Scottish Seabird Centre

I as hoping to get a boat trip out to Bass Rock but the nice chap with boat informed us a swell was stopping play and unfortunately this lasted the whole weekend so I had to make do with Scottish Seabird Centre. Here I could play with remote cameras of the islands around zooming in on Gannets and Guillimots... great fun but not real birding is it.

However from the scopes on the observation deck I saw some real life Gannets and even found myself a Puffin bobbing around in the water. There was also a female Eider with youngsters swimming around near the harbour.

So no boat, but I had a fun time anyway.

RSPB Vane Farm

I went to Vane Farm today in Scotland, braved the drizzle and while the place wasn't full of birds I did see 2 beauties. From the last hide there were 2 Snipe wading around really close to the hide showing amazingly well, and a Greenshank doing exactly the same. Terrific views through the scope.

Next time I'll stick it out till the Osprey turns up though!

As we drove away I also clocked around 150 Curlew in a field "next door".

Lerrocks Farm

After Vane Farm we drove up to Lerrock's Farm where Red Kites have been reintroduced. Luckily we arrived just as they'd been fed and saw some amazing views of the Kites as well as the Buzzards who tagged along for an easy meal. Spectacular and a very friendly place to visit.

Goldfinch

Just had a Goldfinch (a very rare visitor to our garden)on the sunflower heart feeder in the front garden... and yesterday we had a Greenfinch... for a long time our front garden feeder was ignored but it's finally getting a bit of attention (and gives me something to look at from the office window).

Garden Madness

Just glanced out of the window today and there garden was packed with birds on the feeders, I've never seen so many... there must have been over 20 birds jostling for position... Great Tit (nibbling a strawberry on the table and drinking at the bird bath), House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Nuthatch and Greenfinch.

There has been a large increase in finches in the garden lately... they were once very rare visitors but no Greenfinches are among my daily visitors.

Lamb Cottage Caravan Park

This place is a small caravan park in rural Cheshire with a nice walk through woodland over the road... a great place to spend the weekend, in fact so great, we booked to return the following weekend while we were still there.

The birding was quite good, they certainly encourage birds on site, but apart from hearing Tawny Owls the rest of the list are old favourites... Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Robin, Coot (there's also a fishing lake nearby), Black Headed Gull, Swallow (lining up on the site's overhead wires), House Sparrow and Nuthatch. I also saw a raptor around but couldn't ID it as I was in the woods and just got a fleeting glimpse between brances but I did find a Heron perched in the woods which was a nice little find.

Fairburn Ings in Summer

I took a birding morning out to Fairburn today... saw some great birds and the place was brimming with butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.

Here's my birding ticks...
Pick-Up Hide
Gadwall (female), Dabchick, Coot, Shoveler (female) and Moorhend (legging it across the decking on the approach to the hide).

Pond
I got a fantastic view of a Reed Warbler hopping around the reeds of a tiny pond just after the first metal gate on the way to the main hides. I could have watched it for hours (in fact there were 2 flitting around).

Gravel Pit
Greylag Geese (a small flock in fact), Black Headed Gulls (everywhere), Shelduck and Greenfinch (around the path and shrubs, not on the water obviously). There was also another Goose of some kind... pink and white bill, pink feet, pale brown... no idea what it was.

Bob Dickens Hide
Black Headed Gulls (cf 200), Great Crested Grebe (some on the next), Canada Geese (cf 30), Mute Swans (cf 100), Moorhen (some on the nest), Lapwing (just the one) and 2 pairs of Tufted Ducks.

Village Bay Hide
Cormorants (quite a few flying over the whole reserve too), Coots (some on the nest), Black Headed Gulles, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard (with chicks), Pochard, Ruddy Duck, Mute Swans, Heron and Tufted Ducks.

As I wandered around I kept seeing various LBJs... possible Willow Warblers among others... but the habitat is quite varied and my call recognition isn't nearly good enough so I'm afraid, except for the Reed Warbler it was a frustrating LBJ day. There was also one bird I caught a quick glimpse off... black cap, brown bird with a call like a trumpet charge... ba baaa ba baaa... but haven't been able to ID it. But it's all about learning, it would be no fun if there wasn't constantly new things to learn and when I think what I can recognise now compared to 2 years ago I smile and know I'm getting better and better all the time. I did, for example, hear numerous Yellow Hammers and even though I didn't see one I was very content to know I'd picked out they were there.

Digley in the Sunshine

A lovely day today and we took Laddie around Digley Reservoir. I took my bins, naturally, and my first treat was spotting a Little Owl basking on a wall in the sunshine. Billberry Reservoir (the little one next door) seemed have a few things to see... I flushed a small wader which flew off before I could ID it and I'm sure I saw a tern of some sort... but both and indeed others seem to gather on a small sandy island right at the far side so I couldn't ID anything without my scope. Funnily enough however I'm sure I could see a Grey Wagtail over there as I could see a smaller bird teetering with flashes of yellow... odd how I could ID the smallest bird there.

There were also Swallows and Martins around as well as the usual Canada Geese on the reservoir. I also clearly heard an Oystercatcher although I didn't see it (I suspect it was somewhere near the "magic" island).

Finally, 3 or 4 small Kestrels were seen over the farmland at the top of the hill... I don't know if they were youngsters but they were small and it was usual to see so many together.

The garden birds have just gone mad!

I've just fulled up the sunflower heart feeder in the garden and put some of Bill Oddies "Song Bird Crumble" on the table and the moment I stepped in the house down they came! I've never seen such a sudden frenzy, there were birds on every perch and the peanut feeder crammed with jostling Blue Tits.

Blue Tits (including the juvenilles that are hanging around and now feeding themselves quite happily), Greenfinch, Nuthatch, Bullfinch (one pair as usual), House Sparrow (went straight for the "Song Bird Crumble"), Starling (also went to the "Song Bird Crumble"... 2 birds, one a juvenille being fed by it's parent) and even Chaffinch (we don't get many).

The rewards for spending a few quid on sunflower hearts cannot be measured.

Bempton Cliffs

We took a trip to Bempton Cliffs this afternoon with the hope of seeing more than Gannets this time (not that there's anything wrong with Gannets anyway! And we got some excellent views of everything you'd expect at Bempton... masses of Gannets (and some great views of fluffy chicks), Kittiwakes and Guillemots. And there were also a number of Puffins (great fun to watch in flight, I even saw one clutching a fish) and Razorbills, although both these species in far less numbers.

Bempton is also a great place for Meadow Pipits and I got he best view of one I've ever had! It was perched on a pole before flying off... makes a change to see one up close as opposed to recognition through song and flight pattern.

Blackmoorfoot

I took Laddie a walk around Blackmoorfoot reservoir today, see if anything was around... Tufted Duck, Black Headed Gull, Mallards (some juvenile), Great Crested Grebe, Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, Canada Goose (just the one hanging out with some Mallards), Crows and Blackbirds.

There were 2 treats... 2 Oystercatchers flew by and I came across a family of Swallows. The parents were swooping around feeding and I could just make out a baby (still quite fluffy) around what presumably is the nest site. And an odd one at that... inside the cylindrical drainage "thing" that sticks out into the water. Mind you, lots of insects on tap and fenched off from the rest of the world with irons gates under lock and key... quite a sensible nesting place really.