Hi All - hope everyone is enjoying the summer?!
I am hoping you guys can help me as I'm getting more and more frustrated when I go bird watching - because I never seem to see any!! This is gonna sound really stupid but I spend ages with my head in my bird identification books and on the internet so am quite good at bird identification but whenever I go out I never seem to see anything! I've been to the hide that overlooks the harbour at Arne and have seen the waders and the ducks / geese from a distance but what I really want to see are woodland birds and especially some birds of prey. I've seen on the website that there will be some raptor walks coming up - so I am planning on going to some of those - in the meantime, can anyone let me know some good places where I might see some birds of prey?
I have a few days off work and am planning another visit to Arne - can anyone give me any tips? Do you just walk along the paths, keeping quite and keeping your fingers crossed? Or do you find a spot and sit down and wait for birds to come by? What's the secret? I know they are all wild and nothing is guaranteed but I'm hoping there's a way of increasing my chances? I have a good camera with 500mm lens so am really hoping to get some photos. What do you reckon?
Yours hopefully!!
Andy
You are right Dom - the 500mm is a bit weighty, I do tend to lean to one side when I've been out with it!!
Great photos Alan, I particularly like the Sparrowhawks and the Bullfinches. How did you get so close?
Hi, the raptor weekends are great, went to one last year and managed see a couple of Osprey. My hubby has a 500mm lense and has managed to get some nice shots on our days walking around Arne, he watches the skies and I look out at ground level, even managed to see the elusive Dartford Warbler last time, with this strategy! We usually do a combination of walking and sitting in one place. Good luck!
Jo T Always on the side of the feathered guy!
Hi doggie - back again & pestering for info!!!!!
Re this 'Just to show you can take photos while on the move look at this thread i did a while back, all the photos are taken with me out in the open in full view of the birds,you just have to move slow www.rspb.org.uk/.../78652.aspx
Have just visited this site & it's so good - am still struggling with how to start a site for my kestrels - how did you do yours????
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Just since this thread and what a great thread it is, I to struggle to see the birds and photograph them, I always seem to get the tides wrong and end up at Arne with high tide.
Walking round slowly I have managed to see a brif sighting of a Marsh Harrie a first for me and would love to see a Ospray, along with Linnet and Dartford Warbler and of course others that I have not seen.
Martin
There is a most useful online tide site - I use it all the time:
easytide.ukho.gov.uk/.../ShowPrediction.aspx.
Polle Harbour is unsusal in having two high tides at a time. One of the rangers told me that in the winter, the best way to see avocets is to go to the Coombe Heath lookout (not the hide) as the first high is starting to ebb - they come within 20-30 yds of the lookout.
Gordon
Nothing wrong with arriving on a high tide if you stay for long enough to see it start to go out again. It's amazing the number of people who turn up at the hide, see nothing, assume therefore that there never will be anything, and leave immediately. However it is relatively quiet on the harbour at Arne in summer it's true.
Thank you for that link on the tides , good tip on the Avocets another bird I have not seen .
I was on my way to Arne this moring but had to turn round at the Bakers Arms roundabout due to a large traffic jam. So ended up at Upton Country Park were I saw Oystercatchers and 5 Curlew only the second time I have seen Curlew.
Hello again all - have decided to wander over to Arne tomorrow morning - I see it's high tide about 9ish - will there be any bird life visible around the hide at this time? Will there be waders abouts then?
Thanks
Greetings all! I would say, it's all about keeping at it, just keep on going out on your own and even better if you can go with someone who knows whats what- thats the way I think you really learn your stuff. Then you can get to know what you are likey to see in the habitat, what you are likely to see at that time of year, where to look, what to listen for so by the time you see a bird you have already narrowed it down to a few species.
Try and get on some guided walks with some one in the know or go for a walk with another birder who can share the knowledge. I'd say come on a couple of wednesday walks at Arne.
Wading birds and wildfowl are present at Arne in their thousands during the winter, so going now to see them isn't going to be as good, regardless of the tide, you'll still see stuff just not anywhere near as many species or birds.
I would confidently say that the bird of prey you saw at Upton was a buzzard, hen harrier are not present around the south coast this time of year - although many come down to the harbour in the winter - although as I always say, it could have been anything that's why watching birds is so exciting.
But my advice would be to come to some of our wednesday walks at Arne, they are free, run all through the year and they are led by someone who knows the site and knows what they will be likely to see and will gladly pass on any tips to you.