ML536989341

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Basic (non-breeding plumage).

Observation details

Non-breeding plumage. Possibly a definitive male considering the lack of any black around the head and crisp grey tips to the jet black primaries and secondaries. Wandering up the rocky bit to the west of the entrance to try get looks at the Rock Nuthatch trio that Sam enjoyed earlier while I was following the pair, I was ecstatic to suddenly find myself face-to-face with this legendary passerine no more than 15 m away, it's pale grey upperparts contrasting with the darker rocks. Getting bins on the bird, I'd watch as it flicked it's wings every so often revealing a flash of brilliant carmine pink then probe its thin decurved bill into crevices before fluttering around like a butterfly to a new perch. Realising the direction it was moving, I quickly positioned myself ahead of the bird scrambling a little up the scree in the hope that it would come right towards me and it did exactly that with the bird down to just a few metres from me minding its own business. Despite supposedly only 18g, the bird seemed bigger than a nuthatch maybe that was just the wings? I also got a full appreciation of its spectacular feet! Typical toe arrangement, three in front and one behind as a treecreeper, but everything bigger! Big feet and long curved claws that looked almost comically long. After a fantastic five minutes (although it felt more like an hour) the bird worked it's way above my head and over a small overhang where I could no longer see it. I dared not to move in case of flushing it and with Sam now heading over there's a good chance he could see it from lower down which he did. Shortly after, the Wallcreeper took a longer flight 50 m east towards the main part of the quarry where we lost the bird to view. I then relocated it a little bit later and enjoyed more fantastic looks through bins over 10 minutes before it headed back towards where I initially found it. I'm told that Wallcreepers can often be distant, with it being a small bird on a vast rock face so I really couldn't have asked for more for my first encounter!

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS R7

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

5000

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

2281 pixels x 1426 pixels

Original file size

2.88 MB