Broad Billed Hummingbirds

The miserable UK March weather made us decide to head off to warmer climes for Easter and our chosen destination was Phoenix, Arizona in America's beautiful south west. When we left the UK on 1st April it was only 2C and trying to snow.That all changed when we got to Arizona - with some days topping 34C!

Little did we know when we booked the trip that Arizona, and particularly south east Arizona is a Mecca for birders and during the summer months (May - September) it has the largest number of Hummingbird species ever recorded in the United States, some 14 species in fact - including some rare species which are normally residents south of the Mexican border.

Hummingbirds recorded at Beatty's Guest Ranch at Miller Canyon, AZ include: Allen's, Anna's, Berylline, Black-chinned, Blue-throated,Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Calliope, Costa's, Lucifer, Magnificent, Rufous, Plain-capped Starthroat, Violet-crowned, White-Eared.

Unfortunately the unseasonably cool winter in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area seemed to have hit Hummingbird numbers and some plants had also been killed by the severe frosts in early 2013.

As we were staying in Scottsdale, a trek to Miller Canyon was too far on this occasion, but we did discover an excellent nearby location for Hummingbird viewing - Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which was about 50 miles east of Phoenix on I-60 (a comfortable hour's drive). With a little patience we were rewarded with great views of Broad Billed Hummingbirds in their natural environment in the Boyce Thompson Hummingbird Garden.

Whitethroat Sightings

Greenham Common was alive with birds today as I enjoyed the pleasant spring sunshine with a lengthy early morning walk.

One sighting of particular interest during my two hour walk were several pairs of Whitethroats. One pair was first spotted in the central runway area and then a further sighting was made just to the west of the cordoned off area for ground nesting birds near EPC. This area adjoins woodland. Each sighting was in dense thickets of undergrowth with one in Gorse.

The Whitethroat is a summer visitor to the UK and has Amber Status, so it is nice to see this uncommon bird on Greenham Common (a first for me!).

These birds spend winter in sub-Saharan Africa, so they may still be on migration to other parts of the UK, stopping off at Greenham Common - or if we are lucky they may stay for the summer.

Whitethroats are about Robin size and the bird photographed was quite vocal, moving from bush to bush.

Blue Tit Nest Building

A bit of sunshine today and some of the birds are starting to gather nest materials. This Blue Tit is building a nest in the bird box Sophie made at RSPB Arne. She has been seen earnestly gathering moss and diligently carrying it into the box throughout the morning.

Baby Blue Tits are very special and we look forward to seeing them in May!

Bullfinch Singing

The male Bullfinch which frequents our garden is seen here showing off its fluty, varied song. We currently have up to five regular Bullfinches visiting to peck buds and use the feeding station.

This particular male has taken to singing from a perch in the bushes and has become a little less shy of late, allowing us to sneak open the window to take photographs and HD videos!

Hungry Greenfinch and Siskin

In the course of just a few minutes this afternoon, a Siskin and a beautiful male Greenfinch made an appearance in our Greenham garden!

I didn't have time to sneak open the window with the Greenfinch, but he sat for a few seconds on our apple tree - enough for me to get a reasonable picture.

Light levels have dropped as we've once again lost the sun - so no pin sharp pictures today!

Kestrel Hunting

We frequently see this Kestrel perched in its favourite tree looking out for mice in the field adjoining our house. With the sun shining this morning (a rare event this winter!) I took the opportunity to take some pictures to try out the Canon 7D camera, fitted with the Canon 100-400mm lens.

As the tree was moving around in the strong north easterly wind, I experimented with "AI Focus" which  re-focuses the picture if the subject moves. It seems very effective! I am also using "ISO-AUTO" more as it adjusts the ISO automatically (depending on light levels) to achieve a 1/500 to 1/640s exposure at 400mm, giving far less camera shake.

Feeding the Kites

We were lucky enough to get invited to a friend's house high up on the Berkshire Downs to feed the red kites yesterday. As it was one of the few sunny days we've had this year there were amazing photo opportunities.

It was just a case of scattering some enticing chicken pieces on the lawn and waiting. The kites were surprisingly shy and would not approach if they saw us, so we had to resort to hiding away behind a low bush to wait for some action!

One by one we saw the birds dash in with their talons out stretched, rapidly departing clutching the food. In all there were around 7 red kites seen over an hour and a half's viewing; a pair of which were known to reside in the wood close to the property. Very memorable!