The last species of bird I saw in 2016 was Wigeon (although I heard a Coot call a bit later). I was ultimately glad that I went out for a walk instead of sitting in front of a rather dull TV and a rather sparkling log fire – getting out is always worth it even…
Category: VERY BIRDY: birdwatching and birding nattering
Watching birds
As always, there is some good stuff in this month’s Birdwatch. As well as the good news of the guano award for YFTB and the ‘Campaign of the Year’ award for the Ban Driven Grouse Shooting e-petition, there is plenty of other good reading material. I enjoyed reading about the first Irish Harlequin Duck…
Dull day – or maybe not
There are (or were in 2014) more Bearded Tits in the UK than there have been since records began – more than 770 pairs. That’s quite a success story and a lot of these birds nest on nature reserves. Yesterday I strolled down to my local patch of Stanwick Lakes on a dull grey day….
The autumn statement?
A few predictions for phrases for the Chancellor’s autumn statement: it’s a bugger being in the Cabinet – I had no time to get Siberian Accentor unlike almost everyone else in the country. I bet that Ken Clarke has it on his list now. Only 32 European records up until 2015, and none…
Wombling on
The Wombles are fictional furry-nosed creatures with several top-20 musical hits. The Dartford Warbler is a real long-tailed Sylvia warbler most often found on the UK in areas of lowland heathland with a voice that will sell few records. What’s the connection? There’s a Dartford Warbler on Wimbledon Common, the alleged home of the Wombles…
A Waxwing year?
Is it going to be one of those occasional winters when Waxwings delight us with their presence along the east coast of Britain, across much of Scotland and maybe even into some central and western areas? There have been quite a lot seen, although I haven’t heard of any really massive flocks. But when there…
Spurn – have your say
If you have a view on the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s plans for a new visitor centre at Spurn then you have the rest of the week to respond. I say ‘if’, but it is clear that many of you have – and on both sides of the argument. If you do have a view then…
A day at Spurn
Last week I spent most of a day birdwatching at Spurn, and by chance the first person I met was Georgia Locock whose guest blog appeared here on that very day. So I had a chat with Georgia at about 8am and spent the rest of the time birding. It was a nice relaxing day….
Birdwatch magazine
In the October issue of Birdwatch magazine (available in all good newsagents, by subscription and in digital format) readers will find a cut-out letter to send to their MPs asking them to ask Defra what measures the government intends to put forward in the Westminster Hall debate on banning driven grouse to deal with the…
Birdtrack – my mistake
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I made a mistake typing something into Birdtrack but this might be a prophecy – it is almost correct for England already…