Durham Birding (1 Viewer)

[ted hilland]

Forgot to post this chiffchaff shot from the other day

Probs because its a crap photo Jbee,lol. Im actually quite allergic to bird feathers and that pics almost got me sneezing, marvellous.

 

[JBee]

Probs because its a crap photo Jbee,lol. Im actually quite allergic to bird feathers and that pics almost got me sneezing, marvellous.

Snap Ted - I too am allergic to them. We had to get rid of a roller canary many years ago when the docs realised what was causing my constant sneezing and watering eyes
It was a bit of a blessing - that was one hell of a noisy bird

 

[StevieEvans]

RNDuck (s)

Dave / all
Struggling to remember...
When was it we had 3 RNDucks at the same time at Low Barns ?
Steve

 

[Mark Newsome]

Dave / all
Struggling to remember...
When was it we had 3 RNDucks at the same time at Low Barns ?
Steve

In 2002, a female was present at Washington WWT from 3rd to 13th Jan, then relocated to Low Barns from 16th Jan to 30th Apr. A male joined it from 16th to 30th April, and a 2nd male was present 17th to 30th April.
The last one in the county was on the Tees Marshes in July/Aug 2003.

 

[Paul Mc]

Bird seed

Before heading off for my weekly dose of medicine in the seven stars(!) I wondered if anyone could advise me re bird seed. I have several feeders around the place and wondered about the type / quality of seed that I put out? Also, is there anywhere around the Durham area that sells it?
I have been buying from the local garden center up to now.

Paul

 

[JBee]

Before heading off for my weekly dose of medicine in the seven stars(!) I wondered if anyone could advise me re bird seed. I have several feeders around the place and wondered about the type / quality of seed that I put out? Also, is there anywhere around the Durham area that sells it?
I have been buying from the local garden center up to now.

Paul

If you buy bird food with an aniseed content mixed in then it can work wonders.
It is worth paying the extra for good quality bird food as most "cheaper" brands have a high content of wheat etc which is used as a "filler"
Food containing sunflower hearts rather than whole sunflower can save a lot of mess if the feeders are in the garden.
Look for bird food that has been treated to prevent it from germinating too.
Buying in bulk is a good idea as it can save you considerable amounts of money.
To be honest you cant go far wrong with plain old peanuts and sunflower hearts. Remember that is a few weeks time you need to start putting out peanut "nibblets" on bird tables rather than whole peanuts. Don't waste money buying these - simply zap whole peanuts through a food processor for a few seconds.
Searching the web for UK bird food suppliers turns up lots of results.

 

[DEREK.C.]

Before heading off for my weekly dose of medicine in the seven stars(!) I wondered if anyone could advise me re bird seed. I have several feeders around the place and wondered about the type / quality of seed that I put out? Also, is there anywhere around the Durham area that sells it?
I have been buying from the local garden center up to now.

Paul

Black sunflower is cheap and taken by most titmice , nuthatchs,and greenfinch, but i found mixed canary seed is favoured by all finches and buntings. Its a bit more expensive, but contains 5 or 6 different seeds including rape and linseed. Theres a good pet shop at wheatley hill sells it.
I found it easier to attract finches down by putting seed on a flat board or peice of ply .

 

[StevieEvans]

In 2002, a female was present at Washington WWT from 3rd to 13th Jan, then relocated to Low Barns from 16th Jan to 30th Apr. A male joined it from 16th to 30th April, and a 2nd male was present 17th to 30th April.
The last one in the county was on the Tees Marshes in July/Aug 2003.

tempus fugit
cheers Mark

....<snip>.....Elemore golfcourse feeding station still pretty busy.....<snip>..... great to see andrew bewick from sunderland council pass a conservation order on the land last week

That sounds good.
Hopefully the only driving on there now will be with a golf club, rather than a Twocked Golf.....


CW reports 2 Peregrines at Rainton Meadows today

8 adult LBBGulls in noisy dispute over factories at Dragonvile today.

SE

 

[rokermartin]

Sunderland Harbour 1 2ndw Iceland Gull 3 LBB Gull,1 RT Diver, and 12 Snow Bunting flew north over Roker beach.Whitburn 1 ad Med Gull.That is only my third Iceland Gull i have seen in Sunderland Harbour this winter,still have'nt seen any Glaucous Gulls at the harbour.

 

[June Atkinson]

Newsflash Red Kites for Consett

Today marks an important occasion, the inaugural Red Kite Bus Service which will run from Eldon Square to the Metrocentre and along the Derwent valley, up to Consett.

Keith Bowey, Project Leader of Northern Kites, says: "The route runs from Eldon Square to the Metrocentre and along the Derwent valley, up to Consett." The fleet of red kite buses is officially launched today. There will be a fleet of nine buses (count them!), all drivers will be in receipt of kite awareness training, all bus cabs will have 'frequently asked question' info. in them, there are red kite displays on the inside of the buses, eventually the timetable will explain to people where to get off to go and see kites and each individual bus will be named after the name of a kite adopted by a local school from along the route of the bus!

For more about today's inaugural service see either Northern Kites or Gateshead Birding thread.

We know that the real kites have been increasingly seen in North-West Durham - Consett, the Derwent Reservoir, Waskerley and also at Causey Arch and Beamish. Our kites are dispersing, so please, if you see any, do ring the Kites Office on 0191 496 1555. If you can read any Wing Tag numbers that is even more important. The transmitters of the first birds released in 2004 are beginning to weaken, so that we appreciate even more the co-operation of birdwatchers in the field.

 

[DEREK.C.]

That sounds good.
Hopefully the only driving on there now will be with a golf club, rather than a Twocked Golf.....


What do you mean steve , nobody from easington lane steals things ||

 

[seggs]

anyone know if the ring necked duck is still at low barnes?

 

[Mark Newsome]

Good numbers of Rock Pipits at Whitburn today included 2+ Scandinavian birds (race littoralis) allowing close comparison. The Scands. were just starting to get a bit of summer plumage, with grey feathering coming through on the crown and a decent supercilium. The flies were very active on the seaweed and the pipits and wagtails were taking full advantage.
Also a nice Short-eared Owl on the way home from work at dusk, hunting the cut grass field by Seven Houses, on the north-west corner of Nissan. It was quite happy racing cars along the roadside for a while!

 

[JBee]

Good numbers of Rock Pipits at Whitburn today included 2+ Scandinavian birds (race littoralis) allowing close comparison. The Scands. were just starting to get a bit of summer plumage, with grey feathering coming through on the crown and a decent supercilium. The flies were very active on the seaweed and the pipits and wagtails were taking full advantage.
Also a nice Short-eared Owl on the way home from work at dusk, hunting the cut grass field by Seven Houses, on the north-west corner of Nissan. It was quite happy racing cars along the roadside for a while!

Great shot of the rock pipit eyeing up its dinner Mark :eat:
************
Another first at the feeding station today - a little grebe - spotted at the top of Wilsons Passage |:d| (Wilsons Passage is a part of the feeding station named after our very own CW.) |=)|

 

[ted hilland]

Good numbers of Rock Pipits at Whitburn today included 2+ Scandinavian birds (race littoralis) allowing close comparison. The Scands. were just starting to get a bit of summer plumage, with grey feathering coming through on the crown and a decent supercilium. The flies were very active on the seaweed and the pipits and wagtails were taking full advantage.
Also a nice Short-eared Owl on the way home from work at dusk, hunting the cut grass field by Seven Houses, on the north-west corner of Nissan. It was quite happy racing cars along the roadside for a while!

Cracking shots Mark, those pipits and turnstone are top drawer mate.

 

[IanF]

anyone know if the ring necked duck is still at low barnes?

Reported as being there at 13:00 today.

 

[rokermartin]

Today Hartlepool headland RN Grebe still with the Eider and Scoter flock also 6 RT Diver,Seaton Snook 2 GN Diver,10 Snow Bunting.Blackhall Rocks 2 GN Diver, 2 Velvet Scoter

 

[JBee]

A handful more from today at the feeding station

 

[Duckman]

Er, I think there's actually just one Ring-necked Duck at Low Barns after all. On reviewing photos and consulting literature, the female bird clearly isn't a Ring-necked Duck and appears to be a rather odd Pochard (in my opinion). Unless any one who saw it thinks otherwise?

A rather blowy and wet day all round today. Not many highlights from a bit of a tour around the SW; parties of 100+ Fieldfares at several spots, Common Gulls building up inland, with 1000+ around Kinninvie, mixed flock of 100+ Siskin and Redpoll at Low Barns (the Redpolls being another source of much identification fun!), 60+ Bramblings near where Ted saw his the other day and 2000+ Wood Pigeons arriving to roost at Nissan. The Goldeneyes are also getting very amourous at Low Barns - wonder when they'll decide to use one of the nice duck nest boxes there?

The bill of the female duck in the first photo looks a lot like that of a Canvasback but the rest of the body is far too dark.

 

[Mark Newsome]

...Another first at the feeding station today - a little grebe - spotted at the top of Wilsons Passage ...

Hell of a good lens you've got there John, being able to zoom in to the top of Wilson's Passage...!
Bet you'll find a few LBJ's (little brown jobs) in that area too 8-P