Garden (Yard) List 2012 (2 Viewers)

dantheman said:

Fun? I thought it was deadly serious ... :eek!:

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

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Not in Cornwall surely! Where are you, France?

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

norwichbirder87 said:

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

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

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!

42 Brahminy Kite

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

Rob

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

Tony

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

Rob

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

kerriebr said:

24. Red-browed Finch
25. Silvereye

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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.

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

Rob

chowchilla said:

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

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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!

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?

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!

kerriebr said:

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

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

Spotter said:

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?

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Seawatching can be productive at this time of year, either from Fife Ness, or from Kinghorn Harbour. Buckhaven is playing host to several Mediterranean gulls at present on Shore Rd. At least 6 adults have been reported, plus a juv., though different birds seem to be present each day. Largo Bay can be good, but I saw little of interest at the east end yesterday.

Rob

Eight Pacific Black Ducks over this morning coming from inland suggests to me that the interior is starting to dry out and more waterbirds will be on the way. They didn't lose height and land at the Lakes however from what I could tell.

97) Pacific Black Duck.

Went for a "bush walk" in the yard today. We've only recently cleared enough to make it down to the back fence (only lived here since December). I disturbed a wallaby which seems to have made it's day-time home in one part of the garden. There are now lots of young fairy wrens. We also have many laughing kookaburras ... if I stand still a while they will sometimes land quite close & play "catch". They have been courting too. (for your interest see attached)

54. Peaceful Dove
55. Olive Backed Oriole

Autumn arrived for me today in the garden...an imm.Willow Warbler...no.65

Returning Willow Warbler and Chiff Chaff this am..also a Hobby in ''missile'' mode pursuing Swifts over forest, and multiple sightings of Common Buzzard within a 30 minute time frame, involving several birds (only 3 individual sightings for the entire yearof 2011). circa 25 sightings (this year)to date!..that's one helluva 8 fold increase already!

cheers