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Young Birder (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter The Barn Owl
- Start date
louisfh
Well-known member
Just when you think the birds aren't going your way something great happeens out of the blue, find out what I saw today on my blogo
Grrr what a dream bird from the house! I kept looking up for something along those lines today but no luck
I've succumbed to the pressure I felt reading everybody else's blogs and being surprised how much I enjoyed it so I've started one of my own!
http://birdsandboredom.blogspot.com
Only my first two posts on there at the moment but keep your eyes peeled for the next mega I come across in my travels...:-O
Jonny721
Well-known member
Hoping to get out this weekend and try and see a few more year ticks, and if all goes well 2 life birds aswell (great grey shrike and red crested pochard). Lots of thrushes around here today with over 150 Fieldfares around giving great views. For a full days write up check out my blog o
Halcon
barcelona birder
Hoping to get out this weekend and try and see a few more year ticks, and if all goes well 2 life birds aswell (great grey shrike and red crested pochard). Lots of thrushes around here today with over 150 Fieldfares around giving great views. For a full days write up check out my blog o
I would really enjoy seeing a Fielfare.
Birds 4ever
Is it just me or do non-birders see rare birds you
lucky you!
Jonny721
Well-known member
What a fantastic day o I had a few places that I wanted to go planned out in my head but mid morning I got a text from Paul Slade (local birder) saying that there was a Red Breasted Goose at Fluke Hall!!! :eek!: Well all the other plans went out the window and 10 minutes later I was on my way with my mum. When I arrrived there was already a crowd of 20 or so local birders and one of them let me get my first look at the Red Breasted Goose (lifer) which was feeding amongsth thousands of Pink Feet. It carried on doing this for 3-4 minutes before the entire flock errupted upwards and it was lost from view. So I headed off to my next destination.
Tower Lodge in the trough of bowland had held good numbers of Brambling for the past few days so I hoped at least one would still be around, and I was right with 2 male Bramblings (year tick) in flight over one of the plantations.
My last stop was Waddington Fell for the Great Grey Shrike, a bird that i missed 4 times earlier this year. There were already a few birders about but they hadn't seen the bird for about 30 minutes but pointed me in the general area where it had been. After 10 minutes of searching I spotted a bird at the top of the hill on the fence posts, the Great Grey Shrike! (lifer), it showed well but only for 10 seconds before diving out of sight and not re-appearing. So all in all a fab day o
I had a few places that I wanted to go planned out in my head but mid morning I got a text from Paul Slade (local birder) saying that there was a Red Breasted Goose at Fluke Hall!!! :eek!: Well all the other plans went out the window and 10 minutes later I was on my way with my mum. When I arrrived there was already a crowd of 20 or so local birders and one of them let me get my first look at the Red Breasted Goose (lifer) which was feeding amongsth thousands of Pink Feet. It carried on doing this for 3-4 minutes before the entire flock errupted upwards and it was lost from view. So I headed off to my next destination.Tower Lodge in the trough of bowland had held good numbers of Brambling for the past few days so I hoped at least one would still be around, and I was right with 2 male Bramblings (year tick) in flight over one of the plantations.
My last stop was Waddington Fell for the Great Grey Shrike, a bird that i missed 4 times earlier this year. There were already a few birders about but they hadn't seen the bird for about 30 minutes but pointed me in the general area where it had been. After 10 minutes of searching I spotted a bird at the top of the hill on the fence posts, the Great Grey Shrike! (lifer), it showed well but only for 10 seconds before diving out of sight and not re-appearing. So all in all a fab day o
FoghornKinghorn
Durham Recorder
Not yet, however there is a huge lot of them in Northumberland (just north of me). So hopefuly they will work their way down to Durham and preferably to a local site!:t:
Birds 4ever
Is it just me or do non-birders see rare birds you
Waxwings are literally invading UK now, there are soooo many of them coming down!
I've never seen one, because I live in Oxford but I'm hoping that this year they might come as far down as where I live.... I'd love to see those beautiful birds!
I've never seen one, because I live in Oxford but I'm hoping that this year they might come as far down as where I live.... I'd love to see those beautiful birds!
jimmyg
Good game boys, good game!
Actually they've been in Oxford the last two winters, so you might well be in with a chance :t: Think I might go down to see them if they do turn up as I've only ever seen Waxwings twice (both times in my garden!).
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midlands birder
Well-known member
i have only ever seen waxwings 4 times, (involving 31 birds, 28 self found:eek!
just never get bored of them
some local birds this winter would be nice, there has been the odd small flock passing through here in worcester on the hill tops (malvern+ bredon) and there about a month or 2 early( usually in late december-early jan the flock start arriving)
what is the berry crop up north like???
MB
mr.sim
Honourable founding member of the "day late" gang
i have only ever seen waxwings 4 times, (involving 31 birds, 28 self found:eek!
just never get bored of them
some local birds this winter would be nice, there has been the odd small flock passing through here in worcester on the hill tops (malvern+ bredon) and there about a month or 2 early( usually in late december-early jan the flock start arriving)
what is the berry crop up north like???
MB
Depends how far North you mean. As regards Scandanavia and Russia, the crop there is pretty minimal, hence their invasion of the UK. It seems in the UK it's been pretty good, but apparently in some parts of Scotland it isn't much above average...
But are those trees/bushes full of Waxwings??:t:
Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
In Aberdeen over the past few days, Ash, those bushes and trees have been, and still are! We get them almost every winter, and despite last year being a very bad winter for Waxwings I was able to connect with a flock of 18 in February.
Its absolutely fantastic to see them arriving in such numbers and so early into the UK. They have arrived en masse in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City - with the highest totals in the city being seperate flocks of 500 and 300 respectively, plus other large flocks of 150 so and other flocks dotted throughout the county. Despite it being a school day and not a day when any birding was intended to be done, I managed to connect with the invasion today and see a good amount of Waxwings. On the way to school at 8:30am, only a 5 minutes walk away from the house I chanced upon a flock of 20 birds on a cotoneaster tree at Belgrave Terrace, with brief and distant views as I had to get to school.
Later this afternoon, on the way back from walking a friend home after school, I came upon yet more Waxwings. Hearing their diagnostic trills coming from a back lane, I went down the back lane (called Blenheim Lane) and discovered a nice group of 12 feeding on a cotoneaster tree 25ft or so away from me, keeping surprisingly still and allowing for lovely views without the aid of binoculars. I regret not having my camera at the time, as they remained there for about 5-10 minutes before they finally flew off. Finally, whilst walking down my own street 2 flew low over my head and dipped into one of the gardens on my street. So a total of 34 in total.
I am soon expecting them to come into the garden, as they have done on previous years, which is always nice and will be the absolute prime time to photograph this beautiful species. I do feel very priveliged to be in a place that gets so many of them! I may go down and check out some of the bigger flocks that have been around as some of them are in walking distance, providing that those flocks haven't shoved off of course!
ATB,
Joseph
Its absolutely fantastic to see them arriving in such numbers and so early into the UK. They have arrived en masse in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City - with the highest totals in the city being seperate flocks of 500 and 300 respectively, plus other large flocks of 150 so and other flocks dotted throughout the county. Despite it being a school day and not a day when any birding was intended to be done, I managed to connect with the invasion today and see a good amount of Waxwings. On the way to school at 8:30am, only a 5 minutes walk away from the house I chanced upon a flock of 20 birds on a cotoneaster tree at Belgrave Terrace, with brief and distant views as I had to get to school.
Later this afternoon, on the way back from walking a friend home after school, I came upon yet more Waxwings. Hearing their diagnostic trills coming from a back lane, I went down the back lane (called Blenheim Lane) and discovered a nice group of 12 feeding on a cotoneaster tree 25ft or so away from me, keeping surprisingly still and allowing for lovely views without the aid of binoculars. I regret not having my camera at the time, as they remained there for about 5-10 minutes before they finally flew off. Finally, whilst walking down my own street 2 flew low over my head and dipped into one of the gardens on my street. So a total of 34 in total.
I am soon expecting them to come into the garden, as they have done on previous years, which is always nice and will be the absolute prime time to photograph this beautiful species. I do feel very priveliged to be in a place that gets so many of them! I may go down and check out some of the bigger flocks that have been around as some of them are in walking distance, providing that those flocks haven't shoved off of course!
ATB,
Joseph
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jimmyg
Good game boys, good game!
You've just increased the chances of me applying to the university of Aberdeen for next year :t:
Jonny721
Well-known member
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