What have you seen
Comments
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Can anyone help identify this bird? I've got it down as a Water Rail! Any thoughts?
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Not seen anything as exciting as the owl or Water Rail but have had a few good spots over the last few days. Roe deer in the fields by the site and a flock of Brambling too, female Bullfinches and Goosanders from the Deeside Way, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Fieldfares and Goldeneye at Loch Kinord, Crossbills feeding on Scots Pine cones and Salmon leaping up the Fall of Feuch, today. The trees all around are now somewhere near their Autumn best and there is an abundance of fungi on the woodland floor and on dead wood.
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Wonder if Oneputt has been to view these:-
For the first time about 140,000 have been seen on the RSPB reserve at Snettisham. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-54592215
Rare rufous bush chat in UK for first time in 40 years
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Hi Nell, I’m going to North Norfolk next week so hopefully get to see loads of migrants. We’ve had a few days of Easterly winds so lots of incomers. Hopefully the Red Flanked Blue tails and Parrot cross bills will still be around. Walk to the harbours mouth this morning and noticed there were still Swallows and Swifts about
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Good to hear from you, OP. Hope you have a successful week away, especially seeing a few rarities.
Those photos of the Knott were amazing, what a sight!
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Have had a couple of interesting encounters the past 2 mornings while out walking Flyte. Yesterday a Red Squirrel ran across the road and shot up a Scots Pine just in front of us, and then this morning a Stoat ran out into the road, spotted us and did a rapid about turn back into the hedgerow.
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Good day at Titchwell, all the usual waders and geese showing.
Just a couple of things, you no longer need to leave your RSPB card in the car as they have a new reception area for checking in.
The latest RSPB discount code is FREE79 and is valid until 3 November 20. This will give you 20% and free delivery
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Sounds as if it was the vulture, very envious.
A birding pal emailed me last night to tell me he’d seen a long-tailed duck on a local reservoir (Roughlee lower). So we had a stroll over there this morning, and there it was, in exactly the same place on the water as described, and showing really well.
Not a regular bird in these parts, nice addition to the local list 🙂.1 -
I remember seeing one on the southern tip of Spain at Cabo de Gata one winter. We spent a month on the same site in February and it stayed for the whole month. Looked very lonely.
That's well worth a visit for birds Pliers, especially in February early March when migration starts again. Plus localised species such as Trumpeter Finches, Duponts Larks and a couple of different Sandgrouses. Seeing Black Storks flying in off the Med was wonderful and having a resident, for a few days at least, Great Spotted Cuckoo on site made the long trip worthwhile.
That's what lockdown does to you.
Makes it easy to digress.1 -
What Have You Seen is more a case of what I haven't seen this week. Normally we have dozens of sparrows in the garden along with blue-tits, great tits, robins, dunnocks, wrens, blackbirds and a flock of about a dozen goldfinches, a couple of collared doves and numerous wood pigeons. This last few days they all seem to have disappeared. I'm hoping it is because of the stormy weather and violent winds that have made them hunker down somewhere. They can't all have suddenly decided that they don't like our garden and the plentiful supply of food any more.
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Lots of different Waders along the shoreline at Beadnell Bay today,; Sanderling, Knot, Redshank, Grey and Ringed Plover, Little Egret, Lapwings, Curlew, Oystercatchers and others that I was not able to identify. Off shore were Eider Ducks too. A Merlin flew across our track as we were driving there and there were a couple of Kestrals hovering over the sand dunes. Last night, when out for our last walk, I also saw a Barn Owl near the site.
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The cheerful sound of Fieldfares filled the air today, they are always later to arrive here. Congregating in trees around our nearby fields. They normally head first for a grass field on our nearest hill, used by dairy cattle in the summer. This year, the first in living memory locally it has been ploughed up so I hope the Fieldfares can find another spot. The apples we have saved will provide food for a lot of birds as the weather cools down, so we'll see the Fieldfares much closer to home soon.
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Only ever seen a kingfishers on the coast once before. All the others I've seen have been way in land. Today, however one flew right across the harbour here infront of MrsSF. On the other occasion I saw one fishing in a rock pool not far from the waves. Any others witnessed coastal kingfishers?
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We have one that frequents the seawall to the north of Portchester castle at the top end of Portsmouth harbour.
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Went out yesterday and for the first time to Willington Wetlands Nature Reserve, south of Derby. It isn't called wetlands for nothing with a mile long very wet and muddy walk to get to it. We watched a kingfisher for over 5 minutes, the longest time and closest (about 5 metres) I have ever been to one. I managed to get a few half decent photos but feel my photo kit is a bit limiting. Certainly a tripod would have been useful yesterday.
I've thought a few times that I ought to upgrade but not sure what to. Any suggestions would be welcome but keeping the cost down to about £1000 maximum if that is possible. Do I invest in a new lens or a new camera? I'm not averse to second hand, especially for a lens.
My current kit is a Canon 600D and my biggest lens a Canon EF 75 - 300mm, 1:4 - 5.6. Those that are in the know may well say that what I've already got is adequate. I would want to keep to the Canon stable as all my other lenses etc are for the Canon system.
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Hi John
Very difficult to give absolute advice here. Firstly compatibility between your present lenses and any future camera purchases. You could be tying yourself to a format that will not give you what you are looking for.
Your 600d is I believe an APS-C sensor with 18mp
Your lens if it is the mk3 lens is compatible to a variety of formats, but the rest of you lenses may not be.
With this as a starter, the 18mp could be a good start for improvement and for you budget, look at the 90D which I believe is compatible with your lens, and at £1200 wex price is close to budget. spec below.
This gives a big boost in FPS and image quality which will give you more post camera cropping options.
Саnоn ЕОЅ 90D Dіgіtаl ЅLR Саmеrа Воdу Кеу Fеаturеѕ:
Uрgrаdе tо thе рорulаr Саnоn 80D
Реrfесt fоr wіldlіfе аnd ѕроrtѕ рhоtоgrарhу
Веаutіful 4К vіdео сарturе
Lаrgе 32.5 mеgаріхеl АРЅ-С СМОЅ ѕеnѕоr
45 сrоѕѕ-tуре Аutоfосuѕ роіntѕ
Ореrаtеѕ іn tеmреrаturеѕ оf 0-40 dеgrееѕ аnd 85% оr lеѕѕ humіdіtу
Саnоn’ѕ іТR fосuѕ trасkіng, іdеаl fоr fаѕt-mоvіng ѕubјесtѕ
Fаѕt, соntіnuоuѕ ѕhооtіng uр tо 10fрѕ
Махіmum ІЅО оf 25,600
Lоng 1300-ѕhоt bаttеrу lіfе
Vаrі-Аnglе tоuсhѕсrееn еnаblіng сарturе frоm аnу аnglе
WіFі аnd Вluеtооth fоr rеmоtе саmеrа соntrоl аnd fіlе trаnѕfеr
220,000-ріхеl RGВ +ІR mеtеrіng ѕеnѕоr fоr ассurаtе ехроѕurе аnd ѕubјесt rесоgnіtіоn
Саnоn ЕF-Ѕ Lеnѕ Моunt
Саnоn АРЅ-С Саmеrа Воdу.Any lens upgrade could be rather more expensive, but may be a next step.
I would suggest using the wex website to compare camera specs, compatibility and prices. then look around for pricing.
Best of luck.
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