Birds, birds....and more birds!

My first Blog post of 2012, and as you might have guessed from the title, I've been spending time photographing all kinds of wild birds on the Island.  All the photographs below were taken in the space of eight hours yesterday - a stunningly bright winters day. Now, as I type this I'm looking out into a dull sky again....back to typical weather!

I had intended to get some better photographs of Pintail Ducks, of which I have only previously managed to get one 'ok' shot and I arrived at my location just in time to see a mass of Brent Geese coming in to land downstream, a stunning and quite noisy sight.  This seemed to push the other wildfowl and waders closer to me, a great start!


A busy morning on the water at Newtown Isle of Wight

 There are plenty of Teal and Wigeon around in this location and they were feeding close by on the incoming tide.  A little further away were a number of Pintails so I patiently waited hoping they would move in closer but as they tend to be very nervous it was going to be a bit of a waiting game. 



Male Wigeon (Anas penelope)


Newtown is a busy place!  It attracts many visitors, eager to see the wildlife and enjoy the walks and views, so i'm sure you can imaging the amout of times I watched the Pintails getting closer, only to move away again when people came past!  I also had a few other visitors close too, including this skittish Little Egret.




Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

 My patience was finally rewarded as a number of Pintails came within good range.  I only managed a small number of photographs though, as soon after, a number of people approached and sent most of the bird community back down the estuary.



Male Pintail (Anas acuta)



'Posing for the ladies'
Pintail (Anas acuta)

 I always enjoy a visit to Newtown and would recommend the place to anyone who enjoys both the wildlife and a good walk!

With plenty of light left in the day, I decided to take a visit to one of my Little Owl sites and patience was definately not needed for a change here! Little Owls are usually quick to take to flight when people are near, but  this one happily sat in close proximity!



Little Owl (Athene noctua)in the late afternoon light