8-10 Feb 2023 - East Malling, Kent

A couple of lunchtime dashes to a quite pot in the village yielded a few Goldcrest, Nuthatch and Long-tailed Tit pictures. Little Egret is a little easier to find and photograph... 

5 Feb 2023 - Elmley NNR

A nice couple of hours at Elmley NNR, with a female Merlin along the entrance track being the highlight. Short-eared Owl and Dartford Warbler were nice - as was a selection of other avian and non-avian spp which leapt out in front of the camera.

Merlin - female

Ruff

Short-eared Owl

Robin

Brown Hare

Dartford Warbler

Little Owl

Kestrel

Lapwing

Black-tailed Godwit

Curlew

22 January 2023 - East Kent

Son and I took a wee trip out today - starting at Oare and ending at Worth Marshes. Max found a party of five Cattle Egrets at Teynham and we also had a look at the White Stork in the county - been a while since if seen one...

White Stork

Cattle Egret (1 of 5)

Avocet

Stonechat

Pintail

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Meadow Pipit

Teal

Gadwall

  

21 Jan 2023 - Hume's Warbler at Pencester Gardens, Dover

It's been many a year since I've seen Hume's Warbler in the UK, so decided on a brief afternoon visit to Dover to have a look at the overwintering bird present... Always hyperactive was a challenge to nail down. A few pics almost worthy of sharing... 

8-15 January 2023 - Finland

 A brief trip over to the Arctic Circle in Finland for some proper snow and ice. Day temperatures were -9oC to begin with but warmed-up to nearly 0oC part-way through the trip. 

Finding 'stuff' is hard work at this time of year - lots of people have feeders in their gardens, attracting Willow Tits, Bullfinches (Northern) and an array of other passerines (Tree Sparrow, Great Tits, Yellowhammer, etc). Hooded Crows, Magpies and Jays are all out there, but we had no luck with Sib Jay, Sibe Tit, etc - the latter would have been new to me.

The Black Grouse in the tops of the trees were found by Max (son) and he also found the two Great-spotted Woodpeckers. 

Mammals were a highlight - the ermine Stoat in particular - though the various shades of Red Squirrel  were great. 

Pride of place, however, goes to the Moose that Max and I found and managed to get a few seconds of dodgy video before it went back in to the snow-covered landscape.

1 January 2023 - A new year of natural history watching begins...

A brief drive round the orchards at work (East Malling, Kent), armed with thermal imager in one hand and bins in the other, failed to produce any Woodcock (the expected result!), but did yield a smart Common Snipe not far from the Met Station. Other bits to start the 2023 patch list included the fabulous male Pheasant and a Great Spotted Woodpecker attempting to drill holes in to one of the tree posts. 

Common Snipe had been considered a rare/occasional species on site but the use of thermal has highlighted they are much more regular than previously considered.

Common Snipe

Male Pheasant that has been on site for much of 2022

Great Spotted Woodpecker

29 Dec 2022 - Elmley

Couple of nice Brown Hares along the entrance track at Elmley were secretly tucked away behind tussocks of long grass - thankfully the thermal imager gave their presence away... Nice lot of smart Lapwings n the reserve - plus Black-t Godwit, Wigeon, Curlew, Little Owl, etc.

24 December 2022 - Woodcock at Elmley

A brief visit to Elmley with the thermal yielded a fantastic Woodcock in the copse by the car park - just a few metres away and definitely one that I wouldn't have seen without the technology...

Similarly, the Little Owls were readily located in a Hawthorn tree near the greenhouse - nice!

Woodcock - brilliant to be able to photograph it on the deck in the daytime

Little Owl - one of two present in the same copse