blue rock thrush Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Craig Rogers Photography

Morning Dog Walk: Another Species Arrives Back From Africa

27th March 201927th March 2019Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

I spotted another returning bird this morning, a Woodchat Shrike which has travelled back from Africa. She (told because of the white patch in front of the eye) was quite a distance away, but managed to snap a quick record shot. I look forward to getting closer to these amazing “butcher” birds. Shrikes are known to hang their prey on fences and bramble. In case you are wondering, just out of focus to the left is a Stonechat. Continuing below the photo are some more sights.

Morning Dog Walk: Males Singing and Drumming For Females…..And, Of Course, Bluey!

24th March 201924th March 2019Craig Rogers

This morning’s walk was full of a few surprises, first, I narrowly missed an opportunity to photograph an Egyptian Mongoose as it scurried away for cover. This is the 2nd time I’ve seen them in the same location in the morning, so I will have to do a stake-out soon.

The Woodpeckers are drumming like crazy today, it is like a building site with all the knocking. I noticed a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker tapping a metal strip on an electricity pole, it was a fair distance away, but took a snap anyway. Notice his red cap, this is how you tell the males and females apart as the females don’t have one. Of course, the females will not be drumming either as the males perform this to attract a mate.

A Little Closer To The Blue Rock Thrushes

23rd March 201923rd March 2019Craig Rogers

Yesterday afternoon I dressed up in my Army clothing, took my camo-bag and tried to sneak close to the ruin that the pair of Blue Rock Thrushes are nesting in. It didn’t go well, the male was sitting at the location I was trying to get to and even though he moved away I think he was watching me and seemed uncomfortable so I abandoned the idea. Back at the house it got me thinking, earlier in the day he was less worried when I walked through with the dog in normal clothing. So this morning, I tried something different, I put a 1.4x teleconverter on my 500mm lens (which gives me a 700mm with minimal quality loss on such a great lens) and took it out using a Monopod rather than a Tripod for ease of carrying.

I walked my usual route and the female was sitting on a nearby telephone pole and I could see the male on the roof of the ruin. I positioned myself near to the ruin in full visibility of the birds. They seemed far more relaxed with my presence, the male even more so as he came to the roof top. Although not the perfection I’m looking for I did come away with some nice photos.

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Morning Dog Walk:…..And Now The Female Blue Rock Thrush!

21st March 201921st March 2019Craig Rogers

Yesterday morning, after searching for weeks I finally spotted the Male Blue Rock Thrush. This morning we walked through the same location and I spotted a Female.

As you can see, the female has no blue colouring, she is dark brown with a spotted chest. She wasn’t so relaxed around me as the male and moved perch constantly. However, she flew in almost exactly the same pattern as the Male, circling the ruined building. I think it’s pretty certain that they are nesting in this building. I won’t go investigating as I am not interested in disturbing the nest (and what seems like hundreds of House Sparrows) but I will be monitoring this site to hopefully capture some great shots.

Morning Dog Walk: I Finally Found The (Or Another) Blue Rock Thrush!

20th March 201920th March 2019Craig Rogers

On the last Nature Walk we spotted a Blue Rock Thrush (Read more) and I have been looking for it almost every morning since without luck.

Well today, I spotted it, or maybe of course another one. In a straight line it was about 400 meters from where we spotted it, so likely the same one. Only the male is blue, the female is brown and is similar to a female Blackbird, but with a longer beak. I actually thought I spotted a female this morning nearby too, so hopefully a breeding pair.

This male wasn’t too bothered by my (and Wally’s) presence and would allow me to get quite close before moving perch. I noticed that it would fly to various perches before coming to ground to feed. The whole time it would circle around a ruined house. They are known to nest in ruins, so I will be keeping an eye on this location and will head back with my long lens and camouflage in the hope of some closeup shots.

For now, here are some I snapped as I watched it this morning.

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The Mystery Bird From Yesterday’s Nature Walk Identified

17th February 201917th February 2019Craig Rogers

First all, a big thanks to everyone that turned up yesterday for the first Free Nature Walk of 2019.

What an amazing morning out in the hills, the weather was almost hot, but certainly very warm and there were plenty of things to see. The one thing that got us excited was a dark black/blue bird that appeared a little too far away to ID. At first I thought it was a Starling, but then it stood upright like a Thrush. It disappeared before we managed to get a good view or shot of it and continued our walk. A few names were branded about and I mentioned the possibility of a Blue Rock Thrush. I have never seen one let alone locally to the house.

We continued our walk and the route brought us back past the same location on our return. I spotted it again, this time in full view albeit a long way, it was also now a view directly into the sun.

I snapped a photo but couldn’t tell from the image on the camera. This morning, I have cleaned the image up a little and gives a perfect view, I can now confirm it is indeed a Male Blue Rock Thrush. I visited the same location this morning, but couldn’t spot it but as these birds are resident in Portugal, I will keep an eye out for it and maybe stake out. It is possible that it will nest in this barn that it was spotted at.