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

Garden/Yard List 2018. (1 Viewer)

KenM said:
They are a conundrum....there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to why they maintain an historical presence in some roads, and none in others, where historically they used to be present. North American cities appear to be favoured in my experience, perhaps the US could re-export some of their HS back to some of our urban "deserts" Central London being a needy site.

As your urban pops. of HS might just have developed a resistance to whatever ills have befallen ours, it might go some way in redressing the balance that your noxious Grey Squirrel has brought about, since being introduced by our Victorian ancestors. :t:
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I know many other American birders don't like HS' at their feeders, but I quite enjoy them. (I also wish the starlings would feed, too, but they have zero interest in the buffet I set out…in my area anyways). And it is indeed strange they've flourished here in the U.S. and have declined in their native land. I suppose it's evolution. And perhaps there's a study about it?

…and don't get my started on squirrels :storm:
 
We had a visit from a jay today - that's the first time I've ever seen a jay in my garden!

Just a shame it was quickly chased off by the local magpies. From what I gather, jays are rather shy and tend to stick to woods rather than gardens.
 
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dantheman said:
41: Tawny Owl - a couple of vocal birds after sundown.
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Almost dawn to dusk blue skies the last few days - not good for vismig at all. Shouldn't complain otherwise though, as makes a nice change from rainy Cornwall.

Today, 18th April, France Garden list -

42: Wryneck (h)
43: Dunnock 1 singing
44: Cormorant 1N

Thought I might have missed the Cormorant migration spectacle (multiple flocks of up to 300+ flying over), but a single winging north midday was nice.
 
Seriously lagging behind.

52 (53) Blackcap

The nearest one just audible from the wood. Chiffchaffs need to turn up the volume!
 
halftwo said:
Seriously lagging behind.

52 (53) Blackcap

The nearest one just audible from the wood. Chiffchaffs need to turn up the volume!
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Good to see you're back in the race H! Thought you'd pulled out with a torn ham "string"......but beware! "the beast from the East" is a lurking. :eek!:
 
halftwo said:
Seriously lagging behind.
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I've been seriously lagging behind on my updates, so much so that I haven't put anything since the very first days of January :-O

So, to catch up, easier to start my 2018 listagain:


Early winter stuff:

After a mild January, February hit with a vengeance, snow and very cold. Highlights the full suite of woodpeckers, most on the feeders, but Three-toed Woodpecker a one-day wonder in January.

Grey Grey Shrike was right through from January to early April, but two mid-winter White-tailed Eagles were fairly unusual, both in January due to mild conditions.

1.White-tailed Eagle
2. Sparrowhawk
3. Grey-headed Woodpecker
4. Black Woodpecker
5. White-backed Woodpecker
6. Great Spotted Woodpecker
7. Middle Spotted Woodpecker
8. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
9. Three-toed Woodpecker
10. Long-tailed Tit
11. Marsh Tit
12. Great Tit
13. Blue Tit
14. Coal Tit
15. Nuthatch
16. Treecreeper
17. Great Grey Shrike
18. Jay
19. Magpie
20. Hooded Crow
21. Raven
22. Goldfinch
23. Siskin
24. Common Redpoll
25. Bullfinch


First wave migrants (March):

With the melting of snow, an immediate arrival of traditional early migrants - geese going over, Rooks and Jackdaws back to breeding grounds, displaying Cranes in the meadows, Green Sandpipers back at the end of the month, displaying too.

26. Bean Goose
27. White-fronted Goose
28. Crane
29. Lapwing
30. Green Sandpiper
31. Skylark
32. Wren
33. Robin
34. Blackbird
35. Fieldfare
36. Song Thrush
37. Jackdaw
38. Rook
39. Starling
40. Chaffinch
41. Brambling
42. Yellowhammer


First half of April additions:

Lakes still frozen, but spring moving up a gear or two, White Storks back to their nests, a couple of pairs of Marsh Harriers displaying over territories, an early Swallow near mid-month.

43. Mallard
44. Grey Heron
45. White Stork
46. Marsh Harrier
47. Black-headed Gull
48. Feral Pigeon
49. Wood Pigeon
50. Swallow
51. Meadow Pipit
52. White Wagtail
53. Mistle Thrush
54. Chiffchaff
55. Linnet
56. Reed Bunting
 
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Top Day, 16 April

Best day of the spring so far - warm and sunny for quite some day, all lakes now long free of ice, big arrival of common birds, including Pied Flycatchers and Willow Warblers, plus booming Bittern.

Better though, a real purple patch for my land at Labanoras, all thanks to a couple of large pools remaining from snow melt: not only a pair of Garganey (non-annual visitor) and eight Wigeon (fourth record and highest ever count), but even better three Black-tailed Godwits! First record for my land, round they flew a few times before landing on a flood pool. Also here, several Teal, a few Mallards and two pairs of Whooper Swans (these also rare actually on my land, usually occurring just a day or two on these melt pools).

The addition of Black-tailed Godwit brings the total number of bird species recorded on my land to 174.

57. Whooper Swan - two pairs
58. Teal
59. Garganey
60. Wigeon
61. Bittern
62. Black-tailed Godwit
63. Common Gull
64. Blackcap
65. Willow Warbler
66. Pied Flycatcher
 
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Jos Stratford said:
The beast awakens, did you see I was typing?! :)
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I've hacked in to your BF account Jos!.....I see everything (including errors) in "real time". ;)

Now a serious question...As you have comparative experience with RBFly...compared to mine, which at best is three distant shadowed sightings of non male birds, apart from an overwintering bird in.Beds.many years ago.

How would you describe the "red" on the breast as compared to Robin?

Cheers
 
KenM said:
How would you describe the "red" on the breast as compared to Robin?
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I see quite a few RbFs, but the bird overall is nothing like a Robin, so I can't say it has ever crossed my mind to compare the colours of the two when actually watching them. But to answer the question, I don't know why, but the shades of red on RbF don't really 'feel' similar to Robin, maybe I could say a kind of more gentle, purer shade, maybe lighter, than the more intense of Robin. Perhaps this impression is driven partly by the more restricted extent of the red on RbF.

Does have to be said also, the red on RbF is far more variable than the red on Robins.
 
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Jos Stratford said:
I see quite a few RbFs, but the bird overall is nothing like a Robin, so I can't say it has ever crossed my mind to compare the colours of the two. But to answer the question, I don't know why, but the shades of red on RbF don't really 'feel' similar to Robin, maybe I could say a kind of more gentle, purer shade than the more intense of Robin. Perhaps this impression is driven partly by the more restricted extent of the red on RbF.

Does have to be said also, the red on RbF is far more variable than the red on Robins.
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Cheers Jos, I thought I had a male RBF on Cyprus 7th April (my last day), mentioned it in my trip report. The bird that I saw gave just a "nanosecond" view, to my eye the red looked quite unlike the the orangey red of Robin, more crimson-ish, hence my question. :t:
 
63 Common Redstart

A handsome male briefly this morning brought a nine-day barren spell to an end.
Peak migration time and glorious weather, so where are the birds I ask myself?
Tree Pipit just down the road so perhaps that will be the next arrival here.
 
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Windy day, but good for raptors - Marsh Harriers displaying/quartering throughout, but better an early Hobby over early on, then an Osprey a little later. Had another Osprey nearby later on.

Yellow Wagtail newly arrived, as was singing Wood Warbler.

67. Osprey
68. Hobby
69. Herring Gull
70. Yellow Wagtail
71. Wood Warbler
 
Richard Prior said:
Peak migration time and glorious weather, so where are the birds I ask myself?
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Ditto - except we've had awful weather, at least for here. However, lunch time today the sun appeared and so did 3 new ones for the year at home. So, feeling a bit behind most of you I'm now at the psycologically important 50 species :-O

48. Red-rumped Swallow - long, long overdue
49. Common Whitethroat - not many in the spring
50. Great Reed Warbler - a big surprise and the first at home. When I first partially glimpsed it through the leaves of a fig tree I was thinking Nightingale, then no, ain't a blinkin' Savi's is it? It revealed itself and then was obvious. A real rare for inside the village.
 
First hirundine of the year, whilst Hooded Crow and Jay were added to the list of birds that could have been seen from the garden, as I watched them from 300m away passing high over the garden.

58. Swallow
 
At c16.53 (all gone in a few minutes) circa a dozen Swifts came down out of the stormy cloudscape heading NNEast, last year's Swift on the 27th was my earliest by far (at home), however today's arrivals have eclipsed that comfortably. no.63.
 
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