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Young Birder (7 Viewers)
- Thread starter The Barn Owl
- Start date
mr.sim
Honourable founding member of the "day late" gang
Local area doing very well for an inland location recently. Ive had 2 Common Cranes over my bus stop on 27th and saw the Great Grey Shrike at Denver Sluice today where I also found a male Scaup. There have also been Waxwing(s?) just down the road a couple of weeks ago...
devilbirder
Well-known member
3 Long-eared Owls at my local patch lately. I got within 5 foot of one right out in the open today. Pic on www.diporglory.co.uk. Also today at the patch I got a Peregrine and a Water Pipit.
Shame I couldn't meet up with you today, James and Sim.
Shame I couldn't meet up with you today, James and Sim.
mr.sim
Honourable founding member of the "day late" gang
It wasn't really a decision though James, more of a need for (you) to stay at home. And then you found the papers at uni! Nooooooooooooo!!!!!
But yeah, half the stuff disappeared anyway. We would probably only have got RBGoose, Ring-Necked Parakeet and LEO. Theres always another chance...christmas hols maybe
But yeah, half the stuff disappeared anyway. We would probably only have got RBGoose, Ring-Necked Parakeet and LEO. Theres always another chance...christmas hols maybe
canadagurl123
Well-known member
Great to hear that there are other young birders. Around where I live 95 percent of serious birders are over 35 years old. Definitely get to know the local birders and join birding groups. I have gotten many a free ride to a rare bird from birders I know and you also can gain some great friendships. It's especially tough to go bird watching when you can not drive so you just have to creative. I've got 246 species this year in my city alone and 95 percent them were by public transport or car pooling. So just be patient and have fun while birding!!
luke
A Welsh birder in Dorset!
You wanna try Gwent, most birders in gwent are 70+. it will soon get to a point that every twitch will need disabled parking and access ramps!
Our club talks are superb night out! a cuppa tea and a biscuit. Waha!
Kevin Groocock
Well-known member
mr.sim
Honourable founding member of the "day late" gang
Well now, there have been many highlights and, I'm glad to say, not so many lowlights, in birding this year for me.
Themost annoying parts were things like the Black Lark - school got in the way once again! Also the Steppe Grey Shrike - disappeared 2 days before I was due to go for it! Never mind - there will always be others. Maybe not for the Black Lark, but heres hoping!
On the brighter side I have notched up nearly 30 lifers and have hit the 300 mark on my British List. I have also trashed my record year list with my current total for 2008 being 251 - latest one was a much needed self found Saup at my patch!
I've had plenty of rare and scarce (Great Reed Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Audoin's Gull, Green Heron, White-Crowned Sparrow, Trumpeter Finch, Glossy Ibis, etc etc). But its not just the rares that have kept me going - the Ptarmigans on Cairn Gorm just before we got back to the car park after climbing right to the top of the mountain was a huge relief and a great pleasure. Also finding a pair of Capercaillie at a secret breeding site and clinching Parrot Crossbill in Scotland.
I've had a few finds, most of which were Common Cranes!
I've also been in a couple of minor falls - The Ickys in Spring were awesome and the early September (?) fall on the Norfolk Coast when James and I went to Burnham Overy. First time we've visited and the place was alive with Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins and Goldcrests. We connected with the Radde's Warbler as well, and found a Honey Buzzard, before re-finding the Blyth's Reed at West Runton after it hadn't been seen for 3 hours! Annoyingly that day, at Burnham Overy dunes, I lost what could have been "the big one". I was standing by a large bush quite early, and listening to a Goldcrest and a Robin in the bush whilst checking to see if anything else was in it. Suddenly a small passerine flitted to the outside of the bush less than a metre away from me. I only saw the face but I was 99% sure it was a locustella warbler! :eek!espite extensive searching (and even going inside the bush!) I never saw it again...:-C
Hopefully it was just a Gropper, but we'll never know!
Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy (and productive) 2009 B
Themost annoying parts were things like the Black Lark - school got in the way once again! Also the Steppe Grey Shrike - disappeared 2 days before I was due to go for it! Never mind - there will always be others. Maybe not for the Black Lark, but heres hoping!
On the brighter side I have notched up nearly 30 lifers and have hit the 300 mark on my British List. I have also trashed my record year list with my current total for 2008 being 251 - latest one was a much needed self found Saup at my patch!
I've had plenty of rare and scarce (Great Reed Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Audoin's Gull, Green Heron, White-Crowned Sparrow, Trumpeter Finch, Glossy Ibis, etc etc). But its not just the rares that have kept me going - the Ptarmigans on Cairn Gorm just before we got back to the car park after climbing right to the top of the mountain was a huge relief and a great pleasure. Also finding a pair of Capercaillie at a secret breeding site and clinching Parrot Crossbill in Scotland.
I've had a few finds, most of which were Common Cranes!
I've also been in a couple of minor falls - The Ickys in Spring were awesome and the early September (?) fall on the Norfolk Coast when James and I went to Burnham Overy. First time we've visited and the place was alive with Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins and Goldcrests. We connected with the Radde's Warbler as well, and found a Honey Buzzard, before re-finding the Blyth's Reed at West Runton after it hadn't been seen for 3 hours! Annoyingly that day, at Burnham Overy dunes, I lost what could have been "the big one". I was standing by a large bush quite early, and listening to a Goldcrest and a Robin in the bush whilst checking to see if anything else was in it. Suddenly a small passerine flitted to the outside of the bush less than a metre away from me. I only saw the face but I was 99% sure it was a locustella warbler! :eek!
espite extensive searching (and even going inside the bush!) I never saw it again...:-CHopefully it was just a Gropper, but we'll never know!
Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy (and productive) 2009 B
Connor Rand
Norwich resident, Holme devotee
2008 was for me a fairly good year. Highlights in rarity terms were White-crowned Sparrow, Steppe Grey Shrike, Black-throated Thrush, Trumpeter Finch, Audoins Gull, Lesser Grey Shrike, Blyth's Reed Warbler and lots of other rarities including 2 Red-footed Falcons, Whiskered Tern, Citrine Wagtail, Subalpine Warbler, Bluethroat etc. Patch highlights aside from the BT Thrush included a good spring fall, with 2 Icterine Warblers and a Red-backed Shrike and an excellent autumn fall with the Thrush, 3+ Pallas's Warblers, Barred Warbler, YB Warbler, 5 Waxwings, Firecrest and excellent numbers of common migrants. Pleasing finds included Red-backed Shrike, Barred Warbler, Pallas's Warbler, Temminck's Stint, 2 Iceland Gulls, Black Kite (of unknown origin), 2 Yellow-bowed Warblers, 3 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, Cory's Shearwater, Honey Buzzard and a group of 5 Common Cranes. Merry xmas and a happy new year to all, lets hope next year is as good or better!
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JRE
Guest
Really? Nice one. I wish the rest of us could predict things like that. :cat:
devilbirder
Well-known member
08 was good, with some major tarts ticked, won't mention them here, they're too tartish. Green and Night Heron, general migrants, Cranes, Temmincks Stint, Red-backed Shrike, Spoonbills etc etc and Great White Egret+Osprey+Wood Sand on my local patch were all brill. There's been so many good birds and great moments, my best year so far, I can't even think about listing them all here.
I only really started patching properly this year and I'm glad 08 got me into the habit and hopefully I'll find more stuff in the future.
I totally smashed my pathetic, old year lists with 192 (might get one or two more year ticks before the end of the year, like Bittern) though I'm disappointed I didn't get 200. I'm certain I will next year, with patching more, a change in tactics, Scilly and Norfolk + local wintering Firecrests and LEOs as easy ticks.
Also, I've made a lot more birding friends and contacts this year, one or two in particular have turned out to be fantastic mates.
It hasn't been without lows, such as dipping Wryneck and other stuff at my local patch. The worst, though, was missing fly-over Honey Buzzards at three of my local patches: Beddington SF, Nonsuch Park and Banstead Downs + one that flew over my school five minutes after I went inside. I guess I wasn't lucky with this year's Honey Buzz influx.
I hope 09 is even better.
I only really started patching properly this year and I'm glad 08 got me into the habit and hopefully I'll find more stuff in the future.
I totally smashed my pathetic, old year lists with 192 (might get one or two more year ticks before the end of the year, like Bittern) though I'm disappointed I didn't get 200. I'm certain I will next year, with patching more, a change in tactics, Scilly and Norfolk + local wintering Firecrests and LEOs as easy ticks.
Also, I've made a lot more birding friends and contacts this year, one or two in particular have turned out to be fantastic mates.
It hasn't been without lows, such as dipping Wryneck and other stuff at my local patch. The worst, though, was missing fly-over Honey Buzzards at three of my local patches: Beddington SF, Nonsuch Park and Banstead Downs + one that flew over my school five minutes after I went inside. I guess I wasn't lucky with this year's Honey Buzz influx.
I hope 09 is even better.
Connor Rand
Norwich resident, Holme devotee
On-Firecrest
Stuck in a Rutt
I've never really done this whole yearly highlights thing, it's always struck me as fairly pointless, however i've had a glass of IPA, a long day and I might as well join in...
January,
Highlight: White-crowned Sparrow was the obvious highlight, if standing around in a crowd of 50(ish? can't remember, the memories hazy,) twitchers can be classed as a highlight for mediocre views of a semi smartish bird. (I'm pretty sure that's not what I said at the time.)
Lowlight: Snow Geese, how over rated are they!
February,
Highlight: Rough-legged Buzzard. Nuff said.
Lowlight: Another Long-tailed Duck dip, Holme hates me (the NWT bit, don't kill me please Connor)
March,
Highlight: Guttata race Barn Owl, cleaning up all but one of the brecklands specials and my funnest ever dip of a Bluethroat.
Lowlights: Personal reasons, but on a birding theme, doing a really rubbish review of a mediocre book (Beguiled by Birds, only get it from a library).
April,
Highlights: There wasn't any...
Lowlight: It was a really bad month for just about everything.
May,
Highlight: Finally nailing decent shots of Sedge Warbler, Nightingale, Common Tern and Hobby. Subsequently lost them all when my computer went bang, recovered all but the Hobby from friends, did I send the Hobby to anyone?
Lowlight: Not doing enough birding.
June,
Highlight: One word - Scotland! And those Dunlin shots...
Lowlight: Exams...
July,
Highlight: For the first time doing some public transport twitching.
Lowlights: It was too hot!
August,
Highlight: The birdfair and a confiding juvy Red backed Shrike.
Lowlight: Hot weather!
September,
Highlight: Co finding the second Landguard Dotterel and a Honey Buzzard and finding a local Osprey.
Lowlight: Relenting and twitching in Norfolk.
October,
Highlight: Pallas's Warbler, Green Heron and Grey Phalarope in a week. My first ever Lizard was pretty cool as well.
Lowlight: Bad winds for most of the month making it bad east coast birding.
November,
Highlight: Steppe grey Shrike! Disappointed you turned down the lift Sim?
Lowlight: Donald Trump. If you don't know then read this - http://stuckinaruttbirding.blogspot.com/2008/11/trumped.html and wonder why...
December,
Highlight: Decent views of Waxwing at last, and finding out that one was colour ringed in Aberdeen.
Lowlight: No proper birding trips at all (yet, got a Long-tailed Duck nearish me thats gonna get dipped.)
So...yeah...make of that what you will (if you read it.)
January,
Highlight: White-crowned Sparrow was the obvious highlight, if standing around in a crowd of 50(ish? can't remember, the memories hazy,) twitchers can be classed as a highlight for mediocre views of a semi smartish bird. (I'm pretty sure that's not what I said at the time.)
Lowlight: Snow Geese, how over rated are they!
February,
Highlight: Rough-legged Buzzard. Nuff said.
Lowlight: Another Long-tailed Duck dip, Holme hates me (the NWT bit, don't kill me please Connor
)March,
Highlight: Guttata race Barn Owl, cleaning up all but one of the brecklands specials and my funnest ever dip of a Bluethroat.
Lowlights: Personal reasons, but on a birding theme, doing a really rubbish review of a mediocre book (Beguiled by Birds, only get it from a library).
April,
Highlights: There wasn't any...
Lowlight: It was a really bad month for just about everything.
May,
Highlight: Finally nailing decent shots of Sedge Warbler, Nightingale, Common Tern and Hobby. Subsequently lost them all when my computer went bang, recovered all but the Hobby from friends, did I send the Hobby to anyone?
Lowlight: Not doing enough birding.
June,
Highlight: One word - Scotland! And those Dunlin shots...
Lowlight: Exams...
July,
Highlight: For the first time doing some public transport twitching.
Lowlights: It was too hot!
August,
Highlight: The birdfair and a confiding juvy Red backed Shrike.
Lowlight: Hot weather!
September,
Highlight: Co finding the second Landguard Dotterel and a Honey Buzzard and finding a local Osprey.
Lowlight: Relenting and twitching in Norfolk.
October,
Highlight: Pallas's Warbler, Green Heron and Grey Phalarope in a week. My first ever Lizard was pretty cool as well.
Lowlight: Bad winds for most of the month making it bad east coast birding.
November,
Highlight: Steppe grey Shrike! Disappointed you turned down the lift Sim?
Lowlight: Donald Trump. If you don't know then read this - http://stuckinaruttbirding.blogspot.com/2008/11/trumped.html and wonder why...
December,
Highlight: Decent views of Waxwing at last, and finding out that one was colour ringed in Aberdeen.
Lowlight: No proper birding trips at all (yet, got a Long-tailed Duck nearish me thats gonna get dipped.)
So...yeah...make of that what you will (if you read it.)
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