For few weeks now the RSPB has given British birders the opportunity to watch European Bee-eaters nesting at a sand quarry near Brampton in Cumbria. Bee-eaters are a very rare breeding bird in UK and this, combined with their colourful plumage, has meant that many people have made the journey to northern England to see [...]
Archive for the ‘Birdwatching in UK’ Category
Sabine’s Gull at Pennington Flash | British Birding
I spent the last few days walking in the mountains in the Lake District National Park, but on my way I decided to stop off to look for a couple of unusual birds, the first being an adult Sabine’s Gull which had been reported as present for a few days at Pennington Flash, near Manchester. [...]
Black Stork at Dungeness: British Birding
It’s funny how one bird can completely change the way a day is going. After seeing several reports of interesting species at and close to Dungeness I set off to enjoy a sunny day with several species as targets. The first of these was Spoonbill which had been reported on several days at Scotney Gravel [...]
Growths on Legs & Feet of Birds
While bird watching at Ashdown Forest a few days ago I spent some time trying to get some good photos of some of the commoner birds occurring in woodlands. A Treecreeper kept me occupied and frustrated for some time until I noticed a male Chaffinch foraging close by in the leaf litter. I was able [...]
Reporting Ringed Birds – British Birding
A lovely sunny day prompted me to head to Dungeness on the coast of Kent this morning in the hope of seeing some terns and gulls at the water outlet of the nuclear power plant – “the patch”. Unfortunately there were very few birds at all there, just 20-30 Herring Gulls of varying ages and [...]
Ashdown Forest – British Birding
Woodland and heathland birds in UK have both declined in numbers in my lifetime and many species that used to be common now seem to be scarce even in what looks like good habitat. The populations of some heathland species have now stabilized or even increased, probably due to improved habitat management, although others, particularly [...]
Returning Waders – British Birding
July is a month when waders begin their migration south, from their breeding grounds and it is a good time to see some scarce species as well as some commoner ones in near breeding plumage. Many of the earliest migrating waders are adults that have failed in their breeding attempts as well as some successful [...]