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Post by willien on Jan 14, 2024 18:52:12 GMT
No pictures (mainly hippity hoppitying in foliage) but we have a male Blackcap visiting our back garden. Not seen Blackcaps for a few years. We also have a territorial Fieldfare which is quite normal for our winters.
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Post by peterob on Jan 14, 2024 19:29:44 GMT
No pictures (mainly hippity hoppitying in foliage) but we have a male Blackcap visiting our back garden. Not seen Blackcaps for a few years. We also have a territorial Fieldfare which is quite normal for our winters. As a stand-in, here is an overexposed one from our garden last March  DSCF1715.jpg by Pete, on Flickr |
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Post by MJB on Jan 16, 2024 20:42:41 GMT
First time out with the camera since October. Headed to RSPB Radipole Lake at Weymouth, as it's wheelchair friendly, in pursuit of Bearded Reedlings/Tits. Probably picked the best time as they were filming there for Winter Watch the other day and once that footage hits the telly it will be heaving with people. There were about a dozen birds active, but it's tricky to get a clear shot amongst the dense reed beds. Managed to snap a couple of Cetti's Warblers as well.  bearded reedling 2 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling 3 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling 4 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling 5 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling female 2 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  bearded reedling female by Martin Bone, on Flickr  cettis warbler 2 by Martin Bone, on Flickr  cettis warbler by Martin Bone, on Flickr |
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Post by stevewmh on Feb 12, 2024 13:50:49 GMT
 PSX_20240212_131924 by Stephen Hayto, on Flickr They often come to visit an old dead tree behind where I live. Guess there's lots of mice and small critters in the scrub around |
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Post by peterob on Feb 16, 2024 14:55:24 GMT
Went to RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands this morning. Heaving with people but, apart from the usual characters on the water, not much about. There is an elusive Bittern which had been seen in flight by one guy I talked to. Lots of failed shots of a Harrier (Marsh probably) that was too distant to make out. Caught a poor shot of dabchick with a fish - most unusual - probably a young bird because was very small even for one of these. In two minds as to whether or not to keep it. Normally I'd bin a capture with the bird facing away.  DSCF6908.jpg by Pete, on Flickr trying to crop to an interesting arrangement of stalks.  DSCF6914.jpg by Pete, on Flickr |
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Post by zou on Mar 17, 2024 19:49:30 GMT
Garden sightings this year:
Sparrows
Blue tits
Great tits
Coal tits
Robins
Wren
Dunnocks
Blackbirds
Magpies
Wood pigeons
Feral pigeons
Collared doves
Goldfinches
Chaffinches
Siskins
Not seen the woodpecker yet this year (GS) or any sparrowhawks and the buzzard up high is a bit of a stretch to claim as a garden sighting... Starlings are about but I'm not sure if they have popped by this year, but they'll mob us once there's a brood or two to feed.
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Post by zou on Mar 17, 2024 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by dorsetmike on Mar 17, 2024 19:56:52 GMT
We are not allowed to hang bird feeders at these flats, "the seeds dropped from them encourage rats" Luckily so far no objections to bird baths.
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Post by JohnY on Mar 17, 2024 20:07:40 GMT
We are not allowed to hang bird feeders at these flats, "the seeds dropped from them encourage rats" Luckily so far no objections to bird baths. Seeds dropped from bird feeders would not attract rats round here. The rats wouldn't have a chance. We have pigeons. Now the mornings are getting lighter, pigeons wake up before I do. They are noisy. |
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Post by peterob on Mar 17, 2024 20:30:52 GMT
We are not allowed to hang bird feeders at these flats, "the seeds dropped from them encourage rats" Luckily so far no objections to bird baths. I don't necessarily agree with "encourage". If there are rats about then they will certainly find discards from bird feeders. At our local RSPB there was a very injured rat that must have relied on dropped bird food to survive and I've seen rats under all the feeders at one time or another. I think it is more likely that people will see rats in daytime if there are droppings from feeders (great tits will chuck food everywhere if it is a seed-mix, they are quite fussy) if rats are around. |
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Post by MJB on Mar 19, 2024 20:16:57 GMT
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Post by gray1720 on Mar 19, 2024 20:28:23 GMT
Love the light on the wren.
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Post by peterob on Mar 23, 2024 21:41:44 GMT
Seriously inconvenienced magpie.  274A2274-Enhanced-NR.jpg by Pete, on Flickr I have hardly any magpie pictures despite being told that they are one of the best species to practice bird photography on being, common, quite large, high contrast (for the AF), predictable in flight, not particularly intimidated by humans. |
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Post by gray1720 on Mar 23, 2024 22:33:28 GMT
Now that's funny, Pete!
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Post by MJB on Apr 3, 2024 20:05:59 GMT
Had a trip out to RSPB Arne today. You can hire all-terrain mobility scooters for a very reasonable £3/hour, which meant both myself and Julie had a bit of freedom to do our own thing. Nothing unusual or exotic, but we did have a brief sighting of an Osprey off Shipstal shoreline. For once the weather was dry, but the bright overcast wasn't the best light for photography. The Stonechat on Coombe Heath was the pick of the bunch, especially as the wind made photographing the small birds difficult. Stonechat  stonechat by Martin Bone, on Flickr Sandwich Tern  sandwich tern by Martin Bone, on Flickr Oystercatcher  oystercatcher by Martin Bone, on Flickr  oystercatcher 2 by Martin Bone, on Flickr Little Egret  little egret by Martin Bone, on Flickr |
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