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/beach-birding-in-august-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/beach-birding-in-august-british-birding/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2022 15:28:51 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=63035 Some birding locations are great to visit because they are new and exciting to explore, with all the possibilities of seeing new birds that goes with that. Other locations are great to visit because they are familiar, always have lots of birds to see, even if they are quite predictable but are just a place [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/beach-birding-in-august-british-birding/feed/ 2 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/shellness-high-tide-birding-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/shellness-high-tide-birding-british-birding/#comments Sun, 24 Oct 2021 20:33:45 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23211 The Roman philosopher Pliny claimed that a full moon caused moisture to form in the brain leading to madness and there may be something in this as I made the uncharacteristic decision to wake up at an unholy hour and embark on a day of dawn to dusk birding on the Isle of Sheppey on [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/shellness-high-tide-birding-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-arrive-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-arrive-british-birding/#comments Sat, 16 Oct 2021 17:17:10 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23191 One of my personal key indicators of the onset of autumn is the mass arrival of Brent Geese to the North Kent coast. As early as September small numbers of these migratory geese arrive in dribs and drabs, seemingly disappearing as soon as they arrive and then suddenly large numbers of Brent Geese can be [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/brent-geese-arrive-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/black-headed-gull-ring-reading-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/black-headed-gull-ring-reading-british-birding/#comments Wed, 29 Sep 2021 12:58:12 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23174 For photographers large congregations of birds at close range are a blessing so it was with this expectation that I took Michael Wong to Erith Pier, on the River Thames, in early August. Although for many people a bunch of gulls might not seem that exciting, the bright early morning light, variety of species and [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/black-headed-gull-ring-reading-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/birding-at-higham-marshes-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/birding-at-higham-marshes-british-birding/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2021 16:22:46 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23087 Birding locally has been imposed upon us for long periods in 2020 and 2021 and although this limits our possibilities it has also provided an opportunity to really look closely at what birds can be seen close to home. Although I enjoyed travelling further afield as soon as I was able to I also enjoyed [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/birding-at-higham-marshes-british-birding/feed/ 0 http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/gulls-on-the-thames-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/gulls-on-the-thames-british-birding/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2021 14:16:22 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23107 The mid summer doldrums do not offer many interesting birding options when you don’t live close to coastal sites but when the weather is bad and you have burned up the morning watching the Olympics on television it is useful to have only a short drive to a spot on the River Thames where a [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/gulls-on-the-thames-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/swanscombe-peninsula-bird-photography-british-birding/ http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/swanscombe-peninsula-bird-photography-british-birding/#comments Wed, 19 May 2021 15:02:15 +0000 Nick http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/?p=23027 Bearded Tit is one of the most striking of bird species in Britain and one that is coveted by many bird watchers and photographers alike. Having made a number of bird photography trips with Michael Wong recently he had expressed an interest in photographing this superb bird but with lots of windy weather it had [...]]]> http://dartfordwaffler.co.uk/swanscombe-peninsula-bird-photography-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