THE REEDS & THE LITTLE BUNTING

For two days in a row I visited the Walthamstow Wetlands. I was there yesterday.

Well what a day?!

The weather men got it wrong for the umpteenth time recently for London, no snow the other Thursday after they said it was. The day before this day it was supposed to rain around 3pm to 4pm and barely spat. This day was supposed to be partly sunny fro midday to 5pm with no rai at all! Take a wild guess at what happened?! It rained and transitioned from fairly heavy to light and the sun did come out .. eventually. Around the closing time of the place we were in which is 4pm.

Tens of millions on a weather computer a couple years back? Stop .. just stop.

Anyhoo we waited by the section which was said to have Reed Buntings and a Little Bunting among them. Got hatting to e nice bunch of chaps while there, one dedicated soul was a Scot who had come down from Warrington of all places.

Now I was convinced I had the Little Bunting on film and pictures a dozen times .. but ..

I was not familiar with what young and hen Reed Buntings looked like nor familiar with the same for the Little Bunting. A chestnut coloured face was all I had to go on.

I also still do not possess my birding lens, the 70-400mm Sony f4!

At the end someone pointed out the Little Bunting while it was close to us and feeding. I spotted what they were referring to and though 'oh .. I have filmed that several ties' and was happy. Well as it turns out it was not the Little Bunting and an immature male Reed Bunting.

After going through the videos and the photos I had managed to get one of each of the Little Bunting so was not a complete disaster. Nor did the Sony A99 II and its 70-2mm f2.8 and 1.4 Teleconverter get wet for nothing.

Little Bunting in the video below on the right

What I believe to be an immature Male Reed Bunting ..

Reed Bunting ..

Another Reed Bunting ..

Four Reed Buntings Feeding..

Reed Bunting Closer In

Scaup

Goldeneye Preening

A FEW HOURS AT AMWELL NATURE RESERVE

I managed  to get out to somewhere I had wanted to the last couple of years...especially when someone told me that if you sit in one of the hides the Reed Buntings are so used to people that you end up quite close to them?!

A photographic opportunity of one of several genus I would very much like to get more on.

It did not work out quite that well but I did get a few things and a few unexpected things too, like  kingfisher, be it a mere flash! Bummer!

Hmm I have just resized the photos and they are all dreadful and lack sharpness.

It seems trying to go out with this camera in future will be a complete waste of time?!

Darn it!!

Now I have to decide what to do?!

I tell you I have had terrible luck with cameras since Is tarted this blog, what with several not working out of the box when new and finding out they are refurbished and not new and one other overheating after just 6 months and now this one losing focus and a strange juddering when filming at powerful zoom lengths?!

Jesus, do I really want to buy a camera now or just leave it a couple of months?

Pochards... 

The Duck Wash ...

Tufted Ducks...

Pochard and Lapwing

Red Admiral Butterfly

Reed Bunting...

Water Mint...

Giant Pondweed...

UNUSUAL WARBLING BIRD SONG & A ROBIN

Did not know what this was and filmed it in the hope that on each occasion it would come out and reveal itself to me. Was always from within Reeds so Reed Warbler or Reed Bunting. Neither of those two only leaves one I can think of and I already missed them once, Bearded Reedlings. Lmao. If only! Only my favourite British Bird they are and a friend of mine has just bred his ones.

I could probably identify birds on sight around 70% of the time.

Varies depending on which bird group it is as many waders would be about 20% percent but Finches, Tits and Buntings probably about 95% of the time or more! Birds of Prey I also know pretty well too in fact I hope to get much more on them before very long.

A shame I was still not in contact with the couple I knew that bred them and kept around 50 species or more?! Had heard the husband, Dennis, passed away some years ago.

and a ROBIN...

REED BUNTING - Emberiza schoeniclus: & VIDEO

Yes well after returning and waiting I finally got photos AND a video of that elusive make Reed Bunting!

He was not as elusive as the female, or hen, and I did see her briefly.

VIDEO OF REED BUNTING MALE