Índex per June 2021 a Bird Watching

As a Midlander, the one aspect of birding I’ve missed most during the last, trying year, has been looking for seabirds. And more specifically, not being able to visit a seabird colony – I tell any non-birder who’ll listen that these are the UK’s natural history gems, our equivalent of the Serengeti. So, our feature on Coquet Island, unique among UK seabird colonies, provoked feelings of loss, longing, and then renewed excitement that we just might all be able to enjoy them before long. In the meantime, I got my seabird fix in the form of an inland Great Skua, and you can read more about this extraordinary family of birds too in this packed issue. So, continue to take care, and follow the rules, but enjoy being able to…

twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag RARITY RATINGS Common, widely distributed Localised – always a treat Very scarce or rare 1 CHOUGH Very much birds of the west in the British Isles, these beautiful, red-billed masters of the air breed in the west of Wales, the Isle of Man, Islay in the Inner Hebrides, and Cornwall (in tiny numbers), as well as in Ireland (mainly in the west). There are fewer than 500 UK pairs (including 150 on the Isle of Man). These small corvids are mainly seen around rocky coasts with short-cropped grassy areas in which to probe for insect food. If seen well, they are unmistakable, with exceptionally broad, ‘fingered’ wings and of course, the red bill and legs. 2 SANDERLING The Sanderling is a familiar bird on winter beaches, running along…

A few winters back, a Fieldfare found the apples we string up for the parrots, and chomped his way through them for a fortnight. This year, our minuscule backyard had another, albeit briefer, first… a Redwing sat in the cherry tree, then ate a few cotoneaster berries before departing. While the sparrow and Starling numbers go on rising (in the latter case, on one day we had 72 in all at once), it was a ‘quiet’ winter; none of the rarities, or even rare for us, visitors. Spring started the day we saw a Blackcap. It was a delight to watch them (Blackcap was joined by ‘Browncap’ aka a female) ferreting about in the pots or creeping through the leafless bushes. Always they ended up in one place – the…

I don’t know what makes me look up from my laptop, but when I do the silhouette of the bird being mobbed by a crow is unmistakable. “Kite!” I screech and rush downstairs to tell my other half. He is in the middle of a video call and shushes in my direction as I gesture frantically at the back window. Feeling rather deflated, I return to my desk. To satisfy my need to share the sighting with someone – anyone – I post it on social media, tagging in a birder who lives north-east from us. “It’s flying your way”, I tell him. “Cool”, he replies with a little less excitement than I was hoping for; but perhaps I’m reading too much into one word. Later he messages, in a…

Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera are out to change the birdwatching world. They want it to be more accessible to people of colour and are ‘solution-based thinkers’. After less than a year, their thinking is working. Had Ollie not posted some bird photos on Instagram, wondering what they were, there would be no Flock Together. Nadeem responded and wasn’t what Ollie expected. He wasn’t white, old, grey-haired or wearing khaki. I won’t take that personally. And he knew the birds. Nadeem wasn’t in school much in his mid-teens. “Birding was something I just chanced upon,” he says. “I found myself spending a lot of time in parks, sitting down reading, because my friends were in school. One day a Green Woodpecker landed in front of me. I was fascinated and…

POSTCODE: EX35 6JJ GRID REF: SS705497 MAPS: OS Explorer OL9, OS Landranger 180 CAR PARK: clearly marked on OS map in Valley of Rocks. There is also parking west of Lee Abbey, along the toll road (car fee: £2) TERRAIN: Coast path, field and woodland paths with some steeply undulating, rough-underfoot sections. Some paths are very rough but the SWCP follows the picturesque toll road, which offers well-surfaced walking between Valley of Rocks and Lee Abbey. Also a section of surfaced path out to the coastal viewpoint in Valley of Rocks, back towards Lynton ACCESSIBILITY: Open all year FACILITIES: Tea Cottage, Lee Abbey; Mother Meldrum’s Tea Rooms & Gardens, Valley of Rocks. Toilets in both car parks…

Send all your birding questions to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk and our experts will give you the answers Fat ball feeder Q I wonder if you can identify the bird on the fat ball feeder in the attached two photos for me please. The photos were taken on a remote camera strapped to an Elder tree in the garden, at about 7.20am today, 18 April. We live in a rural area about two miles from the village of Beauly on the eastern side of Scotland. My initial thoughts were that it is some kind of warbler. It seems to have a distinct long pale stripe over the eye, a narrow dark line through the eye and a prominent wing bar. I am wondering if it is a Yellow-browed Warbler. Is that possible? Val…

Birds on the Brink is a conservation grant-awarding charity (Charity No: 1188009) that owns the competition Bird Photographer of the Year. Grants are awarded to projects that support bird conservation, typically offering between £200 and £1,000 to small groups or individuals carrying out grassroots conservation work that has measurable impact. It was borne of a passion for wildlife and in particular birds, and is a response to the seemingly unstoppable process of human environmental exploitation and biodiversity’s steady progression towards extinction. At its heart there is a recognition that all is not yet lost and Birds on the Brink aims to inspire people to care using striking imagery – to capture the imagination and thereby nurture interest and compassion. Bird Watching magazine is proud to support conservation and money generated…

I am not a sound recordist. But in the hope of making better recordings than my phone could manage I bought an entry-level ‘professional’ audio recorder last summer. It cost about £80 and has two built-in, omni-directional microphones. They’re good, but to get ‘closer’ you need a shotgun microphone or parabolic reflector. The first amplifies electronically and also introduces unwanted electronic noise. The reflector amplifies mechanically and doesn’t add unwanted electronic noise. The disadvantage is its size – it is cumbersome to carry, but this one at least, is not heavy. Note that the laws of physics dictate that it won’t work with low frequency sounds – to record a Bittern you need a seriously large reflector. Innercore’s reflector is eminently affordable, as are the other bits and pieces Innercore…

AN IDENTIFICATION GUIDE TO BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE PETER GOODFELLOW, JOHN BEAUFOY PUBLISHING, SB £9.99 As an entry level guide, this is excellent, dealing with 150 of the commoner species, with most of them getting a page to themselves. There are generally two clear photos of each, plus distribution maps, a factfile on size, breeding behaviour, food, habitat and voice, a concise but thorough species account, and a useful calendar. The overall introduction and general advice pages, though brief, are very useful, and it all comes in a compact, light package, easily slipped into a coat pocket. Perfect for beginners. Matt Merritt THE SCREAMING SKY CHARLES FOSTER, TOLLER, HB £15 Swift books are arriving just a the birds come back from Africa, expecting a hole in a building…

Ruth Miller: My favourite is the Fulmar, a master of cruising the air currents over the waves. Steve Newman: The Wilson’s Petrel for the way it glides effortlessly around the ship in the Southern Ocean. David Lindo: Sabine’s Gull! Try, if you will, to name me a more glorious seabird! See, you can’t! David Chandler: Eiders are fun. Gannets – wow! Elsewhere: Magnificent Frigatebird and Shy Albatross were special.…

Here is our monthly wild stab of a guess about potential rare birds which could in theory (if not in practice) turn up during June. ELEGANT TERN There have only ever been about 11 accepted UK records of this large, shaggy-crested, orange-billed tern. And the vast majority of these have been the same ringed individual, which was about 18 years old when last reported in Hampshire in June 2017. Time for a return? Or perhaps a new individual? ASIAN DESERT WARBLER We have chosen this beautiful buff Sylvia warbler mainly because last June there was one singing on Holy Island, Northumberland, so it would be nice to see a little bit of history repeating. With only a dozen UK records ever, though, and birds far from annual, this is a…

My dear wife Jo is a bit more spiritually inclined than I am, and a couple of years ago she persuaded me to go along to a Buddhist temple in Peterborough, for a bit of a meal and whatnot. The whatnot included a bit of meditation practice, led by a lady who I think was a ‘nun’ or ‘monk’ or some such. I gave it a go and tried to clear my mind and all that caboodle. But just as I felt I was getting somewhere, two extraneous things halted my progress. There was a Greenfinch singing outside the open window, which naturally distracted me. But even more disturbing to my focus was the nun lady interrupting every few minutes to remind us what we should be doing. It was…

House Sparrow No.1 More than a million people across the UK spent an hour watching the birds that visit their garden or outdoor space, double last year’s participation numbers, in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in January. In its 42nd year, a million people took part, recording some 17 million birds. The event revealed the House Sparrow held on to its number one spot, but 16 out of the top 20 bird species showed declines in average counts compared to last year. Only Robin, Blackbird, Carrion Crow and the Song Thrush saw an increase on 2020. • For a full round-up of all the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results and to see which birds were visiting gardens where you live, visit: www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch Nature classes Almost 30,000 schoolchildren from disadvantaged areas…

I’ve been putting out bird food and water for years, and over those years we have attracted many different birds. Sadly, some no longer visit for one reason or another, but I always hope for them to return at some point, and invariably some do, eg Brambling this year, after a number of years of not being here. This year we have planted two walnut fruiting trees, 60 female and male holly bushes for hedging, 125 Hornbeam for hedging and ornamental use, and five apple trees. We have a large pond in which there is a healthy population of Smooth Newts, and we have recently replaced lilies along with other pond-loving plants. We had some frog spawn but I think it has failed due to heavy frosts after it was…

The very unusual circumstances of the last 12 months have taught us many things, but one which has really hit home is the significance of your local patch. In a normal year as a bird guide, I would be spending time in locations across Britain or overseas to show our guests the special birds that inhabit those parts of the world. I also guide a lot of daytrips and longer tours in North Wales, too, where we have more than our fair share of exciting birds and wonderful locations. But even then, I will concentrate on the prime areas where I can be sure to find great birds to share. What I don’t do is visit the more unlikely nooks and crannies of my local patch. Lockdown provided the perfect…

In response to your article ‘Women’s Safety’… I just read the article on women’s safety and birdwatching. I only started birdwatching this year and am so excited to get up and go on weekends that I’m often out very early. Up until a few weeks ago, I thought nothing of this, in fact I was planning to go out at night time birdwatching, to try and find some owls, once it got a bit warmer. But then, a few weeks ago, I saw a man ‘exposing himself’. Luckily, he was on the other side of a river from me, but it was only by luck that he was, because that’s the side I normally walk down. It has stuck in my mind, and now when I go out down that…

About now, something wondrous is happening on a few lochs in the Highlands o Scotland. Hardly anyone see it happening, although that is understandable, because no more than about 20 pairs of Slavonian Grebes nest each year in Britain – this species is really a bird of the continental northern forest belt, where its favourite small, productive lakes and ponds abound. But where the Slavonian Grebe occurs, it is a star performer, exhibiting some of the most exhilarating, varied and dramatic courtship displays of any bird in Britain. I you see it in action, you find yourself caught between awe and mirth, such is the intensity and contortionism. It is worth travelling to the Highlands just to see a few seconds of true avian theatre. And if you watch and…

Fully inclusive of cruise, return flight via Oslo (based on London airports, though there are many return flight options), and our office and guiding services. Reserve the cabin of your choice! All are quoted per person in shared cabins: Quad. Porthole £2,795 Triple Porthole £3,145 Twin Porthole £3,495 Twin Window £3,695 Twin De Luxe £3,895 Superior £4,295 Junior Suite £4,495 Grand Suite £4,695 Singles – please consider sharing with people of the same gender, this works very well in comfortable accommodation on this voyage. Single occupancy of a Twin Porthole cabin is priced at £4,995. Friendly and experienced Heatherlea guides will be excited to share their knowledge and enthusiasm, and we will be flexible in our itinerary, paying close attention to weather and ice, changing course and using inflatable zodiacs…

FACT FILE Tree Sparrow Passer montanus • Size: 12.5 – 14cm • Relatives: A member of the Old World Sparrows that also include the rock sparrows and snowfinches. True sparrows (Passer) number approximately 28 species • Conservation status: IUCN Least Concern • Known urban locations to find it: Belgrade in Serbia and many other Eastern European towns and cities plus in many other conurbations in Asia • Interesting fact: The oldest recorded bird was 13 years old, although three years is their typical lifespan The Tree Sparrow has fascinated me ever since I was a kid. After weaning on the numerous House Sparrows that frequented my urban garden in Wembley, North London, a winter visit to my local park was my first introduction to the Tree Sparrow. I noticed a…

IMAGE SPEC Camera: Nikon D800E Lens: 200-500mm f/5.6 Focal length: 500mm Exposure: 1/4,000 sec; f/9; ISO 1,000 In my last article, I shared some of my personal photographic journey with you and provided a bit of an insight as to how my approach has changed and developed over the years, allowing a much more artistic style to begin flourishing. Before I start getting into the nitty-gritty of this article, perhaps it is worth mentioning how important other people’s work has become in the shaping and development of my own photographic techniques and style. There are some truly outstanding wildlife photographers out there, many of whom are in a league of their own, pushing serious photographic and artistic boundaries with some compelling and clever work. Seeing what they are creating and…

AQUAPAC EL CAPITAN PASSPORT AND PHONE CASE £18 If you are adventurous, careful or clumsy this could be of interest. It measures 115x190mm and is good for a phone (or passport), cards and keys. Stick them in and seal it up for protection from water, sand, dust and mud. It’s waterproof to 10m depth and if there’s air sealed in, it will float. El Capitan is UV resistant and can cope with temperatures from -20°C to 50°C. I’m not sure I can, though. Made in the UK with biodegradable TPU. aquapac.net/shop CRAGHOPPERS NOSILIFE FARA WOMEN’S LONGSLEEVED SHIRT £75 A technical shirt doesn’t have to be plain. The long-sleeved Fara is available in three different coloured prints – sage, raspberry or Mediterranean blue. It’s lightweight and big on control – it…

…don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. And other rare bird stories… With the nation’s birdwatchers chomping at the bit to go out to enjoy the start of spring migration, lockdown restrictions were lifted slightly during March. For most of the month this meant more freedom to exercise, and later on, restrictions on movement were lifted considerably. This meant there was a bit of an increase in the number of rare birds seen and indeed reported (as there should be in any March). One bird which many birders had been itching for a chance to see for themselves was the Exmouth (Devon) Northern Mockingbird. Luckily for them, the extremely rare North American mimid stayed in its favoured Devonian gardens throughout the month, including the period when English…

SOUTH WEST Highlights In association with The big news from the region was undoubtedly the continual presence of the Northern Mockingbird in selected gardens in Exmouth, Devon. As lockdown restrictions eased, many of the UK’s keenest listers made their way to Devon to pay homage to this very rare American visitor. AVON HIGHLIGHTS: A Hoopoe was at Leigh Woods (26th). A Waxwing was in east Bristol (2nd). Two Garganeys arrived at Chew (31st). Two Ospreys flew over (29th). Red Kites moved through all month. First dates included Swallow (18th), House Martin (19th), Wheatear (6th), Redstart (30th), Yellow Wagtail (29th), Willow Warbler (7th) and Sedge Warbler (31st). Four White Wagtails were logged. Gales (from 11th) produced 325 Gannets, 400 Kittiwakes, two Mediterranean Gulls, two Little Gulls, two Fulmars, a Leach’s Petrel,…

Find the location closest to your destination and add or subtract the hours and minutes from the high tide time at London Bridge, below. SOUTH WEST Weston-Super-Mare (+5:05) Barnstaple (+4:30) Newquay (+3:32) Falmouth (+3:30) Plymouth (+4:05) Torquay (+4:40) Bournemouth (-5:09)* Portland (+4:57) St Peter Port (+4:53) Swanage (-5:19)* Portsmouth (-2:29) Southampton (-2:53) SOUTH EAST Ryde (-2:29) Brighton (-2:51) Eastbourne (-2:48) Dungeness (-3:05) Dover (-2:53) Margate (-1:52) Herne Bay (-1:24) Southend-on-sea (-1:22) Clacton-on-sea (-2:00) EAST ANGLIA Felixstowe Pier (-2:23) Aldeburgh (-2:53) Lowestoft (-4:23) Cromer (+4:56) Hunstanton (+4:44) WALES Colwyn Bay (-2:47) Holyhead (-3:28) Barmouth (-5:45) Aberystwyth (-6:11) Fishguard (+5:44) Swansea (+4:42) Milford Haven (+4:37) Cardiff (+5:15) NORTH WEST Whitehaven (-2:30) Douglas (-2:44) Morecambe (-2:33) Blackpool (-2:50) NORTH EAST Skegness (+4:29) Grimsby (+4:13) Bridlington (+2:58) Whitby (+2:20) Hartlepool (+1:59) Blyth (+1:46) Berwick…

SPECIES FACTFILE ARCTIC SKUA Scientific name: Stercorarius parasiticus Length: 41-46cm UK numbers: 2,136 breeding pairs Habitat: Coast Diet: Fish, dead birds, mammals, eggs… Now, no one likes bad behaviour, but you’ve got to admit it’s fun to watch. If you hear two people arguing in a supermarket, you know you’re going to sneak a look; hear a fight breaking out outside the pub, you’ll see everyone running for the nearest window. And when you watch a wildlife documentary with a shot of grazing deer or antelope, you know you’re secretly waiting for the predator to turn up. In the kingdom of birds, there is one family that is perhaps the worst behaved and thus among the most entertaining to watch: welcome to the world of skuas. This family of seabirds…

Gardens are where many of us get the birdwatching bug. They offer exciting, close-up action with some really splendid birds which willingly choose the area around our peculiar human habitat in which to feed, sleep and nest. So, our first ID lessons are often from looking out of the kitchen window at the feeders or the lawn. But how much of those lessons really sank in? Here is a chance to test your knowledge of the birds we call ‘garden birds’ by identifying these six species. Put a name to these birds (chosen for being typical of ‘summer gardens’), then check your answers against ours and read our solutions, over the page. Finally, if you are hungry for more garden bird identification tips, turn the page once more for some…

COLLECT & KEEP Every month we bring you 10 more sites to build up your GO BIRDING collection PRODUCT OF THE MONTH The all new Frontier APO offers stunning, wide angle, high definition viewing with incredible colour control and phase correction. Both models (8x42 and 10x42.) benefit from flat field vision along with excellent chromatic aberration control, thanks to Extra-low Dispersion glass. UK.HAWKEOPTICS.COM/NATURE HIGHLAND MAX MILES ON FOOT: 3 MIN TIME: 3 HOURS CRAIGELLACHIE NNR Woodland birding with some superb views This reserve is a great place for you to explore a new habitat in Speyside, away from the many Scots Pines. There are some notable insects like Rannoch Sprawler, Kentish Glory and Pearl-bordered Fritillary to look for, and the view from the top can give you a good idea…

Send your snaps to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk to be in with a chance of seeing your photo in print. All images should be high resolution JPEG files. 1 Blackbirds by Rob Porter Camera: Panasonic DC-G9 Lens: 236mm, Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec Aperture: f/5.3 ISO: 1,600 2 Goldfinch by Trevor Burch Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: 500mm, Shutter Speed: 1/2,500 sec Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 3,200 3 Sandwich Tern by Malcolm Jones Camera: Canon EOS 7D Lens: 300mm, Shutter Speed: 1/6,400 sec Aperture: f/9 ISO: 800 4 Merlin by Paul Coombes Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: 600mm, Shutter Speed: 1/1,000 sec Aperture: f/11 ISO: 1,600 WE LOVE… Paul Coombes’s pin-sharp Merlin photo. These birds are hard enough to see well, let alone photograph!…

Evolution designed the Kakapo – the nocturnal ‘Owl Parrot’ of New Zealand – in the good old days before there was anything to eat it. Until just a few hundred years ago there were no terrestrial mammals in New Zealand. There were a few species of bats, which are mammals of course, but – and this is the point – there were no predatory land mammals. So, the Kakapo and all the other birds could run amok. Life was good. But it was too good to be true. When the Maori and Europeans arrived, they brought with them a multitude of animals – some on purpose, and some by mistake. Suddenly, the country was full of hungry ferrets, Stoats, Weasels, rats, cats, dogs, Hedgehogs and possums. These mammals couldn’t believe…