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Durham Birding (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Skelly
- Start date
IanF
Moderator
Castle Lake, Bishop Middleham - am - Channel Wagtail, Blue-headed Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail c.12, White Wagtail and Pied Wagtail. Wheatear x8, Skylark x4, Meadow Pipit x2, Swallow x4. Lots of Sand Martins around.
Treecreeper x1, Long-tailed Tit x6, Blackcap x4, Linnet x8, Common Whitethoat x4, Tree Sparrow x6, Song thrush, Willow Warbler, Wren and Dunnock along lower access track.
Treecreeper x1, Long-tailed Tit x6, Blackcap x4, Linnet x8, Common Whitethoat x4, Tree Sparrow x6, Song thrush, Willow Warbler, Wren and Dunnock along lower access track.
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JBee
Well-known member
RM Gull
In case Ray doesn't get a chance to post before he goes off to the Lakes I'll put some of my shots up of a gull we spotted from the freezer today.
At a bit of a distance and into the sun but maybe enough for one of the gull experts to ID.
In case Ray doesn't get a chance to post before he goes off to the Lakes I'll put some of my shots up of a gull we spotted from the freezer today.
At a bit of a distance and into the sun but maybe enough for one of the gull experts to ID.
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Last edited:
Ray.Scott
Well-known member
IanF
Moderator
I'd say Pied Wagtail as the back looks too dark and mottled for White.
Not very good with Gulls so I'll leave that one - does look odd thuogh!
A W Gregory
Well-known member
Deepdale Wood /Cragg pond
1 pair Pied Fly 1 pair Redstart, lots of Willow Warbler, Linnet and a small Tornado touched down 10 feet away on the pond going across it .
1 pair Pied Fly 1 pair Redstart, lots of Willow Warbler, Linnet and a small Tornado touched down 10 feet away on the pond going across it .
A W Gregory
Well-known member
A couple of a different WAG from Egglestone today
agamiheron
Well-known member
Yeh pied wag and very dodgy herring gull
Ray.Scott
Well-known member
NeilF
Durham Bird Club Member
Hi Matt, I certainly wouldn't say it was easy unless you can get prolonged views of either bird, as they are always on the move and quite often are hidden in long grass.
Have a look at Ian's excellent pictures here to compare the two.
http://www.teesmouthbc.com/forumtbc/index.php?board=10.0
As you can see the Blue-headed Wagtail has a darker blue-grey crown and a yellow throat, whereas the Channel Wag is a more pastel blue with a white throat. Both have calls the same as our Yellow Wagtail.
I thought I had it sussed until yesterday when another variation was seen, basically it had the crown colours of Blue-headed but with a white throat which extended to the upper breast (!). :'D
IanF
Moderator
It's the pale grey crown of the Channel Wagtail which really stands out. The whole head looks almost white from a distance.
The Blue-headed Wagtail had a much darker head almost looking headless against the grass until you get the bins on it as opposed to shining like a beacon as with the other Yellow Wagtails.
I've seen what I thought were two Blue-headed there though the second one could easily be the variation Neil has seen as I didn't get close views of it.
I've been finding that if they're not in the sheep field south of the hide then it's worth checking the second fence line on the right along the farm track after the sewage works access. On a couple of morning visits they've been sitting on the fence between the 20th-30th posts catching flies and then landing in the crop fields and occasionally moving closer to the farm track sometimes coming to the nearest fence post. I just sat by the broken gate watching them.
The Blue-headed was keeping quite distant yesterday other than occasionally visiting the sheep field on the sides of the big dip where you can view the lake which is where I took the photos of it the other day.
The Blue-headed Wagtail had a much darker head almost looking headless against the grass until you get the bins on it as opposed to shining like a beacon as with the other Yellow Wagtails.
I've seen what I thought were two Blue-headed there though the second one could easily be the variation Neil has seen as I didn't get close views of it.
I've been finding that if they're not in the sheep field south of the hide then it's worth checking the second fence line on the right along the farm track after the sewage works access. On a couple of morning visits they've been sitting on the fence between the 20th-30th posts catching flies and then landing in the crop fields and occasionally moving closer to the farm track sometimes coming to the nearest fence post. I just sat by the broken gate watching them.
The Blue-headed was keeping quite distant yesterday other than occasionally visiting the sheep field on the sides of the big dip where you can view the lake which is where I took the photos of it the other day.
IanF
Moderator
Greta Bridge - am - Pied Flycatcher x3, Garden Warbler x2, Great Spotted Woodpecker x2, Dipper x1, Kestrel plus Buzzard, Jay, Blackcap, Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff.
Deepdale - Garden Warbler x4, Dipper x1, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit, Mistle Thrush. Plus rabbits and a stoat.
Tees Banks Woods - Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Pied Flycatcher x3, Common Redstart x3, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush. Lots of Nuthatch around.
Deepdale - Garden Warbler x4, Dipper x1, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit, Mistle Thrush. Plus rabbits and a stoat.
Tees Banks Woods - Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Pied Flycatcher x3, Common Redstart x3, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush. Lots of Nuthatch around.
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Rainton Meadows
Another post-work visit to Rainton Meadows with agamiheron, which started terribly with some unwelcome visitors:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckivitt/5666763255/in/photostream
Not sure what can be done about this sort of thing, but they seemed young enough to respond to education. Do Wildlife Trust people ever visit the local schools to tell the kids what reserves are for and how to use them properly? Just a thought...
But once they decided to leave, it was a reasonably pleasant, if cold, evening. Highlights include reserve year ticks for me of sparrowhawk and greenfinch (big megas, eh?!), plenty of Grasshopper Warblers dotted around, 4 Little Ringed Plovers (almost some "action" in front of the freezer...), Little Owl, 4 Goosander flying over, and a cracking close up bounce-by of a Roe Deer. I was so entranced that I forgot to get the camera out, when I probably could have got a decent shot! Ho hum...
Another post-work visit to Rainton Meadows with agamiheron, which started terribly with some unwelcome visitors:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckivitt/5666763255/in/photostream
Not sure what can be done about this sort of thing, but they seemed young enough to respond to education. Do Wildlife Trust people ever visit the local schools to tell the kids what reserves are for and how to use them properly? Just a thought...
But once they decided to leave, it was a reasonably pleasant, if cold, evening. Highlights include reserve year ticks for me of sparrowhawk and greenfinch (big megas, eh?!), plenty of Grasshopper Warblers dotted around, 4 Little Ringed Plovers (almost some "action" in front of the freezer...), Little Owl, 4 Goosander flying over, and a cracking close up bounce-by of a Roe Deer. I was so entranced that I forgot to get the camera out, when I probably could have got a decent shot! Ho hum...
ColinSev
Well-known member
Yellow Wags at Bishop Middleham
These photos were from last monday and shows how confusing yellow wagtails can be and how their colour can vary so much.
There was one wag with an all yellow head and it was a paler yellow to the other wagtails and being chased off by the other yellows. It resembles a yellow headed wagtail - but is it?? - unlikely. Also saw what I believe is the Channel Wagtail there, but not the Blue Headed. It stayed some distance away and the photo is affected by the heat haze.
These photos were from last monday and shows how confusing yellow wagtails can be and how their colour can vary so much.
There was one wag with an all yellow head and it was a paler yellow to the other wagtails and being chased off by the other yellows. It resembles a yellow headed wagtail - but is it?? - unlikely. Also saw what I believe is the Channel Wagtail there, but not the Blue Headed. It stayed some distance away and the photo is affected by the heat haze.
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Visit to Bollihope area - Swallow,Sand Martin,Lapwing,Wheatear, Oystercatcher,Curlew,Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail,Meadow Pipit,Mistle Thrush,Black Headed Gulls, Mallard,Red Grouse,Wood Pigeon,Starling. Did not see any Ring Ouzel but heard our first Cuckoo of the year.
Also popped over to Cow Green Reservoir - Oystercatcher,Mistle Thrush, Skylark, Golden Plover, Wheatear, Lapwing.
Also popped over to Cow Green Reservoir - Oystercatcher,Mistle Thrush, Skylark, Golden Plover, Wheatear, Lapwing.
