[Jane Turner]

I added Kestrel this morning and had a very nice Mediterranean Gull low through the garden. It didn't touch down alas.


116/77/44

[chowchilla]

Strong onshore winds for the last few days and I finally get something good flying inland to the South:

95) Caspian Tern.

[chowchilla]

I must be on a roll as I'm currently watching a Sacred Kingfisher on my neighbours' rotary; in exactly the same place I saw one last year! This is a winter visitor from NZ and there are lots about at the mo', so I have been looking out for them.

The Kingfishers seem to like my neighbours' place; must be a lizard colony in the garden or something.

96) Sacred Kingfisher.

[chowchilla]

Had distant views at work of what could have been a Little Eagle or may even have been another Square-tailed Kite. Too bad I didn't have my bins with me... Still need Whistling Kite for the Garden List but haven't seen any anywhere in the city of late.

[Dom F]

39 Little Corella
40 Torresian Imperial Pigeon

[Dom F]

41 Mistletoebird

[Jonny721]

Not updated mine for ages, will take a look at my list later, however early this morning I was amazed to hear a tern calling and sure enough a Common Tern was flying low north just over the garden, my 88th house bird

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by Dom F

39 Little Corella
40 Torresian Imperial Pigeon

For Jane:

This is the same bird as my Pied Imperial Pigeon.

Had reports of a Shining Bronze Cuckoo a few hundred metres from home; been straining to hear it from my study window over the last couple of days to no avail yet...

[Jane Turner]

Originally Posted by chowchilla

For Jane:

This is the same bird as my Pied Imperial Pigeon.

Had reports of a Shining Bronze Cuckoo a few hundred metres from home; been straining to hear it from my study window over the last couple of days to no avail yet...

Thanks - much appreciated

[dantheman]

Originally Posted by chowchilla

Ultimately however, the Garden List or a hypothetical Walking Distance List are meant to be fun, something which some people are seemingly forgetting in their desire to be exhaustive with rules. And anyway... at the end of the day we are policing ourselves so only have our consciences to consider if we mis-ID something or, heaven forbid, fabricate species in a competitive desire to 'win'.

Fun? I thought it was deadly serious ...

On which note, from a couple of weeks back and not necessarily in the correct order -

61) Golden Oriole
62) Scops Owl (h only)
63) Turtle Dove (h only)
64) W. Bonelli's Warbler
65) Purple Heron

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by dantheman

Fun? I thought it was deadly serious ...

On which note, from a couple of weeks back and not necessarily in the correct order -

61) Golden Oriole
62) Scops Owl (h only)
63) Turtle Dove (h only)
64) W. Bonelli's Warbler
65) Purple Heron

Not in Cornwall surely! Where are you, France?

[norwichbirder87]

Moved to a new house in north Norwich yesterday; mid terrace with a tiny garden but only about 400m from the River Wensum so hoping I might get some vismig during the autumn. Nothing particularly exciting so far, but having moved from a basement flat with no garden it's nice to just be able to join this thread:

1. Swift
2. Woodpigeon
3. Goldfinch
4. House Sparrow
5. Collared Dove
6. Long-tailed Tit (heard only)
7. Greenfinch (heard only)
8. Chaffinch
9. Black-headed Gull
10. Feral Pigeon
11. Herring Gull

All those seen have been flyovers save a single House Sparrow that sat on my chimney.

I'm going to set myself a potentially ambitious target of 40 by the end of the year.

Will

[joannec]

Originally Posted by norwichbirder87

All those seen have been flyovers save a single House Sparrow that sat on my chimney.

I'm going to set myself a potentially ambitious target of 40 by the end of the year.

Will

Welcome to the thread nb. We all count flyovers and you're off to a good start; I'm sure you'll make 40.

[KenM]

Totally unexpected!....especially at this time of year..but a flyover Cuckoo heading NW against a S.Westerly was gratefully received and duly entered onto my year list. no.74..only 4 behind now Joanne!

[Dom F]

42 Brahminy Kite

[edenwatcher]

Been away a lot lately, just back from hols in Alaska.
103. Common tern

Rob

[Spotter]

Hi Rob, where in Fife are you. I used to live in Methil many years ago.

Tony

[edenwatcher]

Hi Tony,
I live in Guardbridge.
Details here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=15443

Rob

[kerriebr]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, new to the Gold Coast (Qld, Australia), new to photography, and know nothing about birds except what I can google & learn on this forum!
So bear with me... I'm not sure about the rules here & I can't tell you the exact order so far... but I can perhaps add my list of what I've heard/seen & photographed in the last few weeks from my garden.
The photos are far from professional & sometimes I only get one shot. But I try. I've attached a couple to share my excitement. I spotted a wedge-tailed eagle in the last couple of days AND had my camera handy! I also had a couple of yellow-tailed black cockatoos land in a distant tree on a rainy day... so the photo leaves something to be desired, but certain evidence! Also attached, some fairywrens.

Here is my garden list:
1. Eastern Whipbird (heard frequently but not sighted... maybe one day I'll have a sighting but I'm not holding my breath)

the following are sightings (with no photo)
2. Crested Pigeon
3. Galah
4. Noisy Miner
5. Australian Brush Turkey

the following come complete with photos, but not necessarily good ones!
6. Spangled Drongo
7. Australian King-parrot
8. Australian Magpie
9. Australian Wood Duck
10. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
11. Brown Honeyeater
12. Grey Fantail
13. Laughing Kookaburra
14. Lewin's Honeyeater
15. Magpie-lark
16. Masked Lapwing
17. Noisy Friarbird
18. Pale-headed Rosella
19. Pheasant Coucal
20. Pied Butcherbird
21. Pied Currawong
22. Rainbow Lorikeet
23. Red-backed Fairy-wren
24. Red-browed Finch
25. Silvereye
26. Striated Pardalote
27. Variegated Fairy-wren
28. Willie Wagtail
29. Wedge-tailed Eagle
30. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
31. Sulphur-crested White Cockatoo
32. Eastern Rosella
33. Eastern Spinebill
34. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
35. Blue-faced Honeyeater
36. Scarlet Honeyeater
37. Little Wattlebird
38. Golden Whistler
39. Rose Robin
40. Rufous Whistler
41. Spangled Drongo
42. Common Koel
43. Brown Cuckoo-dove
44. Fan Tailed Cuckoo
45. Grey Shrike Thrush
46. Satin Bowerbird

I also get a hybrid which is very pretty... a cross between pale headed rosella & eastern rosella. But I haven't counted that one!

Hope I've got them all right. If anyone wants to check my IDs, feel free to request photos as I'd love to have backup checks :)
Kerrie

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by kerriebr

24. Red-browed Finch
25. Silvereye

For Jane: these are the same as my Red-browed Firetail and Grey-breasted Silvereye.

Thanks for taking the time to post your list Kerrie; you have some real crackers there! I'd love to get Eastern Whipbird, Satin Bowerbird (or any Bowerbirds for that matter), Wedgies, Golden Whistler and regular Fairy Wrens but have to go to the Tablelands to see those birds.

And don't forget you can add Bush Hen to that list too.

The rule is basically that you can count any bird see or heard (and identified therefore by call, such as your Whipbird) in or from your garden or property. You do your own policing as to what then can be counted and has (hopefully) been identified correctly. Hope that helps!

Oh, and apparently we can't count Feral Pigeon, but other exotics that have established themselves in the wild here (such as Mynahs, Spotted Doves, Blackbirds etc) do count.

[edenwatcher]

104. Pochard. A single drake flying about in a flock of tufties.
A monster mega, unheard of in July!

Rob

[kerriebr]

Originally Posted by chowchilla

Thanks for taking the time to post your list Kerrie...The rule is basically ...

Thanks for explaining & making me feel so welcome. I feel better now about inclusion of my frequent whipbird. Being a novice, I hold no hope for ever spotting the pair, although I hear them numerous times a day making their way through the long grasses in my garden. I expect I am at a slight disadvantage, as I need to take photos of each bird to identify it! But given my back yard, I also have slight advantages.

I can now add

47. Pale-vented bush-hen
48. Superb Fairy-wren (I now have the trifecta of Queensland fairy wrens in my garden!)
49. Bar shouldered dove

Yesterday while discovering my (48) fairy wrens down the back, I had at least one yellow tailed black cockatoo do a close fly-by to my house... I could hear it coming & caught a quick glimpse between the trees. Only second time I've seen it fly through my garden & quite a thrill. Apparently we can get the red tailed cockies sometimes too, but seen no evidence of it myself.
I know I am very fortunate to see fairywrens, finches & pardalotes nearly every day, and a pair of brown cuckoo doves live down the back & eye me off when I walk past!

[Spotter]

Hi Rob, )edenwatcher), I used to be based at Leuchars in mid/late 70s and used to fish the eden just outside guardbridge. Moved south with RAF and ended up here in Telford in 95. Actually coming up to Glenrothes and Methil on 13th Aug for a few days, do you know of any good birding areas around Leven/Anstruther?

[kerriebr]

Excited that I sighted (& took a *terrible* photograph) of one of my whip birds today :) previously only heard.

50. Australian Raven
51. Spotted Pardalote (great photo & exciting to find a pair scratching in an area of fallen leaves)
52. Common Bronzewing
53. Nutmeg Mannikin [Lonchura punctulata (introduced species)]

Some more with photos, but have to try to work out what they are first!

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by kerriebr

53. Nutmeg Mannikin [Lonchura punctulata (introduced species)]

For Jane again: This is the same as my Spice Finch.