The Standlake Birder -

        High quality framed and unframed prints available at   https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdlifeStudio If you don't see what you want please ask! It’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve done any real birding, a combination of no twitchable rarities I need for my UK list and getting lots of jobs done around the smallholding before my 3 week trip to South America. So this Friday just gone I decided to have a nice day out somewhere. I wanted to avoid an urban or concrete basin setting so decided to head to the peak district where a confiding juvenile Dotterel had been, as they say, “showing well”.   The first previous reports of the bird had been around mid-morning so I decided to set off early and hope the bird had not departed overnight. This was a little risky for a bird that had already been present for a few days but I needn’t have worried as the bird was reported as still present when I was on route.   The location was on some fairly exposed heath moor...

  High quality framed and unframed prints available at   https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdlifeStudio If you don't see what you want please ask! There are precious few birds that I’ve both seen and photographed well that I will drive 2 hours to see but I will make an exception for my favourite UK bird, the enigmatic Wryneck. No autumn birding in the UK is complete for me unless I have seen at least one of these beauties. So Monday morning found me in the Volvo driving 2 hours to see an exceptionally showy individual located at Exminster Marshes RSPB in Devon.   As it had already been present for a couple of days, I waited for it to be reported before setting off  and so it was near midday when I arrived at the small RSPB car park adjacent to the railway line. It was then a 30 minute or so walk down a pleasant leafy footpath to the welcoming looking Turf hotel. The hotel is next to Turf lock from where stunning views can be had over the river Exe estuary towards Exto...

         Distant record shot of Marsh Sandpiper Prior to moving to our smallholding under the Malvern Hills some 5 years ago I spent many a happy hour in the Langley Lane bird hide at Pit 60 near Standlake. So when a rare Marsh Sandpiper was identified there on Friday morning from a photo taken the previous day I immediately started thinking about a visit.   We were looking after our two eldest grandchildren while their parents were at work over the weekend and I had already promised a Friday morning visit to Dirty Donuts, their favourite café, in Malvern. Now there was no way I was going to let the boys down, doubly so because the donuts baked and filled on site are absolutely to die for!   My Oxon birding pal, Nick , was working that morning but was planning to go with his wife Anne that afternoon so I arranged to meet them in the hide. They were already there when I arrived around 2:30 pm and Nick showed me the Sandpiper through his scope located di...