Leighton Buzzard Garden

I have lived at the current house in Leighton Buzzard since 2002 some 18 years now and over the years have watched and photographed the birds that visit the garden with a garden list and flyover tally now somewhere in the region of 75 which is reasonable for a small suburban garden. Over the years I have lost count of how many times I have come home from work to find Sparrowhawk sign in the garden usually a Collard Dove or Blakbird, and frustratingly have seen on numerous occasions both Male & Female birds fly through, over, in & out of the garden, but never have I witnessed an actual catch in real time.

This Tuesday gone my luck finally changed and this large female I think took out a starling in the garden and stayed just long enough for me to firstly find and get the camera, gently open the window and fire off a few quick piccies.

It was an amazing to be able to capture a few seconds of raw nature in action with the daily thrust of life, death and survival in full view right in you back garden. You do feel sorry at the time for the victim in this instance a young starling but thats how it works.

 

he catch, cowl and consumption

Waxwing Sunderland Road, Sandy

Once again it was a very dull and overcast January day in Bedfordshire today but it was made slightly brighter when I managed to catch up with the solitary Waxwing at Sunderland Road Sandy near Gate 1 of the Marshalls Factory :-)

Slavonian Grebe Brogborough Tip Pools

A trip to Brogborough Tip Pools this morning 24-12-2018 for the winter plumage Slav Grebe was a success, although I did DIP on the Great Northern Diver at Stewartby, Happy Xmas everyone

Cheers

Sean D'Arcy

Black Redstart Leighton Buzzard Beds

A good photographer mate of mine in Leighton Buzzard Roy Mcdonald rang me up all a quiver on Thursday 2nd Feb 2018 to tell me that he was looking out of his window at a Black Redstart on his feeders in Leighton Buzzard. I couldn't get down early enough to catch up with the bird as it was starting to get dark. However a phone call this morning to tell me it was still there prompted an immediate visit and I enclose a few shots of this lovely male who was a bit bedragled with the weather, but none the less a stunning bird and a great find given how infrequently they visit the county these days.

Update the Black Redstart is still showing really well and has been on site now for well over 2 weeks, hopefully everybody has had a chance to pop down and have a gander at this stunning little visitor.

Penduline Tit DSTW

Just a few record shots of the (male) Penduline Tit that was discovered at the sewage works yesterday by John Lynch. Unfortunately the light was really poor and it was at quite a distance from the hide favouring the bull rush on the LH side of the scrape beyond the elderberry tree on the bank about 3/4 of the way down the scrape, however it is reasonably easy to identify one of these rare visitors to Beds.

Hopefully it will stay on site for a while so that as many Beds birders can get an opportunity to get in and see it, but this will be dependant on Anglian Water allowing us to open and man the gates for a limited and controlled public access to the hide. Hopefully this will be the case, keep an eye on the beds birds group site for details.

Unfortunately the Penduline only stayed on site for another day and has not been recorded or reported after the 21-12-2017 so that was a bit disappointing. I was at the works on the 22nd and there was quite an active Sparrowhawk on the scrape as per the picture enclosed, hopefully this was not the fate of the Penduline and it is just flitting around somewhere else in the county.