Garden / Yard List 2025 (4 Viewers)

[KenM]

?

“Wakey Wakey” Richard!…. the 5th word.😮

 

[Richard Prior]

“Wakey Wakey” Richard!…. the 5th word.😮

Yes I got that, but as Joe says to Pip in Great Expectations « What larks » ????

 

[KenM]

Yes I got that, but as Joe says to Pip in Great Expectations « What larks » ????

Well it sounded very much like Skylark.👍

 

[Richard Prior]

No wonder I’ve hardly any hair left!
20 years since I left UK so I reasonably wondered whether the increase in Woodlark population in the intervening years made that one for your radar in your location(I discounted Shorelark of course😉).

 

[KenM]

No wonder I’ve hardly any hair left!
20 years since I left UK so I reasonably wondered whether the increase in Woodlark population in the intervening years made that one for your radar in your location( I discounted Shorelark of course😉).

An interesting “ponder” Richard, living more or less in the same spot as now in the late ‘50’s-‘60’s, Skylarks were regular breeders.
Woodlarks were only occasional breeders in the 50’s albeit not seen by moi. at any time until I acquired my dog (1990).

His fame as a flusher of scarce birds became legend, if memory serves, he flushed passage Woodlark during the successive Autumns of his life.(he demised in ‘98 and my almost annual birds went with him).

At the same time, Skylarks which had become scarce also went into free fall and currently only occur on passage. (one of 20 species of local breeders that no longer do.😩)

I suspect flyover Skylarks might have an occurance advantage over Woody, but perhaps only marginally.

From the house I’ve had two single occurrences(Woodies).
A pair displaying over the school field outback during a grey precipitous March day (just the once) and three birds calling flying North in a line during an April COVID.

…..so in answer….Skylark has it just!👍

 

[gerald762]

I was relaxing on the porch this afternoon when a lucky glance up showed a Short toed eagle hanging on the wind. The second this year but so close.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Pretty impressive day of migration, no less than eight additions for the year, including my fifth ever Pallid Harrier mid-afternoon (with another distant Pallid/Montagu's a half hour later), as well as two Water Rails newly arrived and two singing Savi's Warblers.

Raptors this day:
Two White-tailed Eagles
Half dozen Common Buzzards
One Marsh Harrier
One Pallid Harrier
One distant Pallid/Montagu's Harrier
Two Sparrowhawks
One Hobby

Waders:
10 Wood Sandpipers,
Four Green Sandpipers,
Five Snipe
Three Ruff
Pair Redshank
c.10 Lapwings


New for the year:

89. Ruff
90. Wood Sandpiper
91. Water Rail
92. Common Gull
93. Pallid Harrier
94. Hobby
95. House Marten
96. Savi's Warbler

 

[Richard Prior]

Pretty impressive day of migration, no less than nine additions for the year, including my fifth ever Pallid Harrier mid-afternoon (with another distant Pallid/Montagu's a half hour later), as well as two Water Rails newly arrived and two singing Savi's Warblers.

Raptors this day:
Two White-tailed Eagles
Half dozen Common Buzzards
One Marsh Harrier
One Pallid Harrier
One distant Pallid/Montagu's Harrier
Two Sparrowhawks
One Hobby

Waders:
10 Wood Sandpipers,
Four Green Sandpipers,
Five Snipe
Three Ruff
Pair Redshank
c.10 Lapwings


New for the year:
89.Wigeon
90. Ruff
91. Wood Sandpiper
92. Water Rail
93. Common Gull
94. Pallid Harrier
95. Hobby
96. House Marten
97. Savi's Warbler

Not bad I suppose Jos

it was a nice mild day here at last and I can compete with :
Raptors:
One Lammergeier
One Peregrine
One Red Kite
One Black Kite
Six Buzzard
Two Sparrowhawk

Waders: Err……

New for the year : Err…

Ah well, our first singing Willow Warbler for 4 years and a busy Clouded Yellow almost brought the day up to Baltic brilliance !

 

[Frank van Drogen]

Another very pleasant birding day yesterday, with the for now almost standard Hoopoe frustration — more on that below. The weather forecast had promised horrible weather, with lots of wind and rain. Indeed, in the afternoon it was quite windy at some point, but it actually barely rained. The sunny morning actually started of with two (#61) Pheasants leisurely walking on the road (its counts as a busy day here, if more than 8 cars pass within 24 hours, so I guess they wouldn’t be bothered).

I then briefly heard a (#62) Golden Oriole, very early again. I was a bit doubting yesterday later if I might have been mistaken and maybe shouldn't count it; but I heard it again this morning so it must really be around. I was scanning the sky with my bins looking for some raptors beyond the Buzzards when I picked up a (#63) Barn Swallow. Similar thing happened when I was using my bins trying to track down a Nightingale, I found a skulking (#64) Crested Tit. Last addition for the day was a singing/calling (#65) Common Redstart.

I spend quite a bit of time both first time in the morning, and just before lunch, in between I made a quick excursion to our Plan d’Eau, trying to get some photos of a Hoopoe. Then I spend another two hours in the afternoon doing the same thing. I think close to four and a half hours in total. All I got for that effort was a disappearing tail, and the realization that I was to slow to get even that on a picture.

Imagine my frustration, when leaving for visiting the in-laws (after due instruction from my wife about how to behave, what to say, etc.), right in front of of the car on the road there were two Hoopoes leisurely standing (did I mention it is a quiet road?). I did stop well on time this time around, but still rather rich of them. Of course I didn’t bring my camera (heck, part of the instructions included leaving the bins at home!). So, only a phone photo through some not too clean car windshield:

 

[halftwo]

Well, I can't compete on the raptor front, though I was pleased with a displaying Marsh Harrier a few minutes ago.
While watching it, a hirundine hoved into view, heading my way.
It resolved into a Sand Martin: 71.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Hopefully it is acceptable to join in with this thread - we moved to a new property on Thursday which I am hoping will be productive over the coming years. We have excellent views of the eastern edge of the FoD, as well as (partial) views of a tidal stretch of the River Severn. Last autumn I was lucky enough to see a Yellow-browed warbler within 150 m of our new garden (unbeknown to me at the time), whilst the sandbar visible at low tide has hosted Glaucous, Iceland, Mediterranean, Ring-billed, Bonaparte's and erm a putative Black-tailed gull!
Nothing quite that exciting so far, but from humble beginnings...🤞🏼

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Common stuff continues to tick along nicely, with Canada goose over just now (35).
...and Swallow (36).

 

[Frank van Drogen]

Hopefully it is acceptable to join in with this thread - we moved to a new property on Thursday which I am hoping will be productive over the coming years.

Definitely more than welcome!!!!

We have excellent views of the eastern edge of the FoD, as well as (partial) views of a tidal stretch of the River Severn.

FoD — Hmmm …. Forest of D…..?

Severn — Google maps came to the rescue south west England or south Wales it seems

Last autumn I was lucky enough to see a Yellow-browed warbler within 150 m of our new garden (unbeknown to me at the time), whilst the sandbar visible at low tide has hosted Glaucous, Iceland, Mediterranean, Ring-billed, Bonaparte's and erm a putative Black-tailed gull!
Nothing quite that exciting so far, but from humble beginnings...🤞🏼

Sounds very promising, I wish you all the best in your new dwelling and many exciting birds!!

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Thank you Frank - apologies, remiss of me not to give the location: Newnham on Severn, Forest of Dean, UK 👍🏼

 

[Richard Prior]

Welcome aboard Daniel - waders and gulls, all in a birding Alpine dweller's dreams!

Note to the Garden List Police - I was actually on 68 for the year having given no.66 to both Tree Pipit and House Martin

Two additions today once the heavy rain ceased:

69 Wryneck
70 Marsh Harrier

The first Wryneck of the year has been in April every year since 2020 (2018/9 were blank years and 2017 was in June only), average first date in the past 5 years is 13th.
I nearly overlooked the Marsh Harriers as I was up in the field with our doggie lodgers (finally free of them tomorrow after 3 weeks ) , I had my bins luckily and nearly dismissed the first one as a distant Buzzard (it was about 3kms away) but I thought I saw pale flashes in the wing even that far off so I gracefully sprinted (as you do when you're my age.....) to the back door where the 'scope was set up - bingo, an adult male Marshie. I watched it head ENE till it passed over the Col, London Bus syndrome then took effect as a second bird, a female, followed the same track less than 5 minutes later!
These the first spring birds since 2021 when I managed five individuals in March and April.

 

[hookem2010]

Rains hit overnight, so I expected a good number of migrants in the trees once it cleared up this morning. It was not so in my yard, and really in the entire area. I guess we are still just a bit early. While the little one splashed around in puddles, I did manage to nab
#52 Brown-headed cowbird
2 females chattering in the trees and only my 2nd record for the yard.
May this week finally bring the warblers!

 

[An Caislín Dearg]

Nice calm, clear day yesterday with good viewing conditions produced a handful of Manx Shearwater, big flock of Guillemots, lots of Gannets and No. 82, Whimbrel. A flock of about 20 feeding in a field on a nearby headland. A pretty regular passage migrant around here this time of year.

 

[KenM]

Two Swallows North at 9.54….then a high flying House Martin also North at 10.10….no.60!

Another Swallow North at 11.10. then the occasional shower with much cloud cover whilst I worked in the garden till rain stopped play c5.30pm.
Went up to the crows nest and found a Chiffy constantly mousing through the patio tubs below and I managed a few shots.

During a short shower at 18.10, my eyes wandered upwards into the cloud layer where I espied distantly (a mile+) towards the KGV reservoir group).
Circa half dozen dark, short-tailed, long winged tern like birds, flying erratically upwards into the cloud base.

I could only compute Black Tern, being correct for size and movement. No.61.
It’s always been on my radar as a possible, having seen them many years ago when I used to “bird” the reservoirs…a grdn.life tick!
That brings me up to 4 Tern species in 42 years.

 

[edenwatcher]

39. house martin (very early)
40. lesser black-backed gull (overdue).

Rob

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Another 9 species today, nothing outrageous but still nice to see from the house:

35. Canada goose
36. Swallow
37. Stock dove
38. Siskin
39. Lapwing
40. Kestrel
41. Green woodpecker
42. Common gull
43. Ringed plover