UKC

Recent birds n stuff

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 Bottom Clinger 09 May 2023

I’ll start with the best. Nuthatch taking food to its mate, this morning, tree still soaked from yesterdays monsoon. 


In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Waders, a soaked but stunning summer plumage golden plover, a ringed plover, also wet. And an avocet before it got soaked. 


In reply to Bottom Clinger:

The kestrel was one very dull morning last week, a buzzard being harrassed by a lapwing on Saturday, avocet harassing a herring gull yesterday, before they got soaked. 


In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Yellow wagtails in the sunshine. 


In reply to Bottom Clinger:

A group of shelducks doing some courtship fighting, hare and roe buck. 


 freeflyer 09 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Epic. Much more of this, and I expect to see you on the Countryfile calendar.

In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Nice series of photos, particularly the Nuthatches which are great to have captured those feeding scenes.

I’m starting to look at gulls - it’s going to be hard work to try and work them out I think. Also, I thought I had seen a new to me sandpiper, but it turned out to be a common. I’ve only seen common sandpipers once last year and had obviously forgotten what they looked like!!

 Michael Hood 10 May 2023
In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Gulls, the basic UK 5:

  1. Black-headed
  2. Common - the least common of these 5 in respect of sightings but probably more numerous than GBBs
  3. Herring
  4. Lesser Black-backed
  5. Greater Black-backed

...are pretty easy to identify as adults - immatures can be confusing especially Herring and LBBs - I tend to ignore them. Get familiar with all these - difficulties tend to be (again ignoring immatures):

  • Being sure it's a Common Gull when there's no Herring or LBB for size comparison, there's a wide variation in leg colour (as I recently found out).
  • Being sure it's a GBB rather than dark subspecies of LBB when there's no Herring or LBB for size comparison, pink legs is the definitive bit but also GBBs look much meaner.

The only other "common" gull in the UK is the Kittiwake - but this is virtually always seen on cliffs or on/above the sea, virtually never inland. Easiest to see by simply going to places where they nest. No idea about your locale up north but in N England St Bees Head (W) and Scarborough (E) are easy places to see them during nesting season.

That then leaves the "occasionals" & rarities - you've either got to be in the right place at the right time (Bottom Clinger seems to always be bumping into Mediterranean Gulls which I've yet to see, and I missed the recent Lancashire explosion of Little Gulls in transit), or have huge resources of patience to scan winter gull roosts (scope usually required).

Ivory, Glaucous and Iceland are rare visitors but probably seen every year somewhere in the UK.

Finally, what's a separate species - Yellow-legged and Caspian are I believe now considered separate species but previously they were considered sub-species of Herring Gulls - I believe there's some sort of "continuum" of these hybridising with Herring and also possibly LBB. I've seen pictures of some of these with positive IDs of e.g. 2nd year Caspian and I'm just "looks like a gull to me, how can you tell the difference from a 2nd year Herring" etc...

Good luck - enjoy.

 Michael Hood 10 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Nice piccies - as always - Nuthatch passing food is especially good, and the male Kestrel with its head turned is not usually seen in photos.

Post edited at 21:36
In reply to Michael Hood:

Ta. The morning I took the kestrel photo was as dull as you could get, but it still turned out good. Heard a Reed warbler on the dog wan this morning, which is a first on my dog walk routes. 

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

The nuthatch nest hole is perfect for photos. Right next to the footpath and perfect height. The sun comes blasting in which can cause a bit of glare but that’s the way it goes. Notice there’s a hoopoe behind Anstruther Coop.  It was a Stone Curlew the other month. 

 PaulJepson 10 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

The peregrines at Sheffield uni have hatched over the weekend too: https://peregrine.group.shef.ac.uk/

In reply to Michael Hood:

Thanks for that. Time will tell how I get on.

In reply to Bottom Clinger:

You’ll be able to monitor the nest easily and may get some photos of the youngsters; great that light gets on to it for better photos. I’ll be doing a few visits over time on that GS woodpecker nest I saw being created last month; not yet been back to see if it is occupied yet though.

Anstruther is not a place I been to at all for bird watching, I’ll add it to my list for looking in on.

In reply to freeflyer:

> Epic. Much more of this, and I expect to see you on the Countryfile calendar.

I assume you mean the front cover would be a full frontal of me, naked with a strategically placed wren

 freeflyer 11 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

> I assume you mean the front cover would be a full frontal of me, naked with a strategically placed wren

Size is important. I reckon a bustard would do the trick

Some advice from the delightful Lucy Worsley:

https://lucyworsley.com/a-little-article-on-the-history-of-the-codpiece/

 Michael Hood 12 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

On the way back from some Kentmere Synge's had some great views of a pair of Redstart, especially after I realised I was inhibiting them because I was probably in the middle of their route into the nest, so I moved 10m to the side and was rewarded with better views.

Driving back down Kentmere at the bridge over the river stopped for a quick each way glance from the car for Dipper (nope) and realised I was face to face with this fella. Just had time to whip out the phone before he flew off.

Post edited at 16:01

In reply to Michael Hood:

I’ve not seen a redstart in ages. Lovely birds, as is that wagtail. Nice one. 

Heard reed and heard/saw sedge warbler this morning. As well as blackcap, willow w and chiffie. 

 Michael Hood 12 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Can't remember last time I saw Redstart - decades ago, I remember one once nesting in Birch Tree Wall Direct (VS 5a)

Get Grey Wagtails on the Irwell in Salford

Quite a few Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers about, went to Millom Moss, could just see Osprey head and body when bird on the nest had a shuffle about. But great views of M & F Stonechat and the obligatory Reed Warbler singing but not being seen.

In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Spent an hour or so at Letham Pools and the Sedge Warblers there, some six singing, were being elusive and didn’t want to take part in a photo shoot!! I did see some but it was so brief I never got time for any photo. Frustrating!

Also, if Merlin app is accurate/reliable, it says a Bluethroat was there. I did see a very dark small bird momentarily as it dived into reeds. Whether it could be one and that was it, no idea.

 BusyLizzie 12 May 2023
In reply to Bottom Clinger:

Gorgeous pictures, thank you!

 Michael Hood 13 May 2023
In reply to Michael Hood:

> went to Millom Moss, 

Not Millom, Meathop Moss which is about a mile past Foulshaw - doh! - got the M right 😁

Millom's right at the SW of Cumbria S of Black Combe, great colony of Sandwich & Little terns, and if it's like last year, lots of Red Breasted Mergansers.


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