What have you seen
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Are you able to get out in the van at the moment? I likes the views of the shore that you posted today.
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Lovely photo GL, very envious.
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About to go to van in storage, quick look in garden and yep....still here.
Can't take much better pic's, so frustrating to have them here and not get any better photos.........never satisfied.
Can't believe how colourful the male is.
Don't worry...no more photos.
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Had a nice few hours down on the Somerset moors today, hoping to get a glimpse of the cranes but saw mostly Bewick swans and Lapwings.
A journey via Muchelney Abbey ruins and the priest's house, it didn't seem long since the last floods blocked the route over that way. Then along the river Parrett, Oath Sluice, which is the upper tidal reach, with some overspill of water into the fields. Onwards and upwards to Stoke St Gregory, the Willow and Wetlands centre. Some lunch at the Lemon Tree café and a wander down the track to the withy beds and the river Tone and a new log basket for home. A watery day out in the sunshine.
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Sounds like a grand day out, brue. The centre was closed when we tried to visit last year.
Spotted a Little Grebe yesterday on the river below Walkworth Castle, and then tonight there was a smallish Murmuration of Starlings about 1/2 ml north of our site, but as I was just coming out of the shower when OH alerted me I was not in a position to dash off and try and get a photo of it.....maybe tomorrow?
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A friend of mine spotted one of these on his bird feeder yesterday morning. Wonder if anyone knows what it is?
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I believe it may be a Scaly Breasted Munia
Taken from wikipedia
The species is endemic to Asia and occurs from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines (where it is called mayang pakíng). It has been introduced into many other parts of the world and feral populations have established in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola as well as parts of Australia and the United States of America. The bird is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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So far this trip apart from the tens of thousand geese and waders we’ve seen, shore larks, water rail, bull finches, red polls, siskins, barn owls, raptors etc. etc. Just walked up road by site and came across approx 200 field fares.
Heres a question, whilst walking up the lane we came across 2 birds with the weirdest call, sounded a bit like electricity shorting out. We saw the birds (about blackbird size) but didn’t have the bins so couldn’t see colour or detail so no idea what they were.
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I only wish it was, OP. It was in a garden in San Diego and even there it's a rarity.
Spot on there, BM!! It's a Nutmeg Mannikin, properly known as a Scaly-Breasted Munia, or Spice Finch. Not a native of California but an introduces species.
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That's some spotting already, OP. Hope that your trip continues in the same vein.
Another Murmuration this evening, although I think there were less than lat night. I did however get a couple of photos.
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GL, perhaps you could explain what is going on with these rather close Greylags.
The camera never lies, they say, however the lower bird is flying behind the lead bird but looks virtually underneath, just the lack of focus on the lower bird gives it away.
Interesting behaviour from the Barnacle goose who chased off all the other males by making a lot of noise and stretching out his tongue
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BM
Cracking shot, I just think it is a close encounter of the bird kind. I have shots of Greylags flying very close, a bit like display pilots, sometimes they get a bit too close. I bet they separated shortly after.
The Barnacle is actually a Canada, nice shot though.
No Redpolls today as I have to tile son's shower room.
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Thanks GL, just checked my bird guide and you are correct, the blighter attacked every goose bird it could catch, getting hold of by the throat.
The GL's are not actually as close as it looks, they just happened to line up behind and below each other which on the camera showed up as almost touching.
Good luck with the tileing.
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Had a walk locally and saw a group of Lapwings returning to their breeding grounds on our moors today.
Also, on the Ribble, a flock of oystercatchers flying upstream.
Signs of Spring, at last, although we've still plenty of snow on the tops.
Another 5 weeks and we should have wheatear and sand martins 😊
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There are up to a dozen blackbirds & a few robins every morning on the grass around the vans. When I was returning this morning with Flyte they all flew off and I thought that we were the cause of it until I spotted a Sparrowhawk flying up the road by the site. The birds must have sensed that it was around and scarpered for shelter before it arrived.
Lots of swans, geese and ducks of different varieties on the lake and in the fields at Queen Elizabeth Park at Ashington today, and Long Tailed Tits in the woods, but unfortunately I didn't spot any of the Red Squirrels which are breeding in the area.
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It doesn't seem long since we were waiting for the first sighting of them returning to Slimbridge. I got the feeling there were not so many this year.
I suppose GL is preparing for life in the belfry and good dose of Perigrines. Our local pairs are getting a little more active, so hoping they are successful this year after a failed nesting last year at the Avon Gorge. Unfortunately they look to be setting up a nest out of sight below the viewing area, so will miss seeing feeding time.
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Did you catch sight of the perigrines?
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No, we were visiting family up there, must take a stroll further over next time. I've now found out about the Parakeets, how the family have missed hearing the noise, I don't know!? But the birds were certainly flying around squawking.
Parakeets in Bristol (Bristol Post.) LINK
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Took a stroll around the outskirts of Slimbridge late on today just as the feeding time arrived. Following my comment yesterday after OP noted swans heading east.
The guy feeding the swans advised me that they had 180 odd Bewicks last year but only 120 odd on the best day this year. I think he said 26 left in the last 24 hours and a lot of swans went to Germany instead this year.
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We heard Skylarks a couple of days ago as we headed over to Dunstanburgh Castle and again this morning over the fields by our site by Alnwick.
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I had the pleasure of my first photo of a water rail today. It was a bit murky and only fleeting glimpse but a nice surprise.
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