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Post by Northy on Mar 7, 2023 16:58:33 GMT
You missed the long billed dowitcher at Burton Mere a couple of weeks ago then ? I did yes been one in Norfolk also. Few things i missed the Stoat Weasel seem to be around when im not their also. This Pallas Leaf Warbler at Attenborough nature reserve looks a lovely little thing. Looks a bit like a goldcrest Had a flock of about 50 greenfinches flying over me at Carey Park, Northwich, last week, around the Barn owl area from last year. My lad starts his new job as a warden here today: - www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/geltsdale/ |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 7, 2023 19:12:41 GMT
I did yes been one in Norfolk also. Few things i missed the Stoat Weasel seem to be around when im not their also. This Pallas Leaf Warbler at Attenborough nature reserve looks a lovely little thing. Looks a bit like a goldcrest Had a flock of about 50 greenfinches flying over me at Carey Park, Northwich, last week, around the Barn owl area from last year. My lad starts his new job as a warden here today: - www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/geltsdale/Fantastic Pal well done to him. Ill have to visit. Black Grouse is a really nice one as gone from many areas sadly. Bittern still showing at Marbury near you. They keep claiming there is still a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker as well im sceptical though. Im on a Watsaap group for all latest sightings in Cheshire which is handy. Its great that as a family you are clearly into your nature full respect 👍 |
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Post by hamsta2 on Mar 7, 2023 19:14:50 GMT
I’d swear that there are parakeets in the grounds of County Hall in Exeter. Hear the noise and the occasional flash of colour. I’ll try and get a photo.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 7, 2023 19:55:39 GMT
I’d swear that there are parakeets in the grounds of County Hall in Exeter. Hear the noise and the occasional flash of colour. I’ll try and get a photo. You would be right. Ring Necked Parakeet. Started in the south and they have been popping up in various places. A pair have been at Ford Green Hall. |
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Post by questionable on Mar 7, 2023 19:58:01 GMT
A few months ago we ran out of the wild bird seed mix we use so popped onto the Internet to reorder and noticed there’s specialists bird seed mixes for different birds, Robins, Finches and Blackbirds etc, etc.
Thinking we’d have an abundance of the above birds frequenting our garden we spent close on £50 on various mixes hoping to entice the more rarer birds into our gardens, have to say I don’t really think birds are to fussy what we put out for them, also if we put seed down on a wall the dog eats it but she gets great enjoyment lying in wait so she can chase the wood pigeons off.
Getting plenty of Buzzards overhead and what we think are kestrels on the back fence.
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Post by questionable on Mar 7, 2023 20:02:23 GMT
I’d swear that there are parakeets in the grounds of County Hall in Exeter. Hear the noise and the occasional flash of colour. I’ll try and get a photo. You would be right. Ring Necked Parakeet. Started in the south and they have been popping up in various places. A pair have been at Ford Green Hall. Lived by Ford Green Hall years ago and recall seeing a swan that had been hung, 😡😡😡, a lad I worked with his son got jailed for shooting ducks there, came across two lads with an air rifle shooting at ducks so took the rifle from them and flung it in the lake, tossers. |
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Post by dave1 on Mar 7, 2023 20:21:54 GMT
Does anyone have one of those camera bird boxes? And if so, would you recommend them???
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Post by Northy on Mar 8, 2023 7:50:39 GMT
A few months ago we ran out of the wild bird seed mix we use so popped onto the Internet to reorder and noticed there’s specialists bird seed mixes for different birds, Robins, Finches and Blackbirds etc, etc. Thinking we’d have an abundance of the above birds frequenting our garden we spent close on £50 on various mixes hoping to entice the more rarer birds into our gardens, have to say I don’t really think birds are to fussy what we put out for them, also if we put seed down on a wall the dog eats it but she gets great enjoyment lying in wait so she can chase the wood pigeons off. Getting plenty of Buzzards overhead and what we think are kestrels on the back fence. Not sure they would be kestrels on the fence, could be sparrow hawks |
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Post by questionable on Mar 8, 2023 8:18:37 GMT
A few months ago we ran out of the wild bird seed mix we use so popped onto the Internet to reorder and noticed there’s specialists bird seed mixes for different birds, Robins, Finches and Blackbirds etc, etc. Thinking we’d have an abundance of the above birds frequenting our garden we spent close on £50 on various mixes hoping to entice the more rarer birds into our gardens, have to say I don’t really think birds are to fussy what we put out for them, also if we put seed down on a wall the dog eats it but she gets great enjoyment lying in wait so she can chase the wood pigeons off. Getting plenty of Buzzards overhead and what we think are kestrels on the back fence. Not sure they would be kestrels on the fence, could be sparrow hawks Could well be mate, wife’s seen them and in all honesty I switched off when she was telling me, think she said they had a pinky coloured belly but again I was paying no attention to her but I noticed a few sparrow hawks in our garden last year so you’re probably correct 👍 |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 8, 2023 16:43:19 GMT
Not sure they would be kestrels on the fence, could be sparrow hawks Could well be mate, wife’s seen them and in all honesty I switched off when she was telling me, think she said they had a pinky coloured belly but again I was paying no attention to her but I noticed a few sparrow hawks in our garden last year so you’re probably correct 👍 Sounds like a Male Sparrowhawk. The males have an Orange Peachy tinge to them. |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 8, 2023 16:44:04 GMT
Does anyone have one of those camera bird boxes? And if so, would you recommend them??? I have not pal. i have spoken to people who have though. They say they are good👍 Lurchman has a camera for his Owls. |
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Post by lurcherman on Mar 9, 2023 10:15:47 GMT
Looking promising for the Tawny owls again this year, caught them mating on one of the cameras.
There seems to be one Barn owl roosting in the box and we think it's our young female from last year.
There's at lest three in the area so hopefully she will find a mate and breed this year.
We also saw the Red Kite over Mow Cop on monday being mobbed by the lapwings and crows.
Sorry it won't allow me to upload any photo's.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 9, 2023 15:44:01 GMT
Looking promising for the Tawny owls again this year, caught them mating on one of the cameras. There seems to be one Barn owl roosting in the box and we think it's our young female from last year. There's at lest three in the area so hopefully she will find a mate and breed this year. We also saw the Red Kite over Mow Cop on monday being mobbed by the lapwings and crows. Sorry it won't allow me to upload any photo's. Fantastic news on the Tawnys and Barn Owls. We put 2 new boxes up in areas 2 weeks ago and replaced another 2. Red Kites def getting in more areas. Dont see or hear many Green Woodpecker up your way by any chance do you? |
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Post by lurcherman on Mar 9, 2023 15:59:24 GMT
Fantastic news on the Tawnys and Barn Owls. We put 2 new boxes up in areas 2 weeks ago and replaced another 2. Red Kites def getting in more areas. Dont see or hear many Green Woodpecker up your way by any chance do you? Only ever seen the Green Woodpecker two or three times up here matey, quite a few years ago we used to see them regularly in the woods around Lawton Hall. |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 9, 2023 20:24:01 GMT
Fantastic news on the Tawnys and Barn Owls. We put 2 new boxes up in areas 2 weeks ago and replaced another 2. Red Kites def getting in more areas. Dont see or hear many Green Woodpecker up your way by any chance do you? Only ever seen the Green Woodpecker two or three times up here matey, quite a few years ago we used to see them regularly in the woods around Lawton Hall. Yeah not an easy one to get close to. My mate who lives up Biddulph Grange gets one at Sand Quarry back of him. Lovely birds. |
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Post by lurcherman on Mar 11, 2023 10:33:21 GMT
Another nice surprise last night the short eared owl paid us a visit.
Only ever caught it twice before, so well chuffed.
Just want the long eared owl to come back now...... We can dream.
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Post by Northy on Mar 18, 2023 18:15:13 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think?  |
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Post by felonious on Mar 18, 2023 19:13:33 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think? Robin bluebreast  Very few feathers around the head it looked like he'd been attacked. The breast area was a shock of blue with a smaller red band underneath. It presented like a Robin happy to fly close to me and after I took the first picture flying to the closest part of the bush to me. Unfortunately Gnasher Mark 2 was with me so as I distracted him with a couple of dog treats I crushed a couple with my right hand and dropped them of the path. As I looked back it was on the path. |
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Post by lawrieleslie on Mar 18, 2023 20:06:50 GMT
Have a bit of a dilemma. Every year since we’ve lived in Brixton Devon we’ve attracted House Martins in spring through to October when they fly back to South Africa. They build their nest in our south facing gable end apex collecting mud from nearby River Yealm mud flats. They have never been a problem Until last year which was horrendous for shite and dead birds hoofed from the nest, at the height of the summer there were 12-15 birds at various stages of fledging. This meant a daily climb to clear the shit off window ledges which can cause permanent damage to pvc window frames. This year I’m reluctantly putting up a protection to stop them building a nest. I feel right guilty doing this because I know the same birds will come back after an epic 16000 mile round trip only to find their house from last year gone and no chance of building a new one. Hopefully they may find their way round to the side apex where there are no windows and just a concrete path for their shift to land on. Any other suggestions. I have two decoy falcons perched on the balcony near to where they nest but they quickly get wise to them and just sit on their heads.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 18, 2023 20:56:32 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think? Def go with a Robin. Looks like its had a night out 😆. Highly unlikely a Bluethroat would not usually be around there. A bird seen around the coast. A top birder i know who works for Congleton council does all maintenance in places like Congleton park. Ive just sent a Whatsapp message to him.He also confirms Robin and says he will keep a look out for it. |
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Post by felonious on Mar 19, 2023 8:13:05 GMT
Have a bit of a dilemma. Every year since we’ve lived in Brixton Devon we’ve attracted House Martins in spring through to October when they fly back to South Africa. They build their nest in our south facing gable end apex collecting mud from nearby River Yealm mud flats. They have never been a problem Until last year which was horrendous for shite and dead birds hoofed from the nest, at the height of the summer there were 12-15 birds at various stages of fledging. This meant a daily climb to clear the shit off window ledges which can cause permanent damage to pvc window frames. This year I’m reluctantly putting up a protection to stop them building a nest. I feel right guilty doing this because I know the same birds will come back after an epic 16000 mile round trip only to find their house from last year gone and no chance of building a new one. Hopefully they may find their way round to the side apex where there are no windows and just a concrete path for their shift to land on. Any other suggestions. I have two decoy falcons perched on the balcony near to where they nest but they quickly get wise to them and just sit on their heads. I share my house with around 30 swallows by the end of the season and over the years there's been up to 3/4 nests under the long open covered walkway at the back of the house. It's an absolute joy when they return and when the young birds venture out for the first time. There's a week's worth of Mexican standoff when they first arrive back then the usual peace and harmony and shit for the rest of the season. Have a think Lawrie it's not just your house |
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Post by felonious on Mar 19, 2023 8:14:46 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think? Def go with a Robin. Looks like its had a night out 😆. Highly unlikely a Bluethroat would not usually be around there. A bird seen around the coast. A top birder i know who works for Congleton council does all maintenance in places like Congleton park. Ive just sent a Whatsapp message to him.He also confirms Robin and says he will keep a look out for it. I've never seen a blue breasted Robin I never knew they existed and like Northy I clock every bird I pass |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 19, 2023 10:00:52 GMT
Def go with a Robin. Looks like its had a night out 😆. Highly unlikely a Bluethroat would not usually be around there. A bird seen around the coast. A top birder i know who works for Congleton council does all maintenance in places like Congleton park. Ive just sent a Whatsapp message to him.He also confirms Robin and says he will keep a look out for it. I've never seen a blue breasted Robin I never knew they existed and like Northy I clock every bird I pass Id love to photograph a Blue throat. A quick search on the bird guides app shows the latest sightings. Notice all on coast. Lovely looking things.  find duplicates in csv online |
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Post by felonious on Mar 21, 2023 14:09:46 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think? Def go with a Robin. Looks like its had a night out 😆. Highly unlikely a Bluethroat would not usually be around there. A bird seen around the coast. A top birder i know who works for Congleton council does all maintenance in places like Congleton park. Ive just sent a Whatsapp message to him.He also confirms Robin and says he will keep a look out for it. It's interesting that everyone thinks it's a Robin, I've seen tens of thousands of them over the years but never a Robin with a blue chest. Out of interest for the lads on here saying it's a Robin how many Robins have you seen over the years with a predominantly blue breast  I'd say the ratio of blue to red was approximately 80% blue to 20% red which is evident on the photo. Interestingly I've just met up with a mate who's an avid birdwatcher and he's saying it's a Bluethroat. He's pretty switched on and can pick out Marsh Tits on the feeder from the others  www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/news/bluethroat-sighting/Seems like there's been a local sighting. |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 21, 2023 20:48:22 GMT
Def go with a Robin. Looks like its had a night out 😆. Highly unlikely a Bluethroat would not usually be around there. A bird seen around the coast. A top birder i know who works for Congleton council does all maintenance in places like Congleton park. Ive just sent a Whatsapp message to him.He also confirms Robin and says he will keep a look out for it. It's interesting that everyone thinks it's a Robin, I've seen tens of thousands of them over the years but never a Robin with a blue chest. Out of interest for the lads on here saying it's a Robin how many Robins have you seen over the years with a predominantly blue breast I'd say the ratio of blue to red was approximately 80% blue to 20% red which is evident on the photo. Interestingly I've just met up with a mate who's an avid birdwatcher and he's saying it's a Bluethroat. He's pretty switched on and can pick out Marsh Tits on the feeder from the others www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/news/bluethroat-sighting/Seems like there's been a local sighting. I take your points my friend. Its still a Robin though. |
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Post by felonious on Mar 22, 2023 7:11:25 GMT
It's interesting that everyone thinks it's a Robin, I've seen tens of thousands of them over the years but never a Robin with a blue chest. Out of interest for the lads on here saying it's a Robin how many Robins have you seen over the years with a predominantly blue breast I'd say the ratio of blue to red was approximately 80% blue to 20% red which is evident on the photo. Interestingly I've just met up with a mate who's an avid birdwatcher and he's saying it's a Bluethroat. He's pretty switched on and can pick out Marsh Tits on the feeder from the others www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/news/bluethroat-sighting/Seems like there's been a local sighting. I take your points my friend. Its still a Robin though. It's definitely not a Robin unless you can tell me that they come in Blue as well as Red. |
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Post by crowey on Mar 22, 2023 9:59:20 GMT
….. looks like a Robin to me and I’ve not seen one for 32 years (being in Oz)
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Post by potterinleeds on Mar 22, 2023 15:38:53 GMT
Can Robins / Bluethroats interbreed? Maybe it's a bit of both . If only Murph was here to help us ..... |
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Post by marylandstoke on Mar 22, 2023 16:05:59 GMT
This one is from Felonious, asked me to put it up,Fel thinks it's a bluethroat, spotted in Congleton Park. Me and my lad who works for the RSPB think it's a Robin who has had a bad few days. What do others think? You would have to listen to his song. If it says his dog dies, his lady robin has left him and his pick up truck broke down then it’s a Country Robin. As you suspect, as a result, he has been with his Buds and his friends Jack and Jim (Daniels and Beam) |
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Post by marylandstoke on Mar 22, 2023 16:07:59 GMT
Joking apart, put me a bit in mind of a tatty one of these.  |
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I'd say the ratio of blue to red was approximately 80% blue to 20% red which is evident on the photo.
