Hi from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England (1 Viewer)

[Shane3004]

Hello everyone.

First post here. I live just outside the town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, which is nicely positioned right in the middle of the UK. Been birding on and off since being a child. Some very fond and special memories watching a selection of tits and finches coming to feed on the fat balls that me and my late mother used to make in the kitchen using old yoghurt pots. Really got back into the hobby when I purchased a Nikon d500 and Sigma 150-600mm lens (about April 2022), which pretty much goes anywhere I do!

My favourite UK sightings so far are a Spotted Crake, Osprey, Tawny Owl, and a Black Redstart. Recent sightings of Marsh Harriers are up there too! From my overseas travels, the pick of my birds has to be the 'I'iwi or Scarlet Honeycreeper that I photographed in Maui.

We are off to Costa Rica in March 2024, so I'm hoping to add a good number of new birds there too.

Shane

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

 

[Julie50]

Welcome - we had some great sightings and pics of the peregrine at the cathedral when we holidayed there recently

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there Shane! Welcome aboard and enjoy

 

[Shane3004]

Welcome - we had some great sightings and pics of the peregrine at the cathedral when we holidayed there recently

Thank you. Ah ha, you mean Ye Olde Crooked Spire? Embarrassingly I've yet to photograph the Pergerine on the spire. The ones I've seen have been on the East Coast at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, and RSPB Blacktoft Sands.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Shane and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. I can't remember now which Hawaiian island it was that had the devastating fires, but I've a feeling it might have been Maui - I do hope that most of the birds have survived it, as some were already endangered.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[Julie50]

It is a beauty

 

[Lisa W]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I think you will find us a friendly and helpful group.

 

[Shane3004]

Hi Shane and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. I can't remember now which Hawaiian island it was that had the devastating fires, but I've a feeling it might have been Maui - I do hope that most of the birds have survived it, as some were already endangered.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

Thank you for the warm welcome, and to the others who have also welcomed me. Sadly it was Maui that suffered the devastating fires. Mostly the town of Lahaina. Whilst my heart goes out to the people of Maui, I did wonder about effect this had on the birdlife. Whilst there I was also lucky enough to photograph two other endemics, the Amakihi, and Apapane.

Shane

 

[Shane3004]

It is a beauty

Beautiful shots. When did you visit? I do hope that you managed to get out to the Peak District for a bit of birding whilst in the area?

 

[Julie50]

Hi

We were on the Camping and Motorhome site at Poolsbrook this Easter - great walks and birding - had a fabulous time.

 

[delia todd]

Hi again Shane I do hope we may see some of your pictures in the Gallery, we no longer seem to have any members reporting from Hawaii, so pictures rarely come in from there and we're rather short of images of both those birds you mention.... the Amakihi, and Apapane.

It seems my memory isn't in such a bad state after all LOL

 

[Shane3004]

Hi again Shane I do hope we may see some of your pictures in the Gallery, we no longer seem to have any members reporting from Hawaii, so pictures rarely come in from there and we're rather short of images of both those birds you mention.... the Amakihi, and Apapane.

It seems my memory isn't in such a bad state after all LOL

Absolutely, I'll post pics of all three of the Hawaiian birdies. A very special trip to celebrate being with my wife for 20 years. And I spent half of the time birding. He he. It's great to know there's people out there that want to see the birds.

Shane

 

[Fritz73]

Hola! Welcome to Birdforum

 

[Chris G6 UXU]

Hello Shane and welcome to the forum, enjoy and all the best.