My Blog - Jeff Clarke

Return of the Bohemians {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/garrulus]}Just under two years ago I was merrily clicking away with my camera at Bohemian Waxwings Bombycilla garrulus, those exotic wanderers from the north, as they scoffed rowan berries between a couple of car showrooms in the heart of Warrington. Little did I expect a reprise of this event so soon afterwards. This species is noted for it's periodic irruptions into the UK following a failure of the rowan berry crop in southern Scandinavia but this is something that normally only happens once or twice a decade. However these irruptions are becoming more frequent and the numbers of birds involved dwarfs those in most previous decades. Despite being a spectacularly good looking c...

1 Hour Watch {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/HH301012]}Today's mini-migration watch was more about quality rather than quantity. I arrived late at Hale Head, a good hour and 10 mins after sunrise, where I joined fellow migration watcher Rob Cockbain and Paul Long. Just for a change I had my camera with me and I didn't even get a chance to set it up properly before a party of Raven passed very close by. In less than an hour we had enjoyed a good range of migrants (see the results on Trektellen) but surprisingly I'd managed decent record shots of a variety of birds and at least one decent shot of a kestrel. Some days there is an advantage to staying in one place and letting the birds come to you.

1 Hour Watch {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/HH301012]}Today's mini-migration watch was more about quality rather than quantity. I arrived late at Hale Head, a good hour and 10 mins after sunrise, where I joined fellow migration watcher Rob Cockbain and Paul Long. Just for a change I had my camera with me and I didn't even get a chance to set it up properly before a party of Raven passed very close by. In less than an hour we had enjoyed a good range of migrants (see the results on Trektellen) but surprisingly I'd managed decent record shots of a variety of birds and at least one decent shot of a kestrel. Some days there is an advantage to staying in one place and letting the birds come to you.

Mistle Rush {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/mistlemigrant]}In the past couple of weeks I've taken several opportunities to enjoy a few hours 'vis migging' at my favourite local migration hotspot of Hale Head, not very far from Liverpool Airport. As usual the migrant totals are being dominated by Wood Pigeons and currently the winter thrushes are piling through. A feature of this autumn has been the steady passage of the forgotten throstle in the shape of the garrulous Mistle Thrush. Each year small numbers pass through Hale Head, but this year there seemed to be a significantly more than usual. You can often be mislead by 'gut feelings' so I did a little research and low and behold at least 40% of UK migration watch sites on Trektelle...

North of the Border {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/north]}As is my norm these days I've been spending several weeks of the summer running courses for the Field Studies Council in Scotland, based out of Kindrogan. I finished my most recent course on Invertebrate Survey Techniques on the 25th August and then continued my Scottish sojourn for a few more days with the Cheshire Mammal Group. There are three blogs on the Wild Kindrogan Blog site detailing the courses and events of these tours Cheshire Mammal Group at Kindrogan, Invertebrate Survey Techniques Course & Wildlife Explorers 2012.After leaving Kindrogan we headed for Gairloch on the spectacular west coast of the highlands. Our priority was to get out on the Hebridean Whale C...