[Misc] The Official NSC Bird Spotting Thread.

[Eeyore]

I am astounded by people's ability to recognise, by sight and sound, birds, bravo! I spend at least a day a week surrounded by 'experts', (RSPB wardens etc) and am routinely mocked for my complete lack or recognition. Give me a Chiffchaff, a Grasshopper Warbler or a Pied Fly though and I'm your man

Funnily enough, I've had to teach 2 people over the last month or so how we undertake nest box surveys, one of which was a new warden - Took about the blind leading the blind

There will be many, many twitchers who have knowledge that would humble that of any reserve warden. Some have made a lifetime of bird spotting.

 

[Zeberdi]

There will be many, many twitchers who have knowledge that would humble that of any reserve warden. Some have made a lifetime of bird spotting.

I’m not a reserve warden - never have been.

Started birding and twitching rare birds in my teens. Have travelled all over the UK, Europe and North America on birdwatching trips - the best one I did was a two week migration survey in Greece at lake Kirkini - an amazing 175 species seen! Gave up twitching about 20 years ago - couldn’t justify the cost and would rather see rare birds on their own habitats ( for the reason you mention above). It also has become quite hard for me in the past few years to lug a scope round let alone walk the miles I use to on public transport so do less UK general birding than I used to too sadly.

 

[Titanic]

We see the odd red kite locally, but when the farmer took his first cut of grass for silage yesterday, we had 9 circling and swooping - so impressive.

 

[DavePage]

I am reasonably confident of spotting one of these little beauties at lunch time today...



View attachment 137599

Beautiful, completely knocked the stuffing out of me

 

[Diablo]

First Cygnets I`ve seen this year. There are eight.

 

[Eeyore]

There's been a massive fall of migrants in the last 24 hours, record numbers of marsh warblers, icterne warbs, bluethroats etc red backed shrikes. Hearing that the north east coast is a good place at the moment.

 

[MJsGhost]

Just walking past a gang of about five of these little beauties...

 

[hans kraay fan club]

There's been a massive fall of migrants in the last 24 hours, record numbers of marsh warblers, icterne warbs, bluethroats etc red backed shrikes. Hearing that the north east coast is a good place at the moment.

Nigel Farage is on a train North with a film crew, as we speak.

 

[Eeyore]

Nigel Farage is on a train North with a film crew, as we speak.

Rwandan Blue. Beautiful plumage.

 

[Eeyore]

One of my funniest moments in the last few months was when a colleague had gone on a field trip in Norway and returned showing us all a presentation of the work that had been done around the lakes up there.

He spoke of all the different birds he had seen. I asked in the chat if he had seen a Norwegian Blue. He commented in passing that he hadn't seen one.

Most of the younger folks just continued to watch the presentation. Most folks over 50 in the room spat their coffee out giggling.

 

[Zeberdi]

There's been a massive fall of migrants in the last 24 hours, record numbers of marsh warblers, icterne warbs, bluethroats etc red backed shrikes. Hearing that the north east coast is a good place at the moment.

The NE Coast is always good for scarce passage migrants and vagrants this time of year especially if there have been strong North Easterlies - Unusual amount of RB Shrikes coming in. One of the reasons I moved to Norfolk - many arriving work their way down the coast and Norfolk gets a very good share of the UK landfall of rarities.

A few years ago, I’d have been up on the coast like a shot- not so mobile now.

 

[mikeyjh]

Been watching a Goshawk going after a Magpie nest last few days, magpies go nuts, crows come in, Goshawk eventually leaves, pretty entertaining! Won't happen while I've got the camera out, of course.

 

[Marty McFly]

Spent the first half of this week tracking and identifying bobolink in and around Ottawa. They have both distinctive calls, and distinctive haircuts! (Not my picture)

 

[Zeberdi]

On blue sky days like today, I feel so blessed that this is my route to work

I had a Great White Egret on my lunchtime jaunt around the reserve today - sorry terrible photo, I only had my phone with me and it was a long way away

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

 

[One Love]

Nice walk up the Adur yesterday.

All the usual suspects but got Common Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Skylarks, Sedge Warbler, a couple of Buzzards and a couple of Kestrels, one of which I saw with binoculars swoop down from the telephone wire into the grass.

 

[Weststander]

Driving from Petworth to Midhurst last week, close by we spotted a huge brown bird of prey resting on sign, many times the size of a Kestral or Sparrowhawk. Looked like a White Tailed or Golden Eagle. But I assume there've been no West Sussex sightings for a long time? If not, I assume it can only be a Buzzard.

 

[pasty]

Not a very exciting bird, but we have a pair of pigeons apparently nesting in our garden. Don’t believe there’s any eggs in there right now, but one of the pair rarely leaves the nest.

 

[Zeberdi]

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• #301

Def one of these two.

View attachment 184609

View attachment 184610Buzzard on top Red Kite bottom

Beautiful photos but just as a heads up, unless you took the photos yourself, you could be breaching copyright by using them without the photographer’s permission. Perhaps post a link to the site instead? Apologies if they are your photos - amazing shots if so.

If it were either of the two, then Common Buzzard would be more likely than RK - Buzzards routinely perch on low lying structures like fences or posts to hunt for voles in the grass etc. Red Kites are carrion eaters and tend either be seen on the ground or perched in trees (or soaring overhead!).

It could have been a WTE - they often perch on fence posts but as @Weststander says, no recent sightings ( last reported one in Sussex was on 17 April according to Birdguides)

 

[Diablo]

Beautiful photos but just as a heads up, unless you took the photos yourself, you could be breaching copyright by using them without the photographer’s permission. Perhaps post a link to the site instead? Apologies if they are your photos - amazing shots if so.

If it were either of the two, then Common Buzzard would be more likely than RK - Buzzards routinely perch on low lying structures like fences or posts to hunt for voles in the grass etc. Red Kites are carrion eaters and tend either be seen on the ground or perched in trees (or soaring overhead!).

It could have been a WTE - they often perch on fence posts but as @Weststander says, no recent sightings ( last reported one in Sussex was on 17 April according to Birdguides)

thanks googled pics so have deleted.