Young Birders

Also goodbye

2011-05-20T16:19:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

I should also say goodbye as I recently turned 21. It has been fun being able to contribute to this blog, taking part in the listing competition and reading about what you guys on the other side of the pond are seeing. I will keep tabs on the blog, check in on what new posts are up, etc, but this is my final post as a blog member here.

Keep in touch everyone. I hope to be able to meet all of you someday, sometime or another.
If you're ever up my way, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to show ya around.

Happy Birding and safe travels to you all.

Signing off,
--Chris W, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Goodbye

2011-04-19T15:58:00.000+01:00

Hi all young birders,

This is just a quick post to let you know I am giving up on the young birders blog.

I am sure Joseph would appreciate any help if you would like to become part of the admin team. I was going to resign soon anyway due to the fact I am 20 in December of this year. I hope I have served you all well during my time as admin of the blog.

Farewell,

Andrew Kinghorn
www.andrewkinghorn.blogspot.com

YEAR LISTING COMPETITION 2011

2011-01-06T00:26:00.027Z

!!!!THIS POST IS UPDATED REGULARLY WITH NEW RESULTS!!!!!

1) - United States of America - Caleb Frome ~ Total: 190

Highlights: Red-Throated Loon, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (endangered species),

Pacific Loon, King Rail, Glossy Ibis, Prairie Warbler, Gray Jay, Chestnut-Collared Longspur, Nelson’s Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Purple Finch

2) - United States of America - John Shamgochian ~ Total: 94
Highlights: American Woodcock, Redhead, Bald Eagle, Purple Finch, Merlin, Harlequin Duck, Black-headed Gull, Glaucous Gull,Common Raven, Green-tailed Towhee, Peregrine Falcon, Short-eared Owl, Fox Sparrow, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Common Redpoll, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk and Great Horned Owl.

3) - United Kingdom - 'Birding Joe' ~ Total: 35

START SENDING US YOUR UPDATES EVERYONE. THE YEAR LIST CAN BE ACCESSED THE SAME WAY AS LAST YEAR, BY CLICKING ON THE LINK TO THE RIGHT OF HERE TO SEE THE TOTALS

Year Listing Competition 2010 - Winners!!

2011-01-06T00:12:00.006Z

Hello everyone,

I have received just 1 email prior to the closure of the year listing competition with updates. So therefore I can reveal the winners for the 2010 year listing competition

Winner Overall:

Tucker Lutter with a total of: 404!

Congratulations Tucker Lutter from the United States of America for winning the young birders year listing

competition overall.

____________________________________________________________

Winner from USA:

Tucker Lutter with a total of: 404!

Congratulations again Tucker Lutter from the United States of America for winning the young birders year listing

competition overall.

____________________________________________________________

Winner from UK:

Andrew Kinghorn with a total of: 266!

I was quite happy with my total, especailly for the UK, I doubt I will have many years quite like the birding year I had in 2010.

Happy New Year to all young birders

on behalf of the Young Birders Admin.

Details on 2011 year listing competition to follow soon.

Totals for the year in 2010 can be seen HERE, from now on it will remain unaltered unless someone would like me to change something. Unfortunately what can't be altered are the totals because the winners have been announced and this will not be changed.

Year Listing Competition 2010 - Nearly at the End

2010-12-07T00:28:00.001Z

Hello everyone,

As you all know we are nearing the end of 2010 and therefore nearing the end of the yearling competition. In 2011 their will be a year listing competition that takes place and as usual if you would like to be included then just drop me or Joseph and email on: youngbirdersadmin@surfbirder.com

Therefore I request that all updates for the 2010 year listing are in before midnight on Friday the 31^st of December 2010. I will announce the winners in a blog post, however to make it interesting there will be 3 winners:

- 1 winner for the overall competition

- 1 winner for the United States of America (USA)

- 1 winner for the United Kingdom (UK)

I have not included any other countries because in 2010 nobody from outside Europe or the

USA

has entered, I will do the same next year unless some other birders join in and they are from different countries in which case they can be added.

The rules for end of year winners for 2011 will perhaps be revised next year so that other birders can join in and perhaps have a chance of winning. HOWEVER myself and Joseph will put up some rules for this if any are changed.

Happy birding,

Caada Trip-15 August-3 September

2010-10-09T17:33:00.001+01:00

American Robin-16 Sep

Chestnut-sided Warbler-16 Sep

American Black Duck-18 Sep

Sora-30 Sep 2010

Ring-billed Gull, 1 Sep 2010 (with Niagara Falls behind!)

another Ring-billed Gull at Niagara

Red-eyed vireo, 30 Aug 2010

Black-throated Blue Warbler, 30 Aug 2010

Sharp-shinned Hawk, 31 Aug 2010

American Woodcock, 2 Sep 2010

and a Great Big effin Black Bear! on 25 Aug 2010

all the birds in the hand were at Long Point Bird Observatory, an area my dad knows well from several previous visits in the 80's and 90's. Most of the other photos are taken in Ontario, apart from the Chestnut-sided Warbler, which i photographed on our 5-day stay in Quebec. I saw 126 species overall, and 98 Lifers!
for write-ups of the trip, see here, or here for a brief overview.

Update Year Listing Competition

2010-09-02T13:20:00.001+01:00

Hi folks,

For thoose of us who are fartunate enough to have had a summer break off from Univeristy, College, Work, or School might have seen some new birds for their year list.

So if you have some updates and would like your list to be updated then please don't hesitate to get in touch through the email address that can be found on the right hand side of this page.

If you would like to see current lists and numbers of species seen then see here: http://youngbirders.blogspot.com/2010/07/year-listing-competition-2010.html

Andrew K
& Joseph N

ps. Joeseph's last post was the 200th post on this blog! Please feel free to contribute as much as you like folks.

My Ramblings with my New Canon EOS 40D and Canon 400mm lens

2010-08-10T19:47:00.006+01:00

A couple of weeks back I was very fortunate to have the money to purchase my first ever DSLR camera and lens respectively. I have always wanted to get into bird photography, having been inspired by the many photos I've seen on young birders' blogs and elsewhere on the net. With this inspiration I put in the effort to buy a Canon EOS 40D body and a Canon 400mm f 5.6 lens, both of which I had been reccommend by various people as a top quality combination, the combination to go for. When I was finally able to buy this combination I was over the moon. They rather luckily both arrived before I left to go on a family holiday to North Yorkshire, which meant I was able to take them with and test them out for the first time on that holiday.

I spent a week and 2 days staying in the village of Settrington in North Yorkshire, fairly near to Scarborough and half an hours drive from places such as Bempton Cliffs RSPB and Flamborough Head. I took a fair number of photos on the holiday, most of which were taken in the village of Settrington itself. Settrington, like any other countryside village, held many common species such as Swallow, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, House Martin etc. As a novice photographer, I feel it is always best to familiarize yourself with your camera and lens by starting to take photos as locally as possible - such as in your garden or in your local park. What I did was simply walk around Settrington photographing very common species of birds - a perfectly pleasurable thing to do I found. I quickly became familiar with the cameras operations, especially with the Full-Auto mode setting ISO, aperture and such like. Below are some of my favourite shots taken in Settrington.

Swallow - Settrington

Song Thrush - Settrington

House Sparrow - Settrington

" "

Wood Pigeon - Settrington

Collared Dove - Settrington

Blackbird - Settrington (rather manky looking bird!)

House Martin - Settrington

A few days before I left, I ended up at Flamborough Head on a family day out - a place on the East Yorks coast which is famed for its drift migrants and seabird passage at times. When I visited there wasn't much going on to be honest, but there were a few commoner birds that kept me entertained. See photos below.

Pied Wagtail - Flamborough Head, 5/8

Kittiwakes - Flambourough Head

" "

Gannets at sea - Flamborough Head

Finally on the way back to Aberdeen I met Andrew Kinghorn, fellow Admin of this blog, and went in search of Long-eared Owls at a site near him in Durham (previously having seen a distant Honey Buzzard at Wykeham Forest before travelling up). I was successful, with one young bird late on. Photograph wise there was a stunning sunset which I captured and a rather silhouetted Yellowhammer, see below. A big thank you to Andrew for showing me the Owls, it was a pleasure to meet you!

Yellowhammer sings the day to sleep at undisclosed site, Durham

" "

I'm very happy with how I'm getting on with my new photographic equipment, and looking forward to photographing birds locally at my patches (Ythan, Loch of Strathbeg etc.). To see more of my photos feel free to check out my flickr page that is linked below. Any feedback you may like to give me on my photos can be posted on here or on my flickr. I will likely create a photography blog on blogspot in the near future. Cheers all, any photos taken on future days out will likely be posted on here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephbirdphotography/

Joseph

Day to Remember (28/07/2010)

2010-08-06T00:39:00.001+01:00

I had a very enjoyable and memorable a week ago on Wednesday just gone. I had planned to go to North Yorkshire to look for Honey Buzzards at Wykham Forest which is a popular and well known location to look for the species. I went with two friends but we sadly dipped the Honey Buzzards but we got fantastic views of a Goshawk having a go at a Buzzard! On the way to our next port of call (Filey) I received a text from county recorder and friend Mark to alert me there was a Whiskered Tern on Salthome RSPB, this is a nature reserve only 30minutes drive from my house and I often go there to bird watch. I was gutted and panicky that I would miss the bird but I tried to forget about it and I had a nice days birding in Yorkshire as from Filey we went on to Bempton Cliffs RSPB where I had good views of the many sea birds, I also heard my first ever Quail but sadly didn’t even get close to seeing it despite the bird being literally 20-40 feet away in the crop!

However one of the more memorable events was about to come as we made our way for the 2 hour journey back to Salthome RSPB, I got some texts of Mark to reassure me the bird was still there. I was about 50 minutes of Salthome when I received a text again from Mark and he informed me that I was a “lucky boy” as next to the Whiskered Tern a White-rumped Sandpiper had just appeared! We finally got there and I obtained very good views of the White-rumped Sandpiper, even though the light was bad I didn’t really notice it when I was watching the bird as I got pretty fantastic views even with a bit of zoom on my eyepiece. It was nice to see the bird wandering around feeding and to also get a comparison with Dunlin and other waders present. I was so busy watching the White-rumped Sandpiper I didn’t even notice the Little Stint that was reported, however it is possible it might not have been there when I was there. I also god good views of the Whiskered Tern and on a handful of occasions saw the Whiskered Tern and the White-rumped Sandpiper in the same scope view! Both were lifers and therefore also year ticks.

Happy days these birding days!

If you enjoy my ramblings them please do follow me: http://www.andrewkinghorn.blogspot.com/
Also I have photos that my friends took of the Whiskered Tern and the White-rumped Sandpiper on my blog.

Until next time, Foghorn (nickname) out!

Spoon-billed Sandpiper Video

2010-08-03T11:59:00.000+01:00

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is one of the rarest birds in the world. They are in serious decline and not many of these fantastic waders remain. I would like to think that it is not to late for us to help this amazing species and that one day I can go abroad and see one, I sure hope one doesn't turn up in the UK though, of course it would be fantastic but also very sad as it is likely that bird would never breed either again or at all.

Here is a superb video of this wonderful species:

Hope you enjoyed the video, very sad considering it failed to attract a mate but a beautiful bird.

Autumnal feel already

2010-07-28T16:35:00.000+01:00

as the summer holidays begin, it seems so does autumn for me! two of the past three mornings I have spent down on my local patch, Seaford Head and Cuckmere Haven. I've so far seen Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Grasshopper Warbler and White Wagtail among more common migrants, and heard a croaking Nightingale. I will keep you all updated as autumn progresses, with hopefully a few good birds to brag about too if I'm lucky! Except for from Mid August-early September when I'll be in Canada for three weeks!

all the best to everyone

Liam

Now for something completely different!

2010-07-27T22:20:00.001+01:00

See:

Hope some people laughed. Just a humerous post.

How to view Year List Competition

2010-07-26T14:09:00.003+01:00

Dear Young Birders,

You may have noticed that the way the Year Listing Competition is now being done has changed. This is so that the task of updating the results is easier for me and Joseph to update. Here is a list of why I made the changes:

• I can make the results look more appealing in terms of formatting.
• You can comment on the updates if you like (however please continue to send updates through the email address)
• Me and Joseph can edit the updates easily.

The post with the Year List Challenge can be accessed at any time by looking under the “YEAR LISTING COMPETITION 2010” which can be found down the right hand side of the blog. Under this section near the bottom there is a hyperlink to the page to show the Year Listing Competition (SEE IMAGE BELOW). As this page will be updated regularly you can see how everyone’s year list is looking.

New Year List updates post: http://youngbirders.blogspot.com/2010/07/year-listing-competition-2010.html

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE:

If the competition is carried on into next year then I will do the same but instead create a new post that will be 2011 updates,

Andrew & Joseph

YEAR LISTING COMPETITION 2010

2010-07-26T13:33:00.061+01:00

!!!!!THIS POST IS UPDATED REGULARLY WITH NEW RESULTS!!!!!

Species highlighted in:
Red - Are 'MEGAS', which are exceptionally rare birds.
Orange - Are birds that are classed as "Rare"
Blue - Are birds that are classed as "Scarce"

For the British birders this colour coding goes by national ranking, not local.

(1) - United States of America - Tucker Lutter ~ Total: 404
Highlights: Cinnamon Teal, Golden Eagle, Little Blue Heron, Prairie Falcon, Black-necked Stilt, Black-billed Magpie, and Smith's Longspur in Iowa. Long-tailed Duck, Iceland Gull, Spruce Grouse, Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, and American Three-toed Woodpecker in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Fish Crow, Hooded Warbler, and more in Missouri. Gray Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Lucifer's Hummingbird, Elegant Trogon, Whiskered Screech-Owl, Buff-breasted Flycatcher (400th life bird!) Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher, Olive Warbler, Varied Bunting, and lots more in SE Arizona. Red-throated Loon (diver), Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Tufted Puffin, Red Phalarope, Heerman's Gull, Red-breasted Sapsucker, American Dipper, Northwestern Crow, and more in Washington.

(2) - United States of America - Chris West ~ Total: 360
Highlights: Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush, Ross's Gull, Red Phalarope, Ruff, Kirtland's Warbler, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Brown-capped Rosy-finch, Mountain Plover, Lewis's Woodpecker

(3) - United States of America - James Fox ~ Total: 298
Highlights: Northern Hawk Owl, Iceland Gull, Thayer's Gull, Prothonotary Warbler, Henslow's Sparrow, Dickcissel, Kentucky Warbler, Red-necked Phalarope, and Golden-crowned Sparrow in Michigan. Purple Gallinule, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, Sabine's Gull, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and Brant in Ohio. Burrowing Owl, MacGillivray's Warbler, Prairie Falcon, Dusky Grouse, American Dipper, Black Swift, Acorn Woodpecker, Gray Flycatcher, Grace's Warbler, Pinyon Jay and lots more in Colorado.

(4) - United Kingdom - Andrew Kinghorn ~ Total: 265
Highlights: Trumpeter Finch, Iberian Chiffchaff, Sykes's Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, American Bittern, Green Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Black-throated Thrush, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern, White-rumped Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Bonaparte's Gull, Greenish Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Dusky Warbler, Squacco Heron, Ross's Goose (not counted on my lists), Coues' Arctic Redpoll, Ringed-necked Duck, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Spotted Crake, Capercallie, Iceland Gull, Bean Goose, Montagu's Harrier, Dotterel, Temminck's Stint, Balearic Shearwater, Barred Warbler, Lapland Bunting, White-winged Black Tern, Firecrest, Wryneck, Woodchat Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, Shorelark, Yellow-browed Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Pallas's Warbler, Snow Goose, Pomarine Skua, Little Auk, Rough-legged Buzzard, Mealy Redpoll, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Ptarmigan, Hen Harrier, Stone Curlew, Hobby, Nightingale, Jack Snipe, Black Redstart, Black-necked Grebe, Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Marsh Harrier, Golden Eagle, Bittern, Smew, Merlin, Peregrine, White-fronted Goose, Turtle Dove, Woodlark, Grasshopper Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Nightjar, Garganey, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Manx Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Scaup, Brambling, and Bewick's Swan (long awaited lifer).

(5) - United Kingdom - David Campbell ~ Total: 212
Highlights: White-tailed Lapwing, Marmora's Warbler, River Warbler, Trumpeter Finch, Bufflehead, Iberian Chiffchaff, Dusky Warbler, Alpine Swift, Red-footed Falcon, Montagu's Harrier, Ferruginous Duck, Golden Oriole,Ring-billed Gull, Great Shearwater, Hoopoe, Wryneck, Waxwing, Green -winged Teal, Serin, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red-backed Shrike, Common Rosefinch, Stone-curlew, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Hawfinch, Storm Petrel, Balearic Shearwater, Chough, Quail, Sooty Shearwater, Goshawk, Cirl Bunting, amongst many others.

(6) - United Kingdom - Joseph Nichols ~ Total: 210
Highlights: Broad-billed Sandpiper, Lesser Scaup, Glossy Ibis, King Eider, Black-winged Stilt, Red-footed Falcon, Snow Goose, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Great Grey Shrike, Montagu's Harrier, Temminck's Stint, Honey Buzzard, Iceland Gull, Golden Oriole, Common Crane, Spoonbill, Bean Goose, White-tailed Eagle, Long-eared Owl, Stone Curlew, Red-crested Pochard, Nightjar, Little Owl, Avocet, Yellow Wagtail, Turtle Dove, Med Gull, Black Grouse, Ptarmigan, Crested Tit, Dotterel, Firecrest, , Dartford Warbler, Golden Eagle, Garganey, Bittern, Common Redstart, Red Kite, Cetti's Warbler, Marsh Tit, LRP, Bewicks Swan, Egyptian Goose, White-fronted Goose, Waxwing, Great Northern Diver, Scaup, Kingfisher, Hen Harrier, Twite, Snow Bunting, Merlin, Water Rail, Osprey, Brambling, Long-tailed Duck, Smew, Slavonian Grebe, Water Pipit, Short-eared Owl, and Brent Goose.

(7) - United Kingdom - Robert Williamson ~ Total: 192
Highlights: Oriental Pratincole, Bufflehead, Black-throated Thrush, Pallid Swift, Alpine Swift, Snow Goose, Bluethroat, Dotterel, Lapland Bunting, Bean Goose, Golden Pheasant, Caspian Gull, Dartford Warbler, Willow Warbler, Gannet, Swallow, Sand Martin, Wheatear, Chiffchaff, Woodlark, Med Gull, Scaup, Corn Bunting, Shore Lark, Firecrest, Mealy Redpoll, Black-throated Diver, Red-throated Diver, Spotted Redshank, , Merlin, Dipper, Snow Bunting, , Red-necked Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Hawfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Sisken, Brambling, Whooper & Bewick's Swan, Tree Sparrow, Willow Tit, Red Kite, Twite, Water & Rock Pipit, Water Rail, White-fronted Geese, Yellow-legged Gull, Slavonian Grebe, Guillemot, Velvet Scoter, Peregrine, Smew, Goosander, Bittern

(8) - United States of America - John Shamgochian ~ Total: 190
Highlights: Tundra Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, Harlequin Duck, Ruffed Grouse, Black Crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Black Vulture, Mississippi Kite, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon,Piping Plover, Hudsonian Godwit, Wilson's Snipe, American Woodcock, Black-Headed Gull, Least Tern, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, Common Nighthawk, Nashville Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Bobolink, Rusty Blackbird, Orchard Oriole and Purple Finch, Fox Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Winter Wren and Common Raven.

(9) - United Kingdom - Liam Curson ~ Total: 169
Highlights: Marmora's Warbler, White-tailed Plover, Bonaparte's Gull Great Grey Shrike, Temminck's Stint, Nightingale, Nightjar, Chough, Puffin, Pied Flycatcher, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Harrier, Arctic Skua, Black-necked Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Water Pipit, Velvet Scoter, Garganey, Glaucous Gull, Cattle Egret, Red-throated and Black-throated Divers, Dark-bellied Brent, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveler, Scaup, Pochard, Goldeneye, Water Rail, Jack Snipe, Woodcock, Black-tailed Godwit, Common and Green Sandpipers, Mediterranean Gull, Little Gull, Razorbill, Little Owl, Woodlark, Black Redstart, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Raven, Bullfinch, Crane, Crossbill, Cettis Warbler, Tawny Owl, Wheater, and Bittern.

(10) - United Kingdom - Ashley Hugo ~ Total: 129
Highlights: Richard's Pipit, Cattle Egret, Black Redstart, Bittern

(11) - United Kingdom - Simeon Grundy ~ Total: 127
Highlights: Alpine Swift, Smew, Scaup, Bittern, Peregrine, Merlin, Shore Lark, Snow Bunting

(12) - United Kingdom - Oliver Simms ~ Total: 137
Highlights: Serin, Glaucous Gull, Woodlark, Bittern, Rock Pipit, Bearded Tit, Waxwing, Black Redstart, Slavonian Grebe, Little Gull and Short Eared Owl

(13) - United Kingdom - Robert Gilbert ~Total: 99
Highlights: Red-throated Diver, Yellow-legged Gull

Email Recieved

2010-07-25T16:19:00.000+01:00

We would love to share with you an article that we just posted on our own blog! “Top 10 Destinations for Snowbirds” (http://www.changeofaddress.org/blog/2010/top-10-destinations-for-snowbirds/ ) would be an interesting story for your readers to check out and discuss on your blog, so we hope you will consider sharing it!

Thanks so much for your time, and have a wonderful day!

Sheryl Owen

posted by Andrew Kinghorn

Admin Coalition

2010-07-22T21:52:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone,

Just to let everyone know their is now a coalition of admin between Joseph Nichols and myself (Andrew Kinghorn).

Please continue to use this blog and enjoy it, please post what you like and whenever you like. This is your blog!

Regards,

Andrew Kinghorn - Admin
Joseph Nichols - Admin

Recent Shots from Suffolk

2010-07-16T00:51:00.000+01:00

Just a few recent photos I've taken from a visit to Suffolk, which had me seeing Nightjar, Dartford Warbler, Bearded Tit and many more.

Patient waiting in a hide at Lackford Lakes SWT allowed me very good views of a Kingfisher, which perched and fished right in front of us!

At Minsmere, a family of Avocets had taken up residence in one the few pools that hadn't dried up on the wader scrape...

Sedge and Reed Warblers sang deep in the reedbeds, and occasionally one would pop up...

A bit of an odd looking female Chaffinch caught my eye...

Onto Blaxhall Common, and I had been given a tip off that Nightjars were in residence on a certain area of the common. Whilst waiting, a Dartford Warbler sang and briefly flitted past. The Nightjars called non stop till gone 11pm and even flew over my head on several occasions.

I got a video of a bird churring but it won't seem to upload on here. Its on my blog though.

The wooded clearing where the birds displayed...

More on the blog at billsbirding.blogspot.com

Hope everyone has a great summer!

Cheers, Bill

Identification of Iberian Chiffchaff song

2010-07-14T21:06:00.001+01:00

Hello,

I have written a piece on my blog about the identification of Iberian Chiffchaff by song. I have also included the called of both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, which in the UK look very similar and are the possible (common) confusion species.

Here is the piece: http://andrewkinghorn.blogspot.com/2010/07/iberian-chiffchaff-have-you-heard-one.html

Hope this is of some use to people.

2010 travel update

2010-07-13T21:17:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone, Chris W here from the grand state of Wisconsin, USA!

Just wanted to give a quick update. I've forgotten how long it's been since I've posted here, so I'll recap for the year since Jan.

Birding in Jan, Feb was rather slow. I got a quick start to my year list in Jan but then dropped off after that.
The last week of Feb, I was practically given the chance to go along on a VENT (Victor Emanuel Nature Tours) trip to Costa Rica for the first week of March. It was quite the most amazing trip I've ever been on. got around 200 new lifers during a week's time there.

Less than a month later, I had the chance to volunteer for three weeks as a guide at Tandayapa Bird Lodge in Northwest Ecuador. Talk about another amazing trip to the tropics! Nearly 200 lifers there as well.

For May, I birded the heck out my home state and worked my year list up near 300.
A 10 day trip helping lead a tour to Colorado in Jun pushed it over 300.

Now, it's July, the slowest birding month here in the US and I've been working on documenting my trips on my blog "The Southwest Wisconsin Birder"

Want to read the details of my trips? visit my blog! do it. :)

2010-05-29T20:11:00.002+01:00

An extract from my birding diary, about a particularly exciting visit to my local patch in Oxford - Port Meadow - on 23rd May:

With an hour or so to kill, and since I was up at St Hughe's anyway, I decided to visit Port Meadow this evening. On arrival, it seemed that there wasn't that much of note: the Little Egret was still present with a Grey Heron, and a Common Tern flew along the river. However, as I was watching a few Gadwall, which were beginning to go into eclipse moult, the drake Garganey appeared! On the grass nearby were the two leucistic Egyptian Geese - the first time I had seen them. Not long after this, I spotted some movement on the far side, which turned out to be a Ringed Plover - not a bad bird for the meadow. I didn't think it had been there the whole time as I had scanned that bank already, so decided to check it again. A flash of yellow caught my attention: a Yellow Wagtail. It was quite mobile, and as I watched it move along I became aware of movement on the edge of the grass. Two small brown waders revealed themselves, and I instantly felt they could be something good. They had the general appearance of Common Sandpipers, but were behaving more skulkingly, without bobbing as Common Sandpipers often do. There was no hint of a white spur, and I was fairly sure they were smaller, though it was difficult to judge from that distance. I packed up my kit in a rush and biked over in order to get better views, which did nothing to help the effects of sunstroke I was beginning to feel! However, when I reached a reasonable distance to view from, they were nowhere to be seen. Frantically, I biked back, and thankfully there they were, in the same general area. Taking careful note of their position, I repeated the exercise and this time managed to locate them. I now I realised there were 3 birds. The light was against me, but I could just make out a complete breast band and some scaling on the mantle and scapulars. I was now pretty certain I'd found three Temminck's Stints, and felt confident enough to alert Adam Hartley, who watches Port Meadow regularly. Thankfully he was able to come immediately, and arrived within a few minutes. During this time I had noted a lot of white on the rump/tail when one of the birds preened. I directed Adam to the birds, not wanting to leave my place to get better views in case they disappeared, as has happened many times before! By this time I was feeling pretty awful, so when he told me he'd got them I left the rest to him, texting in to Birdguides, and flopping down on the grass. I didn't even feel up to walking round to get better views myself, content with the photos I knew Adam would be taking. Was it worth the visit? Of course!

Visit Adam Hartley's website, Port Meadow Birding, for photos of the birds. And, needless to say, keep checking your local patch whenever you have a spare hour. You never know what might turn up!

James

Dorset 13/3/10

2010-03-14T12:27:00.004Z

Bufflehead

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Hooded Merganser

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Birding NE Minnesota

2010-02-23T03:24:00.002Z

My dad and I birded all over NE Minnesota in search of boreal forest birds and were rewarded with four life birds-Great Gray Owl (pictured below), Spruce Grouse, Iceland Gull, and American Three-toed Woodpecker. To see photos of my trip go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/backpackingbirdwatcher/

Intro

2010-02-22T09:41:00.000Z

Hi everyone, sorry I forgot to introduce myself on my first post. My name is Liam and I live in Seaford, East Suusex. I am 14 years old. I have known a bit about birds since I was about six, but until I was twelve I just went out twitching a few things around Sussex and was only really interested in Raptors and Waders. I first got really interested after a trip to Australia, where the bird life is absolutely fantastic!! It is mainly because of that trip that I have managed to get a world life list of 548 species, but I have also been to Cyprus, Mull, France and on the Pride of Bilbao seawatching recently, and to America when I was seven. I'm going to Canada this August when hopefully I can get my life list up to 700. The best bird I've ever seen is definitely Cassowary in Oz, but over there I also saw Superb Fairy-Wren, Kori Bustard, Brolga and Papuan Frogmouth, which were all fantastic. My favourite british bird is probably Waxwing or Bee-eater, but if I'd seen one in Britain it would be Golden Oriole without a doubt! I haven't found many rarities, but have found a few local rarities around my local area, including Montagu's Harrier, Goshawk, Waxwing and Cattle Egret. The rarest bird I've seen in Britain is White-crowned Sparrow or Green Heron, and the rarest bird I've seen in the world is probably either Cassowary or Feas's Petrel. I go birding most often around Seaford, where you can easily get to the South Downs, two river valleys, an excellent seawatching area and a coastal headland with good numbers of migrants passing through every autumn. However I don't see notable birds around here that often, so most of my posts will be for when I go away on trips elsewhere. For more info see my blog.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone out there

All the best

Liam Curson

Gigrin Farm Kites

2010-02-22T07:10:00.001Z

A few shots taken at Gigrin Farm in wales over the weekend. Stuning views of the Red Kites and the Black Kite just made the day.

A 'Hello'

2010-02-16T19:19:00.002Z

Hello folks. You've probably noticed that hitherto this occasion I haven't posted in this blog. This is because I'm currently trying to get up to date with my own. When I finally do get up to date, which I can happily say won't be too long now, I'll make sure I post in here more regularly. In the meantime, I just thought I'd post to introduce myself .

I'm Joseph Nichols (Joseph N on Birdforum), and I'm a very keen 15 year old young living in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Ever since I was a young lad at the age of 5 I have been watching and enjoying birds in a big way. With age of course, my ability to birdwatch has improved considerably and with that too my British List and my Life List. My life list in the world currently stands at just below 350 species (347), with 2 trips to South Africa and others to countries such as Portugal, France and Spain in the past providing me with over a 100 species that I haven't seen in Britain. My British List, if I was to be honest, matters more to me. It currently stands at 228 species, which I think is reasonable for someone of my age. A good number of rarities are amongst these 228 species, of which the rarest was a Greater Sand Plover at the Ythan Estuary in 2008. This bird was one of those species that looked completely out of place, and not where it was supposed to be, hence why it was only the 13th record for Britain ever. Last year, a Stilt Sandpiper at the Loch of Strathbeg in early July came in as the second rarest bird that I'd ever seen, with only 18 records of this bird ever in the UK. These were both great birds to see. Some other rare birds that I have seen, all of which I have taken great pleasure in seeing, include Great White Egret (although this species is gradually losing its vagrant status), Glossy Ibis, a few Snow Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, King Eiders (female and drake seen but on different occasions), Common Crane, Dotterel, White-winged Black Tern, Short-toed Lark, Bluethroat, Icterine ,Yellow-browed and Pallas's Warbler, Ross's Goose, Richard's Pipit and Red-backed Shrike. In the coming years, I hope to see more rare birds, as well as some of those rare breeders. My current year list, as you may have read on the competition, is at 113 species. For me its been an absolutely fantastic year so far, probably my best start ever. I've already had 4 lifers this year. These lifers have are amongst my highlights this year, which you can see on this very page.

Whilst I do take interest in the listing aspect of birding, I also really enjoy watching birds and other wildlife on a whole; I would hardly call myself a 'twitcher'. In my opinion, its a blissful experience to escape from the hardships and repetition of everday life and find yourself out amongst copious amounts of birds, witnessing nature's marvellous spectacles. I also love just how ubiquitous birds are (they're always there for you to see in other words) and how unpredictable birding is. What are you going to see, and in what way will this effect you? It's just very excting! I get out birding regularly with my Dad , very rarely leaving it more than a few weeks between birding outings. I tend to visit three local patches by the names of Girdleness, the Ythan Estuary and the Loch of Strathbeg, all of which are fantastic in their different ways. Girdleness sticks out into the sea and is great for seawatching and looking for migrants, the Ythan Estuary is good for waterfowl, whilst the Loch of Strathbeg is the same as the Ythan Estuary but better, providing more rarities and a wider range of species than the Ythan. I have also done a reasonable amount of birding in England, where I visit relatives annually. I also occasionally go birding in other parts of Scotland.

That is just a brief introduction to my birding experiences and adventures. If you want to find out more and would like to read about my birding days out, please visit my blog at this link:

http://aberdeenshireyoungbirder.blogspot.com/

Cheers folks, and I'll start posting more in here when I get up to date with my blog. In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye on how you guys are getting on,

Joseph

The French Invasion!

2010-02-16T16:31:00.001Z

Despite the title, this was not a daring rescue mission to defeat the Nazis in WW2; unfortunately we were about 65 years too late for that! Instead, this was a birding trip (bet you didn’t see that one coming!!). Others along on this trip were Chris Lowmass (who was kind enough to use his minivan to ferry us all around, Dick Gilmore, Neil Greenaway, Chris Davis, Jon Curson, John Luck, and Sid, whose surname I sadly can’t remember!). So the Eight of us travelled to Dover in the darkness, driving along bumpy roads while attempting to get some sleep! Two Barn Owls were seen around Camber at around 05:00, but I was asleep at the time, even more annoying because one was about 20 yards inside Sussex, and would have just counted a county year-tick! The first species seen by me was a Herring Gull caught by flashlights in Dover Harbour at about 06:00. Once it was reasonably light and we were all reasonably well-fed on the full-English served on the ferry, brief sea watch was in order, where we recorded Kittiwake, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Back-headed Gull, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe and Purple Sandpiper (on the rocks at Calais Harbour), taking the species list for the trip up to ten, of which I had seen eight, (I missed the Purplie as well as the Barn Owls.) In Calais Harbour Docks, we added Feral Pigeon and Starling, taking the total list up to twelve species. Traveling to our next stop was fairly productive, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, Coot, Fieldfare, Collared Dove, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge and Moorhen made the total 23 species by about 07:30. The Grey Partidge were an interesting note, we saw several coveys of this supposedly ‘English’ Partridge by the side of the roads throughout the day, indicating they are doing much better in France than Britain. Adding to the Irony, we did not see a single French (Red-legged) Partridge all day!! Our first stop was a Gravel Pit near Dunkirk (dunquerque if you are in France). Here we added Chaffinch, Mallard Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Goldeneye, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit and two magnificent Whooper Swans! These two were obviously the main highlight of the stop, although it was also good to see displaying Goldeneye throwing their heads back, practising for when they left this French Gravel Pit for Scandinavia(or perhaps Scotland?) Once again we hit the road, and added Carrion Crow to the ranks before us, which now stood at 36 species. Our next stop was another pit, by the side of a motorway, which overlooked several miles of farmland. From here, Pintail, Mute Swan, Skylark, Buzzard, Robin and Curlew were added, with the final highlight a beautiful ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the fields behind the pit. Our species list now stood at 43 birds. On the road again, Lesser Blackback and Magpie were added, while at our next stop, Dunkirk Harbour, virtually the first bird we saw was a beautiful male Black Redstart. Elsewhere in the Harbour, we quickly added Oystercatcher and Turnstone, and would have done had we not already encountered Great Crested Grebes, which were very numerous here. Neil soon spotted three Slavonian Grebes, the first of at least ten we recorded in the harbour, while he followed up this shout with a Red-necked Grebe. Shag, Black-necked Grebe and Black-throated Diver then fell down in quick succession, and a walk/drive 6 miles along the spit on the side of the harbour revealed Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Snow Bunting, Red-breasted Merganser and more good views of Goldeneye and Slav and black-necked Grebes. Redwing was added in some coastal scrub near Dunkirk, while travelling a few miles along the coast to a pier, where we hoped to see Purple Sandpiper, didn’t work, but Eider, Brent Goose and Rock Pipit took our list up to 62 species. We then hit the road again for an hour or so, a period lightened up when Dick spotted a Crested Lark walking across the middle of the road. Chris wasn’t able to stop in time for everyone to see it (I only just woke up at that point!), but he hurriedly reversed until everyone had a brilliant side-on view of one of the rarest resident birds in Northern France! Our final stop was Platier D’oye, a reserve run by the Frecnh version of the RSPB, where we added Greylag, Barnacle, White-fronted and Canada Geese, Sparrowhawk, Snipe, two very pale Ruff, two very distant Smew (1 duck/1drake), one Dunlin, several Shoveler and finally a Water Rail scurrying along the back of one of the scrapes. 74 species and counting! Finally, in a last look around, we ventured onto the beach, where we saw House Sparrow and Great Tit in the dunes and a Redshank on the sandy beach. 77 species, not a bad showing. However, it became 79 soon after, with Gannet and Razorbill seen from the ferry as we left Calais, and I caught up with the Purple Sands seen by a few people as we entered France. Chris Lowmass’s record on one of these trips was 82, and we could easily have beaten that if it wasn’t for some terrible bloopers, including Blue Tit!!!!!, Goldfinch!!!!!!!, Linnet, Stock Dove, Little Egret, Pheasant, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Wren!!!!, Stonechat, Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Jay, Rook, Greenfinch!!!!, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.

Bad Weather and Few Birds

2010-02-09T03:19:00.006Z

My year so far has been much less productive than pretty much everyone on this blog! The weather has been terrible and the birds are few and far between where I live. Right now it is -5 degress farenheit (minus 20 celsius) and we have had lots of snow this winter (more than any other).

The other day I was going to see my lifer American Black Duck but I had to cancelled because of bad weather so I am feeling pretty bird deprived right now! I can't wait for spring and all of the birds it brings.

The only good bird I saw this year was a Prairie Falcon near the town that I live in. Here is a photo:I hope the weather stays nice because next week from Wednesday-Sunday I am going to be in Northern Minnesota looking for birds! That's all for now.

My January Review

2010-01-31T21:14:00.004Z

For me this month has been great, I’ve already seen 138 species. As well as that I saw a possible Pacific Diver on the 3rd but as yet it has not been confirmed so it’s not on my list. The first day of the month was basically spent recovering before the RSPB West Norfolk bird race on the 3rd However on the 1st I had arranged with a friend to do a pre run of the race. The day went well but are total was shit, recording just over 90 species the highlights of the day being Snow Goose, Red Kite and ‘Tundra’ Bean Goose. On the day of the official bird race we did much better by recording 101 species and coming first. The best of the bunch were pretty much the same as above other than Guillemot and Yellow-legged Gull. This was also the day were we saw the possible Pacific Diver. My next decent days bird came on the 10th were a friend and myself had a look at Saddlebow and Blackborough End tip where we saw 3 ‘redhead’ Smew, Caspian’s and also Yellow Legged Gulls. A trip down to the Brecks meant I was able to add Hawfinch to my life list and also Lesser Redpoll. An afternoon birding with some college friends (virgins to the birding lark) at Whitlingham CP proved quite exciting by adding another lifer to my list in the form of Red-necked Grebe also I saw a Ruddy Duck which I thought would be quite hard to see this year due to DEFRA. The weekend of the 23rd and the 24th was jam packed with birding. A motor up to Yorkshire on the Saturday meant that I was able to see a Black-throated Thrush and a species I’ve dipped many of times the Dipper. On the 24th a trip to Titchwell RSPB added to more ticks to my year list.

Let’s hope February will carry on the same way,

Happy birding,

Robert

http://robsbirdingblog93.blogspot.com/

Goosanders at Painshill Park

2010-01-31T17:38:00.006Z

There has been a report of 5 Goosander on the lake at Painshill Park (Surrey) for the last couple of days. When I had some spare time yesterday, I couldn't resist going for these beauties to see if I could get any shots of them.

On arrival I scanned the trees for Lesser Redpoll. Sadly nothing apart from a load of Siskin, Goldfinch and a Nuthatch. I made my way to the lake where the Goosanders had been seen and bingo, there they were! They were extremely flightly and very shy, flying right out to the far side of the lake on a number of occasions when spooked by passers by. However, I was able to get some reasonable shots of them with the new lens...

Group shot...

There was tention in the air, and now and then, the 4 males would chase each other if they got too close to or tried to chat up the 1 female...

Check out my blog for more, at billsbirding.blogspot.com

Happy birding!

Bill

Finally, good photography weather

2010-01-26T23:04:00.004Z

Finally, after a couple weeks of unending fog and clouds and even some snow, the sun finally broke through this morning and provided some nice photo opportunities. The best shot I got was of a White-breasted Nuthatch that was visiting our feeders. I am particularly fond of this shot because the bird is not on a bird feeder but on a tree instead-something I had not accomplished with this species. I hope the clouds and fog stay away because I am going to look for Golden Eagles this Saturday.

Yesterday at Cliburn Moss

2010-01-26T18:16:00.002Z

This was going to be updated yesterday, but the studentcom internet service in my uni digs decided not to work with my recently purchased Macbook Pro. Fixed now, and I love my Mac, should of got one earlier.

I came back to Penrith early than usual to try and sort my next years accommodation, which isn't going well. After sorting a few bits and pieces out I headed for Cliburn Moss, arriving at 14:30.

As parked up, and put my wellies on a tribe of Long Tailed Tit fed in the silver birch canopy above. I was taken North along the western edge of the reserve, as I entered the mature Scots Pine the need to stop and listen seem apparent, firstly from the silence I picked up the song of Goldcrests, quite a few, scanning the thick canopy above I found numerous birds feeding. Continuing North a Jay made a brief appearance, flying up off the track. Reaching the Northern-most edge of the reserve again I stopped to listen, I could hear the flack of Woodpigeons to the North, the sound of Jackdaws and Rooks to the North, as well Carrion Crow, but the most noise was coming from a presumed flock of Starling, chattering to the North. Naturally I headed north, though the gate off the reserve, up onto the disused railway, with the hawthorn hedgerow. Looking over the field, I could see a winter crop had been left, and large numbers of Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Rook, and Starling were feeding. Lapwing were also present amongst the Starlings, 4 Fieldfare fed close to the hedgerow and a single Stock Dove fed amongst the Woodpigeon. As I re-entered the reserve a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew overhead.

The track now headed East, it leaves behind the Scots Pines for a small marshy meadow area, with a small pond, 6 Mallard, and 1 Drake Teal were flushed from the pond as I approached. I followed this track it began to head towards the houses, not wanting to walk this way, I went for a bit of wandering, and headed South along the reserve perimeter, which I'm pleased I did. Just as I re-entered the Scots Pine a couple of Woodpigeons flew out of the canopy above, and a scratching noise on the tree in front of me followed. A Red Squirrel was frozen against the orange trunk of a mature Scots Pine, heading downwards. It camouflaged in so well, with that beautiful orange colour it shares with the Scots Pine, if it had not made a sound I may of missed it. Retracing 2 or 3 steps another tree provided me with cover, as I sat down the Squirrel repositioned onto a horizontal branch, it sat, cleaned and scratched for about 5 minutes before it move upwards into the canopy.

Pheasant, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Common Buzzard were heard throughout my wonder of the reserve.

Hi all - Intro

2010-01-25T22:15:00.003Z

Hi everyone,

I just thought I would introduce myself and say hello. My name is Andrew and I am a birdwatcher that lives in County Durham in the United Kingdom. I am 18 years old and have been birdwatching for about 4 years and have been very keen for about 1 ½ year now. I am quite into “twitching” but do not consider myself a twitcher as I am also interested in the commoner birds as well as the rarer ones. I have a British list that consists of 227 species and my life list is 229 with Alpine Swift and Hoopoe seen on family holidays in the past. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen some fantastic rare birds over the years including: Wryneck, Black Tern, Common Crane, Ring-billed Gull, Glaucous & Iceland Gulls, King Eider, Great-white Egret, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Hooded Merganser (BBRC pending?), Blue-winged Teal, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, Richard’s Pipit, Snow Goose, Black-throated Thrush, Ring-necked Duck, and the rarest of them all UK’s 1st record and Europe’s 5th ever record of Eastern Crowned Warbler. My life list is still quite small but I am sure it will grow.

My favourite bird is the White-tailed eagle. The bird I would like to see more than any other is a Slender-billed Curlew, but sadly this now seems very unlikely. I hope in the future I can input some useful and entertianing information onto this blog and I hope you enjoy whatever it is I post.

Cheers,

Andrew K

Birding in Pierre, SD

2010-01-25T19:33:00.004Z

Late this last November I went on a birding trip to central South Dakota with two local birders for three days. We were going to Pierre for the state's ornithologist union meeting and were hoping to see Mew Gull, Red-throated Loon, and maybe even Gyrfalcons at Lake Oahe and surrounding areas. We birded around Lake Oahe and the Missouri River a lot that weekend but didn't see many of our target birds. Despite that I did get to see my lifer Lesser Black-backed Gull along with lots of Red-necked Grebes, Western Grebes, a Glaucous Gull, and a couple Thayer's Gulls. A California Gull (pictured below, right bird) was hanging around the area too. Some of the best birding was at Fort Pierre National Grasslands where we saw an astounding 10 Golden Eagles (!), about a dozen Ferruginous Hawks, several Prairie Falcons and a Rough-legged Hawk. One of the Golden Eagles is pictured at the top of the post and a Ferruginous Hawk is pictured below this paragraph.

Birds were not the only thing that caught my attention at the grasslands. We saw a group of Pronghorn (one of the fastest land mammals around, pictures below) and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs not to mention the White-tailed and Mule Deer.

On the way home we saw lots of Bonaparte's Gulls at Big Bend Dam which made for a nice way to end the trip. No Little Gulls though :-(

Black-throated Thrush ~ Newholm (North Yorkshire) ~ 23/1/10

2010-01-24T18:54:00.004Z

more on my blog: http://robsbirdingblog93.blogspot.com/

Young Birder Group on Flickr

2010-01-23T20:51:00.006Z

I created a Flickr group called "Young Birders" on Flickr, a photo sharing website. I would like to invite any young birders from this blog to post their bird photos there. First you need to join Flickr which can be done by clicking here: http://www.flickr.com/. After that you can upload photos and post them in the group's pool which can be accessed here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1316594@N20/. Once you join the group you can start posting.

New to the Blog

2010-01-23T17:22:00.004Z

Hiya everyone my names Jonathan Scragg and I'm a young birder from Lancashire, UK. Quite a few of you will know me from Birdforum. I have just got my first DSLR camera (Nikon D60) so expect quite allot of photographs being uploaded, along with the occasional twitch. A few photos I took today.

Winter Yard Birds

2010-01-21T00:04:00.006Z

So far this winter I have been stuck at home quite a bit because of lots of snow, dense fog, and very thick ice. While in the yard I photographed many birds including the ones below. To view more of my photos go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/backpackingbirdwatcher/

Brown Creeper

House Sparrow

Blue Jay

Dark-eyed Junco

Hi

2010-01-16T18:23:00.003Z

My first post on here so Hi to all the other bloggers. Just thought I'd post some of my images taken over the last few weeks. First Red Kite, Gigrin Farm, Wales
Second, Turnstone, Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall

Third, Cold Teal, Marazion Marsh RSPB, Cornwall

Check out more of my pics at: ashleyh-photography.blogspot.com

Happy New Year (a tad late)

2010-01-14T04:06:00.003Z

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give a quick review on 2009. It was an amazing year for me.

A Feb trip to the famous Sax-zim Bog in northern Minnesota added some insane boreal species to my year list including N Hawk-owl, both ABA Crossbills, Black-backed and 3-toed Woodpeckers and many more.

The months between Feb and May were filled with birding around Wisconsin and racking up year birds. In mid May, I left for Arizona. On the way down, a stop at a state park in far Northern Texas panhandle rewarded me with not only my lifer Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Mississippi Kite and Black-crested Titmouse, but also with no less than 5 individuals of my long time ultimate nemesis bird. Painted Bunting. Finally!!

I spent 4 months of the summer living in Southeast Arizona, working as a local birding guide.

Summer 2009 was likely a historical year for mexican rarities. Only a couple times before have there been as many rare species in one summer as there was last summer. The highlights of the summer were crazy. Not one, but THREE first ABA area records. A Sinaloa Wren that had been found in fall '08 was present all summer and gave decent views considering how seclusive it was. The ABA's 15th vagrant and potentially first accepted record of Brown-backed Solitaire (first found by Dave Jasper and VENT's Camp Chiricahua group) spent a couple weeks bouncing back and forth between two canyons. The ultimate highlight of the summer though was the first ABA record of Gray-collared Becard. A west Mexican endemic that somehow made it's way into the famous South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon just outside of the town of Portal, AZ. After hearing the initial report, I dropped everything and ran up the canyon. 15 minutes later, I re-found the bird near the bridge, photographed it and alerted the rest of the AZ birding community. 50 birders showed up that evening. The next morning, nearly 150 people were scouring the canyon in vain. Over the course of the next few weeks, I would guess well over 500 birders looked for the bird. From what I heard, only a couple dozen ever got to see it.

The summer was also full of other rarities. The ABA's 15th record of Crescent-chested Warbler showed up about a week after I arrived. Nesting Rufous-capped Warblers (1st nesting record) added another highlight to the summer. The continuing (and now famous) Madera Canyon Flame-colored Tanager put on his usual show but was slightly dimmed by the presence of a nesting pair in the Chiricahuas.

Berylline Hummingbirds seemed almost common compared to other years. The highlight was seeing 4 of these awesome rare hummingbirds in one day.

The rare but regular White-eared Hummingbirds also put on a good show. 5 in one day made for another highlight.

Black-capped Gnatcatchers proved easy to find compared to '08 when Camp Chiricahua missed them.

Five-striped Sparrows were regular in California gulch, but at least one bird made headlines when it showed up in Florida Canyon, near Madera Canyon, nearly 100 miles north of the border.

The California Gulch Buff-collared Nightjar put on an awesome show for my friend and I one night in late May. It perched up on a bush in plain view, about 30 ft from us. You could see the buff collar without binoculars.

Two Aztec Thrushes showed up last summer. One appeared right after the Solitaire vanished and many hopeful birders saw it as a consolation prize.

The second was a one day wonder. It flew across the road as my clients and I were heading up to look for Red-faced Warblers.

A Pacific Golden-plover at Wilcox ponds in June became my life PGPL just as the sun was setting.

Two Black-bellied Plovers at Wilcox in early Aug made for an interesting and rare summer record.

Easily the best Hummingbird of the summer was a male Plain-capped Starthroat that was found at a feeder in Patagonia. Conveniently enough, it was the same day that I had planned on being in Patagonia so I was able to both see and photograph this awesome north Mexican hummer. Combined with Ruby-throated Hummingbird from Wisconsin and a lone Buff-bellied Hummingbird that I found in Texas, it made for a 17 Hummingbird summer.

I left Arizona in late Aug for a week-long jaunt to coastal California. A trip that included excellent looks at Yellow-footed Gull, a hectic chase of a Great Knot that turned out to be a much rarer hybrid Great Knot X Surfbird, a rather long stakeout for the endemic Yellow-billed Magpie and a crazy, 8 hour pelagic trip out of Monterey with Shearwater Journeys. The highlight of this trip was easily a Tufted Puffin that was seen on the way out of the harbor.

A quick run up the coast north of Monterey found my lifer Marbled Murrelet and a flock of Tri-colored Blackbirds (A species that I wasn't certain about finding).

On day 7 of the trip, my friend John Garrett and I took the ferry out to Santa Cruz Island to look for the endemic Santa Cruz Island Scrub-jay. It proved easier than I had expected (I didn't even need to get off the boat. The birds were right at the landing).

After a lengthy drive back to AZ (which included a stop in Tucson for my only Wood Stork of the year) I arrived back in Portal, packed my bags, and left. My first stop was at Carlsbad Caverns (just before a storm, which plagued me then entire way home) to see the thousands of Cave Swallows that practically lined the entrance to the caverns. A long drive across Texas, accented by multiple failed stops for Green and Ringed Kingfishers (the latter of which evaded me to the end) brought me to Corpus Christi. The farthest south I have ever been in TX. Choke Canyon State Park held couple lifers for me. Green Jays were common, though hard to photograph. an Audubon's Oriole gave me a quick, fleeting look before it vanished into the thick shrubbery. Several new year birds were welcome additions as well. Crested Caracara, Chuck-wills-widow (which, til that time I had given up hope of finding) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and several others.

A Corpus itself had some good birding spots. Rewarding too since I managed to find my lifer Green Kingfisher and a flyby Magnificent Frigatebird. A Wilson's Plover on the beach at the jetty provided me with my 500th year bird having failed to find a Brown Noddy after 4 hours of searching. A Curlew Sandpiper also proved to be conspicuously missing from it's reported mud flat.

Heading farther up the coast, staying just one step ahead of the impending thunderstorm, I stopped at the famous Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Known for being the winter home of the last wild Whooping Crane flock this refuge proved to be too big to bird adequately before the rain hit. I took off for High Island only a day ahead of the storm. High Island itself turned out to be substantially different from when I was there last. The last Hurricane really did some major damage to the once beautiful salt dome. The Audubon preserves there proved to be buggy and birdless. I headed down to the coast to see if I could find a Gannet. Gannets are common enough in winter along the gulf coast, but a summer bird is actually rather rare. No Gannets graced my presence, but my lifer Fulvous Whistling-ducks came in the form of a flock of 8 that flew by only a few yards from shore.

The Bolivar peninsula looked like a war zone had hit it. Almost all of the beach homes I had seen on my previous visit were gone. It actually looked much more natural if not a bit barren.

I managed to mis-time my arrival at Bolivar Flats. The tide was in and the shorebirds around the tip of the preserve were few and hard to see. Having no reason to stay, I bombed it to Baton Rouge to meet my friend Jacob Cooper for the 5th time that summer. We birded southern LA from the Texas State line to Grand Isle. about 200 Neotropic Cormorants perched on a powerline made for an interesting sight. My year Seaside Sparrows came in the form of a few lost birds who were forced out of the marsh by a storm that blew up from the gulf. That same storm also brought an interesting seabird that appeared to be a Gannet. It was just a tad dark for my liking but it was called a Gannet unless proved otherwise. The storm forced us off the beach before it could be refound though.

After leaving Jacob back at school, my friend Lainie and I headed north to the upland pine forests of central Louisiana. After camping in the car for the night, we awoke to a beautiful day and the calls of about a dozen Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. A life bird that had until then cleverly evaded my searches. After thanking Lainie for showing me the Woodpeckers, I headed for home via the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway. Maintained by the US Park service, this parkway road has some of the best passerine birding in Mississippi. It runs from the city of Natchez to Jacksonville.

I camped just north of Jacksonville for the night and took off early the next morning. Surprisingly, I found it was only a day's drive to Rockford, IL from there. Rockford is only 2.5 hours drive from my house here in Wisconsin. Fortunately, my Aunt lives in Rockford so I was able to crash at her house that night rather than try to put on the extra hours home. Taking advantage of the full day, I birded my way home. It was nice to once again know exactly where all the best spots were and be familiar with everything.

I had been on the road for over 4 months when I finally crested the hill that leads down into my valley just as the sun was setting over the hills to the west. As I looked back, over the far reaches that I had traveled and the great distances that I had come to arrive back home, I felt very much like one Bilbo Baggins from Tolkien's "The Hobbit."

I repeated his poem in my mind as I began the winding drive to the bottom of the hill:

"Roads go ever, ever on. Under cloud and under star, but feet that wandering have gone, return at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen, and horror in the halls of stone, look at last on meadows green, and trees and hills they long have known."

I'll leave you with that thought. Check my blog for other updates I will post back here soon as I have several other things to share, including a 1000 mile twitch after the ghost of the arctic: The Ivory Gull.

My life list total for 2009 ended at 598 species for the Lower 48 states and the ABA area.

My 2009 ABA area year list ended at 544 species. Also all in the lower 48 states.

For photos from my birding adventures last summer, visit my Flickr page:

http://flickr.com/photos/swallowtailphoto

I definitely had fun playing the year listing competition, though I'm sorry it wasn't really fair.

Congrats to David Campbell at 243 for the year. If I understand correctly, that is a respectable total for a year's worth of birding in GB.

Some upcoming events for me include leading some field trips at the Sax-zim Bog Birding festival next month and The Biggest Week in American Birding, held in Northwestern Ohio.

The biggest trip on my upcoming list includes 18 days in southern Peru this coming Sept with Kolibri Expeditions!! With possibility for up to 600 species (i.e. doubling my life list) you can imagine that I'm quite excited!! Of course, I will keep everyone updated on that.

Til then, here's wishing you all the best new year possible and of course, as always:

Happy Birding!

Bitterns at Barnes

2010-01-04T19:14:00.002Z

First post of 2010! ... hopefully I can encourage peeps to start re-posting for 2010.

Took a trip up to the London Wetland Centre yesterday with some shots of Bittern in mind. It showed pretty well at Headley Hide along with a Water Rail and Common Snipe. Missed the Jack Snipe at WWF Hide by just seconds as it went around the corner of an island.

And a Great Tit...

It would be a shame to see the blog be abandoned completely so let's try and keep posting! Anyone had any recent trips or year listing birding to report on?

Cheers, Bill

Scilly 2009

2009-11-02T21:41:00.004Z

I had a great half term week on Scilly with 7 lifers (Marsh Warbler, Richard's Pipit, Citrine Wagtail, Pallas's Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Rosy Starling and Bluethroat) +Manx Shearwater, Great Skua, Snow Bunting, Merlin and Serin as year ticks.

American Avocet and White-faced Ibis

2009-10-28T01:32:00.003Z

While on a trip with a local birding club to some area wetlands I saw an American Avocet (top) and seven White-faced Ibis (bottom). It was below freezing and had snowed just before we saw them which is very unusual!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

2009-10-28T01:28:00.004Z

I found this beautiful and fairly rare to Iowa bird just ten minutes from my home. People came from a couple hours away to see it-Tucker L

New Kid on the Block

2009-10-19T21:52:00.002+01:00

Hi everyone, my name's Cain Scrimgeour and the latest addition to the Young Birder Blog. I'm 18 years old, and from Whitley Bay. I've been birding properly for 6 years now, although I always had a passion for the outdoors, wildlife with birds being my main interest. I've been lucky to have been blessed with the outdoor, nature loving, wild gene which a hand full of us share in these modern times.

I've just started a BA(hons) Wildlife and Media degree at the University of Cumbria's Newton Rigg Campus in Penrith, so the normal patch area of Holywell Pond in SE Northumberland has been left for the mean time, although I do stop in now and again, but it has been replaced well, with nothing yet, I'm yet to find a site in Cumbria with which I'm happy to call my patch, although my Birding and other adventures will continue.

I'm at the beginning of an adventure and will be pleased to share it through this blog.

Check out my blog. holywellbirding.blogspot.com

Much birding!

2009-08-10T09:56:00.003+01:00

I recently spent 2 weeks birding with Connor and James in Poland. It was a brilliant experience and we clocked up 155 species! Highlights were Black and Middle-Spotted Woodpecker, White and Black Storks, loads of Common Cranes, Red-Backed Shrikes, Golden Orioles, and 16 species of Warbler including River, Savi's, Icterine, Marsh, Barred, Great Reed, and Aquatic!

Read a full report of it on my diary: www.freewebs.com/simsdiary

This last week I have spent volunteering at Titchwell RSPB (Norfolk). It was hard work and an insight to what actually goes on behind the scenes (lots!). I also had time for some birding and had some decent species: self-found Black Tern and Common Crane, as well as up to 10 Spoonbill, 12 Little Ringed Plover, 9 Curlew Sanpiper and a Little Stint. Plenty of Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and Whimbrel passing through as well. On the sea there wasn't much, a few Arctic Skua and a Great Skua, along with the usual sea duck and Gannet, and the odd Fulmar.

Finally, yesterday morning, I ringed the young Spotted Flycatchers from the nest in our garden. There were 4 in total, and I ringed 3 (my trainer ringed the other). Below are a couple of pictures of the ringed birds:

Norfolk 4th and 5th July 2009

2009-07-08T21:53:00.004+01:00

I had a great weekend in Norfolk, starting with a CASPIAN TERN, a lifer, at Welney WWT that I, along with many others, twitched. Also there were Avocets, male Ruffs, Turtle Doves, Yellow Wagtails and Whooper Swans amongst many others. I met James Grundy in real life for the first time and we had a nice chat.

The next day I had 2 Golden Orioles, a British tick, at Lakenheath Fen RSPB along with 2 or 3 Bitterns and several Bearded Tits. I narrowly missed Common Crane. After this site, we moved on to Weeting Heath NWT where there was a single Stone-curlew, a lifer. We didn't have time for the secret Montagu's Harrier site but are returning in a couple of weeks for another stab at the Cranes and to see the Montagu's Harrier.

New birds for year list competition:
CASPIAN TERN
Golden Oriole
Stone-curlew

New total: 202

David.

2009-06-28T20:44:00.004+01:00

Hobby on the Local Patch

I feel I need to update this blog a bit as no one has posted for weeks! I was lucky enough, the other day to find a beautiful Hobby on my local patch... Bushy Park. At first I thought it was a Kestrel, but after taking a shot, I had bagged myself another year tick!

New Forest 6th June 2009

2009-06-08T21:41:00.003+01:00

I had a brilliant day last Saturday in the New Forest with my good friend Phil Wallace with 3 British ticks and 2 lifers. The two lifers were LOONNGG overdue and quite embarressing so I'll get them over with- Crossbill and Tree Pipit! Honey Buzzard is pretty tarty for Britain too so it was nice to get that.

Other birds seen were several Redstarts, including families with juveniles, a Wood Warbler, 2 Ravens, a Peregrine, a Little Egret, a very showy and stunning Firecrest, a Goshawk and a few Common Buzzard.

On the way home we popped into Pulborough Brooks RSPB for Nightingale and Marsh Tit. We heard a Nightingale singing at very close range but failed to see it. We were also successful with Marsh Tit, getting it on the feeders outside of the visitor centre. Marsh Tit was a year tick for me.

A very enjoyable day, especially considering I hadn't been expecting much.

David.

Cerulean Warbler and friends

2009-05-21T02:54:00.002+01:00

The past week has been hectic as I have been finishing up school and taking tests and on top of that, the computer has been acting up. Finally I got hold of my dad's laptop to give a quick update.This past weekend I was lucky enough to hear my lifer Cerulean Warbler (307) in Nebraska on a boyscout camping trip. I think there was more than one but it was hard to tell. They are scarce in our area but used to be more common in years gone by. The scout ranch has had these warblers nest there before but they have been hard to find recently. Last year they were not seen or heard. I hope that they stick around this year to nest. To see what a Cerulean Warbler looks like go here: http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/cerulean_warbler.jpg
Warblers have been moving through and I have had Black-throated Green-Warbler and Blackpoll Warblers show up in the yard recently. Besides that I have not gotten out much, so hopefully I will get out some in the next few days.

Hudsonian Godwits

2009-05-17T23:23:00.004+01:00

Back in April I got to see my lifer Hudsonian Godwits. They were seen about 15 minutes from my house so my dad and I headed out to find my no. 1 nemesis life bird. When we got to the lake I had trouble finding them in the low light but with some effort I was able to find them feeding on the far shore. They all took off and I counted at least six in the group before they were all gone. The Hudsonian Godwit was life bird 306 and Iowa bird 263 for me. Now I have to find my nemesis Marbled Godwit!

Black-winged Pratincole, Stomarsh NNR

2009-05-16T22:04:00.003+01:00

Enough said, or not said as the case may be!

Crescent-chested Warbler!!

2009-05-16T01:13:00.004+01:00

Hey guys, Chris here.

I couldn't believe it when someone reported a Crescent-chested Warbler!! The location was literally up the road from where I'm staying here in Portal, Arizona. I ran up to the spot the next morning, and nailed the bird! This is an ABA code 4 bird with fewer than 10 records in the USA. One of those records was a breeding record so maybe this bird is expanding it's range.

Anyway, it was a waay awesome bird to see.

I'm here in Portal, Arizona as a bird guide until Sept, so I have plenty of time to nail everything here in the Chiricahua mountains.

My year list is at 360 now (sorry guys, the USA just plain has more species).

Life list is up to 538.

I'll update y'all from time to time.

Anyway, have to run, have some clients this evening.

Happy Birding! --Chris

Red-rumped Swallow

2009-04-26T23:14:00.004+01:00

Just a quick post on my sighting today of an adult RED-RUMPED SWALLOW near my local patch at Bockhill this morning. If you don't believe me (I know there are still those of you who WON'T) check http://www.kentos.org.uk/. The bird was seen by several others too, although I found it on my own with no prior knowledge of the bird being there.

Cheers,

Ben

Patch joys

2009-04-17T20:53:00.005+01:00

I had a great time at my local patch today, with four Beddington SF ticks (three of which were British year ticks). My year list is now on 166 (or 167?) for Britain, 100 for Beddington SF and my Beddington SF list is 118 now!

First of all, highlights that were not ticks of any kind were: the immature Iceland Gull showing well on+off, 20+ Yellow Wagtails, 1 male Peregrine, 1 singing Lesser Whitethroat and a Green Sandpiper.

The Beddington ticks were: 8 Little Gulls north, 5, 1 and 7 Whimbrel north west plus 1 on the enclosed lagoons, 2 Arctic Terns through and a male Ring Ouzel in flight (all apart from Little Gull were British year ticks).

Probably my best day there ever.
Above: 2 different crops of the best Arctic Tern photo. I believe this is the first flight shot of one at the farm.

Detail

2009-04-17T13:10:00.003+01:00

I was just chilling out in the garden yesterday, avoiding doing revision for just a little bit longer, when I noticed how many birds were singing. It was a really nice afternoon and a male Blackbird had made a favourite perch on top of one of our apple trees. It was singing so I got my scope out and digiscoped a few shots of it. I was really concentrating on the bird, noticing how it drew its wings out slightly when belting out its tune as if to propel the sound even further. I caught the bird ducking its head a couple of times in this video, but couldn't figure out why. I think it may have seen another male within its terrotory. It was really rewarding to get some nice shots of the bird and to get a video which picked up the birds song quite well, instead of thinking "oh, it's just a Blackbird". My point is, the bird doesn't have to be rare to be enjoyed. Take your time to appreciate all of nature...

CALLING YOUNG BIRDERS

2009-04-16T20:56:00.001+01:00

Hey there,

Many of you were young birders once or involved in young birders
events, so we thought you may be willing to help us spread the word
about a new opportunity for young birders.  The Cornell Lab of
Ornithology is hosting its first Young Birders’ Event this year from
August 6-9, 2009.  We’re looking for ten keen young birders to join us
in Ithaca for a long weekend of birding, workshops and networking
opportunities.

The Young Birder’s Event will feature:
·     two days of field trips
·     presentations by Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff including
professors, researchers, and students who will share various
                   ways to incorporate birds into a career
·     eBird and field notes workshop
·     specimen preparation workshop
·     sound recording workshop
·     tour of CLO including the Macaulay Library and Museum of
Vertebrates
·     dinner with CLO Directors and Staff

The application and more info attached, deadline 10 May 2009.

Please spread the word to high school-aged young birders who you think
would be interested. The Lab is picking up most of the tab this year,
so tuition is $100 plus travel expenses for the young birders. We’re
doing all our “advertising” via email, word of mouth and Facebook, so
we can really use your help making sure all the high school-aged
birders you know hear about it.  Feel free to contact me with
questions.

Cheers,
Jessie

---
Jessie Barry
Assistant Curator of Audio
Macaulay Library
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
tel. 607.254.2498

Spring!

2009-04-15T15:22:00.002+01:00

Spring is well and truly here now. A few nice birds are starting to arrive on our shores and the yearlist is being bumped up with every visit I make to the coast. A recent trip saw me at Hunstanton (Norfolk) where I could see a male Common Redstart and 2 Black Redstarts in the same scope view on a garden wall, whilst on the Golf Course next to me there was a stunning Blue Headed Wagtail (my first) along with 15 Yellow Wagtails, 3 White Wagtails, 7 Pied Wagtails and over 250 Meadow Pipits!
It all happened so quickly!
I also saw quite a few Warblers. 8 species were counted; Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow, Sedge, Cetti's, Grasshopper, Common Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat!

Coto Donana April 4th-11th 2009

2009-04-14T21:30:00.005+01:00

Hey all, Ben here.

I just got back from Spain... well, I returned at about 1 am on Sunday morning, but still... it's taken me a while to edit all the photos, all 874 of them! Still, the Coto Donana did not fail to disappoint at all! This year's best moments were close views of Collared Pratincoles, Great White Egrets and Bee Eaters; a Red-knobbed Coot in a lake margin right next to the road; displaying Black-necked Grebes; a Booted Eagle no more than three metres above me in a tree plucking a Hoopoe; a Little Bittern out in the open; and finally, large numbers of Temminck's Stints in a small pool!

On the special birds side, I must say that there was a WILSON'S PHALAROPE in Donana when I was present. A young Swiss birder was busy scanning the Brazo del Este marshes for it, but as far as I know he had no success; neither did we. :( . Actually, to be perfectly honest, I didn't actually try looking for it... ehehe, I had no scope, there was lots of vegetation and anyway, I was busy watching several Purple Gallinules dashing about!

Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip:

Bee-Eater

Cattle Egret

Collared Pratincole

Great White Egret

Little Bittern

Red-knobbed Coot

Temminck's Stint

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

Whiskered Tern

White Stork

Cheers,
Ben

A Swallow in the Garden

2009-04-08T19:23:00.004+01:00

I was casually going about my business in the garden- by that I mean eating a sarny ;) when I suddenly hear that unmistakable 'chitter chatter' call above my head... yep, my first Swallow of the year!

Early Migrants in New York

2009-04-06T00:00:00.002+01:00

After weeks of being stuck inside, I was determined to get out today. So I biked 5 miles to the nearest state park and tried my luck with migrants.

There were several birders there already, who quickly let me know there was an early Northern Parula on site. It was a remarkable third species of wood-warbler at the site, following the very common Yellow-rumpeds and less common Pines. Other small birds were also present, including Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and an Eastern Phoebe. The first swallows of the year, Trees and Barns, were coursing over the big lake. Most of the ducks had left, except for a pair of Common Merganser and some coots. The only returning heron that day was a Black-crowned Night-Heron. A group of about 17 vocal Rusty Blackbirds and two Red-wingeds wasn't new to my BIGBY list, but was very nice to see and hear.

My only other BIGBY birds today were singing Carolina Wren and Brown-headed Cowbird, which I picked up while biking to and from the park. My BIGBY year list stands at 55.

Peregrines are Back

2009-03-27T22:55:00.006Z

Hey all, Ben here,

My posts are going to become less and less frequent now I'm spending most weekends doing other things (girlfriends have to take priority over pastimes, you know - not that that's a bad thing!). I will post as soon I return from the Coto Donana to tell you of this year's escapades, but for now I have little to say. As I have already said, birdwatching opportunities have been thin on the ground lately, but I did manage a short trip to Bockhill last Saturday to check for early migrants. Alas, no Swallows, Blackcaps or early Whitethroats, but I did hear and see several Chiffchaffs and witness the return of our local peregrines. An escaped hybrid falcon known locally as 'The Thing' prevented them from breeding successfully last year, but maybe this year...?

I hope you all have a good Easter Holiday, and good luck with the birdwatching for the rest of you!

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at last!

2009-03-18T20:33:00.005Z

Hi. I finally caught up with Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers this winter, after being advised on a secret location I looked for them after school yesterday (17th March 09). Before too long I found a male and a female, which both showed well. I got some photos but they're not great. I am pleased with the photo of the female displaying though.

David.

Day-Travellers

2009-03-08T20:38:00.003Z

I always thought that woodcocks travelled by night; they do when they migrate, as far as I know. Well, would you believe it? This is the second time I've seen a woodcock migrating by day! This bird today came zooming in off the sea and flew straight past me as I was walking along the sea wall!

Apart from the curiosity of the bird's day-time travel, I was just ecstatic to see one AND photograph it! This is my first semi-decent photo of one of my favourite birds, so I'm more than pleased!

Mealy Redpoll

2009-03-08T15:48:00.002Z

Mealy Redpoll, Sevenoaks WR, 8th March 2009, excuse the crap record shot.

Josh

Birding by Bike in New York

2009-03-07T22:20:00.003Z

Today was the warmest day of the year yet (64 F, 18 C), so naturally it seemed like a good day to be out. Indeed, the early singers were making themselves heard: Mourning Dove, American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird and House Finch mainly.

Within 5 miles of biking I had added several new birds to my Bigby 2009 list (see the details of a Big Green Big Year here: http://www.sparroworks.ca/bigby.html) including Red-bellied Woodpecker and Common Grackle. Then I arrived at the local state park, which is often THE place to be in early spring migration. True, it was only early March, but there are more attractions there than just migrants.

The first I place I was eager to check was the small pond. Just several weeks ago, a moribund Thick-billed Murre had shown up at that little wooded puddle and could be swimming among Mallards, Hooded Merganser, Green-winged Teal and an American Black Duck. Naturally the auk wasn't there, but all the ducks except some Mallards and the black duck had left. Fortunately, a few hundred yards south was a much larger lake. Way out was one of the missing suspects (Hooded Merganser) along with Ring-necked Ducks, American Coots, and a surprise pair of Common Merganser. Generally, Mergus merganser is the rarest of the trio in the area, but this winter they have been showing strongly.

Moving on to the woodland, I was disappointed not to kick up any Fox Sparrows (reliable there), but was also puzzled to hardly see any sparrows at all. Consolation: a group of 5 Rusty Blackbirds! A very localized winterer, mostly due to a ridiculous population decline of more than 90%. Also in a very small square of woods I found singles of Red-bellied, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, as well as 3 flyover Great Black-backed Gull (which are very rare flyovers just 5 miles north!).

I was very content at that point, but had a triple surprize on the way out. Back at the smaller pond what I thought was a piece of trash, began swimming around and dabbling. Not one of styrofoam cups, but rather a drake Northern Shoveler. Still no Green-winged Teal, or were there? Two small ducks on the other side... teal? No, a pair of Wood Ducks! A very nice bonus! Then just as I was about to give a third small duck came into view. That one had a white verticle stripe on its side. Finally!

All in all, I increased by Bigby waterfowl collection exponentially (last year I only had Mallard and Canada Goose!) and nailed some tricky visitants. I think with a bit more effort than last year, and some springtime visits, perhaps I can break my pathetic record of 94 for the year. I don't really like the year listing aspect as much when greenhouse gases are emitted just to chase easy birds every year. This sits better on my conscious. :)

Displaying Goshawk Thursley Common

2009-03-03T20:25:00.004Z

A good day was had at Thursley Common on Sunday with a couple of friends. We enjoyed good, though distant views of a displaying male Goshawk and good views of a Woodlark. This brings my year list up to 132. No Dartfords or Stonechats... the snow must have killed some birds off then... :-(. David.

Margate Wader Festival

2009-02-22T18:07:00.004Z

Hey all, Ben here,

I went birdwatching at Foreness Point and Palm Bay yesterday, partly to boost my year list a little, but mainly to try and take some nice photos in the sunlight which had come out of the blue in the early morning. I'm very pleased with the results; with much patience I was able to get ever so close to the birds I was photographing without disturbing them! Best of all were the Purple Sandpipers; oddly enough, they were the waders that let me approach the closest!

Hayling Island- !!!Glaucous Gull!!!

2009-02-15T20:35:00.004Z

I think I've spelt the birds name right in the title?! Anyway... today, David and me went down to Hayling Island to attend a walk around the oysterbeds there. We started at Langstone Harbour, quickly logging birds such as Med Gull, Brent Geese, Oystercatcher, Blackwit and Barwit, Knot, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Shelduck, Red breasted Merg, Curlew and Turnstone.

Then it was on to the oysterbeds where we added 16 Black necked Grebe to our ever growing list.

Bird of the day was an amzing 2nd winter Glaucous Gull that gave amazing views up to 2-3 metres!

Merganser.... yummy!

You have to admit, its a beautiful bird!

You don't get Redshank numbers like this at the wetland centre!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and Valentines day!

Billy D

Local Patch Photography

2009-02-10T21:05:00.004Z

I have to admit, I love snow, and it has been snowing very heavily this last week! So I took a trip down to my local patch, Richmond Park. It was an opportunity to get some year ticks (Pintail, Shoveler) and also get a photography session in as the birds explored this winter wonderland.

The first bird I saw was a beautiful Green Woodpecker, one of my favourite birds. It was digging around in the snow looking for seed, insects or what ever it could find.

I found 1 Pintail which showed very well. I caught it when it had just landed (which was very bad) and started waddling around on the ice...

Other wildfowl included these female Shelduck below which were taking advantage of the free and easy-to-get-to drink..

You can't get a much better Robin pose than this (its definitly going on next years Christmas cards!)

Ok, its not a bird but I couldn't resist sticking this shot on of a young Red Deer in the snow

As always, you can see more on my blog on my blog: billsbirding.blogspot.com

Happy Birding!

Billy

Snowy Owl Day

2009-02-02T03:00:00.012Z

I just joined the young birders blog yesterday. My name is Tucker Lutter and I live in Iowa, USA. I have been birding for a number of years now and am fifteen. The other day my mom and I went out to look for a Snowy Owl that was being reported near the Owego Wetlands which is not far from where I live. I decided to check a wildlife area on the way down for birds since it was on the way and worth checking. When we got there my mom spotted a large white bird fly up to the top of a grain bin. I looked where she was talking about with my binoculars and saw an adult Snowy Owl perched on the bin. The Snowy Owl that we were going to look for was a juvenile so they were different birds, a great surprise! I called up a couple area birders and they rushed down to see it. On the way there I saw a Northern Shrike as well as a couple mammals such as Mink (weasel) and Red Fox.

After I spent some time photographing and watching the first owl it was time to find the second. We pulled up to the spot where the second owl was seen and found it fairly quickly perched on a post. I got a picture before it flew out into the middle of a field. Seeing two Snowy Owls in one day around here is not easy to do. Finding one can even prove to be a challenge. Most years only one (or even no) Snowy Owls are seen. So far this winter we've had three in the area.After I was done watching the Snowy Owl we (more like I, my mom isn't really a birder) decided to look for a flock of forty Common Redpolls at the wetland area nearby. I had already seen the flock a few days earlier but I wanted to see it again to see if there were any Hoary Redpolls in with them. We found the flock but they flew off after a minute of watching them. Redpolls have to be one of the hardest kinds of birds to observe if they are not sitting still on a feeder. They move around from place to place (they usually stayed in one location for a few minutes and then they moved to another one usually far away) and even when they are feeding the are constantly moving.

The regular birds to the wetland are are also interesting. It doesn't take Snowy Owls or Common Redpolls to make it an interesting day. There are many birds there most of the time such as Short-eared Owl (pictured), Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, etc. It is a great place to visit almost anytime.

The second Snowy Owl has been around for over a week and has allowed many people to come and view it. The first one however has moved on. The redpolls are still around but are sometimes hard to find. One-hundred of them were seen this morning by several birders. It has been an amazing week for birds in the area.

Good birding!

Year List - not so good...

2009-02-01T22:14:00.002Z

So, January is over. I have done plenty of birding, but not at particularly decent places. I have visited Denver Sluice and Whin Common only, but have still managed Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker, Goshawk, Woodcock and Waxwing, as well as some nice but not so scarce stuff like Marsh Tit - which I often find quite hard. My yearlist currently stands at 81, but no doubt it will shoot up soon. I am aiming for 140 by the end of February.

Sheppey, Dunge, Scotney, Jury's Gap!

2009-01-24T19:43:00.001Z

Keeping this short and sweet.
From Capel Fleet the Rough-legged buzzard (127 for the year) showed briefly as did ringtail Hen harrier and 7 Marsh harrier. A couple of Corn buntings were about too, and c100 W F Goose fed in a field opposite the view point. Onto West Hythe for the night heron, which we duly dipped because the heron flew south minutes before we arrived and it wasn't located, "Ahhhhhh" Onto Dunge for iceland gull which we also dipped! No sign of it after endless searching and no news of it, but 13 R T Divers (128) and 2 B T Divers(129) flew west during our stay and there were c200 Kittiwakes (130) along the shore including several oiled birds. Hundreds of auks were at sea with just 2 Razorbill (131) seen and c500 Guillemot (132). Next onto Scotney GP's where there were 3 Scaup, including 2 drakes and I found a female Common Scoter in with the Wigeon.
From Jury's Gap there were 2 R T Divers, 6 Eider (133) Curlew, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Common Scoter, c20 G C Grebe and 2 Pintail flew west at sea.
A dipping day, but very much enjoyable. I think it's back to bough beech tomorrow, after 24 days away from it!

Josh

King Eider twitch

2009-01-19T15:55:00.002Z

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I'll try to do it more regularly in the future.

Yesterday (Sunday 18th Jan 09) I went down to East Sussex to see the King Eider that's been seen on and off for a week. A seawatch near Rye Harbour (I was in between the two main groups of birders about 5 miles apart from each other that were scrutinizing the coast for the bird) produced large numbers of Common Scoter, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers and a possible female Common Eider. I made a quick diversion to the Long Pits at Rye Harbour NR to get Scaup, one of my biggest bogeys, off my life list and I succeeded, getting good views of 2 immature males and an adult male. There was also a female Smew present (great, now I've got all the regular sawbills on my year list!). Back to the coast, nothing much new. I got a call from my mate Kevin McManus that the news had come through on the pager that the King Eider had been seen at Jury's Gap. I rushed to the car and told dad to get me there as soon as possible! After not too long, we pulled up by a large group of birders. I rushed towards them and frantically tried to get onto the bird using Lee G R Evans' instructions but it took me at least 5 minutes to get onto the bird in someone else's scope and then another few minutes to get it in mine! Beautful! Male King Eider, what a bird, even if you could only see it for a second or two before it disappeared under a wave! I spotted a distant Red-throated Diver (another tart tick off my list!) flying west and a Guillemot heading the same way.

A quick roadside stop at the ARC pit at Dungeness revealed a pair of Goosanders, a male and 2 female Smew as well as about 20 Red-legged Partridges. A half hour seawatch before dinner at the Pilot Inn, and sunset got me good views of a fishing Guillemot, a female Common Scoter and a Kittiwake.

At the end of the day my year list was on 99. Its on 102 after Beddington SF today with Tree Sparrow, Green Sandpiper and Woodcock.

On the trail of a Bogey

2009-01-10T11:47:00.003Z

It was absolutely freezing when we got out of the car this morning. I can't remember being so cold - it made a winter seawatch at Holme feel like Barbados! A Kingfisher greeted us, making use of a small patch of unfrozen water. A few Bullfinch were flitting about as we walked along a path towards our destination along with a multitude of thrushes, and a Barn Owl added character to the winter scene. A Muntjac and a group of about 20 Roe Deer seemed unaware of us, despite the constant explosions of woodpigeon that marked our movements.

Reaching our destination we scanned for our target - the infamous Long-eared Owl. However, it soon became apparent that we were not in luck. We decided to walk towards their favourite haunt, since there was no chance of disturbing them if they weren't there. Our attention was drawn to a shape slinking through a field to our left as 5 Snipe erupted from the grass. The Fox trotted towards us, as oblivious as the deer had been, and disappeared into a ditch. Reaching the Long-eared Owl bushes we scanned the open fields for any owls that may still be hunting. No luck, although we had another mammal surprise in the form of a herd of more than 100 Red Deer, including 2 magnificent stags! What a sight on a misty winter's morning. As if this wasn't enough a large raptor appeared over the top of the woods: a Goshawk!

We left happy, despite not having seen our target. A further 3 Foxes together were an unexpected bonus, evidently a family group. One final surprise came in the form of a Kingfisher which flew along a dyke, crossing our path not 2 metres in front of us. It seemed to be just as shocked as we were, making a violent swerve to avoid us!

Hopefully another visit tomorrow will bring more luck. My year list currently stands on 69, with Simeon's a few below (he was a bit miffed that I could claim Redwing, Fieldfare and Golcrest as yearers!).

James

Year Listing Comp 2009

2009-01-07T21:12:00.002Z

Hello all, Josh here.

Simeon came up with the idea of a monthly update on your year lists, if your taking part in the competition ( see rules>>>>)
I think this would be a good idea so just email us your total and highlights at the end of each month and we can get an idea of who's thrashing who!!!
My year list in currently standing at 118.

Regards, Happy Birding and good luck if your taking part in the competition.

Josh

New year birding

2009-01-05T05:00:00.006Z

Hey everyone, Chris W reporting from the US of A.

I ended 2008 with 461 species for the year and 526 species on my life list.

This year, I started out the new year with some aggressive tactics.

On Jan 1, I drove two hours up to Buena Vista Grasslands to find this Snowy Owl:

On Jan 2nd, I drove around, adding a bunch of easy year birds.

On the 3rd, I ran down to a cemetery in Madison where a flock of White-winged Crossbills had been reported. It took about 15 mins to find them after I added a further 3 year birds before finding this male Crossbill:

There were about 10-15 birds total. This was a very welcome find as it was a new life bird for me!

A total of 11 new year birds on the 3rd brought me up to my current total of 38 species for the year. As soon as the ice melts, that total should go up a bit more.

As always, check my blog for regular updates:

http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/

Happy Birding and Happy New Year! --Chris

Slavonian Sandwich

2009-01-03T19:21:00.006Z

Hi, Ben here,

I just thought I would put up some photos of the Slavonian Grebe I saw at Sandwich Bay this evening. They're regular winter visitors at Dungeness, but Dungeness does have a reputation for better birds than views most of the time. It was great to see this winter grebe at such close quarters as it swam past the nearest island! Other birds seen included a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl, the latter being a lifer for me as well as the Slavonian Grebe, or 'Slav' as some were calling it. The full report is on my blog.

Rails, Snipes and Bitterns

2009-01-02T13:08:00.006Z

I took a trip to the London Wetland Centre (or Stringsville as Josh and David would call it) just before the end of new year to try and get a lifer to end 2008.

I managed to get great distant views of a Jack Snipe...

Here is the Jack Snipes' big bro, the Common Snipe which was very abundant on the grazing marsh.

And a Bittern was a nice surprise (after 10 minutes trying to locate it!)....

I even found my own Water Rail (lifer). It gave amazing views just metres from me and eventually flew when a family came.

They have very long toes like their cousins, the Moorhen to help them spread their body weight over a wide area so they doesn't sink into mud etc. They are also great for clinging on to almost any surface.

Here is a young female Stonechat that was also present on the grazing marsh, foraging on the ground a lot of the time for worms...

What a great end to 2008!

Happy New Year to everyone at Young Birders

Billy D

New Years Day Birding!

2009-01-01T20:38:00.001Z

A total of 91 species were recorded today. I started by listening for birds from my bedroom window, here I added Robin, Jay, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Blue tit, Pied wagtail, Magpie, Crow, Starling, Nuthatch, Great tit, Wood pigeon, Chaffinch, R N Parakeet, Collared dove, Meadow pipit, Dunnock, L T Tit and Grn Woodpecker.
Next stop was the meeting place, to get a lift, near Badgersmount, not a place you'd expect to add any species but here I got House sparrow, Song thrush, Herring gull, Feral pigeon, B H Gull, Greenfinch, Goldcrest, Buzzard, Goldfinch and Wren.
Onto Bough beech, 4 female Goosanders, Cormorant, G C grebe, Greylag, Sparrowhawk, G N Diver, Pheasant, Mallard, Tufted duck, Pochard, Common gull, Grey heron, Coot, Snipe, Teal, Ruddy duck, Moorhen, GSW, Bearded tit, Marsh tit.
On the journey to Folkstone, Lapwing, Mistle thrush, Kestrel, Rook.
Get 22 Waxwing at Park Farm Ind Estate, no-body else there! Great views!
Journey to Dunge, Mute swan, Grey partridge, Stock dove, Little owl ( Lydd), Corn bunting ( 64 on wires on Walland marsh, Yellowhammer, Fieldfare, Redwing.
Field north of Lydd, goose heaven, Brent goose ( 1), White-fronted goose ( c80), Hen harrier ( ringtail), Pink-footed goose ( 8), Tundra Bean Goose ( 1 ad), Canada goose+more Greylags and feral Barnacle goose flock.
Scotney GP's, Wigeon, Little egret, R L Partridge, Redshank, Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall.
Jury's Gap, E Sussex, Velvet Scoter ( 2, male and female past East), Common scoter ( c100), Shag ( 1), Gannet, Turnstone, G B B Gull, Barn owl by barn.
Field in Dengemarsh/Lydd Ranges area, Whooper swan ( 2 ads) with Bewick's swan ( c40),
RSPB Dungeness, Goldeneye, Pintail, Smew ( 1 drk, 3 females) Red-crested Pochard ( drake) Cetti's warbler, Bittern, Water rail, Slavonian grebe.
3 british ticks!- 204
2009 Year List- 91
A great start to the Year Listing Competition on here.
Do take part in it....IF YOU DARE!!!
JJS

Wonderful Waxwings

2008-12-27T17:00:00.003Z

Most of us Brits here probably know that this winter is a 'waxwing winter'. Obviously Bill Oddie predicted it one year too early! There were around 15 birds outside the Folkestone B&Q today, and as the sun was showing I was able to take some lovely photos, despite the howling winds, bitter cold and annoying fence! Seriously, the waxwings were great models, coming within less than a metre at times! I just hope they stay a little longer so more people can enjoy them. What with global warming, waxwing winters will be becoming less likely to occur.

Christmas Eve's Night Delight

2008-12-24T12:27:00.004Z

Hi all, Ben here.

Seeing as the Night Heron at Hythe (same place as Green Heron earlier) was still hanging around, I decided to go and see it. After all, why not, if the bird is so near to home?

Well, the conditions were hardly perfect, but at least it didn't rain. I can't say I took any good shots today, but never mind. Donana should prove fruitful for a better Night Heron photo next year. I found the bird in the reeds near the bridge, along with a couple of Kingfishers, a young Black-headed Gull, a Little Egret and a Grey Heron. A weasel kept me entertained too while the heron did nothing. Unfortunately a family with young children and a dog scared it off, but never mind. I watched it, I photographed it and it brought back memories of Spain. That's really all that matters!

I tried later for the Waxwings at B&Q, Folkestone, but there was not a bird in sight. Never mind, there's always next month.

Cliffe, Capel Fleet and BB

2008-12-17T21:33:00.001Z

A great day, nice to get away from the house and do some proper birding! GCN picked me up and we set off for Cliffe RSPB. The weather was stunning for the whole day, despite the biting cold, the sun was out!
We arrived and quickly got onto target bird numero uno, Spoonbill, a kent tick for me, and as spoonbills usually are, it was a very lazy one! Until about an hour or so later when it awoke and started feeding! WOW Next were 7 Goldeneye, target bird numero dos, another kent tick for me. They performed well, if alittle distant, but still some were drakes and doing their lovely displaying, heads back etc etc. Other birds of note here were 2 Greenshank, 1 Green sandpiper, 2 Redshank, c1000 Lapwing, 4 Little egret, 3+ Reed bunting, 10+ Pintail, c500 Teal, c300 Wigeon and an astonishing number of Little grebe with over 100 seen!!!
We decided to move on to Capel Fleet, Sheppey and have a look round there. 2 ringtail Hen harrier, 7 Marsh harrier, c1100 Golden plover ( showing incredibly as they were scared up into the air by something and flew low over, I could hear their wing beats!) Lapwings, c10 Linnet, 16 Reed bunting, Goldfinches, 2 Kestrel and 2 S E Owls ( which were fighting in mid-air for a while) but the best bird, or 20 of them were Corn buntings, surprisingly a lifer for me, I have just never managed to connect with these birds, they were quite stunning I must say!
We decided to get to bough beech to look for Goosanders and we weren't disappointed as there were a minimum of 13 birds including a few drakes; also c150 Jackdaw, c7000 B H Gulls and 10 Mandarin. The diver was seen by others, but not by us. A great day.........again!

I do hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to competing in 2009's year listing competition!

Josh

Beach birding

2008-12-06T21:54:00.008Z

Hi all,

The south shore of Long Island, NY, has been productive recently. Last weekend I was able to my third Snowy Owl from a very safe distance on the beach. Unfortunately not everyone was so considerate... as they do every time one of these Arctic gems appear, the photogs (unseen for the rest of year) jump into action and do their best to harry the owls. Luckily there is plenty of barrier beach to go around, and the two or three birds hanging around Jones Beach last weekend did not show today. Also present last weekend were a pair of Short-beaked Common Dolphins that had accidentally swam into an inlet and mistook a boat basin for an oceanic exit. After nearly a week in the channel, the two were successfully scared back out into open waters by those terrifying things we call boats. Cetacean lifer!
Today some of the young birders of downstate New York gathered at the same beach for an unofficial walk. 6 members of the New York State Young Birders Club were able to make it. The Snowies had since departed, but several thousand scoters, a couple of eiders (including what turned out to be a distant King) and a Peregrine Falcon amused us. At our next beach location, Point Lookout, we eventually found our extroardinary target: Harlequin Duck. The east coast population of Harlequin is quite small, and the site we visited is probably the most reliable place to find them in the state. We all enjoyed close views of a male and female diving for crabs and the like. At our final destination for the day, the Massapequa Preserve, we quickly located the interesting shorebirds: Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher and Wilson's Snipe. At another pond we easily located a distant Eurasian Wigeon, which was only my second for NY state (1st for Nassau County). It's pretty embarassing since multiple birds often winter on the North Shore of the island!

And for the human drama of the day... one of the members and his father locked their keys inside their van. Eventually they pried the back vent-type window open a little and attempted to use a wire to unlock a door. That was too difficult, so they asked someone at the residence they had parked in front of for hedgeclippers. They snapped part of the mechanism that held the window to the van and the member slid through the window. A great day! And after all the excitement, I saluted the anatid highlights of the day by devouring a duck breast for dinner.

Brendan

Two Black Birds (logically three)

2008-12-06T17:17:00.003Z

I was down at my local patch today watching the male Black Redstart that was there... what a stunner! The real surprise came later, when, barely having left the rifle range, a pair of Ravens flew over calling, mobbed by the local Jackdaws as they went. What a great patch bird!

BB, Foreness Point and Capel Fleet, Sheppey

2008-11-29T18:21:00.001Z

A planned trip to collect more ticks and get myself nearer to 200 fro my British list. I arrived at bough beech this morning and looked for the GN diver but couldn't see it so assumed it was down the over end. Here there were 1 Kingfisher, 4 Snipe, 2 Redpoll, 15 Mandarin amongst the regulars of note. Met Graham and we decided to head straight to Foreness point for purple sand.
On the journey there was a Buzzard in the usual spot along the M20.
At Cliftonville near Margate, I picked up an adult winter Mediterranean gull on a field by the sea which was a nice start to the day. At Foreness there was a large gathering of waders.
c150 Oystercatcher, c50 Grey plover, c20 Sanderling, 3 Curlew, c100 Ringed plover, Turnstones, Redshanks and a very Un-showy Purple sandpiper, a lifer for me. Graham has seen up to 40 of them here so we were alittle disappointed at 1 of them! 10 Fulmars were a great site and the best views I've ever had of one. 1 Kestrel showed well down to 3 metres, and to end our stop here 2 lifers: 2 male Red-breated mergansers flew past and I got onto some very distant divers which turned out to be my 1st Red-throated divers, 3 in total.
On the way to sheppey we came across another Buzzard at by the motorway.
We headed for Capel fleet and drove along the Harty Sheppey Road where we had incredible views of 3 Short-eared owls and I soon got onto a Rough-legged buzzard, the last lifer of the day. It was hovering in front of the Elmley Prison and showed for a short while before disappearing. Further along the road we totaled 3 Hen harriers showing well and 5 Marsh harrier. A Great Day!
Josh

Snow Bunting, Short-eared Owl and more, Kent 23rd November 2008

2008-11-26T16:04:00.004Z

I spent the day with Josh J Shaw. The two main sites that we visited were Leysdown on Sea (where all the below photos were taken) and Elmley Marshes RSPB (Short-eared Owl). Both were lifers for Josh and year ticks for me. A full report (with a video) is available on www.southeastbirding.com.

Great Northern Diver

2008-11-22T14:11:00.002Z

Went to see the GN Diver at bough beech today. Fantastic views of it diving ( Well it would be, wouldn't it??!!!!) A lifer for me and it brings my Bough beech list to 122 species. Lovely stuff!

Grey Phalarope at Home Park

2008-11-18T20:44:00.005Z

What a great day birding with David Campbell. First Beddington SF with a Jack Snipe and lots of Tree Sparrow (both lifers). Then Home Park (Hampton Court Park) with a Grey Phalarope literally 1 metre away from us!

Here are a some of shots from the day.....

A Tree Sparrow at Beddington

And of course, the Phalarope......!

GREY PHALAROPE and Jack Snipe 15/11/2008

2008-11-16T18:30:00.002Z

I spent the day birding with Billy Dykes. First we went to Beddington where we flushed a Jack Snipe (lifer for Billy, year tick for me). Shortly afterwards, we went to see the Hampton Court Grey Phalarope. It took us a while to find the right place but we eventually watched the bird at 1-2 metres range during a beautiful sunset.

Pine Siskin invasiom

2008-11-14T21:51:00.003Z

Hi all, Brendan here,

Pine Siskins have been moving down the eastern seaboard in mad numbers lately. Some estimates from the barrier beaches of New York lately have peaked at 6,000 birds. I was able to see some on two occasions recently. The first instance was a rolling flock of ~50. The second was a smaller flock feeding in some pines that I check regularly this time of year for Northern Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls (those two and Snowy Owl are the only owls I have in my county!). There they all were, quietly nibbling on cones. Interestingly, I was repeatedly encountering tapping noises that day in the grove of pines but could locate no avian source. Finally I noticed some cones were shut tight and others were open like a flower. The noise was actually the cones popping open! Good timing for the siskins, who also seem to notice a difference (below).

On a different note, Pine Siskin happened to be my 299th New York state bird. Pine Siskins are pretty regular upstate, but aren't terribly common in the state most years, much less downstate. I am also missing several other winter finches, including both redpolls, both winter grosbeaks and Red Crossbill. Luckily, none are expected to invade soon so I can still control my 300th state bird!

The Famous Green Heron

2008-11-11T20:41:00.002Z

Thank goodness! My 500mm Sigma lens is now fixed, although some clumsy oaf at the Sigma warehouse in Nottingham managed somehow to break my manual focus mechanism! Never mind, I never seem to use it.

ANYWAY...

Seeing as I finally have my lens back I can get back to birdwatching again, and I went to see the Green Heron again to take some photos. They're not as good as those that some have taken, but the conditions were excellent for that lucky few. I'm pleased enough with the photos; at least it's proof that I saw it. Who knows, if I'd managed to take a photo of that grosbeak I saw in Donana, maybe all the issue that surrounded it may never have happened!

Bushy Park- Wigeon Wonder

2008-11-09T18:52:00.006Z

My first upload to this blog!

I have had a very boring couple of weeks recently as I haven't really gone birdwatching anywhere, but it was a very nice surprise when I found an eclipse male Wigeon at Bushy Park today. Ok, not the rarest of birds (it is in Bushy Park) but it provided a great photo opportunity.

and a fluffed up Pigeon....

On a couple of last notes, I can't believe I came 2nd place in the bird race and thanks David for letting me become a site member :). Also, don't forget to visit my blog at billsbirding.blogspot.com.

Billy D

Green Heron!

2008-11-08T16:09:00.003Z

1st Winter, Royal Military Canal, West Hythe, Kent.

A great bird that showed really well. Apologies for the very poor pic, the camera kept playing up and the weather wasn't all too great either.

Cornwall

2008-11-05T21:39:00.002Z

Hello,
Got back from Cornwall on saturday to find Slavonian grebe reported on Birdguides at bough beech. So went there on sunday and had superb views of it all day.
Back to the main subject...Cornwall. To be honest the trip was quite un-eventful seeing as I had no way of traveling without my mum driving me places so I didn't see anything mega or rare but still had 2 lifers and some nice birding. The 2 lifers were Shag and Raven, which were both seen on the same day at Rame head. Great views of both species...later on that same day I dipped a firecrest reported near rame at Penlee battery. Oh well! Other good birds seen on the trip were: Golden Plover, Peregrine, Curlew, Dunlin, lots of Buzzards and surprisingly good numbers of butterflies, the most common being Red admiral. Photo: Peregrine that was seen perched for ages on the viaduct 5 mins walk from where we were staying in St Germans, nr Plymouth.
Thanks
Josh

Getting in on the fall...

2008-11-04T17:55:00.002Z

1/11/08 North Norfolk - Simeon
I managed to get out today after realising how much action I was missing on the coast!
First stop was Muckleburgh Hill where after following people (who didn't know where they were going!) for a while we eventually arrived where the bird had been. After about 10mins of waiting/searching a call went up as usual on twitches!
About ten minutes later I had had quite good views of it on the ground/in the lower branches of small trees. One disadvantage of being tall is that I had to crouch! The bird showed quite nicely but I left it after a few minutes to be hassled by the photographers!!!
Chris Orders kindly gave me a lift to Kelling where we arrived just in time to see 18 Waxwings sitting in a tree K-I-S-S... sorry - couldn't resist that! They were lovely and I was so pleased because I haven't seen one for literally about 7 years!
I then got dropped off at the station and got the train to West Runton. Near the farm builings I found a Yellow-Browed Warbler and several Goldcrests, and moving along the coast, there were several Blue tits in the clifftop scrub at East Runton. They must have been migrants - obviously new in, and large numbers have recently been recorded in Norway. Not really a bird I'd associate with long distance migration, but still nice.
My next (and final) stop was Warren Wood in Cromer. The habitat looked amazing but unfortunately the wind was too strong. I managed a Woodcock and a Yellow-Browed/Pallas's Warbler in the clifftop gorse near the lighthouse.
I good day by most standards and looking forward to next weekend providing the Easterlies remain...

Golf course Firecrests

2008-11-03T21:20:00.003Z

I found 2 Firecrests at my local golf course (Banstead Downs Golf Course) on Friday and they've been showing well daily since then. This is quite a significant record for south London/north Surrey because there are 2 birds and they are both staying for a fair while (4th day today). They are generally scarce in my local area too with a brief bird at Mitcham Common earlier in 2008 being the only record this year.

Today I checked on them after school and one flew inches away from my head! Yesterday when I brought a friend to see them, I sat behind a small bush and played the call to lure them in- one came and landed half a metre away from me, no exaggeration! I was breathless. This whole Firecrest thing must be one of the most breathtaking experiences I have ever had.

Despite coming so close they are extremely quick and restless (although the one that came very close sat there for quite a while, but I was too scared to raise my camera!) and hence very difficult to photograph.

I've managed a few shots and below is the best so far:

David

GREEN HERON

2008-10-26T20:45:00.004Z

David here.

Got great views of this stunner today, though not as good as others got just before I arrived.
6th record for UK, 1st for Kent, the whole of the south east and quite a bit further than that. Last British record was on Angelsey, Wales in November 2005.

I extend my sincerest thanks to Phil Wallace for taking me and giving me a great day.

GREEN HERON AT HYTHE

2008-10-26T16:06:00.002Z

Hi, Ben here

Some of you may be aware that there was a Green Heron at Hythe today. I couldn't resist going to see it, despite the fact that my 500mm lens was away being serviced. It turns out I never needed the camera; driving rain and wind prevented any time for a photo, and I only had a brief view of it flying into the denser reeds from a perch, but still... WHAT A BIRD!!! For a photo of it visit Kentos or Folkestone Birds (from Kentos).

Today's Birding...

2008-10-25T20:32:00.002+01:00

I was expecting an average day at Bough beech where it started well with passage of 33 Skylarks over and a few Redpolls, Green sandpipers and Siskins. Graham soon arrived and offered a lift to the R B Shrike in Wouldham/ Halling area. We arrived and had brief but tickable views of the 1st winter bird and then made out way to Dunge. Seawatching was OK with the Highlights being Great Skua(1), Kittiwake( 10), Fulmar(3) and Little gull(3). We stop at a known roosting spot for Harriers and almost immediatly we got onto a ringtail Hen harrier, though it was rather distant and in fading light!
All in all a great day with 2 lifers and 5 Kent ticks! Off to Cornwall for a week 2moro, so wish me luck!
BOU 2008 List= 180
JJS

David and Josh's bird race

2008-10-20T15:00:00.004+01:00

With the cousins safely in Camberely, I spent the day birding around London with Josh J Shaw (josh-birdbrain.blogspot.com) for the Young Birders Bird Race 2008.

First of all we visited Nonsuch Park, my local patch. Here we needed Little Owl, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Stock Dove, Goldcrest etc.

We quickly ticked off Coal Tit, which was calling by the car park and it was not too long before we heard Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch. We saw a few Redwings flying over, which were my first record at Nonsuch this Autumn. At the Cheam Park end, we got site scarcities like Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

After a bit of searching for the Little Owl, we heard it from the usual spot but it was quite a way north of us! Maybe it has relocated due to high disturbance where it used to be?

There were large numbers of Chaffinches and a single Song Thrush. In the gardens we flushed a Sparrowhawk.

Nonsuch Park got us up to a respectable 32 species in just over an hour (my site record is 34 in about 4 hours!).

Next up, Beddington SF. This visit turned out to be a useful boost to my Beddington list and produced an addition to my British and European year lists.

There were large numbers of Little Grebes and Meadow Pipits around and not many Gulls (because the landfill doesn't work on Sundays). 2 Pochards were over at the far side with a Wigeon and large numbers of other wildfowl. Tree Sparrows were visiting the feeders and the remains of a flock of c140 Ring-necked Parakeets seen there earlier that morning passed by noisily.

Out of the blue, a flock of 29 Fieldfares flew south! My first of the autumn and a Beddington year tick, one which got my Beddington year list equal with my overall Beddington list! Small numbers of Redwings flew over which, surprisingly was another Beddington tick.

Just after a Sparrowhawk flew over, Josh called a female Brambling on the feeders to everyone's delight. A Beddington tick for me and one of the few I've seen in the local area.

We took a walk with Johnny Allan (http://www.diporglory.co.uk/) around the site to see if we could find the Rock/Water Pipits which another of the regulars had seen. No joy but 6 Green Sandpipers, 4 Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and a Reed Bunting (Beddington tick).

Shortly after we arrived back at the mound, a flock of 4 Lesser Redpolls flew over! This was the year tick I was talking about and the first I've seen for 2 and a half years! Of course, a Beddington tick too.

Now my Beddington list is on 97 and my Beddington year list is finally equal. I hope I get to 100 soon.

Beddington got our day list up to 60.

To the London Wetland Centre! We had a bit of trouble getting in because we had to be accompanied by an over 16 year old, I forgot my card and Josh didn't have one but luckily the staff sympathised with us and let us in.

Birds here included about 3 Great Black-backed Gulls, 77 Cormorants, large numbers of wildfowl, great views of Little Grebes, Wigeons, Great Crested Grebes and 2 Green Woodpeckers which landed right in front of us! If only I was quicker with the camera.

Above: Little Grebe

There was also a putative Yellow-legged Gull which someone claimed as a 1st winter but to me, the legs were too short, bill not heavyh enough and furthermore it lacked the all dark bill despite having the distinctive greater covert pattern.

We left content and with 66 species for the whole day, including a year tick for me and some much needed patch ticks. Odd thing was we saw no Warblers, not even a Chiffchaff.