Tag: Magpie

The Tesco Robin is back and a new species for my year list.

The other day I added the Robin in Corstorphine Tesco ā€“ 4th of February 2013Ā ā€“ I was down there last night, not sure if it was after midnight but my guess is it would have been or very close so Iā€™ve added it to todayā€™s list. Ā In good news I have finally managed to add Starlings to my list for the year.

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Chaffinch x 2
  3. Dunnock x 1
  4. House Sparrow x 3
  5. Magpie x 1
  6. Starlings x 5 ā€“ fly overs
  7. Woodpigeon x 3

At Tesco Corstorphine:

  1. Robin x 1

Hopefully the starlings will start to show in the garden rather than just flying over, and I get chances to photograph them like this:

Starlings feeding time

Starlings feeding time

Another new bird for the year, Song Thrush & Tawny Owl is back.

Sadly when moving the website to a new server I lost a lot of internal links, sorry that the links on here do not work.

My bird list isnā€™t as exciting as Wesā€™s (A good day at Rainham Marshes) but I have a new one for this years bird list and the Tawny Owl was back last night, there was also a Song Thrush in the front garden today, very happy with that! Ā There were roughly 20 geese flying east to west over the Pentland hills ā€“ photo of Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh today, strangely they were flying in one straight line and not the VĀ that weā€™re all so familiar with, wasnā€™t sure what species of geese they were so havenā€™t added them to my list.

As well as the Dunnocks ā€“Ā Dunnocks showing mating behaviour, my garden bird list.Ā ā€“ showing mating behaviour the other day, the two woodpigeons I saw today were also getting ready to nest, it has been a very mild winter here in Edinburgh. Ā Hereā€™s my garden bird list that I saw today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Chaffinch x 3
  4. Coal Tit x 2
  5. Dunnock x 1
  6. House Sparrow x 3
  7. Magpie x 1
  8. Song Thrush x 1
  9. Tawny Owl x 1 ā€“ heard only
  10. Woodpigeon x 2

This list below is from Wes, you can see his latest updates on:Ā https://twitter.com/WesDonze

A good day at Rainham Marshes

Visited the RSPB site at Rainham Marshes today and had a good visit there for about 3 hours ā€“ 42 species in total

So here is the list in order seen

Magpie, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Robin, Dunnock, Lapwing, Blackbird, Coot, Shelduck, Carrion Crow, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Starling, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Shoveler, Dunlin, Reed Bunting, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Kestrel, Mute Swan, Marsh Harrier, Herring Gull, Golden Plover, Canada Goose, Little Grebe ( heard only), Cormorant, Pachard, Cettiā€™s Warbler, Stonechat, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit,Blue Tit, Common Pheasant, Black Headed Gull,Lesser Black Backed Gull, Redshank, Greenfinch, Wood Pigeon

 

Best ever view of Cettiā€™s Warbler ā€“ previously only had fleeting glimpses but today the one i saw was showing well

Another very quiet day in the garden, where have all the birds gone!?

Another very quiet day in the garden, but I did see 21 Carrion crows flying overhead, there was also a flock of what looked like starlings, 9 birds however I could just make out silhouettes and at a distance, so not 100% sure, also 5 gulls flew over, but once again not 100% sure what type they were. So Iā€™ve left it as my garden list and the crows:

  1. Blackbird x 3
  2. Carrion crow x 21 ā€“ flying over
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Magpie x 2
  6. Woodpigeon x 2

Young Starling begging for food in my old garden, so far not had any starlings at my new place:Ā 

Feed Me - Starling Chick - feeding time

Feed Me ā€“ Starling Chick ā€“ feeding time
Pretty sure this was taken with a Canon 20D and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

Dunnocks showing mating behaviour, my garden bird list.

Yesterday Iā€™d forgotten to add a Robin to my list, it wasnā€™t in my garden and i hadnā€™t written it down when I saw it, so edited the post and all up to date now. Ā Today all seen in the garden or flying over, first time thereā€™s been a great tit for a while and the dunnocks are displaying a lot of mating behaviour. Ā Hereā€™s the list of birds I saw today:

  1. Blackbird x 3
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Dunnock x 3
  5. Great Tit x 1
  6. House Sparrow x 7
  7. Lesser black-backed gull x 3 fly overs ā€“ a new one for this year, although probably seen them at a distance theyā€™d never been close enough to ID.
  8. Magpie x 1 ā€“ heard only
  9. Woodpigeon x 3

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch ā€“ Day 1.

Hi all, Iā€™ve been busy getting ready for Australia day celebrations and I only got an hour of straight birdwatching for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, normally I look out the window when getting lunch, breakfast etc. Ā I hope to get a better count tomorrow for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, todayā€™s list wasnā€™t as full as my usual list of garden birds:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Coal Tit x 2
  4. Fieldfare x 1 ā€“ this one was later than the hour I did, once again my dog alerted me to the fact there was a different bird that he doesnā€™t recognise the call.
  5. Greenfinch x 1
  6. House Sparrow x 2
  7. Magpie x 9
  8. Robin x 1

Snow clearing and more birds starting to show.

I hope everyoneā€™s had a good day, if youā€™ve been out birding feel free to join the site andĀ add your bird listsĀ to the website and share the joy of birding with the world! Ā My garden was a little busier than yesterday and almost all the snow has melted here in Edinburgh, although the Pentlands still look fantastic with their white covering. Ā Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Greenfinch x 5
  6. House Sparrow x 2
  7. Magpie x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 4

My location as ever in my garden.

Ground frozen solid and the garden birds not staying around.

The ground has frozen solid in my garden and the birds seem very busy flying around but not settling long enough to see what they are, they donā€™t seem that interested in the feeders today, I had noticed a fair few insects in the air yesterday which surprised me for such a cold winters day. Off to watch BBC Winterwatch on the iplayer and see if Chris Packhamā€™s added any more Madness song titles to his list, hereā€™s my very cold morningā€™s garden bird count:

  1. Blackbird x 4
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Carrion crow x 1
  4. Chaffinch x 1
  5. Coal Tit x 2
  6. Dunnock x 1 added 11.34
  7. House Sparrow x 11 updated 11.34
  8. Magpie x 1 added 11.34
  9. Robin x 1 added 11.34
  10. Woodpigeon x 3

BBCā€™s Winterwatch great footage of Long-tailed Tits, Garden bird list.

The snow is still lying on the ground but there seems to be very few birds around in my garden. Ā Iā€™ve just been watching BBCā€™s Winterwatch episode 2; if youā€™re a fan of Long-tailed Tits thereā€™s a great piece about 9 or 10 minutes in: BBC iplayer WinterwatchĀ Iā€™ve only seen them roosting once before, but not nestling down, just a pure accident. Ā Hereā€™s my garden bird list so far, hope to update later in the day.

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Black-headed x 2, One of them didnā€™t have a tail, it seemed to be doing very well though!
  3. Blue Tit x 3
  4. Bullfinch x 3Ā Ā –Ā updated 11.13
  5. Carrion crow x 2
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Herring Gull x 1
  8. House Sparrows x 5 –Ā updated 11.13
  9. Magpie x 1
  10. Woodpigeon x 3

Out for a gentle stroll to the park.

As many regular viewers of the site would know Iā€™ve had 3 torn ankle tendons in the past 4 years and major screw ups from the NHS causing long lasting pain but I was a landscape photographer (canā€™t currently work at that) and really NEED to walk! Ā Itā€™s my hobby, my job, my passion! Ā So when I feel I can do some I get out for gentle strolls with a walking stick, whilst atĀ Saint Margaretā€™s Park I saw my first Pied Wagtail for the year, plus a few other birds:

  1. Carrion Crow x 5
  2. Pied Wagtail
  3. Woodpigeon x 2

Snow on the ground, garden birds for 15th of January 2013

I havenā€™t had a lot of time to look outside today, but the snowā€™s still lying and weā€™ve had a good list of birds already:

  1. Blackbird x 5
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Greenfinch x 5
  6. House Sparrow x 1
  7. Magpie x 3
  8. Woodpigeon x 2

The Cat is back so very few birds.

Sadly the cat is back, it runs away for 5 minutes and then is back stalking in the grass, Iā€™ve now put some wire around the bottom of the hedge to try and stop it getting in, but sadly it means the fox and badger wonā€™t be able to use the same path, very frustrating! Ā I wonā€™t be able to keep an eye on outside as much as on the weekend as today is the day I update my finance pages today: SaverScence.co.uk [closed June 2018 as I move to a career in gardening after studying horticulture at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh] ā€“ UK finance for the best rates for savings & ISAs, hopefully thereā€™ll be more birds tomorrow. Ā hereā€™s my veryĀ meagreĀ list:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Coal Tit x 1Ā update 13.55 ā€“ during my lunch break :D
  4. Great Tit x 2Ā update 13.55
  5. Magpie x 1Ā update 13.55
  6. Robin x 1Ā update 13.55
  7. Woodpigeon x 1