April 2013

23rd. I travelled to see the whiskered tern at Chew Valley Lake, and also saw my first sedge warbler of the year. Sixteen Arctic terns also present. My main aim was to photograph the female woodchat shrike at Widcombe Common. The bird is very popular with photographers, and gives the best views of any woodchat I have seen anywhere.

Last milliseconds in the life of a bee. I was fortunate to get shots of the shrike taking off to catch a bee, then eating it afterwards.

4th. A ring ouzel in a stony field next to the disused oil tanks at Flax Bourton.

2nd. I managed to get out for my only decent spell of birding this Easter. I went to Chew and Blagdon looking for ospreys. I only had brief views of two birds at Blagdon, one of which headed to Chew. The male ringed bird 'YA white' hunted over Herriot's Pool at Chew around lunchtime.

I also took the opportunity to take some portraits of common birds in the sunlight: below are females of mallard, pochard, and tufted duck, a great-crested grebe and a black-headed gull.