report your rarities

[nigelblake]

Although there are pagers and other means of keeping up with rare bird reports why not take some time to add your sightings here, it might not have to be rare as a species, how about reporting species that are particularly tame, suitable for novice photographers or digiscopers to get to grips with. There are places in th U.K. where birds get used to people and are therefore very approachable, Dovedale in derbyshire for instance is a good place to see dipper very close to.. actually Steve if you read this it might be worth having a separate forum for locations where tame species can be seen!

[Reader]

Nigel

Most of our major reserves can lay claim to that. Titchwell for instance will have numerous birds around that can be easily photographed. If had had a better system last year I would have gotten me some cracking shots of Bearded Tits as they were out sunning themselves one day I was there. Slimbridge, Welney, Minsmere, the list goes on.

On the local reserves, such as our Upton Warren and Brandon Marsh you should be able to connect with some good photo opportunities as well. I can think of reserves around many places that fall into this catergory. It wouldn't take much effort to find a place close by. The rewards could be tremendous if you are willing to put the time in.

[nigelblake]

I was thinking more along the lines of a specific location for a particular species, i.e. Lea Valley Bittern watchpoint for Bitterns and the Track to Elmley for Lapwing, etc. Places that give a very high percentage chance of conecting with that key bird.

[nigelblake]

Also perhaps your local town park has tame Grey Wagtails or Woodpeckers, These are the sort of reports that would be nice to hear about.
Nigel

[IanF]

I couldn't agree more Nigel, such information would be very useful.

[peter hayes]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you.............St James Park, London!

On offer: Tufted Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, Eider, Shoveler, Greylag, Canada and various other Geese, Pochard, Mandarin Duck, Wood Duck, Little Grebes and many more.

Thanks to Nigel for starting this typically thoughtful thread.

[Szabo Jozsef]

speaking about parks, just saw a new species for my window freom the office, a lesser spotted woodpecker. chances to get the other two species that are missing from the list (of the window) are quite low for they are quite rare in towns: the three toed (never saw in low altitudes) and the white-backed which has one record here in the town where I live (2 more weeks).

Jozsef

[birdman]

Clumber Park (North Notts.) is quite a good place for fairly tame birds. There's a well marked footpath to the North of the lake (near the chapel and the main car park) which has a couple of locations where food is put out for the birds. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are not unusual, and all the little favourite, tits, finches, sparrows and the like. Probably close enough for a good photo. And of course, there's the wildfowl.

On a slight tangent, the Chaffiches at Glen Affric (Dog Falls) are pretty tame. Put it this way - I was opening a Cornish Pasty, and the Chaffinches got a bite before I did!!!

[Reader]

Talking of Clumber Park. With a digiscope you are in with a good chance of Hawfinch in the trees near to the Chapel. They usually stay at the top of the trees and give tremendous views. There are a few of them being reported there now.

Nigel

I agree about Dovedale especially upstream by that small weir type area. I have had Dippers within 10 feet of me there.

Specific sites

Slavonian Grebe - Loch Ruthven (Nr Inverness) April-May
Black throated Diver - Lochendorb (near Grantown) April - May
Gannets, Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin - Bempton Cliffs
Fulmars - Hunstanton Cliffs
Bittern - Ladywalk (Nr Coleshill Warwickshire)
Little Egret - many places but I like it around Kingsbridge - Devon
Whooper & Bewick Swans - around Ouse Washes
Norfolk for almost anything, especially Geese

Come on, let's have some more sites. This is a good thread and with it we might get to find out sites we had never thought of. Likewise we might get to note sites that at some time we might be on holiday, or visiting, where they are close by.

[Andy Bright]

Dartford Warbler... Dunwich Heath, Suffolk. I've seen Dartfords in a few U.K. locations but this has got to be number one for photo opportunities, the place is just full of them.
Best bet is very Early Spring when they can be a bit less active whilst singing, especially handy for those without AF cameras (i.e. digiscopers).
The heath can be surprisingly empty of people, holidaymakers often content up at the carpark. Try one of the small car parks well before you get to the coastguard buildings.

Check out the path at the side of Dunwich heath (down the bank) that runs alongside Minsmere, excellent for Bearded Tit and Merlin.
Andy B

[Osprey]

One further thought; PLEASE, PLEASE do not give out locations of vunerable or rare birds that "eggers" might find useful.

An instance that springs to mind is Slovian Grebes. 5 or so years ago a certain breading site was widely circulated between birders.

Outcome: The species deserted the site and has never bred there again. The reason is not clear. But it could be down to disturbance etc, etc.

Osprey

[Andy Thatcher]

Bittern at Tring.

Londoner had a seriously good shot but just failed to get everything together before it skulked off !

[peter hayes]

Andy, Londoner will have you for that - it was Alastair Rae!

[Andy Thatcher]

3:-) 3:-) 3:-) Freudian slip, he would have had a great shot !

Many apologies Alastair.

[LuBird]

Hawk Mountain,Berks County, Kempton,PA. Beautiful Raptors!!!

www.hawkmountain.org

[gliderman]

Hi nigel
Can you just tell me how rare if it is or not, is a black & white warbler.
Regards Will, ps No its not a pied wagtail

[Steve Lister]

Hi nigel
Can you just tell me how rare if it is or not, is a black & white warbler.
Regards Will, ps No its not a pied wagtail


If it is in Leics it definitely is rare! Or anywhere in Britain come to that.

Steve

[dbradnum]

Will

CAn you describe a bit more about this black and white bird? How big, compared to other common species? What sort of habitat was it in, and what was it doing?

Cheers,

[gliderman]

Hi David
It was in my garden it arrived with some blue tits in the ivy, at first I thought coal tit as it was to far away, but then it came down to about ten feet from window into a small bush it stayed there for about 30 seconds not enough time to get the camera this all happened sat morn about 0800 I didnt see it again until this morn I had camera ready but it just flew over the house and away, so it is still aroud, right it was between blue tit and great tit in size a little plumper like robin it had black stripes above & below eyes ,its back and sides were like male house sparow only black & white, in flight it had black & white flash under wings I hope this helps, Will

[John N]

Could it be Pied Flycatcher??

[nigelblake]

Sounds to me like a juvenile Long-tailed Tit

[Brian Stone]

The hides on the reserve at Ferry Meadows CP in Peterborough are good for close views of Water Rail in winter. At least one there at the moment. Might get lucky with Kingfisher there too.

[Pluvius]

Nigel
What an excellent idea.
RSPB Belfast Harbour for Black Tailed Godwit. They come within a few feet of hide windows.

[nigelblake]

Ace, its taken just 4 years for this thread to take off, but this is just whatIwas hoping to see!

[dave123]

what a great idea nigel i can see this thread kicking off really well.
farmoor reservoir is good for close up shots

[teamsaint]

arundel wwt (sussex), pulborough brooks rspb (sussex), blashford lakes (hampshire) all excellent for woodland birds especially nuthatches and woodpeckers. arundel also very good for water rail. pulborough chance of good nightingale views, but you might have to wait for several hours

[birder of the south]

Eyeworth Pond in the New Forest is good for Madarin Ducks and Goosanders but the latter are a lot more wary.
Also a very good site for Cetti's Warbler is Radipole Lakes RSPB. They usually show very well along with Ruddy Ducks and Bearded Tits. A couple of years back when we had a harsh winter the river was frozen outside the visitor centre and we had Water Rail showing to 20ft but not since. (shame I didnt have a camera back then)

[Clive Watson]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you.............St James Park, London!

On offer: Tufted Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, Eider, Shoveler, Greylag, Canada and various other Geese, Pochard, Mandarin Duck, Wood Duck, Little Grebes and many more.

I've not been to St James's Park for many years and hopefully someone can put me straight, but surely some of these birds are 'plastic'?

This is potentially a very useful thread, but shouldn't it be under the photo section?

The info about Dunwich Heath for Dartfords is interesting, I've got them almost on my doorstep here in Surrey (well, sort of) but getting a photo is another matter. Might have to try that!

A good spot near me is Bushy Park, you've got a fighting chance of stalking Green Woodpecker there, and there are plenty of ducks on the lake. Some of these are 'plastic' too though, and I don't just mean the Red-crested Pochards! Kew Gardens can be good for similar species, but the entrance fee rises exponentially every time I go there.

Will post back when I've thought of some more.

[Clive Watson]

Eyeworth Pond in the New Forest is good for Madarin Ducks and Goosanders but the latter are a lot more wary.
Also a very good site for Cetti's Warbler is Radipole Lakes RSPB. They usually show very well along with Ruddy Ducks and Bearded Tits. A couple of years back when we had a harsh winter the river was frozen outside the visitor centre and we had Water Rail showing to 20ft but not since. (shame I didnt have a camera back then)

Apparently the best site for Goosander is Lake Geneva, but I don't suppose that's very useful.

Radipole is well known as a Cetti's site, but strewth, what a photo! I've never had views like that. Another one for the diary - when would be best to try do you think? I'm presuming early spring, say March.

[teamsaint]

should also add lower test marshes excellent for kingfisher had some superb views on the post in front of the hide. also very good for water rail particularly in cold/freezing conditions. overseas but if anyone goes to mallorca go to the albufera marsh for extremely close views of hundreds of cetti's warblers and very close views of black-winged stilts and other waders

[Clive Watson]

The feeding station at Warnham LNR near Horsham can be OK, but it's difficult to get pics of birds without food in the frame and the light levels aren't great. Lots of Brambling there 2 winters ago and I wish I'd spent much more time on them as this was a one off, last winter was very poor there. Also Water Rail possible if the weather is cold.

[birder of the south]

Apparently the best site for Goosander is Lake Geneva, but I don't suppose that's very useful.

Radipole is well known as a Cetti's site, but strewth, what a photo! I've never had views like that. Another one for the diary - when would be best to try do you think? I'm presuming early spring, say March.

I took this photo near the shelter on the Buddleia Loop on the 11th of April of this year. I also expect it would be good just after they breed because they would have to feed their young etc.

[birder of the south]

Findhorn Valley in the Highlands is another good place but especially for Woodcock. When I was there at the beginning of the year I spotted one walking around during the day, therefore I couldnt resist to creep up but as you might of guessed it flew off. So then I shouted some words like Damn etc and I looked down and there was another sat right beside me so I turnt and luckily managed to get some shots.

[nigelblake]

This is potentially a very useful thread, but shouldn't it be under the photo section?

Maybe it should,but it was first launched in January 2003 and BF has evolved (sorry to any creationists) quite a bit since then!

[Clive Watson]

Fair enough. Couple more quick thoughts:

Bough Beech - very good feeding station, nothing too stunning there but nice light. To take full advantage it's necessary to pay a tenner to use the hide (not tried this yet) but some photos can also be got by standing by the fence.

Purple Sandpiper - lots of sites for this but for us in the South one of the best is Southsea castle. Mind the slippery slope though!

Not exactly earth-shattering but may be useful for some people.

[birder of the south]

I was just wondering if anyone could let me have any info on where to see and photograph Short Eared Owls. I am quite aware of Welney but I have never been there at the right time of year therefore could anyone tell me the best place to see them there, best time fo year and day for some pics.
Many Thanks,
Lee

[postcardcv]

I was just wondering if anyone could let me have any info on where to see and photograph Short Eared Owls. I am quite aware of Welney but I have never been there at the right time of year therefore could anyone tell me the best place to see them there, best time fo year and day for some pics.
Many Thanks,
Lee

I think that the SEOs can be a bit hard to predict at this stage, there are apparently alwasy some near Welney though I never find them. There are a few other sites in the area, but which is best varies from one year to the next. Safe to say it will be in the winter months and hopefully I'll be able to pin them down an post details at the time.

Cracking Cetti's shot by the way... I keep trying but cannot get one.

[birder of the south]

I think that the SEOs can be a bit hard to predict at this stage, there are apparently alwasy some near Welney though I never find them. There are a few other sites in the area, but which is best varies from one year to the next. Safe to say it will be in the winter months and hopefully I'll be able to pin them down an post details at the time.

Cracking Cetti's shot by the way... I keep trying but cannot get one.

Thanks. A bit of luck envolved with that it just happened to jump out right infront of me enabling me to take a couple of shots and then it was gone.
Thanks,
Lee

[Clive Watson]

Can't really help with SEOs. The theory with Welney is that if the water levels are high the birds get forced over onto the farmland next to the road, so you (or at least I) would have thought that last winter would have been good, but apparently it was rubbish. They're irruptive of course, so perhaps you need a winter with good numbers too. There are Barn Owls there too and since they're resident they should be easier, but when I tried it was difficult to get one away from a very artificial-looking post with barbed wire. Light levels were awful too as it was late afternoon before they came out. This was a few years ago.

Another SEO site I've heard of is Shingle Street in Suffolk, but I've never been there so I can't really comment on that.

[postcardcv]

Not a rare bird but if anyone wants to have some fun taking shots there is a very showy grey heron that is spending a lot of time in front of Dawkes hide at Cley. It's been showing regularly for a few weeks now, you may need to wait for half an hour or so, but I reckon it's worth it.

[Clive Watson]

Best site for Grey Herons is Birdworld bird park near Winchester. Wild herons come down to the pelican/flamingo enclosure to steal fish and show down to a couple of feet. It's not easy to get a nice natural-looking background though.

[postcardcv]

Since Saturday there's been a juv Sabine's gull kicking about coastguards at Cley, it only shows on and off but does come in fairly close. I've been for it twice and got shots both times. It's been reported there again today so may be around for a bit longer yet.

[edenwatcher]

A site from north of the border.
Hogganfield Loch in Glasgow (beside the A80) is very good in winter for wildfowl. People feed the mallards etc. and normally shy species come in v. close - goldeneye, goosander (nearer for some of us than Lake Geneva!) and whooper swan are all very confiding. In years when there are smew there, they too can come nice and close.

Rob

[AGH]

Summer leys nature reserve in Northamptonshire has a good population of Tree Sparrows, and Bramblings pass through during the winter months.

One of the hides has a feeding station ( not sure of the hide name ) feeders and tables are very close to the hide, so a full frame image is possible.

[Mike Feely]

The feeding station in front of Kingfisher hide at Watermead CP North (Leicestershire) used to be excellent for both Water Rail and Willow Tit (not been there for any length of time for a couple of years though).

Another feeding station in front of the hide at Attenborough NR (Notts) usually has several Tree Sparrows on it.

Goosanders and occasionally Smew can often bee seen at very close range at Wanlip & Birstall Gravel Pits in Leicestershire (part of the Watermead complex - not sure what the new name for this part is (all of the pits have been "renamed" to make reporting easier!!!)).

Kingsmill Reservoir in Nottinghamshire has great photo opportunities for Little Grebe, Lapwing, Snipe (in winter) and R**** D***. Its also a great place in summer for close up shots of Sand Martin especially, but also Swallows & House Martins as they congregate on the fence of the Sailing Club. Also a good place for Willow tit, but probably not that good for taking photos of them.

[postcardcv]

Any photographers heading to Norfolk in the near future should spend some time in Salthouse. There's been a pomarine skua there since Sunday, it is variable as to how close it comes, but today we had it down to ~8m (frame filling with a 500mm lens).

[Clive Watson]

If anyone wants to try for a Grey Wagtail photo there are two 'captive' birds at the moment at Arundel in the walk-in enclosure with the Common Scoter in. But for God's sake choose a day with better light than today; what an utterly miserable, thoroughly disappointing, totally godawful day.

[MacGee]

There was a Black Swan on Rhynd Loch in Perthshire last Thursday.

Michael

[birder of the south]

The Ring Billed gull has been showing very well over the past week at Walpole Park, Hants (the best ive seen it and it has been there for about 4 years) down to 20ft.

[postcardcv]

Just in case anyone has failed to notice from the shots on the web, the desert wheatear at Horsey in Norfolk is very showy - http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/168078/ppuser/3294

[Clive Watson]

Just a quick message to all the camera-toting birders heading for Norfolk this weekend, don't forget the Cromer Waxwing on your travels. Last Sunday there were dozens of cameras at the White-crowned Sparrow and the Salthouse buntings but I had the Waxwing to myself. It showed pretty well in the Rainbow Stores Co-op car park and there are lots of berries just outside the car park, where the hedge forms a border between the car park and the A148. They seem to be easier when they're in ones and twos rather than flocks of 200.

[Dave Kennedy]

Ardrossan Pier (Ayrshire, Scotland) for Black Guillemot. They nest/roost in the pier structure, just where the Arran ferry berths.

Seabird Observatory, Uisaed Point, Machrihanish, Kintyre. Excellent for twite, which forage around the Observatory. Very good when Sea Pinks are flowering - the twites love them. For additional info, see "My local patch - Kintyre Birds". You will find location maps and much more information about the Observatory, which is normally open to the public from Easter to October.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

[Clive Watson]

The Farmoor Water Pipit is still present on the causeway and is worth a look. It's got more confiding over the winter according to the Farmoor website and it was certainly easier yesterday than when I tried back in December. It's probably out of range of most DSLRs unless you've got one of the longer lenses and a converter but it should be a good subject for the digiscopers.