Durham Birding (1 Viewer)

[Bonsaibirder]

ü Send your sightings to the County Bird Recorder and the Birdtrack website

Good advice Stevie.

To clarify for anyone who thinks this is too much effort - records sent tto Birdtrack are accessible by our County Recorder.

So, if you don't already, do one or the other of the above, please!!!

Cheers,

 

[seahawk]

All this crap about flushing birds!Being totally lost we used the railway as a guide to the usual 'watching spot'.It was not flushing at all.I have never deliberately flushed birds in my short period of birdwatching,and I do not need anyone to tell me not to.

____________________

Les.

 

[DEREK.C.]

Not one to chase after other peoples sightings,today was an exception as i was going for my Durham 200 ,(no doubt about 8 month behind Mr Hindess).This is the first year i have actually attempted to keep a list, and For someone whose only seawatching tends to last about 5 minutes i didnt think i would reach it.
Following Ians posts of the Black Throated Diver, had a look round to Jacksons Landing and got 199. And finally, at last got Ring Necked Parakeet on Serpentine Road near Ward Jackson Park, with 3 darting about in the Evergreens. B

 

[Quacker]

Made my fist visit to Hetton Bogs this morning - what a great place - highly recommended.

Arrived about 9am and was there till 12.30, I spent the first hour or so with Colin ( great bloke ) - we got a Sparrowhawk & 3 Fieldfare over in the first five minutes, seen my first ever Water rail (superb) & got some good photos of it, also photographed - close up, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Robin,Reed Bunting, Moorhen, Coot & Pheasant.......also got Bullfinch, grey wagtail, great spotted woodpecker & Redwing in surrounding woodland......
Popped over to Rainton Meadows about 1ish, seen a Stoat as soon as I arrived there but I hadn't even got my camera out of the car and it disappeared back in the bushes - so no photos :-(
Got a couple of distant shots of SEO on fenceposts over by the railway tunnel & also bumped into Steve (Quacker) & his Dad who I haven't seen since WWT Avocet watch 18 months ago - great to catch up mate

All in all, it's been a grand day out - and congratulations to John & Colin for setting up the hide at Hetton - excellent work lads!
Cheers,
Dougie.

I'll second that - There were more Water Rail than Moorhen & Coot added together. Quite a well hidden site and well done JB & CW. - oh aye and started the day off with Trow Quarry's star attraction - The Little Owl. Cheer Dougie:t: Dave (Fatrat) is still amazed it was exactly as you described it - more or less down to the branch. He needs to be more trusting.

 

[IanF]

Not one to chase after other peoples sightings,today was an exception as i was going for my Durham 200 ,(no doubt about 8 month behind Mr Hindess).This is the first year i have actually attempted to keep a list, and For someone whose only seawatching tends to last about 5 minutes i didnt think i would reach it.
Following Ians posts of the Black Throated Diver, had a look round to Jacksons Landing and got 199. And finally, at last got Ring Necked Parakeet on Serpentine Road near Ward Jackson Park, with 3 darting about in the Evergreens. B

Congrats on getting to 200 Derek :t:

As you've mentioned Parakeets I've just heard here may be another lot around. A dozen plus have been sighted by the woods in Greatham Village.

 

[Quacker]

Not one to chase after other peoples sightings,today was an exception as i was going for my Durham 200 ,(no doubt about 8 month behind Mr Hindess).This is the first year i have actually attempted to keep a list, and For someone whose only seawatching tends to last about 5 minutes i didnt think i would reach it.
Following Ians posts of the Black Throated Diver, had a look round to Jacksons Landing and got 199. And finally, at last got Ring Necked Parakeet on Serpentine Road near Ward Jackson Park, with 3 darting about in the Evergreens. B

Are these the same 3 that were at Ward Jackson in January does anyone know?

 

[IanF]

Are these the same 3 that were at Ward Jackson in January does anyone know?

Yep! It runs alongside Ward Jackson Park. Park Avenue junction with The Parade is the main spot still though they feed in various gardens. If not in sight you can usually hear them sqwaking and locate them from there. They've been present all year, but are easier to see again now with the leaves falling.

 

[StevieEvans]

Hardwick Hall

Having spent many hours now photographing the SEOs there really isnt any need for anyone to wander from the regular pathways.
Walking into the middle of fields and too close to the embankment just isnt necessary as great views can be had from any of the paths and lanes if you are patient.
On top of that Malcolm (local farmer) is getting a bit fed up of people wandering here there and everywhere as he has numerous feeders around for the pheasants which he has a commercial interest in. He has no problem with people sticking to the designated pathways..

Good point John.
All its gonna take is one mornings pheasant shoot being disrupted by birdwatchers going "out of bounds" & the shooters will, as has happened previously "move the owls on".

Flushing owls..........
An emotive topic for some....... it really flies in the face of that understanding which a considerable percentage of DBC members have worked hard to achieve in recent years.

"Seahawk" Les, I dont think anyones pointed the finger at any individual on here....

-

Hardwick
2M 2F & an immM Goosander on Serpentine - just about tame - excellent oppurtunity to see these usually wary birds at close quarters (ideal for pics only 20metres or so away)
others of note inc; Kingfisher, 40+LTTit , GSW & pr Goldeneye on new lake.
A Tawny owl being mobbed by multiple species at 20' in the conifers on south side of the bridge.
cheers
SE

 

[IanF]

The Black-throated Diver was still at Jacksons Landing at Hartlepool this morning so it should stick around for the weekend. Half a dozen RB Mergansers and a couple of Cormorant as well.

 

[JBee]

Hetton Bogs Feeding Station
I'm not sure how well this will work but hopefully it will give you a decent view of what lies infront of the hide.
Click on screen to zoom in or drag mouse on screen to move around
Or use the navigation buttons.
http://northeastwildlife.co.uk/zoom/bogs.html

 

[JBee]

If you missed out on close views of either the Water rail, sparrowhawk or kingfisher while you were at the feeding station then the Bogs team can bring them to you
Click screen to zoom, use mouse to drag image or use nav buttons

http://northeastwildlife.co.uk/zoom/water-rail.html
http://northeastwildlife.co.uk/zoom/sparrowhawk.html
http://northeastwildlife.co.uk/zoom/kingfisher.html

 

[rokermartin]

Whitburn today 1 ad Med Gull and 2 Common Buzzard over Cleadon hills.Sunderland Harbour ad Little Gull.

 

[JBee]

My links above require Flash Player
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

 

[tel boy]

help with a camera

hi all im wanting to take photos of birds, could some one recomend a good second hand DSLR & LENS (canon). jbee photos are excelent thanks.

 

[echo24]

Some Photos

Underneath where you type your post you should see a Manage Attachments link - follow your nose from there.

Cheers John, got there in the end mate....
Little Owl - Trow Quarry.
Yellowhammer - Rainton Meadows.
Water Rail, Willow Tit & Robin - Hetton Bogs )

 

[echo24]

South Shields coast

Weasel hunting in Trow Quarry & Kestrel over Frenchmans bay...
Cheers,
Dougie

 

[JBee]

hi all im wanting to take photos of birds, could some one recomend a good second hand DSLR & LENS (canon). jbee photos are excelent thanks.

Cant help you with Canon - sorry
IanF is your man for that.

 

[StevieEvans]

adult male Kestrel very sedately taking worms very close to the roadside in a freshly tilled field nr Haswell.

Derek C you twitcher you! :eek!:
Youll be glad to hear, as your unofficial Atlas Tetrad Sub-Contactor i didnt mind hiking across all those fields to confirm Barn & Little in that quarry for you, while you were off ticking free-range parrots & the like

good to see you've recorded 200 & a fair percentage photographed ?:t:
if you want to beat Pablo to 200, then youve got to be going some....... 20-something of April (in Lek) is his date :king:

cheers
SE

 

[IanF]

hi all im wanting to take photos of birds, could some one recomend a good second hand DSLR & LENS (canon). jbee photos are excelent thanks.

I'd be having a look for a second hand Canon 20D or 30D now that the 40D has become so popular as many are 'upgrading'. Both are still very good cameras. If your budget is a little tight then have a look at the Canon 350D or Canon 400D - I'm not so struck as they're a smaller body which I find a little fiddly on it's own let alone with a longer lens, but some people love them. They're both well specified.

Lens wise then you've a choice of either sticking with Canon lenses which tend to be more compact and lighter weight and are hard to beat for image quality. Ideally you need a lens of 400mm or more for bird photos. Personally I prefer the Canon 400mm f5,6 or the Canon 100-400mm IS f4,5-f5,6 for image quality and cost - unless you're into the big money of £2,000+! One of the best birding lenses around is the Canon 500mm f4 - but at a price. Slightly cheaper and faster are the Canon 400 f4 and 300mm f2,8 - being wider apertures they're faster lenses but the extra weight of glass makes them pretty hefty to cart around - they do have Image Stabilisation though.

If looking at independent manufacturers then the Sigma 170-500mm, Sigma 50-500mm or Tamron 200-500mm are all worth considering. Image quality is very good and they have a long reach - the drawback being they're a little bulkier and heavier - but they're well priced whether new or second hand. Cost wise again budget is a big consideration - if it's not then JBee's 300-800mm comes in a Canon fit as welll - you'd be hard pressed to find another lens of such reach and quality.

As to where to look for bargains then check out the Sale/Wanted forum on here as members often give good deals, but of course there's always Ebay and in particular the Canon Outlet on Ebay, certainly for camera bodies, lenses tend to be a little more scarce with them.

If a particular camera/lens catches your eye then a good move is to check out the Canon forums on here to see what people think of them and/or have a look in the Gallery. Use the 'Advanced Search' feature and search for the camera and/or lens to see what our members are producing with them - it gives an idea of what us ordinary photogrpahers can achieve.

 

[tel boy]

thanks alot ian thats a great help
tel boy.