Birds

Nightingales Singing At Midnight (Recording)

14th April 202114th April 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

I posted earlier that I had spotted a Nightingale making a rare appearance out of thick cover (Read more…). Tonight the air was totally still, not even a gentle breeze so I setup my phone camera to record the amazing chorus we have around the Quinta. There was also a Fox calling in the distance, but unfortunately, you can’t really make it out.

Turn your volume up and enjoy!

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

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Ever Wondered What A Nightingale Looks Like…?

13th April 202113th April 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

I’m surrounded by Nightingales, all competing to be the loudest, they seem to sing all day and night with no sleep. You would think they would be easy to find and view, but although they are loud with their stunning song, they are great at hiding deep in the foliage of trees and bushes.

After sitting on the riverbank for a while a few days back, one did decide to almost expose itself and I grabbed a quick snap, as you can see, they are quite plain looking birds and their plumage doesn’t match their incredible song.

Scouting Mission To Find The Local Bee-Eater Colony

11th April 202111th April 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

Friday finally saw my 500mm f/4 Lens go off for it’s tripod mount collar repair and even though I’m going to miss the beginning of the spring/summer season whilst it is on its trip to Barcelona, I am still preparing for its return.

Today, I went on a scouting mission to find where the local European Bee-eaters are starting to nest build and it if you know what you are looking for, it didn’t take too long. Although there was no real evidence of new nest building at this location, I sat under a nearby Oak tree and waited. 20 minutes later a pair arrived. I was sat in full view of them, but they didn’t seem too bothered. I did have my “walkabout” lens (the trusty Nikon 80-400mm) so did manage to shoot a few photos before I left them to their colony building.

My view of their flight wasn’t great as it was into the sun, but did shoot this back-lit shot with the sun’s rays shining through the wings.

Breakfast With Bee-Eaters

2nd April 20212nd April 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

Early this morning we had a thick fog and as it started to clear the warmth of the sun was good enough for me to wander around the garden eating my breakfast cereal. In the distance I could hear European Bee-Eaters and before I could blink a large group of between 25 and 30 of them appeared out of the fog. Almost dropping my bowl as I ran to the house to grab the camera, I was lucky that they decided to perch on a nearby electricity cable and stop to hunt for their breakfast. Photos aren’t my usual close-ups (see some past photos at the end) as I was still some distance away and of course the clearing fog didn’t help.

Short Toed Treecreeper (and exciting Bee-Eater news!)

28th March 202128th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

First of all, I spotted my first European Bee-Eater of 2021 today, I heard them yesterday, but this morning a large group came through my area, I have also heard them in a usual location that I will be investigating soon.

Here is a very cropped photo I shot of one.

Crested Tits Around The Quinta

26th March 202126th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

The birdlife this year has been great around the Quinta, particularly the smaller birds and whilst I was having an afternoon chilling in the garden, I could hear Crested Tits calling to each other. It has been a strange day and although the Golden Hour was approaching (the great light before sunset and after sunrise) a deep haze filled the sky so not great for photography.

However, I couldn’t help but grab the camera, as you can see, I even managed to get a shot of a male “courtship feeding” a female a caterpillar.

Overnight Rain Has Sprung the Esteva & Lavender Into Bloom

Apr 10 2021

Both the Esteva (Gum Rock Rose) and French Lavender locally in the hills ha[...]