Garden/Yard List 2022 (27 Viewers)

[Steve Lister]

A few flurries of light snow here this morning, first of the winter.
But as yet no cold weather movement beyond 20 Herring Gulls moving mainly NW this morning - I usually only see odd ones and twos.
First Blackcap of the winter, a male, was on Friday. Up to 47 redwings have been feeding on nearby yews since the frost started last Tuesday.
Otherwise very quiet. And very cold.

 

[KenM]

It’s not just what Santa puts under the tree, it’s what he sends flying over!
Only my fourth record in 39 years c15 Golden Plover heading South, has to be a hard weather movement, it’s been many years since we’ve had this much snow…and what a joy it is, no.83.
Too quick for the camera, however this Jay flying out the pond brings my pond total this year to 22 species.😊👍

Having researched Whooper Swan and considered the lead (immature bird), I can now see how the contrasting plumage is more befitting Mute than Whooper thus am withdrawing this tick from the year listing contest.😩

 

[Richard Prior]

Narrowly missed a Peregrine this morning: one flew over but I was 100ms away from my ticking grounds! It flushed a Sparrowhawk which alarmed as it sped away!

Similar experience for us here this afternoon at the same distance from home as your Peregrine H, a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (a year tick!) in the trees by the road, I'm hoping it'll come closer in the morning to add it to the 2022 Garden List.🤞
Did have a nice feline visitor overnight though, not your average Tabby!

 

[halftwo]

Is that...!? Is that a Wild Cat!!?
WOW!!!!!

 

[KenM]

I knew they had banded tails, but not legs as well….a great find Richard!👍

 

[Richard Prior]

Cheers, but it found us rather than the other way round !
Farnboro John confirmed last year's sighting for me, apparently the black dorsal line is an important id feature.
I intend trying to see if some bits of chicken attract a Lynx next, but I suspect that "sly old Reynardine" (as Fairport Convention used to sing) will find the bait first!!

 

[birdmeister]

It’s not just what Santa puts under the tree, it’s what he sends flying over!
Only my fourth record in 39 years c15 Golden Plover heading South, has to be a hard weather movement, it’s been many years since we’ve had this much snow…and what a joy it is, no.83.
Too quick for the camera, however this Jay flying out the pond brings my pond total this year to 22 species.😊👍

Having researched Whooper Swan and considered the lead (immature bird), I can now see how the contrasting plumage is more befitting Mute than Whooper thus am withdrawing this tick from the year listing contest.

Looks delightful, Ken! At least 10cm, maybe a good bit more?!

Perhaps a good call on the swans, too. I personally felt they looked better for Mute but don't have enough Whooper expertise to say exactly why.



We're getting a desert cold snap, too. No snow down here, but we'll probably get our first freeze of the winter (I don't think they're too common). One American Robin perched up in the yard today, my first non-flyover in the yard. I'm told that this year's robin flight is unprecedented in scale.

Lots of Gilded Flickers enjoying the overripe banana I put out, too.

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

3 highlights today.

Water Rail and any number of Snipe in the garden this morning, they were coming and going, so maybe 6 as an estimate. A Skylark over was evidence of cold weather movement.

The first highlight was hearing some Linnet, a scarce flyover bird usually. I couldn’t determine where they were and only realised they were perched in a Hawthorn after they took off. The first record IN the garden. That now makes 71% of garden birds on the deck rather than flyovers.

Second highlight was finally adding Brown Rat to the garden list, it’s only taken 4 1/2 years! The 15th Mammal species here, though I’ve only counted ‘Bat’ as one species, when in reality I’ve probably got a few here.



Third highlight was after checking the river a few times when a small Snipe wandered out of cover and started bobbing up and down. I suspected Jack Snipe yesterday, based on silent escape flight (not clinching I know) so to actually see one clearly was a great treat. Jack Snipe is #131 for the patch and a record breaking #107 for the year.

I rushed in and digi-scoped it through the bathroom window.

View attachment FullSizeRender.MOV

A few more days of cold weather so everything is still up for grabs.

 

[KenM]

Looks delightful, Ken! At least 10cm, maybe a good bit more?!

Perhaps a good call on the swans, too. I personally felt they looked better for Mute but don't have enough Whooper expertise to say exactly why.



We're getting a desert cold snap, too. No snow down here, but we'll probably get our first freeze of the winter (I don't think they're too common). One American Robin perched up in the yard today, my first non-flyover in the yard. I'm told that this year's robin flight is unprecedented in scale.

Don’t know if Varied gets down your way BM?, suspect if it did, it might release a few endorphins.👍

 

[Farnboro John]

Similar experience for us here this afternoon at the same distance from home as your Peregrine H, a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (a year tick!) in the trees by the road, I'm hoping it'll come closer in the morning to add it to the 2022 Garden List.🤞
Did have a nice feline visitor overnight though, not your average Tabby!

1. Base of tail thicker than distal.

2. Rings thicker dorsally than ventrally.

= Hybrid/domestic.

Sorry my friend.

John

 

[birdmeister]

Varied is a rarity, Ken, but annual in AZ. I actually may be better poised to get Rufous-backed Robin at some point. They're a bit more frequent than Varied in these parts. Both would be much-appreciated lifers!

 

[Scott98]

I had a fun moment yesterday, I identified a new bird for the first time. It's not a rare one, it's common - Brown Creeper. They have a wonderful mysterious trilling note I've been hearing as I walk my dogs through the pine forest every day - very tall White Pines, which makes it hard to see the birds. They weren't around during the summer (in Massachusetts).

I finally caught glimpse of a couple of them last week - little brown birds that seem to work their way up the trunk. Smaller than nuthatches or woodpeckers though. I could not figure out what they were and a few internet searches didn't help. Yesterday came the big breakthrough - one landed on the White Pine right in front of my breakfast window where my 8x42's are, so I finally had a good look. I quickly found him in my Field Guide and now I know what they are! They have a beautiful palette of many brown colors on their backs:

Brown Creeper Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Brown Creepers are tiny woodland birds with an affinity for the biggest trees they can find. Look for these little, long-tailed scraps of brown and white spiraling up stout trunks and main branches, sometimes passing downward-facing nuthatches along the way. They probe into crevices and pick at...

www.allaboutbirds.org

 

[Jos Stratford]

Snow well over a half metre deep now, still snowing, heading to ultra low minuses in the next days. However, some of the best variety of birds at my Labanoras feeders ever - Yellowhammers staying at about 70, now joined by about 30 Tree Sparrows (never had these at my Labanoras feeders before), plus one male Chaffinch (first time in winter). Mealy Redpolls and Bullfinches around.

Grey-headed Woodpeckers at all three of my feeding stations (one found new feeders by my new house today), along with Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and White-backed Woodpecker. All the regulars too, Marsh and Willow Tits et al, Plus Magpies and Hooded Crows, both not usual at my feeders.

 

[Farnboro John]

Snow well over a half metre deep now, still snowing, heading to ultra low minuses in the next days. However, some of the best variety of birds at my Labanoras feeders ever - Yellowhammers staying at about 70, now joined by about 30 Tree Sparrows (never had these at my Labanoras feeders before), plus one male Chaffinch (first time in winter). Mealy Redpolls and Bullfinches around.

Grey-headed Woodpeckers at all three of my feeding stations (one found new feeders by my new house today), along with Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and White-backed Woodpecker. All the regulars too, Marsh and Willow Tits et al, Plus Magpies and Hooded Crows, both not usual at my feeders.

Wot no Black Woodpecker? (Still a big photo-want for me!)

John

 

[Richard Prior]

Wot no Black Woodpecker? (Still a big photo-want for me!)

John

You'll have to do a stake out at Dungeness or North Foreland John.
A few more from last night, at first I thought the later visitor (the last two photos) was a different individual as it looks heavier built, they are exclusively nocturnal (unlike the neighbours' two (a ginger one and a black one) which try to catch the birds during the day.
I read a report recently about how much money is spent in France on food for pets each year, there are an estimated 7.5million dogs and 15 million cats so the incidence of hybrids must be very high.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Wot no Black Woodpecker? (Still a big photo-want for me!)

John

Black Woodpeckers are present most days, only one winter did they actually use the feeders however

 

[KenM]

More hard weather movement!, at last after many years absence.
Two flocks of Lapwing high, five mins.apart going West (no.84), followed by 6 Fieldfare going East. 😮

 

[Ornitomania]

Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)

 

[halftwo]

3 highlights today.

Water Rail and any number of Snipe in the garden this morning, they were coming and going, so maybe 6 as an estimate. A Skylark over was evidence of cold weather movement.

The first highlight was hearing some Linnet, a scarce flyover bird usually. I couldn’t determine where they were and only realised they were perched in a Hawthorn after they took off. The first record IN the garden. That now makes 71% of garden birds on the deck rather than flyovers.

Second highlight was finally adding Brown Rat to the garden list, it’s only taken 4 1/2 years! The 15th Mammal species here, though I’ve only counted ‘Bat’ as one species, when in reality I’ve probably got a few here.

View attachment 1483321

Third highlight was after checking the river a few times when a small Snipe wandered out of cover and started bobbing up and down. I suspected Jack Snipe yesterday, based on silent escape flight (not clinching I know) so to actually see one clearly was a great treat. Jack Snipe is #131 for the patch and a record breaking #107 for the year.

I rushed in and digi-scoped it through the bathroom window.

View attachment 1483322

A few more days of cold weather so everything is still up for grabs.

BH, you're @birdingprof ?

 

[halftwo]

Probably the same individual tiercel

53: Peregrine

which I saw 3 times on patch this morning did two distant passes here later.