[Sandra (Taylor)]

Originally Posted by bushycliff

sorry but i thought people on this site were responsible birders , if you go there you will see that you have to look over abot 50 yds of water and it is deep in parts. it is well known locally and i have spoken to people walking past that they did know about the owls

... Therefore I suppose, sadly, that this site is a good one for eggers and others up to no good.

Sandra

[bushycliff]

Originally Posted by Sandra (Taylor)

... Therefore I suppose, sadly, that this site is a good one for eggers and others up to no good.

Sandra

sandra may i point out that at no time have i seen any mention of a nesting site .. i have been informed that they dont nest where the can be seen at the said site

[schiffornis]

The following was posted on Lee Evans' UK400 thing tonight about owls...

Exminster Marshes LONG-EARED OWL is unnecessarily harassed by photographers
Sadly, news of a roosting LONG-EARED OWL was broadcast on an assortment of news services which in turn attracted an element of undesirables travelling quite some distance to see it. Two particular individuals decided that they wanted to get to within a few feet of the bird, despite being challenged, and photographed it from a very close distance, causing it to wake up and be alarmed. A number of local observers asked for them to move away but were quite seriously threatened by one particular individual. He was photographed and appears to be a character I witnessed disturbing Stone Curlews at a nest. His vehicle number plate was taken but as he returned to his car, he became very violent and abusive towards those present and threatened to 'do' some of them over. This behaviour can not be tolerated and I urge those of you that witnessed it to report the incident to the police. I have photographs of the two individuals involved which can be used to help identify them.

My policy now, because of such repeated behaviour, is to suppress all Long-eared and easily disturbed Short-eared Owl locations - both species seem to act as a magnet for such behaviour

[beegreen]

Hi im having a trip to bolton abbey tommorow and wondered if any one new if there was owt good about and where??Cheers DS

[Keith Dickinson]

Originally Posted by beegreen

Hi im having a trip to bolton abbey tommorow and wondered if any one new if there was owt good about and where??Cheers DS

Depends on what you call good.
You should be able to find nuthatch by the stone hut on the Eastern bank of the river upstream of the Cavendish pavilion, great spotted and green woodpeckers are also possible in the woods on both banks.
The Strid should be in full flood still so I guess that dippers and mandarin will probably be absent.
There's always a chance of red kite, buzzard or sparrowhawk over the priory.

[Sandra (Taylor)]

Originally Posted by bushycliff

sandra may i point out that at no time have i seen any mention of a nesting site .. i have been informed that they dont nest where the can be seen at the said site

Sorry Bushycliffe - that was a bit ambiguous. I meant our site - Bird Forum - not a particular nest site


Sandra

[bushycliff]

Originally Posted by Sandra (Taylor)

Sorry Bushycliffe - that was a bit ambiguous. I meant our site - Bird Forum - not a particular nest site


Sandra

SANDRA in future my lips are sealed

[manorblade]

Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]

[knotsbirder]

Originally Posted by manorblade

Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]

The thing is Nigel that most roosts are very susceptible to disturbance, but not all roosts are kept secret - some aren't that susceptible to disturbance (such as the one bushycliff mentioned on the far shore of a lake/Faiburrn birds (I think) and the infamous Park Hall birds). If just a couple of sites are advertised it will limit disturbance at other sites as the main volume of people will keep to the well-known sites. However, as with everything there are always idiots who will try and get too close and disturbe them (as recently happened at Exminster Marshes RSPB), which is why in the main they are kept quiet. It is also worth noting that both LEOs and SEOs are now monitored by the UK rare breeding birds panel.

Sam

[beegreen]

Originally Posted by Keith Dickinson

Depends on what you call good.
You should be able to find nuthatch by the stone hut on the Eastern bank of the river upstream of the Cavendish pavilion, great spotted and green woodpeckers are also possible in the woods on both banks.
The Strid should be in full flood still so I guess that dippers and mandarin will probably be absent.
There's always a chance of red kite, buzzard or sparrowhawk over the priory.

Cheers!Not a bad day 2 peregrine,2 shorties,numerous buzzards,1 red kite,large finch flock inc siskin,redpoll,goldfinch,numbering 100 plus.Not a bad day.

[melodious]

Originally Posted by manorblade

Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]

It doesn't feel good keeping certain species secret and i think most birders do genuinely want to share there knowledge with others. Unfortunately however some times secrets have to get kept. My understanding of the situation was that the Rother Valley birds were regularly harassed by birders and photographers until the site was abandoned. Owls also have that extra appeal that attracts more of those who do not appreciate such things as keeping to a reasonable distance. On balance i'd always put the birds welfare before peoples desire to see them. It is frustrating and i certainly remember a time when i wasn't in the loop but i think that is just how things have to be. With other species publicising their presence by birders simply being at a site can have very serious consequences. A few people gathered with scopes in certain areas of the Peak District is quite enough to alert game-keepers to the presence of Goshawks or harriers and get the birds killed. As for Long-eared Owls their winter habitat choices are pretty predicable and though it is harder work finding your own birds it is not impossible.

[pete seaman]

Any news of the G.G.Shrike reported from on RBA near Harrogate yesterday ?

[Jono L]

Originally Posted by schiffornis

The following was posted on Lee Evans' UK400 thing tonight about owls...

Exminster Marshes LONG-EARED OWL is unnecessarily harassed by photographers
Sadly, news of a roosting LONG-EARED OWL was broadcast on an assortment of news services which in turn attracted an element of undesirables travelling quite some distance to see it. Two particular individuals decided that they wanted to get to within a few feet of the bird, despite being challenged, and photographed it from a very close distance, causing it to wake up and be alarmed. A number of local observers asked for them to move away but were quite seriously threatened by one particular individual. He was photographed and appears to be a character I witnessed disturbing Stone Curlews at a nest. His vehicle number plate was taken but as he returned to his car, he became very violent and abusive towards those present and threatened to 'do' some of them over. This behaviour can not be tolerated and I urge those of you that witnessed it to report the incident to the police. I have photographs of the two individuals involved which can be used to help identify them.

My policy now, because of such repeated behaviour, is to suppress all Long-eared and easily disturbed Short-eared Owl locations - both species seem to act as a magnet for such behaviour

I spoke with Carl Watts, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Staveley Community Officer yesterday who told me that the LEOs at YWT Staveley were roosting again until disturbed by photographers. These selfish people were not content with watching from the path like everyone else and went too close. This happened apparently before Christmas.
Shame.

Jono

[Jono L]

And some news.. There has been up to 12 Goosanders on the River Ouse and it's floods at Bishopthorpe in recent days. 7 this morning.
Cheers

Jono

[Jono L]

Good luck to any teams taking part in the Mike Clegg bird race tomorrow!

Jono

[Trystan]

Originally Posted by Keith Dickinson

Back home after dipping the geese, owls and teal at Fairburn Ings with Ken. A trip to Swillington Ings did give us twite but the scaup on the river were elusive, I reckon the narrow boat that we saw before we got to Carolina Bridge had spooked them.
Still we did reach the heady heights of 50 species before the skies opened.

I decided to dip those species today too.

Highlights at Fairburn were pintail, smew (redhead) and a flock of 15 lesser redpoll. Also good numbers of redwing and fieldfare.

[Hotspur]

Had a 1st winter Shag flying inland at Wansford along Wansford Canal yesterday with 6 Cormorants. Noticed a smaller brown bird with the Corms which commute regularly along the canal (presumably from Hornsea Mere/sea to the LDV). It flew parallel for a hundred yards or so and then I turned north and it flew infront of the car. Very nice surprise and worth checking any inland Corm roosts.

[vwxyzen]

The Bean Goose was still present today at Fairburn but very elusive.
The bird spent most of the time feeding in vegetation across the water in front of the hide. At one stage all the waterfowl were spooked out and pushed onto the water, the Bean Goose was more or less the last bird to show A few poor pics attached. I don't think the differences between the two races are as great as we are led to believe.
Other birds of note were redhead Smew and a drake Ruddy Duck.

[scodger]

If anyone gets the chance photograph these guys disturbing the SEO's, or anything else for that matter, and post it on here, lets make sure these idiots are identified and acknowledged in the field when seen ...

[Dint See It]

Anybody know if the desert wheatear's still at bempton + owt else in area?

Thanks Paul

[Hotspur]

Dessie is still there. GW Teal at Tophill en route plus a couple of Smew and plenty of White-fronts.

[Keith Dickinson]

Originally Posted by scodger

If anyone gets the chance photograph these guys disturbing the SEO's, or anything else for that matter, and post it on here, lets make sure these idiots are identified and acknowledged in the field when seen ...

Agree that it would be good to get them named and shamed but for god's sake don't post the pictures in this thread. I can remember the flame wars when Andy posted pics of the trespassers on his blog. May be a good idea to start a new thread in the main forum.

[andy hood]

Originally Posted by Dint See It

Anybody know if the desert wheatear's still at bempton + owt else in area?

Thanks Paul

Still present today, as per RBA

[andy hood]

Pair of Stonechats showing well on the high tide mark at South Landing this aft

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...t001edited.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...t005edited.jpg

[Dint See It]

Thanks James and Andy