Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1016530 times)

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4950 on:** 08 June, 2017, 12:30:54 pm »

Last week, some very exciting species during a bike ride through the Camargue. Quite a lot of black-winged stilts and various heron species on the addy fields (yes, they grow rice there), my first ever sighting of a nightingale, and some very interesting birds which may have ben rosy starlings. They looked very starling-like when in flight and you could see their silhouette, but they had a saddle of iridescent pink. I'm not 100% certain that that is what they were, because photos I have found make the pink far paler than it appeared to me. But if they weren't rosy starlings, I really don't know what they were.

ElyDave · « **Reply #4951 on:** 08 June, 2017, 10:21:03 pm »

several kites hanging about over the A14 today, around the Kettering-Thrapston section, plus a heron on a different section

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #4952 on:** 10 June, 2017, 10:39:40 am »

A Seeadler (eagle) on the Island of Usedom

Just watching a fledgling sparrow hopping about being watched by mum at a café in the quiet town centre of some town in Mecklenburg Vorpommern

pcolbeck · « **Reply #4953 on:** 11 June, 2017, 01:51:37 pm »

We have new visitors to the feeders in our garden, nuthatches. Looks like a breeding pair and their fledglings.

Steph · « **Reply #4954 on:** 18 June, 2017, 02:12:51 pm »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 08 June, 2017, 12:30:54 pm

Last week, some very exciting species during a bike ride through the Camargue. Quite a lot of black-winged stilts and various heron species on the addy fields (yes, they grow rice there), my first ever sighting of a nightingale, and some very interesting birds which may have ben rosy starlings. They looked very starling-like when in flight and you could see their silhouette, but they had a saddle of iridescent pink. I'm not 100% certain that that is what they were, because photos I have found make the pink far paler than it appeared to me. But if they weren't rosy starlings, I really don't know what they were.

I haven't heard of large numbers of rosies in France--they're mostly an eastern species. On that other hand, the salines near Aigue Mortes get regular Caspian terns, so...

Jayjay · « **Reply #4955 on:** 18 June, 2017, 03:38:19 pm »

Snake! Maybe not so unusual, but crossing the hot tarmac in the middle of Burstwick village it surprised me a bit. About 12 to 14 inches long, too dark and quick to identify it vanished into the kerb drain before I could stop and peer at it. I would guess grass snake as they are present around here.

The badger badger song immediately filled my head.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #4956 on:** 18 June, 2017, 08:03:25 pm »

A small, dark brown butterfly flew between the spokes of my front wheel yesterday. Perhaps it was just lucky but probably they are such good flyers and judges of gaps that it was in no danger.

Basil · « **Reply #4957 on:** 18 June, 2017, 08:49:39 pm »

A swallow. Not unusual. There's loads here. But this one was sitting on a telegraph wire, like it was trying to start the gathering before the annual migration.
I told it off.

ElyDave · « **Reply #4958 on:** 20 June, 2017, 08:40:44 pm »

Grey partridge perched on a gate as I rode past earlier today. A Jay popped into the garden this morning as well

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4959 on:** 21 June, 2017, 09:38:35 am »

Not today, but last Thursday. My first ever sighting of a puffin. Then another, and another, and another...

We were on Skomer Island and I was told there were 25000 puffins on the island. I think I saw most of them. There was also a spoonbill and we saw that too.

essexian · « **Reply #4960 on:** 21 June, 2017, 10:38:53 am »

Not really seen...well actually seen at all but smelt. Along the back road between Penkridge and Milton on Sunday a very strong smell of curry.... nothing surprising about that part from the fact that its nothing but fields around there and it was around 8am.

Anyway, went back along the same road last night and once again there was a very strong smell of curry. Having stopped to check, one field had rape seed in it and the other had not been planted this year.

No idea what was causing the smell but blimey, it smelt nice

menthel · « **Reply #4961 on:** 21 June, 2017, 11:24:34 am »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 21 June, 2017, 09:38:35 am

Not today, but last Thursday. My first ever sighting of a puffin. Then another, and another, and another...

We were on Skomer Island and I was told there were 25000 puffins on the island. I think I saw most of them. There was also a spoonbill and we saw that too.

Skomer and Skokholm are wonderful, I have stayed on both watching and photographing the inhabitants. The puffins are by far the best though, they have great character!

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4962 on:** 23 June, 2017, 12:43:25 am »

On the rosy starlings sighting in the Camargue: I had a long batter to My Mate a Terry Who Art In Sibton, who knows much more than I do about this sort of thing, and his view was that they are such distinctive birds that it is pretty unlikely for them to be anything else. BUT he wouldn't have expected them to be there at this time of year.

I did a bit of research with Google and I found a report from the Colchester Natural History Society of their summer tour of The Camargue in 2003. They too were there in late May/early June and they spotted some. Their tour leader was very surprised to see them there and had never seen them in that part of the world before. Their account put it down to the general tendency of certain species to become more widespread for whatever reason. The little egret is surely the most obvious example of this. Apparently they first started breeding in the UK in 1995 and now are a very common sight over much of the uk.

So I am now certain that they were rosies, especially since we disturbed the flock that some guy in a car was observing through his spotting scope.

andyoxon · « **Reply #4963 on:** 27 June, 2017, 08:08:20 am »

Great spotted woodpecker on the peanut feeder. Incentive to keep the feeder stocked over the summer, as I normally leave it empty.

T42 · « **Reply #4964 on:** 27 June, 2017, 09:43:17 am »

A pair of green woodpeckers on the trunk of a neighbour's cherry-tree.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #4965 on:** 27 June, 2017, 02:29:11 pm »

Quote from: essexian on 21 June, 2017, 10:38:53 am

Not really seen...well actually seen at all but smelt. Along the back road between Penkridge and Milton on Sunday a very strong smell of curry.... nothing surprising about that part from the fact that its nothing but fields around there and it was around 8am.

Anyway, went back along the same road last night and once again there was a very strong smell of curry. Having stopped to check, one field had rape seed in it and the other had not been planted this year.

No idea what was causing the smell but blimey, it smelt nice

Perhaps it wasn't rape seed but turmeric!

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #4966 on:** 27 June, 2017, 02:31:10 pm »

A badger on Sunday evening just after dusk. I'd seen plenty of foxes but this was the wrong shape and moving the wrong way. Somehow it looked a bit like a grey cat but wasn't moving in a cat-like way either. Then I got a better sight of it. Common enough as corpses, of course, but I think that's only the second or third live one I've seen.

ElyDave · « **Reply #4967 on:** 29 June, 2017, 09:09:29 pm »

Green woodpecker in the garden, around the expansive, invasive ivy and going at one of the ants nests in the lawn.

They tend to only come into the garden during hard years.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4968 on:** 30 June, 2017, 10:56:00 pm »

Stuff at minsmere: spotted redshank, ,ale ruff in full regalia, numerous hobbies, numerous marsh harriers, 3 or 4 bitterns, purple herons, plus a lot more of the usual stuff. My Mate Terry Who Art In Sibton rated it as the best day he's had at Minsmere, and he's been going regularly for over 30 years.

Basil · « **Reply #4969 on:** 02 July, 2017, 06:29:49 pm »

#1 son visiting this weekend, so we took him on a dolphin watching boat trip at New Quay. Very good.

I now have loads of photos of bits of sea where 1 or 2 dolphins had breached seconds ago.

Also an empty sea where a seal had been.
The bird cliffs are just wonderful, too many to list but particularly liked the rows of shags, drying wings outstretched, looking like some macabre chorus. Also worth a mention; masses of guillimot which humorously look like little flying penguins when in flight. (I believe that they are actually related)

Lovely day. Highly recommended.

ElyDave · « **Reply #4970 on:** 02 July, 2017, 08:51:18 pm »

Well recognised herons, barn owl hunting in daylight, must have chicks.

Also an unknown. Hovering bird of prey, bigger than a kestrel, wedge tail with no indents (i.e. not a kite), rather than the kestrel's fluttery hover this was more of a hanging in the air. Didn't see the colouring as it was hovering over a verge as I drove underneath and only saw it backlit

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4971 on:** 02 July, 2017, 09:14:46 pm »

Buzzards hover occasionally. Sometimes they don't seem very good at it, although the last one I saw hovering seemed quite proficient.

Pingu · « **Reply #4972 on:** 02 July, 2017, 09:28:09 pm »

Buzzards will use a strong breeze to hover.

ElyDave · « **Reply #4973 on:** 02 July, 2017, 09:30:06 pm »

could have been, was quite breezy and it was of that sort of size. Buzzard was actually my first thought

perpetual dan · « **Reply #4974 on:** 02 July, 2017, 10:15:40 pm »

Three little Blackbird faces reaching up from the nest in our garden when the parents visit. One advantage of a steep garden is that it is possible to be on the same level as the nest without disturbing them.