What have you seen
Comments
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We counted 140 cattle Egrets in amongst 3 herds of cattle. The village of Linge seems to be the place they congregate
We also saw one in a village with a broken wing, hope someone can do something to help it.
best spot without doubt was a king fisher at Etang Purais.
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Have just witnessed today, about 18.00 hrs. or so, several flights of large birds travelling north over Leamington Spa area.
I am not a hornythologist, but wondered if I was witnessing a training flight or an actual migration. They birds themselves were larger than a gull but not geese. The latter have a different wing flapping pattern .
Any ideas?
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Just been watching 3 hedgehogs enjoying the food we have been putting out in the garden.
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Thanks Oneputt, Cormorants are largely fishers, have seen a few on the Thames, Up here in Leamington there are not a lot of piscatorial opportunities, apart from the odd canal.
Do Cormorants flock/migrate in numbers, I do not know?
Many thanks for your input.
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Thought you might be in Kent. Nowadays, like a lot of geese, cormorants do stay in the UK although of course some continue to migrate.
There is migration going on, obviously it’s a two way thing. Bit early for Starlings to start coming in but I know that geese are starting there inbound migration as are waders arriving in Norfolk
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Had a small bird flying by our overhead electric cable near OH'S shed last night and thought it was a male redstart so it was there again tonight so got the bins out and it was a Spotted Flycatcher have not seen one for about 15/16 years when we had a nest at the bottom of our garden in Somerset, so good to watch it flying up and down catching insects and it is a juvenile so making its way down south.
Also seen a lot more swallows flying south and when we were on a boat trip last Saturday on the Dordogne we had a lot of Crag Martins flying down to drink on the river and catching insects must have been about 60/70 of them again enjoyable to watch them.
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Still got the spotted flycatcher about and a lot of young restarts.
Just had a quick walk around our field before it gets to hot 33C for today and saw a lot of butterflies on the field scabious clouded yellow, pale clouded yellow, berger's clouded yellow, woodland grayling, greater banded grayling, small copper, adonis blue, common blue, mazarine blue, brown argos, large tortoiseshell, southern white admiral, small heath, pearly heath, painted ladies, peacock, red admiral, meadowbrown plus a few moths. Yesterday we had a strange looking large wasp like insect getting water from our little fountain not easy to photograph as it kept moving about and not keen on being close to it came back inside got insect book out to find it is a wolf spider hunting wasp about 2 inches long with a odd shape to the body not keen to have many of them about but we must have some wolf spiders about the area not keen on spiders when they are large, had house spiders in the house in the last week they had to go out, will stick to birds and butterflies.
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Have spotted quite a few raptors down here near Welshpool over the last couple of days, the usual Buzzards, several Red Kites and today at Powys Castle a pair of Peregrines.
We are close to the Montgomery Canal and there is a cygnet fretting for it's parents, that presumably have left it. The poor bird is constantly going back and forward across the canal up against a lock gate, popping it's head through the spaces in it, and calling out for it's parents. It has been there since we arrived on Monday afternoon at least and was still there this morning. The stupid bird has not thought to climb out of the canal onto the towpath and walk round to the lower level where the pair were. It doesn't look to be injured in any way and hisses if approached.
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This morning the cygnet had disappeared, thankfully. However we say it again when we went for a walk along the canal, and it was still calling for it's parents who were about 1/2ml further along the canal. Perhaps they've disowned him!!
Red Kites and Buzzards circling above a field where the farmers were getting in the crops, and then this afternoon we spotted 7 Buzzards all together above the woods by the canal.
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Our recent meeter and greeter on a Scottish site, a handsome fellow!
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Have been at friends on the other side of the Cele river a lot of cliffs about in that area and the last three days there have been large numbers of crag martins flying about never seen so many before all busy flying around and feeding before they carry on south.
Our friends have been draining their above ground pool as they want to replace with a smaller one and I have been saving moths that have fallen into the water.
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I know they are just "normal" birds but they bring such joy to me.
We said goodbye to our resident still singing Chiffchaff this morning and he'll be gone when we get home. We then arrived at our farm CL for the night to be greeted by swooping Swallows still feeding their young on the wing. Our village Swallows have already departed.
So, "normal" birds but soon to be gone until at least March/April. Both are special in their own way.
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After setting up the caravan we were able to get in an afternoon stroll along the shore dykes at Freiston. The tide wasn't high enough for good views but a passing flock of about 500 Knot was good recompense. There were a couple of Greenshank and a solitary Spotted Redshank in the gullies. Some incoming Wigeon still in good Summer plummage.
Nice sunny day as well.
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500 Knot! I'm surprised you could identify anything at that speed.
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Heard the chiffchaff today again on its way south, also saw our local red squirrel running at the bottom of the wall one way then later came back on the top of the wall a very dark red squirrel maybe a young one as a very slim body when running along but a joy to see we do not have any walnuts on next door's tree also no acorns on all the oak trees around here due to the high temps we have had yet in the Dordogne the other week the oak trees on the site were full of huge acorns, so squirrels and the jays will have to look elsewhere.
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Good day spent at Gibraltar Point NR. Saw a couple of Spoonbills flying over, and numerous Waders, including Greenshanks and Spotted Redshanks. 2 lovely Grey Wagtails on the river and a juv Wheatear.
Just had a skein of Pink Feet fly over the caravan en route to their roosting area.
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Another good afternoon bird watching, this time at Frampton Marsh.
Saw a new bird for us, an American Golden Plover plus another rarity that we come across occasionally, a Pectoral Sandpiper. Plenty of other birds around to keep us happy plus the benefit of a good walk.
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Good spotting there, WN. Somewhere for us to visit next time we're over that way.
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You can walk around the outside of the reserve with Flyte and still get good views of the scrapes and marshes especially from the dykes and both Freiston and Gibraltar Point are the same. As long as you keep to the FPs you'll get good walking and birdwatching in.
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We enjoyed our day at Gibraltar Point last year. Another good day for you today,
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A great mornings birding at Snettisham watching thousands of waders wheeling away over the Wash and settling onto islands around the reserve. Has to be seen (and heard) to be believed. The best sight we had was watching a flock of about 80 Curlew flying back onto the Wash as the tide ebbed. They took us by surprise flying in silently over our heads.
Later in the afternoon we were accompanied along the cliffs at Hunstanton by a Peregrine.
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Just back from a day at Leighton Moss. Very wet underfoot, in fact most of the paths were under a few inches of water.
We saw a mole in the lower branches of a large tree. Assume it’s underground tunnels must have been flooded, hope it survives the night.
I’ve never seen anything like this before, took a photo with my phone, but it’s pretty poor when downsized.
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Not seen one myself Pliers, well spotted and thanks for sharing.
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Looks like the most of the swallows have gone and now we have a few black redstarts about again off to the south.
Still got quite a few clouded yellow butterflies about even a few blues, birds are busy on my birdfeeder filled it three times today blue, great and marsh tits plus nuthatches, the jays have found some acorns on our big oak tree and we thought there was not many on it also the red squirrel has been about. We did have mole here but it has now gone.
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