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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 22, 2023 16:23:02 GMT
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. Tell you what fella it’s got i d features of a Bluethroat and to some will suggest so but key ones are missing No obvious supercilluim present in all ages sexes inc juv when blow face up in picture to me looks Robin like not Bluethroat also upper parts look too Sandy brown would be more darker almost grey brown another key I d feature is no red in upperparts tail or upper side tail again diagnostic and no dark tail tip In birding you can never rule anything out as I well know and Bluethroat have overwintered in uk but extremely rare occurance usually seen April to nov and inland Cheshire again seems a strange location but like said you can never rule anything out as I well know but could simply be some sort weird Robin for whatever reason show symptoms of a Bluethroat that’s my opionion but if I’m wrong 😑 then so be it mate from my friend.
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Post by felonious on Mar 22, 2023 17:10:00 GMT
It's definitely not a Robin unless you can tell me that they come in Blue as well as Red. Tell you what fella it’s got i d features of a Bluethroat and to some will suggest so but key ones are missing No obvious supercilluim present in all ages sexes inc juv when blow face up in picture to me looks Robin like not Bluethroat also upper parts look too Sandy brown would be more darker almost grey brown another key I d feature is no red in upperparts tail or upper side tail again diagnostic and no dark tail tip In birding you can never rule anything out as I well know and Bluethroat have overwintered in uk but extremely rare occurance usually seen April to nov and inland Cheshire again seems a strange location but like said you can never rule anything out as I well know but could simply be some sort weird Robin for whatever reason show symptoms of a Bluethroat that’s my opionion but if I’m wrong 😑 then so be it mate from my friend. Well after this morning's run and lunch I went over to Congleton Park to have another look. It's still there and without Gnasher I was able to spend some time around it I'm wondering whether along with the lost feathers around the head it's also lost a good number of chest feathers and the downside being that under the red breast the under feathers present as blue. It's in a sorry state to look at but it appears reasonably perky and healthy. On Friday I spent a very short time conscious that the pup was off the lead, distracting him whilst trying to glance and get a picture. Today I took binoculars and spent some time crouching down and it came closer. Everything about it's behaviour and demeanour says Robin. I've seen several pied Blackbirds over the years and a few have exhibited signs of being attacked so I wonder if this specimen is slightly different than the resident birds. It was in the same spot, it's territorial and like every Robin I've ever met it's comfortable getting close up. I couldn't feed it today because within a minute of me showing up a juicy worm presented itself about 12/15 feet away so it had a nice lunch
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 22, 2023 20:33:29 GMT
Ive been trying to Photograph short eared owls. Failed again tonight.
Becoming a nemesis to me the shorties.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 24, 2023 13:06:29 GMT
Its amazing how quickly there has been an influx of spring arrivals.
Wheatears popping up everyhwere. Ospreys arriving back in numbers.
Swallows Swifts etc. My friend had an Alpine Swift the other day.
next it will be the Warblers.
Had cracking views of late of Barn Owls and I wont complain at that.
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Post by felonious on Mar 24, 2023 17:26:04 GMT
Its amazing how quickly there has been an influx of spring arrivals. Wheatears popping up everyhwere. Ospreys arriving back in numbers. Swallows Swifts etc. My friend had an Alpine Swift the other day. next it will be the Warblers. Had cracking views of late of Barn Owls and I wont complain at that. I had a Lapwing fly over the house yesterday announcing it's arrival from around 300 metres away
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 24, 2023 20:05:33 GMT
Its amazing how quickly there has been an influx of spring arrivals. Wheatears popping up everyhwere. Ospreys arriving back in numbers. Swallows Swifts etc. My friend had an Alpine Swift the other day. next it will be the Warblers. Had cracking views of late of Barn Owls and I wont complain at that. I had a Lapwing fly over the house yesterday announcing it's arrival from around 300 metres away Either that or trying to escape a Sparrowhawk or Peregrine and it was screaming for its life 😆
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Post by lurcherman on Mar 26, 2023 11:04:26 GMT
The red kite flew over Harriseahead this morning, heading towards Mow Cop, Biddulph way. Very nice to see even if it was just a fleeting glimpse.
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Post by Northy on Mar 26, 2023 12:14:25 GMT
Some little dots on the mud flats of the Foyle this morning
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Post by questionable on Mar 26, 2023 14:08:27 GMT
The red kite flew over Harriseahead this morning, heading towards Mow Cop, Biddulph way. Very nice to see even if it was just a fleeting glimpse. Quite often get a pair near us in Adderley, magnificent birds. Followed them last year from Market Drayton and as the wife’s camera phone is quite good she used her phone, when looking at the pictures when getting home the birds looked remarkably like a thumb
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Post by felonious on Mar 26, 2023 15:06:01 GMT
I had a Lapwing fly over the house yesterday announcing it's arrival from around 300 metres away Either that or trying to escape a Sparrowhawk or Peregrine and it was screaming for its life 😆 Gulls
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 26, 2023 18:36:22 GMT
Apparently at Doxey Marshes Stafford today they had an Alpine Swift.
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Post by marylandstoke on Mar 26, 2023 18:51:39 GMT
Ospreys are back.
Saw this years Oscar with half a tree in his beak so he’s nesting some where near.
Always amusing when they are first years. They will find a lovely sized branch and then take it to the most aweful location, think telegraph pole. As it spirals to the ground there is a moment where he looks down, and in osprey says ‘Well, that was pants’ and treks off to find and another, perfectly suitable branch.
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Post by lurcherman on Mar 28, 2023 10:41:13 GMT
Finally saw both barn owls emerge from the box last night so very encouraging for the coming season. Will have to take the thermal camera down to the tawny owl box this next week or so, it's a handy thing to have for seeing when they are sitting on eggs.
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Post by chuffedstokie on Mar 28, 2023 12:19:46 GMT
Ospreys are back. Saw this years Oscar with half a tree in his beak so he’s nesting some where near. Always amusing when they are first years. They will find a lovely sized branch and then take it to the most aweful location, think telegraph pole. As it spirals to the ground there is a moment where he looks down, and in osprey says ‘Well, that was pants’ and treks off to find and another, perfectly suitable branch. Ospreys are back again here in the Dyfi estuary. I've been checking the Osprey project live web cam but missed the arrival. It'll be interesting to see when the female turns up. I'll get round to the hide this year for some pics.
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Post by marylandstoke on Mar 29, 2023 12:59:11 GMT
Rooks giving Oscar holy hell this morning.
Of course, being the bumpkin I am I am waiting for the kettle to boil singing the DamBusters theme and making machine gun noises with my mouth.
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Post by chuffedstokie on Mar 30, 2023 20:17:30 GMT
Female Osprey returned today. Amazing feat every year.
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Post by Kewstokie on Mar 30, 2023 21:47:38 GMT
Apparently at Doxey Marshes Stafford today they had an Alpine Swift. This may be right though it must be way beyond the normal range shirley? Was down there today (dodging the rain showers) and my mate pointed out this pair of what we thought were Martins, then dismissed as being unlikely and concentrated on the smaller birds in full mating etc mode. Favourite relaxation on a summer evening in Languedoc is watching the Swifts, but can't recall seeing an Alpine Swift there even though well within the range.
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Post by questionable on Apr 17, 2023 7:48:13 GMT
Getting an abundance of wild birds flocking into our gardens now, lovely to sit back and watch them throughout the day.
Seems like the outlay on specialist seed/food mixtures is paying dividends so much so it looks like we have blue tits nesting in a box we put up.
Just googled if it’s cheaper to make your own fat/suet balls which it is but seems like hard work and far easier to buy them.
Had our first Oyster Catcher come past yesterday, well according to our neighbour it was as before then I’d never heard of them being a complete novice but eagerly learning ofc
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Post by questionable on Apr 25, 2023 17:42:57 GMT
Just had a wander around the garden and noticed not one but two dead what I think are Turtle Doves, one I could put down to a neighbours cat but two no chance and they’re adults not fresh off the nest, then there’s what appears to be a puncture mark on both of them with blood evident.
Bastards 😡
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Post by felonious on Apr 25, 2023 18:24:10 GMT
Apparently at Doxey Marshes Stafford today they had an Alpine Swift. This may be right though it must be way beyond the normal range shirley? Was down there today (dodging the rain showers) and my mate pointed out this pair of what we thought were Martins, then dismissed as being unlikely and concentrated on the smaller birds in full mating etc mode. Favourite relaxation on a summer evening in Languedoc is watching the Swifts, but can't recall seeing an Alpine Swift there even though well within the range. I was reminiscing with a friend a few days back about a trip we made to Riga a few years back. We went up to the viewing tower on the tallest building to find we were looking down on dozens of Swifts careering and screeching around.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Apr 25, 2023 20:22:15 GMT
Just had a wander around the garden and noticed not one but two dead what I think are Turtle Doves, one I could put down to a neighbours cat but two no chance and they’re adults not fresh off the nest, then there’s what appears to be a puncture mark on both of them with blood evident. Bastards 😡 Probable collared Doves but not nice all same. Not sure what has happened.
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Post by questionable on Apr 25, 2023 20:54:10 GMT
Just had a wander around the garden and noticed not one but two dead what I think are Turtle Doves, one I could put down to a neighbours cat but two no chance and they’re adults not fresh off the nest, then there’s what appears to be a puncture mark on both of them with blood evident. Bastards 😡 Probable collared Doves but not nice all same. Not sure what has happened. As msg I’m not entirely sure now, you’re correct they could be/are collared doves. Picked them up quite quickly as didn’t want to upset the wife and the dog getting hold of them. 100% not wood pigeons my limited bird knowledge can confirm this.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Apr 25, 2023 21:07:27 GMT
Probable collared Doves but not nice all same. Not sure what has happened. As msg I’m not entirely sure now, you’re correct they could be/are collared doves. Picked them up quite quickly as didn’t want to upset the wife and the dog getting hold of them. 100% not wood pigeons my limited bird knowledge can confirm this. Some people really are awful if they have done that.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Apr 26, 2023 11:51:58 GMT
I could go on and on about this but I wont.
The Knepp estate in Sussex is doing some great conservation work. Along with the White Stork Project they are also doing similar stuff for Nightingale and Turtle Dove as both are rare species now.
Probable Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon is beside the point.
Its awful what has happened. The subject of game keepers comes up a lot and I have my view on those.
Was talking to a Farmer other week and he was a nice enough chap. However he asked me my views on Buzzards. His view is they kill all the little birds and are a menace.
He was of course talking bollox. Buzzard are like Red Kite they mainly feed on road kill and other things. They will take the occasional small thing if they can. Maybe a chick or a Vole. Normally though they just are not quick enough to catch these things.
Just have to keep doing our bit for Wildlife. Give it a chance.
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Post by questionable on Apr 26, 2023 12:37:03 GMT
I could go on and on about this but I wont. The Knepp estate in Sussex is doing some great conservation work. Along with the White Stork Project they are also doing similar stuff for Nightingale and Turtle Dove as both are rare species now. Probable Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon is beside the point. Its awful what has happened. The subject of game keepers comes up a lot and I have my view on those. Was talking to a Farmer other week and he was a nice enough chap. However he asked me my views on Buzzards. His view is they kill all the little birds and are a menace. He was of course talking bollox. Buzzard are like Red Kite they mainly feed on road kill and other things. They will take the occasional small thing if they can. Maybe a chick or a Vole. Normally though they just are not quick enough to catch these things. Just have to keep doing our bit for Wildlife. Give it a chance. As it happens I had a telephone call back from the RSPB at 09:00, lovely lady and ex rural Police Officer who really knew her stuff and came across as very passionate and caring. What she advised me to do I’d basically already done ie inform the Police get a Crime Ref No but told if the Police don’t contact me she’d take it up with them, also told to double bag the birds and put them in our freezer, which I can’t see the wife agreeing to in truth, would then arrange for collection and follow up X rays to identify if they’ve been shot, she had lots of time for me and also explained there’s a virus going around killing pigeons and doves. Nothing back from Cheshire Police as of yet but the local PCSO gets lots of positive comments as he “walks his patch a lot”..... Honestly he’s got the most scenic patch ever, no wonder he prefers to walk rather than actually looking at reports 😡
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Post by Northy on Apr 26, 2023 15:23:01 GMT
I could go on and on about this but I wont. The Knepp estate in Sussex is doing some great conservation work. Along with the White Stork Project they are also doing similar stuff for Nightingale and Turtle Dove as both are rare species now. Probable Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon is beside the point. Its awful what has happened. The subject of game keepers comes up a lot and I have my view on those. Was talking to a Farmer other week and he was a nice enough chap. However he asked me my views on Buzzards. His view is they kill all the little birds and are a menace. He was of course talking bollox. Buzzard are like Red Kite they mainly feed on road kill and other things. They will take the occasional small thing if they can. Maybe a chick or a Vole. Normally though they just are not quick enough to catch these things. Just have to keep doing our bit for Wildlife. Give it a chance. I've mentioned it before, I've been there twice already, and will be there again a week on Friday for a week staying in The Bothy Off to see my son this weekend at RSPB Geltsdale in the North Pennines, he's seen 6 ring Ouzels, he's watching the hen harriers, sadly 3 out of 4 nests have failed as birds have failed to return after starting laying, looks like the Grouse Moor next door is persecuting them again.
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Post by chuffedstokie on Apr 27, 2023 7:50:08 GMT
Couple of days off so yesterday I drove from home ((Aberdyfi) over the hills via Machynlleth to Llanidloes, it's a fantastic journey with spectacular scenery and completely lost count of the number of Kites circling on the warm thermals. There are cattle grids at either end and everything can roam free, with the amount of lambs on the road although close to the parents I'm guessing the birds aren't short for a random feed.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Apr 27, 2023 20:07:38 GMT
I could go on and on about this but I wont. The Knepp estate in Sussex is doing some great conservation work. Along with the White Stork Project they are also doing similar stuff for Nightingale and Turtle Dove as both are rare species now. Probable Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon is beside the point. Its awful what has happened. The subject of game keepers comes up a lot and I have my view on those. Was talking to a Farmer other week and he was a nice enough chap. However he asked me my views on Buzzards. His view is they kill all the little birds and are a menace. He was of course talking bollox. Buzzard are like Red Kite they mainly feed on road kill and other things. They will take the occasional small thing if they can. Maybe a chick or a Vole. Normally though they just are not quick enough to catch these things. Just have to keep doing our bit for Wildlife. Give it a chance. I've mentioned it before, I've been there twice already, and will be there again a week on Friday for a week staying in The Bothy Off to see my son this weekend at RSPB Geltsdale in the North Pennines, he's seen 6 ring Ouzels, he's watching the hen harriers, sadly 3 out of 4 nests have failed as birds have failed to return after starting laying, looks like the Grouse Moor next door is persecuting them again. Hope you enjoy and get to see the turtle doves. Hen Harriers at serious risk from those bastards and Goshawks. Local patch this way has seen a Cuckoo appear a few times recently. Heard calling and seen in flight just yesterday.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Apr 27, 2023 20:11:05 GMT
I could go on and on about this but I wont. The Knepp estate in Sussex is doing some great conservation work. Along with the White Stork Project they are also doing similar stuff for Nightingale and Turtle Dove as both are rare species now. Probable Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon is beside the point. Its awful what has happened. The subject of game keepers comes up a lot and I have my view on those. Was talking to a Farmer other week and he was a nice enough chap. However he asked me my views on Buzzards. His view is they kill all the little birds and are a menace. He was of course talking bollox. Buzzard are like Red Kite they mainly feed on road kill and other things. They will take the occasional small thing if they can. Maybe a chick or a Vole. Normally though they just are not quick enough to catch these things. Just have to keep doing our bit for Wildlife. Give it a chance. As it happens I had a telephone call back from the RSPB at 09:00, lovely lady and ex rural Police Officer who really knew her stuff and came across as very passionate and caring. What she advised me to do I’d basically already done ie inform the Police get a Crime Ref No but told if the Police don’t contact me she’d take it up with them, also told to double bag the birds and put them in our freezer, which I can’t see the wife agreeing to in truth, would then arrange for collection and follow up X rays to identify if they’ve been shot, she had lots of time for me and also explained there’s a virus going around killing pigeons and doves. Nothing back from Cheshire Police as of yet but the local PCSO gets lots of positive comments as he “walks his patch a lot”..... Honestly he’s got the most scenic patch ever, no wonder he prefers to walk rather than actually looking at reports 😡 Glad she contacted you and thank you for investing time in it. Funnily enough as part of Barn Owl conservation i was at a Barn Owl AGM last night at the Lion Salt Works Northwich. We had a PSO giving a talk on Rural Crime. She used to be a Falconer herself so was explaining what her team does and how we report wildlife crime and the ways it is investigated.
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Post by Northy on Apr 28, 2023 7:18:29 GMT
As it happens I had a telephone call back from the RSPB at 09:00, lovely lady and ex rural Police Officer who really knew her stuff and came across as very passionate and caring. What she advised me to do I’d basically already done ie inform the Police get a Crime Ref No but told if the Police don’t contact me she’d take it up with them, also told to double bag the birds and put them in our freezer, which I can’t see the wife agreeing to in truth, would then arrange for collection and follow up X rays to identify if they’ve been shot, she had lots of time for me and also explained there’s a virus going around killing pigeons and doves. Nothing back from Cheshire Police as of yet but the local PCSO gets lots of positive comments as he “walks his patch a lot”..... Honestly he’s got the most scenic patch ever, no wonder he prefers to walk rather than actually looking at reports 😡 Glad she contacted you and thank you for investing time in it. Funnily enough as part of Barn Owl conservation i was at a Barn Owl AGM last night at the Lion Salt Works Northwich. We had a PSO giving a talk on Rural Crime. She used to be a Falconer herself so was explaining what her team does and how we report wildlife crime and the ways it is investigated. I almost ran past you last night then I did run there on Sunday, got off the canal at the road bridge and ran between the 2 fishing lakes, before going across the fields to Great Budworth.
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