A while ago I posted here because I'd photographed over a hundred bird species in January. When I completed the same feat in February, I set myself a target to photograph 100 species every month for the whole year. The count is reset each month - it would be impossible to see 1,200 species in a year, at least on my travel budget. Anyway, I did it - 100 species for twelve months. I've finally finished cataloguing my sightings from 2024. I ended up photographing 214 different species across the year, 51 of which I saw on twelve consecutive months. 27 were one-off sightings.
Window where I work in new flat looks out to a bunch of trees, very excited to see how the birdlife develops. Have had the great and heartening Redwing Invasion over the last week, but Waxwings are forever the dream...
Last night's Winterwatch on BBC was very interesting, there was a piece about waxwings and how they have a specially adapted tongue to aid swallowing berries. They then showed how other birds have adapted tongues to cope with the type of food they eat.
I give you the NZ endemic Wrybill / Ngutu Pare. The beak enables the bird to comfortably reach under rocks for beasties to eat. Lives on river banks and estuarine habits. Only bird on the planet with an asymetrical bill. Take that.
Great Egret seen at Lackford Lakes on Tuesday. The poor thing was getting chased around by a pair of Herons who I don't think wanted its competition for food so close to the breeding season. They did me a favour though, I don't think I'd have got this shot if they'd have left it alone. If anyone is up Suffolk way, Lackford is a great place for birding.
Spring is finally here and birds are getting quite active. A lot of the activity is pretty aggressive. I thought these two Moorhens were going to drown each other before the smaller one finally swam away, but it took a long time.
My first thought was that it looks a but crow like, but crows have a bigger wing span than that. I wonder if it could be a Magpie, they are part of the Corvid family and their wingspan is 56-61cm.
Even if you track it down though, I don't think you'll be able claim.
We were wondering if it was an owl because of the large head. It has been there for some time but all I saw was a football shape. I only saw the wings yesterday because of the sun's position and I happened to be standing in the right place.
We were wondering if it was an owl because of the large head. It has been there for some time but all I saw was a football shape. I only saw the wings yesterday because of the sun's position and I happened to be standing in the right place.
I can never remember the difference between albino and leucitic birds, so I looked it up on the BTO website. Apparently, the best indicator is whether they have red eyes or not. Hmmm, doesn't really work for Pochards, does it?
Three shots of the same Heron. 1. Treading us to a close up view. 2. Wiping its beak on its perch after catching a fish. 3. Trying its Hand at surfing.
Comments
Great Egret seen at Lackford Lakes on Tuesday. The poor thing was getting chased around by a pair of Herons who I don't think wanted its competition for food so close to the breeding season. They did me a favour though, I don't think I'd have got this shot if they'd have left it alone. If anyone is up Suffolk way, Lackford is a great place for birding.
Even if you track it down though, I don't think you'll be able claim.
There is an old country adage that goes, "If you see a rook, it's a crow. If you see crows, they're rooks".
Kingfisher versus Pike. Only one winner.
Three shots of the same Heron. 1. Treading us to a close up view. 2. Wiping its beak on its perch after catching a fish. 3. Trying its Hand at surfing.