Saw my first local badger whilst running Dad's taxi back from Handforth Dean last night - won't reveal the exact location but it was feeding happily on the roadside verge.
Today: A flock of 35 Tree Sparrow 400+ Starling 400+ Woodpigeon 12 Starling 15+ Redwing 1 escape Harris Hawk feeding on rat! Info thanks to Andy Makin -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 20th of October 2012 09:55:52 PM
To gain new members the BTO are having a recruiting drive offering just £1 for an annual membership. Seems pretty low to me! More here - http://www.bto.org/join
Hi, I'm new to all this but can anyone tell me if I have just seen a Sparrowhawk (3 times) sitting on the apex of the house opposite (Near Norris Bank school and Heatons Sports Club) I have been told they hang out on woodland but sometimes hunt in urban gardens. I used to watch the the Peregrine Falcons (i th...
I was surprised to read in todays metro (free paper) that in some circles black headed gulls eggs are considered a great delicacy and if you want to indulge you need to pre order so that they can be 'cropped' all legal and above board
cheers geoff
Hi, Can anybody recommend any bird books to me? My bird book library is only limited to 5 books (including Collin's bird guide), and being an avid reader with a small budget, I'm having some trouble choosing any books out of the enormous range offered to me. I'm pretty much interested in anything, from...
Greater Manchester is seeking a new WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) Organiser. Anyone interested please check the 'County Notice Board' page on the Manchester Birding website for further details.
I just spent 5 days on these stunning islands as a birthday present. What a place! Easily some of my best UK birding, only one lifer but since this was mainly a photographical expedition that's not the point! I'm putting some of the better shots on my blog for people to look at if they please, but only one d...
I'm 99.9% certain the bird I observed yesterday at Etherow Country Park was a Cetti Warbler. I've spent all day researching it's song and distinguishing features. I've watched every You Tube clip there is showing this bird and I'm convinced even more that this is the bird I saw. I don't know if anyone e...
Nice walk around 7-30 to 15-00.
Woods
2. G S Woodpecker
4.treecreeper
River Bollin
3.kingfisher,2adult feeding 1 juv,(Great to watch em.)
4 Grey Wagtail
Garden at the Mill
Green Woodpecker
4 Jay
2 Mistle Thrush
Lots of Nuthatch,all over the park,plus all the usual stuff.
I'd be grateful for any advice on where might be best to see a Water Rail at Penny Flash. Hanging around by reedbeds is the obvious answer but any =body got any tips for the most likely places? Thanks! Paul
Anyone interested in an overseas trip to either Sri Lanka or Ghana this winter? I was initially thinking to go in December, but if there was sufficient interest could delay until the New Year. I've included the approximate tour costs but basic flight costs. Ghana, eight day budget tour with an estima...
My 2 Border Terriers flushed 3 Snipe from the stream that runs through the middle of the course at 4pm. It's the first time for a few years that i've seen them on there, no doubt down to the cold spell. Also 15 or so Redwings in trees near to the pathway.
An early start for myself and Alex Jones this morning to Firsby Hall Farm for the reported adult female Pallid Harrier. On arrival before dawn, we stood in the area where the bird has been seen going to roost. After 20 minutes or so, the Harrier thankfully flew out of the roosting site and good vi...
3rd October. After leaving Portland Bill in the morning, myself and Henry Cook then headed over to Broadsands, Devon where we had great views of 2 male and 4 female Cirl Buntings perched in the hedgerows of the stuble field behind the disused Car Park. Also present, were good numbers of Woodpigeons, M...
I'm not sure if this is in the right place but I wasn't sure where to post it. Admin please feel free to move it to somewhere else if needed. A little bit about me: As a young child I was always interested in birdwatching. I learnt the names of all the British birds when in Primary school and joined the local y...
I have had an escaped Harris Hawk on my neighbours roof in the last half an hour, and is still in the area of Cheadle Hulme. If anyone is aware of one being missing please let me know and I can try my best to point you in the right direction. Adam
hi....i am looking for a stay on case for my Swarovski scope, it is a 65 hd angled scope. Drop me a line please if you can help with this ...many thanks Andrew !
Well it was 25 degrees when we took off from sunny Venice (Treviso) this morning and 6 degrees when we landed at rainy Leeds/Bradford. I recommend checking RyanAir for bargain flights on this route. It was only £22 return including fees and taxes and easy to take a bus from Treviso airport into Venice....
Anyone else fascinated by collective nouns for birds? This came up last night at a conference (Proofreaders') and we were racking our brains for certain species. This makes for great reading: http://collectivenoun.co.uk/- general list of collective nouns, but lots of birds'. A 'scold' of Jays i...
I was in Dubai last week, and while my husband was working, I had a few days holiday. Avoiding the shopping malls was a priority. I had no transport apart from taxis and the Metro, so most of the exciting but less accessible birding venues were out. Fortunately, our hotel was just across from the Media Ci...
My much loved 300mm f2.8 is shortly to be put up for sale as I've been lucky enough to upgrade to a VR version of the same lens. This is the AF-S Mk II D i.e. the last version before they added VR [which I believe is the only difference - glass etc being the same according to what I've read]. Condition is excell...
Late posting: 6th-20th August 2012: A family holiday in Cala En Porter and not really any specific birding time but a few interesting general sightings which may be of interest to future visitors. Generally the island seemed disappointingly rather quiet bird-wise presumably due to the end of the m...
For sale - 2 pairs of bins, new, pristine. Unused, original boxes, with accessories, manufacturers warranty. Opticron Aurora 8 x 42 BGA black/gunmetal, nitrogen waterproof roof prism binoculars, (ex-demo). £685 £700 on many sites. Will sell for £500 ONO Opticron Verano BGA PC Oasis 8 x 42 roof pri...
Visited 5-12th September 2012 Holiday with some birding! (As much as I could get away with!) Very hot 32-36c All but the largest rivers & Streams were bone dry Around Trujillo: Spotless Starling - Very Common and VERY vocal Lesser Kestrel - only the odd one this time of year Short Toed Eagle - occas...
my son who has recently started college and has picked graphic design as one of his subjects is on the look out for a camera, over the last couple of weeks he has decided to go for the canon eos 1000 d. we may be looking at buying new but i wondered if any body on mb forum was about to sell such model we might be be...
I've had several discussions with fellow birders recently on this subject, so thought I'd post on the discussion forum to get some general opinions. Just wondered what are your views on birds trapped and ringed? Would you actually count them on your own personal BOU list? Personally, I see no proble...
A report by my friend & reliable Birder, David Wells: A Red Kite NE over Mossfield Close Bury at 5.45pm today then over the M66 towards the Cheeseden Valley
Hi All, Did any body else see about 14 raptors today circling over civic centre, I live about 5 minutes away and at about 12:30 saw what I thought was 3 buzzards and a sparrowhawk fly over my house, circling and moving towards civic, I thought then thay they might not be buzzards as the call the were making...
