http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk Birding from around the world Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:41:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ring-necked-parakeets-sunflower-feast-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ring-necked-parakeets-sunflower-feast-british-birding/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2021 09:31:24 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23250 One day in October 2021 I made a visit to a local woodland, Farningham Woods, but was distracted before I got there by large numbers of Ring-necked Parakeets feeding on sunflower heads along the entrance road to the woods. The sunflowers were grown as a wildlife boundary crop in a strip a few metres wide [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ring-necked-parakeets-sunflower-feast-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/finding-common-grasshopper-warbler-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/finding-common-grasshopper-warbler-british-birding/#comments Fri, 21 May 2021 13:52:24 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23052 Common Grasshopper Warbler, Locusteall naevia, is the bird that is usually simply known as “Grasshopper Warbler” throughout Europe. This bird is just one of a group of similar species in the family Locustellidae that are found in many parts of the world and generally these birds are skulking and hard to see. However, when they arrive [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/finding-common-grasshopper-warbler-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/dunlin-rhynchokinesis-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/dunlin-rhynchokinesis-british-birding/#comments Thu, 13 May 2021 17:28:57 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23014 Feeding niche and bill evolution specific to prey was shown by Charles Darwin to be an extemely important factor in speciation in birds and this is seldom so obvious than in shorebirds. The wide range of bill sizes and shapes in shorebirds is an obvious indicator to the different feeding techniques they employ and the [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/dunlin-rhynchokinesis-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/nesting-white-storks-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/nesting-white-storks-british-birding/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2021 21:09:19 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22936 Anyone in Britain who has an interest in bird conservation and wildlife is likely to have heard of the White Stork Project which aims to reintroduce White Storks to the UK. Equally the successful nesting at the Knepp Estate Rewildling Project is likely to be on the radar of most nature-lovers in UK and as [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/nesting-white-storks-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/spring-bird-song-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/spring-bird-song-british-birding/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2021 13:58:21 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22875 Spring is my favourite time of the year in Britain. While winter has brought some interesting birds I always enjoy the lengthening days and the improving weather as the countryside begins to turn green again and summer migrant birds begin to arrive in small numbers at first and then in a flood of bird song. [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/spring-bird-song-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/eurasian-skylark-song-flights-in-early-spring-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/eurasian-skylark-song-flights-in-early-spring-british-birding/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2021 18:46:15 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22825 Early this morning I opened the window to the sound of Skylarks singing in the early morning sunshine. With grassy fields and arable land right in front of the hosue this is a very familiar sound to me but through the autumn and winter, although skylarks do sing, I rarely hear them sustaining long song [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/eurasian-skylark-song-flights-in-early-spring-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ringed-gulls-at-beddington-farmlands-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ringed-gulls-at-beddington-farmlands-british-birding/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:50:59 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22678 Although birding is a relaxing hobby that takes birders to lots of interesting and often beautiful places I also find it rewarding to be able to contribute towards a greater understanding of birds which can provide information useful in their conservation. One of the easiest ways I have found of doing this is by reporting [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ringed-gulls-at-beddington-farmlands-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-autumn-flocks-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-autumn-flocks-british-birding/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2020 15:47:36 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22545 Although birding in autumn brings expectation in terms of seeing scarce and rare birds as they migrate it is also a time to enjoy watching large flocks of commoner species as they gather in migratory flocks or as their numbers build up as they arrive on their wintering grounds. When I am in UK one [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-autumn-flocks-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/purple-sandpiper-close-encounter-british-birds/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/purple-sandpiper-close-encounter-british-birds/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2020 11:41:11 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22486 The arrival of some birds really gives you a sense of the time of the year and for me when autumn comes around in UK I look forward to seeing Purple Sandpiper. This handsome little wader breeds within the arctic circle but at this time of the year they move further south and small numbers [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/purple-sandpiper-close-encounter-british-birds/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ruddy-turnstone-feeding-behaviour-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ruddy-turnstone-feeding-behaviour-british-birding/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2020 11:31:29 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=22401 Whenever I visit stony or rocky coasts around Britain, no matter what other birds of interest there are to enjoy watching, eventually I am always drawn towards Ruddy Turnstones. These comical little characters are always busy running around on the rocks or among piles of seaweed, grabbing morsels of food and bickering with each other [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/ruddy-turnstone-feeding-behaviour-british-birding/feed/ 0