Garden/Yard List 2016 (7 Viewers)

Richard Prior · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
At 6.20pm a small (2/3rds size of say...Teal) flew past the window, ''fast'' wing beats against a watery pale sky (dusk), clearly a water bird...and I can only compute Little Grebe, albeit apart from shape, wing beats, and size, it was mainly a silhouette, this would constitute a Garden Life/Year tick!....can I tick it?

Sorry Ken, if you can't eliminate Pied-billed Grebe you can't have it 8-P

One by one the spring arrivals are trickling up here (actually trickling up would be against the laws of gravity I suppose), at 06h30 this morning the first :

44 Song Thrush loudly (and proudly by the strength of its song) announcing its arrival.

dantheman · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
At 6.20pm a small (2/3rds size of say...Teal) flew past the window, ''fast'' wing beats against a watery pale sky (dusk), clearly a water bird...and I can only compute Little Grebe, albeit apart from shape, wing beats, and size, it was mainly a silhouette, this would constitute a Garden Life/Year tick!....can I tick it?

Imagine an escaped gamebird, other small grebe species or Moorhen, lost late Starling etc cannot be eliminated either unfortunately ...

(And size especially hard to tell accurately in dusk poor light conditions)

Nutcracker · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
''fast'' wing beats

Birds flap their wings faster at dusk / night in cold weather. Don't know exactly why, but presume it's something to do with air generating lift less well when it's colder with the temperature dropping with no thermals generated.

KenM · Mar 12, 2016

dantheman said:
Imagine an escaped gamebird, other small grebe species or Moorhen, lost late Starling etc cannot be eliminated either unfortunately ...

(And size especially hard to tell accurately in dusk poor light conditions)

Wing beats to fast for Moorhen, neck too long for Starling and "escaped" game bird (and it just wasn't either), on probability most unlikely to be any of the other small grebes, as it was flying betwixt two forest lakes circa each a mile apart.
Although I suspect like most people, having never seen the putative in flight before, size, shape, location and timing (dusk) doesn't leave me with much room to manoeuvre on other species.

dantheman · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
Wing beats to fast for Moorhen, neck too long for Starling and "escaped" game bird (and it just wasn't either), on probability most unlikely to be any of the other small grebes, as it was flying betwixt two forest lakes circa each a mile apart.
Although I suspect like most people, having never seen the putative in flight before, size, shape, location and timing (dusk) doesn't leave me with much room to manoeuvre on other species.

It's your list ... and you saw what you saw, and know how well

Only ever seen the occasional Dabchick in flight scurrying across the water surface; but they obviously do have to fly/migrate properly at times (at night, unless they use daytime mass public transportation unbeknownst to us), so agree, it could have been.

Nutcracker · Mar 12, 2016

dantheman said:
(at night, unless they use daytime mass public transportation unbeknownst to us)

I've never seen a Little Grebe on the bus or trains. Can't rule out that they might not use taxis, though :king:

Richard Prior · Mar 12, 2016

Nutcracker said:
I've never seen a Little Grebe on the bus or trains. Can't rule out that they might not use taxis, though :king:

Good point, after all, isn't the species' Latin name something like Tachybustop Ubercallus ?

KenM · Mar 12, 2016

Cheers guys....I suppose I'll have to call it a "Dab-tick" no.53.

I can see "H" looming up ahead of me, and Joanne just a speck in the wing mirror, must step on the gas!...before "The beast from the East" emerges from his lair. :eek!:

jasperpatch · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
Cheers guys....I suppose I'll have to call it a "Dab-tick" no.53. I can see "H" looming up ahead of me, and Joanne just a speck in the wing mirror, must step on the gas!...before "The beast from the East" emerges from his lair. :eek!:

Two more and you have my grand total from last year! Don't think Ill be winning any medals in this race!

Cartwheels from me for a new bird. No. 17 - Canada Goose.

KenM · Mar 12, 2016

jasperpatch said:
Two more and you have my grand total from last year! Don't think Ill be winning any medals in this race!

Cartwheels from me for a new bird. No. 17 - Canada Goose.

Remember the old maxim jasperpatch....It's the taking part that counts..not the gongs at year end!

If by taking part (sky watching can be productive), you find a "new" bird for your grdn.list....you have scored! Year on-Year.

For me it's adding new species and retaining old ones that count...not the overall total!

:t:

jasperpatch · Mar 12, 2016

KenM said:
Remember the old maxim jasperpatch....It's the taking part that counts..not the gongs at year end!

If by taking part (sky watching can be productive), you find a "new" bird for your grdn.list....you have scored! Year on-Year.

For me it's adding new species and retaining old ones that count...not the overall total!

:t:

Thanks Ken. I'm only jesting about the race to the line. Just funny seeing how far 'ahead' some people are already!

As a birder in a relatively new country (I've been in Canada almost 7 years, originally from UK), there are still so many new birds to see here that every year brings new species (either in the garden or nearby). And some of my regulars keep me entertained on a daily basis too. This year is all about the "green" list for me - anything I can see under my own steam, be it walking, cycling or kayaking once the lake ice melts.

Very much enjoying everyone's lists progressing wherever they are.

halftwo · Mar 13, 2016

A beautiful day here - I'm hoping the Curlews might call from above today.

Get that Dabchick on your list Ken - there's no rare committee here!

Jos Stratford · Mar 13, 2016

Not been up to date recently, largely due to it being the late winter season when new speceis are few and far between anyhow. So, odds and ends over the last month ...of these, Skylarks, Jackdaws and Common Buzzards are all incoming spring birds.

I noted that I had accidentally added Magpie twice, so delete one, then add all the following!

17. Common Buzzard
18. Skylark
19. Goldcrest
20. Treecreeper
21. Long-tailed Tit
22. Coal Tit
23. Nuthatch
24. Jackdaw
25. Siskin
26. Goldfinch
27. Common Redpoll
28. Yellowhammer

Been in Estonia this weekend, but am noticing big movements of geese, etc across the Baltic countries - I predict a massive influx of species on my land in the next few days ...

halftwo · Mar 13, 2016

A deceptively ordinary list there - all those fabulous species waiting in the/on the wing(s)!

joannec · Mar 13, 2016

KenM said:
Am pulling away again Joanne!...not just a garden year tick, but a year tick also! A pair of Bullfinches...no.52.

There have been three Bullfinches feeding on the blackthorn buds in the past few days.....super birds for the garden. Nothing new to add though.

Jos Stratford · Mar 14, 2016

halftwo said:
A deceptively ordinary list there - all those fabulous species waiting in the/on the wing(s)!

Just lulling you into a false sense of security

First pleasant surprise of the spring today (I say spring, but it was snowing all morning and the flood forest remains frozen) ...got out of my car to a pair of Cranes calling just adjecent, my resident pair were back, but then I heard a honk of Whooper Swans - occasional birds fly over most years, so I immediately glanced up to the sky. But as they honked again, I wandered behind a line of bushes to a temporary flooded hollow in my meadow ...a bunch of Mallards and one pair of Whooper Swans! First ever Whooper Swans to actually land on my land, almost as good as a totally new species!

Four additions today, all incoming spring birds:

29. Whooper Swan
30. Mallard
31. Common Crane
32. Stock Dove

A flock of geese also passed over, too distant and blurry in the falling snow ...almost certainly White-fronted Geese, but hopefully will get more in the next days to confirm them.

halftwo · Mar 14, 2016

Well - a red letter day today! The annual

RED KITE (56)

flew south - north down the valley this morning, briefly turning to investigate a Buzzard.
The Goosander pair have been past twice today too.

Warixenjalka · Mar 14, 2016

KenM said:
Remember the old maxim jasperpatch....It's the taking part that counts..not the gongs at year end!

If by taking part (sky watching can be productive), you find a "new" bird for your grdn.list....you have scored! Year on-Year.

For me it's adding new species and retaining old ones that count...not the overall total!

:t:

An old friend of mine (who was the orienteer) used to say: "The most important thing is not winning, but good prizes". B

I have also heard the saying: "The most important thing is not winning, but a crushing victory". :smoke:

Don't worry jasperpatch. I'm still behind you:

#15. Herring Gull
In my local paths I have allready seen Grey Heron and Whooper Swan. Maybe the spring coming after all...

KenM · Mar 14, 2016

Warixenjalka said:
An old friend of mine (who was the orienteer) used to say: "The most important thing is not winning, but good prizes". B
I have also heard the saying: "The most important thing is not winning, but a crushing victory". :smoke:

Don't worry jasperpatch. I'm still behind you:

#15. Herring Gull
In my local paths I have allready seen Grey Heron and Whooper Swan. Maybe the spring coming after all...

You're right there Warixenjalka!....but surely never "a crushing victory", for me quality (the "prizes") over quantity every time (if possible). :t:

The Falcon · Mar 14, 2016

44. Northern Harrier
45. Red-shouldered Hawk

Garden/Yard List 2016 (7 Viewers)

Halfway up an Alp

Bah humbug

Stop Brexit!

Well-known member

Bah humbug

Stop Brexit!

Halfway up an Alp

Well-known member

Amy, Brit in Quebec.

Well-known member

Amy, Brit in Quebec.

Wird Batcher

Eastern Exile

Wird Batcher

Well-known member

Eastern Exile

Wird Batcher

Birdwitcher

Well-known member

Registered Birder

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread