A little bit of this, a little bit of that (1 Viewer)

[delia todd]

Ooops... Mark has it... I'll need to get in touch with him!

I need to update my BF200 list too!

D

 

[StuartReeves]

Oh, and I think there might have been a few birdies in Scotland too. If only I could remember what any of them were. And I only had a tiny sip of the whisky.

If only someone had written them all down and there was some way of getting access to that information, maybe using a computer or something...

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

If only someone had written them all down and there was some way of getting access to that information, maybe using a computer or something...

But that would be cheating. I thought I might actually try and remember them all on my own. One at a time. That should keep me going till I next get out birding.

So, folks, as you may have gathered - Five Went Birding. Drs Grubb and Whitehouse, the rather lovely Mrs Grubb and the excellent Delia Todd of this parish went to Islay for Easter. We were joined there by Martyn, Dr W's Northamptonshire pal and Janfin, a new and very welcome BF lady member.

Islay was damn gorgeous, bloody cold and astonishingly sunny. I loved it. And I saw lots of:

89. Red-Billed Chough
I've seen these before in Pembrokeshire a couple of times but only one or two and on Islay we met loads - the largest single quantity being 5, I think, feeding in a dip amongst the dunes. It can only be their rarity which has prevented these birds from being icons of witchcraft. Jet black feathers and a sinisterly curved blood red bill would lend themselves to many a
scary legend.

 

[markgrubb]

Oh, and I think there might have been a few birdies in Scotland too. If only I could remember what any of them were. And I only had a tiny sip of the whisky.

A wee clue. Try looking at the Islay thread now. And as there were at least 95 species seen it might bump up your list a bit

 

[delia todd]

Islay was damn gorgeous, bloody cold and astonishingly sunny.

You southern softy:-O... 'twasn't cold at all - I never did my jacket up and didn't wear my gloves (er... well most of the time anyway.... I even lost them for a day) but don't like remembering that bit, poor Jacq|:$|

D

 

[markgrubb]

Close but no cigar-do you not remember the 13 we saw when Dr W took us on that infamous 'short cut' back to the car

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

Close but no cigar-do you not remember the 13 we saw when Dr W took us on that infamous 'short cut' back to the car

Well, no. I remember you mentioning them at the time but I don't think I saw anything like 13 at that point. I might have been off on a bit of a wander and missed the best bit.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

Then there were the divers.

90. Great Northern Diver - on every bit of sea we looked at, I believe. Sadly, no White-Billed to make things more exciting. I blame Andrew.

and

91. Red Throated Diver

... which for some reason always reminds me of this bird (Yes, I know they're not related)

 

[markgrubb]

Well, no. I remember you mentioning them at the time but I don't think I saw anything like 13 at that point. I might have been off on a bit of a wander and missed the best bit.

Or you might have been yakking or eating chocolate....

And you still haven't updated your list properly-probably waiting for some poor sucker to do it for you...

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

Or you might have been yakking or eating chocolate....

And you still haven't updated your list properly-probably waiting for some poor sucker to do it for you...

Yakking, fair enough, but I don't think I ate a lot of chocolate on Islay.

Patience, Dr G. As I said, I'm doing them one at a time.

92. Purple Sandpiper

 

[markgrubb]

Yakking, fair enough, but I don't think I ate a lot of chocolate on Islay.

Patience, Dr G. As I said, I'm doing them one at a time.

92. Purple Sandpiper

You've still to mention the other wader that Dr W dissed as a sighting. But maybe you're waiting from his return from Faro... or not depending on a certain Icelandic volcano...can't see him shedding too many tears having to have a day or two unenforced extra birding.... as opposed to several days of unenforced not Extremadura birding.....:-C

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

You've still to mention the other wader that Dr W dissed as a sighting. But maybe you're waiting from his return from Faro... or not depending on a certain Icelandic volcano...can't see him shedding too many tears having to have a day or two unenforced extra birding.... as opposed to several days of unenforced not Extremadura birding.....:-C

The other one's on my year list already.

Oops, are you supposed to be in Spain now? Commiserations of the highest order.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

Not 1 but 3 Sedgies jazzing it up from the shrubbery at the side of the river today. Still no Willow Warbler, though. I wonder if I've forgotten what they sound like?

93. Sedge Warbler

I really should try and finish off the Islay birds, shouldn't I?

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

But first. I think I forgot this one which Will and I had best ever views of at Titchwell on Mother's Day.

94. Water Rail

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

OK then, here goes. Tell me if I've had any of these already, you know how bad my memory is these days:

95. Greenland White-Fronted Goose
96. Gannet
97. Eider
98. Red Breasted Merganser
99. Hen Harrier
100. Ringed Plover
101. Kittiwake
102. Guillemot
103. Razorbill
104. Black Guillemot
105. Rock Dove
106. Rock Pipit
107. Wheatear
108. Treecreeper
109. Greenshank
110. Twite
111. Slavonian Grebe
112. Common Scoter
113. Swallow
114. Fulmar
115. Manx Shearwater
116. Golden Eagle

I think that's it.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

At last, down by the river yesterday and no, I hadn't forgotten what they sound like:

117. Willow Warbler

Say what you like about Peterborough (and I often do) but the cycle network really is blooming good - I cycled miles yesterday barely touching a road and mostly through some really nice green spaces.

Then in the evening, I had a little drive up to Woodwalton Fen. It was a beautiful still evening and within 2 minutes of walking on to the reserve, (look away now if you disapprove of aural listing) I could hear a:

118. Grasshopper Warbler

and a number of:

119. Reed Warbler

and:

120. Cuckoo

And then the principal object of my trip flew over the path with that deep-throated, bubbling sound:

121. Woodcock

Anyone know what they are up to when they are roding? Is it the males flying around trying to catch a female's attention? Do the females then get up and fly with them? My one Woodcock became a pair after a little while.

A beautiful evening and there was even a rather attractive birder who stopped for a chat. Wonders will never cease.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

And then the principal object of my trip flew over the path with that deep-throated, bubbling sound:

121. Woodcock

Anyone know what they are up to when they are roding? Is it the males flying around trying to catch a female's attention? Do the females then get up and fly with them? My one Woodcock became a pair after a little while.

A beautiful evening and there was even a rather attractive birder who stopped for a chat. Wonders will never cease.

I'm trying to work out what the 'wonder' is here: that there was a birder who was attractive or that they stopped to chat with you .

It's usually supposed to be the male doing the roding, but I must admit that I've never been too sure what's going on when you get two going around together. I just checked BWP and that didn't make it entirely clear either. The female will sometimes fly up with the male for a bit though, so perhaps that was what was going on.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

I'm trying to work out what the 'wonder' is here: that there was a birder who was attractive or that they stopped to chat with you .

It's usually supposed to be the male doing the roding, but I must admit that I've never been too sure what's going on when you get two going around together. I just checked BWP and that didn't make it entirely clear either. The female will sometimes fly up with the male for a bit though, so perhaps that was what was going on.

Both, of course.

I thought it must be a pair because where would be the sense in two blokes going round together?

The last time I went to Woodwalton to watch the Woodcocks I was convinced that there were hundreds of them because of the number that flew over my head. It was only this time that I realised that they do a circuit and come back again.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

The laddie was playing rugby at St Neots today (I say playing, mostly he was standing on the sidelines hoping to play) so I had a wander round Paxton Pits with my man and managed to see a couple of:

122. Common Tern

And, even better, on the way there we had a nice fly-over:

123. Hobby

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Nice one on the flyover Hobby. I kept looking upwards today hoping for one of those, but twas not to be.