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

Garden / Yard List 2017 (3 Viewers)

Quick update before I head off to England for a couple of weeks, maybe I'll add some to Dad's garden list while I'm there.

49. Pine Siskin
50. Tree Swallow (a first from the garden)
51. Chipping Sparrow.

(Note, the eagle-eyed amongst you will note that I jumped from 47 to 49, I'd got two different birds down for 43. Took me far too long to figure out why my numbers didn't tally).
 
Nice bit of spring action in the past days, Garganey still present, Wrynecks singing on territory, assorted migrants arriving.

Best of the lot though, a stunning views of a pair of Hazel Grouse taking a stroll next to my cabin, before sitting up in the low branches of a tree.

91. Hazel Grouse
92. Cuckoo
93. Wryneck
94. House Martin
95. Northern Wheatear
96. Whitethroat
 
Ooh, Hazel Grouse on the garden list, one to make us all jealous Jos.
30 hours of non-stop rain here, the Common Redstart was singing again yesterday before the deluge began.
Smashed the garden list White Wagtail record though with 10 feeding around the sheep, maybe I'll get lucky and have a migrating Yellow Wagtail drop in......
 
Single Swift flew past Saturday PM. Garden tick and a year tick for me.

Funnily enough no House Martins so far. Not often I get a Swift before a HM.
 
Nothing too exciting to add, but finally added fly-over sightings from the garden this weekend of:

30. Rook
31. Jackdaw

No doubt both have passed already this year, but a full day in the garden yesterday was productive (both in bird species counts, and in fruit garden tidying)

A few to add from the last couple of weeks, all nice summer arrivals:

32. Pied Wagtail
33. Song thrush - at least two males singing
34. House Martin - back in the area, but the two nests on neighbours' houses remain unoccupied so far
35. Common Swift - one or two over
36. Common Whitethroat - first time ever I've actually seen (and photographed) one in the garden, although I hear them singing and calling annually in the nearby hedgerows.
 

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Both Swift and Swallow arrived here yesterday. This is about the usual time for swifts but the swallows are a bit late this year.

Tonight two Swifts are roosting, one under the tiles and one in the camera nest box, fingers are crossed they raise a brood in the camera box this year.
 
We've been having unusually late SW winds with some showers since yesterday - the most noticable effect has been lots of late Gannets - about 300 in an hour yesterday evening. After seeing "something interesting" but not identified (no - I'm not going to string that one!) over the sea at distance from the terrace (250m from sea) last light last night I put the scope up at first light this morning - just in case. Although I didn't see what I was dreaming about I spent over an hour admiring the Gannets (mostly imms) going west - in some surprising numbers, much more than last night and lots of them close inshore near the beach. I reckon about 1,000 birds in one hour - though this is a dodgy estimate as I was selfishly searching for anything else. Considering the date it was quite good - nothing too unusual but 3 birds for the year list at home. Also, but not new for the year were 7 Balearic Shearwaters, a super long nicely lit flight view of a Bonxie right by the shore and a couple of Sandwich Tern flocks - some 40 in total - all birds going west into the, or through the poor weather. Also, 3 ad. Shags, YL Gulls of course and some very distant terns which may have been "Commic". After a squally start with some wind and drizzle its sunny now and visibility is poor (haze) - with Gannets now only in the far distance

62. Arctic Skua - a nice addition - when I lived at Lagos a bit east of here I'd see them quite regularly off the headland but here I'm in a bay.
63. Cory's Shearwater - 1st of the year and quite early - numbers should build up through the summer and than be a regular sight.
64. Little Egret - long overdue, some birds that breed near Lagos feed down on the reef near here but I just never caught one going by from home this year till now.
 
On a bit of a roll here - another first home bird and not when expected.

65. Honey Buzzard

Did a double take when I glanced up at a 4 Yellow-legged Gulls - one of 'ems a raptor!!!...ran up to terrace where the bins and scope are and had a good look at some 300m - it being escorted more than mobbed by now 5 gulls - then disappeared over the ridge to the east. Looked to be a dark ad. female Some 20kms to the west of me at Sagres its an autumn bird - some 100 or more sometimes more - spring records in the Algarve generally are rare..
 
Sun, snow, sun ...a right roller coaster. Still, migrants arriving nevertheless - Montagu's Harrier today, plus three new for the year:

97. Golden Oriole
98. Wood Warbler
99. Sedge Warbler
 
Coucals, skuas and orioles, magic!
Nothing to add, but I did receive a visit from a species
seen only thanks to the telescope up to now.
I was mowing the grass yesterday when it went momentarily dark
as something cast a shadow.Looked up to see a ginormous immature Lammergeier circling quite low above me!
I'll have to warn any visitors this year that sunbathing here could be dangerous;)
 
Probably the last addition at the old address - moving on Saturday - but rather a special one:

70: Hobby

- a very brief view, but a view nonetheless!
 
OK. Time to start again.

Moved house today (partly) & spent an hour at the new place:

Starling
Blackbird
Crow
Jackdaw
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Buzzard
House Sparrow
House Martin
Swift
Blue Tit.
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Rook
Linnet
LBBG Gull
Black-headed Gull
 
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