Garden/Yard List 2020 (4 Viewers)

[Richard Prior]

Two local resident species breed within 1km of the house, one of them, Dipper is highly unlikely ever to venture up the hill to our place, but the other, Grey Wagtail, visits the farm close by in winter looking for tasty morsels in the hay and straw cleared out of the cows' barn each day. Despite that, I have only recorded one on the Garden List in our four years here. Seeing one yesterday at the farm prompted me to hatch a Baldrick-style cunning plan which involved me doing a dawn vigil this morning in the hope that we were on its route from the river to the farm. And it worked:t: It flew past just after 8 o'clock:

88 Grey Wagtail

Just after that another uncommon visitor dropped in to the elm, a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (5th record), the gloomy conditions not helping in my efforts to photo-capture it in all its stripey-backed glory:C. First proper arrival of Brambling this morning too and a Black Redstart turned up yesterday, the first November (and latest) record for the garden.

There was a smart pale Common Buzzard behind the house last week (see photo).

 

[halftwo]

Some great birds in above threads, there folks!

And I can add to the goodies this am:

83: Whooper Swan

20 going over

 

[KenM]

Two local resident species breed within 1km of the house, one of them, Dipper is highly unlikely ever to venture up the hill to our place, but the other, Grey Wagtail, visits the farm close by in winter looking for tasty morsels in the hay and straw cleared out of the cows' barn each day. Despite that, I have only recorded one on the Garden List in our four years here. Seeing one yesterday at the farm prompted me to hatch a Baldrick-style cunning plan which involved me doing a dawn vigil this morning in the hope that we were on its route from the river to the farm. And it worked:t: It flew past just after 8 o'clock:

88 Grey Wagtail

Just after that another uncommon visitor dropped in to the elm, a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (5th record), the gloomy conditions not helping in my efforts to photo-capture it in all its stripey-backed glory:C. First proper arrival of Brambling this morning too and a Black Redstart turned up yesterday, the first November (and latest) record for the garden.

There was a smart pale Common Buzzard behind the house last week (see photo).

Welcome to the ''wish I'd got a better LSW image club Richard'' :t:

 

[Richard Prior]

Yer cheeky monkey, at least my Buzzard is recognisable!

 

[KenM]

Yer cheeky monkey, at least my Buzzard is recognisable!

Such sensitive souls (that grab the wrong end of the stick) out there!, here's one of my better (non garden shot) images. :t:

The others are a tad better.

 

[halftwo]

Sound carrying on a clear morning got me an unexpected bonus:

84: Red-legged Partridge!

 

[Steve Lister]

Similar for me, but after dark.....

November 10th.
81. Tawny Owl

Steve

 

[Paul Chapman]

Way behind with my ebird records so not sure my number or whether I have missed something. I will catch up. No idea why as I have been nowhere for months... I have been keeping the camera handy to keep the photo list moving so today after a few ifs, buts and maybes when I looked up to see an adult Mediterranean Gull wheeling overhead it was close enough to get a pic.

Garden tick - Mediterranean Gull (adult winter)

All the best

Paul

 

[KenM]

Well done on the Med.Gull Paul!....certainly one I could do with as I nudge towards the ton. :eek!:

Thought yesterday although ''tickless'' was a great day, my latest ever garden Chiffy (by 3 weeks) certainly got me excited followed by a less than confiding female Brambling which proved photo elusive, more so than my visiting Firecrest which gave me a couple of frames out of c40!!

Thus today on paper this should have been ''payback time'', ie not a lot....this however proved to be not the case! As the Gods answered with darkened sky and almost horizontal rain which suddenly eased, I espied the distant elusive female Brambling again only this time in neighbour's hedge. A quick against the window frame ''rat-a-tat-tat'' and she was mine! (not one of my best, but sometimes one has to make do :eek! This was followed by a brisk hill-walk before lunch and then back to the''window station''.

Casually looking down from my perch...there followed a momentary meltdown! Just as the latest shower eased, from beneath the Ivy strewn patio there emerged a totally ''off the radar'' garden visitor that I could never have imagined...No.95 Gallinula chloropus !!! :eek!:

 

[Richard Prior]

Yes, well done everybody..............(sigh, sob, sob).

 

[Warixenjalka]

Wow! Moorhen in garden! :eek!

Nor could I expect that. Well done Ken. :t:

 

[KenM]

Wow! Moorhen in garden! :eek!

Nor could I expect that. Well done Ken. :t:

Cheers Wari, I’d have thought a flyover Bearded Vulture would have been more likely! :t:

 

[kevinsl06]

119 American White Pelican
120 Ring-necked Duck
121 White-breasted Nuthatch
122 Osprey
123 Lark Bunting
124 American Pipit (Lifer!)
125 Gadwall
126 Blue-winged Teal
127 Wilson's Snipe
128 Greater Yellowlegs

 

[birdmeister]

This morning was chilly but very active. The highlight came when two

121. Black-capped Chickadee (county year bird)

foraged in the small white pines and around the yard for a bit. Black-caps irrupt southwards every few years, with 2016 being the last good year.

 

[halftwo]

A huge bonus this am just as dawn was breaking:

WOODCOCK

Right past my window!

 

[Euan Buchan]

Just saw 4 Redwings on top of my neighbour’s tree.

 

[KenM]

Having mentioned Kingfisher seen (but badly) earlier in the year, although not ticked on account of it being a distant silhouetted dart (nothing moves that fast over a water course!). Although I didn’t need to confirm, I wanted a better view.
Once more this afternoon in exactly the same place, the same black dart zapped North above the stream and canopy. Now deciding that one can’t look a gift horse in the mouth circa ten months apart, in the words of the prophet...l’m ‘avin it! no.96.

 

[Richard Prior]

Perseverance pays off Ken! Though a black darter is surely not a bird but a dragonfly n'est-ce pas?
I'm never going to catch you this year as I'm still in the 80s. Today the winter finally arrived, as you can see from the (hopefully muster passing) photo attached we were ankle deep in snow and Yellowhammers all day! I manage to count 70 plus of the yellow perils but still no sign of 'Piney' so far

 

[KenM]

What I’d give for one of those Yellow Buntings Richard

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Can finally contribute to the list again.

55. Redwing

In the trees to the front of the house. Must work from the dining room table more often.