Good birds seen from restaurants (2 Viewers)

[Allen S. Moore]

Here's one combining my two great enthusiams, birds and eating! Has anyone shared my luck of seeing good birds while dining in a restaurant, or other eating (or drinking?) establishments? I arrived in the Delta Hotel in Deltebre in the middle of the Ebro Delta little over 4 years ago, sat down in the restaurant, ordered my meal and looked outside to see a whiskered tern flying about over the rice paddies close by. I know that they are common in the Ebro Delta, but I had never seen the species before.

 

[Grampy Bustard]

When travelling through Europe in 1982, I returned several times to a small cafe in Yugoslavia which became known as the Olive-tree Warbler cafe, as one was constantly heard singing there, and took me at least three visits to see it.

I also managed to see an Ivory Gull while drinking a pint of beer and playing pool in a pub...

 

[Jurij Hanžel]

2 I can think of (nothing spectacular, but still):
1. A Subalpine Warbler together with pizza in Croatia
2. A Sardinian Warbler together with lamb in Croatia.

 

[Katy Penland]

You guys in the UK might laugh at this, but I thought the stunning male Chaffinch I saw when eating outside on a patio in lovely Betys-y-Coed was a pretty good bird, especially as it was a lifer.

 

[fbeeldens]

From the restaurant on Vancouver Island: Pacific loons and pigeon guillemots

Out on the Terrace of the only pub in Torgny in Southern Belgium: Male Montague's Harrier and Red kite.

Terrace of a B&B in Madera Canyon AZ: A male Elegant Trogon. Flame Colored Tanager.

Terrace of the hotel/restaurant in Portal AZ: broad billed Hummingbird

Cheers,

Filip

 

[mountain man]

Olivaceous Warbler, Collared Flycatcher, Spur-winged Plover, Eastern Bonelli's Warbler, Ruppell's Warbler, Black-headed Wagtail and Ortolan Bunting from Nik's Cafe that used to be by the Apollo Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus.

Little Green Bee-eater, Asian Koel, Egyptian Vulture and Black Kite whilst having breakfast in the gardens of the Agra Backpackers Lodge by the Taj Mahal in India. In terms of Asian birds, obviously very common, but for 2 Asia virgins on their 1st full day in India it was certainly a pleasant sign of things to come!

 

[Kentbloke]

Ham and cheese sandwich, cold beer and 2 Frigate birds over the International hotel in Havana. Last Xmas, down in SE Spain, turkey sarnnie, beer and Willow warbler 2feet from our heads! This bird came every day and would search for insects in the pergola, oblivious to our presence, in fact we got so used to it that we became oblivious to it!

 

[Bubbs]

Huge passage of Levant Sparrowhawks over a Red Sea restaurant in Eilat early doors on 23rd April. There again any Restaurant in spring should have raptors flying over!

It's not a restaurant but breakfast on the patio overlooking the Hula Reserve in northern Israel while watching Short-toed and Lesser-spotted Eagles, followed by thousands of white Storks makes great viewing.

John.

 

[HH75]

Hi all,
Nothing really RARE, but saw migrating Lesser Whitethroats and Red-breasted Flycatchers from a cafe on Cape Kaliakra, Bulgaria, and had astonishingly good views of Booted Eagle from a roadside pub/cafe somewhere in southern Spain this year (with the obligatory Black Kites also).
Tom: gripped off by all the would-be lifers for me that you saw from that cafe in Cyprus (have only seen Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and Ortolan Bunting of that lot, both over here. Mind you, the wagtail would only be a subspecies tick....)!
Regards,
Harry

 

[Edward woodwood]

Fork-tailed hummer while eating Ceviche in the Califa restuarant in Puerto Maldonado, Peru

Christmas Island Frigatebirds in Carita, Java while eating squid n ginger

several grippers in Peru from the restuarant at Tambopata Lodge including Rufous-headed Pecker

a few while drinking too, hazy memories though. The pub at Spurn used to get some good stuff right outside and i vaguely remember the Red-flanked Bluetail at Winspit; there was a pub at the top of the valley. Filled with the norwich glitterati that day getting extremely drunk post bluetail. I still have a trace of the hangover

Tim

 

[Edward]

We were at a pizza restaurant late at night on Great Keppel Island, Queensland, when my wife told me that a huge bird had just walked between the tables behind me. It was a Bush Stone-curlew, a lifer at the time.
Sitting on the terrace of a small restaurant at Mt Glorious in Queensland watching Australian Hobby trying to catch Welcome Swallows, numerous Satin Bowerbirds in the gardens, Crimson Rosellas and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos all over, Lewin's Honeyeaters in every tree, Pied Currawongs calling constantly and Australian Brush-turkeys kicking dirt all over the patio. God, I miss Australia.

Town square in Trujillo in Extremadura is good for dining/birding. I remember seeing White Stork (very conspicuous), Pallid Swift, Lesser Kestrel, Griffon and Black Vultures whilst eating a bocadillo there.

E

 

[Gill Osborne]

Wow - you guys put my humble sightings to shame!!!

Was once sitting at a table on the outside terrace of a cafe in Crete in October 1992 which was right next to a river. Can't remember what I was eating as most of my time was spent watching the Kingfishers which were flying back and forth in front of the cafe.....and at one point I had fantastic views of the bird perching on an overhanging branch, catching a fish and battering it senseless against the branch before swallowing it! It was only about twenty feet in front of us at this point and completely unfazed by the humans nearby!

Gill

 

[buckskin hawk]

Mount Carmel Utah isn't ver big at all but a lot of the tourist buses stop there. On the patio of the restaurant they have a nice catus garden with a hummingbird feeder that is frequently visited by Black Chinned Hummingbirds.

 

[lvn600]

Many times we will get a good view of A northern Harrier gliding over the salt marsh in back of a local seafood restaurant.

 

[Chris D]

We were at a pizza restaurant late at night on Great Keppel Island, Queensland, when my wife told me that a huge bird had just walked between the tables behind me. It was a Bush Stone-curlew, a lifer at the time.
Sitting on the terrace of a small restaurant at Mt Glorious in Queensland watching Australian Hobby trying to catch Welcome Swallows, numerous Satin Bowerbirds in the gardens, Crimson Rosellas and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos all over, Lewin's Honeyeaters in every tree, Pied Currawongs calling constantly and Australian Brush-turkeys kicking dirt all over the patio. God, I miss Australia.

Town square in Trujillo in Extremadura is good for dining/birding. I remember seeing White Stork (very conspicuous), Pallid Swift, Lesser Kestrel, Griffon and Black Vultures whilst eating a bocadillo there.

E

Ivy Cottage Tea Gardens in Paluma, Queensland. Victoria's Riflebirds stealing from your plate. Everything else. I'm with you Edward------I miss Australia. Chris

 

[Ben Rackstraw]

I reckon that the bar at Blue Waters in Tobago is hard to beat...

While tucking into Club Sandwiches and well earned bottles of Carib, you can watch Bananaquits trying to get into the bottles of spirits behind the bar, Turnstones running about by your feet scavenging crumbs, Motmots, Chachalacas and Mockingbirds in the bushes outside, Yellow-crowned Night Heron on the beach and, as the icing on the cake, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown & Red-footed Boobies and Red-billed Tropicbirds cruising past offshore.

Paradise? Not far off!

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Wow - you guys put my humble sightings to shame!!!

Gill

I'm with you, Gill. Everybody has put my initial contribution to shame, too! Thanks for everyone's replies to the thread so far. I did not realise that my idea of this thread would give me so many holiday suggestions. I guess that there are threads elsewhere for the ultimate birdwatching experience, but having any species of Riflebird stealing your lunch would get my vote! Though we are very familiar with chaffinches here in Europe, and they have joined me for many picnics when I have been in the UK, I can imagine that seeing a male chaffie for the first time must be fine! Some of the island sub-species are good to join you, as well. A pair of the palmae subspecies joined a few of us dining outside a little cafe in the depths of the laurel forest at Los Tilos in the NE of La Palma on my first visit there 5 years ago.
Another memorable experience for me in La Palma 2 years ago was to sit outside Bar San Borondon (San Borondon = Saint Brendan, who may have travelled back to Ireland from North America via the Canaries) with a grapefruit juice or something and watch 40 plain swifts overhead. I'd seen them many times before, but these little pleasures often make a holiday, don't they?

 

[delia todd]

About 10 years ago in Aviemore, we were having a Chinese and watched an Osprey fishing. It would not be remarkable now but this was when you had to go looking for Ospreys as there were very few of them. Actually I don't know how many there were in Scotland then. Anyone?

D

 

[Hanno]

A very nice lodge in the Aberdares, Kenya, back in 91. Food nothing special, but:

Jackson's Francolin, Red-fronted Parrot, African Swift, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, and on and on. Also the only time where I saw Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, and Rhino all at the same time around the salt lick.

 

[Chris D]

I love this thread. It's bringing me back into this forum. There definitely is something to be said for watching birds while relaxing with food and drink. Especially with the topic up close and personal. I hope Tim Allwood has more to say. My latest thought is nasty loud Rhino Hornbills flying upsteam while I try to cram in as much lunch as I can at the BRL in the Danum Valley so as to head back out and spend time in that curry smelling forest.........