Lifer #310 at Overstrand, Norfolk

Popped off to see the elusive DUSKY WARBLER whilst my lovely wife entertained the kids at Overstrand on the way back from a train ride on our holiday  ... thanks to the finder of said bird I got some cracking views of it from the edge of Cromer golf course. 

Lifer #310  - unexpected , but hey they all are! 

Dusky Warbler popped out of the Bramble 

Note darker than chiff chaff and dark eye stripe

Mundesley , Norfolk

First day of holidays with the family brought a year tick - BRENT GEESE heading up the coast at Mundesley 

Unsure on wader type . heading NW 

LBBG being a lifeguard 

Brent Geese migrating 

 

Ivinghoe Beacon

A quick trip to Steps Hill to see if any migrants were about - a couple of YELLOWHAMMERS and a REDWING (in fact about 80 ish) on the hills 

 

Watermead

 A trip to a very flooded Watermead in Aylesbury with the family produced a nice GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER , not much else about 

Bird encounter of the unknown kind

Up on Pitstone Hill, and an unknown bird flew over: 

• Initially seemed like a parakeet 
• Then a cuckoo - about this size 
• Was grey ish in colour ,maybe hint of blue had white wing bars 
• Called twice, like a high pitched sandpiper type call 
• Was heading from Pitstone towards the Beacon 
• Seen at 3:15 PM 

Really bad impression :

Mystery sighting - anyone got any ideas????

@bikebirding - Winchat and others on the hill

 What a great display of passerine birds today on the hill - NORTHERN WHEATER, STONECHAT, MEADOWN PIPIT and WINCHAT  all flitting between the small hedges on the top of the hill 

Winchat

Cornbunting

LBBG

Juvenile Stonechat?

Yellowhammer

YellowhammerS

@bikebirding - Pitstone Hill cornbuntings

 Nice to see some CORNBUNTINGS on the road side hedge heading up to Pitstone Hill today during a @bikebirding trip out 

shadowy bunting

Corn Bunting at Pitstone 

@Bikebirding is born - Pitstone hill

After a lovely visit to Pitstone Hill with the family at the weekend, the penny dropped that I can get to the hill and back cross country on my mountain bike, so with camera and binos in the backpack, the new obsession is born! 

Fozzies birding!

STONECHAT, YELLOWHAMMER and a big bunch of CANADA GEESE on the hills @bikebirding

Stonechat - juvenile? 

Pair of Stonechats

Yellowhammer

Shed loads of Canada Geese 

 

Wilstone trip brings some year ticks

 A dip out to the ressie at the weekend brought some unexpected sightings from the hide, in great sunlight. GREEN and COMMON SANDPIPER , along with LITTLE GREBE, WIGEON, SHOVELER, PINTAIL and  GREY WAGTAIL

Shoveler giving me the eye

Green Sandpiper from the hide

Common Sandpiper 

Lapwings 

Busy old spot from the hide 

Gadwall

August Owls @ Granville

Plenty of owl action at Granville Road - two sightings on the lamp post outside our house , and one in the trees at the back (with nice tooting to boot) 

No pictures (grr) but great to see TAWNY OWL from the garden and from the lounge whilst watching TV!!!! MUST GET A PIC .... 

#43 species for Granville Road sightings 

Whitstable lifers #308 - Artic Skua & #309 - Great Skua

An unexpected opportunity to do some sea watching while on hols with the family in Whitstable - with a strong southerly wind coming in, the sea birds travelling to the west were closer in than the usual distance out by the wind farms. 

This brought the opportunity for some photo taking (no scope) and a lucky hit on an ARTIC SKUA , #308 and the first for 2020. 

Then a second lifer - a GREAT SKUA also caught on camera.  #309 

Confirmed pics with iSpot , as sea birds are not my bread and butter 

Was NOT expecting that! 

Artic Skua at Whitstable 

Great Skua also at Whitstable in the high winds 

Sandwich Tern heading west 

Eggs on the Blue Tit nest?

The Blue Tit in now hunkered down on the nest , only leaving I presume to eat and poop.
Maybe eggs are being incubated?

Blue Tit hunkered down on the nest.... 

Return of the Blue Tit

After some heavy rain the Blue Tits seemed to disappear - and have now returned!

Return of the Blue Tit - after the rain 

Room with a view (of the bird box)

Feeling rather smug that my dojo / bar / bird spotting room is coming into its own!
Live feed of Blue Tit cam in action

Blue tit building its nest , viewed from the 'Zen Pen' (AKA the Gardeners Arms) 

Blue tit moves in!

Well the viewing went well, as Mr or Mrs Blue Tit has moved in to the bird box!
Nest material has appeared overnight

Nest material in the bird box 

Blue tit for a second viewing

Training in the garden on the spinning bike this morning I spied a couple of blue tits having a nose in the camera bird box - there's been some interest but no home making yet! 

I've spotted a couple of birds having a look , could happen every day! 

Blue tit in the bird box - and then out again! 

Chiff chaff with the family in the woods

A lovely walk with the family during lockdown in Ashridge woods - lovely to get some air outside the house  / garden and the sounds of chiff chaff singing in the trees

Chiff Chaff picking flies off the bracken

Nice wing action 

Fun with Harry running and climbing in the woods ...

Who won the race???

And the family shot!

Fozzies in the woods 

And my girls!

My beautiful girls in the woods 

Granville garden sights

More lockdown shots - a caterpillar (type TBC)

...what am I?

 And....

Fave Blue tits on the feeders 

 And finally..

Buzzards over the house , being hassled by a crow 

Goldfinch on the feeder

It has been a common sight , but recently not so much , so a solitary GOLDFINCH was a nice thing to see

Goldfinch on the feeder

I took a shot of the garden while I was at it - don’t usually get the patio in ! Looking forward to more colour over the coming months...

Garden in April 

Fabulous Granville birds in April

In these odd times its nice to be able to look out of the bedroom windows and see some amazing bird sights - PHEASANT (not seen one of those in a garden for a while.. lurking by Luke's goal!

Pheasant on the fence at Granville Road 

 Also the bird box at the end of the garden is getting interest from a couple of families - a GREAT TIT and also a BLUE TIT - literally popped in for a viewing straight after each other!
Some power issues on the bird box with the camera in it but no sign of the blue tits for a while...

Great Tit having a view 

Blue Tit popped in for a check 

Plenty of DUNNOCKS in the garden picking up bird seed fallen to the ground, this one nice and close on the fence and the bedroom window open!

Beady eye Dunnock 

And BLUE TITS feeding away on the seed close to the house and hopping from bush to bush , with a GREAT TIT also in attendance

Blue Tit on top of the feeder 

Great tit feeding