• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Search results

thxpress_search_the_forum Search Opus
  1. andythomas

    Blacktoft Sands RSPB

    I visited this reserve on 21st September after spending the morning at Fairburn Ings. This was my third visit to Blacktoft, my two previous visits being during the spring. The birds seen on this occasion were somewhat different. Blacktoft Sands lies on the southern side of the Humber Estuary...
  2. andythomas

    Fairburn Ings RSPB

    I visited this reserve for the first time on 21st September. Unfortunately we only had two hours there which was not enough time to cover the whole reserve. Fairburn Ings lies next to the River Aire, near Castleford. The pools on the reserve were caused by mining subsidence, and a third of the...
  3. andythomas

    Gibraltar Point NNR

    I'm off to Gibraltar Point on Sunday (October 5th). I've never been before, but it's supposed to be good for migrants. Yellow-browed Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Common Rosefinch have all been reported this week, and all would be lifers for me. Perhaps those of you who've been there...
  4. andythomas

    Malvern Hills

    Map reference: SO7640 The grassy tops of the Malvern Hills are good for a walk at any time of year, but it is probably the passage birds which hold the most interest for birders. Ring Ouzel and Redstart are regular migrants, best seen in the North Hill/Happy Valley area at the northern end of...
  5. andythomas

    Sparrowhawk ate my lifer!

    I got a call on Saturday afternoon to say that there was a Red-backed Shrike on some waste ground in Dudley, only a couple of miles from my house. Was I going to twitch it? Two seconds later I was out of the door with my coat and my bins. Twenty minutes later I was watching my first ever RBS...
  6. andythomas

    Brandon Marsh

    Map reference: SP3875 Brandon Marsh is a 200 acre nature reserve lying on the banks of the River Avon to the east of Coventry. It consists of a number of pools surrounded by scrub and woodland. It provides good birdwatching opportunities all year round, with wildfowl in the winter, breeding...
  7. andythomas

    Bartley Reservoir

    Map reference: SP0081 This water-supply reservoir covers 46 hectares and has uninviting concrete banks surrounded by short grass. This fits in with the image give in Bill Oddie's Gone Birding of a bird-free sight. Bill spent his formative years birdwatching here, and his regular attendance...
  8. andythomas

    Introduction to Herefordshire

    Herefordshire is a small, unspoilt county surrounded by hills, with the Shropshire hills in the north, the Malverns to the east and the Black Mountains rising to over 2300 feet in the west. To the south lies the Forest of Dean. The county is famous for its cattle and its cider making, and this...
  9. andythomas

    Blithfield Reservoir

    Blithfield is a 320 hectare drinking-water supply reservoir situated to the west of Abbots Bromley in south Staffordshire (map reference SK0623). It is leased to the West Midland Bird Club by South Staffordshire water plc as a bird reserve. The reservoir was opened in 1953 to supply water to the...
  10. andythomas

    Belvide

    Belvide is a 75 hectare canal feeder reservoir near the village of Brewood, seven miles north-west of Wolverhampton (map reference SJ8710). It is leased to the West Midland Bird Club by British Waterways as a nature reserve. The reservoir was constructed in the 1830s to serve the nearby...
  11. andythomas

    Kingsbury Water Park

    Kingsbury Water Park is owned and run by Warwickshire County Council. It is situated in the Tame valley near to other good birding sites such as Coton, Lea Marston, Ladywalk, and Shustoke Reservoir. The park was established in the late 1970s on the site of a former gravel works. Since that time...
  12. andythomas

    Upton Warren

    The Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve is at Upton Warren, on the A38 between Bromsgrove and Droitwich. It is run by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust (map reference SO936677). The reserve is split into two sections. The northern part has two deep pools which are good for ducks and grebes...
  13. andythomas

    Sandwell Valley

    The area now known as Sandwell Valley is actually part of the Tame Valley, and was formerly made up of woodland, farmland and the Jubilee Colliery. After the closure of the mine and the building of the M5 the area was landscaped for various amenities such as golf, sailing and walking. The main...
  14. andythomas

    Scotland in August - part 2

    Monday 4th August Despite the continuing heatwave in England, the weather in north Scotland was still quite cool, definitely not beach weather. So I decided we should drive up to the Black Isle north of Inverness. This was somewhere I’d never been before, and I wanted to see my first Red Kite...
  15. andythomas

    Scotland in August - part 1

    Scotland August 2003 This is an account of my fortnight’s holiday in Scotland with my wife and two-year-old son. It was primarily a family holiday, but as I was in charge of choosing the area visited and the daily itinerary there may have been a certain amount of bias towards good birding...
  16. andythomas

    Film - Winged Migration (Le Peuple Migrateur)

    Has anyone seen this French film, released in 2001? It's described as " Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents." It's had some excellent reviews on the film websites. Apparently it's been released in the US and Canada, but...
  17. andythomas

    Saltwells LNR & Netherton Reservoir

    Saltwells Local Nature Reserve and the adjoining Netherton Reservoir is my local patch. Together they cover an area approximately 4km long and 1km wide, although I rarely visit the most northerly part of the reserve as it is furthest from my house. Saltwells LNR was created in 1981 and is owned...
  18. andythomas

    Moth ID

    Can anyone ID this small moth which I had in my garden last month?
  19. andythomas

    Peter Matthiessen - The Birds of Heaven

    I'm sure some of you must have read this book about the author's journeys around the world to see the fifteen remaining species of crane. What did you think of it? I haven't started reading my copy yet but it looks really good. Does anyone recommend any of Matthiessen's other books? -- Andy
  20. andythomas

    BTO Migration Watch

    Is anyone else in the UK sending in records to the BTO's Migration Watch survey. If not, now is the time to register: http://www.bto.org/migwatch/index.htm Even if you haven't seen any summer migrants yet it's not too early to send in your records. They want to hear about sightings of winter...
  21. andythomas

    Slimbridge WWT 02/02/03

    As promised, here’s my report of the Walsall RSPB trip to Slimbridge on 2nd February. We arrived at about 9.15 and as usual at Slimbridge saw a good selection of birds from the car park. These included plenty of Lapwing in the adjacent field, Rooks and Jackdaws flying about noisily and our...
  22. andythomas

    Waxwing in Netherton, West Mids

    Hi everyone, I can confirm that the single (male?) Waxwing in Netherton, West Midlands is there again this morning (Saturday) for its sixth day. It's perched on TV aerials opposite Kwik Save supermarket at the junction of Saltwells Road and Cradley Road. -- Andy Thomas West Midland Birding...
Back
Top