Tag: Robin

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!

Birds of Chelsea Flower Show

Managed a good day at Chelsea, ankle only went out twice and added 1 new species to year and life list (although I think I have seen oneĀ silhouetted on the sky last time I was in London.

  1. Blackbird
  2. Blue Tit
  3. Feral Pigeon ā€“ probably a few 100 today
  4. Great Tit
  5. Jackdaw
  6. Magpie
  7. Robin ā€“ a few of these in the were in theĀ Grand Pavilion.
  8. Rose-ringed Parakeet ā€“ new to life list.
  9. Woodpigeon

If I do go next year Iā€™ll be catching the train, my preferred means of transport when I can afford it, even booking 6 weeks in advance East Coast Railways wanted Ā£240 per person return ā€“ Edinburgh to Kings Cross, I booked flights for Ā£45 return, then 2 days later ECR wrote saying they had Ā£28 tickets each way! Ā Still more expensive but I was rather frustrated as I knew Ā the train would have got me into the centre instead of Gatwick on the way in and Luton on the way out and I could bring back plants if I purchased any, instead I flew and couldnā€™t buy anything at Chelsea!

There were even a few places giving out free plants and I had to say no! Ā Terrible, they had a nice Rowan which would have been perfect for my garden, and hopefully attracting waxwings for years got come. Ā Wish I had of been able to, next year! Ā Now ECR need to get their cheap tickets up 6 weeks in advance like they used to!

 

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

2 responses to Birds of Chelsea Flower Show

  1. Avatar Image

    Wes Donze said on May 22, 2013

    i am thinking of planting a couple of Rowan.
    I was there yesterday too ā€“ didn’t see a magpie though.
    Saw the Robins in the main Pavilion.
    There was also a Blackbird in there for a while ā€“ it looked a bit agitated as one stand was playing birdsong that happened to be a blackbird song so the real one was wondering where it was as it could not see it
    Hope you get to come along another year ā€“ or maybe check out the Hampton Court show ā€“ it is on a bit later in the year

    http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2013

    • Avatar Image

      KiwiGav said on May 22, 2013

      Thanks Wes, hope you had a great time and I really want to do it again. Also the WWT was a great suggestion, managed 2 new species for my life list. Will get the list up tomorrow, about midnight here and exhausted.

      Love to go to Hampton Court! Will see how Iā€™m placed, Iā€™ll be trying to be in Heidelberg Germany on the 13th or 14th for catching up with a friend thatā€™s doing a talk there on I think the elemental make-up of distant galaxies, itā€™s been a while since Iā€™ve seen her work and sheā€™s now back in Oz, so not 100% sure what sheā€™s working onā€¦ It all depends on cash, I havenā€™t travelled since October 2011 and then this year itā€™s finally been a bit busier! Iā€™ve missed it.

      As for the Magpie it was down towards the band stage when I first got there at about 9.30am.

      Didnā€™t notice the stand playing the blackbird or see it in the Pavilion, so many things to see and do, missed a few Iā€™m sure!

      Canā€™t wait to see if I can get there next year!

Small list from near the Natural History Museum London.

Not a great list of birds today, I spent the day working on saverscene.co.ukĀ Ā (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) then went to a few galleries in London, obviously the Natural History Museum where I spent a fair bit of time looking at the stuffed birds, Iā€™ve seen them all numerous times before, however theyā€™re always impressive!

I walked around the outside of the private gardens at Thurloe Square Gardens just near the Natural History Museum and these are the birds I saw:

  1. Blackbird ā€“ singing high over the buildings, sounds amazing
  2. Blue Tit
  3. Feral Pigeon
  4. Robin

Managed to get out for a walk and added a decent list of birds.

Managed to get out for a walk today, very happy with that! My ankle tendons didnā€™t even click out of place once!!! Ā So excited by that, will let you all know how I go tomorrow morning. Ā Below the birds with a number were in my garden, the rest were out on the walk, many of the birds in the garden were also spotted out on the walk in Corstorphine woods, it was great to see 2 Song Thrush on the fields on the westside of the woods. Ā Iā€™ve heard thereā€™sĀ green woodpeckersĀ in the area but I havenā€™t been able to see them yet, my wife has managed to hear them, but not see them in the past. Ā Hereā€™s the list for today:

  1. Blackbird 2
  2. Blue Tit
  3. Carrion crow 1 ā€“ It was carrying nesting material
  4. Chaffinch
  5. Coal Tit
  6. Common Buzzard ā€“ pretty sure there was one hovering very high over the fields today.
  7. Dunnock 3
  8. Long-tailed tit 1
  9. Magpie
  10. Robin
  11. Song Thrush
  12. Starlings
  13. Woodpigeon

RSPB Scottishbirdfair & The Scotsman 2 for 1 tickets, my bird list

Iā€™ve added the information about theĀ RSPB Scottishbirdfair & The Scotsman 2 for 1 tickets below my garden bird list, I hope many of you can make it!

Wow, what a crazy day weather wise, rain, sun, hail, sun, rain, sleet, hail and itā€™s still lying at 23.00! Ā Iā€™ve just been outside burning garden waste for more carbon and I couldnā€™t believe how much was still on the ground! Ā The weather brought out a few extra birds on the feeders, hereā€™s my garden list:

  1. Blackbird x 1 first time Iā€™ve seen one in a few days.
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 1
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Lesser black-backed gull x 1
  7. Long-tailed tit x 2
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Robin x 1 first time in a while!
  10. Woodpigeon x 2

I hope to have a camera setup soon so people can watch my feeders, and I can see them when out and about too, I hope to grab one fromĀ Ā Fly On the Wall Wildlife CamerasĀ you can find a voucher code for a discount on Fly on the Wall Wildlife cameras here:
Very small bird list, voucher code for Fly On The Wall wildlife cameras!

RSPB Scottishbirdfair & The Scotsman ā€“Ā 2 for 1 ticket offer

Get your copy of The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday this weekend and enjoy an exclusive 2 for 1 ticket offer ā€“ treat yourself to a fun filled weekend! Simply insert the code on the ticket page at www.scottishbirdfair.org.uk, or cut out the voucher and bring it to the show.

Tickets

Adult Ā£12 (concessions / RSPB members Ā£10). 2-day ticket Ā£20 (concessions / RSPB members Ā£18) Children under 16 go free.

Opening times

Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm (food, bar & entertainment until 9pm). Sunday 9.30am-5.30pm (seabird cruise & BBQ 6pm-9pm).

Bird list for April 3rd 2013, and British Bees need help!

Sorry my bird list is a day late, been very hectic with my parents over from Australia, theyā€™ve been wanting to see a fair few things, and Ā get a lot done around the house, also with UK ISA season happening at the moment Iā€™ve been answering a lot of emails trying to help people save and make the most they can out of ISAs (itā€™s not great out there at the moment!), as well as keeping up to date with the Australian finance pages:Ā Saver Scene Australia: FinanceĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) so far just got the savings done for this week, but about to start on credit cards and best bank accounts. Ā These websites will hopefully only be something I run while Iā€™m injured, as I really want Ā to Ā get back to photography, but had to do something to earn money as I couldnā€™t get into any jobs with my ankle tendons and the carpal tunnel strikes bad at times, I wouldnā€™t feel right asking an employer to pay me when I knew I couldnā€™t do the work at 100%!

My parents are enjoying the UK, have already ducked off to Paris where they said it was freezing cold, worse than Edinburgh! Theyā€™re looking forward to more travel and Iā€™ve been trying to teach them the UK birds that visit my garden, thankfully a few of them have been very obliging and 2 long-tailed tits landed less than a foot away from my dadā€™s face while he was in the garden yesterday, they sang for a bit and then moved on quickly, as LTTs always do!

Garden Bird list for April 3rd:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1, 1xF
  4. Carrion crow x 2
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Common Buzzard x 1 ā€“ very high overhead, once again gulls mobbing it
  7. Dunnock x 1
  8. Long-tailed tit x 2
  9. Magpie x 2, looks to be the same pair collecting twigs off the front trees for their nest, theyā€™ve pretty much stripped the top of one tree of itā€™s leaves.
  10. Robin x 1 ā€“ great to see the robin back!
  11. Woodpigeon x 1

This was posting on the Lothian Birds News yahoo group:

British Bees need help:
ā€œThereā€™s mounting evidence that some pesticides are killing bees. But the UK Environment Minister recently refused to support a European vote to stop the pesticides being usedā€ There is just a few weeks to change the Ministers mind before he votes again

85,000 people have already signed a petition to demand that he protects our bees. The target is to reach 100,000 signatories. You can get involved @ https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-bees.

Bees and other insects pollinate about three quarters of our food so are incredibly important. Bees are dying in great numbers.

A new species for the garden today! Rain, Rain, some sun, Rain!

Finally my current profile picture matches the day with my pint of Guiness and St Patrickā€™s Day hat,Ā Happy St Patrickā€™s day!

A new bird has shown up in the garden today, 2 siskin 1 male and 1 female, very pleased with that! Ā Also 4 bullfinches and the males were looking superb! Ā Even with the rain they shone brightly in what light there was this morning.

The DIY is almost complete, a bit late as my parents arrived today, great to see them over from Australia been about 18 months since I last saw them and 5 years since they last saw my wife. Ā  Now onto the birds:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 4, 2 x m, 2 x f
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Great Tit x 1
  7. Robin x 1
  8. Siskin x 2 ā€“ 1 x m, 1 x f
  9. Woodpigeon x 1

I donā€™t know if this will be of interest to anyone but a user on the Australian Saver Scene has put out a challenge:Ā (UPDATE: saverscene now CLOSED due to moving to carer in horticulture hope to have my gardening website up early 2019) thereā€™s already a few good money saving ideas, so if you have one feel free to add it over there, I always feel money saved means more bird seed and when I can walk better more money for petrol to go birding and camera gear photographing (Iā€™m hooked on wildlife! Ā But hope to be back doing landscapes soon), so try hard to do a lot of the saving ideas.

What a day of rugby! Snow here in Edinburgh and birds sheltering.

Wow 3 great matches today, there were some great plays! Ā The birds were all in hiding today, there were seven woodpigeons sitting high in the trees looking very very wet, hereā€™s the bird list for 16th of March 2013:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Dunnock x 3
  5. Robin x 1
  6. Woodpigeon x 7

Finally a Robin, but no blackbirds today!

Very strange not to see or hear even 1 blackbird, but there was a robin on the feeders today, that was a nice surprise!

  1. Blue Tit x 1
  2. Carrion crow x 1
  3. Dunnock x 4 ā€“ they were really into a spring fling today, as the weather wasĀ beautifulĀ and sunny here in Edinburgh
  4. Long-tailed tit x 2
  5. Magpie x 3
  6. Robin x 1
  7. Starlings x 5
  8. Woodpigeon x 2

A day of Rugby and DIY, plus got to see a few birds.

Spent most of the day doing DIY or taking glances at the rugby, didnā€™t have a lot of time for birdwatching only when outside with the dog, that said still got a good list and it was fantastic to see a pair of long-tailed tits, I heard them long before I saw them, theyā€™ve got such a great call. Ā Hereā€™s the list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 3
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 22 fly overs
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 1
  6. House Sparrow x 6
  7. Long-tailed Tits x 2
  8. Robin x 1
  9. Woodpigeon x 4