Migaloo the Magnificent

Jackie accompanied today us to the 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington (closes March 11). It was as inspiring as ever, and as usual we totally disagreed with the overall winner which was an easy shot of captive oil covered pelicans from a good photojournalism portfolio. There were many more pleasing images of considerable technical difficulty. Some of the best were from the junior sections, including a brilliant macro shot of a longhorn beetle in the under 10s section. My favourite was a white Humpback Whale, Migaloo the Magnificent There was an excellent shot of an Apollo butterfly. Exhibition photos can be seen online:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

When I was 10 years old I used to travel to the Natural History Museum every Saturday and  joined their Young Naturalists Club. Of course I used to dive into the Geology museum annexed to it, and the Science Museum next door. The NHM is totally different now. I asked where I could see butterflies and was advised they only had a few as part of some display. Its all Green, Red, Orange, Blue zones now 

Exhibition Road is now a new style road-pavement

Angmering Woods

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

After lunch we drove to Dover Lane for a walk in the Angmering Estate Woods. The bluebell leaves are pushing through so there should be another great display soon.

Courting grebes at Pagham

Great crested grebes courting

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

Yesterday morning, Neil, the double glazing specialist, replaced a punctured unit and fixed a couple of other problems, all very effectivley. After he left I headed for Pagham Harbour again as the sun had been shining through a blue sky all day, so the insects should have been rising above the reeds. They were, and the dozen or so birders had been having regular sightings. I managed some and got my best shot so far, though it is pretty poor when compared to professional shots. It about the best I could do with a 300mm lens and fleeting glimpses of the elusive bird. A bonus was seeing these courting Grebes on the lake.

Curlews

Great crested grebes courting

The slideshow has multiple shots of the happy couple performing their ritual courtship.

Little grebe

Little egret

Mallard

Paddyfield warbler on the move

Paddyfield warbler 

Teal

Wigeon

Heyshott and Pagham Harbour

Woodpigeon

Wednesday is Heyshott work party day, We had a good turnout this morning and cleared much bramble covered wood which had been cut years ago but not disposed of. Our bonfire was the biggest yet and it was very satisfying looking at the total area cleared this winter. 

Primrose

This plant is the object of all our work. When the primrose seeds discover the open glade we have created, we hope they will burst forth and attract the female Duke of Burgundy butterflies to deposit their eggs on the underside of the leaves.

Afterwards I called in at Pagham Harbour again where I found about 20 birders looking for the Paddyfield Warbler. It was seen briefly a couple of times and I went on a walkabout to see what else was around.

Woodpigeon

Curlew

geese

godwits

Grey Heron

Little Grebe

Little Grebe diving

 It spent more time underwater than on the surface

Mallard

Pintail

Pintail and Mallard

Redshank

female Teal

male Teal

pair of Great Crested Grebes

Paddyfield Warbler at Pagham Harbour

male Teal

Mark called me to say there was a Paddyfield Warbler at Pagham Harbour so I was pleased to meet him there for a sighting of this rare immigrant to the U.K. It lives in Asia and normally winters in the Indian subcontinent. We arrived at 9:30am and found over a dozen enthusiasts already set up. The bird had been seen earlier but was hiding in the reed beds and after a couple of hours Mark spotted it when it rose up to catch an insect. It continued this behaviour for an hour before staying low. Every so often it would dart up above the reeds, then head down again, all in a second or so. I never had much opportunity to focus for a shot, though I saw it many times. It looks similar to a Reed Warbler. 

Others have captured good images of this bird, including Dave Barnes: http://www.pbase.com/davebarnes/paddyfield_warbler__west_sussex

All morning Curlews made their lovely call, and a huge flock of Brent Geese flew by. I also saw Teal, Reed Buntings, Redshank and Little Grebe and heard a Cetti's Warbler.

Curlew

Little Grebe

Paddyfield Warbler

Paddyfield Warbler

Redshank

male Reed Bunting in summer plumage

male Reed Bunting in winter plumage

male Teal

female Teal

maleTeal

Teal pair

Me on the left next to serious weaponry (Photo courtesy of Mark Colvin)

To view Marks blog click here