Ed Forum birdwatching 2008

[sphenisc]

That's some very nice pictures, especially the heron. Is it really that easy to get close to kookaburras, or were you just lucky?

I can add a European exotic tonight:
Rose Finch Carpodacus roseus

Also seen Tyndrum, Scotland - 22/06/08.

Have you been to see it yet, mummymonkey?

 

[mummymonkey]

Also seen Tyndrum, Scotland - 22/06/08.

Have you been to see it yet, mummymonkey?

It's a pretty bird but Tyndrum is a fair trek from me (Blairgowrie). I have a BTO survey to do next weekend which will be my next birding outing.

 

[sphenisc]

Lists from Scandinavia Trip

For each day, only birds new for the country are listed (I hope!)

Norway | Sweden | Finland
11/05/2008 | 12/05/2008 | 13/05/2008
Fulmar | Grey Heron | Magpie
Great Skua | Fieldfare | Hooded Crow
Great Black-Backed Gull | Great Tit | Whooper Swan
Lesser Black-Backed Gull | Hazel Grouse | Fieldfare
Herring Gull | Golden Plover | Curlew
Common Gull | Brambling | Hawk Owl
Common Tern | Chaffinch | Goldeneye
Arctic Tern | Lapwing | Goosander
Grey Heron | Pied Flycatcher | Pintail
Hooded Crow | Goldeneye |
Black-Headed Gull | Greenshank |
Oystercatcher | Wigeon |
Mute Swan | Goosander |
Shag | Common Sandpiper |
Lapwing | Curlew |
Glaucous Gull | Common Crane |
12/05/2008 | 13/05/2008 |
Willow Grouse | Capercailzie |
Blackbird | Black Grouse |
Fieldfare | Bullfinch |
White Wagtail | Willow Tit |
Starling | Yellowhammer |
Dunnock | Greenfinch |
Golden Plover | Filedfare |
Whinchat | Chiffchaff |
House Sparrow | Magpie |
Magpie | Whooper Swan |
Great Tit | Tufted Duck |
Raven | Common Buzzard |
Common Sandpiper | Willow Grouse |
Greenfinch | Great Grey Owl |
Bullfinch | Raven |
Redwing | Woodcock |
Song Thrush | Taiga Bean Goose |
Chiffchaff | Redwing |
Pied Flycatcher | Kestrel |
Barn Swallow | Hooded Crow |
Velvet Scoter | Wood Sandpiper |
Common Teal | Ruff |
Goosander | Whimbrel |
Greylag Goose | Common Teal |
Meadow Pipit | Shoveler |
Northern Wheatear | Osprey |
House Martin | |
Redshank | |
Dunlin | |
Ringed Plover | |
Shelduck | |
Golden Eagle | |
14/05/2008 | |
Hawk Owl | |
Lapland Bunting | |
Brambling | |
Common Crane | |
Malllard | |
Goldeneye | |
Taiga Bean Goose | |
Tufted Duck | |
Rough-Legged Buzzard | |
Reed Bunting | |
15/05/2008 | |
Common Scoter | |
Whooper Swan | |
Common Redpoll | |
Mallard | |
Willow Tit | |
Redstart | |
Pink-Footed Goose | |
Steller's Eider | |
Common Eider | |
Red-Throated Diver | |
Long-Tailed Duck | |
Black-Throated Diver | |
Wigeon | |
Greenshank | |
Spotted Redshank | |
White-Tailed Eagle | |
Capercaillie | |
Black Grouse | |
16/05/2008 | |
Cormorant | |
Bar-Tailed Godwit | |
Common Knot | |
Tundra Bean Goose | |
Turnstone | |
Kittiwake | |
17/05/2008 | |
Purple Sandpiper | |
Snow Bunting | |
Little Gull ? | |
Black Guillemot | |
18/05/2008 | |
Arctic Skua | |
Dipper (K) | |
Common Guillemot | |
Gannet | |
Iceland Gull | |
Merlin | |
Whimbrel | |
Pintail | |
19/05/2008 | |
Arctic Redpoll | |
Red-Breasted Merganser | |
20/05/2008 | |
Snipe | |
Goshawk | |
Ptarmigan | |
Great Grey Shrike | |
21/05/2008 | |
Waxwing | |
Lesser White-Fronted Goose (L) | |
Curlew | |
22/05/2008 | |
Starling (K) | |
Long-Tailed Skua | |
Wood Pigeon | |
23/05/2008 | |
Jay | |
Grasshopper Warbler | |
Razorbill | |
Puffin | |
Skylark (K) | |
24/05/2008 | |
Rock Pipit | |
Swallow | |
Nuthatch | |
Marsh Tit | |
Robin | |
25/05/2008 | |
Crested Tit | |
Cuckoo (Hrd) | |
White-Backed Woodpecker (Hrd) | |

 

[EHocking]

Here's my list for last week in Croatia. Basically as spotted starting on the south coast (Dubrovnik) and working north, then inland.

A couple of new species by the looks of things and a healthy list for a new country. I'll update the Forum list at the end of the week and hopefully have some of my own photos to contribute (a bit worried about living up to a reputation one poster holds of me!)

Dubrovnik - 14/6
Swift
Alpine Swift
House Martin
Barn Swallow
Sardinian Warbler
Jackdaw
Collared Dove
Calandra Lark
Whinchat
Woodchat Shrike
Great Grey Shrike
Skylark
Black-eared Wheatear
Stonechat
Domestic Pigeon
Magpie
Starling
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Hooded Crow
Chaffinch
Brambling
Yellow-legged Gull
Mallard
White Wagtail


Krka - 16/6
Rufous Scrub Robin
Penduline Tit
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Golden Oriole
Buzzard
Kestrel
Crested Lark
Winter wren
Dunnock
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Green Woodpecker
Wood Lark
Yellow Wagtail
Robin


Plitvicka Jezera - 17/6
Rock Thrush
Blackcap
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Nuthatch
Jay
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Willow Tit
Blue Tit
Honey Buzzard
White-backed Woodpecker
Raven


Lonya - 19/6
White-tailed Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Wheatear
White Stork
Black Stork
Reed Bunting
Corn Bunting
Grey Heron
Siskin
Sparrowhawk
Wood Pigeon
Turtle Dove
Tree Sparrow
Bee-eater
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Sand Martin


Varazdin - 21/6
Great Cormorant
Pheasant
Grey Wagtail
Black Kite
Red Kite

 

[EHocking]

Lists from Scandinavia Trip

For each day, only birds new for the country are listed (I hope!)...

You're going to have to PM me with what the codes in brackets allude to!

Oh, and rather jealous of the Capercaillies. Only ever seen one in my life. Looks like a trip to Scandanavia is in the cards...

 

[sphenisc]

You're going to have to PM me with what the codes in brackets allude to!

Oh, and rather jealous of the Capercaillies. Only ever seen one in my life. Looks like a trip to Scandanavia is in the cards...

Sorry, codes are due to cutting and pasting directly from my typed up notes - (K) is seen by my wife only, (L) is a personal Life Tick, and (Hrd) is heard only.

The capers are dead easy - we drove north along the "spine" of Sweden (E45)in the early hours of the morning and saw around 15 of them dotted along the roadside in ones and twos, all of them female and very obliging for photographs. I'm guessing they were after grit from the road, but it did seem really weird given how difficult I found seeing capers in Scotland. There was also the occasional Black Grouse, both sexes.

Personally, I 'm rather jealous of your white-backed woodpecker, I still haven't SEEN one, did you get good views?

 

[EHocking]

...
Personally, I 'm rather jealous of your white-backed woodpecker, I still haven't SEEN one, did you get good views?

Oh you're going to hate me then. There were 2 pairs of 'peckers feeding in trees near a boat station in a national park. One obligingly perched on a bin 10ft from me. Certainly got my bins on them and will find out if I had the camera handy (grey moment memory there) when the prints come back on Friday (yes, took my "real" camera this time).

 

[EHocking]

It looks like the Hawai'i birds are included on the US general list as well, so you may be closer than you think!

Yep, he's catching the US. 165 to 175 in the US's favour at the moment with Alaska and Hawaii broken out.

I've repaired the gallery as well as adding some photos from Kestrel and Kotatsu. I'm also considering "stealing" others from this thread - is that OK with the owners?

Lastly, sphenisc's and my effort have added 3 more countries to the list (as well as the Hawaii/Alaska/US split)

We're currently running at:

Order Total :19
Family Total :87
Species Total :481
Total Sightings:1264

I'll be updating the rest of the pages over the weekend.

 

[mummymonkey]

Brambling is unusual?

 

[I Ratant]

Wood ducks Aix Sponsa at the LA zoo 40 years ago..

 

[I Ratant]

Mockingbirds... Mimus polyglottos... arguing over... ???

 

[I Ratant]

Osprey...Pandion haliaetus... with Bass, Small mouthed..
I've never seen one here in the desert.
This one had just picked up the bass, and was being harrassed by seagulls.
It took him a while to get the fish in the usual carry position.

 

[Kestrel]

Yep, he's catching the US. 165 to 175 in the US's favour at the moment with Alaska and Hawaii broken out.

I've repaired the gallery as well as adding some photos from Kestrel and Kotatsu. I'm also considering "stealing" others from this thread - is that OK with the owners?

Go ahead and grab anything I posted that is usable for the gallery. I also sent a few more photos via email.

 

[sphenisc]

Mockingbirds... Mimus polyglottos... arguing over... ???

Excellent photo!

 

[EHocking]

Speaking of which 8 more photos have been added to the Gallery courtesy of Kestrel and myself. (hint; Passeriformes, Strigiformes, Ciconiiformes).
Here's a taster (immodestly one of mine)

I'll have to revamp the country page, 'cos our country lists won't fit any more and "steal" some photos of the forum pages over the weekend to bring the rest of the website up to date.

 

[Kestrel]

Thursday evening we took a drive up the Mount Evans highway. Near Summit lake (3,900 meters elevation), we found a couple of Colorado's high altitude birds.

Brown-capped Rosy Finch Leucosticte australis
White-tailed Ptarmigan Lagopus leucura

Also spotted plenty of Mountain Bluebirds, but they are already on the list.

Plus mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, marmots and assorted ground squirrels.

 

[EHocking]

Brambling is unusual?

This has been bugging me for days now. Way too cryptic for me.

What the?

 

[Fiona]

Beautiful pictures. I Ratant

 

[BillyJoe]

It's winter, but magpies are a hardy bunch...

[Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia, 29th June 2008]


Yes, I know, we've seen them before.

 

[Kestrel]

It's winter, but magpies are a hardy bunch...


[qimg]http://i26.tinypic.com/9bkn4i.jpg[/qimg]
[Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia, 29th June 2008]


Yes, I know, we've seen them before.

Nice photo.

Most of us have not seen that bird.

The Australian Magpie^WP Gymnorhina tibicen is a different species from the European Magpie^WP Pica pica or the Black-billed Magpie^WP Pica hudsonia found in North America.

Compare your bird to this Pica hudsonia.