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Shropshire Birding (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pandachris
- Start date
Patrick_L
Counting Down
Walked from Bury Ditches to Clun and back on Saturday - scenery like something out of a Muller advert and spectacular. Seems to be a good population of Tree Sparrows around Clun, including some at the Castle itself.
Good numbers of Siskins singing around Bury Ditches, plus a couple of earlyish Tree Pipits.
Good numbers of Siskins singing around Bury Ditches, plus a couple of earlyish Tree Pipits.
Patrick_L
Counting Down
WeBS survey at the S/V confluence on Sunday - another very nice morning after the early low cloud burnt away.
Not surprisingly, not much in the way of Wetland Birds - a pair of Shelduck, a pair of Lapwing and a couple of Curlew. However, plenty of singing warblers and 2 Redstarts, plus Yellow Wagtail and Kingfisher.
There seems to be good numbers of Swallows around already this year - promising for the summer.
Not surprisingly, not much in the way of Wetland Birds - a pair of Shelduck, a pair of Lapwing and a couple of Curlew. However, plenty of singing warblers and 2 Redstarts, plus Yellow Wagtail and Kingfisher.
There seems to be good numbers of Swallows around already this year - promising for the summer.
pandachris
Well-known member
Garden Warbler singing along the Railway line a bit west of Telford Central since Tuesday.
Any dolphins on the Bardsey trip Patrick? toying with the idea of going over to New Quay on Sunday.
Any dolphins on the Bardsey trip Patrick? toying with the idea of going over to New Quay on Sunday.
Patrick_L
Counting Down
Nothing in the way of dolphins, Chris - the boatman said that he can go for much of the season before they arrive in the area, but then may see them every day. Good numbers of Manx Shearwaters on the crossing, but no Puffins as yet.
Any joy for you at New Quay (where is that, by the way?).
Cheers,
pandachris
Well-known member
New Quay is about 20 miles south of Aberystwyth. Old haunt of Dylan Thomas. One of the best places in the UK for Bottle-nosed Dolphins.
We took the 2 hour trip today. Quite a swell but winds were not too bad and it was sunny. First time we've been to New Quay and not seen dolphins. We saw a few Manx Shearwaters, but oddly only with the scope from land, although the boat passed through the area we were seeing them in about 30 minutes earlier.
A red kite over the Welshpool by-pass at 7 p.m. was a couple of miles the wrong side of the border. Got our first UK Swift of the year.
We took the 2 hour trip today. Quite a swell but winds were not too bad and it was sunny. First time we've been to New Quay and not seen dolphins. We saw a few Manx Shearwaters, but oddly only with the scope from land, although the boat passed through the area we were seeing them in about 30 minutes earlier.
A red kite over the Welshpool by-pass at 7 p.m. was a couple of miles the wrong side of the border. Got our first UK Swift of the year.
pandachris
Well-known member
Honey Buzzard
Yesterday at about 12:30, just south of the Grinshill turn-off on the A49, courtesy of a rather slow-moving Iceland lorry (otherwise we'd have been further north). Drifting low and quite close to the road - we have a high degree of confidence in the ID - struck us as "different" from some distance off and the views just improved as we drew close.
Interestingly, this bird was heading slowly in a generally southerly direction (i.e. towards Shrewsbury) - resting during migration or thinking of sticking around? Habitat around there is probably ok.
Yesterday at about 12:30, just south of the Grinshill turn-off on the A49, courtesy of a rather slow-moving Iceland lorry (otherwise we'd have been further north). Drifting low and quite close to the road - we have a high degree of confidence in the ID - struck us as "different" from some distance off and the views just improved as we drew close.
Interestingly, this bird was heading slowly in a generally southerly direction (i.e. towards Shrewsbury) - resting during migration or thinking of sticking around? Habitat around there is probably ok.
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Patrick_L
Counting Down
Not much doing recently in Shropshire as was in Sussex for the Bank Holiday weekend - some of the worst sea-watching I can remember. Good old north-westerlies! However, saw the Pallid Swift on Monday at Seaforth so all forgiven - my first British tick for 18 months!
However, nearly got a Shropshire tick on Sunday on the way back to Shrewsbury - an Osprey over the M54 just on the "wrong" side of junction 3 - probably heading towards Belvide.
Went for a walk on The Stiperstones Tuesday evening - blowing a gale and just a few Lesser Redpolls, Willow Warblers and Common Whitethroats around.
Well done on the Honey Buzzard, Chris.
All the best,
However, nearly got a Shropshire tick on Sunday on the way back to Shrewsbury - an Osprey over the M54 just on the "wrong" side of junction 3 - probably heading towards Belvide.
Went for a walk on The Stiperstones Tuesday evening - blowing a gale and just a few Lesser Redpolls, Willow Warblers and Common Whitethroats around.
Well done on the Honey Buzzard, Chris.
All the best,
pandachris
Well-known member
Cheers Patrick
I'll buy you a pint somewhere to return your books/leaflets etc. and bore you with several hundred holiday snaps (plenty of wildlife included) if you like. Should have the pics edited and labeled up some time next week.
I'll buy you a pint somewhere to return your books/leaflets etc. and bore you with several hundred holiday snaps (plenty of wildlife included) if you like. Should have the pics edited and labeled up some time next week.
pandachris
Well-known member
Worth recording for future reference, I suppose ...
On Thursday night at 21.43 we were driving along the road from Atcham that links the Shrewsbury to Newport road just west of the A49,near Shrewbury rugby club. It was well after sunset but the sky was still quite light and visibility was ok - the sort of light that you might be looking for Nightjars in.
Just before the bridge over the A5 (south side) we saw a bird flying low over the fields towards us. First reaction was "owl" but then we noticed that there was another one with it and as they flew low over the road and quite close to the car it was clear that they were herons. We both commented immediately that they looked really small for Grey Herons but we saw silhouettes only with no plumage clues.
Obvious conclusion is Night Heron, that we've seen plenty of before but never in Shropshire. The only other "clue" apart from size if that therate at which they flapped their wings was faster than normal for a Grey, but I've seen them panicked by raptors and flying quite quickly so I don't think that's a diagnostic - can't recall off-hand if Night Heron has a faster wing beat than Grey - anybody know? Pretty certain they weren't Little Egrets - even with the poor light I'm sure we'd have id'ed them.
Anyway - on the record - might see if I can get down that way again soon and have a proper look. They were heading west, along the line of the A5 and just south of it.
On Thursday night at 21.43 we were driving along the road from Atcham that links the Shrewsbury to Newport road just west of the A49,near Shrewbury rugby club. It was well after sunset but the sky was still quite light and visibility was ok - the sort of light that you might be looking for Nightjars in.
Just before the bridge over the A5 (south side) we saw a bird flying low over the fields towards us. First reaction was "owl" but then we noticed that there was another one with it and as they flew low over the road and quite close to the car it was clear that they were herons. We both commented immediately that they looked really small for Grey Herons but we saw silhouettes only with no plumage clues.
Obvious conclusion is Night Heron, that we've seen plenty of before but never in Shropshire. The only other "clue" apart from size if that therate at which they flapped their wings was faster than normal for a Grey, but I've seen them panicked by raptors and flying quite quickly so I don't think that's a diagnostic - can't recall off-hand if Night Heron has a faster wing beat than Grey - anybody know? Pretty certain they weren't Little Egrets - even with the poor light I'm sure we'd have id'ed them.
Anyway - on the record - might see if I can get down that way again soon and have a proper look. They were heading west, along the line of the A5 and just south of it.
Patrick_L
Counting Down
Hello Chris
Any luck followng up your possible Night Herons?
An excellent Osprey flew north over the garden this evening at 7.15pm - just as we were watching the Swifts checking out our new nestbox. Very impressive numbers of Swifts hanging around the Berwick Road area this evening.
All the best,
Any luck followng up your possible Night Herons?
An excellent Osprey flew north over the garden this evening at 7.15pm - just as we were watching the Swifts checking out our new nestbox. Very impressive numbers of Swifts hanging around the Berwick Road area this evening.
All the best,
pandachris
Well-known member
I haven't been free in the evening and in Shropshire since then, Patrick. I'm sure that they were probably Grey Herons and the light made them look different. Might nip down there tonight or towmorrow, though, weather and life in general permitting.
pandachris
Well-known member
Well done with the Osprey, btw. I probably wasn't far away at 7:15 yesterday - might have seen it if I'd been looking in the right direction (which I wasn't). I'll probably have to wait until August/September at VP for a Shropshire Osprey.
pandachris
Well-known member
I went to look for those herons tonight but all I did was frighten a crow out of a tree. It was a bit chilly but the light was ok until 21:50, when I gave up.
pandachris
Well-known member
Pretty certain I haven't seen a Knot in Shropshire.
Patrick - was it one of your hanging baskets? Any luck with the swifts yet - there have been lots around this week.
Anybody seen many swallows? Numbers seem low everywhere. I did a trip to Southen last week in daylight, down the M40 and back up the M11/A14 and I saw 5 times as many Red Kites as I did swallows during the whole journey(10/2). Haven't seen any swallows or Martins from the house yet, either.
Patrick - was it one of your hanging baskets? Any luck with the swifts yet - there have been lots around this week.
Anybody seen many swallows? Numbers seem low everywhere. I did a trip to Southen last week in daylight, down the M40 and back up the M11/A14 and I saw 5 times as many Red Kites as I did swallows during the whole journey(10/2). Haven't seen any swallows or Martins from the house yet, either.
Patrick_L
Counting Down
Have to say that Swallows seem to be around in good numbers along the Baschurch Road with a pair or two at most farms on the way to work. Certainly Swifts are around this part of Shrewsbury in excellent numbers, and whilst I haven't actually seen them using my new nestbox yet, they are certainly interested.
There aren't that many House Martins around here, although a couple are around the house, but I don't tend to get too concerned about migrant numbers until the first week of June. I can remember days in the last week of May at Beachy Head in my old Sussex days when Swallows would still be piling in off the channel in hundreds, and the weather has been rubbish for a few weeks now.
However, I've just come back from a couple of days down at Hay on Wye, where we canoed 15 miles down the river - with a fresh May Fly hatch the river was swarming with all 3 Martins and Swifts in thousands! That's where they are!
Cheers,
Johnny Allan
Dip or Glory
Hi there,
I'm trying to find out which Counties still use the Watsonian Vice County system to record birds in and which go by whatever the political boundary may change to (and why).
The Watsonian Vice County system was set to accurately record and compare historical and modern data and it seems that there can be/is confusion when some counties no longer use this system whilst others do. Does anyone in your county have a view on this ? Discussion here if anyone has a comment:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=142074
ps this is not about getting more or less county ticks, more a question about uniformity in recording.
Johnny Allan
I'm trying to find out which Counties still use the Watsonian Vice County system to record birds in and which go by whatever the political boundary may change to (and why).
The Watsonian Vice County system was set to accurately record and compare historical and modern data and it seems that there can be/is confusion when some counties no longer use this system whilst others do. Does anyone in your county have a view on this ? Discussion here if anyone has a comment:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=142074
ps this is not about getting more or less county ticks, more a question about uniformity in recording.
Johnny Allan
