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elsiegee40

By elsiegee40
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6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link: Birders wade through sea in search of rare bird - BBC News

 

Blackburnian Warbler.png

 

Bird watchers have been wading in the sea up to their waists in a bid to see a rare bird.

 

Hundreds of people have travelled to Bryher in the Isles of Scilly in the hope of seeing the Blackburnian Warbler.

 

It is the first time the US native bird has been seen in England.

 

Lucy McRobert, from the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, said: "To say we are excited is an understatement. This bird will go down in history."

 

She said: "To have a Blackburnian Warbler on the islands has got everyone hopping from foot to foot.

 

"About 300 people came yesterday with hundreds more expected today and more over the weekend."

 

The British Trust for Ornithology confirmed this is the first time the species has ever been spotted in England, and the fourth time in the UK.

 

The previous records were on St Kilda in 2009, Fair Isle in 1988 and Skomer in 1961.

 

Ms McRobert said: "There is a great sense of adventure.

 

"Bryher is quite inaccessible at low tide and we have really low tides at the moment so people have been getting on shore anyway they can, landing on beaches, using inflatables, wading in up to their waist and running around the island dripping wet trying to get to the bird.

 

"It is a sexy bird. They are called new world warblers and are beautiful. There is nothing comparable in Europe."

 

Bird watchers have travelled from as far as Shetland and Holland to catch a glimpse.

 

The young male was first seen on Thursday and has been seen on Friday morning.

 

Jaclyn Pearson said she moved to Scilly 12 years ago after reading books by Bill Oddie about bird watching: "This is the first time I have been reminded of those books. I was stood there thinking, 'this is pretty special'.

 

"Everyone was really respectful which is really nice."

 

The bird is native to eastern North America and is thought to have been migrating to South America when it got caught in a storm.

southhamster

southhamster

Posted
Posted
[ATTACH]66821[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]66822[/ATTACH]

Saw this Mediterranean Chameleon zapping bugs today. (We are in Malta)

Nice photos. I did wonder whether global warming has really hit Kent until I saw you were in Malta!
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  • 2 weeks later...
mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted

Major drama in the back garden this morning

 

about 10a.m. I looked out and noticed a circle of feathers on the lawn

 

just as I was turning away I saw something under the holly bush

it took some looking at but I eventually realised it was a bird

 

then it moved a bit and I realised it was a hawk of some kind

I dashed around and found a decent camera and took a few shots but I needn;t have worried because it was there eating for over an hour

 

gory thing was that it was initially tearing at the prey and tossing stuff away - presumably feathers

but then started tearing and eating

 

but occaisionally I could see other movements - I think the poor victim was still alive and I could see its head moving until the hawk shifted a foot and pinned it down differently - but even then I could see some movement at the back for a while

 

nature is not fluffy and kind and gentle!!!

 

P1040256-2.jpg

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elsiegee40

elsiegee40

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Major drama in the back garden this morning

 

about 10a.m. I looked out and noticed a circle of feathers on the lawn

 

just as I was turning away I saw something under the holly bush

it took some looking at but I eventually realised it was a bird

 

then it moved a bit and I realised it was a hawk of some kind

I dashed around and found a decent camera and took a few shots but I needn;t have worried because it was there eating for over an hour

 

gory thing was that it was initially tearing at the prey and tossing stuff away - presumably feathers

but then started tearing and eating

 

but occaisionally I could see other movements - I think the poor victim was still alive and I could see its head moving until the hawk shifted a foot and pinned it down differently - but even then I could see some movement at the back for a while

 

nature is not fluffy and kind and gentle!!!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]66985[/ATTACH]

 

Male Sparrowhawk.

 

They always pluck their prey before eating so often the only sign of a visit is a pile of feathers… and a scarcity of other birds for a couple of days :D

 

When you put out bird feeders in the garden, you’re providing a buffet for them.

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mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted
Hard to tell from the photo, but that could well be one less wood pigeon.

 

Yup - had a good look a bit later

 

not much to go on except the feet - but looked like a pidgeon - or ex-pidgeon

 

There are quite a few round here anyway

 

We were thinking that there might be something like that around as thre have been far fewer birds in the garden this year

elsiegee40

elsiegee40

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Yup - had a good look a bit later

 

not much to go on except the feet - but looked like a pidgeon - or ex-pidgeon

 

There are quite a few round here anyway

 

We were thinking that there might be something like that around as thre have been far fewer birds in the garden this year

 

Thr birds will still be around, but they keep a lower profile if Sparrowhawks are active. It’s all gone quiet round my feeders since a Greenfinch got caught on Friday.

mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted
Thr birds will still be around, but they keep a lower profile if Sparrowhawks are active. It’s all gone quiet round my feeders since a Greenfinch got caught on Friday.

 

Can't blame them really!!!

  • 2 weeks later...
6Foot2

6Foot2

Posted
Posted

Link: Black-naped pheasant-pigeon sighted in PNG for first time in 140 years - BBC News

 

Black-naped pheasant-pigeon - Papua New Guinea.jpeg

 

Some 140 years after the black-naped pheasant-pigeon was last sighted by scientists, researchers have "rediscovered" the rare bird.

 

After a month of searching, a team in September captured footage of the species deep in the forest of a tiny island off Papua New Guinea.

 

It was a mammoth effort that involved countless interviews with locals, 20 camera traps and a run-in with pirates.

 

It felt like "finding a unicorn", said expedition co-lead John Mittermeier.

 

Researchers hope the discovery will help save the species from extinction.

 

Members of the team had attempted to find the large, ground-dwelling pigeon before. Three searched Fergusson Island - its only habitat - in 2019 but didn't find any trace of the bird.

 

The 2022 expedition appeared to be going similarly, until the team reached villages on the western slope of Mount Kilkerran - the island's highest peak.

 

"[There] we started meeting hunters who had seen and heard the pheasant-pigeon," said conservation biologist and expedition co-lead Jason Gregg.

 

One local in particular offered a promising lead. He reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon several times in an area with steep ridges and valleys and described hearing the bird's distinctive calls.

 

The researchers set up cameras in the area and eventually captured the bird just days before the team was due to leave the island.

 

"As I was scrolling through the photos, I was stunned by this photo of this bird walking right past our camera," Cornell University researcher Jordan Boersma said.

 

The images they captured are the first time the long-lost bird has been documented by scientists since 1882.

 

"It is the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and birdwatcher," Mr Mittermeier said.

 

Very little is known about the species but scientists believe that the population on Fergusson Island is very small and decreasing.

 

But the team hopes the information they have gathered can be used to help protect the birds that remain.

 

On their way back from Fergusson to Normanby the researchers' boat also had to outrun pirates, which are common in the area, a spokesperson for the Rewild project said.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Norphy

Norphy

Posted
Posted

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures as I was driving but today on the way back from dropping my son off at school, I saw two things:

 

The first was, after almost 15 years of visiting the area and a year of actually living here, a red squirrel. It's the first time I've seen one, it was really nice to see.

 

The other was an eagle of some description landing on a gatepost. It looked to me like a golden eagle, it was about the right shape and colour and it had yellow feet. Really wish I could have stopped and got a picture.

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southhamster

southhamster

Posted
Posted

I had an amazing experience this morning. Was just about to throw some bird food on the ground and a hungry robin came and ate from my hand completely out of the blue

Never had that happen before!

I did wash my hands thoroughly as I'd hate to start another COVID/SARS virus crossover.

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southhamster

southhamster

Posted
Posted
I don't know, but I do know they don't look like Julie Andrews.

 

 

(At 1.08)

 

(Also, why is an American Robin living in London?)

I am pleased to say I don't look like Julie Andrews, and neither does Mrs. SH.

Us hamsters do try and stay safe from harm. I will now return to my burrow and hibernate for the winter.

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  • 2 weeks later...
E_G_R2

E_G_R2

Posted
Posted

So no kids or staff so I put out my trail camera and some cat food to see what I could see last night. Magpie filled its boots and a cat came along but finally I got a shot of this rather stunning fox.

 

fox capture.JPG

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  • 3 weeks later...

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