Spent the last week on holiday in Suffolk. Very cold and windy but no rain until Friday.
Nice to meet Ian Woosey and Jimmy Meadows again at Minsmere plus two others I didn't know. I realise now that one was Geoff Hargreaves who I'd not met before and the other I'm guessing might have been Rob Thorpe.
Hi...
I am creating a new talk for the Bolton and Bury RSPB to promote local birding, I am also including GM areas in the talk, if you have any stories you feel would be good to include please put them here and I will happily add people's stories to the talk
Late afternoon 1500hrs Overcast but dry. Female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Finally after 6 visits this month had the black capped female high up in the Alder trees giving good views for 20 minutes. At one stage had the Lesser & Great spot in vision on the same branch. The bird was located in the exa...
Woke up this morning & looked out to see a small bird sheltering near the front feeding station. At first glance just thought Robin, as the feeders are quite distant & through double glazing, but something made me think it wasn't just a Robin so I went to fetch my bins to get a proper look. I was am...
After being fascinated by the sound and size of watching some youtube footage of Great Reed Warblers I took a very early morning detour to Ilkeston today and had brilliant views in the sunshine as the bird moved around the reed bed it is frequenting. To see a thrush sized warbler was very interesting an...
4th-5th June: Popped down with Phil Owen to take in some of the special birds of this region on my first summer trip here. Generally good weather but the wind kept a few species down and therefore not seen. Overall a successful trip to a fab part of the country. Some of the sightings included: Paxton Pits...
7th April - a.m.
4 Sand Martins - it was a really cold morning - hope they were managing to find something to eat over the waters surface!
29 Tufted Duck, 3 Great Crested Grebes, 5 male Mallards circled around and displaying to a rather bored and uninterested looking female!, a pair of Blue Tits mati...
Just back from an eleven night stay on the Riviera Maya in Mexico, approximately fifty miles south of Cancun. There were four hotels on a site covering around two square miles. A variety of habitat including coastline, gardens with shrubs, bushes and trees, a golf course with several pools and final...
This might be a controversial topic, but it would be interesting to see what other birders think about Ring-Necked Parakeets (=Rose-Ringed Parakeet) There are some 30,000 throughout the UK, with the vast majority in Surrey, but small populations throughout including an expanding population in...
Velbon sherpa Pro,cf531el tripod, boxed as new,carbon fibre and magnesium with ph-157q head and quick release plate, with stone bag and hanging hook,adjustable legs for low level shots, leg warmers, maximum height 1.65m ,removable centre column, clip lock legs .£130
A Wryneck was present all day today near Knypersley reservoir just N.of Stoke, a bit closer for Greater Manchester birders than the East Coast!! Directions (if it still there tomorrow) are: Just N.of Brown Edge by Sands Lane on gorse covered hill. Drive over the dam at Knypersley Resr and continue to...
Stonechat, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (in Wythenshawe at last !!!!!!) Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker (pair) in Mile Lane. All three Woodpeckers within half a mile of where of where I used to live. Some places, you never forget!!!
Ahead of our house move we still have the following for sale:- Josep del Hoyo 16 volumes Handbook of the Birds of the World - £400 ono (condition is as new - original cost over £2000). Handbook of the Birds of Africa all 7 volumes by Fry Keith Urban et alia £200 ono (condition is as new). Handbook of the Bir...
Went with the kids on a 'world of wildlife event here today- had a great time orienteering followed by pond dipping (3 newts!). Plan to go back really soon.
1-3pm
5 nuthatch
3 robins
4 woodpigeons
3 magpies
2 longtailed tits
4 great tits
4 mallards
blue tit
grey heron flew over
grey wagtail a...
Had a trudge round Heaton Park this afternoon the Boating lake had:- 5 pochard Pair Shoevelr 2 Gooander 2 GCG Elsewhere in the Park GSW 8 Siskin 2 Bullfinch 2 Treecreeper Jay Sparrowhawk and some very tame squirrels which where follwing me around and at one point thought it was gonna climb up me instead...
Had a nice walk round Anglezarke today. 1 male and 2 female Goldeneye on the top small reservoir (think it's called Yarrow). Male starting to display. A Buzzard over the car park and really close up look at a Treecreeper.
6th May 2016 1 Osprey being mobbed by Lesser Black Gulls as it flew along the Avon valley at Clifton. Also, 1 Peregrine roosting on a newly built high rise building near Bristol Bridge, whilst lots of unwary town pigeons scrounge scraps off the public in the square below. 2 Yellow Legged Herring Gulls w...
4 days in Hampshire and West Sussex (with a little bit of Bershire/Surrey and Oxfordshire thrown in) produced the following highlights:
Rough-legged Buzzard- 2nd winter male near Andover, Hampshire, showed well with Common BUzzards and Red Kites too.
Farlington Marshes (Hampshire)-...
Looking at the pressure charts for next week we should be in for a run of south easterly winds from Monday till Friday.These winds are originating from quite a way across the continent and should produce a few Black Terns from Tuesday onwards,fingers crossed.
Had an hour at Ainsdale Beach the other evening: saw Sandwich Tern roost - circa 15 birds, Dunlin, Knot, Sanderling [in very smart plumage] and Bar Tailed Godwit - some still in breeding plumage and a tick for me. Also possible Grey Plover which would have been a tick but they were too badly lit by the sun...
Sad news this week, as Wigan-based birder Jimmy Meadows passed away after illness. Formerly a major user of this forum he had been less active in the past few years, in part due to failing eyesight. A true gent and one of those people who seemed to know most people in his home town. He played an active role...
Dialling back to last January one of the surprise birds of 2025 was reported just off the coast of Texel island - a fine male Spectacled Eider keeping loose company with several of its common cousins. After what seemed like ten days of frustrating delay (reduced winter ferry service/bad weather etc....
Quick walk with dog through Wood (can't remember it's name) next to Princess Parkway gave the following species:-
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Nuthatch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Siskin
House Sparrow
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Blackbird
Redwing
Jay
Buzzard
Song Thrush
Woodpigeon
Wor...
