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Garden/Yard List 2020 (4 Viewers)

dantheman said:
I think Barnacle in the summer probably is worse than Canada or Pheasant tbh ...

There is of course the slim chance that an injured bird of totally wild origin and having failed to migrate passed by, but then by it passing by kinda indicates it isn't particularly injured. ;) More akin to a Muscovy Duck I suspect.

Great thing to see, but wouldn't put it on my list as a wild bird. I guess it partly boils down to where the feral populations are right now and what they are doing ...
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I’ve always found it a little amusing that many of us of mixed heritage, should be so pedantic when it comes to listing...Pheasants from China and Canada Geese from guess where?...being considered acceptable and passing the “mustard” by us Anglo Saxon Gallic Celts etc. ;)
 
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Another first for my little back garden, a Jay. One bedraggled looking Male eying up the feeders, didn't hang around though sadly.
Also a first for us, a Swift nesting under the eves, first one in 18 years at this house.
 
Undoubtedly, I've seen several new and exciting species over the yard as of yesterday evening, but none were identifiable.

Texts began coming from the southern end of the state at 6PM, "thousands of shorebirds lifting off". I got excited and was all set up a little after 7. However, a menacing line of thunderstorms was approaching. I had no clue what so many birds might do in the storm, but I was ready to find out! Sure enough, after 7:20 a flock appeared, about 200 birds, tremendously high (barely visible in 10X binoculars!), zipping east. As thunder rumbled overhead, more flocks appeared. Many were fleeing the storm and flying east, but a few flocks resolutely headed NW right into the teeth of the storm! These flocks sometimes looked like starling flocks, wheeling into tight balls before slipping back into a messy line. All too soon, I was forced inside by rain and lightning. As I watched from the kitchen window, flock after flock of shorebirds continued flying east, often unbelievably fast and high up. The real highlight came during the very heaviest rain, when about 100 birds actually flew south very low over my residential neighborhood!!! These were not peeps, almost certainly knots or turnstones. As the storms began to clear, a couple more flocks were seen, this time flying NW again. I also saw a single bird way up, circling and either a lone shorebird or even a tern. It soon disappeared.

I ended up with an estimate of 4200 shorebirds in just over a half hour. Simply stunning! I only wish I could have identified them, but I bet many of the thick flocks were Semipalmated Sandpipers and turnstones, with knots and others mixed in.

I think this show is over for the year, but this was the first year I was able to observe it right from the yard!
 
A few new ones from the past few weeks but its been hard going. Ebird says i'm on 145 but I can't quite work out which species I've missed out here yet

142 Red Knot
143 Eurasian Hobby
144 Eurasian Jay
 
Richard Prior said:
Later we did some maintenance at Mother in Law’s field in the forest and after a 10 month absence I finally saw some Common Crossbill, a flock of about 60, I was wondering, have any of the rest of you had similar Crossbill ‘missing in action’ scenarios since last summer? Or ( Jos and Wari perhaps) bigger numbers remaining instead of leaving your areas? Probably pine cone crop related...
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Last Winter and Spring there has been more Crossbills on move than ever (in my birding years- 12).

It seems that the show is over here also. But in this month I have been at home just a weekends. |^| Ok, next week I'm mostly at home...
 
Apart from a single sighting a number of years ago, I’ve heard very brief single “purrs” between 1-3 times perhaps on several occasions certainly over the last three years during June/July.
Heard again briefly this am, thus Turtle Dove makes it a “purr-fect” no.80.
 
Purrfect Turtle Dove

Very jealous of that one Ken but I won’t make any ‘catty‘ comments!
More Crossbills beginning to turn up around and about now, and Alpine Swift over the garden twice recently, otherwise things have stalled perhaps till post breeding movements start in July, I’m missing some regulars like Tree Pipit, Common Redstart ( both breeding less than 1km away), both the common flycatchers to name but four:C
 
Richard Prior said:
Very jealous of that one Ken but I won’t make any ‘catty‘ comments!
More Crossbills beginning to turn up around and about now, and Alpine Swift over the garden twice recently, otherwise things have stalled perhaps till post breeding movements start in July, I’m missing some regulars like Tree Pipit, Common Redstart ( both breeding less than 1km away), both the common flycatchers to name but four:C
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Cheers Richard, If I can emulate last Autumn’s haul I’ll be a real happy bunny! Only ever had just the one Tripit and Crossbills twice, thus I’ll not be betting on those, however the two Flys and Redstart again unlikely (not two years running surely :eek!: ) Got a pair of Groppers less than a mile away!, absolutely no chance there, interestingly had one reeling c2m up in a Sallow yesterday...didn’t know they got that high. :eek!:
 
KenM said:
Cheers Richard, If I can emulate last Autumn’s haul I’ll be a real happy bunny! Only ever had just the one Tripit and Crossbills twice, thus I’ll not be betting on those, however the two Flys and Redstart again unlikely (not two years running surely :eek!: ) Got a pair of Groppers less than a mile away!, absolutely no chance there, interestingly had one reeling c2m up in a Sallow yesterday...didn’t know they got that high. :eek!:
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Have you got a raspberry patch Ken, I saw an August southbound Gropper in such a habitat a few years back so don’t despair, a nice bit of low growing vegetation might do the trick for you. Surprised you don’t get overflying Tree pip on autumn migration though.
 
Richard Prior said:
Have you got a raspberry patch Ken, I saw an August southbound Gropper in such a habitat a few years back so don’t despair, a nice bit of low growing vegetation might do the trick for you. Surprised you don’t get overflying Tree pip on autumn migration though.
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I’m sure like most of us Richard, we don’t connect with all that passes through and over our respective cabbage patches. If we were able to do so, there would be plenty of “jaws on the floors”. I don’t have a Raspberry patch but I’m cultivating a Bramble patch next to the pond so.....:eek!: we live in hope. ;)
 

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This morning just before I headed out Birding I had a new visitor to the garden. It was a Stock Dove I can't remember last time I saw a Stock Dove either in the field or in the garden but it was great to watch it.
 
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