Not Lepidoptera (Birds) - 2

[eccles]

The Bristol wildlife bulletin board is quite good for reporting unusual birds in the region, but as Denise says, there have been no waxwings reported so far. There were a ruff and a hawfinch spotted recently though.

[eccles]

I got my first tick for a short eared owl on the Severn estuary this afternoon. In fact there were three of them. Light was poor but I managed to scrape this shot up together.

[Shirley Roulston]

The fox has had its Chirstmas dinner, the Muscovey Ducks are no more

[eccles]

That's sad, but at least the fox will have a nice Christmas.

[Shirley Roulston]

A belated Christmas Robin and the male Siskin, I had to remove myself from the warm cosy fireside to get these photos and stand still for half an hour in an old dark ivy covered avairy (disused).

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back inside now

[eccles]

Nice birds, Shirley. Your patience was well rewarded wasn't it? Assuming you cropped these, can I suggest that the robin would look better if you gave it a bit more space on the left? That way, it'd be looking into the picture and give a more pleasing photo.

[twitcher]

Hello all,
Nice pics.Siskins seem to be in good numbers this year with some visiting our feeder for the first time for a while.
The Short Eared Owl is a great pic I have to travel into the staffs moors to see them usually.Nothing much
bird wise to photograph here due to naff weather,although I did nearly get my head knocked off trying to get the last photo of this Mute swan.
Cheers Shaun.

[eccles]

Well caught Shaun. They fly at a heck of a lick don't they?

[cjs]

Just been looking at these really good pics, thanks.
The white ducks ( Mallard is the only duck to have curled tail feathers ) as seen in photo.
Interestingly Mute Swans are the only Swans that make a noise with there wings in flight, and can be easily heard when flying past.

[Matsukaze]

An ID request - near Oxford yesterday - Robin/Dunnock sized bird, similar shape & similar build, not too sure of plumage as the light was not good, but streaky brown above and slightly paler below, with definite, narrow white wing-band. Briefly seen perching on a fence then on lower branches of tree, flicking its tail. Female Stonechat?

[twitcher]

Hiya,
Your right sounds like a winter female Stonechat,
Got a picture yesterday of one if it rings any bells.
Shaun.

[xmilehigh]

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a great Xmas and have a great New Year, Great bird pics everyone.

Was out and about with Eccles today & caught this Kestrel, near Severn Beach.

[Pete Eeles]

There are so many superb images here - I'm almost embarassed to post! Anyway - lots of flocks of Long-tailed Tits around at the mo - here's the best of a bad bunch

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Cheers,

- Pete

[eccles]

A delightful LTT, Pete.
Nice one, Xmilehigh. Kestrels are normally very skittish. Usually, if you stop the car when you see one it'll stay there, but wind down the window or open the door to get out of the car and it's off. We saw this one while walking round a large pool. We were able to go back to the car, get our cameras then get within about 25 yards to take these shots. There were signs of a recent kill around its beak so maybe it was feeling full and contented.

[Gwenhwyfar]

There really are some superb shots in this thread, I’m a useless birder, and that probably reflects in my bird photography!
I got freezing cold getting these this morning, but the Marsh Tit made it all worth while.
I was also fortunate enough to see a male Hen Harrier.

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[eccles]

Great catches, Lisa. I've never seen a marsh tit, and haven't seen a nuthach for years.
As for freezing, by the time Xmilehigh and I left this spot on the Severn Estuary waiting for short eared owls it was 1 degree C with a biting NE wind. Two or maybe three put in an appearance today. Light was a little better than the last time I posted one.

[Gwenhwyfar]

In truth I wouldn't have know if it was a Marsh Or a Willow Tit, but there was a guy next to us who seemed to know his stuff, so I took his word for it! and I love the Owls Eccs, you must have some patience, we get a fair amount of Owls round our way, but have never been in the right place at the right time to get any images!

We also saw several chaffinches yesterday which had lots of white stuff on their feet, I have cropped it in a mile so you can see it. That guy said it was a sort of lice??

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[twitcher]

Hi all,
Couple of pics taken today at Draycott Water,I dont think the Coot had much idea what to do with the fish as he ended up chucking it back.
Shaun

[Pete Eeles]

Some cracking images in this thread - love the Nuthatch Lisa!

is that a Little Grebe (Dabchick), Twitcher?

Cheers,

- Pete

[twitcher]

Yes Pete