Eurasian Oystercatcher is one of the most recognisable shorebirds in Europe, within the region its black and white plumage and bright orange bill make it unmistakeable. One Oystercatcher is a smart bird, something that stands out in the crowd, while a small flock is even more interesting to watch because of the noisy, bickering interactions they have with each other. However, imagine seeing groups of hundreds of them form into one massive flock of several thousand birds; the sight and sound of this is incredible, an unforgettable experience and this is what I get every time I go birding at Shellness, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, UK. I have been lucky enough to visit many countries for birding and I have seen some really amazing bird spectacles but the flight of Oystercatchers at Shellness is up there with the best. One of the nice things about this flypast of Oystercatchers heading to their high tide roost is that it is completely predictable, if you refer to a tide table, making it a great opportunity for photographing these wonderful birds and I have also put together a video for birders to see this impressive behaviour for themselves. Read more »
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 [...]
Jakarta Boat Trip Birding | Birding Indonesia
Where can you see Christmas Island Frigatebird, Sunda Teal, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Milky Stork, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Cerulean Kingfisher, Clamorous Reed Warbler and a wide range of other species in an urban setting? On a boat trip from Jakarta, Indonesia! The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas of the world [...]
New Year’s Day Birding Walk | British Birding
January 4th, 2021 
Nick Did you go birding on 1st January? The great thing about birding on New Year’s Day is that all the birds are new for the year list and as such almost all the birders I know are keen to get out on the first day of the year, and this year I was no exception. A gloomy morning was unexceptional and I had in my mind that the first bird of 2021 would be one of the commonest birds of the area; House Sparrow, Magpie, Common Starling, Collared Dove or suchlike so it was a huge surprise to open the door and hear a Corn Bunting in full song. A singing Corn Bunting on 1st January doesn’t sound like something very likely but a quick scan of the bushes in front of the house revealed the singing male which was quickly joined by a second bird, presumably a female. From home the route I took was along a chalk stream, through old gravel pits and farmland with a stop at an old churchyard for a nice variety of local birds including a few interesting ones. Read more »
Local Birding; Darent Valley | British Birding
December 23rd, 2020 Nick When I was at school almost all my birding was done in the local area, other than a few trips with my school wildlife club and family holidays around Britain. Over the years I have traveled much further afield in search of birds but right now I find myself back where I grew up, with travel becoming ever more restricted my birding has become more focussed on the areas I birded when I was much younger. This has given me the opportunity to rediscover local bird hotspots as well as find scarce local birds that I haven’t seen in the area for many years. Until today the standout highlight of my old local patch along the Darent Valley in Kent has been Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Birding Walk in the Darent Valley) along with Little Owl and my old favourite, Corn Bunting. On my walks in the area of the past few weeks I have visited a spot that used to host Woodcock in harsh winters but although I have searched hard I didn’t find any; until today. Although I didn’t succeed in getting any photos it was really great to track down this bird and enjoy taking some photos of more common birds. Read more »
Ringed Gulls at Beddington Farmlands | British Birding
December 21st, 2020 Nick 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 ringed birds whenever I am able to find them and read the colour markings or codes on them. When I made a visit to Beddington Farmlands on 2nd Novemer 2020 my main objective was to see the long-staying White Stork that was there (check out my video on it here – White Stork in London) but with large numbers of gulls to search through I was not only able to find an interesting variety of species but two different colour-ringed gulls, a Black-headed Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull, to add a different type of interest to a nice day of birding. Read more »
The Gull Next Door | Book Review
December 8th, 2020 Nick The Gull Next Door, by Marianne Taylor, is a book written from the heart of an author who has grown up around gulls and continues to get a great deal of pleasure from watching these resourceful birds wherever they occur, especially within the UK. Rather than a detailed examination on gull identification this is the author’s attempt to impart her love of this much-maligned group of birds to the reader through a variety of interesting facts, anecdotes and personal observations. Dealing with all of the species of gulls regularly seen in Britain as well as the rarities the author also examines interesting aspects of the ecology of gulls and their lifestyle, the often fragile relationship between gulls and humans, gulls in literature and art as well as the phenomenon of larophilia. Written in a conversational and easy-to-read style The Gull Next Door is one of those books that is interesting, enlightening, at times making the reader smile and the author’s enthusiasm for these birds is definitely infectious through these pages. This is an enjoyable book that gull experts and novices can enjoy, but most of all it is an enjoyable read for anyone who loves birds and is curious to learn more from an author who is easy to relate to and has a passion in the subject matter. Read more »
Singing Song Thrush on a Misty Morning | British Birding
November 30th, 2020 Nick When a bird is named for its song it is a good indication that its vocalization is something that is worth listening to and when it is heard on a morning with very limited visibility the lack of other visuals really amplifies the effect of this bird’s rich and energetic song. In fact the word foggy would be more accurate, although less alliterative, so that when I came across a particularly cheerful Song Thrush at Riverside Country Park in North Kent, UK, my ears took over from my eyes to appreciate this song that I rarely hear. With the still air several Song Thrushes seemed to be enjoying broadcasting themselves across the area without being hampered by the competitive sound of wind noise and as a soundtrack to the eerie atmosphere created by the mist it was lovely. With one individual seemingly oblivious to my presence I was able to get into a position to video it singing and capture the attractive song with its liberal use of phrases of mimicry. Read more »
Birding at Dartford Marshes | British Birding
November 20th, 2020 Nick Sometimes it is nice to travel to visit our favourite birding hotspots but at other time it is good to poke around local areas of open land to see what birds can be found. Particularly with the seasons changing and wintering bird numbers building up, local open spaces that may have become unproductive over the summer months are likely to have had an influx of species that while maybe not nationally significant, may be interesting from a local perspective. With this in mind I took a short afternoon trip to nearby Dartford Marshes, a relic of open land on the Thames at the boundary of the county of Kent and London. I wasn’t expecting too much from my visit but in the end I was extremely pleasantly surprised both in the quality of some of the birds I saw but also the variety and numbers of birds present. Just get out and you might be surprised at what you see; I was!
