Before dawn in Cyprus, the air rings with birdsong – but it is not real. Hidden in the undergrowth of bushes across the mediterranean island are electronic lures which broadcast a manufactured chorus. The pieces of technology mimic the calls of migrating songbirds and draw the unsuspecting creatures down into carefully placed death contraptions each […]
Tag: Blackcap
‘Trophies’ shared on social media reveal scale of mass bird slaughter in Lebanon
Every year, during the Northern Hemisphere spring and autumn, the skies over Lebanon are dotted with millions of birds on their epic migrations. From soaring Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) to charismatic white storks (Ciconia ciconia), more than 500 species of birds traverse the African-Eurasian flyway, which funnels over Lebanon, as they migrate between their breeding […]
Wryneck
The winds changed to the south today and whilst that did not bring any immediate changes to the birdlife in Maridalen it might mean that the rain that is forecast to start at 3am tonight might well bring down a lot of migrating birds (ever the optimist). Three flocks of Pink-footed Geese heading north today […]
Great Spotted Cuckoo at Wheeler’s Bay
On 21st March news filtered through of a Great Spotted Cuckoo at Wheeler’s Bay, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Initially details were fairly sketchy but the following day news broke of its continued presence and pictures eventually emerged on Twitter and Facebook, as is the way of todays birding world. This was the second record for […]
Migrants passing – Jubail area
The last few weeks a few more migrants have been passing through with plenty of warbler seen. Most have been Eurasian Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Barred Warbler but also a few Eastern Olivaceous Warbler have been seen and one or two Asian Desert Warblers. Wheatears have also arrived with Black-eared and Pied being the most […]
Pennington Marsh and Denny Wood – 8th June
After dropping Tobias at school I spent a short amount of time at Pennington Marsh and Denny Wood. At Pennington it was fairly quiet with most birds settled down to breed. I recorded eight Reed Warbler and six Whitethroat on territory around the loop that extends from Lower Pennington Lane car park to the Jetty […]
Little Green Yanky Heron
After a few days of not going to see the Green Heron, today I finally joined a few desolate souls who needed it (James, Joe and Will who didn’t need it but joined anyway); we set off from Norwich early, though probably not early enough. The drive there was long (6.5 hours) and we got […]
Nightingales in the valley
After a very difficult week at work I needed a little birding therapy this morning without the driving so an early run over to Fishers Green gave me just the wind down I needed. The dawn chorus was in full swing as I arrived with at least three Nightingales singing and waiting for the girls […]