John o'Sullivan
Well-known member
I saw more swifts this visit then ever before. Tried hard for Alpine but couldnt clinch one.
I think I've said this before but my patch which includes my house reminds me a lot of Portland. I even have top fields and West cliffs (not very tall admittedly)
I have a lengthy patch list but lots of species have only been seen once or twice. Some days there is no viz mig other days literally thousands of birds passing. I'll go out some mornings and see no evidence of movement and then mid afternoon something will appear from the house and shortly afterwards move on and never be seen again.
I always carry binoculars as it is impossible to predict exactly what will appear when. One of my favourite sightings was mid afternoon one mid summer day I was off to the local shop for some bread when a persistent call managed to penetrate my non birding brain. It was a brick red male crossbill on top of a pine I imagine essentially stridently announcing to the world 'I don't know where I am, anyone else out there!'
The house overlooks a small bay off a big bay and I've seen Yelks before leaving the mouth of the big bay mid morning so I've been hoping for a sighting for some time. This year they were in the small bay itself following fish I guess.
The first Ellie gave me the biggest bird related rush I've had in a long time, by the end of the two weeks it became routine although still very neat.
The Rosie's followed the pattern of all the RCS I've seen from the house. I picked up a distant flock of Starlings heading south east, I saw enough to know they were RCS. I lost sight of them but knew they would get to the point were they see the bay in front of them and then turn north to avoid flying over water. This brings them across the front of my house. There are a number of big pine trees which make it difficult to track them. I was scanning hoping they would come close across me. Out of my peripheral vision I saw shadows on the roof next to me, I spun left to hear the sound of their wings and caught a split second view of their rear ends as they disappeared from view behind trees.
Overall it means that even on quiet days something interesting can appear, other quiet days nothing appears. It is like real life slow TV. Marvellous.
I think I've said this before but my patch which includes my house reminds me a lot of Portland. I even have top fields and West cliffs (not very tall admittedly)
I have a lengthy patch list but lots of species have only been seen once or twice. Some days there is no viz mig other days literally thousands of birds passing. I'll go out some mornings and see no evidence of movement and then mid afternoon something will appear from the house and shortly afterwards move on and never be seen again.
I always carry binoculars as it is impossible to predict exactly what will appear when. One of my favourite sightings was mid afternoon one mid summer day I was off to the local shop for some bread when a persistent call managed to penetrate my non birding brain. It was a brick red male crossbill on top of a pine I imagine essentially stridently announcing to the world 'I don't know where I am, anyone else out there!'
The house overlooks a small bay off a big bay and I've seen Yelks before leaving the mouth of the big bay mid morning so I've been hoping for a sighting for some time. This year they were in the small bay itself following fish I guess.
The first Ellie gave me the biggest bird related rush I've had in a long time, by the end of the two weeks it became routine although still very neat.
The Rosie's followed the pattern of all the RCS I've seen from the house. I picked up a distant flock of Starlings heading south east, I saw enough to know they were RCS. I lost sight of them but knew they would get to the point were they see the bay in front of them and then turn north to avoid flying over water. This brings them across the front of my house. There are a number of big pine trees which make it difficult to track them. I was scanning hoping they would come close across me. Out of my peripheral vision I saw shadows on the roof next to me, I spun left to hear the sound of their wings and caught a split second view of their rear ends as they disappeared from view behind trees.
Overall it means that even on quiet days something interesting can appear, other quiet days nothing appears. It is like real life slow TV. Marvellous.
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