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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Garden / Yard List 2017 (4 Viewers)

This weekend

What we've managed to spot over the past two days.

56. Boat-billed Flycatcher,
57. Yellow-throated Vireo,
58. Yellow-crowned Euphonia,
59. Spotted Sandpiper,
60. Orange-billed Sparrow,
61. Scarlet Tanager,
62. Yellow-green Vireo,


Bryan
 
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At last!...Hawfinch flying over neighbour's house at 9.30am, interestingly using the same flight path as the ''probable'' seen earlier in the week. No.75.


There appears to be a great number seen around the UK in recent days. I don't recall this phenomenon before....anyone else?
 
Yesterday I was in the yard of firewood stacking, when I heard a familiar shree! The source of the sound climbed on the apple tree.

#58. Eurasian Treecreeper - I think this was just a second time I see Tc on my yard.
 
There appears to be a great number seen around the UK in recent days. I don't recall this phenomenon before....anyone else?

There have been previous influx years such as 2005 when for instance on Sunday 16th October, a Hawfinch flew over my head at Hunstanton whilst I was watching an escaped American Kestrel with a green ring and simultaneously two flew over the rest of the patchworkers back in North Somerset. But this influx seems unprecedented in my memory.

All the best
 
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Sounds like a bird to be very pleased with, Bryan! ;)

Thanks Halftwo,
Sorry, spelt it as Euphoria as opposed to Its real spelling of Euphonia. Very nice bird to have at the feeders.
The Euphonias in general though, confuse me, did it have a yellow or a blue bib? was the yellow crown this shape or that shape? Most of the Costa Rican birders I know can identify them out of the corner of their eye, so to speak. I on the other hand have to stare hard at them for a good while, preferably with several field guides on my lap.

On another note. Folks from the European contingent's continual referencing of the Hawfinch got my curiosity up so I did a bit of digging and no wonder, what a remarkable species! That guy is definitely on my “must see” list now.
In shape and size they look a lot like the Evening Grosbeak found in North America although I do think the Haffinch is a snappier dresser.
Cheers,
Bryan
 
After being away for the whole of the summer and start of the autumn I've been doing some catching up the last few weeks, Tystie and Spoonbill new for the house list, thousands of Little Gulls passing everyday at the moment and the real highlight, a White-billed Diver passing on Saturday! I may actually make it to my target of 150 for the first time......

112 Knot
113 Grey Heron
114 Snipe
115 Reed Bunting
116 Tree Pipit
117 Grey Wagtail
118 Redstart
119 Spotted Flycatcher
120 Whinchat
121 Yellow-browed Warbler
122 Tufted Duck
123 Ruff
124 Hobby
125 Bar-tailed Godwit
126 Arctic Skua
127 Lesser Redpoll
128 Curlew
129 Greenshank
130 Little Egret
131 Short-eared Owl
132 Great Spotted Woodpecker
133 Avocet
134 Purple Sandpiper
135 Pomarine Skua
136 Bearded Tit
137 Black Guillemot
138 Common Crossbill
139 Grey Phalarope
140 Rock Pipit
141 Spoonbill
142 Balearic Shearwater
143 White-billed Diver
 
Thanks Halftwo,
Sorry, spelt it as Euphoria as opposed to Its real spelling of Euphonia. Very nice bird to have at the feeders.
The Euphonias in general though, confuse me, did it have a yellow or a blue bib? was the yellow crown this shape or that shape? Most of the Costa Rican birders I know can identify them out of the corner of their eye, so to speak. I on the other hand have to stare hard at them for a good while, preferably with several field guides on my lap.

On another note. Folks from the European contingent's continual referencing of the Hawfinch got my curiosity up so I did a bit of digging and no wonder, what a remarkable species! That guy is definitely on my “must see” list now.
In shape and size they look a lot like the Evening Grosbeak found in North America although I do think the Haffinch is a snappier dresser.
Cheers,
Bryan

Yes, those Euphonias always had me scrutinizing bird & book - and usually on brief views too.
Hawfinch is a fabulous and enigmatic bird - with only a handful of places in the UK where they occur regularly: and often not guaranteed even there.
 
Ok, visitors so far today.

63. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
64. Amazon Kingfisher
65. Crested Caracara
66. Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift


On a side note the Orange-billed Sparrows are coming to the feeder now which is kinda cool and unexpected.
On a side side note I've been visiting friends gardens enough now that for fun I'm keeping a list for those ones. In a grass is greener on the other side vein I was in a friends garden yesterday and lo and behold, Two Chestnut Mandibled Toucans and four Fiery-billed Aracari (all at the same time in the same Cecropia tree) and Turquoise Cotingas of all things. I can only dream.
Cheers,
Bryan
 
All sound very exotic to a mid-European resident like me!
Our two and a half weeks of dry sunny weather is about to change, at dawn there was the first sign of movement, a flock of Brambling,then Chaffinches and distant Crossbill. To top it off my first

83 Lesser Redpoll

for here flew by, often seen at our old place it is strangely absent here though breeds at about 1500m altitude a few miles away.
 
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I thought that was an autumn grip back for me - how did you not get that last winter?!!

Didn't see many in Nov/Dec'16,....and none thereafter (mostly conspicuous by their absence, a bit like Hawfinch and Firecrest, had to wait till Oct'17. Firecrest (unusually) absent at beginning of year, and Hawfinch also. For me, can be problematic, not necessarily every year....although the odd flyover..mostly.
 
I've been doing a bit of a count of possibles left for me:

Whooper Swan
Mute Swan
Brambling
Raven

the last most likely. After that it's only rarities, and very unlikely extras, so not much chance to gain many more before the year's out.
 
I've been doing a bit of a count of possibles left for me:

Whooper Swan
Mute Swan
Brambling
Raven

the last most likely. After that it's only rarities, and very unlikely extras, so not much chance to gain many more before the year's out.

Similar state of affairs here I think. Last year I only added Common Goldeneye from this point on. I haven't had Common Redpoll this year which is a possibility as it gets colder. And the finch forecast is good so there is also a chance of White-winged Crossbill (which would be a lifer so very nice). We'll see. The woods are very quiet at the moment, as even the regulars are only passing through on circuits with so many bugs/seeds available away from the feeders.
Not giving up the chase yet!
 
All sound very exotic to a mid-European resident like me!

If you are referring to my garden list Richard I feel the same way about those exotic European birds. For example, I never knew the very cool looking Fieldfare existed till now. Good clean fun looking into it all.

On a side note I found this interesting article about evolution in action regarding the British Great Tit and feeders.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...nfluencing-bird-evolution-in-their-backyards/

Does this mean if I want to see Great Tits with the original factory model beaks I need to head over to the continent?

Bryan
 
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