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A great moment that I wanted to share. (1 Viewer)

S

Swiftley

Member
Hey all,

As you know I've not been into birding long; last week I put up a seed feeder- I have seen Robins, Great Tits, Blue tits and pidgeons on it, nothing exotic.. But it's great. I have also just seen my first GoldFinch.

Anyway, I wanted to share a birding experience of mine that has just happened. I live in Leicester, infront of my house I have a main road and behind it, it's just countryside.

So I was standing next to my feeder, about a metre away (Under a tree) and I've just spotted 2 birds which look like Alpine Swifts coming in and out of this barn; so I'm concentrating to see what speices they were and they apear to have a dark blue waxy looking back and a white stomach, and they fly like swifts. So I came to the conclusion that they are House Martins..(What do you think?) I'm trying to see if they have that white stripe on their tail. Anyway, while watching the House Martin's I hear a lot of noise coming from above, in the tree and it's a family of 3/4 Blue tits; and while I'm standing incredibly close to the feeder they all hop on it and feed away. Just when I thought the great moment was over, a Robin hopped on to a branch right next to my head.. Talk about close-ups.

My first great experience. It's kinda influenced me to carry on birding..

Just thought I'd share..
 
I think you're barn birds are probably Swallows.
It's great to read about new birders' excitement.
 
I saw my first Goldfinch about four weeks ago,in Peppard,near Henley,great thrill for me too,colourful blighters ! Keep going !
Mervyn.
 
my first and only goldfinch is an American one...

any how, I was thinking we could all share our great experiences on this thread. I'm almost always taken aback when I see two different species of the same family in one day. On Saturday, I saw both two Great Blue Herons and a single Green Heron (My dad was with me, and he definitely got some new ticks). That was the third time I had seen two different heron species in one day. Twice at my pond. and another time at Bashakill.

Another time I saw two or more species from the same family was when I saw American Robins and a Veery.

And one last one was when I actually photographed two woodpeckers at the same time, a Downy and a Red-Bellied. However, one of them was not on the feeder. Just days before I got my new camera, I got the experience of my life!

The few days before I got my new camera, I had spotted several chances to get three woodpecker species in one shot. However as I waited for an opportunity for a better shot, the flew away. But even so, I was treated to shots of pairs of the same species on the feeder at once. I have the two pictures (one of two Red-Bellieds, one of two Downies) in my gallery.
 
Swiftley said:
Hey all,

I have also just seen my first GoldFinch.
Click to expand...
Three days ago I saw the first of this years youngsters, and oh boy do you know when they are around!! The noise is unmistakable.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Haven't Swallows got orange/red on them? Do Swallows fly high and low? They seem to be flying fast low and then just taking to the skies..

1 more quick question, are Alpine Swifts present in the UK?
 
BTW, I have not seen the Swallow/House Martin land yet..it just flies around then flies into the barn. Surely, I should have seen it land somewhere .. ?
 
Swallows have a chesnut patch on the throat, but it's very hard to see except in ideal light - mostly the throat just looks dark.

As a general rule Swallows are low flyers (especially over fields) while Martins and Swifts fly high (the latter often very high). However weather has a lot to do with it. Yesterday morning it was foggy first thing and the Swifts were flying through the garden at bird table height, but it's very unusual to see them so low. Alpine Swifts are rare visitors to the UK. Numbers vary wildly depending on the weather, but the average is about 12 birds a year. They hardly ever hang around either.
 
Hi swiftley, it's nice to hear your pleasure in seeing these birds. And it only gets better.
So keep at it and enjoy.
bert.
 
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