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

What "blockers" have you got on your list? (1 Viewer)

Glad somebody owns up to being in the EBT shot.

Here's part of the subsequent stake-out. Not quite sure where the bird was supposed to be as people are looking in all directions!

If I was one of those photographers who always push to the front I might have turned round and got everybody's faces in this shot. Being the considerate (cowardly!) chap that I am I hung around the back and only got the rear view of everyone!

Incidentally, I originally sent these shots to the 'Leicester Llamas' website for a proposed 'mystery twitch' feature, but as that website has now ceased to exist it might be interesting to see if anyone else has any crowd shots from 'a few years ago' to see who recognises themselves!
 

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Adey Baker said:
Incidentally, I originally sent these shots to the 'Leicester Llamas' website for a proposed 'mystery twitch' feature, but as that website has now ceased to exist it might be interesting to see if anyone else has any crowd shots from 'a few years ago' to see who recognises themselves!
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Hi
I have a few slides packed away somewhere, but unfortunately don't have the capacity to convert them on to a computer, one day maybe. Also I think I also know the chap closest to you in the second photo, another Midlands birder who always stops on St Agnes?.
 
Jules Sykes said:
Hi
I have a few slides packed away somewhere, but unfortunately don't have the capacity to convert them on to a computer, one day maybe. Also I think I also know the chap closest to you in the second photo, another Midlands birder who always stops on St Agnes?.
Click to expand...

If you've got access to a digital camera with a very close focus macro setting it's possible to get reasonable shots of slides. Something closer than the usual 10cms would be particularly useful.

I can't say that I know anyone personally in either of my shots although Leicester Llama Richard Fray (sometime BF member) reckons he and his brother Rob must be in the second shot somewhere!
 
I see. Didn't see him when I was there - but as the bird was there for about 10 days, I'm sure he did get to see it.
 
Tim Allwood said:
Hi Chris

in a similar vein to the Pacific Swift, LGRE was rumoured to not be present.....i.e. somewhere else in UK! I cannot comment on the veracity of this story but it is an old one......
Click to expand...



I remember that story very well

Luton with the curtain drawn
 
Alan henry said:
I remember that story very well

Luton with the curtain drawn
Click to expand...
I can give you chapter and verse on LGRE missing the Pacific! LOL!
BTW! Is Slender-billed Gull NOT a blocker??? I seem to remember loads of the UEA boys missing the pair at Cley by rushing off to Blakeney Harbour on a rumour, leaving just one of their number in a wheelchair in Maynard's Hide with me filling up at ten yards range!!
 
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David Bryant said:
! Is Slender-billed Gull NOT a blocker??? I seem to remember loads of the UEA boys missing the pair at Cley by rushing off to Blakeney Harbour on a rumour, leaving just one of their number in a wheelchair in Maynard's Hide with me filling up at ten yards range!!
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My generation of UEA boys got the second Cley pair (1999?) so not really a blocker. Great birds though, my girlfriend at the time said it was the most excited shes ever heard me sound :eek!:
 
Jules Sykes said:
Hi Callum
Thought you would have had Hawk Owl with these two?
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How could I forget Hawk Owl :C must be old age Jules.
I see Mr Shaw & Lauder got Redhead back on me today, nice one.
Cheers er whats my name again ? :h?:
 
I have the St Agnes Wood Thrush. Two blokes on bikes shot past me in Hugh Town shouting "Heard about the Wood Thrush?". I`d never even heard of Wood Thrush but decided I`d ask questions later as I belted after them to the quay.
 
Darrell Clegg said:
Ah Eye-browed Thrush!!!

Saw the 1991 Scilly bird from my then girlfriend's garden at Telegraph!! If I recall correctly a Wryneck came hopping along the wall in front of the bird.

In the field across the road there was a Red-throated Pipit, and one field down from that was an Isabelline Shrike - They were the days!!!!

I also saw Eye-browed on Scilly in 1993

Darrell
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my one and only trip to scillies,was very close by when this bird was found and the shout went up, id been watching the isabelline shrike at the time,also saw swainsons this year as well I recall..blue cheeked bee-eater (cowden),ancient murrelet are two I recall seeing from my "twitching " days
 
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Anothr interesting thread could be the Ultimate UN-blocker. My vote for that would probably be the Winspit Red-flanked Bluetail ....... but the Grey-tailed Tattler is up there too.
 
MikeDale said:
Anothr interesting thread could be the Ultimate UN-blocker. My vote for that would probably be the Winspit Red-flanked Bluetail ....... but the Grey-tailed Tattler is up there too.
Click to expand...

Probably the Black Lark on Anglesey - seen by just about everyone and their grandmother, while the previous Spurn bird was seen by 3 people
 
Nutcracker said:
Probably the Black Lark on Anglesey - seen by just about everyone and their grandmother, while the previous Spurn bird was seen by 3 people
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Surely this doesn't count though, as the Anglesey bird was pre-acceptance of the Spurn bird (thereby preventing the Spurn bird from ever having been a blocker). :h?:

martin
 
Surely the idea of blocker is rare bird seen by very few and disappears quickly- can't think of a better candidate than the Aberlady Bay Caspian Plover. Got the call to see if I'd had a drink from 4 mates who had at 11pm - I hadn't ! Major success on their part - Driver secured . 2am departure from Tyneside - saw bird at 4.45am and it flew off never to be seen again by about 5.30am. 48 people present with 49th arriving in car park as it flew out of sight. (OOOOWWWWWW!!!!!) Never found out how many people appeared later as we were all in work by 9am pretending we'd had a perfect night's sleep.

Collared Flycatcher at Filey in mid 80's was pretty hard to get back for a while.

In terms of nights without sleep and blockers - 3 different Swinhoe's Storm-Petrels at Tynemouth sits quite nicely on one's list as a "multiple blocker" ( even my wife's seen one and she doesn't go birding) Suggest new thread - "best bird - least interested person" - think she might win with that one !
 
halll said:
In terms of nights without sleep and blockers - 3 different Swinhoe's Storm-Petrels at Tynemouth sits quite nicely on one's list as a "multiple blocker" ( even my wife's seen one and she doesn't go birding) Suggest new thread - "best bird - least interested person" - think she might win with that one !
Click to expand...

Good idea. Or "memorable meetings of girlfriends and rarities"...

Hehe, time to name and shame!!

Clarissa - copped an almighty strop at Grove Ferry over a Pec Sand; ended up flushing every bird on the reserve by going back to the car and leaning on the horn until I came back.

Heidi - strangely unsympathetic after I'd written off a car during a long weekend in September '95 on Shetland. Still, Pechora, Paddyfield, Bonelli's and Great Snipe made up for the subsequent break-up (and surgery to get all the windscreen glass out of me)

Pip - memorably underwhelmed by a singing Blyth's Reed at Dunge - turned to me in front of the assembled masses and asked incredulously "what the #### do you lot think you look like?"

Paula - another warbler at Dunge, another girlfriend seething in the car. This time an Iberian chiffy.

Paula (again) - when I finally found out about the Slender-billed Gull 20 miles away at Dunge one afternoon, and started to leave Tesco's carpark in true Hannu Mikola stylee - "if you're going to drive like this I'll get out and walk home from here".

Clarissa (again) - American Coot at Stodmarsh - "is that it?" - to be fair, a response I quite sympathise with!

Florence - Scops Owl, Morwenstow. Went ballistic as she found out that a) I'd lied and said I wasn't in the southwest that afternoon visiting my folks, in order to get out of a barbecue at her parents' house, and b) I'd rather go and see a small brown owl than spend an afternoon with her family. Lies - they always catch up with you...

Finally an honourable mention for Alison, not a girlfriend but a girl who fancied a birding mate of mine enough to drive us all the way to St Abb's Head from Kent for the Marmora's. Top lass, and she even wanted to see the bird. Pity we chivvied her away from St Abb's after we'd seen it so she could get us to Seahouses in time for a boat trip for Elsie. She'd only had half an hour's sleep in her Metro at St Abb's before she was driving us again... What a great girl she was.

Jon
 
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