My Top Five Birds of 2021

All this Covid stuff has made a lot of us take stock of our lives and what we do, and me no less than anybody else. In particular I’ve been reviewing my bird photos for some of the time and I’ve realised that I’ve got some decent shots of most common UK birds - so I’ve asked myself, ‘Do I really need any more of the same species?’

I’ve never understood why some photographers get on the annual seasonal bandwagon of having to shoot the same birds in the same location at the same time of each and every year - I mean, how many Owl, Kingfisher, Puffin, Kite, Gannet, Black Grouse, Snow Bunting, Osprey and even White-tailed Eagle shots do you really need? And then they flood the internet with countless similar images which are pretty much the same as everyone elses. Madness, and it happens every year. 

Surely less is more here and one good image is better than countless similar ones where you couldn’t decide which one was best. After a couple of shots most people scroll on or turn off.  I’ll hold my hands up and say that in the past I’ve done it too, but not any more. From now on I’ll be mainly photographing UK birds of which I’ve got no decent shots, which generally will mean seabirds and rarities. I’m not saying that I’ll never shoot one of the aforementioned species ever again, but I won’t be on the annual cycle going from one species to another (which often includes otters, deer, hares, foxes and badgers) getting even more shots to add to a library stuffed full of similar ones.

So if you’re wondering why I’ve not been posting much recently and you may have even noticed that I’ve left a lot of Facebook groups, there’s the reason. Perhaps not everyone will agree but I’m happy with my decision.

Anyway, reviewing my bird photos from this year (what else is there to do on these gloomy late December days?) here are my Top Five birds of 2021. Considering I didn't go out much this year and there were two or three months where I didn't take a single bird photograph, I'm pleased with these rarities which were all Lifers for me.

Black-browed Albatross - Bempton Cliffs RSPB, East Yorkshire

Belted Kingfisher - Roach Bridge, Lancashire

White-tailed Lapwing - Blacktoft Sands RSPB, West Yorkshire

Elegant Tern - Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey

Long-toed Stint - St. Aidan's RSPB, West Yorkshire

White-tailed Lapwing / Plover Thingy at Blacktoft Sands RSPB

They must have had a really hard time naming this Plover! Yellow-legged Lapwing, Long-legged Plover? No, they settled on White-tailed Lapwing which for me isn't its most obvious feature as it's beautiful white tail is only really seen in flight. I photographed this mega rare UK bird at Blacktoft Sands RSPB in East Yorkshire yesterday. It's been there over a week now and is still there today.

In Search of Spoonbills ...

Test to follow ...

 

 

Putting Things Right

If you read my last post you could probably tell I was bit upset with the shots I got from my previous visit to Far Ings primarily due to the heat haze and sun direction.  So today I decided to try to put things right.  I got up at 4am and had left by 5am to go straight to the Reedy Hide at Far Ings and try to beat the haze with a few early rising Marsh Harrier shots.

 

 

Blacktoft Sands RSPB

Barn Owls are Flavour of the Month

For some reason Barn Owls have unwittingly become my flavour of the month this February. I've seen them in seven different locations around the UK and got decent photos from three of them. These were taken today at Blacktoft Sands RSPB near Goole. I actually went for Marsh Harriers, but this delightful female Barn Owl provided me with my best shots when it hunted right in front of Singleton Hide this afternoon.

She hunted up down the ditch in front of the hide for five minutes or so, giving us great views in the late afternoon sunshine.

Eventually she caught some prey along with a talon full of grass and took it a nearby tree to eat it.

UPDATE:

 The top photo was given a 'Notable Photo' award on BirdGuides this week.

Yorkshire Trip Day 5 - Blacktoft Sands RSPB

I paid a quick visit to Blacktoft Sands RSPB on the way home from Flambrough.  Luckily for me, seven Spoonbills, a male Mandarin Duck in eclipse and a few Spotted Redshank dropped in whilst I was there.  Unluckily for me a Buff-breasted Sandpiper dropped in the day after, and that would have been a lifer for me - grrr!