More Hares and a Goshawk

I had another crack at getting some better shots of hares this weekend. En-route I saw a Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, once the star bird of the Peak District they have been persecuted down to just a few pairs, so it was nice to see one. I also saw a pair of Ravens these don't seem as numerous as they were a few years ago as well.

All photos © Carl Corbidge

 

 

 

 

Mountain Hares

Today I went up onto the high moors to try and photograph Mountain Hares Lepus timidus. They were fairly easy to spot in their winter coats against the non-snowy moors. However getting close to them is a bit tricky, I managed to get really close to one, then the next difficult bit is getting the camera up high enough without spooking them, from the rear end photos you can see I spooked a few. The weather turned bad very quickly so I scarpered back down.

 

 

 

Waxwings and Two Barred Crossbills

Today I went to see if I could get any better photos of the Two Barred Crossbills but they wouldn't come down low enough. Waxwings are thin on the ground this year but there are as few in Sheffield at the moment. There is also a fine drake Pintail of dubious origin in Hillsborough Park but there weren't any Goosander like there has been in recent years.

Redwings and Fieldfares getting desperate

After a while, once winter thrushes have blitzed berries of their favourite trees in more rural locations, they become more desperate and this weekend they started to feed on a yellow rowan near my house allowing me to get a couple of decent pics.

 Fieldfare

 Redwing

 Goldeneye

 Greenfinch

 Mallard

 Reed Bunting

 Smew

 Tree Sparrow

Redwing

New Years Birds

With the weather forecast to be sunny up to dinnertime I went to Lincolnshire to try and get some shots of a Black Throated Diver (Gavia arctica). As it happened it showed really well and there were also other stuff to have a productive morning. Frustratingly for the second time in a week I have seen Roe deer next to the motorway when I can't stop (they must know).

 Black Throated Diver showing the diagnostic white patch on the flank

 Kingfisher

Male Pochard

 Great Crested Grebe

 Female Goosander

Years End Bird Sightings

With a couple of nice birds within easy reach I've been out with my camera a few times. Firstly I wanted to see a Great Northern Diver (Gavia immer) which is one of my favourite birds, but I've never seen one in summer plumage, this one was almost still in full summer which is unusual for the end of December. Second up were 7 Two Barred Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera), which I went to see last week but missed them, but yesterday all 7 were seen 5 male and 2 female. Today I went out with Matt with the sole aim of trying to photograph Red Kites (Milvus milvus) which put on a nice show, with around 10 birds seen plus a couple of Buzzards.