Fantastic Plastic

In 2010 a Brown Shrike lived on Staines Moor for a while. For some reason that I cannot recall, in December I happened to be nearby, so twitched it. This top-drawer rarity was just a stone's throw from a favourite haunt of my formative years - Staines Reservoirs. Naturally I called in, and from the causeway took this photo...

Ruddy Ducks at Staines Res, December 2010.

I've not seen a Ruddy Duck since that day. Once a familiar sight in West London and elsewhere, but no longer. I'm sure the odd Ruddy Duck pops up here and there, but I doubt there is much fanfare. After all, its life would be at stake. As I remember it, birders were divided as to the virtues of the generously funded campaign to locate and shoot every last Ruddy Duck, so I can imagine that some may be reluctant to publicise such a bird. As far as I can make out, the entire UK population of Ruddy Duck originated from a handful that were brought to this country from the USA in 1948 or thereabouts. In UK birding parlance the fence-hoppers and their offspring gave us yet another 'plastic' species to tick.

The British List is littered with plastic. Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, almost every single Canada Goose, to name three of many.

Ironically it was a piece of fantastic plastic that kindled my latent birding urges way back when. Seeing a green parrot in the conifer outside my hall of residence window in early 1978 prompted me to make contact with Nick Green upstairs, whom I knew was a birdwatcher. And so it was that Ring-necked Parakeet was the unlikely catalyst to a life-long addiction.

As a keen lister back in the day, I was well aware that some plastic was fair game. Golden Pheasant for example. And Lady Amherst's Pheasant even more so. Not just plastic, that one, but rare plastic. I spent precious hours searching for both of those. Successfully I might add, for what it's worth. Also other, more subtle plastic. Little Owl, for example. In conversation with another local birder just the other day I found myself lamenting the recent demise of Little Owl in parts of East Devon. But honestly, it shouldn't even be here.

Probably all the Red Kites I happily enjoy each year are derived from plastic stock. And now we have even more spectacular raptors cruising the West Country skies, thanks to the White-tailed Eagle reintroduction scheme on the Isle of Wight. Still plastic though. There wasn't much I could do about the call from Mike Morse this morning, with news of a White-tailed Eagle over Cogden. I was at home, decorating. However, about 30 minutes later I could hear the local Herring Gulls alarm-calling, so popped outside to investigate. Just a Buzzard? No, not a Buzzard...

White-tailed Eagle heading W over Bridport.

And there it goes...

White-tailed Eagle is not even a garden tick. Frankly, I am ambivalent about these birds. Yes, they are magnificent creatures, obviously, and a pleasure to see. But there is part of me that wonders what it's all about. The White-tailed Eagles, Great Bustards, White Storks, Cranes, and so on...

Anyway, rather than drag out that particular soap-box, a couple of recent moths...

The garden's third Scarce Bordered Straw, a proper migrant.

This Grey Shoulder-knot was a first for the garden. Not uncommon though.

Finally, a little collage to illustrate why I always use a burst setting on the P950. All nine shots of the burst are depicted, and labelled. In the first frame the Goldcrest is not even facing the camera, and I can only assume that I pressed the shutter release because the bird was entirely visible rather than partially hidden by twigs etc, and that I hoped it would turn around. Which it did. Frame 5 turned out to be the winner...

All shots except no.5 are full frame.

Nikon P950 Settings

This morning was another in the current series of high pressure-induced deep gloom. Once again I was at Cogden first thing, initially the beach, then the hedges. A brisk SE breeze had sprung up overnight, and a few birds were moving into it offshore. Here are some naff pics to illustrate that fact...

Dark-bellied Brent Goose. Typical going-away shot due to seeing too late.

Passing Gannets are always a pleasure.

Quite a few auks flew E, including several small flocks. None were close enough to to safely ID with bins, but the camera nailed this distant Razorbill.

All the lovely Yellow-browed (and Pallas's) Warbler habitat that I checked was currently untenanted. Still, 4 Chiffs by the coast path suggested a small arrival had perhaps occurred, and a bit further inland were 2 Goldcrests in a hedge...

Goldcrest

Those are comfortably the best Goldcrest photos I've taken, and prompted a fellow birder on Bluesky to ask what settings I use on my Nikon P950. So I thought I would devote the rest of this post to answering that question. Hopefully it might be useful to others who employ this excellent superzoom for birdy pics.

Those Goldcrest shots were taken at 500mm (35mm equivalent) zoom, ISO 640, f5.6, 1/125 sec. I didn't actually enter any of those settings except the zoom. The camera did it all for me.

The following photo was taken a couple of days ago, at roughly the same time on a similarly dull morning. The bird was in deep shade, and I used 1200mm (35mm equivalent) zoom, ISO 2200, f6.3, 1/125 sec. Again I set the zoom only - the camera did the rest - but also dialled in -1.0 exposure compensation...

Not a great photo, but at least it's a record shot of the Whitford Rosy Starling. Taken before work, and I didn't have time to wait around for a better opportunity.

I have my P950 configured in such a way that I do not have to tweak anything except zoom and - if required - exposure compensation. Everything else is automatically set by the camera. It works a treat. The only exception to this rule is flight shots, for which I use a different setting altogether. But I won't be covering that in this post. And anyway, I am not that great at flight shots.

If you own a Nikon P950 and would like to try my settings, please read on...

For bird photos I don't think I ever use any camera buttons/wheels/dials apart from these and the zoom control.

Initial set-up

Here is how I set up the camera for bird photography. Under some sub-headings there may be a few words to explain my rationale.

First, turn the Mode dial to 'A' (Aperture Priority) then press the 'menu' button. Set each menu option as follows...

Image quality: FINE

Image size: 16m (4608x3456)

Picture control: SD (Standard)

Custom Picture Control: blank - probably a default setting.

White Balance: Auto1 (Auto (normal))

Metering: Spot

Continuous: H (Continuous H)

This is a burst setting, and gives a maximum of ten rapid-fire exposures, depending on how long you press the shutter release. In my view, a vital setting. For a rapidly moving bird like the Goldcrest above, it gives you multiple chances to capture a good pose. And ideally the bird might be momentarily still as well, meaning a sharp image hopefully. Even with a stationary bird you will notice that some shots in the sequence will be sharper than others, especially if the shutter speed is a bit slow.

The downside of this setting is the recovery period after a burst, while the camera processes and stores each shot. Minimal if the burst was only two or three shots, but a few seconds if it was ten. You simply have to wait. Personally I reckon it is worth the incovenience.

ISO sensitivity: A3200 (100-3200)

The camera automatically selects the ISO depending on the light available. In practice that might be anywhere between 100 and 3200. The lower the number, the less noisy (grainy) the photo.

Exposure bracketing: OFF

AF area mode: Manual (spot)

The best setting to enable you to thread through branches etc and focus on the bird. For a really close bird, can enable you to focus on the eye. For a very distant bird on a twig sticking out of a hedge top, say, and too small for the camera to detect and focus on, you can focus on the hedge instead. Half-press the shutter to lock focus, adjust composition as required, shoot.

Autofocus mode: AF-F (Full-time AF)

Flash exp. compensation: -0.3 (this might well be a default setting - I never use flash)

Noise reduction filter: NR- (Low - probably another default setting)

Long exposure NR: NR (Auto - another default setting I suspect)

Active D-lighting: OFF

[Multiple exposure: OFF (automatically set by the camera, and apparently not available in 'A' mode)]

Save user settings: don't touch this for a moment, rather skip down until you come to...

Zoom memory: ON

Zoom memory enables you to preset a selection of zoom settings. Toggle right, and you will be presented with a list. I have ticked 24mm, 50mm, 105mm (the maximum available in macro mode, which I use for moths), 300mm, 500mm, 800mm, 1200mm, 1600mm and 2000mm. To understand how this works in practice, see below...

Startup zoom position: 50

Automatically sets the zoom at 50mm (i.e. what would be equivalent to 50mm on a 35mm camera) when the camera is switched on. With zoom memory ON (see above), pressing the zoom lever (by the shutter release button) will instantly shift the lens to the next selected zoom position (105mm); press again for 300mm, again for 500mm, and so on. Personally I like this approach, but it might not be for everyone. You can always fine tune a zoom setting manually with the lever on the left hand side of the lens body. However, the main zoom lever by the shutter release will always zoom in or out by the preset steps.

M exposure preview: OFF (again, probably a default setting)

Okay, now go back to Save user settings, and press the OK button.

This is the most crucial step. Everything you have set is now stored as 'user settings', which you access by turning the mode dial to 'U'. For 90% of the time I am in 'U' mode. In normal use, I rarely if ever bother to tweak anything other than exposure compensation. I might set, say -0.3 or -0.7 for a pale gull against a dark background, or -1.0 for a juv Rosy Starling in a black hole in a hedge, but when I switch the camera off it automatically resets. In other words, every time I switch the camera on in 'U' mode it will automatically be at 50mm zoom and zero exposure compensation, with all my favourite metering, focus and burst settings engaged. I know exactly where I am, and it works. Well, it does for me.

So that's it. I will add one extra tip: I set the 'Fn' (Function) button to ISO. Very occasionally it can be useful to reduce the ISO from whatever the camera has chosen in order to get a better quality (less noisy) shot. Lowering the ISO will inevitably lower the shutter speed as well, but in some circumstances (stationary bird, solidly supported camera) you can get away with it.

PS. For post-processing I use Faststone Image Viewer. Simple, as effective as I need, and FREE!

Axe Casp Wrecks Lunch Break

After a steady morning's work I was looking forward to a quiet lunch by the estuary. The tide was low and there were a few gulls to look at. Most were upriver beyond Coronation Corner, so before unpacking my sarnies I thought I should take the scope over to the viewing platform and check them out properly. Should only take a couple of minutes...

Newly-arrived birds usually land in the river and have a good wash first, moving onto the mud afterwards to preen. My eye was drawn to just such an individual, splashing and rolling in the water. Momentarily I thought it might be a 2nd-winter Yellow-legged Gull, but fairly quickly decided it looked even better...

Giving off very Caspy vibes here.

The grey mantle and scapular feathers look a tad darker than those of surrounding argenteus Herring Gulls, and a slightly different tone also.

They're tiny, but they're there: those little white flecks in the outermost primary tips are characteristic of 2nd-winter Caspian Gull.

As expected, it soon flew from the water. Thankfully It plonked on the mud with other gulls...

And now it's looking as Caspy as you like. Again, note the subtle difference in grey tone compared with surrounding HGs.

It didn't stay in this spot for long, flying even further away but thankfully not departing. At this point I was joined on the platform by another birder, who had seen my message on the local WhatsApp group. To my shame I didn't immediately recognise Devon birding stalwart Martin Wolinski (it's been a few years!) but it was good to see him again and share a nice bird.

Although distant shots like this don't show a lot of feather detail they are very good at conveying a bird's jizz. That clean, white-headed look, with minimal shading around the eye, is essentially the same thing that makes 1st-winters stand out too.

Once again it didn't settle for long in this spot, and soon moved further away still...

At this point I realised it must be right in front of the Tower Hide, which is just across the river to the left in the photo above, and that my lunch break was doomed. So I said my goodbyes to Martin and headed round to Black Hole Marsh.

Caspian Gulls are notorious for their short stays on the Axe, and I was not optimistic that this one would stick until I arrived at the hide. Amazingly it did.

I have never taken so many photos of one bird. The next bunch are mostly quite samey, but are rather good at conveying that 'look' which Casps seem to have. I'm sure the seemingly small, beady eye contributes to it. I wondered about annotating one or two shots to highlight plumage characteristics shown by Caspian Gulls of this age, but decided they are probably better left as they are. Anyway, collectively they contribute to a useful search image to store away somewhere handy.

One thing I will say about this bird: it doesn't have the longest legs. Ideally you want to see a lanky pair of stilts on your Casp, but I have encountered birds previously that were similarly challenged in that department. So it's not a concern ID-wise, just aesthetically less than ideal perhaps.

I waited a long time for the opportunity to capture a full wing stretch, and like an idiot I neglected to adjust the composition when the bird finally obliged. So what should have been the very best shots in the sequence are missing some primary tips!

This is only the fourth 2nd-winter Caspian Gull I've seen. Two were also on the Axe (found by Steve Waite) and the other was on the West Bex Mere. I was delighted to share this smart gull with another couple of birders in the Tower Hide, including Mike Blaver, one of the local regulars. In my experience Casps are frequently seen only by the finder, so that made a nice change. Eventually it departed seawards down the river.

So that was lunch.

Early November Fare

Next to the Cogden NT car park are a couple of picnic tables. First thing this morning I sat there quietly, coffee in hand, contemplating the dense, grey gloom and minimal bird sounds. Close by was a large motorhome, just one of the huge number that use this car park for illicit overnight camping every year. Its rear door opened and a woman half fell out, swearing vigorously in startled embarrassment. The mood was set.

Heading for the beach, I sensed that this morning's walk was going to be more about exercise than birds. And mostly that's how it was. Just two exceptions.

Hearing a Lapwing call, I looked up to see a sizeable flock heading high west, something I've not seen locally outside spells of hard weather. Here are most of them...

Almost 100 Lapwings here. Which reminds me of another reason to carry a camera: for counting purposes.

So, that was a bit random. Soon afterwards I was in what has turned out to be the most reliable area for Firecrests. It has habitat suitable for Yellow-browed Warbler as well, and Hawfinch too I guess. So I spent some time there. I have yet to hear a Firecrest with my own ears this year, but my Merlin app has heard plenty. With its assistance I dug out three this morning, a single and two together...

The single Firecrest. Considering how gloomy it was at 09:15 I am pleased with how well the Nikon P950 coped with the conditions: 800mm zoom, 1100 ISO, 1/125 sec at f5.6.

One of the two together, which were never cooperative.

This afternoon I photographed the moth highlights from last night's catch. For various reasons 2024 was always going to be a tricky year when it came to indulging all my time-consuming hobbies, and something had to give. Noc-mig was the first to suffer, and I have done none at all since last autumn. Mothing has been another victim. The trap has been out a fair bit, but my effort level has been far less intense. Even so, there have been some great moths and every now and then I've added another species to the garden list. The following pics cover the last two nights. Incidentally, this weathered concrete slab has become my latest favourite studio backdrop. I love the way some moths virtually disappear on it.

First Red-green Carpet of the year.

First Barred Sallow of the year, unless you count the shrivelled object I extracted from a spider's web last week.

Spruce Carpet. Only the second for the garden, and to be honest I don't trust the first one from 2022, for which there appears to be no photo. This species is very similar to Grey Pine Carpet, and I've sought second opinions on this individual for that very reason. Two votes in favour so far. Virtually a garden tick really.

A bit worn, but this Green-brindled Crescent is still a spectacular moth. First of the year. None in 2023.

Following our first a couple of nights back, this is the garden's second Mottled Umber, and a very different form too (see below).

Feathered Thorn. Large, furry, and very autumnal.

Yet another Blair's Mocha.

Red-line Quaker, another autumn classic.

One of the annoying Epirrita (November Moth) aggregate. One of them is called Pale November Moth. Presumably because it is pale. This might well be one. Or not.

This is either Monopis obviella or M. crocicapitella, otherwise known respectively as Yellow-backed Detritus Moth and Pale-backed Detritus Moth.

Monopis obviella would be new for the garden, but you need a photo of the hindwing (dark in obviella, pale grey in crocicapitella) to secure official verification. Frankly I could not be bothered to go through the rigmarole of chilling and manhandling a <6mm scrap of tissue and scales in order to photograph its hindwing, just for listing purposes. I get the impression there is no other reliable way to separate the two species, which leads me to the inevitable conclusion that all my M. crocicapitella records are in fact quite untrustworthy. Sadly, this irritating scenario is par for the course with moths. So, what to do? Easy. A quick flick of the wrist, and my annoying little dilemma was airborne and out of my life.

Moths are so entertaining. On the one hand you can have different species that might superficially look so similar that you need to dismantle them (Epirrita agg) or immobilise and unfold them (obviella/crocicapitella) to tell one from the other. And on the other hand there are moths with multiple visually dissimilar forms which are still just the one species. Like Mottled Umber...

L: Mottled Umber; R: Mottled Umber

Even without the excitement of migrant species, mothing has so much going for it.

Too much.

It's a rabbit hole...

Expectation Postponed

I think I know too much. Following a seven-month social media hiatus I signed up with Bluesky more than six months ago, moving almost overnight from oblivious to well-informed. Consequently I am all too aware that Yellow-browed Warblers have arrived in force, and now Hawfinches too. And moth-wise there has been quite an influx of various migrants. My Bluesky feed keeps me abreast of the joyous news, as fellow birdwatchers and moth folk reap their enviable harvest. Meanwhile, I...er...patiently wait my turn...

To be fair, I think I blew a good Hawfinch opportunity this morning. And I definitely blew one yesterday, arriving a bit late at the West Bay vis-mig watchpoint to news that a Hawfinch had gone through earlier. This morning's was worse. A little group of Chaffinches went over, and it was only as they were going away that I noticed the bigger bird. I could get nothing on it, and even Tom with his image-stabilised 14x50 super-bins couldn't clinch it.

Yellow-browed Warbler though, not a sniff.

Actually it has been great to join Tom for some West Bay vis-migging again, and be reminded just how rubbish my hearing is nowadays. At least I can see okay though, and was quickly onto yesterday morning's vis-mig first for the site. Considering the long list of rare and scarce species that might have fitted that category, the Black-tailed Godwit left me feeling a bit short-changed. Still, it did look very incongruous flying over the clifftop fields.

Distant vis-mig Jay catching the sun this morning.

Apart from cocking up a probable Hawfinch this morning, we were treated to a very nice highlight in the shape of a female Cirl Bunting. Likely it had arrived overnight and roosted in the clifftop bushes, then around 07:45 popped out and perched up, calling repeatedly. The call is rather high-pitched, so needless to say I could not hear it. The recorder picked it up though. And my eye did alright...

The light was a bit poor, but here is the Cirl Bunting, mid-call.

This was my second West Bay Cirl, and I guess the species is increasingly becoming a realistic possibility anywhere along the West Dorset coast. Our bird stuck around for a few minutes before dropping out of sight. Quite possibly it moved on.

Female Cirl Bunting through a twiggy veil at West Bay.

Finally, I should get recent moth news up to date...

Last night Portland Bird Observatory trapped countless migrant moths of umpteen species, including 244 Rusty-dot Pearls - their highest total this year. Here is my migrant catch from last night...

One Rusty-dot Pearl.

The garden trap has yet to produce a single Gem, Delicate or Radford's Flame Shoulder, let alone Clancy's Rustic or White-speck. Still, while I am waiting for these migrant species to do the decent thing there are other moths to look at, even if few and far between just now...

This worn Red Underwing turned up on Monday night. The garden's second...

...it was very popular with the granddaughters on Tuesday.

Also on Monday night, and at the other end of the size spectrum, this Ilex Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter messaniella was new for the garden.

Dark form of Box-tree Moth, always a smart one.

Feathered Ranunculus from Wednesday night, amazingly camouflaged on this weathered concrete slab...

...and showing its feathered antennae here.

A nicely marked Blair's Mocha from last night. Even though it is a bit worn there are still all sorts of pink and apricot shades going on. Lovely.

It is relatively mild still, so the trap is out again tonight. My expectations are low, but you never know. For example, this morning there was another new-for-garden moth in the catch...

Mottled Umber. Quite common I think. However, it is basically a winter moth. And the trap isn't out much in the colder months, so it's no great surprise that we haven't seen one of these before.

Mottled Umber - a beautifully marked moth.

I shall close with a random photo taken at West Bay this morning...

Sitting on a post just off the end of the West Pier was this Cormorant. Its gular pouch geometry drew me like a moth to MV. I could not help myself.