The one that shall not be mentioned...

I was delighted to see this chap whilst out birding recently. Of course I will not be mentioning where I saw him for fear of the sanctioned duck-death squads sending him the way of so many of his species.

Ruddy Duck - Mike Ixer

I got a superb view of this individual and was somewhat saddened to think that this may be the best view (if not last view) I will ever get of this species in this country if DEFRA, with the RSPB's blessing, continues it's 'conservation' effort and eradicates them. There is a superb article which you can find here on the Guardian website which details the costs of this cull and some of the difficulties it faces if it is to actually be 'successful'.

Anyway, back to this handsome chap. Not only did he allow some very close views, but surprised all onlookers by actually displaying - something I never thought I would see, especially in this country. He was on his own so only he knows who he was trying to impress (couldn't see any white-headed ducks either)! I didn't manage to get a photo of the bubbling, flicking display but I did get this of him sitting up tall just before he did his thing.

Ruddy Duck - Mike Ixer

So here's to the handsome, shy and slightly bizarre Ruddy Duck - I hope your species can cling on until the government sees sense.

Ruddy Duck - Mike Ixer

A bit of that Northern Lark (part 2)...

So whilst up north (over a month ago) I also visited another of the RSPB's reserves at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. Seeing as this was so long ago, I can't really remember the details, so I will keep this brief.

After the drive down through the Moors from Middlesbrough we parked up in the muddy overflow car park and were immediately greeted by tree sparrow who perched on a low post no more than 6 foot in front of us - a fantastic start!

We headed out to the cliffs and were greeted by the sight of two peregrines sat on the grass having a rest. After a couple of minutes watching they decided to cause some chaos! Both took flight and sent kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots scrambling to take flight whilst they looked for the weak or slow individual. We kept loosing them around the cliffs and never saw whether they caught anything but the chaos was certainly entertaining.

Guillemot, Razorbill & Kittiwake - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

Kittiwake - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

Puffins were initially in short supply but as the day progressed they became increasingly evident and one eventually flew up to the grass verges on top of the cliffs allowing for me to take a disproportionately large number of photos.

Puffin - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

One of the major avian attractions at Bempton is it's gannet colony - and it is impressive.

Gannet Colony - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

Best of all was the plateau at the top of the cliffs which the birds kept returning to and collecting nesting material. To have gannets landing less than 20 foot from you is a truly memorable experience and can allow again for some fantastic photo opportunities.

Gannet - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

Very frustratingly I managed to accidentally delete what I believe to be my best gannet photo!

As the afternoon progressed the wind started to get up which wasn't ideal for a pleasant stroll on top of some cliffs; the fulmars were loving it though!

Fulmar - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer

Whilst leaving the tree sparrows were putting on an excellent show and I was very pleased to get this photo of one of them before it dived under a roofing tile.

Tree Sparrow - RSPB Bempton Cliffs - June 2012 - Mike Ixer