely obscured, to preen for what seemed like ages before carrying on leading us a merry dance.
After disappearing for a while it showed again, calling loudly for a short time. It then began to show frequently in an area bated with mealworms by photographers. Here it showed well at times, though all too often was obscured by branches in between darting down for the buffet kindly laid out for him!
After enjoying views of the bird as well as the local Ravens and Buzzards. We headed off late morning for the Forest of Dean, in the hope of a second lifer of the day and a long awaited one, Goshawk!
We headed to New Fancy View watchpoint, a well known spot for viewing displaying Goshawk. The views were awesome, virtually 360 views of endless pine forest. The sun was beaming down and a Bumblebee was bombing around. A real feel of spring in the air, some welcome rest bite from the recent endless storms.
Happily, it didn't take long for our first Goshawk sighting, a female distantly cruising around over to the right. Get in! We went on to see at least 3 birds all fairly distant but showing all the characteristics really nicely. It was great to have a good look at one and to see just how different they were in profile from the similar sized Buzzards. Somehow I even managed a decent iphone-scoped shot of one of the birds (below). Also about were a single distant Raven as well as several Crossbills and Siskins.
After enjoying the Goshawks we finished up at nearby Cannop Ponds. Sadly we found no Mandarins, however there were a nice selection of common woodland birds on show. We then met a guy who told us of a great spot for Hawfinch at nearby Parkend. So late in the day we headed over there to an area full of yew trees by the village cricket pitch. We waited a while before Dave eventually spotted a male Hawfinch up in one of the nearby Lime trees. It sat there for a short while before flying over our heads and off into the distance. Jon managed an awesome photo (below) as the beast cruised over our heads! Super end to the day.
After disappearing for a while it showed again, calling loudly for a short time. It then began to show frequently in an area bated with mealworms by photographers. Here it showed well at times, though all too often was obscured by branches in between darting down for the buffet kindly laid out for him!
After enjoying views of the bird as well as the local Ravens and Buzzards. We headed off late morning for the Forest of Dean, in the hope of a second lifer of the day and a long awaited one, Goshawk!
We headed to New Fancy View watchpoint, a well known spot for viewing displaying Goshawk. The views were awesome, virtually 360 views of endless pine forest. The sun was beaming down and a Bumblebee was bombing around. A real feel of spring in the air, some welcome rest bite from the recent endless storms.
Happily, it didn't take long for our first Goshawk sighting, a female distantly cruising around over to the right. Get in! We went on to see at least 3 birds all fairly distant but showing all the characteristics really nicely. It was great to have a good look at one and to see just how different they were in profile from the similar sized Buzzards. Somehow I even managed a decent iphone-scoped shot of one of the birds (below). Also about were a single distant Raven as well as several Crossbills and Siskins.
After enjoying the Goshawks we finished up at nearby Cannop Ponds. Sadly we found no Mandarins, however there were a nice selection of common woodland birds on show. We then met a guy who told us of a great spot for Hawfinch at nearby Parkend. So late in the day we headed over there to an area full of yew trees by the village cricket pitch. We waited a while before Dave eventually spotted a male Hawfinch up in one of the nearby Lime trees. It sat there for a short while before flying over our heads and off into the distance. Jon managed an awesome photo (below) as the beast cruised over our heads! Super end to the day.
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