Tag: Moorhen

Garden bird list and birds of Gardening Scotland

earlier today I posted a few pictures from the Isle of May trip http://www.wbist.com/archives/2899, but a friend on twitter @RoseCottageFife wrote a much more in depth and informative piece about here trip to the Isle of May here:Ā http://rosecottageeastneuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-jewel-of-forth-nature-lover-day.htmlĀ and thereā€™s the Isle of May Blog from 15th of May announcing they do have puffins:Ā http://isleofmaynnr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/yes-we-do-have-puffins.htmlĀ ā€“ I would love to spend time out there as aĀ scientistĀ orĀ conservationist, only problem is I have no degree in either!!! Ā Silly me forĀ pursuingĀ computers and photographyā€¦ Maybe they need a professional photographer!? Ā Would love that, Iā€™ll bring my own food!

My bird list today, thereā€™s 2 lists as I went to Gardening Scotland and managed a few sightings there:

Garden list:

  1. Blackbird x 1 ā€“ singing very very early! My wife has started putting earplugs next to the bed so that when they start at 3.30am she can dull the sound a bit.
  2. Blue Tit x 2 ā€“ going into nest box
  3. Carrion crow x 4
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Jackdaw x 2
  7. Magpie x 1
  8. Woodpigeon x 2

At Gardening Scotland:

  1. Moorhens
  2. Oystercatcher
  3. Rook
  4. Starlings
  5. Swallows ā€“ a few nests around the buildings there.

These are the photos to go with the Isle of May post from the 29th of May:Ā http://www.wbist.com/archives/2804Ā hope they give you a bit of an idea to what the trip was like:

 

Tern on Post

Guillemots

Puffins Isle of May

Razor Bill

Razor Bill Isle of May

Tern in flight

Female Eider on nest

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

Guillemot grooming

Razorbills

Puffins with the Bass Rock in background

Below are comments that got lost when the website went down.Ā 

2 responses to Photos from Isle of May, 29th of May 2013. Scotland UK.

  1. Wes Donze said on June 3, 2013

    excellent photos ā€“ very good selection

    • KiwiGav said on June 3, 2013

      Glad you liked them, I hope to get a few from last year up, I felt they were better, it was a brighter day and a lot more birds about, the storms and spills of whatever it was down south seem to have taken their toll on the birds up here.

Wildfowl & Wetland Trust London Wetland Centre Bird list for 22nd of May 2013.

I was hoping to have this list up a lot earlier today as itā€™s from 22nd of May however I was so busy doing theĀ http://www.saverscene.com.au/finance/Ā Ā (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) updates for Australian best savings, credit cards and due to the fact many Aussies have to pay for bank accounts the best free bank account offers it took longer than expected as their saving interest rates are going the same way as the UK ones.

Now to birds thanks to the suggestion of Wes and the ease of getting to the WWT ā€“ Wildfowl & Wetland Trust in London Wetland Centre ā€“ see their twitter account here: Ā @WWTLondonĀ I managed my best bird list for the UK this year, sadly I didnā€™t have my camera and my legs didnā€™t hold out for a long time, it was still great getting 28 different species at the WWT London and finishing it off with a kestrel at Luton airport for the longest list of the year so far!

2 new birds were on my list for life, and they were both cracking views, there was a pair of reed warblers nesting almost directly outside the Observatory which gave amazing views, they came right up to the reeds in front of the windows. Ā The other new bird was the Little GreebĀ I had amazing views of it feeding in clear water under the bridge just before you get to the Wildside hide, Ā Fantastic to see!

The bird list for May 22nd from WWT London Wetland Centre:

  1. Feral Pigeon
  2. Reed Warbler
  3. Mallard Duck ā€“ with young
  4. Moorhen
  5. Coot ā€“ with chicks
  6. Woodpigeon
  7. Starlings
  8. Carrion Crow
  9. Jackdaw
  10. Egyptian Geese
  11. Mute Swans
  12. Cormorant
  13. Grey Heron
  14. Blackbird
  15. Pied Wagtail
  16. Common Tern ā€“ new for the year
  17. Tufted Duck
  18. Lapwing
  19. Swallows
  20. Magpie
  21. Robin
  22. Black-headed Gull
  23. Great Tit
  24. Little Grebe
  25. Canada GeeseĀ – new for the year
  26. House MartinĀ – new for the year
  27. SwiftĀ – new for the year
  28. Greylag Geese

1 more bird seen at Luton airport, hovering over the grass:

  1. Kestrel

Fantastic day of birding, canā€™t wait until I can walk for longer times and see more, I would often get 40 to 50 species at Musselburgh east of Edinburgh.

Whilst looking for bird sightings as Iā€™d thought Iā€™d seen something that Iā€™m used to up in Scotland but wasnā€™t sure, I came across this Open University site:Ā http://www.ispot.org.uk/Ā fantastic service and great for finding if a bird has been seen in the area!

 

Below are comments that got lost when the website went down.Ā 

2 responses to Wildfowl & Wetland Trust London Wetland Centre Bird list for 22nd of May 2013.

  1. Ā 

    Wes Donze said on May 24, 2013

    Excellent list ā€“ glad you managed to get there and have some good sightings including the 2 new ones for you

    • KiwiGav said on May 25, 2013

      Wes, I really appreciate the suggestion, was great, wish I could have made it to a few more of the areas, next time! Iā€™m sure my feet have to get better soon, looking at two more operations, hopefully after that Iā€™ll be out and seeing loads of birds.

      The ridiculous thing is Little Grebe is so easy to see around my area in Lothians, if you go to the right place, Iā€™ve just not been able to drive so havenā€™t got there yet. Going to try and get a lift from a fellow birder and watch them more intensely, the view through the water was great, but after that it was gone.

      sorry if Iā€™m rambling a bit just back from a wedding at Edinburgh Zoo, great fun!

Another great day out at Keukenhof gardens, decent bird list.

Even though I was out doing my real work, photography, I managed to update the savings, ISAs and credit cards over on www.saverscene.co.ukĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) then a few of the banks went and changed their rates and I had to do it again tonight!!! Ā How inconsiderate of them! Ā I did get out to Keukenhof today and got to see some great birds as well as a few 100 very nice flower photos. Ā I sadly missed by just a few minutes the mating dance of the Great Crested Grebe, a few other birders seemed to take real pleasure in telling me! Ā I didnā€™t see as many bird species today as I did the other day, hereā€™s my list today:

  1. Blackbird
  2. Carrion crow
  3. Chaffinch
  4. Chiffchaff
  5. Coots
  6. Egyptian Goose
  7. Great crested grebe
  8. Great tits
  9. Greylag goose
  10. Grey Heron
  11. House Sparrow
  12. Jackdaw
  13. Lapwings
  14. Long-tailed tits
  15. Magpie
  16. Mallard Duck
  17. Moorhens
  18. Mute Swans
  19. Oystercatcher
  20. Pied Wagtail
  21. Starlings
  22. Tufted duck
  23. Woodpigeons

The Comments that were below this post before the server move:

  1. Wes Donze said on April 24, 2013

    thats a good list ā€“ hope to see something similar this weekend as i am heading there myself ā€“ also heading to a spot where there should be a number of birds near where i am staying in Weesp.

    Apologies for not yet posting my bird list from Sweden ā€“ i seem to have been so busy this last week or so ā€“ am taking the laptop this weekend so might get a chance when i am in Holland

    I have seen the mating dance of the Grebes twice before ā€“ once in Holland too ā€“ and just caught the very end of it in Sweden a few days ago

    • KiwiGav said on April 24, 2013

      Weesp does look like a great place for seeing birds! Lots of water around there. I hope you had a great time in Sweden and have a wonderful time in Holland. Iā€™d never seen a Grebe before, so was very happy to see them, when at Keukenhof theyā€™re just round from the Wilhelmina pavilion, after the bridge near the white horse statue, where the river bows a bit, Keukenhof map here:
      http://www.keukenhof.nl/uploads/2013/Plattegrond/2223_kh_plattegrond_2013_v6_lr_def.pdf

      Youā€™ll be going at a great time, the flowers are a lot later this year, a lot still werenā€™t out when I was were there! First time Iā€™d been back in 10 years, last time I was 23 and with a heap of Aussie backpackers, good fun, but probably didnā€™t take as much in as I could have.

      Totally understand being busy! If I didnā€™t have to take every second day out for putting my feet up Iā€™d probably not have been able to do updates, but I would have got out a bit more to see the birds. Iā€™ve just gone back to bed at 10.20 am to write this! Feels odd and terrible to be spending so much time off my feet!

      Iā€™ll try and get a few photos up before you go, ran out of room on my computer, but will move things about tonight.

  2. Wes Donze said on May 2, 2013

    Yes I saw the Great Crested Grebe on a nest there. As you say the flowers are later this year ā€“ 1 to 2 weeks iā€™d say ā€“ also the birds ā€“ I have seen a Grebe with young there, also Mallard and Mute Swan with young but they were all late this year

    KiwiGav said on May 2, 2013

    Glad to hear you got to see a good range there. I really have to sort my photos out, I just donā€™t have any room on my computer, itā€™s ridiculous! My photography computer is still packed in storage.

Keukenhof gardens and the birds I spotted there.

Had a bumper day today and added a few life birds, Great Crested Grebe (bit slow on that one!), yellow and pied wagtails. Ā Once again internet has been down most of the evening so just a quick note of the birds in the hope the net stays up long enough.Ā  Most from Keukenhof or on bus journey there.

  1. Blackbird
  2. Blackcap
  3. Carrion crow
  4. Chiffchaff ā€“ heard and seen
  5. Common Buzzard
  6. Coots
  7. Dunnock
  8. Feral Pigeon
  9. Great crested grebe
  10. Greylag goose
  11. Grey Heron
  12. House Sparrow
  13. Jackdaw
  14. Morehen
  15. Oystercatchers
  16. Pied Wagtail
  17. Lapwings
  18. Magpie
  19. Mallard Duck
  20. Moorhens
  21. Mute Swans
  22. Skylark ā€“ seen and heard
  23. Sparrowhawk
  24. Starlings
  25. Swallow
  26. Tufted duck
  27. Yellow wagtail

TheĀ Keukenhof gardens are great, but donā€™t go on parade day, itā€™s so busy! Ā I was hoping to go to Haarlem to see the parade at the end of the day but my ankles were worn out again and I couldnā€™t face another bus ride. Ā Hopefully one year Iā€™ll get back over here to see the festival! Ā I also managed to update the best interest rates for instant access ISAs tonight as I was informed Coventry have changed their best interest rate to a 1 year and no longer instant access, you can see the best instant access ISA here:Ā http://www.saverscene.co.uk/isa/highest-interest-rate-for-instant-access-isa.htmlĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) ā€“ Gardening, birds, saving money and pensions my friends call me middle aged Gav, Iā€™m 34, I sure hope to live to over 68!!! Ā Iā€™ve been interested in most of these things since my teen years, just I lived in Australia and havenā€™t seen a lot of European birds and there wasnā€™t wonderful tax free savings accounts like ISAs there! Ā Sorry rambling again, had pain killers and beer! Ā whoops! Ā ā€“ Gav out!

Update, thought Iā€™d list this as a friend asked me what a lapwing looked like, thereā€™s photos on here from when I lived at Musselburgh