Bag a better Bittern.

So I have a new scope and a T-mount and a-digiscoping we shall go. Now I haven’t yet perfected the art and of the few pictures that I took in the garden, none have been at all successful, so don’t go hoping for too much yet. I chose to go to Leybourne Lakes to see if I can find the Great Crested Grebes performing again. They were too distant for my zoom lens a couple of weeks ago and I was hoping that the digiscope set up  would bring them close enough for a decent picture.

A Northern Shoveler from about 150 meters was to be my first attempt outdoors, but that proved to be a disappointment. I was surprised by how much distortion there was around a small circle of clear shot in the centre. The Grebes were conspicuous by their absence, so I tried with the Tufted Ducks instead, but I was so cack-handed and slow that by the time I had them in frame and in focus, they had dived beneath the ripples and I had to start all over again. I was beginning to develop a grudging respect for people who have mastered this discipline.

I caught a Black-headed Gull in the frame which is all we shall say about that. What I needed was something that would stay reasonably still. Bitterns are good still standers, but where are you going to find one of those when you need one? As luck would have it, I did find a Bittern but had to hurry along as time was pressing. This photo was taken using my Canon 100-400 for comparison with the digiscope.

The SLR attaches to the scope by means of a screw-in tube and a Canon-specific T-mount, so that the picture can be taken through the eye-piece with its 16x magnification. The pictures were disappointing to say the least. The subject was willing, but the technique is still weak.

I can see that there is some merit to this digiscoping lark, but it will need rather more effort on my part to master it and get a nice clear shot. The one below is the best of the rest with the head visible, but focus a bit suspect still.

All of the pictures have been cropped to exactly the same degree for comparison and reduced to 580 pixels on the longest side for uploading.

Other posts for Leybourne Lakes can be found by following the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2012/01/leybourne-lakes-kent-uk-jan-2012.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/leybourne-lakes-maidstone-kent-july.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-celebrate-return-of-dragonflies-to.html

Leybourne Lakes, Kent, UK, Jan 2012

A Bittern had been reported at Leybourne Lakes which is within very easy reach of my home, so I made a couple of attempts to locate it. The bird had been showing during Christmas Week and into the New Year and I hoped that I wasn't too late to find it in what sounded like a reasonably good location.
A small parking area is available just outside the gate of the Water Treatment Plant in Snodland (Google Earth ref; 51 19 09N 00 26 42E).

The Bittern had been seen in a small patch of phragmites reeds and bullrushes on Streamside Lake and I took up position on the opposite bank which would have given me a good view if the bird had shown. I had only popped in quickly as the sun was setting, but returned early the next morning for another look. A European Robin came to keep me company.

After staking out the Bittern for a while and hearing that another bird had been seen on Brooklands Lake, I took a stroll to see what else I could find. The chances of there being 2 Bitterns were not astronomical, but the likelyhood was that the bird had moved. Access had been made to reach the bank by the reeds and perhaps some over zealous spotters had flushed the bird.

Eurasian Siskins were feeding in the alders along the track leading to the railway line. Goldfinches wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a long-dreamed of picture of them on a teasel head. A short way along, a path heads left between Streamside Lake and the adjacent lake. A Water Rail flushed from the margins.

Great Crested Grebes were indulging in their courtship dance. Each dove beneath the water and re-surfaced with a small piece of weed. Then, with their necks low to the water, they swam towards each other and raised themselves from the water in the 'penguin dance'.
My camera was not powerful enough to capture the moment; it really is time that I  began to think seriously about this digiscoping lark.

I returned for another stint across from the reed bed. Watching for the Bittern was not an arduous task while Tufted Ducks bobbed on the water and a Common Kingfisher darted back and forth. I was scoping the fringes and stood up for a moment only to see a browny, cinammon coloured pair of wings fold back into the rushes. It was as if the Bittern had just flown back in, but I am sure that I would have seen it coming up the lake, perhaps it was just having a stretch. I quickly found it in my binoculars and had a quick view of its head and neck before it melted back into the reeds.
Rushing around the bank to get a different angle didn't help. A small island with a thorn tree had obscured my view so I changed position, but could not relocate the bird.

Birds seen; 36

Little Grebe 1, Great crested Grebe 12, Great Cormorant 15, Grey Heron 2, Great Bittern 1, Mute Swan 3, Greylag Goose 15, Mallard 3, Northern Shoveler 6, Common Pochard 8, Tufted Duck 30, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2, Water Rail 1, Common Moorhen 8, Common Coot 40, Herring Gull 2, Black-headed Gull 50, Stock Dove 2Common Woodpigeon 40, Eurasian Collared Dove 4, Common Kingfisher 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Northern Wren 2, Redwing 8, Fieldfare 12, Common Blackbird 8, European Robin 8, Long-tailed Tit 5, Great Tit 25, Blue Tit 15, Eurasian Magpie 15, Carrion Crow 4, Chaffinch 6, Eurasian Siskin 2, European Goldfinch 10, Bullfinch 1.

Other posts from Leybourne Lakes can be found via the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-celebrate-return-of-dragonflies-to.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/leybourne-lakes-maidstone-kent-july.html

Visit the dedicated UK page for more posts from the UK

Leybourne Lakes, Maidstone, Kent. July 2011

A few days at home with my family has left the blog unattended, but I am still here. At Junction 4 on the M20 in Kent, UK, is a complex of lakes with a couple of streams, scrub and some rough grassland. Known variously as Snodland, Larkfield or Leybourne Lakes, there is 24hr access to the public areas, though some parts have been gated and reserved for private fishing clubs.

The stream is home to odonata which includes Banded Demoiselle and Common Bluetail. During a couple of visits during the second half of July, Brown Hawkers, Aeshna Grandis were seen cruising up and down the choked stream near the water sports centre by the big left bend on Lunsford Lane (Google Earth ref; 51 18’ 55”N 00 26’ 06”E )

Indian balsam, an invasive, but beautiful waterside plant, was in full bloom and attracting bees and other insects to its orchid-like flowers. A female Blackbird looked a little ruffled, but sat well for her portrait. Another birder, Tim, happened along and we walked together for a while. Reed Warblers were seen on the small lake and some young Robins were seen being attended by their parents. Further along the stream, Common Whitethroat, were seen and a Reed Warbler was heard singing.

Further north, a small parking area at the end of the lane coming off the Snodland by-pass gives access to the lake complex by the water treatment plant (Google Earth ref: 51 19’09”N 00 26’ 42”E). The path here is banked on either side with flowering thistles and stinging nettles. Green Finches and Goldfinches were seen briefly here. Wrens were still singing as the season progresses. A Green Woodpecker was calling from nearby, but we couldn’t see it. Many of the Blue Tits and Great Tits were still in their subtle, yellow-faced, juvenile outfits. We thought that we heard a Little Grebe calling, but it had turned into a young Coot by the time we found it.

A Common Blue Damselfly sat very patiently for me as I experimented with the Live View facility on my Canon. It takes up a lot of battery power and doesn’t do very well with moving subjects, but I liked the manual focus magnification feature.

A female Tufted Duck was tending her brood on a small lake. The 6 ducklings, scudded about her reminding me of little, dark Scalextric cars.

Bird species seen; 22

Cormorant 1, Mute Swan 6, Mallard 4, Tufted Duck 1, Common Moorhen 2, Common Coot 6, Herring Gull 3, Black-headed Gull 25, Common Woodpigeon 25, Eurasian Collared Dove 4, Northern Wren 2, Dunnock 1, Common Blackbird 1, Eurasian Robin 2, Eurasian Reed Warbler 4, Common Whitethroat 3, Great Tit 5, Blue Tit 6, Eurasian Magpie 8, Chaffinch 2, European Greenfinch 2, European Goldfinch 8.

Odonata species seen;

Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens 15, Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum 6, Common Bluetail Ishnura elegans 2, Brown Hawker  Aeshna grandis 3, Blue Emperor, Anax imperator 2 Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum1,

To find other posts about this site follow the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-celebrate-return-of-dragonflies-to.html

The nearby Mote Park can be explored through this post;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/keira-knightly-in-mote-park.html

Visit the dedicted UK page for other posts about the Isles.