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| Merlin |
Ever since trying out Lainy's compact Swarovski ATC scope earlier in the year, I have contemplated buying one - though the rather high price was the main reason I hadn't (though availability was also a factor on the one or two ocassions when I had actually tried to). On Friday 19th April, after work, I had finally bitten the bullet and ordered one - though I chose the STC straight bodied model instead (it was marginally cheaper and also available). I had hoped that I would have it for Monday, but I hadn't realised that Ffordes didn't open at the weekend which meant it would be Tuesday before it arrived. I would have to wait in until it did so which meant birding would be limited until it did turn up.
I was up out of my bed for around the time I would be heading to work on a normal Tuesday and so decided I might as well see if anything interesting might be passing by. Naturally given my location, my expectations stretched as far as a few Meadow Pipits and maybe a hirundine or two. The local birds were up and active in the early morning sunshine - Blackbird, Starling, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Robin, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon. Around 0630 I decided to prepare the camera just in case I needed to grab a photo or two. Sometimes the autofocus chooses not to find the bird, so I figured it made sense to focus on a bird when it didn't matter, so I should be better prepared for when it did (in the unlikely event that it did).
I spotted 2 crows flying in from the east and decided to use one of these to set up the focus. Thankfully, the autofocus more or less got the bird quite quickly and I tracked the bird, snapping a few photos as it continued towards me, though a bit to the south. Incredibly, and totally unexpectedly, this randomly chosen crow turned out to be a Hooded Crow rather than the expected Carrion Crow. I didn't have the presence of mind at the time to check the second bird, which may or may not have been a second 'Hoodie'. I couldn't quite believe my luck but put word out on the ADBC grapevine along with a quicky edited photo, and posted on Twitter about my rather mad and very unexpected good fortune.
A Collared Dove pair perched briefly on a satellite dish nearby, a Meadow Pipit did fly over and Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Magpie and Lesser Black Backed Gull were noted from the window. Around 20 minutes after the Hooded Crow had flown past I spotted a small raptor flying north relatively close in. The local Feral Pigeons and gulls weren't at all phased by the bird and I quickly grabbed a few photos of what I expected to be a Kestrel (though it didn't look Kestrel shaped exactly). The settings on the camera were 'off' for shooting into the sun, which had now risen above the nearby roofs, but I was able to lighten the photos on the PC. I found myself looking at what appeared to be a Merlin. Twenty minutes after a Hooded Crow from my living room window, it 'couldn't be' as a Merlin over my street was highly unlikely at any time. The odds of me seeing one, twenty minutes after the almost just as ludicrous Hooded Crow sighting just didn't seem possible, in the slightest. I tried to turn the bird into a Kestrel but I knew it was a Merlin. I decided not to put the sighting out on the ADBC grapevine at the time as even with the photos it just seemed too fantastical to be true (and without the photos, it would've been hard for anyone to believe, including myself).
I messaged Lainy and she immediately said 'Merlin' too when I showed her the photos, though we both then tried to turn one of the other photos into a Kestrel though neither of us was in any way convinced that it was. The Merlin identity was correct, but in my head, it 'couldn't possibly be'. If someone had suggested that I would get Hooded Crow AND Merlin from my living room in the same year, my belief might just about have stretched to the possibility. On the same day, within minutes of each other......'yeah, right!'. By this time, I was completely distracted and sat and waited for the scope to arrive, which it finally did around 1250. Unfortunately with high tide around 1500, there was no way I could get anywhere to give it a good try out before the tide came in, so I decided just to head up to the top of the Law. I would be able to try it on distant landmarks from there, if nothing else.
I managed to squeeze it into my camera bag after struggling to fit the strap and lens cap, though it was a bit of a tight fit. It was also a bit heavier than my Svbony scope which did concern me slightly given the distances I often walk when birding. Having lightened my load with the OM-1 and the Svbony scope purchases, I was now headed back in the opposite direction weight-wise. From the top of the Law, I did manage to see a Sparrowhawk though I did end up seeking out insects in the sunshine instead of birds. There were a few birds heard and seen including Wren, Blackcap, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buzzard, Robin, Siskin, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Bullfinch and Chiffchaff.
Insects included a trio of squabbling Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, some Common Carder bees, a few hoverfly species and a very accommodating Dark Edged Bee-Fly which I spent a while photographing as it fed on small blue flowers by the steps behind the toilet block. I ended the day's improvised nature watching with a total of 33 species of bird, including the completely unexpected 2 Dundee150 ticks (in bold) and a selection of rather nice Bee-Fly photos. I can no longer safely say that "I need to get out birding somewhere as I am not going to add anything new while sat in the house". Easily one of the most unexpected half hour's birding I've yet had, and one that will likely take some beating.
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Hooded Crow
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Hooded Crow
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| Merlin |
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| Merlin |
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| Merlin |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Hoverfly sp.
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Fly sp.
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Buzzard & Racing Pigeons
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Willow Warbler
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Hoverfly sp.
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Small Tortoiseshell
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| Chaffinch |
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| Woodpigeon |
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Dark Edged Bee-Fly
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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Common Carder Bee
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Merlin, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Small Tortoiseshell.
