Dartford Waffler

Independent Birding at Zaamin National Park | Birding in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a surprising country with a wide variety of landscapes, ancient historical monuments, some interesting food and drink as well as good infratructure that makes the country easy to travel in independently. However, my wife and I pushed this a little further than most travelers to the country by visiting Zaamin National Park where [...]

City Park Bird Abundance | Birding in Thailand

For those of us lucky enough to travel internationally to see birds it quickly becomes apparent that in some countries birds are abundant while in others birders have to work harder to see a wide range of species. This was brought home to me most recently spending a morning at Sri Nakorn Kuean Khan Park [...]

Touristing & Birding at Petra | Birding in Jordan

For those of us who travel with non-birding partners it can sometimes be tricky to balance enjoying time together somewhere interesting and the craving to maximise the opportunity to see new birds in new places. Personally, having a good holiday with my wife is the most important thing when planning trips together but doing some [...]

Rainy Season Birding at Pathum Thani Rice Research Centre | Birding in Thailand

There can be times of the year when bird watching hits a trough because a lack of activity, unhelpful weather or overfamiliarity with a smaller selection of species than at other times. In Thailand these factors are all true in the rainy season with a large number of species absent, on their breeding grounds further [...]

Mountain Birding from Chimgan | Birding in Uzbekistan

I have always loved immersing myself in mountain landscapes but over recent years my opportunity to do so has been limited with much of my time spent in tropical forests and wetlands in Thailand so when the opportunity presented itself to spend some time birding in mountain habitats in Uzbekistan I took it without having [...]

Lore Lindu, Sulawesi – Birding Indonesia

September 27th, 2017

Nick

With endemic species including Satanic Nightjar, Hylocitrea, Malia, Sulawesi Thrush, Cinnabar Boobook, Sulawesi Masked Owl, Great Shortwing, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Red-eared Fruit Dove, Sulawesi Hawk Eagle and Purple-bearded Bee-eater it was hard to choose the best bird of our 5-night stay at Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, on the Sulawesi/Halmahera tour that I have recently returned home from leading this September.

Birding this area varied between walking along forest roads, hiking a mountain forest trail, forest/farmland edge, waiting and watching at various viewpoints and even a little rice field birding which gave us a nice variety of species even though at times the birding was quite slow and difficult, although the occasional flock of birds created the normal levels of excitement for our group that is usual when the quiet forest suddenly comes alive and birders are treated to a brief species overload. Read more »

National Monument Jakarta – Birding Indonesia

September 5th, 2017

Nick

Jakarta has not got a lot to offer in terms of green spaces but the large park in which the National Monument is set is a good spot for a few nice birds and a leisurely morning of birding, it is a good introduction to birding in Java. A taxi ride from our airport hotel took us through the polluted mess that is Jakarta, with a taxi driver trying to run the meter up by going the wrong way at every turn, eventually got myself and David Cousins to the park gate and within minutes we were hearing the call of Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker from nearby flowering trees. These little birds were frustratingly difficult to see at first with just some brief glimpses but soon after we were enjoying eye-level views of a stunning male in perfect light; nice. This was the first of several interesting species we were to see in the park. Read more »

Travel & Birds in Andorra – Birding in Andorra

August 26th, 2017

Nick

High mountains are a habitat I really love. The open spaces and feeling small among the massive landscapes is something that always draws me further and further into the location with a desire to see what the view is like from the top of the next mountain. So, while on a recent holiday in Europe it was exciting to spend a couple of days in Andorra. I could have chosen anywhere along the Spain/France border but I have always found small countries like Andorra intriguing. The high mountains along the France-Spain border are home to a number of exciting European birds but as I was on holiday with a non-birding partner I did not target any species in particular instead we just spent time in beautiful mountain scenery just seeing what appeared along the way; species such as European Griffon Vulture, Water Pipit, Alpine Accentor, Citril Finch, Dipper, Red-backed Shrike and Alpine Chough stood out for me but the real highlight was spending time walking within such fantastic mountain scenery.

Andorra turned out to be a great place to visit with non-birders and still enjoy the outdoors and a number of good birds. I hope the following provides some helpful information to other birders who visit Andorra as there is little online about birding within this beautiful country. Read more »

Leica Telescope Repair

August 17th, 2017

Nick

Last week I traveled up to Ryston, near Ely, to get my birding ‘scope repaired and yesterday I gave it a proper test at Oare Marshes, Kent, getting wonderfully clear views of both Long-billed Dowitcher and Bonaparte’s Gull. I would like to give a huge thanks to Gary Hawkins of East Coast Binocular Repairs for helping me out in an optical emergency and restoring my ‘scope to its original condition for a very reasonable price while I waited. I was very thankful for the restoration of my ‘scope as when I contacted Leica they were unable to provide a repair although their staff, particularly Jo Pertwee, were very helpful and put me in contact with Gary.

The problem with my ‘scope was that the coating had come off of the objective lens resulting in a very foggy image and making it impossible to use at higher magnifications. This problem was acknowledged by Leica as a manufacturing error but they did not have any lenses available to replace those in ‘scopes with damage owned by their customers, including myself. Read more »

Camargue Quick Visit – Birding in France

August 14th, 2017

Nick

When I realized I would be visiting Southern France as part of a non-birding holiday I immediately realized that I should make some time, even if limited, to visit the Camargue and nearby Crau Plains both of which potentially would give me some exciting birding. Staying in the nearby town of Arles, where we visited the Roman Ampitheatre, the nearby town of Avignon and Roman Aqueduct of Pont Du Gard, I found that I had a couple of early mornings free before the sight-seeing began in earnest. Of course I used this time to drive into the Eastern side of the Camargue one day and to search for Little Bustard in the stony Crau region on the other morning.

Hopefully the following will be of some use to other birders visiting the region as part of non-birding trips and show them that some really good birds can be seen in a very limited time; my highlights were Little Bittern, Little Bustard, European Roller, Short-toed Eagle, European Bee-eater, Montagu’s Harrier and Tawny Pipit. Read more »

Mont Ventoux; Early Morning Birding – Birding in France

July 31st, 2017

Nick

Through the second half of July I made a road trip around France, visiting Northeastern Spain and Andorra too. Although the trip was mostly for sight-seeing I made some time for birding in several early mornings, the first of which was at Mont Ventoux in France. We stayed close to this mountain for a couple of days while visiting tourist sites in Provence and it allowed me to get in a few hours of birding, two days in a row, before the sight-seeing began. I saw a nice selection of species in Alpine meadows and scattered woodland here and it was a pleasant spot for birding while waiting for a non-birder to get ready for more touristic activities with Rock Bunting, Red Crossbill, Crested Tit, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Citril Finch being numerous and easy to see. Hopefully the following notes will be useful in planning a visit here for others thinking about traveling in the area. Read more »

Survey of Calling Male Corn Buntings – Bird Behaviour

July 3rd, 2017

Nick

More Corn Buntings! Many people may be wondering what is my obsession with what is a rather dull-coloured, sparrow-like bird regarding the fact that I have posted quite frequently about this species here, on my Facebook timeline and on my Twitter account. Well, apart from the fact that in UK this is a red list species, meaning that it is of prime conservation concern, and that I grew up with them in the countryside around me, I also wrote my degree dissertation on crop selection of calling male Corn Buntings; with all of this it can be seen that this is a species that has always captured my imagination. Over the last few months I have been back in Kent, staying at my mother’s house from where I have made loads of walks through the countryside and made a bit of a survey of where local Corn Buntings are holding territories. Here I have made some notes on the features of Corn Bunting territories in North West Kent and have included the territory map that I have created and a whole lot of Corn Bunting photos taken in the area over the last few months. Read more »