This is a recording of my interview with Graham Seaman at BBC Wiltshire...
Tour of South-Western Spain: 3rd-15th April
This proved to be a hugely memorable trip with my birding buddies Pete Blanchard, Paul Hazell and Dave Soons.
Following lengthy car and ferry trip, we arrived at our initial destination Rivierra, Mihas Costa, late on Tuesday 5th April. It was pretty much solid birding for the next 10 days:
Wednesday 6th visited Rio Guadalhorce, Malaga – photographed Lesser Kestrels. Bee Eaters, Black-necked Grebes, Little-ringed Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, Booted Eagles and many more...
Thursday 7th visited El Chorro – photographed Crested Tits, Black Wheatears, Griffon Vultures and many more...
Friday 8th - 9th April moved to Tarifa to view the Northbound migration - photographed Short-toed Snake Eagles, Griffon Vultures, Kentish Plovers, Wheatears, Crested Larks and many more
Sunday 10th visited Donana National Park...an awesome place for birding - photographed Woodchat Shrike, Iberian Grey Shrike, Azure Magpie, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Squacco Heron, Black Kites, Red-rumped Swallows and many more...
Tuesday 12th April moved to Osuna area and visited the centre at Fuente de Peidra - photographed Crossbills, Serin, Hoopoe, Montagu’s Harrier and many more...
All-in-all a fantastic trip and apart from some unsavoury wind action on the part of our senior tour member, a trip never to be forgotten!
Short-toes Snake Eagle
Trip to the Forest of Dean - 17th March 2016
It was an early start, leaving home at 06:00 to pick up Pete Blanchard and driving to 3 birding sites in the Forest of Dean: Fancy View, Crabtree Hilland Cannop Ponds.
Although, a stunning view of the Forest of Dean can be had from Crabtree Hill, we didn't manage to see any of the reported Goshawks...maybe we were there too early. We took some good shots of Mistle Thrushes. Song Thrushes and nesting Long-tailed Tits and spotted some Bullfinches near the car park.
Following a significant trek from the cat park at Speech House to Crabtreee Hill we were soon rewarded with a sighting of the reported Great Grey Shrike. The shrike spent much of the time hunting and Pete and I managed a few fairly close up shots of the reported Great Grey Shrike at Crabtree Hill.
A brutal bird but handsone nonetheless!
We then travelled a few miles to Cannop Ponds to find out whether the mandarib ducks were present. Unfortunately they weren't about but we managed some shot's of Marsh Tits at the feeding station.
On the way home we visited Pilning Wetland and Portbury Warf Nature Reserve. We didn't manage any photographs because of the failing light but we did see some fieldfare and a couple of Little Owls.
Another great day out!!