Local Birds in June: Sun, More Sun and Some Beauties

We've had wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies for a good 4 weeks now, and I have been keen to make the most of the unusual dry, warm weather. My first visit to Great Mell Fell (2nd June) was well worth it in the end. The hike to the top of the fell was hard work, but the eastern side of the peak has a lovely spread of grassland and open woodland with both broadleaved and conifer trees, and it was here that I had the most joy – with Common Redstart, displaying Tree Pipit and displaying Common Buzzard. The first two were initially hard to photograph preferring the very top perches of the surrounding tall trees, but my patience paid off and after a while they came down a little closer. On 4th I had nice views of Curlew in flight, Common Whitethroat and a family of Wrens locally but got eaten alive by midges just as the birds were showing at their best! On the 10th June, I drove to Siddick Pond and had a very pleasant evening here photographing the pair of Garganey, which showed beautifully as they preened in the sunshine, albeit distantly. Common Swifts were also in evidence and eventually, I managed to get a shot of one of them that wasn’t blurred! But as I watched the Swifts, I suddenly became aware of a familiar song emanating from the bushes between the footpath and the pools. As I got closer, the strength and rhythm of the song pointed to just one species: Cetti’s Warbler – my first for Cumbria! It continued to sing six or seven times in the course of the next 15-20 minutes, but frustratingly remained hidden in the honeysuckle and hawthorn bushes.

On 12th and 13th, I returned to Rogersceugh and caught up with Barn Owl, Grasshopper Warbler and Common Snipe (drumming). The morning of the 13th was the best of the two visits; I began at 5am and had the Barn Owl on the way there! It then proceeded to quarter the sheep field close to the layby and although the light was poor, I managed some pleasing images. The Grasshopper Warbler (one of at least 4-5) showed brilliantly, perched in the open, and allowed very close approach (less than 10 metres?), while Common Snipe drummed overhead, circling me, high up, as I stood on the path – not the easiest of birds to capture on camera.

Little Owls are hard to come by these days, but a quick phone call to an old colleague on 13th June raised my hopes. Wasting no time, I drove over to Wigton and waited patiently in their garden for the bird to appear, as it had done regularly on previous evenings.

True to form, albeit after a half-hour wait, there it was, hopping onto its favourite perch - in glorious evening sunshine. Views through the scope were excellent of course, but it was some way off and I had to use my 2x converter to get something worth keeping. I ended up with some pleasing record shots if nothing else. I watched it preen and scan its surroundings in search of prey; and whilst it did leave its perch once to catch something, it quickly returned. What a great feeling it was to see this species again using its old haunt. And so full of character it was too, occasionally wandering along its perch like a parrot, flashing its golden-yellow eyes, frowning, raising its eyebrows, wing stretching, twisting its head... all very entertaining. There had been two on show until recently; I suspect this was the male and the female was sitting on eggs out of sight.

On the evening of the 15th I went back to my local patch for a photo shoot. Unfortunately, although the target species all showed, the Cuckoos were spooked by something as soon as they appeared and didn't return and the Barn Owl didn't show until after sunset. Still, the most perfect Common Snipe posed beautifully in golden light soon after I arrived:

The 17th - 20th was a period of local birding, and I still managed some pleasing images in good light. And on 25th -26th I managed to catch up with the Cattle Egret at Campfield and got decent images of the (now resident?) pair of Marsh Harrier there, as well as Spotted Flycatcher. Lesser Whitethroat continued to play hide and seek by the bridge, but a Barn Owl (a different bird without a leg ring - possibly the female?) showed well in the early morning in the usual spot: