Young Birder (1 Viewer)

[Joseph N]

I love being a tart which means that 3 lifers on Monday and 1 year tick

200. WHITE THROATED ROBIN
201. Manx Shearwater
202. Red-backed Shrike
203. Spoonbill

Congratulations to everyone who saw the White-throated Robin - what a stunning bird it is and very well done to Andrew and Tim for some very good images and video footage. I a I am not going to be able to get out birding until the weekend after next :-C. However I am happy enough as it is as I've managed a photo in the birdguides Review of the Week for two weeks in a row o .I will probably travel down to some birding in Angus the weekend after next. At the beginning of next month I am planning to go to Mull with my mum on a half birding half sight-seeing holiday, where my aims will of course be to see Golden Eagle and White-tailed Eagle well. So, quite a lot to look forward to!

Good birding,

Joseph

 

[ausmar]

141 - Kentish plover, White Stork, Whiskered tern and Western Orphean warbler (also a lifer twitched today)

Black-winged stilts have bred for the first time in Malta you can read about it on Birdlife malta website and my blog

 

[Silverwolf]

415!!! Is that just this year? If so, you must have been on a very good trip somewhere up north! :eek!: Good to see another Aussie on here o

Its a result of living in Canada and England as well, and I've only got 100 in those countries, so it could be much higher. On top of that I will likely be moving to California soon.

 

[Joshua-B]

That explains it lol. The year list competition here is only allowed to count 1 country =P How many are you on this year in Aus?

 

[Silverwolf]

That explains it lol. The year list competition here is only allowed to count 1 country =P How many are you on this year in Aus?

Competition? What competition? I only read the first page and last post and I saw no competition or rules

Anyway, at the moment I'm at 206, which considering I don't have a car and have only been out the city three times is pretty good. Still a lot left to see though.

 

[Joshua-B]

haha - you're beating me then... by 7 |;|

 

[Jonny721]

1st) Shantanu (Mumbai, India) - 327 species
2nd) FoghornKinghorn (Durham, GB) - 228 species
3rd) Birding Maniac (Durham, GB) - 221 species
4th) Timmyjones (Yorkshire, GB) - 203 species
5th) Joshua-B (Australia) - 199 species
6th) Joseph N (Aberdeenshire, GB) - 191 species
7th) Jonny721 (Lancashire, GB) - 180 species
8th) Ash1456 (Cornwall, GB) - 179 species
9th) Simmojunior (London, GB) - 165 species
10th) Midlands Birder (Midlands, GB) - 161 species
11th) nrg800 (Australia) - 155 species
12th) ***DIJ*** (Lincolnshire, GB) - 152 species
13th) Mari E (Oxford, GB) - 145 species
14th) Ausmar (Malta) - 141 species
15th) Knotsbirder (Nottinghamshire, GB) - 140 species
16th) Halcon (Spain) - 137 species
17th) Adin 92 (Malta) - 136 species
17th) Birdermoose (Essex, GB) - 136 species
19th) Shrikebirder (London, GB) - 124 species
20th) Jamesevry (Somerset, GB) - 114 species
21st) Birdpics (Essex, GB) - 107 species
22nd) Borofan (Cleveland, GB) - 102 species
23rd) Nature_Lover (Durham, GB) - 81 species
24th) CreamColouredCourser (Wales, GB) - 67 species
25th) Skylark25 (Malta) - 54 species
26th) WildlifeLove (Essex, GB) - 52 species
27th) Maltese Falcon (Malta) - 44 species
28th) Andrewj123 (Bedfordshire, GB) - 35 species

Hopefully all lists up to date now don't think I missed ay off but check yours anyway to make sure your on the right total. My yearlist has flatlined due to revision but only 2 more exams now before I can get out again o

Anyone still missing some common species for the year that they should have got by now? Amazingly I still haven't seen a Jay :eek!: also still waiting for Tawny Owl and Kingfisher

 

[Mari E]

Hi I couldn't stay overnight on Skomer as it was totally full but managed just 1 manx shearwater off stackpole head

Also managed to find 5 whimbrels and several sanderlings on Newport even when it was completely low tide, I could hardly make out the sanderlings in the dunlin flock even with my scope!

I really wanted to see the SEO more than little owl but it was better than nothing

No I didn't see any of the kites I was there just before that happened.

I can't wait to go to Prmbrokeshire again, it's currently my favourite place.

 

[Mari E]

145) Pied flycatcher

 

[Nature__lover]

Another FANTASTIC day at saltholme. Amongst all the usuals, saw 3 stunning spoonbills, my first ever, and a fox literally DIRECTLY outside the hide window. first time I've seen one properly rather than a streak of red running across the road.
they are so beautiful!

#82 : Spoonbill.

 

[simmojunior]

Went out for a walk in my local woods this evening and had absolutely stunning views of a Tawny Owl. Not a year tick but absolutely fantastic and really helped cheer me up amongst all this revision and exams.

 

[birding maniac]

Another FANTASTIC day at saltholme. Amongst all the usuals, saw 3 stunning spoonbills, my first ever, and a fox literally DIRECTLY outside the hide window. first time I've seen one properly rather than a streak of red running across the road.
they are so beautiful!

#82 : Spoonbill.

Glad you got the spoonbills!
There's a load of foxes at saltholme, I had 5 around (2 just outside it) in the cold spell, including one that took a duck from on the ice and the same individual just 1 metre away through the glass from the vc!

 

[Silverwolf]

haha - you're beating me then... by 7 |;|

I wouldn't complain. I've been wanting to see Regent for years. With those sorts of birds, its quality beating quantity. Anyway enough of this. We will end up filling the forum .

 

[Mari E]

There seems to be loads of spoonbills around right now, around 5 have passed through Oxford but I have never seen one....

 

[FoghornKinghorn]

229 - Whinchat - Fen Bog, North Yorkshire
230 - Pectoral Sandpiper - Greatham Creek, Durham

Had a Pec Sand at Teesside today; first one I have seen in 2 years as I don't twitch many scarce birds I have seen before outside of Durham. Had a brilliant days birding in North Yorkshire yesterday; at least 2 Honey Buzzards at Wykham Forrest. One of them flew over out heads on at least 3 occasions! Brilliant views. We also had at least 2 Turtle Doves outside the watchpoint. We also had Whinchat at Fen Bog and Large Heath and Small Peal-bordered Fritillary butterfly. Then coming home we had a Hobby fly across the road which is a Durham yeah tick and only the second ever I have seen in the county.

A great weekends birding in the glorious North,

 

[birding maniac]

As Andrew goes up, I go down.
Added new species to my list and it comes to 220 for the year, not 221 as previous
BM

 

[Joseph N]

As Andrew goes up, I go down.
Added new species to my list and it comes to 220 for the year, not 221 as previous
BM

Have returned this evening having seen the probable White-winged Scoter off Murcar Golf Course just 5 miles north of my house! There were several features that helped seperate it from Velvet Scoter, particularly the bill which lacked colour and had a dull pink patch of colour at the bill tip . One of the other key features for picking it out amongst the Commons and Velvets is that it has a noticeably, drab, mat plumage. At several points I saw the bird alongside drake Velvet Scoters and the Velvets had afar glossier and more vivid black plumage. Another clear feature is that it very regularly held its neck slightly forward, giving it quite an 'urgent' posture which I didn't see in any of the Velvets. If anything it appeared slightly slimmer and less thick-necked than the Velvets, and there was considerable amounts of brown on the back. These were the main features as well as what Lee and others have mentioned on the RBA thread on BF that helped the bird stand out from the Velvets. The bird showed well at down to 200 yards in perfect light, associating mostly with the Eiders in front of the main raft of scoter rather than amongst the Scoters. It looks like a very good candidate and I hope to see its identity verified in the course of the next few days, at which point I will add it to the year list on this thread. If accepted this represents the first White-winged Scoter for Britain! To top things off, good views of 3 drake Surf Scoters were had (I had 4 species of scoter in the same scope view at one point, rather insane!!!), and I saw a Curlew Sandpiper at Rigifa Pool later on. Birding cannot get much better than this!

Joseph

 

[birding maniac]

Having seen pics if the bird it looked a good candidate, at what seems to be a good location for American scoter, in a good year for them. Glad you got it, I'm very certainly jealous

 

[midlands birder]

162, Superb views of a family of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at an undisclosed site this evening, had both male + female on a feeder at one point!!
Videograbs






MB

 

[Joseph N]

Having seen pics if the bird it looked a good candidate, at what seems to be a good location for American scoter, in a good year for them. Glad you got it, I'm very certainly jealous

Thanks Michael, it's a very good candidate! The Co. Kerry bird was seen outside of the UK technically and was actually of the asian subspecies stejnegeri so did not come from America, whereas this bird has. If accepted and the ID 100% verified this will actually be the first American (deglandi) White-winged Scoter to have turned up in the British Isles (including Ireland). In fact, regardless of its taxonomic status or which subspecies it is, this would be the first for the UK! That's what so unbelievably exhilirating about having seen the bird! And to have it alongside 3 drake Surf Scoters, a dream....

Joseph