Owen's Wildlife 2025 (1 Viewer)

[Owene]

Probably done for the day unless we get a roadside bird. Mainly continuing to reorientate to the Atlantic coast. Highlights of the day, good views of Moroccan jird, the saffron tea and the absolutely gorgeous Atlas subspecies of greater spotted woodpecker. I don’t care about splitting it was just a pleasure to see all that red and watch it drum.

Copper demoiselle was a very welcome new Odonata

8 Moroccan jird
14 scarce swallowtail
200 western subalpine warbler +
201 cettis warbler
202 rock bunting +
203 common redstart

 

[Owene]

204 Maghreb owl

Constant calling over dinner made a few of us twitchy. Very very close to the hotel and soon became two calling

Eventually narrowed it down to the tree across the road but only got flyaway views, possibly one following the other away although I can still hear the calls now

Not one I expected to get to be honest. Very exhilarated right now.

 

[Owene]

 

[Owene]

Nice visit to the beach for coffee brought a few year ticks
205 sandwich tern
206 gannet
207 arctic skua

 

[Owene]

 

[Owene]

208 audouins gull +
209 woodchat shrike
210 northern bald ibis
6 margaritas fringe fingered lizard

Great visit to the north dunes Bald ibis site. The birds were gathering nest material and taking it back to the cliffs. Great to watch and some came very close. Lots of lizards there, some very smart yellow legged gulls and shags and what might possibly be pure rock dove.

Saw one or two Audouins earlier but saw them in numbers at a nearby beach. Also very smart.

 

[Owene]

211 black winged kite. WP tick
212 Mediterranean short toed lark. Phototick
213 Cory’s shearwater
214 red rumped swallow +
215 black crowned tchagra WP and phototick
216 western black eared wheatear
217 lesser kestrel +
218 alpine swift
219 osprey
220 marbled duck +
221 plain / brown throated Martin
222 slender billed gull +
223 house martin
224 ruff

 

[Owene]

225 whimbrel
226 caspian tern
227 gull billed tern
228 spotted redshank
229 stone curlew +
230 wood sandpiper

 

[Owene]

231. Kentish plover

Last new bird for Morocco and most importantly it means I don’t have to go to burnham.

Chris more snow at finch site yesterday and migration seemed to kick in slightly yesterday so you should get some good stuff. Our trip finished with 164. I got 157 but missed first day. Only really the finch I mind missing

This is now 4 visits to places with black Bellied sand grouse without seeing one. Starting to feel like a bogey bird

 

[Owene]

232+ Richard’s pipit
15 red admiral

A visit to awre on the banks of the Severn for a shot at the returning Richard’s pipit.

Quite an awkward walk down. The stables whose land had a public footpath across it had basically ran an electric fence down their field to force you into one tiny strip then installed both a compost tip and a tied gate on the actual path. Navigable but I’m guessing quite dodgy

Had the pipit fly over me calling and then got some brief scope views 40 minutes later before a kestrel flushed it. My second encounter with this bird and neither have been amazing.

First British butterfly of the year was probably the highlight

 

[Owene]

First day or so in morocco, our only time north of the Atlas mountains and a nice chance to catch up with some birds that were minor but distinct variations of our ones at home. First photos of Spotless Starling after seeing them in spain and massive upgrade on my African Blue Tit photos. African Chaffinch was very very pretty but nothing on the Moussier's Redstart. Levaillaint's Woodpecker incredibly loud.

 

[Owene]

Wheatears are up there with Terns as my favourite birds. Quite the range here. Only saw one each of Black and Western Black Earred and both quite distant. White crowned was probably the most common. Also saw one Northern but couldnt get a photo through a window. If i'm going to miss photographing one thats probably the best one. Atlas Wheatear wasn't back in yet.

In order Desert, Maghreb, White Crowned, Black, Red Rumped, Western Black Earred.

I knew the trip would be mainly wheatears and larks and I really loved the different species.

 

[Owene]

I'm sure many Birdforumers have been there but it was amazing to visit a small wadi with nesting Long Legged Buzzard, Lanner falcon and Pharoah Eagle Owl. Apparently they rotate around the best nest crevices but don't tolerate each other at all. Saw the pair of Lanner see off a buzzard while we were there, until then we'd just been able to make out a head in the crevice. The local who shows people the birds had also branched out into snakes.

 

[Owene]

Some of the larks were great, Hoopoe lark probably being the prettiest although I really liked Desert as well. Crested was probably the default. Not too many habitat overlaps with thekla luckily.

in order
Crested, Thekla's, Desert, Maghreb, Greater Short Toed, Temmincks', Thick Billed, Greater-hoopoe Lark, Mediterannean Short Toed.

The two short toed were both very welcome photo ticks although we didn't see much of either.

 

[Owene]

Some more desert specialities

Egyptian Nightjar, Spotted Sandgrouse, Crowned Sandgrouse, Trumpeter Finch, Houbara, Desert Sparrow, Brown necked raven

 

[Owene]

I don't know how but my numbers seem to have messed up a bit, I'll look into it tomorrow.

Bit of a rush after work to catch a Bonaparte's Gull at ogmore. Car is in for a 10000 mile service tomorrow and its a species that I've seen a few times without photographing so a particular target. Very very strong sunlight (and my abilities) stopped the photos being amazing but it was a great bird to watch feeding spinning around like a phalarope. There was a long staying bird in a local park during the height of lockdown which i didn't go and see so nice to finally get good views.

Bonaparte's Gull + phototick

 

[Owene]

Enjoyable day at a few local sites today, there's been a mini irruption of hawfinch with 23 at a local church. I'd seen some of the regular local birds in January but not got a photo so in my efforts to photograph 250 species this year paid them a visit. They'd dispersed a bit, only 4 there when I was there and they kept to the tops of the trees but record shot was attained.

I'd hoped for a few migrants on my patch and indeed there were 20 or so sand martin in cardiff bay when i was at comeston and the same number at cosmeston when i was in cardiff bay but apart from a few singing chiffchaff and one silent blackcap (neither guaranteed to be migrants these days) there wasn't much sign of any. The resident species were definitely in full song though and it was fun birding throughout with a few chances to grab some more photographed species. Displaying Great Crested Grebes almost certainly provided my best ever photos of the species. Blackcap and my first seen Cetti's of the year kept the UK year list ticking along and the sand martins will come soon enough.

The only additions to the list were Mammals. A point blank water vole and a very brief common shrew were both very welcome and working through the frames on my phones live photos even got my first shrew photo.

9 water vole
10 common shrew + phototick

 

[Owene]

Still working through the morocco photos


Northern Bald Ibis

Moroccan Jird

The Atlas sub-species of GSW was one of my favourite birds of the trip. I think this view shows some of the differences.


African Desert Warbler


Tristram's Warbler


House bunting

 

[Owene]

Finally finished my photos. Here's two of the Western Palearctic's most Afrotropical residents. The very charismatic and gregarious Fulvous Babbler and Black Crowned Tchagra which i saw very briefly from the van in uganda but got to see properly in morocco





The local magpies were lovely, just the different eye but i like magpies generally

 

[Owene]

A few of the insects, Vagrant Emperor was everywhere and was a new one for me




False Mallow Skipper and common tiger blue were my two new butterflies. someone on inaturalist has suggested Desert White for some photos but i cant find a good range map



I wish I'd seen Copper Demoiselle closer



Some amazing locusts and lots of striped hawkmoth