Saturday 13 June 2015

Acres Heath - Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

A few minutes had been spent waiting in vain for the Yellowlegs to reappear but eventually it was a case of  'Acres Down as quick as you can!' None of us knew the site and we wasted precious time by getting lost on the wrong road out of Lyndhurst! Never mind, we made it and at least it was only a short walk up the hill towards the raptor viewing point.....

The Eastern Black-eared Wheatear had relocated to a field near a caravan site and thankfully it was perched up on arrival and what a stunner!! Seriously distant for photography but who cares eh!

Here's my woeful attempts to capture the bird but you can see why it was so popular!


A perfect blend of black and white!


Using this stump as a favoured perch to launch after insects.....



Chasing a butterfly?


And nearly catching it - maybe it did??


Almost got the tail pattern but you can see the partly black sides.


 It was getting on and with a long journey beckoning we set off back to the car


Feeling a bit peckish - I had a treat in store!!


What a fantastic day! Another mega in the bag, all lifers and the best trio I'll probably ever add to my list in a day (incredibly, all seen in a period just over 4 hours!!) Thanks to Ian for driving and Martin / Judy as ever great company with quite a few laughs :-)