Seen today

[Bledlow]

The biggest pigeon in the world. It was as big as a lamb!

Does this mean that the dodo is not extinct?

[Rig of Jarkness]

At Musselburgh this morning - 1 Slavonian grebe, 3 long tailed ducks, good numbers of velvet scoters, goldeneye, c100 bar tailed godwit.  Wigeon and teal on the lagoons.

[Pingu]

Larks, loadsa geese honking the fields, ubiquitous buzzards, snowdrops, lambs.

[Pingu]

Half a dozen, possibly eight buzzards soaring together at Countesswells.

[Rig of Jarkness]

As I rode past, a kestrel alighting on a tree to make a meal of an unfortunate rodent that it was holding in one of its talons.

[Chris S]

Half a dozen, possibly eight buzzards soaring together at Countesswells.

Drat. I was going to post about the two Buzzards that were wheeling about in circles 500' above our house earlier - but you win!

[Chris N]

Saw four or five buzzards today around between S. Derbyshire and Rutland, but the best was a Kite soaring over the Welland Valley.  I didn't know they'd made it this far east.

Oh, and what looked like a swift.  Way too early, surely?

[Tewdric]

An enormous grey heron swooping down the Angidy River just up from my house on the way back from my ride today.

[Crumbling Nick]

Saw four or five buzzards today around between S. Derbyshire and Rutland, but the best was a Kite soaring over the Welland Valley.  I didn't know they'd made it this far east.

Oh, and what looked like a swift.  Way too early, surely?

Kites have been reintroduced in Fineshade Woods, by, IIRC, RSPB in conjunction with the Forestry Commission. There's a Visitor Centre at Top Lodge - about 2 km S. of Duddington or about 7 km. E of Harringworth viaduct. It has a live display from a camera aimed at one of the nests, or at least it did last July when Mrs N & I stopped at the nearby caravan site for a few days (we used to live in Stamford). I saw a few kites in the air while riding through the woods to collect provisions from Kingscliffe, though not many.

[Wobbly John]

I've taken to doing late evening rides out to the Washes at Welney. It's eerie out on a road almost level with miles of flooded land. Only the sound of hundreds of wildfowl calling.

Anyway, before I get there I ride alongside the river bank for a mile or so and the barn owls are getting quite used to me trundling past. they sit on fence posts, a metre or so from the edge of the road. Six of them spotted last night - four of them just sat on their posts and watched me ride by. Two of them took off, one no more than 18" above my helmet. 

[Chris N]

Kites have been reintroduced in Fineshade Woods, by, IIRC, RSPB in conjunction with the Forestry Commission. There's a Visitor Centre at Top Lodge - about 2 km S. of Duddington or about 7 km. E of Harringworth viaduct. It has a live display from a camera aimed at one of the nests, or at least it did last July when Mrs N & I stopped at the nearby caravan site for a few days (we used to live in Stamford). I saw a few kites in the air while riding through the woods to collect provisions from Kingscliffe, though not many.

Thanks Nick.

Saw a pair of herons this morning, mooching through the drainage ditches around some beet fields near the Trent.  A little later on, a kestrel and a few buzzards.

[Snakehips]

Half a dozen Red Crested Pochards on a pond in Bushy Park , Hampton Court.
They look so spectacular at the moment that my young nephew , not a bird enthusiast up til now , exclaimed 'what are they ' when he saw them.

Snake

My Library

[Bledlow]

Forgot to say. A cormorant on the Kennet in the middle of Reading, day before yesterday. Gave me a filthy look & dived when I stopped to look at it. Don't usually see them there: they generally hang about on the Thames, in less urban settings.

[RJ]

Sparrowhawk from the train, somewhere between Kirkcaldy and Leuchars

[Moloko]

Pied Wagtail that kept scarpering close just in front of me. Overly cute.

[longers]

As todays ride was cancelled due to snow I had a wander and saw a Dipper this afternoon.

I also ended up in the Art Gallery and they had a conservation and naturalist exhibition showing some of their collection from a long time ago when eggs and birds were collected legally. There were two Golden Eagles and they were huuge!

[border-rider]

Nice view of a kite on our Beacons 200 yesterday.  Not that unusual, maybe, but it's the first I've seen this year.

[Rig of Jarkness]

4 redwings and 2 wrens out the back window.  The redwings were busy turning over fallen leaves and the wrens seemed to be taking advantage picking at whatever the redwings were leaving.

[Pingu]

I've got a good view of the beach on the south side of Aberdeen harbour from our new office. I'm going to have to learn waders 

Today there were oystercatchers, ringed plovers (I think) & something else I couldn't identify.

[Rig of Jarkness]

I've got a good view of the beach on the south side of Aberdeen harbour from our new office. I'm going to have to learn waders 

Today there were oystercatchers, ringed plovers (I think) & something else I couldn't identify.

I'm jealous ! 
What did the 'something else' look like ?

[border-rider]

A skein of geese wheeling and honking overhead in a grey, snowy winter sky

Again, not rare but it made me smile as I was trudging down the drive with the rubbish & recycling

[Fi]

Neighbour has just reported an otter swimming upstream in the ditch at the bottom of our gardens.  Must keep working, must keep working, must keep working................

Green parakeet attempting to get seed out of hanging feeder with wrong shaped beak, plenty of food on bird table, why not eat that?

[Pingu]

I've got a good view of the beach on the south side of Aberdeen harbour from our new office. I'm going to have to learn waders 

Today there were oystercatchers, ringed plovers (I think) & something else I couldn't identify.

I'm jealous ! 
What did the 'something else' look like ?

Slightly smaller than an oystercatcher, grey on top, white underneath, red/orange legs, couldn't get a good view of the bill - so it obviously wasn't large & colourful like an oystercatcher's.

I think the plovers are of the little ringed variety.

[RJ]

I've got a good view of the beach on the south side of Aberdeen harbour from our new office. I'm going to have to learn waders 

Today there were oystercatchers, ringed plovers (I think) & something else I couldn't identify.

I'm jealous ! 
What did the 'something else' look like ?

Slightly smaller than an oystercatcher, grey on top, white underneath, red/orange legs, couldn't get a good view of the bill - so it obviously wasn't large & colourful like an oystercatcher's.

I think the plovers are of the little ringed variety.

Could the "something else" be redshank, possibly? 

I'd be quite surprised if the ringed plovers were "little", as they should still be in Africa and even in summer they're (really) rare in Scotland ...

[Rig of Jarkness]

Could the "something else" be redshank, possibly? 

Redshank sounds good to me too.  Or possibly turnstone ?